[In the shower, there was a brief sense of peace. He didn't know how long it would last for or when they would step apart to move along with their day. He would already be late for breakfast unless Jinx was sleeping in - a rarity but it still happened - and would potentially take a bit of flack for that. All the more reason to savour the quiet warmth of the shower.

And outside of this space, Silco had his own ambitions and was working towards cultivating all that he needed for his own goals. It was slow and required a certain finesse that he hadn't entirely needed in the undercity take over. There were others with ambition as well, but they carefully maneuvered around each other. So far, Richard had not made bold moves to gather power aside from training, but he saw the potential with the younger man's speech and charisma when organizing.

Would it run them afoul? He didn't know. While he was constantly on alert to threats to his position, Richard was on his radar for benign reasons. They did, after all, spend time together outside of this space.]

And what does lover mean to you in your world? [He expected everyone's interpretation would be different. Was there a commitment? Was there loyalty?] And for now... I will remain mute to my daughter's prying, but that time will close soon as she escalates. I expect you will do the same.

[Of course, a thought occurred to him as he shifted his head a little so he could kiss Richard's shoulder. Was the man embarrassed by him? He had been called a peasant when they first met and Richard had prattled about royalty and high born things. Perhaps he would be a stain on Richard's reputation as Duke being... well, him. Hmm, the Duke of Gloucester's dirty secret? How scandalous.]