[With his back turned against to the other man Richard stops in front of the towels and reaches out to touch the soft fabric. His wet fingers rubbed against the white cloth, drying them a bit as the excess water kept dropping from his dark hair strands. He was, once again, feeling the strange frustration raising within him. Something that he did not understand the origins of or what to do with it. The solution to withdraw away to his own mind and go quiet, as he had done in the past when he found himself confused or uncertain, would be so easy to take.

Like a pathetic resigned excuse of man. But he was not that person anymore. No, he had sworn to himself that he'd move past the husk of his former self.

So, Richard turned around to look at his lover who was still lounging in the bath, seemingly relaxed despite the tense and oppressive air in the room. Something that irritated him a little.]

Your daughter left and you called me. She returns and you rush to her side. But now that she is going to leave you again, you're calling me back. [So no, the word 'lover' wasn't the issue but the definition of it. It was both very inclusive yet exclusive at the same time.] I am not mad nor do I expect to be first in your thoughts. [Not anymore, at least. He might want it but he knows better than to expect a happy ending. His current standing ought to be more than enough for a demon like him.]

Tell me, Silco. What is a lover to you if not a 'filler '? A distraction to fill the idle and hateful days of peace?