#undermycontrol

It had all been subtle, and perhaps a long time to build that he hadn't recognized for what it was. Never had there really been a thought about it  - or what it all could have meant, the way they had regarded one another for so long. Still, there had always been the concern for one another's well-being, the compassion that may or may not have lacked in others' being.

Maybe it wasn't anything but a bond that neither of them wanted to lose. When they had met, Ben had been so completely lost and alone, and Richard genuinely wanted to help him. Years only supplied the means of them truly knowing one another and provided opportunity for that blond to form in whatever capacity that it had. Whatever it was. There was always sort of a blurred line when it came to it all - but even in that affirmation, it was still something that was nearly palpable.

Particularly in moments that it was just the pair of them, anymore. Alex always found reasons not to be in the house, and morning meetings between them seemed to be something much more informal than they used to be. It had been one of those meetings - Ben wanting to discuss something, and Richard dutifully arriving on time for it. Only when Ben had answered the door --

"Oh good, you're here." And with that, Ben turned beckoning Richard to follow with a slightly confused expression with the lit in Ben's step back to the kitchen. A solitary cabinet opened in the kitchen, and Ben moved to reach something from the topmost self of it. Just the tips of his fingers brushed against the glass that he was reaching for, and Richard let out a small sigh. Coming further into the kitchen, just next to Ben, he reached up instead, brushing the younger man's hand out of the way before retrieving the dish and holding it out for him to take. Ben's hand wrapped around the edge of the glass, the pair of them looking at one another for a long moment. It was suddenly a little warmer in the room.

Peek into my characters past || Accepting

It’s the amber glow of the lantern near by that gives the room a flickering soft ambience. Isabella had a small bundle of spun threads in her lap, and a basket by her feet of things that needed mending. Her fingers were graceful, even in such a simple act of threading a needle. Even the tedious chore seemed not to bother her, nor give her any less of a loving hue in the night’s curtains. Simple life was never something that she had been destined for - a daughter of a wealthy man, this was not the kind of evening that was ever envisioned for her. Yet, she looked so relaxed, so happy in the small cottage that they shared.

Ricardo watched her for a moment, lingering in the doorway as he had come back from getting the book from which he was reading to her in the evenings. In English. It was a slow development, and there were too many times that his voice was stumble over the words, but she never grew impatient with him, and always offered a soft smile for him to continue. It was their beginning for a new life. They were going to leave for the New World and start there with hopes of a family and riches that could not be counted in gold or silver.

Juliet didn’t say a word but instead watched Ben, studied him, she did not know whether to believe his words. She did not want to believe him, what he had to say, but she could not deny that he had always told her the truth in the past.