In Milan (Love Mode, Ian/Rin)

There were a number of things Rin did not talk about. He wouldn’t talk about his life before Blue Boy, or what had brought him to join. He did not talk about the previous owner, but then few hosts did. And, he did not talk about his feelings, at least not honestly where Ian was around to hear them. It wasn’t that he intended to lie to Ian, but rather that he didn’t want to put into words what part of him already knew. The rest of him, however, denied it resolutely.

He was not in love with Ian. Absolutely not. There was no way that he was falling in love with that loud-mouthed, obnoxious, idiotic brute. And yet here he was, far away from his home and all the people he knew, waiting in their hotel room for Ian to get back from work. Even if he never said it, never thought it, the fact that he was here, in a foreign country he knew next to nothing about, still meant something significant.

Rin shifted his legs over the edge of the chair as he flipped through the channels on the TV. He needed something to distract him from his thoughts, though he doubted the TV would provide much of one. Italian, Italian, Italian, English. Finally! Rin put the remote down. He didn’t care what the show was, as long as he could understand it. His knowledge of Italian was practically non-existent, but he was decent enough with English to sit through a movie. It was something involving horses and men with guns. Not something he would normally watch by choice but it was enough to silence that voice in the back of his head that kept reminding him why he was here.

Maybe he could ask Jin if he’d brought some books, or see if Ian could pick up something while he was out. Then he wouldn’t be stuck alone and bored in the hotel room all day. Rin closed his eyes and listened to the TV drone on. A girl was singing some strange, bawdy song while a piano accompanied her.