[It is not nice or fascinating to look at. It is just cold, like the rest of the outdoors, which is cold. Freezing. Super cold. It's only through a superhuman effort that Giorno keeps himself from shivering petulantly when Rohan comes outside, finally.]
[Oh hell no. Giorno is not going to be in a position of negotiation. Rohan's lip starts to curl for a moment before he smooths out his expression. Don't let him get under your skin, he reminds himself.]
So shall I tell Tonika she's not getting her commission, or will you take care of it?
Look, I'm not that bothered either way. I'm happy to help Tonika, and I'm content to tell you this or whatever else you want to know if she thinks it's important, but I'm not going to grovel or bend to your every whim just because that strikes your fancy today. You keep getting on my case about being real, so here, really: I'm cold and I don't like you, and bowing to your ridiculous demands while also getting frostbite is where I draw the line.
[On the one hand, he is loath to allow anyone who isn't Reimi (or Holly, when invited to pick up the next manuscript) into his space. While true this building isn't truly home to Rohan, it is his private sanctuary all the same. The last person he wants in that space is someone like Giovanna, who would willingly use anything to his advantage. Even now, he's trying to manipulate Rohan, isn't he? He needs to only offer a single truth, no more than a sentence, but he's baiting Rohan with the potential of more information.]
[Rohan lifts his chin.]
You don't take one step beyond the genkan, understood?
[Rohan arches an eyebrow, studying his expression for a moment.]
You really have no idea, do you?
[It's not a break-out grin or smug superiority on Rohan's face. If anything, he seems vaguely annoyed. Not so much because he has to explain, but that Giovanna is that embedded in his lie that he doesn't know part of his heritage and identity. Rohan shakes his head, opening the door. Without stepping inside, he points.]
That is the genkan. It's an entryway. You take your shoes off before entering the rest of the house. I don't particularly adhere to that in my home in Morioh, it's much more Western, but this house has multiple rooms with tatami.
[A beat.]
Which even house slippers would damage, in case you didn't know. [Rohan lets that settle for a single moment before he almost twitches into movement. He turns, stepping inside, and continues as he takes his coat off and hangs it up on a peg,] Anyway, it's not necessary for you to take your shoes off. You can just stand there.
[Rohan slips his shoes back off, placing them neatly on a shelf that's a mix of his and Reimi's shoes.]
[This is just getting obnoxious now. He steps inside, intent on moving carefully and stepping only where directed to. He does not take off his shoes. He crosses his arms over his chest. He looks up at Rohan, jaw set.]
My father was British and my mother was Japanese. I'm only Italian by marriage. What else?
[Rohan steps out of the genkan, turning back around to face Giorno with his arms folded. It's tempting to start digging for more right away. But Rohan refuses to swindle more than he's earned.]
You realize I only requested one truth, right? Why offer me, someone you don't like, more?
Because it's all part of the same lie. That's what you implied before.
[He counts on his fingers.]
One, it's a lie that I claim to be Italian; two, it's a lie that I don't share my true origins. Because to your mind, my business is everyone's. And now it's yours.
More broadly, I'm tired of you treating me like I'm somehow less than you just because I don't air my dirty laundry for everyone to see. So if you want it, fine. If you think it'll benefit you in some way, fine. If you think it'll make you feel better, fine. I just want you to shut up about it.
[Rohan opens his mouth to say something, but then he closes it, looking away from Giovanna. It figures, doesn't it? It figures that Giovanna finds a way of spoiling this for Rohan. Instead of finally having the satisfaction of a sincere truth, Giovanna twists it around and manages to find a way to spoil it. Rohan shakes his head before looking at him again.]
If I was that interested— no, obsessed with you is accurate to what you're implying, Giovanna, I would have torn every last truth from you by now and there would have been very little you could have done to stop it.
I don't dislike you because you choose to keep your history private. I dislike you because you're a habitual liar. And you try to use whatever little lies you come up with to sell yourself, to make people like you. I don't care for that. If I'm going to invest in someone, it better be something real. But you do something even worse than just that. You don't even have the spine to admit to it when you're caught in a lie.
That's why I don't like you. That's why I think you're pathetic.
[Rohan scoffs, shaking his head and turns towards his studio.]
Tell Tonika I'll have her commissions for her by the end of the week, including the portrait of you. I trust you can find the door on your own.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
British and Japanese.
[CAN HE GO NOW]
no subject
I'm sorry?
no subject
no subject
So shall I tell Tonika she's not getting her commission, or will you take care of it?
no subject
Look, I'm not that bothered either way. I'm happy to help Tonika, and I'm content to tell you this or whatever else you want to know if she thinks it's important, but I'm not going to grovel or bend to your every whim just because that strikes your fancy today. You keep getting on my case about being real, so here, really: I'm cold and I don't like you, and bowing to your ridiculous demands while also getting frostbite is where I draw the line.
no subject
[On the one hand, he is loath to allow anyone who isn't Reimi (or Holly, when invited to pick up the next manuscript) into his space. While true this building isn't truly home to Rohan, it is his private sanctuary all the same. The last person he wants in that space is someone like Giovanna, who would willingly use anything to his advantage. Even now, he's trying to manipulate Rohan, isn't he? He needs to only offer a single truth, no more than a sentence, but he's baiting Rohan with the potential of more information.]
[Rohan lifts his chin.]
You don't take one step beyond the genkan, understood?
no subject
[There's another little admission that, Giorno thinks bitterly, will probably make Rohan incredibly happy.]
no subject
You really have no idea, do you?
[It's not a break-out grin or smug superiority on Rohan's face. If anything, he seems vaguely annoyed. Not so much because he has to explain, but that Giovanna is that embedded in his lie that he doesn't know part of his heritage and identity. Rohan shakes his head, opening the door. Without stepping inside, he points.]
That is the genkan. It's an entryway. You take your shoes off before entering the rest of the house. I don't particularly adhere to that in my home in Morioh, it's much more Western, but this house has multiple rooms with tatami.
[A beat.]
Which even house slippers would damage, in case you didn't know. [Rohan lets that settle for a single moment before he almost twitches into movement. He turns, stepping inside, and continues as he takes his coat off and hangs it up on a peg,] Anyway, it's not necessary for you to take your shoes off. You can just stand there.
[Rohan slips his shoes back off, placing them neatly on a shelf that's a mix of his and Reimi's shoes.]
no subject
[This is just getting obnoxious now. He steps inside, intent on moving carefully and stepping only where directed to. He does not take off his shoes. He crosses his arms over his chest. He looks up at Rohan, jaw set.]
My father was British and my mother was Japanese. I'm only Italian by marriage. What else?
no subject
You realize I only requested one truth, right? Why offer me, someone you don't like, more?
no subject
[He counts on his fingers.]
One, it's a lie that I claim to be Italian; two, it's a lie that I don't share my true origins. Because to your mind, my business is everyone's. And now it's yours.
More broadly, I'm tired of you treating me like I'm somehow less than you just because I don't air my dirty laundry for everyone to see. So if you want it, fine. If you think it'll benefit you in some way, fine. If you think it'll make you feel better, fine. I just want you to shut up about it.
no subject
If I was that interested— no, obsessed with you is accurate to what you're implying, Giovanna, I would have torn every last truth from you by now and there would have been very little you could have done to stop it.
I don't dislike you because you choose to keep your history private. I dislike you because you're a habitual liar. And you try to use whatever little lies you come up with to sell yourself, to make people like you. I don't care for that. If I'm going to invest in someone, it better be something real. But you do something even worse than just that. You don't even have the spine to admit to it when you're caught in a lie.
That's why I don't like you. That's why I think you're pathetic.
[Rohan scoffs, shaking his head and turns towards his studio.]
Tell Tonika I'll have her commissions for her by the end of the week, including the portrait of you. I trust you can find the door on your own.
no subject
[Whether Rohan's heard or not, Giorno leaves.]