Hours passed, and morning came and went without any breakfast or break, till finally Leo urged Takumi to slow down and stop.
"We shouldn't stay long," Takumi urged Leo. "Your family will be likely to give chase." Leo agreed, but he, being frailer and a less skilled rider, needed a break. His legs shuddered when he dismounted, and he lowered himself to the ground gracelessly.
"Are you sure this is the right thing to do?" Leo asked.
Takumi knelt beside his lover, and clasped one of Leo's hands in both his own: "I will never give up on you, Leo. We will make it. We have to—"
A snapping twig brought Takumi's gaze around as swift as a hawk. "Show yourself!" he demanded.
"Ha! I guess I never was good at the whole sneakin thing," Hinata said, and stepped out from behind a nearby tree with his hands up. "You didn't think you were gettin away from me, didya boss?"
Oboro dropped from a nearby tree, almost perfectly silent. "It is unwise for our lords to travel without company in these dangerous times."
"Wait, w-whoa — lords? What makes you say 'lords' like that?"
"Well, boss, ya see... Uh, just some holdin hands and kissin and stuff. It's all good! Kinda figured anyway..."
"Yes," added Oboro. "We've come to protect Takumi-bear and Leo-chan."
"TAKUMI-BEAR?!" Takumi was now so heated and red that he could have boiled miso soup with his mind.
"Well boss, the fact is that your just not as sneaky as you think you are... and we gotta look out for you, so... we heard some things—"
"—I made up 'Leo-chan,'" Oboro said, "but you can use it if you want to."
Deathly silence followed.
"Your retainers are crazy," said Leo, "but I like them."