Red West II.

Chapter thirty seven - Bad spirit

It took Jane over a mile to catch up with the others, and another one before Leo was finally willing to take a break from their fast ride northeast. The brunette dismounted her stallion and patted its neck gratefully, before looking around a small glade covered with a few thin trees. For his rest, the Riders' leader chose a wide stone on the bank of a small stream, in which they could water their horses. From that spot, the young Akanishi observed the wide plains, which came in view on their right, as soon as they had left the last buildings of Fort Collins behind.

Jane checked the position of the sun and estimated that there were approximately two hours of daylight left. If those three hadn't left the city yet, they had no chance of catching up to them before the dark would fall. She took a few gulps of water from her flask, while watching her lover worriedly. She had to come up with the best way to approach Leo and calm him down, not to push him even further behind that upset wall he built up around himself.

Ryo, Jack and Nick were very quiet, and kept sending pleading glances toward her. Of course, they relied on her now, as none of them wanted to confront furious Leo. Even Cullen seemed to be quite concerned. No wonder they were confused about Leo's behavior, since their leader didn't explain his reasons for leaving Jin, Kame and Koki in Fort Collins.

Jane made a couple of determined steps, stood next to sitting Leo and focused on his stiff face: "Have you cooled down yet?" she asked, while crossing hands on her chest.

Leo looked up and gave her one annoyed glance, before turning back to the plains' view, without any reply. But he didn't send her away as before, when they were still in the saddles, which Jane considered a good sign.

"Stop acting like an angry kid," she reproached him strictly. "This is beneath you, Leo."

"You don't know why I behave like this, so stop lecturing me!" her lover snapped rather irritated.

"Actually, I do," Jane objected calmly.

One by one, the others approached them slowly, listening curiously.

"What do you mean by that, Jane?" Leo asked with his eyes dangerously narrowed.

She took a deep breath. It would be contra-productive to keep that secret hidden from the others even now; it was about time for all of them to know.

"I know that Jin and Kame are a couple," she stated firmly.

Leo stared at her without a move. Ryo's eyes widened, Jack's jaw dropped, Nick seemed baffled and Cullen raised his eyebrows.

"I saw them together once," the brunette continued, ignoring the other Riders and focusing only on the younger Akanishi. "But they hadn't noticed me, and I didn't tell them."

Leo stood up slowly: "Why didn't you say something?" he asked suddenly quietly.

"It's their privacy; it was not up to me to expose them," she explained carefully. "Even though I thought that they should reveal it to us."

"Wait, wait," Ryo cut in. "Are you serious? Our Handsome and Jin are... dating?"

Jane nodded: "For quite a while already, I think."

The deaf silence followed. Then Cullen reached into his pocket for a pack of cigarettes: "That explains a lot," he noted shortly.

Ryo tried to suppress it at first, but then he chuckled aloud anyway: "Wow, that's some news! That's why they're always so clingy!"

Jack and Nick were somewhat lost at words, but it was better than if they had some indignant comments. Jane appreciated those reactions a lot. If the others could take it calmly, it would help to persuade Leo as well.