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The guy was already standing behind the bar area, serving a drink to a patron, even though he wasn't scheduled to work. 

"Amia. Let's go." He said, his voice stern as he nodded toward the door. 

When Amia just ignored him, he scowled, biting his tongue due to all the curious eyes on them. Hefting the sack he was bringing with him over his shoulder a little higher, he walked around the bar and grabbed Amia's wrist. 

"We're leaving, and you have no say in the matter. Now don't make a scene and let's go." He growled as quietly as he could. 

He wanted to tell him that he'd rented them an actual carriage so that he didn't have to ride a horse, but the guy was already getting under his skin with him starting to work right away, and ignoring him, when they should be on their way to the magistrate's already. 

"Let go of me!" Amia snarled quietly as he did his best to pull away from him. 

You're not getting away from me, brat. It helped that he was easily a good twenty or thirty pounds heavier than Amia, though it was mostly all muscle and a few extra inches to his height. 

"We were given a task and we are going to complete it. We. Meaning both of us." He said as he pulled Amia out of the building and toward the renting stables. 

"I will not ride a horse!" Amia said as he yanked particularly hard on his arm, trying his best to free himself, though Hollem wouldn't have it. 

When they were close to the stables, Hollem yanked Amia into a nearby alley and stepped into his space. "We are not riding a horse, so just behave and let's go. We're already behind as it is." 

Before Amia could reply he was being pulled back out of the alley and toward a waiting carriage. Thankfully, the vehicle at least looked in good shape and both of the horses hitched to it were clearly well taken care of. 

When they finally stopped beside it, Hollem watched Amia's face turn from anger to confusion before looking up at him. "We were riding that little horse..." He said, clearly not understanding how the brown mare from before had transformed into a horse-drawn carriage. 

"Well, now we're riding this. Can you get up or do I need to lift you?" He said, sarcasm clear in his tone. 

He got a glare from Amia before the lad started climbing up, but then stopped and looked over his shoulder. "I left my things up in our room." 

"I got them already." Hollem said.

Amia looked like he was about to scold him, likely for possibly stealing his things if he hadn't ended up going, but Hollem just rolled his eyes skyward and walked forward, shoving Amia's backside to send him stumbling into the carriage. 

He tossed their bag in afterward, then climbed up to the slightly padded driver's seat. Before he could even get them on their way, however, Amia was sliding onto the bench seat beside him. Hollem didn't look at him right away and instead grabbed the reigns so that they could finally start on their journey. 

"Why didn't you just tell me that you got a carriage? But wait, you'd said madam Maria only gave you money for the one horse..." Amia said, confusing himself again. 

Hollem relaxed against the uncomfortable backrest and after making sure that the horses were following the road, turned his attention to Amia. 

"She did." He said simply, then remained silent as he watched the gears turn in Amia's head. 

He hadn't expected the reaction he finally got when the guy figured out what he'd done. Amia jumped up, making Hollem immediately freak out, because the road definitely wasn't the smoothest, and standing up on a carriage was not smart in any way. 

"The hell are you doing?" He yelled as he shoved the reigns into his left hand and wrapped his right arm around Amia's waist, pulling him quickly back down. 

He landed right in Hollem's lap, but refused to scoot off of it. 

"I need to drive, Amia." He warned as he moved his head to the side so that he could see around him. 

Ignoring his words, Amia turned in his lap, getting comfortable before speaking. "Why did you rent this? You didn't need me to come with you. It would have probably been a much easier trip if I wasn't here." 

He couldn't argue that fact. Amia did tend to make things more complicated, or at least make him exhausted in more ways than one. 

"I guess I just wanted company." He said with a nonchalant shrug as he refocused half of his attention where they were going. 

Amia was quiet for a few moments before he replied. "You paid likely triple what you would have for the single horse, if not more for this because I wouldn't ride the horse." 

No one wants to hear your logic. Hollem thought as he flicked his wrists, the reigns tapping the horses lightly to signal that he wanted them to move a little faster. 

"Did you get this carriage so that you didn't have to go alone?" Amia asked, nudging an elbow into Hollem's belly. 

"I just didn't want to be uncomfortable. I rarely ride horses or travel, so being on that small horse for nearly a day there and a day back wouldn't have been pleasant." He said simply. 

The scoff he got from Amia in response made him scowl as he tugged the reigns to the left, turning the horses along a curve in the road. 

"Just admit it. You rented this carriage so that my amazing self, and only myself, could accompany you on this trip." Amia said with a cocky smirk. 

Hollem considered trying to lie again, but Amia was sharper than most people. So, instead, he let his ego deflate a little and looked the guy straight in the eyes. They were so close that, if he moved forward just ever so slightly, their noses would brush together. 

"I rented this carriage so that you would come with me because I was worried that if you stayed behind, something might have happened and I wouldn't have been there to keep you safe." 

Amia opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out.

Hollem returned his attention to the road, noticing that Amia didn't take his eyes off of his for nearly fifteen minutes. When he finally did, he carefully slid from his lap to sit beside him, then reached up to slip a small licorice disk between Hollem's lips. I don't like licorice... Amia leaned against him afterward, then settled his head upon his shoulder and closing his eyes. 

Catching up on missed sleep. Punk.

When Amia didn't move or speak again for a short while, Hollem grudgingly ate the unpleasant treat. For some reason, it tasted better than the ones he'd had before, though he doubted that any others would be similar... unless, perhaps, Amia offered them to him.