(BL) Hunting The Field Guide Chapter 185: A cup of tea calms the mind

Kellen yanked his shirt down, and the Captain laughed as he stepped into the apartnt. Kellen realised he was wearing almost the exact sa thing that Kellen had pulled on. A classic black t-shirt and gray sweatpants. They were wearing the sa thing, but for so reason it looked like the Captain was wearing it better.

Swallowing, Kellen looked him over, trying to be discreet as he turned and headed for the kitchen. The Captain was taking his ti taking off his shoes and lining them up nicely. Kellen hoped he didn’t notice how his eyes followed him.

"I don’t like to walk around underdressed, Captain." Kellen told him, rembering that he ordered him to not call him by his na. Rhys snorted. It was so unlike him, that Kellen turned to stare at him with wide eyes. The Captain was grinning as he leaned against the pillar attached to the island.

"I don’t believe you in the slightest. I know for a face that you take any chance you can to take your top off. Everyone tells about it, and I also rember you doing so on the front lines as well. Are you saying no because you are aware of ?" He asked and Kellen felt his face heat. He hadn’t even considered that the Captain and others had paid attention to him, but he should have known better.

He didn’t want to answer the question, but at the sa ti, it was a straightforward question. Unfortunately, the answer was just incredibly embarrassing for Kellen, and he worried what the Captain was going to say in response. Kellen gripped onto the edge of the counter in front of him, stealing a glance at the Captain who watched him, a smile on his lips.

"I...I won’t deny that I am aware of you, but I also don’t like to be underdressed in my own ho. Working out is different." Kellen had too much energy after saying that, and spun to open the cupboard holding the cups. He grabbed two and placed them on the counter.

Pulling down the tea he would normally drink, he assud that the Captain would have a cup since he’d had one every other ti. Kellen tossed tea bags into both cups, turning on the kettle and stood with his back to the Captain for a mont. The Captain hadn’t said anything while he did this, and it wasn’t until the kettle had popped, the water had been poured and Kellen turned around with the mugs in hand that he noticed.

The Captain had a soft, mischievous grin on his face. His arms were crossed, and it was clear that he had been watching Kellen. Stiffening, Kellen ca to realisation that he had been waiting for Kellen to calm down. Kellen flushed as the Captain took the mug that Kellen offered him.

"I’m glad that you admit it so readily, but I’m curious about one thing. Why is there a difference between being in your ho and working out?" The Captain wasn’t trying to make fun of him, even if he had that playful expression on his face. He was genuinely curious.

"I, uh, well, only the bedroom is really for being naked, and the bathroom. I also often cook at ho, and it’s dangerous to cook without clothes on. Even while wearing an apron." Kellen watched as the Captain’s eyes lit up at the ntion of an apron. Kellen sighed, unsure if it was the right thing to do to tell him this. He felt his ears turn pink as embarrassnt flushed his face. Fuck, he hadn’t told anyone outside of family this, and he just worried the Captain was going to use this against him later. It was better than this misunderstanding, but only just. "When I was in high school, I once sweated so much that I chafed my nipples, and so since then I tend to workout without a shirt on as a precaution."

It was clear from the Captain’s expression that he had expected anything else to co out of Kellen’s mouth. The Captain opened his mouth, closed it, before he put down his mug on the counter next to him. Covering his mouth, Kellen noticed that his face had turned a light shade of pink.

"You...chafed your nipples in high school?" His voice was a little high as he asked the question. Kellen, still embarrassed, nodded glumly.

"It’s not my proudest mont. I wasn’t paying attention to my body, and I was too focused on pushing myself to notice. It took a while to heal too, since I was too embarrassed to tell anyone about it. You and Gwen are the only ones who know that it even happened." Kellen admitted, and Kellen watched as the Captain cleared his throat. He slowly uncovered his mouth, composing himself as he picked up the mug again. His fingers were almost white from how tightly he was gripping it.

"Ah, you’ve given blackmail material then." The Captain looked away from Kellen, smiling slightly as he stared down at the mug in his hand. It was quiet for a mont, and Kellen felt like you could hear his heartbeat in the silence. "You don’t...happen to have any photos of that ti, do you?" Kellen’s jaw dropped, surprised that the Captain would even ask.

Well, no, maybe he shouldn’t have been so surprised.

"Captain, I was a minor when this happened. No, I don’t have photos of it. Plus, why would I take photos of one of my most embarrassing monts?" The Captain shrugged his shoulders, not raising his gaze from the mug.

"I don’t know? Maybe to never forget that it happened? I would have done it if I had chafed my nipples." Kellen didn’t believe that in the slightest. Opening his mouth to respond, Kellen closed it again before he put his own mug down on the counter. He sighed, running his hands over his face before he looked at the older man, his face red.

He knew if he didn’t nip this in the bud, he was going to be teased about it for years. The only thing he could think of saying was....

"You’ve made them redder on your own than the chafing did." Kellen stared at him in between his fingers, watching as his yellow eyes went wide and he glanced in Kellen’s direction.

"I did?" He asked innocently, playing coy, and Kellen felt his lips turn down in a frown. He removed his hands from his face, shaking his head even as he felt how hot his face was.

"Yes, of course you did." Kellen spat, annoyed he had to admit this. "Casually rubbing against a shirt isn’t going to get my nipples as red as when soone sucks and bites them, Captain." Kellen picked up his mug again, blowing on it to direct his attention sowhere, anywhere besides the damn smug grin on his face. "Anyone would know that." He muttered, his cheeks pink.

It was silent for a mont before Kellen cleared his throat, trying to change the topic. "Should we order in tonight instead of cooking? I do need to go over so things tonight so I don’t have as much ti as I normally do to cook." Kellen wasn’t sure what the atmosphere around them was, but he felt uncomfortable and wanted to change it. The Captain chuckled.

The Captain remained where he was, not approaching Kellen even as he shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the next. Kellen knew he was staring at him now, since he could feel the weight of his gaze on him, but Kellen kept his head down. He was embarrassed, and hoped that the words that ca out of the Captain’s mouth were related to his question, not his damn nipples.

"Of course we can order in. Did you want sothing from the cafeteria? Or did you want to get sothing from a different restaurant?" Kellen was relieved that it was a normal follow up question. Taking a mont to think, he pulled his bottom lip into his mouth without biting it.

"I have a craving for fried chicken. Can the cafeteria do that?" Kellen tensed when the Captain loudly put down his mug and approached Kellen, taking his mug out of his hands. The Captain’s hand then went to Kellen’s chin, tilting it up. "I-I didn’t bite my lip!" Kellen defended, his eyes wide at the way those yellow eyes turned molten at the slight provocation, even without him aning to.

"I’ll determine that." He whispered, his mouth coming towards Kellen. Closing his eyes, Kellen wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but feeling the sharp sting of the Captain’s teeth in his bottom lip caused him to gasp. The Captain quickly released his bite, kissing the spot affectionately as Kellen felt his head spin. Rhys’ hands wrapped around Kellen, resting on his lower back and he pulled him close. "Hmm. You didn’t. Good job. Those lips are mine to bite and kiss. I will allow you to roll your lip." The Captain sounded smug, and Kellen couldn’t stop the laugh that left his lips.

"Oh, how magnanimous, oh great S Class Esper. Shall I get on my knees for you too?" Kellen laughed, teasing him, but when he t the Captain’s gaze, the laughter died as the heat there made him pause.

"Only if it’s to suck my cock, Kellen. Otherwise, no. I’m more than happy to get on my knees for you. Let serve you." Surprised, Kellen wasn’t sure what to say. The Captain, however, continued their previous conversation. "I’ll order from a restaurant that I like then. How much should I get for you to eat? A feast for six people?" Kellen’s head was a ss, and it took him a second to realise in both contexts, Rhys wasn’t teasing him. Kellen felt his heart ache.

"O-Oh, that’s what I was going to suggest. That isn’t too much?" Kellen asked and Rhys pressed a kiss against his cheek, before biting it gently. Kellen winced.

"If you ever doubt my abilities to financially take care of you again, Kellen, I am going to lock us up in your office and do very, very dirty things to you while others are in the office outside. No guiding rooms for you." Kellen sucked in as Rhys planted a kiss over the spot he had bitten. "I know that would embarrass you more than if I did it with others obviously around, since you could just excuse it as guiding. That and you’d never be able to think any pure thoughts again in that office." His knowing chuckle had Kellen. He felt his knees go weak.