Kellen didn’t have to search far for Brent. He’d only made one stop outside of the cafeteria before he found him.
Granted, it wasn’t anywhere near where he had expected to find him, but it did make his job easier.
Brent ca out of one of the guiding rooms near the research departnt with an Esper that Kellen assud was one of the researchers deeper in the lab since he couldn’t recognise their face. It was apparently not the first ti the two had guided either, since Brent was able to smile and joke with them, almost as himself.
It was...nice to see Brent like this. Especially after the mood he’d had so far today.
Kellen, not wanting to interfere with this mont, hid himself around the corner, leaning against the wall and taking a mont to stretch out his leg while using the wall as support. Using his cane as support, while also leaning his back against the wall, he rotated his leg slowly, wincing at the sharp sting of pain as he got to a certain point.
But it wasn’t endless. They were sharp pricks and pins in certain spots. Taylor might have not been able to heal him completely, but she’d still done a good job. Now it was his job to make sure he didn’t need to go back to her too quickly.
"Are you spying on ?" Brent’s accusing tone filled Kellen’s ears and he flinched, lowering his leg the small amount he raised it and adjusting his stance.
"No! Nothing like that. I was just waiting for you to finish. Heard nothing, I swear. Just focusing on my own thoughts." Kellen told him warmly, and felt Brent’s gaze roam him. He frowned further, and Kellen truly worried what was going on. Brent had gotten like this before, but this felt...too sudden.
Kellen didn’t want to make any assumptions, but this felt...targeted? Towards him? While previously it had felt like Brent was fighting his own demons, today it felt like Brent wanted to fight Kellen.
"Uh huh. Of course. Well, let’s go. I’m done here." Brent’s tone and short reply really concerned Kellen. He followed after him, not saying a word as Brent sped up his pace intentionally, and Kellen frowned.
He didn’t speed up his walking pace, aning he got to the elevators later than Brent, and that he was scowling even more. Kellen now wanted to snap at Brent in return. What was he supposed to do? Brent was the one who sped up, so why was he getting all huffy about Kellen being slow?
They got to the Guiding Division, and headed for the sa conference rooms that they had been at before. But this ti, Casper’s assistant dashed out of the Guiding Division as they were about to pass it and asked for Kellen’s help with sothing.
Brent didn’t linger, and instead quickly made his way to the eting room for the next round of Field Guides. Kellen felt anger boil under his skin.
Oh, they were going to get into a fight.
Kellen finished helping the assistant, who stared at Kellen like he had two heads when he realised he had a cane, before Kellen smiled and waved at him as he made his way towards Brent’s doom.
The cane was a benefit. It could whack people easily. After all, it was made so that Esper’s couldn’t easily break it. Probably Hill grade. Brent would have a hard ti taking it no matter what.
Brent seed to know that sothing was wrong, and it probably helped that Kellen wasn’t smiling, and instead was frowning heavily as he entered into the small room.
"Alright, what the fuck crawled up your ass today? I normally leave you alone, but this is getting ridiculous." Kellen demanded, standing in front of the door and blocking the only way in or out. "And I’m serious. I’m not letting anyone else in until we work this out. Because this? This is not acceptable. Not when you continue to look at like the gum on the bottom of your shoe." Brent winced, but didn’t look up from his laptop.
The fucker.
"I have no idea what you are talking about." He said, and Kellen growled.
"Don’t you dare try to play as a fool. You gave a full body scan and fucking scowled at . I heard you talking to the other Esper. Not what you were saying, but your tone. You are capable of being nice today, but for so reason you’re behaving as if I shat in your cornflakes. What’s going on, Brent? What did I do?" That seed to be the right thing to say, since Brent shoved himself away from the table and began to pace angrily.
"What did you do? Fuck. You did nothing wrong. I’m just-" He cut off angrily, his hands jerky, his motions abrupt. He was very angry, but Kellen had to figure out if it was at him, or soone else.
"Okay. If I did nothing wrong, then why are you taking it out on ?" Kellen asked, and Brent’s face contorted. It was clear he was fighting sothing, and with his scars, it made him look terrifying. Kellen didn’t react. That might have been what Brent wanted him to do. He had no idea.
"I didn’t an-! Fuck!" He exclaid, running his hands through his hair, and Kellen had to admit that it looked painful. All of it did. Brent glanced at him and scowled. "Stop looking at like that! Like I’m soone to pity!" Brent roared, and Kellen didn’t even flinch.
"Oh? Am I not supposed to pity you when you look like you’re in more pain than I am right now?" Kellen replied, and that seed to be a path in the right direction. At least from Brent’s violent reaction.
He knocked over a couple of chairs, and Kellen shifted on his feet, remaining where he was. His hand was sweating, so he rubbed it against his leg before putting it back onto the cane’s handle.
"That! That’s the fucking problem! Why the fuck are you behaving like this is totally fucking normal? Why aren’t you just, I don’t know, devastated or sothing? Why do you keep moving forward even after sothing awful happened to you?" Kellen felt like those words weren’t quite fully directed at him.
Ah.
"Well, what the hell else am I supposed to do? Collapse in on myself? Cry like a baby? That’s not going to get anything productive done, and won’t help the people I care about, nor catch the fuckers that did this to and my Dad. So, I pick myself up and continue on my way. Letting my feelings overtake isn’t going to help right now." Kellen told him, and watched as Brent looked like he’d been hit.
He stumbled, smashing his elbows and his body against the wall opposite of Kellen. Kellen wanted to ask if he was okay, but now wasn’t the ti.
"Why the fuck are you like this? You feel so fucking holier than thou right now. Like you’re better than . Why the fuck are you such a goody fucking two shoes?" Kellen didn’t take his harsh words to heart. It was clear, at this point, and the way that Brent’s green eyes were wide, unfocused, and filled with anger, that this wasn’t just about Kellen.
"Well, I’d like to say that it was because of my parents, but I just think I am genuinely like this. With a small amount of influence on their part. And I don’t think I’m better than you, Brent. I never have." Brent’s breathing had changed, his chest rising and falling as his anger consud him. He roared.
"Fuck! That’s the worst fucking part! You aren’t even shouting at ! You’re just...taking my anger. What the fuck, man? Normally, any other person would have fucking swung at at this point." Kellen chuckled.
"Do you want us to fight? We can go up to the gym and work this out that way if you want, but I don’t think you’re going to like the fact that I beat your ass wounded." Brent’s face flushed at Kellen’s teasing grin, and Kellen knew that he was well and truly angry.
"Stop fucking joking like this. I fucking hate when you’re like this. So damn fucking casual about this. Fuck! I kept it together because Captain Thatcher was carrying you around yesterday, but fucking actually seeing you with that damn cane...Fuck!" Brent spun and kicked one of the chairs. It didn’t stand a chance.
Kellen watched as the chair crumbled under the force of his kick, pieces of it shattering everywhere. He’d kicked the part that wasn’t tal, but that wasn’t going to save it. Kellen watched as Brent started stomping and destroying the chair in earnest. He hoped this was enough to get his anger out, not that Kellen wasn’t willing to take him up to the arena and beat so sense into him.
He just also knew that every Esper up there would be on high alert if the man with one arm and the guy with a cane started fist fighting.
Brent was huffing and puffing by the ti that the chair was bent and smashed. Kellen felt bad for the cleaning crew, and he quietly used his phone to move the eting to the next room over. The Field Guides would worry too much if they saw this ss.
"So my injuries set this off?" Kellen asked and Brent growled.
"Why the fuck are you saying it like that? So fucking detached. Of course your injuries set this off! I can’t believe so fucking asshole tried to kill you! And your Dad! And it’s just like-" He cut off, and Kellen just wished that he would finish his damn sentence so that they could get to the root of this problem, but he had a feeling that Brent wasn’t ready for it.
It was exhausting, but Kellen would let him keep his silence. After all, he told him that he would. Until Brent was ready to tell him everything, even if he destroyed more office furniture, he would stay silent.
Brent’s trust was worth at least that much.
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