(BL) Hunting The Field Guide Chapter 75: A threat made with love

The Captain reached out his fingers, grazing the space just beneath Kellen’s eyes to wipe away the tears threatening to fall. Kellen sighed at the touch, but froze at the words that ca out of the Captain’s mouth.

"Good boy." He murmured, and Kellen felt his heart race for a different reason. Combined with the way he looked, Kellen felt in over his head. The Captain chuckled at Kellen’s expression. "Didn’t like that?" He asked, and Kellen gave him a look. Kellen pushed Gwen’s arms off of him, and she released him slowly. The mood was ruined for the night, and Kellen knew it was his fault. Everyone had been having such a good ti until all of his shit was brought up. It was always like this. It was one of the reasons he never spoke about himself. Feeling awkward, he wasn’t quite sure how to recover from this situation.

"Well, no, I didn’t." Kellen told him rather firmly, lying more to himself than the Captain. The way the Captain’s eyes glinted told Kellen that he didn’t believe him in the slightest. Taylor’s laughter over the phone distracted Kellen from his thoughts.

"I think you said sothing about not being the kinky one, Kellen? Can I make an argunt that both of you are kinky, and neither one more than the other? As your primary physician, there are so things I cannot disclose, but as your friend, I do have so questions." Hill was particularly interested in what Taylor had to say, which didn’t surprise Kellen. What did surprise him was how interested Casper was in what she was going to say. Brent, however, scoffed, waving his hand in disinterest.

"Of course he’s kinky. The man kept going back over and over to the front lines after literally getting beaten out of gates. Over and over. Anyone who does that is kinky." Brent shrugged, aware of what that said about him. Hill laughed, reached out, and patted his shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess that’s right." She agreed easily, and Gwen wiped her eyes. Casper was kind enough to grab her so paper towels from the kitchen since Kellen didn’t have any tissues or sothing like it in sight.

"Then I hope I don’t enjoy my ti on the front lines. So far I’ve managed to avoid the Esper curse of losing their humanity. I don’t want to start now." She said with a sniffle, and Hill laughed, smiling at the young Esper.

"Oh sweetheart, I don’t think you’re going to get out of there unscathed, but if you ever need so help, I’m always available." Gwen blinked at Hill’s clear offer. Then she blushed.

"Absolutely do not hit on my sister in front of , or I will beat your ass." Kellen warned Hill, and she gave him a cheeky grin.

"Oh? You are what army?" She asked, and Kellen pointed at the Captain, accidentally making contact with his chest since he thought he was sitting further back on the couch. Kellen winced when he felt his nail graze his skin even through the dress shirt he wore.

"The Brother-in-law package, I believe. He knows what you are like, and I’m sure he’d be willing to help ." Brent snorted, crossing his arms as he looked over his friend and his sister. Both looked like a ss, but he was glad they were already back to joking. Too much seriousness, and Brent wanted to flee.

"With a fee is written all over that man’s face. Are you sure you should be worrying about your sister right now Kellen? It looks like you’re more likely to get devoured, Kellen." Kellen didn’t let his words bother him. He had known there would probably be a fee involved, and Kellen thought he’d be able to handle it.

"I will always worry about my sister. That is my right as her older brother. Keep your hands to yourself, everyone. She’s practically a minor." Gwen, who was well over the age of 18, in fact, even into her 20’s, glared at her older brother. She crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks.

"I am not a minor at all, Kellen. You’re treating like a child." She protested.

"As he should. They’re all monsters, Gwen. I know you like to have your fun, but be careful. There are so people on staff who have a reputation." It was obvious what Taylor wasn’t saying, and Hill paled. "Oh, I wasn’t really speaking about you, Hill. In the grand sche of things, you’re like a gentle giant compared to so of the other things I have to deal with." That only made everyone curious about what she was referring to. Was it wounds, bruises, or sothing else entirely? "And on that note, I shall leave you all in suspense, and I am going to end the call. Mom’s been waiting patiently for to finish for us to continue work on our puzzle. I won’t see you till Monday, everyone. I actually plan to take my weekend off this ti." She hung up and everyone sat there rather awkwardly.

"Well, did we want to continue drinking, or shall we call it a night?" Brent broke the silence to ask the question, and everyone shared a look. "Yeah, I thought so. I’ll help clean up. Captain Thatcher, did you want our help to bring the chairs back over?" He asked and the Captain shook his head.

"No, not at all. I have a feeling we’ll be over here more often than over at my place, so might as well tuck them against a wall for now to keep them out of the way. But if you could help clean up the empties, that would be appreciated." Kellen was a little surprised that he spoke for the two of them, but then again, one didn’t beco a Captain of a Guild without having a controlling personality. The others began shuffling around, moving the stools until they were almost out of line of sight. Kellen, knowing at this point that no one was going to let him help, headed for the kitchen and filled up the kettle. He turned it on, and pulled down a mug for himself to make a cup of tea. After everything that had happened today, he really needed so normalcy to calm himself down. Gwen joined him in the kitchen while everyone else went around cleaning up. No one bothered the siblings, allowing them so ti alone. Kellen glanced at his sister, frowning at how puffy her eyes were. Of course, she’d recover quickly, she was an Esper, but he hated seeing her this way.

"If you ever think you deserve to be abandoned again, I’m going to knock your lights out." Gwen threatened quietly as the kettle popped. Kellen laughed, knowing damn well that she wouldn’t be able to do that to him, because he couldn’t do that to her. But he appreciated her care.

"I understand that now, Gwen. You don’t need to worry as much anymore." She glared at him, waited for him to pour the hot water into the mug, before pulling him in for another hug.

"I an it. Dad and I’ll have a conversation about it, and then who knows what he’ll co up with. There will be so much crying. You won’t be able to handle any of it." Kellen chuckled nervously at the very real threat that her words held.

"Alright, enough. Stop threatening with your tears." She pulled away, eting Kellen’s gaze with her eyes that mimicked their Father’s.

"Also, nice display for my gifts. I like it." She motioned to the practically bare shelves in the living room that held only the things the Father and daughter combo had gotten Kellen. It felt more like a museum than a ho. Kellen laughed.

"I’m glad you like them." He told her. Casper ca over, giving her arm a gentle tug.

"Co on Gwen, I’ll drive you ho. Gunther and Hill are going to bounce ho, so I’m the only one with a car." She nodded and Kellen followed everyone to the door. Gwen and Casper went first, then Brent, and Gunther. Hill was the last to go, and she seed hesitant at first, before she pulled Kellen in for a long hug.

"You’re one of my friends Kellen. I an it. I don’t have a lot of them, and you made that short list. You need anything, I’m there for you." She pulled away, her face serious. Her eyes were even watering slightly and Kellen jerked his head in a nod. She turned her gaze towards the Captain, eting his gaze. "Take good care of him. I’ll see you guys for sure on Monday." Kellen waved goodbye to Hill, letting the door close behind her before he locked it and stood there for a mont. Today had been such a fucking whirlwind of emotions, and Kellen couldn’t believe it was now basically over.

"Are you making so tea?" The Captain asked and he nodded. "Can I have so too?" His words were soft, and soothed sothing inside of Kellen. He motioned for him to follow him into the kitchen as Kellen pulled down another mug and prepared a mug for him. Handing him the already steeped cup, Kellen took the newer cup and headed for the couch, the Captain following behind him. The Captain took his ti though, making sure to turn off the kitchen lights before joining Kellen to look out the large windows before them. They sat in silence, and the Captain slowly wrapped his arms around Kellen’s shoulder. Without even a second thought, Kellen tucked his head into the space against the Captain’s chest that the Captain had made for him, and sighed.

"It’s been a long week." Kellen said, and the Captain made a noise of agreent.

"Usually my weeks aren’t this eventful." He told him, and Kellen chuckled.

"What? You don’t normally have an Esper almost surge in at a Guiding Center, deal with that, find your pair, stop a terrorist attack, deal with the side effects of that, buy the rights to a gate, comfort your pair and then have dinner with almost everyone you know? That sounds like a normal Tuesday to ." Kellen joked, and the Captain chuckled as well.

"Well, I don’t mind the comforting parts, but the others I could do without." Kellen paused.

"Wait, you guys didn’t talk about the gate in detail if I rember correctly. Did you manage to in the ti I was away from you? Did you hear back from the scouting team?" He asked and the Captain sighed.

"Yes, we did, but we don’t need to talk about that tonight. We’ve already spoken about a lot, and that can wait for tomorrow." Kellen wanted to protest, especially since they wanted him for this new gate, but after taking a sip of his tea, he knew the Captain was right. His head already felt heavy even as they sat here, and he knew he couldn’t handle much more. He could already feel himself trying to nod off.

"As much as I’d like to finish this, I think my body is telling it’s bedti." He said, and the Captain took both of their mugs and placed them on the coffee table. He offered Kellen his hand.

"Shall we then?" He asked, and Kellen stared at his hand for a mont before he reached out, placing his hand in his.

"Sure." He responded, before the Captain led them upstairs. It was awkward for Kellen at first, since he wasn’t used to having others in his space. He stepped into the closet to change, and realised he hadn’t done a goddamn thing about these damn boxes on the floor. He wasn’t normally one to leave a ss anywhere, so it surprised him he’d let it go for so long. He quietly kicked the boxes underneath the shelves, and prayed the Captain wouldn’t notice what he’d done. He stripped down, not drunk at all after everything that had happened downstairs. The Captain did the sa thing beside him, until the two of them were in their boxers. Kellen thought better of it, and grabbed a pair of sweats to sleep in, and Kellen offered him a slightly larger pair of sweats Kellen kept for whenever he got a little bulkier. The Captain accepted them with a chuckle. Once that awkwardness was passed, Kellen gestured for the Captain to get into bed first while he went to turn off the light. The Captain couldn’t stop his grin as he laid in Kellen’s bed, chest bare and muscles well defined against the black of his sheets. Kellen turned off the light, moving towards the bed and cursing when he smacked his foot against the bed fra.

"If you had flicked the lights off and on again, I could have just turned them off from the bed." The Captain told him as Kellen rustled the sheets, getting in.

"Couldn’t have told that sooner, could you?" Kellen muttered, and the Captain reached for him, still chuckling. In seconds Kellen found himself wrapped in his arms, cuddled against his chest.

"I’ll try to rember that for next ti. For now, sleep. We’re both exhausted." He planted a kiss on Kellen’s forehead, and as much as he knew in the back of his mind that he shouldn’t be okay with this position so quickly, Kellen felt himself relaxing. Soon, he found himself asleep in the Captain’s arms.