(BL) Hunting The Field Guide - Chapter 103

Chapter 103: No intimate moments in front of me Chapter 103: No intimate moments in front of me It was around this time that Kellen’s Mom came rushing in, two laptop bags on her shoulders, a small paper bag on her arm, and a tray filled with drinks.  “Kellen sweetie, can you help me please?” Before he could move, an Esper rushed to her side in the blink of an eye.  “Let me help you, Mrs.

Woods.” She offered with a tired smile, and Mom didn’t fight her like Kellen almost expected.

The Esper helped his Mom put all of her things down in the same spot she had taken up before, before disappearing back into the swarm of people in the room.

She made her way over with the paper bag and the tray.

Uncle Tom’s face broke into a smile.

“Ah, Ellie.

I didn’t realise you were helping, but I should have known.

You can’t keep your nose out of anything.” It sounded like a dig, even as his Mom and Uncle Tom laughed.  “Oh, you know me.

I can’t leave my children alone for a second.

Speaking of, I got you an earl gray tea, and I got you one too, Rhys.

I didn’t know how you would like it, so I got them to make it exactly like Kellen’s in case you didn’t like it.” The Captain took the to-go cup with a smile, giving a slight nod in thanks.  “I appreciate it Mrs.

Woods.” The Captain looked over the label stamped on the cup and blinked a few times, same with Kellen as he took the cup.

He’d forgone his usual morning ritual to be here, so having the tea was some comfort.  “Uh, Mom?

It’s four am.

How did you manage to get-” She pressed a finger against Kellen’s lips, her smile widening.  “Don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the real answer to.” She patted his cheek before turning to head back to her spot.

“Oh, and Tom?

I’m always going to be by my children’s side, especially if they are both going to get involved with the gates.

My husband and I both agree that even if we are old timers, we will gladly offer up any information or connection we have to support them.” It was a threat.

Kellen knew it, and so did everyone else.

Uncle Tom laughed.  “I understand Ellie.

I’ve known that since you were stuck to Kellen’s hip as he was going through his original rounds of retesting.” Kellen flinched at the mention, and the Captain wrapped his arm around Kellen’s waist, pulling him against his side in comfort.

He leaned his head against Kellen’s shoulder, and for some reason that helped soothe the racing heart that bringing up his dark past awoke.  “I’m with Mrs.

Woods on this.

As long as Kellen and his sister continue to be on the front lines and want to help others, they have my support.

As their Captain, and as their family.” The Captain declared, and Sakura whistled.

When Kellen glanced back at his Mom, he found her smiling at the Captain warmly.  “Well said, future son-in-law.

Either way, I’m going to be over in my spot, trying to get any assistance we can from my international ties.

The Ramses Guild has already been in contact.” The newer, younger Captain’s seemed surprised by that, while Uncle Tom wasn’t.  “So soon?” Captain Sakura asked, and Kellen’s Mom chuckled.  “Yes.

Like us, they keep tabs on everything internationally.

Especially since we reached out to them for information on their gate.

It would be a big deal if this gate exploded, since it would expand the no mans land in the middle of what used to be one country even further.

Hell, I’m sure we’re not saying it, but this whole side could become inhospitable.” She said it with a joyful tone, but her eyes were purple, and dead serious.  She was right.

Glancing around at the faces on the screens, Kellen could tell that everyone was worried about it.

Kellen was too.

If they lost to the gate, and it exploded, who fucking knew what would happen.

One thing that was for sure, the whole city was doomed.

There were several smaller outcroppings around them that would also be doomed.

If they took the map of the affected area from the D Class poison gate, and then multiplied it by probably 100%, she was right.  The whole area would likely be gone.

Or at least, filled with a poisonous gas that no one could live in.

Not even normal monsters, only undead.

And with all the dead bodies that were probably still buried here even after the cremation regulation had passed….

It was a nightmare scenario.  “Thank you for such a pleasant thought, Mrs.

Woods, but I promise you we will do our best to prevent that.” Captain Sergei chimed it, after everyone had a moment to fall into their worst nightmare.

Kellen’s Mom chuckled.  “Well, I suppose out of everyone, you wouldn’t want that to happen, would you Captain Sergei?” His face hardened, while Kellen’s Mom snorted and headed back to her seat.

Kellen, who had no idea what she was talking about, grew curious about what she knew about Captain Sergei.

He wanted to know, but the Captain’s grip on him tightened, not allowing him to turn around.  “Let’s go through the safety protocols now that the gate has returned some of the scouting team to us.

This is a new gate type for us, so let’s make sure that everything is fine tuned and that everyone has clear, easy to understand directions.” The Captain suggested, much to the relief of the others.

It was well known that there was a bit of animosity between Captain Sergei and the Captain, so if anyone was going to needle him, it would have been him.

The fact that he dropped it?

It meant that outing Captain Sergei was the least of his concerns.

Captain Sergei let out a sigh, before nodding, and the group that controlled the area began their evacuation and emergency meeting in earnest.  ~ About 30 minutes later, Brent showed up, his arm in his hand, his hair everywhere, panting like he’d run down several flights of stairs.  “Fuck, I am so sorry.

I only woke up just now.” He told Kellen, who had spun to see him.

Looking him over, Kellen could tell that his uniform wasn’t on correctly with several of the buttons not done up at all.

Kellen chuckled, putting his cup down to make his way over to the Guide.

Kellen paused him in the doorway and began straightening him out, much to everyone’s surprise but Kellen and Brent.  “It wasn’t so urgent that you needed to come here to embarrass me.” Brent snorted and watched as Kellen’s fingers moved adeptly over the button holes, fixing Brent easily.

It wasn’t his first time, and likely wouldn’t be his last.  “I’m not here to embarrass you.

I’m here to help.” Brent grumbled, and Kellen chuckled.  “You look like a five year old.

All your buttons are out of sorts, and you’re holding your arm in your hand like you’re a Lego man.

Do you want me to help you put it on?” He asked, and Brent sighed.  “I would, if the Captain wasn’t glaring daggers at me.” Kellen blinked, before turning and finding the Captain smiling at them widely.

Kellen, confused, glanced back at Brent whose shoulders had begun to shake.

“You can’t lie to me, Captain Thatcher.

I’m not trying to steal your man.” The Captain made his way over, halting the meeting to yank Kellen none too gently away from his fellow Field Guide.

Kellen’s eyes were wide as he stared up at the smiling face of his Esper.  “If you’d be so kind as to not have intimate moments with others in front of me, I would appreciate it.

Especially when we are in a large, public space, and I can’t punish you without getting an earful from your mother.” Said Mother burst into laughter at the Captain’s cheerful words, while Brent laughed loudly from beside them.

Kellen was holding onto the arm that had wrapped around his waist, and found himself still blinking up at the man.  “Kellen didn’t mean it that way, you know that, right?” The Captain turned his gaze to Brent who had spoken, and Kellen watched as the yellow in his eyes brightened.

Brent bent over, laughing.

“And I didn’t either, alright?

Kellen’s my only close friend.

At this point, we’re basically blood brothers.

He was looking out for me like an older brother would for his kid brother.

He likes to fuss over people he cares about.

Has he done that for you yet?” The Captain’s gaze slowly dimmed back to a normal shade of yellow, before he nodded.

Kellen flushed.  He was no doubt remembering the date they had gone on, where Kellen had been constantly straightening his shirt, making sure he had everything he needed, making sure he was hydrated and wasn’t hungry since Kellen didn’t feel hunger.

Kellen would have been more embarrassed by his behaviour if the Captain hadn’t seemed over the moon by it.

The grip the Captain had on him tightened slightly.  “You once said you used to flirt with Kellen a lot, Guide Jameson.” Brent snorted at the formal way he was addressing him, rolling his eyes at the pair before him.  “That was forever ago!” It was six months ago.

“Besides, he’s like, really my superior now, and I learned my lesson the hard way.

Keep your dick away from authority unless you can handle it, and I cannot.

Plus, Kellen would kill me now that he has a pair, and to soothe your worries, he’s never looked at anyone but you, Captain.” Kellen’s face went up like a lightbulb, and he covered it quickly.

Not before seeing the Captain’s blank expression at Brent’s words.

“What do you mean by that?” He asked, since Brent had known and been beside Kellen on the front lines, unlike the rest.

Kellen peeked at Brent, and watched as he shifted his stance, a smirk on his lips.

The scar on his face turned his expression into something fierce, and someone who didn’t know him would think he was going to say something murderous.

Unfortunately for Kellen, that wasn’t the case.  “The whole time I’ve known him, Kellen’s been a one type kinda guy.

He’s always wanted someone slightly taller than him, with dark hair, glowing y-” Kellen lunged at Brent, covering his mouth with his hands and the fellow Guide laughed.

Kellen knew he probably looked insane with his bright red face, and the expression he had no idea he was making, but he truly didn’t want him to finish his words.

The Captain’s laughter filled his ears behind him.  “Ah, so you told others your type?” The Captain asked, and Kellen wanted a hole to swallow him.

He ducked his head, knowing that he was probably shaking from embarrassment and Brent pushed his hands away from his mouth with the prosthetic he still had in his hand.  “I didn’t think you would have told him.

You’ve been making better progress than I thought.

Good job Kellen.” It felt patronizing, and Kellen groaned.  “I should have let you sleep.” Kellen muttered, and Brent chuckled.  “Nah.

I think we all needed a little break from all the doom and gloom.

Thanks for offering yourself up on a silver platter.

Now, have we identified them yet?” Brent asked, quickly getting into business mode.  Kellen wasn’t as quick as him to get back into the seriousness of the situation.

Unlike Brent, Kellen didn’t go out of his way to get into awkward, romantic situations, so it took him a bit longer to gather himself.

The Captain, however, seemed well versed, just like Brent, since he joined Brent in front of the screens with the other Captains as Brent asked his questions.  At first, the others seemed slightly confused who Brent was.

It made sense.

Kellen had mostly referred to Brent in passing so if they had met him, it had probably been right before a mission.

Brent had also stuck to his word about not sleeping with authority figures since that awful incident inside of a gate when he’d first started working with Kellen.  But, as Brent spoke more, and it was clear he knew what he was talking about, they seemed to relax.

Captain Sergei offered his condolences to Brent, since it was clear that he knew those who had gone into the gate, and Brent waved his free hand, having put down the prosthetic.  “Don’t worry about it.

I’m not like Kellen.

Sure, I knew everyone, but I don’t keep the peace like he does.

I’m not going to speak ill of the dead, but let’s just say we never saw eye to eye.” He winked, before getting serious again.

Once Kellen had calmed down enough, he finally joined them, taking a sip of his tea before rolling Brent’s sleeve up and helping him slot his arm on.

Brent winced only slightly as it locked into place, before testing if it had connected to his nerve endings.

Kellen and everyone else watched as Brent slowly opened and closed his hand a few times, took the glove off and checked to make sure all the components were in working order, before putting the glove back on.  “That’s neat.

I didn’t know you knew how to work with mechanics, Kellen.” Sakura said, and Kellen laughed.  “I don’t.

Brent taught me how to put his arm on because sometimes he takes it off in gates when it gets too painful.

It’s also such an expensive piece of equipment that we don’t want to leave it behind, so, I know how to help him put it on.” Brent nodded.  “There’s no other meaning behind it, Captain Thatcher.” He teased, and the Captain lightly smacked the man on his head.

Brent whimpered like it actually hurt, before laughing at the Captain’s quickly concerned expression.

“Kidding, kidding.

You two are soooo serious.

I’ve got my questions answered for now.

I’m assuming our lessons are postponed?” Kellen nodded, just as Casper came into the room, in a similar state that Brent had entered.  “I would assume so, yes.” Kellen confirmed, and he nodded.  “I’ll head down to the office and grab our laptop then, and help Hill or something.” He waved as he left everyone’s view, and Kellen knew he was going to have to answer some questions once the seriousness of the day was over.

Particularly from Sakura.

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS CalyB Kellen has a lot of things he needs to remember to get clarification on later.

Hopefully, he remembers, before he gets distracted.