(BL) Hunting The Field Guide - Chapter 225

Chapter 225: My heart dropped out of my chest with the Captain Chapter 225: My heart dropped out of my chest with the Captain Captain Rhys Thatcher was a man known for his logic and reasoning skills.

Sure, there were times where things went…off the tracks, but that could be forgiven.

He was an S Class, after all, and that came with some weird side effects.  His mood swings were one of them.  He still hadn’t fully figured out what influenced them.

Was it his lust?

Or lack of it?

He wasn’t quite sure, but he did know that Kellen had always had a way to affect him.

In good, and bad ways.  On the front lines Rhys would admit that he had turned into a monster.

Kellen played a role in that.

For 7 years the two of them had danced around each other and Rhys wasn’t sure if it would have been any better if he had acted.

He felt that if he had tasted Kellen too soon he would have ruined him, and ruined the new relationship that they were developing.  It was so…precious, and new, and so unlike anything Rhys had had before.  He wasn’t going to call Kellen a prude, but the man was stubborn.

If he wanted something, he would focus all of his attention into that one thing for as long as it took for him to accomplish that task.

Rhys admired that drive, but it did mean that Kellen ended up neglecting a fairly major part of his life.  His romantic life.  Rhys wasn’t complaining.

He liked being practically the first of everything Kellen had experienced, but he also knew that it wasn’t good for the part of him that was a damn monster.  The part that never wanted to let Kellen go.

Lock him up somewhere ‘safe’.

Clip his wings.

Keep him in a cage.

He can still be beautiful even if we smother him.  Most days, that voice was pretty quiet, but for some reason, it wasn’t as quiet today.

It might have to do with Kellen’s slightly odd behaviour in the morning.

And that Kellen was leaving the Guild on his own to visit Guiding Centers.  The same places that took Kellen away from him in the first place.  Rhys knew his gaze had to be fever bright and possibly blinding.

Gunther and Hill were wincing, trying to make eye contact with him, while the other staff weren’t even trying.

He felt bad, but there was nothing he could do.

Not with his emotions riding him this hard.

He just had to be the calm, respectful boyfriend, or he was going to scare Kellen away.  God.

It felt so good, yet so strange to be able to call him that.

His boyfriend.

Kellen was his boyfriend.

He was Kellen’s boyfriend.

They had mutual feelings for each other.

He wasn’t pining after a man who didn’t love him.  It felt like the last seven years meant nothing.

All the hardship, pain, sleepless nights were gone.

Now, it was the way the man twitched in his sleep, and furrowed his brow when Rhys got too far away from him in his sleep.

His warmth, his touch, everything about Kellen meant the world to him.

Rhys was just…happy.

He could honestly say he was happy for the first time in his life.  Kellen was so diligent too.

He had made a schedule, and kept to it.

Which meant that Rhys could ambush him when he knew the man wasn’t going to accept his help without force.  It was so cute that Kellen thought that he could outwit Rhys.

Rhys had told him that since Kellen was now intertwined with his fate that he couldn’t see his future, but that wasn’t quite the truth.  He could see some things, the same way he could see some of his fate.

But it was sporadic, and one of the other Time Espers that he had spoken to told him that focusing on himself would only make him go crazy faster.

So he rarely did it, and that Esper had long since succumbed to his own powers.  Rhys was happy that Kellen even picked out the car that he had made for him.

He’d selected everything for the car tirelessly, hoping that he’d be able to gift it as a birthday present to him last year, but with everything that had happened, him leaving, it just hadn’t happened.

He also hadn’t gotten close enough to him to be able to gift him anything.  Rhys wouldn’t lie to himself and say he didn’t also avoid Kellen on the front lines.  But being able to be there with Kellen as his eyes lit up as he looked over the car?

Rhys would be thinking about it for days.

He was so happy that it had gone over so well.

Even when Kellen had flushed and given him a hug.

It was the best outcome he could think of.  And then he had to go about his day, constantly checking his phone for updates.

When Kellen messaged him about how he had been treated upon arriving at Guiding Center C, his heart had nearly dropped out of his chest.  Who the fuck were they to treat his pair like that?  It didn’t help his temper in the slightest that he was taking it all in stride.

He even seemed amused about it all.

It was a great insult to him, and to Rhys the way they were treating him.

Knowing that things could go badly, Rhys demanded that Hill have the best A Class Esper in the building be on standby for Kellen’s use if need be.  Which was how he was able to hear the phone call to Green from across the conference room.

He was just tuned into anything involving Kellen.

Whatever had happened at the Guiding Center warranted a huge amount of shakes being sent that way.

Rhys didn’t like it, so he forced the Esper who had been on standby to deliver them.  That way he felt a little bit better.

He couldn’t be there, because Kellen would be furious with him if he went there in person, but he could be there in spirit.

In support.

In any way that Kellen would allow.

It was a small blessing that Esper Blake had his number, and sent small, but informative texts to him as the two of them spent time together.

Rhys got to know everything that Kellen was up to.

Including how cool he looked standing up to the Guiding Center Manager and how he had helped the young Guide who was clearly getting used.

Rhys, who’d had some interaction with Esper Blake before this, began to realise that he needed to get to know her better.  If she was this good at doing in the moment field reports, he could use her in other avenues in the same way.  But it was over an hour later before he heard anything else from Esper Blake.

He tried not to panic in that hour, and it was a good thing that Green and the others were around him in the conference room, otherwise the rest of the staff would have suffered.  Green was the best at talking him down at this moment.

She knew Kellen the best, at least in regards to his personality.

He was probably in a meeting, or they had been separated for safety reasons.

He was going to the Sakura Guild, so there was a chance Esper Blake couldn’t go where he was going.

Simple things, but they were able to soothe him.  That was, until the panicked phone call came through to Green.  Green saw her phone was ringing while she was mid conversation with Hill.

Seeing that it was Esper Blake, she smirked, showed it to the small group, before answering.

And all hell broke loose.  “Green!

We need you!

Guide Woods’ Dad was shot!” Rhys was already moving, grabbing Green as her whole face went white.

Rhys didn’t even think, not hesitating to use his abilities.

His arm around Green’s waist, he brought them to the Medical Bay by memory, and Green was on the move.

Whatever made her go white didn’t matter.

She was a professional, and she made sure to sound the alarm to the rest of her teammates as Rhys took over the phone call.  “Where?” He demanded, and Esper Blake regained herself hearing her Captain speak.  “We’re right outside the D.E.C.

Fuck, it’s bad.

The throat.

Guide Woods is doing his best, but…” She trailed off, and Rhys clenched his jaw.

Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck.  “Green!

Hurry up!” Rhys bellowed, closing her phone and shoving it in his pocket.

Green came rushing around the corner with a large case covered in a traditional red cross.

She held out her hand, and Rhys took it.  They were both expecting chaos when they arrived, but it was worse than they thought.  Kellen had his head down, covering another’s body almost completely, and Esper Blake was covering the rest.

A shield invisible to the naked eye, but could be felt covered the whole area.

It had to be Esper Blake doing that, and from the way her eyes swirled when she met their gaze, it was using a lot of power.  The D.E.C.

members were already there, but Rhys paid no attention to them.

Nor did Green.

Instead, she covered Kellen’s hands where he was holding his Father’s neck together and began pouring power into the wound.

Rhys did his best to slow down the reversal of time, giving her more time to work.  Rhys could tell that Kellen wasn’t fully with them.

His eyes were too glazed, too wet, and his jaw was slack.

He wasn’t shaking simply because that wasn’t something he should do.

He was in shock, and functioning on autopilot.  “Kellen, we’re here.” Rhys told him, his heart breaking for this man.

He was covered in blood, his normal uniform soaked with it.

Rhys wasn’t sure who all that blood belonged to, but he prayed none of it was Kellen’s.  When Green began making demands, Kellen’s body moved stiffly, his movements painful.

It was hard for Rhys to watch him, but he knew he couldn’t do anything.

When Green’s members arrived and began to help her, probably with the aid of Hill or someone else, Kellen relaxed slightly.  Kellen only seemed to relax when he saw his blood go into his Father.  “Esper Blake.” Rhys called and she made eye contact with him.

She was clearly very upset, but doing her job.

They would have a talk about what she knew after.

“Call his Mom.

Use my phone.” Rhys tossed his cellphone to her, and she nodded.

It was unlocked by the time it landed in her hands, and Esper Blake did as she was told.

Rhys needed to focus on Kellen.  “Did someone call my Mother?” Kellen’s weak voice asked, and Rhys’ heart ached.

This man was barely held together, and he was still worrying about others.

They’d have to have a long conversation about this later.  “Of course.

She’s on her way.” Rhys told him, and Kellen nodded.

He was watching the blood transfusion as if entranced, and was clearly causing problems for Green now as his eyes glowed sky blue.

Everything was stressful, but fine up until this point.

Rhys even tried comforting the man slightly.  Until the Captain watched his face drain of all colour and he fainted.  Rhys couldn’t breathe as he realised that Kellen had been shot.

He hadn’t noticed the gunshot wound since Kellen had been hiding it.

Whether intentional or not, Kellen was giving up his blood that his body needed.  “Green!

Kellen’s shot!” Rhys’ normally calm voice grew panicked, and Green’s eyes went wide.

She was barely able to patch up the wound on his Father’s neck, and now she had to deal with a new wound.  “Fuck.

Get something to clot the blood right fucking now!” She ordered, as the Captain lay Kellen out on the cement, holding both men in a stable state until Green could get to Kellen.

The skin she was making on Kellen’s Father’s neck still looked too thin, too light.

It could break at any moment, and Rhys knew he was in more danger, but Kellen was his number one priority.

Always would be.  But Kellen would hate him if he pulled her away right now.

And he couldn’t live with that more.  So, he stayed.

He waited his turn, holding the quiet man in his arms, his body shaking as he watched the wound still trickle blood.

Esper Blake had taken over for the blood transfusion role, as Green already knew Mr.

Woods blood type, and it was only a few minutes later that Kellen’s Mother arrived.

She took one look at her son and her husband and nearly collapsed, before a wave of power washed over everyone there.

Rhys was the only one who was able to stabilize her, and once she realised how she had reacted, she tempered herself.

Her eyes were soulless as she stared at her husband.

As if there would be no reason to live if he didn’t exist in this world.

Rhys understood.

If the roles were reversed, he wasn’t sure what he would do.

Kellen was in danger, but he didn’t have a gunshot wound in the neck.  It was eerie watching them, because it felt like that would be them in about 20 years.

Kellen would do something stupid, and Rhys would have to bear witness to it.

Unable to stop it.

Rhys’ arms clenched around the man he held, his heart a slow, forced steady beat.

Otherwise, he was sure he would go crazy in the silence.

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS CalyB How much do you think the Captain’s insanity went up from this event alone?

It was sped up by 3 days?

4?

Who knows.