(BL) Hunting The Field Guide - Chapter 330

Chapter 330: This feels like the calm before the storm Chapter 330: This feels like the calm before the storm Kellen’s body strained against the weight he moved, his body covered in sweat as he continued to push the weight up and down over and over.

The burn, the feel of his muscles moving, the soft exhale from his lips, all of it calmed his mind.  Kellen finished his set before he rested the weights, and sat back, exhaling quickly as his heart beat steadily in his chest.

He had missed this.

The simple act of moving his body, getting results that he expected.

He hadn’t realised that it had caused him anxiety to not be able to work out, but now that he was back here, it really felt true.  Brent’s form crossed the glass front of the gym, before he headed for the door.

Brent didn’t have his arm on, and he waved once inside, a grin on his face.  “Good to see you here again.

Did you come yesterday too?” He asked and Kellen nodded, wiping his face with a towel.  “You weren’t here though.” Kellen gave him a pointed look and Brent shrugged his shoulders, a playful grin on his face.  “I had a visitor.

Couldn’t leave them in my bed cold, now could I?” Kellen, for once, understood his ramblings.

It had been…difficult to get up and leave Rhys alone in the bed.

Brent, picking up on Kellen’s silence, and the fact that he didn’t reprimand Brent for not showing up yesterday snorted.

He gave Kellen a look, his green eyes dancing as he looked over him.  Kellen wasn’t hiding anything, especially since he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

His abs weren’t as defined as they used to be, but that was only a matter of time.

What was striking were the small marks all over his body, clearly made by a human.

They weren’t related to the scars that also peppered his body, and Brent let out a harsh laugh.  “Can’t say anything because you look like that, or can’t say anything to my words because you agree?” Brent teased, grabbing a water bottle from the minifridge before coming to sit near Kellen on a bench.

He clearly wasn’t going to be doing any exercises with the bar today, and instead was going to focus on his lower body.  “It’s more…I’m just realising a lot of things at once.

I’ve said some rather harsh things to you over the time that I’ve known you, simply because I couldn’t understand where you were coming from.

I’m sorry for that.” Brent’s eyes went wide at Kellen’s rather sincere apology, the water bottle half raised to his lips.  ‘Holy hell.

Getting a boyfriend really did a number on you huh?

Is his dick that good?” Kellen, not really knowing what that meant, gave Brent a strange look and Brent snorted.

“Never mind.

Don’t answer that.

I think that’s the one thing I would not like to know, because if it is, I’ll never be able to get it.

Plus, if I ever looked at him that way, you would make me a training dummy.” Brent said and Kellen felt his lips twitch.  “You’ve never looked at him like you look at everyone else?” Kellen couldn’t believe him, and watching Brent hesitate, he knew that was the case.

Brent put down the bottle, running his hand through his hair before he glanced over at Kellen, his gaze narrowed.  “I did, before I really knew you.

The man is everywhere, you understand that, right?

He’s not just big in this small town.

You’re going to have to fight-” Brent cut off, looking over Kellen, who sat with his back straight, his abs on display, looking like a damn work of art in a pair of sweatpants and snorted.

“Well, you might have to fight in the first place, until others realise they just can’t compete with you.” Brent laughed, shaking his head as he looked over at Kellen and his scrunched up expression.  “I really don’t like hearing that.

I’m having enough trouble as it is with the silly games Guiding Center A is playing.

I swear, if I see that damn Guide again…” Kellen trailed off, his jaw tensing and Brent snorted.  “If you could see yourself right now, you’d tell yourself to calm down.

Me?

Eat those dumbasses for lunch.

Anyone who messes with your pair deserves what they get.

No one who saw you two dancing around each other on the front lines and saw the signs would get in your way.” Kellen frowned at Brent’s words.  “It wasn’t that obvious, was it?” Brent shook his head.  “No.

You two are both stubborn, so only a few noticed.

But those that did?

We made sure to warn the others that you two were -essentially- taken.

Neither one of you noticed either, which I think is funny knowing what powers the Captain has.

That, or he didn’t care about what we were doing.” Brent shifted, turning towards Kellen.

“Didn’t you notice a decrease in Espers trying to hit on you?” Kellen stared at Brent for a long moment.  “Brent, I didn’t think anyone was hitting on me.” Kellen reminded him and Brent chuckled, nodding.  “Right.

Obvious Kellen.

There was another reason why you were celibate.” Kellen didn’t like hearing that old nickname from Brent, but he grinned, reaching out and giving Kellen’s shoulder a squeeze.

“Hey, don’t make that face!

It’s not true anymore, right?

So I’m sure it’ll fade over time.

Now, let’s get to work, get a sweat on, and then crush today.

You got any weird stuff I should know about today?” Brent asked and Kellen was glad that things felt…normal.

He would have to tell Brent about the Charlie situation, mainly because he knew Brent would never tell anyone else, and he needed someone else to keep an eye on him.  He knew he shouldn’t tell his parents, and the fewer people who knew, the better, but Brent was different.  Brent was his Gunther, his Hill.

He couldn’t leave him out of the loop, and Rhys wouldn’t hold that against him.

Plus, Brent was probably going to be one of the people who had the most contact with Charlie outside of the main core.

The reason why Kellen wasn’t telling his parents was because they hadn’t signed a contract with the Guild.  He knew that they were his parents, but some things just needed to be protected.

Rhys’ hard work, his child, was one of them.

His parents, also an Esper and Guide, would understand that.  ~ The day went smoothly.

No hiccups, no bumps, nothing unexpected.

Kellen began to lay the groundwork for the conversation with Gunther, and it started with him sitting down in front of a therapist that his other therapist recommended to him.  It had just been a simple introduction session, just to see if they would fit together, but Kellen had found that it was a decent fit, and because of it, scheduled another meeting again later that week.

The therapist also happened to be someone that the Saturn Guild had a contract with.

They didn’t work out of the same building, but nearby in one of the office buildings around the Guild, meaning it was a relatively safe option.  Kellen told Rhys about them, explained how he went about the process, and heavily implied that he needed to go to therapy too.

Rhys had laughed off Kellen’s suggestion, but as the day progressed and Kellen had been dropping hints whenever they saw each other, Rhys eventually caved later in the evening, when the two of them were wrapped around each other, the sky was dark, and passions had been spent.  Kellen felt it was a small victory, but he felt a looming sense of unease the longer that this dragged on.

Casper couldn’t avoid Gunther for forever, and it was clear that Gunther was getting worse as time went on.

The bruise had healed by now, and he wasn’t an idiot.  He never had been, he was just damaged.

He knew something was wrong, but no one was talking to him about what was wrong.

That had to have been part of the reason why Rhys had relented to therapy, at least, it had to have played a role.  Kellen knew that it had to have weighed heavily on Rhys.

The guilt of not realising how much his oldest friend was hurting.

Kellen could understand that.  If Taylor came to him and said the same thing, Kellen wouldn’t know what to do with himself.

As it stood, nothing like that had happened, and Taylor’s parents were busy, but they weren’t abusive.

Kellen had seen them throughout most of his childhood, so he knew that they were there for her, and supported her.  Brent?

Well, that was up for debate.

Kellen had a feeling that Gunther, Hill and Brent shared a lot in common, but that none of them were willing to admit it.  Kellen was happy to note that the Guides who had come into the Guild were fitting in well, and he was it was thanks to his companions from Guiding Center B.

Charlie, under Casper’s watchful eye, also mingled with them.  Charlie had been warned, twice, once by Casper and once by Kellen, that he should not disclose that he was an S Class Guide to anyone.

It was only when Kellen had insisted for the umpteenth time that Charlie finally asked why.  Kellen didn’t think sugarcoating the words would help him, since it appeared that Charlie had had that his whole life, so he told him the truth.  S Class Guides were rare.

If someone knew that he was an S Class Guide, they could try to steal him away against his will, and force him into a life that he did not want.

Kellen did not want that for Charlie, and thus, for his own safety, he needed to pretend to be a C Class Guide.

Hell, even a B Class Guide.

He just could not be an S Class Guide until he had more experience under his belt, and more things in place to make sure he was safe.  Charlie, who had never gone to Guide school, who had never even seen the inside of a classroom, stared at Kellen, before his gaze had slid to Casper.

Casper’s expression had also been serious, and after that, Charlie had swallowed, nodded, and asked about what kind of things could happen to him.  Kellen had explained it, especially the forced imprinting, and everything that entailed without getting gross.

Charlie had got a little pale, but it was clear that by the end of it, his eyes clear, he told them that he understood their caution.

He was appreciative of their kindness, and was eager to get to a point that both of them considered ‘safe’.  Kellen had breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he understood what was at stake, and that he wasn’t going to fight them about it.

Charlie wasn’t an idiot.

How else had he survived whatever hell he’d been in to get here?  The two had told him who he could trust with his secret.

It was a small list, and when Kellen’s parents weren’t included, Charlie’s face had clearly shown confusion.

Kellen had explained his reasoning, the lack of a contract, and the fact that they probably had made their own assumptions, having been friends with several other S Classes over the years, but it was better for now, for them to not know for sure.  Charlie didn’t seem to get this point, but respected Kellen’s opinions, and after they had finished having this serious conversation, they did tell him that another week of rest, and they would consider rotating him into the Guiding Division.  It was a good motivation for him, and Charlie had grown excited.  If only everything was this simple.

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS CalyB Fully healed, thriving, in his lane.

Kellen now has time, and the ability to clearly think and care about everyone else, especially now that Casper is back to work, the Guide Division has been…filled, and things seem to be going in the right direction.