(BL) Hunting The Field Guide - Chapter 355

Chapter 355: Caught in the act
Kellen and the others finished off the cheesecakes that Brent had brought. During that time, Kellen and Casper had come a little bit more out of their shaken states, but not by much. The sugar did seem to help soothe everyone though, and even Brent was a little less prickly then he had been downstairs.

Casper, looking pale and gaunt, had made his way over to Kellen’s side. He snuggled in next to Kellen under his blanket, and both of them were being taken care of by Kellen’s Dad’s gentle hand, and Brent’s rougher one. Casper leaned his head against Kellen’s shoulder, closing his eyes as he was tucked against him and Kellen was pleased that the man found so much comfort in him. Kellen was feeling exactly the same as Casper was.

Thankfully, Kellen’s Dad kept a pulse on the situation. He was working both sides, Kellen’s Mom, and the media. Brent was also keeping an eye, while Charlie made sure the t.v. was on but nothing related to the current issue at hand was playing. Something non serious like a cartoon was playing. Taylor was also letting them know that no one had shown up yet, messaging Brent, Kellen, Casper and Kellen’s Dad to keep them all in the loop.

Kellen was regretting the actions he had taken up until this point. He should have told Casper ahead of time, but there was only so much he could do now. He had thought that he wouldn’t want to know about Gunther’s plan, that he might even get in the way of it. Now? He felt like an asshole. It was clear that even if Casper had put on a brave face before, but he still had feelings for Gunther.

Kellen should have known better. He had liked Rhys, whether he was aware of it or not for the better part of 7 years, Casper probably had a similar, if not a longer time of liking Gunther. Getting rid of those kinds of feelings wasn’t anything easy. Kellen knew this, since even when he had hidden them from himself, they still influenced his actions. Casper had been aware of his feelings this whole time. Kellen could only begin to imagine what it must have been like to see the screen turn to their fight without any knowledge of it ahead of time. Seeing the two of them pummel each other probably hadn’t helped either of them.

Kellen wanted to apologise, but then again, he hadn’t been the full force behind making that decision. Everyone had thought it was the better option. Everyone. Kellen had a feeling that from a lieutenant standpoint, somewhere inside of Casper he understood why they had kept it from him. That didn’t mean he wasn’t devastated by the consequences of everyone else’s actions.

Charlie was the most awkward one here. He was watching the t.v., trying to help out where he could. Kellen’s Dad was giving him things to do, Brent was gruffly ordering him around while patting him on the shoulder, and he was making sure that Casper and Kellen had everything that they could need. He’d even managed to get himself a cup of hot chocolate. Kellen didn’t even think he had hot chocolate in the house, but he had proved him wrong.

Charlie hadn’t been put to work yet in the Guild like he had come here to do, and Kellen had no plans to let him get to work. He had spoken to Taylor, letting her know the situation privately, and so she and Kellen were working together to keep him thinking that he needed more time. Currently, Charlie was trying to bulk up to put a bit more meat on his bones, and he was working out with the normal Field Guide class so that he could be supervised.

The Guides liked it since they had someone they could show off their skills to so it motivated them, and it meant that Kellen and Brent could keep an eye on him easier as well. Currently, since classes had been cancelled today, Charlie had nowhere else to go besides his own apartment. Kellen guessed that he had been with Casper when the news broke, and had followed him up when Casper had run here.

Kellen was grateful that his Dad and Brent were taking care of the work that he and Casper normally would, while also being disappointed in himself that he was so affected by this. He should be better than this. He should be able to handle this much. He was a damn Field Guide, and this shouldn’t have brought him down so easily.

At the same time, a nagging voice in the back of his head told him that he should have expected this. Sure, he’d gone to therapy before, but if you hide things and never deal with them even in that setting, it is hard for anyone to deal with them. Even with the tools therapy gives you.

~

It was around mid afternoon when the door to the apartment opened and in strolled the two perpetrators of all of Casper and Kellen’s anxiety and fear. Walking in, having not seen Taylor, covered in dust, blood, and who knows what else, they were chatting to each other as if they didn’t expect all of them to be in Kellen’s apartment. As if they expected after the stunt they pulled that no one would be here.

The idiots.

Rhys froze as soon as he stepped into the apartment, his eyes wide. He was mid taking off his shoes, while Gunther hadn’t even gotten that far. Gunther went pale as he realised the man he had been trying to avoid was here as well. His face was aghast, frozen, and Kellen couldn’t say he was much different.

Kellen felt a wave of emotions fill him and he wasn’t sure what he should do. He had to remind himself to breathe as he tried to take in the two Espers with his eyes. Should he move towards them quickly? Should he yell at them from here? He was at a loss as his heart twisted painfully in his chest.

Brent had an idea, and he marched over to the two men, shoving himself between them and the door immediately, crossing his arms and glaring at them. They were going to have to shove Brent aside to escape, or jump out the glass windows.

Casper let out a choked gasp next to him, before he was scrambling, tugging at the blanket around his shoulders. Kellen, shaken out of his own shock and emotions by Casper’s desperation, helped him get untangled. Charlie made sure he didn’t knock over any of the drinks on the coffee table while Kellen’s Dad watched on, his expression flat. Casper rushed towards Gunther, his legs nearly collapsing underneath him before he caught himself and made his way towards the Esper. Gunther looked like he was getting cornered by a large predator and Casper stopped a few steps away from him, raising both hands, shaking.

Both Espers looked absolutely fucking terrible. Kellen would say it. Rhys hadn’t fixed their outfits, their faces were all torn from their fists, their blood, both of it, covering them. The dust had to be when they were trying to run away from the paparazzi, Split lips, black eyes developing, the two of them had everything going on. Kellen’s gut was twisting, absolutely rumbling and rolling while he watched Casper stand before Gunther.

Gunther stared in shock as Casper gently, with shaking hands, touched his face. Casper let out a sob, and Gunther crumbled.

“Cas? Please don’t cry. I’m okay. I promise.” Gunther’s voice was soft, distressed as Casper continued to sob.

“You’re a fucking idiot.” Casper whispered, his lips shaking and Gunther glanced around the room, trying to see if anyone else would help him. Not a single Guide would. Not even Charlie.

He had been here to witness how both Casper and Kellen had been over the last few hours. He had no sympathy for the Espers who had left them in this state.

“Cas? W-We shouldn’t be-” Casper’s hand slid to Gunther’s ear, and he yanked it, bending the injured man in half and Gunther let out a shout. “Cas?! Can you let me go?” Gunther asked, wincing, as the pale-faced, shaking, more like trembling Casper began to move towards the door. Brent pulled out his phone.

“I’ll let her know.” Brent told Casper, and Gunther went even more pale.

“I-I’m not really supposed to be seen-” Gunther started and shut his mouth when he realised no one was on his side. Especially Brent and Casper.

“I’ll send her to your current rooms, Casper.” Brent said instead of answering Gunther, and that seemed to tell Rhys how fucked he was.

Kellen hadn’t even moved from the couch yet, the blanket still open from where Casper had scrambled out, and Rhys could see that Kellen was wearing his old Field Captain coat. He swallowed, his bright yellow gaze sliding to Gunther’s currently being dragged away form and he raised his hands in defeat.

“I can fix myself.” Rhys said and Kellen felt his face turn down in a frown as a deep, endless sigh left his lips.

“Have her come here, Brent. They both need to be tended to. Casper, you can use the bedroom first.” Kellen’s voice held a finality to it, and when Casper looked back at him, he nodded, his expression dark. Gunther looked like he hadn’t expected this situation. Rhys looked even more shocked. How Rhys thought he would get out of this situation surprised Kellen, and not in a good way. Rhys and Kellen were a pair. Partners. Boyfriends! He out of the two idiots should have expected that Kellen might react terribly to Rhys being battered and beaten on live television!

For Casper and Gunther? Honestly, no one had expected that reaction. They had expected Casper to avoid Gunther, not drag the man around by his ear as soon as he got injured. If he was looking for distance, he certainly was the one who had closed the gap, not Gunther. Kellen was going to keep that to himself until Casper was ready to talk about it, but he was going to support the man.

He’d get to use Kellen’s bedroom first to yell at Gunther. He was more of a flight risk. Kellen was going to drag Rhys to his own apartment and tear a strip off of him there.