(BL) Hunting The Field Guide - Chapter 67

Chapter 67: The party don’t start till Hill walks in Chapter 67: The party don’t start till Hill walks in The Captain, Casper and Gunther chose that time to come back to the group.

The Captain glanced around, wondering where Kellen’s family had gone without him until he spotted them in the hallway, fussing over their youngest.

Placing a hand on Kellen’s lower back, the Captain smirked as the man didn’t even notice he relaxed his shoulders, and stepped back into the touch.  “Guide Jameson, you look a little pale.

Is anything wrong?” The Captain asked, his tone full of concern.

Brent opened his mouth, about to respond genuinely, until he looked up and saw the way the Captain’s eyes sparkled over Kellen’s shoulder.

Brent’s lips formed into a straight line.  “Captain, if you’re going to overhear us talking, at least hide it.

That’s very rude.” Brent chastised, and the Captain smiled at the Guide.

Casper, who hadn’t been able to overhear, furrowed his brow in confusion, pushing his glasses up as they began to shift.

Gunther’s expression remained unchanged.  “What was Kellen lecturing Guide Jameson on?” Casper asked, and Brent was immediately offended.

Kellen’s face brightened with his smile, and so did the Captain’s.

Casper, who was being genuine, was still confused.

“What?

That’s the only thing that came to mind since Captain Thatcher was teasing you.

Was I wrong?” He asked, and Brent sighed.  “Well, not really.

It wasn’t so much of a lecture as a warning.” Brent admitted, and Kellen nodded.

Casper only seemed more confused, but pushed it to the back of his mind.  “What was everyone’s plan for the weekend?” Casper asked and Kellen looked around the group.

Brent shrugged, and so did Gunther.

The Captain had a smile on his face that Kellen didn’t trust.  “Nothing, really.

Maybe workout, hang out.

Nothing super interesting.” Brent offered first, and Casper nodded.  “I planned to go over some files, and water my plants.” Kellen was interested in the new bit of information that Casper gave.  “You have plants?” He asked, interested, and Casper nodded, a little shy.

“Yeah.

Miro got me a few easy ones to take care of.

I’m really enjoying it.

One of my plants is going to produce a new leaf soon.” He was very proud of it, and Kellen smiled.

That was a very cute hobby.  “I wish I had a green thumb.

I tend to kill any plant I try to take care of.” The scoffing sound behind him told him that his family was back.  “That’s right.

I once had a project for school which was to keep a plant alive for the semester.

I had to try three times because Kellen kept killing it by being in the same room as it.” Kellen took offense to Gwen’s words, and turned to face her.

“That’s not true.

You never watered it.

So I watered it, then Dad watered it, and Mom watered it.” Gwen stuck her tongue out at her older brother.

Their parents trailed behind her, holding hands.

Gwen, who had been behaving boldly before, froze, as if remembering who was around her once more.  “Did you youngsters have any plans for the evening?” Kellen’s Mom asked with a smile in her voice.

She looked over the group of young Espers and Guides with a smile.

She was proud of her children for stepping into the new generation of people who planned to protect their world, their city.

Even if it scared her that they were going to face the same level, if not more, of violence and conflict the further they walked this path.

She worried the most for Kellen, her strong but delicate son.

He always hid everything inside, and she worried that if the Captain wasn’t a good partner for him, he was just going to bottle everything up.

At least with Gwen she knew she had several friends that she could rely on, while she’d only really heard about this Brent character and Taylor when Kellen had spoken about his friends.

At least, consistently.

The others would fade in and out of his stories, and she worried what that would do to her special boy.

She gave her husband’s hand a squeeze.  “Yes, we’d like to invite you all to Kellen’s apartment for dinner.” Kellen, who was only hearing about this now, raised an eyebrow.  “Um, wait a-” “I would absolutely love to come!” Hill’s loud, booming voice drowned Kellen’s protests out as she came over and wrapped her arm around Brent and Casper’s shoulders, pulling the two men over as she dragged them to her height.

“I love Kellen’s cooking!

Or, even if we order in, I won’t complain.

Is this like, the official welcoming party?” She asked, grinning, and Kellen found himself shutting his mouth in the face of her enthusiasm.

Brent smiled as well.  “It’s been a long time since I’ve had Kellen’s cooking.

I’m not an idiot.

I would love to come.” Casper and Gunther were the two hesitating, and the Captain was the one to rope them in.  “Come on, Casper.

How often have there been this many Guides all in one place?

You might even outnumber us little old Espers.” He winked at the lieutenant.

“And, you haven’t had Mr.

Woods’ cooking yet, have you?

Plus, you were busy the last time we had a party like this.

You should come.” The Captain wrapped his arm around Gunther’s shoulders, yanking the Esper towards him.

“You, however, have no choice.

If I leave you alone, you’ll just mope around your house, alone.” Gunther’s stony face defrosted to glare at his friend.  “I would not just mope around the house.” Hill snorted, rolling her eyes as she unwrapped a lollipop and shoved it into her mouth.  “Yeah, you forgot the wailing.

‘Oh, I’m so sad and miserable.

No one would ever love me.'” Gunther shot a glare in her direction and she stuck her tongue out.

“Bite me, Gunther.

I’m not the one who goes home to a cold bed.” Brent whistled, and Kellen raised his hand for a high five from Hill.

She was confused for a minute, before a bright smile crossed her face and the sound of the crisp high five filled the air.  “One thing, who said Kellen was cooking?” Kellen’s Father spoke up, laughter in his voice.

Kellen turned his smile towards him.  “Well, you certainly won’t be cooking alone in my apartment, Dad.” His Dad’s eyes smiled as he looked over at his son.

He gave his wife’s hand a squeeze as he looked him over.  “Oh?

I didn’t think Captain Thatcher was going to leave you alone, given your side effects.” Captain Thatcher chuckled as Kellen’s face darkened.  “No no, I wouldn’t dream of getting in his way.

Kellen’s also been…good about knowing his limits when it comes to this.” The Captain admitted with a soft look in his golden gaze.

He turned his gaze towards the Guide he called his pair, and Kellen felt the heat in it.

He swallowed.  “Uh, well, let’s get this show on the road, huh?

Brent, do you want to grab the basket?” Kellen asked, but Hill was already there, carrying the basket with a smile.

She was vibrant again, and Kellen was happy to see that she was back to normal.

It always made him uncomfortable to see her down.  The group began to move, Brent, Casper and Hill moving as one trio, Gwen and his parents as the other while Gunther hung slightly behind both of them, his hands in his pockets as he walked.

Kellen went to go follow them when he felt a tug on his hand and he turned.

The Captain stopped them, looking over Kellen’s face with serious eyes.  “Are you doing okay?

Are you sure you want everyone to come over?

If you feel like it’s too much, you can say no.

If you’re having difficulties, I’ll do it.” He whispered, rubbing the hand he held with his thumb.

Kellen was moved by the way he was checking on him, away from the others.

The care that Kellen felt, and the concern in the Captain’s gaze soothed something inside of Kellen.

Relaxing, Kellen gave the Captain’s hand a squeeze and smiled at him.  “I’m fine, Captain Thatcher.

Thank you for checking up on me though.

Having them over won’t be a burden to me.

Plus, I’m pretty sure if I was alone right now that would be a bigger issue.” His face softened at Kellen’s response, and he raised their joined hands to his lips.

He placed a kiss there, much to Kellen’s embarrassment, before lowering them again.  “Then do you want me to spend the night as well?

I won’t do anything.

I just want to be a support for you.” His words were sincere, but Kellen somehow didn’t trust him.

Kellen narrowed his eyes as he stared up into the soft, golden gaze.  “We’ll see how the night goes.

I don’t plan on drinking, but knowing Gwen and Hill, we’ll probably be drinking.” The Captain chuckled at Kellen’s tone.

Kellen gently jerked the Captain’s hand and they began walking towards the others who were now down the hallway and almost to the next set of elevators.  “I’ll make it a promise.

I’ll keep my hands to myself if you keep yours to yourself.” It wasn’t his hands that Kellen was worried about, but there were too many big ears around here for Kellen to say it out loud.

He sighed.  “Alright, deal.” Kellen agreed, and the Captain squeezed his hand, giving him a warm smile.

Kellen stared into his gaze and knew that tonight had a chance to be a rollercoaster, he just wasn’t sure what kind it was going to be.

Was it a corkscrew coaster with multiple heart stopping loops?

Or was it a water coaster, where no one got off unscathed?

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS CalyB And so we begin the second welcoming party!