(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 43

Chapter 43: A way to a man’s heart

They led Brent up to the cafeteria, and the whole time he wouldn’t drop his suspicion of the two men. When Kellen handed him a tray for food, he threw him a look.

"I can take whatever I want?" He asked, and Kellen nodded, trying to hide his smile.

"The only thing not included in the price of working here is the coffee shop across the way." He glanced behind them towards it, before he nodded. That confirmed, he piled up three plates with food, along with drinks. Casper took pity on him, and helped him carry his drinks since Kellen needed all of his space for his own meal. Brent was practically salivating over the meal, and once the three of them found a table to sit, he began to devouring the food. It was quite a scene, and both Casper and Kellen kept their heads down, but Kellen knew he was smiling.

He’d got him.

Brent finished before even Casper, and once he had confirmed that he could have seconds, off he went. This time he came back with a modest two plates of food. Once everyone had finished their meals, Brent cleared his throat.

"The uh, food was good." He told Kellen shyly, and he laughed.

"What? Did the food suck now that I wasn’t cooking for you anymore?" He asked and Brent wouldn’t meet his gaze, causing him to laugh harder. "Had I known that, I would have saved the office for later and taken you directly to the cafeteria." He teased and Brent snorted.

"Admit it, you just wanted to show off that you had an office." He scowled at the other Field Guide while he grinned.

"That might be the case Brent, but, what are you going to do? Are you going to let this cafeteria go free? Especially when they can stock your apartment with food and it’s 24 hours a day? Is this going to be the one that got away?" Brent growled at the other, giving him the finger. It was an impressive response from Brent.

"Fuck you Kellen, you fucking weasel. You know all of my weaknesses." He muttered and someone laughed behind Kellen.

"I see he likes to gather information. We should have had him in charge of that instead." Hill’s cheerful voice washed over them. "You must be Brent Jameson. Kellen spoke quite highly of you. Don’t worry, he has dirt on me too." Kellen spun in his seat to watch Hill approach. Kellen watched as the two people he had always worried about meeting, met. Hill smiled at Brent, while he just stared at her. Brent then offered his hand to her while she joined them at their table. Instead of shaking it, Hill laughed and gave it a kiss. Brent flushed.

"Kellen, you really should have led with how many fucking pretty people are in this Guild." Brent scolded him on a sigh while Hill laughed.

"And you should have told me he was such a cutie Kellen. You know I have a soft spot for the cute ones." Kellen groaned.

"This is why I made sure the two of you never met." Both of them stared at Kellen in shock.

"That’s why-Kellen! That’s a crime!" Hill protested and Brent nodded vigorously.

"The worst kind of crime! You have no right to prevent two people from meeting!" Kellen shared a look with Casper, who seemed stunned that they were eerily similar.

"I can if it’s to save my own sanity. But look, you two have now met. This is either going to work out great, or blow up spectacularly. Good luck. Brent, are you going to join my department?" Kellen asked sweetly as the other Field Guide glared at him. The moment of meeting Hill for the first time fading quickly.

"You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?" Kellen’s smile widened and Brent began cursing up a storm. "I should have fucking known anything to do with you was going to be a nightmare. You have a knack for making poison taste good." Hill laughed.

"That does sound like Kellen. I take it you two worked quite closely together?" Hill prodded and Brent nodded, his handsome face still sour.

"We were partners on the front lines. Not in a gay way, despite my trying," Brent’s quiet mutter wasn’t lost on Hill’s Esper ears, as Kellen could tell by her wide smile, "but we worked contracts together. We often got each other jobs that would fit our specializations. Usually, whenever Kellen came around with a job I knew it was going to be difficult, but I’d get paid well, and probably laid. He was thoughtful like that." Hill, oddly enough, nodded in agreement.

"Well then, I guess that means you have to accept, don’t you? You wouldn’t want Carter to have access to all of the poor, young sounds, now would you?" He flinched, before sighing heavily. Hill was having the time of her life watching this showdown, and regretted not filming any of this. Pulling a lollipop out of her pocket, she offered it to the conflicted Brent.

"You look like you need it. Here. It’s grape flavoured." Brent took it, stared at it for a moment, before using his teeth to take the wrapper off and shoving it into his mouth. Hill stared at him, surprised, while Brent continued to glare at Kellen.

"Thank you Lieutenant Hill." He spoke politely before scowling at Kellen. "Some friend you are, Kellen." Kellen kept the smile on his face.

"I am a good friend, you’ve already said that today. Just because I brought up Carter’s name means nothing, and in fairness, Hill brought up blackmail. I wasn’t going to say anything about that." He huffed, but didn’t say anything for a moment, sucking on the lollipop. He played with the wrapper between his fingers in the quiet.

"Alright, but I’m only signing a six month contract. I hate being away form the front lines for any longer than that." Kellen tilted his head to the side, confused.

"Who said you were going to be away from the front lines for so long? You’re the one who made that assumption. You would be an official Field Guide for the Saturn Guild, of course you would get dispatched as soon as the whole gate fiasco is handled." His eyes widened, before he narrowed them again.

"Why is it that I always forget how fucking crafty you are until the last minute? You were always like this. I guess that’s how we always managed to get great deals." Grinning, Kellen held out his hand for a shake, and begrudgingly, he shook it. "You shouldn’t be allowed among the regular populace. You’re too dangerous. I can’t believe you worked at a Guiding Center known for being a haven of peace and quiet." He muttered and that only made Kellen laugh more. The fact that he was so bitter right now was a good sign. It meant he’d bounce back quickly, just like Kellen needed him to.

"I think it makes perfect sense that I worked there. Don’t I invoke a sense of ease? Aren’t I a calming presence, Brent? Don’t I make you feel like everything will be okay as long as you take my hand?" Kellen asked. Casper had kept his head down, fascinated at this peak of who Kellen was on the front lines, while Hill was secretly recording now. Brent sighed, giving Kellen’s hand a squeeze before he let it go.

"Yeah, like a spider who just bit me and filled me with poison. It’s too late for me now, since you had your eye on me for this." He sounded like he was giving up, but he knew Brent. He was going to take this very seriously, and he was going to dedicate himself for the next six months to this project. He just also happened to be the kind of person who’d drag their feet whenever responsibility was mentioned. Kellen could never tell if it was because he hated it, or if he just found amusement in making the other party squirm. It was his loss this time, because Kellen knew him too well, and he knew that. That’s why he was so angry and bitter. He was even muttering something under his breath, and Kellen knew it wasn’t kind because Hill coughed and started laughing. She didn’t say what it was, but Kellen knew it was about him since she kept glancing at him, her eyes sparkling. Brent was too busy moping and sucking on his lollipop to continue.

Kellen felt his lips pull up into a true, happy smile. Yeah, he was happy to have him here.