(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Picking up the pieces, with the Captain

Captain Thatcher had a bad feeling fill his body as he turned to answer the phone call from Hill. He normally wouldn’t have felt this way with Kellen, but something warned him away from those two girls. The first warning was that they worked at Guiding Center A, a place notorious for their snake-like Guides and their poisonous workplace. The second warning was the way that one Guide, Savvy, looked at Kellen. He didn’t like the way she looked at him. Like Kellen was beneath her. Kellen wasn’t beneath anyone. He was a good man, and he didn’t like that Kellen’s ’friends’ looked at him that way. He also didn’t like how he hadn’t heard that they were Kellen’s friends. With Guide Jameson, Green and Hill, he’d heard their names from Kellen’s lips before. Those two girls? He’d never heard the names Savvy or Terry come from those plump lips.

"Hill, what’s up?" He asked, turning to give the Guides some privacy. He even kicked some safe rocks just to make more sound. He would hate it if Kellen hated him for overhearing a private conversation, even if he wasn’t fully able to control it. He was also nervous leaving Kellen alone for a longer period of time. Yes, the time between when Kellen came to ask for physical touch was increasing, but that didn’t mean it had stopped all together. He hoped he was okay.

"Green tried to contact you about your guiding session, but couldn’t reach you. Are you still in your meeting?" She asked and he sighed.

"No. Mr. Woods and I went to the scene of the attack and have been helping with clean up. It was his idea of a date, and who am I to turn him down?" He stated. Hill chuckled on the other side.

"Of course Kellen thought cleaning up a disaster site was a romantic date. You must be tickled that he thought to bring you there." Hill was right, even if she was teasing him. He was touched. Any time Kellen thought of the Captain alone, he could feel his heart expand. He kept falling deeper and deeper in love with the man, and he was fully aware that Kellen had no idea at all how bad the Captain had it for him. Kellen thought the words and actions he took in public were an act. He wondered what Kellen would think if he knew that none of it was an act. He also wondered what it would take to prove it to him once and for all?

"Of course. Mr. Woods is a thoughtful and kind man, and it is a pleasure to be around him." Hill’s snort could be heard over the phone, along with the rustling of papers.

"Yes yes, and it has nothing to do with him experiencing side effects and needing to cling to you." She teased and the Captain stiffened.

"Hill, have you gone through helping a Guide who has overexerted themselves?" He asked, and he could hear Hill hum over the line.

"Well, I don’t think so? I know Casper and Brent spoke about it quite seriously, so I think I would have remembered something like that. Why?" She kept her tone light, and the Captain kicked a larger piece of crumbled street.

"He wasn’t...it wasn’t normal." He muttered. "I hated seeing him like that. I want to possess him but...I realised not like that. It was painful to watch. Mr. Woods, Kellen, is never that scared. I haven’t seen him like that before, and to know it was in the context of missing my touch..." He sighed, and Hill made a thoughtful sound on the other end.

"Wow. Okay. That sounds awful, especially for you. Did you have to...?" She asked and the Captain’s lips thinned into a straight line.

"Yes, I did." She whistled.

"Wow. That’s serious then." She was sincere, even if it sounded sarcastic. The Captain ran his hand over his face, exhausted as he remembered.

"I’ve neglected a part of my Guild I hadn’t even thought of. Can you buy or borrow books on Guides? I hate not knowing everything I can. I want to be able to help, but I feel out of my depth." He admitted easily to Hill. If it had been anyone else, it would have felt like dragging his balls on coals. But with Hill, she just got him. She was the one who talked him down from kidnapping Kellen on the front lines.

"Righty-o, Captain. That I can do. How is he doing? You two had to go to the Center for the meeting, right? I feel like shit I didn’t know about his issue with them until after." The Captain glanced behind him at the trio of Guides, noting that the one with shorter hair had her arm around Kellen.

"Well, he was a little nervous. Thankfully, but regrettably, Captain Sergei was in the elevator with us as we were leaving, so he was easily distracted." Hill’s laughter could be heard easily over the phone.

"You didn’t do anything foolish because he was around, did you?" He refused to comment and her laughter grew louder. "Rhys Thatcher! He’s just a colleague to Kellen. Same with Captain Sakura. If I was to worry about anyone, it would have been Green or Brent." The Captain knew that logically, she was right, but he also had Hill on the list of potential problems. Kellen was just too good of a person, and he himself had admitted that he would have disregarded his own preferences to pair with someone he had a good compatibility with. It was a terrifying thought to the Captain.

"What were you calling for, Hill?" Captain asked, and she sighed on the other end.

"Alright. The D.E.C. sent over the profile of the scout team that they are sending into the new gate. They should be entering the gate right about now. It’s a strong team, has two A Class Espers and that other Field Guide Kellen was going to suggest after Brent. Seems like he might have bribed his way onto the team because I noticed Brent’s name was originally suggested, but scrapped about six days ago. Might have been the reason why he was in the city when Kellen reached out." Well, that was an interesting fact to learn. He’d have to ask Brent about that, especially since he hadn’t disclosed that to Kellen.

"Interesting, but is that the only reason you called?" His tone was icy, and Hill rolled her eyes.

"Don’t get your panties in a twist, Captain Thatcher. I’ve been taking care of everything you couldn’t get to because you’ve been locked up in your apartment with Kellen. Be nicer to me. Captain Tom also sent over the official interrogation tapes of the terrorists that were caught. Gunther and I haven’t looked at them, but Pamela did. She says it felt like they were doctored slightly, but knowing the D.E.C., it makes sense. Rene also sent over the newer version of the agreement between the Nemesis Guild and the Saturn Guild. I had to take a look over it because you know how Pamela is. It looks good. I think we should sign it soon. Does the D.E.C. know about the agreement between the two Guilds?" She asked and the Captain shrugged.

"Don’t know, and don’t care." Hill chuckled over the line.

"From the way you respond, people would get the impression that there is bad blood between the Saturn Guild and the D.E.C.. You need to be careful about that, Captain Thatcher. It never looks good if a Guild hates the government running them." The Captain shrugged again.

"...I need you to drop it. We’re in public, and we’re supposed to look like we’re on a light hearted date. Just like how you and Pamela wanted." The Captain could feel his face drain of colour at Kellen’s words. Like how Pamela and I wanted? The Captain could already feel his head spinning from how much legwork he was going to have to do to repair whatever the fuck those dumb cunts had done. Running his hand over his face, he decided that listening to Kellen’s wishes, while out in public, was the best idea for now. Once they were behind closed doors, or in the Saturn Guild, he was going to make Kellen open up about what had happened. He had a feeling that if he didn’t, this festering wound inside of him would poison all of the work he’d put in over the week. He was not going to allow that. He had too much at stake. Sighing, he stared down at the Guide who seemed impossibly small at the moment.

Continuing to lead the dazed Guide around, the Captain got them back to his car within record time. He got Kellen inside, buckled in, and they took off towards the Saturn Guild. They made good time, and the Captain made sure that Kellen was safely out of the car and into the elevator up to the medical bay. All the while, holding the man’s hand in his. Even if he wasn’t fully aware of it, he needed it, and the Captain was his pair. He was going to make sure to take care of him.

The two of them ran into Green just as she was opening the door to her office to leave. She smiled at them brightly.

"Ah, welcome you two. I was wondering when you were going to show up. Pamela was showing me the shots the press had taken while you two were out and about while I was grabbing a bite to eat." She glanced at Kellen, before her eyes widened and she turned her gaze towards the Captain. He shook his head slightly, his lips firming into a thin line. She swallowed, before plastering a smile back onto her face.

"Oh? Were any of them good? Did they get my good side?" The Captain asked as Green opened her door again to grab the appropriate paperwork. She chuckled.

"I don’t know how you can ask that when you know you’re the most photogenic Esper besides Hill. Gunther looks like he’s being held at gunpoint and Miro falls asleep." The two of them were desperately trying to keep everything normal, and the Captain could feel that Kellen was stirring. He was coming back to them. At least he wouldn’t feel so guilty interrogating him now.

Entering into their usual room that they used to monitor the guiding sessions, Green chattered on while the two men assumed their usual positions. The Captain watched as Kellen took off his clothes and sat down. It was robotic, but at least his eyes didn’t look as dead as before. Green, for her part, only stumbled in her steps for a moment when she saw the marks on both men. Given the heavy atmosphere, she hadn’t expected to find them covered in love bites and hickeys, with Kellen’s neck being particularly injured.

"Uh...do you want those...healed?" She asked hesitatingly, and the Captain watched as Kellen’s eyes moved, awoke, and his face turned slightly red.

"No. I’m fine." He replied, and Green glanced at the Captain, surprised. Kellen coughed, clearly embarrassed as Green continued to get them ready for their guiding session. Once the two were ready, she headed back over to her observation seat and counted Kellen in. Again, the rush of Kellen’s guiding washed over the Captain.

The Captain wasn’t sure what Guide’s felt when they worked, but prior to Kellen, guiding felt like absolute torture for the Captain. He’d learned that he had a condition that made guiding with a poor match feel like ants were crawling under his skin. His body had picked up reverse guiding as a coping mechanism, along with his ability to steal a Guide’s powers. He hated that ability, and it wasn’t something he was always able to control. Prior to Kellen, he’d tried to keep his guiding sessions to as few as possible without getting so low that he’d steal the Guide’s powers.

Now that he’d committed such a heinous act against Kellen, and Kellen had come out on the other side okay, there was a little less guilt, but he was always worried whenever Kellen guided him. It was because his guiding felt so good. It was soothing, and calming, and felt like a warm hug from a trusted person. In the Captain’s case, it felt like getting a hug from the man, but he could easily see how others could have felt when getting his guiding. It made him unreasonably jealous, and possessive. He also knew that, but couldn’t stop those feelings from welling up inside of himself.

So when Kellen began to guide him, the Captain braced himself. And was utterly surprised when Kellen’s eyes didn’t glow the eerie blue showcasing he was using his powers, and it felt like a stream was pouring into him instead of the usual waves that lapped at him. He only grew more concerned, since he knew Kellen to be a professional. He rarely let his personal feelings affect his work in the years he had worked with him. The Captain glanced back at Green, who also seemed confused. What the fuck had happened when he’d been on his phone call? Who were those people who thought they could get away with hurting His Guide?