(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 68

Chapter 68: Pantry Talk

As the group got into the elevators and made their way towards the upper levels, Kellen was able to tell that Gwen was beginning to get overwhelmed. He’d noticed she was slightly struggling before, and knew he was going to have to speak to her once they got upstairs. Once they got to the floor that Kellen and the Captain lived on, the Captain excused himself to go change into something more comfortable, so Kellen led the eager group to his apartment alone. As he was opening the door, he felt someone blow on his neck. Confused, and not able to forget when the Captain had done the same thing, he spun, only to find the dancing gaze of his Father.

"Don’t let your Mother see that." His Father teased, and Kellen’s face went red. He fumbled, opening the door wider, and stepped inside. He held the door so his back was to the wall, his hand still on his neck as everyone else poured in. Once everyone was inside, he grabbed his Dad’s hand and yanked him towards the small pantry. His Mom frowned at the sight.

"Where are you two off to?" She asked and Kellen didn’t look at her.

"I want to show Dad my pantry." She smiled, and turned her attention back to Hill, who was busy chatting away to the older Esper. Kellen took in Gwen’s awkward stance, and knew he needed to deal with that soon, but this was more important.

Dragging the older man a few feet, he could hear him laughing at him as he shoved them both into the tiny pantry and closed the door. "Dad! You can’t do that!" Kellen protested, his cheeks pink as he looked at his Dad. His Father’s gaze only held humour as he looked over his embarrassed, flushed son.

"I can’t point out love bites on my child?" He asked skeptically and Kellen nodded aggressively. His Father crossed his arms, shifting his weight slightly to look at the younger man who was wearing a slightly too big Guide uniform now that he looked at him, and who hadn’t spent the night in his own apartment. A knowing smile crossed his face, but he didn’t say anything.

"Not in front of so many people! Even Taylor didn’t-" Kellen cut off, biting his lip. His Dad’s smile widened.

"You’ve already been to Taylor and you didn’t get it healed? That’s a deep bite, Kellen." Kellen wanted the ground to open up and swallow him. He never wanted to have this kind of talk with his Father. No child did. His Father, however, was finding great joy in it. Kellen rubbed the back of his neck, the sting from the bite only making him more aware of it.

"That’s not...at the time, it didn’t seem like that was the right thing to do." Kellen murmured, and his Father laughed.

"Oh, was the Captain right there? Well, I can understand that. Getting rid of the mark he made sure to put on you in front of him would make him a little upset." His Father reached out, giving Kellen’s shoulder a squeeze. "Don’t take it in a bad way. It’s only because this is your first time coming back with anything like this. Your Mother and I have known Gwen has been sexually active for a while, but it’s her first time coming face to face with the fact that you might be. That’s where I think she’ll get hung up, and why I’m suggesting you hide it." His gray eyes twinkled as he looked over his son. "Especially since you’re her little precious Guide son." His tone was soft, and teasing, but his eyes were clearly making fun of him. "Now, I didn’t want to discuss it with so many people around, but are you actually okay? You used a lot of powers yesterday, and there were bound to be side effects." Kellen was reeling from the whiplash of this conversation for a second, before he sighed, and ran his hand over his face.

"I did experience some side effects from yesterday." He hesitated for a minute, but decided against lying to his Father. If anyone would be sympathetic to him, it would be him. "They were the worst I’d ever experienced. My skin felt unnatural. I wanted it off. I could only calm down by smelling the Captain’s scent and by touching him. It was the regular type at least, and I’m not like Brent where I get different side effects depending on what kind of Esper I guide, but I never expected it to be like that. My theory is that because my powers went up, so did the side effects." His Dad watched his son explain quietly, and quickly, with knowing eyes. "We managed, since the Captain was very kind and attentive, so today is better. I’m not sobbing being away from him right now, so I think they’re fading now." His Father’s smile faded.

"Well, the remaining ones are...separation anxiety. Specifically for the Captain. It was worse yesterday. I..." He shook his head, not continuing and his Father had an understanding of the behaviour he might have displayed. His Dad hummed, staring at his son as he thought. _{ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm}