(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 233

Chapter 233: Someone’s a bit moody

Thankfully, the Captain didn’t fight Kellen when he needed to leave him to head to work. He did watch him like a lovesick puppy though, and Kellen had to laugh. He appreciated that the Captain was giving him some space so that he could leave, even though he was sure that the Captain just wanted to follow him around.

It was cute, and Kellen was planning to reward him for it later.

Heading down to the Research Department so that he could go to his office, he had completely forgotten about how others would react to his cane. Maeve was horrified, as were all of the other scientists at the sight of it, and Kellen realised that they probably had some idea what had happened, but probably not to full picture.

"Guide Woods! Are you okay?" Maeve was fussing over him and Kellen hadn’t even had a chance to step into his office. The other scientists were shoving snacks into his free arm, and Kellen was doing his best to keep his happy guide face on. He was too busy for this.

"He’s fine. Esper Green said he was going to be okay." Brent’s voice over Kellen’s shoulder felt like a godsend. He turned to stare at the other Guide with warm eyes and Brent flushed. "Don’t look at me that way. You’re too handsome." Brent protested, and Kellen’s jaw went slack.

Him? Handsome? Had Brent not looked in a mirror lately?

"Then why does he have a cane?" Maeve protested, and Brent sighed. He was wearing the Field Guide uniform today with his shorter leather jacket. He ran a gloved hand through his hair, clearly tired and also done with answering questions. The day hadn’t even started for them yet.

"Because we don’t have enough Guides right now to deal with all the issues we have. That’s my theory, and Kellen isn’t denying it either. He was supposed to be fixing that, but someone didn’t like that idea. So, please, we’re both busy and Kellen has too much on his plate to be fussed with right now." Brent said, and Maeve looked genuinely hurt.

"Oh. Were we bothering you?" She asked Kellen, and Kellen wasn’t sure how to answer that. Yes, he had been growing frustrated because he had so much work to do, but he never wanted to hurt their feelings.

Brent’s arm wrapped around his shoulder, knocking him off kilter but Brent supported him.

"Kellen’s too nice to say it, so I’m saying it for him. He probably didn’t hate it though. He’s just taken on a lot of work, and needs every hour in the day." Maeve still looked upset, and hesitatingly, Kellen opened one of the snack bags with his teeth and squeezed the snack into his mouth.

Amazingly, it worked, and all of the scientists, Maeve included, seemed to relax.

"Well, if you’re so busy, we’ll get out of your hair. Are you eating lunch at the cafeteria today?" She asked, and Kellen shook his head.

"No. I’m going to go pester the Captain at lunchtime. He said that I could." Brent gave Kellen a strange look since it was his first time hearing about it, but that was it. He helped Kellen gather his things, including the laptop, and wouldn’t let him carry it out of the office. Kellen wanted to get upset at the man, but that was before Kellen noticed how tense Brent’s jaw was, or how puffy his eyes were.

Had he...been crying? What on earth for?

And why was everyone crying in his life right now?

Kellen, awkward, and unsure how to broach the topic, waited for the two of them to get to the training room for the Field Guides before he asked Brent.

When they got there, it appeared that Brent had already been there for a while. He’d already set up a spot at the circular table that they used. His laptop was set up, his notes were spread out, and after dropping off Kellen’s laptop bag, he went back to his spot. He’d been quiet on the ride here too, and Kellen was unsure what do to.

Nervous, he made his way towards the laptop bag, his cane acting as his leg as he put weight on it and moved. Kellen could feel Brent’s gaze on him, but every time he glanced up, Brent was looking at his laptop screen. Sighing, Kellen pulled out his chair and delicately lowered himself down. It was excruciating, but Kellen was not one to worry others. He hated it.

"If it hurts so much, stay standing." Brent growled, and Kellen stared at him with wide eyes as he glowered at him. Kellen had no idea why he had responded that way.

"It’s just moving it. I need to do it anyway, or else the muscles are going to tense and it’s going to hurt more." Kellen smiled at him. "Plus, the kids will feel weird if I’m standing and everyone else is sitting. I can already see them trying to remain standing in solidarity." He chuckled, and Brent’s expression didn’t shift like Kellen had hoped it would.

Instead, he closed his eyes and sighed, and Kellen had a feeling that wasn’t a good sign.

"Let’s just get our work done until they arrive. I already had someone look up your guiding sessions for the day and sent them to you through email so you didn’t have to walk all the way down there and back. It’d take you too long." Kellen was surprised by this rough Brent. He was normally much nicer, but maybe something had happened that he wasn’t aware of?

"Yes. It is safe to assume."

"But are you sure it’s the right time? We would completely understand if this fell through because of what happened. Trust has been broken and-" Kellen raised his hand in real time, halting her as he interrupted her.

"Manager, it’s fine. If you still have Guides who want to come work for us and help us out, I plan to add another paper that will add a layer of protection, as well as a background check. If they aren’t offended by that, or upset, I would gladly welcome them after they passed."

"Of course we’d understand that! I just...I have a hard time understanding why you chose us." Kellen could sense her unease. He smiled softly, staring at the blank white walls around him. _{freewebnσvel.cøm}

"Well, I don’t want to rely on Guiding Center A since I have bad blood with them, and Guiding Center C does not want to work with me, and I do not want to work with them. Guiding Center B is where I came from, so they are happy to help, and I reached out to other Guiding Centers as well. I think, like you, they thought it was a prank." She exhaled over the phone, and Kellen could tell she was flustered.

"I am so sorry about that by the way! You have no idea how often some wacko is messaging us lower level Managers and-"

"Don’t speak of yourself like that. You are an A Class, just like them. You are not ’lower level’ just because you aren’t doing the same volume as the other Centers. Believe me on that." He sighed. "Well, as long as you’re still okay with it, I still would like a tour. How about we set up a virtual tour? You can take me through with your phone or something. I’d love to see your Center through your eyes, if that’s alright with you. That way I can also speak to the Guides who’d like to come. Even one or two would be life changing. And I don’t need your best, Manager. Only those who want to help." Kellen told her, and there was silence on the other end for a long moment.

"You are a lot nicer than the rumours, Guide Woods. How about we schedule the meeting for tomorrow? Does the morning work for you?" She asked, and Kellen smiled.

"My first class starts at 10:30, so any time before then works." They hammered out the details and were wrapping up just as his first students began to arrive.

"Well, I look forward to speaking to you tomorrow, Manager." She chuckled.

"And I hope you have a good class. See you tomorrow, Guide Woods."