(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Be sure to read the fine print

A dawning horror of what exactly Kellen had gotten himself into flashed before his eyes at that very moment. His perfect world, his 9-5 life he had just gotten was disappearing before his eyes. His simple office life was going down the drain all because of his ambition. Fuck.

Captain's face as he stared at Kellen while realisation crossed his face was priceless. It wasn't quite malicious, but it wasn't kind either.

"What are you think about Mr. Woods?" He asked sweetly, and the Guide rubbed his hand over his face.

"How shitty my luck is." He muttered and the Captain laughed. He approached him and wrapped his arm around his shoulder.

"Come now Mr. Woods, we're to be a pair now. Your luck is better than you think." Kellen bit his tongue so he didn't speak his mind more. Kellen didn't hate the Captain before now, and he had no plan to hate him in the future. The problem was that ever since he had come to terms with him being a C Class Guide, he had gotten it into his mind to have a simple job. A simple life. And all because of one incident at work, his whole life had been turned upside down. He still wasn't sure if it was for the better yet.

Gunther followed after them and as Kellen and the Captain approached the door. Ms. Hill looked up from where she was scrolling on her phone, lollipop in mouth, and waved.

"Oh, it seems your chat went well then Kellen. I'm glad to hear it. Are you and the Captain an item then?" She asked and Kellen shook his head.

"No."

"Yes." Startled, Kellen looked up at the Captain while he stared down at him, with equal amounts of confusion. Ms. Hill whistled at the ant hill she'd walked into.

"We're compatible, yes, but that doesn't make us a couple, Captain." Said Captain opened his mouth, closed it, then sighed.

"I didn't take you for the type that would sleep around on a partner, Mr. Woods." Confused further, Kellen shook his head.

"I wouldn't do that either."

"So we're an item then." Captain confirmed.

"No, we aren't." Kellen protested and the Captain only seemed more confused.

"Mr. Woods, what am I not understanding here? You demanded that we become a pair, but you don't want a relationship?" When he said it like that, Kellen could understand where the confusion arose. He felt his cheeks heat.

"Well, uh, I guess I can understand your confusion there." He muttered, embarrassed. "But I don't see our relationship as romantic. You don't like me that way, and I don't like you that way." Ms. Hill snorted into her hands at the Guide's firm words, while Gunther made a quick excuse to head to the lower levels. Bewilderment crossed the Captain's face.

"I don't think we should have the rest of this conversation in public. Hill, tell his parents he'll be down shortly. We're going to my office upstairs." Kellen only felt more confused as Ms. Hill gave him a salute before heading for the elevators. The Captain wrapped his arm tightly around the Guide's shoulder and brought him to a different set of elevators further down the hallway.

"Do these go up to the rest of the floors?" Kellen asked tentatively as they stepped inside. He nodded.

"Most of the upper floors are bedrooms or guest rooms so we added a second layer of protection. The office I like to use more often is upstairs, while I also have one on the lower levels that I usually use for official meetings." His grip tightened for a brief second. "You'll get a key to the upper floors as well, since it's better for you as a pair to have access to me if you need it." Kellen nodded even as nervousness floated in his gut.

Soon, the doors opened into a hallway reminiscent of a hotel, but slightly wider. The Captain led them towards a larger door that looked as if it actually was two. A glass panel showed a misty view into the room, while the Captain scanned his eye before they were allowed to enter. When the younger man stepped into the space, his first thought was that this was the dream apartment of his wanting to downsize parents.

The huge space before him showed off a huge couch, large t.v., and views of the city that were to die for. To the right was a large kitchen with a huge island. Stools surrounded the island, and he noticed that there were more doors past the kitchen on the right. Floating stairs on the left led up to where he assumed the bedroom was. The tone of the apartment was fairly extreme, mostly done in harsh black and white with mixes of slate blue and gold. It did remind Kellen of the man who had his arm around his shoulder.

Said man tugged him towards the large couch, sitting him down first before sitting down and facing him. He stared at Kellen's face for a long moment, before he sighed.

"Mr. Woods, no, Kellen, is there something you dislike about me?" He asked the question rather seriously, while Kellen blinked. Something he disliked about him? Nothing came to mind.

"No?" He said, confused, and the Captain scanned his face. He wasn't sure what the man was looking for.

"So you don't dislike me, correct?" He nodded. "And you want to form a pair with me?" Again, he nodded. "You are also aware that in this pair we will have sexual relations?" Blushing, Kellen nodded again. "But you don't want to have a romantic relationship with me?" Intensely uncomfortable, Kellen shifted in his spot.

"Well...can I be blunt?" He asked, and received laughter in response.

"I feel like we are well past you asking for permission Kellen." Ooh, that was a low blow, but he understood why he took that shot. He had been fairly blunt already.

"Well...Captain. I said earlier that I haven't had a match rate with anyone above 27% before, right?" He nodded. "It's always been drilled into me that as a Guide I was going to have to share intimate skin relations with any Esper who needed them. So far, I haven't needed to because my match rate has been so low." He sucked in, and Kellen raised his hand.

"It's not what you think. I'm not saving myself for marriage or anything foolish like that, but for me, I don't consider this a romantic relationship. For me, we can have trust and respect for each other while also sharing intimate skin relations without it being romantic. If I'm honest, I don't really understand how you could develop feelings for someone like me. I'm only recently not a C Class Guide, I-I yelled at you in front of other Espers, and as everyone has been saying today, I'm all skin and bones." The Captain's eyes watched Kellen intently, so intently that he felt like the man was staring into his soul.

"Are you attracted to men or women Kellen?" A swirl of something in his gut punched at his question. Cheeks flaming, Kellen broke eye contact.

"I...not that it matters, but I've preferred men when I've had crushes." He told him.

"Oh good. I was worried for a second that you didn't like me because you liked women." Kellen's eyes darted towards the Captain as he watched him with deep, golden eyes.

"W-Why does it matter?" He asked when the silence had gone on for too long. He chuckled.

"It matters a great deal when I have plans to seduce you rather thoroughly." Kellen felt his heart race in his chest.

"Um, you don't have to do that." Kellen told him and he laughed again.

"Apparently I do, since someone thinks that he can get away with a pair that is going to be as intense as ours and say it isn't a romantic relationship. Kellen, did you forget what I told you in the sparring arena?" Kellen swallowed the lump forming in his throat, his eyes darting around.

"W-What part?" He asked. Oh god, he couldn't look the man in the face. What a nice coffee table he had. So...sturdy and wooden.

"How I had plans to get you into my bed before our compatibility came out." The sound of shifting cushions made him glance in his direction and Kellen sucked in. The Captain was leaning over him, slowly caging him in. He gently placed his forearms on either side of his head. His eyes bore holes into the younger mans. "Kellen, I always had a feeling we had pretty good compatibility, even when we were on the front lines. I was biding my time before I approached you because you were dead set on your own goals. I wanted you to have a stable career before I swept it out from underneath you." He bent closer.

"It was so cute watching you run around doing your best, helping others. But I'm a very jealous man, Kellen. You have no idea how many times you'd help others and it took all of my control not to rip the throats out of those filthy Espers you helped." Kellen gasped at the words, and a worrying feeling filled his gut. Was the Captain-?

"Captain, what Class are you?" He asked and the Captain grinned as his face dipped closer.

"S Class." His lips brushed Kellen's again, and like before he felt the same shock he had before. Captain settled in on top of the man, sipping at his lips intoxicatingly. He nipped and bit at the lips below him, each a shock sent to the system of the man below him. The Captain gently coaxed the guiding out of the man below him, and Kellen could feel his head getting fuzzy.

Kellen gripped the couch cushions beside him tightly, a warning blaring in his mind that if he touched the man in front of him something dangerous might happen.

"C-Captain." Kellen managed to get the words out despite his stunned brain.

"Yes, Kellen?" He replied in between kisses.

"What are you doing to me?" He whispered and the older man tsked.

"Seducing you, Kellen. I hope it's working." His eyes watched his face, glowing even as Kellen shared his guiding with him.

"Uh, I guess I have gotten over my inferiority complex on the front lines." His eyes stared holes into him.

"Ah, I see. But you were so competent at what you did, Kellen. Who were you comparing yourself to?" Kellen swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth.

"I didn't compare myself, originally. But when I awoke my powers, and tested and found out I was C Class, everyone compared me to my parents, and then later, my sister." He frowned, glancing at Kellen's lips.

"Ah, I am sorry to hear that then. In my eyes Kellen, you will never be less than them." His words struck a cord inside the Guide, and he exhaled a shaky breath. Fuck. He felt like he was going to cry. Captain's eyes widened as Kellen blinked rapidly.

"T-Thank you. My parents make sure that I know they would be proud of me if I was living on the streets as long as I was happy." He admitted softly. Captain raised his hand slowly so that Kellen had every chance to avoid his touch before placing it on his head and gently stroking his hair. Kellen swallowed thickly, and had to fight the tears even harder.

"Now, what was the other reason? You said you had to change your personality to fit in?" He took in a deep, shaky breath. This whole thing was embarrassing, but he felt that if they didn't talk like this, the Captain had something else in mind.

"I uh, after I settled into my skin, I thought it would be nice to have a normal job, with a normal life. Save up for an apartment, get married. Live peacefully. After all, I never know when my luck is going to run out." Captain looked thoughtful at his words.

"A normal life huh? What a pipe dream." Kellen laughed.

"I know, right? Not even my parents got that." He smiled, his hand still stroking his hair.

"Why only an apartment? What about a house, or property? These are pretty small goals Kellen." Kellen ducked his eyes away from the handsome face before him.

"I didn't want to get my hopes up. If I bought a house and then had to foreclose on it, I'd be devastated. Better to start on something small like an apartment first." He tsked.

"Well, on your new salary you can buy as many apartments as you want. The other two, well, I can't promise peace, but I can promise stability. How does that sound?" He wasn't making fun of the simple dreams that Kellen had made, and instead was offering solutions in the new world he had thrust him into. Kellen blinked, before turning his gaze back towards the Esper.

"You...aren't going to throw me away once you've had your fill of me, are you?" He looked genuinely upset that Kellen had even suggested that.

"Kellen, Kellen, Kellen. Aren't you aware that something like 90% compatibility is extremely rare? Why, even your parents don't have the same level of compatibility!" His cheeky grin as he turned Kellen's own words against him made him want to frown.

"My parents have over 90% now, but they only had 70% at the time when they were matched." He muttered, looking away from him.

"Oh? I wasn't aware that it could be raised further." His lips were dangerously close again.

"I-I have never asked them how they raised it! Plus, we might be the first pair to have this level before-" Kellen cut off, knowing his face was on fire.

"Before what, Kellen?" He prompted, and Kellen could hear the smile in his voice.

"You know what." The man who had boldly declared the Captain a coward whispered. The Captain tutted.

"Kellen, I don't know what you mean though? Before you sneeze? Before you eat breakfast? Before we share a toothbrush?" He wasn't going to drop it. Fuck.

"Before...intimate skin relations." Kellen whispered, his lips brushing against the Captain's skin, he was so close. It should have felt suffocating, but instead he only felt excitement, and a small sense of safety.

"Ah, before I shove my cock into your greedy little hole and make you beg and cry for more." Kellen inhaled sharply at his words, while the Captain chuckled. "Breathe out, Kellen. I'm not going to do that today. I want you nice and primed and squirming with desire underneath me when I shove my cock deeply inside you and brand you as mine." Kellen's mind went blank at his words. He couldn't think, he couldn't breathe. Even the thought that the Captain was thinking about doing that to him was...

"I-I need some space." He pushed on his chest. For a second he panicked that he wasn't going to move back, but he did with another chuckle, raising his hands in a placating gesture as he moved away. Kellen moved to the edge of the couch, sucking in gulps of air as he tried to process everything that was happening. One thing was sure, the Captain was very dangerous, especially for his health.