(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 99

Chapter 99: A normal guiding session

Taylor was just leaving her office as they met her in the hallway. She smiled at the two of them, her blue eyes bright.

"Ah, welcome you two. Ready for your session?" She asked, and it was obvious that something had changed between the last two days. She seemed to be more relaxed today.

"We are. Are you better today?" Kellen asked, and she grinned.

"Yup! One of the Healers for the other Guilds offered to take on some of the work, allowing me a bit more freedom. Which means, I now have more time to worry about you two. Have you two discussed the calorie consumption yet?" She asked, leading the way down the hallway to the guiding room. The Captain sped up slightly so that he could hold the door open for the two friends, and got a smile from both of them.

"Mr. Woods and I have barely discussed it. He did warn me that there were more observed guiding sessions in my future." The Captain said, and Taylor nodded.

"Yes, there is going to be observation until Kellen and I feel like the risk is at an acceptable level." The three of them entered the room, Kellen and the Captain heading towards their area while Taylor went to hers to set up. "Currently, I don’t think Kellen even has enough calories to make it through if you need that level of guiding."

Kellen, who had been trying to be gentle, trying not to scare the Captain, watched as Taylor made the death motion across her neck with her thumb. The Captain blinked, before turning his gaze towards Kellen.

Kellen, who had entered the room and had begun pulling off his top for Taylor to put the pads on, met the Captain’s now worried gaze.

"Wait, you could die?" The Captain’s voice raised, and Kellen shrugged.

"Well, I doubt we would ever get into that situation. Like Taylor implied, maintain your levels properly with normal guiding, and let me know in advance, if you can, if you are going to do something insane." Taylor chuckled.

"It isn’t as if you can chug shakes while you’re getting it on." Kellen nodded. It wasn’t feasible. The Captain, however, seemed thoughtful. He was unbuttoning his shirt, and Kellen was busy trying to keep his eyes to himself.

"Well, I don’t know about that." When Taylor turned to give him a strange look, and Kellen did the same, the Captain clarified. "Obviously, I will do my best to keep you in the loop in case something happens, but as to the shakes? What about an I.V. or something?" He asked, turning to Taylor. She was already hooking up Kellen to the machines, but she had a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Hmm, well, there are some good I.V.s that could be used, but all the jostling probably wouldn’t be good, and given when that type of guiding is needed, it probably wouldn’t work out." She answered sincerely, and Kellen wanted to laugh a little bit. Instead, he held his tongue as the Captain frowned at her words.

"Jostling? We’d be gentle." Taylor snorted, before smiling at the Captain. Her gaze moved between the two of them, and Kellen felt his cheeks heat.

"Oh sure, I believe that you two could be gentle. Anyone can. But, would you choose to?" She laughed, slapping Kellen’s chest before moving onto the Captain.

"We could." The Captain insisted, and Taylor shook her head.

"Captain Thatcher, stop lying to me, and yourself. Do you think if Kellen asked you to not be gentle, that you wouldn’t do what he asked you to?" Kellen watched the Captain’s expression as he seemed to struggle with himself. He eventually sighed and hung his head.

"I take it you had a good childhood then?" He asked, and Kellen chuckled.

"I would think so. Certainly not a normal one, but a good one. It’s upsetting that most of the people I remember who made it such a good experience for me have passed, but I like to keep them alive in my memories." The Captain’s smile didn’t fade as he continued to watch Kellen.

"That’s a wonderful way to keep them alive, Kellen. Do you do that with everyone?" Kellen nodded. The elevator arrived, and Kellen was hesitant to get in first. After all, earlier he’d been in the elevator with the Captain, and that had been...dangerous.

The Captain, having noticed the slight hesitation in Kellen’s steps, chuckled.

"I’ll keep my hands and lips to myself this time, alright? Maybe I just wanted to keep you aware of me." His yellow eyes sparkled as he looked over Kellen. He moved into the elevator first, before Kellen followed him in, nervous. The Captain used his pass to select the floor he wanted, as well as the top floor for Kellen. It was clear that the Captain was going back to the conference floor. He’d left two Captains alone there to go to his guiding session. The Captain was laughing at him the whole time. "Are you going to eat dinner in the cafeteria tonight, or are you staying in?" The Captain asked from behind him, and Kellen shifted nervously. He moved until they were standing side by side and the Captain tossed him a smirk.

"I’m thinking I’ll stay in tonight. I have a lot of groceries I need to use up, and I want to spend my time eating and reading."

"Ah, making efficient use of your time. I understand. I’ll try to swing by once my meetings are done. How long do you plan to work out for?" He asked and Kellen sighed.

"Hmm, probably about two hours. I’m probably going to go right now once I get off the elevator." Kellen said. The elevator came to a stop at the conference level and the Captain reached out and ruffled Kellen’s hair, much to Kellen’s dismay. The Captain grinned down at him, his yellow eyes sparkling.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your workout. If someone knocks on your door, please answer it. I promise I’ll behave myself this time." Kellen’s jaw dropped as the Captain stepped out of the elevator with a wide smile on his face. Kellen noticed that a couple of people were lingering around the elevators, but none of them stepped inside. He wasn’t sure if it was because they were going down, or if it was because Kellen was still inside. Either way, the door closed, and Kellen remained the only one still inside.