(BL) Taming the Field Guide

“Can we please finish this test?” Kellen asked and Elder Ellis shook his head.

“Sorry, Guide Kellen, Esper Thatcher isn’t in the clear and this is far too interesting of a topic to be dropped that easily. I would like more of an explanation of what you meant by that.” He told him, but at least he sounded apologetic. Kellen’s already bitter frown, deepened. Fuck.

“Fine.” Kellen growled, then turned towards Rhys, giving him a firm shove with his arm. “Rhys, I know you brought this up to punish yourself. We will discuss that later.” Kellen warned and Rhys paled slightly. He gave a slightly nervous laugh.

“Understood, Guide Kellen.” Oh, he was going to tease him now, was he? Kellen gave him a pointed look, but the Esper already knew he was in trouble. From the way he was twitching, and the fact that he wouldn’t meet Kellen’s gaze, the man already knew that when they broke for a break, he was in trouble.

“Esper Thatcher, from my understanding of how you explained your reverse guiding to me prior, and several of the others, it works by sucking the powers out of the Guide whether they want it or not, correct?” Elder Ellis asked, getting to the core of the issue. Kellen stiffened even hearing the words out in the open. He didn’t like hearing it. He knew that was a flaw within him. Kellen normally had no issues hearing the truth, but right now? Hearing that there was something wrong with Rhys?

He didn’t like it.

“That’s correct, Elder Ellis. As far as I am aware, that hasn’t changed and that is exactly what I did to Kellen. It just had a different reaction when it came to Kellen because, well, we believe his constitution is a bit different than most.” Rhys explained. Elder Ellis slid his gaze to Kellen, contemplative, interested, before he turned back to Rhys.

“Alright. So you think his constitution is different. Did you also knock Guide Kellen out from your powers when you stole from him?” Kellen watched Rhys, noticing that he had stiffened and stood taller. He normally did that anyways, but it was clear that Rhys had some respect for Elder Ellis and was treating him in that way.

“Yes, I did.” Rhys nodded. “I, unfortunately, then had to explain myself to his parents.” Elder Ellis winced.

“The Woods?” He confirmed and Rhys, with a rather thin line of a mouth, nodded grimly.

“Yes. The Woods.” Kellen could tell that most people in the room knew who his parents were, which was a bit embarrassing, but there were a few who didn’t. Most who didn’t were younger, who’d entered the scene after his parents had retired. One was brave enough, or ballsy enough, to raise their hand and interrupt the current conversation.

“Sorry, but who are the Woods?” They asked, curious, without a hint of apology in their eyes. Elder Ellis glanced at them, his brows furrowed in confusion, before he sighed heavily.

“They are the reason imprinting is even viable.” He told them calmly. “They are an A Class Esper and Guide couple who have, for years, set the example of what a perfect Esper/Guide couple looks like. They were also one of the highest compatibility scores in recent years until Esper Thatcher and Guide Kellen came onto the scene. What was it, Guide Kellen? 60%?” Elder Ellis asked and Kellen shook his head.

“It was 70%, but as we are now aware, it goes up the longer you are paired together and grow together.” Kellen said. “So their score is probably higher now.” Elder Ellis nodded, his eyes kind.

“Exactly. They’re very strong veterans, respected, well-loved. I have a feeling that Guide Kellen is probably more familiar with Espers than he is with civilians.” Kellen felt his face warm at the affectionate, but not romantic look that Elder Ellis gave him. Kellen swallowed.

“We were practically a safe house for anyone, especially S Classes.” Kellen admitted, before he glanced downwards. He didn’t know exactly where the wall was, but that was where his mind turned. “I know most of the names that are on the wall downstairs. They were my Aunts and Uncles.” Kellen told them. That seemed to bring another, stranger reaction from the crowd.

“Do you…have any siblings?” Someone asked and Kellen snapped his head in their direction.

“She is also an Esper, and none of your concern.” Kellen growled, immediately protective as her big brother. Rhys laughed.

“She’s also far too familiar with any of our shit to put up with it. She’s looking for someone softer, like her Father.” Rhys then chuckled deeper. “Though, anyone who considers Henry ’soft’ is poorly mistaken. He’s a caretaker, and he takes that role very seriously.” Rhys’ description of Kellen’s Dad was very appropriate. He was a caretaker, and he would take care of anything that needed to be done.

“Mom acts as his arms and legs.” Kellen agreed, before he snorted. “Probably why the E.A.G. wanted to kill him.” It was a bitter reminder, but Rhys, even when he knew that Kellen was mad at him, reached for him and hugged him against his side for a second.

“And you prevented it, Kellen.” Rhys reminded him gently. It did nothing to quell his anger towards those monsters who had targeted his parents, trying to to kill one to get to the other. His Dad, tragically, could live without his Mom, his Mom couldn’t do the same. There was only so much Kellen’s powers could do, and honestly? She wouldn’t want to live without him.

Kellen couldn’t hold that against her. She was his wife, his lover, his everything. Kellen were their kids, but there was a special bond between them. Those fuckers had tried to abuse it, and Kellen hated them for it.

“How did the conversation go?” Elder Ellis asked and Rhys chuckled.

“About as well as it could have. I put myself in a groveling position and nearly lost my head to his Mother. Well-deserved, in my opinion, and I didn’t even know if Kellen would wake up so I made sure that if he did, the impact of his anger would be as far away from me as possible, while still being responsible for what I had done. I kept myself in the room, but away from him. So I didn’t scare him more then he probably felt.” Rhys glanced at Kellen, his eyes warm and Kellen felt his face warm.

He wasn’t sure why a suspicious feeling began to fill him, but he twitched. He had a feeling he needed to stop him from continuing, but he wasn’t sure why.

“I shouldn’t have worried. Kellen is the kind of man who would storm where I was hiding and point his finger directly at my chest. He’d call me out in front of-” Kellen’s hand darted out, covering Rhys’ in a playful but forceful action. Rhys laughed, stumbling back as Kellen chased him, his face warm.

“You don’t need to tell everyone about it!” Kellen protested, and Rhys laughed. He stared at Kellen even as he fought his hand covering his mouth.

“Of course I do, love. It’s a very precious memory to me, and one that told me I was being an idiot and only thinking about myself and the guilt I felt towards you. Just because I thought I had messed up your life doesn’t mean you felt the same. After all, you’re the one who put a ring on my finger, surprising even me.” Rhys’ smile was so big and filled with joy that Kellen hesitated for a second. In that second, Rhys scooped Kellen up, dragging him closer to kiss him on the cheek. It was neither the time, nor the place, but Kellen could feel how what they were doing was affecting the room.

He was fairly certain it was positive, but it was clear that it was shocking. They were not expecting Kellen and Rhys to be…playful. Especially after the conversation they had started to have, the seriousness of it, and what the theme for the day was.

“Oh, is this recent? Congratulations, you two.” Elder Ellis interjected and Kellen flushed. He nodded shyly.

“It’s very recent. The rings took a while to finish.” Kellen told him, puffing up slightly even as Rhys was practically wrapped around him like a snake. Kellen could see that many of the Espers were watching him, confused, but not upset. It was as if they were seeing a strange being, but not one that upset them. One they were curious about. One they wanted to study.

Elder Ellis seemed to glow under his words, his smile pure.

“That’s very sweet. Where did you get them made?” Kellen, delighted to have something positive to talk about that wasn’t related to him doing something stupid and foolish, latched onto it with both hands, explaining what he had done, the meaning behind the stone, the band, everything. Every little choice had been purposeful, intentional, and made with Rhys and Kellen’s lifestyle in mind.

Rhys, who had heard all of this after the proposal, beamed. He was so proud of his Guide, a damn proud pigeon showing off to the others. Elder Ellis seemed to actually love watching the transformation, and the light that was behind Kellen’s eyes as he spoke about it. He was flushed, but happy, and that was a true answer to any concerns the S Classes had in the room.

Suspicion towards Rhys was dropped, because there was no way to fake that kind of happiness. It just wasn’t possible, so when Elder Ellis asked Kellen more questions about what had happened to him, the air was softer. It was easier to breathe and not 10 degrees colder.

Kellen noticed, but was also used to it. He explained carefully, and then when Elder Ellis asked about his powers and why they were different, Kellen hesitated.

“I’m not fully sure.” Kellen admitted. “A part of me always felt that…it was an inferiority complex.” Kellen had no issue being honest, and that didn’t seem to surprise Elder Ellis anymore. He seemed to understand that was just who Kellen was.

Kellen explained without much detail the shock, the media’s reaction, the public’s reaction, and how a few years later his Sister awakened and she was an A Class, with the same powers as his Mother, and how that had stirred everything up again. Kellen explained how he kept going back to get tested, which was why he had all of the data, but how at some point it became unbearable to get retested and how the staff made him feel crazy.

That was a hard thing to admit, but Kellen did. It was important for them to know. If they were thinking that others could do the same, he needed them to know the kind of damage that they could have. The fear. Elder Ellis looked sympathetic as Kellen explained the emotions involved, even if briefly, and how he’d taken the data and pieced it together with his Dad’s help.

It was a clear, leveled change before Rhys came into his life, and then a sharp increase after. Kellen then explained, like they thought, he had slowly continued to grow until he had crossed the S Class threshold. He did not know if he would stop growing now, or if he would continue to go higher until he reached SS Class status.

Honestly, he had been happy at A Class. It had filled a void in him that he had never really gotten over. He had wanted to be like the rest of his family, so he was content. However, if it kept growing…it wasn’t like he could stop it. He wasn’t going to stop doing his job, and while it was great that he had the power to make other Espers feel better faster, that didn’t mean that he was going to abuse his newfound powers.

He honestly felt apologetic that he had inspired that feeling in the other Esper he had guided, and now that everything was explained, he wanted to continue on with the experiment.

That was when the woman finally stepped forward, a little lopsided smile on her face.

“We should continue, Elder Ellis. I know Guide Kellen is fascinating, but the experiment should come first.” She said, her eyes purple. Kellen nodded, the eyes as familiar as they were foreign in someone else’s face. He rarely came into contact with those who shared the same powers as his family. This would be interesting.