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 thinking 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 arose because all of his time on the front lines, pushing himself, getting over his own issues had led him to this life. The fact that he wanted something simple now. He had come to terms with the fact that he was a C Class Guide, and now that was gone.
He wasn't a simple C Class Guide anymore. He wasn't going to have a simple life anymore, and all because of one incident at work. His whole life had been turned upside down because of one situation at work. 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. She had been leaning against the glass walls, resting. Waiting.
"Oh, it seems your chat went well then, Kellen. I'm glad to hear it." Her gaze slid between the two men, a sparkle in her brown gaze. "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 just walked into.
"We're compatible, yes, but that doesn't make us a couple, Captain." Kellen was staring up at the man with a confused expression. Said Captain opened his mouth, closed it, and then sighed. He rubbed his hand over his face, exhausted already.
"I didn't take you for the type that would sleep around on a partner, Mr. Woods." Confused further, especially by the harsh tone the Captain was speaking to him with, Kellen shook his head.
"I wouldn't do that either."
"So we're an item then." The Captain confirmed. Kellen shook his head.
"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. The Captain 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 and in my personal apartment, 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 down the hallway, past several doors.
Actually, given how big the hallway was, and how wide the Guild tower was, the doors were fairly well spaced out. But, even from where Kellen was standing, he could see a door that looked like the door to a Captain's quarters.
It was a larger door that looked as if it actually was two. It had a thick border in black, and it had to be a material from the gates since it wasn't quite wood, but wasn't stone either. One half of the door was a solid black, glossy material, while the other side had a glass panel that showed a misty view into the apartment.
There was a small panel to the side of the door, sleek and metallic, that the Captain had to scan his eye with 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 forcing Kellen and the Captain to face each other. He stared at Kellen's face for a long moment, as Kellen's gaze stared past him and out at the city below, 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. Him kicking him in the balls only a few minutes before was, well, him being blunt.
"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. He could already see that the Captain's mind was spinning.
The pale expression on his face, and the way his eyes were wide told him he was jumping to conclusions about Kellen.
"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. The Captain let out a relieved sigh. Kellen thought that was strange. He was the one who asked the damn question.
"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 being in 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.
"The part where I said I had plans to get you into my bed before our compatibility score 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 man's. Kellen felt like he forgot how to breathe.
"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. The 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.
"Tell me, do your powers make your eyes yellow?" He asked, and was rewarded with a feral grin as he looked down at him, his eyes lidded. Kellen felt a shiver run down his spine. He had never seen the Captain like this before.
"What a clever boy you are. Clever boys get rewarded." Stunned that he'd guessed correctly, Kellen was going to ask what it was when the Captain's hand found his chest and he rubbed one of his nipples. Gasping into his kiss, he kept his kisses light and teasing while he played with his chest.
Kellen had never done this before, and was surprised at the pleasure it gave him. He wiggled under the Captain, still refusing to touch him. His grip was tight on the couch below him. He could feel through their kisses that the Captain was riding a fine line, and Kellen did not want to push him over. He wasn't sure what it would mean for him if he did.
The kisses went on until Kellen's head lulled back against his will, breaking the kiss as he didn't have the strength on his own to hold his head up. Almost like when he had used up all of his powers saving the Wind Esper only the day before.
"Oh, whoops." The Captain chuckled like it was a simple thing he'd done, pulling his hands and lips away from the Guide below him.
Kellen felt like he was floating in his body, not quite the same as earlier in the day when he'd felt out of sorts, but similar. The Captain stared down at him before reaching down and touching his kiss swollen lips, pressing his thumb against Kellen's lower lip as he tried to breathe. It was an intimate, and branding hold.
Kellen swallowed.
"You're very cute Kellen." He told him with a grin, and Kellen exploded with colour. He pushed the man away from him, his hands trembling since the man had so thoroughly taken from him, and the Captain went willingly, still smiling as Kellen scrambled to the other side of the large couch.
"I never-what are you-what was that?" He demanded, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. The Captain wouldn't stop smiling. He sat, staying where he was, all relaxed muscles and teasing smiles.
"That was my first step in seducing you, Kellen. How did you like it?" He gave a pointed look at the Guide's crotch and Kellen turned the shade of tomato. He didn't need to point that out, and it was a normal response! Anyone would react like that! "Well, you don't need to answer that. Your body is rather honest." Kellen scrambled for a pillow to cover himself with. The Captain laughed, his eyes sparkling.
"B-But you don't like me!" Kellen blurted out, stunned and scrambling for any flimsy excuse to hold onto. The Esper narrowed his eyes, the fun and laughter fading quickly.
"Why would you think that?" He asked, seemingly genuinely curious.
"I-I'm a C Class Guide." The Captain smiled.
"Not anymore, you aren't. I feel like we've tackled this point already." He was right, they had.
"I-I'm too skinny." Kellen added, and he nodded.
"You are, but that just means we need to get you on a calorie dense meal plan. I do like something to hold onto." Kellen felt like he had a fever, his face was so red.
"I-I'm not attractive." The Captain tsked.
"Who told you that? You're the spitting image of your Mother, who ranked second as the most attractive female Esper in her time. Her name still comes up because she's aged like fine wine, and so has your Father. You just need a little shine, Kellen. Nothing a little spit and polish won't help." Kellen's head spun as he tried to take in the Captain's dirty grin. He was not used to this kind of Captain!
"I-I'm boring! I have no hobbies and no friends!" Kellen was getting desperate, pulling out words and excuses that hurt for even him to hear. The Captain narrowed his eyes.
"It seems to me you are able to make friends no matter where you go, Kellen, but if you don't consider them your friends, I won't hurt their feelings by telling them so. As for hobbies....I don't mind. We can learn some fun games to do together in our free time." His words dripped honey, and Kellen felt his head swim again.
I've never had a relationship before!" Kellen pulled out his last card, but the Captain openly laughed at that.
"Oh Kellen, that's not a negative to me. You know us Espers are a little crazy, and I tried to scare you away but you just came crawling into my lap." He approached the worried Guide again, Kellen holding the cushion up like a shield. He laughed as he looked over the flushed, flustered, kiss swollen lips of the Guide before him with golden eyes. "I really, really like that no one has built any habits within you, and that I get to mold you into whatever I want. Within reason, of course. I wouldn't want to break you, Kellen." His heart raced in his chest, and he felt his palms begin to sweat again.
"I should have known you were an S Class." He whispered quietly and the S Class Esper chuckled.
"Yes, you should have. No other kind of Esper creates their own Guild, Kellen." He was grasping at straws. Every warning sign was blaring. If the Captain touched him right now, he wasn't sure what was going to happen to him. He was...He was going to eat him alive!
"W-Why me? Why did you want to get me into your bed?" Kellen threw the question out, trying to distract him. The Captain chuckled.
"Alright, I'll bite, Kellen. Why you? At first, it was because you were so earnest. You tried so hard to prove yourself. You were right when you said C Classes are treated the same and that they have to work hard for their recognition, but you tried even harder. You didn't rely on your parents for support and tried your best with your own talents. I admired that, but it wasn't until you kept coming back from insane missions that you really caught my eye."
He bent towards the younger man, his lips inches away from his own. "A mere C Class Guide carried one of my elite teams on his back into a dangerous mission where they got ambushed. We fully expected casualties and instead you brought back everyone. Yes, they were all on the edge of surging, but they weren't dead yet. You saved their lives all with your own determination. That, Kellen, was incredibly hot." He licked his lips. "I get hard thinking about you coming into camp, two men walking with you, the other two in the bushes two feet away from the front door. All had yellow in their eyes, but were still somehow sane. You barely had anything left in you to give, but you still managed to report everything that had happened before you collapsed."
Kellen gulped, unable to break eye contact with the man who spoke as if Kellen hadn't done that countless times. That was just his job as a Field Guide. He didn't think it was extraordinary.
"Covered in blood, wounds and gods knows what else, I wanted to gobble you up in one bite back then. But, it wasn't the time. Later, when I felt it was safe to do so, I knew you were trying to get a position at a Guiding Center. I had no idea why, when you were that good of a Field Guide. Tell me, why quit?" His words swirled around in Kellen's head, and it took him a second to register his question. He had been too busy staring at his lips.
"Uh, I guess I have gotten over my inferiority complex on the front lines." The Captain's yellow eyes stared holes into him. Kellen wondered what he saw.
"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. The 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. The 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." The Captain looked thoughtful at his words.
"A normal life huh? What a pipe dream." He didn't sound like he was making fun of Kellen's words, but Kellen still laughed. It wasn't a happy sound.
"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." The Captain 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, nearly choking. He'd never been spoken to like this before, and here the man was, being so damn obvious about his intentions!
The Captain chuckled, reaching out and gripping the back of Kellen's neck. His fingers stroked the skin there, the difference in texture grounding Kellen as his head swam. "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." The Captain's voice was low, sultry, and kellen felt like he was short circuiting.
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 felt the loss of his hand on neck in a way he'd never had before.
Kellen moved to the edge of the couch, sucking in gulps of air as he tried to process everything that was happening, his own hand sliding to the back of his neck in remembrance. One thing was sure, the Captain was very dangerous, especially for his health.