Chapter 11: Sometimes love is embarrassing

This time when Kellen was led to an office, it actually looked like an office. He didn't feel like he was being lured into a quiet, secluded place where no one could interrupt them. This office also felt very similar to the Guiding Center manager's office, with the main difference being size, view, and there were no filing cabinets in this room. There were couches instead of chairs, and they sat facing each other, a small but tasteful coffee table sat between them, and the desk was against the window, the chair facing towards the door. His parents sat on one side, while Ms. Hill remained standing by the door. His manager sat on the other side while the Captain went around his desk and sat down in his own chair. Kellen wasn't sure what side to sit on, feeling that this was a silent war everyone in the room was fighting. He knew that the Captain probably wanted him to join him behind his desk, but that was dangerous. He also felt that if he sat down with his manager the Captain would be mad about that as well. Sitting with his parents wasn't really an option. Kellen felt exhausted. So, he made a democratic choice and remained standing near the couches in the relaxed stance of a soldier. His manager gave him a confused look, but turned towards Captain Thatcher.

"We're very grateful that you stepped in to help with the retest of Guide Woods, but I am simply confused as to why he didn't come back immediately after visiting your guild. It's been hours, and now that I can look at him," she glanced over Kellen, "he looks worse for wear. What exactly happened?" She demanded, clearly upset. Captain smiled at her, leaning his elbows against the desk and resting his face against his hands.

"Well, during the testing, Mr. Woods passed out." The manager threw a concerned look in Kellen's direction. "We managed it fine, since I rushed him here. I felt he would respond better if Ms. Green treated him. But, during his testing, some things became apparent." Captain's calm and collected tone was clearly upsetting the manager. She narrowed her eyes at the Captain.

"What things, Captain Thatcher, are big enough that you would keep one of my Guides in this state in your guild?" Oo, she was going for the throat. Captain leaned back in his chair, a smirk on his lips. His eyes were glowing yellow again. Kellen really wanted to know what kind of powers he had if he was using them consistently.

"Well, Mr. Woods and I had never tested our compatibility before, you see, so we took this chance to." He pulled open a drawer in his desk, handing over a manila envelope similar to the one Kellen had received earlier. Kellen jerked, realising he had left his own in the Captain's apartment. Fuck. "That should have the results of his retest, and our compatibility test as well." His smug grin clearly rubbed her the wrong way and she pulled the pieces of paper out aggressively. She stared uncomprehending at the papers before her, flipping between both of them before turning her gaze towards Kellen.

"I'm missing something here. Results don't come out like this Guide Woods. They are never on an upward curve." Kellen felt his cheeks heat as he nodded.

"You're right, but Dad and I have a theory about that. You know I've taken several retests, right?" She nodded in confirmation, while Ms. Hill seemed surprised at the new information. "Well, we think that if we took all of my tests and laid them out in a line we would see a slow, but consistent upwards curve. I was always going to go up a Class at some point, but when the Captain and I did our compatibility test something happened that sped up the process." She stared at the papers in silence for a beat longer.

"And can we trust the results on these papers?" She asked and the Captain spoke up this time.

"I had them verified twice more after this. It's real." She put down the papers before rubbing her face and sighing.

"You've barely gotten out of your probation period Guide Woods, and you signed a five year contract." Kellen was keenly aware of it, which was why he had protested about just joining the guild as the Captain had suggested. It would not reflect well on him professionally if he jumped ship so easily and quickly.

"My Guild will pay the cost of breaking the contract, and also provide support should you need it until you find a suitable replacement. You know, as well as I do, as soon as either of these results are made public that his safety is priority number one. Where else is he going to get better safety than by my side?" The Captain's tone was cocky, and self assured. The manager glanced at Kellen, ignoring the Captain completely.

"Guide Woods? Your opinions on this?" She asked and Kellen shrugged.

"I wanted to keep working at the Guiding Center." Captain, his Mom and Dad made a face. "But, it's also clear that I can't go back to work the same way as I did before. I've taken a massive jump in powers, and I need to learn myself again before I can even think about stepping back into the field. Captain is correct in saying that once this is released to the media and the government it is going to cause quite a stir. As much as I want normalcy, I'm not an idiot. Going back to work after I have caused an uproar is only going to put me in danger. Especially after I am the first Guide to do a Class jump in this country, and as the public will view it, such a large one at that." She nodded at his words, while Captain and Kellen's Father seemed...relieved at his words.

"But do you want to work for the guild? I remember you being rather insistent that you wanted nothing to do with guilds." Ms. Hill shuffled her feet behind Kellen and he swallowed, avoiding looking at either of the Guild Espers.

"That was because as a C Class Guide I would have had to work harder and longer than anyone else to get the same level of acknowledgement as a B Class Guide anywhere other than the Guiding Centers." He smiled. "Even if the pay was better, I needed something more stable." His Mom stared at her son.

"That won't be guaranteed here Kellen. You know that. You'd be the Captain of the Guild's pair. You won't be able to go back to your cozy 9-5. Are you sure about this?" Her tone was serious, and he swallowed. He couldn't look at the Captain.

"I'm not sure, but I also know that I could refuse this if I wanted to. I don't want to do that though. Worst case scenario, I can stay back at the base camps like a good little A Class Guide and cook meals for everyone." A pin could have dropped in the room at his comment. Everyone who didn't know Kellen's Father well worried that he was going to be offended at his comment. His Dad snorted, breaking the silence and covering his mouth.

"Yeah, and serve them poison for leaving you behind." He wiped a tear from his eye from laughing. "You've never been one to sit still Kellen, that's why your Mother and I were so worried when you accepted a cushy job after spending so long on the front lines. Honestly, I think this future suits your personality better, and you can keep an eye on your sister at the same time. A win-win for when your Mom and I are away on vacations." The older brother rolled his eyes.

"She hasn't caused any problems now, she's not going to do it later." He told them and his Mom shrugged.

"She's gotten into petty fights Kellen." He rolled his eyes again.

"Petty fights. She's your kid, but she's not an exact copy of you Mom." He expected his Mother to take offense to his comment, and instead she smiled at him.

"No, I am learning that you take after me more than I thought." He blushed at her warm tone. "Either way, ignoring your sister, Captain Thatcher, I am only going to say this once. If Kellen ever comes running to me crying about something you did, you can kiss your life and your Guild goodbye." Captain's eyes flashed at the other Esper's warning, and Kellen watched as her eyes glowed purple in response. His father put his hand on his wife's, and for a moment Kellen thought he was going to calm her down.

"And if I ever hear anything happening that Kellen didn't approve of, well, some very nasty accidents are in your future." Kellen gulped, as the Captain stared down his protective parents. After a moment, he inclined his head.

"Of course. If you didn't defend him at least that much I think I would have been offended on his behalf." He turned his gaze towards the manager. "Now, should we work through the passing on of the contract?" Kellen's manager sighed and shook her head.

"No. Honestly, it's totally fine to break his contract. Gabby has already taken over his room since the incident yesterday. Some will be sad, but it would be better if word gets out that the first Guide in our country who jumped Classes came from our center. A flat cancellation fee is more than appropriate, as long as it is mentioned he came from our center when this breaks." The Captain nodded, grinning.

"Of course, that is the least we can do when you are handing over such a precious person." She sighed at his honeyed words before glancing at the aforementioned precious person.

"I get the feeling that I didn't truly get a chance to appreciate how precious he was before you stole him away from me, otherwise I would be negotiating harder. No matter." She stood, brushing her pants off. "Guide Woods, it was brief, but it was a pleasure working with you. I wish you the best in the future." She gave a slight bow to the Captain before turning and heading for the door, stopping in front of Kellen. She smiled warmly, taking his hand in both of hers. "I truly congratulate you on not only doing something others can only dream of, but also finding such a high value match, Kellen. If you have any questions, my door is always open." Kellen gave her hands a squeeze, responding with a warm smile of his own.

"Thank you Manager. While it was short, I really enjoyed working with you." With one final squeeze, she stepped out of the room and he assumed, left the building. Then, he was left with the remaining four.

"So...You're going to join the Guild Kellen?" Ms. Hill asked. He shrugged.

"It seems I have no choice. The Captain all but said that if I tried to guide anyone else he'd seriously harm them." Ms. Hill whistled while the Captain smiled.

"I never implied something so dangerous. We, as you said Mr. Woods, are not romantically involved. I would never be so silly as to hinder you in such a way." No one in the room bought that for a second. Still, no one besides Kellen was going to call him out on it.

"Captain, you insisted that I wear your jacket that almost everyone can recognize as yours, especially in this building. No one would even think to approach a Guide so well marked." His smile didn't shift.

"But you're still able to work, aren't you?" The sigh that left Kellen's body took a piece of his soul with it. His Father chuckled.

"Well, if Kellen is to work at the guild, he should probably meet whoever is in charge of Guides here, especially since he needs to go through training for an A Class Guide. He might also want to get retested, and this time, not with you, Captain Thatcher." Captain narrowed his eyes at the older Guide. "That isn't a diss towards you, I just know you fear hurting my son again. It would put everyone's mind at ease this way." He gave his best Guide smile and Kellen had to look away, covering his smile with his hand. Go Dad!

"I can offer myself. I know Kellen and I don't have a bad match rate since he's guided me in the past." Ms. Hill offered and the Captain's gaze on her grew sharper.

"You have had Kellen guide you before?" She scoffed at his question.

"Sir, do you not remember the time when I used too much of my powers and our Guides were busy dealing with a fight that had broken out among the younger recruits? Kellen happened to be there, and he offered to get me in the clear. You were there." The Captain blinked, before he nodded.

"You're right. I must have forgotten since Mr. Woods has been in so many situations where I am worried about him that I can't possibly keep track of them all." He turned his gaze towards Kellen, and a shiver went up his spine. His yellow eyes stared straight into his soul, and Kellen felt his cheeks heat.

"You're right. Our Kellen is very accident prone. He has been his whole life." Kellen's Mom smiled at the Captain. She wasn't going to give her son up without a fight.

"Uh, Casper's downstairs right now if we want to go visit him. I've also got someone coming to drop off some shoes for Kellen there as well." Ms. Hill spoke up, breaking the tension between the Captain and Kellen's parents. The Captain stood at that.

"We should go speak to Casper now then. Before he escapes." Ms. Hill grinned, opening another lollipop wrapper before shoving it into her mouth. Dad chuckled and got to his feet.

"I take it he's very flighty about his duties?" He asked and Ms. Hill shook her head.

"No, he has caught the attention of one of the new Espers and he refuses to get a compatibility test with them. He tries to avoid the main building right now if he can. It's cute. The Esper is having a very hard time." The older Esper in the room chuckled.

"Ah, to be young again." Kellen blinked as the three Espers in the room chuckled like being chased out of your workplace because someone was harassing you was cute. Even Kellen's Father was shaking his head, a smile on his lips. Ms. Hill opened the door for everyone and his parents left first. Kellen followed, with Ms. Hill between him and the Captain.

"Lollipop Kellen? You could use the calories." Ms. Hill teased and realising he could eat, Kellen nodded. He held out his hand while she stared at it in shock before fumbling in her pocket, plopping the exact same type of lollipop into his hands.

"I didn't realise you only liked the grape flavour." He said, and her cheeks heated.

"If you don't want it, give it back." He laughed, unwrapping it as they headed for the elevators again.

"I don't dislike grape, I just found it interesting." Captain's voice speaking up behind them startled him.

"You find a lot of things interesting, Mr. Woods." Kellen opened his mouth to respond, but his Father beat him to it.

"Kellen has always had an inquisitive mind, even as a child. We thought he might have become a scientist of some kind if he didn't awaken his Guide powers. It's a shame they don't really allow secondary schooling for Guides until they get older." He turned sparkling eyes in his son's direction. "He always has to know how things work. He doesn't like not knowing the rules of a situation." Kellen felt embarrassment in the way only a child could feel when their parents revealed too much about them in front of others.

"Dad!" He protested and he laughed.

"That's also why he asked to repeat something so dangerous. He wanted to make sure it wasn't a one time thing. Don't worry, Captain Thatcher, I don't agree with him about trying it again. I thought you'd need some help understanding how my sweet little boy thinks." Kellen wanted the ground to swallow him whole. He shoved the lollipop into his mouth sullenly, hoping and praying that as soon as Gwen found someone with even vaguely good compatibility he could get back at her for what their parents were putting him through. He'd even send them to her apartment. It was simply not fair that he was the only one being treated this way.

"I've noticed that he's always been inquisitive, but I haven't spent enough time alone with him yet to have a full grasp. I appreciate your wisdom on the matter." Captain's tone was very soft, and it only made Kellen's cheeks flame more as he listened to the man talk behind him. Kellen watched as his Father glanced at him with eyes full of mischief.

"You are more than welcome to message me if you have any questions. Of course, there is a price to each answer." The Captain laughed at his Father's attempt at bargaining. Kellen was mortified. Ms. Hill held the elevator doors open for everyone to step inside.

"Does the price change?" Captain asked, and the older Guide gave a knowing smile.

"Depends on what you want. But, I would keep in mind the fact that I possess all of his baby photos." He couldn't keep the groan inside of him while the Captain perked up at his Father's words.

"You're going to drive a hard bargain I see. I'll keep that in mind." Captain said while looking thoughtful. Ms. Hill was busy messaging someone on her phone before the doors opened. Another similar lobby leading into a welcoming, but slightly clinical feeling hallway. Ms. Hill led the way, stopping at a set of double doors where she waved her key card again before stepping to the side, allowing the others to go in first. When Kellen first stepped inside, it took him a minute to adjust to the room. It felt like a normal office, except most of the members who occupied the office were wearing the official uniform of Guides for the Saturn Guild. The uniforms were the same colours as the Esper uniforms, but reversed. Instead of primarily black tones with white trim, they were white, with black trim. Cubicles dotted the area, while there were several doors around the edge of the room. He assumed that these were used for the actual guiding process, while the cubicles were used while not actively guiding. Thinking back, Kellen realised there were also several doorways down the hallway they had walked as well, and they were probably for even more private guiding sessions. Huh, so this was the Guiding Center equivalent in a Guild. Neat.