章 25: Guide secrets

There were a few more questions after that, but for the most part nothing else seemed important. Well, besides the wedding question. When that came up, the Captain answered for us.

"We're taking it slow and enjoying each other's company. I'm sure you'll be the first to know when we decide on the date." The Captain ended the press conference with a kiss on Kellen's forehead, much to the Guide's embarrassment. Shortly after the kiss, Gunther and the pink eyed lady ushered them back into the room they had come from. As soon as the doors were closed behind them, Kellen ducked to the ground, tucking his head in between his knees and exhaling shakily.

"Are you alright?" Casper asked, coming over and Kellen could feel his heart racing in his chest. Holy shit. That was overwhelming. People did those all the time?

"I can't believe I said half of the things that I did." He muttered at the ground. The boisterous laughter from his friend filled the air. "Taylor? You're here?" He asked, surprised.

"Of course I am. I got here after you went out. You did a great job Kellen. Very believable. No one would ever believe that you two aren't in a romantic relationship." She let out another peel of laughter and Kellen groaned.

"Taylor, you aren't helping." He told her and he felt her hand half heartedly pat his back.

Oh no, I am soo sorry that the man who joked about me dating Captain Thatcher is now basically dating Captain Thatcher three days later." She teased, giving Kellen's back a hard slap.

"You joked about Green dating me" The Captain's voice made Kellen freeze, before he groaned.

"I was trying to get a rise out of her, and I was delirious from almost being completely drained. I can't be fully held accountable." He told him and felt a large, familiar hand replace Taylors and begin to gently rub circles on his back. It did not feel half hearted, and instead made Kellen's skin prickle with goosebumps.

"Well? Did you get a rise out of her?" He asked and Kellen jerked his head in a nod. "I'm hurt. Am I not a catch, Green?" He sounded terribly sad and Taylor snorted.

"We aren't exactly each other's type, now are we Captain? After all, I'm not muscular." Ms. Hill laughed and Kellen swore he heard a crisp high five. Kellen didn't ponder that too long, as his own worries drowned him again.

"Oh god, I need to turn off my phone and pretend I haven't seen any of the messages because I was busy." He told the floor and the hand on him became heavier, as if the Captain was pressing his weight into him ever so slightly.

"Well, you can do that, but that should wait until after we have our guiding session with Green, Mr. Woods. You have plenty of time to panic later today." He told him kindly, which only made Kellen feel worse. One of the reasons he was panicking is because he felt like this was all a ruse, and that the Captain was going to punish him for his words today.

He took a few more minutes to calm down, before straightening up, fixing his shirt and grabbing his jacket from one of the couches. The others watched him, their gazes amused at how drastic the change in him was.

"Are you feeling better?" Captain asked and he nodded.

"I'll manage. Taylor?" Kellen prompted and she sighed. She had been talking to Ms. Hill and the pink eyed lady, but as soon as Kellen stood up once more, she had stepped away.

"I'll see you two later." She told them, but Casper stopped them before they left.

"Oh, Kellen! Meet me at the Guiding Division after lunch." He told him, and Kellen nodded before following the two Espers out of the room.

There were only two doorways into this room, which meant the three of them left the same way Casper had taken Kellen in. The other two said nothing as Taylor scanned her keycard to get out into the main hallway. It was quieter than before, but instead of leading them towards the elevators, Taylor took them towards the stairs. They went up on flight, and what would you know? There was the Medical Bay. Taylor took them to the room they had used yesterday for guiding, and Kellen was beginning to believe that this was just going to be the room they used every time.

Taylor started setting up the machines while the pair dutifully stripped their tops off for the Healer to pin the pads onto their skin. Kellen's hand didn't even sweat that much before offering it to the Captain, a great improvement. Once Taylor counted the Guide down, Kellen felt a little more confident in using his powers on the Esper in front of him. When Kellen stepped into the space for guiding inside of the Captain, he was pleasantly pleased to find that his powers had diffused into the waves. The combination of their powers created these beautiful, rainbow hued waves. Not quite similar to when an oil slick spills on water, since the powers didn't remain just on top of the water, but throughout, giving depth to the colours. But when they poured over the rocks, shattering more of the guiding Kellen poured into the ocean, it was stunning. The spray creating rainbows upon rainbows. It proved that the Captain was taking his guiding well, and pleased with himself, Kellen came out of the 15 minute session with a smile on his face.

"What are you smiling about Mr. Woods?" The Captain asked, also smiling since the joy from the Guide was infectious. Kellen took a moment to think before speaking.

"Uh, well, did the Guides before me give you any other kind of descriptors for your powers, Captain?" He asked tentatively, feeling it was a sore topic. He felt Taylor listening in on them.

"I told you already, but they referred to my powers like a vacuum. I kept taking and taking from them, until they had nothing left." His tone was chilly as he spoke, and Kellen couldn't help himself, he laughed, pulling the pad off of his chest. The Captain stared at the Guide with wide eyes.

"I think they just weren't compatible with you." He told him, smiling, and the Captain nodded wordlessly. "That's a common feeling when you're a poor match with someone. I've felt it before too. The Esper feels...endlessly greedy, like no matter what you give, it will never be enough." He shook his head, shaking off the bad memories. "To me, Captain, when I'm inside you it feels like I'm in an ocean. The waves crash over me, crash over rocks, and repeat the cycle. What I'm doing is adding more rocks for the waves to crash until the waves are filled with pops of colour. It's stunning watching the multitude of rainbows grow the longer I guide you." The two Espers seemed awed with Kellen's description.

"That sounds...very beautiful." The Captain admitted, a slight redness to his cheeks as the Guide before him finished pulling off the pads and monitors and began pulling his clothes back on. He turned a bright grin towards the Esper who still had everything on his chest. Who had been watching the bright expression on the Guide in front of him with awe.

"Isn't it? The first time I guided you the waves were rather aggressive, but given how far you'd let yourself go, I'm going to give you a pass on that one. Plus, I haven't dealt with a visual like this before, so I wasn't quite sure what to do. I had to go by instinct, and that was to throw pebbles, now rocks into your ocean so that the waves could smash them against the rocks. When the pebbles were destroyed and my powers began to infuse into the water, I knew I was doing the right thing." Kellen finished buttoning up his shirt.

"Do all Guides see things the way you do?" He asked and Kellen shook his head.

"Nope. All guiding powers are unique. Some see them the way I do, but there are others who feel things, or just pour their power into an Esper. I'd imagine there are even more than that, but no one pries. It's pretty personal for Guides. We don't talk about it, not even with our teachers. That lesson is about as awkward as getting the sex talk in high school. I haven't even asked my Dad what his powers are. But," Kellen straightened out his collar, glancing at the Captain, "I thought you should hear how I see you since the Guides before me left you with such a bad impression of yourself." The Captain's throat worked as he swallowed, before a long sigh left his body. He began pulling off the pads, before getting to his feet and approached the Guide. Smiling warmly, his eyes now hazel, he reached out and ruffled the younger man's hair. Kellen didn't protest, since it was the second time he'd seen those hazel eyes, and he was proud because he made them that way. Plus, he enjoyed the feeling of the fingers in his hair, it was soothing.

"Kellen's right." Taylor's voice pierced the air from the other side of the room. "Guides don't discuss how their powers power, especially not with Espers. What you see is very beautiful Kellen. How does it feel with someone you aren't compatible with? Is it like a vacuum like the Captain said?" She paused, realising she was taking advantage of the situation. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to." She added hastily and Kellen took a moment to think. It might be fine if it was these two.

"Well, I would prefer if you would either keep me anonymous if you choose to discuss this with others after, since I don't want to get in trouble. For me, it depends on their powers, not the match rate. Since I haven't had a high match for 12 years, that isn't what caused me problems. It's not commonly spoken about, but it's not a secret either. All Guides have powers they are more compatible with, and those they aren't. In my case I'm not very compatible with Elemental Espers, but Wind Espers in particular are the worst, with Water Espers being the better of the group. I often feel like I am a watering can sprinkling my powers on a raging forest fire. Sure, I could be doing something, but it's miniscule. Where I usually have an easier time is any power outside of Elementals. Physical strengthening, Healers, even my sister is easier to guide." He glanced at the now almost fully dressed Captain, a teasing smile on his lips. "It's how I'm pretty sure that you don't have an elemental type power, Captain." He was dumbfounded at his words.

"I never knew Guides could tell who they were compatible with by knowing the Esper's powers." Taylor seemed intrigued by Kellen's words, while Kellen shrugged.

"As I said, it's not a secret, but it isn't spoken about a lot. Even at the Guiding Centers it's noted on everyone's file what they are more compatible with, but it isn't brought up outside of that. I mean, Guides will still take anyone, or at least, at Guiding Center B they would. A standard practise there is if an Esper has come to the building and someone isn't immediately available who has good compatibility with them, still take them in. Even if they don't get the perfect guiding, if they enjoy the experience they might come back. When they do, they can get paired with someone who is a better fit. I'm pretty sure that's not the case with the other Guiding Centers." Kellen smiled again and the Captain shook his head.

"I'll make sure that Hill excludes Wind Espers from the group you'll be using for testing. I'll keep it subtle. Maybe I'll say that I'm jealous of wind types." He told him, his hazel eyes laughing. Kellen felt his cheeks heat quickly, his heart raced faster and he wasn't sure why.

"Oh, uh, thank you Captain, but you don't need to embarrass yourself for me." He said and the Esper laughed. He reached for his face, and Kellen flinched again when he touched him. Captain's hazel eyes narrowed, but he didn't comment on it.

"It's not an embarrassment. I would rather no other Esper touched you, but you need to understand your powers better. It's because of me that they've changed, so it's the rational thing for me to do to carry the load. Just...don't kiss others to guide them, Mr. Woods. Save that for me." His voice grew sad and Kellen frowned.

"Why would I guide anyone else with kisses? You're my pair, and previously, with my poor compatibility with others, there wasn't a difference between kisses and holding hands. Obviously I'm going to choose the more efficient method for guiding, and practicality." The Captain grinned at his response, giving his face a squeeze before he let him go.

"I like the way you think, Mr. Woods." He glanced towards the Healer who was going over data. "He's not getting any shakes today?" He asked her and she glanced up for a second before shaking her head.

"No, not since lunch is just around the corner. Yes, he'll be consuming a lot of the shakes, but for his body it is better for him to eat solid food. You need to eat a lot, Kellen, especially if you have a plan to guide others besides the Captain soon." She warned and Kellen took it to heart.

"I'll make sure I do. Do you want to join us for lunch?" He asked Taylor while the Captain stared at the Guide. Taylor chuckled, a smile touching her lips.

"I'm not so foolish as to interrupt your date with the Captain, Kellen. I'll see you two tomorrow." Kellen frowned at her words, but didn't tell her that wasn't true. Given the press conference, others would assume the same. Kellen shook himself before turning to the Captain.

"Are you ready Captain?" He asked.

"You aren't even going to ask me if I want to eat with you?" He raised an eyebrow, amusement in his voice. Kellen shrugged.

"Were you going to say no even if I asked you?" Taylor couldn't muffle her laughter while the Captain's eyes widened. "Besides, you need to eat too." He added casually, as if he hadn't just implied what he had. The Captain dropped his head, shaking it, before putting his hands on his hips and staring at the Guide with laughing, hazel eyes. He shook his head again.

"Well, that's true Mr. Woods. But you have to lead the way. I need to make sure you know your way around the tower. Green, we'll see you tomorrow." The Captain opened the door for the two of them and they left down the hallway. Taylor remained in the room, a wide grin on her face.