(BL) Hunting The Field Guide-Chapter 409: Going to the front lines with the Captain, part 1

Rhys hated leaving Kellen for even a second. He hated that he was still in the bed as he dressed in his uniform at an ungodly hour in the morning. Even with all of the guiding that Kellen gave him the day prior, Rhys still wanted to make sure he had as much time to poke around on the front lines and then come back before nightfall.

If he did, he was sure that Kellen would worry. He’d like to limit that. The man was already a worrywart, he could at least do his part to make it better for him.

Rhys stood over Kellen, watching the man as he slept. Kellen liked to sleep nude, which certainly helped Rhys out, but he made sure to tuck the blankets around the man as he slept. He was on his stomach, his arms sprawled, his leg up as he breathed softly. Staring at his back, Rhys sighed.

He wanted to touch him. He wanted to kiss him. He wanted to surprise him, have the taste of Kellen on his tongue to get him through the day. However, he knew that Kellen needed his sleep more. Kellen’s skin wasn’t exactly free from his possessive touch. Bruises, kiss marks, and other hazards that came from them being together covered his skin. Some fresh, some old. The several healing bite marks that littered the back of his neck were a good sign of that.

His sweet man. He’d miss him. He would have loved to see the look on Tom’s face when Kellen showed up with Rhys in tow in the place he had fled to to avoid them. Rhys smiled evilly. Well, he’d just have to be his worst nightmare. That was fine.

Finally, Rhys sighed. He couldn’t stall anymore. Gently, carefully, he touched Kellen’s shoulder, rousing him from sleep. Kellen’s eyes fluttered before they opened. He didn’t wake up confused. He’d never had.

Instead, Kellen blinked, before an emotion washed over his face and he steeled himself.

"Is it time?" He asked. It sounded so formal, so official. If Rhys couldn’t see the way his blue eyes were scanning him, his blue gaze burning his skin hidden by his uniform, he would have thought the man didn’t care. Kellen just tried to hide it well.

"Yeah. I have to go. Be good, alright?" Rhys said, leaning in and kissing his boyfriend. Before he kissed him again. Kellen let out a soft exhale when he pulled away, turning so that he could stare at Rhys properly. He was on his side now, his bare chest on display.

"What if I don’t want to?" Kellen muttered, and Rhys halted, before he felt his stiff shoulders relax. He chuckled.

"Hmm, good point. Be a bad boy if you want to. I’ll help you clean up when I come back." Rhys pressed his lips against the skin of Kellen’s cheek. He couldn’t pull himself away from the man. He was too cute. Too much for him to handle. Kellen’s soft grumble had Rhys wanting to forgo the whole thing.

"I don’t want you to leave." It was a soft complaint. One of the few that Kellen had said, and Rhys’ heart squeezed. He was ready to do anything for this man. Kellen’s hand pressed against Rhys’ chest as he leaned in again. "Go. Before I don’t want you to. I’ll see you later, okay?" Rhys could hear the soft tremble in his voice, could feel it in the way that he looked at him. Rhys nodded.

"You’ll see me later. I promise." Rhys confirmed and Kellen laid back down, getting comfy. Even if it was a show, Rhys appreciated it.

"I’ll be back soon, sugar." Rhys promised as he left the room, and then the apartment. He heard Kellen’s soft, mumbled goodbye from where he was by the door and grinned. He was too cute for his own good.

~

Rhys always liked his trips to the front lines. At least, the travelling part. He didn’t know if all other Espers shared his same feelings, but because of his strange set of powers and how, even now, no one really knew the depth of them, Rhys was able to appear as if he shared many of the same powers as others. Physical Espers in particular had a hard time keeping up with him, especially if they weren’t S Class or teetering on the border of S Class, like Hill was.

What that really meant was that he was able to strengthen his legs and do something called ’jumping’. It was something that he and Hill often did, and most A Class Espers, even if they weren’t Physical type Espers could do it. There was a high chance that someone like Kellen, a Guide who trained their physical form as much as they did, could do it too.

Rhys hadn’t brought it up out of fear. He didn’t need the man jumping around, especially right now. Maybe when things were calmer and he didn’t have a giant target on his back. Yeah. Maybe then.

Rhys enjoyed jumping. It was freeing. It made him feel like he was flying. He was a bit envious of some of the Espers who had those kinds of powers, but he made due. He was powerful in his own right, and who the hell was going to mess with a time Esper? Especially someone like Rhys?

Rhys was on his way to the front lines to find out who that person was. Or at least get a hint.

Still, that didn’t mean he didn’t get to enjoy himself along the way. He was going at breakneck speeds since he was able to predict the best possible travel route down to the millisecond. He changed his route slightly to avoid hitting and killing a squirrel and smiled to himself. Kellen would probably like that he didn’t do that. frёewebηovel.cѳm

~

The front lines were already waking up when Rhys arrived. Granted, he felt that the front lines never rested, not properly anyways. With monsters lurking in the forests around the area, no matter how much they cleared it out, the front lines never got a chance to fully rest. The guards didn’t even hesitate when they saw Rhys, nodding as he entered.

If anyone asked for his id, they were either new, or not from the area. Or were a recluse. Rhys did a very good job being Pamela’s little puppet. Hmm, a show horse might be a better comparison, but both were accurate.

The front lines weren’t quite as big as the public thought. The areas where gates were found and resided were cordoned off and patrolled, but no one actually ever stayed near them in case something went wrong. It hadn’t happened to them, but to another front line area where a camp was made too close to a gate and it swallowed everything and everyone into the gate. So, everyone remained vigilant.

Plus, gates had a habit of changing the environment around gates to match the type of gate inside, like Kellen had reminded everyone back when the poison gate was first discovered. Not exactly ideal living conditions, the inside of most gates. Some were worse than others.

With that said, Rhys found himself taking his time walking down the main street of the front lines. It wasn’t a proper street, the roads all dirt in case of attacks. It made cleaning up easier, and it wasn’t like Time Espers were easy to come by.

At least not sane.

To the right once he entered the front lines were the tents meant for the higher ups. If someone from the D.E.C. or the other government officials were here, this was where they stayed. Relatively safe location, away from the gates. Usually a high concentration of Espers on patrol. It was where Tom was.

To the left was the general store. The road then split, going into three directions. One going left, one going right, and then continuing straight.

If he continued straight he’d eventually get to the gates, but if he turned right he’d go towards where the freelancers stayed. If they were more wealthy, they could rent one of the few cabins that were built here, or more commonly, they would stay in tents in small circles around designated camping areas. All year round.

That was where Kellen had lived for seven years.

To the left was the land allocated for the Guilds, where Rhys had stayed, longing and watching for the Guide who had haunted his dreams. Continued to do so, but with a lot less angst. The colours of the other Guilds were jarring, almost as jarring as the tingling sense that filled him, letting him know another S Class was near.

"Rhys? What are you doing here?" It was surprising to hear his voice so close after hearing it slightly distorted this whole time. Rhys turned, coming to face Sergei with all of his piercings, his eyes the slightly silver colour of his powers. He’d either just been working, or had reacted to Rhys’ presence.

Sergei held out his hand, and Rhys took it, shaking it.

"I heard that some of the generators went down. The ones we supplied, so I came in person to do a check." Sergei nodded, but Rhys could tell he was glancing around. At first, Rhys wondered what he was looking for, before he chuckled. "He didn’t come with me. I left him to sleep. He deserves it." Rhys told him and Sergei raised an eyebrow.

"Tuckered him out, hmm?" Sergei commented and Rhys felt his lips turn up.

"Are you sure you want to bark up that tree?" Rhys asked, his tone careful, his smile sharp. Sergei’s grip on his hand tightened before he let it go, stepping back.

"No. I don’t. Truly. Follow me. I’m sure Karen is already there. She’s barely left the place since she found out it happened. Guide Jameson has stepped up, but he’s not meant for this kind of work." Rhys was pretty surprised to hear that from Captain Sergei of all people. He knew what suited Brent? How strange.

Rhys was excited to bring this development back to Kellen.