(BL) Taming the Field Guide

Chapter 184: Catching up with a friend part 3

Brent cleared his throat.

"Okay, so, we’ve discussed that you’re an Esper now, that you’ve become an S Class Guide now, and that you’re healed. Did you get cleared for sex as well?" Brent asked. There was a bit of whiplash on Kellen’s emotions given what topic they had just been discussing, but this was Brent, after all.

Kellen laughed.

"Yeah, we did." Kellen admitted. "Taylor was pissed. She put rules in place so that Rhys wouldn’t harm me. It didn’t really work. I pushed myself." Kellen admitted. Brent gave a rough grunt.

"Of course not. You went through hell and back. You deserve a little bit of closeness. I can’t imagine how you two were able to be together and keep your hands to yourself." Brent told him, sounding impressed. "Even if I am pissed at the man, I can admire how he was able to remain strong in the face of temptation."

"We weren’t even allowed to kiss." Kellen told him and Brent cursed.

"What fucking bullshit. That’s fucking awful." Brent agreed, pissed for Kellen. Kellen grinned.

"Well, I didn’t want to kill him, so it was a fair trade. Most of the time. Honestly, I think I had to put on blinders for a long time to remain sane and myself. It’s no wonder they were so worried about keeping things from me. I wasn’t acting like myself because I couldn’t do what I wanted." Kellen shrugged. "And maybe there were some of the S Class crazies in there as well." Kellen admitted.

"Some? I’m honestly excited to see how fucking crazy you’re going to get. Rhys is going to be so turned on by it all. I bet he already is. Hell, I’m getting hard thinking about how crazy you’re going to be. The first S Class Field Guide. The world should be trembling right now." Kellen let out a laugh.

"Brent, you should make sure that Sergei doesn’t hear that." Brent snorted.

"Why? He knows I have a friendship boner for you. It’s obvious, and honestly, it’s the best kind. I get to be close to you, but I don’t have to worry about the romance part of it all. That’s the part that can ruin relationships." Brent muttered and Kellen felt his gaze narrow.

"Are things going well with you and Sergei?" Kellen asked and Brent paused.

"I, uh, think so?" Brent didn’t sound so sure.

"So, can you confidently say you aren’t projecting onto me and Rhys right now?" Kellen asked. Brent groaned.

"Don’t even try. Sergei is a completely different kind of crazy compared to Rhys. There isn’t a comparison. Rhys doesn’t have everything in its ’perfect place’ the same way Sergei does. Sergei freaks out if a single pen is out of line on his desk. Rhys would never." Brent’s words were passionate, and Kellen had to bite his bottom lip to keep from smiling.

"Oh really?" Kellen asked and Brent continued on without much prompting.

"I once nudged his notepad while we were in his tent and he pushed it back into place without a word. We did that back and forth about 15 times before he finally looked up at me. He wasn’t even annoyed. He was cool, calm, and holy shit I don’t think I’ve ever been so turned on in my life. He wouldn’t even touch me, either. I had to make the first move. Otherwise, we were just lying next to each other in his cot and he wouldn’t fucking touch-" Brent suddenly shut his mouth.

He coughed and Kellen grinned like a fool. It was nice to hear about Brent’s romantic life, to know that the man had one, and that Sergei, it appeared, knew how to handle Brent. He hadn’t touched him immediately, making it Brent’s issue in the end. Smart man.

"Anyways," Brent said, trying to sound casual, "I’m not projecting any of my issues, thank you. I’m just trying to look out for my friend." Brent cleared his throat. "The website." He said, trying to sound in control.

Kellen laughed at him for a full five minutes.

"You’re the worst." Brent muttered as Kellen slowly got control over his emotions.

"Hey, blame the S Class crazies, alright? I get the good and the bad, apparently. That includes laughing at one of my best friends for a little too long." Kellen said, smiling. "And yes, the jewelry website. I’ve discovered that going overseas with Rhys is causing me some anxiety." Kellen said.

"Anxiety? Why? Does it have anything to do with what we talked about previously?" Brent asked and Kellen hesitated.

"Uh, I would say it probably relates to the S Class crazies we were talking about earlier. I...don’t want anyone to think that Rhys is single." Kellen admitted shyly.

"Ah ha." Brent sounded smug on the other side. "Finally going to stake your claim on the man? Good job. So, you’re thinking about doing that with a piece of jewelry? A choker or something?" Brent asked and Kellen’s face warmed.

"Dad said if I ever bought him a choker to wear that he was going to lose his mind. His words were along the lines of ’no child of mine is going to buy their partner a collar’ or something like that." Kellen said.

It was Brent’s turn to laugh for about five minutes.

"Alright, so I know your Dad doesn’t have a collar kink at the very least." Brent said and Kellen’s face warmed.

"Don’t ever say something like that ever again. I do not need to know a thing about my parents." Kellen told him seriously. Brent’s laughter trickled through the phone, loud, brash, and soothing to Kellen’s soul.

"Hey, you’re the one who is now an S Class. We all know how damn freaky Espers are by nature. I bet Rhys is into some weird shit. Hell, I know he is from the stuff you’ve asked me for help with." Kellen’s face burned.

"Brent." He warned and Brent just laughed again.

"Right. Right. Okay, so you’re not getting him a choker first is what I’m hearing." Brent said, joy in his voice. "So, what are you thinking? Necklace, bracelet?" He asked.

"Ring, actually." Kellen told him. Brent was silent for a moment.

"A...ring?" Brent repeated, almost as if he was clarifying what he had heard. Kellen knew his hearing was better than that.

"Yeah, a ring." Kellen told him, a little embarrassed. "It makes the most sense. A necklace without it being a choker can be hidden under his uniform, same with a bracelet. So, a ring is the best thing I could think of." Kellen said.

Brent groaned on the other end of the line.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Kellen Woods, are you seriously being this dense right now?" Brent asked and Kellen was a little offended at his tone.

"What do you mean am I being this dense right now? Lots of people have rings, and it is a great deterrent!" Kellen told him.

"And why is it a good deterrent?" Brent asked and Kellen opened his mouth and paused.

A beat past, then another, and then Kellen felt his whole face go red.

"Oh." Was all he could muster as his heart began to race in his chest.

"Yeah ’oh’. Kellen, you damn idiot. You were going to get him an engagement ring, hell, a wedding band and you had no fucking clue? What did you think the ring was going to stand for, huh? Your love? That’s exactly what a fucking ring like that means! What finger were you thinking he was going to wear it on? What hand?"

Kellen wanted to crawl into a hole. Was that what Taylor was trying to say before and his Dad had stopped her? Why had he done that? Had he wanted Kellen to figure it out on his own?

Kellen had been so blinded by marking Rhys as his that he had completely forgotten the subtext of what rings meant.

"Dad was the one who really pushed for me to get him a ring." Kellen muttered. Brent snorted, loudly.

"Yeah, I bet he was. Your Dad is a sneaky man." Brent said, and it was praise. "Alright, so, you want to get something to mark Rhys as yours. No collar or choker as you called it, no bracelet and no necklace. Are you still wanting to go forward with a ring knowing what that is going to mean? Knowing what Rhys is going to think it means?" Brent asked. "Are you ready for that kind of weight?"

Yeah, Kellen really needed a Brent in his life. A Brent or a Gwen, because Kellen knew she would be asking the same damn questions of him.

However, as Kellen sat with his words, really sat with them, Kellen found the thought of Rhys being so excited by his gift that it made his chest feel warm. Fuzzy.

"I...I think I am okay with going forward with it." Kellen muttered. Brent made an impressed sound on the other side of the phone.

"Yeah? Well, good then. I’m glad. If that’s the case, let’s start looking. Do you have an idea of what you want for him? Obviously it’ll have to be work friendly. I think they have an Esper section on this website. Ah, yes, they do. Click up top, it’ll drop down under wedding bands." Brent then instructed Kellen through how to use the website.

It was suspicious, but Kellen knew better. Brent wouldn’t be the one plotting to marry Sergei, at least not yet. Brent would need more security in their relationship before that could happen, but Brent did come from money. That, and he had probably helped many of his Espers, Guides and other lovers navigate this kind of thing.

Brent was good with people. He was a universal Guide. Sometimes, guiding someone didn’t just have to do with the powers that you had, but also the environment that you provided. It was the whole reason Kellen had gone to Guiding Center B in the first place. They had understood that, and Kellen had witnessed that by Brent’s side.

Kellen was smiling as they talked back and forth, going over ideas.

In the end, Brent was the one who made up the list so that there were no traces on Kellen’s side. They also decided that Brent would be the one who would do the movements instead of Kellen doing it. Brent would call the stores in their town from his phone, get quotes, and explain who the ring was for (an S Class) and that it had to be the best. Money was not the limit.

Kellen also explained the stone thing, and Brent agreed that after they got the best quote, he should send Taylor to the shop with the stone to get it fitted and sized.

All Kellen had to do was get Rhys’ ring size at this point, and Kellen knew exactly how to do that. Rhys had a pair of gloves that he wore sometimes with his uniform. Kellen could get a ring size from them.

All in all, it was a great planning session. It left both of them feeling good after the call as well.