Chapter 134: Gunther, a man who just wants to feel at home again

The longer that Gunther sat there, the more he felt like he was living in a damn fever dream. It felt like it was only yesterday he was being chased and caught by that fucked up bitch of a Lieutenant and shoved into a cold cell. He could feel the cold of the earth and stone against his back even as he sat in the conference chairs that he should have been more used to.

No matter how warm a room was to him right now, he still felt a chill deep in his bones.

When he told Taylor about it, when Casper wasn’t around, she had looked as sad as he had worried Casper would look. That was one of the reasons he didn’t tell him about it.

There was another reason, but he didn’t want to poke that until he had more information.

So, he told Taylor what was going on, he made sure that he didn’t lie, he let Karen cry when she saw him, let the others come poking around and visit him. He even let Taylor know about the nightmares. All so that they would allow him to come to this meeting.

He’d been away from the places that he had considered his own for too long. He needed something to anchor himself. When he told Taylor that, she didn’t argue. That was when Gunther realised that she had already been thinking of letting him attend. That was the moment that Gunther truly realised that Healer Espers and regular Espers were different. If it had been Gunther in her shoes, he wouldn’t have let him go.

He would have felt too possessive over Taylor if their roles had been reversed, so maybe it was a good thing that he wasn’t a Healer. Just…a basic Water Esper.

Now that Gunther was here, and a few seats away from most of the action, he realised that in the short time that he had been gone a lot of things had happened. He knew that that was the same for himself as well.

He had changed on a fundamental level. He didn’t think it was insanity, but there was a strange part of him that had a lot more sympathy for the psychotic S Class Esper who burst the door down and made Kellen go on high alert.

Gunther was surprised by Kellen’s reaction. The man had never really been that possessive of Rhys before in front of him. Sure, he was possessive, there was no way one could be a Guide or an Esper and not come out a little aggressive, but there was something wrong with it. It all became a little more clear as the others moaned and complained about Kellen’s behaviour and how he was going to react ’once he found out the truth’.

Kellen, from Gunther’s memory, was a smart man. A kind man, but a serious man. If someone purposefully kept something from him, he was normally the kind of guy to ask why and then try to figure out how he was going to respond after that.

Usually.

This was also the man who flew off the handle and beat several Guides on video and then did a press conference not apologising for what he did in the slightest, so…There was a reason he was a good match for Rhys and his crazy ass. Several, actually.

But, Gunther had learned that people had a habit of telling on themselves in the time that he had been with the E.A.G. He’d barely had to poke and people would spill their guts so easily. It turned out, that worked for outside of the E.A.G. as well.

Kellen was probably an S Class Guide.

That was insane to hear, and it was only made worse as he heard more about what had happened when all information from the outside world had been cut off from him. It was the first thing to go since they knew he wanted to hear about what was happening to the others.

They’d say sweet things, like that they would tell him what was going on if only they could get some information of their own, but Gunther knew better.

He’d grown up with his shitty parents. While he had loved them, he knew the playbook that they were attempting to use. He knew that he would get nothing but pain in return, and if he told them anything, pain and fear that his words could hurt those who he cared about. So he remained silent, took his beatings, and kept his friends safe.

Rhys had been so mad at him when Gunther had told him that. It was the first time that Gunther had seen his friend angry like that. Then again, this was the first time that they had been separated like this. The alarming part was that Gunther knew it had to do with Rhys’ powers. The man had probably seen that Gunther wouldn’t have been too upset to die that way.

After all, how in the world could he have considered that when he woke up from his medically induced slumber that Casper, the man who he had always loved, would be at his side?

Gunther didn’t like to look at that truth too long, fearing it was a falsehood, an imagining on his part, or that Casper was only at his side as like a short term loan. Truly, Gunther was sure that his healing would fall into the gutter if he even dared to poke that with his fingers.

So, he turned to look towards the group before him. Sergei was now here, somehow incorporated into their group and once Brent was brought up, Gunther could see why. The man was rather good at schooling his expression, but Gunther grew up with Rhys, knew him better than most, which meant he was used to reading those who didn’t want to be read. Except Casper.

That meant that Gunther could tell the man was greatly impacted by the picture painted by Karen and Kellen. Guide Jameson had been stolen from the front lines right out from under Sergei’s nose. As the S Class in charge of the front lines, usually in collaboration with Karen or Gunther, it must have stung.

It was a testament to the man that he kept his sanity and was sitting at the table now calmly, casually.

Gunther bet that he’d had some kind of contact with Gunther. There was no way that the man wouldn’t have, otherwise Gunther would have been able to feel more of a craziness coming from him. Gunther hated to brag, but he had a real close and intimate understanding of what it did to S Class Espers who were separated from their Guides for a long period of time.

Gunther felt his gaze shift towards his old friend, the way he looked at Kellen and Gunther when he thought no one was looking. It was clear that the man was worried about Kellen, and how he was taking the news, but he was also checking on Gunther. He wasn’t making it obvious, never did, but Gunther knew his friend.

He smiled softly to himself, even as Kellen continued his one man mission to make Jax feel like a piece of shit. Gunther almost wanted to tell the man that it was an impossible task. The man had had his emotional core severely damaged by a fucked up experiment the previous Guild with their colours had done.

An experiment that Jax had agreed to, and that had gone catastrophically wrong. Wrong was putting it too lightly, actually. The only reason that Gunther and Rhys knew of it was because they were put into the same facility as Jax and Jax viewed them as the biggest threat. Rhys had to fight the man over and over before he finally submitted and told Rhys that he was the boss now. Jax was going to follow him forever, since he knew Rhys had the power to make sure what happened to him didn’t happen to anyone else.

A heavy burden for a fucking teenager, but then again, it wasn’t like Jax was much older, and S Class Espers were already a little crazy.

Tragic what happened to his Guild, but he did deserve to get his ass beat by Kellen of all people. Jules was just…letting it happen too. Jules knew better. That, or they were feeling sympathy for Kellen. Being partners with an S Class was no easy task, and the fact that Jules’ second set of powers were lower than S Class was difficult for both of them. They probably viewed it as a blessing for Kellen, but Gunther wasn’t so sure.

Rhys had told Gunther that it hadn’t been him who had found him, but Kellen. There had been real fear in his friend’s voice when he told him that. Gunther couldn’t even blame him.

Kellen having powers similar to Rhys was terrifying. Gunther had been with him when he’d gone to visit those who had powers like Rhys, but at a lower Class. They had been…shells of themselves. Vague humanoid shapes that could barely hold themselves together. Devoid of all humanity, muttering visions that they kept seeing, that kept driving them insane.

That was when Rhys realised that his powers reset himself so that he could remain the human that everyone else knew. Rhys had confided that he was so terrified of what this would do to Kellen, and if Rhys was going to have to break the promise that Gunther had made him swear.

Never, ever reverse the time of another human.

Gunther wouldn’t even be able to fully get mad at Rhys if he had to do it because of Kellen. Gunther would do the same damn thing if he was in his shoes.

The meeting ended mainly because Kellen was getting a little too worked up and everyone was worried for him. Karen escorted Jax and Jules to their usual apartment, and Jax, the fucker, blew Kellen a kiss.

If Kellen had full capabilities of his body and wasn’t injured? The man would have been brought so hard and fast onto his ass that he wouldn’t have known what was going on. Jax would love it, Rhys would curse him, and Jules would smile softly at everyone, like they always did.

Becoming a Guide had really mellowed out Jules. Gunther wondered if some of their behaviours were performative, but that wasn’t his tree to bark up.

Gunther was going to go back to his room in the Medical Bay when a few people called out to him. He was a bit surprised that one of the voices was Kellen’s Mom, and Sergei, but not at all surprised that Kellen and Rhys called him to stay back.

Pamela excused herself, giving the other group some space as Gunther found himself enfolded in a warm hug he had never expected.

“I’m sorry I sent you there alone.” Kellen whispered. Gunther felt like he forgot how to breathe. He had never blamed Kellen outside of the initial suggestion because Rhys had always made it clear that he could have refused, Kellen’s suggestion be damned. Gunther had made the choice, and had decided that he needed some space.

He hadn’t expected it to be a walk in the park, but…he had underestimated how…monstrous the E.A.G. truly were.

That didn’t mean that Gunther shrugged off Kellen’s hug. He was a man who wasn’t used to this kind of affection, same as the two Captains who were hovering around them. However, the Esper who approached him and hugged him next was not the same. She had raised the new S Class Guide, after all.

She hugged him with a fierceness that made Gunther’s eyes water with an emotion he wasn’t ready to touch.

“You’ve done a good job coming back to us, Gunther.” She told him and Gunther blinked back the tears. “We’re all glad to have you back. Rhys needed his best friend back.” She gave him a tighter squeeze, pulling back and Gunther stared into her burning purple gaze. “Come over for dinner soon. With or without anyone else. Our home is your home.”

Gunther’s gaze slid to his friend, asking for help, for anything and instead he found Rhys staring at him, his own eyes watering. He was just nodding, and that alone made it hard for Gunther to keep it together.

For so long he’d wanted to hear that from someone outside of Rhys. To get it now? Fuck, Gunther could barely control himself.

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