Chapter 141: You belong in my bed

Now that Kellen was here, he was questioning himself. He remembered that his Mom had said that Rhys had gone upstairs to his apartment, but given that they had been arguing, he wasn’t sure if that had meant Kellen’s apartment or Rhys’.

It was a rather awkward position he found himself in. He was standing in front of his own apartment door, unsure if he should enter. The soundproofing of this floor especially was quite good, so Kellen couldn’t hear a damn thing around them.

Sighing, he just shrugged his shoulders and unlocked the door. When he opened the door to his apartment and found no one inside, he had a mix of complicated feelings.

Sadness was the first one, followed by understanding, confusion and anger. He had said he was mad at Rhys, so it wasn’t on Rhys that he assumed Kellen would want some separation. Everyone else had suggested it, and given that this was their first big fight outside of the gate, he couldn’t be upset about the fact that he wasn’t here.

Kellen hadn’t told him that he wanted him to leave, but he also hadn’t told him that he needed to stay, either. He wasn’t blaming himself, but he was kicking himself a bit that he didn’t make it clear.

While he was angry at Rhys, he still wanted to go to bed wrapped around the man, the way that they had been doing since he’d gotten approval from Taylor that it was safe.

Kellen did not want to be away from his Esper for even a second longer than necessary.

Kellen could feel himself getting really worked up, and he hadn’t even taken his shoes off yet. He took a few deep breaths, closing his eyes for a second as he centered himself and then slowly went about his rituals that he normally would do when he got him. His slippers, his change of clothes, his cup of tea.

It was during this time that he considered the fact that Rhys might not have made that choice, it could have been Gunther. While Gunther didn’t hate Kellen and vice versa, the things that Gunther might want to talk about could be sensitive. Kellen could understand that.

So that might be the reason that the apartment felt so big and empty right now. Rhys needed to occupy a space with Gunther.

Kellen’s grip on the teacup in his hand as he sat on his big couch alone, tightened.

Kellen put the innocent cup down before he broke and gave in. He sighed, bending in half and giving himself a quick lecture about invading others’ private spaces, before he stood, straightened, and moved towards the door.

He didn’t change slippers, made sure to grab his keys and left his apartment before going next door. He knocked twice.

The door opened very shortly after.

Rhys answered, his clothes out of place and for a moment Kellen felt like his heart was going to jump out of his damn body before he scanned the disorder and realised it was just his normal behaviour. Rhys had loosened his clothes for comfort, not because he was undressing.

Rhys would never do that. Kellen was just feeling strange at the moment, their relationship strained. However, neither of them would do that. Kellen was silly for even considering it for a second.

Rhys stared at Kellen, surprised.

“Kellen. I, uh, didn’t expect to see you.” Rhys admitted, but he didn’t sound guilty, just confused. “Is something wrong?” He asked. Kellen opened his mouth, ready to tell him yes, something was very wrong, but he stopped himself.

“I was just concerned when I came home and you weren’t there.” Kellen said softly, not wanting to yell at him or accuse him. His idea that Gunther had suggested it had calmed him down significantly. Rhys’ expression froze for a second, before his yellow gaze softened. His grip on the door tightened before he sighed.

“Gunther wanted to come over here. Said he didn’t want to cause more problems in our relationship.” Rhys spoke quietly. It felt intimate, like they were keeping this moment just between them. Kellen frowned slightly.

“I’m angry, but it’s our home.” Kellen said. Then he muttered, “I never agreed with anyone who suggested you or I should sleep elsewhere. You belong in my bed.” Rhys’ eyes widened slightly, before they shimmered into gold territory.

“Understood, Mr. Woods. I will report back to my home once Gunther has had enough of me.” Rhys told him, serious, but his eyes were warm. Kellen swallowed.

“How is Gunther doing, anyways? He had a rather big reaction earlier.” Kellen didn’t realise that he was attempting to peer into the room and Rhys widened the gap for him. Kellen caught sight of Gunther on his back on the giant couch Rhys had. He was twirling a bottle in his hand, careful not to spill a drop. Kellen couldn’t see his expression or anything that would give him a deeper idea of what Gunther was thinking, but Kellen could tell he was unwell.

Kellen could also hear the faint sound of music playing. Sad music. Kellen wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, or where the sadness was coming from, but Gunther had a lot to choose from.

“He’s…getting by. He doesn’t want to go back to his room because Casper has apparently been too much.” Rhys said with a wince. “From what he explained…yeah. It sounds rough, especially when Gunther asked him why he was there, Casper wouldn’t give a clear answer.” Kellen wanted to smack the other Guide.

Was he serious? He had behaved like this the whole time, forced Rhys to let him accompany him to a dangerous battlefield while Kellen couldn’t budge the man, neglected his duties, and all to not answer the man he had done it for?

Kellen felt his face fall slightly, before he began to get angry on Gunther’s behalf.

“Should I go tear into Casper?” Kellen mused out loud and Rhys chuckled.

“I think, my love, you’ve torn into enough people for the day, hmm? Why don’t you come in and see if you can offer Gunther some help as a fellow Guide? Maybe I’m missing something in my aid.” Rhys suggested and Kellen furrowed his brows.

“How can I be of any help right now? Casper and I are barely the same people we were a month ago. I have changed a lot, as you are aware. I know that Casper also has some animosity towards me because he blames me for Gunther being sent to the E.A.G. I can’t exactly defend myself on that point either. Casper’s also been isolating himself from the people who care about him on a self destructive path. I won’t have any good insights into his train of thought.” Kellen told Rhys and Rhys smiled at him.

He reached for Kellen, hesitating for a second before he wrapped an arm around his shoulder, tugging him gently into the room.

“Well now, I can say what you just said is very informative to me. Maybe no one has told Gunther that yet? Especially from your point of view?” Rhys suggested. “Hill has been busy, so she hasn’t dropped by. Taylor as well, and Miro is recovering from his help rescuing Gunther. He’s locked himself up in his plant lab and I hear he’s made himself a bed out of plant matter. I asked one of his people to sneak us a photo and have yet to hear anything so far.” Rhys wiggled his eyebrows. “Maybe I’ll get some photos while you’re here?” Kellen stared at Rhys, the man gently coaxing him into the entryway, and realised that he was trying to bribe him into the room with Miro photos.

Kellen shook his head, chuckling.

“Why? Are you having a hard time?” Kellen asked, narrowing his gaze at his partner, half joking, half serious. Rhys gave a laugh that wasn’t an answer at all, and an answer all the same.

Kellen turned his gaze towards Gunther, listless, on the couch.

“Alright. I’ll come help, but you know I’m terrible at this.” Kellen muttered. Rhys squeezed his shoulder.

“You aren’t. You just think you are. I’ll get you a cup of tea.” Rhys gave him a squeeze as he pulled Kellen fully into the apartment and the door closed behind them. Gunther sat up, scanning the area without seeing it at first.

“Is that the takeout?” Gunther asked and Rhys chuckled.

“It’s my favourite meal, but it better not be yours.” Rhys spoke casually, but his words were a threat. Gunther furrowed his brows, his expression drawing together until Kellen fully revealed himself, coming out from behind the pillar that was kind of blocking his view. Gunther gasped, sitting up fully and putting the bottle down on the coffee table.

“Kellen! I uh, I can leave. If you need to have a chat with Rhys, I can-” Kellen found the flustered Gunther pretty sweet. He even smiled.

“Rhys and I can speak whenever, Gunther. Don’t worry about it. I came over because I was confused as to why you weren’t at home.” Gunther glanced at Rhys who was quietly preparing the kettle for Kellen. He wasn’t helping his friend at all.

“Uh, well, I knew you were upset so I thought we could just hang out in Rhys’ old place.” Gunther said and Kellen nodded.

“Well, it’ll be Rhys’ old place until we finally get the renovations underway. It would probably be smart to do it when we’re overseas helping Brent, right?” Kellen directed the end to Rhys and he nodded.

“I agree. We can ask Pamela, or Gunther to keep an eye on the team we hire.” Rhys suggested, still not turning to face either of them. Kellen could tell from this distance that his back had actually relaxed significantly. Kellen smiled. Kellen turned back to Gunther, who seemed rather confused.

“O-Oh. I didn’t know that you had agreed to the expansion.” He said carefully, proving that Rhys had a lot of ideas when it came to the future he saw with Kellen, and that Gunther and probably Hill knew all of them. Kellen chuckled.

“Yeah. He twisted my rubber arm.” Kellen said, slightly raising his arm in the sling. Gunther’s eyes bulged out of his face.

“W-W oh. You’re joking. Right. Ha ha.” Gunther was so nervous around Kellen it was kind of amusing. Kellen glanced at Rhys’ back before he nodded slightly and turned towards Gunther proper. He moved towards the couch, Gunther tensing like he half expected Kellen to attack him. That wasn’t going to happen. Instead, Kellen sat down, placing his hand in his lap. He stared at Gunther.

“Rhys and I are still working out the kinks of our relationship. That’s what happens when two people start dating from two different ideas of what that looks like. There are going to be rough patches, especially since my body has changed so much in the short time we’ve been together. It’s alarming to consider that it will continue to change, but that’s okay. You don’t need to be on edge just because you are Rhys’ friend. Everyone should be allowed someone to vent to. For a long time it was either my sister or my Dad. Now, it’s Brent, Taylor, or Rhys himself.” Kellen said with a shrug. “No matter what, Gunther, I will never chase you out or get mad at you for having Rhys’ side. You’re always welcome to crash at our place. We’ll eventually even have a spare room or two.” Kellen watched as those words washed over Gunther and he swallowed. Thickly.

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