Chapter 307: Praise and unconditional love

Kellen and Aunt Dina were both right. It was a smarter idea to have Salem upstairs with all of the people who could protect them, and that Uncle Parker was in trouble.

Salem, who had been a rather nervous, but sweet person in Kellen’s eyes as they had helped him get ready, was instead a storm cloud to be reckoned with. They suited the Esper as Uncle Parker tried to placate them but they marched up to Aunt Dina and demanded the details. Normally, that would be the right answer, but Kellen cleared his throat.

As someone who had just gone through his partner keeping something rather important from him, he felt particularly qualified to speak to Salem and clarify anything that they needed clarification on.

Plus, it would probably be best to speak to either him or Brent, and Brent was too busy being cute with Sergei to be able to. He’d earned it, too, so Kellen took up the mantle.

Salem seemed surprised when Kellen spoke up, and Uncle Parker seemed relieved at first, but it was Rhys who reached for Uncle Parker, placing a hand on his shoulder and shaking his head. He should not feel relieved. Not because Kellen was a bad man, but because Kellen was always going to support the weaker person and in this case, that was Salem.

Uncle Parker knew that, he had just hoped that Kellen would get him out of the hole he had made for himself. There was no way Kellen was doing that. It actually seemed like he made it worse as Salem vibrated the more that he spoke. When he got to the attempt on Uncle Parker’s life and how Kellen had prevented it, Salem had gasped dramatically and spun, hand over mouth, eyes watering as they looked back at their husband.

Uncle Parker had at least looked sheepish when Salem began hammering their fists on his chest. It didn’t hurt, Kellen knew. Not physically at least. His ego though? Kellen was sure it was in tatters.

That was when Aunt Dina stepped in, offering a room card to Salem and told them that it was room 507. Salem took it, their glare fierce enough to pierce Uncle Parker, and thanked Aunt Dina and Kellen for being so accommodating. Kellen might be new to relationships, but that did not sound good for Uncle Parker.

When they had left and the door had locked into place behind them, Kellen’s Dad let out a low, heavy breath.

"We shouldn’t expect to see Jeff for a few days." He muttered and Aunt Dina grunted, staring at the door.

"I’ll ask Vance to pick up his duties temporarily. He’ll be understanding. Salem works for him as a receptionist, so he’ll understand." Aunt Dina explained, and that was the first time that Kellen heard that Salem worked for Vance. It strangely...fit.

"Well, if everything seems to be handled for now, I would like to go wash off the rest of this paint and relax and wait for the rest of the evening." Kellen declared, surprising the rest of the group. To them, it would seem like Kellen would want to wait it out with the rest of them.

"You don’t want to stay?" His Mom asked, voicing her concern and Kellen nodded.

"You won’t let me near anyone if we captured them, Colby probably won’t talk and we already have enough S Classes around that I’m not worried. I’m allowed to give myself breaks, Mom. I’m not getting any other visions, and I trust everyone else in this room. Is it so wrong that I want to head back to my room?" He asked. His Mom shook her head, along with his Dad, but they both seemed confused.

"No no, there’s nothing wrong with that, I just..." She trailed off, reaching for her son and touching his shoulder. "You’ll be okay? You truly don’t think you’ll have another vision right now?" She asked. Kellen was about to ask her why she was being so cautious when he stopped. Any complaint died in his throat.

He had had two extra ’vision’s’ or ’gut feelings’ back to back. Granted, it was a high stress situation so that was where he often had them back to back, but his Mom was right to be worried. Kellen relaxed, giving her a soft smile.

"I will be, and if something happens, you know Rhys would be the first one to contact you in that case. He wouldn’t let anything happen to me." Kellen told them. That seemed to relax her and she pulled him into a tight hug.

"Okay. Get some rest. You did a good job today." She told him. Kellen hadn’t expected those words to leave her mouth but he liked hearing them. He squeezed her tightly in return.

"You did an amazing job too, Mom. I doubt he was expecting both of us." Kellen said, his lips curling up into a very pleased smile. His Mom matched it, her eyes twinkling as she passed Kellen off to his Dad who hugged him just as fiercely.

"Don’t take after your Mother too much. Don’t forget that you took after me first." His Dad muttered, sounding annoyed but Kellen knew that wasn’t the case. They were too much in love with each other for anything like that to stick.

"Understood. I’ll do my best." Kellen told him seriously, getting a laugh from his Dad and complaints from his Mom. Kellen stepped back, smiling at his parents, and turned to look at Rhys. He was smiling too, seemingly happy that they were having a nice family moment. So, it was a nice surprise when his Mom scowled at Rhys and waved him forward.

"Did you think you were free from this? Come over here, Mr. Son-in-law. You’re stuck with us now." She said and Rhys stared, surprised, before his feet started moving. He didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands as Kellen’s Mom hugged him, pulling him into the hug tightly and sighing loudly in his ear. "You’re as stiff as a board, young man. It’s nothing fancy." She accused, pulling back and patting his shoulder with her hand. "You did a good job today as well, Rhys. We’re proud of you." Rhys seemed to wobble on his feet, the impact of those words hitting him heavily. It wasn’t over, though.

Kellen’s Dad had a turn with him next, and Rhys seemed to not know what to do with the soft man who hugged him sweetly. He enfolded Rhys in his arms, squeezing him.

"Ellie’s right. You did such a brave thing speaking up for everyone and acknowledging the wrongdoings of the other S Classes. It’s no easy feat to admit that you did something wrong, and to be the poster child for it? We understand how hard that can be. You’ve done a good job today, Rhys." Kellen felt his throat grow tight even hearing their words.

How they were extending their kindness and love toward Rhys without question made Kellen feel quite emotional, and he was able to feel it for himself instead of it washing over him. He clenched his fists at his side, watching his fiancé be petted and loved by his parents and damn it, it was a good feeling. Kellen was proud of Rhys too.

He had wanted to praise him in private, but seeing this moment and experiencing it now told him that Rhys had needed this. He would always need this. Kellen would have to get better at praising him in public, in showing him his love for him and care for him in public spaces. Kellen’s eye darted around, taking in the room around him as well.

The others watched on, such a deep longing in their eyes while also smiling. They were living vicariously through Rhys while he was loved by Kellen’s parents, and that twisted Kellen’s insides.

He knew, of course he did, that most Espers who came from civilian parents didn’t find acceptance easily. Most parents didn’t know how to manage having a child that was so much more powerful than them. It was only the parents who were Espers and Guides who had an easier time raising them, and most of them were so twisted or damaged from their own experiences that they weren’t able to give them a good home life.

Kellen knew he was the exception to the rule, but it hadn’t hit him this hard until now. Kellen was going to have to comfort Rhys, and later, once things were more stable and Kellen could feel like he had a better grasp on his newfound powers and things didn’t feel so chaotic, he would have to make space for their people as well.

If they couldn’t find relief and unconditional love like this in their homes, Kellen would make sure that their people would be able to find it with them. Kellen couldn’t have kids, couldn’t give birth to them, but their people? They were their family and Kellen would use the examples that his parents had given him to treat them as such.

When his parents released Rhys, the man looked shaken to his core, but in a good way. His eyes were a little wet, but Kellen and the others said nothing. Kellen just offered him his hand, smiling, and Rhys took it. He looked like he needed a minute, and Kellen was sure he did.

Kellen would just make sure he had it in his arms.

When Kellen looked over at Brent, Sergei and Aunt Dina, Brent’s eyes were soft and blue. He waved Kellen on with his chin, telling him to take care of themselves first. Kellen hesitated only for a second because after Brent told him to go, Sergei did the same. With confirmation from both of them, Kellen turned and smiled at his Aunt, nodding to her, and she softened.

"Have a good evening you two. We’ll keep you up to date if anything else happens. Keep a phone nearby." She warned, as if knowing what the men were going to get up to. Kellen nodded seriously, and she chuckled.

Kellen and Rhys left the room after that, hand in hand, heading towards the elevator. They didn’t speak, didn’t need to, as they made their way to their assigned room. They did pass a few people moving about the Guild, everyone nodding to them shyly as they passed and Kellen gave them a smile in return. He wasn’t sure how nice his smile was given he was sure he still looked scary, but none of the people they ran into seemed to mind. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Kellen was glad once they were in their own room and the door was closed behind them. They could just be themselves.

From the way that they both sighed heavily, almost in unison, they were of the same opinion. Rhys chuckled, smiling at Kellen as they slid their gazes to each other in response. Rhys pulled Kellen in close, hugging him tightly now that they were somewhere safe.

"I love you, Kellen." Rhys murmured into Kellen’s throat, squeezing him tightly. "I love you so much." He repeated. Kellen melted, hugging the man back just as fiercely.

"I love you too." Kellen told him. "More than I can ever express properly." Kellen admitted. They stood holding each other in front of the door until their heartbeats had slowed and they seemed to both relax. When they pulled away, just enough that they could stare into each other’s face, Kellen spoke again.

"Do you want to help me clean off the rest of my body paint?" Kellen asked. Rhys’ eyes dipped, scanning Kellen’s body with his eyes and Kellen watched as they shifted. The bright yellow shifted to the gold tone that Kellen loved.

"Are you sure you want me to just wash you up?" Rhys asked and Kellen chuckled, leaning in and pressing a sweet, soft kiss against the other man’s lips.

"Why do you think I asked you?" Kellen teased. "I love having your hands all over me." Kellen told him, licking his lips. Rhys let out a low sound full of desire and he tugged Kellen against him tightly.

"I can never win against you." Rhys admitted, but he didn’t sound upset in the slightest. "Let’s go, then. Before anything else happens."