Face burning, heart racing, Kellen stepped into the office and sat down numbly on one of the couches there as the voices of Ms. Hill and Lieutenant Casper became clear. He swallowed thickly as the Captain stayed in the doorway, his arms crossed as he waited for the other two. It was clear that he deemed it unsafe for the two of them to be alone currently, and Kellen wholeheartedly agreed. Kellen knew he only had a few seconds before the others joined them, so he needed to gather himself enough that it didn't look like the Captain had just made his legs jelly from one kiss. Fuck, were all kisses like that? Kellen raised his shaking hand to touch his lips, but resisted the urge at the last minute. That would make him look like a weakling, and he was not weak
"Thanks for holding the door open for us, Captain Thatcher. I picked up the paperwork from the secretaries on the way here." Ms. Hill's voice was cheerful as she entered. She slid her gaze towards Kellen before casually placing the papers down on the coffee table. He almost thought he got away with it if it wasn't for the way she smirked, tucking her head as she sat on the couch across from him. Fuck. She'd noticed. Casper settled into the couch next to her and not wanting to deal with any of their chatter, Kellen reached for the papers like a lifeline. Ms. Hill unwrapped a lollipop while Casper scrolled through his phone. Kellen felt the couch dip as the Captain settled next to him, but he kept his head down, staring at the words in front of him. He surprised himself, considering he was worried he wasn't going to be able to focus with the Esper so close to him. He proved himself wrong.
It wasn't until he got about half way through the contract that he started laughing.
"What's up?" The Captain asked, and Kellen shook his head, still laughing. He pointed to the section he had just finished, finding this hilarious.
"I wondered if you were going to include a clause like this in the contract. Turns out I was right. Are you that worried I'm going to try to escape, Captain?" The Captain wasn't expecting Kellen to tease him, which might explain why his face bloomed with colour as Kellen smiled at him. He cleared his throat.
"It's only for convenience's sake." He told him, and Kellen didn't buy it for a second. Since he found out that this man was an S Class, there was no going back. Kellen knew what his Mother was like with his Dad, so he just doubled that in his mind.
"Oh yes, having the apartment next to yours is only for convenience's sake. I'll make sure to keep that in mind." Kellen responded. Ms. Hill snorted, but didn't say anything.
"Keep reading, Mr. Woods. It's a long contract, and you wouldn't want to miss anything." The Captain told him, his cheeks still pink. Kellen smiled, but did as he was told. It wasn't as long as he said because Kellen finished going through it a few minutes later.
"I'm only still confused about one part. Why am I getting paid so much, and why is the hazard pay so high?" Kellen hadn't even had hazard pay this high when he was on the front lines. Casper blinked at Kellen's words, before he coughed.
"Well, we took into consideration the fact that you are an A Class Guide now," it wasn't confirmed, but it was nice of him to say, "then we took into consideration the fact that you are guiding an S Class Esper. That rate is competitive in the market. We wanted to make sure you had nothing to complain about when it came to money matters. You're going to be accompanying Captain Thatcher on the front lines, so we actually low balled the hazard pay for now with the intention of raising it if the situation called for it." Kellen stared at the other Guide, before he turned his gaze to the pieces of paper. He was in shock that there was such a difference between being a C Class and A Class when it came to pay.
"I see. I wasn't aware that the differences between Classes were so vast." The Captain watched him, shifting slightly.
"The contract would have been the same, if not more, if you hadn't gone up a Class Mr. Woods, since compatibility doesn't change when Class changes." For something the man had said with conviction, Kellen didn't really believe him. It wasn't proven, and there hadn't been enough studies done with enough groups to confirm it either. But Kellen wasn't going to start a fight with him over it.
"Okay. So, if I'm understanding the fine print here, you want me to be at your beck and call, live next to you, and go along with you when you go to the front lines? Do I have personal time when I'm not on call?" Casper's eyes widened across from him, and Ms. Hill's shoulders began to shake with her silent laughter. The Captain frowned deeply, turning fully to face the Guide next to him.
"Of course you are not at my beck and call all day. You have normal work hours. If a situation happens and I need guiding outside of that, you get overtime pay. Like any other personal, exclusive Guide." He took the papers from Kellen and flipped to the part of the contract that outlined those points. Kellen tried to keep a straight face since he hadn't denied any of the other things Kellen had claimed.
"So you won't get upset if I went back to spend a night at my parents?" He asked, feeling a little devious. The Captain froze, turning his gaze towards him.
"I would like to know where you are, but I'm not going to prevent you from doing things in your free time. I'm not your keeper, Mr. Woods. Did you think I would lock you up in a box and prevent others from seeing you?" Kellen shrugged.
"Captain, I'm only clarifying and making sure we are reading the same things from the words written down. I'm not saying you would, Captain, but I wouldn't put it past some S Classes to write a contract like that." The Captain didn't seem amused by Kellen's comment.
"Who do you know that would write something like that?" He asked and Kellen smiled.
"The Captain of the Peach Guild would." The Captain paused, thinking about it before he sighed. Anyone who knew Captain Sakura would agree with him.
"Well, I can understand where your concern comes from if you are using her as an example. But I am hurt, Mr. Woods. I thought you knew me better than that." He truly did sound hurt, and Kellen mindlessly patted the man's shoulder while looking over the contract again.
"Captain, I knew you when we didn't have good compatibility, and since then, things have changed quite a bit. If I'm honest, you aren't completely foreign to me, but we didn't run in the same circles on the front lines." Mainly because Kellen refused to, but that didn't matter right now. "I spent my time cleaning carcasses and making meals, while you spent your time ordering me and others like me around. That isn't me drawing a line between us, but I am aware of how different the worlds we come from are." Captain Thatcher sighed at his words.
"And you, Mr. Woods, come from Esper royalty, but you don't see me constantly pointing that out, do you?" Kellen flinched. Alright, he'd made a solid point. Kellen turned and smiled sheepishly.
"Fair enough. I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around this, that's all. It feels surreal. I mean, I've always wanted to be an A Class Guide, and within what felt like five minutes I became one, and I found a match at the same time. I'm still a little bit in shock. This all feels like a dream." Casper chuckled, a slight smile on his lips while Ms. Hill unwrapped another lollipop and shoved it in her mouth. She offered one to Casper, who turned her down. The Captain wasn't pleased with his words, and frowned at Kellen.
"Did you never think we were compatible?" He asked. Kellen answered without hesitation as he reached for the pen on the coffee table to sign the contract.
"No, never." The Captain stopped moving.
"Why?" He asked, and Kellen sighed. He paused just before he began signing to look up at the S Class Esper. The poster child, the most powerful man in the country.
"Captain, when you're a C Class anything, you never, ever think that someone of a higher Class is going to look at you with a favourable thought. Ever. I would have been happy with a C Class Esper with a match rate of 50%. Hell, I would have taken 40%. For my work it was a good thing I didn't have high matches, but for my personality, I took it as a failure. I know I'm not bad at my job, so why would I have shitty matches? Also, they don't even test C Classes against A Classes for compatibility, so no one was going to test us against each other unless you asked. They wouldn't have listened to me if I had. You know, as I do, that it's dangerous for either partner when there is such a huge gap in powers." The Captain didn't seem pleased with Kellen's words.
"What if what happened between us happens to other pairings with large disparities in Classes? Where the lower Class jumps ahead? What if consistent contact with the other person helps balance out their powers because they have a high match rate?" He asked, a slightly desperate tone to his voice. Kellen just shrugged.
"That's a good theory, but how are we going to test it? We can't, and I also doubt the Center would be willing to either. Usually Captain, when people think that they got placed in the wrong Class, or that they are increasing in power, people just think that they're crazy." Kellen tried to keep his tone light, like it was a joke, but the Captain's frown only grew deeper.
"You aren't crazy, Mr. Woods." He stated firmly, and when Kellen didn't respond to him, he sighed. He turned, sinking back into the couch. "Maybe I'll bring it up at the next quarterly meeting, after news about your jump breaks to the public. Oh, I forgot, but they want to speak to you about that, but I wanted to speak with you before I told them to move forward with it. The Center is chomping at the bit to release the news of the first Guide in the country to jump Classes. Do you feel comfortable with announcing it? And did you also want to announce our match rating at the same time? If we separate them we can get more positive coverage of it, but the public will likely focus on one point more than the other if we do. But, I don't want to take away from your time to shine." The Captain sounded like he was being careful when he spoke about this. Kellen hummed as he began signing the papers before him.
"Oh, I don't care about it either way. Whichever is easiest." Casper gave a sigh of relief.
"Oh thank goodness. I've had the head Guide of the Center nagging me every half an hour since the news broke about when they can release it. I'll let them know that we can do it as soon as they want to." Casper began to message someone, typing rapidly on his phone. Kellen was just looking over the contract to make sure he had signed everything, and could feel the Captain's eyes on him.
"Captain, this contract is only for one year, so do we renew it after that?" Kellen asked, glancing at him. He froze, before a soft, gentle smile touched his lips.
"Of course we can. I didn't want to sign you into a long contract the way Guiding Center B did in case there were some terms you wanted to negotiate down the line." It was very considerate of him to think that way. Kellen gave him a smile.
"Thank you for thinking of me. I don't see how I would want something else added to this contract, since I already feel that it's very generous, but we can always check on it in a year." He smiled at him. Kellen didn't notice how the two sitting on the couch across from him had frozen at the words exchanged between the two, and at the soft, gentle look on the Captain's face.
"Have you finished signing everything Mr. Woods?" The Captain asked, and Kellen nodded, handing the papers to him.
"I believe so. When did you want me to move in? Wait, is the apartment even free right now?" He chuckled at his concerns.
"That eager, huh?" Kellen ignored what he implied.
"Well, I can't say I'm not eager, but it's more I don't have a lot to pack up so if I don't move right away I'll be in a rather empty house." He said cheerfully, and it seemed to surprise the Captain.
"Oh? I would have thought you would have protested more about moving into the Guild tower. Your concerns about the apartment aren't too big since no one has lived in the apartment next to me. That being said, it has been given to guests on occasion when the need arises. It's empty, but always maintained. You could move in today if you really wanted to." He said, taking the pen from Kellen and signing the contract casually. "If you need anything, I am more than happy to provide it. The apartment will only have the most basic appliances and furniture, so if you think of anything you want you can just let me know and I'll have someone pick it up." Ms. Hill waved her hand from the couch, catching Kellen's attention.
"It's me! I'm the one who'll pick it up. Since we have nothing to do yet because we are in talks about the gate right now, I'm the lackey of the office." She told him with a grin, and Kellen smiled in return. Captain finished signing the contract and handed it to Casper. Casper glanced over it, making sure everything was done correctly before he smiled at the two of them.
"It looks perfect, you two. Welcome to the Saturn Guild officially Guide Woods. I look forward to working with you." He went to stand up. "As much as I planned to observe you using your power today, Ms. Green takes priority over me since she is in charge of your health. She wanted to make sure she observes you two while you guide him, and I agree. I also have other business to attend to, and I feel like Captain Thatcher has other things he wants to occupy your time with." If it had been Ms. Hill who had said that to him, Kellen would have assumed there was an innuendo hidden in the words, but Casper seemed sincere. Casper then turned to the Captain. "I mean it, Captain Thatcher. Go to Ms. Green so she can monitor you two. It's for Guide Woods' safety." He finished his warning before leaving the room and Captain chuckled, shaking his head.
"We'll send you a copy of the contract once we've scanned it into our system. Did you have any other questions about it before we moved onto another topic?" Captain Thatcher asked, sinking back into the couch as Kellen took a moment to think. After a few seconds, he shook his head. The contract seemed fair enough, and with the wiggle room of it only being a year, he could easily come back and negotiate. He wasn't too concerned, since up until this point the Captain hadn't lied to him. He also knew Ms. Hill's character, and knew she wouldn't work for someone slimy. Plus, Taylor was here. She would have warned him away if she was worried the Captain would sign him into a slave contract.
"No, I think I'm okay. What else did we need to discuss?" He asked, and the two Espers shared a look. What? Was it something dangerous?