Chapter 72: At least he’s not an elemental Esper
Dinner was a huge event, but thankfully it went smoothly because everyone stayed out of Kellen and his Father’s way.
The gnocchi took the longest time to make, but all the side dishes were thankfully fairly easy and took up the time while they were waiting for the potatoes. Kellen and his Dad came up with the idea of caramelizing some squash with almonds, brown sugar, raisins, kale, and feta cheese. They stuck with the chicken suggestion and preference, and made a nice pesto chicken that would go well with the cream sauce they were making for the gnocchi. All in all, it was a delicious looking meal, and Kellen was happy that everyone was enjoying the food. The one thing he hadn’t considered was the lack of chairs, and tablespace. But others had. They squished two more chairs around the island, and everyone else went for the couch.
The Captain was busy making himself a plate of food, and then making Kellen one. He then hustled the younger man over to the couch, and made sure that they had everything they could possibly need so Kellen would sit down to eat. Cutlery, drinks, napkins, everything. Kellen wanted to complain, but noticed that everyone else was busy. His Mom was busy doing the exact same thing to his Father. Casper was busy making sure everyone else had their own plate, and Gwen was busy chatting with the group of people she had been panicking about being around about an hour ago. Brent finally looked relaxed, and was chatting calmly with the others as well. It was only Kellen and his Dad who were boxed in and forced to sit down and eat.
After that embarrassing defeat, Kellen and his Dad tried to go clean up when Gunther and Hill gave them death glares and wouldn’t allow either one of them to do so. Kellen hadn’t realised it, but Hill and Brent had been moved to tears over the food. Hill swore that she was going to mooch food off of Kellen at any chance she could get. Brent swore he was going to follow Kellen home for family dinners, and Hill agreed. His parents had just chuckled, clearly pleased with the praise. It was a fun night, where everyone was joking and talking, and it was a great distraction for Kellen. Most of the night the Captain was very touchy feely, until Kellen finally pushed his hand away. The Captain stared down at his palm, closed his eyes, and sighed.
"So the side effects are finally done, huh?" He sounded not just sad, but devastated. Kellen chuckled. Kellen shifted on the couch, where he was sitting next to the Captain, his parents sitting on the other end of the couch, and the rest of the group having pulled up the stools in a circle so they could all chat.
"Do you miss them already?" He asked, wanting to tease the man, but his yellow eyes were serious, even as he clenched his hand.
"You know how I feel about them." He said firmly, and Kellen’s Mom laughed.
"What? Did he push you away>" She asked, a smile on her face and the Captain shook his head.
"No, it was the fear that hurt the most. He was so scared to be alone and I hated that." Kellen felt his face flush as the dirty laundry was aired and Hill seemed surprised. Kellen turned, and hid his face in the Captain’s shoulder. He was too used to touching him now, and the Captain’s slight smile was hidden from Kellen as the Captain began to run his fingers through Kellen’s hair comfortingly. "I didn’t hate that he had side effects, but I would much rather him not have them." It was Kellen’s Dad who broke the silence, snorting.