Chapter 92: A step in the right direction
Now that Kellen was here, he was nervous.
He had allowed the Captain to lead him up to his apartment, even waved goodbye to the others as he passed them, but now that he was here, he wasn’t sure what to do.
The Captain had left him alone in his apartment while he changed. Kellen, who had only been in this apartment a few times, was feeling overwhelmed. It mirrored a lot of the traits that his apartment had, but he felt uncomfortable. He sat nervously on the couch, his jacket draped over the arm of it, his socked feet tapping lightly on the wooden floor. His hands were sweating, and he wiped them nervously on his pants. He could tell that his eyes were darting around, looking around the apartment but not taking anything in.
"Kellen, don’t look so stiff. Make yourself at home." Kellen jumped when he heard the Captain’s voice from above, and then the Captain’s laughter. "What? Are you now nervous? In my house?" The Captain almost seemed offended. Kellen glanced up at him to find him in a soft gray t-shirt and a pair of soft looking pants. They didn’t seem to be sweatpants, but they weren’t dress pants either. Kellen had never seen a pair like them before.
"I can’t help it." Kellen muttered.
"What do you mean?" Kellen watched the Captain move down the stairs, and found himself unable to take his eyes off of him. When the Captain came to a standstill before him, Kellen swallowed.
"Well, I just..." Kellen trailed off, before glancing away from him. The sigh that left the Captain made Kellen flinch, before the Captain chuckled.
"It’s alright, Kellen. I’m not angry or anything like that. I just hate that you don’t feel as comfortable in my apartment. Should we go to yours?" He asked, and Kellen flinched. He didn’t want to be that kind of person, but... "Your facial expression is telling me yes. Alright, get up. Let’s go." The Captain grabbed Kellen’s jacket from the arm of the couch and headed for the door. Kellen didn’t even have time to protest before he had his shoes on and was ushered out into the hallway and one door down. He felt ridiculous, as he entered his apartment and instantly felt relaxed.
The Captain, who had been happily taking his shoes off and hung up Kellen’s jacket in his closet, glanced at him with a smile. Kellen flushed, ducking his head.