Chapter 144: Past the boiling point
"Captain, I’m fine. You don’t need to do this." Kellen told him. "Plus, we are still supposed to have our guiding session with Taylor later today." Kellen watched as the Captain’s jaw tightened, and so did his grip on Kellen. It was bruising, and Kellen was sure he was going to have five fingers bruised into his thighs.
"Don’t worry about that. Missing one day isn’t going to be the end of the world." He said that, but Kellen thought differently. They were steadily working towards a safer guiding level for them. One day could be the difference there. Even in this situation, Kellen felt his duty override his own personal feelings. He did not want to put the hard work they had done into jeopardy.
"No. I don’t want to miss a day. It’s important to me to keep things consistent. If we’re going to leave the photo shoot, fifteen minutes isn’t going to hurt us." Kellen felt the Captain’s chest rumble, and he swore he heard a soft, feral growl coming from him. The Captain’s strides became longer as they moved.
"Fine. We’ll go to our guiding session. Then you can’t complain after, alright?" Kellen was surprised by how genuinely upset he was, all because Kellen insisted on them doing their guiding session. He worried that the Captain wasn’t stable at all, and wanted to check his levels, but knew he wouldn’t take to that too kindly.
"O-Okay." He agreed.
"Brent, make sure that the rest of his things end up in his office. He can grab them tomorrow." Captain ordered over his shoulder as they swiftly left the room, and Kellen heard Brent confirm over his shoulder. The two of them moved down the hallway towards the elevators.
"Captain, is everything alright?" Kellen asked, confused since this whole reaction stemmed from his tears, but the Captain seemed to be taking it personally. Kellen knew that today had been a rollercoaster for himself emotionally, but he didn’t know how the Captain was holding up.
The Captain came to a stop once they were at the elevators. After pressing the button, Kellen was still in his arms, he stood waiting, impatient. Kellen could tell from the way his jaw was clenched.
"I’ve never been better, Mr. Woods. Why are you asking?" Kellen couldn’t believe him. He wasn’t looking down at him, and instead was staring straight ahead when he responded. He was even tapping his foot. Kellen had never seen him like this before, even when he’d been angry at Hill for compromising a mission on the front lines. The one that ended with her getting the shit beat out of her.