The next morning when Kellen opened his eyes in bed, he felt like his body was already breaking out in a cold sweat.

Today was the day.

Today, he would go and do not just one retest, but his first ever test for Esper powers.

After the night he’d had prior, he wasn’t sure how to feel about it all. He was anxious, full of feelings he normally didn’t have, and he was wide awake while on his side in the bed. Normally he wouldn’t be this awake right away, but the fear was turning in his gut.

He hadn’t even slept well the previous night, which was unusual for him. Ever since he started sharing the same bed with Rhys, he had no issues sleeping.

"Good morning, Kellen." Rhys’ gravelly morning voice washed over him, a hand reaching out and touching his cheek. Kellen flinched before he eyes turned and found Rhys’ yellow gaze. They were soft with love, his touch gentle. He didn’t even look mad that Kellen had flinched. "I can see you’re nervous without even asking." He murmured and Kellen let out a soft breath.

"I don’t like doing retests anymore." Not ever was the actual answer, but Kellen was trying to be nice. He knew that Rhys had gone this far for him. He’d even gone behind the D.E.C. and the rest of the government to get these machines for him because Kellen hated them so much. He knew that he was being ridiculous.

He just couldn’t control his reactions right now.

"Sugar, it’s alright. You can be as nervous as you want, I’ll be with you the whole way. We know one of the truths already. You’ve already done so many little things to make it clear to all of us that you are an S Class Guide. We just want the numbers, that’s all. I’ll be with you too. No one else is going to bother you." Kellen nodded. He slowly inhaled and exhaled, but something on his face must have made Rhys react.

He reached for Kellen, pulling him close and hugging him tightly.

"My lovely Guide. No one is going to be upset about you being nervous. We all care for you and support you. I made sure that the scientist, doctor, whatever she is who is helping is something that Fisher knows. He wouldn’t send anyone to hurt you, and if he did, we’d have to reevaluate his position." Rhys told him, holding Kellen against his chest.

Honestly, being in his arms, pressed against his chest? That was doing more to help Kellen calm down than any breathing exercise he’d done. It was a little embarrassing to discover that, but at the same time, Kellen was a little thrilled that it was the case.

Who needed breathing exercises when you could just rest your head against your boyfriend’s chest?

"I know. I know that everyone worked hard to make sure that I’m okay. I just...it’s hard to forget how they treated me." Kellen muttered. "I’m trying. As long as the room doesn’t look like the Center, I’ll probably be okay." Kellen told him and Rhys pressed a kiss against his forehead.

"Of course, my love. I’ll make sure that’s the case. We don’t want you to relive any bad memories." Rhys confirmed, comforting Kellen a bit more before they had to get up. Rhys’ alarm was the sign that they couldn’t lay in bed any longer and slowly, the day began.

~

Kellen felt like his skin was crawling along his arms as he entered the Medical Bay. He could feel a different vibe in the air, the tension different. It wasn’t even this kind of charged when all of the unconscious members of the Guild who had been sucked into the gate had been brought in. At least, in Kellen’s opinion.

Rhys was at his side, holding his hand as the two of them walked down the hall. Rhys seemed to know where they were going, or at the very least he was making it seem that way. Kellen was glad that he knew the way, since Kellen was pretty sure he wouldn’t have it in him to ask.

Thankfully, it was pretty easy to find. It was down the same hallway that they had the room where they had done their guiding sessions. That felt like eons ago given everything that had happened, and now, Kellen let Rhys open the door into the testing room.

It was similar to the Center, and at the same time, not.

Unlike at the Center, the large space wasn’t completely divided by a glass wall. Instead, most of the machines that were used for monitoring everything were enclosed in a glass barrier, but the door wasn’t fully there. You could easily walk in and out of the complicated, machine-filled area.

The other side, that was where the Espers and Guides were hooked up, was in front of most of the glass wall. There were two rather comfy-looking chairs, a cooler nearby which Kellen was sure was full of shakes, and a few chairs nearby that were already occupied with bodies.

Hill was one of them, along with Kellen’s parents, Charlie, and Jules. Kellen did not expect to see their face here, but surprisingly, they fit in with the line up.

Everyone raised their head as soon as Rhys and Kellen entered the room, and Taylor, who was busy fussing in the smaller, closed off room with what appeared to be at least two more people, popped their head out and sighed.

"You certainly took your time, didn’t you?" She asked, giving Kellen and Rhys a pointed look. It was clear that she was scolding them, implying that they had been up to no good the prior night. Kellen took offense.

"While I am fighting myself against being here, I would never do anything that would put this in jeopardy. Even if I would very much like to." Kellen told her stiffly, annoyed. Taylor stuck her tongue out at him, her blue eyes shifting to green quickly as she scanned him.

"Just checking. You can never be careful. What with all of your new urges and your inability to control yourself as well as you used to and all." She said, stepping back into the room for a second, whispering to the others, before coming back out.

She looked tired. Not exhausted like she normally did, a hum of excitement under her skin as she approached the couple.

"So, I know we aren’t excited in the slightest, but are you ready? Lieutenant Fisher sent over a family member to help out. I believe you met her before." Taylor motioned for them to approach and Kellen recognised them. They had helped with Charlie’s testing and had been rather nice. She smiled as she approached, offering both Rhys and Kellen her hand.

"It’s nice to see you two again, and hopefully, this will be just as smooth." She said, and then her smile creased her cheeks. "It sucks that I can’t brag that I’ve been to two S Class Guide measurings, but another pride I hold is how I am able to keep to myself." She told them with a firm handshake. Rhys chuckled.

"I’m glad to hear it. We’ll be in your capable hands." He spoke for both Kellen and Rhys, and Kellen nodded. He could already feel his nerves rising.

"Can we do the Guide test first? I think I want to get what I know out of the way." Kellen spat out, his nerves making his sound a little brash, rough. Taylor smiled, nodding, and Rhys and Kellen moved towards the comfy-looking seats. Everyone waved at him, smiling encouragingly. Even Jules gave Kellen a thumbs up.

Kellen tried to regulate his breathing.

Rhys helped him undress, Taylor putting on the monitoring pads with ease on Kellen first, and then Rhys. Rhys held Kellen’s hand firmly in his own, giving it a gentle squeeze when he sensed that Kellen was tensing.

"This room isn’t too bad, right? It’s pretty open, not claustrophobic, and Green can tell you exactly what’s going on when you aren’t guiding." Rhys told him and Kellen nodded. He appreciated that he was trying to distract him, but Kellen’s mind was everywhere and nowhere at once.

"Kellen, are you ready?" Taylor asked cautiously. "We have everything set up. All you have to do is Guide the Captain. Are you ready?" Taylor asked and Kellen swallowed. He gave a quick nod, not sure if he could speak. His whole body was shaking slightly and Rhys squeezed his hand comfortingly. When Kellen met his gaze, Rhys’ yellow one was warm, soft.

"You’ll be fine. I trust you, Kellen. I love you. We’ll be fine." Rhys assured him and Kellen nodded, licking his lips. He heard Taylor begin the countdown and Kellen felt his body tense.

Then, he slowly let his guiding power flow out of his body and into Rhys’, and Kellen was sucked into the guiding world that he was used to.

Or, thought that he was used to.

He knew the waves, knew the ocean, knew the patterns, the rocks, everything, but something felt...different. Not off, not bad, just...different.

Kellen didn’t think the strength of the waves was as overwhelming, as all consuming. He was able to struggle to the surface, see the ocean around him instead of being pulled down with the riptide. He could actually...enjoy the water.

When Kellen began to sprinkle the rocks, he found that they weren’t the little pebbles he’d started as, or the rocks that he had been used to either. They weren’t boulders by any means, but they were rocks that were the size of his palms, if not a little bigger. Giant things considering how hard he’d had to struggle to guide Rhys before.

Kellen watched the rocks sink to the bottom and then began to smash against the rocks, the iridescent power fusing into the waves. It had been so long since Kellen had gotten to see this sight that it almost brought tears to his eyes.

In no time at all, the ocean was glittering like a rainbow, taking half, no, quarter of the time that it normally did. Kellen didn’t even need to be told to stop guiding, he just did.

He opened his eyes, meeting the stunned, brown gaze of Rhys. Jules gasped, as did Hill.

"Holy shit." She muttered under her breath while Kellen held Rhys’ hand in his own for a long moment, emotional. It was one thing to be an S Class, it was another thing to realise that not only could he help Rhys more, but that he could help so many people now.

Kellen’s core trembled with the knowledge that being a Field Guide had just gotten infinitely easier, and that there were people out there that did not want that for him. Kellen let out a shaky breath, Rhys moving forward to tug him against his chest.

"If you cry, I’m going to think I did something wrong." Rhys whispered and Kellen gave a wet laugh.

"Sorry. That was just...it was so easy, Rhys. So easy. It doesn’t compare to before." Kellen told him and Rhys’ arms tightened around him.

"Good. I’m glad that’s what you’re taking from this." Rhys muttered, holding him as Kellen fought his tears. His life would get infinitely easier once he could control these damn emotions again.