Chapter 233: Brent’s favourite snack
While Kellen and Rhys were off galivanting around the Guild building having a great time, the rest of the group went to work.
Brent was actually delighted that things were finally moving. He was not delighted by the tension in the room as soon as they got behind closed doors.
Kellen’s parents were rather serious, a complete change from the light-hearted parents of their eldest son who had just gotten engaged, and Aunt Dina was also very serious as well. Sergei remained the same, a silent anchor in this serious moment while even Esper Parker was serious.
Brent just sighed. This is what happened when they decreased the Guides in the room by one, since he wasn’t even counting Kellen’s Dad at the moment. He was too aligned with his wife at the moment and Brent just had to deal with that.
The decisions were intense, even more so because they were about Brent’s safety. Without Kellen here to breathe a bit of fresh air in amongst all of this Esper tension Brent barely felt like he could breathe.
He also didn’t expect a lot from Sergei.
This was not a diss against Sergei, it was more that Brent understood who Sergei was at his core. He was an Esper, and not only that, an S Class Esper. Brent knew what he was getting into bed with, far more than Kellen ever had.
Sergei barely put on the veneer of being a normal human. He was covered in tattoos, piercings, and wore all black mostly. It made his pale skin, what was left of it, stand out. He was a handsome man before he’d gotten tattoos and piercings and he was even more attractive after. Brent had unearthed a few photos from the past and he’d been very pleased with the choices he had made.
In every lifetime Brent had a feeling that Sergei would have always been Brent’s type, looks wise. It was all of the sweetness and goodness inside of him and that strict core of loyalty that made him consider changing his whole life plan for the man.
But, he was still an Esper, and they were talking about Brent being in danger. There was only so much that Brent could expect from the man. So, it came to a complete surprise to Brent and the others when Sergei stood up and spoke for Brent, not for the others.
He made it clear that while he understood the concerns of the others, and that they had their own interpersonal relationships and experiences with Brent’s family, they were just that. Brent’s family, and they should be weighing Brent’s opinions with far more weight then they were currently doing.
Brent was shocked, so were the others. It was a good kind of shock, but Brent did turn and stare at him with big, shocked green eyes. He swore even his mouth was hanging open before he controlled himself and used the moment that Sergei had given him to point out several flaws in the plans that they were making.
If they went with them his brother would just dog walk them, and after listening to Brent and his concerns, they were able to open up the discussion and have a far more productive chat. It turned from them telling him what they wanted to do, to them explaining what they wanted to do and then turning to Brent to make sure it would work.
Sergei was definitely getting a blowjob for that, whether he knew that was the outcome of his actions or not. From the pleased look on his face, he had no damn clue and that was going to make when he sunk to his knees before him even better.
Catching Sergei by surprise was one of the best things that Brent could do. He always looked so stunned, like he’d never fathomed that Brent, the man who had slept with anything and everyone on the front lines, would even care to touch him. That’s what made the moments even better.
Sergei treasured each and every touch he got from Brent not like he was owed it, but like it was a blessing. Brent had never been treated like that before in a relationship, or even a fling. It was intoxicating. Brent couldn’t get enough of it.
It did feel a little strange to talk about the parts of the plan where Kellen was involved but he wasn’t there. He could tell that he wasn’t the only one who felt that way but it was actually Sergei and Kellen’s Mom who was more prepared to have those kinds of conversations. It made it clear that he’d had to live in this strangeness for longer than the others, and that Kellen’s parents had practically come out of their retirement after everything that had happened in the city. Including what had happened to them.
It was strange to realise that the reason everyone was so used to it was because Kellen had been sick for a while, even if Kellen would never consider that the truth. He had been bedridden, had been taken out of the conversation. Brent had a hard time considering it because the Kellen that he saw now was just that. Kellen.
Sure, he had a weird glove and an eyepatch, but he was still Kellen. Still the beefy man he’d always known, still strong, actually even more powerful now, but Kellen. He couldn’t even imagine what it had been like to see him injured and still, the wind taken out of his sails.
Brent actually decided he never wanted to fucking consider it, and pushed it to the back of his mind.
They decided on the fabric and the paint that they would use for his disguise, they even discussed what kind of gun they would use but then decided that Kellen and Rhys were the resident gun users so they would put down a placeholder gun. Brent even suggested Kellen’s more common gun, the one he liked to use on the front lines for them to put down for now, and that was taken.
They then discussed what Brent would say in his press conference.
Unlike Kellen, who could get away with being, well, Kellen, Brent had to create his image from scratch. The public currently knew him as the son who had left everything and everyone behind, who had a terrible reputation, and who had tried to steal everything from his brother.
While only the last part was true, they were missing a lot of the context. Brent had to do a lot of damage control, which they were already working on. Brent realised that he didn’t need to worry about his reputation as Kellen’s Dad was on it.
Brent had no idea that Kellen’s Dad had been on it this whole time until he revealed the truth. He wasn’t from this area in particular, but he had a lot of connections in the city and was happy to use them to change Brent’s image. He’d been doing it already, and that was where all of the positive press for Brent had come from.
Now that he was boots on the ground, things would go even smoother. Especially since Kellen’s Mom could take him to visit certain people and change their opinion in person. Brent was a little curious as to what that meant, but knowing Kellen, he had a feeling.
Brent chuckled. The Woods family might not be a powerhouse like other families, but they didn’t hold punches. They didn’t need to have a lot of money or companies under their names. They didn’t have to. They had people, and a certain set of skills that made them very, very scary.
Brent was once again glad that he just so happened to piss Kellen off at the wrong time and had been sucked into their universe. He couldn’t imagine what could have happened to him otherwise.
Since he had to make sure that his speech was good and concise, it took them several hours to hammer out the details. From PR, to Espers, to the gentle, guiding touch of Kellen’s Dad, the speech was only half done when they realised that they needed to touch on other topics before the S Classes arrived the next day.
Brent stared at the two pages of words that they had managed to string together and chuckled. It was a lot of pretty language, stuff that Brent had never been fond of, but that he knew he needed to say. He wasn’t like his brother, of course, but there was some kind of expectation from the James family that needed to be upheld. It was annoying, but until Brent took it over completely, he needed to play by his rules.
He’d made the game, so it would be all the more satisfying if Brent beat him at it.
Sergei stayed by Brent’s side the whole time. If Brent sat down, Sergei did. If he stood up, so did Sergei. It was like having a tall, intimidating shadow, but Brent just found it cute. The man didn’t show his nervousness on his face, but his actions clearly spelled it out to everyone watching.
Brent swore he even caught Aunt Dina smiling, before she caught herself and hid it. That was a win in Brent’s books. If even Aunt Dina couldn’t be severe and annoyed at Sergei, that was a good sign.
Plus, there had been last night that had really made Brent feel all warm and fuzzy in his gut. Brent had to control himself when he thought about him and how sweet he had been.
They hadn’t gotten up to anything crazy, as much as they had talked a big game. Instead, they had just wanted movies, tucked against each other and making out. Brent had wanted to do more, as did Sergei, but it was Sergei who had suggested that they take it slow.
Not because he didn’t desire Brent, he did, but because it was something that neither of them had done before. Sergei apologised for not clearing things up with Brent ahead of time, but he wanted to take care of Brent, treat him right, and do things that even Sergei hadn’t had a chance to do with others before.
Lazing around and watching t.v. while waiting for Kellen’s text had been something he had never done. He’d never had a chance to lay on top of someone and it was not something inherently sexual. The tension had been there, of course, and they didn’t deny it. Both men acknowledged that it was practically a pulse between them, but they just let it be.
It had been strange, and tender, and had made Brent burn even brighter for the man who had come across the ocean to be with him. Who had wanted to ask Brent out, not already thinking that they were something.
When they had gotten the text from Kellen that everything had gone smoothly, they had celebrated together. Both men sharing in each other’s happiness, and while things could have gotten more serious, neither man pushed it. They just...kissed a bit and opened a bottle of sparkling that Brent had gotten to celebrate his friend’s success.
Did that mean that Brent was going to keep up his good behaviour today? Mmm, that was to be determined. If Sergei kept backing Brent up like the way that he was?
The man should be prepared to be stripped and sucked on like Brent’s favourite treat. He would be, at this rate, and Brent would gladly answer that his favourite food was Sergei soon if he didn’t watch himself.
Seeing how Kellen had wanted to mark Rhys before he’d come overseas, Brent was getting the itch to do the same before Sergei met up with the other S Classes. Was there something to worry about? Were there going to be other S Class Guides there? It was something that Brent hadn’t even considered, but now...
Maybe he should make sure that Sergei had a few marks of his own that chased away annoying people.
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