Soul Mate Service (boyxboy)

Chapter 10

THIS WAS A DOUBLE UPDATE. Please make sure you have read chapter 9 before this one!

THIRD PERSON POV

A single drop of wetness fell, soaking into the garlic bread on the counter and leaving a darker circle in its wake. Aria immediately pressed his soaked sleeve to his cheeks, wiping furiously in yet another desperate attempt to get rid of the salty tears that he couldn't seem to stop from falling all morning.

The small man hiccupped as he packed the rest of his Soul Mate's lunch, trying his best to keep his miserable emotions at bay so as not to disturb Thaddeus, who lay sleeping on the couch only a short distance away.

It was practically impossible for him to sleep comfortably the last two nights, only getting a few, random winks here and there. His brain kept awakening him to the haunting repetition of Thad's voice, replaying the same, painful phrase like a broken record;

'He puts these stupid ass notes in my lunch every day; I swear when I see them, they make me lose my entire appetite.'

"Mm..." Aria whimpered, pressing the back of his hand over his mouth and squeezing his eyes tightly shut as more salty tears fell from his abused lacrimal glands and onto the counter.

It took a few excruciating minutes of deep breathing before Aria was able to finally pack up his lunch and clean the small mess he'd created in his cooking process. He slipped on his uniform and shoes and dragged himself out of the door, leaving well before the Digi-windows displayed the hint of the sun rising above the horizon.

Thaddeus woke about two hours later to the bright light of the Digi-Windows, the sticky line of drool connecting his cheek to the pillow a testament to the high quality of rest he'd gotten the previous night.

It was amazing, not having that damn Bug bothering him all day like he usually did. Instead, his Free Day was filled with the peace and quiet he craved, the petite man not leaving the bedroom to even get a glass of water or food.

Although, of course, Thad didn't care, nor did he even think about Aria's well-being much at all as he lounged on the couch and caught up on his daily dose of Society-Regulated sporting competitions.

The larger man stretched his muscular form before standing and heading toward the bathroom. He went through the typical motions of his self-aggrandizing primping routine in the mirror, and without a second thought about Aria, he grabbed the lunch he knew would be at the bottom of the incinerator by the end of the day and headed out to his next assignment.

The hallways were - as always - crammed with bodies as Thad moved along with the crowd toward the AirLift, all in different styles of uniforms that identified what Work Units they belonged to. On the way, Thad couldn't help but release yet another annoyed groan as he glanced down at his Travel Tablet, only to notice that he was somehow assigned to Expansion today, of all places. It was an assignment only slightly less annoying than Digging Day.

Needless to say, his entire morning absolutely sucked.

Throughout it, Thad continuously had to cover his ears with every explosion that racketed through the tunnels that they were excavating. And - although he would deny it to anyone who asked - he released a shrill scream of terror when a shard of igneous rock sliced through a small section of his cheek, destroying the perfect symmetry of his face that he prided himself upon.

Needless to say, by the time he barrelled through the Lunch Period crowds and took his usual spot across from Mitty; he was just about ready to blow a damn gasket.

"Oh shit, who crawled up your ass and died today?" Mitty chided, a humorous chuckle escaping his lips. The male took a bite of his sandwich while simultaneously taking in the sight of the obviously worn-out figure of his best friend with a wound strip covering up a small spot on his cheek, about half an inch from his eye.