Soul Mate Service (boyxboy)

Chapter 17

THIRD PERSON POV

The entire table shook with earthquake-like tremors as Thaddeus collapsed into his usual spot across from Mitty, overworked calf and thigh muscles screaming in protest against taking even a single step further.

"Dude... Do I need to call the Medical Unit? You look like somebody kidnapped your hairbrush and held it for ransom."

The curly-haired man scowled at his best friend's voice, plopping his lunch bag on the table before reaching down to rub at the places where his limbs ached the most.

It wasn't like the man looked particularly bad by universal standards; the typical person would likely not even register the fuzziness in his curls and the smears of dirt strewn across his moist brow and uniform. But Mitty on the other hand, knew Thad's mode of operation like the back of his hand, and a stained uniform and flyaway hairs were far from being a part of it.

"Shut up, buzzcut," Thad growled, ripping open the velcro that held his lunch box closed with a huff. His frustration sizzled down a little bit just as he did so, unable to help himself from drawing in a deep lungful of the faint, peachy scent that wafted from its sealed interior. "I'm having a shit day. Don't make it worse." He ordered, the confident words expelled with a little softness compared to their usual ferocious bite.

Mitty cocked a befuddled brow. "It wasn't that bad," the man recalled as he pulled out his daily sandwich. The two friends had been placed on the same assignment that morning, one that mostly consisted of configuring pipework for running new electrical lines. Granted, it wasn't the best assignment, but it certainly wasn't the worst that they could have gotten.

If only the blonde knew that it wasn't work that was making Thad so irritable and exhausted, but rather his own inner turmoil that stoked the fires of his discomfort.

It was almost too fast to keep up with, the rate at which his brain was creating so many new thoughts and questions, and Thaddeus despised all of them. They had only served to make him trip over his own feet in front of the entire Construction Unit more times than he would ever be willing to admit, and never offered any new explanations as to the root of his troubles.

Rather, his maladaptive daydreaming only served to fuel the neverending hamster wheel of increasing confusion that had begun spiraling out of control ever since that one, particular day that he just couldn't seem to get out of his head...

"You know, I hate that stupid Enforcer bastard you call a friend." Thad spat, pulling out his lunch only to slam the glass container down on the table in front of him. The noisy clang! that it made as it collided with the metal surface of the table soothed his thirst to hurt something by a fraction of a percent, and he had to resist the urge to repeat the action again and again until the vessel was reduced to pieces in his grasp.

But no, he wouldn't do that. The man was determined to exhibit self-control this time, especially considering that the item of interest contained Bug's mouthwatering garlic spaghetti carbonara.

"... Aria invited that fuckin' kid over our Housing Pod the other day, and I had to sleep with his filthy scent stuck in my nostrils all damn night. Can you believe he did that shit?!" Thad finished, gripping his fork in a fist like a child as he stabbed, instead of twirling, it into the lengthy noodles.

Mitty's blonde brow rose even higher at his friend's question, and the man spent an extra beat chugging from his water bottle, using its metal lip as a cover for the knowing smirk that twitched on and off of his lips. He tried his best to force it back.

"Dude..." He finally spoke once he was able to tone his expression back about seventy-five percent of the way, "Are you... Jealous?"

Thaddeus spasmed as if electrocuted, practically jumping in his seat as he narrowed his eyes at his accusatory friend.