Soul Mate Service (boyxboy)

Chapter 23

THIRD PERSON POV

"Goddammit Bug, your feet are fuckin' ice!"

"Sorry!"

Aria squeaked out an apology, jerking away from the source of radiant warmth he'd found in Thad's shins. He tucked his feet underneath his bottom instead, hoping that he could find a way to warm them up from his own, rapidly dwindling body heat instead. Shrinking into the pillows that supported his back, he hiked up the duvet as high as he could without snatching away Thad's portion, clenching his teeth together to keep them from chattering and ruining the movie.

It was one of those days when The Elders announced that Electricity Conservation was in effect due to low stores in the solar panels, however the hell those worked. Therefore, all of the heating throughout The Society was cranked down to fifty-percent capacity.

It wasn't as torturous earlier in the day, when Society members were packed together in the corridors and Aria could layer two or three sweaters on top of one another at his Work Unit. But the temperature had quickly dropped with the encroaching night, and now Aria and Thad were huddled underneath the covers of Aria's bed as they rode out the rest of Free Period, trying to conserve what was left of their warmth... An effort that left much to be desired when a foot-wide chiasm of blanket dug a wall between the two.

Aria slipped his frozen fingers underneath the fluffy sweater that he was definitely going to sleep in tonight, pressing the ice-like digits to the much warmer core of his body. He tried his best to keep his frosty eyeballs focused on the Digi-window in front of him.

The movie was pretty shit, if both of them were to be completely honest. Just like the rest of the laughably infinitesimal collection of movies that The Elders approved for Society enjoyment, it was laden with overtly obvious displays of loyalty and devotion to their Society.

The couple on the screen were falling all over each other, praising the Soul Mate Service for their pairing with such strained posturing that both Aria and Thad cringed at the ultra-idealization of it all. If they squinted hard enough, they'd probably see hearts drawn in the couple's glazed pupils, too.

Thad huffed with crossed arms, a few curls flying from his forehead at the forced air before settling back down in place. The movie was complete and utter horse cock as far as he was concerned, and the idiotic couple who was currently running through the Arboretum, hair blowing in the wind like they didn't have a care in the world made him burn with the desire to send his knuckles straight through the Digi-window.

'Reign it in, Thad. You don't need another strike for damaging Society property.'

Smothering his desire to square up with an innocent LED panel with a click of his jaw, Thaddeus instead shifted his focus to the frozen lump of a man who sat beside him, huddled up like a hermit underneath multiple layers of fluffy fabrics. Thad's body tingled with awareness of Aria, the faint scent of metal singeing his nose hairs and driving a sense of responsibility into his brain with a pressure that felt like a drill between his eyes.

Before he could stop himself, his hands were slithering underneath the covers, reaching deep into Aria's personal space to tug his legs free from their folded-up hiding spot.

He grumbled through Aria's small gasp of surprise when the small man was yanked across the small space that separated them, and Thad grated his teeth against a hiss of discomfort when he trapped those chilled toes in a sandwich between his hands and a toasty, muscled thigh.

"Just give a guy a warning next time, will 'ya? I thought I was being fuckin' electrocuted again." Thad exaggerated, although the corner of his eye twitched at the not-so-distant memory. If Bug got hypothermia, he was definitely gonna kill someone... Preferably someone who he would also classify as a wrinkly, haggard old bitch.