Soul Mate Service (boyxboy)

Chapter 25

THIRD PERSON POV

Duvet rustling and breaths hitching between them, both men quivered at the edge of something that held the potential to change everything.

Thaddeus hovered over the smaller man, arms braced on either side of Aria's head as their eyes met – velvety hazel locking onto chocolate brown like a laser to its target.

Although not a single word was exchanged to substantiate the unspoken, one could tell by the way hearts hammered inside vibrating ribcages and pupils glistened with anticipation that a sense of newfound anxiety had plunged its teeth into both Aria and Thaddeus, quickly establishing a vice-like latch.

The sensation was vaguely uncomfortable, like a snake slithering, shedding its skin just below the first layer of his own. So, in keeping with his impulsive state of being which demanded he make every situation his bitch, Thaddeus smothered his nervousness with a kiss.

Aria whimpered at the unexpectedly expected advance, limbs tensing up for a brief moment of surprise before he managed to suck in a deep breath through his nose, relaxing into the caress of lips and tongue.

It was the same, but also somehow wildly different than the first one that they'd shared while cuddled up and conserving heat in this same bed only a few weeks prior. Compared to the hot and heavy meeting of lips that left Aria feeling like a kettle bursting with steam and Thaddeus reconstructing the very fabric of his reality, this one was frighteningly languid – tongues exploring and prodding with a curious sort of hesitation.

No longer possessing the freedom to move at the pace of their own, personal desires, this meeting of bodies was solemn, slow and inevitable like the shroud of impending doom as both men grieved a loss of control over their own fates.

But as Thad shifted, entangling cautious fingers with Aria's and pressing both of their hands into the mattress, as if in sync, a fleeting blip of hope flickered through both of their minds at the very same moment.

Thaddeus's palm tightened around Aria's as if searching for reassurance, and when he finally pulled back a few millimeters with plump lips shining with shared saliva, half-lidded eyes implored, flickering to the neckline of Aria's sweater as if trying to glimpse straight through the fabric and consume the creamy skin that lay underneath.

When Thad spoke, the words came out breathy and low, as if his lungs struggled to locate oxygen.

"Is it okay if I..." He gulped, throat suddenly feeling like a desert, "Take that off?"

Aria's chin trembled with the weight of such a question.

All his life the small man had been raised to embody the epitome of modesty, to exist in as small of a space as possible, and conceal his unusually shaped body until he came of age to fulfill his duty to The Society. But now that that moment was not only upon him but also ticking like a timed bomb, the idea of being stripped naked and witnessed in such an indecent state toed the line of mortification.

Aria closed his eyes, squeezing his upper and lower lids together.

Honing in on the intangible connection that whirred between them, the smaller man could feel it all – the rise and fall of Thaddeus's emotions as he vacillated wildly between fear, concern, desire, and so much more. How each emotion swirled and flickered before coalescing into a sharp juncture pointing directly at him, tickling the back of Aria's neck like a feather.

'I won't hurt you. I promise, I won't.'

Aria recalled the promise over and over until it morphed into a solid truth.