Soul Mate Service (boyxboy)

Chapter 26

THADDEUS

There wasn't much in this world that I was sure of. But right now, I could confidently say that at least two things were undeniably true.

First of all, libraries were – without a doubt – the single least exhilarating place known to man. I mean, who the fuck would willingly choose to sit in one place for hours and read boring ass words printed on a page? It made absolutely zero damn sense.

And secondly, despite my newfound hatred for a place that made me feel like I'd get a one-way ticket to a strike if I so much as farted too loud, I would willingly rot in this hellhole for all of eternity if it meant I got to witness that look on Bug's face for every second of it.

The rest of the week had passed us by with the swiftness of a high-speed AirLift, and before we knew it, we found ourselves closing in on the second to last day left in our four-week grace period. As the nights wore on, onslaughts of unspoken anxiety and anticipation increasingly trampled their way across either side of our bond, only to be momentarily quieted by an extended make-out session or an embrace so tight that we both thought we might burst.

But today, with the threat of such a giant burden hovering over our necks like the gleaming blade of a guillotine, I could tell that Aria's stress levels were reaching a breaking point that even my expertly skilled lips and hands were unable to touch.

... Hence why I currently found myself tucked into the small space left in the bean bag that Aria had claimed, bored out of my damn mind as I watched him gobble up page after page of useless nonsense, also known as 'The Good Member's Guide to Society History.'

"Thad!" Aria scolded, swatting gently at my lower thigh since that was as far as his adorable little arms could reach. "Books are for reading, not footstools!"

For a good moment there, my mind lurched into that same, instinctive offensive mode that it was so used to assuming whenever I was ordered to do anything that held even the slightest chance of inconveniencing me. But somehow, this time, my brain made the executive decision that adding to Aria's rickety pile of anxiety-inducing thoughts was much more important than resting my poor, poor feet.

So, instead of rolling my eyes and scoffing out a curse as I would usually do in a situation like this, I just groaned, obediently lowering my heels from the place they were – very comfortably – resting atop a comically tall pile of Bug's accumulation of books.

Aria shot me an amused look from the corner of his eye, thin brow raising lopsidedly as he tucked his hair behind his ear to get a better look at my spiritless form.

"You could pick out a book of your own to read with me, if you want." He suggested innocently.

I scoffed in response, raising a brow right back at the tiny creature as I re-adjusted myself on the shared bean bag. Stretching an arm out behind his back, I caged him into my side in a claiming gesture. "Nah, I'm straight. It's much more entertaining watching you live up to your full, nerd potential."

The stifled giggle that bubbled from Aria's lips caught me off guard, and my brow raised even higher with a suspicious sense of mirth.

"The hell you laughing at, Bug?!" Shooting him a playful scowl, I used my free hand to poke accusatorily at his stomach, a fizzle of joy and unleashed desire settling in my stomach when he curled over, fighting off my assault with a ticklish burst of laughter. "Something funny?!"

"Y-y-yes!" Aria gurgled out a choppy response from behind the hand that he had slapped over his mouth, fighting with every breath to keep his sounds to a minimum in the quiet library.