Soul Mate Service (boyxboy)

Chapter 6

Thaddeus

"Oh, I'm so grateful to the blessed Elders that our dear Thaddeus was lucky enough to be paired with someone so sweet and capable! I mean, just look at all of this, how did your tiny little self manage to make so much delicious food?!" My mother, Clementine, praised, reaching over the table for her third piece of salmon as she shook her head incredulously.

She always did have a flair for the dramatic, and I guess today she decided to act as if she'd never had a basic fucking meal.

Meanwhile, Bug sat next to me at the table, nervously pushing his food into their own little pockets around the corners of his plate. The same food he had yet to take a bite of for the entirety of the night. His cheeks flared bright with the same, crimson blush that always seemed to stick to them, and I internally groaned at the sight.

How could he be such a little pussy and not even have one? I swear, nothing about this kid added up to me.

"Thank you very much, ma'am." He replied softly with a tiny smile, looking up nervously from underneath his wispy eyelashes as if my mom was some kind of higher being.

He was obviously not used to receiving so much attention as he simultaneously attempted to shrink away behind his wavy curtain of hair that was currently being held back on one side by two small, light blue clips.

"Oh, don't you call me ma'am, that makes me feel like someone's grandmother!" My mother replied with an amused smile, waving her hand dismissively at Aria as if what he just said was absolutely ridiculous. "Plus, you're family now. Call me Clem, dear."

My mother was obviously completely enamored with Aria, even though the Bug literally hadn't done a single damn thing to deserve it. The moment he answered the door to let them into our Pod, she was immediately cooing over how tiny and adorable and such an honorable gift from the elders he was, as if she were in some sort of personal Aria fetish club.

"Thank you very much, Miss Clem." Aria corrected himself, the humble smile never leaving his lips as he stared down at his salmon as if it was the most interesting artifact in the world. Meanwhile, my mother continued to stare across the table at him as if she was hooked on the sun and stars.

"Oh, you are just a little sweetheart!" My mother continued her gushing, her eyes crinkling at the sides with the force of her wide smile before she turned towards Aria's parents who sat beside her.

"You both must be so proud of yours. I wish I could get mine to behave so well, but it seems like we lost that battle long ago." She placed a piece of salmon between her lips, covering her mouth with one hand while she chewed and using the other to point her fork between Bug's parents and me. "Maybe you two could whip up some kind of mutation for Thad too!" She added with a nonchalant chuckle, although I knew that she probably really wasn't kidding.

"I'm not quite sure that even our technology is up for that challenge." Aria's mother, Bea, respectfully grinned back at my own, a kind and playful glint in her eyes as she spoke.

Aria's mother was an alright-looking woman with mid-back length brown hair, thin, almond-shaped eyes, and glasses that sat atop her small nose, making her look just as smart as she apparently was. His dad, Milo, sat next to her, looking equally as nerdy with his round glasses and one of the ugliest Elder-approved cuts for men in The Society.

Earlier on in the night, we had learned that Aria's own parents were actually the scientists that developed whatever fucked up mutation allowed Aria to have kids. Since then my mother fell even deeper in love with Aria's entire family, to my complete and utter disgust.