Soul Mate Service - Chapter 16: Chapter 16

THIRD PERSON POV
"Attention, Society members: the time is now five-thirty AM. Morning schedules will commence in T-minus one hour. Those who are late will be punished as Society laws regulate. Good morning and remember, long live The Society of the People."
Thaddeus blinked at the inevitable, daily drone of the PA system as he groggily pushed himself up to a sitting position on the couch. The man stretched his neck, the overworked vertebrae popping in about a million places before he finally stood to complete his repetitive morning routine:
Wipe the sleep from his eyes, snatch up his meticulously folded uniform, trudge to the bathroom to change, brush his teeth, inspect that fucking cut on his cheek, and fix each individual curl, before finally emerging to grab his lunch from the kitchen counter.
Every day was the same, and after a few weeks of nonstop work following Edergan's bitchass punishment, Thaddeus went about the process in an almost robotic manner. And – judging by the dark circles that had begun to colonize the space below the man's eyes – the man was utterly exhausted by it.
After all, The Society was built like this, a well-oiled machine meant to maximize productivity and cut out anything else that was unnecessary to achieving that goal. Having a free day was simply a courtesy bestowed upon Society members by the graciousness of The Elders.
Thaddeus thought that today was to be no different than all the others; an endless drone of similarity only broken up by his stupid conversations with Mitty during Nutritional Period. However, his dull routine was abruptly interrupted by an unlikely source as the tall man went to venture to collect his lunch.
Because there, sitting right on top of the counter, was Aria's travel tablet.
'I've gotta be hallucinating. There's no way he could have forgotten that,' Thad decided, brow furrowed with confusion at the sight.
It was practically a death sentence, forgetting one's travel tablet. It contained all essential documents that one might need for the day, served as a means of tracking Society members, and granted passage into important places throughout the compound. If one forgot their tablet for a day, it was a sure-fire way to earn a one-way ticket to a strike.
A memory of Aria's tear-stricken face flashed across his eyes, and a hint of metal singed his nose regardless of the fact that Aria's peachy scent was dull, indicating to the Thaddeus that Bug was nowhere near the Housing Pod at that moment.
"Fuck..." He groaned, rubbing a forefinger and thumb on either side of his nose as he realized what he was going to have to do.
There was no way he could deal with the sight - or scent - of Bug, who would surely have a full, rolling-on-the-floor-and-violently-throwing-up mental breakdown at the slightest thought of getting a strike on his record. Thaddeus didn't even want to think about pungent metal that was sure to assault his nostrils if that were to happen. So, he wasn't going to let it happen.
Tapping the tablet to reveal the time, Thaddeus could see that he had a few extra minutes before he had to be down at the Construction Unit. So, he snatched up Aria's tablet, stepped into his heavy work boots, and made it out of the door at record speed.
Once in the hallway, the tall man established a brisk – but not too quick to where he would look weird – jog. He dipped and weaved through the crowd, ignoring words of annoyance from people he bumped into as he headed for the stairwell that led directly down to the Early Developmental Instructional Unit.
This sort of urgency was unheard of for the man, who had long ago decided that he would rather be late to something than rush to get there. He would snicker at people who dashed past him, running full speed in an attempt to get to wherever the fuck their destination was. In Thaddeus's mind, he was more important than anything, so there was absolutely nothing that could possibly be worth losing his breath or getting sore legs over.
Except maybe this. But only a little bit.
Surely this newfound nervous energy had nothing to do with Aria; Thaddeus didn't give a fuck about the little mutant getting a strike on his impeccably clean record. He was simply performing this delivery to keep that putrid, metallic odor far away from his sinuses. This was still a wholly selfish desire disguised as an act of kindness.
And by the time he reached the airtight door off of the stairwell that read 'INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS,' Thaddeus had almost convinced himself that all of that was actually true.
He didn't have to look for very long at all once he'd pushed through the airlock, the glass doors that gave a clear view into each and every Instructional Pod framing a perfect image of Aria that he'd once thought - that he prayed - he'd never see again.
Only, this time it was much, much worse.
Aria twirled around at the front of his classroom, bunches of children jumping up and down at his feet as they stared up at him in awe. His brown hair was in a bun, aside from a few wavy tendrils that escaped in the front and brushed against his plush lips – lips which were curled up into a smile as he bent down to tap each of his little ones on the tips of their rosy noses.
"Please, Princess Aria! Sing again, again!" One little boy begged, going up on his tiptoes in an effort to follow Aria as he straightened back up. When the boy couldn't reach Aria's arms anymore, he opted to instead grab at the skirt of his dress.
Yes, dress.
Thaddeus couldn't believe his fucking eyes. He didn't want to believe his eyes.
There was no way in hell he was wearing that thing again. There was no way he had the balls to wear it to his Work Unit. There was no way... no way he could look so fucking adorable in it as he giggled along with his students, the tiny little mongrels pulling at every thread they could fit into their grubby little claws.
"Alright, my little minnows. But only if you sing with me this time!" He instructed, to which all of the students immediately squealed a unanimous 'Yes, Princess Aria!'
Then - to his complete and utter horror - Aria began to sing, students mimicking him in their screechy, high-pitched voices;
"Seven AM, the usual morning lineup! Start on the chores and sweep 'till the floor's all clean! Polish and wax, do laundry and mop and shine up, sweep again and by then it's like seven fifteen..."
Aria continued to lead his 'minnows' in that god-awful song... one for which Aria's vocals filled the most perfect princess role.
Even Thad couldn't deny that it was beautiful; the intonations of his voice and the grandiosity in his expressions as he danced around the room with his students. Further, he was suddenly overwhelmed by the absolute fact that the 'Princess Aria' nickname made perfect sense for the small man, whose gestures were always so delicate and careful, and whose face held such gentle curves and kind smiles.
'The fuck?!' Thaddeus shook his head like there was something on his face, smacking his cheek with a harsh CRACK to make himself snap out of it. Apparently, his body didn't get the memo, as he soon found himself experiencing a sense of deja-vu as he hastily shoved his now-hard dick into the waistband of his Construction Unit jumpsuit.
Thaddeus cursed Bug's existence under his breath, adjusting his shaft to a point where it wasn't sticking straight out like a 'horny-man-here!' flagpole anymore. Once he was sure that it was secure, the man sucked his teeth with frustration as he stomped toward the glass door.
It was time to get this over with.
Not even bothering to knock, Thaddeus burst into the room unannounced, making a beeline straight for Bug. That is, until his foot snagged on a stray toy left on the rug, sending the man tumbling straight down to the floor before landing with a giant thud.
Before the man could gather a single bearing, there was already a circus of bug-eyed children surrounding him, collapsing into a fit of giggles as they poked at every sliver of his face that they could reach.
Sticky hands messing up his perfectly applied facial care almost sent Thaddeus into a spiral, but before he could punt these little demons into next week, he quickly swatted away their grubby hands and pushed himself back to standing, brushing off his jumpsuit of their crumbs as he went.
Aria - the little traitor - couldn't help but giggle right along with them, fingertips humbly hiding his smile as he watched Thad rise from the ambush of children with a bit of a stumble.
"What are you doing here? Is everything okay?" Aria asked gently as the man fixed his curls, patting them with a frantic palm to ensure that every single one was put back right where it belonged.
"Yeah, I–" He started, curling away a little with a look of disgust as one of the children ran up to him and tugged at the pant leg of his jumpsuit.
She was cute, a tiny little thing with an afro puff as big as her own head. But even then Thad couldn't shake the sensation of those sticky little hands on his skin, and had to actively resist the urge to fling her across the room.
"Are you Princess Aria's prince?!" The little girl asked, eyes wide and hopeful as he craned her neck up at the tall man.
This prompted the rest of the children to chime in, bouncing an overwhelming number of questions here and there.
"Is that your Soul Mate, Princess Aria? He so silly, he falled!" screeched a little, blonde-haired boy in black-rimmed glasses, followed by another little boy with bright white hair, who whispered with incredulity, "Is that your daddy? My daddy says he loves me."
Thaddeus was lost for words, opening and closing his mouth a few times as he tried to figure out how to respond to these tiny, terrifying beings.
Quite honestly, the man had never interacted with another child in his entire adult life, and with the one-child-per-couple rule instituted in The Society, it's not like he had a sibling to interact with growing up. This left Thad sadly inept in the skill of interacting with anyone that hadn't yet hit the age of puberty yet.
Luckily, Aria had no issue filling in the gap.
"Oh, my sweet little beans," the small man tutted, crouching down to their eye level as they crowded around him once again, blinking at Bug with those giant eyes as if he were their greatest idol. "This kind man here is Thaddeus. He's my... he's my very good friend." Aria decided to say, unsure of how Thad would react if he introduced him as his Soul Mate. However, next to him, Thaddeus' eye twitched involuntarily at the word, that weird, tight sensation in his chest returning for a split second. "Now, we all need to be veeery nice to him, okay? Can you do that for me, my sweet chickadees?"
The children all nodded, responding with a resounding, "Yes, Princess Aria!"
"Good! I knew you could do it!" Bug clapped, giving a few high-fives to the children closest to him. "Now, I have a new challenge for you! I need to talk to Thaddeus for a few moments, so I need everyone to hop to their desks like a bunny and get ready for our morning Elder Devotional!"
The children all squealed, turning to hop over to their desks just like Aria instructed. He watched until they were all safely seated at their mini-desks before shuffling Thad toward the far corner of the room, expression turning a lot less enthusiastic and much more concerned as he locked eyes with Thad.
"What happened? Is something wrong?" He questioned, not even the slightest bit aware of how Thaddeus had just looked him up and down a moment earlier.
Thaddeus cleared his throat to gather his bearings before he slid Bug's travel tablet from his pocket.
"You forgot this." He said, pressing the sleek device into the other man's palm, and Aria's eyes shone with disbelief as he glanced down at the tablet and back up to Thad's face.
"Oh... I–" The small man breathed, clutching the item to his chest with a furrowed brow. "I really don't know what's wrong with me lately. I've been feeling so forgetful, and I even sweated straight through my nightgown last night," He giggled nervously, and the rubber band in Thad's chest tightened again once Bug looked up at him through his lashes. "I think I may have caught a cold or something. I mean, my little bubbles are always rubbing their noses and stuff, so I wouldn't be surprised." He finished, smile widening as he looked up at Thad's somewhat flustered face with a sincere expression.
"... But anyway, I'm rambling, silly me! I should have just said thank you, so... Thank you. You seriously saved me by doing this, I don't know what I would have done if I got caught without it." Aria breathed out, shaking his head as if he didn't even want to ponder the thought, "I would give you a hug, but I don't want you to catch whatever virus I've probably got."
Somehow – this time – Thaddeus didn't mind Aria's rambling. In fact, the man hadn't stopped staring at Aria's pink, pouty lips the entire time, the smaller man's words muffled to his ears as his brain decided that all of its attention should be dedicated to following the rise and fall of his pointed cupid's bow throughout the entire monologue.
"I've got a good immune system." Thad found himself replying, the words of encouragement coming from someplace wholly unknown to him.
But, even though they spilled from unexpectant lips, Thaddeus found that he didn't regret a single thing if it meant that he was to be squeezed to death by Aria like he was right now.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Aria squealed, pressing up onto his tiptoes, wrapping his arms around Thad's sturdy waist, and pressing his cheek flat against the man's chest.
Peaches permeated the air, the mouth-watering smell hitting Thad's olfactory glands so hard that he probably would have stumbled a little if he didn't have Aria clinging to him like this. The scent was stronger than any he'd ever sensed from Bug, and quite honestly it made his brain feel a little mushy... Or at least that's what he blamed it on when he wrapped his arms around Bug in return, burying his face into the smaller man's hair and taking in a huge, creepy ass whiff.
Aria froze, eyes shooting open as he suddenly felt something... A hard something, pressed right up tight against the bodice of his dress.
"Thad... are you..."
"No." The man replied, whatever detrimentally horny and supremely confused part of his brain that had been unlocked over the past few days speaking for him once again.
"Uh... are you sure? It's... It's nothing to be embarrassed about, but I'm pretty sure I feel — " Aria went to pull away, only to give a yelp at the grumble – no... growl – that escaped the larger man's throat as he flexed his biceps like a python and squashed any and all chances of escape.
"Okay, that's new!" Aria squeaked, right cheek now squished up tight against the man's left pec. A quick glance at the clock on the wall made the small man gasp, and he used his only non-obstructed hand to tap at Thad's arm with a panicked freneticism. "Thad! It's almost time for you to be at your Unit! You can't be late!"
Aria was sure that that would work, that being late and risking another run-in with Edergan would be enough to snap Thad out of whatever weird psychological state he had fallen into. But, to Aria's dismay, that theory was squashed a moment later though when Thaddeus didn't move a single muscle, but instead just continued his one-man sniffing spree.
Bug whined a little in his throat, looking around for things that could possibly get him out of this slightly terrifying and very new situation. He puzzled at what could be causing it – wondering for a moment if it was possible for Thad to catch his cold and start exhibiting symptoms that fast – before a solution to his predicament finally came to him.
"My little minnows!" Aria called, and twenty heads popped up from their spots, sitting quietly and respectfully at their little desks. "Can you please come and help Princess Aria? I've been captured, and I need you to save me!" He instructed, a sing-song tone in his voice as he tried to convince his children to play along.
"We're coming, Princess Aria!" Various, tiny but determined voices replied, miniature bodies slipping from their chairs and toddling over to tug at Thad's pant legs, shouting various phrases that demanded that their beloved princess be released.
The sensation of grubby hands finally woke Thaddeus back up – or more accurately released him from whatever invisible force was controlling his mind and causing him to act like such an uncivilized fucking barbarian.
It was such a fucked up sensation, as if some sort of impassible shroud was dropped down between his conscious brain and some other, subconscious part that seemed to be steadily increasing in power every day. And this time that part of him made Thaddeus growl – fucking growl – at Aria for, quite understandably, not wanting to be sniffed at and pressed up against him like some sort of feral animal's bitch.
The larger man stepped back immediately, dropping Bug from the forceful embrace as he blinked rapidly, shaking his head in a similar manner to how he did out in the hallway in hopes that it would somehow fling out some of the madness that was so obviously taking hold of him.
He had to be going insane. He was definitely going insane. That was the only solution, the only thing to explain what the fuck was happening to him. But on the other hand, there was no way he was going insane. Because if he was insane, that meant that he wasn't as genetically perfect as he had once believed.
There was no way in hell that that was true, so that left Thaddeus with only one other option to project his issues onto.
This was all Bug's fault. It had to be.
"I'm sorry, I think I might have given you my cold! Do you feel alright?" Aria inquired, arms stretched out toward Thad after he finished congratulating his kiddos for 'saving' him and sent them back to their desks.
Thad sneered, holding out his own arm with a hand up to keep Bug at a safe distance.
"I'm fine." He spat, unsure what else to do with these hysterical thoughts that were now so constantly occupying his own, "Just... Take off that stupid fucking dress. I shouldn't have bought that shit in the first place."
The words burned like acid, and Thad could almost feel his tongue bubbling and teeth sizzling in his mouth in protest. But even so, Thaddeus forced himself to turn on his heel and make for the door, propelling his feet forward despite the way his steps began to drag when his sinuses detected the first indications of rust in the air.
He had to get away. Far, far away. Far enough away that he could tear himself away from that wretched chokehold of a scent and wouldn't have the urge to turn back anymore.
So, for the first time in his life, Thaddeus Axton broke into a sprint.