Third Person POV

“I need this so damn bad, man. Digging those new Housing Pod tunnels is going to be the death of me, I swear.” A sleepy Mit drawled, arms stretched far above his head and white teeth showing through the wide yawn that overpowered his face.

Mitty and Thaddeus’ feet were surely tied to blocks of lead as they stood there, staring blankly out of the glass windows of the AirLift. It was demanding, the work of the Construction Unit, and the friends often found themselves utterly drained and dragging by the end of the 6-day Work Period, especially when it ended in the sorely dreaded Digging Day. And of course, to top it all off, Thaddeus was absolutely sure that someone had intentionally rigged the AirLift just to fuck with him, as in his mind it was taking its sweet ass time as it whisked the two men down to level negative-six.

Like everything else in the world, that thought pissed off an already-irritated Thaddeus to no end. 

But Free Period was a time for de-stressing, and that was exactly what the two had planned to do tonight. 

Mitty’s shoulder was weighed down by the bag that he carried, one that held a few coveted bottles of Elder-Sanctioned alcohol. The slightly shorter man had managed to swipe the bottles from the Market Pod the day prior for way more credits than they were actually worth, but in his mind, it was worth it. 

“I feel that, man.” Thad’s hand reached up to check that all of his cherished curls were still in the right place as he replied, “Plus, blowing up that sandstone is seriously a hazard to my face. You’d think they would be more careful with the assignments knowing that I’m a main asset to The Society. I was seriously two seconds away from talking to the Construction Unit Lead about it.” 

The inconspicuous side-eye that Mit casted toward his best friend was almost a reflex at this point. Being Thad’s friend since childhood left the man well-versed in the various, vain statements that he often spouted so matter-of-factly. And, thus, he also knew exactly how to respond to them.

“Dude, sometimes I swear it’s like you’re just trying to get another strike on your record.” Mitty chided, both friends taking a step out of the AirLift which had finally stopped at their destination, and into the long, round hallway of their Housing Pod level. “Don’t be fucking stupid. You know good and well that The Elders would have your ass if you complained.” 

If eyes could fall out of someone’s head from rolling them, Thaddeus’ would have at that moment. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Mumbled Mitty’s cocky counterpart, his chronically inflated sense of self utterly unmoved by the comment as the two came up on the familiar door marked as Pod number six-hundred and thirty-four.

With a tap of his travel tablet to the control panel that sat beside the door, the pair were inside of the comfortable space and quickly heading toward the comfort of the living area to settle in. 

Meanwhile, Aria was facing the consequences of chasing twenty, age fours around the Instructional Pod all day, as the petite man’s short legs seemed to scream out a protest with every step. Similar to that of Thaddeus and Mitty, Aria’s day was abnormally long and tiring, the mandated Monthly Assessment Exams requiring that he stay on the Instructional Unit for about two hours longer than normal. 

The Monthly Assessment Exams were not anything to be trifled with, as they served the monumental purpose of continuously assessing the performance of both the Instructional Students and their designated Instructor. Knowing the weight of its importance for both his students and himself, little Aria happily put in the extra time at the end of every month to ensure that everything was completed correctly, no matter how exhausted he ended up every time. 

Aching calves dictated Aria’s decision to use the AirLift on the way home today, despite the fact that the small man typically preferred the route of the lesser crowded stairwells in a concerted effort to decrease the anxiety that endlessly plagued him. 

Despite the fact that his parents always praised him that being ‘different’ was a gift from the Elders, lately Aria had begun to feel as if it was more of a curse than anything. The wavy-haired boy was very comfortable blending right into the background, as he was used to doing his entire life. But ever since the Soul Mate Ceremony, he’d been painfully thrusted right under the blinding spotlight for everyone to gawk at. Every head that turned in his direction automatically made tiny beads of sweat pill up on his forehead as his brain insisted that everyone had to be judging him.

However, regardless of the terror that consumed him every time he was ogled at by the next person, there was only one whose opinion really mattered to him. 

Three delicate fingertips pressed against his plump lips as the small man tried to stifle the involuntary smile that always invaded his features whenever he even so much as thought about his Soul Mate. As AirLift whisked him down into the hollowed out earth, Aria was simultaneously falling deeper into a spiral of musings regarding the man that made his heart beat out of sync. 

Quite literally everything about the tall, handsome man pulled Aria in: His tight curls, the way his sharp jaw led up into full cheekbones, the rough sound of his voice that made it seem like his words were run through gravel, his rosy lips that felt so soft against his own at the Introduction Day dinner…

In every sense of the word, Thaddeus was Aria’s dream guy, his first crush. It made no difference to him how… crass he could sometimes be. 

Aria snapped out of his aloof daydreaming as he almost ran, nose-first, into the sliding door of his Housing Pod. His body was on autopilot as he rushed to get home to start a late dinner for Thad, and with a majority of his brain occupied by how he would willingly let Thad’s defined abdominal muscles cut him in half, he somehow wasn’t able to realize that self-injury was imminent. 

Wavy brown hair swished around his head as Aria shook it to cover his round cheeks which were currently flaming a bright pink color, silently praying to The Elders that no one had witnessed his embarrassing mishap. Thin fingers nervously fumbled his Travel Tablet out of his pocket, tapping it unceremoniously against the control panel next to the door so that it would slide open.

Aria’s nose immediately crinkled up with distaste as his sensitive sense of smell picked up on the sharp stench of alcohol that permeated their shared Housing Pod. The small male tip-toed into the foyer, careful as a mouse in an effort to make as little noise as possible. Aria didn’t want to disturb whatever Thaddeus was doing, as he knew the larger man likely home before him due to his late stay on the Instructional Unit. 

“... She’s honestly the best, and I’m not just talking in the chest area. Her personality is like… really amazing. We’ve had some really good conversations ever since we got more comfortable with each other.”

Aria froze just before he could round the corner to the living room at the unfamiliar voice, not recognizing the deep but lighthearted sound. 

‘Does he have a friend over?’ Bug wondered, taking a single step back so that his body would be obscured from view. He pressed his clasped hands against his chest as his heart rate picked up at the thought. Suddenly feeling stressed out, he cursed himself for not making dinner in advance in preparation for their guest.

Aria peeked just the top part of his head around the corner so that he could see into the living area, he spied two heads floating above the lip of the couch. 

The first he recognized, Thad’s signature tight curls spilling over the top of the couch as he leisurely lounged with a glass bottle of light brown liquid that sloshed to the side as he held it crookedly in his hand. The second male, who he did not recognize, also held a bottle of what Aria now assumed was alcohol in a loose grip, his dirty blonde hair cropped in one of the shorter, society-mandated buzz cut styles that Aria always found slightly intimidating. 

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Aria prepared to step out from his hiding spot, introduce himself to the newcomer and offer an apology for not having made dinner. But just as he gathered the courage, Thad’s voice sent him flying back against the wall with his hands pressed to his rapidly palpitating chest once again. 

“Man, you’re lucky as fuck, Mit. That little Bug, on the other hand…” Thaddeus stated, pausing to take an audible swig of his drink and heave out an exhausted sigh. 

Aria felt bad for eavesdropping, but he couldn’t help his innocent curiosity as he pondered just what Thad was going to say next. 

A small, hopeful smile pulled at the corners of Aria’s lips as he prayed with all of his heart that he would finally hear Thad say something nice about him. Maybe about how he makes tasty meals, or how he can never find a single wrinkle on his Construction Unit uniform due to how much care he puts into ironing it every morning. 

“... is annoying as fuck. He puts these stupid ass notes in my lunch every day, I swear when I see them they make me lose my entire appetite.” 

Aria’s heart stopped in a second, unable to hold back the immediate tidal wave of tears that welled up in the corners of his eyes. 

‘He doesn’t like my notes?’ Bug realized with a horrible, heavy feeling in his chest, trembling fingers twisting into the fabric of his shirt as he searched for something, anything, to hold onto. 

Making those notes was always one of the best parts of Aria’s day. He would plan them out the night before and make sure that he used his best handwriting on each and every one. It was a source of happiness throughout his day, imagining Thad with a handsome, bright smile on his face as he sat, reading each special note in the Construction Unit Nutrition Pod. 

So, knowing now that Thad hated the very thing he took pride in, stung the small man in a part of his heart that he didn’t even know existed. 

Aria knew that a sob was coming, he could quite literally feel it painfully clawing its way up the short length of his esophagus to inevitably find its way out. He was a crybaby and he knew it, but he couldn’t help that he seemed to feel all of his emotions in every single cell in his body, it was just who he was. 

But that didn’t mean that he had to cry in front of them. 

Part 2 in Next Episode!