THIRD PERSON POV

A single drop of wetness fell, soaking into the garlic bread on the counter and leaving a darker circle in its wake. Aria immediately pressed his soaked sleeve to his cheeks, wiping furiously in yet another desperate attempt to get rid of the salty tears that he couldn’t seem to stop from falling all morning. 

The small man hiccupped as he packed the rest of his Soul Mate’s lunch, trying his best to keep his miserable emotions at bay so as not to disturb Thaddeus, who lay sleeping on the couch only a short distance away.

It was practically impossible for him to sleep comfortably the last two nights, only getting a few, random winks here and there. His brain kept awakening him to the haunting repetition of Thad’s voice, replaying the same, painful phrase like a broken record;

‘He puts these stupid ass notes in my lunch every day; I swear when I see them, they make me lose my entire appetite.’

“Mm…” Aria whimpered, pressing the back of his hand over his mouth and squeezing his eyes tightly shut as more salty tears fell from his abused lacrimal glands and onto the counter. 

It took a few excruciating minutes of deep breathing before Aria was able to finally pack up his lunch and clean the small mess he’d created in his cooking process. He slipped on his uniform and shoes and dragged himself out of the door, leaving well before the Digi-windows displayed the hint of the sun rising above the horizon. 

Thaddeus woke about two hours later to the bright light of the Digi-Windows, the sticky line of drool connecting his cheek to the pillow a testament to the high quality of rest he’d gotten the previous night. 

It was amazing, not having that damn Bug bothering him all day like he usually did. Instead, his Free Day was filled with the peace and quiet he craved, the petite man not leaving the bedroom to even get a glass of water or food.

Although, of course, Thad didn’t care, nor did he even think about Aria’s well-being much at all as he lounged on the couch and caught up on his daily dose of Society-Regulated sporting competitions. 

The larger man stretched his muscular form before standing and heading toward the bathroom. He went through the typical motions of his self-aggrandizing primping routine in the mirror, and without a second thought about Aria, he grabbed the lunch he knew would be at the bottom of the incinerator by the end of the day and headed out to his next assignment. 

The hallways were - as always - crammed with bodies as Thad moved along with the crowd toward the AirLift, all in different styles of uniforms that identified what Work Units they belonged to. On the way, Thad couldn’t help but release yet another annoyed groan as he glanced down at his Travel Tablet, only to notice that he was somehow assigned to Expansion today, of all places. It was an assignment only slightly less annoying than Digging Day. 

Needless to say, his entire morning absolutely sucked. 

Throughout it, Thad continuously had to cover his ears with every explosion that racketed through the tunnels that they were excavating. And - although he would deny it to anyone who asked - he released a shrill scream of terror when a shard of igneous rock sliced through a small section of his cheek, destroying the perfect symmetry of his face that he prided himself upon. 

Needless to say, by the time he barrelled through the Lunch Period crowds and took his usual spot across from Mitty; he was just about ready to blow a damn gasket. 

“Oh shit, who crawled up your ass and died today?” Mitty chided, a humorous chuckle escaping his lips. The male took a bite of his sandwich while simultaneously taking in the sight of the obviously worn-out figure of his best friend with a wound strip covering up a small spot on his cheek, about half an inch from his eye.

“Fuck off, its been a horrible day.” Thad tossed his lunch bag on top of the table with a deep groan, eyes flickering up to meet Mitty’s after he took his seat. “I can’t believe you got such an easy assignment and they stuck me with Expansion. I was half-kidding about talking to the Unit Lead last time, but look at this shit!”

His eyes were wild as he pointed to the small cut on his face, finger-pointing at it as if he were accusing it of a crime. “They almost blasted my entire fuckin’ face off! How am I supposed to go out looking like this?!” Thad fumed.

Mitty simply stared at his friend as he casually chewed his sandwich. Thad’s pitifully inflated self esteem was an expected constant in his life, no matter how annoying it could be at times.

“Listen, man, just eat some food and chill out. Your face will be fine.” Mitty emphasized the last word as he scolded his friend, “And honestly, a few scars here and there could probably make you look even better. It’s been time that you moved away from this ‘pretty boy’ aesthetic you’ve got going on. You know, the bad boy look is what’s really in right now.” The man cracked a rogue smirk, gesturing to his short cropped, blonde buzz cut.

Thaddeus rolled his eyes while yanking at the zipper of his lunch box that had a tendency to snag, the janky thing only served to exacerbate his already frustrated state.

“You look like a hard boiled egg. Meanwhile, my face is the best thing to ever exist in this place. You wouldn’t understand.” Thad replied, his self-absorbed mindset not allowing him to accept the idea of anyone possessing even a fraction of his ‘good looks’.

Mitty scoffed at Thad’s arrogant statement, but the sound was lost to the other male’s ears as he stared down into his lunch box. 

His eyebrows pulled together, lips pulling downward in a confused frown as he reached inside to search, shuffling around the contents. 

‘...No note?’ Thad found himself pondering. 

It was a weird and unfamiliar feeling in his chest, whatever it was stirring inside of him. 

On one hand, Thaddeus had convinced himself that he hated the little notes of encouragement that Aria always placed on top of his lunch box. The words were always incredibly cheesy and sappy, the very last thing he wanted to hear from that little Bug that had ruined his life. By the end of Lunch Period, Thad always found solace in the fact that they were turned into nothing but ash at the bottom of the incinerator, right where they belonged.

But, for some odd reason… Now that it wasn’t there - that little piece of paper with loopy handwriting wishing him a good day - Thad felt that odd pressure in his chest grow increasingly hot and the slightest bit… painful?

Thaddeus struggled to place his finger on what exactly it was that he was experiencing. So, in an effort to suppress the intolerable unfamiliarity that made his skin feel like it might crawl right off of his bones,, settled on interpreting it as nothing other than anger. 

Anger was what he knew best, so that’s what it had to be, right?

“Ayo, are you even listening to me?” Mitty questioned with a raised brow, waving his hand in front of his friend’s face. His sudden change of demeanor was striking and completely out of character for the man, making Mit wonder what exactly he was seeing in that lunchbox of his. 

“Huh?” Thad’s voice was uncharacteristically low as he snapped his head back up to face his best friend who sat across from him, immediately grateful for the distraction as it pulled his attention from that uncomfortable tension in his chest. He took a deep breath to steady himself, but couldn’t help the involuntary twitching of his eye as he finally pulled the glass lunch container from its fabric confines.

Thad’s fingers itched to move toward the chute that led down to the incinerator, to toss the contents of the container into it as he had done countless times before…

But that tension… that tight rubber band in his chest pulled him right back to his spot, unable to make the move.

The absence of the note had left the larger man somewhat shaken and spiraling in a tornado of swirling confusion, so - naturally - he used that thought process as an excuse for the next idea that crossed his mind. 

‘One bite couldn’t hurt.’ Thad found himself thinking as he popped off the top of the container. 

“... Well, I was trying to tell you about how Andrea and I had a date the other day. She's so hot dude, I swear. We went to the Atrium and then…” 

Mit’s voice was once again lost to Thad’s uncaring ears as a waft of delicious scent wafted up into his nose. Whatever seasonings Bug had used was sending his salivary glands straight into hyperdrive. 

Like a zombie, the man fished out his fork from the inside of the bag, stabbed its sharp prongs into the salmon filet that sat on top of a bed of what looked to be some kind of wild rice concoction, and lifted it to his lips. 

There was a slight apprehension - a strain in his muscles as one side of his brain (the side Thad liked to view as the more logical) protested. He had been so adamant, so consistent with his task of rejecting every single one of Bug’s advances, denying anything that could make his supposed Soul Mate think that he had even an inkling of an interest in the little mutant.

But one little bite couldn’t hurt his plans.

Aria would never know about it, after all. 

So, with that single, reassuring thought, Thad shoved the salmon and rice past his lips and chewed. 

The onslaught of flavor that filled his tongue, swirling and dancing the waltz across his taste buds could only be described as explosive. 

Thaddeus had to hold back the urge to moan as he wasted no time in stabbing another big forkful, immediately shoving it down his throat as if he was on his third strike and this intoxicatingly delicious food in front of him was to be his very last meal. 

‘This must take forever to make… Maybe that little Bug is useful for something.’ he thought as he continued to chew with a ferocious fervor and a tightly flexed jaw. 

The only thing that managed to slow him down was a cough that bubbled up from his esophagus as a grain of rice threatened to go down the wrong pipe.

“You alright, man?” Mit’s voice finally faded back into Thad’s consciousness, his coughing fit bringing him back into the present. “You’re eating like somebody is gonna take it away from you or something. Slow down, dude.” Taking the metal cup of water that Mit held out for him, he wasted no time in gulping down the refreshing liquid, finding the rubber band in his chest tightening once more as most of the mouthwatering flavor was washed from his tongue. 

However, as fast as it came, the weird feeling that came over him fell away as it wielded to a much stronger emotion, one that Thad was much happier to indulge. 

He was furious. 

Furious that he had given in and eaten Aria’s food. 

Furious that Aria’s food tasted so good. 

Furious that Aria obviously did this on purpose, knowing that it would probably rile him up like this. 

Furious at Aria. 

Thad’s eyes turned steely as he slowly glanced down at the glass lunch container with a newfound malice. His perfectly groomed eyebrows drew tightly together again, but this time with a prickly vexation as he noticed that it was basically empty now, save for a few grains of rice sticking to its sides. 

His anger only flared brighter as he now realized how he’d devoured the entire meal like a mad man in what was likely less than two minutes. 

“Invite your other friends to my Housing Pod tonight.” Thad began, hands forming into fists as he squeezed hell out of the metal fork that had become an innocent victim to his crushing grip. He knew all too well the solution to all of these problems that seemed to keep surmounting throughout the day. 

He needed something therapeutic; something to get his mind off of all of these confusing ass feelings that he was far too self-absorbed to bring himself to unpack. 

Thad lifted his head once again to lock eyes with Mit, who was watching his friend right back with wide, confused eyes. 

“I need more than just a drink. I need to throw a party.”

__

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