Soul Mate Service (boyxboy)

Chapter 9

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.