THIRD PERSON POV

All air fled the room in an instant, those two, tiny words strangling all air from the throats of the two men who stared, wide-eyed, at the delegation of Elders before them.

Public execution.

Aria could feel the blood dripping from his hands as he stood motionless, the hot, acrid scent of the imaginary mess staining his nostrils with the reality of a bleak future soon to come.

Public execution.

For what had to have been eons, the world around him was reduced to nothing but a garbled disarray of alarm and chaos, and to Aria's untrained mind, the notion of wading through all of the vein-chilling terror felt like an impossible task.

... That is, until they began to drag Thaddeus away.

In that very moment, things came back into focus slowly, yet also much too fast. Distortion bloomed, pulsed, and then receded pixel by pixel, clearing Aria's blurred vision with each passing moment, like a watchful eye closing in on its prey.

Then, things were just sharp enough to comprehend, Aria pounced.

The small man moved faster than ever before, short legs cutting through the distance between him and Thaddeus as he lunged. The movement was hasty, unthinking, and so hurried that he even managed to slip through the firm-handed grasp of the enforcers, who didn't even notice his presence until he'd already established a firm grip around Thaddeus's waist.

And with that, locking his hands together around his Soul Mate's back in a white-knuckled grip, Aria fought for Thad's life.

"I won't let you!"

The screech was profoundly shrill, reverberating off of the marble walls and floors in a nearly visible wave of acoustic energy, loud enough to shock even Thaddeus himself out of the catatonic stupor he'd plunged into at the very moment that Elder Amos concluded his sentencing.

"Aria," Thaddeus breathed as his gaze floated downward, watery, unblinking eyes seeing only him. "Aria." He repeated, the name of his Soul Mate the only word he knew.

After all, no other words were necessary when the knowledge of his extinction conquered all other thought, the inevitability of his destiny of being buried in the same, oversized coffin of a Society he'd been stuck inside of for his entire life like weights strapped to his ankles, drowning him in hopelessness.

The expression of anguish he was met with when Aria lifted his head, big, brown eyes sparkling with world-ending torment, burnt itself into the forefront of Thad's mind.

"Thad, please! Tell them they can't!" He hollered, throat ravaged by sordid levels of disbelief. "They can't do this to you, I won't let them!"

Thaddeus wanted nothing more than to activate his ever-present cocky swagger, usurping this situation in a similar way to which he had done all of his life – by barreling through everyone and everything with a wrecking ball of misplaced confidence.

But right now, for the very first time in his life, everything felt... useless.

Thaddeus was useless.

Thaddeus sensed the tremble of Aria's body against his own distantly, like a whisper through a curtain. But even the faintest of whispers was enough, and as Thad felt the lower lashline of his eyes fill to a breaking point, something – somewhere – insisted that even in his darkest hour, he still needed to try his damndest to bring his Soul Mate peace.

Because even when nothing mattered, Aria still did.

"I'm sorry," Thad forced out with a voice like sandpaper. The apology wasn't enough, nothing ever would be, but it was all that he had. "I'm so fucking sorry, Bug."

"Stop!" Aria only shook his head, the apologies rolling off of his back like water. "Just fight back, dammit! You... you promised me!"

The parched chuckle that slipped through Thad's tight lips was anything but humorous, especially when his chest was threatening to burst open, ribs spraying the room like shrapnel as they propelled themselves forward with the force of his throbbing heart. If he had to take a guess, he would bet money on the fact that Aria's thin arms were likely the only thing keeping him in one, single piece.

"It's alright, bug." He choked, Adam's apple bobbing with a thick swallow. "I'm not scared of it, I–"

"I said stop it!" Aria demanded, words slurred by the tears that dripped endless waterfalls from soggy eyes. "You're Thaddeus Axton, you always fight back! You can't give up now!" He begged, hands trembling from where they still rested, clamped together atop the ridge of Thad's spine. "I will fight with you, just please just don't let them do this to us!" His voice sounded raw now, aching. "I need you!"

Aria's desperation for him was a stab in the gut, one that twisted Thad's intestines like spaghetti and bit down hard.

Since he was little, Thaddeus always saw the world as black and white – a place where his own great existence constantly fought against that of all the leftovers. But as this little ray of light, his Bug, wriggled his way inside, digging out a loophole among the unwinnable obstacle course that was his egocentric psyche, Thaddeus now came to realize that all of his most basic programs had been thoroughly overwritten without him even knowing it, those same, delicate hands that still clung to him molding him into a man that he could be so much more proud of.

And as that new part of his mind cracked, letting in slivers of the brilliant illumination that Aria's presence inherently bore, everything began to hurt.

Because now, he had no choice but to give all of this up.

... Because now, he had to give Aria up.

Just that thought alone was enough to tear a hole through the fragile fabric of Thaddeus's new reality.

"You don't need me." Thaddeus whispered, the acrid words cutting like razor blades across his tongue. For a moment there, he could almost taste the blood, too. "I'm not a good person, Ari. And you... you don't deserve that. You neverdeserved that." Aria's brow furrowed, like he was trying to comprehend words spoken to him in another language entirely. "You will get another Soul Mate after I'm gone. Someone so much better than me, someone who knows how to treat you like the treasure you are."

Thad's eyes flickered, moistening to something akin to tears as he stared down at a clinging Aria. Even though he knew good and well that the electro-ties were borderline indestructible, Thad's body still held onto whatever tiny ounce of hope that it could, droplets of blood trickling down his pinkies at the place where his wrists strained against the charged metal.

"And when we meet again, I want you to tell me all about him, okay? I want to hear all of your happiest stories and adventures." He continued, even though pressing the words through his esophagus was akin to what he imagined being strangled alive felt like.

If only he could touch Aria, caress his face one last time, run his fingers through those silky tresses, and breathe.

If only he hadn't wasted so much time being so angry... Maybe – just maybe – he would have realized just how much he needed Aria, too.

A slow clap echoed through the room then, and Aria didn't have to turn around to know that the sound came from none other than the head Elder herself.

"My, my, how touching!" Laancaster praised mechanically, and Aria released a soft whine, burying his moisture-streaked face deep into the comforting confines of Thaddeus's chest. The frightened action made the larger man want to crack open every bone in that old bitch's body and drink the marrow. "But unfortunately, we do not have all night to dilly dally with pleasantries. We have others to attend to as well, you know." She added, in a tone so casual you'd think she was speaking about the weather rather than the soon-to-be termination of Thaddeus's life. "Enforcers, remove number 8320 from number 6081 immediately and get him to the termination holding chambers."

Moving into place like drones, the swarm of Enforcers closed in on the pair with a masterful type of synchronicity, shifting in tandem as if they'd practiced that same action any number of times. Aria glanced around frantically as they tightened their formation, and the two, trembling men were forced into the very center of it all, like the target of a massive dartboard.

Everything happened very fast, then.

The first time an Enforcer reached for Aria, his short leg kicked out so fast that Thad barely even managed to see it happen. And the second time, when another, taller Enforcer attempted another method with a thick arm around Aria's neck, the tiny man screeched like a banshee, teeth biting so deep into the arm of their uniform that they let him go with a high-pitched screech of their own.

He looked almost feral as he fought off these full-grown men who were easily twice his size, eyes wide and hair flying around as he continuously assessed who was the biggest threat. All the while, his arms remained tied around Thaddeus's waist like a boa constrictor, squeezing so tight that it almost felt as if they'd become one, single person.

How Thaddeus wished that they could stay like this. Just a second longer together, just one more moment in one another's arms before... before...

"STOP RESISTING!" One of the helmeted men ordered as three Enforcers grabbed Aria around his thin waist at once and tugged. They were met with only a screaming, kicking man, whose fingers remained tightly bound behind Thaddeus's back.

"It's okay, sweetheart." Thad shook his head, gritting his teeth to keep down the tears that threatened to consume him at the gut-churning sight. He couldn't let Aria get hurt. Not now, not ever. And especially, not because of him. "Let them take me. You have to let them take me."

"NO!" Aria's scream of opposition was ragged yet immediate, breaths coming out incredibly too fast as he conjured up every ounce of strength he possessed to stay with Thad. "Leave him alone! Leave us alone!" He shrieked, continuing to kick at everyone in sight.

"IF YOU CONTINUE TO RESIST, WE WILL UTILIZE ELECTROCUTION." That same dickhead Enforcer ordered, and Thaddeus sucked in a sharp breath, the scent of burnt metal assaulting his senses and sending his instincts haywire.

There was no way he would allow Aria to be electrocuted, especially not after knowing the agony of such an experience himself. As much as it pained him to do so, he had to take this into his own hands. He could only hope that one day, maybe long after he was but a memory, Aria would find the empathy within that beautiful, bright heart to forgive him.

Sliding his bound hands upward, Thaddeus twisted his wrists awkwardly so that the tips of his fingers could just barely grasp the slender hands of his Soul Mate, which still pressed up tight against his spine. And then, his eyes searched, dipping his neck here and there until he could capture his mate's hysterical gaze for but a moment.

"Aria, listen to me." His voice cracked with desperation, but still, he continued on, knowing that he had only seconds to do this. He squeezed Aria's hands, feeling the digits go lax as Aria instead scrambled to latch onto Thad's searching fingertips. "You taught me so much; how to cook something more than just a soggy sandwich, how to bandage up a wound, how to apologize, and, fuck Bug, you taught me what it means to be a decent fucking person for once in my godforsaken life." Behind Thad's back, both men clung to each other's fingers as Aria's eyes pleaded, searching for some kind of explanation for this unexpected speech. "I am so grateful for the time that I have had with you. Keep being good, and keep baking those delicious cookies I love so much." Thad's smile was shaky, "Thank you for everything." He finished, before hunching over at the shoulders to press his warm, vibrating lips to Aria's forehead.

And then, he released Aria's fingers and stepped backward, releasing his body from his Soul Mate's protective grip.

Hanging his head at once, Thaddeus couldn't conjure up the courage to watch as Aria was torn away from him. Instead, Thaddeus only yielded himself to the rough grip of the Enforcers as they harshly tugged him further backward. But even the sounds Aria was making were enough to make the tears finally overflow as he was dragged further and further. The screams were throat-splitting as Aria kicked and punched, trying – and failing – to create an escape from the unrelenting hold of the Enforcers, a constant reminder of Thaddeus's failure.

Somewhere deep down, the flickering remnants of a doused fire still burned, telling Thaddeus that he should be fighting, that he should be doing any and everything to resist this fucked up world that he had been born into.

But then again, a much more rational part of him – a part that he could once again attribute to the positive influence of Aria's existence within his life – said that this was it, that if he did any more stupid shit to anger them, The Elders would undoubtedly take out their anger on Aria too this time.

As they had promised, The Elders were always one step ahead. And now, Thaddeus was reduced to yet another one of the crumb-like beings that were forever destined to be reduced to dust beneath their heavy heel.

Closing his eyes, Thaddeus receded into a husk of himself as silent tears painted a spectacle of the unfair world he'd been given no choice but to live – and now die – within.

And now, there was nothing left to do other than give in.

Succumb to The Elders.

Succumb to the misery.

... Succumb to the foul taste of imminent death.

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I SOB 😭

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