Aria
Aria sat comfortably in his room, the soft glow of his laptop screen illuminating his face as he connected to the video call. Teddy's familiar face appeared on the screen, a warm smile spreading across his features.
"So, no need to wait for my text, princess. I reserved a table for us at our fave place," Teddy announced, waggling his eyebrows playfully, his tone casual.
Aria's eyes widened in disbelief. "What?! No way! Isn't it like impossible to get a table there on short notice? I believe they're usually fully booked for like a month at a time?" Aria exclaimed, barely able to contain his enthusiasm.
Teddy chuckled. "No biggie. I pulled some favors. So will I see you Friday night? And don't even think about splittin' the bill. It's my treat."
"Hahaha! Very well... I'm looking forward to it! And, thanks, Teddy," Aria replied, his smile radiating through the screen. Teddy blushed slightly at this.
"...Anyway. How'd your first day at your new job go? They treatin' you okay?" Teddy inquired, his tone shifting to one of genuine concern.
"Oh yeah, definitely! Practically everyone is super chill, especially Mr. Haas!" Aria chuckled sweetly at the thought of Damien.
"As in Damien Haas? That Damien Haas? Is that so?" Teddy's eyebrows raised slightly.
"Yeah! He's been especially helpful. He's offered to give me a tour of the office, and he introduced me to some of his friends, Mr. Grossman and Mr. Leak. Oh, and get this, he asked me about my type! He even winked at me this one time during a video shoot. Isn't that nice of him? Markie said he's really nice and playful sometimes. Guess he was right."
Teddy tensed, his smile faltering for a moment. "Oh? And what do you think of him? Sounds like he was flirting with you, princess," he said, his tone more serious.
Aria smiled, oblivious to Teddy's change in demeanor. "I think he's incredibly sweet! And if I have to say, in person, he's quite attractive, too. I don't think he was flirting, by the way. Markie and Matt told me his preferences say otherwise."
• • •
...I mean thought I was, too, until you came along, princess. Anyway...
• • •
Teddy seemed to relax slightly at that, though a hint of unease remained in his eyes. "Well, alright then. I gotta go for now, though. But I'll see you soon, princess."
"See you, Teddy!" Aria waved at the screen as the call ended.
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Aria had been settling in well with the company, especially with the support of Matt and Marcus. Damien had also been hanging out with Aria a lot when he could, making him feel more at ease, but also earning some suspicions from some of the cast, especially Ian, Courtney, and Shayne. They'd ask him about his friendship with the new hire, to which
It was Friday morning, and Aria was excited for the dinner with Teddy that night and wore one of Teddy's hoodies. Teddy had promised to pick him up straight from work. Currently, Aria was in the art department, helping the art team set up for filming later that day. He had to arrive very early, so Matt and Marcus weren't with him. Alex Aguilar, a member of the art department, was painting a new backdrop for the set, and Aria was acting as an errand boy of sorts.
"Aria, could you get me some new buckets of this paint from the stock room, please?" Alex asked, directing Aria to the right room.
"Understood, Mr. Aguilar," Aria replied.
Aria opened the door to the stock room. It was quite dark. He tried to turn on the light but to no avail. "Oh dear. I'll need to report this to Ms. Garcia," he muttered. Turning on his phone light, he headed into the very dim stock room to look for the paint Alex asked for. "Okay, Aria. It's morning, for goodness' sake," he nervously muttered to himself. "Aha! These must be the shelves with the paint."
Aria found the needed paint quite high up on a shelf. He attempted to reach for it, standing on his tiptoes. "Almost got i—"
"Morning, Aria!" an excited voice boomed from behind him. Aria recognized it immediately as Damien's.
"Eep!" Startled, Aria bumped into the shelf holding the paint cans. The shelf wobbled, and some cans fell over. He managed to catch the can of paint that Alex asked for but failed to catch the other cans, which landed on him, dousing his clothes, and more importantly, Teddy's hoodie in various colors.
"Oh my god, Aria! Are you okay? I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you," Damien exclaimed as he hurried over to Aria and put his hands on his shoulders.
"Oh, Mr. Haas. Hello. I'm alright. Please don't worry," Aria said, putting down the paint can in his hands and looking at Damien, who looked really guilty. "Mr. Haas, I'm fine. Honest! But I will need to ask Matt or Markie if I can borrow one of their jackets. I certainly can't wear this one all day, and I get cold pretty easily," Aria added with a chuckle.
An idea popped into Damien's mind. "You know, I could lend you one of mine? I— I mean— because this is kind of my fault for scaring you," Damien said, blushing deeply.
"I couldn't possibly, Mr. Haas," Aria said blushing deeply, putting a hand on Damien's arm, making his heart skip a beat.
"Oh it's no problem at all! I insist, Aria." He was excited to finally see one of his hoodies being worn by Aria, not that Aria knew how he truly felt.
"Well... If you're certain. Thank you very much, Mr. Haas." Aria said happily. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must clean up this mess and get this paint over to Mr. Aguilar."
"Let me help! I can get the hoodie for you after we take care of your business with Alex," Damien offered.
"Oh! And before I forget, there's something I'd like to ask you later." Damien said, a bit nervous. "Sure thing, Mr. Haas."
YOU ARE READING
Warmth
Lãng mạn"We've all felt safe in the arms of someone dear, have we not?" This story will reference T. Swift discography. I own none of those, obviously. I couldn't have done this alone.
