“Hey, Adathan,” William said, looking up. “Mind if I take a picture of you for Oliver?”
Adathan replied by springing to his feet and striking a pose, chin lifted, shoulders back, and that spark of confidence in his eyes that made William weak in the knees.
William’s heart skipped a beat as he aimed his camera at him. He’d have to add “model” to Adathan’s list of potential careers. Becausedamn.
Was there anything he wasn’t good at?
The Serviteur you currently have on hand was deemed unsatisfactory in both fine motor skills and emotional regulation.
William gave Barbara from Eden Serviteurs an imaginary middle finger as he sent Oliver the picture. Adathan hadn’tbroken a single thing since he’d moved in with him, and he’d put up with William like a goddamn Zen master. Those people really had no idea what the fuck they were talking about.
? Oliver:He looks great! I’m glad I still had them lying around, they’re perfect for him.
? William:They fit him really well, thanks for offering them
Loud chatter erupted from the tunnel, alerting them of an incoming horde of people. William moved closer to Adathan, bracing himself; soon the room would be packed.
“Oliver says you look great,” he leaned in to whisper.
Adathan pressed his hand to his heart and smiled.
“Did you wanna take pictures?” William asked.
Adathan nodded.
William opened his picture app and handed Adathan his phone. “You just need—nevermind.” He chuckled as Adathan zoomed in on a yellow-eyebrowed penguin preening on a rock. “You know how to use a phone.”
Adathan’s eyes crinkled as he snapped the picture. “I do. Macaroni penguins are so cute.”
Right. They were called macaronis. William remembered wondering why they didn’t make noodles shaped like them when he was a kid.
Adathan gestured to him, then at the enclosure.
“Huh?”
“Picture,” Adathan said.
Oh.
William cringed as he stood in front of the glass, feeling as if all eyes in the thickening crowd were on him. Which was ridiculous. Why would they pay him any mind when there were freaking penguins to admire?
Adathan made a few more hand gestures—lift your chin, turn slightly to the right, put your hands in your pockets, smile, smile more, thumbs up!
He stepped closer to William and spun, leaning his back against him. Before William had time to react, Adathan flipped to the front camera and lifted his arm.
So, he was familiar with selfies, too.
William hated selfies.
He smiled nonetheless, bending his knees to lower himself. Adathan tilted his head closer, giving William a whiff of his shampoo. At this point, he wouldn’t be surprised to find out Eden Serviteurs had put pheromones in it. That shit was... intoxicating.
Adathan snapped the picture, and William had to admit it was pretty good. A little too good, judging by the way his heart fluttered at the sight.
The noise cranked up a notch, making him wince. He straightened and glanced around. “The room’s getting a bit crowded. What do you say—”
Adathan gasped as a kid bumped into him. The phone slipped from his hand and hit the concrete floor with a loud thud.
Shit.
