When Kalmin woke up, for a moment he thought he was back in his dorm. He saw the stucco ceiling and his first thought was to turn to the side and check if Sebastian was home. However, when his body moved to check, it stopped, locked in place by two sleeping bodies that flanked both his sides. In the midst of their afternoon nap that stretched right into the evening, Deimos somehow rolled over Kalmin to hug his waist and Mira basically climbed on top of his chest to snuggle against his neck. Their breaths were hot against his neck, Mira’s breathing gentle and calming while Deimos’ was erratic and sharp. Naturally, Kalmin slid his hand to rub Deimos’ scalp to soothe whatever nightmares were making him breathe so hard, which did eventually calm down his breathing and wake him up with a little gasp.

Kalmin turned to look at him with a gentle smile, but met glassy eyes and a scared expression. Before Kalmin could question it, Deimos was kissing him, his breathing shaky and hands even shakier. They clutched onto Kalmin’s jaw hard, clammy and hot. Sporadically Deimos broke the kiss to gulp a few more breaths before lunging at him again, kissing him over and over again, leaving his boyfriend disoriented. His face scrunched up in confusion and after the tenth kiss, he had to push Deimos back.

“Babe,” he said quickly. Deimos’ eyes snapped open and they weren’t as watery as before. His pale cheeks flooded back to life and his expression relaxed. “Babe, are you ok?”

Deimos was still shaking and breathing hard. He glanced down at Mira, licked his lips and looked back at him. Then he was giving him one more kiss and Kalmin pushed him off again.

“Deimos,” Kalmin pressed harder.

“I’m fine now,” he said quickly. “J-Just a bad dream.”

Kalmin frowned. “It’s ok to not be fine.”

“I know, but I am fine, I swear,” he snapped. Hastily, he sat up and got out of bed. “It was just a bad dream, it’s not real.”

“Deimos, no, stop, come back to bed,” Kalmin urged, reaching out for him. Deimos glanced at him, hesitant for a moment before turning around and making a beeline for the washroom.

“I’m just gonna wash my face and then I-I’ll come back,” he muttered quickly before slamming the door behind him.

* * * 

When Mira woke up, Deimos got up from his desk to greet her. Kalmin looked up from his dinner to watch him climb into bed and say hello with a gentle kiss to her surprise. She groaned and sighed into it, wrapping an arm around his neck to tug him a little closer.

“Hey,” she whispered sweetly.

Deimos sighed and nuzzled his face into her hair. Kalmin gripped his fork a little tighter, watching his boyfriend hold onto his girlfriend tight. Both of them had said nothing about Deimos’ little panic attack an hour ago as if it never happened, but by the shake in Deimos’ voice and sudden display of affection for their girlfriend, Kalmin knew whatever nightmare he had still haunted him. He wanted to address it, but he also wondered if he’d be coming off too strong by doing so.

“Did you guys cook something?” Mira yawned as she got up. Deimos was still peppering kisses on her cheek and holding her tight.

“It’s just plain spaghetti with salt, we’re out of food,” Kalmin replied, saving Deimos the hassle to explain. He was still shaken up and Mira was perceptive. One stutter and she’d know he was a little shaky.

She sighed. “We’ve kinda been out of food for a few days, too busy to go grocery shopping.”

Kalmin frowned. “Have you guys seriously fallen this off the map without me around?”

Deimos glanced at him. “Yeah,” he said bluntly, Kalmin seeing the tension in his jaw as he spoke. It took everything in him to seem normal, and it worked out as Mira didn’t seem to notice.

She waved him off and pushed her messy hair out of her face. “We’ll figure it out after Finals. For now we’re doing delivery.”

“That’s so not good for you,” Kalmin whined.

Mira rolled her eyes. “Well I guess you’re gonna have to stay over more often.”

Kalmin rolled his eyes back at her. He paused for a moment and glanced at Deimos. Deimos stared back, the look in his eyes a little vulnerable.

“I’m thinking I will,” he mumbled.