Yawning, Deimos trudged into the self-serve coffee station in the basement of the English building. Thankfully, there wasn’t a lot of people around, which was honestly a godsend at this point with exam season finally touching down, and popped into line. His head was in a fog, body feeling weak and head dizzy. Schoolwork was ramping up, and slowly the nights spent actually sleeping were shortening ever so slightly. He thought he could handle a few days running on an average of five hours, but it seemed that age was getting to him, and it got harder and harder to function on less sleep. God, he was just twenty. This shouldn’t be hard.

Sighing, he reached for the cups at the side.

“Nikola, heads!”

Suddenly, a body rammed into his back.

Usually, Deimos was quick enough to stop the impact. But with the tiredness and dizziness, he stumbled forward, whacking the stack of cups over, and kneeing the counter.

“Fuck!” He cursed in Greek, trying to catch the tower before it fell.

He tried. But it fell, brown cups flying everywhere.

Hotly, he whipped his head to the side and caught his culprits: four shorter boys all notably wearing a familiar blue-green hockey sweater he was intimately acquainted with. Deimos didn’t instantly recognize them, and from the baby faces they all had, he assumed they were freshmen. They acted like freshmen if they thought it was a good idea rough-housing in a sacred space like the self-serve coffee station.

The nearest one that bumped into him had a buzz cut and his eyes were wide.

“Fuckin’ watch it,” Deimos snapped. He heard the clerk at the station sigh and he turned to the older woman and shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll clean it up, you’re busy.”

The woman blinked and thanked him. He’s frequented this place enough for her to know his order. When Kalmin and Mira came, she was always very chatty with them, so Deimos kind of had a soft spot for her.

“You four, you’re helping me clean,” Deimos hissed. He slid his murderous glare at Shaven Head. “You’re lucky I didn’t spill any hot coffee.”

“S-Sorry,” Shaven Head gruffly said, instantly avoiding his glare. He started picking up the cups with him, the two of them sorting through the ones that got a little too dirty on the floor, and the ones that were clean. The other three helped sort stack them back, and apologized profusely to the clerk.

“Sorry, we were just fooling around,” a redhead muttered.

“You shouldn’t shove your friends as a joking gesture,” the clerk commented.

Shaven Head stilled his hands for just a second, and Deimos noticed the quick grimace on his face before throwing a dirty cup particularly hard in the recycling.

Blinking, Deimos snapped his eyes to the trio. “Did you guys shove him?”

They looked scared shitless.

“It’s fine,” Shaven Head muttered.

The blonde coughed nervously and the brunette spoke up. “Just some friendly hockey rough-housing.”

Deimos rolled his eyes. “Last time I checked Kalmin’s teammates don’t shove their members into unsuspecting bystanders.”

The trio looked shocked for a second, confusion twisting their expressions until Shaven Head groaned and face-palmed.

“He’s Deimos, Kalmin’s friend,” he explained bluntly, his cheeks a little pink.

“Oh!” The three of them said in unison, eyes going wide. Deimos traded glances with him. Did he know him?

“You’re Dorm Mama’s boyfriend!” The redhead exclaimed.

Deimos blushed red. “W-What? No!” He snapped a little too quickly. Yes, he was, but that was something for Kalmin to tell them.

Shaven Head groaned. “Fuckin’ idiots,” he hissed under his breath.

Deimos snorted, and caught the young man’s attention for just a moment before he quickly looked to the ground with his cheeks reddening.

Hotly, the brunette slapped the redhead in the arm. “No, dumbass, Deimos is dating that Mexican chick.”

“Her name is Mira,” Deimos deadpanned, standing up and throwing the rest of the dirty cups in the recycling. A line was beginning to form, and he quickly went into coffee mode once more. Shaven Head followed suite, and kicked the blonde in the shin to stay in line.

“Everyone thinks it’s a ruse,” the redhead replied.

Deimos laughed sharply. “You’re talking to the wrong people,” he sassed. Why was he engaging with these idiots? Angrily, he ripped open a packet of sugar.

“So you’re dating the Mexican chick?”

“Mira,” Deimos hissed. “I’m dating Mira. And Kalmin’s our best friend.”

The trio exchanged skeptical looks while Shaven Head quietly filled his coffee cup.

“Anyways, fuck all about me,” Deimos hissed as he slapped a cover over his cup, “Stop rough-housing or else I will tell Dorm Mama.”

All four freshmen hastily nodded their heads while Deimos paid for his drink and dropped an extra few dollars for the clerk. He flashed an incredibly sarcastic, but menacing smile to the young boys. It’s been a while since he’s felt like fucking around with people. Maybe it was the sleep-deprivedness or maybe it was a long-time itch he hasn’t been able to scratch.

“If you don’t, next time I break your noses,” he threatened.

The four of them, as well as the rest of the line, went pale.

Satisfied, Deimos spun around on his heels and walked away. Then paused.

“Oh yeah, apologize to Shaven Head!” He called back.

Shaven Head perked up and blinked wildly.

“Shaven Head?” He commented incredulously.