When Syrus woke up, he found himself clinging tightly onto Hassleberry. He pushed himself away so hard, he fell off the bed, waking up Hassleberry in the process. Syrus' eyes were so fixated on the stranger in his bed that he didn't even realize Jaden uncomfortably coughing in the background. Despite the fact that Syrus was still flabbergasted, Hassleberry was incredibly cool and calm as he began to wipe the sleep from his eyes.

"Mornin', Sarge!"

Syrus darted his head back, and hopped up onto his legs. He began to panic, finding the words to say. Jaden remained cool, however, while finding words to say himself.

"Good morning, guys. Um…" Jaden studied everything about the two. The panic in one boy's face but genuine calm in the other. It was difficult to know what to ask first. "What happened last night?"

Syrus' memory of the night before was coming back. The nightmare! What could he tell him now? That he was such a coward that he needed someone to soothe him back to sleep? How humiliating! But he didn't want Jaden to leave the reasons for Hassleberry sleeping in his bed up to the imagination…

"Somebody had a bad dream last night," Hassleberry laughed. "I needed to help him calm down. If I didn't, he might've been too scared to fall back asleep."

There was the condescending tone Syrus had been expecting last night. But why was he acting normally now? He shook the thoughts from his head, angrily stomping onto his feet.

"Hey! You just laid down on my bed without being invited! I told you to get off! But noooooo!"

He rolled his eyes, hopping out. Although Syrus' words made sense, Jaden was somewhat unconvinced. Even if Hassleberry just plopped onto his bed without asking, it didn't explain why Syrus let him stay. No, he didn't just let him stay. He was actively holding onto him!

"Uh huh…" Jaden awkwardly continued to fix his hair in front of the mirror. A faint yawn escaped his lips. After a few seconds of silence, Syrus was eager to change the subject.

"When did you come back last night, Jay? You look pretty tired…"

"About four in the morning."

"Four in the morning?! Four in the morning?! Jaden, that's insane!"

He sighed, nodding his head.

"Bastion was really seasick last night! Poor guy couldn't sleep for hours, he was too busy throwing up."

Syrus groaned a little in pity, then glared at Hassleberry in the corner of his eye. He began walking out of the room, him close behind.

When both of them were out of earshot of Jaden, Syrus turned around, holding his hand out to stop Hassleberry in his tracks. He turned his head to the side, confused.

"You slept… in my bed?" Hassleberry shrugged, but Syrus continued to fume. "It's bad enough you just dropped in without being invited! But you didn't leave?!"

"I didn't want to wake you up, Private. And you, uh, clung onto me…"

"Yeah right!"

Although the memory of how they woke up seemed to corroborate his story, he refused to believe it. There's no way he would ever hold onto Hassleberry, even unknowingly in his sleep. Clearly, something weird happened last night, but he refused to dwell on it now.

...

As Bastion and Jaden talked a little about their plans for the day, Syrus decided it would be the best time to get a coffee. Unfortunately, Hassleberry seemed to have the same idea. This irritated him, but he refused to acknowledge it verbally. Instead, he turned away from Hassleberry, flinching at every movement he saw him make in the corner of his eye.

"Hey, Private," he whispered.

"...what," he asked through clenched teeth.

"How's the black coffee in this brand? Is it any good?"

"I dunno! I don't drink that bitter stuff!"

"What?! Bitterness is the whole point o' coffee!"

"No it's not! You can have caffeine without it being disgusting!"

"Oh yeah? And how do you make it not 'disgusting'?"

"Some mocha and vanilla!"

"Yuck! That is sickeningly sweet, Private!"

"No it's no-"

"May I take your order?"

Syrus shook his head, realizing he'd finally got to the beginning of the line. He cleared his throat and began to order.

"Sorry. May I please have a hot-"

"Egh. And you like hot coffee too?"

"Yeah! It's the only way to have coffee!"

"No it's not! Iced is the way to go! It's cool, it's refreshing…"

"It's not real coffee."

"Yeah it i-"

"Ahem." Syrus turned his attention back to the woman taking his order.

"Again, sorry. Mocha latte."

Hassleberry scoffed again.

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

"Okay and you, sir?"

...

As they waited for their coffees, they continued to bicker about which kind of coffee was superior.

"Number four," one woman called when she placed the coffee out. Syrus double checked his receipt and groaned. What he got wasn't a hot coffee. It was iced.

"Ha!" Hassleberry started laughing hysterically.

"Number five!"

He went silent when he saw his coffee was hot.

"Ha!" Syrus smiled in a smug manner. But when he looked back down at the coffee, he frowned. He mixed it around with the straw, looking at it worriedly. He sipped it and immediately hated it. Hassleberry made the same face when he sipped his.

"I'm gonna be honest," Hassleberry said. "I don't think I can drink this."

"Yeah, me neither…"

He turned his gaze towards the other coffee.

"Wanna trade?"

Syrus looked at him like he had three heads. But it didn't seem like a terrible idea.

"...sure."

They traded and both took a sip. It was bad, but not as bad as what they'd tried previously.

"How can ya' drink this," Hassleberry complained. "It's so sweet!"

"I'm sorry," Syrus sarcastically shot back. "Would you rather have this one instead?"

He paused for a moment, and sighed.

"No, guess not…"

"Then quit complaining."

After a few sips to get used to it, they actually began to enjoy the flavor of the other's coffee. But there was no way they would ever be willing to admit it.