"Did I wake you up last night?"
Bel only sounds half-apologetic. Kam has heard Bel talking in his sleep for several nights in a row now, and sometimes he's gone into Bel's room to calm him down; but he's never done more than sit next to the bed and whisper comforting nonsense in his ear until Bel is quiet. Bel has noticed that Kam sleeps with his bedroom door open, but whether or not he's figured out the open door is connected to his sleep-talking is unclear.
"Actually," Kam says. "You were kind of quiet."
Bel had still been talking in his sleep, but it had been more of a murmur. Kam couldn't understand the words even when he looked in to check on him. Bel had been lying almost motionless, occasionally turning his head from side to side, and muttering. But he hadn't been panicked, so Kam had left him alone.
"That's...good, I guess." Bel is at the kitchen counter, pouring hot water over fresh Crio, while Kam is at the stove, tipping scrambled eggs from two pans onto two separate plates.
"I think it's good." Kam says. "It means you're sleeping better."
"I bought more diphenhydramine." Bel pulls two mugs out of the cupboard.
"Bless you."
"It's a sleeping pill, you idiot. And it helps." It helps with the sleeping, but not the dreams. Except Bel isn't about to tell Kam that.
If Kam thinks Bel is telling half the truth, he doesn't say it. He just brings the plates to the table.
"Did you get--"
"The cream? Yes I did." Bell rolls his eyes as he gets the cream out of the fridge. "How many times do I have to tell you that cream does not belong in Crio Bru? Ruins the taste."
"I could say the same thing about what you do to your eggs." Kam puts Bel's plate as far away from his as possible, as though Bel's breakfast might corrupt his own.
"The chilis add a nice kick," Bel plunks the cream next to Kam's elbow with the same look of distaste that Kam is giving to his eggs.
"So why add the cayenne pepper? Are you trying to destroy your taste buds?"
Bel makes a face at him. "You flavor your food the way you want to and I'll do the same with mine! You know what we sound like?"
"I'm sure you'll tell me."
"We sound like—ummm," Bel's hesitation brings a glint into Kam's eyes.
"A couple?"
"No!" Bel isn't sure if he likes that glint or not so the word comes out louder than he wants it to. "We sound like—roommates. Very comfortable roommates. Who are—very comfortable with each other."
"I think the word you're scrambling for is 'friends'." Kam says.
"Yes," Bel plops in his seat at the table and sprinkles more cayenne pepper on his eggs rather than look at Kam. "That. Friends."
"Friends Who've Kissed." Kam is doing the Eyebrow Thing again. "Right?"
Bel's face is red because he swallowed a chili the wrong way.
Not because of any of the words that just came out of Kam's mouth.
Even though they're true.
"I didn't know you spoke Italian." He says after the coughing fit subsides.
"Enough to say what I need to say. You were eavesdropping on my phone calls again?" Kam allows Bel to steer the conversation in a different direction. "That's part of my day job."
