Chapter Text
Karl shined brighter than the Sun.
The mug was warm against his cold hands, the green tea hot in his throat and his heart tender in his chest. Karl was sitting in front of him looking outside the window and Sapnap was staring at him.
The sun was shining through the glass and resting on Karl’s face with a golden glow. He seemed focused on something on the street outside, but Sapnap’s focus was on the beautiful colour of Karl’s eyes. The sun made them brighter, more clear, the blue colour not even matched by the sky.
Sapnap felt as if Karl’s eyes could burn him. They would start from the outside and make his heart catch in flames. Even if they did burn him, Sapnap still wouldn’t look away.
“What do you think is that woman’s story?” Karl pointed at a woman sitting on the bench on the other side of the street.
They were sitting inside a cosy, little café. Karl had called him after their classes were over for the day asking if he wanted to do anything for the rest of the afternoon and Sapnap had been quick to say yes.
They had met up in a garden close to their university and Karl had greeted him with a kiss on the cheek. It had left Sapnap perplexed, almost frozen in place with a hand resting on the place where Karl’s lips had been. It was the first time they were seeing each other in person after that afternoon in Karl’s bedroom and although they had spoken on the phone multiple times, Sapnap wasn’t sure where they stood. It seemed they stood in a better place than they had before.
“I think she just got off work and is about to go pick her kids up from school.”
Sapnap followed the line of Karl’s gaze and tilted his head to the side as he observed the scene and sipped on his tea.
“Who do you think she’s on the phone to?”
Karl drummed a finger against the table, painted white nail against the wood, with a thoughtful expression.
“Her older kid who is already at home. They want her to pick something up for them on the way to get the younger siblings.”
Sapnap raised an eyebrow with an amused smile.
“You really got her whole life figured out,” he joked.
“Have you never done it before? Make up a life for a random person passing in the street?”
“Can’t say I have.”
“I like making up stories.” Karl turned to look at him with a bashful smile as if he was embarrassed. “I started doing it when I was little. I used to sit next to the window in class and when I was bored I would look outside and watch the people who would pass by in the street.”
Sapnap lived for these moments, calm and quiet when it was just him and Karl and he learned something new about him. He loved when Karl told him something about himself, he wanted to know everything there was to know about Karl and more if he would let him.
“That’s cute,” he said and watched as Karl hid a smile behind his coffee cup. “What do you think that man’s life is like?” He gestured with his hand to a man crossing the street at a fast pace. “I think he’s late to an important meeting.”
Karl’s smile grew bigger and he reached out with his hand to grab Sapnap’s on top of the table. In a thankful gesture, he squeezed his hand and Sapnap squeezed back. Karl didn’t need to be thankful, Sapnap would do anything to sit and listen to him talk.
“I think that he’s running to the store to get something that’s missing at home. It’s his marriage anniversary and he promised he would make dinner.”
Sapnap laughed as Karl explained in more detail what the man would make for dinner (something a little fancier than he is used to, but his wife deserves it) and how many years they have been married for (24).
At that moment, with the sun slowly lowering in the sky, the last rays caressing Karl’s face, Sapnap knew that he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, wouldn’t want to be listening to anyone else, looking at anyone else.
He wanted to be with Karl, he knew it without a doubt, and he wanted Karl to want to be with him too. He wanted to listen to him for the rest of his days, to sit with him and make up stories about the strangers passing by, too look at his face and have Karl look back at him. He wanted all of it and more.
He wanted everything with Karl by his side.
***
Karl looked nice under warm lights.
“Do you have to leave yet?” Karl asked Sapnap.
They were sitting in Karl’s kitchen, the dinner plates had been empty for a while but neither of them made any moves to get up.
After their afternoon at the café, Karl had invited him to have dinner at his apartment and Sapnap hadn’t hesitated to say yes. He hadn’t been ready to say goodbye then, he never wanted to say goodbye to Karl. No amount of time spent with him felt like enough. He always wanted to be with him.
Even now, hours later, he didn’t want to say goodbye for the night. He didn’t want to leave and go back to his apartment with Dream and George, he wanted to stay with Karl for as long as he wanted him there.
However, he did have classes in the morning. He knew he should be going home now if he wanted to have a good night of sleep. But knowing didn’t make it any more appealing to leave, knowing it was the smartest decision didn’t make it any easier to get up and go home.
“I have classes tomorrow,” he said.
His eyes zeroed on Karl’s face, trying to read his expression and see if he was on the same page, if he wanted Sapnap to stay as much as he did. Karl’s eyes were soft, locked on his, but his bright smile had been replaced by a small frown when Sapnap mentioned his classes.
“Oh.”
Sapnap shouldn’t be surprised, not after all the time they spent together, all the memories, the long looks and touches that lingered far longer than they had to. He shouldn’t be taken aback by the realization that Karl wanted him to stay, but it still made something warm uncoil inside of him and spread through his chest.
“I could stay longer though,” he added. “If you don’t mind.”
Karl laughed, the bright smile flashing again.
“I would never mind that.”
Sapnap grinned at him and got up to put away his dinner plate.
“You don’t need to do that.”
“It’s the least I can do.”
Karl shook his head and got up before Sapnap could put his hands to work and start washing the dishes. Karl approached him from behind, rested his chin on Sapnap’s shoulder and wrapped his arms around him, hands falling on Sapnap’s wrists and pulling them so they weren’t anywhere near the dishes anymore.
And then he didn’t let go.
He tightened his hold slightly and bent his head to press a small kiss against Sapnap’s shoulder.
Sapnap’s breath stuttered, his heart rate spiked and he leaned back into Karl’s body. Feeling him so close, so warm and soft and in his space was the most comfortable he had been in a long time. He couldn’t imagine anything better than having Karl hugging him from behind in the middle of his kitchen after they had gone on a date and had shared dinner.
“I want to spend time with you while you’re here doing something that isn’t the dishes,” Karl whispered, breath close to Sapnap’s ear.
Sapnap turned around in his hold, hands falling to hold Karl’s waist, his thumb making small circles on the skin as Karl’s hands rubbed his back.
“And what do you propose we do?”
Karl pursued his lips, shifted his eyes to Sapnap’s chest and swayed a little in place as he thought. Sapnap looked at him through it all, unsure if he wanted to focus on the way his eyes were narrowed or on the way his fingers had started tapping an inconsistent rhythm against his back.
“I know what he should do.” He took a step back from Sapnap, leaving the embrace with a grin that turned even bigger when he saw the displeased look on Sapnap’s face.
He walked back to the table to grab his phone where he had left it face down next to his napkin. The look he sent Sapnap as he tapped away on the screen could be described as nothing but mischievous and Sapnap wasn’t sure if he wanted to find out what he was planning.
Soft music started playing and Karl put down his phone before stepping closer to him again.
“ Take my hand, take a breath ,” Karl sang with the song, extending his right hand for Sapnap to grab.
An incredulous laugh left Sapnap’s lips and he raised an eyebrow at Karl who was still looking at him expectantly as if there was nothing else he would rather do then have Sapnap take his hand and dance with him to a High School Musical song.
And Sapnap might hate dancing, might be afraid of embarrassing himself with his two left feet, but with Karl, it didn’t seem important. Not anymore. And especially not when Karl was looking at him like that, like he was the only person worth looking at, worth dancing with. He couldn’t be embarrassed when Karl made him feel comfortable wherever they were.
He took a step forward and took Karl’s hand in his, smiling at the small flash of surprise in Karl’s expression as if he hadn’t been sure if Sapnap would take it or not.
Karl pulled him closer to him, their chests almost touching as they swayed to the rhythm of the song. Karl’s hands were soft and warm, heat sipping through Sapnap’s shirt and onto his left shoulder were Karl was gripping, his other slightly sweaty palm holding Sapnap’s a little away from their bodies. Sapnap let his left arm circle Karl’s waist to pull him even closer until they were almost breathing in the same air and he could see nothing but Karl’s eyes and freckles and lips.
“It's like catching lightning, the chances of finding someone like you,” Troy and Gabriella sang through Karl’s phone.
And they were right weren’t there? It wasn’t easy to find someone to love, it was even harder to find someone to love that would love you back. Sapnap was convinced that the stars had to be aligned a certain way, the moon and the sun had to be at the right angle, there had to be a certain harmony in the universe for it to happen. He hadn’t thought he would ever be this lucky. Not for a long time, at least.
Finding someone to love unconditionally who would love him back had seemed almost impossible. Yet, here he was. Here he was with Karl in his arms, dancing in the middle of his kitchen to a High School Musical song. Here he was looking into Karl’s eyes with his heart beating out of his chest and peace of mind he hadn’t felt in a long time. Here he was with Karl looking back at him, all of Sapnap’s emotions mirrored in him.
“Karl,” he said, unsure of what he wanted, of how to put his feelings into words that made sense. “Karl.”
Karl looked at him, a shy smile on his face and his eyes bright despite the low light, there was a fond look in his eyes that Sapnap almost didn’t believe was aimed at him. Karl was looking at him as if he was holding all the secrets of the universe inside, as if, given the choice, he wouldn’t look at anyone else but Sapnap.
“I want to kiss you.”
Sapnap blinked, surprised by the boldness of Karl’s words and the honesty in his eyes. Karl wanted to kiss him. He actually wanted to kiss him. And Sapnap wanted the same thing, there was nothing he wanted more than that.
“Then do it,” he breathed out, voice low and shy, words touching Karl’s lips before his own did.
And then they were kissing and Sapnap wasn’t sure who had leaned in first, who had taken the last step, maybe they had done it at the same time and met in the middle, but the only thing he knew, the only thing he cared about was that Karl’s lips were soft and sweet and his hands were on Sapnap’s face and they were kissing.
When they parted, Karl smiled at him, shy but impossibly happy and Sapnap felt something explode in a million colours inside his chest. He wrapped his arms around Karl and brought him close in a hug, burying his nose between Karl’s neck and shoulder and drowning in his cologne. Warmth enveloping him when Karl returned the hug and brought him as close to him as possible.
Faintly, he heard the song start again in a loop, he didn’t think his life could be any better.
***
Being with Karl felt like flying.
“I already spoiled a song for you,” Karl whispered as the movie started.
Sapnap had given up on the idea of going home for his morning classes. Karl had looked at him and asked if he wanted to spend the night at his place and there was no way Sapnap was saying no to that. He wouldn’t pass up on the opportunity of feeling Karl against him for a few more hours, he wouldn’t pass up on the promise of hugs and kisses and cuddles.
Sapnap was laying on the couch now, Karl between his legs with his head resting on Sapnap’s chest as he played with his hair. High School Musical 3 was playing and Sapnap thought that if he had a chance to stop time right at that moment and stay forever in Karl’s arms he would take it in a heartbeat.
“That’s alright. I don’t mind getting spoiled if it means dancing with you.”
Karl raised his head, his chin resting on Sapnap’s chest so that he could look at his face and a teasing smile touched his cheeks.
“So, you don’t mind dancing now.”
“I don’t mind dancing if it’s with you. You make me want to dance.”
Sapnap saw the moment Karl made the connection with the conversation they had had before, felt the way Karl’s breath stuttered and if he focused, he thought he could feel Karl’s heart racing against him.
He liked knowing that he had this effect on Karl. He liked knowing that he could make Karl’s heart beat faster, that he could make him blush and smile with a few words. It felt nice to know that Karl felt the same way he did.
“You can’t say those things to me like that,” Karl mumbled, his cheeks reddening.
Sapnap brought a hand up to touch the warmth in his face, let his index finger draw a pattern down his cheek and smiled when he saw Karl close his eyes and sigh in contentment. He wanted to see Karl like this every day, he wanted to make Karl feel like this every day.
Karl turned his face into Sapnap’s hand, pressed a small, lingering kiss against his palm and let the silence stay for a while. Talking would disturb the peace that had settled, the movie as background noise was enough.
They didn’t need words to communicate anyway, not when their eyes said so much. Why would they need words when their locked gazes told more tales of love and trust and comfort than their voices ever could?
Karl had quickly become his favourite person. Someone he thought about all the time, someone he wanted to talk to every minute of the day. He wanted to see Karl in the morning, afternoons and evenings, he wanted to hold him close through the night. He wanted Karl by his side all of the time.
Sapnap hadn’t thought he would find love yet, he hadn’t thought he would have met the person that made him happier than he could ever have hoped at a random party. Yet, here he was. He was laying on Karl’s couch with Karl laying on him, their eyes on each other, a movie forgotten on the tv, his morning classes far from his mind.
Here he was and, as he leaned down to press a kiss against Karl’s hair and felt it tickle his nose, he couldn’t deny that he was falling in love with Karl.
He was falling and he knew that Karl would catch him. And he would catch Karl right back. It was a new feeling, one he wasn’t used to. But it was good.
Because he was learning to describe love in a new way, one that was entirely his and uniquely with Karl.
Love was warmth in his chest and softness against his skin. It was singing in the car and dancing in the kitchen. It was watching movies and sharing a pack of gummies. It was hot drinks and people watching. Love was looking into blue eyes and kissing pink lips. It was everything he had ever wanted and more.
For Sapnap, love was Karl.