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“so, karl.” the stream is long over by now, and it’s just the two of them. the microwave whirrs in the background.
“so, quackmeister.” karl teases back, with that tone of voice and that silly smile that makes quackity fucking melt. he finds himself smiling back, the dopey heat in his chest rising up behind his cheeks and seeping out across his flushing skin.
they’re not even that close (karl’s house is fucking huge, of course his kitchen would be huge too), but he swears he can see the freckles of silver in his friend’s eyes, a birds-eye view of waves scarring the open ocean.
“you were about to kiss me, huh?” he accuses, grinning teasingly. it’s so hard not to rake his eyes over karl’s body, wanting to openly admire his long legs, the way his shirt hugs his chest.
“quackity,” karl breathes, like a scandalised housewife, “without sapnap? i would never.” and- come on, dude. did karl really have to bring up sapnap? surely karl can see what’s happening, how they’re basically fucking staring into each others eyes, less than a foot of space between their chests, less than an inch separating their legs.
it frustrates him sometimes, karls playful coyness. it’s cute, but god does it make him want to pull on the collar of karls shirt and smash their lips together, back him up against the counter and keep him pinned there until kingdom come.
he doesn’t though, knows he has to worm his way in. karl’s always been a bit of an enigma - non-newtonian. if you push, he’ll push back harder. going slow though, nudging in under his skin through quiet calls and soft giggles opens him up, like a morning glory at dawn.
“you were! you were totally gonna kiss me man, c’mon. you were all like, oooh quackity, you’re so handsome-” karl interrupts him by kicking his shin, so light he barely feels it. he collapses anyways, hands shooting out to grab at the front of karl’s shirt.
“oh, karl! how could you, i thought you loved me man, what the hell!” he pouts and shakes karl just a little.
karl lets out an adorable giggle, entire face lighting up brighter than the sun. deft hands come to wrap around quackity’s own, his attempt at halting quackity’s shaking made feeble by his own weakness from laughter.
“stop, stop, dude, i do love you, oh my god!” karl giggles out, words tripping over his tongue and teeth. all quackity can think about is how adorable he looks, eyes half mooned and nose scrunched from laughing so hard. he thinks of karls hands on his wrists, thinks of the way they’re in each other's space, breathing in each other's breathless laughs.
thinks of every soft look karl has given him. every late night call they've spent together - some delirious, some serious, some sickeningly soft. he makes his decision then, and really, really, hopes he’s not about to fuck everything up.
hell, he’s only known karl for a month. he’s never been patient, never been one to wait for what he wants (and god has he wanted karl, ever since that first stupid voice call). but even he’s able to recognise that this is - new. unexplored, terrifying territory. he can't bear to lose karl, but he can't bear to stay where they are now. quackity wants.
“well karl, you know what would make me feel better?” the look his friend gives him is mischievous and if quackity were feeling brave he’d say it was giddy, knowing. it makes him feel slightly more confident in what he's about to do.
“and what’d that be?” karl breathes, voice dropping an octave.
ding!
the two jump at the sound of the microwave beeping, both suddenly glowing bright red at how close they are. like they gravitated towards each other without thought, merging galaxies falling into each other.
“i- uh, lemme just-” karl takes his hands off of quackity’s wrists, gesturing frantically towards the microwave.
“oh, shit yeah, sorry-” quackity practically trips in his effort to get away from karl, shame submerging him deeper into the awkward atmosphere in the kitchen. detaching himself from karl takes herculean effort.
“uh, i’ll get the plates.” he stutters out, turning from karl and immediately slamming his head into an open cupboard door, “fuck!”
karl starts giggling behind him as he rubs his abused forehead and groans dramatically but soon enough he’s giggling too. he shuts the door and makes eye contact with karl for a moment, sending them both into even higher-pitched hysterics.
calming down feels like it takes an age, both of them bursting into giggles at random moments as karl brings the plates to the table. the brunet sits across from quackity, the distance between them stretching ever larger.
eating in silence isn't what quackity’s used to, often indulging in boisterous conversations with his meal partners. before long, he’s fidgeting, toes tapping and squirming in his seat. karl takes notice because of course he does, reaching out a foot to kick against quackity’s own.
quackity kicks back, starting a foot war under the table. they glare at each other over the top of the table, grinning like maniacs as they finish their heated up leftovers.
“so, quackity.”
“yeah, man?”
“earlier, uh, what were you gonna ask me?” timid, nervous. karl scrapes a hand over the nape of his own neck, curls his fingers into his hair subconsciously.
“when? what?” quackity knows what he’s talking about but wants to make sure, needs to know karl wants it to. plus, it’s a little satisfying to be the coy one instead of karl. payback, no?
“uh, you were like, ‘wanna know what would make me feel better?’ and then the microwave dinged.” karl probes, fiddling with his fork. he stares at the walls, the ceiling and the kitchen cupboards like they're suddenly the most interesting things in the world.
“oh, yeah! gimme a kiss man.” for a moment, he thinks he’s fucked up. karls eyes widen, and he takes in a sharpened breath, but then he’s blushing, cheeks well and truly red. if they were any closer, he’d be able to feel the heat on karls face, if they were any closer he’d kiss it off.
“b-but… what about sapnap?” he giggles, clearly uncaring.
“he doesn’t have to know karl!” quackity pleads, giving karl his best impression of puppy-dog eyes.
karl just gives him a smirk, before piling both their plates in his arms and walking to the kitchen. bastard, quackity thinks, fondly.
starting to feel just slightly blue-balled (or whatever the romantic equivalent was - blue-lipped?) quackity kicks his chair back and chases the brunet into the kitchen. he’s determined to keep the upper-hand this time, and corners karl the second they’re facing each other.
quackity can’t help but watch his lips as they part in surprise, before flicking up to meet his eyes. he watches as karl’s eyes flick down to his own lips, and knows.
without a word he backs karl up against one of the counters, resting his palms on the bench either side of the brunet. it’s a little awkward, considering their height difference. but karl’s breathing speeds up, and quackity knows karl wants this as much as he does.
“what if i kissed you without sapnap here, huh?” he leans in as he says it, lips barely brushing over the side of karl’s jaw. he’s so close he feels more than see’s the other man swallow.
“i’d let you.”
with that final confirmation, he pulls back for a moment, looks karl in the eyes, and leans in. karl meets him halfway and finally, finally, they’re kissing.
it’s thrilling and heart warming and like being drenched in cold water all at once. karl fits perfectly against him, moves in time with him like they were made for one another.
a hand comes to rest on his cheek and he leans into it, practically nuzzling up into karl’s touch. in return, he moves one of his own hands to karl’s waist, squeezing just slightly.
neither push further than that, content to simply bathe in the gentleness of this first kiss.
when they pull away, just slightly breathless, quackity leans forward to rest his forehead on karl’s, grinning.
“so, what about sapnap, huh?”
“sapnap’s gross, he’s probably really bad at kissing, quackity.”
“well you just kissed me, does that mean you think i’m good at kissing?”
karl tips his head back and taps a single finger against his chin, as if lost in thought.
“well, i guess i’ll have to try again to come to a solid conclusion…” he giggles, grinning down at quackity.
and well, with a giggle as adorable as that, paired with an open invitation to do this over and over, of course quackity kisses him again.