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“A new person on the SMP?” Sapnap asked intrigued, he watched the green circle around Dream’s pfp light up as Dream responded.
“Mhm, name’s Karl.” Dream said nonchalantly, clearly not paying attention to his discord call and focusing on mining stacks of obsidian.
Sapnap stared shocked for a moment, “Karl? Ka- Karl what?” Sapnap asked hurriedly, something Dream picked up on immediately.
“Karl Jacobs? That guy from Mr. Beast’s crew, why?” Dream asked, Sapnap’s head flew back to a time that he.. Well, forgot about it. It took him back to 2015.. August 2015.
---
It was the sweltering Texas heat, just like every summer, the fourteen year old Sapnap was moving hay into the humid barn.
He was visiting his grandparents farm and of course they needed a big, strong, fourteen year old boy who would be able to lift and carry their supplies.
When his mom told him about it she thought he was going to go into a temper tantrum. Something about not wanting to live on a wireless farm, kids these days.
Sapnap huffed as he lifted the last haybale into the barn, somehow the last one was so much heavier. God, how much he hated Texas. How much he hated this farm. And these stupid appearances.
He took a deep breath and put the hay bale down, adjusting his bandana fixed in his messy black hair. Plus, he had to wear flannel, and it’s not that he hated flannel but he didn’t think it complimented him like a plain white shirt with a flame on it.
He sat on the hay bale, attempting to catch his breath when a boy around his age walked in. Maybe a year older.
“Hey, you Sapnap?” He asked, he had his braces still in and had a thick accent.. Not from Texas, maybe up North.
He was.. Pretty cute, he supposed. His fluffy brown hair snuggly falling in his face, his sweatshirt pulled over his hands. Sapnap snapped out of it though as he realized he was staring.
“That’s me. Who are you?” Sapnap said, getting up and walking over to the shorter boy.
“Oh! Uh, Karl Jacobs, I’m the neighbors grandson.” He stuck his hand out, Sapnap thought of something more fun however.
“Nice to meet you, Karl.. Jacobs..” He said, enunciating his name. Taking time to admire each syllable which made Karl gulp. Karl thought he was going to get beaten up, which wasn’t that far of a conclusion.
Sapnap shook Karl’s hand, grabbing his wrist and pulling him in, pulling him in so close only they could hear.
“I know enough about appearances to know that you’re making one up, ‘whatcha hiding Jacobs?” Sapnap whispered in his ear, it made the hair on the back of Karl’s neck stand up and his ears go red.
“N-Nothing, Sapnap.” Karl replied, trying to contain himself. Sapnap nipped at his ear which made him yelp.
“We both know that’s a lie, Jacobs.” Karl swallowed.
“Oh god- I mean. Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. This is my first-” Karl began thinking before Sapnap interrupted his thought process.
“Ohh, I see. Christian but you don’t believe, that’s because of.. Well, you don’t like girls, do you Karl?” Sapnap asked slowly, trying to mess up Karl.. And it was working.
“I, um, no, uh, not really, Sapnap.” Karl whispered. What was he thinking? This was rural Texas, people who wouldn’t hesitate to kill him and he was telling this to a kid he barely knew.. “You’re gonna kill me aren’t you?” He asked.
“Can’t really, ‘cause if I killed you for being gay I’d have to kill myself too.” Sapnap whispered into his skin. Karl let out a breath of relief and tried to pull away from Sapnap.
“Tut tut tut, we aren’t done yet, Jacobs.” Sapnap pulled him back in and Karl’s breathing hitched. Sapnap licked a line down from Karl’s ear to his collarbone, Karl’s eyes rolled back into his head.
“L-Look, Sap, don’t tell my family I won’t tell your’s. And maybe, we can continue this.” Karl said, his voice shaky, Sapnap planted a tiny kiss on his collar bone.
“I’m staying upstairs in this barn, come back at tonight I’ll be here.” He said and Karl rushed off. If anyone asked either of them they’d say that they both liked… Video games!
Later That Night
“Sap, I’m here.” A voice came from the barn door at exactly 11:55 PM. He slowly creaked open the barn door only to be met with Sapnap’s lips.
He was instantly shoved against the barn wall, kissing him back as Sapnap’s hands ran through his hair. It was fast and passionate, both boys not backing down as they explored each other's mouths..
Later That Month
“Hey, Sap.” A voice came from the barn door, he quickly climbed down from his bed and let Karl in.
“What are you doing?! We promised only night time it’s like 1 PM!” Sapnap whisper yelled, looking out the door to make sure no one saw before closing it.
“M-My folks found out.” A tear fell down his rosy cheeks.
“Oh my god.. Karl, uh, I’m not good at this.” Sapnap said sympathetically, toying with his hands.
“I’m leaving tomorrow, back to North Carolina.” He tried to smile but it came out more as a flat line.
Sapnap wrapped his arms around the boy one last time. Holding his face in his hands, kissing him one last time. Of all the times he’d kissed the brunette, this was the only time he wished time would go slower, and everything wouldn’t feel like the last time.
“I’ll miss you.” Sapnap whispered, tears welling in his eyes.
“Nonono, don’t you dare do that!” Karl spoke to him, holding his face just like Sapnap was holding his. “Don’t act like you will never see me again! That’s not true.”
Sapnap nodded, “See you next time, Jacobs.”
“See you later, nimrod.” And the barn door closed, the love of his life whisked away. He fell down to the floor, tears falling out of his eyes. Why did it have to be like this? Why couldn’t they be two boys from California or New York with supportive parents where they could love? Why was this wrong?
---
Yeah, you could say they had a history.
“Sapnap?!” Dream called as Sapnap came back from zoning out. Dream was definitely paying attention now.
“Oh! Sorry. I zoned out.” Sapnap chuckled nervously. Oh fuck, oh fuck. He’s gonna pick up on it and then he will explain and everyone will fucking hate him, oh god.
“Mhm, sure.” Dream rolled his eyes. “Look, I know there's something more to that, wanna tell me or not?” Florida isn’t a close minded place, is it? Dream isn’t homophobic, right? No way he is. He can tell him.
“I, uh, when I was fourteen I went to my grandparents farm to help them out with some things.” Dream hummed for him to continue. “Well, I met Karl there.. And we- let's just say we weren’t just friends, his uh, parents found out and I haven’t heard from him since.”
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry Sap. We can cancel the stream if you want-” Sapnap cut him off.
“Nonono, It’s okay. Maybe if it’s on stream it will be better.” Sapnap reasoned with illogical logic that Dream reluctantly agreed to.
---
Later
“Hey guys! As you all know, we have a new member joining the SMP.” Sapnap said, trying to remain as normal as possible. That’s when he got a discord message from Dream.
“Hey guys! As you all know, we have a new member joining the SMP!! Did I mention I sucked his dick?” Sapnap’s eyes widened and he closed the tab. He hated that green son of a bitch.
“Oh it’s nothing guys.” Sapnap laughed. “Dream sent me some non stream appropriate stuff.” He looked annoyed into the camera for Dream.
“Anyway, I will be giving this new member a tour of the SMP!” Sapnap yelled a little too loud for his parents house.
Karl joined the call, he purposefully hadn’t watched any of his streams or videos. He didn’t know if he could handle hearing his voice or seeing his face. He never even said I love you, never, Sapnap had been the love of his life but he never told him he loved him.
Sapnap cleared his throat. “And welcome, to the Dream SMP server, Karl Jacobs!” Sapnap stunned Karl, his voice sounded so similar, just more experienced and he realized just how much he missed that nimrod.
“Hi everyone!” Karl spoke cheerfully, masking the eternal battle in his head. Sapnap gasped quietly, he could play it off as dramatics for the welcoming. He sounded so.. Grown. So much different than the 14 year old boy he knew in the barn. He wondered if Karl still thought about him, he wondered if he still remembered.
Soon Dream, George, Bad, Tommy, and Tubbo filled the voice call and Sapnap and Karl were able to slip into the background. They both had their video on so they still had to contain themselves.
Sapnap had a drafted message sitting, waiting for the send button to press. Fuck it. Sapnap sent it.
“Private vc? We can turn off cameras.” He sent it to Karl, and Karl got the message.
“Hey guys, entertain the stream someones at the door!” Karl yelled as he turned off his mic and camera.
Sapnap waited a minute or two and played his phone's ringtone. “Oh shit my mom’s calling. Guys hold on.”
He turned off his mic and camera, double checking, triple checking, and finally being confident that it was all off. He called Karl on discord, hearing the ringtone that bordered anxiety's theme song.
Ring. Ring. Ring. And picked up.
The call stayed silent for a few moments, almost as if they realized they were finally talking with no one watching. Finally sharing the same air supply, even if it was just a vc.
“Hey.. Sap.” Hearing Karl call him Sap brought back a lot, how could it not.
“Do you remember what happened in 2015?” Sapnap asked him quietly, almost reminding them of the time they first met.
“Of course I do. I was in love with you.” Karl said, almost relieved. Was. Was in love. Was in love with you.
“Was?” Sapnap chuckled nervously.
“Nonono- that’s not what I meant I swear.” Karl defended. Sapnap knew this wouldn’t be a reunion without fourteen year old flirty Sapnap.
“Y’know, I kinda wish my mic was on. So they could hear me make you sweat, make you wish I was in your arms.” Sapnap said slowly, pronouncing every word with care to slowly untie the boys perfect bubble wrap.
“Not this again Sap, this worked once, never again.” Karl said cockily.
“Let’s test that then, Jacobs.” Sapnap said. Karl shivered at the use of his last name.
“Bring it on nimrod.” Karl winked, not like Sapnap could see.
“I was on your stream, your lips are still just as pink as all those years ago.” Sapnap began. “I wonder if they still taste the same. Do they still look purple in the sun from me sucking all the air from you?”
Karl gulped, two can play at that game. “I saw you were wearing plaid on stream, you hate it. I did like unbuttoning the buttons, hearing you pant and whisper to me as I slowly undid your buttons.” Karl said slowly, he did learn from the best.
Sapnap became flustered, but he wasn’t going down without a fight. “If you were here Karl, I would fuck you, hard. And everyone would watch, because you’re mine. And I want the world to know that, Jacobs.” Sapnap said, it lost it’s teasingness and by the end it wasn’t playful.
“Really, nimrod? I thought you would have a girlfriend by now.” He rolled his eyes.
“I love you, Karl.” Sapnap said before he could talk himself out of it.
Karl stammered for a minute, not expecting it. “Real or not real?”
“Real.” Sapnap whispered, Karl paused as he tried to process that the years of feelings he held onto were returned.
“I love you too, Sap.” After a ton of dms, and 2o minutes of crying they both returned to the stream. Profusely apologizing and claiming that something came up but it was fine now.
A soulmate that was meant to be.