Work Text:
“Are you nervous? Awe you’re nervous!” Karl taunts, holding a bottle of obsidian nail polish. “It’s okay, It’ll look good!” His words provided little comfort to the boy’s worries. Sapnap peers at him silently, then looks back down at his hands.
“I’m not that nervous…” Nick mutters in a defensive tone.
“Alright alright, I’m going in.” Karl opens the bottle, swiping the brush against the side of the opening to get any excess polish off. He hovers over Sapnap’s nail, glancing up at him for approval until he nods. Delicately, he makes small strokes, tainting the nail before it’s fully covered in opaque polish.
“It’s cold-”
“Don’t hate the player, hate the game.” Karl laughs. His face is decorated in a soft blush, which Sapnap can’t help but notice. Karl stares at Sapnap’s hands, focusing hard on not messing up. Unfortunately, that focus caused him to mess up more. “Shit!” Karl screams loudly, immediately retracting his hand.
“KARL!” Sapnap yells back, a laugh escaping his throat. Karl grabs Sapnap’s hand and stares at the damage.
“I’ll fix it don’t worry, don’t worry.”
“Yeah, you better.” Karl uses his nail to scrape the polish off of his cuticle. “I thought you would be good at this.”
“I am!” He defends his pride and glares up at Sapnap. Sapnap chuckles, amused at the angry gesture. Karl takes a sip of his monster, flashing his eyes to Sapnap. Nick swallows the prevalent lump in his throat, focusing a little too hard on the way Karl’s tongue darts across his lips.
Every time Karl grabs Sapnap’s hand, explosions go off in his head. It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that Karl was infatuated with Sapnap. They had only been friends for a little while, but every interaction left Karl’s breath shaky and face heated. He could really only hope the other boy felt the same way, but with their constant flirting it was hard to tell what was a joke and what wasn’t.
“Alright, gimme your other hand.” Karl dips the brush back into the bottle. Sapnap presents his other hand before Karl. “They look kinda fire not gonna lie.” He laughs, grabbing Sapnap’s hand again. The lack of distance between the boys made Karl’s breath catch in his throat. He could just feel Sapnap’s eyes on him, glancing over his soft hair down to his eyelashes that flutter across his pink cheeks. Oh how Sapnap wants to play with Karl’s hair and ruffle it, maybe even-
“They’re done!” Karl exclaims, leaning back into his seat. He finally looks up to see Sapnap’s reaction. “Do you like them?” Karl asks, studying the other boy’s face for any hint of distaste.
“They look nice. I don’t know, I’m not used to them like you are.” Sapnap presents his hand to himself, viewing how the black polish gleams under the light. Karl leans back in to take hold of Sapnap’s hand, letting it rest on his own smaller ones. His breath is feather light, brushing over Sapnap. Karl knows he’s treading in dangerous waters by closing their distance, but he can’t help it. He wants to be close to the other, even if that meant breaking the unspoken rule they had. He might as well blame it on the monster he’d been chugging. Karl examines Sapnap’s hand like it’s the most interesting thing in the world, dragging his eyes over each finger over and over again until he’s memorized every divet in his skin. Sapnap shifts in his seat, careful not to move his hand too hard and mess up the fresh polish. Something perilous and menacing builds up in his stomach, growing and reaching towards his throat until it spills out of his mouth. “Did you want to hold my hand that badly?” He teases, inspecting the boy’s frantic change in expression. Something about the way Sapnap said it made the “joke” sound serious. Karl’s lips are pressed to a tight close, blue eyes glazed over in some sort of want, cheeks flaming red and heavy.
“I- uh- no! Of course not,” Words escape Karl’s mouth before he can stop them. “I mean, yes I wanted to hold your hand-”
Before Karl can object, Sapnap is already leaned forward, pressing a chaste kiss to his cherry blossom lips. Karl’s eyes flicker shut, rosy hands alternating between one position to the next before settling on Sapnap’s shoulder. Nick’s hand cards through Karl’s soft hair over and over again before gliding back down to rest on his neck. Sapnap can't help but note the taste of Karl's signature white monster.
“Let’s blame this on human nature” Sapnap exhales out, breath hot and calescent. This time, Karl leans in to pepper a small kiss on Sapnap’s feverish neck. Nick tilts his head, exposing more skin for Karl to explore.