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Limerence (n): The state of being infatuated or obsessed with another person.
Sapnap knew he was in deep from the moment he first saw Karl.
Karl, an amazing boy that knew how to steal his heart.
The pretty angel that had been sent down from the heavens to grace Sapnap with his presence.
The only person who could make Sapnap’s heart stutter with every breath, every shake of his hair, every time he bit his nails or subconsciously sucked on his thumb when stressed.
Karl was his everything.
Sapnap waited in anxiousness, eyes glued to the front doors of the church. All his friends were around to support him, seated and engaging in slight chatter, waiting for the belle of the ball to walk in and join Sapnap on the alter.
Each second felt like a decade. Each minute felt like a century. Sapnap had already waited a lifetime to be with Karl, to claim him for his own and love him until he was gray and old, and today was the day the two of them would finally seal that bond.
The talking stopped when those doors were pushed open, the brunet standing just on the other side. An arm was linked around another, this one possessed by his close friend, Quackity. The Mexican couldn’t look more proud, a beaming smile present on his face as he gazed at Sapnap.
Despite Quackity’s subtle gaze, Sapnap wasn’t focused on that.
Karl.
Look at him.
He was heavenly.
The taller donned a simple white suit, tightly fit against his chest in a way that hugged the natural arch of his spine. His nails were painted a pretty red, the color standing out against pale skin. He had opted to wear no rings today, already knowing he would be receiving the most gorgeous one he would ever own. Sapnap thought he looked great with rings on, but staking his claim on a bare canvas was all the more exciting.
Sapnap’s eyes moved from Karl’s suit to his face, taking in every detail. His lips shone with the hint of a soft gloss, one that made him look all the more kissable. His hair had been lovingly curled and pushed back with a few barrettes, sapphire gems glinting under the light. He was not wearing a veil, Sapnap remembering his exact words when they had discussed it prior.
“Tradition states that you wear a veil. Do you want to?”
“Maybe. I’m not big on tradition.”
“Why?”
“Because it stops me from kissing you.”
“It doesn’t have to cover your face.”
“I just don’t need it,” the decision had been. “You’ll be ripping it off me the moment we’re alone anyhow.”
The raven chuckled at the memory, watching Karl advance with his father.
He looked glorious, a god, like this was everything he was meant to do. The rose petals he stepped on were strewn haphazardly on the carpet, courtesy of Dream’s younger sister. With each frond that was crushed, Sapnap would buy a thousand more. Karl was prettier than any old flower.
He deserved to be surrounded by them.
He always brought out their radiance.
Upon closer glance, Sapnap realized Karl was also wearing eyeliner. His whole face had been caked with makeup, not too much yet just enough for a subtle change, something au naturel that enunciated his beauty. Sapnap had to physically hold back from kissing him senseless, fingers twitching slightly at his sides.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Wilbur began, gazing across the almost full room. “We are gathered here today to unite these two people in holy matrimony. Their decision to marry has not been done through impulse; rather on dedication and a long connection. So today they shall be publicly declaring their private devotion to each other amongst the company of their closest friends. They will, today, accept each other in their entirety. As lovers, companions, and friends in sickness and in health to hold each other till death do they part.”
Sapnap had his eyes on Karl the entire time, lower lip trembling with the possibility of crying. Karl seemed to notice this, his entire face softening, holding his bouquet of flowers closer to his chest. Sapnap sniffled, bringing a hand up to wipe at his face, then turned to Wilbur.
“Sapnap, please exchange your vows with Karl,” he said, voice level.
This was his time. This was his time to say everything he had written, the speech he had so diligently planned, the one that could go on for thousands of pages until Sapnap had an entire library praising his precious angel. He could recite it all, but he knew Karl wouldn’t like that.
Karl had never been one to melt at romantic imagery and Shakesperean-esque poems. He always preferred when Sapnap would tell him what he thought flat-out, and as much as the rest of the room was expecting something heartfelt and proofread, this was about Karl.
Sapnap would do what he wanted the most.
He would give Karl a path straight to his heart.
“Karl,” he began, clearing his throat. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’ve known you for around five years now, been dating you for two, and we’ve finally reached the day you and I have been planning for the longest time. I never believed in love at first sight, Karl, because I didn’t believe you could love a person without actually knowing them, but you proved me wrong. You stood against everything I was for and taught me that romance doesn’t have to be without flaws.”
“It’s no secret that you and I have had our ups and downs. There have been days in which we have needed space, others when we would make up and cuddle, and the best days of all when we would do simple things together. Being with you in any regard always makes me happy, Love.”
“I’ve never been good with words, but I knew you’d appreciate something like this instead of a prewritten speech. Every word I speak to you is straight from the heart. I mean it all. I mean it when I say I love you. I mean it when I hold you to my chest and tell you how beautiful you are. I mean it when I say that your personality is unlike anyone else’s, and I’m blessed to be in your presence each and every day. You’re my angel, Angel. I love you.”
Karl choked back a sob, big blue eyes shiny from holding back tears. Wilbur offered Sapnap a warm smile, turning his attention to the other man in the white suit. “Karl, please exchange your vows with Sapnap.”
“Oh gosh,” Karl blurted out, causing their audience to laugh. “Where do I begin? You’re able to say all those nice words off the top of your head and I’m having trouble coming up with them myself! That’s what you do to me, Sappy. You take my breath away, make me speechless. From the first moment that we touched, you felt like home. I knew I was home when I met you, Sapnap. You smell like the crispy ashes of a fire, feel like a teddy bear, taste like hot chocolate, sound like Heaven, and god, the way you look; you’re amazing in every way!”
“Sappy, you really are my everything. This is the only place I would want to be right now: with you around all our friends and family, celebrating the love that we share. We’ve only grown together, become better people, and now… well, now I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Sapnap smiled widely, moving his hands out. He gently held Karl’s pale fingers in his own, rubbing his thumb over the skin there. “Thank you,” he breathed, turning to Wilbur when they were ready for the next step.
Neither of them needed to say “I do”. They had said “I do” ages ago.
“Alright, may we have the rings, please?” Wilbur asked, turning to look at Dream. The blond was standing slightly off to the side, wearing a suit to match Sapnap’s, keeping a small pillow balanced tightly in his fingers. He nodded and approached the center of the altar, holding the cushion out for the soon-to-be husbands.
Sapnap took his ring for Karl and Karl took his ring for Sapnap.
Sapnap took it upon himself to slide the ring on Karl first. He gently pinched it in between his fingers, a silver band with a simple golden topaz. Karl held out his left hand, cheeks dusted a light shade of pink when the raven gently curled his fingers around the base to steady it.
The ring was slipped onto the annulary, Karl immediately pulling his hand back to hold it up to the light. He admired the way that reflective light bounced off the sides of the gem, moving swiftly along the room as he tilted his wrist. He smiled fondly, reaching for the ring in his other hand, gesturing for Sapnap to put his hand out next.
Their rings were quite similar to each other, but they went together. No ring outshone the other, Karl with his topaz and Sapnap with a sapphire-colored garnet pressed into his band. The moment that Karl had pushed the ring onto Sapnap’s finger, Wilbur gave them the okay to indulge in a passionate kiss.
Karl wasted no time, wanting to be the one in control. He wrapped his arms around Sapnap, using his height as an advantage, then dipped the raven as he connected their lips for the first time that week.
Yes, an entire week.
He and Sapnap had agreed that they would hold off on kissing for a while. They wanted to make sure that this moment was extra special. It had been hell to hold back around each other, to restrain themselves and refrain from fleeting touches and romantic pecks on the cheek, but it was all worth it in the end.
They had successfully managed to simulate the feeling the both of them had felt when they had kissed for the first time a couple of years ago.
Laughter and applause erupted around them, but none of it mattered. The only thing that mattered to them was being around each other, keeping close, portraying their love the only way they knew how.
When they eventually parted, the look they shared said it all.
They were in love.
The same type of love they had when they had first realized, the kind that naive teenagers had, the kind that grew with people yet never broke apart.
The kind that was stronger than any other bond.
The kind that would always keep them together.
The kind that kept both of them hopeful, young, and excited for the future.
But the most exciting part of marriage was the bond that came with taking on a specific title, one that would be whispered and mumbled over and over again in bed that night.
Karl Armstrong.
Sapnap Armstrong.
And even as larger hands curled around smaller wrists, a pale body pressed against their bed, the other man on top of his lover rocking into him, they were equals.
They were together.
They were both in control.
They were in love.
The last words they whispered to each other that night were affirmations of their affection, strong arms wrapping around a small waist, the both of them stained with their own semen, sticky proof of what they meant to each other.
“I love myself when I’m with you,” Karl admitted, eyes slipping shut. “I grow to love myself more with each moment I grow to love you.”
Sapnap smiled, tucking some hair behind Karl’s ear. He waited until his husband was off to sleep, sliding his hand down to press their rings together. Even while unconscious, Karl still intertwined their fingers, pulling Sapnap’s hand to rest over his chest.
“It was always you,” Sapnap affirmed, enchanted. “It’s always been you.”
The last thing he felt was the brush of Karl’s hair against his lips, drifting off to sleep.
Karl had always been big on memories, and this was certainly one he nor Sapnap would ever forget.
As long as they could keep making history, they would continue.
Each day a new chapter, each year a new book, each of their lives providing enough material to fill a library when it was all about to end.
So when Karl woke up, wrapped in the arms of his lover and decorated in the most beautiful love marks, he put pen to paper, illustrating the safety of love on the blank pages of his current journal.