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Sapnap thought he was a pretty lucky guy.
He’s got a cool apartment, he’s got a solid job, he’s got some nice friends, and he also had a pretty smoking hot fiancé, which was definitely a plus.
He yawned and threw a heavy arm across Karl’s legs. It was an early Saturday morning, and they both had off from work. But that didn’t mean that Karl didn’t get up early. In fact, whenever Sapnap slept in he’d more often than not find Karl sitting beside him like he was doing now, his nose buried deep into a book. Karl dropped his hands and smiled at his arm, reaching over and running his fingers through his hair.
Sapnap leaned into his hand with a pleased groan, and Karl laughed.
“Morning, Sap. Did you sleep well?” Karl asked, and Sapnap shut his eyes again as Karl continued to pet and scratch at his scalp.
“Always with you, baby,” He muttered, and Karl snorted with a roll of his eyes. “How about you?”
“I slept well.” Karl reassured him with a small smile, and Sapnap eventually forced himself to sit up so that they were shoulder to shoulder. Sapnap passed his hand over Karl’s and threaded their fingers.
“Whatcha reading, anything good?” Sapnap asked, and moved their hands so that he could peer at the words, squinting. Karl gave him a dry laugh and rested his head on his shoulder.
“Mmm it’s called SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome and it’s written by Mary Beard. It’s my fifth time rereading it.” Karl said, and just by the first few sentences of the page Sapnap could feel his eyes rolling into the back of his skull.
“The fifth time?” He asked with a nervous chuckle, and Karl pulled away for a second to turn the page before properly intertwining their hands with a squeeze.
“I have to give a lesson Monday on Roman history, so I like using this to brush up,” Karl explained. “If my students have any questions I like being able to answer, you know?” Karl said seriously, and Sapnap turned to press a kiss into his hair.
“You’ve got to be the most dedicated professor I know,” He said, and then couldn’t help himself from adding, “And the hottest one, too.” Which earned him a light elbow to the ribs before Karl turned and kissed him, letting the book fall to his lap after a few seconds so he could lay his hands atop Sapnap’s bare shoulders and pull him closer. Suddenly Sapnap heard his phone start to ring behind him, and stubbornly he didn’t answer it until Karl pulled away with a light kiss in the corner of his mouth, brushing the stubble at his jaw with his thumb alongside a light smile.
“Answer it.” He said, returning to his book, and Sapnap was pretty sure he was the unluckiest guy in existence at that moment. He rolled back over in bed with a grumble and lazily grabbed at his phone. It wasn’t just a text, someone was calling and being particularly persistent, refusing to hang up. When he finally turned it over in his hand and looked at the screen, he was surprised. Dream hardly ever called him. With a wave of dread washing over him with the fact Dream might be asking him to cover a shift for a coworker, he hesitantly answered the phone, tipping his head back against his headboard.
“Hey man, what’s up?” Sapnap asked, dragging a hand down his face as if he could physically wipe his grogginess away.
“Hi! You’re off today, right?” Dream asked, and Sapnap looked over at Karl in dismay, who met his eye with a concerned look. Dream was a good guy; they had been friends ever since Dream moved into the city, and have worked together as security guards at an art museum and on other jobs ever since. He was a hardworking, sweet dude. And Karl really liked him so Sapnap was more than glad to stay close to him.
“Yeah, why?”
“You know George?” Dream asked, and Sapnap physically deflated. Yes, he knew George. Dream hardly ever shut up about him. Ever since the two met a couple of weeks ago, Dream was obsessed. For what reason Sapnap had no idea, all he knew was that George was european with a thick British accent, a computer science and art nerd, and was widowed with a seven year old daughter from the time the kid was born. And apart from that Dream would describe him as gorgeous, amazing, smart, captivating, and all of the like. Sapnap didn’t want to call it puppy love, but it certainly sounded like it.
“‘Course I do. Something happen?”
“No, well,” Dream hesitated on the other line, dragging out his vowels. “I was gonna take him out today, but the babysitter flaked on him and my sisters aren’t home. So, I was wondering…” Dream trailed off, and Sapnap sighed. “Listen, she’s the sweetest little girl I’ve ever met, and she can bring her notebooks and colored pencils to keep herself busy, you and Karl won’t have to do anything. She’s even making her own lunch right now, come on, please?”
“Let me ask Karl.” Sapnap muttered, and Dream exhaled with relief on the other side of the line.
“Thanks, man.” Dream said, and Sapnap pulled the phone away from his ear.
“Dream’s calling, he wants us to babysit his boyfriend’s kid so he can get some.” Sapnap explained, and Dream exclaimed in distress on the other side of the line. Karl held in his laugh with a hand over his mouth before shrugging.
“I mean, I don’t mind. We’ll get to meet George, won’t we?” Karl asked, and Sapnap rubbed the back of his head with a sigh.
“Yeah alright, we’ll babysit. When are you coming over?” Sapnap asked, and Karl rubbed the side of his bicep as a silent praise for doing the right thing.
“Uh, our reservations are like in a half an hour, so--”
“Dude what the hell do you have reservations for at,” Sapnap squinted at their clock at the side, “10 in the morning?”
“It’s for breakfast, and then we’re going to be out for the rest of the day, come on man!” Dream exclaimed again, and Sapnap sighed.
“Whatever, we’ll see you soon, alright?”
“Thank you.” Dream said, voice dripping with sincerity, and Sapnap tossed his phone to the side with a groan, burying his head in Karl’s shoulder.
“It can’t be too bad,” Karl murmured, shutting his book and sliding in a mark to hold his place. “It’s just for the day. And kids are fun!” He said, and Sapnap rolled off of him with a grumble.
“Yeah, okay,” He said, finally sitting up to finally get dressed. “You’re right.” He sighed, and Karl gave him a mischievous smile.
“What, you don’t like kids?” Karl asked innocently, but it caused Sapnap to visibly falter, turning around with a flourish.
“I didn’t say tha--”
“I know,” Karl said with a small laugh, “I’m just teasing, Sap.” He said, and Sapnap grumbled to himself before throwing on a T-shirt and sweatpants, Karl throwing on one of his sweaters and jeans. Karl’s sense of style was awfully different from Sapnap’s; he wore brightly colored, fun sweaters and nice pants, and Sapnap opted for athletic-wear more often than not: sweatshirts, shorts, sweatpants, etc.
Once they finished getting dressed they both padded into their living room; high ceilings, expensive tiling, and clean counters galore. The cash they made was decent when they only had to worry about the two of them, and they’d managed to get a pretty nice apartment. They didn’t want a house; it wasn’t their style. Having this apartment right in the middle of the city and everything else was more their taste. Especially when they were within walking distance of pretty much everything.
“You think she’s had breakfast?” Sapnap asked, and Karl shrugged, opening the blinds to their windows and grinning as the sun began to fill the room.
“You could always make extra,” Karl eventually suggested, looping around Sapnap to reach their coffee machine. “If she doesn’t want it you can eat the rest.” He said, Sapnap wordlessly handing him their mugs. “We’ve never had to babysit before, have we?” Karl asked, clinging onto Sapnap’s arm as he began to make eggs in a pan, and Sapnap hummed.
“Yeah, no. Dream’s sisters have always been self-sufficient. I guess seven years old is too young.” He murmured, and Karl laughed.
“That’s, like, first grade! Of course she’d be too young.” He said, and Sapnap shrugged.
“Whatever, I wouldn’t know.”
“What should we do today? Should we watch movies? Should we go to the park?”
“From what Dream’s said she sounds pretty easy going. She’ll probably be fine with whatever, right?”
“I hope so…” Karl murmured, and Sapnap looped his free arm around his waist.
“Don’t stress about it, man. We’ll be fine. How difficult can one little kid be?”
Before Karl could reply they heard knocking at their door. They exchanged a glance, and Karl untangled himself from his arm to go answer. Karl could hear the three of them, two voices unfamiliar and British, and the other familiar and deeper. When he opened the door he was met with a pair of eyes, the child’s head resting on Dream’s shoulder. Behind them Karl guessed was George, and he could already tell he was nervous.
“Karl! Thanks for having us.” Dream greeted, striding inside with the girl on his back, and the other man stayed put at the door, stiffly extending a hand.
“Hi, I’m George. Thank you a lot for today, what will I owe you?” He asked, and Karl raised a brow, shaking his hand and tugging him inside.
“Don’t even worry about that! It’s great to meet you and…”
“Leila.” Dream answered for him, turning over his shoulder from where he was parading around with Leila wrapped around his shoulders. She was a cute little thing, brown curls tied back in ribbons, bright blue eyes. Sapnap peeked out from behind the corner of their kitchen.
“Yo, Dream. She eat yet?” He called, and Dream and George exchanged a glance.
“She had a little before we left,” Dream explained, letting Leila slip down and off, meeting him in the kitchen. “Do you have leftovers?”
“Yeah,” Sapnap said, and reached overhead to grab another plate. “I was just making extra, we didn’t eat yet either.” He said, and Leila moved to cling to Dream’s leg. “How much does she want?” He asked, and Dream turned down to her, hand passing over her head, smoothing out her hair.
“Whaddya think, dove?” He asked, and Leila pointed at a plate Sapnap had already dished out.
“A little less than that, please.” She murmured, and Dream chuckled a little, patting her head. It seemed like she was a little shy.
“Sure, that’s fine.” Sapnap said, and at that Leila unlatched from his leg and started off in search of her father in the living room. Dream hovered, and Sapnap handed him her plate. “Is she okay?”
“Yeah, she’ll warm up. She’s just a little all over the place, she was expecting her regular babysitters and not someone new.” Sapnap said, and he and Dream walked over with their plates to their table. To the side, Sapnap saw Karl crouching down to Leila’s level, extending a hand to where she was clutching her father’s leg.
Leila eventually took it and shook it, making Karl’s face light up.
“Come on guys, breakfast’s ready.” Sapnap called over, and Karl rose to his feet. They walked over to their table and sat, Dream giving her her plate and then doubling over to a drawer to get out silverware for them. Leila sat at one end of their small table, and Karl and Sapnap sat at the other.
“Alright Lei, you all good? You have everything you need?” George asked, rubbing at her tiny shoulder, and Leila nodded.
“I’m okay, dad.” She smiled, picking up her fork. “Don’t worry about me.”
“Be good,” George continued, his brow furrowing, “Don’t get into any trouble.”
“Oh, she won’t,” Karl piped up with a wave of his fork. Dream laid his hand across the small of George’s back. “We don’t have any rules here.”
“Sapnap and Karl are good guys, ‘Kay dove?” Dream smiled. “We’ll be back at five alright?” George turned back to Sapnap and Karl, bowing his head.
“Thank you so much for doing this.”
Sapnap raised a brow. “Literally don’t worry about it, man, it’s our pleasure.” He said, and George seemed to soften at that. He seemed frantic and overly concerned about his daughter. But hey, Sapnap wasn’t a widowed father who moved to a new country giving off his kid to strangers who were his boyfriend’s friends. Who knew what George was thinking.
“Okay,” George murmured, and kissed at Leila’s temple where she already began eating her food. “Love you.”
“Love you too, daddy.” She grinned with a full mouth, and George chuckled before standing up rigid, turning to Dream.
“Oh! Our reservations…” George frowned, and Dream checked his watch.
“Don’t worry about it, they’ll let us in.” Dream said, and wrapped his arm around George’s shoulders. “We should go now, though.” He waved his hand at Sapnap and Karl, practically beaming.
“Thanks guys, we’ll be back at five.”
“Seeya!” They said, and waved goodbye, Dream and George showing themselves out.
Karl let his fork clink on his plate, swallowing down the rest of his food with a hand over his mouth. “So, Sap, this is Leila. Leila, this is Sapnap.” He introduced, and Sapnap gave her a wave over the rim of his coffee mug.
“Hi.” She said, and Karl smiled.
“Dream said that you brought a notebook, do you like to draw?”
“Yeah, it’s my favorite thing ever,” Leila stated matter-of-factly, practically dancing in her seat. “It's really fun.”
“We’d really love to see some of your drawings after breakfast. What do you think your favorite one is?”
“I painted a portrait with my finger only out of blue colors. I don’t have it in the notebook with me, but I think daddy took a picture of it if you’d like to see when they get back!” She explained. Sapnap noticed that with art she seemed to be talking easier, not as scared or shy as she was before.
“Yeah! And how would you feel if we went for a walk in the park this afternoon? It’s pretty close by, and it’s going to be a great day today I think, right?” Karl asked, nudging Sapnap, and he nodded.
“Yeah, that won’t be for a little bit though. We need to clean up,” Sapnap said. “Do you want more?” He asked, and when Leila shyly nodded he rose and grabbed her plate.
“Um, that sounds fun,” she spoke up, swinging her legs underneath the table. “And that’s okay, I can wait as long as I need to.” She smiled politely, and Karl leaned his arm to the table to rest his chin atop it.
Karl couldn’t help but notice that she was such a sweet little thing, and felt his heart warm at the sight of Sapnap gently returning her plate in front of her. This whole predicament was interesting. This far into the relationship, he and Sapnap had never talked about kids before. It was never a topic either of them ever thought of bringing up. They were still young, but it was a conversation they needed to have eventually.
Karl blinked when Sapnap walked over to him and gestured for his plate. “Thanks, Sap.” Karl murmured, and Sapnap began to clear their dishes, going to wash them in the sink.
“Hey, are your nails painted?” Leila suddenly asked, and when Karl locked eyes with her he saw that she barely breached the table, having to raise her shoulders to rest her arms atop it.
“Oh, yeah, they are. They need to be repainted though.” Karl said, and extended his hand out in front of him in distaste. Leila stared at him with big, blue eyes.
“Can I help?” She asked, tilting her head to the side, and Karl tossed a glance at Sapnap, whose back was turned to them and oblivious. He rose from his seat and gestured with his hand.
“Sure, you can come pick out my polish.” Karl murmured, and began to lead her into the house and to their closest. She was tiny; Karl had no idea seven year olds were this small. He plucked the nail polish remover from a higher shelf, handing it off to her, before lugging a box from one of the lower shelves to the ground.
“Wow!” She gasped, crouching down to get a better look, setting the bottle aside. “There’s so many!”
“Choose as many as you want,” Karl smiled, and watched her dig through, the polishes clinking against one another. Eventually she had gathered several into her arms; cerulean, periwinkle, mint, and burgundy-colored. “Good with those?”
“Yeah! They’re so pretty!” She smiled, and Karl chuckled, heaving the box back onto its shelf.
“Come on, we can go do it before we leave.” Karl said, stooping to pick up the bottle, and moving to sit in their living room. Leila carefully laid the polishes onto the coffee table. “I’ll be right back, I’m going to go grab a paper towel.” Karl said, and left to walk into the kitchen where Sapnap still stood, diligently washing all of the dishes that had stacked.
When Karl moved to grab a paper towel, Sapnap groaned. “Don’t tell me—”
“It’ll be ten minutes!” Karl giggled, playfully smacking his arm. “Leila wanted to see.” He said, and Sapnap rolled his eyes, yanking on Karl’s arm to pull him out of sight of the living room. He pressed a kiss to his cheek before sending him on his way, Karl victoriously smiling with paper towels in hand.
“So, do you paint your nails often?” Karl asked, sitting beside Leila on the couch. She had her arms folded in her lap and was looking on expectantly as Karl removed the color from his nails.
“I’ve never done it before.” She admitted with ease, and Karl gasped.
“Huh? Really?”
“I’ve never seen someone paint their nails.” She said, and Karl hurried in his wiping.
“Would you like to learn how?” He asked, and her face brightened.
“Really? You’d be able to teach me?” She asked hopefully, bouncing closer, and Karl laughed.
“Yeah! Your father won’t mind?”
“No, he’ll be fine. He said mama used to paint her nails.” Leila stated, and Karl dropped the subject. He knew the mother was out of the picture, and didn’t want to ruin the good mood she seemed to be in.
“You can watch me paint mine first, okay?” He said, and Leila nodded excitedly. “What colors should I use?” He asked, and she quickly grabbed two.
“The purple and the green, I think they’d be pretty together!” She said, and Karl had to agree. He could paint three fingers purple, two fingers green. It would match his sweater.
“Okay, ready? Watch closely.” He murmured, and he began to paint with practiced expertise, quiet as he focused. Leila leaned close enough in so that their shoulders brushed, dark curls dangling in front of her face.
When he was finished, Leila helped him to blow them dry. “Hmm, maybe you should practice before we do your own nails.” Karl thought aloud, doing his best to fan them.
“But yours are already finished,” Leila pointed out, and folded her hands back into her lap. “It’s okay, I still got to learn how!” She smiled, and Karl frowned.
“Nonono,” he said, and then cupped his hand around his mouth. “Sapnap, can you help us please?”
Sapnap ducked out from behind the wall. “What’s up, everything okay?”
“Leila needs someone to practice on.” Karl grinned, and Sapnap raised his brows.
“I’ve never painted my nails before.” He said, scratching his head and walking over.
“I’ve never asked if you’ve wanted them painted.” Karl shrugged. “What do you think?”
“Well, I guess I could try once. Can’t promise I’m keeping it on, though.” He finally sighed, and moved to sit beside the coffee table. “What do you want me to do?”
“Just sit there and look pretty,” Karl murmured, scooting closer to Leila. “Don’t move,” He ordered. “What color should we go with, Leila?”
“I think the red would look good on him.” She said, and Sapnap scanned the colors and sighed in relief.
“I like that one. Good choice.” He said, and Karl began to unscrew.
“Okay, ready? Remember to keep your hand steady, and do long strokes.” Karl said, and reached forward to hold Sapnap’s hand down for her, leaning close to her. The couple watched in silence as she began, and Karl had to admit he forgot she was an artist. Painting nails might have been substantially different than painting a canvas, but her hand was practiced.
She moved easily and quickly, only messing up once or twice. When the first hand was finished, Sapnap pulled away, delightfully surprised.
“What do you think?” Karl asked, and Sapnap grinned, placing his other hand on the table.
“Keep going. It looks great.” He said, and Leila giggled. She unscrewed the cap and continued until Sapnap’s nails were cleanly painted a dark red. “Huh.” He said, turning them over, and Karl smiled at him.
“Different?”
“Yeah, different,” Sapnap agreed, squinting at them. “Not sure how I feel,” he said, and turned to Leila, “But they look great. Nice job, kid.”
“Thank you!” Leila grinned, and Karl put a hand to her shoulder.
“Okay, now I’ll just paint your nails. What colors would you like?”
“The green and the blue, please.” She said, laying her hands flat on the table.
“Ohh, they’ll look good together.” Karl murmured, and Sapnap watched on in comfortable silence as his nails dried. It was kind of fun, like this. Hanging out with little kids was completely different from hanging out with friends. It was softer, purer, a lot nicer in some cases. It was sweet watching Karl be so nice to Leila. It gave Sapnap the impression that that was how he might treat his students on a day to day basis, even if those students were all college-age.
Karl was a cute guy; that was why Sapnap started dating him in the first place, but he was impossibly cuter with Leila. Distantly, Sapnap wondered, what would it be like if they were ever to have a kid? Would Karl be the same? Would his voice be softer, would he praise them when they did a good job, would he lay his hands over theirs, and give the best hugs?
“Okay, they’re all done! What do you think?”
“They match yours!” She laughed excitedly, reaching over and threading their hands when he screwed back on the cap. “You painted the same fingers green.” She said, and Karl squeezed her hands with a giggle.
“You like them?”
“I love them.” Leila said honestly, and Sapnap smiled at them. Thrown out of his daydream he pushed himself up from the table and glanced over at the small bag George had walked in with and left behind.
“Is that your bag? Did you bring a sweatshirt? It's gonna be a little cold out.” Sapnap said, accidentally knocking both Karl and Leila out of their happy trance. They looked up at him with wide eyes, and Sapnap scratched the back of his neck. “It’s sunny now but it might get colder later, I want you to be warm.” He explained, and Karl giggled at him.
“No, I don’t think so…” She trailed off apologetically, and Karl untangled their hands and laid one on her shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it, we have plenty of hoodies. They might be a little big, but for today it should be okay!” He reassured, and Sapnap ducked into their room, continuing to shake and dry his nails. He grabbed a hoodie for himself before digging through Karl’s closet in hopes of something that might fit Leila. She would drown in any of Sapnap’s hoodies.
He settled on a bright yellow one, something that Karl hadn’t worn in years. Sapnap figured it was probably something he wore when he was young and then just decided to keep. Sapnap didn’t think he’d ever seen it before. When he walked back out with the hoodies in hand, he was met with Leila showing Karl her steps on how she was tying her shoes, detailed with bunny-ears and trees. And Karl was ever-patient, watching and saying her steps along with her.
“I’m gonna make sandwiches for lunch, sound good?” Sapnap asked, launching the hoodie at Karl’s face. He laughed, just barely catching it in time.
“Yeah! Lunch in the park sounds great, Sap, thanks!” He said, and began to unfurl the fabric to help Leila put it on. After making sandwiches for he and Karl and carefully putting Leila’s lunch in the bag, they were out the door, Leila humming to herself and bouncing down the steps as Karl locked the door. Sapnap pulled the small backpack tighter over his shoulder, and after exchanging a glance they both took pursuit after her.
“You good?” Sapnap murmured, keeping his voice light as they followed down the stairs.
“Yeah!” Karl beamed, genuine. “And you?”
“Leila’s sweet.” Sapnap replied curtly, and they finally made it to the bottom of the stairs where Leila was patiently waiting. The hoodie fit her well enough, only hanging a little off of her arms and hem falling just above where the cuffs of her shorts were.
They walked on either side of Leila to the park, and Sapnap was quiet as the two made idle conversation about the weather, school, her favorite subjects, etc. Sapnap was right to assume the weather was cold; the sun was beaming down on them but the breeze was chill enough to warrant shivers.
The walk to the park was nice, and the park even nicer. Dropped right into the heart of the city, it was surrounded every which way by buildings, and swarmed with people, but after walking far enough into a small field they were able to find a place for themselves. Sapnap unslung the bag from his shoulder and laid out their blanket.
Leila gladly spread herself on top of it with a giggle, turning to lay on her back as the sun washed over her face, and Karl gladly joined her, also stretching out. Sapnap scoffed at the sight of them.
“Think we should have a nap first?” He joked, lowering himself beside Karl. He pressed a hand over Karl’s shoulder, his stomach, feeling Karl him in thought beneath his palm.
“I’m glad we came, it’s such a nice day.” Karl sighed, shutting his eyes, and Sapnap continued to draw patterns into his stomach mindlessly, turning to Leila.
“What about you? Do you need anything?” Sapnap asked, and she shook her head from where she was laying down.
“Nope! ‘Cause look!” She said, and reached underneath her hoodie to pull out a small notebook. From her pocket she unearthed a pencil. Karl turned so that he rested on his stomach, leaning his head on arms propped up by elbows. “I wanted to draw something here, for practice.”
Karl tried to peer over her shoulder innocently. “Can I see some of your drawings?” He asked, and she forced herself to sit up. She scooted closer, and began to page through the notebook. While many of the pages were just sketched and doodles, some of them were ultimately fascinating. Was it the best work Karl’s seen? No. Not with all of his talent students. But was it outlandishly impressive for a seven year old to have this skill? Yes, Karl thought, it was. “Wow! These are amazing!”
“Thank you,” She smiled, and her thumb finally fell to an open page. “I think I’m going to draw that tree.” She announced, and gestured to an old one; tall, thick, covered in leaves and branches, and rich with color.
“I’d love to see it when it’s done.” Karl smiled back before finally dropping his arms and lowering his head to lay on the fabric. “Wow, I could stay like this all day.” He sighed, his eyes shutting, and Sapnap’s sudden hand on his back grounded him.
“Me too.” He murmured, and Karl coyly looked up at him out of the corner of his eye.
“You think so?” He asked, voice threatening to dip in uncharted territory, or at least not something emotional a little girl did not need to get involved in, and Sapnap rubbed his back harder.
“Yes baby, I do.” He reassured, and Karl laid back down. The birds flew overhead singing tunes, the breeze pushed the humidity aside, and Leila continued to drag her pencil across her book. She seemed to be content doing just that. And eventually it had been long enough where they had been sitting out and it was time for lunch.
Sapnap went digging in his back for their sandwiches, and Leila chowed down on it with a huge smile. She thanked him, and he passed the other sandwich to Karl.
“Hey,” Sapnap said after a minute, lazily dragging his hand over his stomach after stuffing himself. “An ice cream truck stopped over there.” He pointed out, and Karl had a feeling it was taking everything in Leila’s power to keep from blurting out anything. Karl frowned at him through the remainder of his sandwich.
“Is ice cream a good idea—we just ate, and—”
“No one has to know,” Sapnap cut him off, a mischievous smile growing on his face. He gestured his hand out to Leila and she took it, both of them rising from the carpet. “What do you want, Jacobs?” He asked, and Karl giggled.
“Just a smoothie. My normal order.” He murmured, and Sapnap gave him a salute. Leila gestured for his hand again, and Sapnap took it in his to hold. The pair followed the crowd down hand in hand, and Karl watched them from a distance. It was sweet. He never took Sapnap to be the type of guy to be good with kids, but he seemed to be proving him wrong on the daily.
And he definitely proved him wrong when Leila returned with an ice cream cone practically as large as her head. “And what do we say to your father when he gets back from his date?” Sapnap asked.
“That nothing happened and there was no ice cream involved.” She recalled in verbatim, and Sapnap snickered as they both lowered back down next to Karl who couldn’t help but join in their laughter. Sapnap took a sip of his milkshake before handing it over.
“You two are partners in crime, aren’t you?” Karl murmured, and Sapnap chuckled.
“Yeah, Uncle Sap’s got Leila covered, doesn’t he?” He asked, and Leila excitedly nodded, ice cream already all over her face. Wordlessly Sapnap dug for and handed over napkins to Karl, and Karl leaned close to happily wipe away the excess from her face. Leila didn’t even seem to care; she was far too invested in the chocolate.
The rest of the day continued the same. It was soft and sweet, and more often that not Sapnap and Karl would toss long, unreadable glances at one another. They couldn’t deny they both had fun. And they couldn’t deny how much they realized they were going to miss the little girl’s company until they heard a knock on the door, just a few minutes after five.
Sapnap opened the door, and Leila trilled with joy, ducking under Sapnap’s arm to greet them.
“Daddy! You’re back!” She sang, and George eagerly scooped her in her arms. Sapnap held the door open wider for the couple to come all the way in, their entire attention focused on Leila and Leila only.
“Hey lovedove, you have a good day?” Dream asked softly, and Leila nodded excitedly.
“We did so much! We had lunch down at the park! And look, daddy,” she said, unwrapping her arms from around his neck, “Karl taught me how!”
“Oh, Leila,” George murmured, eyes widening in surprise. Karl felt his heart drop. God, did he not like them? “You did a great job, did you choose the colors?” He asked, taking her small hand in his.
“Yeah! They’re your and Dream’s favorite colors!” She said, and stuck out her other hand to show Dream, who eagerly cupped her hand.
“I love it.” He beamed, and Leila giggled.
Finally when Leila pulled away, Dream nudged Sapnap in the side with an elbow. “What, you too?”
“She needed someone to practice on, dude.” He muttered, and raised his hands to let him see them better.
“Wow, you can hardly tell she did those.” Dream murmured, and Karl latched to Sapnap’s other arm.
“She did a great job! And her art is really impressive too, you should be proud.” Karl said, and George laughed. Leila tucked in her head to lean on his neck.
“Oh don’t worry, I am,” he said, and boosted her to rest in his arms better. “My little artist.” He murmured with deep kneaded love, and she giggled when he leaned down to kiss the top of her head.
Dream turned back to Sapnap and extended a hand. “Really, thanks so much for today.”
“Are you joking? She’s the chillest kid I’ve ever met.” Sapnap scoffed, returning his handshake with a smirk.
“She was a pleasure to have here, and I think we’d both love to babysit again.” Karl nodded, genuine with the way he was speaking so formally. Dream knelt over to pick up her bag, quickly glancing through to ensure she had everything. George on the other hand ran his fingers along the fabric of her sweater, patting her back.
“Okay Lei, time to take off the sweater.” He murmured, and Karl couldn’t help but interrupt.
“Don’t even worry about it, it fits her better than it fits me.” He said, and George cradled his daughter closer, petting at her hair.
“You’re sure?”
“Totally.” Karl grinned.
“Okay, are you ready to go?” Dream asked, falling close in step behind George, chest against his shoulder. Leila looked sleepy on George’s shoulder, and when she reached out to Dream he slotted his hand in hers without thinking.
“Mhm, I think so. What do we say, Leila?” George asked, and the little girl picked up her head, her blue eyes bright.
“Thank you very much for having me today!” She said, and Karl couldn’t help but laugh, leaning his head against Sapnap’s shoulder.
“Anytime, Leila.” He said.
With that the small family filed out the door, leaving their apartment wracked with quiet. But even then it was tense; an energy thrumming between them, conversations left unspoken.
But the conversations were inevitable. And in the weeks to come, they happened to become even more prevalent until they were tangible. It was any other afternoon on a weekend. Sapnap has brewed their coffee, and the couple were leisurely sipping beside one another. But unlike any other day, Sapnap was leaning over Karl’s chair where he was sitting at his desk on his laptop.
The mouse hovered over the site before moving in jittery motions across the screen. Karl was nervous, and Sapnap rested his hand on his shoulder. He could tell of Karl’s nerves immediately.
“Don’t stress about it, baby. All we have to do is set up a meeting.” He said. Karl grabbed his hand on his shoulder.
He turned to look up at him. “And you’re sure about this? Like, 100% positive you want to do this?” He asked, and Sapnap knew that Karl was hardly doubting him. He was just scared because, well, it was a big deal.
“‘Cross my heart. Wouldn’t want anything more.” He promised, and Karl inhaled and exhaled. He psyched himself up and finally clicked, the site familiar to the both. They’d visited a handful of times, but had never done anything worthwhile before. Now, however, they go directly into the search bar. They find what they’re looking for in seconds, and Sapnap squeezed Karl’s shoulder.
“We can do this.” Sapnap said, “We’re doing it together.”
Through the reflection on the screen, Sapnap watched Karl smile. “Of course we are. I love you, Sapnap.” Karl replied, and squeezed his hand as he moved his mouse over the final thing to click, the thing that would ultimately determine their fate.
“I love you too, Karl.” Sapnap murmured, returning the squeeze. Karl took a deep, shaky breath, and at once Sapnap realized that he really was the luckiest guy in the world.
On a profile of a young orphaned boy with heterochromia, Karl clicked the button requesting to adopt.