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Karl is, just like before, an incredibly kind host - excitable, but conscientious, immediately offering Sapnap a drink or or snack or a nap if he needs it, which Sapnap found overwhelming on his first visit but now just smiles at as the other man flutters about the kitchen from one thing to the next, endless conversation spilling from his lips for Sapnap to listen to.
They've been looking forward to this meetup. It's great to finally be able to travel again, and to further the friendship Sapnap had so tentatively gotten used to on his last visit. He feels much more at ease this time, and Karl's tendency toward constant physical affection is less overwhelming now that Sapnap has gotten to know him better. The way Karl likes to sling an arm over Sapnap's shoulder while they talk or pat his back when he passes by or the crushing hug he had enveloped the younger man into as soon as they left the car.
It's good. Sapnap is glad to be here.
It's late afternoon, Sapnap's flight and the drive from the airport having taken most of the day. Karl is considerate of how early his friend had been awake for the flight from Florida, but Sapnap slept a little on the plane and is pretty sure he can make it until at least midnight before crashing. Now, they're deciding what to do with their free time, with nothing planned until tomorrow afternoon.
They decide on skateboarding. Sapnap brings out his board - Karl teases him good-naturedly about the Naruto design - and the two spend some time kicking around the street, mostly laughing, because neither of them are very good skaters. Karl defends his recent introduction to the hobby; Sapnap has no excuse except for his lack of practice.
It is fun, though. They order food afterwards, and eat outside in Karl's backyard to enjoy the summer heat. Karl suggests they can light a fire when it gets dark, excitedly showing off the s'mores kit he bought just for the occasion.
S'mores are amazing. Sapnap can't remember the last time he sat at a campfire roasting marshmallows; Dream has a gas fire pit which is nice enough, but not the real thing. After snapping a picture for Twitter they delve into the bag of marshmallows, hands getting inevitably sticky and covered in chocolate and Karl giggles hysterically every time one of their marshmallows winds up completely alight.
The rest of the night passes in a blur of too much sugar (and hot dogs when they wind up hungry enough to warrant more than just s'mores) with a number of blurry pictures taken in the dark for Twitter to rave over. Sapnap finally crashes at eleven thirty, early for a streamer but not surprising after a long day of travel. Karl doesn't need to show him to the guest room, but does anyway, fussing over whether there are too many blankets or not enough until Sapnap pushes him out of the room, laughing.
"Goodnight, Sapnap!"
"Goodnight, Karl."
He feels immensely tired as he changes into a loose t-shirt and boxers for sleeping. Tired and maybe a little bit too full from eating a truly ridiculous amount of junk food. He rubs absently at his stomach while climbing into bed, making a face as it grumbles uncomfortably and making a note for himself to slow down next time. He forces away the recollection of certain Tweets directed at him in the past, and is asleep within minutes.
He dreams he is pregnant, heavy and ridiculous. A bowling ball of a stomach keeps tripping him up and his mind keeps wandering in a panic to "how will I tell Karl?" knowing that the baby isn't his Minecraft fiance's, but Dream's.
His belly keeps clenching with painful cramps and the knowledge that oh god, he's in labour. He needs to get to a hospital, but instead he is navigating some kind of real life Minecraft-themed park, the threat of hostile mobs in the back of his hysterical mind while searching for the exit. Is it a portal? Is that where he needs to go? He panics further, because he has no tools, and his body feels weak with terrible cramps, and he feels hot all over.
Sapnap wakes coated in sweat, disoriented and dizzy while his vision swims in sickening colours. His mind is still half-stuck in the dream, partly convinced he is surrounded by fake blocks and square trees. It takes a minute for reality to permeate his brain.
He realizes he feels sick too late into that minute. His stomach rolls and jumps into his throat; he claps a hand over his mouth as he heaves and a desperate panic sets in. He tries to scramble up out of the bed but his legs are tangled in the blankets and he rolls the wrong way, hitting the wall instead of the edge of the bed, because he isn't in his own room but at Karl's. Another gag forces its way out of his stomach and liquid spills into his mouth. Too late, Sapnap lets go of his mouth by instinct and finds himself vomiting over the tangled sheets in his lap.
A choked whine comes out before he can stop it. In the momentary reprieve between heaves - hand over his mouth again, getting wet and gross but he doesn't care - Sapnap manages to untangle himself from the mess and push himself off the bed.
His vision is clear enough to make out the trash can in the corner, just barely visible in the light from the streetlit window. He makes it there in time to vomit again, dropped to his knees on the floor and gasping as his body rejects what feels like three days' worth of food.
By the time he feels empty, stomach cramping terribly and throat raw, clarity has sunk in with dread. He just threw up in Karl's guest bed. And his trash can, but more importantly the sheets are ruined, and he realizes after a moment that he's also dripped vomit onto his shirt. Sapnap groans, and the pain in his stomach with the awful feeling of losing control has him wanting to sob.
Sweat lining his face along with streaked tears from getting so violently sick, Sapnap sits on his knees shaking and nauseated. The smell doesn't help, and he pushes away the trash can for a bit of relief. He feels horrible. He's still confused by the dream, but shame is creeping in now that his head is more clear.
He should not have eaten so many s'mores. The thought makes him groan as he vows, in that moment, not to eat marshmallows again.
He finally pulls himself together enough to stand and shakily yank off his shirt. It's covered in sweat anyway. Without turning on the light he surveys the damage to the bed. It's not terrible, only the sheets as he seems to have kicked away the blanket before waking, but he can't go back to sleep in soiled sheets and sleeping on the sofa would mean awkward questions in the morning -
Sapnap creeps out into the hall, hoping to find spare sheets in a linen closet somewhere. He can deal with the dirty ones tomorrow asking to use the laundry. But the only door that doesn't lead to a bedroom or the bathroom holds only boxes and some old coats. His stomach clenches with anxiety, still painful from being sick, and Sapnap hovers indecisively in the hall for a long moment.
In three steps his hand finds Karl's doorknob. Being tired and anxious and wanting to go back to bed to sleep away the stomachache has him resigned to humiliation. He knocks softly, then - knowing Karl is too kind to object - he opens the door and peeks inside.
"Karl?"
He hears a shuffling from the bed, a soft mumble of "huh?"
Sapnap hesitates. Karl sounds only half awake and for a moment the temptation to just back away and let Karl assume he was dreaming is strong. But then his friend responds with more clarity.
"Sapnap?"
"... Hi." He whispers.
Karl sits up in the dark room. "What... what's up?"
"I -" Where do you keep your spare sheets, is what he means to say, but the words get tied up and instead he embarrasses himself further. "I threw up."
There is a long silence. Sapnap stands awkwardly in the doorway of Karl's bedroom, face burning, wanting to melt into the floor.
"Okay."
"I just - just need to know where you keep, uh, spare sheets."
"Oh. Okay." To Sapnap's dismay, Karl shuffles his way out of the bed. The awkward and short responses are making the anxiety worse, but as soon as Karl is standing by him, his friend touches his shoulder in a reassuring way. "That's okay. Are you okay?" Sapnap nods, eyes on the floor. "Hey, don't worry about it, it's okay."
It takes only a few seconds for the normal Karl to come awake as he moves to the bedroom closet. "Sorry, I keep the sheets in this closet, 'cause - too much stuff in the other one, I really need to clean it out." He rambles. "How bad is it? Do you need another blanket?"
"Just the sheets," Sapnap mumbles. "It - only a little bit got, uh. On the bed."
"Gotcha." Karl is already pulling out a bundle of linens, making a mess of folded fabric. He glances at Sapnap. "You okay? Do you want to go get cleaned up first?"
It isn't terrible, but Sapnap should have rinsed his mouth and splashed some water on his face and he feels awkward and guilty just standing here so he backs away into the bathroom across the hall, flicking on the light to stand at the sink.
"Fuck," he groans quietly. "Good job. Idiot."
By the time he brushes his teeth, puts on a clean shirt, and makes himself feel slightly less disgusting, there are footsteps in the hall and Sapnap nearly walks into Karl on the way out the bathroom door. "Oop," his friend says cheerfully. Far too cheerfully for this time of night. "You feeling better?"
Sapnap unconsciously rubs at his sore stomach. He doesn't feel nauseous anymore, just slightly cramped and uncomfortable. "Yeah." He glances toward the stairs where he realizes that Karl had just come from, and panics. "Wait. Did you already -"
"No worries, I just took the sheets to the laundry room. It's all good."
"Dude, I - Karl, I didn't mean for you to do that, I was gonna. It's, uh, my own mess to clean up. You shouldn't -"
Karl waves him off. "Don't worry about it, it's no big deal. Doesn't bother me."
"Karl, I'm so sorry. This is super embarrassing."
"Hey, hey," Karl interjects, a comforting hand reaching out to take Sapnap's shoulder. "It happens. Don't apologize. Come on," he beckons, and steers Sapnap with the hand on his arm toward the bedroom.
There's still a slight smell in the room, but the window was open before and the bed is already half made with clean sheets. Karl picks up the top sheet and Sapnap immediately moves to help finish the job, the two working silently in tandem until the bed is as newly made as it was when Sapnap first arrived. Sapnap sits down on the bed with a heavy sigh, and Karl sits next to him.
"I'm so sorry."
"It's okay! It's okay," Karl repeats, leaning his elbow into Sapnap's side teasingly. Sapnap rests his head in his hands, trying to get a grip on his embarrassed anxiety. Karl reaches out and rests a hand on Sapnap's back gently.
"You okay? What made you sick?"
"I, uh." Sapnap huffs with a self-deprecating laugh. "I probably ate too much, is all."
"Oh. Yeah." Karl laughs, but there is only light teasing in it. "I wasn't going to say anything but we kinda did overdo it."
Sapnap shrugs. He palms his stomach one more time, assessing just how bad the ache is and whether he'll be alright for the rest of the night. Karl watches.
"Is it better now, or do you still feel sick? I put the trash can in the laundry sink but I can bring it back if you want."
Sapnap tries not to be mortified that Karl had also handled that aspect of his late-night mistake. "Nah, I'm okay. Just hurts a bit, still."
"Aww." Karl coos. "Still got a tummy ache -" he reaches over, gives Sapnap's stomach a gentle rub and giggles when Sapnap pulls away, giving his friend a look of please don't. Karl bursts into laughter and leans softly into Sapnap's side, instead. He seems content to stay here a while, as if intending to keep Sapnap company until he's ready to return to bed.
It doesn't take long before Sapnap does feel tired. Karl yawns and Sapnap is quick to follow. Karl pats his knee.
"Go back to sleep, yeah? Feel better in the morning."
Sapnap nods. Karl stands with him, but doesn't leave and they engage in an awkward standstill as Sapnap stares, waiting for his friend to leave him be.
"Aren't you gonna lie down?" Karl gestures to the bed. Sapnap stares. "Come on, I'll -" Karl giggles. "I'll tuck you in."
"You're ridiculous, dude."
But he obliges awkwardly, climbing under the clean sheets and staring at the ceiling so he doesn't have to make eye contact with Karl, who is apparently intent on babying him. He expects the laughter as Karl reaches out and fulfills his promise of tucking in the blanket. Sapnap chuckles.
"Uh, goodnight."
"Goodnight Sapnap. Feel better."
There is another beat of awkward silence broken by Karl giggling once more. Before Sapnap can ask, Karl is bending down, pressing a tiny kiss to his forehead and hopping away.
"What the fuck, Karl -" Sapnap sputters, but the door is shut before he can argue and he hears his friend's laughter disappear into the other bedroom.
Karl is a good host. A weird one, but definitely kinder than Sapnap deserves.
His stomach is finally settling, that last silly interaction melting away the anxiety he felt at embarrassing himself, and he rolls comfortably onto his side, relaxing into the pillows to finally fall back asleep.