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Sapnap ran to the door in front of him, tripping over his feet slightly in his hurry before stopping right in front of it. He was flushed red from excitement and his heart was beating extremely fast. Behind that door was Karl, his best friend, and not-so-secret crush, I mean secret to Karl who’s extremely oblivious but no secret to the rest of the world.
Everyone could see how he blushed whenever he did a face cam and Karl joined the call. It wasn’t a secret how he laughed differently when Karl made a joke compared to Dream or George, the way he made more jokes with him, and how comfortable he was around him even just over-call. There was so much fanfiction and fanart of the two that Sapnap guiltily loved reading and seeing, he was grateful for his second account on Twitter where he could ship them without anyone raising suspicion.
So yeah, everyone knew he loved his best friend and most people could see that it wasn't exactly the most platonic of feelings. The world didn’t even see the late nights where all they would do was text and not sleep, and Sapnap would curl up with a pillow and blush and giggle through the night.
Now he was going to be able to see Karl in real life, hold him, watch him laugh his dumb giggle, and see the way his eyes light up when he’s happy. Sapnap’s hand hovered over the door, balled in a fist about to knock.
He breathed in deeply, his eyes were closed and his hand still above the door. He was scared and excited and he was feeling so many emotions. He just needed a moment before he saw his crush in real life, it was a big moment and he wasn’t sure if he was ready.
The door opened right as he was about to knock and his fist landed in the air since his eyes were closed and he opened them in shock to be face to face with Karl. Quickly he pulled his hand back, shoving it in his hoodie pocket.
“Hi, Karl-“ He was cut off by a hug that nearly tackled him to the ground as Karl flung himself onto his best friend. Sapnap stumbled but caught himself and moved his hands from his pockets to Karl’s waist which was a new intense sensation of being able to actually hold Karl like this. He felt Karl hum into his shoulder and he smiled gently, prying the older boy off him. “Excited to see me?”
“Yeah sorry I just- I couldn’t wait any longer” he explained half-heartedly, “I didn’t expect to see you just waiting in front of my door, I thought you’d knock as soon as you arrived”
“I was just preparing to see your handsome face” Sapnap joked except it wasn’t a joke, it was exactly what happened and he hoped his blush didn’t give that away. He was still holding Karl’s waist as he studied his best friend, noting that he was taller (a fact he would deny for the rest of time) and that his eyes were practically glowing.
He was wearing a hoodie that was too big for him and seemed to be fan-made, it was a combination of his and Sapnaps Minecraft designs with the colorful sleeves and hood of Karls with Sapnap’s signature flame. It was absolutely adorable and the fan clearly didn’t know Karls size as it dwarfed him, the sleeves slipping over his fingertips.
“You’re an idiot, '' Karl said, wrapping his arms back around Sapnap in a more gentle way, making his heart flutter. He knew Karl loved physical affection but it was still a rush to feel him hold onto him and rub his face into his shoulder affectionately. This would be his reality for a few weeks so he’d better get used to it and learn to calm his heart down and control his breathing.
“I may be an idiot but you still love me” Sapnap stated with a smirk and Karl pulled away to hit his shoulder. Sapnap couldn’t see the blush that had come to his face and the way he hesitated before grabbing his hand.
“Hmm maybe I do maybe I don’t, that’s a secret I’ll never tell” Karl giggled, pulling Sapnap into the house, “you know you love me XOXO gossip girl”
He giggled at the words and ruffled Karl's hair making him pout and shove him. They bickered and fought and found their way to the kitchen where Karl started making them some food, but couldn’t reach the pan he needed. Sapnap went to grab it for him and realized too late that he hadn’t let Karl move first and that he had pressed him up against the counter with his body.
“Sorry about that” Sapnap hurried, grabbing the pan and handing it to Karl, nearly dropping it because he was so nervous.
“It’s okay!” Karl laughed, pushing a hand through his hair and starting the stove, “I’m totally okay with like physical affection so you don’t have to worry about that”
Sapnap could just tell these next few weeks would do nothing to help him get over his crush. His heart stuttered at almost everything Karl did and it had only been a few minutes. Besides the crush though it was amazing to see his best friend in real life and to be able to hold his hand.
A few days passed and Sapnap’s love for Karl grew every day. He also picked up some of Karl’s mannerisms, just little things he did daily that never came up in conversation over the internet. Karl would always put two ice cubes in his drink no matter what, and he always sat in the corner of his L-shaped couch, pulling up his legs and resting his chin on his hands.
Sapnap also found that Karl loved cuddling, he knew this already but it was so much different to experience it. He would be working on editing in his room and Karl would just come in and sit on his lap, resting his chin on Sapnap’s shoulder and curling into him. He found it very hard to focus when this happened because all he wanted to do was pick Karl up and bring him to his bed and just hang out and cuddle and he really wanted to kiss him but that wasn’t an option.
“You comfy?” Sapnap muttered during one of these situations. He had been playing Halo with Dream when Karl climbed onto his lap silently and pressed his head into Sapnap’s shoulder with a huff. Sapnap was muted to talk to him, coming up with some random excuse that didn’t really matter.
“Mhm jus’ need attention,” Karl said quietly, not moving and just hanging onto Sapnap’s sweater tightly. Sapnap placed one hand on Karl’s head, gently stroking his hair before returning it to the keyboard and playing the game. He finished the round quickly and told Dream he had to take care of some stuff, hanging up on the blond and turning his attention to Karl.
“Are you okay?” he asked gently, running his hand through the older’s hair sweetly. Karl just nodded and looked up to see Sapnap looking at him like he was the most precious person in the world.
“I want you to love me…” Karl muttered, so quietly that Sapnap wasn’t sure if he heard it at first. Karl was holding onto his sweater so tightly his hands were turning white and Sapnap grabbed his hands to pull them off the sweater and try to calm him down.
“I do love you though,” Sapnap admitted. He didn’t say what kind of love because he loved Karl in every sense of the word so however Karl interpreted it, it would be true. Whatever Karl needed he could provide because he would do anything for his best friend.
“No..” Karl sounded hesitant and his eyes seemed to tear up, “no you don’t mean that the way I need you to.. I should go” he moved to get up but Sapnap held him firmly in place by his hips. The older boy gasped and he looked at Sapnap with confusion who just looked at him with glimmering green eyes.
“Karl I mean it in every way possible. I love you, S'agapo, You mean the world to me omorfo. Panda t so prostateu.” He felt himself start to speak in greek, it wasn’t uncommon for him to do when he was passionate but it was still almost embarrassing.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying like actually you’re speaking Greek again.” Karl giggled, pushing a hand through his hair, wiping away any tears that had managed to escape his eyes. Sapnap rolled his eyes and grabbed Karls hand in his own and kissed it gently.
“I love you, you mean the world to me beautiful, I’ll always protect you.” He whispered, still holding Karl's hand close to his mouth. His breath nearly stopped as he looked at the beautiful sight of Karl blushing and staring at his hand, he looked so flustered and so precious.
“I love you too- I mean that’s kinda obvious huh, who just clings to their best friend like I do unless there's something going on I mean I’ve always liked you but I just recently realized I love you huh? Weird thing to realize and I’m sorry for making you hang up on Dream just to give me attention that feels like a dumb thing to do and I’m so weird-” Karl was cut off by Sapnaps lips crashing into his own. He squeaked before melting into it, not quite kissing back but letting Sapnap explore his lips for a little.
Sapnap pulled back for air and saw Karl panting a little both from surprise and lack of air, his cheeks were flushed and his pupils were blown and he was gorgeous. Sapnap's hand found Karls cheek and rested it there, noting how warm it was from the blush.
“Sorry for that,” He said shyly, “I don’t know what happened I guess you were just talking a lot and I just really like you, and I kinda wanted you to shut up so I could kiss you so um yeah.” He explained, looking in the brunette's eyes and his heart soared at the look of excitement he saw on the first day he spent at the older boy’s house.
“Don’t be sorry dumbass I loved that, I’d been waiting for that for god knows how long. Damn you’re a better kisser than I imagined” Karl laughed, burrowing his face in the crook of Sapnap’s neck. He left a quick kiss there before sighing. “Is this a dream?”
“No baby I’m real and I’m here” Sapnap confirmed, kissing the top of Karl’s head reassuringly. He pets his friend’s hair gently feeling the way he relaxed into the touch and basically purred at the feeling. “You really are touch starved aren’t you? We can fix that, I’ll be here for a long time and I’ll make sure you get cuddles like every day.”
“Mmmm” Karl hummed into Sapnap’s neck which was a surprisingly good sensation, he bit his lip at the feeling and shook his head gently. Karl was going to be the death of him. The older boy had latched onto his sweater again, this time in a much less frantic way. “Tell me you love me again, please? I wanna hear it again”
“Karl Jacobs I love you.” Sapnap sighed happily, “I love you, I love you, I love you. You’re the fos ths zois mia. The light of my life.” he loved being able to say these things to Karl, loved being able to feel Karl smile against his neck when he said it.
“Now I know why they call you Sapnap, you’re so fucking sappy oh my god.” Karl teased, but there was a grin in his voice, there was a slight smile that told Sapnap that everything was okay. He was sure Karl could hear his heart practically beating out of his chest as he held his best friend but it was okay because he wouldn’t care. It was okay because he felt the way Karl’s heartbeat against his own chest.
“I love you too Sappy, J’taime if you will.” Karl muttered, he could tell he was getting sleepy “mon amour, tu illumines ma vie” He rubbed his face further into Sapnap’s neck as if he couldn’t get enough of just touching him. He noted that he smelled slightly of cinnamon and it made him happy. Sapnap made him happy.
“You idiot, and you call me the sappy one.” Sapnap groaned in faux annoyance, “You’re just as bad as me.”
“What are you gonna do about it?”
“Maybe I’ll kiss you again to shut you up”
“Maybe I want you to shut me up"