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Sapnap has always had black hair. He wasn’t much into hair dye or anything, more into growing it out long and pulling it up into intricate designs and hairstyles. Buns were his usual choice, one messy bun or two space buns. Sometimes he’d do two small buns and leave the rest of his hair down, e-girl style as Dream liked to tease. Regardless of the specifics, he liked doing something new whenever he could, but his coloring always stayed the same.
His soulmate seemed to be the opposite.
Everyone’s eyes reflected their soulmate’s hair. You were born with eyes reflecting your soulmate’s natural hair color. When they dyed or bleached their hair, your eyes would change to match. Sapnap’s eyes had stayed a caramel brown for most of his childhood until he was just about to hit high school.
That year, his soulmate seemed to pick up a nasty habit of box dye. He woke up one day to bright pink irises, pink enough to be noticeable from a distance. Rather rapidly, as if his soulmate didn’t let the dye set well enough or as if it was spray dye instead of real hair dye, the color faded through to light pink, an awkward cream shade, then blonde. Eventually, when his soulmate presumably cut his hair or redyed it to his natural color, his eyes were caramel brown again.
This trend continued for a while. He would wake up to pink eyes in various shades. The color would fade at a shockingly rapid rate. He would be left with yellow eyes, the color increasingly dirty depending on how often his soulmate had tried to dye it that month. They would turn brown again. Rinse and repeat every few weeks. Sometimes his soulmate would give it a few months after they presumably killed their hair enough to not keep the dye, but typically, it was a never-ending cycle.
“He’s definitely dyeing it brown then bleaching it again,” George said, rolling his eyes. He stabbed his fork into the salad he was eating, pouting down at it as if it personally wronged him. Sapnap literally told him not to order the salad. “Your soulmate’s hair is going to be brittle and dead as hell.”
“You should camp out in hair dye sections of convenience stores,” Dream half-joked. He sipped his water, thinking for a moment before nearly choking at his own thought process. “Stalk the pink box dyes.”
The three were sitting around a table at the cafe on campus, supposedly studying. They were more gossiping about soulmates. It wasn’t a topic they covered often, being a bit of a sore spot for George - he hated not being able to see his eye color properly - but today, they were bored enough to cover it. Considering they were roommates who spent nearly all their time together, they spoke about just about anything someone could think of.
“Why are you assuming it’s a guy? I like girls, too. Women are pretty, bi rights,” Sapnap said, pointing his fork at George. His friend raised an eyebrow and knocked his hand away. “You’re gonna knock my tiramisu off my fork, asshole!”
“Eat it and don’t wave it at me then,” George grumbled. “They’re a dude because girls usually look that stuff up ahead of time. They wouldn’t keep killing their hair like some idiot.”
“Could be an idiot girl,” Dream pointed out. Sapnap snickered. “Or a really forgetful one.”
“You think she’ll be a dumb blonde like you, Dreamie?” Sapnap teased. Both of his best friends looked at him oddly. “What?”
“Sapnap, you already know their hair color, they’re not blonde.” George fought down snide giggles, grinning at him obnoxiously, and Sapnap felt warm with embarrassment. He struggled to reply for a moment before settling with a simple word.
“Oh.”
So maybe he was the dumb not-blonde. Whatever, it didn’t really matter. He took Dream’s not-quite-serious advice to heart. Whenever he entered a convenience store, he would make a detour to the hair dye section. This was quite a bit, as he worked in a convenience store for a job, spending most of his free nights walking up and down aisles to fix displays and put boxes back where they belonged. If he lingered in the hair dye section, quietly memorizing every single pink box, then that was his own business.
All that studying paid off, anyways.
“Uh, excuse me? Sir?”
Sapnap startled at the voice, looking behind him. Standing a few inches taller than him with fluffy hair and dark charcoal eyes was another man, one he didn’t recognize. His skin was flushed red with a sunburn, freckles dotting his cheeks from the sun. He had a tattoo on his neck, a boxy swirl just below his jaw. Sapnap’s gaze lingered on his hair, the shade familiar for reasons he couldn’t place. It was a range of hues, his roots dark brown sharply cutting off into bleach blonde. Mostly blonde anyway, with streaks of faded pink hair dye. The only thing Sapnap could think of was ‘strawberry blonde’, even though he knew that this beautiful collage wasn’t at all what that phrase meant. He was pretty, startlingly so, and Sapnap blinked for a moment before he remembered what he was supposed to say.
“Of course, I mean, hello, how can I help you? If you need help, then of course. Heh.”
Smooth. So smooth.
The man laughed and Sapnap felt his stomach nearly drop out of his body at the sound. It was pure magic. It was happiness and church bells and the warmth of bed after a long day. He would lay his life on the line for this man and he didn’t even know his name.
“Uh, I’m not from around here, just visiting for a bit, and this place is set up super weirdly? I was wondering where your hair dye is.” The man laughed again, the sound more awkward now, and Sapnap nodded eagerly.
“Yeah, I can help you with that!” Usually, he just directed people around. He didn’t need to walk the man over. As stated though, Sapnap would die for this man, so he started walking and introducing himself. “I’m Sapnap, by the way. What brings you to the area?”
“I’m Karl!” His enthusiasm was adorable, grinning as if he wanted nothing more than to introduce himself. Sapnap tried not to stare too fondly as Karl waved his arms around, talking with his hands. “I’m thinking of transferring to a college nearby. The small arts college in the next town, you know the one? They have an awesome book arts course and that’s what I’m studying.”
“Oh, yeah, I know it. I’ve never been there but some of my friends have friends who go there. The downtown area is really nice.” Sapnap nodded, trying to think of anything else he could say. He had no idea what book arts entailed, or else he would have asked about that just to see the light in Karl’s eyes spark up. They rounded the corner of the hair product aisle, the boxes coming into sight. “What sort of dye are you looking for? I’m a bit of an expert.”
“Is your hair dyed?” Karl blinked curiously at him, starting to wander down the aisle. “I always go with pink.”
“Oh, uh, no.” Sapnap laughed, following him down and touching his arm to stop him when they reached the pink dye. Karl startled and he quickly retrieved his hand, his cheeks warming. “My soulmate is always dyeing their hair though, they also usually do pink. They never seem to get the hang of it though, the dye washes out quickly like they didn’t do it right? Like, if you look at my eyes right now, they’re sort of a muddy color because their hair dye is fading at the moment. My friends and I sorta researched proper hair dyeing methods and stuff because we’re assholes and wanted to make fun of my soulmate.”
Karl let out a startled giggle at that, leaning closer to look at Sapnap’s eyes. He resisted the urge to let them flutter closed as Karl’s lips got closer to his, breath hitching in his throat.
“Oh, yeah, I see what you mean. I mean, not really, I’m not great at differentiating more pastel hues. Color deficient. But I think I get you!” The man hummed and turned back to the boxes of hair dye, looking along the arrangement of pinks. “I have the same issue, I think pink just washes out really easily.”
“Well, have you given your hair time to rest? If you keep damaging your hair follicles, then they’re going to be too broken to hold any hair dye. That’s why you’re supposed to wait to regrow your hair between bleach jobs,” Sapnap said, rattling off advice and immediately feeling like a smart-ass for it. “Uh, of course, it’s your hair. You do what you want with it.”
Karl looked at him, surprised, then smiled. That soft smile was so bright it could raise the sun from slumber, Sapnap was sure of it. “That’s a good idea, honestly! I just get way too impatient and I bleach it again before it’s ready. It’s a miracle my hair hasn’t fallen out.”
Sapnap huffed out a laugh, nodding in understanding. “Yeah, I getcha. Honestly, if you wanna stop yourself from redyeing it, I might recommend going black with henna dye. Then you won’t really be able to change your mind, henna dye does not come out easy. It can also soften your hair, I’m guessing it’s probably pretty brittle from the bleach.”
Karl blinked at the suggestion before grinning slightly. “If I agree to that, will you agree to hold my hand while I do it? I’m bad at committing to things.”
Sapnap took a moment to process that, spluttering and turning red as soon as it hit him. Karl was flirting with him. Holy shit.
Karl seemed to take the lack of real response as a bad thing, blushing cherry red as well and stammering. “I- I’m sorry, that’s so- I know getting hit on at work sucks! I’m sorry, that was rude.”
“I’ll hold your hand,” Sapnap finally managed to reply, cutting off Karl’s anxious apology. “I’d need your phone number to know where to do it, though.”
And that’s how Karl ended up in Sapnap’s apartment about a week later, laying down on his kitchen counter with his head stuffed under the sink faucet. They both had been busy most of the week, Karl with college transfer paperwork and Sapnap with work and school, but they finally had half of the day free to dye Karl’s hair and hang out. They texted back and forth enough the whole week that Sapnap was bursting for his physical presence by the time the day came around.
Karl’s position over the sink couldn’t have been comfortable but he took it like a champ, giggling happily to himself and making sly comments as Sapnap read over the instructions.
“If you ruin my hair and I have to shave it, I’m telling your manager that you gave me your number on the clock,” Karl teased. Sapnap rolled his eyes.
“Good. If I got fired, they’d be doing me a favor. I hate that place.”
“Why keep working there, then?” Karl asked, more inquisitive now, and Sapnap huffed.
“It’s stupid.” He put the dye bottle to the side and pulled on the plastic gloves.
“I like stupid.” Karl grinned as Sapnap sprayed the ink across his fingers, thoroughly coating them in the black substance. He put the bottle aside again and started working the dye into Karl’s hair, smiling fondly when Karl’s eyes fell closed at the sensation. Karl’s hair was brittle, as he suspected, but he didn’t mind. His friend was clearly melting into the feeling of hands running through his hair, tilting just a bit into his touch.
“Well, you know what I said about my soulmate?” Sapnap started and Karl gave a soft noise that he took as a ‘yes’. He combed his fingers through his hair, parting the strands and watching them get slick with black dye. “Well, my best friend Dream - he’s one of the roommates who left earlier - he made this joke about how I should stalk the hair dye section and make a note of anyone who dyes their hair pink. I took it like, seriously, I guess. It’s just sorta nice to keep track of it, you know? Just in case.”
“Well, you found me, so you got one good thing out of it!” Karl grinned widely and Sapnap felt his chest give a stutter. His hands jittered slightly, just enough for Karl to notice and smirk.
Sapnap wasn’t usually the type to fall head over heels for just any man who looked at him. He didn’t like to think of himself as easy. He had standards, he liked being wooed, he liked wooing. But he would be lying if he said that Karl hadn’t entranced him as soon as they met each other’s eyes. He was pretty and funny and nice, and as he got more comfortable with Sapnap, he got touchy. It was oddly addictive, like if Karl wasn’t actively touching him, he’d pass away on the spot.
He kept working the dye into Karl’s hair, rubbing down the strands thoroughly. If he was honest with himself, he didn’t think he was doing a terribly effective job. He had never dyed someone’s hair before, much less someone with bleach damaged hair. And with how brittle Karl’s hair felt under his fingers, even through the gloves, he was doubting how well the henna dye would stay.
“Your hair is sort of fucked, dude,” Sapnap admitted. Karl groaned.
“Seriously? Is the dye staying?” His eyes opened and Sapnap hurriedly pushed his bangs back out of his eyes so no dye would seep into them. It left a smear of black across his forehead and Sapnap winced. As he went to apologize, Karl spoke first. “Hey, Sapnap, I thought your eyes were yellow.”
“Huh?”
“I thought your eyes were like, yellow with some brown. They’re more black now,” Karl said, voice slowing down as he spoke like he was coming to a realization. Sapnap subconsciously continued to work the black henna dye into Karl’s hair, taking a few seconds longer for Karl’s words to click in his head. His hands froze. “I dunno. I know I’m a little colorblind, but I think I would’ve noticed a difference that big.”
“They’re- they’re black?” Sapnap’s gaze drifted from Karl’s face to the black locks his fingers were tangled in. Most of Karl’s hair was dyed now, sticky and glinting in the light from how wet the dye was. Only the back of his head was still that faded yellow. “How much black?”
“Uh, like, seventy-five percent? There are some yellow patches still. It’s really pretty, actually. Have you ever seen gilded blackstone? It’s like that.” Karl giggled, his dark black eyes still locked onto Sapnap’s. “Like, from Minecraft.”
“You’re such a nerd,” Sapnap breathed, mind reeling. Acting on autopilot, he wet his fingers with more dye and scrubbed it into the back of Karl’s head, covering up the last of the strands. He could feel Karl studying his eyes even as he shifted his gaze away to stare down into the sink, watching the stray drops of dye flick across the porcelain bottom.
“And now they’re completely black,” Karl said, not even acknowledging the insult. Sapnap grinned, the expression involuntary as his heart started pounding. “How long should we let this sit for?”
“Four to six hours for maximum vibrancy, two at minimum.” Sapnap shuffled back from the sink, giving Karl space to sit up. He grabbed a towel they had stolen from the bathroom, handing it to his friend, and Karl wrapped the towel around his head neatly. They stared at each other for a moment, silently waiting for the other to speak first.
“Your eyes changed,” Karl finally broke, redundant. Sapnap nodded. “They changed when my hair did. I watched it happen.”
“Sure did.” Sapnap bit his lip as he looked up at Karl. He was already taller than Sapnap and the added height of the counter made him tower over him. He wanted to step forward between Karl’s now swinging legs and see how high on his throat he could reach. Maybe he could even mark up that swirl tattoo, the stark black lines taunting him.
That was probably an inappropriate thought to have at the moment.
“Well, we have four hours to talk about this.” Karl beamed then wrestled the expression down into a softer smile. It was endearing, how visible his emotions were on his face. Sapnap wanted to watch him think forever. “Uh. I guess we’re soulmates.”
“Yeah.” Sapnap beamed and Karl sighed in relief.
“Geez, you were scaring me there. I thought you were disappointed or something, staring at me all blank-faced and giving two-word answers.”
“Sorry, I was thinking too hard about sinking my teeth into your neck,” Sapnap replied, wincing at his own honesty, and Karl inhaled sharply. He began fidgeting with his hands, giving a nervous giggle as he spun a black ring around his middle finger. The motion caught Sapnap’s attention, pulling his eyes away from Karl’s blushing face.
“That’s- you- oh my honk.” Karl giggled again, his face scrunching up with amusement. Sapnap could feel that skip in his chest again. “That’s hot but- we just- there’s a lot we need to consider right now.”
“We could make out about it, that helps me think.”
“Sapnap!” Karl’s voice went high-pitched with exasperation, eyebrows flying up on his face, and Sapnap broke into harsh laughter. Karl shook his head then quickly threw his hands up to catch the towels piled on his head, pouting. “No! Stop it. My mom always told me, it’s really important to know what both soulmates want from their bond. We need to talk about it, seriously. We seriously need to talk about it, seriously. Seriously.”
“Karl, I just want you. I have since I first saw you.” Sapnap gave in to his impulses and slunk forward, resting his hands on Karl’s knees and leaning into his space. He could feel his face warm with the proximity and he was relieved to see that Karl was the same shade of red. “I’ll take anything you give me. Anything you need, I’ll be.”
“That’s awfully committed for a guy you met a week ago.” Karl grabbed Sapnap’s jaw with a gentle touch regardless, lifting his head up.
“I know. It’s okay because it’s you.” Sapnap pressed his cheek into Karl’s hand, fluttering his eyelashes. He could see Karl’s thought process clearly as his nose scrunched up, his eyes darting around.
“What if I didn’t want to do anything? What if I wanted to wait a bit, or never wanted to do anything at all?” Karl asked, voice softening to something just above a whisper. His thumb rubbed Sapnap’s jaw, catching on the rough stubble, and his breath hitched.
“I would wait. I’m okay with just being friends too. Whatever I can do that’ll keep you here with me, I’ll do it.” Sapnap let his expression lighten into a soft smile rather than the cocky smirk he had been wearing. He raised a hand to clasp over Karl’s, holding it against his jaw. “I only just found you, I’m not scaring you off yet if I can help it.”
Karl nodded, the movement just enough to be perceivable. His eyes were soft as he drank in Sapnap’s appearance. There was a pause, both of them considering, then Karl said, “I think we should get to know each other before we make any decisions. I don’t want to rush into this. I have stuff going on with me that can be a lot to handle and I don’t want you to commit without knowing what you’re getting into.”
He wanted to tell Karl that he’d be willing to commit to anything, help him with any struggles he had, but instead, he just nodded and agreed. “I understand. That makes sense. I want you to get to know me too.”
He started to pull back and Karl sighed. He shifted his hand to the back of Sapnap’s head, holding him in place.
“Wait, I- I want a kiss first. Before we act smart about this.” Karl bit his lip anxiously but still held his gaze. “If that’s okay.”
Sapnap agreed to that too, smiling as he leaned in to press his lips to Karl’s.