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“Alright, buddy. Be good for Jimmy, Chris, and Chandler, okay?” Sapnap instructed.
Karl nodded, holding his duffle bag in front of him and looking down nervously. “Okay, Sappy.”
“What’s goin’ on, bubba? I thought you were excited to spend the weekend here?”
Karl just shrugged. “Don’t wanna slip while filming. Don’t wanna make the guys have to stop to take care of me.”
“Karl, it’s okay. I’m sure they don’t mind, buddy. You’ve got the whole weekend to film, remember?”
Karl nodded and opened his mouth to say something, but Tyler ran up.
“Karl! Hey! You ready for this video?” he exclaimed.
“Of course, man! I’ll be right in!” Karl gave a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Tyler didn’t notice.
“Alright! I’ll go tell Chris you’re here!” Tyler rushed back inside.
Karl’s eyes filled with overwhelmed tears. “Sappy, please don’t leave. I don’t want you to leave.”
Sapnap pulled the other into a hug. “Oh, Karl, I wish I could stay with you, honey, but I’ve got some work to do. I’ll be back on Monday and you can call me any time you feel lonely. You’ve got Mr. Panda right?”
Karl nodded, fluffy hair tickling Sapnap’s neck.
“Good boy. I’ve gotta go now, baby, okay?” Sapnap kissed Karl’s hair and let go of the streamer, then got into his car and left.
Tears started to drip down Karl’s rosy cheeks as he stared at his hands where they still clutched his bag. He could see the stuffed panda peeking out and it only made him miss Sappy more.
“Karl? Buddy, you okay?” Chris’ voice was soft and he placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. Karl turned to him and buried his face in the older’s chest.
“Sappy’s gone,” he cried, tears now flowing freely.
Chris rubbed his back. “It’ll be okay, Karl. Nick will be back on Monday, right? And you get to spend the whole weekend with us!”
Karl pulled back and sniffled, wiping his tears away with the sleeve of Sappy’s hoodie. He nodded.
“C’mon, buddy, Jimmy’ll be back with food soon and we’re gonna get that and some juice into that tummy of yours.” Chris punctuated his sentence with a tickle to Karl’s stomach, getting rewarded when the other giggled.
“‘Tay, Chwisy!” Karl took Chris’ hand and followed him inside, not meeting anyone’s eyes.
“I’m gonna show Karl where he’s staying for the weekend,” Chris told Tyler. “Can you tell Jimmy and Chandler where we are when they get back?”
“Yeah, of course. You okay, Karl?”
“Yeah.” Karl’s voice was hoarse. He cleared his throat. “Yeah, just exhausted. Stayed up late planning streams with Sapnap.”
Chris was surprised at how Karl could switch headspaces so easily. But, then again, he’d realized he was a Little after he’d left for college and he missed his Mom so much that he’d regressed in the middle of class and, not realizing what was happening, freaked and ran out. He’d had a panic attack in the bathroom and was comforted by a stranger who would change his life forever: CJ. The rest was history.
“Alright, man. You should take a nap. We don’t start filming for a few more hours.”
“Thanks, Tyler. I’ll do that.” Karl gave a smile, then followed Chris to the upstairs part of the warehouse where the rooms were. Chris led Karl into the one at the end of the hall, next to Jimmy’s and with a Jack-and-Jill bathroom between his and Chris’ rooms. He locked the door and watched Karl drop down onto the bed, still holding his duffle bag with white knuckled hands.
“Hey, Karl, can you tell me how old you are?” Chris knelt down and pried Karl’s fingers from the bag. Karl held up two fingers, then stuck them in his mouth. “Alright, buddy. How ‘bout we get you a paci instead, huh? Fingers are kinda icky.”
Karl nodded and Chris opened his duffle bag. Mr. Panda was sitting on the top, wearing a Sapnap shirt. Catching sight of it, Karl started to cry. He missed Daddy and he wanted to cuddle him and Mr. Panda. He wanted Daddy to kiss his hair when he woke up and tell him he was a good boy and praise him for eating all of his vegetables and drinking water and going potty on time and-
Blood.
He tasted blood and started to cry more. He hadn’t realized that in his panic, he’d bitten down on his fingers enough to actually break the skin. He wished Daddy was here even more than before. Daddy would cuddle him and patch up his fingers and give them a kiss and they’d watch cartoons and-
“Karl, buddy, breathe. It’s okay. Take a deep breath for me, please, little one.” Chris’ voice pushed through the fog in Karl’s brain. Karl took a deep breath, then another, and one more before he could see more clearly and his brain wasn’t clouded with thoughts of NEED DADDY, and instead filled with need comfort. He reached out to Chris, who lifted himself onto the bed and pulled Karl into his chest.
“Miss Daddy,” Karl whimpered, burying his head into Chris’ shoulder.
“I know, buddy. I know. Can I help you get cleaned up? I’m sure your owie hurts.”
“Yes, pease.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” Chris walked into the bathroom and grabbed the first aid kit and a washcloth. He came back and gently took Karl’s hand, replacing his fingers with a paci that the Little immediately started to suck on.
“This might sting a little,” Chris warned. He wiped the spit off Karl’s fingers with the washcloth, then grabbed an alcohol pad. Tears sprang into Karl’s eyes as the wipe touched his cuts, but he didn’t pull away, no matter how much he wanted to. Daddy had told him to be good for Jimmy, Chris and Chan-Chan and throwing a tantrum at being taken care of wasn’t good.
“You’re doin’ great, buddy. Real proud of you,” Chris praised and Karl beamed. Chris put Adventure Time bandaids(one Finn and one Jake) on Karl’s fingers, then kissed them as he’d seen Nick do a few times. “All done, buddy.”
“Cuddwe now?” Karl asked around his paci.
“Yeah, we can cuddle. Do you wanna change into something more cuddle comfy?”
Karl nodded, hair bouncing.
“Alright. How about your froggy pjs?” Chris suggested. Karl nodded and lifted his arms for Chris to take his hoodie off. Once Karl was all changed(pouting until Daddy’s panda hoodie was back on), Chris turned on Adventure Time and tucked Mr. Panda under Karl’s arm. Karl snuggled up to Chris and watched the show happily, almost forgetting about his Daddy.
Almost.
He could never fully forget about Daddy.
“I bein good?” he asked, gray eyes sparkling.
“Yeah, buddy. You’ve been great,” Chris praised, wondering where this was going.
“You teww Daddy?” There it was.
“Of course, I’ll tell your Daddy you’ve been good.”
“Now?”
“Sure, buddy.” Chris grabbed his phone and pulled up Discord.
Today at 9:53 AM
NotChris: Karl wanted me to tell you he’s being good
Sapnap: thats good. anything happen after i left?
NotChris: He had a panic attack and hurt his fingers, but he should be okay now. I got him patched up and now we’re watching Adventure Time.
Sapnap: can i talk to him?
NotChris: Sure! I’ll facetime ya!
Chris did as he said he would, FaceTiming Nick and putting Karl in the frame. Karl, who didn’t realize he was on a call until he heard a familiar voice.
“Hi, baby. How are you?”
“Daddy! You’we hewe!” Karl exclaimed, flapping his hands.
“Right here, sunshine, just like I said.”
“‘M bein good! Did what ‘m posed to!”
“Yeah? Are you listening to Chris?”
“Mhms. I gots da bumpy heawt and hurted my fingies, but Chwisy hewped me. ‘N I didn’ eben fwinch ow hit hims when he put da stingy ting on my fingies,” Karl explained, taking his paci out of his mouth to talk.
Nick chuckled. “Good job, baby. Daddy’s really proud of you. I’m sorry you got hurt.”
“Is otay. Gots 'Ventuwe Time bandies.” Karl held up his fingers to show Daddy.
“I see, buddy. Have you eaten yet?”
“No. Jimmy an Chan-Chan no back yet, bu I pomise I eat when dey does.”
“Good boy. Daddy’s gotta go now, sunshine, but I’m still here if you need me, okay?”
“Otay, Daddy. Wuv you.”
“I love you too, bubba.”
With that, Nick hung up and Chris put his phone away. He and Karl went back to watching Adventure Time. About fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on the door and the sound of a key in the lock before Jimmy and Chandler walked in, smiling. Chris paused the TV.
“Hey, guys. We got food!” Jimmy announced.
“Jimmy! Chan-Chan!” Karl exclaimed, clapping his hands and sitting up.
The three babysitters shared a look, then Chandler sat down next to Karl while Jimmy and Chris stepped into the hall.
“We got you chicken nuggets and some corn,” Chandler told the Little, searching through Karl’s duffle bag for a bib. Karl tended to be a messy eater when he was Little. Chandler also grabbed out two of Karl’s sippy cups. “Which one do you want, buddy?”
“Pan-pan, pease.” Karl pointed to it, then made grabby hands for it.
“Alright, bud. Let me just fill it up first, okay?”
Karl nodded and Chandler filled the sippy cup part of the way with the lemonade they’d gotten him and the rest of the way with water. Karl wasn’t allowed to have caffeine or too much sugar when in Littlespace and lemonade was the only drink the restaurant sold without caffeine and diluting it would minimize the amount of sugar as well. As soon as the sippy cup was in Karl’ hands, the Little lifted it to his mouth, sipping the juice.
“Tankies!”
“Course, buddy.” Chandler ruffled Karl’s hair, earning a giggle. Chandler grabbed out Karl’s frog plate and arranged the chicken nuggets, corn, and sauce into the different sections. Jimmy and Chris came back in.
“Hey, Karl. Enjoying your juice?” Jimmy asked.
Karl nodded and smiled, juice dripping down his chin. He drained the juice seconds later and Jimmy prepared him some more while Chandler held a spoonful of corn up to Karl’s lips. The Little ate all of the corn and his chicken nuggets just like he’d promised Daddy. True to form, there was sauce, lemonade, and bits of corn on his bib. Chandler wiped the edges of his mouth and his hands with a napkin, then took off the bib and went to wash the plate in the bathroom. Karl kicked his feet against the floor and looked up at his babysitters.
“Juicy?” he asked, holding up his sippy cup.
“How about we have some water, yeah, bubba?” Jimmy suggested. “Don’t want too much sugar hurting your tummy.” He punctuated his sentence with a tickle of the Little’s stomach, earning a giggling squeal.
“Otay, Jimmy. I has wa-wa.”
“Good.” Jimmy ruffled Karl’s hair and filled his sippy cup with water. Karl drank the water in long sips.
“Are you thirsty, buddy?” Chris asked, sitting down in the desk chair and rolling it to the bed.
Karl nodded. “Wanna be good an dwink wots ob wa-wa fow Daddy.”
“That’s good, buddy,” Jimmy praised. “You gotta tell us when you need to go potty, though, okay?”
Karl nodded again. “Otay, Jimmy. I pomise.”
“Good.” Jimmy turned back on Adventure Time and Karl clapped his hands, putting his paci back in his mouth. It was his panda one, made for him by his Daddy. It wasn’t his favorite, but it was a close second.
An hour later, Karl was asleep, curled up with Mr. Panda against the pillows. Usually, Nick would make sure he went potty before he took a nap, but none of the men had noticed until Karl was already in a deep sleep. Waking him now would mean a very cranky Karl(big or Little), so they let him sleep. Chandler sent a picture of sleeping Karl to the Discord chat.
Today at 11:00 AM
Chan-Chan sent a picture
Chan-Chan: Karl fell asleep watching Adventure Time
Today at 11:15 AM
Sapnap reacted with a heart emoji
Sapnap: wht a cutie.
Sapnap: make sure to wake him if he starts squirming. Little Karl wont wake to pee
NotChris: Relax, Nick. We got this. We’re great babysitters.
NotMrBeast: Yeah. You’ve got nothing to worry about. Karl’s in great hands here.
Sapnap: i know. think i’m just stressed cause this will be the longest i’ve been away from him since i moved in. it’s kinda lonely here without him.
Today at 11:23 AM
NotChris: Understandable. You should do some of the things you haven’t been able to. Take a bath, watch a scary movie, take a nap. Let yourself relax, Nick. You’ll be alright.
NotMrBeast: And so will Karl.
Sapnap: thx, guys. imma take a bath and watch something
NotChris: Good luck, man.
Sapnap reacted with a thumbs-up emoji
A whimper drew the three’s attention to the bed. Karl was squirming, paci having fallen out of his mouth and teeth sunk into his lip. Chris shook his shoulder and grey eyes fluttered open.
“Daddy?”
“It’s Chris, buddy,” Chris corrected.
“Oh.” Karl sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Potty time now?” he asked, yawning.
“Yeah, bubba. Do you want some help?”
“No fanks, Uncwe Chwis.” Karl slid over to the edge of the bed and stood up, then shuffled into the bathroom. A moment later, the toilet flushed and the faucet ran, then Karl was shuffling back out and sitting on the bed. He seemed to be near the older side of his Littlespace.
“Karl, how old are you feelin’ buddy?” Jimmy asked.
Karl held up one hand, all five fingers spread out while the other fisted his eye tiredly.
“Alright, buddy.” Jimmy checked his watch. “Are you up for filming soon? We can push it off if you’re not.”
“We can film,” Karl confirmed, sounding around his 10 year old headspace. “Just miss Sap.”
“I know, bub. We can call him again if you want?” Chandler suggested. Karl nodded, bringing one hand up to pick at the skin on his lip. He grabbed his phone from the pocket of Sap’s hoodie and pulled up the other’s Facetime, clicking call. Sapnap picked up a couple rings later, surrounded by a flickering orange glow.
“Karl? What’s up? Is something wrong, sunshine?”
“Sap, I…are you taking a bath?” Karl laughed at his caregiver’s soaked hair that was covered with bubbles. The orange glow now made sense; Sap always had candles when he took a bath.
“Yeah. I am. What’s up?”
“Did I bother you?” Karl picked at his lip more.
“Don’t pick at your lip.”
Karl dropped his hand. “Sorry. Did I bother you?”
“Of course not, angel. You could never bother me. I just thought something was wrong,” Sap explained, running a soapy hand through his hair.
“No, I’m fine, Sap. Just miss you. Wanted to say hi before we go film.”
“Well, hi, bubba. How was your nap?”
“Good. Did you get a lot of work done?”
“I did. I miss you a lot, though, kiddo. It’s too quiet without you here.”
Karl laughed. “It’s okay, Sap. I’ll be back on Monday.”
“I know, buddy.”
“I gotta go, Sap. Good luck with your bath.”
“Thanks, buddy. Good luck with filming. Love you.”
“Love you too.” Karl hung up and looked at his babysitters. “Uncle Chris, can you help me pick out an outfit?”
“Sure, buddy.” Chris knelt down to look in Karl’s duffle bag. Jimmy and Chandler excused themselves to head downstairs and give Karl some privacy. Chris picked out a pair of dark jeans and a long-sleeved red shirt for Karl to wear. It was getting cold, and they had no idea how long the video would take, so Chris prepared for them to be out after sundown. He also grabbed Karl’s large puffy jacket just in case it snowed.
“Thanks, Uncle Chris.” Karl went to change in the bathroom. When he came back, he still had Sapnap’s hoodie on over his clothes, and his folded pjs were in his arms. He set them down on the bed, then grabbed his panda socks and put them on, slipping on his sneakers afterward. Chris helped him put on his coat and he thanked the older man.
“Ready, buddy?”
Karl nodded and let Chris lead him out of the room. They met with the rest of the people helping with the video and piled into different cars, Karl with Jimmy, Chris, and Chandler, and went to the abandoned amusement park. After setting up all their cameras and walkie talkies, Jimmy introduced the video.
“Hey, guys. Today we’re playing hide and seek again ! But this time, we’re playing in an abandoned amusement park that’s got tons of space! Now, usually, Chris and I would be the seekers, but Chris wanted to hide this time, so I’m letting Karl be my other seeker! Karl’s gotten second place in every hide and seek game he's played, so this time I’m upping the stakes for him. For every person he finds, I’ll give him a thousand dollars. So, if he finds everyone, he gets nine thousand dollars ! And whoever wins gets $900,000!” Jimmy exclaimed. “Everyone got their cameras ready?”
Everyone nodded.
“Alright, you’ve got five minutes to find a hiding place. Go!”
Everyone took off and Karl looked at Jimmy.
“I really get a thousand dollars for every person I find?” he asked.
“Yeah. I felt like you got cheated the last times we played.”
“Thanks, Jimmy!” Karl laughed, the sound bubbling up from his throat and it made Jimmy laugh, too. Once five minutes had passed, Jimmy sent Karl and Tareq out to find everyone. He leaned into his mic.
“What Karl doesn’t know is that for every person he finds, we’ll give him five thousand dollars and we’ll give his mom two thousand. And I’m not even gonna be looking, so it’s all up to him,” Jimmy told the future viewers.
Meanwhile, Karl was running around, trying to find a bunch of people. He looked in the food court first and found Tyler and Chris.
“Found you guys!” he giggled, bouncing a bit. He took their wrists and escorted them to “jail”, meeting up with Jimmy. “Jimmy! I found Tyler and Chris!”
“Wow, guys. The game just started and Karl already made two thousand dollars.”
“I can help Karl look for people,” Chris offered. To Tyler and anyone else, it looked like a friendly gesture, but the look Chris gave him told Jimmy that Karl was slowly slipping.
“You know you won’t get any money, right, Chris?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. Well, you don’t mind, do you, Karl?”
Karl shook his head, then grabbed Chris’ wrist and pulled him away.
“C’mon, Chris! We’ve gotta find the others!” he exclaimed, before telling everyone that Chris was gonna help him find people.
***
An hour later, Karl and Chris had found three more people and Karl was getting increasingly deeper into his headspace. He hadn’t noticed, though, until he heard Sapnap’s text tone. He looked at his phone.
2:05 PM
Sappy
Hey, sweetheart. How’s the game going?
Me
Daddy! I got five peoples out! Chrisy is helpin me find dems!
Sappy
Good job, baby! How old are you feeling right now?
Karl hadn’t realized he was getting Little until that text. He thought about it for a moment, forgetting what he’d been doing.
Me
Four
Sappy
A big boy, huh? Can you tell Chris you’re feeling young, angel?
Karl was too busy typing a reply back to realize he was walking into the forest.
Until he ran directly into a tree.
He wasn’t walking particularly quickly, but the thickness of the trunk and the surprise caused Karl to fall back on his bum, clutching his phone tightly. Wetness rolled down his face, but it wasn’t from tears. It dripped onto his bottom lip and Karl tasted blood for the second time that day. It hit him what the wetness was.
He had a bloody nose.
Now, fat tears rolled down his cheeks and he hid his face in his hands, which were covered by Daddy’s hoodie. It smelled like him and Karl let out an audible sob.
“Karl, buddy, what happened?” Chris asked. Karl peeked at him, then hid his face again. Chris was crouched next to him, hand hovering over his shoulder and concerned look on his face. Karl just sobbed again.
“Tareq, call Jimmy,” Chris instructed. The cameraman nodded and put down the camera, picking up his phone.
Jimmy saw an incoming call from Tareq and got a bit worried.
“Tareq, what’s up?”
“Karl ran into a tree and I think he’s crying.”
“Alright. Send me your location and I’ll be there in a second.” Jimmy hung up the phone and waited anxiously for the text to come in. When it did, he took off, getting to their location in a couple minutes. Chris was sitting next to Karl, a hand on his back, rubbing comforting circles. Karl had his face buried in his hands and his shoulders were shaking with sobs. His phone was on the ground next to him, screen displaying multiple texts from Nick.
2:10 PM
Sappy
Angel, you okay?
Did something happen, sunshine?
Karl, are you okay?
Jimmy typed a reply back.
Me
Karl ran into a tree. He’s crying-Jimmy
Sappy
Shit. I’m on my way.
“Hey, Karl, Nick’s on his way, okay?”
Karl, who was still very aware that he was on camera, nodded. “Sappy comin’?” he asked, looking up. His nose was still steadily dripping blood and it was soaked into the cuffs of Nick’s hoodie.
“Yeah, buddy. Sapnap’s on his way,” Jimmy confirmed.
“Do you wanna get cleaned up in the bathroom?” Chris offered.
Karl shook his head. “Wanna wait for Sappy.”
“Alright, buddy.” Chris grabbed Karl’s walkie talkie. “Hey, guys, we’re gonna take a break. Head back to home base, I’ll explain when you get there.”
Some people thought it was a joke, but Chris assured them it wasn’t. With a comforting pat to Karl’s back, he left, Tareq following. Jimmy stayed with Karl, the younger leaning into his side, still crying. Within fifteen minutes, Nick was there, rushing to his Little.
“Karl baby, Daddy’s here, sunshine.”
“Daddy." The Little threw himself into Sapnap’s arms, sobbing freely.
“We need to get him inside. His nosebleed isn’t gonna stop until we do." Daddy lifted Karl up and walked somewhere. Solidified blood blocked Karl's nose and he coughed, spitting blood on Daddy's shirt.
“‘M sowwy, Daddy.”
“It’s okay, baby. Let’s get you inside.”
Karl felt warmth around him and realized they were inside. A few people gasped, but he hid his face in Daddy’s shirt. A moment later, he heard a door close and clung to Daddy when the other tried to put him down.
“No.” Fresh tears fell down Karl’s face.
“Okay, sweetie.”
He was lowered to the ground in his Daddy’s lap. Something wet and cold wiped at his nose and he pulled away.
“Angel, I’ve gotta clear your nose so you can breathe,” Daddy explained.
Karl nodded, and blew his nose when Daddy said to. He could breathe again, but he felt more blood come from his nose. Daddy replaced the wet cloth with a dry one.
“Tilt your head forward, angel.”
Karl complied and felt the blood drip from his nose. Within a minute, the blood stopped and the cloth was taken away from his nose. Another wet cloth wiped in and around his nose and for the first time in half an hour, he opened his eyes. He saw Daddy smiling at him, concern swimming in his green eyes.
“Daddy, you came.” Karl wrapped his arms around Daddy’s neck and buried his face in Daddy’s shoulder.
“I’m here, angel. You needed me and I’m here.” Daddy rubbed comforting circles into Karl’s back. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“Wasn’ payin’ ‘tention an hit da twee,” Karl explained, sniffling.
“I’m sorry that happened, baby.”
“‘M otay now, Daddy. Gots you.”
“Yep, I’m here, angel. Let’s get you back and go to sleep, yeah?”
Karl nodded sleepily. “Daddy stay?”
“Of course I’ll stay with you, sunshine. And I’ll be here tomorrow, too.”
“‘Tay. Daddy?”
“Yes, sunshine?”
“I finks I gotta potty.”
“Okay, angel. Let’s go potty.”
After a quick pee, Sapnap carried his Little out of the bathroom, glad to see that the only ones in the main room were Jimmy, Chris, and Chandler.
“Is he alright?” Chris asked.
“I think he’ll be okay. The cold made his nosebleed worse.” They headed out to their cars and Sapnap buckled Karl into the backseat. He was pretty much asleep, but awake enough to lift his arms so Daddy could buckle his seatbelt. When they got back to the warehouse, Sapnap followed the three up the stairs and laid Karl down on the bed.
“Hey, angel, can Daddy get you into a pull-up?”
“‘Tay, Daddy.” Karl’s thumb slipped into his mouth and Sapnap replaced it with his panda paci before getting the Little into a frog printed pull-up. He took off the Little’s coat and hoodie and set them to soak in hydrogen peroxide in the bathroom, then replaced Karl’s shirts with his froggy pj one.
“Nini, Daddy.” Karl mumbled, snuggling up to Sapnap under the covers.
Sapnap placed a kiss to his hair. “Goodnight, angel.”
***
The next day, Sapnap stayed by Karl’s side and Jimmy told the future viewers that due to a medical emergency, they had to pause filming. Eventually, Karl found everyone except Chandler and was thoroughly surprised about how much money he’d won, as was his mom when he called her.