Chapter Text
It all started with a late night Discord call. It all started with one off-hand, half-true comment that Karl made.
“I hate North Carolina.”
Sapnap, who had been quiet for a short while, was startled from his silence. “Wait, what? Why?”
“There’s nothing to do here,” Karl mumbled, rubbing his face with his hands. “And I have no friends here.”
“What about your family?” Sapnap’s voice was softer as he eased into the conversation. “You have them, right?”
“I never really see them because of filming and streaming, anyway,” Karl fought a yawn from rising to his lips, but failed. “I only get phone calls on birthdays and holidays now. I don’t really have time to see them anymore.”
“Yeah, I have, like, Jimmy and them, but still, you know what I mean,” Karl muttered, the words tumbling out of his mouth as he dismissively waved his hand in front of him, like Sapnap could see him.
Sapnap hummed in acknowledgement, sounding forlorn for his friend. Karl didn’t sound too hurt, but Sapnap still heard the longing in the latter’s voice.
“I wanna go to Florida,” Karl found himself saying; the words left his lips before he could think about them.
“Really?” Sapnap replied almost instantly in disbelief. “Like, you wanna move here?”
“I… I dunno, maybe,” Karl murmured, fighting another yawn. “I’m not sure.”
“I don’t know if I really wanna pick up my whole life and move to another state, or if I’m just tired and lonely,” Karl finished with a light laugh. Sapnap, unsure of what to say right away, mirrored the laugh and fell silent again for a minute.
“I do wanna see you, though,” Karl added softly.
“So come and visit,” Sapnap declared, any evidence of him being tired washed away. “You can stay with me and the guys!”
“Really?” Karl managed, eyes fully open with a mixture of surprise and excitement.
“Yeah! I can pay for your plane ticket!” You could hear the smile in Sapnap’s voice. Karl subconsciously mirrored it, but fidgeted with his thumbs anxiously.
“I-I can’t have you do that,” Karl shook his head. “That’s not cheap, Nick.”
“I know, but I’m offering,” Sapnap’s voice was softer now. Karl smiled at it, and thought for a minute.
“When?” Karl felt his grin growing wider as the world left his mouth.
“How’s the first week of next month?” Sapnap replied instantly, the clicking of his keyboard almost inaudible in the background.
“I don’t think I have anything going on,” Karl laughed, almost dizzy. Sapnap echoed the laugh, and then Karl heard a confident click of the mouse.
“The deed is done,” Sapnap spoke again, the happiness in his voice almost overwhelming, even on the phone. “I emailed you the confirmation.”
“You’re joking, you got plane tickets already?” Karl gawked at Sapnap’s impulsivity.
“Yep, you’ll fly in on the morning of the 1st and then fly out on the morning of the 9th,” Sapnap confirmed. Karl shook his head, but felt his cheeks begin to hurt from all the smiling he was doing.
“I’m going to Florida,” Karl laughed incredulously.
“You’re coming to Florida,” Sapnap chuckled, his voice warm.
“Well, as fun as this has been, I should probably go to bed,” Karl spoke after a comfortable silence, his own voice sounding foreign to him after hearing nothing for a while. Karl felt a tug in his chest; he wanted more than anything to keep talking to Sapnap, but he could barely keep his eyes open anymore. “I’m kinda tired.”
“Get some sleep, Jacobs,” Sapnap lowered the volume of his voice. It gave Karl goosebumps, but he chalked it up to being sleep deprived and delirious. He had been running off three hours of sleep total for the last four days, so it’s not entirely impossible that that had been the cause. “We can talk more tomorrow.”
“Yeah, tomorrow,” Karl murmured, shifting in his bed so he was more comfortable. They exchanged goodbyes and ended the Discord call, but Karl suddenly felt more awake now than he had the entire call.
It took until now to hit him; He was going to Florida.
To see Sapnap.
For a week .
And stay in his house .
Each realization brought butterflies to his stomach. A flurry of excitement and warmth rolled through his chest, unable to fight the grin that was starting to form on his face.
Karl shifted again, letting his eyes fall closed. After taking a few breaths, the warmth in his chest began to settle some, but it was still floating through his lungs. He smiled again before drifting off.
Just three weeks until Florida.