Archive of Our Own

Karl was a very open guy. He spoke his mind, always talked with honesty, and always valued morals over secrecy. However, he had a secret of his own– a huge secret that could blow his entire life out of the water if the man it pertained to found out.

Karl liked Sapnap. His roommate. (And Best Friend.)

He like-liked Sapnap. It wasn’t a middle school crush, or even a temporary infatuation. Karl was pretty sure he was in love with the guy.

Which was bad.

First off, they lived together, which wasn’t exactly ideal. Every time he saw Sapnap do something idiotic, he ended up swooning and liking the brunet even more. 

Although, he supposed living together worked for Dream and George. 

His friends were happily married about half a year ago. They had lived together before, and only a day before George was supposed to perish, they were conjoined in holy matrimony. Karl was completely shocked at first, but happy. 

Now, he knew they weren’t actually dating on their wedding day. Apparently, it was all ‘fake,’ but they were together now, so it all ended up working out.

Every time they hung out with the group, Karl was jealous. They held hands or spared a kiss or cuddled, and it would have been disgusting if Karl wasn’t yearning for it. He wanted more than anything for what they had. He wanted it with Sapnap.

But Sapnap didn’t like him. So there was no use in hoping something would happen.

He was 24 now–his birthday was in three months– and he had no significant other, and no chance at all with Sapnap. 

He was like George all those months ago, but in his case, there was no Dream to come in with a crazy idea about faking a marriage. It was only himself, and he was pretty much out of options. 

Quackity was the first to realize Karl’s dilemma. 

His friend had taken him out to lunch (since all their other friends were busy) and blatantly asked him what his plan was for not dying. 

“I don’t have one,” Karl said honestly. 

Quackity laughed as if he thought Karl was joking. Then, when he noticed Karl was frowning, his face turned worried. 

“What do you mean you don’t have one?” Quackity looked as if he’d been hit by a bus. 

Karl shrugged. He tried not to look like the statement pained him as much as Quackity. Crying now would be pointless, there was nothing that could change his condition. “I don’t have a plan,” Karl repeated. “There’s no one that’s going to marry me before my birthday.”

Quackity frowned and pursed his lips. “I would marry you, but, you know... Why can’t you ask Sapnap?”

Karl flushed. There was no way he’d ask Sapnap to marry him. They were friends and if they had to kiss at a wedding in front of all their closest people, Karl would only fall harder. How would he live a life forever with Sapnap if the man he married didn’t love him back?

“No,” he said flatly.

Quackity furrowed his brow. “Why the fuck not?”

“He doesn’t even like guys. You know him, he’s all over the ladies.”

His friend scoffed. “What? You’re marrying him, not falling in love. It doesn’t matter if he kisses boys or not. Unless…”

“I don’t like him,” Karl said a little too quickly.

Quackity grinned like the Cheshire Cat. “How’d you know what I was going to say?”

“I don’t like him,” Karl repeated, the words sounded more of an affirmation to himself than anyone else.

“Okay,” Quackity agreed. “You don’t like him. Totally, yeah, I get it. But, hypothetically, if you did, he would probably like you too.”

Karl was frozen solid. He couldn’t allow himself to hope for something he knew would never happen; it would only break him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Quackity said, “that if Sapnap was to fall for any guy, it would be you.”

“I can’t just change Sapnap’s entire sexuality! He’s straight, Quackity.”

Karl was frustrated. He was frustrated at himself for even liking Sapnap in the first place. He was frustrated at Quackity for giving him false hope. And he was frustrated – although he hated himself for thinking this – at Sapnap for not liking him back. It was hardly the brunet’s fault since he didn’t even know Karl liked him in the first place, but even so, Karl wished more than anything that Sapnap liked him too.

“Well,” Quackity said, grinning like a madman. “Has he ever said that?”

“Said what?”

“That he’s straight.”

Karl was taken aback. Sure, maybe Sapnap had never formally expressed that he was one hundred percent straight, but he’d always been the type to flirt with girls at the bar. He always talked about how hot female celebrities were. He’d dated multiple girls. 

But honestly, Sapnap had never said anything about guys. He’d always flirted with Karl and the other guys as a joke. He’d appreciated male celebrities all the time (who doesn’t think Ryan Reynolds is hot?), and now that Karl thought about it, sometimes Sapnap seemed a little attached to certain male movie characters. That was all explainable, of course. None of it was any solid proof that he liked guys.

But it wasn’t proof that he was straight either.

“It wouldn’t work.”

Quackity rolled his eyes. “I bet you 20 bucks that it would.”

“First off,” Karl scoffed. “We are not betting about my possible marriage. Second off, I am worth so much more than 20 bucks!”

“Fine. 100.”

Karl laughed a little. Joking with Quackity always made him feel better. “I’m worth that much to you?”

Quackity smiled genuinely. “Yeah, you are. I’d really prefer if my best friend didn’t die, so I’m willing to bet so much money on this.”

Karl smiled. He was glad Quackity was there for him. “I’ll try.”

And so, Operation Get Sapnap To Fall in Love began. 

Karl didn't necessarily have a plan. Really, the only thing his plan consisted of was actually getting Sapnap to fall in love with him.

Which seemed sort of impossible.

But what Quackity had said to him gave him the smallest flicker of hope. Sapnap never really did specify his sexuality. Karl had assumed. For the first time in his life, Karl hoped he was wrong. 

Currently, he was sitting in the trio’s shared living room with a pencil and pad of paper. The paper was supposed to have a list of all the ways he could woo Sapnap. But so far, all it consisted of was the title: How to Marry a Sapnap Successfully.

Brainstorming was going great, if you couldn’t tell.

Karl really didn’t know what to do. How could he tell Sapnap he was in love without saying he was in love? 

He supposed he could try and show his feelings. Physical touch was his specialty, more specifically clinging onto his friends when they least wanted it, but physical touch no less. He just liked being around people, even if they weren’t talking. Overlapping thighs or pinkie holding during a movie was good enough for him.

Well, unless it was Sapnap.

Karl tried not to really touch or be affectionate with Sapnap all that much. Maybe if they were with Quackity, the three might be completely on top of each other as they watched a dumb sports game Sapnap put on, but that was different.

When Quackity wasn’t there, Karl was less touchy. He was scared that if anything – no matter how small – happened, he’d try and go for more. He yearned to be affectionate with Sapnap, but he didn’t trust himself to ever stop. 

Making Sapnap uncomfortable was the last thing he wanted to do. So, he kept his distance.

Now, hypothetically speaking, if he was to embrace Sapnap more, it might let the brunet in on his feelings. He could start small and work his way up. He had three months, after all.

So that night, while he and Sapnap watched some Netflix anime show while Quackity was working, he moved a little closer to the brunet next to him. Their thighs were an inch apart; Karl could feel the warmth coming off of his friend.

Sapnap, however, didn’t seem phased at all. His eyes were concentrated on the tv while his thumbs absentmindedly fiddled with each other.

Karl took that as a sign to close the distance, and suddenly their thighs were fully pressed against each other. Their shoulders were too, and Karl instantly felt warmer. 

But again, Sapnap didn’t say anything. 

Karl huffed and tentatively leaned his head against Sapnap’s shoulder. He was slow, cautious, but when he finally made contact, he was rewarded. 

Sapnap, surprisingly, lifted his arm up and around the brunet next to him. Strong arms wrapped around Karl’s shoulders, and he could barely think before letting out a satisfied hum. 

His head somehow wound up against Sapnap’s chest. 

Karl let his body finally relax into Sapnap’s. His weight was pushed against the other’s side as he exhaled a sigh of relief. This was okay. Sapnap wasn’t upset or uncomfortable about it, and Karl was in Sapnap’s arms.

Maybe the brunet wasn’t saying anything, maybe he was acting like they held each other like this all the time, but it was okay with Karl. He got to be in Sapnap’s hold while watching something random on tv. He could get used to it becoming an everyday thing.

But, he remembered, it wouldn’t be. If he didn’t get married to someone who loved him soon, he would be gone. There would be no more of this, and he would never be held in Sapnap’s arms again.

So, Karl thought, physical touch didn’t work.

He needed to find a way to make Sapnap realize he liked him more than just a friend.

He needed to clearly say I like you more than you know. 

And he knew exactly what to do.

There were five types of love languages: affirmation, service, gift giving, quality time, and physical touch (which didn’t go over too well before).

Karl knew in order to show Sapnap how much he cared – and to somehow make Sapnap fall in love with him as well – he needed to execute one of the other four.

If there was anything about Sapnap that he knew for certain, it was that he loved getting gifts. He loved Friendsgiving, absolutely adored his birthday, and don’t even get him started on Christmas. 

Karl fully realized that giving Sapnap a gift out of the blue might be a little weird. But buying something ‘just because’ was always sappy, so maybe this would finally get it through to Sapnap’s head that his roommate was in love with him. 

The only problem with gift giving was that Karl wasn’t historically great at it. Usually, his gifts tended to be on the homemade side. Making a heartfelt card to say everything he wanted to say was usually his go-to. Or, maybe he’d print out a picture and decorate the frame as well.

But doing that now as opposed to when he gave all his friends custom gifts on Christmas would be suspicious. Giving Sapnap a gift like that now (one that spilled his heart out of his chest) would be too much. Sure, he wanted Sapnap to know how he felt, but he didn’t want to brunet to think he was weird. 

So, he called up the best gift-giver he could think of, and it just so happened to be his neighbor, Dream. 

Dream was the most caring person he knew. When it came to their group of friends, Karl was 100% sure that Dream was the rock to hold them all together. He was a lover, and you could tell how much he loved just by seeing the way he looked at all his favorite people, especially George.

Karl knew Dream’s gifts were always the best. He was the most thoughtful out of all five, and somehow always knew what gift the person he was buying for most wanted. That’s why Karl called him up frantically at 11am the day after he cuddled with Sapnap on the sofa.

“What’s up?” said a sleepy voice at the other end of the line. 

Karl inhaled, exhaled. “Want to go shopping today?”

Dream cleared his throat. “Sure, why?”

Karl wasn’t an idiot. He knew that Dream was with George (why wouldn’t they be together? They’d slept in the same bed ever since the night of the wedding) and there was no way he’d tell George about the whole being in love with Sapnap thing. No. Way.

Now, Karl trusted George with his life. He always would. But if George knew about his crush, the brunet would hold it over his head for forever. The teasing would never stop, and Karl was already embarrassed about it enough.

“I’ll be outside your door in 10.” Karl hung up the phone before Dream could respond. 

Ten minutes later, Karl was pounding on Dream and George’s apartment. (He still refused to call them ‘The Davidsons’ because that would be too much of a reminder that his best friends were married and he wasn’t.)

To Karl’s surprise, George opened the door. He was wearing an oversized sweater that was definitely Dream’s and his hair looked all wavy, as if he’d just gotten up. “Hi Karl,” he grinned. “What are you planning on doing with Dream today?”

The thing about George was that he’s nosy. Ever since he’d gotten the perfect life with his longtime best friend and now husband, he’d been super into getting all his other friends to be married happily as well. It was a little annoying, but Karl knew George only meant it in a good way.

“Shopping,” he replied with a smile.

“Can I come?” George asked.

Karl almost laughed because he knew that if George came, not only would he tease Karl about Sapnap, but he’d also be all over Dream.

Karl was used to the two of them being clingy toward each other. It was just how they worked, and Karl could hardly feel angry about it. But today he needed Dream’s help with gifts (and also maybe, possibly for some advice) and he couldn’t have George distracting him.

“No,” Karl said simply. “I don’t feel like third wheeling.”

George pouted. “Are you really making me hang out with Sapnap? You know, he still talks about walking in on us the day our marriage was approved.”

Karl grinned. “I’m not making you do anything. Hang out with Quackity if you want – unless you two are bickering again.”

“We’re always bickering,” George hummed. “Besides, he has his stupid lawyer stuff all day today.”

Just as George finished his overdramatic monologue of all the reasons he should go with Karl today, Dream showed up and picked the brunet up from behind. “He said you’re not coming,” he reiterated before kissing George’s forehead.

Karl wanted to act disgusted about the PDA happening right in front of him, but he was too jealous to even think. Why couldn’t he have forehead kisses with Sapnap every morning? Why couldn’t Sapnap look at him the way Dream looked at George?

Dream rushed out of the door. Before closing it shut, he yelled, “Don’t mope around in bed all day!” He put his key in his pocket and clasped his hands together. “Alright. Let’s go.”

One cup of coffee later, and Karl was spilling his entire How to Marry a Sapnap plan. He bounced his leg as he recalled his lunch with Quackity, where Karl was told if Sapnap was to like a guy it would be him. He complained about his failed cuddling scheme, and took another inhale of coffee before saying, “He’s so thick sometimes! I mean, isn’t it obvious when someone starts to snuggle up to you, that they like you?”

Dream chuckled. “To be fair, I didn’t know George liked me until he told me–”

“I’m not doing that,” Karl said flatly.

“Besides,” Dream said with a smile, “You’re very touchy, Sapnap probably thinks it’s nothing new.”

Karl scoffed. He wanted to scream into a pillow. “I’m never that touchy if it’s him.”

Dream smiled sympathetically. He grabbed the iced coffee from Karl’s grasp and placed his hand there instead. “And what does any of this have to do with going shopping?”

“The five types of love languages,” Karl said as if it was obvious. Dream, however, didn’t seem to get it. “You don’t know the five love languages?” Dream shook his head. “Of course you don’t, no wonder you didn’t realize George liked you until your wedding. Really, you should know of all people – George said you always kissed him on the cheek and that’s like the highest form of physical affection you can show.”

Dream’s face tinted pink. “Whatever. Just tell me what they are, please?”

Karl rolled his eyes but relented anyway. “There’s physical touch – the obvious, touching the person you love as much as you can, just trying to show them you care. And quality time, which is sort of similar. It’s just spending with them, simply liking to be around them. Service is in there too – doing things for a person just because you love them. And words of affirmation, which is definitely a you thing. You know, telling the person you love how much you love them and how great they are all the time.”

Dream nodded distractedly when he said that. “George likes it when I call him pretty.”

Karl pointedly ignored Dream’s comment and moved on. “Last is gift giving, spending money on them to show how much you care. That’s why we’re here today.”

“Sapnap loves gifts,” Dream hummed.

“I know,” Karl agreed, “But you would know I’m not too great at buying gifts. You, on the other hand, somehow always get me what I want even when I don’t know what I want.”

“I have a knack for that.”

“Yes, so help me. You know it’s for a good cause.”

“True,” Dream agreed, face turning serious. “I’d prefer you not to die. And, by the way, I agree with Quackity.”

He got up and walked to the nearest sports shop, leaving Karl alone at the table of a cafe with his mouth wide open. Two of his friends had told him Sapnap could fall for him, and he didn’t know what to think of it.

He wanted to believe them, but if he did it would be devastating if Sapnap didn’t feel the same. He didn’t know if he’d be able to come back from it.

He shook his head with a sigh and followed Dream into the store.

Five shops later, they had finally found Sapnap the perfect gift. Dream had thought of it, and Karl agreed wholeheartedly. 

The past two weeks, Sapnap had been complaining about how his violin was out of tune. He’d replaced the strings, and it was still sounding shrill. To be fair, he’d had the instrument since he was a kid, so it was in desperate need of a replacement.

Dream picked up on that, because of course he did, and so, after failed attempts at the sports-loving aspect of their friend, they went toward the music aspect. 

At a small music store near the back of the mall, there was a beautiful hazel-colored violin. It was on sale, but even so it was still pricy. Dream gave Karl a couple of extra bucks so he could afford it (“It’s for a good cause,” he’d said). 

So they bought the violin and the case that came with it. The music store employees wrapped it up in a big gift bag and even sent a packet of new strings for when they needed to eventually be switched out. Karl beamed when he thought about how happy Sapnap would be with it. 

The brunet had been playing since he was a kid, and Karl hadn’t even known Sapnap before he started playing. He’d been in the city orchestra for as long as Karl could remember, and more recently he’d been sitting at First Chair. He always looked so proud, and whenever Karl went to watch, he played wonderfully. He sort of wished Sapnap would serenade him with his elegant violin music one day. 

“He’s gonna love it,” Dream said as they left the mall.

Karl sighed, “I sure hope he does.”

When they got back to the apartments, George was with Sapnap. They were sitting on the couch, playing Mario Kart on the old Wii. 

Karl and Dream had walked in the moment George won the Coconut Mall map, which was a bad idea because the brunet started shouting about how he was amazing and Sapnap was terrible so loudly that you could hear it all the way down the hall. 

He put down his controller the moment Dream walked in the door, and instead walked over to his husband. “Give me a victory kiss or I’m divorcing you,” he said.

Dream rolled his eyes but kissed him anyway. But the kiss soon turned longer and Karl felt so awkward about it that he had to walk away. He ended up on the couch next to Sapnap. 

“I wish someone gave me victory kisses,” Sapnap muttered loud enough for George to hear.

The brunet promptly disconnected his lips from Dream’s just to yell, “Losers don’t get kisses.”

“I guess I’ll have to win next time,” Sapnap said, looking directly at Karl.

He grinned a bit, and his eyes looked a little hooded. Karl’s breathing stopped for a moment because that was definitely flirting. He could hardly believe Sapnap cryptically suggested he wanted a victory kiss, and from Karl no less. It was so crazy that Karl convinced himself he was dreaming.

He coughed, sitting up straighter on the couch before getting up. He picked up the bag Dream had dropped on the floor when George started attacking him with his mouth and brought it over to the couch.

“I, um,” Karl said, holding out the bag for Sapnap to grab, “I bought you something.”

Sapnap looked suspicious as he took the bag, as if he thought the gift was a prank, but when he looked inside the bag his mouth gaped open. He pulled out the violin case. “You didn’t…”

“Open it,” Karl smiled nervously. What if Sapnap didn’t like it? What if he thought it was a big waste of money?

Sapnap smiled as he unhooked the clasps of the case. The lid opened, and when he saw the gorgeous violin, his eyes widened. “Karl!” he said in a voice that sounded like a mom scolding her kid. Karl knew he was too stunned to speak, though. Music was a huge part of Sapnap’s life.

“Do you like it?” Karl asked, finally sitting back down on the couch. 

Sapnap nodded, his mouth still open as if he wanted to say something. He smiled finally, and said, “I love it, Karl. Thank you.”

Karl wished the ‘it’ was replaced with a ‘you’, but he smiled back anyway. Karl would be okay with Sapnap never loving him the way he wanted as long as the brunet was happy. Even if he suffered, he wished more than anything for Sapnap to be okay.

Before he could breathe, Sapnap leaned forward and pulled him into a warm embrace.

The hug was nice. Karl always liked being in Sapnap’s arms, though, so he was kind of biased. The way Sapnap held him this time was more than usual. He felt like the brunet was trying to say the words he couldn’t with their hold. But then again, Karl was a hopeless romantic.

When they finally released each other, Karl was still warm. His head felt fuzzy and he wanted more than anything to hug Sapnap again.

George cleared his throat and chuckled a bit. “We’ll be going now.”

The couple snuck out into the hall quietly, leaving an awkward silence as they went. Karl got up immediately, dismissing himself to his room with the excuse of work, although both men knew Karl was off of work today. His video game company had given him the day off after they published their most recent game, so there wasn’t a single thing he needed to do until they began another project.

Sapnap nodded anyway, and took out his violin to tune.

When Karl heard graceful music coming from the living room later that night, he felt guilty. But not guilty enough to confess his feelings just yet.

A week passed, a week with beautiful music coating Karl’s ears every night, and the brunet realized his plan was going nowhere.

Physical touch was a bust, and clearly, gift-giving didn’t work either. He needed to show his feelings even more than he already was. Affirmation was his last resort, as was quality time (since being around Sapnap always made him even more in love), so Karl settled on doing acts of service.

While Sapnap was out one night, practicing for the orchestra and getting drinks with his musician friends afterward, Karl decided to clean the whole apartment. 

He cleaned his and Quackity’s room (ignoring Quackity’s complaints every time he touched the other’s shit), cleaned the living room and bathroom and kitchen, and finally moved on to Sapnap’s room.

Cleaning Sapnap’s room was difficult. He knew the brunet had nothing to hide and didn’t care when people touched his stuff (unlike Quackity). But if by some chance, he got mad, Karl didn’t want Sapnap to be upset with him.

He worried and worried before eventually cleaning up anyway. He made Sapnap’s bed, put some of his clothes away, and organized the tops of his dresser and nightstand a bit. He refused to organize the insides of his drawers, however. He deemed those things were too untouchable. 

Right when he finished cleaning up, on the dot, Sapnap unlocked the door and came in. He saw Karl walking out of the room. “What were you doing in my room?”

Karl smiled and chuckled nervously. “I was just cleaning up. You know, so you didn’t have to.”

Sapnap raised a brow. “You’ve been acting kind of weird lately, are you okay?”

The brunet nodded. “I’m good. Enjoy your room!”

Before he could walk away, Sapnap asked, “Did you go through my drawers by chance?”

The way he said it made him sound nervous. “No,” Karl said. “Did you want me to?”

Sapnap laughed – almost out of relief – and shook his head. “Nope, all good. Thanks, Karl.”

Karl made it into his room. In the mirror, he could see his blush. It was so stupid; Sapnap had barely even said anything and he was a mess. 

Quackity was laughing. “You’re so dumb. Just tell him you’re in love with him.”

Karl turned as red as a tomato. “Shut up, he might hear you. And no, definitely not.”

Quackity scoffed before going back to his work binder. Karl sat on his bed, head in his hands as he groaned. The plan wasn’t working, it would never work, and Karl was going to die.

He fell asleep that night with a sense of dread. 

Two months before he was supposed to die, Karl decided to use his last resort.

Affirmation (as in saying what he really means) and quality time (as in being around Sapnap all day) were not the easiest things for him to do. So, he called up the nicest person he knew.

“Tina?” Karl asked into his phone’s microphone. “Are you free today?”

He heard rustling around, and then, “Yeah? Sylvee’s out today, so you can come over if you’d like!” 

“Great,” Karl sang. “I’ll be over in fifteen.” 

He hung up on her before she could protest, his situation suddenly feeling similar to the day with Dream. He only hoped this day would end differently. 

When Karl reached Tina’s apartment, he heard more than one voice talking inside and started to get nervous. He really needed to tell Tina about his crush, and if someone else was there he didn’t know if he’d have the confidence to say anything.

But the door opened and Foolish ended up being the other voice he’d heard. He groaned and looked at Tina, “Why’s this nimrod here?”

Foolish chuckled, “My bad. Sorry for fixing Tina’s sink.”

“It is your bad,” Karl agreed, smiling a little. He realized he could tell Foolish about his whole debacle as well, as long as the brunet didn’t tell Punz (who was best friends with Sapnap).

Tina giggled and let Karl inside. “Foolish is our go-to repairman. You hung up before I could tell you he was visiting today.”

“Whoops,” Karl said, flopping himself down on the couch. “Guess I’m just stressed.”

“About what?” Foolish asked obliviously, earning himself a slap from Tina. “Oh.”

Karl sighed. “Today’s May 11th. What the hell am I supposed to do in two months?”

Tina took a seat next to Karl, while Foolish took the seat across. She placed a hand over Karl’s. “Well, do you have somebody that would marry you before then? A partner, or someone who’d marry you just because– like how Dream did with George?”

Karl shook his head. “Nope.”

Tina furrowed a brow. “I’d marry you Karl, but… yeah.” It was basically the same response Quackity had given him; he wondered if there was something they knew that he didn’t.

“And I’d marry you if it weren’t for, you know, Punz, ” Foolish said like a joke, but it seemed like he wasn’t joking.

“You guys are a thing now?” Tina asked dubiously.

Foolish shook his head just a little too much. “No, no, definitely not,” he chuckled nervously. “Just bros being bros.” Karl could almost swear he saw a tint of blush lacing Foolish’s cheeks, but he ignored it in favor of his friend’s ego

“What about Sapnap?” Tina asked. Karl’s head snapped her way at the mention of said Sapnap. Did she know how he felt? Could she tell how different he was around his roommate?

Karl tried to hide his panic. “What about him?”

“He would marry you.”

The brunet almost laughed. “No, he wouldn’t.” 

“Yes, he would,” Tina furrowed her brow. “You guys are best friends, he’d probably do anything to keep you alive. Unless…”

“Unless what?” Karl’s heart was beating excessively fast; he could practically hear his own pulse.

Tina grinned. “Unless you don’t want to marry him for another reason…”

Karl looked between Tina’s smiling face for a solid twenty seconds before answering. Her help was the reason he came here, after all. “Fine. Maybe I would only want to marry him if he liked me back.”

“You like Sapnap?” Foolish asked, flabbergasted. He was clearly behind in the conversation.

Tina, on the other hand, gasped. “I knew it! The way you looked at him during Dream and George’s wedding wasn’t exactly friendly.”

“He looks good in a suit!” Karl defended. 

Tina laughed. “Everybody looks good in a suit.”

“Like Punz,” Foolish added. The other two looked at him like he was an idiot.

Tina’s face turned serious. She gripped Karl’s hand a little harder, and smiled softly. “If you really like him, you need to tell him. Who knows if he feels the same? And on the chance he does, you guys could get married and live happily ever after and not die .”

Karl smiled back, cheeks flushing a little pink in embarrassment. “That’s why I asked to come over today. Tina, you’re the sweetest person ever, and you always know what to say. I need a lesson from you on giving compliments and saying what I really mean.”

Tina grinned. “I can help with that.”

And so they began Tina’s lessons in Telling your Truths.

Half an hour later, Karl was trying to speak his mind, using Foolish as a stand-in Sapnap. 

“I think… that over the years, our friendship has grown into something more .” 

Foolish completely broke the mood by laughing. “I’m sorry,” he said between chortles, “I just-”

Karl nodded in agreement. He sounded stupid. If he thought he could get Sapnap to like him by telling some sob story about how he’d probably liked him since the day we met (and then those feelings turned into love) he was an idiot.

Sapnap would probably laugh at him – just like Foolish – and he could hardly blame them because he was being completely ridiculous.

“I can’t do this, Tina.” Karl stood up abruptly, flinging his arms in a way even though he wasn't sure what he was doing. “I look like an idiot.”

She frowned sincerely. “If you can’t tell him how you feel, then maybe you can tell him what you think of him?”

“What?”

“Maybe,” Tina started, her eyes alight with an idea, “you can give him compliments, or observations about him to show how much you care.”

“Yeah, like saying ‘Hey Sapnap you look good today’ or ‘Gee Sapnap you are so good at playing violin!’,” Foolish added, voice mocking Karl’s in sincerity. 

Karl frowned. His friends were making sense, truly, but he felt like telling Sapnap he looked hot or was fantastic at violin (which he was, Karl had seen the guy’s hands) would completely give him away. But then again, he reminded himself, he wanted Sapnap to know how he felt. It was his last chance. 

“You’re, like, the king of compliments, Karl,” Tina voiced. “You compliment George and me all the time!”

(He did call George ‘hot’ quite a lot, to be fair.)

“I guess I do. Maybe complimenting Sapnap for a change won’t be that hard,” Karl agreed. 

He hugged Tina (and Foolish, reluctantly) before leaving for his apartment, a flicker of hope making itself known in his chest. Complimenting was easy, it was Karl’s thing.

Complimenting Sapnap was the hardest thing Karl had ever done.

He thought it would be simple to say a quick thing about Sapnap’s hair today, or how his hands looked fantastic when he strummed his violin. But no, as soon as he worked up the nerve to say something, his brain brought up another thing about how fantastic Sapnap was; it was like talking to Sapnap about one thing would make him ramble about everything else.

And that would be embarrassing. So he closed his mouth.

Hours later, when Quackity got home, Karl decided to join Sapnap in the living room. (Well, he didn’t necessarily make the decision, but Quackity kicked him out so he took it as an opportunity, obviously.)

Sapnap was sitting on the couch with his violin– the violin that he’d barely put down since he’d received it, strumming along to what sounded oddly similar to Love Story by Taylor Swift. 

Karl giggled a little before sitting down next to him. 

Sapnap stopped in his tracks. “Why’re you laughing?”

“You’re playing Taylor Swift,” Karl said simply. 

“Taylor Swift is iconic, thank you,” he chuckled and Karl felt himself swooning over the way Sapnap’s lips curved at the edges. He wanted Sapnap to smile at him like that someday, preferably at an altar. 

“But alright,” Sapnap conceded, “I’ll play something else if you’d like.”

The opening notes to an old-sounding song filled Karl’s ears. They were beautiful and slow, and Karl suddenly realized he loved listening to violin music simply because of Sapnap.

Only after the first couple of verses played did Karl realize what the song was. His lips parted at the realization because there was no way Sapnap was playing this Elvis song for him right now. Granted, he was playing it because Karl had made fun of Taylor Swift, but that didn’t matter to him. 

Sapnap’s eyes fluttered shut as his wrist flowed back and forth with the bow. His other hand’s fingers were running along his strings in a fluid motion, and it was all so beautiful that Karl had to take a deep breath. 

Karl liked to think that he could live like this forever: Sapnap playing love songs as he sat by and listened, completely enraptured in the music. He only hoped he could get his wish. 

When the final notes of Love me Tender played, Sapnap opened his eyes and smiled. It was a smile prettier than the music he played, and Karl sort of wanted to look at it forever.

“Did you like it?” he asked, and Karl almost had to laugh.

“Of course I liked it! Are you kidding me?” Karl yelped. “The song was just… and the notes, and the way you played… It was amazing! I wish I could play like you. That was so beautiful, Sapnap. You’re…”

He trailed off, realizing he was about to call Sapnap beautiful. It was true, but Sapnap had only shown him a piece of music, he wasn’t expecting Karl to call him pretty.

But Karl had to be going slowly insane because in the dim lighting of the living room, he could swear he saw Sapnap blushing. “Thanks,” the brunet said. “I didn’t know you liked Elvis that much.”

Nimrod, Karl wanted to say, I only like the song because you played it. 

Instead, he said, “It was really nice.”

Then, Sapnap did something unexpected. He reached over and grabbed Karl’s hand in his own. Literal chills went down Karl’s spine as they did, like the two men had caused a spark of electricity. He gulped and tried to focus on anything other than their linked hands.

When he looked up, Sapnap met his eye. The brunet was smiling softly, and he tightened his grip just the smallest amount as he said, “I’m glad you liked it.”

I like you, Karl was close to screaming. “Of course I did.”

The expression on Sapnap’s face was hard to read. It seemed like he wanted to say something more, but Karl wasn’t quite sure what. He held his breath as he tried to figure it out. 

Sapnap’s eyes were twinkling, Karl thought he could find the whole galaxy looking into those brown eyes. He noticed his lips were chapped, and then realized he was staring at Sapnap’s lips. He looked back up, and Sapnap was smiling. It was an award-winning smile, and in Karl’s mind, Sapnap deserved every honor to ever exist.

Karl found himself smiling as well. 

They were moving closer to each other, and Sapnap was looking at his lips, and Karl was super freaked out. He wanted to kiss Sapnap, to be with Sapnap, more than anything, but he wanted their relationship to be completely understood. 

He didn’t want to spontaneously kiss and then not talk about it later.

So, he pulled away.

Awkwardly, he coughed. His hands were no longer laced with Sapnap’s, his brow now furrowed in worry. “Um, I think I’m gonna go to bed.”

He didn’t wait for an answer, and got up quickly. Karl rushed out of the living room and closed his bedroom door behind him. He ignored Quackity and flopped onto the bed with a prolonged groan. “I fucked it all up,” he sighed into his pillow.

“Explain, please,” Quackity said. Karl heard him putting all his work things away.

“We almost kissed, and then I ran away.”

“Okay," Quackity hummed. "Why?”

“Because I want to know how he feels about me before we kiss.”

Quackity laughed. “I think the fact that you ‘almost kissed’ means he likes you. I don’t know why else he would’ve been leaning in.”

Karl pouted, although Qauckity couldn’t see. “He held my hand, too.”

His friend laughed again. “You’re a complete nimrod. But, if you want to talk about it before you kiss, I think this little situation gives you all the proof you need that he likes you. Don’t be stupid.”

Karl huffed and adjusted his position on the bed. Quackity was probably right, but he still had his doubts. Sapnap actually liking him back would be almost too big to process. It would be insane. 

He really hoped his friend was right, and vowed to tell Sapnap tomorrow. His brain was still unable to comprehend what had happened a few minutes ago, so saying something now would only stress him out.

Karl fell asleep that night dreaming of a perfect future with Sapnap, a future that suddenly didn’t seem so out of grasp. 

The next day Karl decided it was finally time to talk about his feelings. His five tries at love languages had hardly worked, and his absolute last try ended up with him and Sapnap almost kissing.

He finally realized that talking might just be easier than showing. 

So, with great reluctance, he made his way to Sapnap first thing in the morning.

He’d slept late – a result of an aggravatingly hard night of trying to hype himself up to confess – so by the time he grabbed his coffee, Sapnap was already in the living room, watching a cartoon off of Netflix.

With one last sip of his mug, he made his way over to the couch. His hands grabbed the edges of his sweater, gripping on for any last shred of confidence, before saying, “Want to go on a walk?”

Going on a walk in the city at 9 am wasn’t Karl’s ideal plan for confessing his love, but Quackity was in the apartment and if he overheard Karl’s heartfelt words, their lawyer friend would never let him live it down.

So here he was, walking down concrete sidewalks in between skyscrapers, with Sapnap. The air was cool, a perfect morning, and the sun was warm against Karl’s sweater. 

Somewhere along the way, Sapnap had linked their hands. Unlike the first time it had happened, Karl wasn’t freaked out. It felt natural the way their hands linked together, the way they swung synchronously side by side. His stomach was still fluttering, but his mind was calm. Maybe this was how he and Sapnap were supposed to be – friends that held hands, and almost kissed, sometimes.

He soon remembered the reason they had come on the walk in the first place. His chest grew tight. “Sap,” he said, squeezing the brunet’s hand a little tighter, “I have to tell you something.”

“Okay,” Sapnap said calmly, his face serene with the smallest inch of a smile on his lips. Karl hoped it wouldn’t change for the worse.

“Alright, well, just know that if you don’t think– feel – the same, we can pretend I never said this. And then nothing has to change and we can go back to the way it was before.”

Karl’s heart was thumping along the inside of his chest. His breathing was shallow, and he gasped when Sapnap squeezed his hand. The brunet nodded, urging Karl to continue.

He took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself down (which didn’t end up working anyway, but it was worth a try). “I, um,” he gulped, “I like you. Like like-like you. And I know you probably don’t feel the same, and that’s okay. But this was my last chance before my birthday, so I had to try it. And I-”

Sapnap ushered Karl to a nearby bench, and lightly pulled him down until they were both sitting. “Breathe. It’s not a big deal, Karl. I kind of assumed you already knew,” he said. The brunet almost looked nervous. 

Karl furrowed a brow. “Knew what?”

Blush tinted the brunet’s cheeks. “That I like you, too.”

“What?” Karl asked. His voice was an octave higher than usual, and his eyes were widened fully in surprise. He couldn’t believe what Sapnap said– there was no way he could possibly be telling the truth. How could someone like Sapnap like Karl? It was unreal.

The brunet chuckled. “Uh, well, maybe two months or so ago, I realized I liked you more than a friend, and I wrote about it in my songbook. Quackity sort of found it, and he took a picture of it and said he was going to show it to you if I didn’t tell you myself. And, well, obviously I didn’t tell you because I was too scared– I was working up the nerve though– so I just assumed he showed you. That’s why I didn’t say anything the night you started cuddling me; I didn’t want to mess anything up.”

Karl blinked, and blinked again. He squinted his eyes and tried to determine whether Sapnap was lying or not, whether this was all just a ploy of Quackity’s (who, Karl was going to murder, by the way) or a hallucination.

But Sapnap was smiling nervously, and they were holding hands, and Karl really wanted this to be real. “You like me?”

Sapnap nodded. “Wasn’t that obvious?”

“No,” Karl said, voice astonished at what Sapnap was admitting to. “It was not obvious. It was incredibly unclear, and I had absolutely no idea that you liked me back until now.” 

He let out a relieved sigh. This was real. This was happening. Sapnap liked Karl, too.

“Oh,” the brunet mumbled. “Well, now you know.”

At that, Karl had to smile. He was in love, and the man he loved liked him back, and he suddenly felt lightheaded. It was so much all at once, and Karl… well, Karl loved it.

Sapnap was looking at Karl as if the entire galaxy was in his eyes, like he was analyzing every inch of the universe simply by looking at Karl’s face. He gulped, leaned in the slightest bit, and asked, “Can we kiss now?”

Karl was flabbergasted. Yes, he realized Sapnap liked him back, and that when two people like each other they tended to kiss each other. But he wasn’t expecting that right now. His brain was still fuzzy, and he could hardly even think about anything that wasn’t the man next to him. There was no way he could survive a kiss at the moment.

“Take me out on a date first,” he said, trying to sound as nonchalant as he could. Then, with a pounding heart, he leaned in and kissed Sapnap on the cheek. 

It was short, and his lips barely even brushed Sapnap’s skin, but the brunet blushed regardless. Karl ended up flushing pink as well.

They ended up walking home together, hands held together as giggles escaped their lips.

It was more perfect than Karl could’ve ever imagined.

The next day, Karl was getting himself ready for his first official date with Sapnap. 

After the brunet’s morning orchestra rehearsal, they were planning on going out to lunch at an expensive restaurant downtown. Karl knew they’d agreed on casual formal, but he wanted to look his best for his new boyfriend(?). 

The day before, after their walk in the park, they’d spent every second together. Either watching an anime show and holding each other in silence, or simply talking about random moments. Karl loved it so much that he’d forgotten his birthday was in a little under two months.

Regardless, he invited Tina over to help him get ready. His go-to outfit was a comfy sweater, but there was no way he could wear it on a date. 

She’d picked out some khakis and a pink blouse with strawberries dotting the arms and middle. It looked a little too nice for a small lunch, but Tina convinced him it was worth it. She had a way of making Karl do everything she wanted.

Quackity had ignored him the night before, which was good since Karl wanted to murder the guy for manipulating him. Quackity was evil, and he knew it.

But now, he strolled in as Tina was curling Karl’s lashes as if he wasn’t being a complete asshole the night before. “Hi, beautiful,” he said, directed at Tina. 

She rolled her eyes. “Hey, Q.”

His eyes met Karl’s. “Good luck on your date.”

“I’m not speaking to you, Mr. Manipulator,” Karl said, half joking. He was still mad about his friend not directly telling him that their other friend liked him. But he did understand why Quackity had done it. His methods ended up working in the end. 

Quackity huffed. “You’re welcome.”

He grabbed his bag of lawyer stuff and left the room with a grin.

“Nimrod,” Karl muttered. Tina simply laughed and finished his eyelashes.

When Sapnap got home, he was wearing a tux. Apparently, his practice this morning was a dress-coded run though for his performance that night. Karl was planning on going, but they had a lunch date to go to first.

When Sapnap saw how Karl was dressed– in the pretty pink blouse Tina had picked out– his breath hitched. “You look great,” he said, almost breathlessly as he set down his violin. 

The brunet took off his suit jacket and adjusted his tie before Karl found the words to say anything. “You, uh,” he tried, unable to make his brain conjugate words. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

Sapnap smiled and offered out his hand to Karl. “Shall we head to our date then?”

Karl giggled and linked their hands.

Twenty minutes later they were walking into a fancy restaurant hand in hand. Karl thought the moment was surreal; how could this actually be happening to him? 

His smile was wide while they were seated.

The whole date was dreamlike. They talked and laughed and joked and it was all so normal that it barely felt like a date at all – aside from the holding hands and longing stares parts. It was Karl and Sapnap, it was simply them. Who cared about labels? (Well, okay, Karl cared a little about labels, but he was having fun now and that’s all that mattered.)

After their lunch, the pair had decided to get ice cream at a shop across the street. It was small and quaint, and Karl adored every inch of it. 

Sapnap ordered a vanilla cone (Karl had called him bland) and when Karl was debating on what to get, the brunet had stepped in, saying, “Look what you’re wearing! It’s like, practically required for you to get strawberry.”

Karl obliged and they ended up sitting at a rusty brown table under a flimsy umbrella. Karl didn’t even notice because he was too busy watching Sapnap bite his vanilla ice cream like a madman. It was disgusting, and yet Karl couldn’t tear his eyes away.

He licked his ice cream like a normal person, still trying to convince himself that he was truly on a date with Sapnap. An ice cream date in the middle of town with people buzzing all around them, and the only thing in Karl’s mind was a man who didn’t know how to properly eat ice cream. He was whipped, and only slightly embarrassed about it.

When Karl finished his cone, Sapnap was staring at him, more specifically what looked like a spot on his cheek. “You uh, you have some leftover ice cream,” Sapnap said, grinning.

Karl went to wipe it, but Sapnap stopped his arm halfway. He reached a thumb up and gently swiped a dot of ice cream away from Karl’s cheeks. It was short, brisk, but in the aftermath, his hand was still holding Karl’s face. 

Sapnap pulled his chair closer, and swiped his thumb along Karl’s cheek again. “So,” he grinned, “About that kiss?”

Karl thought it was unfair how calm and normal Sapnap was being about all of this. Why was he completely relaxed while Karl was slowly going insane? The brunet cradling his face was almost too much. Sapnap’s hands were soft, and his eyes looked lovestruck. 

Karl huffed out a breath and shook his head, heart beating so loudly he could hardly hear anything else. “Nimrod,” he muttered. “Fine.”

“Fine?” Sapnap asked wickedly. “I just won’t kiss you, then.”

Karl pouted. “No, I didn’t mean it.” Sapnap grinned again. The effect he had on Karl was too powerful; Karl would probably do anything Sapnap asked in a heartbeat. “Please?”

And just like that Sapnap leaned in. His fingers curled in the hair at the nape of Karl’s neck, and his lips pressed against Karl’s gently. It barely qualified as a kiss, but fireworks made themselves known in Karl’s chest anyway. A fire roared throughout his entire body, and it was all because of Sapnap.

The brunet pulled away too soon, so Karl found himself reaching a hand out to bring Sapnap back in close. He felt his warm breath for a moment before their lips connected once more. Kissing Sapnap made Karl feel as if all the stars in the galaxy were finally lining up. He’d once said he’d seen the universe in Sapnap’s eyes, but now he realized he could feel it like this. Kissing Sapnap made him feel like the sun and moon had reached harmony, like they were together in the best possible form of an eclipse.

It was so much all at once, but Karl couldn’t have been happier.

When they pulled away, Karl felt like his heart was going to burst. He’d kissed Sapnap. His best friend, roommate, and now something more. It was everything he’d wanted, besides the marriage part (but he could wait a little while for that) and he was so happy he could’ve cried.

When they walked back to the apartment hours later, Karl was giddy with every step they took. He was excited for what was to come.

The next couple of weeks were amazing.

Karl and Sapnap were great. They were kissing, and holding hands, and holding each other, and now Karl was Sapnap’s boyfriend. They went on dates and laughed and ganged up on Quackity together, and Karl was so in love his heart felt like it could burst at any second.

But his birthday was in almost a month. And they hadn’t discussed any plans on getting married. 

Karl knew he shouldn’t want more. They were happy and dating and it was incredible. But every time he and Sapnap touched, a voice inside of his head scolded him that their relationship wasn’t going to last. How would it last if Karl was in line for a clean-cut death in a month? 

A month was hardly enough time to plan the big, beautiful wedding Karl wanted. Sure, Dream and George had planned theirs in two weeks, but their wedding was a simple court wedding– Karl wanted the whole shebang, he wanted everyone he knew to be there for him. 

Which clearly wouldn’t be happening. 

He was at a low point, and sometimes when Karl was at a low point, he got suspicious.

Naturally, he knew that snooping around Sapnap’s things while the latter was at an orchestra practice was wrong. It was completely wrong, very wrong, bad. But he was tempted.

The day he’d cleaned Sapnap’s room, the brunet had been weird about Karl going through his dresser and nightstand. It could’ve been coincidence, but Karl knew Sapnap well enough to know that he was being suspicious. Karl had pointedly ignored it that day and moved on, but now he was curious.

What was his boyfriend hiding? Was it perhaps a journal indicating he’s only dating Karl out of pity? Was he secretly in love with someone else?

It was terrible thinking, but Karl was desperate. He needed to know if the man he loved, loved him back. (About a week ago, Karl had bought a ring for Sapnap– a braided silver ring that would look perfect on Sapnap’s fingers while he strummed his violin. But Karl had been too scared to actually propose. He’d waited so long to have Sapnap to himself, and now he was having doubts. It was cruel the way his mind worked.)

So, he opened the brunet’s top drawer of his nightstand and gasped. Sitting there, on top of a stack of music sheets, was a small black box. It was wrapped in a silver bow, and if it was what Karl thought it was, then…

Why would Sapnap be hiding this special box even before he and Karl were dating? It didn’t add up, there had to be another reason. Another person? Was he only with Karl out of pity? Would he marry someone else once Karl was gone?

Sapnap wasn’t like that, Karl tried to tell himself, and yet, he found himself questioning their entire relationship. He could hardly believe it was all real in the first place, and now he realized their relationship might not have been.

He decided on waiting until Sapnap got home. So, with a rapid heart and a pit in his stomach, Karl sat down on the couch.

When Sapnap came back over an hour later, Karl was still on their couch, turning the ring box over in his hands. The brunet walked in, set his violin down on the table, and smiled. Only then, did he see Karl, a little teary-eyed, with the box in hand. His face turned serious, and worried. “Where did you find that?”

Karl met his eye finally and looked up. “Who's this for?” His voice was small, perhaps a little broken.

Sapnap frowned. “For you. Who else would it be for?”

“It was there before we were dating,” Karl said simply, as if that would be an explanation as to why he was upset. His brain was barely even computing the fact that Sapnap had said the ring was for him.

“Okay,” Sapnap said, voice dripping in vexation. “I told you I’d liked you for like 2 months before we started dating. I knew I liked you and I knew your twenty-fifth birthday was soon. So, obviously, I planned on-”

“You only want to marry me because I’m dying?” Karl cut Sapnap off before he could continue.

The brunet scoffed. “No, did you not hear any of what I just said?” 

“You said you knew my birthday was coming up, and you wanted to marry me because of that.” Karl said. He was practically mumbling by now, tears were sprouting at the edges of his eyes, and his entire body felt numb. He knew he wasn’t making any sense, but his stupid brain could never allow him to believe he could have good things.

Sapnap looked furious. “I want to marry you because I l-, because I love you Karl.”

Karl broke out into tears at that. Sapnap loved him. Sapnap wanted to marry him, even before they were together. He loved Karl before they were together. 

He was an idiot to ever doubt his boyfriend’s honesty; he felt horrible.

Sapnap dipped down and hugged him. “It’s okay, baby. I’m here.”

“‘M sorry,” Karl whimpered into the brunet’s newly tear-stained chest. His hands clenched down harder onto the fabric of Sapnap’s hoodie. “Love you too.”

Sapnap kissed the top of Karl’s head. “Yeah?”

“Mmhm,” the brunet whispered, “Bought you a ring too.” 

Sapnap went silent for a moment before tightening his grip on the brunet in his arms. He kissed Karl’s forehead, nose, and cheek before leading the other to bed. There, they held each other until the sun rose the next day, unspoken promises of talking about it in the upcoming morning making themselves known in the empty space.

In the morning, Karl was embarrassed.

He’d cried in front of Sapnap, accused Sapnap of terrible things, and didn’t trust him enough to know the brunet would never betray him like that. Karl was a horrible boyfriend, or, at least, he felt like one.

Waking up in Sapnap’s arms made him feel guilty. He felt like he didn’t deserve it, like the absolute last place he should’ve been was his boyfriend’s arms.

God, did Sapnap even want to date him anymore? To marry him? He was so caught up in his head that he forgot what the brunet had even said in the first place: I want to marry you because I love you. 

A muffled mumble came from behind Karl’s back. “Mornin’.”

Karl curled into himself. He didn’t deserve Sapnap’s morning voice, the low rumble that came from his boyfriend’s chest. It was too perfect for him, too serene. 

“What’s wrong?” Sapnap whispered, placing a kiss at the back of Karl’s neck. 

Karl flipped around, shuffling until he faced Sapnap. His eyes were glossy when he spoke, “Do you hate me?”

Sapnap’s lips parted before frowning. “Of course I don’t hate you. I said I loved you last night.”

“But I went through your stuff. I-” he looked down, “You shouldn’t trust me anymore.”

“Karl,” Sapnap said, linking his hand with the brunet’s under the sheets, “I get it. You were scared of dying, and I was being a nimrod– taking my time to propose to you when I knew you wanted a huge wedding. You should be mad at me .”

“I could never be mad at you,” Karl said finally, honestly. It was the truest thing he’d ever said.

Sapnap leaned forward slowly, dipping in to kiss the brunet’s brow. His lips were placed for a moment too long, seeming like a silent thanks, a gratefulness he was too shy to say.

For once, Karl didn’t feel guilt. He deserved this. He deserved Sapnap’s love.

They were okay now. They were in love with each other, and they were probably getting married soon, and Karl was going to live his happily ever after alongside his best friend (read: soulmate). 

“Wanna go on a date later? A proper one– like, a nice restaurant with rich people and formal suits?” Sapnap asked, chuckling. “I think we both have some things to propose.”

Karl’s heart warmed at the words. He smiled giddily and nodded his head.

For now, however, he allowed himself to fall back asleep in the arms of the man he loved.

(Who just so happened to love him back.)

Later that night, dressed in elegant formalwear, the couple made their way to a fancy dinner. A dinner similar to their first date, but this time Karl was absolutely positive of Sapnap’s love. 

He was giddy as they walked side by side, positively carefree as Sapnap’s hand was linked with his own. They were sitting at a table for two, and when the waiter asked if they would like the “Couple’s Special”, Karl’s heart soared.

In his coat pocket, held right above his heart, was the ring he’d bought for Sapnap. The ring that he’d use when he proposed today. Karl was going to propose to Sapnap. And Sapnap was going to propose to him. It felt surreal.

They ended up ordering the Couples Special in the end; a huge steak with baked potatoes on the side. Sapnap looked delighted, so Karl was happy too.

They ate, and laughed while people-watching, and when their plates were cleared, Karl was practically bouncing in his seat. He was in love, who could blame him?

“You look excited,” Sapnap commented with a smile.

Karl smiled wider. “I’m not.”

Sapnap hummed in disbelief. “Should we give the people here a show?”

“Mmhm,” Karl nodded. “What are you doing, then? Get down on one knee.” He giggled out of nerves, but also simply because he was happy. He was happy, and in love, and Sapnap was about to propose to him. 

The brunet rolled his eyes fondly and stood up. He brushed off the front of his suit, clearing his throat as he flattened it down.

He slowly knelt down, and when he looked up with a grin, Karl’s heart stopped.  

“Karl,” Sapnap said, opening up the box holding the ring, “I’ve loved you for much longer than I realized. I love your laugh, your smile, you. You’re the best thing to ever happen to me. So, Karl Jacobs, will you do me the honor of being my husband?”

Immediately, Karl yelped, “Yes!” He put a hand over his mouth afterward, embarrassed to be looked at by so many people. But then they started clapping. People around the restaurant, other couples, were clapping for Karl and Sapnap. 

Karl released his hand and smiled, instead holding it outward for his fiance to place a ring on. 

The ring was beautiful (Karl realized he’d never even opened the box on the night of his freak out, and looking at it now was completely monumental). It was a silver ring, similar to the one he’d bought for Sapnap, but instead of the ring being braided, it was weaved around small silver carats in a way that looked captivating.

It fit his finger perfectly, and he had to resist the urge to kiss the man in front of him. Instead, he knelt down as well, ushering for Sapnap to get back up. 

When the brunet finally got up, he looked at Karl with an expression of complete love. Karl could only stare, and smile idiotically, as he bought out his newest buy. 

“Sapnap,” he said sweetly, “I’ve loved you since the day we met. I love your smile, and the way you care so much about music. Every moment with you is amazing… Will you do me the honor of being my husband, too?”

The brunet smiled and held out his hand. He looked too stunned to speak, and Karl felt proud that something he’d done had rendered Sapnap of all people, speechless. He smiled and placed the braided ring onto Sapnap’s ring finger. It looked perfect, just as Karl had thought it would. 

“Come here, nimrod,” Sapnap mumbled, tugging Karl up by the cuff of his shirt. 

Their eyes met, and instantaneously, Sapnap moved in.

He kissed Karl softly. He kissed Karl lovingly. Sapnap kissed Karl like he was his last dying breath. Like they needed each other to survive. Which, to the both of them, they did. 

So much was said in the kiss, so much passion showed through the flow of lips rather than the words in their heads. It was sublime, it was everything Karl ever wanted: to love Sapnap, and know the brunet loved him too.

When they disconnected, Karl was ecstatic. 

They went home that night with clasped hands, and love floating in the air around them.

The next day was incredible.

In the living room of their small apartment, papers lined the table and floors. Lists of people to invite, places to contact, flower shops, bakeries, basically every single place they could think of were there. 

Quackity had been helping them originally, but rushed away after they were being too ‘couple-y’. He went off to Tina’s, or maybe Foolish’s, but definitely not to Dream and George’s apartment– those two were annoyingly obsessed with each other lately, and Quackity was tired of it.

So, Karl and Sapnap sat together in the living room, laughing as they added names to their wedding invitees. They ordered a cake and flowers, made arrangements for a reception place, and hired a band (moreso orchestra) to perform. 

The wedding was in two weeks, roughly a week and a half before Karl’s birthday, and their planning was going perfectly. The only other thing they really needed were suits. They had suits, sure, but not ones elegant enough for a wedding. So, they copied Dream and George, deciding to rent some from a nearby formal shop.

It was hot when they arrived. 

Karl was sweating in his sweater, which seeing as it was summer, he regretted it deeply. They rushed inside, immediately cooled by the AC, and took inventory of the shop in front of them.

Gorgeous dresses lined the walls and racks. Karl briefly wondered what it would be like to wear one before deciding he simply wanted to match with Sapnap. They looked through countless tuxedos before finally deciding on a black pair with matching orange and purple ties.

The suits were made to fit the two men. One was leaner, lengthier to fit Karl’s taller body (with a pretty magenta tie to match), and the other was broader, perfectly fitting Sapnap’s muscled shoulders. They tried both on, and immediately fell in love.

As Karl looked at the two of them in a mirror, he realized that this was what they’d be wearing when they were married in front of the people they loved. When they celebrated with their friends and family. He was getting married to the man of his dreams in this outfit.

When they successfully rented the tuxedos and brought them home, Karl made sure to place extra care on his. He hung it up in his closet, sealed in a bag, to make sure it was perfect for their big day. 

It had to be perfect.

The day of his wedding, Karl was nervous.

Not so much about his and Sapnap’s relationship anymore (they were doing fantastic recently- so many dates had happened as well as an absurd amount of kissing), but more that something unexpectedly bad would happen. 

He woke up at 7 am, leaving Sapnap alone in their bed (they’d been sleeping together in Sapnap’s room ever since their proposals) in favor of cleaning the entire house. When he finished cleaning, he made coffee and an entire breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. 

There was extra, and Karl debated waking up Sapnap to give him the rest before realizing it was bad luck to see your groom before the big day. He left some in a container in the fridge, wrote a note, and grabbed his suit.

He arrived at George’s house at eight in the morning.

Which, the brunet wasn’t too happy about. He opened the door with a sigh and asked, “What do you want?” 

Karl smiled and let himself inside. “Dream,” he said, looking into their dark bedroom, “Go wake up Sapnap and force him to get ready for me, please?”

A groan escaped from the room before Dream came stumbling out. He was shirtless, and if Karl wasn’t completely in love with Sapnap, it might have phased him. The shirtless effect, however, seemed to be working pretty well on George.

“Karl, it’s 9 am,” Dream said with a tired sigh. He looked at George, “Stop staring, you’re embarrassing yourself.”

Karl grinned at George’s flustered expression before closing the door behind him. “Well, it’s my wedding day, and I need to get ready.”

“You’re getting married at two,” the blonde said flatly.

George tossed Dream a Sooners shirt and pushed him out the door. “Go help Surpnurp. You know he has no sense of style, he’ll suffer without you.”

The blond pushed back. “Fine, but I’m bringing my stuff too.” He raced to his room to pull out the suit he’d rented for the occasion– similar to his wedding attire, but not as elegant (there was still a green tie to go along, however). He headed out the door, “See you later, idiot.”

Before George could respond, the door was slammed in his face. He pouted, “Thanks for scaring my husband away.” 

Karl grinned. “It’s worth it. Now, help me get ready.”

An hour later, the apartment door was being knocked so loudly that the whole complex could probably hear it. Karl saw George unlock it, and in stepped Quackity and Tina. 

Karl had barely even gotten ready since George had insisted upon playing Mario Kart (and who was Karl to turn down such an amazing offer?).

“Tina,” George said funnily. He turned to the other, his voice much more annoyed, “Quackity.”

The pair let themselves inside and George sighed. He looked between Karl and Quackity, “You two aren’t forcing me into wearing eyeliner again are you?”

Karl giggled. “Maybe. It’s my wedding after all, you’re required to do what I say, basically.”

“Maybe you should wear eyeliner, Karl,” Tina suggested.

He hummed at the suggestion. Sapnap would probably like it, and Karl definitely loved wearing eyeliner, but he could never get it to look right on himself. However, Tina could probably make him look like a superstar. “Maybe I should.”

Two hours later, Karl was dressed in his tux. His hair was made perfect by Tina, and his eyeliner looked downright fantastic. George and Quackity were of no help the entire time, instead playing Wii Sports against each other. Quackity was suspiciously good at bowling.

The groom looked good, but everyone else was basically still in pajamas, so Karl relaxed on the couch while he waited for the others to get ready.

The time came to leave, so at 1:30 pm, Karl and his friends left for the court house. 

His stomach was turning over itself every five seconds. He was nervous, this was his wedding. There was nothing he wanted more than to be married to Sapnap, and yet the nerves came from making the whole occasion spectacular. Everything had to be perfect . 

They entered the town hall and immediately saw Foolish and Punz near the door. They waved hellos before ushering Karl in the opposite way of where he’d planned to go. “Sapnap’s over there with Dream,” Punz said easily.

Karl followed them the other way while George, pointedly, walked toward the other two men. 

During the ceremony, they were planning on walking in at the same time (two equal grooms, unlike what George had made Dream do) from opposite sides of the room. The clock was ticking down, and Karl found himself standing outside his door. 

His parents were probably supposed to be walking him in, but they’d pushed him out of the house when they found out he liked guys. He suspected they wouldn’t be showing up the way George’s mom had before. But it was okay because he had his friends by his side. Sapnap’s parents were there as well, and Dream’s mom had even said she’d be there for Karl if he needed. All their love and support was more than enough.

“Ready to go?” Tina asked from his side. 

Karl nodded, and in they walked, arm in arm. His head was tilted down out of nerves, but when the crowd cheered, he finally looked up.

Standing across from him was Sapnap, dressed in their elegant matching suits. He looked stunning, and Karl had to catch his breath before moving forward. How was this the man he was marrying? This perfect, handsome, beautiful man was his.

Sapnap smiled, and Karl’s heart left his chest. 

The music playing from the speakers was that of an orchestra, it was the beautiful stringing of a violin; it was Sapnap’s version of fucking Love Story. Karl was walking down the aisle to the sound of his future husband playing a Taylor Swift song, and it couldn’t have been more perfect.

When they reached the altar, the brunet said, “Hey, handsome.”

Karl smiled wide, blushing as he muttered, “Hey, baby.”

The brunet hardly even noticed the rest of the room. He didn’t see the elegant marital decorations, or the aromatic flowers, because the only thing he was focused on was Sapnap. 

The room suddenly became quiet, and an officiant walked up to the platform, “Welcome, everyone,” they said. “We are gathered today to join Karl and Sapnap in matrimony. They’ve applied and been cleared to marry, and our courtroom is here to ensure that there’s no funny business.”

Karl giggled to himself, knowing that this time there wasn’t any ‘funny business’. Unlike Dream and George, he and Sapnap knew they were head over heels for each other.

The officiant eyed him uneasily before continuing, “What you promise each other today cannot be treated lightly, these are made to last a lifetime. Since you’ve decided to spend your lives together, promise each other these things…”

They trailed off and looked Sapnap directly in the eye. “Sapnap, do you take Karl to be your partner, and live together in matrimony? Do you promise to love, honor, and comfort him in sickness and in health?”

Sapnap grinned. “I do.”

They turned to Karl next, reading off the same questions. “I do,” he replied, believing his words wholeheartedly. Every nerve he’d felt earlier, every anxious thought he’d had about the wedding being perfect, was gone now. He was happy, grateful that he got to have this moment with his soon-to-be husband.

“If you have rings, please bring them out,” said the officiant.

Karl pulled out the braided ring and flushed when he heard whooping from the crowd. Dream was whistling like an idiot, and George was trying to shut him up with no avail. 

Sapnap laughed at them, and Karl found himself smiling idiotically while looking between his best friends and basically-husband. 

The officiant cleared their throat. “The rings symbolize the union of two partners today, tomorrow, and always. Wear it as a reminder of the love and trust you have for each other.” They paused, seemingly glaring at the couple in front row. 

Dream and George stopped all movement after that.

“By the power invested in me,” they said. “I now pronounce you husband and husband.”

Finally, finally, Karl was bonded to Sapnap forever. He wasn’t dying, and neither was Sapnap. They were in love, and alive, and married, and-

“You may now kiss your husband.”

The kiss was sweet. It was short, and light, but that was probably because Karl was crying.

Sapnap had to bring a thumb up just to wipe away some stray tears. He cupped his husband’s face delicately and smiled benignly before leaning in again.

Their small crowd was cheering, but Karl could’ve cared less when Sapnap’s lips were on his. They were kissing at a wedding, they were husbands. He could barely wrap his head around it. 

Eventually, Dream and George ripped them apart rudely, and forced them to acknowledge the others in the room. They were met with hugs, and cheek kisses, and Karl was so cheery he didn’t even care that his family wasn’t there. These people were his family, and he’d create a new life with them, with his new husband. 

He walked to the banquet hall with Sapnap’s hand in his, a thousand unsaid promises seeping through their fingers.

The wedding reception was a lot, to say the least. 

So many people were there to congratulate the newly wedded couple. The music was loud, the food was delicious, and the flowers were stunning.

Karl never wanted it to end.

He danced with Dream, and then George, and Quackity, Tina, and even Foolish.

There were rager songs, and slow songs (where he wanted to dance with Sapnap for, but his friends made him wait until after the cake was cut). Karl jumped and pumped his fist and danced much too close to Foolish for his own comfort. 

Finally, Quackity left his side for Tina’s and he was standing in front of his husband. Sapnap was smiling wide, and Karl would have kissed him if the beat of the song was slower. 

They swayed together slowly anyway, completely ignoring the music encompassing the area. When it came time for an actual slow song, Karl was shocked to hear Elvis flowing through the speakers. It was the same violin tune he’d heard all those weeks ago in their living room. 

Sapnap had recorded himself playing two songs for their wedding day, all for Karl. The brunet felt special, more special than anyone had made him feel in a long time. 

“You’re a nimrod,” he whispered, laughing into Sapnap’s shoulder.

The brunet laughed too. “You love it.”

Karl did love it. He loved the music, and the wedding, and Sapnap. “Yeah,” he said honestly, looking up at Sapnap with adoration, “yeah, I do.”

And just like that the world stopped spinning. Everyone else froze, and the only thing Karl could see was Sapnap (although, how different was this than the usual?). He was dancing. With his husband. And best friend. And soulmate. And Karl was more than content when the brunet leaned in to connect their lips in a sweet kiss.

He was floating, drifting. Nothing was real besides the feeling of Sapnap’s lips on his. Nothing mattered besides the gentle way they held each other, the way Karl’s hand curled into the hair at the nape of Sapnap’s neck, the way Sapnap’s thumb rubbed circles along the other’s cheek.

It was perfect, and real, and Karl thought he could spend the rest of forever this way. 

The rest of the reception was full of fun. 

Karl’s family didn’t end up coming, but Sapnap’s mom danced with him in their absence and whispered about how happy she was that Karl was married to her son. He watched his friends have a good time (Foolish and Punz were oddly close, as were Tina and Quackity), and kissed Sapnap a lot.

The night was gorgeous. It was fantastic. It was everything. 

Karl felt as if he’d never been happier.

The next day was spent lazily.

The newlyweds spent the whole day in their new room (Sapnap’s room that Karl had newly moved into– Quackity was more than happy to have a room to himself, finally). They watched more Studio Ghibli films than they could count, and although they were hardly watching them– too absorbed in each other to truly pay attention– they enjoyed it nonetheless. 

The day was slow and simple. Well, it was until Sapnap excused himself from their room and stayed in the bathroom for well over ten minutes. Karl wondered if he were sick, if maybe the food and drinks from last night had taken a toll on the brunet.

However, when Sapnap walked back out, he was dressed in the suit from yesterday. It was a little wrinkled from the party, but Sapnap looked great in it regardless. Karl’s mouth gaped open, at a loss of words yet again at the thought that this was his husband.

The brunet laughed at him. “Come on, get ready. I have somewhere to take you.”

Karl furrowed a brow. “Where?”

“It’s a surprise,” Sapnap grinned. He pulled Karl off the bed at that, shoving him into their shared bathroom with a chuckle. A glint of secrecy was showing in his eye, and Karl wanted more than anything to know what he was planning. 

Five minutes later, Karl was barreling out of the bathroom and walking down to Sapnap’s car with pep in his step. Sapnap had said they needed to hurry, that wherever they were going was starting soon. It was almost seven pm. What the hell started at 7 pm?

The orchestra started at 7 pm, apparently.

Sapnap’s orchestra, where he was First Chair, started at 7 pm. Karl was an idiot for not connecting the dots. 

Sapnap ushered him to the front row when they got in. Front row, with a seat that was only a couple of feet away from First Chair. 

The brunet sat him down, kissed his cheek, and mumbled, “Enjoy the show” before running away to the stage. 

When he reached his seat, he began tuning his violin quietly. He looked focused, fully involved in the music, and Karl found it admirable. He wished he cared about something as much as Sapnap did about the violin, but when Karl thought of things he loved, things he cherished, the only thing in his mind was Sapnap.

He shook off that thought as the show began, not looking anywhere besides Sapnap throughout its entirety. 

Halfway through the beautiful show, Karl was caught off guard. He was enjoying the peaceful, calming orchestral music — but more specifically every single note Sapnap played. And then, the entire orchestra started playing a new song. A song that was so familiar to Karl’s ears that he unintentionally gasped.

The orchestra was playing Love Story, the song that Karl couldn’t seem to get away from. Sapnap, his nimrod of a husband, had gotten the city orchestra to play Taylor Swift. 

Karl realized with a smile that this was their song now. They’d walked down the aisle to it, almost kissed for the first time to it, and now, a day after their wedding, Sapnap was playing it for him in front of their whole town. He laughed as he caught Sapnap’s eye, giggling even further when the brunet had the audacity to grin at him.

Karl rolled his eyes, but the smile on his face told a different story.

When the performance was over, Karl ran up to the stage. He didn’t care that the curtains were closed, or that he wasn’t a part of the crew, and slipped behind the red velvet with only one thought in his mind.

Karl reached Sapnap quickly, and pulled him into a hug even quicker. “I love you,” he said, loud enough for their audience to swoon.

Sapnap chuckled and pulled him closer, and Karl breathed in the scent of pinecones, exhaling happily. He realized he was ready to spend forever like this– a forever being held in Sapnap’s arms. A forever of soft kisses and gentle touches. A forever of love.

He never would have dreamed that Sapnap could ever love him back, and now, here they were, in an embrace full of love, of commitment.

They had the rest of forever to be together, after all, and things could only get better from there.