Work Text:
The fall air was cold and chilly. Golden leaves fell from the trees as a gust of wind flew by. Flimsy white papers danced in the air, leaving people scrambling to catch them. Karl was buried under piles of cream-colored blankets in his chilly dorm.
The boy’s roommate loved the idea of the cold air, so they decided to keep their shared dorm at a cool temperature. Of course, Karl got no say in this idea, because he didn’t want to fight with his roommate.
Sapnap gave Karl a say in a lot of things, and one of the things Sapnap could not afford was to lose his cold air.
So yes, Karl was buried under piles of blankets as he waited for his roommate to arrive at their dorm from his last class of the day. Usually, on days like this, Sapnap would already be back at his dorm, and the two boys would sit down and play a game of chess. But on other occasions, Sapnap would stay behind after class to get extra work in. Karl and Sapnap were definitely polar opposites. But as everyone says, opposites attract.
Karl’s body was not working. He was tired and he couldn’t do anything. Usually, Sapnap would be there to drag Karl out of bed and tell him that he had tons of work to do. He would motivate him to finish his day off strong. But today he was late. Which probably meant there was no way Karl could get his work done. So instead of hoping that Sapnap would hurry his ass over to their dorm, Karl decided to get up. His whole body was aching from curling into the uncomfortable position he was in moments ago.
Right as he sat up and pulled the blankets off of him, he was met with a chilly breeze that immediately made Karl want to go back into his hiding place.
“You're awake?” Karl heard a voice. And it was a very familiar voice.
That dumbass was here the whole time.
Karl arose from his blankets once again and saw no one there.
“Sapnap?” Karl spoke through the ice-thin air, his voice echoing throughout what he thought was an empty dorm room.
“That’s me, had a good nap?” Sapnap smiled at the boy sitting on top of the blankets now, rubbing his eyes as he adjusted to the light.
“I wasn’t even asleep!” Karl exclaimed and Sapnap let out a tiny chuckle.
“You weren't?” The boy asked, taking his friend into a tight hug.
“No! Sapnap I could have gotten so much work done.” Karl whined, frowning as Sapnap apologized multiple times.
“I just didn’t want to wake you up in case you were sleeping!” Sapnap defended himself, flicking the forehead of the annoyed boy sitting on the bed.
“I hate you.” Karl crossed his arms, looking away as his face turned red.
“You love me.”
“Shut up.”
“I don’t shut up, I grow up. And when I look at you I-” Karl grabbed the pillow he had been using, smacking Sapnap in the face with it.
“Ow! What the fuck?”
“That was deserved.”
“Whatever. Just for that, you have to help me with art.” Sapnap pouted, rubbing his forehead in ‘pain’.
“I help you every time you have art. No.”
“Well that’s because you are good at art! I'm so bad at art. Lord save me.” Sapnap rolled his eyes, but his expression changed to a playful smile.
“No.”
“Please Karl.” Sapnap practically begged, and somehow Karl couldn’t resist.
“Fine. What do you need help with?” Karl asks, patting the bed as Sapnap lays down across from Karl, grabbing both of their art journals.
“Teach me how to draw an eye.”
“Seriously? That’s like the easiest thing to draw.” Karl playfully teased Sapnap.
“Well not everybody is a pro artist, Karl.” Sapnap hits Karl on the shoulder, and Karl makes a jokingly offended look.
“Whatever. First, you have to start with an almond shape.” Karl starts sketching lines on his notepad, also looking back at Sapnap to see if he was following.
“Wait- what shape is an almond?” Sapnap asks, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
“Are you dumb?”
Sapnap blows a raspberry at Karl, giggling. “Can you just draw it for me?” Sapnap pouts.
“No.” Karl says.
“Please! I'll buy you something!” Sapnap begs.
“I’m not taking bribes, idiot. You are never going to pass art if you don’t learn.” Karl states firmly.
Sapnap's face scrunches, “Ew you sound like a teacher.”
“Here, do this. Try to draw my eye okay? I'll see how it turns out and I’ll help you if it looks terrible.” Karl sighs.
“Watch me make the most beautiful eye you have ever seen, Jacobs. You won’t know what hit you.”
Karl watches Sapnap carefully as he tries to draw Karl’s eye to the best of his ability. Sapnap occasionally looks up, and looks back down, erasing things and filling the blank space in again.
Karl grabs his literature folder, deciding that it probably would be best if he used his time wisely instead of blankly staring at his roommate. Karl didn’t expect anything great from Sapnap’s drawing, but at least he would try to not poke at Sapnap too much.
“Karl?”
“Yea?” Karl speaks into the thin air.
“I-”
“Are you okay, Sap?”
“How do you know when you are in love?”
The question hits Karl like a wrecking ball.
Silence follows. A long thick strand of silence that seems to create some sort of barrier between the two boys. A barrier that has so many layers, but it formed so quickly.
Karl freezes. He would give Sapnap a verbal answer, but the question caught him off guard.
How do you know when you are in love?
The question taunts him, in a way. Like he is supposed to give Sapnap a solid answer.
But Karl doesn’t even know himself.
Karl couldn’t describe the feeling of love in his own words. Love felt heavy. It felt like every second of the day you are slowly dying inside because you can’t express your feelings.
Karl feels Sapnap’s gaze linger on him, as a way of communication.
Their eyes meet mixed emotions painted in both.
“Sorry. I- shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Why?” Karl nearly chokes out, his breath holding within his throat, making it impossible to breathe.
It's like a fog of tension. Rough and unbearable. A splatter of smoke spread across a canvas.
Karl feels his phone buzz in his pocket, reaching for it as he sees the message displayed on the screen.
one new message from: sapnap <3
Karl’s eyes linger on the screen, his heart rate picking up.
Why was he getting so worked up over nothing?
The boy hesitantly clicks on the message, his screen flashing to his messages with Sapnap.
sapnap <3
i know this is silly
but
i might as well tell you because i already made this situation
awkward enough
lol
and i don't really know how to word it
but
Karl waits in anticipation as three bubbles reappear and disappear. Karl quickly glances at Sapnap, who looks conflicted.
some things are better said in silence
so
karl jacobs
Breathe.
i am in love with you.
Karl thinks his heart stops beating for a second. The thick air suffocates him for a moment.
For a moment it absolutely suffocates him.
and not even a second goes by where i don't think about you
and it's been killing me
slowly killing me
and im sorry im pouring all this onto you
im sorry
this is so unfair to you
and
Before Sapnap can even text anything else, Karl tugs him by the collar, their faces meeting each other.
When their lips meet; Karl feels like he’s on top of the world.
Like he has just climbed Mount Everest and has conquered the mountain. He has conquered his confessions. He has conquered the feeling that was slowly killing him, too.
Even though he didn’t take initiative.
The world seems to blur. Like everything around the two disappears. The thick tension in the air releases, evaporating like mist.
The kiss deepens, and in that moment, it is only them. No barrier between them, no tightness surrounding them, no complicated feelings hidden between the walls of their sleepy, comfy, dorm room.
It is just them.
“Sapnap?” Karl pulls away, catching his breath as the other smiles sweetly at him.
He hums, signifying for Karl to continue.
“I love you too.”