Asshole

4: Hug

July 14th, 2021 | 2:34 PM | Orlando, FL

The crowd kind of makes me uncomfortable."

Clay and Sapnap were sitting together by one of the many gates within the Orlando International Airport. The air is chilled to a comfortable temperature, which they're very thankful for since it was nearly ninety degrees outside. They watched as people moved to and fro in the distance while around them several others began to accumulate as they also waited for the plane to land. Between their chairs is propped a sign with Karl's name emblazoned on it in large, dark purple letters. Sapnap kept rubbing the corner of the white cardstock between his fingers.

"Yeah. I'm glad they still require masks, though," Clay said, adjusting his own white mask over his face as he spoke. Sometimes he thinks about drawing a smile onto it. Just for laughs. His green eyes soon shifted to the gate. Karl's plane would be landing any moment now and he could tell that Sapnap was becoming increasingly restless.

"If only people would wear them over their damn noses," he huffed. Sapnap sank even lower into his chair. "The pilot needs to hurry it up, I'm getting impatient."

"Are you going to ask Karl about his soul marks?" Clay took a small blue marker from his front pants pocket and began to doodle hearts onto his arm. They quickly began filling in with green, which brought out a warm smile.

"Depends. You gonna call Henry?" He sat back up. His question about Henry felt more like a reminder rather than an actual inquiry, because he immediately changed the subject back to Karl. "I thought of mentioning my marks and just hoping he talks about his."

People started to file into view. As soon as the two of them noticed this, they stood and Sapnap grabbed the sign. He held it high above his head once he was sure it wasn't upside down. Knowing Karl, they both scanned the crowd in search of anyone with an outfit that stood out: colors, fun patterns, a frog hoodie perhaps. Sapnap's eyes widened when he finally spotted him. Karl's slightly large, black hoodie was adorned with a flame emblem.

"He's wearing my merch."

"What a simp."

"Oh shut up."

Karl stopped in his tracks and slowly looked from left to right until he finally met their gazes. Once he was in the clear and there weren't too many people between them, Karl took off in a sprint. The sign fell to the floor with a soft thump as Sapnap dropped it in favor of catching Karl in a hug. Clay retrieved the fallen sign and backed away to give them some room.

"Oh my god! Hi! Hi! That was the longest hour and a half of my life, I swear I thought I'd never get here and I'd just be up there for eternity." Karl pulled away just enough to look him in the eyes before quickly burying his face in the soft white fabric covering his shoulder. "Hi."

Though initially more hesitant, because he worried over his feelings being obvious, he started to return the hug with the same level of enthusiasm. His words were more subdued. "Hey. Nice hoodie."

"Thanks! I got it from an online shop owned by this really cool guy, I don't know if you know him, his name is Sapnap?" he spoke fast. The way his statements came off as questions and the excitement dripped from his tone made Sapnap's smile widen. Karl moved away to tug on the hoodie. Instantly missing his warmth, Sapnap slid his hands into his jean pockets to avoid bringing him back against him.

"Never heard of him," he quipped, giving a bemused, closed-lip smile.

"Me either."

Karl turned to see who had spoken and outstretched his arms again. "Clay! Can I hug?"