Asshole

5: An Experience

July 14th, 2021 | 7:22 PM | Orlando, FL

"Karl, hey. Can I ask you a question real quick?"

The three men returned home at three that afternoon and collectively decided that, since Karl planned to stay for a week, they could spend the rest of the day relaxing instead of doing any sort of work. They could spare their first day for simply hanging out together. The laid back atmosphere of the home was nice and most of their time was spent lounging around the living room. And as soon as Clay brought up being hungry, Sapnap jumped at the opportunity to go and grab some pizzas. He needed a break from his nerves. Karl was just returning from the bathroom when he heard the question.

"Yeah, of course."

Karl rounded the couch and lowered himself onto the red, orange, and yellow patterned rug. His long legs splayed beneath the glass coffee table and his hands rested upon the clean surface. Neatly arranged before him was a collection of fingernail polishes. Clay is seated nearby on the couch.

"Have you ever wondered if you and Sapnap are soulmates?" he asked bluntly.

Karl was reaching for the purple polish and paused momentarily before taking hold of the little bottle. "I used to, before he showed me his marks during a video call."

Clay's heart dropped for Sapnap and he let out a small oh, proceeding to struggle to find the right words to say. He genuinely expected a different answer. "But you've wondered?"

"Of course. I like him a lot. But I don't have to spend my time wondering about something that I already know the answer to." He set the purple aside. Rolling up his left hoodie sleeve and extending his arm revealed identical markings to the ones that Sapnap so proudly sports. Spirals in every color of the rainbow decorate his skin. Karl beamed at the look of realization dawned on his friend's face.

"I see what you did there." Clay felt more than relieved. He shook his head with a chuckle. "Do you hope to tell him soon?"

"Before I go home. I want cuddles, and if I don't get a few before I leave, I will be sad." He readjusted his sleeve and grabbed the teal color. He compared it to the purple and looked at Clay. "Which one do you think I should go with?"

He hummed in thought. He could reach the polish from where he was sitting and took the yellow, pink, and dark blue. "All five. One on each finger."

"You're a genius." He politely retrieved the three bottles from Clay's hand, which the taller man was holding easily in just the one, and set them in a little grouping on the table. He opened the pink.

"I know, thank you." Rather than moving back into the cushions, he leaned his elbows against his knees. "Mind if I watch?"

"Go ahead." Two nails were soon painted, one pink and one teal, before he spoke again. "I know he likes me. He's bad at hiding it sometimes. Most of the time, actually."

"I gotta hear this. When did you first figure it out?"

Karl's face flushed. Though he was confident in telling Clay that he and Sapnap were soulmates, he was a bit on the shy side of confiding those types of moments, no matter how innocent they were. He was smiling nonetheless. It was hard not to. "When I called him cute and he got so red that he turned off his camera and blamed it on Discord."

Clay laughed again at the thought of Sapnap flustered. "You know, I got vibes from you whenever you hugged him at the airport."

"I thought so. You gave me that look when you mentioned the movie cliche." The blush deepened. "He seemed nervous when you asked him about it."