Serendipity (Karlnapity Fantasy AU)

Chapter 9

Quackity was awakened by light breath brushing against his neck. He felt as if he had slept for years. Even though his body still ached, he hadn't slept this well in a long time. He was about to get up from his bed when Quackity remembered what had happened before he fell asleep. Quackity froze in place, averted his eyes from the ceiling, and looked beside him. Next to him lay a curled-up Karl, clinging to Quackity's side and breathing into the crook of his neck.

Quackity instantly turned bright red. Because of Sam's potion and his overtiredness, he had done strange things that he would never have dared to do. He averted his eyes from Karl, exhaling loudly in frustration. A clearing of the throat made Quackity flinch.
I really want to disappear into thin air now, he thought and sighed. How could he be so stupid as to forget about Sapnap? He could imagine how angry he must be to find Quackity here cuddling with Karl.

Quackity gathered his courage and carefully struggled out of Karl's tight grip. As he sat on the edge of the bed, he and Sapnap, who was sitting across from him on his bed, met eyes. He had leaned back, crossed his legs, and folded his arms in front of his chest. The small flames at the ends of his hair were flickering wildly.
"What time is it?" asked Quackity in a low voice so as not to wake Karl.

Sapnap got up and stood in the middle of the room. While Karl had meanwhile chosen the blanket as a new victim for a cuddle, Quackity also got up from the bed and stood opposite Sapnap. Embarrassed, he bowed his head and avoided looking directly at him.
"Dinner ended some time ago," Sapnap replied. He looked worriedly past Quackity to Karl for a brief moment to make sure he was still asleep.

"What are you doing here?", Sapnap puffed in annoyance.
"To be honest, I don't know myself. I just wanted to rest and then Karl was crying and I wanted to comfort him but-", Quackity's nervous stammering was interrupted by Sapnap. He had grabbed Quackity by both shoulders.
"I don't care, you shouldn't have been here in the first place!", he shouted at Quackity, which nodded in agreement. 

But before either of them could say anything, Karl had gotten out of bed. He stood sleepily beside Quackity, one hand resting on Sapnap's outstretched arm. The other grazed Quackity's hand softly.
"It's all right, Sapnap. Just let him go," he muttered.

For a brief moment, the mood in the room was tense, then Sapnap let go of Quackity, who took a few steps away from both of them. Karl held out his hand to Quackity, who tumbled away from him in such a way that Sapnap spotted his injuries.
"Who did this to you?", Sapnap's tone was instantly changed and full of concern he walked towards Quackity.

With an outstretched arm, the hybrid kept Sapnap at a distance. He knew that if he told Sapnap, there would only be more trouble.
"I got hurt in practice today, so Sam let me rest for the rest of the day," Quackity scratched the back of his neck, a forced smile tugging at his lips. The other two boys looked at him skeptically and suspiciously. With an uneasy feeling, Quackity hastily turned toward the door.

"Sorry I was here, sleep tight, bye!", with a bang the door slammed and Quackity was gone. The two lovers were left with puzzled expressions on their faces.
"Quackity has been hiding something for a while," Karl turned to Sapnap, "You have to talk to him. He trusts you more."

The fire in Sapnap's hair now went out completely. In response, Karl got only a nod and a soft smile when their eyes met. Immediately Karl's fingertips trailed to his arms, gently stroking them and finally intertwining with his fingers. In response to how much Sapnap enjoyed the contact, he hummed softly. With his eyes closed, he closed the distance between them and leaned against Karl, who gently stroked his back with his other hand.