//soulmates\\ karlnap

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Nick Armstrong snaps at innocent man in the hospital after being caught crying with alleged boyfriend.

Paparazzi takes pictures of Nick Armstrong and Karl Jacobs crying in the hospital before being told to 'get the fuck out'.

I turned off my phone and threw it onto the multicolored rug, listening to it thump. "Hey." Karl took my hand as I closed my eyes and leaned back on the headboard. "I'm sure people understand. Who would want someone to take pictures of them while in the hospital, right?" He kissed my bicep as I opened my eyes again, staring at the little crack in the beige ceiling.

"Yeah, sorry." I felt his cold little hand on my stomach and I looked down at him, pulling the covers up over him and scooting down, lying on the pillow and guiding him into my chest. He slotted his leg in between mine and moved his hand onto my side, his pinky and ring finger just under the waistband of my sweatpants. "Why are you always so cold?" I asked quietly, rubbing his back as he put his head in the crook of my neck.

He kissed my neck delicately, his lips just barely touching my skin. "You should see me in winter." He mumbled. I kissed him behind his ear as he curled into me.

Yes, he was always really cold. But he was really good at cuddling, he knew just where to put his body and how to make me tired.

[Stfu, don't say anything.]

"Hey Nick?" He pulled back and looked at me.

"Yeah?" I ran my thumb across his cheek.

He stared into my eyes, opening his mouth to say something before shutting it. "Never mind, I forgot."

I kissed the corner of his mouth. "Tell me if you remember, baby."

He smiled and rolled so he was facing away from me, reaching his cold finger back and tapping my thigh. I wrapped my arm around his waist and scooted closer to him, he moved his hips back against mine and I kissed the top of his shoulder.

Both of us were ignoring the muted basketball game playing on the tv in the living room.

"Hi this is Nick." I said as I answered the phone.

There was a loud gasp on the other end. "Hi, I'm... Marco."

I leaned against the wall, listening to Karl's quiet movement in the other room. "How are you?"

"It's actually you?" I went to imessages and sent him a picture of me. He gasped again after reading it. "This is so crazy. Dad! It was actually him!"

"How's your dad?"

"He's good, we thought he was going to die but he didn't."

"That's great."

"How come you gave me your phone number?"

I hummed. "I'm not really sure. Do you play basketball?"

"Yeah, I'm the best on my schools team."

"You want to play with me sometime?"

He was quiet for a minute. "He wants me to play basketball with him." He told someone on the other end.

"We'll say yes." It sounded like a guy, probably his dad. There was laughter their voices got muffled. "Hey, I'm just making sure you won't kidnap my son or anything." The dad said.

"Dad." Marco groaned. "He's Nick Armstrong, not a creep."

"I won't kidnap your son, I promise." I laughed quietly and found my basketball shoes.

Marco was handed back the phone. "Can we play today?"

"Sure."

'I'm out playing basketball, call me if you need anything:)'

The kid hugged me when he came. "This is so crazy."

His mom waved to me before going back outside. "So you're good?" I got a basketball out of my bag, bouncing it to him. "Go easy on me man, I'm old." He laughed and tried to get past me. "Not that way." I jumped and smacked the ball to the side when he tried to shoot. "Alright, alright. Go again."

It was three to twenty five when the door opened again and coach Max came in. "Woah." Marco looked at Max, giving me enough time to steal the ball and shoot. "Hey!" Marco ran to get the ball as I gazed at coach.

"Nick, can I talk to you?" He asked.

"I'll be right back, practice your three pointers." I ruffled Marco's black hair before following Max. "Listen, I know you don't like Karl but when he's in the hospital I have the right to s-."

"I don't not like Karl I just wish you would've told me you were leaving practice or not attending the game. We need your full attention this season."

"Boomer- Dylan has a wife and three kids and he still does great during games." I stated. Boomer was what we all called him because he looked like a seventy year old.

"Exactly, I need you to be that same way if you're going to have a relationship. Also, if you're going to bring kids in here and teach them how to play ball, you should sign up for the mentor program."

"Okay, sure. And no thanks." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Thank you for not suspending me."

"You better be at the next game if Karl is okay." He raised an eyebrow at me.

"I will." I jogged back out on the court, hitting the ball down as Marco tried to shoot. "You gotta go soon, three more rounds." When I got to Karl's apartment I heard him up. "Hey." He was changing the sheets on the bed. "What's up?" I kissed the top of his head.

He smiled up at me. "Nothing. How was basketball?"

"Great, I played with some kid I met the other day."

A kiss was placed on my lips before I helped him with the sheets. "You should take a shower."

I looked at him and fake gasped. "Are you saying I stink?" After the bed was made I put my hands on his cheeks and hung my head, looking down at him. He put his hands on my sides and laughed, standing on his tippy toes to peck my lips.

"Yes."

After showering I opened a cabinet to look for tissues when I saw something. He had pads and tampons in the cabinet. "Oh my god." I whispered to myself, wrapping the towel around my waist. I realized and laughed loudly, standing up and closing the cabinet.

"What?" Karl called from across the apartment after I'd came out of the bathroom still laughing.

"Nothing, I just forgot something."

"Why's it funny?" He was sitting on the couch, a heating pad across his lower stomach.

"I forgot you have periods." I ran my hand through his hair and kissed the corner of his mouth. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit. Also now that you know, can you wash the sheets with blood on them for me?" He smiled against my lips.

I laughed and kissed him back. "Sure, baby." I dried off and put the sheet in the washing machine before going back to Karl, sitting next to him and pulling his head down onto my shoulder. "Would you ever want bottom surgery?" I asked after a long comfortable silence, the only noise was Willow's snoring from the other side of the couch.

"I don't know. I definitely can't afford it and I kind of like the idea of having a kid if I wanted to, but it's also a big pain in the ass."

I kissed the top of his head, thinking about him in his mom jeans and Hawaiian shirt, pregnant. I quickly erased the image and hummed. "Yeah." But it stuck, thinking about him having kids, specifically our kids.

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