4 rules | karlnap

chapter 7

When Karl wakes up the next morning, after a full eight hours of the best sleep he's had since Christmas, he definitely doesn't expect to be waking up in Sapnap's arms. It's strange to think of how comfortable he feels, in this man's arms that feel both foreign and familiar at the same time. When Sapnap shifts, probably sensing Karl's rising heartbeat, Karl stills, and after a moment, Sap's breathing evens out as well.

Karl lets his brain go wild as he lays on the cold, hard floor of his dorm room, where the coffee table is pushed backward to make space for the two of them. Karl hopes to God that George stayed in his room the whole night, or better yet, was out with Dream and decided to crash at his place. He can't imagine the embarrassment that would precede if George walked in on the two of them cuddling like an old married couple. As far as George, or anyone, including Karl himself, knows, he and Sapnap are not on good terms, even a stranger could catch on to the withering and condescending glares they send each other from across campus, or how they always seem to be arguing quietly for only their ears.

Karl decides to go back to his list because that seems to be the only thing stopping him from taking a whole step forward and putting all of his feelings in jeopardy.

Karl's Perfect Boyfriend:

1. He has to be taller than me

Karl snorts, remembering the hundreds of short jokes he had made in the past month or two, and how it seems to balance them out: Sapnap with his well thought out, tactical insults, and Karl with his effortless, repetitive short jokes. Height never really mattered to him, and honestly, Karl enjoys the two inches he had on Sapnap, he wouldn't want it any other way.

2. He has to buy me lot's of monsters

His mind flits back to the many times Sapnap had brought a white citrus monster, without even asking, and how Sapnap brought him one last night as well. Sapnap buys him monsters, he thinks, and somehow he manages to get his favorite flavor every single time.

3. He has to be smart and nice

It was never a secret that Sapnap was smart, for all of the seething Karl did at the beginning, how Sapnap always seemed like an idiot, the man was quite the opposite. Karl had seen firsthand how well he did in his coding classes, and he never seemed as stressed as Karl, or even George and Dream, while also never complaining about a failing grade. Sapnap was smart, that wasn't the issue, it was his graciousness that was questionable.

Or should he say, his ability to be a somewhat decent person? At first, obviously, Karl didn't think Sapnap could be nice, but as he thinks harder, the smaller things reveal themselves, how he always grabs a pear with his lunch to give to Dream, even though Karl is sure Sapnap likes all fruits, how him he stays up for hours to help George study for calculus, and how, last night, he seemed to actually care about Karl's mental health, forcing him to take a break even when Karl didn't want to.

And of course, Sapnap had always had those stunningly dark eyes and deep black hair, and his eyebrow slit, still in its full glory, tops it off.

Stunningly dark eyes that Karl meets as he reaches to run his hand through Sap's hair.

Karl groans, pushing his hand into Sapnap's face. "Go back to sleep!"

"What, so you can ogle me in peace?"

"I wasn't ogling!" Karl says indignantly, sitting up and frowning and Sapnap does the same.

"Fine, call it what you want, Jacobs."

Suddenly, Karl regrets admitting Sapnap is nice, sometimes.

That's when Karl remembers. "My essay!" He shrieks, shooting up and running to his laptop, rebooting it frantically. "It was due last night, Sapnap, I'm dead, I'm dead!"