Sweet-tooth ~{Karlnap romance AU}~

Treats and Tweets

TW: More self-destructive behavior. A lot of the rest of the book continues this theme, I think it's important to give these topics/situations a context that people can easily understand, so I'm sorry if it's a lot!

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Karl slept for the whole day and night, and then well into the next morning. Skeppy and Bad would have been concerned, but they took turns staying with him to make sure he was alright. After such a close call, neither of them were comfortable leaving him alone. When he finally woke however, Skeppy was asleep on the floor beside him. His head was still foggy, but he vaguely remembered what had happened the day before and where he was. He sat in bed for a moment, holding onto the warmth of the blankets before he gently stepped out of bed. He was still shakey and weak, from both his close call and the weeks that led up to it.

He once again stood uncomfortably in front of the full-length mirror but pulled his gaze away to head out of the room. The smell of coffee and more baked goods filled the air and made the whole house warm. Bad was standing over the oven and didn't notice when Karl emerged from the room.

"Muffins," Karl heard him swear under his breath. Bad never swore. It was a habit he had gotten into in his streams to keep them PG, and he had started doing it in real life. He pulled out a silver tray with slightly burnt pastries in it. He set it on top of the oven with a sigh, clearly unhappy with how they turned out. Karl just watched and walked over to the barstools once again.

"Oh, hey sleepyhead! I didn't see you!" He said with a warm smile, removing the oven mitts from his hands.

"I was gonna surprise you guys, but um. It didn't go so well," He admitted with a laugh, pointing to the slightly messy tray. Karl gave a soft smile but stayed silent. He continued, knowing he wouldn't get a verbal response.

"Is Skeppy up yet?" Karl shook his head lightly. Bad nodded and went to clean up the mess from his cooking.

"Well, I've got leftovers, or I can order us something else to eat? These didn't work out so well, so whatever you want," Karl just shook his head again and Bad clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

"Karl, you gotta eat. It doesn't have to be a lot, but you need something. Anything, you just gotta tell me," Bad pleaded, hoping to get the silent boy to speak. Karl looked him in the eyes where square, thin-framed glasses sat across his nose.

"I- maybe. You pick, please," Karl finally said. His voice was hoarse from disuse, and the words didn't come easily. It would be a while before he would able to speak properly again. Bad nodded, and told him he'll order them something, and went to wake up Skeppy. When he left the room, Karl stood from the chair and walked over the plush blue couch. He sat himself down and rested his arm along the top, and laid his head on top of it. He heard Bad's worried voice shout his name when he came back, and he let out a gentle hum to alert him where he was. He heard Bad walk into the room and take a seat behind him, but he never looked up.

"Alright. Food's on the way, we're gonna eat that, and then I need you to make some choices, alright?" Bad was careful to not overwhelm Karl and tried to speak to him gently. He had never had to deal with a sort of issue like this but he felt almost at home taking care of his friends, so he adjusted quickly. Karl turned over to face him and gave him a soft nod with tired eyes.

"Do you want to keep staying with us for a bit, or do you want us to come stay with you? We're not going to leave you alone until we know for certain that you're going to be okay," Bad said with a loving but stern tone. He didn't pull any punches with the gravity of what happened, and Karl was thankful.

"H-here," Karl whispered, looking down at the couch and picking at his fingernails. Bad nodded, even though he barely heard the words.

"Okay. Then we need to stop by your house and get some things. We have stuff here for you, but I'm sure you would be more comfortable in your own clothes. And while we're there, grab anything else you need okay?" He asked Karl for confirmation, who just nodded and looked back up and Bad. They heard the guest room door open, and Skeppy walked out rubbing his eyes. He gave a wide stretch and ran a rand through his rustled black hair.