dreamer | karlnap

twenty-eight

"oh my god, angel," sapnap whispered once he was calmed down enough to make a coherent sentence without a hiccup, "how are you even here right now?" the texan boy pulled away to view karl's face as if the boy would disappear once more before his eyes.

karl was too shocked to feel any strong emotions at that moment as he stared at sapnap, wondering if he had fallen asleep, though he had been told that it was real life. before karl could do anything, sapnap took both of his hands and cupped karl's face, surging forward to prdess their lips together.

it wasn't fireworks or butterflies, but a warm, fuzzy feeling started to bubble up inside of karl as they kissed. the kiss wasn't perfect and that was fine. he felt sapnap's hands shake, but it was the presence and feeling of sapnap that karl missed the most. sapnap's lips were on his, warm hands cupping his face, and his hot, salty tears dropping onto karl's face.

sapnap was real.

sapnap was here.

they're together.

sapnap pulled away and they looked at each other for a momet. it had been way too long since he had seen sapnap like this. not in the memories they shared but in reality. karl could feel the tears prick at his eyes as he tried not to cry.

"i have missed you so, so much angel, you don't even realize," sapnap's voice cracked on a sob. he leaned in to kiss karl once more, a soft peck on the lips. it felt so nice to finally kiss sapnap, since they never got the chance to.

"karl," he whispered.

sapnap looked at him with red eyes. "what?"

"my name. it's karl," it was as if realization hit sapnap like a truck as he broke out into a huge grin.

"karl," sapnap repeated, his voice soft before stifled a small laugh. he pulled karl into a hug once more, and karl had missed this, too. sapnap's warm body embracing him, holding him as tight as humanly possible. sapnap's arms are around his shoulders, his hand gently holding the back of karl's head and holding it up against his chest. he wrapped his arms around sapnap's waist and they stayed there for a moment.

when karl tried to pull back, sapnap's arms tightened more around him.

"it's cliche don't you think?" sapnap asked, causing karl to quit squirming.
"what do you mean?"

"childhood friends becoming soulmates?" sapnap murmured, resting his head atop of karl's.

"i didn't know you in my youth though," karl replied, causing a low chuckle to escape sapnap.

"you did. nick is my real name,"

karl had to do a double take. he hadn't seen nick twelve years. the last time they were together was when nick was eight and karl was ten. the goodbye before karl moved to north carolina.

"oh my god."

"that's what i thought at first." sapnap adjusted his grip on the boy before karl began to wriggle once more in his grasp.

"let me go, i'm going to get your shirt wet," karl mumbled, sniffling as he felt the fabric of sapnap's shirt become wet.

"i don't care, i'm never going to let you go," sapnap huffed, causing karl to laugh.

"if you don't let me go, you can't give me a kiss," karl said, and that statement finally allowed karl to pull away from his lover.

karl had finally gotten a good look at sapnap, and to say the very least, the male looked terrible. his whole face was flushed red with his eyes being bloodshot with tears, his hair was messed up, and his shirt was wet and wrinkled from karl's grip and tears. karl couldn't imagine that he looked any better himself. sapnap gave him a soft kiss.

"if i'm being honest, i don't think i can call you nick anymore. you've become sapnap to me."

"i don't care what you call me," sapnap commented with a small smile, "how are you even here?" he echoed the question from earlier.

"my aunt wanted to see us since i haven't been around for a while," karl answered lamely.

"guess she had a good sense for the right time and place, didn't she?"

"i guess," karl laughed, "how are you here then?"

"i missed the lake. well, mostly missed you," sapnap answered, taking karl's hand. "i thought maybe coming back to the campground would give me closure or something."

"i think you got more than just closure," karl said, and sapnap rolled his eyes.
karl leaned forward and kissed sapnap once again. he doesn't think he could ever get tired of this, feeling sapnap there with him, so solid and real. sapnap smiled at him when they pulled back.

"i love you, karl," he whispered softly.

"i love you too." nothing could ever compare to the emotions karl was feeling in that moment. he can't even begin to describe the relief and joy that finally, finally, they're together again. he doesn't care about anything else in that moment, not his parents, not the people passing by them on the way back to their campers, nothing. the only thing he cared about right then was sapnap.

"i can't believe that this is happening," karl heard himself say, "what are the odds of something like this happening? the fact that we came back to the place where we became friends at the same time in the same city."

"maybe it's our fate?" sapnap offered, causing karl to roll his eyes.

"fate?" karl echoed.

"you try to explain it in a different way then?" sapnap scoffed.

"i can't," karl muttered, looking at his lover.

sapnap grabbed karl's hand, intertwining it with his own.

"fate it is then."