pink + white | karlnap

*dynamic duo

Relationship. It's such a funny word. Two objects can have a relationship. Two equations can have a relationship. Two countries can have a relationship. It just means any connection between two parties. But, as soon as you apply that word to people, it doesn't just mean any connection, it denotes a romantic connection. Friendship. That's the word people would usually use to denote a non-romantic relationship. But this wasn't so easily described. Karl and Sapnap had stopped using the term friendship long ago. They preferred dynamic.

Their dynamic was... unusual, to say the least. For a variety of reasons.

To start with, they weren't dating. And they had to clarify that a lot.

To Bad, when he called to ramble about his first kiss with Skeppy—a sweet, respectful goodnight peck—and Sapnap had ever-so-casually mentioned that he and Karl liked to kiss goodnight, too, sometimes.

To Dream, when he flew to North Carolina for a Mr. Beast video and stayed at Karl and Sapnap's house and, during movie night, Sapnap and Karl had gotten so cuddly that even Dream 'I'm Gonna Eat Your Ass' WasTaken was confused.

To George, when Karl was rambling on and on about how Sapnap had started going to the gym and now he looked just as handsome as ever, but with the added benefit of being muscular enough to pick him up.

Even Karl and Sapnap were starting to realise that there was something odd about their dynamic, something that couldn't be explained away by Karl's general touchiness or Sapnap's 'Kiss the Homies Goodnight' attitude. And they should have talked about it. They'd meant to talk about it. It just never really seemed like the right time.

So, they just let it go. They let their dynamic twist and spindle around in its ceramic pot until the roots had all but suffocated themselves and there was no chance of a flower coming to bloom.

Currently, they're curled up on the couch together, as they usually are at this time of night though, usually, they would be watching an anime or some dumb action movie. Instead, tonight, they watch Adventure Time.

Sapnap has known about Karl's regression for months now and has pretty much taken on a caretaker role for him, making sure he eats and sleeps and just generally stays safe and happy while regressed.

Sapnap cards his fingers lovingly through Karl's hair, pressing his lips quickly to the tip of his ear before asking, "Are you tired, darling?"

"Nuh-uh," Karl hums, shaking his head defiantly. Sleep is pulling at his eyes, making his already-foggy head infinitely cloudier, but he doesn't want this moment to end. They've had such a beautiful night already and they'll have a million more just like it, but Karl's always been one to take more than he was given. "Not tired. Stay here."

"You seem really tired, bug. How about we get you ready for bed now?"

"No... Wanna stay here with Daddy."

The words fall from Karl's mouth before he can think too much on them, and he doesn't consider them once they meet the open air, either. Why should he? That's what Sapnap is. He cares for him, he keeps him safe, he loves him. Just like a Daddy would.

It's not until he feels Sapnap tense up behind him that he realises his mistake. The hand in his hair pauses, pulling away, and Sapnap himself leans in the opposite direction. "Please don't call me that."

Karl feels his whole tiny little word shatter around him like a snowglobe, glass littering the carpet and blood staining it.

"Yeah, no, sorry," Karl chokes out. "I didn't mean to—It just slipped out. It won't—I won't do it again."

Seemingly satisfied, Sapnap leans back in, resuming the fingers in Karl's hair. He doesn't again mention bedtime. Karl wishes he would.

He knows he's overreacting. He knows that it isn't a big deal. Everything is exactly the same as it was five minutes ago.