Sweet-tooth ~{Karlnap romance AU}~

Candy and The Call

"No, no it's not like that, it's more like, I don't know. I just want romance or something. But just in general, no one in particular," He sighed, taking his phone off speaker and putting it to his ear. "And all the hearts and pink crap is not helping,"

"Man, I was kidding before, but maybe we all should do a meet-up for Valentine's. I know Alex has been kind of down too, and I'm certain some other people would love to join, I'd just have to ask," Nick proposed. Alex is another one of their friends they had met through streaming, he went by the name 'Quackity'.

"Yeah I'm down, it's kind of a long drive though, you sure people wanna drive that much?"

"I'm sure if we ask it'll be fine. I think your house is right in the middle from all of ours, would you be cool hosting the meet up?" Nick asked. Karl could hear him getting out of bed on the other end, and shuffling around and rustling things.

"Of course, you get everyone together, and I'll host, no problem!" Karl said, excited to see his friends in person for the holiday. They all live in generally the same area of North Carolina, but meeting up still seemed rare for the group.

He put Nick back on speaker as he ate his food, and they continued to chat about things they could do, both on stream and just hanging out. They decided on some games to play and some food to get, and said their goodbyes. Karl cleaned his plate and headed back up to work.

He continued to edit his videos, all the while getting more and more excited for his friends to come visit as they planned the trip over discord.

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Soon enough, an alarm rang reminding him to get ready for his family dinner, and he shut off his PC, watching for a minute as the light faded. He fixed his hair in the bathroom and tried to make himself look presentable and neat. He heard the doorbell ring and quickly ran down the stairs to greet his family.

They hugged him warmly and chatted with him as they set out dishes, and the youngest kids chased each other up and down the stairs. The heat from the food they brought filled the room, soaking the air with sweet and spicy smells. Distant joyful voices filled every room, and the occasional booming laughter seemed to fill the house with joy as the family connected. Karl loved living alone and having his own house, and he also loved his gatherings. It filled the tall ceilings with warmth and joy.

His youngest niece, Candace, bumped into his leg, and he scooped her into his arms.

"Well hi there, Candy!" he chuckled as she wrapped her tiny arms around his shoulder. She had just turned 4 a few days ago, and she was so proud that she could show it on her fingers, so she shoved 4 little stubby fingers in front of his face. He held her tiny hand gently as he giggled at her excitement.

"Yeah, you're 4 whole years now! You're so grown up!" He giggled again, bouncing her on his hip as he continued to set things up. She laughed sweetly and pointed at things as they walked around the house, and he showed her everything she pointed at. Soon enough it was time to eat so he put her down in the little white highchair that Karl's sister had brought. He tucked in her little pale green and white sundress that she wore, making sure not to catch it on the latches, and she cried as the bar came over her lap. But the family didn't care knowing she'd calm down soon, she eventually did when she was handed her food.

They were all enjoying their food together, still chatting and laughing. They each brought different dishes for them all to enjoy, completely cluttering the wide wooden table with steaming dishes and plates. Candace's mom, Karl's sister, Corey had brought bacon mac n cheese, and his grandparents had brought a salad. His Mom and Dad brought a roasted duck, which Karl thought was a bit too much, but his dad had apparently hunted it himself, so he let it slide.

He brought out the cake after people had stopped eating the main food, and most people took some pieces, but a bit less than half remained uneaten. People started to make their way to the living room to talk for a bit longer, while Karl and Corey cleaned up after them. They passed dishes back and forth, collecting them to wash, and she wanted to catch up with him after not seeing Karl for so long.

"So Karl, you got any plans for Valentine's day?"

"Actually yeah! I've got a few friends driving into town, we're going to stream and stuff," he answered, wrapping up the cake and putting it back in the freezer.

"Sounds fun, anyone special?" She asked, holding the "L" and looking at him expectantly. He shrugged it off and laughed, but they kept cleaning. After things were put away from dinner, Corey collected Candace from the couch who whined loudly, threatening to cry again. Each family member said goodbye to Karl as they left, thanking him for hosting and taking their now empty dishes back home. Once the last member was out the door, he slumped on the worn leather couch and sighed into the empty air. The euphoria lingered around his house, but you could tell it was settling into a bitter cold once again.

He was exhausted from the visit, so he shut off the lights and headed up to his room to sleep. He pulled off his shirt gingerly, exposing his bare back to the cold spring's air that had filled the room, and threw it by his closet, not bothering to set it aside. Slipping on a pair of plain cotton pants and his classic purple and green colour block hoodie and drowsily slid into his bed. He shuffled through his music playlist once again and quickly fell asleep, fully pleased by how today went by and excited to see his friends.

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