Astronomy (of Us)

xv

None of it mattered, not as Sapnap's white-based, black-decorated hoodie lifted and flaunted his midriff, a delicate sagittal hair tracing a path from his navel to his sweatpants. Karl, back to comfortable with sharing breathing space and a bed with Sapnap, let his eyes devour that line's entirety till they were satisfied. It took a bit, but Sapnap didn't shy away from the glaze of attention spread thick across his skin, sticky like syrup and just as languidly moving. It may or may not have made drool build in his mouth.

In response to Sapnap's rhetorical question, Karl nodded distractedly. He slid his gaze up as Sapnap's spine returned to the slight slouch, the recognizable, natural curve of a teenage boy. 

The shorter of the couple looked at the white sheets on the bed, looking much cleaner than they probably were. He brushed his knuckles against them, that taste of leisure on his tongue that only came from garlicky, pepper-fueled flavors dying with time and mint toothpaste fading steadily. It wasn't a bad taste. It was just normal, a state of being, like these two boys in a motel room, miles from their homes as they fed off the infatuation of the other.

"I could call you baby, baby." Sapnap's eyes flicked and met Karl's, the seed of a smile buried beneath the surface.

Karl saw it, too, and rushed to put it on the window sill and get it sunlight. "Straightest nickname in the book, Sapnap."

"Babe." Sapnap's mouth twitched again.

Karl stuck his tongue out and faked a gag. "Ew, that's the name of the pig."

The dam finally broke, and Sapnap was smiling until the corners of his eyes bunched gleefully. "Kitten-puppy-cat." He leaned forward, palms on either side of Karl's head as he said the last idea.

"That one." Karl returned the joy from below Sapnap, and they both liked how the other looked in that position. Something was new there; something was especially fetching and lovely about seeing the other, but also with Sapnap pinning Karl down. They both cast the thought away, at least for the moment.

"Seriously?" Disbelief painted Sapnap's expression before it all was let down.

"No."

Sapnap snorted, rubbing one eye with the heel of his palm as Karl draped his forearm across his face. The ceiling fan whirred, and the bed creaked, and their bones ached.

"I was gonna call you lover boy." Karl decided to speak his mind, pulling his arm from his eyes to watch Sapnap for a reaction. It was sweet with sugar, the fake kind dumped into lollipops and toffee in copious amounts. It was the kind that made Karl's body twitch with lightheaded, dizzy euphoria as he giggled uncontrollably. His lips pressed together, and his eyelids squinted for a second before he melted. Sapnap's mouth shaped the nickname, saccharine coating his throat as he replied.

"Then I'm your lover boy," Sapnap resolved, tilting the bow of his lips towards the ceiling, sky, and atmosphere. His affection grew towards Venus and sprouted towards the sun, brushed elbows with Jupiter and waved at Pluto. Karl gushed, gazing at Sapnap towering from where he perched on Karl's hips. Sapnap glanced to his right, harsh jawline and the column of his throat carved from a fine slate facing the boy below. He needed a halo, some golden adornments, Karl decided. Only that could suit him right; only those could present him like the king, well, lover boy, he was.

Karl's lover boy.

ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ

Sapnap dived into the pool like slipping beneath chlorinated water was his gift, similar to how some people can speak cryptic words to souls or bake a cake in three minutes under the recommended time. He was graceful, making his broad shoulders and stocky waist look lissome as he plunged into the unnaturally blue water that was close but not quite the shade of his irises. He giggled, which is how he'd been since he and Karl untangled their limbs, deciding on not deciding an affectionate nickname for Karl. They also decided on not deciding when they'd go back to Rothels, if ever. Instead, they'd pulled their swimsuits from their bags and decided on a pool day.