Because You Are Love (Karlnap)

Chapter 33 - Who are we?

"Keys- hey, keys." Andrew said again, hitting Sapnap's arm. Sapnap was laughing about something he couldn't even remember anymore. He and Karl had somehow ended up at the bar for the last hour of the rodeo, talking about everything and nothing at the same time.

"You're so crabby, lighten up." Sapnap laughed, leaning a bit too far to the side to get his keys out of his back pocket. Sapnap nearly fell out of his stool, causing Karl to laugh and Andrew to face palm.

"You're drunk." Andrew sighed.

"You're drunk!" Karl said to Andrew, causing him and Sapnap to both burst out into laughter again.

"Help me with these idiots." Andrew grumbled, nudging Ben in Karl's direction, while he was pulling his older brother up by his arm. Ben much less aggressively helped Karl stand, walking closely beside him as the four made their way to the car.

"What the hell possessed you to get drunk?" Andrew muttered, pulling Sapnap along. Sapnap was looking over his shoulder, making Karl laugh every time he turned around.

"You're the one who said to go do whatever we wanted." Sapnap smiled up at Andrew, using his pointer finger to poke the tip of Andrew's nose. "I'm 21 and Karl is 23, you act like we're not allowed to drink." Sapnap laughed a bit, trying to turn around and get another glimpse at Karl.

"Yeah, I said that because I thought you'd go make out in the car or something, not make out at a bar." Andrew whispered, despite them being a decent enough distance ahead of Ben and Karl. Sapnap burst out laughing, leaning over and stumbling a bit to the side.

"We didn't even kiss, you're so dramatic." Sapnap said, finally standing up straight.

"I could hear you two flirting from our spot at the barrier- which is arguably worse than just making out in public." Andrew grumbled, grabbing onto Sapnap's arm again, pulling him towards the car.

"You're too tense, you know that?" Sapnap laughed, leaning against the door to the backseat, waiting for Andrew to unlock the door. Karl and Ben were still a bit behind, seeing that Ben wasn't nearly as persistent as Andrew.

"Maybe I'm just looking out for you." Andrew said under his breath, opening the car door. Sapnap reached up, preventing Andrew from opening the door all the way.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sapnap asked, his laugh and smile soon falling flat. Andrew looked over to Ben and Karl, seeing Karl fully sat on the ground attempting to tie his shoe. Andrew caught Ben's eye, Ben shrugged before looking back to Karl.

"I've never seen you drunk before." Andrew said quietly, looking back to Sapnap.

Suddenly Sapnap felt like he was completely sober, seeing the mixture of fear and disappointment in his younger brother's eyes.

"Andy, I'm not like dad. I rarely ever drink to make sure I'll never end up like him. Today was just a special occasion. Even so, I'm sorry- really. I didn't even think about how you and Ben might feel about it." Sapnap admitted, leaning against the car. Even as Karl and Ben approached, Karl still laughing, Sapnap kept a straight face.

"It's okay, I know you're nothing like him." Andrew said, offering Sapnap a smile before pulling the door open the rest of the way and getting inside the car.

Sapnap closed the door for him, moving to the backseat. Karl practically fell into his seat at the same time Sapnap sat down, just coming down from whatever he was laughing about. Sapnap was still feeling much more sober from his conversation with Andrew.

Even so, he couldn't help but admire Karl's rosy cheeks and consistent smile. He reached over Karl, grabbing his seatbelt and bucking him in.

"I should take your hat more often if this is the treatment it gets me." Karl said in what he intended to be a whisper but came out at a regular volume. Sapnap smiled, looking away just in time to catch Andrew staring in the rearview mirror, his eyebrows raised.

"Touch my regular hat at home and you're dead." Sapnap said in an actual whisper, tapping the front of his hat so it covered Karl's eyes, making Karl laugh again.

Sapnap sat up in his own seat, pulling his seatbelt around himself. Karl pulled his seatbelt behind his chest, making it so he could lay down on the seat.

"No-"

"Please?" Karl interrupted.

"Not a chance when Andrew is the one driving, I'd like you to get home in one piece." Sapnap said, laughing as soon as Andrew called out a rebuttal from the driver's seat. Sapnap helped Karl sit back up, wrapping the seatbelt around his chest again.

Karl grabbed onto Sapnap's t-shirt, still trying to plead with his eyes for Sapnap to let him lay down. Sapnap looked over Karl, adjusting his hat on Karl's head. Karl closed his eyes and smiled, releasing his grip on the fabric of Sapnap's shirt, letting his hands rest on his chest instead.

"We'll be home soon, you can lay down then." Sapnap practically mumbled, continuing to push hairs out of Karl's face. Karl turned away from him, pulling one of his hands away from Sapnap's chest to point at his cheek.

"Nick, I'm going to get on the highway in a minute, sit like a normal person." Andrew scolded from the front seat. Sapnap turned around briefly, seeing Andrew watching him in the mirror again, rolling his eyes with a smile before turning his attention back to the road.

"Andrew's right. Plus, there's nothing on your cheek, I don't know what you want." Sapnap laughed, brushing his hand against Karl's cheek. He looked back to the front seat again to see Ben already fast asleep, his head resting against the window.

"Kiss me." Karl said with a smile, his volume only the slightest bit quieter than before. His eyes were still closed, his finger still pointing to his cheek.

"You're gonna be the death of me, you know that?" Sapnap said quietly, grabbing Karl's face in his hand, turning him so they were face to face. Karl squinted his eyes open with another small laugh, puckering his lips.

"Moron." Sapnap whispered, gently turning Karl's face to the side again so he could kiss his cheek.

To Sapnap's surprise, Karl turned his face at the last second, his kiss landing on the corner of Karl's mouth instead of his cheek.

"Karl!" Sapnap said in a surprised whisper, leaning back instantly. Karl immediately began laughing, slumping down in his seat.

"Nick, seriously. You're distracting me." Andrew warned, the smile on his face no longer present. Sapnap quickly sat back in his seat, facing forward, his heart pounding.

He nearly kissed Karl- Karl nearly kissed him.

Sapnap closed his eyes, resting his head against the back of his seat, trying desperately to remind himself that Karl was just drunk, that he was getting his hopes up for nothing. Karl's giggling quickly subsided, leaving the car silent.

A small metallic click was the only sound in the car, catching Sapnap's attention. Just as he lifted his head off the back of his seat, Karl slid into the middle seat, quickly buckling himself in before Sapnap could scold him.

"Ka-"

"Shh." Karl said, bringing a finger up to his smiling lips, then pointing to the front seat. Sapnap looked forward, Andrew finally seemed to have relaxed into driving and Ben was still sound asleep.

Karl took off his hat, setting it down in Sapnap's lap so he could rest his head on Sapnap's shoulder. Sapnap sighed, reaching his hand over to rest it on Karl's thigh. Karl placed one of his hands on the hand Sapnap had on his thigh, using his other to hug Sapnap's arm.

Sapnap closed his eyes as well, resting his head against the top of Karl's. Dusk was upon them, just the slightest bit of light left in the sky. Andrew had finally turned on some music, the last song Sapnap heard before he also fell asleep was K. by Cigarettes After Sex.

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(1,377 words) poor andrew and ben having to deal with their drunk asses lmao. also karl... why you acting so bold? ......drunken actions are sober thoughts... just putting that out there