Because You Are Love (Karlnap)

Chapter 54 - The darkness you fight is within you

Hours escaped them as conversations about stars and constellations turned into tracing the faint freckles scattered over the bridge of Karl's nose and kissing the mole on Sapnap's neck. The moon made its way across the sky, while mumbled words of affection turned into slow and lazy kisses, until they were too tired to even do that much.

Sapnap didn't even realize when Karl's hand stopped tracing his fingers up and down the length of his back, as they both fell asleep in each other's arms. The night sky barely held onto any darkness by the time they were soundly asleep.

Dreams of fragrant flowers and entire galaxies reflected in Karl's eyes were the last mental images Sapnap held onto, when the world rudely woke him too soon.

A blinding sun beamed directly on Sapnap's face, his body already fighting being woken up. The universe seemed to listen to his unspoken request. Sapnap stopped stirring in his makeshift bed, pulling Karl back to his chest, when a large shadow blocked the sun.

"Son."

Sapnap furrowed his brows, wondering if his sweet dreams about Karl had been replaced with-

"Jesus christ, can't believe they're doing this crap in my front lawn."

He opened his eyes slowly, realizing the muttering voice he heard wasn't a dream and the universe didn't put the sun behind a cloud just for him. That was actually his dad speaking and he was standing in the sun's path.

"Dad?" Sapnap questioned, his voice cracking when he spoke for the first time. Even after acknowledging his dad, he didn't get a response.

Sapnap pulled away from Karl, assessing his surroundings. He completely forgot that he and Karl failed to make it back inside last night. They had fallen asleep in the middle of the front yard, cuddled together, with nothing but each other and a shared blanket to keep them warm.

His eyes finally landed back on his father, dragging their way up from his feet to his face.

To the look on his face.

The muscles around Sapnap's lungs felt like they had hardened into stone the second he registered how his father was looking at him. The look took him back to every time his father saw him and Karl even just standing too close to each other.

It took him back to anytime a gay couple was mentioned on TV or someone in public had dared to look or act in a way his dad didn't approve of.

That was the whole point of the look- it wordlessly told whoever saw it that he disapproved of their very existence.

"You two need to get inside. Jen was worried when she woke up to half the house missing." His dad said, stepping away and allowing the sun to beam directly onto Sapnap's face again. Karl began to stir next to him and his dad paused, his gaze- that look now being directed at Karl.

Seeing, up close and personal, his dad look at the love of his life with such disdain, such disappointment, such disgust- it made something inside him snap.

"Hey." Sapnap said, his voice coming out as a husky warning. His dad's eyes flicked back to him before a look of knowing spread across his face. It wasn't like the one Sapnap saw last night, where the knowing was accompanied by regret and sorrow. His dad just looked... annoyed.

"Don't hey me, son." His dad answered, turning back around. Karl seemed to be awake at this point, beginning to push himself into a sitting position, but Sapnap's mind was completely focused on his dad now.

"So that's how it is? How you really feel?" Sapnap asked, standing up and walking away, dismissing the hand Karl reached out to him. He hated disregarding Karl, but he wasn't going to let his dad get away with this. Not after last night. Not after everything.