Because You Are Love (Karlnap)

Chapter 55 - The light you seek is within you

"Did he hit you again?" Andrew asked, his voice lowered to a whisper and his eyes growing wide.

"Not really, I mean-" Sapnap cut himself off, rubbing the back of his head where he had hit it against the ground from their dad shoving him in the yard that morning. "It turns out he wasn't as 'okay' with me being gay as I thought. He was only putting on a show for Jen. That show ended when he... when he drank this morning." Sapnap explained, rubbing his face with a sigh.

"Look, I just want to know you're going to be safe. I also want you to know I'm not leaving like how I left before. I'm going to visit more often, hey- I swear." Sapnap nudged Andrew's arm when he looked away, refusing to speak a word. It was clear that Andrew was disappointed about much more than just their premature departure.

"So I'll be lucky if I see you twice a year instead of not at all?" Andrew said a bit sarcastically under his breath.

"We'll see each other once a month...eh,  every other month." Sapnap said, tilting his head from side to side, doing the mental math.

"You said that Texas wasn't a safe place for you to be. You came back for less than a week and you're leaving with a black eye and a split lip. I don't expect you to put yourself in danger because I miss you- I don't want you to-"

"I'm not going to stay at home anymore when I visit, which will make things exponentially safer for me. And hey, I expect you to start coming out to Florida to see me- planes fly both ways." Sapnap interrupted with a raised eyebrow and a half smile.

Andrew paused, letting out a bit of a sigh himself. He looked over his shoulder in the direction he came, his shoulders tensing visibly.

"Summer vacation starts in June- that's not even two months away. Next time I see you, I'll fly you and Ben out to Florida. We'll go to Universal, the beach, Disney- wherever you guys want. That's a promise." Sapnap continued, leaning to the side to catch Andrew's attention.

"Can Cam come too?" Andrew asked, a smile growing on his lips. Sapnap rolled his eyes, letting out a laugh.

"Don't push it- you've gotta keep him long enough for that to happen." Sapnap nodded his head in agreement despite his initial dismissal.

"Always so possessive." Andrew laughed, nudging Sapnap's shoulder.

"Christ, go back to class. I'll text you later." Sapnap deflected, taking a step away from Andrew. He turned around, heading back in the direction of his class.

"Andy!" Sapnap called out, feeling a bit of satisfaction in the annoyed huff from the receptionist, seeing that calling out his brother's name seemed to gain her attention this time.

"Karl says bye!" Sapnap waved, laughing at the confused smile on his brother's face.

"Sir, you need to leave." She said sternly, looking up from her computer.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Sapnap muttered, giving her less than friendly smile on his way out. He pushed open the front doors, welcoming the warm breeze against his skin. He jogged all the way to the parking lot, not stopping until his eyes landed on Karl sitting in the car.

Karl was sitting in the passenger seat, both his legs pulled to his chest, while he rested his chin on his knees to scroll his phone. 

It didn't quite make sense, but just seeing Karl waiting for him made something click in Sapnap's mind. Something about knowing that the smile he brings to Karl's face isn't platonic, holding his hand isn't platonic, saying 'I love you' isn't platonic- it made Sapnap's heart race.