Because You Are Love (Karlnap)

Chapter 57 - You are not separate from every other thing

The last glimpse of the sun had just sunk below the furthest hill in the distance, leaving the sky glowing. Pink and orange clouds filled the sky, surrounding Sapnap and Karl in a world of color. Warm air had already begun to cool without the sun, promising a night of palm trees dancing in the cool breeze.

"I'm gonna fall asleep." Sapnap mumbled, rubbing the side of his face against Karl's shoulder.

"I can drive the rest of the way. You drove us, like, fourteen hours. I think I can manage the last four." Karl answered quietly. Sapnap surprised even himself with how quickly he found himself nodding in agreement.

"That unfortunately means you need to at least get in the car before you fall asleep... baby." Karl spoke up again. There was a mixture between hesitancy and embarrassment in his tone.

"Why'd you say it like that?" Sapnap asked, lifting his head off Karl's shoulder. The look on Karl's face was enough to make him chuckle under his breath; Karl's expression could be summarized in one word- displeased.

"Yeah, 'baby' isn't the one." Karl shook his head, standing from the ground and wiping his hands on his jeans.

"What are you talking about?" Sapnap asked with another laugh, accepting the two hands Karl held out to him. Sapnap nearly pulled Karl to the ground as soon as he tried to stand.

"Hey- I'm here for moral support not physical support." Karl scoffed, dropping one of Sapnap's hands so he could rub his wrist.

"God." Sapnap muttered with a laugh, using his own knee for support to stand instead of pulling on Karl. "What do you mean 'baby' isn't the one?" Sapnap asked again, brushing stray blades of grass off his pants.

"You could fill an entire dictionary with all the sweet things you call me. I want to have at least one name that I can call you." Karl rolled his eyes, letting go of Sapnap's other hand to assist brushing him off.

"What's wrong with baby? I mean, most the time I'm essentially just calling you baby." Sapnap shrugged, another yawn escaping him in the middle of his sentence. Karl shook his head, disagreeing with Sapnap's answer.

"You call me things that are beautiful, things that take you back to happier times, pet names said in the language you grew up with. I... I don't want to call you any generic 'babe' or 'baby' or whatever. I want to call you something that'll make you feel as special as I do when you call me names in Greek." Karl gave a much more detailed and heartfelt explanation than Sapnap's half-awake mind was ready for.

"You can make me flustered when you call me a moron in a certain tone." Sapnap said, earning an unexpected laugh from Karl. "I'm being serious, really. I don't care what you call me, as long as you sound happy when you say it." Sapnap continued, opening the driver's door for Karl.

"Does that mean I can call you Nick?" Karl asked, with a mischievous grin on his face, like he was waiting for the opportunity to lighten the conversation after his previous heartfelt response.

"Not a chance." Sapnap tried to mask his smile with a scoff, gently pushing on Karl's chest so he would sit. Karl fell back into his seat with a laugh, pushing Sapnap away so he could shut the door.

Sapnap made his way around to the passenger's side, leaning the seat back before he even put his seatbelt on.

Karl tapped Sapnap's thigh a few times, clearing trying to keep him awake. Sapnap grabbed Karl's hand with an annoyed grumble, holding it flat against his leg until Karl stopped squirming. Restless fingers settled, weaving together, and Sapnap found himself spinning the ring on Karl's pointer finger up until the moment he fell asleep.