ᴛʀɪɢɢᴇʀ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ ʟɪꜱᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴘᴇɴɪɴɢ ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ'ꜱ ɴᴏᴛᴇ
☆
sapnap pushes his door shut before stepping aside to open the back car door so he can reach in and take out the white carrier bag of chinese takeout he'd just collected.
karl and tina have both been studying all day, as told by the multitude of frowny texts sapnap has received from his fiancé, so he figured he would treat them with some nice hot food to show them how proud he is. one of the many pros of owning a successful business is the fact that he can spend money like this without having to worry, or count extra pennies.
sapnap has never been the kind to work for money, he just genuinely enjoys his line of work. in fact, since getting his first part-time job at sixteen, sapnap has always been a saver, not a spender.
he is proud of himself for that, because it means he has plenty of money to spend pointlessly on the love of his life - and tina, clearly, but her happiness makes karl happy so it's a double win, in sapnap's mind.
the ravenette lets himself into the building and up the stairs towards the friends' apartment, since he has the codes and a set of his own keys.
he enters to find the pair sitting on the couch with their laptops in their laps, necks bent to look at the screen - that really can't be good for their posture. tina has headphones on, probably because she's watching a catch-up lecture or something, but karl looks up at the sound of the ravenette's entry.
"hey," sapnap greets, shutting the door behind himself and toeing off his shoes. "i got food," he says, holding up the bag and nodding down at it.
karl eyes the bag and nods before looking back to his laptop, clearly focused on something. though, his movement prompts tina to look up, so sapnap isn't left completely ignored as the brunette girl pushes off her headphones and smiles, "hey sap!"
"hi," he grins back, gesturing to the bag again, "i got you guys food."
"awe, thank you," tina smiles, looking beyond happy. she closes her laptop and moves it to the coffee table, discarding her headphones with it, and then turns to push karl's laptop closed too, nearly trapping his fingers in the process. "come and eat, idiot," she scolds, earning a small eye roll from the brunette, "we can finish this when we both get back from work tomorrow."
karl nods in agreement, though he doesn't look very happy about it. sapnap just allows them to sort themselves out as he passes into the kitchen and begins unpacking the food onto the pair's kitchen island. he probably bought too much, but he wanted to make sure he had all of karl's favourites.
tina gets out forks as the other two join him in the kitchen, all sitting around the island, and they don't waste time with plates as they eat straight out of the containers that the food came in.
"how's your work been?" sapnap conversationally asks, looking over at tina. he shoves a chicken ball in his mouth while she replies.
"it's been good, actually. i've been stressed with college stuff recently and having to drive to house viewings constantly really wasn't good for me, so sykkuno's moved me onto permanently taking calls for the time being."
sapnap would like to hear about his fiancé's day but the brunette is being suspiciously quiet and the ravenette presumes he isn't in the mood to speak. with that in mind, he keeps his focus on tina and asks, "and how's your studying going?"
she dissolves into a conversation about child therapy, telling sapnap little facts and figures and things and he listens intently because it's something she's passionate about and that makes him happy.
generally though, they eat in a peaceful silence. karl is usually the one who carries the conversation for them all, so his quietness seems to spread throughout their small dynamic.
their mealtime ends when the food is gone and tina dismisses herself under the premise of going to have a bath. karl still seems pretty unbothered about everything, so sapnap leaves the brunette to sit in peace while he cleans up the leftovers and washes their cutlery.
then, together, they silently make their way to karl's bedroom. karl is already in a t-shirt and sweatpants, so he flops right into bed whilst sapnap makes his way over to the other's closet and pulls it open, getting out comfy clothes for himself.
"how was your studying today?" the ravenette asks as he pulls off his work shirt, replacing it with a big hoodie that was hung on karl's side even though it belongs to the other.
"good," karl replies, which is weirdly blunt for him.
sapnap turns to face his lover as he undoes his pants, searching karl's expression while he pushes them off. "are you okay?" he asks, kicking the pants away and switching them for sweatpants. "you seem tired."
"i'm fine, sap," karl dismisses with a sigh, as if the ravenette is getting on his nerves. it worries sapnap a bit, but he tries not to dwell on it, even as the brunette rolls over to face the other way.
sapnap climbs into bed with his fiancé. he has a feeling that karl is stressed about something, but he doesn't know what or why and he doesn't want to ask if it will annoy his significant other, so he says nothing.
instead, he cuddles into the sheets behind him, throwing an arm over karl's waist and curving their bodies together. he pulls karl close as the little spoon, pressing a kiss to the back of his shoulder.
"have you got work tomorrow?" he asks, moving his hand down to skim a few of his fingers up under the hem of the other's shirt, feeling the warmth of the skin on his belly.
"yep," karl answers, "just like i do every tuesday."
sapnap really isn't used to his fiancé being so snappy. it's so unlike him. he instinctively pulls his arms away from around the brunette, worrying that maybe the closeness is bothering him, and rolls onto his back instead. "are you sure you're okay?" he asks.
now on his back, sapnap is forced to stare up at the yellow-sticky man on his lover's ceiling. the plastic is smiling down at him and it feels taunting.
sapnap is the one who put him up there, to be fair. he had gotten a three-pack from an arcade and thought that sticking them on the ceiling was funny. he left on here, one above his couch, and one above his desk at work. his three most important places, all equipt with sticky men.
after a long moment, karl sighs. he rolls over, and sapnap looks over to see the brunette frowning apologetically. "i'm sorry," he says, "i'm just tired."
sapnap smiles. he holds an arm out, feeling complete again when his fiancé shuffles into his side. "it's okay to be tired, love."
"why did you ask about tomorrow? did you want to do something?" karl wonders, moving his hand to lay flat over sapnap's peck, just resting there. the brunette shuts his eyes, and sapnap smiles at his relaxed features.
he likes seeing karl like this, even if they really shouldn't sleep yet.
"i was just going to let you know that our suits are ready to be picked up," sapnap explains, moving his hand to card through the other's fluffy hair. he gently works out a knot. "it's okay though, i can get out at lunch to get them."
"thank you," karl sighs in relief. sapnap thinks he appreciates not having any extra responsibilities, which is valid.
"is there anything i can do to help you relax, my love?" sapnap asks, leaning in to press a kiss to karl's forehead. it strains his neck a bit, but he doesn't mind. it's worth it for the happy hum he receives in return.
"i don't want to have sex right now," karl says first.
"and that's totally okay," sapnap assures, squeezing his arm around his lover. he wasn't trying to suggest that anyway, but it makes him pleased to know that the brunette is happy to voice that level of communication. it would be worrying if he wasn't.
"unless you want to," karl then adds, his eyes opening as he tilts his head to look up at the ravenette. "we can do something if you want to, i'm not against it."
sapnap frowns. "i never want to if you don't want to. you know that, baby," he tells the brunette, moving the arm that isn't around karl's waist to pinch the brunette's chin between his pointer finger and thumb. he leans the other's head to meet him for a quick kiss.
karl reciprocates the affection before settling back on the other's chest. "i know you don't," he says after a thoughtful moment. "i'm just a bit overworked right now. i want you to be happy."
"i know, love," sapnap replies, kissing the other's hair. he doesn't know which part he is replying to, since he knows it all.
their attention shifts to a gentle knocking on the door, and karl calls for his roommate to come in.
she pushes open the door, clearly dry and most definitely not looking like she's just had a bath. she holds up a package with a smile and says, "i forgot to say this came earlier."
karl sits up out of sapnap's arms and holds his hands out. tina gently throws it and karl catches the smallish box with a, "thanks."
she nods as she sees herself out, and sapnap distantly takes note of the sound of running water across the apartment. the ravenette sits up beside his fiancé as the other rips open the amazon package. "what is it?" he asks impatiently, leaning his chin on karl's shoulder because he can't handle being away from his lover.
karl pulls out the inside package as he answers, "rainbow gluesticks."
he shifts them so sapnap can see the box, and the ravenette runs his gaze over the colourful stationery before asking, "what are they for?"
"i'm going to take them into work with me," karl starts, leaning off the edge of the bed to discard both the glues and the wasted cardboard onto the floor. he shuffles back then, pulling sapnap with him until they're back in their earlier position. "we were given one from reception 'cause we were out of glue and leo really liked it but we had to give it back at the end of the day."
sapnap smiles, unseen by the brunette whose eyes are shut once more.
karl is working as a teaching assistant right now, and he spends a lot of time doing one-on-one enrichment with one of the kids, leo, who was moved up a year because she was high-attaining.
karl denies having favourite students, saying it would be mean to choose favourites, but it's blatantly obvious that leo is his favourite. karl doesn't talk about his work often but, when he does, it's always a fond story about the child who he 'definitely doesn't prefer over the others'.
it's a load of bullshit, but sapnap goes along with it.
"i'm sure she'll love them."
karl hums in happy agreement.
☆
finally an individual chapter name
love you lots!
-kit