Sapnap was sitting with his roommates in the living room, staring at his phone while the other two were playing on console. Even George was barely interested in the gameplay, making himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was a lazy Friday afternoon with no exciting events planned. Even their party plans were already uncertain, as they didn't feel like doing anything that required energy.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, breaking their calm bubble, but no one even budged an inch.

Seeing how the rest of them didn't even turn their heads towards the sound, George sighed dramatically.

"I don't even live here," he said irritated and headed towards the hallway to approach the front door and open it, not really being all that surprised to see who was behind it. "Oh hey, Karl."

"Hey, is Nick home?" the boy asked with a gentle smile, and George quickly made room for him to come inside.

"Yep, vegetating with rest of the household in the living room" George replied, smiling at the sound of the boy's quiet chuckle.

Karl quickly took off his perfectly white shoes in the hallway and walked a little further, adjusting his sunglasses that he had in his hair, to look into the living room, where two blondes were playing video game.

A long yawn came from the sofa, and Karl walked over there to see Nick, who was in basketball shorts and clicking furiously on the screen on his phone with focused expression.

"Nobody's even reacting to the fact that you have a guest?" George asked with a hint of annoyance, finally getting the other three out of their lethargy, and they all looked towards the newcomer.

"Hey," Jacobs greeted and immediately got a response from the players and a very puzzled look from the boy lying on the sofa.

"What are you doing here, Jacobs?" Nick asked, yawning again and covering his mouth with his hand.

"Looks like someone didn't get enough sleep," Karl replied, raising an eyebrow and gently sitting on the backrest of the sofa, looking down at the younger.

"Fuck off," Nick muttered, blinking to dispel some of his own fatigue. Jacobs smiled, looking at the boy with satisfaction.

"What are you doing here?" Nick asked again.

"Are you doing something today?" Karl asked, ignoring the boy's question again.

"Your mom, why do you ask?" the brunette replied calmly, placing his phone on his chest with a quiet thump. Nick looked closer with a bit od curiosity at the pale pink hoodie and light overalls that his guest wore. "And your farmer pants are unbuttoned on the left side."

Karl frowned dissatisfied and looked down at himself.

"What problem do you have with my outfit?" he replied, narrowing his eyes.

"I'm just saying it's unbuttoned," Nick replied calmly. "It's all good."

"That's the aesthetic, I don't expect you to understand, farm boy," Karl replied sarcastically. "And now tell me, what are you doing today?"

"Resting," Nick answered, staring at the little colorful bead necklaces around Karl's neck with fondness.

"So you're doing nothing," Karl said gently, interpreting his words. Sapnap nodded. "Well, would you like to come do something with me?"

"You could have just texted me," Nick replied unprecedentedly. "So you wouldn't waste your time coming over, because I'm not going anywhere anyway."

Karl sighed dramatically. "That's why I came, because I knew you would refuse. Come on, don't make me beg."

"I don't feel like going out," he replied, laughing quietly at Karl's sad face as soon as he heard those words. "Nah, sorry. You should have texted me, I told you."

"Nick," he muttered seriously. "You have to. I already told everyone you were coming."

"Who's everyone?" the disgusted boy asked. "And where are you supposedly trying to take me?"

"To a cool place," he replied confidently and smiled sweetly. "Please? Come on. You won't be sitting in the apartment forever. You need to touch some grass once in a while."

"I don't think so," Nick assured him. "I feel like sleeping, leave me alone Karl."

"I'll leave you alone if you come with me. Stop being so antisocial. It'll be fun, I promise," he pleaded. "Can't you do one thing for me?" the way Karl started fluttering his lashes towards Nick was truly unbelievable. He even tilted his head slightly, offering a pleading expression.

They stared into each other's eyes more intensely than the situation required, that was for sure. The intensity of their eye contact was palpable, almost as if they were having a silent conversation without words. Sapnap's eyes bore into Jacobs', searching for something, while Karl's gaze was equally unwavering, challenging Nick in a way that only he knew how to do.

As they continued to stare, George couldn't help but feel intrigued by the dynamic between the two of them. He took another bite of his sandwich, chewing thoughtfully as he watched them. It was as if they were in their own little world, completely unaware of anyone else around them.

"Nick, I'm always helping you if you need it," Karl said with a stupid shit-eating grin, causing Sapnap's eyebrows to furrow. "Come on. You'll sleep tomorrow."

"Where?" Nick finally muttered defeatedly, closing his eyes for a moment. "Where are we going? I need to know what to wear."

"Whatever," Karl shrugged with amusement. "As far as I'm concerned, you can wear anything."

"Yeah, no," he replied meaningfully. "What should I wear? A sweatshirt? T-shirt? Sweatpants? Jeans? Is it going to be warm or cold?"

"I don't know," Karl laughed toothily. "Just wear something comfortable and it'll be fine."

Nick sighed and got up from the couch with an unhappy expression.

"If you demand me to change my clothes once I'm ready, you are going to be kicked out in a millisecond," Nick assured, and Karl sent him a sweet smile.

"Well, then you better just dress up nicely right away so I don't have to have an opinion," he replied gently, watching as the muscular guy left the living room without another word.

"Well done, Karl. Take him somewhere because they're about to merge with their sofa," George said calmly.

"Get lost, George," Luke muttered uninterestedly. "You're merging with us."

"I have no choice," the Brit replied with amusement, and Karl waved his hand gently. "We were supposed to go to a party today, and of course the big babies are just lying here and playing, it's a mess."

"You guys all seem to have low blood pressure or something today, why is everyone so tired?" Karl asked amusedly.

"They always have low blood pressure," George replied with slight displeasure in his tone, finally sitting on the sofa that was no longer fully occupied by Nick. "And where are you taking Sap? Some party?"

"Well, not exactly," Karl laughed. "It's more like a casual get-together with some friends. My friend invited a few people and said I could bring someone, so..."

"So you're taking the worst company you could find, good choice," Clay said with amusement.

"Well, apparently I like having bad company," Karl laughed, not taking it as an insult in any way.

"It's okay, if Nick behaves badly and ruins the fun, I give you permission to hit him," George assured with a smile.

"Kick him, it always works," Punz said and aggressively pressed one of the buttons on the controller. "Calves are his weakest spot."

"I think we can do without the aggression, but thanks for the advice," Karl chuckled sweetly, watching the cars on the screen gliding through the roads.

Karl spent the rest of the time waiting in comfortable silence with the rest of the household, until Nick finally returned.

"I'm here" he announced, looking slightly more alive. Karl looked him up and down critically. The boy was dressed in black cargo pants and a black tee, with a small emblem on his chest, that hung lightly on him.

"Meh, it's fine," Karl muttered with a slight smile in his direction, then clicked something on his phone. Nick crossed his arms over his chest and sent him a dissatisfied look, while George at the same time gave him a thumbs-up.

"What's wrong?" Nick asked as Karl approached him. "Doesn't fit your country boy vibe?"

"Mhm," he agreed with amusement. "Plus, I was secretly hoping you'd stay in shorts" he whispered in his ear softly enough so the rest wouldn't hear.

George watched as Nick's posture became even more tense. Very interesting.

"I'm considering not going anywhere with you," Nick replied, glancing sideways at the man dressed in bright colors.

"Was that an invitation for the night?" Karl joked quietly, but seeing Nick's murderous look, he just laughed and turned toward the living room. "Okay, bye everyone, have a good evening. I'll try to bring Nick back at a decent hour."

"Hah, 10 p.m." Clay joked and smiled, turning his head in their direction. "Don't have too much fun."

"That we can't promise," Karl said and ostentatiously pulled Nick by the hand toward the front door.

"Hey, there was no mention of you leading me around with your hand," Nick said very firmly.

"I'm just hurrying you up," Karl assured him innocently, bending down to pick up his white sneakers, while Nick opened their shoe closet and pulled out his tall Dr. Martens. "Oh wow."

"What?" Nick asked. "What's up?"

"Nothing, you look good," he replied happily and started tying his shoe.

"Where are we even going?" Sapnap asked calmly. "To Chris'?"

"Nope," Karl replied. "To my friends from college."

"What the fuck?" Nick froze. "I don't know any of your friends from college."

"Well, you will after tonight," Karl said completely carefree and put on his jacket that he had left earlier on the hanger.

"I don't want to meet new people," Nick complained nonetheless. "I'm tired and antisocial."

"Then wake up, because we're going," Karl said simply. "It'll be fun." he assured him happily.

"You're seriously dropping me off at 10 p.m." Sapnap reminded him.

"If anything, Uber will drop you off, because I'm not the driver today and I promise that if you're not having a good time or feeling well, I'll even call one for you myself," Karl said gently, watching as Nick finished tying his second shoe and stood up. "Come on, smile, it'll be fun."

"How did you come up with the idea to take me out of all your friends there?" Nick muttered, opening the door to let the older man through and then following, closing it with his own keys, which he later put in one of the pockets of his pants.

"What kind of question is that?" Karl laughed and scanned the guy as he headed toward the elevator.

"Normal," Nick replied. "Why don't you take Nolan? He lives with you, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, but Nolan isn't exactly my first choice of company," Karl replied. "And he's not the kind of guy I'd like to hug after three beers."

"Damn, you need three beers?" Nick muttered, leaning against the elevator wall as the doors began to close.

"I think my plus one might need it," the amused brunette replied, untangling his glasses from his hair and looking calmly into the mirror to fix himself up a bit.

"It's not a date and don't introduce me as your boyfriend, or I'll drown you," Nick said seriously. "Agreed?"

"Well, I'm not going to lie," the boy assured him and winked at him in the reflection.

The two took an Uber to their destination, and Nick even managed to get out of his perpetual complaining stage, and instead Karl was able to put him in a more playful mood.

That's why when they arrived and heard Drake's song playing somewhere in the garden, Karl smiled broadly at him and, holding his hand low on his back, led them to the side gate to enter the garden right away, where several people were already sitting around a fire pit near the patio. Around were wooden, white chairs with dark navy-blue cushions, and there was a buzz of conversation all around.

Nick felt a little shy because he really didn't know anyone and realized he would be the youngest in the whole group. But Karl, sensing his stress, pressed a little closer to him and sent him a warm smile.

"Hey everyone," Karl said loudly, finally getting their attention.

"Karl!" a cheerful greeting and welcome echoed through the garden.

"And you brought someone, that's great," one of the girls said cheerfully.

"Yeah, of course I brought him," Karl replied, sounding almost proud and extremely happy that the younger one is there with him. "Everyone, this is Nick, my..." Karl trailed off and looked at Nick, who raised an eyebrow at him. "My not-yet-boyfriend," Jacobs finished with sly smile.

"Ooooh~" a chorus of teasing sounds followed, and Nick couldn't help but feel embarrassed. His cheeks turned pinkish color instantly.

However, no one really paid attention to the title Jacobs gave him after the initial teasing sounds died down. Instead, they focused on introducing themselves to Nick by name, although he forgot them all instantly.

"Beer for you guys and make yourselves comfortable," some guy in a salmon-colored shirt said, and Nick eagerly took the bottle, wanting to drink as quickly as possible.

"Where do you have bottle openers?" Karl asked, to which Nick quickly just put the end of the bottle between his teeth and pulled, as he had done hundreds of times before.

Jacobs looked at him, hearing the hiss of the opened beer, to see him holding the cap between his teeth and spitting it out into his palm. "Did you-" he began, but Nick looked at him mysteriously and grabbed his bottle, also opening it without any problem.

"No worries," he said calmly.

"That was hot," Karl whispered in awe. "But also... aren't you afraid you'll break your teeth?"

"Then I'll break my teeth," Nick shrugged and looked towards the two places they reserved for him and Karl by the fire pit. "Sit, my not-yet-boyfriend."

"What?" Karl grumbled, actually dropping onto the pillows. Nick did the same and sent him a look. "Did I lie?"

"Well, technically no, but on the other hand, you suggested to everyone that I will be your boyfriend in the near future," Nick said softly to him, leaning over to the boy so that the rest wouldn't hear their exchange.

"Well, I sure hope so," confident Jacobs replied, to which Nick only lightly kicked his shoe. "Don't make them dirty."

"Why? You're in your rural look today," Nick said confidently, taking a sip of beer and reaching for Karl's sunglasses to take them and put them on his nose. "I didn't choose your aesthetic."

"What did I do to deserve you?" Karl replied sarcastically, watching as the younger man tilted the beer bottle and smiled happily.

"Nick, I'm sorry to be prying, but we don't know each other, so..." a girl's voice from the side interrupted, catching Sapnap's attention, who nodded at her, indicating that he was, in fact, listening. The blonde girl was sitting next to Karl, so their conversation must have taken place with Jacobs between, and he smiled contentedly at being able to listen. "What do you do in life?"

"Nothing interesting, I'm also studying here," the man replied calmly. "I major in Computer Science."

"Oh, that's interesting," she remarked. "Our departments are like on opposite sides of the campus."

"To be honest, I have no idea where your department is," Nick admitted. "I only hang out on mine, and I don't venture out much further than that."

"We have one of the best parks near us," the girl said confidently, and Karl immediately confirmed her words cheerfully. "It's especially beautiful in the fall when the maples turn red. It looks a bit like those default wallpapers. But never mind, I'm sure Karl will show you someday. What are your plans for future? Any specifics?"

"Uh, not really yet," the brunette admitted quietly. "But I still have some studying to do, so I'm not in a hurry to make a choice. For now, software developer sounds fun, but who knows."

"Uh, how old are you that you still have some time ahead of you?" she asked calmly with genuine interest.

"20," he replied softly.

"What?" she muttered. "Oh my God. I want to be that young again too. Those were the days."

Karl chuckled at her jealous reaction and sadness.

"Yeah, I agree," the boy sighed calmly. "Those were still the days when I had the energy to do so many things."

"Don't exaggerate, you still seem to want to do everything," Nick said calmly. "Besides, you're not that much older."

"Nah, we are. We're like old geezers on a death bed next to you," the girl admitted with amusement. "And how did you two meet? Any mutual friends or some other exciting story?"

Karl let out a louder breath through his nose and looked at Nick, who smiled gently.

"Not that exciting. We just skate in the same skatepark," Nick replied slowly. "And somehow we ended up in a group."

"Well, that's nice. It's nice to have common interests," she decided happily.

"Mhm, I guess without that we wouldn't really have a way to meet," Karl admitted calmly and smiled affectionately at Nick. "But surprisingly, we have more in common than it might seem, so we quickly became friends."

"Oh, that's sweet," she said warmly. "But usually the best love stories are made by pure coincidences. I, for that matter, met my boyfriend a bit out of nowhere."

"Well, we're just friends, so I don't think skating brought us together that much" Karl said, looking at Nick calmly as if he wanted to say 'see, I told her we're just friends'. "But coincidences happen to people."

"Yeah, sometimes they can really shape a lot," Nick said, thinking about how he went from sending a random message to Karl to meeting his group of friends from college.

"That sounded deep," Jacobs chuckled, looking at the black-clad boy.

"Yeah, call me Paulo Coelho now," Nick said playful.

"He only needed a few minutes and a sip of beer," Karl muttered to the girl next to him, who laughed cheerfully.

"Just wait until I drink two bottles. I'll write a new version of Plato's Symposium live, here," Nick joked.

"Wow, an IT guy who knows what Plato's Symposium is? Karl, don't let him escape," the blonde laughed.

"Oh, relax, I have no intention of letting him go," said the confident boy and discreetly winked at Nick, who just smiled foolishly.

"You'll change your mind when I start asking you to play Megan Thee Stallion," Nick assured them, eliciting giggles from the two almost immediately.

"We needed that voice of reason in our group," the blonde girl decided with a big smile.

"Oh, that'll just give him ideas," Karl said amused. "Who knows what will happen."

"You brought me here at your own risk," Nick replied with a mysterious smile. "Now deal with the consequences."

"Very happily," Karl replied, his smile stretching from ear to ear.

After this, Nick felt much more relaxed than at the beginning. He didn't know how he could ever doubt that Karl's friends could be awful. Right after the first conversation, he caught another and another, somehow fitting in quite nicely with the group, even though Karl faithfully stood by his side, participating in conversations in case he needed support. Nick felt really great in such an arrangement and had much fun. So much that when it got dark and the hanging lights above them and on the roof of the patio turned on, instead of wanting to run back to his apartment and sleep as he planned, he felt a buzzing energy in himself that he drew from interacting with these people. Maybe they weren't exactly Nick's type of people to be friends with, but it was easy to spend time with them, and that was enough for Sapnap, as he opened beers for himself and Karl, who didn't even bother looking for a bottle opener when he had Nick at hand, who gladly helped him.

"Karl Jacobs, why are you so smiley, huh?" Nick murmured gently when the two were left alone at the still slightly burning fire pit, surrounded by comfortable garden chairs. It was already far into the evening; the sky was completely black and the earth slowly gave off the warmth it had gathered during the sunny day.

"Me?" muttered Karl, sinking slightly further into his seat and chuckling as Nick leaned on his elbow, amused. "I'm just glad you're here with me."

"Of course, I am. You'd bitch about it for the next ten years if I hadn't come," the younger man replied grinning.

"That's the only reason?" Karl murmured, and his hand discreetly touched Nick's exposed forearm on which he leaned.

"Are you looking for specific words?" Nick asked calmly, feeling great in their own private bubble. Karl's eyes reflected the lights above them, making it look like he had stars in his eyes. Sapnap smiled at the silly thought.

"Why are you suddenly smiling so foolishly huh?" Karl asked gently.

"I have my own private reasons," Nick decided confidently. "And now answer me. I asked first."

"And I asked you second," the curly-haired man chuckled. "Besides, I think I deserve a little treat, don't you think?"

"Hmm nah," the amused brunette murmured in response. "You can dream though. I won't stop you."

"Don't be so forward, or I'll have to bring you back down to earth," Karl whispered conspiratorially, and his hand slid to Nick's dark hair, where his sunglasses now rested, which he had previously taken off. He adjusted a few strands with a slight smile on his lips. "You're really cute, you know that?"

"And you can't hold your liquor," Nick replied calmly, although he didn't move even a millimeter to interrupt the touch between them. "And you're only half-wearing overalls."

"That's fashion," Karl whispered with a giggle and slightly blushing cheeks. He looked sweet by Sapnap's standards. "And even if so what. You don't like my overalls?"

"I didn't say anything like that," he assured him at the moment. "You look quite... cuddly in them."

Karl sighed softly, and his hand again slid down to the younger boy's forearm. "So why haven't you hugged me yet?"

"Because there are others with us," Nick decided.

"I don't see anyone here except us," he whispered to him.

Indeed, the girls had settled to try out the swings on the patio, and a few people were having their own conversations in a slight distance from them, smoking cigarettes.

"I won't hug you," Nick murmured gently and yawned softly, taking him by surprise. "I'm sorry. I'm still a little tired."

"You didn't get enough sleep, huh?" Karl murmured, smiling as if Nick hadn't just refused to hug him. "Did you do anything interesting?"

Nick knew what Karl was referring to, and besides a slight blush and a smile, he didn't want to give Karl any reaction.

"I don't know what you're so embarrassed about," Karl added gently. "I think it's me who should be ashamed in this case."

"Are you going to play the shame card now?" Nick raised his eyebrows meaningfully. "Where was it when you were telling everyone that you were working on making me fall for you?"

"It's just a fact," Karl innocently shrugged. "Also, I'm working very hard on it. Unfortunately, you're not the easiest to get."

"Oh Jacobs, Jacobs" Nick murmured softly. "Isn't friendship enough for you?"

"You already know what I think about it," Karl replied calmly. "And you definitely should kiss me now."

"I don't think I will," he replied very gently, almost as if he wanted to tease Karl. "Your friends might think something."

"Well, you know... I think I deserve at least a little something after how you couldn't sleep because of me," Karl decided confidently but seeing that Nick had no intention of making any move, he sighed slightly sad. "But did you like them? The pictures, I mean."

"Karl," Nick whispered softly. "I've been thinking about them for a long time."

"To be honest, I wasn't sure I understood your message at first," Karl replied quietly. "But I'm glad we worked it out."

"You always seem to know what I mean," Nick whispered with a slight fondness towards him. "I quite like that."

"I just really like you," Karl replied with a smile. "And I'm sorry I introduced you as if you had no choice but to go out with me in the future. I didn't want you to feel any pressure."

"It's not that big of a deal and besides... I'm partially used to what you do," Nick assured him. "Don't worry, Karl. There's no pressure between us."

"There isn't," he repeated after him as if he wanted to reassure himself. "I like it how everything with you is easy."

"Is that so? Weren't you complaining recently that I didn't want to go on a date with you?" Nick murmured playfully.

"You know, even something like this doesn't seem particularly terrible to me with you," Karl admitted. "I mean, of course, I would prefer for everything to be resolved eventually, but I like liking you and knowing that you like me. It's a nice feeling."

"You're quite alright coincidence, you know?" Nick muttered to him, feeling his heart race a bit. "And quite handsome one."

"What does that even mean?" Karl chuckled, completely unaware of what the younger one was even referring to.

"Nothing to worry about," he assured him lightly and blinked, moving back to a safe distance. "It's getting cold. I think I'll be leaving soon."

Karl immediately grunted in dissatisfaction.

"Stay with me," he pleaded, then turned to grab the jacket that was crumpled on the side of his seat. "And put this on."

Nick smiled and took the coat, putting on the beige jacket.

"Won't you be cold?" he asked, feeling a bit silly.

"I have a sweatshirt," he shrugged. "And if it gets too cold, don't worry, I'll call you to warm me up."

Nick laughed, causing Karl to chuckle as well. "You're so stupid. I'm not going to hug you."

"Rude" Karl muttered, looking satisfied as Nick looked good in his jacket. The boy sucked in air through his teeth. "Wow, I really want to kiss you right now."

Nick raised his eyebrows, his heart rate quickening at the sudden confession. "You always want to," he teased, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Sounds about right," Karl nodded, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Just sometimes, there are moments when I want to kiss you more than usual."

Nick's breath caught in his throat as they looked at each other in complete silence, the air between them charged with tension. He could feel the heat rising to his cheeks as Karl's gaze lingered on his lips.

"Maybe one more beer?" Karl joked, breaking the silence. "I need to warm you up, so you won't run away from me."

"I like that plan," Nick nodded and stood up from his seat first, then reached out to Karl, who almost jumped energetically, almost falling over. "Be careful, silly."

"You'll catch me anyway," he said to him calmly, and Nick smiled at how he believed in him in the most sincere way possible.

Some more time passed, and Karl finally gave up and hugged Nick, sitting with him on the swing, listening to the discussion of two girls about one of the new restaurants in the city. Sapnap just put his arm around him and chuckled lightly when he said it was getting cold.

"Don't you want your jacket back?" Nick asked gently, but Karl shook his head calmly.

"You're warm enough," he answered happily, snuggling closer to Nick, and adjusting his arm around him. Karl closed his eyes for a moment and let out a relaxed sigh, completely at ease in Sapnap's embrace.

Nick knew he was cornering himself, but he couldn't even pretend anymore that he didn't start to like these small moments he had with Karl. His friend was becoming a constant in his life that Nick wasn't sure he wanted to remove.

That's why when people finally started to slowly disperse, Nick ordered an Uber to Karl's address, who had definitely had two beers too many. Sapnap had no ulterior motives when they got into the car together. He just wanted to safely take him home. However, instead of sobering up Jacobs' mind, the ride to his place put him in an even more giggly mood. So when they got out of the car, he naturally hugged Nick and pulled him a few steps towards the small driveway of his house. Nick was also a bit tipsy, but somehow he managed to catch them in time and when the Uber drove away, Karl giggled as if the world was about to end, still holding onto Nick's neck.

"You caught me," he sang with his red cheeks.

"Of course," Nick laughed, adjusting his hands on the older man's back in case he was going to do something reckless again and hurt himself in the process. "And you're incredibly drunk, you know that?"

"I am?" Karl asked nonchalantly. "Well, that's not good. I don't like being drunk. I make a fool of myself when I am."

Nick chuckled softly and smiled at the boy illuminated by the street lamp.

"You always make a fool of yourself," Nick muttered gently to him.

"Are you mad?" the boy asked, scrunching his nose sweetly. His cheeks were flushed, and his breath was warm against Nick's skin.

"That you're drunk?" Nick asked, and Karl only nodded uncertainly, still grinning "I'm not. How could I ever be mad at you? You have the right to have fun."

"But I'm mischievous," Karl giggled, tilting back as if to emphasize it. Nick had to brace one leg forward to keep him from falling over.

"I can take care of you," he assured him, feeling Karl's weight leaning on him again, and one of his hands lightly slapped the younger man's cheek. "What was that for?"

"You're so handsome," Karl murmured with a smile of almost disbelief, as if he couldn't believe Nick was really there with him.

"Come on. Let's take you safely to bed." Nick muttered.

"Okay." Karl giggled, but he didn't move.

"That implies that you have to stop staring at me," Nick whispered with a smile of endearment. "Come on, baby, let's go."

Without warning, Karl let out a short grunt and grabbed a little tighter onto Nick, who quickly straightened him up. Nick knew that he needed to get Karl to bed before things got too out of hand. They made their way to the entrance door, with Karl holding onto Nick for support.

The boy hung onto him most of the way, although, when they got inside, he was suddenly energized once again and grabbed Nick's hand, pulling him towards the stairs. Now it was him leading Nick through the dark corridor to his room, although Sapnap had to catch him when he swayed a bit too much and almost fell.

Nick closed the door behind them and looked around the room. He recognized the mirror in which Karl took a photo the previous day and couldn't focus on anything else as Karl tapped his jaw with his fingers, drawing attention to himself.

"I didn't think I'd be so wasted the first time you're here," Karl whispered softly, moving even closer to him. "But it's okay."

Nick looked at him up close, taking in every detail he could notice. Nick chuckled when Karl reached out again to loosely wrap his arms around Nick's neck, allowing himself to press their chests together.

In the dim light of the bedside lamp, Karl's eyes looked so blue that Nick thought it could be his new favorite color. Karl looked at his lips longingly, but didn't lean in, waiting to see what the other boy would do.

"Are you waiting for me to kiss you?" Nick asked slowly, looking at Karl's plump lips respectfully. Karl smiled instantly.

"I don't know, I always do it, so..." he muttered innocently. "You could initiate it for once. I wouldn't mind."

Nick didn't need any more encouragement. He pressed their lips together, taking Karl's breath away in a second and causing him to press even closer, deepening the kiss instantly.

"Finally," Karl whispered, almost as if in agony. "I've been waiting for this all evening."

"You only think about one thing," Nick muttered to him, pushing against him slightly, causing Karl to look challengingly into his eyes.

"Mhm, the spider fell into his own web," he whispered and chuckled. "Weren't you supposed to put me to bed or something?"

In any other situation, Nick would have thought that Karl was sleepy, but the shamelessness with which he said it made it clear that he didn't really want to sleep.

Karl's hands slipped under Nick's beige jacket, gently pushing it off his shoulders, giving a clear signal that he wanted Nick to take it off.

"Baby, you're completely hammered," Nick whispered gently. "As much as I would like to do many things with you right now, I think we shouldn't tonight, okay?"

"You know I would do anything with you, whether I'm drunk or not. I think I made that clear enough," Karl decided, squeezing his arms.

"I know, I know," Nick whispered. "But it shouldn't be like this."

"Are you saving yourself for me when you're sober?" Karl joked. "Start kissing me now, throw me on the bed, and do everything we talked about. Please."

Nick swallowed, and then Karl pressed their lips together in a strong kiss, and the younger boy felt himself starting to drown in the heavenly feeling.

Sapnap's hands tightened around the taller man's waist and slid down lower, to which the other simply lifted one leg meaningfully for Nick to catch onto, giving him enough assurance that he would catch him. So he ended up with his legs wrapped around Nick, who held onto him and made his way to the bed, where they lost themselves in kisses, still with only his jacket removed from his shoulders, with his hands firmly gripping Karl's thighs and the brunette's body pressing against him more eagerly. Their lips were already sensitive from the kisses and Nick felt dizzy and confused by it all in a moment of sobriety.

In a moment of clarity, he still felt like the biggest jerk in the world. He couldn't imagine taking advantage of Karl in any way. How could he live with himself after that? Or at least that's what he thought. So even though the other half of his brain screamed for him to go back to what he was doing, Nick interrupted their kiss.

"No," he murmured strictly when Karl just wanted to continue undressing.

"Yes," Jacobs responded sadly.

"I won't do that to you," he said and pulled one of Karl's legs to remove it from himself. "I care too much about you, okay?"

"But-" Karl started, watching as he straightened up and fixed his shirt.

"No, Karl, you're drunk," Nick replied firmly. "Just go to sleep. And I'll go home now."

"You can still stay," he mumbled with evident sadness in his voice.

"I think it's better if I go," Nick reassured him. "Thanks for a nice evening, but it'll be safer if we go our separate ways."

"But I don't understand. We both want this," Karl muttered softly. "Is something wrong with me?"

"No, Karl, everything's great with you," Nick reassured him, seeing that he wasn't convincing at all.

"Whatever, just go. Since I'm not interesting enough," the boy muttered softly and sat up to start struggling with his buckle.

"Karl," Nick murmured, grabbing his hands and helping him unfasten it. The boy didn't respond, didn't even look at him. "I don't want you to regret the decisions you make under the influence, okay?"

"I said I wouldn't," he replied annoyed. "You know I won't."

"You will," he murmured softly, kneeling in front of him and placing his hands on his knees with a sigh. "I'll regret agreeing to do something that will hurt you later. Because.. believe me. I can't stop thinking about what we could do."

"Did you regret everything we did before?" Karl asked. "Am I such a mistake for you?"

"No. You're just so important to me that I don't want to fuck up our friendship," Nick explained slowly.

Karl was still staring at him with slight disorientation.

"Don't be mad, please," Nick murmured softly, touching his cheek. "You have to go to bed like a good boy you are and-"

"And when I sober up, I'm going to insist that you continue," Karl replied completely seriously. "You can stay so I don't have to walk far."

"You're crazy," Nick said calmly.

"Yeah, and to be honest, I don't know if I can get out of these pants without help," Karl muttered.

"Karl... stop," Sapnap sigh deeply. "I'm not staying."

"No, I'm serious now," the boy whispered, slightly embarrassed. "You have to help me unbutton these buttons on the sides. That's all."

Nick chuckled at this message. "Really?"

"I can't do buttons after alcohol," Jacobs replied, even more embarrassed. "Don't laugh, or I'll start crying."

"Okay, okay. I'll stop," he assured him. "Then why did you wear overalls with so many buttons today?"

"Well, I was hoping someone would take them off me," Karl replied with a slight smirk.

Nick reached over to actually unbutton the older's overalls.

"These are the most impractical pants in the world to wear, expecting sexy time with someone," Nick said completely honestly, because even he had a slight problem with unbuttoning some of them on the stiff material.

"Forgive me, next time I'll wear something more accessible," Karl grumbled dissatisfied. "You're ungrateful."

"Done. I can still operate buttons," Nick said flirtatiously.

"I'll be calling you to help me with them very often since you're already an expert," Karl muttered with a slight smile, looking up at him and laying his hand flat on the younger boy's thigh. "Do you have to go?"

"Yes," he replied. "Exactly because you're doing shit like this. Go to bed."

"I'm in bed," he smiled playfully. "Aren't I?"

"No," Nick confirmed.

"Then at least give me a goodnight kiss," he said sadly and tugged on the hem of his shirt.

Nick allowed himself to bend down to the boy again and kiss him gently. Karl almost instantly pulled him onto the bed with laughter. However, Sapnap was eventually able to free himself from his embrace and kisses.

"Go to sleep," he ordered him, looking at Karl who was sitting on the edge of the bed with a playful smile.

"Goodnight, handsome," Karl hummed.

"Goodnight," Nick replied with a small smile and left the room, feeling like he was finally shedding some of that facade.

There was nothing he wanted more than to return to that room, Karl's kisses, and the boy that was rubbing against him chaotically, providing him with feeling of too many edges at once.

Nick had a hard time falling asleep that night.