Nick was feeling down and it didn't go unnoticed by his closest friends, who gave him strange looks every time he sighed, looking into space or out the window.

"You look like my dad when he used to come into my room, look out the window, not saying anything, and then leaving," Punz finally said, when even after two full days of Nick's sad behavior, it didn't seem to stop.

"Hey, my dad used to do that too," muttered Clay, looking at the blond, then his eyes moved to Nick, who stood with a glass, pouring filtered water from a jug into it. "But seriously, you're acting a little weird. Did something happen?"

"No," Sapnap answered after a moment of thought. Technically, nothing had happened. Karl still smiled at him on Sundays when they were at the skate park with their friends, but on the other hand, something huge had happened, and both sides knew well that even if they didn't want to admit it, something had changed in their relationship.

"So, you've been just casually walking around and sighing like you wanted to tell us something for a few days?" Luke raised his eyebrows not buying Sapnap's words.

"I don't want to tell you anything," Nick replied, carefully putting the jug aside and taking a sip of water from the glass. "Because nothing is happening, so... I have nothing to say."

"But for some reason, you're feeling blue, right?" Clay said, staring at his roommate intensely. "You can talk to us if you want. Or if not with us, talk to someone else, it's clear that it's bothering you."

Yeah, Nick was bothered - by his guilty conscience.

"Well... or go out somewhere. Live a little, it'll make you feel better. Take Karla out for a nice lunch or something," Punz suggested.

"Why would I take Karla out for lunch?" Nick replied anxiously.

"Because... I don't know. Don't you like her or something? Take Karl if you prefer more friendly company," Punz muttered with a tired sigh. "He'll definitely cheer you up."

"Take Karl out for a nice lunch?" Sapnap raised his eyebrows high. "Do I want him to get the wrong idea? Think sometimes, Luke."

"I don't know, God. You guys go out often, so I guess if he was thinking that way, he would have already," Punz replied. "And it's not like he's not already thinking things."

"He's not thinking anything" Nick replied a little harsh. "And if he is, it's his problem."

"So, why are you so upset about the idea of taking him out for lunch?" Clay snorted, clearly not understanding the situation.

"Because I don't want to, that's it," Nick replied shortly, not wanting to go into details. "Why are you guys so fixated on him? If I wanted to go somewhere with someone or talk to someone, I would do it."

After that, Nick left the kitchen, leaving the other two slightly disoriented.

"Yikes, he's touchy about Karl, not us, right?" Clay asked for confirmation.

"They probably had an argument or something, who knows," Punz responded nonchalantly. "Maybe he'll get over it eventually. I don't really want to get involved."

So they let Nick wander around the apartment without much enthusiasm for life. Karl didn't show up for any of those days, and Nick didn't even feel like going out to skate, even though Luke saw that Jacobs was clearly waiting for him.

The whole situation was strange and ambiguous. Even Nick wasn't sure what was going on. Sometimes he still exchanged messages with Karl, and they even spent one night texting until 4 a.m., but then things got awkward again. Jacobs didn't make any ambiguous jokes, didn't use any pet names, or suggest that they would make a good couple, which drove Nick crazy. Literally. And the worst part of it – he wanted this himself so why suddenly was he feeling like this was torture?

He sought solace in Karla, but it didn't help. He felt somewhat too detached to even care if she saw any remnants of Karl's aggressively kissing him. It was only a momentary forgetfulness, so two weeks after that unfortunate incident on Saturday, Nick decided he couldn't take it anymore. So when his roommates announced that they were inviting some friends over for a little party, he did the only rational thing.

"I'll invite Karl," he said simply.

"Okay," Clay responded a bit strangely, as he was about to suggest maybe inviting Karla because Nick seemed to be spending more time with her than anyone lately. But he also didn't want to interfere any further in his roommate business. "Cool, George said it would be nice if he came."

Nick nodded casually and pulled out his phone to dial Karl's number, not wanting to waste any second.

"Hello?" Jacob's unsure voice echoed after the second ring.

"Hey," Nick replied casually, or at least he tried to, as he slumped onto the sofa. "I have a question."

"Did something happen? You never call," Jacobs noticed, a little worried.

"No, should I have?" Nick responded disoriented.

"No, but I'm a little surprised," he said honestly. "Nevermind, what's the question?"

"Well," Nick cleared his throat. "Would you like to come over today?"

"Like to your place?" he asked even more uncertainly.

"Yeah, there'll be a few people, you could hang out with us," Nick tried his best to sound normal and like a desperate mess he actually was.

"Oh, I see," Karl mumbled, sounding a little exhausted. "I'm not sure if it's my thing. Do I even fit in with your friends?"

"Yes" he replied as if it were completely obvious. "Others want you to come too."

"Okay, so as I thought, they're inviting me," he sighed.

"No, I am," Nick said seriously. "I'm not forcing you, but you know, it would be nice if you came."

Silence followed.

"I want you to come," Nick added more gently. And that sentence, for some unknown to Sapnap reason, had influenced Jacobs' demeanor.

"Oh" Karl muttered; his tone immediately changed. "Should I bring something specific?"

"I'll be going to the store, so I'll buy your favorite wine," Nick assured, knowing that Karl always repeated how much he preferred wine over vodka or beer. "Anything else you want?"

"Take two bottles," Jacobs said gently, almost sounding flustered. "Since you're planning on getting me drunk anyway."

Nick snickered quietly. "Yeah, totally. So come whenever you want, I guess. I'm guessing most people will start showing up around 8."

"Okay, expect me there at some point," Karl chuckled playfully. "I'll text you when I'm on my way."

"Mhm, okay, see you tonight," Nick said casually.

"Okay, bye!" Karl replied, hanging up first.

"So I guess Karl's coming," Clay said, throwing a meaningful look towards his friend, who nodded with enthusiasm.

"Yup," Nick murmured calmly. "Karl's coming."

"That's good," he thought, smiling to himself.

Even better than simply good – Sapnap thought to himself smiling widely for the first time in a few days.

---

Nick sat with a slight smile, checking his phone as he received a message from Karl a few minutes ago that he was getting in the car. He was waiting for his arrival with a bottle of beer in his hand and a specially reserved seat next to him. For some reason, he couldn't wait to see Karl again and maybe try to pretend to be normal for a moment.

Karl: ookay, I'm downstairs, so I'll be there in a minute<3

Nick smiled at his phone and patiently waited for the doorbell to ring. He got up with George as soon as it did, and they both walked out to the hallway, joking about who would open the door. Karl was standing in the hallway with another guest.

"Oh, hey, look who it is," George said, making room for the two guests in the corridor so they could come in.

"We just met outside your door," Karl said with a chuckle. "And we're best friends now" he added, pointing his thumb at the other man.

"Yeah, almost like we timed our arrival," Noah said with a big smile.

Nick let them take off their shoes in peace while leaning against the wall. Then, while Noah and George were talking, they walked towards the living room, leaving Jacobs and Nick alone. Sapnap could take a closer look at Karl's beige shorts that went halfway up his thighs, his white, tight sleeveless undershirt, and his dirty mint-green shirt that reached below his hips, with its large sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

"What? Did I dress that badly?" Karl asked with a gentle smile, catching Sapnap looking intensely at him. "Your dress code of 'wear something casual' didn't give me much to go on."

"You look great," Nick assured him quietly and passed him a smile. "And you know, this is a casual meeting, not a party."

"Yeah, I guess," Karl muttered. "Shall we join the others? You'll have to introduce me to a lot of people today."

"Oh, can't you do it yourself?" Nick joked, wanting to tease him a bit. "Since when you're so dependant on anyone?"

"On your part, I'd be careful, because later, some people might leave this gathering thinking that you're my special friend," Karl said, raising his eyebrows provocatively.

"But I am" Nick shrugged proudly, causing Karl to chuckle. "Come on then."

They did indeed hang out in the living room for a few minutes to introduce Karl to the others and chat with them a little. But eventually, Jacobs reminded Sapnap about the promised wine, and they went to the kitchen to retrieve it. Everyone was too absorbed in their own conversations to even notice they've left.

They took out the bottle from the fridge. "See, specially chilled for you and all" Nick muttered suggestively, searching for a corkscrew in one of the drawers.

"How will I repay you?" Karl asked casually, leaning against the counter and looking at Nick.

"I don't know, I accept payments by card and cash," Nick replied, finally pulling out the tool and glancing briefly at Karl.

"Well, I'm not sure if I have any money on me, unfortunately," Karl replied gently.

"Well, then..." Sapnap muttered suggestively, sweeping him with a glance over his shoulder. "We'll definitely figure something out."

Karl began to chuckle softly. "Wow, you look like someone who would say that."

"Wow, and you suddenly look like someone who won't get any wine," Nick replied amused. "What did that even mean, huh?"

"I'm just saying," Karl shrugged mysteriously. "You're a charmer, so you can get away with saying things like that. I'm sure many people find it really endearing."

Nick's hand moved skillfully as he twisted the corkscrew into the bottle's cork, and with a small pop, he extracted it from the neck of the bottle. The sound echoed through the quiet kitchen as he set the cork down on the counter. Then he looked in on of the cabinets for glasses.

"Well, I wouldn't be so sure about that," Nick replied calmly, sighing as he saw that the glasses were on the top shelf.

"I find it very captivating," Karl muttered softly, moving over to him, and eventually standing on tiptoes to reach the highest shelf. "You make up for your short stature with that."

After that, he lightly tapped the glass against Nick's nose and headed to the wine bottle to pour the drink for himself.

"I actually hate you," Nick said. "I only invited you to throw you out the window."

Karl snorted quietly. "Okay, if you're sure you can reach me."

Nick chuckled despite himself because he missed bantering with Jacobs like this.

Sapnap took a deep breath and let out a small sigh of contentment, feeling the tension from previous days slowly dissipating. "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages," Nick said sincerely, completely changing the subject as Karl smiled into his glass, taking the first sip of wine. For a moment, Nick felt like everything was back to normal.

"All you had to do was say you wanted to see me," Karl shrugged. "As you can see, I can't say no to you."

"I didn't have to before," he muttered uncertainly. "But now I'll know."

"Well, you don't necessarily have to invite me. I know the way as well," he shrugged again. "So I'll just make sure to refresh it more often."

"You should," Nick nodded patiently. "I think the boys decided you've had enough of me."

"Duh, I always have enough of you," he joked carelessly. "I'll make sure they change their mind." Karl added with more sincerity and gentleness.

"Right, you're obsessed with me," Sapnap decided. Jacobs' smile broadened, his eyes sparkling with amusement as he took a sip of his drink.

"A little bit," he smiled. "And you seem to like it."

"Maybe it just doesn't bother me anymore," he confirmed gently. "Okay, take this baby juice and let's go sit down."

"Baby juice?" Karl grumbled, with a fond smile lingering on his lips. "I hope you're aware that this juice will make me really dizzy soon."

"I'm prepared. I bought painkillers and carrot juice," he assured calmly. "I'll even let you brush your teeth if you vomit."

"How romantic," Karl murmured amusedly.

"Yeah, I know," Nick laughed. "I'm a dream guy for everyone."

Karl sighed, amused. "You are Nicky, you are."

"Call me Nicky again and I'll literally lock you in an orange-painted room," Sapnap muttered threatening the older.

"But it's sweet," he decided. "My name can't even be cutely shortened like that."

"You're playing with fire."

"Yeah, because I like the heat," he replied confidently. "And now, Nick, let's go to the guests, don't make them wait for one of the hosts."

"You're my orange color."

"At least I'm not the 13th reason." Karl smiled sweetly.

The two sat down with the rest and joined in the conversation quite casually, occasionally veering off into their own topics, because that's just how Nick and Karl worked. It often led them down a rabbit hole of endless conversations, as one topic led to another and suddenly Karl was showing him something on his phone and they were laughing, cheeks almost touching when they squeezed into each other more, not thinking about anything else.

Time in good company also flew by quickly, and before they knew it, Karl was talking like crazy about his Nintendo game collection to George, with red tinted cheeks from wine and was already halfway through the second bottle. Nick, after a few stronger drinks that were accompanied by beer, was lying somewhat comfortably on the sofa, his arm along the backrest, listening to conversations coming from different directions.

Finally, Karl seemed to get too emotional as he often got during his long monologues, and suddenly he grabbed Nick's exposed forearm, digging his nails into his skin without a care.

Sapnap didn't even flinch at the physical contact, used to Karl's touchy-feely nature. However, George immediately blinked confused, watching as Karl's hand eventually moved forward, perhaps somewhat unconsciously, finally gripping Nick's fingers, crushing them and pulling his arm so that it bent at the elbow and he could get closer to the fingers he was playing with. Sapnap allowed it and also allowed him to start putting his rings on him, turning them around his fingers, even if George watched with slight amusement, as Nick's hand had already fallen from the armrest and was simply lying loosely on the older's legs, which from the side probably looked like he was being hugged, but Nick didn't really care much, as his attention was already focused on a discussion with Punz and Sam about one of their classmates.

Everything was fine, Karl eventually got up to go to the bathroom, leaving Nick with two silver rings, and the guy took his hand back to his own legs without a word. No one commented.

It was getting late, most people were under the influence and no one really paid much attention to the fact that when Karl returned, he sat even closer to Nick, who smiled in response.

A few people were already gathering to leave, so the living room was starting to empty out.

"I think I'm wasted already," Karl whispered in his ear, causing Nick to let out a quiet chuckle. "I looked in the mirror and I'm really in that state."

"I didn't notice after you almost fell over trying to reach for chips on the table," Nick responded just as quietly with hint of sarcasm, causing the older one to have a slight laugh attack. Jacobs nudged his arm in a gesture of dissatisfaction.

"Shut up," he muttered to him only.

"Why?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Because... I'll kiss you," Karl decided, whispering.

"I'm scared already," the green-eyed one said sarcastically. "How would I survive that?"

"I don't know, you probably wouldn't, I'm really good at it," he shrugged confidently.

"At what?" asked George as he sat down next to them once again.

"Uno," replied Karl, as if completely prepared for the question. His eyelid didn't even flinch. "Nick thinks he could win, but I'm better."

"You can tell yourself whatever you want, Jacobs. Living in your dreams is completely free," Armstrong assured him, thoroughly amused at how it was playing out.

"You just don't have balls to admit that I'm better than you," argued Karl.

"That's a matter of dispute," Nick replied.

"Shut up," chuckled Karl. "You're so full of yourself. Did you know that?"

"Yep," Nick confirmed. "Anything else?"

"I can't stand this guy," Karl said to George, amused.

"I don't blame you, he's a tough case," the Brit confirmed happily.

"You're both tough cases," Nick retorted, nudging Karl with his foot. "Idiots."

"You can't accept an obvious defeat," Karl said again. "Just admit that you're unbearable."

"So what are you doing here then?" Sapnap raised an eyebrow at him, amused.

"I like charity work," Karl replied with a wide smile, patting Nick lightly on the chest. That provoked Sapnap to have a great idea to pull at older's hand, causing Jacobs to almost fall over. All three of them burst out laughing.

"I'll throw you out the window," Nick said.

"I'll do something worse," Karl assured him with a chuckle. "So you better watch out."

"Okay," Sapnap laughed.

"Okay," Karl murmured grinning.

"You're more drunk than I thought," Nick said honestly, looking at him amused. "There's no hope for you."

"Oops" Karl spread his hands helplessly. "So, like, are you gonna do mouth-to-mouth to save me?"

George was shocked that Karl had said that right to Nick's face, causing him to pause for a moment.

"Oh my God," Davidson muttered. "I can't believe you actually said that without stuttering. You must be seriously drunk."

"Nahh, I say worse things when I'm sober" Jacobs assured, almost proud of himself, and grabbed Nick's thumb. "Nicky's immune to it now, really."

"Nicky!" George muttered, looking at Sapnap in shock. "Did I miss something?"

"You'll miss it in a minute when I murder Karl for his stupid nicknames," Sapnap decided seriously, pulling his hand away and causing Jacobs to giggle.

"He's shy about it, but I'm his favorite person in the whole world and he lets me do anything," Karl said, proudly leaning over to pour himself more wine into his glass.

Nick snorted. "Not at all."

"Yes, you do," Karl replied cheerfully, sticking to his own opinion.

"That's messed up, I'll never let him forget it," George assured Karl.

"I hate all my friends," Armstrong decided dramatically. "You're the worst in the world."

"You say that and then still can't find new ones," Karl pointed out. "So I think you must love us after all."

"Ew."

"Yeah, I'll drink to that," Karl chuckled, tipping his glass back for a few long swallows.

"Slow down, you'll be unconscious soon," Nick said, amused, and they fell into a spiral of joking with George again.

It went on until the end of the bottle, and even when the last guest had left, Karl was still laughing hysterically, sitting comfortably, leaning on pillows on one of the armrests. His legs were draped over Nick's thighs, who held his hands clasped together on one of Karl's knees.

George and Luke were still sitting with them, despite the late hour and Clay having retired to his room already. The conversation was going frighteningly well, and none of those present wanted to end it. However, eventually their energy also went down. They transitioned into a gentle drowsy state, discussing more serious topics. Karl's state lulled him to sleep quite quickly, and Nick leaned on him, allowing his legs to change position and shift Jacobs slightly into a more comfortable sleeping position.

Luke and George said they were going to bed too, leaving the two of them alone.

"Can you order me an Uber?" Karl asked groggily.

"You're crazy," Nick whispered. "You're going to sleep here quietly because in this state you won't get too far."

"I'll get to your bed~" Karl hummed suggestively and laughed at himself, as if aware that what he said was silly.

"It would be nice if I didn't have to carry you there," Nick assured him. "Or you can sleep on the couch."

"I want to sleep with you," Karl mumbled and reached out with his arms towards him, encouraging the younger man to hug him by making grabby hands. Nick snuggled into him almost immediately, crushing him in the most wonderful way.

"I missed you," Nick murmured, perhaps a little too much under the influence. "And your hugs."

"Yeah? I missed you too," Karl mumbled softly, kissing his face blindly.

"I'm sorry for that, Karl," Nick finally murmured. "I shouldn't have got high with you then and it was stupid. It just made things weird between us."

"It's okay," Karl assured him, gently stroking his back. "Everything is so okay between us, Nicky, always."

"But... you're in love with me, aren't you?" Nick murmured.

"Yeah, I'm very, very badly in love with you," Karl admitted as if it was simple and obvious. As if he wasn't just making a gut-wrenching confession. "I wasn't before, but now I'm sure I'm in love with you."

"Because of what happened?" Sapnap asked uncertainly.

"Of course not, silly. I fell in love with how wonderful you are," he answered gently. "The better I get to know you, the more I'm convinced that you were the best choice in my life."

"I don't know if I'm ever a good choice," Nick muttered sadly. "I don't even know if I wouldn't say that I'm the worst choice. I don't know how to behave to not break your heart sometimes."

"Break it then," Karl muttered lazily. "Just because you're undecided and lost doesn't mean I'll give up. I'd rather have a broken heart, knowing I did everything in my power to get the person who makes me the happiest, than regret later that I didn't try. I know the vision of destroying our friendship is terrible, I myself am sometimes afraid of it, Nicky, because I don't know what I would do without you... but it's okay to take time to understand our own feelings."

Nick absorbed those words like a sponge and waited a moment before saying something from the deepest corner of his soul.

"Sometimes you make me think about how nice it would be to have a boyfriend like you," Nick muttered. "Sometimes I really feel like it wasn't a coincidence but destiny. Because I can't get you out of my head even for a moment. But then I don't know if it's just... you know... physical attraction. That's why I don't want to get into it fully because if it's not that... then our friendship probably won't recover from it. Do you understand?"

There was silence in response.

"Karl?" Nick asked puzzled.

Silence.

"Are you fucking asleep?" Nick asked in mild shock. "Oh my God, you must be kidding me."

Nick sighed and began to get up, gently removing Karl's hands from his body. He tried to wake him up, but he was completely unresponsive. Nick sighed and simply took him to his room bridal-style, so he could sleep in better and more comfortable conditions. He took off Karl's shirt and shorts, thinking it might be uncomfortable for him sleeping in his clothes. Nick was too drunk to think about how it might be perceived the next day. He was also too distracted by the fact that Karl had told him he was madly in love with him. So how could he not take care of him after that? How could he not make him comfortable, prepare him water and leave painkillers by the side of the bed he was lying on?

After that, he stripped off his own clothes and got into bed in just his boxers, allowing himself a few minutes to contemplate whether he could cuddle with Karl but he didn't. Karl, as always, took things in his hands and hugged him in his sleep later. Nick found it incredibly soothing.