Chapter Text
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“So, who do you think will make a joke first?” Karl asked Sapnap, rubbing his thumb over their joined hands to ease the tension.
“Oh, easy,” Sapnap said without thought. “George, for sure.”
Karl let out a giggle that made Sapnap smile. It was good to see Sapnap smile in the midst of their long day. Karl brought his hand up to cradle Sapnap’s jaw, his purple polished nails unintentionally matched the purple tie-dye of Sapnap’s hoodie.
“Only a few more,” Karl reminded him quietly, already grateful for that morning.
“I know,” Sapnap replied, his eyes softening as he took Karl in. He kissed Karl’s thumb quickly, his smile returning right after. “C’mon,” He urged playfully, and pretended to bite at Karl’s fingers.
Karl pulled his hand back in faux-offense, but Sapnap entwined their fingers back together before Karl could get too far.
“I’m gonna ask them if they’re ready to hop in VC,” Karl said, turning to face the monitors to his side. It didn’t take long to pull up Discord.
That morning, Sapnap and Karl had spilled the news to both of their parents. They had told Sapnap’s parents first, doing the calls with his Dad and Step-Mom separate from the one with his Mom. Both seemed to take the news well, even though it came as a little bit of a shock. Sapnap and Karl had collectively sat through and answered all the painfully awkward questions about their plans for the future and the state of their relationship. Once it was clear that some plans were in place they seemed to relax.
It had taken a while, but eventually, Sapnap’s Mom had given them a ‘congratulations’ towards the end of their call. It wasn’t much, but it still went to Karl’s heart anyway. Despite the call ending on a high note, Karl couldn’t help but get the feeling that she didn’t like him very much. She had made a comment about a paternity test that Sapnap had shut down, and Karl tried not to let it bother him.
He was able to be more at ease with his own parents. Karl’s parents were more enthusiastic, as he thought they would be. Though, they’d always been more laid back than Sapnap’s parents from what he’d seen, and they tended to trust Karl implicitly with all of his decisions. Plus, Sapnap had turned on the southern charm, making himself out to be as polite as possible, melting Karl into a pile of goo as he squeezed his hand throughout the entire ordeal.
They were young, sure, and completely inexperienced, but they were financially stable and in it together. Realistically, Karl couldn’t ask for much more.
It didn’t take long for Alex, George, and Dream to come online. They went into VC and immediately started chattering.
“What’s so important?” George questioned. “What’s with the secret meeting?”
Before Karl or Sapnap could say anything Dream interrupted, “Well maybe they’d tell us if you’d give them a second!”
“Okay, but this is weird,” Alex spoke over him. “Why are you calling together?”
“Guys!” Sapnap shouted, slicing through the chaos. “We have something to tell you.”
“I’m going to guess it has something to do with you being in North Carolina right now,” Dream said dryly.
“Wait-” George said, but Alex cut him off.
“You’re in North Carolina and you never said anything?” Alex asked with disbelief, sounding slightly hurt. Sapnap winced at his tone.
“Why haven’t you posted about a meet-up?” George asked before Karl and Sapnap even had time to reply to Alex. “Why is it so secretive?”
“Again,” Dream said, considerably more agitated. “I think they would tell us if you guys-”
“I’m pregnant,” Karl blurted out, figuring it was the best route, as all of their bickering could last for hours.
The call went silent.
Even Sapnap took a second to look at Karl before he cleared his throat and said, “Yeah, Karl’s pregnant. And this isn’t a joke, like, it’s real. We’re being serious.”
George was the first to break the ice. “Oh my God,” He paused, then said suggestively, “Sapnap,” which only made Dream and Alex break out into immediate laughter.
“Have you guys like, never heard of condoms?” Alex joked, and Karl couldn’t help but snort as Sapnap rolled his eyes.
“Look,” Sapnap said in the way that Karl adored, smiley and a little embarrassed. Karl pressed his face into Sapnap’s shoulder to hide his laughter as the tips of Sapnap’s ears turned pink. “Sometimes you get distracted.”
“Pull out game weak,” George muttered, which had Sapnap sputtering and Karl shaking with hiccuped giggles, face buried in Sapnap’s hoodie.
“George!” Dream scolded, but it was through wheezes of his own.
“But seriously,” Quackity said, “Congratulations, you guys, this is awesome.” He paused. “There’s gonna be a Minecraft baby.”
“Maybe we can teach it to do tricks,” George joked.
“And we know who won’t be babysitting,” Karl responded, beaming at getting a laugh out of Sapnap.
“What would I even do with a baby?” George mumbled, and Karl could hear Alex snickering.
“So, are you guys together now?” Dream prompted, attempting to steer the conversation into something more productive.
“We are,” Sapnap confirmed.
“And I think we’re pretty excited,” Karl felt like defending.
“Are you two gonna move back to Orlando?” Dream pressed on.
“No,” Karl replied at the same time that Sapnap said, “Probably.”
Karl and Sapnap looked at each other while the call quieted.
“I don’t want to go to Orlando,” Karl said slowly, keeping his voice down.
“Yeah, but I mean, we have a lot of plans in Florida…” Sapnap trailed off.
“Right, but my job is here, and my friends are here,” Karl argued, before eyeing Discord on his monitor warily. He noted how silent the call was.
Karl could see the gears turning in Sapnap’s head. “We should-“ He started.
“Talk about this later,” Karl finished. “We haven’t really…” He trailed off, deflating a bit.
Sapnap held out his hand, palm upturned for Karl to take, which he did gladly. Things were a little easier with Sapnap grounding him.
“Guys, we have no idea what we’re doing,” Sapnap admitted honestly. “But we’re gonna figure it out, right?”
“Right!” Karl agreed brightly.
“Frankly,” Dream spoke up suddenly, “I think it’s ridiculous that Sapnap is going to be a Dad before me.”
“What are you, jealous?” Alex demanded, causing Karl to snort.
“No!” Dream spat defensively, making Alex cackle, with Karl joined in. Karl’s infectious giggles eventually got Sapnap to smile at him fondly.
“There will be no babies,” George confirmed, “At least in the near future, I don’t exactly fancy being a teen Mum.”
“I’m 23!” Karl crowed, “And I own a car, and pay taxes!”
“George, you’re 25, that’s not even remotely close.” Dream reasoned. “That’s like calling yourself a child bride.”
“I am a child bride,” George insisted.
“I’m literally younger than you!” Dream yelled, and Karl tucked his head onto Sapnap’s shoulder, awaiting the next exchange.
“You’re forgetting that it’s my first life, Dream! Haven’t you seen on Twitter?! It’s my first life, so clearly-“
“Yeah, Dream,” Sapnap taunted, never missing an opportunity, “It’s his first life!”
“Can we-“ Alex interrupted once more, catching their attention. “Can we get back on topic?”
“Right,” Dream said, relieved.
“Yeah, Sapnap and Karl fucked,” George teased scandalously. “Rawed, even. They’re gonna have a baby and be boring and stop gaming now. They’ll be watching Sesame Street instead of playing Minecraft.”
“George, what babies do you think sit around and watch Sesame Street-“ Sapnap scoffed.
“He’s happy for you guys,” Dream cut in, halting George and Sapnap’s bickering in its tracks. “Right, George?”
“Of course I’m happy for them,” George said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “But they’re also going to be boring baby people.”
“Thanks, Gogy,” Sapnap replied snarkily, causing Karl to giggle.
“So, are you two an official thing now?” Alex asked, taking on a more serious tone. The atmosphere of the call turned tenser as there was a pause.
“Yeah,” Sapnap said, glancing over at Karl as he spoke for them.
“Yeah, we are,” Karl backed him up, squeezing his hand.
Despite the ups and downs they were facing, for the first time, they felt like an actual team.
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“This is kind of goofy,” Karl admitted, exasperated and flustered. He fought the urge to release his hoodie that was bunched up, or use one of his hands to cover his exposed stomach. “It’s barely a bump,” He argued petulantly, fingers twisting along the bottom hem of Sap’s hoodie that he’d stolen.
“Well, yeah, it’s tiny now,” Sapnap emphasized, his attention fully on his phone camera, though. His tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth, like it always did when he was deep in concentration. Karl thought it was cute - like most of the things Sapnap did.
Karl himself, however, did not feel very cute.
He looked down at his pale stomach that was on display. He loved indulging Sapnap, but Sapnap had become obsessed with the bump pictures ever since he had found out about their baby. Karl couldn’t help but feel it was a little ridiculous. He had a bump, sure, but it mostly looked like he was a little bloated, or had a big lunch. He certainly didn’t feel very sexy or glowy, like how he’d always seen pregnancy pictures before.
“Thanks for the reminder that it’s only going to get bigger,” Karl muttered quietly.
Sapnap frowned, finally pulling himself away from his camera roll. “It’ll look great, K.” His frown turned into a smirk and Karl knew him well enough to recognize the cogs turning in his head and braced himself for the joke that was about to follow. “You’re gonna be a sexy Mama, a Big Mama,” Sapnap asserted with glee.
“Right,” Karl said, a sour taste in his mouth.
“Kars?” Sapnap asked tentatively, setting his phone down. “Hey, K, baby, what’s wrong?”
“I’m fine,” Karl said hastily, finally covering up his bump.
Sapnap took a few steps towards him, “You’re crying,” He said softly.
Karl’s hands rushed to his face, and yeah, he was in fact crying. “Sorry, I don’t know why I-” he started, but talking made it worse and a sob bubbled up from his chest. He felt like a mess and he couldn’t get control of himself.
“Karl?” Sapnap prodded, and Karl shrunk in on himself.
“I’m gonna- just- I need…just give me a minute,” Karl stuttered out and slipped away from the little bubble Sapnap had created around him.
He immediately went to the bathroom and shut the door behind him. He slid his back against the door until he was sitting on the floor. He curled his knees to his chest and ground the heels of his palms into both of his eyes. He allowed himself to have a good little cry, and eventually, the tears subsided, even though Karl felt worn out and miserable afterward.
He continued to sit on the floor for a little while longer, absentmindedly wiping away at his puffy cheeks. He had felt so out of sorts lately, and it was embarrassing. He finally had Sapnap around 24/7, and they were in a committed relationship with a capital ‘R’, and yet, Karl constantly felt like a powderkeg and he couldn’t figure out why.
A knock on the door made him jump, despite it being soft and as gentle as could be.
“Hey,” He heard Sapnap’s voice from the other side of the door. “Is there anything I can do?”
Just hearing Sapnap’s voice made Karl want to cry again, but for a completely different reason this time. Now he missed Sapnap and wanted him to hold him; he truly was becoming a lunatic.
“You can come in,” Karl called through the door, and cringed when his voice was scratchy and raw. He scooted away from the door so Sapnap had room to open it.
Once Sapnap did, Karl leaned into how pathetic he was feeling, wanting comfort from his Alpha. He held his arms out. “Hold me?” He asked, his voice cracking.
Sapnap’s face fell. “Oh, sweetheart,” Sapnap crooned, only making Karl feel more pitiful. He knelt down in front of Karl and easily slipped his arms around him. “I’d carry you if I could baby, but I don’t want to drop you. Think I can help you to bed?”
Karl nodded weakly from his place firmly pressed into Sapnap’s shoulder. Sapnap eased him up and helped steady him onto his own two shaky legs. Karl was tucked into Sapnap’s side as he led him back to the bedroom. Sapnap shuffled him over to the bed and fretted until Karl laid down and Sapnap was able to curl up behind him, encompassing him completely.
After they were comfortable, Sapnap pecked Karl’s cheek, then rested his forehead against the back of Karl’s neck.
Karl counted five breaths, their breathing matched, before Sapnap asked, “You gonna tell me what that was about, honeyboy?”
“Hormones, I think,” Karl began, and Sapnap hummed, in the way that Karl knew meant he was skeptical. It wasn’t even the thing that was bothering him most, but for some reason, it was the first thing that came rattling off of his tongue. “Your Mom hates me.”
“My Mom doesn’t hate you,” Sapnap retorted immediately, and Karl flipped over in his grip just to stare at him in astonishment. “She doesn’t hate you,” Sapnap insisted, “She just doesn’t know you.”
“She mentioned wanting a paternity test,” Karl grumbled.
“Okay, that…that was out of line, but I shut her down. She didn’t mean it like that, she’s just looking out for me.” Sapnap defended, and Karl sighed. “I’ll talk to her.”
“No, God, don’t do that,” Karl replied hastily. “That’ll just make me look worse, or confirm that I’m trying to like, I don’t know, make a divide between you two. I just know she doesn’t like me.”
“You have to understand, it’s not about liking you,” Sapnap started off hesitantly, like he was trying to find the right words. “Even though I’m making money and supporting myself, she still doesn’t see what we do as a real job. So, she views you as someone else without a ‘real job’, and now we’re adding a baby to the mix while being unbonded, so it’s all… it’s just non-traditional and that’s what bothers her.” Sapnap pressed a few kisses over Karl’s cheeks and forehead, and any bits of his face he could reach. Karl giggled, batting him away, despite himself. “She’ll love you as soon as she meets you, I promise,” Sapnap swore.
Karl believed him.
“That wasn’t even really what was bothering me,” Karl admitted, blowing out a breath. Sapnap waited patiently for him to continue, and when he did, his voice was barely above a whisper. “I haven’t been able to stream.”
“You can still stream,” Sapnap said, and Karl knew he was going to say that. It, however, wasn’t that simple.
“I look different,” Karl said, “And you can say whatever, but I think I look terrible. Even ignoring that, I look different, and with the way our viewers are, they’ll notice every little detail. It’s getting to a point though where it’s suspicious and I don’t know what to do.”
“We could do a facecam stream for you,” Sapnap proposed.
“Huh?” Karl furrowed his brows.
“Like, adjust your camera so that it just shows your face. I’m sure the fans would like it, and you could advertise it as a special thing. I dunno, like, say it’s for the artists, or so they can get a good close-up of your eyes. That way you can still stream. You could also always commission a VR streamer to be made for you, babe.”
“Fuck,” Karl breathed out. “Those are great ideas.”
Sapnap snorted. “You keep me around for something.”
Karl couldn’t help but strategically squirm against him. “Or something,” He repeated slyly, and Sapnap stilled him with strong hands on his hips.
Sapnap tsked. “Uh uh, baby, not til you tell me what else got you in a tizzy.”
Karl bit his lip, then rolled over, that way he could face Sapnap properly. “Part of it is the hormones,” Karl reiterated. “Like, I feel like literally, anything could make me cry right now.”
“Okay,” Sapnap encouraged.
Karl cupped his jaw with both hands, and trailed his thumb over Sapnap’s chin, smiling when Sapnap’s lips quirked up at being touched. “I don’t want to move to Florida,” Karl said bluntly, getting off his chest what he had been thinking about ever since they had told their friends about his pregnancy.
Sapnap’s brows knitted together and he opened his mouth to say something, but shut it after a second, waiting for Karl to continue.
“I don’t want to live here either.” Karl sucked in a deep breath. “I want to go someplace, I don’t really care where, but someplace where it’s just you and me starting a family and a life together. I want to buy a house, and bond, and have more kids, and I want it to be us.”
Sapnap kissed over Karl’s fingers. “Whatever you want.”
“Sap-” Karl whispered.
Sapnap broke free from Karl’s hands to surge forward and kiss him. Karl wasn’t complaining. When they broke apart Sapnap was grinning at him. “I’m going to take your ass to Texas.”
Karl laughed, enjoying how excited Sapnap seemed. “Austin,” Karl conceded, though grinning all the same. “You can take us to Austin.”
Sapnap’s lips were warm as he kissed him once more and mumbled against Karl’s mouth. “Us,” Karl hummed in agreement into the kiss. “I like the sound of that.”
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