Because You Are Love (Karlnap)

Chapter 30 - Your body touching the universe again

It had only been a few minutes since they found Sapnap's brothers, but Karl couldn't stop thinking about the way his hand felt abnormally cold for a warm spring evening, now that Sapnap's fingers weren't intertwined with his.

Even as crowds of people pushed against him, Karl was a bit confused to find himself thankful for the lack of personal space, because it meant he could finally return to Sapnap's side.

It was just that Sapnap had seemed to be much more physically distant today, like there was a metaphorical bubble around him that Karl wasn't allowed in. Well, until Sapnap had finally reached out his hand, pulling Karl along, as they sprinted through the thickening crowds.

"Are you ready?" Sapnap looked over his shoulder, his eyes locking with Karl's instantly. Karl smiled, leaning on the railing in front of them.

"Born re-"

"How y'all doin' tonight?" A loud overhead announcement boomed throughout the arena, causing the crowds to cheer and yell. Karl flinched from the abrupt voice, getting a laugh out of Sapnap.

Karl felt like he could finally relax again when Sapnap wrapped his arm around his waist, pulling him away from the barrier. Before Karl could ask what Sapnap was doing, groups of men riding horses flooded through the gates, stirring up dirt and more excitement from the crowd.

Karl turned to hide his face in Sapnap's shoulder when some of the cowboys looked like they were going to run right into them, never failing to turn at the very last second. They seemed to be putting on quite a show and the crowd was loving it.

"Do you want to move back? We don't have to be this close if it's scary-"

"No!" Karl said just a bit too quickly, pulling his head off Sapnap's shoulder. Sapnap didn't seem bothered by Karl's rushed response, a smile growing on his face regardless. "I'm not scared- well, at least not as scared as I thought I was going to be." Karl continued with a laugh.

"Good, because Ben and Andy would kill me if I gave up our spot before they got back." Sapnap laughed, reaching up to brush some of Karl's hair behind his ear. Karl closed his eyes, waiting for the familiar feeling of Sapnap's short nails running along his scalp.

After a second, Karl opened his eyes to see Sapnap now rubbing the back of his own neck, looking straight ahead after failing to reach Karl. Karl tucked the hair he knew Sapnap was planning to behind his ear, also facing forward.

Was there a reason why Sapnap was being so distant? Now that Karl was thinking about it, he really only seemed to be initiating any contact if it was necessary- keeping an arm around him when the crowds were pushing them around, holding his hand to run, grabbing him by the waist to get him away from the barrier, and so on.

Just as Karl was about to speak up, to ask Sapnap if something was going on, Sapnap started talking again.

"I'm going to go grab a drink, do you want anything?" Sapnap asked, already turning to face the crowd behind them.

"Uh, no, I'm okay." Karl answered, looking over to see where the nearest drink stand was. He was thankful it was close and it didn't seem to have much of a line.

"I'll grab you something." Sapnap said with a smile, reaching out and giving Karl's arm a quick squeeze before disappearing into the crowd. Karl faced the arena again, holding on tightly to the barrier, and looking down at his shoes. Surely Sapnap wouldn't be gone for too long. Surely he'd be back before anything-

"Hi there."

Karl looked up from the ground in surprise, standing face to face with one of the riders. He was about Karl's height and age, maybe just a bit taller. Karl wasn't sure why, but he seemed to be everything he pictured when he thought 'cowboy'. Wavy black hair, tan skin, dimples when he smiled, and a southern accent that could be spotted from a mile away. He was also walking with his horse beside him, a beautiful all white horse with a braided mane.

"Hi." Karl said with a smile, reaching out to pet the horse's face as it got closer to him.

"This here is Delilah." He said with a smile, looking over Karl. "I've got to say, a city boy like you sticks out like a sore thumb. You managed to catch my eye from the other side of the arena." He said with a laugh, reaching out and taking Karl's hand in his own, tapping his thumb on Karl's painted nails.

"Oh, I hope that's not a bad thing." Karl said with a nervous laugh, attempting to pull his hand away.

"Well, city boys can be trouble, but I do have a soft spot for the pretty ones. Name's Charlie, pleasure to meet you." He said, his hand following Karl's as he pulled away, taking Karl's hand in his own to shake it. Karl found the gesture to actually be quite funny, letting out a laugh. Maybe it was something about Charlie's southern charm.

"Well, Charlie, I'm Karl and the pleasure is all mine- if you'll let me pet Delilah again." Karl smiled and Charlie laughed, taking a step to the side so Delilah could get closer to the barrier.

Karl happily pet her again, running his hands through the small amount of her mane that wasn't braided. He was actually hoping that Sapnap would come back in time to see him petting a horse on his own.

"I can't help but notice you don't have a hat on." Charlie said with a smile, tipping the brim of his hat in Karl's direction. Karl looked around, seeing a fair number of people also not wearing hats.

"Should I be wearing one?" Karl asked. He was a bit shocked to see the smile growing on Charlie's face, a laugh soon following.

"I guess that's up to you." Charlie finally answered, his eyes glued to Karl's.

"In that case, can I have yours?" Karl asked, looking up to the light brown cowboy hat on Charlie's head. Karl was never this confident, but he thought it would be pretty funny to see Sapnap's reaction to the news he pet a horse and got the cowboy's hat in the process.

"Tsk, what did I say? You city boys are nothing but trouble." Charlie's eyes flicked over Karl, his bottom lip ever-so-slightly being pulled between his teeth as he smiled. "You know what you're asking for, right?" Charlie questioned, taking his hat off and ruffling his dark waves.

"I do." Karl lied. He assumed he was just asking for his hat, but he didn't want to further the 'city boy' stereotype by not understanding whatever the hidden meaning was. Karl was still unsure if coming off as a 'city boy' was a good or bad thing.

Karl was startled when he felt a hat being placed on his head, considering he was still looking at Charlie, his hat held in his hand. Karl looked up to see the brim of a black cowboy hat. He turned around to see Sapnap standing behind him, just as Sapnap's arm linked around his waist.

"Looks like he already has a hat." Sapnap interjected. Karl looked between Sapnap and Charlie, while Charlie looked between him and Sapnap.

"Nick Armstrong." Charlie said in a voice that sounded as though he was trying to get under Sapnap's skin. His tone was cocky and almost sounded like he was surprised by something, one eyebrow raising when he noticed the arm Sapnap had around Karl's waist.

"Charlie Johnson." Sapnap said in the exact same tone, his grip tightening around Karl's waist, like he knew Charlie was looking there.

"You should know better than to let a pretty city boy run around without a hat on, just sayin'." Charlie said, giving Sapnap a look before turning back to Karl. "Lovely meeting you, Karl." He said with a sickeningly sweet smile, while putting his hat back on. Charlie jumped onto his horse and headed back towards the rest of the cowboys.

Karl had no idea what he had gotten himself in the middle of, but he was beginning to wonder what the significance of wearing Charlie's hat actually was and why Sapnap was reacting this way.

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(1,429 words) LITERALLY THIS AND THE NEXT COUPLE CHAPTERS ARE THE WHOLE REASON I WROTE THIS BOOK. I JUST WANTED TO WRITE ABOUT POSSESSIVE COWBOY SAPNAP AND OBLIVIOUS KARL shdkajhdjk okay enjoy

ALSO THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO @agressivelyplotless