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Karl wasn’t in love with his best friends.
That’s the lie he told himself every morning before he walked to school with Quackity. It’s the lie he told himself when Sapnap started to eat lunch with them. It was the lie that he desperately tried to convince himself was true.
Yet here he was, repeating that lie to himself as Sapnap scored the final points in his football game. He ignored how his heart was ready to burst with pride, and he ignored the way it skipped a beat when Quackity threw his arm around him. He ignored those feelings, instead opting to cheer until his voice was gone.
He did his best to stamp out the blush on his face, shut down the feeling of floating, and act normal. But it was getting harder every single day, and he was caring less and less if his feelings showed.
“SAPNAPPPP!!!”
Karl was snapped out of his thoughts by Quackity’s scream, looking up to see Sapnap approaching them with a triumphant smile. His friends put their arms around each other, grinning and screaming hysterically.
His voice caught in his throat when he saw the sheen of sweat on Sapnap’s exposed forehead, his white headband crumpled in his fist.
“I gotta go change and shower, but then I’ll meet you guys out front to walk back to Karl’s, okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll see you in a bit!”
Shit, he zoned out again. Karl shook his head to try and clear it before jogging up to Quackity.
“Hey, are you okay? That was pretty quiet for you!”
“I’m fine, I’m just kinda tired and I zoned out... Let’s go wait for Sap out front.”
Quackity smiled, Karl’s voice caught in his throat again, and they made their way through the cheering crowds.
Walking home had been uneventful, besides Sapnap complaining at how sore his muscles were. Thankfully, Karl had managed to calm down quite a bit while Sapnap and Quackity carried the conversation.
Once they entered Karl’s backyard, Quackity immediately sped ahead to be the first on to reach the massive oak tree. He clambered up the rickety ladder, cackling at his friends below him. A small smile broke out on Karl’s face as he stopped for a moment to look up. It shifted into a look of curiosity when a hand grabbed his shoulder. Sapnap was leaning on him for support, most likely about to complain about his aching muscles again. He groaned, then let his voice come out in a low whine.
“One of you carry me. Please.”
That only prompted a louder cackle from Quackity, who poked his head out of the trap door.
“Awww, Sapnap! Do you nweed us to cwarry youuu?”
His laughter faded as his head darted back out of view.
Karl looped his arm around Sapnaps shoulder, trying to make it seem casual.
“Come on, I’ll help you. After all, your poor legs are soooo short…”
He cut himself off with a snicker, ignoring Sapnap’s eye roll. They climbed the ladder one after the other to reach the tree house.
Quackity had already turned on the fairy lights and moved them from the floor to the walls, giving Sapnap ample room to flop down on the pillows. A muffled groan could be heard from the floor as he face planted.
“I hate Dream and his stupid bets… five goddamn touchdowns… all on my own!”
Karl carefully hopped around pillows to reach the back of the room, turning on the record player.
He called back to Sapnap, “You did win though! I mean, yeah you’re really sore, but now Dream has to…” He paused for a moment to snort, Quackity joining him, “serenade Gogy, in drag.”
Sapnap rolled over and started laughing with them. He tiredly exhaled with a grin on his face.
“That makes it worth it.”
By the time Karl made his way back over, they were both comfortably settled on the pillows. He tried to suppress the feelings bubbling up in his chest at the sight of them. So what if his heart stuttered in his chest when he saw Sapnap’s shirt ride up a little too much? Or if his cheeks got a little pink at how much of Quackity’s hair was poking out of his beanie? He could manage that just fine. Because he wasn’t in love with his best friends.
“Right?”
Karl settled down between them, and soft music began to fill the silence. All of them were too tired to crack jokes like they normally did.
The end of the quarter had been earlier that day, which forced them all to have multiple tests. Then there was the pep rally before classes ended, and the actual football game that evening. Sapnap gave the game his all. Karl and Quackity’s voices were almost gone. By now, it was well past 10pm. The fairy lights gave a soft glow to the cozy room, but the open window revealed the black sky.
It was peaceful, but Karl still found himself filled with nervous energy. On his right, Sapnap’s hair was splayed across his shoulder, some on the sleeve of his t-shirt. Some across the bare skin. It was soft from the shower he’d taken after his game, and still a little bit damp. And if that wasn’t enough to send his heart racing, most of Quackity’s leg was pressed against his left side. Karl could feel the body heat radiating off both of them.
He’d already taken off his hoodie earlier, but he almost wanted to put it back on to hide how warm his face was becoming. His thoughts spiraled, thinking about how awkward he probably looked right now, laying completely still with his muscles tensed and hands on his chest.
“It’s okay. They’re your best friends, you can relax!”
He paused on the words “best friends”, repeating it over again in his mind. Was he really okay with that?
“Of course I’m okay with that. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Blurred images of his lips pressed against his best friends told him exactly why he wasn’t okay with it.
“Karl, why are you so tense? You look like Philza Minecraft just threatened you with a belt.”
Quackity tiredly propped his head up on his elbow, his whole body turned towards Karl. Sapnap held onto Karl’s arm loosely, mumbling an agreement.
“Yeah, I can feel it… doesn’t make a very good pillow.”
He shifted further so that his cheek was squished against Karl’s bicep.
“Shit.”
Karl swallowed his fear and tried to speak. “Sorry, I’ll try and relax more, I guess I’m just worried about how I did on my tests… Uh, hey, maybe you guys should hold my hand… Y’know, so I can relax! That would definitely make me less nervous, having you guys… do that...haha…”
“WHY DID I SAY THAT?”
There was silence, and Karl was certain he had just screwed up the whole night.
“Okay, if that’ll help.”
Quackity snorted and let his head flop back, half onto the pillow, half onto Karl’s shoulder. He reached down to intertwine his hand with Karl’s, Sapnap doing the same on Karl’s right.
“C'mere Q, I wanna hold your hand too.”
Sapnap’s arm hovered above Karl’s stomach until Quackity giggled and took his hand, their connected hands now resting on Karl’s stomach.
The room suddenly felt far too hot, despite the cool air coming in through the open window. Karl was certain they could hear how fast his heart was beating. He had to hide how nervous he was, he had to act normal, he had to do something to calm down.
But he couldn’t ignore the deeper feeling that this was right. He’d pushed it down for too long, the part of him that yearned so deeply, the part of him that didn’t want to pretend to act normal. The part of him that wanted to just squeeze them both tight in his arms, and never let go. The part of him that wanted to kiss them both until their heads were spinning and their cheeks were hot to the touch. The part of him that wanted to repeat over and over and over again how much he loved them, ingraining it in every touch.
That part of him was growing stronger alarmingly fast, overriding the lies he told himself.
“If they don’t like me back, then I could ruin our friendship…”
Sapnap yawned and moved so that his knee was touching Karl’s leg. Quackity’s beanie had almost fallen off by now, but he didn’t bother to adjust it.
His heart swelled with emotions too big to name.
“But the risk is worth it. They’re worth it.”
So he took a shaky breath, and just blurted it out.
“I think I'm in love with both of you.”
If Karl’s face had been hot before, it was on fire now. His head was drowning in the heat, his heartbeat roaring in his ears.
He registered the way they both froze for a moment. And how after that, they both propped themselves up to stare at his face from above. Quackity’s beanie fell off his head before he spoke.
“If this is a joke, it’s a really shitty joke-”
“It’s not.”
Quackitys eyes widened and his mouth parted in shock. Sapnap had a similar expression, but had stayed silent. A nervous laugh left Quackity’s lips as he turned his head to hide in his own shoulder.
“Me too, uh… what you said. Me too.”
His dark eyes flitted between Karl and Sapnap after he finished speaking. A blush was quickly rising on his cheeks. Sapnap started to fumble with his words in an attempt to reply.
“I… uh… yeah, yup, mhm…. What you guys said, same! Hah!”
His voice cracked on the last word, causing his face to turn pink and his eyes to stare intently at the floor.
And then Karl started to laugh, because god, they were all so stupid. With watery eyes, he brought their hands up to his mouth, lips pressing against their knuckles. At this point, they were all laughing in hysterics. Quackity buried his head in the crook of Karl’s neck, shoulders shaking. All of them moved their arms and legs until they were tangled together.
Now that he knew they felt the same, Karl couldn’t hold back anymore. All the affection he’d been withholding seemed to explode.
“Hey Q, look at me for a second.”
Quackity shifted his gaze, confused, before Karl leaned down and kissed him. One of his arms curled around Quackity’s back protectively. Sapnap raised his head at the muffled “mpfh!” he heard, face flushing all over again when he saw them.
Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. A grin spread across his face while his hand slowly moved to rest in Karl’s hair. After a moment, he gave it a tug. A noise escaped Karl’s throat, causing him to immediately pull away from Quackity and focus his gaze on Sapnap.
“I- that’s not fair, you can’t-”
“But I just did.”
Sapnap’s grin only grew wider, even as Karl leaned in to kiss him and try to get revenge.
Quackity started snickering at them, screwing his eyes shut and leaning back. His eyes shot open when he felt Sapnap tug on the front of his hoodie to pull him closer.
“What are you laughing at? Did you seriously think I wasn’t gonna kiss you too?”
He couldn’t even get a syllable out before Sapnap’s mouth was on his. He brought his hand up to Sapnap’s jaw to feel the scruff under his fingertips.
They pulled apart a moment later, their heavy breathing the only sound in the room.
“Are we all even now?”
They both turned to look at Karl, still below them, and couldn’t help bursting into laughter yet again. All of their jaws and stomachs were sore from how much they’d been laughing. But the ache was practically unfelt as they settled back into eachothers arms to finally sleep.
“They were worth the risk.”
“Karl? Are you up there with your friends? Do you guys want pizza, apparently Ranboo and the volleyball team accidently ordered thirty instead of three-”
Mr. Beast paused mid sentence once he opened the trap door. Karl was fast asleep on the floor of pillows, with Quackity and Sapnap under each of his arms. It was hard to tell who each leg and arm belonged to in the tangled pile.
“Oh, they’re going to love this-”
He pulled out his phone to take a quick picture and descended the ladder, determined to show as many of Karl’s friends as he could find.