Chapter Text
Sapnap couldn't remember the last time he'd rested so well.
He'd always slept well with Bad and Skeppy – they were family, pack – but they were all under a lot of stress right now. Even if they derived a significant amount of comfort from each other, they couldn't seem to help but carry some of the tension of their day into their unconscious selves. One of them tended to wake from nightmares at least once a week – whether it was from stress or the thought of losing someone else, or maybe Eret's loss had hit hard, or maybe it was Sam or Jack this time, maybe they were struck with a palpable wave of despair they could normally fight off when they were fully awake – there was always something, the fear of failure, of not doing enough, and while they would always do their best to comfort each other, Sapnap hadn't realized how easy things could be until he'd removed himself from the equation.
He'd gone nights without his brothers before. He'd stayed over with the younger pups when he was feeling particularly protective, or he'd held back to give them some space because even if his brother insisted he and Skeppy didn't have the most active sex life, Sapnap knew that was a lie – he remembered what things had been like in Halo Manor – and he wanted them to have the private time that they deserved too. Yeah, sometimes he was lonely, especially when he retreated to his room by himself, and maybe he would tear up at the absence of Dream because he'd gotten so used to having his- his not alpha by his side – but Sapnap was strong and capable, he could do this, he could make this sacrifice that wasn't really a sacrifice at all. In fact, many hybrids slept by themselves. It was actually the most natural thing in the world.
And this- what he had upon waking, that felt natural too. There was someone resting on top of him – long and lanky and not meeting up with anyone he could immediately conceive. Jack and George were both shorter, and Dream and Bad far bigger. Skeppy was broad, and Quackity- no, Quackity would cuddle Sapnap against him, not the other way around. The confusion might have been what dragged Sapnap to full coherence, though that may have worked in tandem with the slow growing amazement that he felt so very rested.
It was an easy sleep, perhaps like the ones he used to have before the war, when he was more ignorant and things were uncomplicated.
When he blinked his eyes open he didn't recognize the space he occupied, but the immediate coziness of it made him smile. Motion, and his focus was shifted onto long, substantial ears that gave a few errant twitches while the hybrid on top of him muttered in their sleep.
Who did Sapnap know that had large ears? Who-
Karl.
This was Karl. This was his family's favorite writer, and he was using Sapnap as a pillow.
That was- that was pretty cool, he could admit. Even without the favorite writer thing. Now that Sapnap knew Karl, that was just- objectively cool.
Karl yawned against his shoulder. "What time is it?" he grumbled, sounding reluctant to enter the world of coherency.
"Um." Sapnap scanned the space for a clock. "It's almost nine."
Wow. He hadn't slept that late since Bad and Skeppy had forced him to for his babying punishment. Sapnap had felt guilty about it until Bad had knocked him out with incense, and then, after waking from the most restful sleep he'd had since the war, he begrudgingly admitted that his brother may or may not have had a point.
That felt like so long ago now.
"Awesome," Karl hummed, sitting up with slow stretch and seeming entirely unbothered at the way this left him effectively straddling Sapnap's lap. "Sounds like the perfect time to have a fancy brunch. Let me get dressed and then we can hunt down your room and get you some fancy prince clothes."
"I don't have a room," Sapnap insisted, blinking at the easy way Karl hopped off his lap and over to his dresser, rummaging through it before he pulled out a minor eyesore of a sweater and hugged it to his chest with a purr of delight.
"You have a room," Karl countered easily, beginning a new quest for pants. "I'm sure it will be a very nice room."
It was a very nice room. It was in a very nice suite. It somehow managed to look like a fancier version of what Sapnap had in Halo Manor, his original design aesthetic improved upon and made elegant and tasteful. His suite in the castle- with the Wastakens – they were nice, there was no denying that. He'd been consulted for both so that they would most accurately suit his needs, but this? It felt like Karl's space – fancy but cozy, and while Sapnap realistically knew he deserved the rooms he was given on the simple fact that the individuals that had given them to him wanted him to have them, there was something about this space that made him feel more at ease. Like there was slightly less pressure to make himself greater than he was, than he could ever hope to be.
"Like it?" Karl asked, mischief dancing in his gaze because he already knew the answer.
"Yeah," Sapnap admitted, his voice thick. "How did he know?"
To make it just right. To find that perfect balance.
Karl seemed to understand without Sapnap having to elaborate.
"It's Callahan," Karl said with a shrug. "He always knows."
With that, he promptly buried himself in Sapnap's new closet, returning with a perfectly tailored outfit of princely quality that Sapnap quickly changed into, hiding in the bathroom to admire the subtle embroidery, the multiple house crests. He may be a Craft now but he'd been a Halo first, was loved by a Quackity and a Blade, and getting to represent the full breadth of his family made Sapnap glow with pride, had him exiting the bathroom with a smile he couldn't suppress if he tried.
"Looking good, stud," Karl whistled, and then he was dragging Sapnap down to breakfast, and Sapnap guessed at some point holding hands had become a normal default for them, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it.
(That was a lie. It made him feel good, feel wanted, feel supported, and that worried him so he tried not to dwell too much, tried to keep his focus on the future, on the next adventure.)
They had brunch in the sunroom – Callahan absent once more due to an early date at the courthouse – but it was companionable. Comfortable. It reminded Sapnap of the lazy lunches he, Bad, and Skeppy would share on their combined days off, back before everything got crazy.
"Okay," Karl said when they were finished, reaching both arms over his head in a slow stretch. "Is there anything you need to attend to today? Any basic routine that must be followed?"
"Um," Sapnap said, floundering despite the relatively easy questions. "I don't have any scheduled appearances, but I do have to train."
"You want to do that here or at the castle?" Karl asked, abandoning his stretch to scoop up his napkin and give his lips a few dainty dabs. "There is no wrong answer."
"I don't want to leave you." That hadn't been what Sapnap meant to say at all, he'd definitely had something else in mind but now the words were out there and he seemed incapable of changing them and he wanted to apologize, the excuse that he wasn't quite awake yet hovering on his tongue, but then Karl's expression softened into an easy smile that took his breath away.
"I'm not gonna leave you," Karl said, his tone gentle. "If you train at the castle, I can go with you. I've got plenty of books to read."
He thought about it, about the implication of Karl maybe watching him work out. Of Karl being nearby. Despite only meeting him yesterday, there was something about it that made Sapnap's pulse race uncomfortably.
"That's- okay," Sapnap said, because whether it was here or there, if Karl was with him, he thought it could be manageable. "Then maybe I can show you around the castle a little. But um- is there something you want to do in town first?"
Karl perked up, a wicked grin pulling at his lips. "I've always wanted to go shopping. Fancy shopping, I mean. I wanna get my friends presents. Oh! And visit proper museums – for art and for history – and I want to see a real performance. Like- like opera and ballet or acrobats – I write about all this stuff, but I've never really seen it, and I just-" Karl paused, seeming to realize he was rambling, and then his ears drooped somewhat bashfully. "I think it'd be nice to see it, is all."
Sapnap's heart did that odd squeezing thing again, but he tried not to read into it. He'd probably eaten too much bacon or something. "I think that's fair," he said, sounding breathless for some reason. "And that's a good list. I'm sure if we talked to Callahan's butler, he could make an itinerary. Make sure we didn't miss anything."
And Sapnap would take Karl to all the cool restaurants the royal family had shown him to. He'd gone on quite the tour when they were still trying to win over Quackity, and he still remembered the places that Eret took Foolish when he was easing him into things, and with Callahan's servants at work, Sapnap knew everything could be handled discreetly.
He could, of course, always ask the assistants at the castle to help. They would do so in a heartbeat – quickly, efficiently, but Sapnap didn't want to bother them with something so frivolous. If Callahan cared enough to share his home with Karl, to share it with Sapnap (which still boggled his mind), then his staff likely wouldn't mind helping with this quest.
Hopefully.
Over the course of his response Karl's smile got wider and wider, his ears picking up as a happy flush spilled across the bridge of his nose. "That would be awesome!" he cheered, pumping his fist. "And you wouldn't mind?"
"I haven't gotten much of a chance to look at this stuff either," Sapnap admitted, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "It'll be an adventure for both of us."
"I like that," Karl admitted, gaze going soft again. "I like the idea of our adventures in culturally bettering ourselves."
"Everyone knows the best way to obtain culture is through food," Sapnap boasted, trying to ease the strange tension in his shoulders.
It was nice though, and he felt excited, like he was providing again, and he didn't want to lose that.
He didn't want to lose Karl.
"Right, obviously," Karl laughed, and that was that.
~:~
They went shopping first. Actually, they went for their first round of shopping first, because once Karl and Sapnap explained what their intentions were, the butler seemed determined to make them the very best, most thorough schedule in the world.
“You’ll need to shop for books, of course, that goes without saying,” the butler muttered as he made up his list. “You’ll want the independent shops for that, not the major publishers, but there’s a collection of them all together on the far side of town – that will be one spot for you. Oh, and for chocolates-”
He arranged for them to have a private tour with one of the most exclusive chocolatiers in the city, followed by a dessert tour, the butler sure that they had a variety of the very best cafes and bakeries sprinkled throughout their upcoming days. He always listened to Sapnap’s suggestions, adding them without question before gently probing each of them on what they’d like to see, even if this was really for Karl. They had time planned out for the fabric district, to visit famous boutiques and tailors. There were toy shops (that Sapnap was looking forward to for his brothers) and carpenters and farmers markets, there was so much Sapnap hadn’t explored and while it was unquestionably indulgent, he couldn’t help but feel that the stories it earned him might make his family happy.
And he liked the thought of that. He liked the thought of them smiling again, of easing their burdens just a little.
Maybe he could order some stuff for the Wastakens too. He knew he was supposed to be keeping his distance, but surely he could still get Drista those honey cakes she liked so much, right? He could send the duchess fruit tarts? They might have chefs that rivaled or even surpassed what Sapnap could purchase, but he wanted-
No, he shouldn’t put them in an awkward position, but he could- he could get chocolates for his parents. For Skeppy and Bad. He could spoil his little brothers.
He still had so very much; he couldn’t forget that.
Instead of the Wastakens, he could get stuff for the Manifolds, and instead of holding onto worries for things he could no longer control, he was going to focus on the present. He wasn’t wasting time; he was forming connections. He was moving forward, growing.
Dream – as little as Sapnap was supposed to think about him – wouldn’t want Sapnap to be stagnant. He wouldn’t want Sapnap to stop living while they were apart. He’d want him to be happy.
So Sapnap was going to do that.
Callahan owned a chain of clothing stores out of what was likely practicality – the Stardeer particular enough about his own taste in fashion that he simply sponsored designers that made things he liked rather than attempting to brave the more popular stores. The butler sent them there for their first stop, and while Sapnap himself didn’t need any new clothes, he had a lot of fun picking out things for Karl – watching him try stuff on and giving advice on what his friends might like. Sapnap himself had a sizeable allowance as a prince that he mostly didn’t touch out of habit, so it was nice to use it to buy new things – soft blankets for his elders’ nests, a cool vest in House Manifold colors for Josh.
“It’s a montage!” Karl explained, seeming determined to abandon any items the sales team tried to give him that were actually in his size and dedicating himself to only procuring the largest of sweaters. “A shopping montage! I write about these all the time!”
“Do your montages include you getting pink boots?” Sapnap asked, a small glimmer of inspiration striking in his chest when he caught sight of the cobbler section of Callahan’s shop. He really did have everything, and enough of it seemed specifically tailored to Karl’s taste that Sapnap couldn’t help but think that this had been yet another present for the bunny hybrid. Callahan had done all this just for him, just because they were friends.
He’d done that for Karl while also making sure Sapnap’s closet was stocked with tasteful but subdued cloaks that would help him avoid stray eyes, and even though the store was theirs for the hour, Sapnap couldn’t help but be grateful for it.
There were so many ways to show someone you cared without explicitly saying it, and Sapnap wanted to hold onto that lesson.
He could apply it to his pack too.
“It does now!” Karl cheered, dragging him back to the present. “Come on, come on, come on.”
Sapnap had been half joking, but Karl happily claimed a pair of dapper pink boots for himself. He also insisted on getting a pair for Sapnap in House Halo black – and maybe it was just a coincidence that they were embroidered with blaze flames, but Sapnap had the growing feeling that it wasn’t.
There was another pair of boots in Essempi colors. Tasteful, dignified, worthy of a duke.
Sapnap wondered how many presents Callahan had prepared for George, wondered how often they spoke, how often they saw each other, then promptly abandoned that line of thought. It wasn’t why they were there.
They sent their packages back to the estate when the carriage dropped them off at their next stop, which just happened to be a museum. In the capital, there was never really such a thing as having a lull in business, but their odd timing allowed things to be as calm as they could be. This particular museum focused on the founding of the empire, with galleries that featured their advancements in technology and magic as well as the history of the kingdoms that comprised the empire, the stories of how they were incorporated one by one. It was nice, and while Sapnap wasn’t one much for studying, he enjoyed watching Karl soak it all in, the bunny hybrid never hesitating to drag him over towards a new exhibit, to point emphatically at things that interested him before babbling through his own excitement. He never seemed self-conscious about the attention he could potentially drag towards them; he was just living his best life.
It was really cool. Karl was cool.
“You know, they say there’s a new exhibit,” Karl whispered as he dragged Sapnap down another hall. “I heard some people talking about it while you were drooling over the ancient weapons. I’m not sure what it’s about though.”
“I wasn’t drooling,” Sapnap defended, feeling his cheeks get hot. “I was analyzing.”
“With your mouth,” Karl giggled, poorly muffling his laugh with the back of one hand. “Anyway, I was thinking we could look at the new wing and then maybe go get lunch, and then better yet, go get dessert, and then we can go to the castle so you can train and not drool all over everything-”
“As I normally do, and have done, because I’m not a drooler,” Sapnap huffed. “This is defamation. Slander. You’re slandering me.”
“I’m slandering your slobber – I feel like there’s a poem in that.”
“I didn’t- now it’s slobbering? I definitely didn’t do that.” It seemed like an unfair escalation.
“Okay, maybe you didn’t,” Karl hummed, giving him a coy look. “Maybe you just looked really cute when you were staring at something you were actually interested in instead of just watching me react to stuff.”
Sapnap sputtered. “I like watching you react,” he defended, his face heating once more. “You’re so enthusiastic. It’s cool.”
“It is?” Karl didn’t seem to expect that observation, if the odd twitch of his ears was any indication. “Oh.”
An awkward silence fell over them.
Sapnap cleared his throat. “So, this new exhibit?”
“It should be just around the corner,” Karl said. “It’s about another kingdom, I think-”
The answer to Sapnap’s question came sooner rather than later, sooner as in it appeared the moment they turned the corner, and he’d-
He’d forgotten that while this museum covered major historical events, that also included recent major historical events.
It was an exhibit about the fall of Manburg.
Sapnap swallowed hard. He wasn’t sure why things seemed tense; they’d won the war. They were heroes, they’d won and they’d come back and George was fine now.
But so many things weren’t. So many things weren’t and that war was the start of everything going bad.
“Sapnap?” Karl whispered, cozying up to his side. “Are you okay? You’re shaking.”
“I…” Sapnap’s throat felt thick. “We won; I don’t know why I’m reacting like this.”
“Oh shit,” Karl said, seeming to realize something. “You were part of the forces? I’m sorry, Sapnap, I wasn’t thinking. Of course you’re stressed, you took part in a war.”
“But we won,” Sapnap protested quietly.
“It was still a war,” Karl reminded him, and then that gentle hand was in his again and Sapnap found himself getting tugged away, back around the corner. Karl moved forward with a steady determination, guiding Sapnap with an unyielding confidence until he found a relatively secluded area. Only then did he pull them to a stop.
He paused, gnawing at his bottom lip as he considered Sapnap, and then he held his arms open wide.
Sapnap found himself almost falling into the bunny hybrid. Karl was taller than him but lankier, smaller, and with all of Sapnap’s muscle mass the protector very well could have bowled him over. Karl didn’t fumble though, didn’t so much as shake as he gathered Sapnap close to him, letting out a few comforting purrs.
“It’s okay, dude. You’re okay, you survived, you did so good,” Karl soothed. “You’re allowed to hurt; you’re allowed to be tired and stressed and shaky. Just- feel what you feel, it’s okay, you’re a veteran.”
“I didn’t even get wounded,” Sapnap said. “I didn’t even lose any packmates.”
Not like others. Not like the chef George’s brother had lied to. Not like the many that had to receive letters of condolence from Hannah and Duke Wastaken.
“It was still a war,” Karl hummed. “It was still a terrible, horrible thing no matter how well it worked out for you. You still spent a lot of time fearing for your life, fearing for your family’s life, spent a lot of time constantly on guard. Of course it affected you, you’re not a statue, you’re not stone. It would have affected anyone.”
“I feel like-” Sapnap whispered, heat stinging in his eyes. “That because I’m a war hero, I’m supposed to be better. They’re looking at me to be better, but I’m not. I’m trying. I’m trying so hard, but it doesn’t feel like enough.”
“It is,” Karl murmured, nuzzling the top of his head. “I promise it is. The people that matter know you’re so much more than a symbol. Trying to reduce you to that – it’s a disservice to you. You’re so full of emotions, Sapnap, so full of life. You’re better than an idea, than a role model. You’re better just by being yourself, and right now, you’re hurting. And it is- it’s your right as not just a citizen of the empire, but as a living, breathing individual- it is your basic dignity to hurt. To not try and stifle your emotions. You don’t have to hide them if you don’t want to, just- share the load.” He seemed to coax Sapnap closer. “I’d be happy to help you bear it.”
“Karl,” Sapnap said, and he couldn’t think of anything else but Karl just held him, releasing a few more purrs and grunts and Sapnap shouldn’t do this, not in public, but he wanted-
He just needed a moment. He couldn’t pretend everything was fine when it wasn’t, he needed to acknowledge it and then try to move on. Acknowledge the hurt but not let it cripple him. It would get easier with time, easier with company. And maybe that company didn’t necessarily have to be Karl, but Sapnap was glad that it was.
He wouldn’t say it aloud though.
~:~
"Sorry about that," Karl said, cutting in after Sapnap had managed to calm himself down, breaking into the conversation before Sapnap could attempt to offer apologies of his own. "I should have listened better. I knew this museum prided itself on featuring recent events." He still had a careful hand braced on Sapnap's shoulder, something that emanated an easy sort of care most would take for granted. "I'm glad you're feeling better."
"Me too," Sapnap whispered dumbly, unable to think of anything else. As tempting as it was, he knew apologizing wouldn't go over well, knew that if he respected Karl he'd have to actually heed the bunny hybrid's words.
Sapnap was allowed to hurt, it was just hard to allow that vulnerability, even when it was necessary.
"Do you want to call it a day?" Karl asked, his expression holding no judgement. "I wouldn't mind."
"No, I..." Sapnap trailed off, thinking. There was a certain phrase that perpetuated around his pack that Ponk had introduced to them. You didn't run on a broken leg. The same applied to mental wounds, for all that they were harder to judge sometimes. Still, this didn't feel like a break. More of a strain than anything else, though he could admit that he was maybe done with being out in public. "Do you want to go to the castle?" he asked, going on instinct. "I still need to train."
"Should you?" Karl asked, more curious rather than rife with incredulity.
"That's not negotiable," Sapnap said. "I have to maintain my skills in order to keep my protector instincts calm."
It wasn't about the pressure the people of the empire put on him as a prince – though there was that too – Sapnap found that he was far antsier when he didn't have the opportunity to train for the day. It would be better to meditate and get some of his pent-up energy out on training dummies than it would be to try and pretend it wasn't something that he needed.
"Okay then." And just like that, Karl was onboard, giving a deft nod as he helped Sapnap off the bench they had commandeered in their effort to retreat from the world. "Show me to your castle, then."
"It's not my castle," Sapnap sputtered, feeling his face get hot as Karl tugged him happily back along the path. "It's Phil's."
"Phil's," Karl echoed with a giggle. "You call the emperor Phil."
"Sometimes I call him dad," Sapnap muttered, and maybe he should worry about how easily his hand slotted into Karl's, worry about getting recognized holding hands with an unknown hybrid in public when Sapnap was supposed to be maintaining a low profile, but he couldn't. It was just- it seemed simple with Karl, and Sapnap couldn't lose that. "Or um- alpha."
"Oh," Karl gasped, his voice dropping as they rejoined the usual crowds. "That's- wow, that's so sweet. That's awesome, Sapnap."
"I'm really lucky," Sapnap said, his heart giving another one of those strange flutters because even though Karl wasn't a protector he seemed to get how important alphas were to their seconds and vice versa.
"You deserve it," Karl said, so very certain even though he barely knew Sapnap, and Sapnap rode the high that sent his protective instincts on all the way back to their carriage.
They seemed to arrive at the castle both too soon and not nearly soon enough, Karl oohing and awing appreciatively as they made their approach.
"It's so majestic," he gasped, leaning over Sapnap so he could plaster his face against the window. "I thought I was good at making up architecture, but this is prettier than anything I could have imagined."
"And you haven't even seen Foolish's buildings yet," Sapnap said, allowing himself to puff up with pride. "I'll have them add a tour of those to our schedule. His stuff is amazing."
"Oh, I know," Karl turned to face him, seeming not to care in the slightest at how close that may or may not bring their faces together. "I've bought every book that details his work. The concept sketches, his art collection – we're so lucky that Lord Eret is such a simp for him, it's because of all the Essempi's publishing companies that we get so much of the Head of the Architecture Guild."
"A simp?"
"Sykkuno again," Karl explained with a wave of his hand. "It's when you're such a big, raging fan for someone that you're reduced to a simpleton. Like, your brain has no room for anything else."
"Oh," Sapnap laughed. "That fits. Eret's totally..." He trailed off, blinking, and pressed his mouth together in a firm line, trying to center himself.
Eret was totally a simp. He used to be.
He wasn't anymore though, because he was dead.
"I'm sorry," Karl murmured, leaning back properly so Sapnap could have some space. "I keep activating all the worst tripwires, don't I?" He curled an arm around Sapnap's shoulders and the blaze hybrid leaned into him, swallowing hard. "I'm so sorry for your loss. Lord Eret seemed like a kickass guy."
"He was," Sapnap giggled, the sound a bit wetter than he would like but still a genuine reaction to Karl's Karl-ness. "He talked to me before he left. Made a special trip just to make sure he saw me before he had to go because he didn't know how long it would take, and he-" Sapnap's voice caught, but Karl didn't press him, didn't prod. He let Sapnap take the time he needed, releasing a slow, steady purr that made something in Sapnap settle. "He wanted me to be happy. Even when others were struggling, even when things were hard, he wanted- he said I deserved to be happy, that I shouldn't feel guilty about it, and I know he wasn't talking about- he couldn't have known, but it- I battle with that a lot, I think. Because even though Eret gave me such clearly communicated support, it's like..."
"Is it even fair?" Karl offered when Sapnap didn't know how to go on. "Eret meant a lot to you, meant a lot to most of your pack. Now he's gone and it doesn't feel like you should be allowed to be happy. Because if you did that, if you moved on, then you proved you could do it without Eret and that feels like a betrayal, like you didn't appreciate him as much as you should."
"Wow." Sapnap blinked, the words slotting into place with a quiet tragedy. "You're good at this."
"I write a lot of books," Karl said, offering him a small grin. "Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that emotions are complicated. Guilt is hard. Loss is hard. These instincts are hard, and they can be difficult to deal with or sort through but in the end, I think it's important to hold onto one thing." He leaned into Sapnap's side, nuzzling his shoulder. "Eret loved you guys. And based on what little you've described, he loved you a lot. Loved you enough that he would never want you to hurt for extended periods of time, least of all over him. Of course it's unreasonable to expect you not to be sad for a while, but I think you can combat any guilt you're feeling with the knowledge that you already have Eret's blessing to be happy. You do not need it, but you have it. It's yours, and I doubt he'd ever want anything less for you."
"He wouldn't," Sapnap sniffed, scrubbing at his cheeks. No tears had fallen, but the action was grounding, nonetheless. "And I wouldn't want that for him either."
"So hurt," Karl said. "But know you don't have to hurt forever. There's no rules, no obligations – you're allowed to be happy and make your packmates happy by extension."
"Wow," Sapnap repeated, leaning into Karl a bit more. "You might be the smartest person in the world."
"I think the certified geniuses out there might beg to differ," Karl laughed, letting out a few cheerful grunts. "And don't feel too special, I'm definitely using that in one of my future books."
"You should," Sapnap said, feeling no way slighted. "I think everyone could benefit from that conversation."
Like Karl said, grief was hard. Getting as many tools to help unpack it – especially for those who couldn't afford to contact a specialist like Ponk but could definitely afford a book – well, that was more than worth it to Sapnap.
At that, Karl seemed to get somewhat bashful, his ears drooping beside his head. "Thanks," he murmured. "That's one of my favorite parts about writing, you know? I'm not the wisest guy, but I feel like I know enough to help people live lifestyles that are mentally healthier for them." He gave a soft shrug. "It's my way of giving back."
"You're very generous," Sapnap said, and he meant it with utter sincerity, his pulse seeming to race again for whatever reason, but Karl-
Karl just laughed at him. "You're so sweet," he giggled, hiding his mouth behind his free hand. "Like a real prince charming."
"Don't start that up," Sapnap hissed. "You won't believe the number of invitations I get from hopeful ladies just because I have the title of prince. I helped Quackity out with a noble luncheon one time, and-" He shuddered, thinking of all those hopeful faces. Sapnap didn't know what was worse, the ones that merely saw him as a pawn to use for their own means or those that were convinced that they'd fallen in love with him, lost to the romantic notion of wooing a prince. "Never again."
"It must be hard being so terribly charming," Karl drawled, happily snuggling into him as the carriage turned into the private road that would lead them into the side courtyard.
"You would know, wouldn't you?" Sapnap probed, struck on a sudden impulse. "You're super charismatic and likeable, I bet you're beating them off with sticks back home." He cleared his throat, forcing himself to turn his gaze back out the window. "Do you have a partner back there? Or um- is romance not your thing, because Connor and Ponk, they're aromantic, which means-"
"I know what it means," Karl said, voice gentle as he generously cut off Sapnap's rambling, seeming to realize that the blaze hybrid wasn't entirely sure where to go. "And no to both of your questions. I'm not aromantic and I don't have a partner."
"Oh," Sapnap said, a sudden flare of heat building in his chest.
Were his palms sweaty? Why were his palms sweaty? He was a blaze hybrid.
"I'd like one, though," Karl said. "Or several, I think..." His gaze drifted towards Sapnap, and when they locked eyes, his smile widened. "I think it just depends on the hybrids."
"Oh," Sapnap repeated rather articulately. "That's good."
"Yeah," Karl hummed, and his expression was easy, it wasn't calculating because Sapnap knew calculating, he'd seen it a dozen times over, he just- Karl was just being honest. "I think so too."