Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Karl Jacobs knows a lot of things about vampires. He wrote the Treatise , and he spent centuries working for the Spirit, by the Undead’s side. He is probably almost the most knowledgeable individual about vampires.

What he doesn’t know, though – or what he might have forgotten – is how vampires are meant to be courted.

More specifically, he doesn’t know how one would go about courting the fledgling of one of the most dangerous rogue vampires there was – and a traumatized one at that.

Is he… supposed to ask permission? Humans do that- they ask for the hand of the object of their affection. Society has progressed in a strange way, he thinks, and now it isn’t rare to see young men asking for the right to court and marry someone’s daughter.

This is way too complicated. Karl never had to worry about that with Quackity. The shapeshifter had come up one day, bright and charming, and they had fallen for each other quickly and simply. They hadn’t needed to express any of it – hadn’t needed to discuss the complexities of it all. Quackity had moved into Karl’s house at the same time as he did his heart. He had taken a natural spot by Karl’s side, had picked up on his research and writing as if it were something that they had done their entire life.

And every time Karl woke up, lost and confused and demanding to know who Quackity was, the shapeshifter would invariably explain everything and hand Karl the centuries-worth of notes he took about his memory loss issues. And he would calmly read the pages and pages Karl wrote about their relationship. And, when Karl was reassured enough, he would take him to his chest and hold him until his memories came back.

They had each other. It was as simple as that.

Their relationship had been simple and beautiful.

Sapnap is not as simple, though Karl will argue that he is as beautiful. Sapnap is fragile, damaged in the way that pearls are when they have been scratched and lost their iridescence. He is still shining bright from the inside, though, and Karl finds himself fascinating with the strength of his character, his courage, and his resilience. He finds everything about Sapnap captivating, and he wants to know more.

He felt incredibly guilty about it at first. He caught himself daydreaming about Sapnap’s fierce expression and he wanted to cry. He heard Sapnap’s deep voice in his dreams and he felt angry at himself. He brought it up to Quackity, head low in shame and trying his best not to cry. ‘I won’t act on it,’ he had promised. ‘And if you want me to forget him, I will. I’ll make myself forget.’ And he had continued, proposing not to write a single thing about Sapnap so that the next time he forgot, there would be no way for him to remember his fascination with the fledgling.

And Quackity had looked at him, eyes wide in shock, and he had told Karl that he would never ever think about playing with his memory. ‘Not for my own benefits, not for anyone else’s, Karl. Your memory is yours,’ he had said, and they had pressed their forehead together affectionately. ‘And if you like him, I want to meet him.’

And so Karl allows himself to continue watching Sapnap with fascination and admiration and he lets himself fill pages after pages about how strong and brave and entrancing he finds him.

Sapnap is also fragile, though, and so he is under the careful protection of two older vampires, the Spirit, and the Demon. And Karl isn’t sure which one he needs to ask for permission to court Sapnap.

Ant and Velvet would make the most sense, but Sapnap is adamant that they are not his Sires, that he is free from their authority. He and George used to work and report to the Spirit, but they are vampires now – they are not under his jurisdiction anymore.

So Karl reaches out discreetly to Bad and Skeppy and he subtly evokes his interest in the young vampire.

And they are completely oblivious.

Quackity laughs for hours when Karl mentions it to him.

“You thought they would get your subtle hints?” he manages to say between barks of laughter. “Oh, Karl, oh Prime, my stomach-”

So Quackity laughs, and laughs, and laughs, and, when he finally manages to control his hysterical giggles, he ‘helps’ Karl draft another letter.

“Q,” Karl sighs, “I’m not sending the Lord of the Undead a letter that says ‘I have the hots for Sapnap.’”

“But is it wrong , though?” Quackity teases. Karl buries his face in his hands.

“You’re not being very helpful,” Karl complains. “Or supportive.”

“Awww,” Quackity coos, “Is lil Karl pouting?” He pulls on Karl’s cheeks. “Come ooonnn, give me a bright smile!”

Karl rolls his eyes. “You are a pain.”

“Do you want me to shift into him?” his boyfriend offers with a mischievous giggle. “So you can practice kissing him?” He makes kissy faces at him and continues with a high-pitched voice. “Come on, Karl Jacobs. My name is Sapnap and I think that you’re very handsome and smart and much more muscular than Dreaaam.”

Karl throws a pillow at him.

“You’re impossible.”

“You love me,” Quackity quips back immediately.

Karl sighs and he lets the fondness overtake him. “I do,” he whispers. “I really, really do.”

* * *

Karl is careful and subtle in his flirting – too subtle, almost uncharacteristically so, Quackity says. ‘He’ll never figure it out if all you do is smile at him a tiny bit brighter than you normally do and brush his hand. How do you want him to get the message?’

Quackity is teasing and amused until he meets Sapnap. And then, he is pressing and unrelenting.

He fell in love at first sight, Karl tells him. Quackity snorts and tells him that it’s just infatuation. But Karl finds him the next day, his eyes gazing into nothingness, a lost yet found look on his face, and Karl knows that he is right.

They both fell, hard and fast, and Karl isn’t sure what to do about it.

 He finds Quackity reading his notes from the Council meeting and his personal interview of the fledglings, knuckles white with how hard he is clenching his fists and his face shifting rapidly into strangers' faces – all of them with an expression of burning anger.

“What the fuck?” he says, “What the fuck, Karl?”

Karl winces. “I didn’t want to explain all of it,” he says in a murmur. “It’s not- It’s not things that should be expressed, Q.”

“What the fuck?” the shapeshifter repeats. “How are they still-? How is he still so strong and resilient, and-?”

He doesn’t continue, and they embrace each other until the rage passes.

The next time they meet with the fledglings, Karl notices the way Quackity looks at Sapnap. It is no longer simple physical attraction – instead, there is pure admiration in his gaze. Sapnap was abused, a pearl scratched beyond repair, and yet he is still standing, proud and ready to protect his best friend with his life.

And so, after that second meeting, Quackity’s mockeries change into unrelenting pleas for Karl to figure out how vampires woo each other now . He threatens to walk into the Demon’s base at the next reception and demand that they be allowed to court Sapnap. Karl manages to convince him otherwise.

But when Skeppy and Bad continue not to read any of his hints, Quackity just breaks.

“Fuck them,” he says. “We’re taking him on a date.”

Karl looks up to him. “Quackity, we can’t-”

“We can and we’re doing it,” the shapeshifter replies, slipping on a coat. “Come. Fuck the Demon and the Spirit and everything in between. You like him, I like him, and I bet he’ll like chocolate.”

“Quacki-”

“I’m not letting you continue to wallow in misery. Prime, Karl, you don’t even write your books anymore,” He gestures vaguely at the pages and pages of text discarded on the desk and Karl flushes. “You just write about him. Come on, you’ve got it hard, and so do I, so we’re taking him out.”

And Quackity is perhaps the best and the worst thing that happened to Karl. He is annoying – charmingly so – but he is also extremely convincing. He is smart and a good speaker, and he knows how to use it. So, Karl lets himself be convinced. They slip out of their house and head toward Ant and Velvet’s apartment.

* * *

Their first date is barely a date. It is just a few hours of them hanging out – just the three of them. George stayed behind, with Ant and Velvet, both of his own volition and perhaps because he was perceptive enough to see the adoration in Quackity’s gaze.

They go to the night market again – they’ve visited it a few times with both of the fledglings. This time, Karl and Quackity make sure to pay attention to Sapnap’s needs. They follow his gaze and offer to let him try the sweets from the small food cart. They tell him stories about magical creatures’ traditions and Sapnap shares some of his memories of times of indolence before he and George were turned.

They sit on the dock, Sapnap chewing nimbly at some fudge and Quackity lost in a long description of his and Karl’s latest research project.

The moon shines on the water but Karl couldn’t care less for its reflection. Instead, he looks at the way it brings some light on Sapnap’s pale face and illuminates his smile.

He doesn’t think that he could accurately write about how beautiful the boy looks, in that specific moment.

He falls in love again.

* * *

And again, and again, and again, and again.

Each visit to Ant and Velvet, each outing to the city or walk in the forest all work to convince Karl that he is irremediably in love.

He likes George too, and he enjoys the time that he spends with both of the fledglings, but what he truly cherishes is the times he spends alone with Sapnap, or with him and Quackity.

They fit, like three pieces of a puzzle that had been separated for far too long. Sapnap fits perfectly in their dynamic. He laughs, and smiles, and quips back at them when he needs to. Every time he jokes with them, Quackity lets himself fall on the ground, howling with laughter, and Karl feels his heart ready to burst in his chest.

They like him. They really, really, like him.

And Karl, who is centuries old, feels like a giddy teenager when he reaches out one night and gingerly brushes his fingers against Sapnap. The vampire gives him a confused look before he flushes, bringing color to his pale cheeks, and laces their fingers together.

Karl almost dies there and then. Sapnap’s hand is callused and littered with small scars, and it’s also incredibly cold. It makes sense, he thinks – Sapnap is a vampire and vampires are constantly cold. Sapnap’s icy hand is a stark contrast with the warmth of Quackity’s, in Karl’s other hand. And yet- And yet, they fit. They interlace their fingers together, and they fit, and Karl thinks that he could write about how their hands were meant to meet for the rest of his life.

Quackity sings something that sounds like a lullaby, and Sapnap closes his eyes, looking relaxed and content, and Karl feels warm and happy.

He writes about the evening and commits it all to memory. He refuses to forget how right Sapnap’s hand had felt when it was clasped with his.

* * *

They take him on a picnic.

It’s a night picnic, which gets them a lot of weird looks from the passersby but Quackity flips them off crudely and Sapnap and Karl dissolve into laughter when he turns back and has adopted their face.

Suddenly, the offended yet frightened expression makes sense.

“So,” Karl says as he pours them glasses of wine. “We’ve got little sandwiches, some slices of ham, a variety of fruits, some cheeses…” He gestures at the picnic basket and Sapnap looks back at him, furrowing his eyebrows.

“You know that I don’t have to eat, right?” the vampire asks in a whisper.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t,” Quackity responds immediately. “Come on, try some of the sandwiches. Karl and I slaved away to make them!”

Karl blinks. “I made all of them. You were trying to make your face look like the pork roast.”

“And I did it successfully!”

Sapnap giggles and Karl turns to look at him, trying to memorize the sight of the vampire’s expression when he looks so happy and carefree.

He must look absolutely lovestruck because Quackity is quick to elbow him. “Hey- you’re drooling, loverboy,” he teases, handing him a bit of cheese.

Karl opens his mouth and lets his boyfriend directly feed him. Quackity rolls his eyes, giving him a few bits of cheese before he comes to claim Karl’s lips for himself. They exchange a short kiss, Karl pushing Quackity away the moment the shapeshifter tries to deepen the kiss and make it more sensual.

“Not here,” he scolds. Quackity pulls a face.

“Killjoy,” he responds – a clear tease in the way his voice remains warm and charming.

Sapnap makes a little sound next to them – a little strangled noise. They both turn to find him staring at them, eyes wide, and pupils slightly dilated.

“See something you like?” Quackity calls, clearly amused.

Sapnap jumps. “I don’t- I’m not-” he stutters.

“Calm down, pretty boy,” the shapeshifter coos. “If you want it, all you have to do is ask.”

“Q!” Karl immediately interrupts. He’s terrified to look at Sapnap and see rejection in his eyes. He still looks, though, because he has always been too curious for his own good.

Sapnap doesn’t look disgusted or upset. He looks curious, and there’s a spark of interest and hope in his red eyes.

“Sapnap?” Karl tries tentatively.

Sapnap blinks a few times. “Are you mocking me?” he asks, already clenching his fists. “Because if so, you-”

“No!” Quackity interrupts immediately. “No, we’re not! You- Karl is so fucking smitten for you. He writes your name in his books over and over. It’s both annoying and hilarious.”

“Q, come on!” Karl protests again. He looks back at Sapnap, feeling a bit desperate. He has always carried his heart on his sleeve, and now he knows that he needs it more than ever. “We- Sap, we really like you. We like, like you. We-”

“But-” Sapnap begins, but Karl is too far gone.

“Granted, we should have asked Bad for permission to court you and date you.”

“But Bad won’t understand because he and Skeppy are thick-headed dumbasses,” Quackity adds.

“You want to date me?” Sapnap repeats, eyes wide with shock. He looks like he cannot believe it.

“Yes,” Karl replies – because honesty has to be their best bet, in this situation. “Yes. We would love to. We want- If you’re okay with it, I want to ask for the permission to court you. We want to date you.”

Sapnap’s lower lip trembles, like he is about to cry. “But I- I’ve been- I killed someone,” he says. “And I’m-” He swallows thickly. “I was Dream’s.”

“Sapnap-” Karl begins.

“Do you want to be ours?” Quackity asks. He sounds serious – reverent even, the way he had sounded when he had promised to Karl that he wanted to spend his life by his side.

Sapnap lets out that same strangled sound and Karl is quick to react:

“Sapnap doesn’t have to be ours for us to value him,” he says immediately. “Sapnap- you’re free. You don’t belong to anyone. You don’t have to belong to anyone.”

“Shit,” Sapnap breathes. “Don’t make me cry, you absolute-”

“Fuck,” Karl whispers quickly. “Sap, we didn’t mean to-”

“Shut up,” Sapnap interrupts him. “Let me- Let me process it.”

Karl immediately falls into silence. He watches as the young vampire closes his eyes and inhales deeply. Almost subconsciously, Karl’s hand seeks Quackity’s. Their fingers interlace and they hold onto each other, silently conveying courage and support.

It takes a little while. They wait, refusing to simply return to the picnic or say anything else. Sapnap breathes in and out deeply.

“Okay,” he eventually says.

Karl blinks. “Okay?” he repeats, while, next to him, Quackity lets out a cheer:

“Let’s gooooo!”

“Yeah,” Sapnap responds, boring his eyes into Karl’s. “Yeah. I’d like to try. The dating. The…” He shrugs. “The courting. That.”

Karl feels like his heart is going to burst out of his chest. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Sapnap confirms again. “I think-” He flushes a little, and Karl thinks that the pink on his pale face is the most beautiful sight he has seen in his life. He thinks of poems that would compare that sight to the most beautiful paintings and to the most gorgeous sunsets. “I think I’d like that.”

“Sap,” Karl breathes, almost reverent. “Can I kiss you?”

Sapnap’s eyes widen and there’s a hint of panic that flashes across his gaze. His eyes dart around, as if he were looking for an escape route, and Karl wonders if his pupils dilate because of desire or panic.

“Sapnap-” he whispers quickly.

“Sure,” the vampire responds. He doesn’t look certain, though, and Karl’s mind turns back to his discussions with the fledglings.

That’s how it works. Sires provide, and fledglings obey .

We were so good. He fed on us because we were good.

He feels sick. He takes a step back.

“Sapnap,” Quackity intervenes, his voice barely above a murmur. “You know that you can say no, right?”

Sapnap swallows thickly. “But-”

“No buts,” Quackity says immediately. “You can say no, and we’ll respect it. No questions asked, no reasons or explanations needed.”

Sapnap looks like he might cry. “I wouldn’t- I wouldn’t mind you kissing me,” he breathes.

“You wouldn’t mind it,” Quackity repeats. “But do you want it?”

Karl shudders a little at the grimness in his boyfriend’s tone and he keeps his attention on Sapnap. Sapnap who looks lost and confused and who hugs himself tightly.

“I don’t- I don’t know,” he responds in a low voice, as if he were scared of being punished for that admission.

“Then we don’t kiss you,” Quackity responds calmly, as if it were all that simple – and perhaps it is.

“But-”

“Not buts,” Quackity says again. And then he smirks. “Except Karl’s.” Karl yelps and slaps Quackity’s hand away before it can reach its target.

Sapnap lets out an incredulous chuckle. “You’re- You’re not mad?” he asks. “You’re not angry?”

Karl shrugs. “Why would we be?”

Sapnap blinks a few times. He looks completely disbelieving. “You don’t feel like I led you on?”

“Nope,” Quackity responds easily.

“No,” Karl responds. “We’ll take whatever you want to give us. We won’t demand anything from you, Sap.”

Sapnap lets out a laugh that quickly changes into a sob. “Fuck,” he mumbles, hiding his face in his hands. “Shit. I told you not to make me cry.”

Karl widens his eyes and, before he can stop himself, he takes two long strides to be by the vampire’s side. He pauses right before embracing the man. “Sap,” he whispers quickly, “Can I hug you?”

“If you don’t fucking hug me, I’ll punch you,” the vampire responds – a muffled sound behind his hands.

Karl gladly obeys the order. He wraps his arms around Sapnap, holding his shaking body against him. Sapnap tenses for a second before fully melting in the embrace, crying quietly. Soon enough, Karl feels Quackity’s warm hand on his shoulder and he notices the way his boyfriend’s other hand lands on Sapnap’s shoulder, gentle and comforting.

They hold each other like that for a long time – in the dead of the night, on a picnic blanket, in a deserted forest. And all Karl can think of is that he is ready to give Sapnap the world and that they fit.

* * *

“So,” Quackity says one day, looking immensely serious. Karl looks up from his drafts. He has written about the Agreement for the Council, and most people are well aware of how it works. The First Accords, however, are less well-known, and Karl wants to use any chance he has to talk to those who saw their consequences firsthand. Phil has given him quite a good perspective on the human side of things but having a more direct access to Velvet and being able to discuss his Sire’s demise is a great opportunity that Karl is not about to reject.

He raises an eyebrow. “So?”

“I’ve been doing some thinking,” the shapeshifter starts.

“Oh, didn’t know that you could do that!”

“Shut up!”

Karl dodges a cushion expertly, sticking his tongue out. “Missed! Loser!”

Quackity makes a feral smile and comes closer. “I won’t miss next time,” he threatens with a smirk.

Karl giggles. “Do your worst.”

He doesn’t have time to blink before Quackity is on him, laughing loudly and wiggling his fingers as if to threaten to tickle him. Karl yelps and struggles and laughs, and they both end up on the wooden floor, giggly and red-faced and so happy with each other. The floor is littered with pages and pages of Karl’s drafts, but he cannot make himself care.

He lets his head fall fully on the floor. “Okay,” he pants. “Truce! Truce! I give up!”

Quackity cheers happily and sits up a little. They both look at each other, breathless, and wide smiles stretching their lips.

“So!” Quackity says again. “I’ve been thinking-”

“Didn’t know that you c-” A hand comes to muffle his words and Karl’s eyes spark with mischief.

“Don’t,” Quackity warns.

Karl brings his tongue out again and his boyfriend lets out an offended shriek before rubbing his palm on Karl’s shirt.

“Gross! Old man’s saliva!”

Karl dissolves into a fit of giggles while the shapeshifter continues his complaint.

“So!” Quackity tries once more. “About Sapnap-”

Karl stops giggling, looking back at his boyfriend with a concerned look. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Quackity immediately reassures him. “I just thought-”

“I didn’t know you co-”

“I will walk out, Karl Jacobs.”

Karl raises his hands. “Sorry, sorry, sorry. What is it about Sapnap?”

Quackity shrugs. “Well, you want to do things according to the rules because you’re a goodie-two-shoes.” He boops his nose and Karl giggles. “But Sap definitely doesn’t have a Sire that we can talk to, and honestly, the farther we stay from the Demon and the Spirit, the happier I am.”

“You know, if you stopped playing pranks on humans, they would both like you a lot more.”

Quackity scrunches his nose and shifts to adopt Karl’s face. “You know, if I stopped being so boring, Quackity would kiss me way more often.”

Karl rolls his eyes and punches his shoulder. “Be serious.”

Quackity shifts back to the face he adopts on a normal basis and smiles at him. “Anyway, if you want to ask for his hand in marriage-”

“Q, you know that’s not how things work.”

“Let me finish! If you want us to be old game and ask for permission to fuck him-”

“Q.”

“- to make love with him.”

“Q.”

Quackity makes a show of sighing exasperatedly. “- to sleep in the same bed as him with nothing sexual happening at all.”

“Q, for the love of Prime.”

“Okay, okay-” Quackity laughs. “All I’m saying is- Maybe the best option is to ask George.”

“Pardon?”

“George. Gogy. His best friend, brother, twin, coworker, whatever’s happening between these two. Why don’t we ask him?”

Karl blinks. “He isn’t… He isn’t his Sire.”

“And?” Quackity responds. “His Sire is a pile of dust. Not great to ask permission from. Also, fuck that dude.” Karl hums in agreement. “And, honestly, I don’t think that it’d be good to ask Ant or Velvet. Of course, it’d be better if they support it, but we can’t give Sapnap the impression that his feelings don’t matter in this and that he has to submit to their authority.”

“So, George?”

Quackity shrugs. “They are best friends,” he says. “Sapnap- He needs all the support he can get. If George approves of us and encourages him to pursue a relationship with us, it will make it so much easier.” – A pause – “Both for us, and for him.”

Karl hums a little in response.

“Don’t you think he feels guilty?” Quackity continues. “As far as I know, they’ve always had each other. And we come in and…” He shrugs. “And essentially convince Sap to spend time with us rather than George. He probably feels guilty as fuck.”

Karl bites the inside of his cheeks. “Sometimes, I forget how smart and perceptive you are,” he comments.

“I am always smart and perceptive.”

“And chaotic.”

Quackity rolls his eyes. “And chaotic.”

Karl sits up so he can reach his boyfriend’s face. “And I love you,” he says.

“Aww, Karl,” he coos, “You could just say it if you wanted me to suck you o-”

“I hate you,” Karl amends immediately. Quackity makes kissy faces at him.  

They agree to talk to George the next time they visit.

Chapter Text

The visit goes as well as they can expect.

George is a little closed off and keeps his eyes on the way Sapnap’s entire posture relaxes as he settles between Karl and Quackity. Their hands find each other, and Karl caresses the back of Sapnap’s palm, taking in the small scars on his cold hand.

George sighs a little and shifts on his lone armchair. Behind him, Ant and Velvet stand by the door, Ant is leaning on the wall, in the exact same position he had when Karl has visited for the first time, when George and Sapnap had sat on the couch, curled up into each other, and Sapnap had growled at him, wide and feral.

He holds Sapnap’s hand a bit tighter. It’s weird – to think that George replaced him in the armchair.

He blinks a little, bringing his attention back to Quackity, who is carefully describing how much they care about Sapnap. He keeps it clear and kind, and far from his usual crudeness. Instead, Quackity speaks of the admiration they feel for Sapnap and George for being so strong and resilient, and he speaks about how well Sapnap fits.

There’s something like hurt that flashes across George’s expression, but also some hope. He is kind, Karl realizes. Kind and fragile. He cares about Sapnap’s happiness almost as much as he fears being left behind.

“Well, what do you want me to do about it?” he finally asks, crossing his arms, as if to hug himself. Karl recognizes the action for being identical to Sapnap’s and he vaguely wonders if this is something they learned from each other.

“We’d like to ask…” Quackity searches Karl’s eyes, and he shrugs at him. “for your blessing?” He pauses and scrunches his nose. “Fuck, no, that sounds dumb.” He shape-shifts his face into one of an old man. “‘Oh, great Prime, bless this union.’”

“Q!” Karl scolds, shifting behind Sapnap to elbow his boyfriend. “Be serious.” He looks back at George. “We- I studied vampire’s customs.”

George rolls his eyes. “Yeah, you do that a lot,” he responds. “ The Treatise and all.”

Karl nods. “If- I don’t know a lot about vampire courtship. But my understanding is that you need to ask a Sire for permission to court their fledglings.”

George makes a small snort, but his mouth forms a grimace and his eyes become a bit wet. “Yeah, good luck with that,” he ironizes. Sapnap tenses at the words.

“I know,” Karl says, keeping his voice soft. “I know he’s not here anymore. But he wouldn’t have deserved to give us his approval either way.” George grimaces and goes to respond but Karl beats him to it. “So we want to receive yours.”

George blinks. “Mine?” he repeats.

Quackity nods on the other side of the couch. “We know that you care about Sapnap,” he says. “As much, if not much more than we do.” George seems to relax at that, and Karl lets out a small, relieved sigh. Quackity is a good speaker – he has always been. Karl is good at expressing himself through writing, and Quackity complements him by being an excellent rhetor. “So we thought that you were the best person to… to judge whether we can make him happy.”

George narrows his eyes. “I don’t find this funny,” he responds. “I’ve seen you two. You make fun of those who know less about this world. What is this about?”

“It’s not a game!” Karl responds immediately. “We’re being serious! We care about your opinion of it!” ‘Sapnap cares about your opinion of it,’ he wants to say.

George frowns. “Sap, what is this about?”

Sapnap shakes his head. “I promise I had no idea they would do that,” he whispers.

They look at each other, communicating through eye contact alone, and Karl melts a little at the clear affection between the two of them.

George turns back and he stares at them, eyebrows furrowed as if he were trying to understand. “Sap-” His lips twitch. “We’ve been hurt,” he whispers, and Ant tenses by the door, ready to intervene.

“I know,” Quackity replies solemnly. “And we do not pretend to be able to heal either of you. But we hope to bring Sapnap some joy.”

George is silent for a while before he sighs. “You do,” he says. “You already do.” He smirks at Sapnap. “I can’t make him shut up about you two.”

Karl smiles a little, his chest filling with warmth. “Yeah?” he asks, soft and hopeful.

Sapnap glares. “George, don’t-” he warns.

“Yeah,” George responds. “He is smitten . He asks me to help him choose his outfits before your dates.”

“I didn’t call them dates,” Sapnap pouts. “I said hangouts.”

“And I heard what you meant ,” George replies. He smiles a bit more genuinely. “‘Oh, George, they are both so nice and warm and kind, and they hold my hand and tell me I’m pretty,’” he mimics.

Quackity’s eyes shine with a mix of amusement and affection. “We can compliment you more if you like it, pretty boy,” he whispers, and Sapnap punches him in the shoulder.

“Ew,” Velvet teases from the door. “Public display of affection! Who does that?” He is holding onto Ant’s waist and his eyes shine with mirth.

Karl rolls his eyes and Quackity cackles. “Would you prefer we did some private affection?” he responds, wiggling his eyebrows.

Ant smiles and gives a small shrug. “I’d give you the shovel talk, but I’m pretty sure you came to talk specifically to George, so I guess he gets the honors.”

George looks a little panicked for a second before he speaks. “Sapnap,” he breathes, “is the best person I know.”

Karl nods solemnly.

“I know,” he says. “We won’t take him from you.”

“They can’t,” Sapnap says immediately. He leans in to reach for George. “I’m with you until the end, Georgie.”

“Shut up,” George mutters. “I’m trying to be impressive.” Sapnap chuckles, taking his spot back between Karl and Quackity, and the other vampire continues, moving his red eyes directly to Karl. “My Sire was a psychopath,” he says very calmly. “He hurt us, and we learned our vision of the world from him.” Karl swallows thickly. “If I see Sapnap cry because of you, I’ll make you understand what I learned.”

“He tried to kill me,” Ant comments calmly from the door. Karl notices the way Velvet holds his partner a bit more tightly, as if the memory was still terrifying to him.

“Yeah,” George says. “I did.” He turns completely to look at Ant and his shoulders relax a little. “I’m sorry.”

Ant shrugs a little. “You weren’t yourself,” he responds in a gentle voice.

George swallows thickly and turns back, boring his eyes into Karl’s again. “When Dream died, Sapnap took care of me,” he says. Karl nods slowly. “I wanted to die, and Sap- Sap didn’t let me. He was my constant.” He pauses, taking a second to breathe. His eyes flicker to Sapnap and he relaxes almost instantly at whatever he sees in his best friend’s eyes. “I won’t allow you to hurt him.”

Karl nods. “I don’t want to hurt him,” he responds.

“Yeah,” Quackity agrees. “Whatever you two went through, it was incredibly fucked up. I can’t- I can’t fucking wrap my head around it.”

George sniffles a little. “Trust me,” he says, and his eyes look a little humid again. “I know.”

Karl hesitates before he tentatively reaches a hand toward the smaller vampire. “Do you want-…” he begins.

Quackity immediately understands. “There’s more than enough space on the couch,” he completes.

George makes a hesitant smile, and it is Sapnap who gets through to him. “Georgie,” he says simply.

George reacts to that, as if Sapnap were his Sire and had just commanded him to approach – or maybe it is that Sapnap is his best friend, his second half, the vampire with whom his soul is linked. He approaches them hesitantly and Karl keeps his palm there, turned toward the ceiling, and George tentatively brushes his fingers to his.

They reach out, and they take him in, they accept him, and they embrace him as the fourth piece of the puzzle.

Later, Karl writes pages and pages about snuggle piles and legs tangled together and the mix of two warm and two cold bodies. And he writes about being in love with Quackity and Sapnap and adoring George’s friendship.

He is happy.

* * *

Sapnap is spending a few days with them.

It’s the next logical step, they had decided. After several dates, after they learned the sound of each other’s laugh by heart and after Karl became able to memorize every small scar on Sapnap’s hand, after Karl filled pages after pages in his elegant handwriting describing every way that they fit perfectly together, they decided that it was time for another step.

So Karl opens his door one night to the sight of Sapnap with a small bag and Ant behind him, arms crossed and trying to look impressive. Karl nods at his fellow Council member while Quackity ushers Sapnap inside after pressing an affectionate kiss on his forehead.

“Karl,” Ant calls before he has the time to follow his boyfriends back inside. “A word.”

Karl gives a small nod and he closes the front door. “Let me guess,” he says, “Don’t hurt him or I’ll hurt you, and don’t do anything before marriage. Wait, do vampires have marriages? Or is it just somewhat of an understood thing? Would one of the partners leave their coven and join the other’s? Would-”

“Karl,” Ant interrupts him. “Shut up. We can discuss this later.”

Karl pouts and puts his notebook back in his pocket. “All right, he says. Shovel talk part two. I’m ready.”

Ant shakes his head. “This is not a shovel talk, Karl,” he says. “I’m- Listen, if- Sapnap is his own person. He is strong and independent, and I would never try to decide what he can and cannot do.”

Karl nods. “And I appreciate that,” he says. “Really.”

Ant takes a deep breath. “Sapnap and George have no notion of their own boundaries,” he finally says. He looks away from Karl, not meeting his eyes.

“I think I know what you mean,” Karl responds slowly.

Red eyes immediately meet his. “Have you done anything that he did not fully want?” he asks, and there’s a threat in his voice.

Karl shakes his head immediately. “No. No. As soon as we realized that he wasn’t sure, we told him that he could say no. And we didn’t- We didn’t force him into anything, Ant, I swear.”

“Okay,” Ant says slowly, relaxing his shoulders. “I’ll trust you. I’ll trust you because Sapnap loves you two. But if- If he looks uncertain about anything, just-”

“I got it,” Karl responds. “Ant, I promise. I care for him. We both do. I’d never do anything to hurt him.”

Ant bites his lower lip. “I know,” the vampire says. “It’s just- He might not want to express it if he’s uncomfortable. He’s…” He winces. “… eager to please, I guess. As awful as it sounds.”

Karl grimaces, a lump forming in his throat. “It sounds sick,” he says. “Prime. Prime, if Dream was still there, I would-”

Ant presses a hand on his shoulder. “Trust me,” he breathes. “I know.” A pause. “But if he isn’t actually enthusiastic about anything, just-”

Karl closes his eyes for a second. “I won’t- Ant, I would never purposely hurt him. I promise.”

The vampire gives a slow nod. “Okay,” he whispers. “I trust you.” He smiles at him. “Sapnap looks happier than he has in weeks. I’m… I’m very grateful.”

“I’m happy he gave us a chance,” Karl admits.

Ant smiles. “Yeah.” He gently pats him on the back. “Don’t forget him, now.”

He walks away, and Karl’s smile falls.

Don’t forget him, he tells himself. Don’t forget him. Don’t forget him. Don’t forget him.

* * *

On the second day of Sapnap’s stay, Karl and Quackity take his hands and take him to the core of the Demon’s power, deep in the Underground.

Sapnap trembles a little when they pass the door to the reception hall.

“Dream took us here,” he murmurs when they both throw him worried looks. “He- He made us convince someone to let us in. We-” He grimaces. “It turns out it was Punz’s Sire. I-” He lets out a bitter laugh. “I manipulated the Sire of the person I killed.”

“Sap-” Karl murmurs, coming closer to gently brush his hand.

Sapnap jerks away and Karl immediately removes his hand. “Not exactly boyfriend material, is it?” the vampire chuckles drily.

“Sap,” Quackity says very calmly. “You didn’t have a choice. You didn’t know any better.”

“I killed someone,” Sapnap spits. “I killed someone I used to consider a friend. That’s just- That’s beyond fucked-up.”

“What’s fucked-up is what he did to you,” Quackity replies. “Sapnap, look at me.” The vampire lets out a shaky breath before looking into Quackity’s eyes. “This m- Dream fucked up with your moral system. He made you think that what matters most was to please him. It wasn’t your fault. You were manipulated and abused.”

Sapnap’s lower lip trembles and Karl sends Quackity a warning look. “Q, maybe not n-”

“No,” Quackity interrupts him. “He needs to know. He needs to know that no one holds him responsible for what this piece of shit forced him to do.”

“Purpled tried to kill us to avenge Punz,” Sapnap tells them.

“Then fuck him too,” Quackity immediately replies. “He doesn’t know.”

“He knows what he needs to,” Sapnap responds. “That I killed his…” He doesn’t finish.

“His brother,” Karl completes. “They considered each other brothers.”

“Karl,” Quackity says, “I love you, and I mean this in the most loving way possible, but shut the fuck up.”

Karl opens his mouth.

“Nope,” Quackity says. “Speaking rights have been removed for Mr. Jacobs unless he learns the notion of tact .”

Sapnap giggles. “Tact?” he repeats. “Coming from you?”

Karl rolls his eyes. “What I meant to say is that Ponk and Purpled came to talk to me about Dream. They wanted to know his history to better understand after…” He scrunches his nose. “After the Demon told them about the way he treated Sap and George.” Sapnap nods but doesn’t interrupt. Karl looks directly into his eyes. “They don’t hold you responsible. They know.”

Sapnap lets out a dry sob. “Stop being so kind, you absolute-”

Karl giggles a little and he reaches for one of Sapnap’s hand, pressing a quick kiss to his palm. “Good?”

Sapnap gives a small nod. “Good. Let’s do this.”

They recenter their attention to their main objective: meeting the Demon and obtaining his blessing for their relationship. George had given his, of course, and it is the one that matters the most to all of them, but Karl wants to do things right . And if he can’t ask permission from Sapnap’s Sire, he will ask permission from his Lord.

Karl isn’t afraid of Bad – not really. He’s seen the Demon enough in the Council meetings and in his service to Sam to consider be familiar with him. He knows Bad. But that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t find him extremely impressive.

He holds onto a warm hand and a cold hand and walks forward, all the way to the small parlor where the Demon receives guests.

They only separate when they reach the entrance, giving each other small reassuring nods. Quackity opens the door, ushering them inside, and Karl takes a few steps in the room before getting on his knees in front of the Demon.

“Thank you for having us, my lord,” he recites politely.

Bad makes a small movement for him to rise and Karl gets back to his feet, giving a small nod to Quackity and Sapnap, and they all move to the couch without another word.

Once he is sitting, Karl turns his attention back to the Demon. Bad is sitting on the loveseat, Skeppy curled against him. The human (former human? Karl wonders) doesn’t look in their direction. Instead, he busies himself with playing with the fabric of Bad’s cloak, humming lightly. There are more and more purple gems on his arms, and Karl frowns a little in confusion. He doesn’t have time to ask, though, because Bad notices his look and he quickly removes his cloak and drapes it on Skeppy.

Karl looks away and the demon relaxes a little.

“So,” Bad says, looking down at his clawed hands. “Why don’t you tell me the reason for your visit, Karl?”

Karl bites his lip. “I’ve written you quite a lot of letters,” he begins.

“And I’ve told you that neither of them has an average reading comprehension,” Quackity replies immediately.

“Q!” Karl hisses, “Show some respect!”

Quackity shrugs. “Not my lord, not my problem.”

Karl closes his eyes for a second. “My lord,” he says quickly. “He doesn’t mean it.”

“Oh, but he does,” Skeppy interrupts. He is still not looking at them, and he’s wrapped the cloak around himself like a blanket. “It’s kind of funny, to be honest?”

His lips form a tiny, trembling smile, and the Demon makes a distressed sound, very far from the normally calm and almost threatening behavior he normally shows.

“Skeppy,” he says gently, “Do you want to leave? I can take care of this, you can just-”

“No!” Skeppy replies immediately and, for a brief second, his eyes shine a bright purple. “No, I can do this.”

Bad looks worried but he doesn’t respond. He presses his lips to the (former?) human’s forehead before he looks back at them. He forces a smile.

“Tell me, Karl.”

Karl swallows thickly. He understands why the Demon addresses him specifically – he is a Council member and generally well respected, both among the Undead and the Living. Quackity is a simple shapeshifter, and Sapnap is a former rogue vampire, and still extremely inexperienced in the world. Still, it feels strange.

“This is about Sapnap, my lord.”

Wrapped in the cloak, Skeppy tenses perceptibly. The Demon frowns. “Skeppy-” he murmurs.

“No,” Skeppy growls immediately, as if it were an argument that they had had a hundred times – perhaps it is. “No.”

Bad closes his eyes. “Very well,” he sighs. “Just- You can step out whenever you want, okay?”

“Won’t be necessary,” Skeppy mutters between gritted teeth. “I’m fucking Unliving. I can do this.”

Is that what he is? Karl wonders. Unliving? He wants to ask so many more questions about it – wants to scribble his thoughts in his notebook, but he bites his tongue.

Bad sighs again. “Language.” His shining white eyes turn back to Karl. “What is it about Sapnap?”

“I’m- We were coming to-”

“Be upfront,” Quackity whispers. “Clear and concise, babe.”

Karl rolls his eyes. “We’d like to ask for permission to court Sapnap.”

Bad blinks. Once. Twice. Thrice. “Pardon?”

“I’ve studied vampires’ traditions, my lord. It is customary for vampires to ask the Sire of the person they want to date for permission to court them.”

Bad snorts a little. “I am not Sapnap’s Sire.”

Karl shakes his head. “You’re not,” he responds. “Sapnap doesn’t have a Sire anymore.”

Next to him, sitting between him and Quackity, Sapnap flinches. In front of him, half hiding under a cloak far too large for him, Skeppy trembles.

They’re similar in that regard, Karl realizes. They were both hurt by Dream. They share a trauma that the vampire inflicted upon them. He hesitates.

“Dream is gone,” he breathes. “So we thought to come to you instead. You are his lord. You can replace his Sire in this case. We’d like to ask for your permission to court Sapnap.”

Bad scrunches his nose a little. “What did Sam say?” he asks.

“With all due respect,” Quackity intervenes, “Sapnap is a vampire. He is under your jurisdiction, not the Spirit’s.”

“What about Ant?”

Sapnap snarls a little. “Ant is not my Sire,” he says automatically. “He doesn’t get to decide.”

The Demon lets out a long sigh. “Did you talk to George, then?”

“Are you playing hot potato with Sapnap?” Quackity questions, incredulous.

“George said yes,” Sapnap replies, while Karl glares at his boyfriend. Prime knows he loves Quackity, but the man has no sense of self-preservation or simple diplomatic skills.

Well, he does. He just doesn’t use them.

“Well,” Bad says, shrugging. “If George is okay with it, I guess this is fine with me.”

Karl lets out a relieved breath. He did not plan for the Demon to give them too much trouble, but he also did not expect for things to be this easy.

“Wait-” Skeppy interrupts.

Bad tilts his head. “Skeppy?”

“Isn’t that a rushed decision?” the Unliving asks. “He- He barely knows anything about our world. He is a youngling for all it’s worth. And you all do realize that he spent decades locked in a basement with George and some goddamn psychopath for company? Is he… Is he really ready for this?”

Bad blinks. “George said that he was okay with it,” he says. “To me, that’s all the permission they need.” He makes a little smile as he looks at them on the couch. “A cursed being, a shapeshifter, and a vampire. People are going to talk about this one.” He raises an eyebrow. “Perhaps even more than about Ant’s unconventional coven.”

Karl rolls his eyes a little, amused. The one person not amused is Skeppy.

“Prime, do you hear yourself?” he interrupts. “Sapnap is young and traumatized!” He turns to look at them for the first time, his eyes shining brightly, the very same way the Demon’s do. “Bad may be amused by this, but I know what it is to be lost and confused in a world full of creatures that consider me weak.”

“Skeppy-” the Demon whispers.

“How do we know that he is fully okay with this?”

Next to Karl, Sapnap tenses and leans forward.

And Sapnap, brave Sapnap – Sapnap who was abused and manipulated – faces the Lord of the Undead and his co-ruler and watches them dead in the eyes. “I’m choosing this,” he says. “Not them. They’re not forcing me into anything.” He pauses for a second and Karl wants to wrap him in his arms and never let go. He wants to write that memory down so that he will never forget how courageous his boyfriend is. “I’m not a goddamn fucking doll that you need to protect,” Sapnap adds.

“Language,” Bad mutters automatically, eyes wide as he stares at the fledgling. On the couch, Quackity cheers loudly, and Karl cannot bring himself to feel exasperated. He feels fond and admirative.

“Okay,” Skeppy says slowly. His eyes meet Sapnap, and he flinches a little but does not look away. “Okay. If this is what you want.”

Karl hears the vampire swallow thickly. “It is.”

Skeppy nods. “Then I won’t remove that choice from you,” he breathes. For the first time ever, Sapnap inclines his head to acknowledge the authority of the Lords of the Undead.

They are Lords, Karl realizes. The both of them. Bad is no longer ruling alone. He can sense the pure power that emanates from Skeppy, and he can see the complete trust and deference in the Demon’s eyes. They are equals, and Skeppy is as authoritative as Bad is. He is Unliving, and he is dangerous.

“Thank you, my lord,” he says, not looking away from Skeppy.

The man lets out a small snort. “That still sounds weird,” he tells Bad before looking back at Karl. Blue eyes stare right into his soul. “Listen, Karl,” Skeppy says slowly. "Listen Karl, I am well aware of your services to the Council, and we are all grateful for it. And I am very partial to Quackity's pranks. They're funny.”

Bad makes a small disagreeing sound and elbows him. Skeppy does not allow that to interrupt him:

“But at the end of the day, Sapnap is an Undead, and you two aren't, and we-” and he takes Bad's hand “- have a duty of protection.”

Bad makes a small smile and Karl notices the way he gently squeezes Skeppy’s hand in response. “We do,” he says. “We protect the Undead.”

“My lord,” Karl says slowly. He pauses and his eyes flick to Skeppy. “Lords,” he corrects. Skeppy rolls his eyes. “I- We won’t hurt him. Quackity and I- we want to make him happy.”

Sapnap shifts a little between them. “You do,” he murmurs. He looks up to Bad and Skeppy. “They do. They make me happy.”

Bad makes a fond smile and Skeppy’s frown eases a little bit.

“Okay,” the latter says. His blue eyes meet Karl’s again. “This better continue then.”

“Of course,” Karl agrees, bowing his head.

“If we find out that anything happened to them-”

“Skeppy,” Bad interrupts. “They know.”

“Do they?” Skeppy asks. “Do they know what would happen to them if they hurt one of our subjects?”

Karl frowns and looks back at Skeppy at the threat in his voice. He goes to open his mouth but freezes completely when he catches the sight of Skeppy’s eyes, burning with a deep purple.

“My lord-” he says slowly, his voice strangled in his chest.

Bad widens his eyes and almost looks afraid. “Skeppy,” he hisses quickly. “Quit it!”

The Unliving blinks once, and the purple seems to fade a little.

“Quit it now,” the Demon repeats. “This isn’t mine. Stop using it now.”

Skeppy lets out a small choked up sound and he closes his eyes. When he opens them again, they are blue, and no longer shining.

“Shit,” he breathes. “Shit, Bad, I’m sorry.”

The Demon is quick to take him in his arms while Karl watches, petrified.

“Go,” Bad orders, waving his hand vaguely and not taking his eyes off his companion. “Go. You have our permission to court Sapnap.”

“My lord-?” Karl tries. There is something ugly happening there.

“Go.” Bad’s voice is firm and almost sounds dangerous. This is an order that Karl refuses to disobey. He holds a bit tighter onto Sapnap’s hand and he leads his boyfriends outside.

They leave.

* * *

The official permission for Karl and Quackity to court Sapnap comes with a lot of relief. It doesn’t change anything in their dynamic – not exactly. They hadn’t waited for Bad and Skeppy to formerly allow them to pursue Sapnap to set up an implicit game in which they compete to make their boyfriend blush the most.

Quackity is still winning through the sheer number of sexual innuendos that seem to fall from his mouth on a daily basis, but Karl is not giving up. His approach may be more subtle, but he trusts that the poetry he writes for Sapnap might get him the upper hand.

So nothing really changes.

What does bring a real change, however, is the one afternoon where they cuddle on the couch, happy to simply take in the other’s presence. Sapnap is wrapped in one of Karl’s sweaters and Karl feels so incredibly fond.

And then, Sapnap speaks, hesitant and worried.

“I’m thirsty.”

Oh.

Oh.

Oh.

 Shit, why did they not think of that? Karl exchanges a bewildered look with Quackity before turning back to Sapnap.

“How thirsty?” he asks, his eyes darting to the window. They’ve kept it fully closed, with two layers of curtain, but he can still guess the brightness of the sunlight. Shit.

Sapnap shrugs a little. “I- A bit- Pretty thirsty,” he admits in a murmur. “It- My stomach hurts a bit.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Karl’s eyes flicker back to the window. They can’t go out. Not now. And even then, Karl has never been responsible for overseeing vampires drinking. He knows that Ant and Velvet continue to have to watch over them as the fledglings do – to make sure that they do not take too much.

“It’s fine,” Sapnap says quickly. “I’m used to being hungry. I’ve gone without blood for much longer, it’s not-”

Karl shakes his head immediately. “It’s not fine!” he says quickly. “Sap, do you have any idea what happens to vampires who do not drink?”

Sapnap doesn’t exactly glare at him, but his look is not kind. “I do know,” he says. “Don’t forget where I came from.”

“Hey!” Quackity intervenes immediately. “Hey, Karl didn’t mean anything by it. Calm down.”

Karl’s eyes flicker to his other boyfriend. “Q,” he says softly. “It’s fine.”

The shapeshifter sends him an incredulous look. “Is it?”

“Yeah,” Karl says, looking back at Sapnap. “It’s fine. Hunger can make vampires aggressive. It’s okay.”

Sapnap glowers before shaking his head. “It’s- I’m not thinking straight,” he says. “I should go back home. To Ant and Velvet.”

“It’s the middle of the afternoon,” Quackity says, gesturing vaguely at the window. “I don’t really want to date a pile of dust.”

Sapnap lets out a small curse, and Karl does not think before he rolls up the sleeve of his sweater, revealing his wrist.

Sapnap’s eyes go extremely wide, and he shakes his head immediately. “No,” he breathes. “No, I’m not doing this.”

Quackity throws him a concerned look. “Karl,” he breathes. “Are you sure?”

Karl doesn’t look at the shapeshifter. He continues looking directly into Sapnap’s red eyes, presenting his thin wrist. “Sap,” he breathes. “I won’t make you do anything. But you’re hungry, and I’m willing to do it.”

Sapnap shakes his head again. “I can’t,” he whispers. “I can’t- It’s not- I can’t.” He clenches his eyes closed.

“Why not?” Quackity asks, bringing his voice to a reassuring murmur. “Sap, baby, why not? Karl is willing. He offered.”

Sapnap keeps his eyes closed and shakes his head again. “It’s not- I can’t- I can’t do that to you, Karl. I- No. I know how it feels.”

Karl widens his eyes, remembering Sapnap’s words from their first (well, second) meeting. Dream fed on us because we were good. He brings a hand to his mouth, feeling a little sick.

“Sap,” he whispers, “Sap, darling, is this about Dream?”

Sapnap refuses to move for a movement. Eventually, he gives a tiny nod.

“Fuck,” Quackity breathes. “Shit. Fuck. I’m-” He stands up, running a hand through his hair. “Fuck.” Karl watches with wide eyes as the shapeshifter moves away for a few seconds.

“Q,” he breathes, “Are you okay?”

“Don’t fucking worry about me now,” Quackity immediately replies. He moves to kneel on the floor, right in front of Sapnap. “Sap, babe, look at me.”

Karl holds his breath as the vampire opens his eyes, looking down hesitantly.

“Good. There you are, pretty boy,” Quackity whispers. “Are you thirsty?”

Sapnap trembles and gives a small nod.

“Okay,” Quackity says. “And do you want to drink from Karl?”

Sapnap hiccups a little. “I don’t want to hurt him,” he responds immediately.

“You won’t,” Karl comments. “You won’t, Sap. I trust you.”

 Sapnap swallows thickly. “You shouldn’t,” he breathes. “Dream- He- He’d give us people to bleed dry. I haven’t-”

“Do you want to bleed Karl dry?” Quackity asks, keeping his tone calm and neutral.

Sapnap shakes his head. “Of course not.”

The shapeshifter smirks. “Do you want to suck him dr-”

“Q,” Karl warns while Sapnap lets out a surprised giggle. “Shut up.”

“I meant like vampires,” Quackity immediately replies with a smug expression. “Prime, Karl, get your mind out of the gutters.”

Karl puts his face in his hands. “I can’t. Not with you around.”

Sapnap laughs again and Quackity wiggles his eyebrows. “I know, babe. I’m too sexy for that.” He grins. “Both Sap and I are way too sexy.”

Karl rolls his eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”

“You love me.”

“I do.”

They fall in silence before Karl takes a deep breath, looking back at Sapnap. “Sap, darling.” The vampire looks up to him, eyes a bit wide. Karl slowly reaches out, presenting his wrist to him. “Please.”

Sapnap trembles again. “Are you sure?” he whispers.

“Certain.”

“You trust me to do this?”

“Pretty boy,” Quackity breathes, “We both do.”

Sapnap closes his eyes and gives a small nod. “Stop me if it hurts,” he says. “Or if you want to stop. Or if-”

“Darling,” Karl whispers. “Go ahead. Q, can you get me some healing potions?”

The shapeshifter nods and moves away. Karl keeps his eyes on Sapnap, using his other hand to gently cup his cheek. “Are you ready?”

Sapnap gives a small nod, focusing back on Karl. His red eyes shine with something akin to adoration. Karl feels fascinated, and yet he knows that this is not Thrall. Thrall does not function on him – not since he’s been cursed. He just feels in love.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispers. Sapnap smirks.

“Speak for yourself, handsome,” he responds.

And he brings Karl’s wrist to his face.

Chapter Text

Karl wakes up in a bed he doesn’t know. He scrunches his nose, shifting a little under the soft blankets. And then he freezes.

There are two bodies in the bed with him. The one on his left is curled up and warm. The one on his right – fully spread and with an arm across his stomach – is frozen. Karl swallows thickly. What’s happening? What’s happening?

Is he in bed with a corpse? He looks at the stranger, not recognizing his face, and he moves his hand to his lips. There’s a soft, cold breathing that comes out of his mouth – regularly, almost appeasingly. And yet, he is cold and-

There’s something on his wrist. Karl hiccups and he brings his own wrist to his face, noticing the scar there. There are two holes punctured into his skin.

Karl remembers one thing: he is a writer. He writes, and he studies magical creatures.

This is the mark of a vampire. A vampire bit him, and there is a cold body in his bed.

Karl jumps out immediately, heart beating frenetically.

In the bed, the man on the right – the one who was warm and human – stirs. “Karl?” he calls sleepily. “Babe, what are you-?” He looks to him and cuts himself short immediately. “Shit, Karl, is it happening again?”

“Is what happening?” Karl asks, hysterical. “Who are you? How do you know me? Where am I?”

The man grimaces. “Babe, listen-” he says slowly.

“Who are you?” Karl repeats. “Who is he?” He takes a step back, trying to control his trembling. “I know Undead’s techniques. I know how to defend myself.” He cradles his arm, refusing to let the stranger look at it.

There’s a flash of pain on the other man’s face. “I know,” he whispers appeasingly. “I know, babe. I know you’re confused. I need you to hear me out.”

Karl shakes his head. “Where am I?” he asks. “What have you done to me?” The man steps out of bed and comes closer, and Karl almost screams. “Don’t touch me!” he orders.

His voice must come too loud, because the second man – the vampire, the one who drank his blood – stirs too.

“Karl?” he mumbles. “Quackity?”

“It’s okay, Sap,” the first man – Quackity? - says quickly. “It’s okay, I’ll handle it.”

The vampire tenses visibly. “Handle what?”

Karl feels hysterical. “Who are you two?” he asks again. “What do you want from me?”

“Karl,” Quackity whispers. “I need you to calm down, please.”

He shakes his head furiously. “What the fuck?” he asks. “Your friend bit me!”

“Q?” the vampire asks, sounding very distressed. Karl feels a pang in his heart at the fear and confusion on the man’s face. “Q, what is-”

“It’s okay,” Quackity says again. He doesn’t look away from Karl. “Karl, you aren’t in danger. I- Don’t move.” He doesn’t wait for a response and rushes out of the bedroom.

Karl doesn’t think that he could move if he wanted to. He feels petrified. In front of him, on the bed, the vampire stares at him, his expression of fear a reflection of Karl’s. “What have you done to me?” Karl whispers furiously. “You drank from me!”

The vampire lets out a hiccup. “I wasn’t- You told me to.”

Karl shakes his head. “Hell no,” he responds. “Hell no, I didn’t do that.”

“Karl,” the vampire whispers, his voice trembling and his lips wobbling. “You’re scaring me.”

“You’re a fucking vampire,” Karl responds automatically. “ You are scaring me .”

The vampire trembles. “Karl, I don’t find this funny,” he says – begs – “Please, stop.”

Karl swallows thickly. He feels afraid, but he also feels so much pain. He feels an irrational need to wrap the vampire in his arms and reassure him and keep him safe. He wants the vampire to hold him and keep him safe.

“Who are you?”

“Karl,” the vampire whispers. “Please, I don’t-”

The first man comes back into the room, breathless, and a pile of papers in his arms. “I’ve got them!” he pants. His eyes find Karl’s immediately and Karl notices the panic on his face. He yearns for the man to keep him safe. He feels so afraid, and yet he feels the intrinsic knowledge that he can trust him.

“Please,” he pleads.

Quackity nods. “I know,” he says, his tone incredibly gentle. “I know it’s scary. Here. Here, you wrote these.”

Karl takes the papers handed to him like a drowning man would reach for a lifesaver. His eyes skim over the elegant handwriting – his handwriting he realizes – frantically.

This is a letter.

A letter from himself. To himself.

He hiccups in shock and sits down on the chair, eyes wide.

“Read these,” Quackity instructs softly. “We’ll be in the living room.”

Karl nods distractedly, keeping his eyes on the letter. There are pages and pages, some more recent than others. He barely hears Quackity murmur reassurances to the vampire, and he almost misses the sound of the door closing behind them.

He reads.

---

He comes out of the room, a few hours later, a hand pressed against his mouth. He feels dazed and lost, and mostly guilty.

Quackity and Sapnap – his boyfriends, the men he loves most in the world – look up to him, neither of them bothering to hide their concern.

“Are you okay?” Quackity asks, and Karl recognizes and cherishes the warmth in his voice. “Are you back?”

He nods a little, still feeling a bit disoriented. “I am,” he says. “I’m-” He looks to Sapnap, and back at the scar on his wrist. “Sapnap, darling, I’m so sorry…”

His boyfriend shakes his head. “Q explained,” he responds. “I understand. It wasn’t your fault.”

“I’m sorry,” Karl repeats. “I didn’t mean to freak you out. I should have told you.”

“ We should have told you,” Quackity corrects. “It was a mistake on both of our parts. We should have been better prepared.”

“It just- It hasn’t happened in so long,” Karl whispers. “I thought…”

Quackity snorts mirthlessly. “Curses don’t disappear like that, babe.”

 Karl sighs. “I know- I just. I forgot.”

The shapeshifter lets out a bark of laughter. “That goes without saying!”

Karl rolls his eyes before he looks back at Sapnap. “Are you okay?” he asks worriedly.

Sapnap shrugs. “I’m fine,” he responds vaguely. “So you’re… cursed?”

“Yes. This is why I’m immortal,” Karl responds. “But it comes with negative effects.”

“Negative effects being that this handsome man here has the memory of a goldfish.” Karl huffs out a laugh and he closes his eyes when Quackity comes to press a noisy kiss to his cheek. “But we love him like this.”

Sapnap blinks a little. “So that’s why you write,” he whispers. “So, you don’t forget.”

Karl shrugs a little. “I always liked writing,” he replies. “But it- That’s why I write so much. That’s why I write about you two so often.”

Quackity nods a little. “He keeps track of everything important,” he tells Sapnap. He winks. “Like you and your pretty little-”

“Q!”

“-smile. I was going to say smile.”

Sapnap giggles. “You’re ridiculous,” he says. “The both of you.”

Karl smiles. “I keep a letter,” he says. “It tells me everything I need to know about the curse. And then I have…” He shrugs. “Things to jog my memory.”

“And so… you remember?” Sapnap asks, looking a bit worried.

Karl shrugs vaguely. “Some of the things, yes. I forget some of the details, but I… I try to write everything that’s important down.” He swallows thickly. “Some of them feel like they belong to someone else, but I…” He shrugs.

Quackity nods. “It was much worse before we figured out that system,” he says. “I’d spend days trying to bring him back to himself.”

Karl grimaces at the memories. “I’m sorry,” he breathes.

“Don’t be,” Quackity responds immediately. “I got to make you fall in love with me a hundred times over. It was fun.”

Karl smiles. “You’re being oddly sweet,” he says, narrowing his eyes.

Quackity smirks. “I also got to see you check me out for the first time a hundred times.” He gestures to himself. “And every time, you decided that you really wanted a piece of that.”

Karl rolls his eyes. “Never mind.”

“Wait!” Sapnap says. “That sounds fun, though. I want to make Karl swoon.”

Quackity chuckles. “You already do, pretty boy,” he responds, leaning in to place a kiss on Sapnap’s temple. “He’d have to be blind not to find you handsome.” He smirks. “And me. We’re an excellent duo.” He wraps an arm around Sapnap’s waist, winking at Karl. “Next time, Sap and I are going to try to seduce you into our bed before we jog your memory.”

“Maybe we can bring his memory back through sheer seduction?” Sapnap proposes with a smile.

Karl groans.

He loves them. He loves them. He loves them.

He writes so over and over, until it covers pages. ‘These are the boys you love,’ he writes. ‘And they love you back.’

* * *

They love him back. He loves them and they love him back.

Sapnap loves him back.

He hasn’t said so directly, but he says it in every gesture. He says it in his bright smiles. He says it with the cakes he brings to their date, proudly telling them that he baked them with George. He says it to George, probably, because Karl is not oblivious to the way Sapnap’s best friend looks at him with a knowing smirk. He says it in the way his hand blindly reaches for him and Quackity. He says it in the way he fits so perfectly in their arms.

Karl writes it all down, cherishes every silent declaration of love.

He writes everything down. Everything that has to do with Sapnap or Quackity goes into his journal. He refuses to forget a single detail.

He writes about the way Quackity sometimes smiles tenderly, between two crude jokes, and makes the most beautiful declarations. He writes about Quackity’s reflection about love being a human emotion and the fact that this has to be wrong because he simply loves them both so much . He cries a little as he writes it down, feeling so incredibly fond and touched by the genuine declaration, and Quackity cackles.

He writes about their night spent stargazing. He writes about teaching the constellations to Sapnap. He writes about the way they invented their own constellations and their own stories. He writes about the feeling of Sapnap’s cold hand against his palm and about the way his voice had come out, deep and hesitant, when he had invented his story.

“What are you working on, handsome?” Sapnap asks, making Karl jump in surprise.

“Shit, vampires are so silent, ” Karl swears.

Sapnap chuckles a little. “Sorry,” he apologizes, not really looking that remorseful. “What are you writing?”

Karl shrugs. “A short story,” he responds vaguely.

“Oh?” Sapnap questions, coming closer and wrapping one arm around him. Karl smiles and leans in the cool touch. “Tell me about it?”

“It’s about a lost treasure,” Karl begins, and he feels a smirk form on his lips. Sapnap’s arm tenses just a little. “A treasure locked away and forgotten by everyone.”

“Karl, come on,” Sapnap mumbles. Karl leans his head back, craning his neck until he can see his boyfriend’s face.

“You’re very pretty when you blush,” he tells him.

Sapnap pouts and looks away. “Shut up,” he says, but there’s no heat in his words. “It was embarrassing.”

“It was beautiful,” Karl corrects. He tries to find Sapnap’s eyes. “Really.”

Sapnap shrugs a little, still tense.

“Quackity thought so too,” Karl continues. “You could write stories with me, you know?”

Sapnap presses his lips together. “It was just a silly story,” he mutters.

“No,” Karl responds simply. “You looked at the stars, and you told us a beautiful tale.”

Sapnap had looked lost, and yet found, and he had spoken about a treasure, locked away for decades. He had told them about how everyone forgot about its existence, how it had been lost in the dark. And he had squeezed their hands and whispered about the treasure being found and polished up, as if to clean it from years in the dark. Karl had held his breath as Sapnap had added that now the treasure could be cared about and liked.

“I’m not a good storyteller,” Sapnap mumbles with a pout.

“You are incredible,” Karl responds. “Brave. Strong. Intelligent.” He shifts so he can look directly in his boyfriend’s eyes. “Beautiful.”

Sapnap rolls his eyes. “You’re a sap.”

“No, you’re a Sap,” Karl replies immediately.

He is rewarded with a chuckle. “Oh, Prime, how does Quackity deal with you?”

“I deal with him,” Karl replies, sticking out his tongue.

“You deal with each other.”

“And with you.”

Sapnap hiccups a little at the words. “Shit,” he whispers. “Stop being so smooth. It’s- It’s my role.”

“Yeah?” Karl asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Before…” He bites his lip and gestures a little. “I used to be good at it.”

Karl goes on his tiptoes to press a kiss on Sapnap’s temple. “I think you still are,” he says. “I fell in love with you the first time I saw you.”

Sapnap tilts his head lightly. “At the Council?” he asks.

“Yup,” Karl responds, popping the ‘p.’ He moves to wrap his arms around Sapnap’s waist. “I begged Sam to find a reason for me to come to Ant’s house and talk to you.”

The vampire narrows his eyes a little. “Did you not have a book to write?”

Karl shrugs nonchalantly. “I always do. But I didn’t care that much about learning about Dream. I wanted to learn about you.”

“I snarled at you,” Sapnap realizes, eyes wide. “Didn’t I?”

Karl lets out a giggle. “You did.” His boyfriend lets out a string of curses and Karl swings him gently in his arms. “I found that very attractive.”

Sapnap hits him lightly. “Idiot,” he whispers fondly. Karl laughs. “And then you asked me about my dead Sire. Very good seduction technique, Mr. Jacobs.”

“I panicked!”

Sapnap smirks. “Overwhelmed by my handsomeness?”

Karl hums in response. “I guess,” he whispers. “I didn’t know what to do. Q and I had been together for so long, and you just…” He shrugs. “I saw you, and I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

Sapnap rests his chin on his shoulder. “Did you feel bad about it?” he asks.

Karl shrugs. “Guilty,” he responds. “I couldn’t explain it to myself, and I- I thought about not writing about you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. So that next time I forgot, I wouldn’t remember you.”

“Did you?”

Karl chuckles. “Q didn’t let me. He said that if I had taken such a liking of you, you must have been worth it. And he asked to meet you.”

Sapnap’s eyes shine with recognition. “That’s why-?”

“That’s why he came,” Karl confirms. “He wanted to see it for himself.”

“And?”

Karl gestures vaguely in the apartment. “Take a wild guess.”

Sapnap breathes in deeply. “I’m glad he came,” he whispers. “I’m glad you didn’t forget me.”

“Sap,” Karl breathes. “Whatever happens, I’ll always remember you.”

Sapnap doesn’t respond. He relaxes even more in Karl’s arms, and they stay like this, silent, just appreciating the other’s presence.

Karl could get used to this.

* * *

It’s domestic.

It’s domestic and it’s everything Karl’s ever wanted.

He never thought that he would derive so much joy out of listening to Quackity’s loud singing and Sapnap accompanying him on the couch, a little off-key, and yet so incredibly loveable.

He writes about it as quickly as he can. ‘Sapnap’s singing voice is low and deep,’ he writes. ‘He doesn’t like singing on his own, but he does it if Quackity sings too. You love the sound of their voices.’

Quackity sings a bit louder as he cracks a few eggs in a bowl. They’re preparing a larger dinner than usual. George is coming to eat with them, and Sapnap managed to convince Ant and Velvet to come as well (or maybe he stopped trying to find excuses to prevent them from coming).

It feels a bit nerve-wracking, in the way that inviting your boyfriend’s friends/former colleagues/father figures over for dinner might feel. One of them also happens to be Karl’s current colleagues, but he chooses not to think about that. That would make things way too complicated.

Besides, it’s not like Ant and Velvet disapprove of their relationship. They are friends, and Ant always smiles brightly at Karl when they meet for Council meetings. There’s relief and joy in the vampire’s eyes, and Karl feels a certain sense of pride to know that he managed to bring some of that relief.

So instead of thinking about their evening, he just focuses on the sheer domesticity of the scene. Quackity cooks and sings, and Sapnap hums on the couch, Karl curled up against him, his back against Sapnap’s chest.

Sapnap’s hand is in his hair, petting it lightly, and Karl feels so incredibly content. He writes about that too. About how right it all feels.

He pauses for a second and looks at the small scar on his wrist, and his smile turns a bit fond.

It had taken him and Quackity a long time to convince Sapnap to try again, but the vampire had eventually agreed to drink from Karl again. Karl had awakened the next morning with perfect memory of the events, and he had smiled reassuringly at Sapnap, pretending not to notice the apprehension in his eyes. Sapnap had relaxed, and it had become a habit.

It’s nothing like vampires drinking from vampires, Karl knows it, but he tells himself that it still feels like something special. He trusts Sapnap, and Sapnap trusts him. He watches as Sapnap laps carefully, almost tenderly, and they hold each other’s gaze. It’s another way for him to show his boyfriend his affection and his trust, and it’s another way for Sapnap to heal.

Quackity moves to the stove, pausing in his singing for a second. “Can one of you sexy men get me some wood?” He pauses before cackling at his own innuendos. “For cooking, not for me. Although-…”

“I love you,” Sapnap blurts.

Karl freezes in his boyfriend’s arms and he sees the way Quackity has also stopped all movement, completely dumbfounded.

Sapnap never said those words. He told them through actions, and smiles, and embraces, but not directly. And so Quackity and Karl had talked about it and decided that they couldn’t overwhelm him – couldn’t scare him off. So they had agreed that neither of them would say anything until he was ready.

Apparently, he is now.

Karl is certain that Sapnap can hear his heart beating furiously in his chest.

He exchanged a hesitant look with Quackity. What now? What do they do now that the man they love most in the world had told them that he loves them?

Quackity grins. “I bet I love you more!”

Karl laughs, loud and happy and so incredibly content in Sapnap’s arms. “I would win,” he says, and he is so certain of it. “I love Sapnap the most.”

He feels the vampire tense a little around him and he turns to face him. Sapnap stares at him, incredulous and fragile, and looking like he cannot believe that he can be loved and adored the way Karl and Quackity love him.

And so the floodgates open. Karl starts speaking, so fast and uncontrollably.

“I love you,” he says. “We love you. Oh Prime, Sapnap, we love you so much. You’re so brave and smart and beautiful, and I fell in love as soon as I saw you, and I’m so proud of you and I just want to keep you in my life forever and never let go, and I never want to forget any of this. I love you, I love you so much. I think I’d fall back in love with you if I ever forgot because you’re just so entrancing, but not in a vampire sense, just in a you sense and Sapnap, oh Prime, can I kiss you?”

Sapnap blinks and, behind them, in the kitchen, Quackity cackles.

“Let’s goooo!”

It makes Sapnap laugh, and Karl feels giddy.

“A homie kiss?” he asks, teasing. They’ve joked about it so many times. Quackity had, mostly. ‘Just three homies cuddling on the couch ‘cause the Lord of the Undead hasn’t allowed us to fuck yet!’ Sapnap’s eyes are full of mirth and Karl almost stops breathing.

“Y- No? Not a homie kiss. I was more thinking of-”

Quackity groans. “Sap, please kiss him already so I can have my turn.”

Sapnap giggles and he leans forward, until his forehead touches Karl. “Okay?”

Karl blinks. “I never want to forget this,” he whispers.

Sapnap smiles against his lips. Sapnap smiles against his lips. Sapnap-

They kiss tenderly, and Sapnap steals his breath away. Karl commits the feeling of Sapnap’s lips to memory. He reaches to hold the nape of his neck and holds him there, gently, lovingly. They kiss chastely for a little longer before Sapnap pulls away.

“Can’t make Q jealous,” he says, giggling when Karl whines and steals another short kiss.

“I won’t be jealous of seeing two very handsome men kissing,” Quackity comments. He is right next to them, now, his eyes so full of joy. “More like aroused.”

Karl rolls his eyes and Sapnap laughs.

“Come here,” he says, and Quackity obeys instantly.

“Oooh,” he teases, “Dominant, much?”

“Shut up.”

They press their lips together and Karl watches, his smile feeling so incredibly fond at the sight. Sapnap clearly smiles in the kiss and Quackity shifts a little to wrap his arms around the vampire’s waist.

They love each other, Karl thinks. They love each other, and he loves them, and they love him back.

Karl blinks a little when he realizes that he zoned out and he meets two identical fond and amused grins.

“See something you like, pretty boy?” Sapnap asks, and Karl remembers the first time they confessed to him, and Quackity used those exact words.

“I love you,” he says, and he thinks that he will never get tired of saying this. “I love you both.”

Quackity smiles and Sapnap detaches himself from him to come closer to Karl.

“We love you too,” he replies. “I love you.”

And there’s still so much that haunts Sapnap, and Karl is very aware of it. He wakes up in a scream more often than not, and some days he refuses to leave George’s side. Quackity and Karl learned to never call him ‘theirs,’ and to avoid the word ‘provide.’ Sometimes he gets angry at them for treating him like he is made of glass, and sometimes he smiles at them gratefully. There is still much healing to be done, and Karl knows that neither Quackity nor he can simply love all of Sapnap’s trauma away.

He wants to be there for him, though, on bad days and on good days. He wants to be responsible for the smile that stretches Sapnap’s lips so wide, and he wants to be responsible for the joy and fondness in his eyes.

He grabs his boyfriend’s cold hand and holds it as if it were the most precious thing in the world. Maybe it is.

“Karl,” Sapnap breathes softly. Karl looks into his boyfriend’s ruby eyes and thinks that he would fall in love with him over and over again for the rest of his life.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you,” he whispers. “Thank you both. For everything.”

Karl smiles. His heart feels so full. “For you, Sapnap? Anything.”

* * *

George is awakened from his nap by the sound of wails. He sits up on the couch immediately, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

“Velvet?” he calls. In the kitchen, Ant is barely containing his laugh while Velvet lets out distressed wails that would seem more real if he weren’t grinning so wide.

“Our innocent child! Our baby son!”

“I’m literally not your son,” Sapnap responds, his face red.

“He is disavowing us! Ant, my heart can’t take it! They grow up so fast and then they abandon their parents!”

Sapnap runs a hand through his hair. “Velvet, please.”

Velvet fake-wails a bit louder. “You poor, innocent soul! Have they corrupted you?”

George stands up and comes closer, just in time to see Sapnap turns to Ant – clearly the more reasonable one in the situation.

“Ant, please, will you control him?”

“Can’t do,” the older vampire responds, giving a shrug. “He is very emotional, Sap. It’s not every day that you see your child become a man.”

“I hate the both of you,” Sapnap responds immediately, though he is clearly smiling.

His eyes find George’s, and immediately shift to the profound fondness and affection they feel toward each other.

“Hey,” George greets. “Welcome back.” Sapnap smiles a bit wider. “What is everyone screaming about?”

“Nothing,” Sapnap says.

Velvet wails some incomprehensible words and Ant pats him on the back, grinning.

“Vampires are supposed to suck people’s blood,” Velvet pretends to cry. “Not the opposite!”

“Velvet…” Sapnap tries to protest. “They didn’t suck my blood.”

George blinks in confusion. “Sap,” he says. “What did you do?”

Ant lets out a fake exasperated sigh. “Your brother has come home with a hickey,” he says. “We’ll need to give him the Talk, now.”

George grins, and makes a scandalized face.

“Sapnap!” he calls. “And you didn’t even tell me? Your best friend? Your brother? Your closest confident?”

Velvet cheers when he joins the joke and is quick to move to high five him.

Sapnap groans, rolling his eyes. He is still smiling extremely wide though, and George feels so warm. His best friend is so happy, and George loves him. He loves hanging out with Karl and Quackity and he loves having them as friends but, most of all, he loves them for bringing so much joy in his best friend’s life.

“You are all ridiculous,” Sapnap laughs.

“You’re stuck with us,” Ant replies, looking so incredibly fond and happy.

This is his family, George thinks. He doesn’t bother thinking back to a dark room and Sapnap’s frail body curled up to him. Instead, he looks at his family in the kitchen, laughter painted on all of their faces. There’s yet another cake baking in the oven, and he can’t wait to share it with the three of them. They might even keep some for Karl and Quackity, who are supposed to come later that day.

This is his family, and George loves them so much.