Chapter Text
Sapnap groaned, back aching as he scrubbed down the countertops of his college’s off-campus boba shop for what felt like the thousandth time that day. His ears rang as the timer for the boba on the stove rang again- it seemed to never turn off. His mind was clouded with thoughts of his upcoming finals, picking up extra shifts, the lectures he's missed-
He jumped when he felt a hand touch his shoulder.
“Woah Sap, you good?” His coworker asked, genuine concern etched across his face.
“Yeah Schlatt, sorry. Just a,” he paused for a second, gesturing to his head, “a headache. It won’t go away.”
Schlatt nodded, a grim look on his face. “How much longer is your shift?” He asked, voice filled with pity.
Sapnap winced. “I started like an hour ago, and I told Alyssa I would cover her shift. She’s with her boyfriend,” he explained, and Schlatt shook his head.
“Good luck,” Schlatt pat Sapnap on his back, pushing past him to finish a few mobile orders that had just come in.
He glanced at the clock, internally screaming at it to magically speed up so he could go home and take a nap until next year. He straightened as he heard the door open and the bell jingle, pushing a fake, customer service smile onto his face.
He looked up from the register to welcome the patron walking in, greeting dying on his lips as he took note of who had just walked in.
Two men had entered, but it was the shorter one that caught Sapnap’s eye. It seemed like he was exuding pure joy, the obnoxiously bright green and red sweater that he must have been wearing for the holiday season surprisingly not making Sapnap groan internally like ugly sweaters normally do. He was gripping his friend’s arm, vaguely resembling a koala (or a puppy, Sapnap thought). Sapnap stood frozen, infatuated with the mystery man.
“Could I get a rose milk tea with tapioca pearls, fifty percent sweetness and less ice?”
Sapnap was jolted out of his thoughts, clearing his throat as he realized the pair had made it to the register. He nodded, hastily punching in the order. “Anything else for you guys today?” He asked, eyes darting every now and then to the one he really wanted to talk to.
“Karl, do you want anything?” The first man nudged him. Karl, Sapnap noted with a small smile.
“Do you guys have mango green tea?” He asked, and holy shit, his voice sounded like heaven to Sapnap’s ears.
“Uh, yeah, we do,” he clarified, stumbling over his words slightly.
Karl shot him a toothy smile. “Great! Can I get a mango green tea with one hundred percent sweetness, less ice, and lychee jelly?” He asked, and Sapnap nodded as he typed in the request.
“That’ll be $8.43,” he recited. “Can I get a name with the order?”
“Jimmy,” Karl’s friend replied, handing Sapnap a ten and telling him to keep the change.
“Alright, your drink will be ready in about five minutes,” the barista announced, trying not to blush at the beaming grin Karl gave him.
He turned to make the drinks, humming along to the basic pop music the shop was playing around this time of day. He let his mind drift, hands on autopilot as he topped off the cups with boba and lychee jelly, the same way he’s done a thousand times before.
He caught sight of the Sharpie he had used to scribble Jimmy’s name onto the cups, and he smiled as a thought overtook him. He picked it up, drawing a small snowman onto Karl’s drink, accompanied by a little smiley face.
He picked up the two cups and spun around, sliding them across the counter to the two waiting there. He waved them off with a smile, taking note of the way Karl’s face lit up at the sight of the doodle. He laughed quietly at how eagerly he shoved it in Jimmy’s face, almost tripping over himself as he pointed to the drawings.
Sapnap turned, resting his back against the counter. He looked up, only to be met with Schlatt’s teasing grin.
“Don’t fall in love, Sippycup,” he threw over his shoulder as he headed to the kitchen. A loud, “ow!” followed as Sapnap hit him with a towel.
And suddenly, Sapnap found him wishing that Karl would come back everyday, that he would stumble into him in the hallways of his dorm, that he would meet him at a party… that stupid little brown haired boy had managed to worm his way into every second of Sapnap’s thoughts from a thirty second interaction. So when Karl shouldered his way into the shop on a cold Friday afternoon, Sapnap did a double take.
Karl looked tired, donning an oversized sweater and a pair of sweatpants. Sapnap took note of his mismatched fuzzy socks paired with, were those Crocs? and dark circles under his eyes.
“Karl, right?” Sapnap found himself saying, as the patron approached the counter, and Karl raised a brow.
“Yeah, Karl,” he confirmed, bouncing up and down slightly, not even pausing to question how he knew his name. “Could I get a mango green tea-”
“With less ice, one hundred percent sugar, and lychee jelly?” Sapnap interrupted, and Karl giggled. He felt himself go red.
“Took the words right out of my mouth,” Karl laughed. Sapnap offered a sheepish smile.
“I pegged you for more of an espresso guy,” Sapnap said, attempting to initiate a conversation as he took his order.
“You would be right,” was Karl’s reply, shrugging slightly. “My friends told me I had to lay off the caffeine though, so they introduced me to boba,” he explained. Sapnap grinned.
“Are you a student here?” He asked, dipping his head towards the campus east of the boba shop.
Karl nodded with a grimace. “Yep, a senior in digital editing and videography,” he replied, and Sapnap winced.
“I’m a sophomore,” he offered. “Computer science, though.”
“Oh, so you’re smart?” Karl asked casually, catching Sapnap off guard.
“Well- I- not really-” He was saved from his stuttering by Karl waving his hand, laughing.
“All jokes. Seriously though, props to you. I know it’s a hard major,” he stated, a smile remaining on his face. Sapnap couldn’t help but smile back.
“Finals are rough,” he acknowledged the… interesting outfit Karl had on, and the man groaned, rolling his eyes.
“Don’t judge me!” He whined, and Sapnap chuckled slightly. “I’ve been up for,” his eyes drifted to the clock on the wall behind him, “like thirty-six hours straight working on this stupid project. I didn’t even procrastinate this time!” He complained, and Sapnap nodded in agreement.
“I feel you,” he found himself replying. “Our comp sci finals are… wack, for lack of a better term. I have no idea what’s happening during half the lectures- I’m just lucky to have a friend who took these classes last year,” he confessed. Karl let out a sound of affirmation, and Sapnap refocused his attention onto the small screen in front of him.
He told Karl his total and finished the transaction, turning to start making the drink. Without thinking, he found himself grabbing the Sharpie and drawing on the plastic once more- this time, it was a small cat playing with a mouse.
He pushed the finished drink towards Karl, and waited with a bated breath as he took in the drawing. Sapnap exhaled with relief when he, once again, broke out in a beaming grin.
“I love cats,” he gushed, thanking Sapnap profusely before spinning and pushing out of the building, not before letting out a quick “good luck on your exams!” that Sapnap waved off with a smile.
A sound next to him caused him to turn around, only to be met with his coworker’s knowing grin.
“Sippynipple has a crush,” Schlatt laughed in Sapnap’s ear, this time running away before he could be hit with anything within an arm’s length of the flushed (and slightly embarrassed) man.
“Piss off!” He yelled after him, opting to pull out his phone and text his best friend instead. There was no one in the shop and his manager wasn’t in today, so there was nothing for him to do to stay busy and no one to scold him for getting distracted.
Hardened clay
Sippycup: dream
Sippycup: dream
Sippycup: dream
Sippycup: DREAM
Hardened clay: literally what the fuck do you want bitch
Sippycup: wow someone’s in a bad mood today
Hardened clay: you always put me in a bad mood <3
Sippycup: ouch
Sippycup: anyways karl came back in today and we had a conversation
Hardened clay: wow they grow up so fast :,)
Sippycup: i will literally deck you the next time I see you
Hardened clay: okay? you’re literally half my height but go off i guess
Sippycup: what i lack in height i make up for with my charming personality and good looks
Hardened clay: well karl obviously thinks so
Hardened clay: if i were him i wouldnt go for you but to each their own
Sippycup: can you shut up for one second omg
Hardened clay: i live to annoy you
Sippycup: you sound like tommy
Hardened clay: take that back right now.
Sippycup: not until you apologize
Sippycup: if you were gay you would totally go for me and you know that
Hardened clay: 1) i literally am gay are you stupid
Hardened clay: 2) my boyfriend george would say otherwise
Sippycup: boyfriend is a bit of a stretch
Sippycup: try “ive been friends with him for six years and ive been in love with him for two thirds of that time and i know hes in love with me too but we’re both pussies so we’re just going to make every room and situation we’re in together intensely awkward and filled with sexual tension until everyone besides us makes excuses to leave because they feel like they’re dying”
Hardened clay: youre being dramatic
Sippycup: im really not
Hardened clay: arent you at work? leave me alone
Sippycup: fine i’ll see u tonight
Hardened clay: might fuck around and cancel on you
Sippycup: wait please dont
Hardened clay: i guess
read 4:00 pm
Hardened clay: i hate you you’re the scum of the earth how dare you leave me on read literally go fuck yourself bitch
read 4:01 pm
Sapnap laughed at Dream’s last message, shaking his head slightly. He slid his phone back into his apron pocket, deciding to take his break.
“Hey Schlatt!” He called, getting a “yeah?” in response. “I’m taking my break, I’ll be back in twenty,” he yelled, not bothering to listen for an affirmation before he was untying his apron and leaving.
Too late, long after he had set out onto the sidewalk, Sapnap realized his phone was still in the boba shop, tucked into his apron. He cursed, turning around from his walk to the nearest cheap cafe and heading back to his work.
He groaned as he pulled the door open, his gaze falling to the floor. He felt himself growing to hate the always present smell of sickly sweet tea. His head snapped up at the sound of a familiar voice.
“Are you sure you don't know when he's coming back? Or where he went?”
Sapnap’s eyes widened at the sight of Karl standing in front of the register, looking upset enough to have Sapnap worried and gesturing with his hands. He was talking to a slightly exasperated Schlatt, who was trying to explain something that Sapnap couldn't make out.
Schlatt looked towards the door, instant relief flooding his face at the sight of Sapnap standing in the doorway.
“Well, if you really want to know, he’s right there,” Schlatt gestured towards Sapnap’s direction, and Karl turned.
If Sapnap was only able to take one picture in his life, it would be in that moment. The pure joy splitting through Karl’s face filled him with a kind of pride. He made Karl that happy.
“Hi!” Karl exclaimed breathlessly, and Sapnap practically giggled back.
“Hello!” He replied happily.
Suddenly, Karl seemed to grow extremely shy, curling in on himself. He began to ramble.
“I really didn’t want to do this right now, but Jimmy and Chandler and Chris told me to, and I wasn’t going to see you for like a month so I agreed with them and I walked in but you weren’t here, but your coworker behind us was helpful, not really though he was kinda mean, and then I wanted to chicken out but I know that my friends would yell at me, and then your coworker told me you were there, and I turned around and you were there, and now I realized I’ve been talking for too long and I’m going to shut up now,” Karl finished breathlessly.
“Hey Karl?”
“Yeah?”
“How did you manage to say so much yet nothing at the same time?”
At this, Karl laughed. “I don’t know, it’s a talent honestly,” he giggled. Then, shy Karl made an appearance once more. “I guess what I was trying to say was,” he hesitated, before mumbling something Sapnap couldn’t quite understand.
“I’m sorry?” Sapnap asked, straining to make out his words.
“Could I…” Karl cleared his throat. “Can I have your number?” He asked, hoping his voice sounded more confident than he felt.