Chapter Text
To be completely and honestly fair, the only reason Quackity even knew was because of that damn brochure.
It’d been sitting on the table all innocent and quiet and calm and pretty. The font on the front was in big, bold blue letters. WINTERTOP SKATING AND SKI RESORT it read, proclaiming to the world what it was and where it was advertising. Karl, on one of his rare moments not corralling Ranboo into not doing something he shouldn’t, or being completely red and flushed from Quackity’s flirting, had picked it up.
Brochures were quick, easy reads, but the more he flipped through, the more Karl found the place… interesting. SKATING THROUGH THE TREES one headline read, and Karl looked at the nearby picture- a wooden pathway coated in ice that led through a bunch of trees, weaving between trunks and over roots. It looked so cool- Karl was almost embarrassed to say he found the place really cool looking. Yeah, he was a hocky player, but that really meant he, well, had a deep love for all things ice- and this was fucking awesome!
Karl grinned. As soon as he was done with this latest project- imagine heading up there to check it out, go skating between the trees. He sighed. That sounded so cool! He just had to see- this latest hacking job from Phil was paying alright, but he still had to make sure he had enough for food and clothes and other essential stuff before he went galavanting off to some random ice rink in the middle of nowhere.
“Hey Karl?” Quackity cut off his train of thought, wandering into the room. “There you are! I was wondering where you went. Whatcha reading?”
“Just this brochure for some awesome ice skating place!,” Karl held it up, the page still open to ‘SKATING THROUGH THE TREES’.
“A what?” Quackity blinked, going white at the look of the brochure.
Karl’s brow furrowed. What was… Quackity heard him, didn’t he? “It’s…. A… brochure? For an…. Ice skating place…?”
Quackity chuckled nervously. “I heard you the first time, I just…”
Karl raised an eyebrow. “You good? You seem really anxious all of a sudden.”
“Can I see that?” Quackity motioned to the brochure, and Karl handed it over. Quackity looked it over for a few minutes before muttering. “Shit…”
Karl’s heart dropped, and he looked downwards. “Oh no- did I-”
“NO! No,” Quackity interrupted, taking Karl’s hands. “No. It’s not you, I promise, I was….”
“Seriously,” Karl squeezed his hands. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“This was supposed to be a surprise…” Quackity muttered, probably too quiet for Karl to hear, but the man caught it anyway.
“Surprise?” Karl asked, a smile slipping across his face. “What surprise?”
“Well, now I guess I have to tell you,” Quackity shook it off, grinning. Karl giggled. “See- I heard about this place a while back- and then you came with your greatly handsome face to adorn my life,” Karl blushed redder than a rose, hiding his vibrant skin beneath his hands with a laugh. “So I figured we’d head up there next weekend, hang out, go skating, explore, spend some… time together?”
Karl blushed even harder, laughing.
Quackity smiled, pressing the brochure back into Karl’s hands “Would you, the ever-handsome Karl Jacobs, like to come with me to the mountains?”
Karl flushed at the compliment, giggling slightly. “Why, I do believe I would, Sir Quackity! We must have our carriage prepared at once!”
Quackity chuckled at that, which made Karl laugh, and soon the two of them were leaned against a table, laughing as hard as possible and struggling for breath
Oh no.
He’d completely forgotten-
They’d be gone over Halloween, wouldn’t they?
Fuck.
“Oh- uh, you good?” Quackity titled his face up, worry clouding his soft brown eyes. “Are you hurt?”
“No, I just,” Karl pushed it to the back of his mind, grinning at Quackity. “Nevermind, I just thought of something… not exactly pleasant.” He smiled back, trying to look calm and put-together.
Quackity backed off, but the worry stayed, pressed into the furrows of his forehead and the wrinkles on the corners of his eyes when he smiled.
Their sweet moment was ruined by Phil walking in, catching sight of the both of them and glaring good-naturedly. “Hey- aren’t you two supposed to be working? ”
Both of them laughed, but as Karl was leaving, he suddenly had an idea. “Hey- if this place is really cool or whatever- we should totally tell Ranboo!”
Quackity grinned at him, crossing the room in four quick strides. “We should. That’s awfully sweet- just like you.” He leaned forward, lightly kissing Karl’s nose and causing the brunette to blush a whole new shade of plum.
“Seriously!” Phil scowled playfully, and Karl and Quackity tugged apart.
“Okay, okay!” Quackity exclaimed, darting out of the room and dodging the doorknob as he did so. “Sheesh, I’m going!”
“On it! I’m on it!” Karl flushed, giggling as he hurried out of the room.
Karl spent the next few days worrying.
Yeah, he was excited - who wouldn’t be excited to go on a three-day vacation with their partner? But he was also worried. He kept worrying- he worried while he slept at night and he worried while he ate lunch and dinner and he worried while he worked, slutheing out everything with his hacking abilities suddenly felt a lot less welcome and a lot more nerve wracking.
Whatever enjoyment he used to derive from solving puzzles had been eaten up by his own nerves, and now, whenever he got started, his mind always wandered back to the trip- and Halloween…
Halloween was the best time of year, according to most of the hotel, but Karl had been worried about this… Originally he’d just been planning to run out and lock himself in his apartment for the night, but now that Quackity wanted to go up into the mountains and go ice skating… Karl sighed. What was he going to do ?
Karl sighed again. He’d figure something out. He always did.