⚜️. *. ⋆ Summary: Karl stands still, blankly staring at the destroyed Egg while the blood vines are withering away as it disintegrates into nothing. He doesn't look anywhere else, afraid that The Egg will come back to life and command those in control to kill the remaining members in the server.
But when he turns around and looks at his fiancés, all he can think about is that everything will be okay now that he's with them.
⚜️. *. ⋆ Word Count: 3,050
⚜️. *. ⋆ Warnings/Tags: post-apocalypse au, post-canon, aged-up characters, tales from the smp references, angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, angst with happy ending
⚜️. *. ⋆ Prompts/Squares Filled: "We'll figure it out." || 100 Ways to say "I Love You" Challenge Prompt#36 • Kisses, Angst, Comfort, Happy Ending || Karlnapitober Day 1, 25, 27 & 30
100WTSILY Masterlist
AO3
A/N: my entry for karlnapitober!!!! it was supposed to be out yesterday but the power went out.... but here's food for c!karlnapity enjoyers. it's a happy ending for them. anyways — likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated <3
Karl stands still, blankly staring at the destroyed Egg while the blood vines are withering away as it disintegrates into nothing. He doesn't look anywhere else, afraid that The Egg will come back to life and command those in control to kill the remaining members in the server.
So.
He doesn't move even though he could hear people crying tears of joy, relieved that it's finally over. That they can finally rest after an apocalypse that lasted for almost three years; of trying to find a way to defeat The Egg; losing their loved ones, either succumbing to The Egg or being murdered by the Eggpire members; hiding inside caves and ravines so those who remain wouldn't get caught; arguments and fighting between the remaining ones; and alliances and friendships being formed, the more they spent time together.
But it's over—
Karl doesn't have to worry about The Egg anymore or having to resort to live underwater because the contamination was too much. The Lost City of Mizu wouldn't happen anymore because The Egg is gone
(But it almost happened a year and a half ago. Ranboo was the one who suggested it and Karl did everything in his power to convince others not to resort to that. Unfortunately, he failed and that's when he had no other choice to but to reveal to them that he's a time traveller and he's seen the future.
Just as he expected then, many were outraged at him, demanding to know why he wasn't able to prevent certain events from happening; one of them being The Egg taking over the entire server.
Karl did his best to explain to all of them how his ability to travel back in time works and, along with Quackity's help, he was able to. There are those who are still upset about it, but Karl silently thanks them for not voicing out their thoughts.)
Dream's location is still unknown. No one knows where he went off to and the last time Karl has seen him was over a year ago, when he was gathering samples of the blood vines to experiment ways to kill it without moving to another place. Dream said nothing to him, but gave him a nod before leaving. No words were spoken between them and that was the last sighting they had of Dream.
But Karl doesn't (tries not to) worry about that. Dream has gone off who knows where, most likely leaving far, far away from this server. Maybe he realizes how far gone this server is — but Karl doesn't know Dream enough to lead to that conclusion.
Even though The Egg is gone and Dream is someone they don't have to worry about anymore—
Why does it still feel like he has more to do?
That this isn't the end, but just the beginning of an even bigger threat that will come to this server (or has it been here since the very beginning?)
His hand twitches, hovering over the golden pocket watch on the side of his pants. He doesn't know what he'll do once he gets a hold of it, but something must be telling him it still isn't over if he's reacting like this, right?
There's still a threat, but he doesn't know who or what the threat is. But he's prepared to go back in time and prevent it from happening even if he is so, so exhausted from defeating The Egg.
A hand rests on his shoulder and Karl turns around like a whiplash. Anyone would've been worried that he might've broken his neck with how fast he turned his head around. Karl prepared himself to be attacked, to be met with blood-red eyes and tell him he failed to save the timeline again and stab him, but—
Karl was not prepared to look at Sapnap's soft, yet worried, gaze. His eyes aren't blood-red anymore, they're back to the dark-colored eyes he recognizes and loves. Karl blinks, almost in disbelief of it. "Sapnap…?" he quietly says, afraid that he is still dreaming and he'll wake up back in the cold, cold ravine.
"You back with us, pretty boy?" Sapnap asks with a smile, somehow looking at Karl softer. Karl's eyes flicker to the figure behind Sapnap and he realizes Quackity is standing behind him, hovering like he doesn't know what to do but also looking at him with worry.
Karl frowns when he notices the bandage wrapped around Quackity's chest, but he doesn't seem to have any major injuries, so Karl tries (and fails) not to worry any further. He looks back at Sapnap, too exhausted after everything yet on edge that something bad might happen.
"Is it over?" Karl asks instead of answering Sapnap's question, looking around for any signs of threats that might require him to go back in time, his hands twitching once again at the golden pocket watch. "Are we — Is The Egg finally dead?"
"It's over," Quackity answered while holding Karl's hands, keeping them away from the golden pocket watch. Karl didn't realize that Quackity and Sapnap moved closer to him, supporting him when he stumbled, the exhaustion suddenly weighing him down.
"It's over…" Karl whispers, too quiet for anyone except the three of them to hear. He smiles wobbly while tears are forming in the corner of his eyes. "It's over…" he repeats, but somewhat louder this time.
At first, he couldn't believe it. Why would he? It's been years since peace happened and he doesn't remember what it feels like to be at peace anymore. He's damaged, with scars all over him. He's not the same person back then when he was still optimistic, yet naïve about his new-gained ability to travel back in time.
But Sapnap nor Quackity doesn't laugh and tell him it's just a joke and something's happening outside. It's really over.
Then–
Karl sobs, hugging two of his fiancés while letting his legs give up as he falls to the ground, dragging his fiancés with him. He cries, a heavy weight lifted off of his shoulders now that he's finally done his job and saved the server from destroying itself. After going through so many timelines, surviving through every moment of disaster that comes, he finally can settle on one timeline instead of being forced to be away from his fiancés and settle in other versions of them.
"This doesn't feel real," he choked out through the laughter bubbling in his throat while he could feel himself being pulled closer to them, the tears being wiped away despite it not stopping. "This–" he looks up and they look at him with worry in their eyes while they're also smiling through tears– "This doesn't feel real."
Sapnap and Quackity look at each other with a frown when they hear Karl's statement before looking back at him. They can understand why, especially Quackity, who stayed by his side while Sapnap was infected. Even he still doesn't believe that it's finally over.
"It's real," Sapnap whispers, being the living proof of it. He's not infected anymore. The vines that are wrapped around his arms and legs are gone. The color of his clothing is also back to normal. "I'm real."
And yet, Karl still looks at Sapnap, not believing those words, and he wants to comfort him about it. So Sapnap caresses Karl's cheeks, frowning slightly when he notices the flinch. He was about to remove his hand off of his cheek but Karl relaxes, removing the tension from his shoulders.
Warm, Karl thought, when Sapnap's hand is on his cheek. Not cold, warm. So very warm yet welcoming. Warm like fire, but it feels like home. He's home.
Sapnap leans closer, tilting his head while closing his eyes as their lips pressed together. Karl closes his eyes, tears slipping down even more while kissing him back. Sapnap's kisses are always gentle whenever he wants to comfort either of his fiancés, always careful not to hurt the two of them. They pull apart, Karl's eyes fluttering open with an even wobblier smile while Sapnap moves, waiting for Quackity's approval before gently kissing him, too, while cupping his cheek. Theirs lasted a few seconds longer before pulling apart.
This, somehow, makes Karl giddy and almost shoves Sapnap out of the way to get his turn, inching closer to Quackity. Quackity laughs, eyes fluttering while he and Karl stare at each other for a good while. Then, Quackity wipes away the tears in the corner of Karl's eyes, not wanting to see him cry even more. They've done this a lot while they were hiding underground from The Egg and yet— Karl still gently cups Quackity's cheek, his thumb caressing the scar because he knows what Quackity thinks about it. He leans down and waits for Quackity's approval before closing his eyes and kissing him.
It's always slow and gentle with the three of them during moments like this, always needing the comfort and reassuring words that come along hugs, kisses, and cuddles until it's enough. But even then, it's never enough for the three of them.
Karl and Quackity pull apart, almost breathless while opening their eyes. Then breaks out into full laughter when Sapnap wrapped his arms around them while whining about missing more kisses. They don't hesitate to give Sapnap what he wants, turning their attention to him and kisses him everywhere; the lips, eyelids, cheek, nose, hand, arms, forehead—everywhere. It makes Sapnap laugh, despite being very flustered with the sudden attention all over him, but he doesn't mind it, also moving to give more kisses to his two fiancés.
Now they're all just holding each other, never letting go while pressing all of their foreheads together as they try to catch their breaths. They're just… content to be all together after years of conflict and being apart from each other. They're all grown up now and changed—but the one thing that stays the same or grew even more was the love that they have for each other. Even when they left to make their own country for the other, miscommunications happening left and right, or secrets that they kept from each other, that never stopped the longing they had for their presence.
Even though the silence is enough for them, Karl is the first one to break it. "I miss you so much, Sap…" he whispers, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. "It was so hard—" his voice breaks, squeezing his eyes shut while lowering his head. "I thought we wouldn't be able to find a way to defeat The Egg and you would've been controlled by it forever, along with the others…" that we have no other choice but to kill you and the other infected members….
And it reminded him way too much of what happened at the Masquerade, when The Egg was still young yet glowing vibrantly red. When he saw James's dead body that night, all he felt was dread because he reminded him so, so much of Sapnap; from his laughter to the way he speaks and his body language.
Someone slowly lifts his head up and Karl opens his eyes to see that it was Sapnap who did it, a gaze that's always so soft and loving compared to the blood-red eyes that look wrong. Sapnap moves his hand to Karl's cheek and Karl leans into it, closing his eyes as he exhales softly before opening them once again to look at Sapnap.
"I'm here," Sapnap says while his other hand caresses Quackity's cheek, looking between the two of them. "I'm home." Back to you, he doesn't say, but they already know what he means.
They soften at his words; Karl with his goofy smile while Quackity's cheeks are rose-colored.
"You're being sappy, Sapnap~" Karl giggled, to which Sapnap nervously smiled in response.
"Sapnap, Karlos." They turn to look at Quackity. "Te quiero mucho…" Despite not understanding Spanish, the way Quackity whispers it to them sounds endearing and so in love, showing his vulnerability only to them.
They both smile at Quackity before tackling him, having their own makeshift cuddle pile despite being near withering blood vines. Their arms wrapped around Quackity while peppering his face with kisses, with Quackity trying to move them away while laughing.
"We have to go to the others, mi amor," he laughed, not putting much effort in pushing them off of him.
"We can stay here for a little longer," Karl snuggled closer to Quackity, nuzzling him with a contented smile. The Egg and its withering blood vines are still bothering him, but he can tune it out if his fiancés are there with him. He's exhausted, yet so, so happy that they're here with him.
"No, no, Quackity is right," Sapnap agreed, even though he's still clinging on to him while his eyes are closed. "We need to check if any of us need medical attention."
Karl shakes his head, burying his face in Quackity's chest while clinging to him tighter. "We'll worry about that later…" a yawn escapes his lips, "... let's just stay here for a while. The Egg is dead and we don't have to worry about it attacking us."
"I need to change my bandages, Karl." Quackity ruffles Karl's hair, making Karl lean closer to him. "You need to get up." Then he turns to Sapnap. "You too, cariño."
Sapnap groans but he got off of Quackity and stood up, stomping on the blood vines that were close to them. Then he bends down, wrapping his arms around Karl and lifts him up, much to the annoyance of his fiancé, but Karl didn't fight him when Sapnap got him off of Quackity.
Quackity stands up, getting rid of the dirt on his clothes while Sapnap drops Karl, forcing him to stand up as well. Karl huffs, crossing his arms while looking at Sapnap, slightly irritated that he's off of Quackity.
But that didn't last long, as Karl held no grudges against it, and turned around to look at The Egg once more, making sure that it stayed dead. Quackity and Sapnap grabs Karl's hands and he allows himself to be dragged away from The Egg by his fiancés as he watches it disappear from his field of vision. Then he turns to Sapnap and Quackity, smiling brightly at the two of them; all worry and hopelessness disappearing from the moment he looks at them. He intertwines his hands with theirs, swaying them while walking closer until their shoulders are bumping each other.
"What are doing to do next?" Karl asks once they've stepped out of The Egg room and back to the surface, the relief showing in his face when the blood vines are withering and disappearing. He doesn't remember the last time he's seen the SMP without the vines surrounding the buildings, along with the stench of smell that came out of it.
It's very refreshing to see it going back to before The Egg has taken over. But the buildings are still destroyed, yet somewhat recognizable. It's a mess but this isn't the first time it has happened in the SMP.
Sapnap looks at the SMP, seeing the blood vines gone has been a breath of fresh air. He vaguely remembers what happened during the time of being controlled and he didn't like it one bit. He hurt them.
"We'll figure it out," Quackity answers for the two of them, smiling when he sees Tommy waving at him while his other arm is in a sling. He squeezes Karl's hand in reassurance while Quackity looks at the two of them, trying to remember when was the last time they were all together like this.
Years, his mind supplies and Quackity wants to spend the rest of his time with them to compensate for the years of being apart from each other.
"Like we always do," Sapnap adds with a nod, looking at them just like he did back when they were first engaged with one another; with love and joy that can't seem to fit inside of him.
We'll get through this, Karl thinks while getting closer to the tent, grinning while Karl drags his fiancés over to Ponk, setting them down while she checks if they have any injuries to tend on.
Niki comes over to Karl, handing him baked goods made by hers truly, then moves on to the others to give them baked goods after a long, long day. Karl smiles at her before he takes a bite of the cookie, not realizing how hungry he was. Her cookies were always the best ones.
He takes a seat next to his fiancés, watching them be checked by Ponk while handing them Niki's treats to eat. They thank Karl before they start eating it. Karl has a soft expression while he looks at them before turning to look at the rest of the remaining members, all of them helping each other out.
A part of him wonders if there's going to be a war happening now that The Egg is dead, but another part of him thinks that it may take a year or more before it happens since everyone is still recovering from the years worth of trauma. They're going to need a lot of therapy after this.
Karl takes out his golden pocket watch, listening at it ticks and wonders if the god is going to pull him out of this timeline and tell him that it's is not the right ending for them.
But that never happens, even when he stares at the golden pocket watch. There's no portal appearing out of nowhere to drag him back to XD's World nor is there any sign of it happening.
A tear slips out of his eye, landing on the golden pocket watch while he smiles.
It's over.
They can finally rest easy…
Karl wipes the tear droplet from the golden pocket watch glass with his sleeve, then closes it and hides it back in his pocket.
Foolish comes by and sits next Karl. "You doin' alright?" He asked with a worried expression while wrapping an arm around Karl.
"Yeah." Karl nods and leans on Foolish's shoulder, closing his eyes as he exhales softly with a smile. "I'm doing just fine…"
