Chapter Text
Carlos sighed happily to himself in the lab when he saw that Cecil had texted him the very next day.
CAAAARLOOOOS!
I miss youu!
Cecil was like a teenager. Carlos loved that, he thought it was absolutely adorable when Cecil texted him things like that. It made his stomach fill up with (hopefully not flesh-eating) butterflies and heart do this fluttery thing that he couldn’t explain if his life depended on it, all while his entire body almost melted, all from a few simple words. He stared at the texts smiling for so long that his phone went black. He unlocked his phone again and typed a quick reply.
Come over again tonight? I’ll cook you dinner!
He could picture all the cute little faces Cecil was making and the animated hand gestures and dances he was probably doing when he received that message.
We can cook together<3
Carlos replied with a quick sure and a bunch of hearts and kissing emoticons and tucked his phone away. He narrowly made it through the stressful remainder of the day. Everything felt painstakingly slow, but finally it was time to pick up Cecil from work.
Carlos walked into the radio station and grabbed his waist from behind, kissing him on the cheek.
“Hello, my love.”
“Carlos, you scared me! I didn’t know who was here! It could’ve been an ominous being coming to capture and imprison me or Steve Carlsberg or a rabid opossum or Steve Carlsberg. Ugh. Now you’ve gotten me all upset,” Cecil said playfully, in mock disgust.
“What would an opossum be- nevermind…” Carlos sighed to himself. It was Nightvale, why wouldn’t there be an opossum in the studio? “I’m dreadfully sorry, my dear. I guess I’ll have to make that up to you with a miraculous dinner tonight, won’t I?”
Cecil scrunched his nose, giggling, and spun on his toes to kiss Carlos quickly, yet sweetly, on the nose. “You will. And nothing else will make amends for this unspeakable deed of barging in on me engulfing me in this fit of terror.”
“You’re such a drama queen,” Carlos laughed, rolling his eyes and leading Cecil to the car, parked in the studio parking lot. They took Carlos’ car, which meant that Cecil would be spending the night and Carlos would drive him into work the next morning.
The drive was fairly quick, due to the fact that it wasn’t rush hour anymore and there was minimal traffic, excluding the pod of whales trying to cross the street, that they almost had a collision with.
They got home (with Cecil only asking 3 times what Carlos was going to cook for him) and Carlos started cooking right away, seeing as Cecil was evidently dying for food. He threw some gluten free pasta in a pot and boiled it, while making tomato sauce on the burner next to it.
Within about 10 minutes their dinner was ready and although it was simple, Cecil was more than satisfied with it, or maybe just the fact that Carlos made it. Cecil was soundless and peaceful while they ate. The two communicated through tired smiles and pleased sighs. Finally, Carlos let out a satisfied breath and pushed his chair back from the table, standing up to carry both their empty plates to the sink to be washed.
Cecil slumped over to him and wrapped his arms around his beloved’s waist and they swayed together while Carlos washed the dishes.
“Why don’t you go lay down while I finish cleaning up, baby.”
Cecil didn’t really want to argue with that, but gave an “Oh are you sure you don’t need any help, sweetheart,” just for good measure. And Carlos just smiled and shook his head.
In a matter of seconds Cecil’s head had hit the somewhat overly fluffy pillow on Carlos’ bed and he was fast asleep. He nuzzled himself into the pillow beside him, pretending it was Carlos cuddling him.
He woke up after what had felt like forever and Carlos still wasn’t lying next to him in bed. He decided that he’d get him into bed whether he liked it or not. Cecil rolled over to get out of bed and retrieve his beloved Carlos and felt a wet spot seeping through his pants and onto the bed. His heart plumped into his stomach and a lump formed in his throat. He was slightly trembling and could feel tears forming in his eyes.
He couldn’t believe this was happening again. He needed to tell Carlos, but how do you tell someone so perfect that you’re absolutely disgusting and you’ve ruined his bed. Carlos is beautiful and smart and funny. What would he say? What if he leaves? Cecil’s head was spinning. He couldn’t believe how repulsive he was.
The radio host, usually so poised and graceful with his voice, could only manage a woeful whimper. He willed his body to move off the bed and glanced down at the wet spot on the bed then his wet pants, which reminded his of his deplorable actions. He let out another pitiful whimper as he half waddled into the kitchen to find Carlos.
Cecil couldn’t look directly into his boyfriend’s eyes and instead stared at the floor silently, hoping desperately that Carlos would just notice him and see what had happened, so he could avoid attempting to talk and explain the situation.
No such luck. He let out a trembling breath, catching Carlos’ attention.
“Cecil what is it?” Cecil couldn’t tell if it was annoyance or concern in his beloved’s beautiful voice, but he presumed it was both. Carlos didn’t turn around for a few long seconds, anticipating Cecil’s answer. But when nothing came out of Cecil’s mouth Carlos gave a somewhat exasperated sigh and a pressing “hmmm?” When still no answer broke the silence he turned over his shoulder putting down the dish he was rinsing and glanced at his mess of a boyfriend.
“Oh honey,” Carlos sympathized, quickly drying his hands on his shirt and rushing over to Cecil, who let out a wailing sob that seemed like he had been holding it in forever. “Don’t cry, darling. There’s nothing to be sad about,” Carlos soothed, smoothing over his boyfriends slightly jumbled hair as hiccupping sobs continued to slip out of his mouth.
Carlos stood, hugging and rubbing Cecil’s back until he calmed down and caught his breathe, letting out uneven and quivering breaths. Carlos slowly pulled away, looking down at his tear-stained lab coat and kissed the top of Cecil’s bowed head.
“Lets get you cleaned up, my love,” he said lifting his boyfriends chin and revealing his blushing, tear streaked cheeks. Cecil simply nodded and leaned back into his dearest Carlos. Carlos, however, took hold of both his hands in an effort to pry Cecil off of him and intertwined their fingers. Carlos kissed Cecil on the lips as he started to duck his head again out of shame and Cecil pulled away, pouting.
“Stop trying to kiss me, Carlos! I’m disgusting!”
Carlos just looked completely shocked and looked into Cecil’s eyes. “Honey. Look at me. You’re never disgusting to me. When I look at you, all I see is your beautiful eyes, sparkling and how they light up when we’re together. And your tattoos that cascade perfectly all over your body and change with your emotion. And your peculiar, yet cute fashion sense that literally only you can make look so amazing. And your voice. Your wonderful voice. When you say my name I practically melt into a puddle. I can go on if you’d like, but I’m guessing that you’d like to get out of these clothes and into the shower. Hmm?”
Cecil was speechless. He could feel himself about to start sobbing grossly again, but this time out of pure joy and love. He leaned back into Carlos shivering with happy tears. Carlos untangled their hands and rubbed his back, leading him into the bathroom, where he proceeded to turn on the water and coax Cecil into the shower. This wasn’t quite as difficult and problematic a task as the first time.
Carlos ran to his closet to get Cecil a pair of sweatpants to wear, while Cecil took care of washing himself. Carlos quickly stripped the bed and threw the wet sheets and Cecil’s clothes into the washer on his way back to check on his boyfriend, who was just stepping out of the shower and onto the fluffy bathmat. Just in time for Carlos to hand him a towel and fresh clothes.
“Thank you my kind, caring, compassionate Carlos,” gushed Cecil, who was clearly returning to himself once again. He got dressed and followed Carlos back to the kitchen where they made hot chocolate and talked for hours, until it was past midnight and neither of them could stay awake any longer. The two made their way back to the bed room and Cecil slipped into the bathroom without a word, making sure to avoid causing any more mishaps tonight. Carlos just smiled and nodded, kissing him on the nose and mouthing “I love you” before continuing, sleepily down the hall to his bedroom.