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Cecil wasn’t aware of that he had ever told Carlos what his birthday was; he was almost positive that he hadn’t as it had never come in conversation. As a result, Cecil was more than surprised when he arrived home to a birthday cake and a large, wrapped box.
“Carlos? What’s all this?” Cecil asked as he dropped his messenger bag by the door and hung his car keys up.
“Hey cariño,” Carlos replied, pulling Cecil in close and kissing his cheek. “Happy birthday.”
“Birthday-?” Cecil repeated, raising an eyebrow. “You know that today’s my birthday?”
Carlos gave a low chuckle and ruffled Cecil’s hair, “Cecil, we’ve been together for almost a year now, and we live together. If I didn’t know when your birthday was I’d be a horrible boyfriend.”
Cecil let out an offended gasp and wrapped his arms around Carlos’s waist before exclaiming, “You are NOT a horrible excuse for a boyfriend. How can you say that about yourself?”
“Querido, I never said that I was a horrible boyfriend,” Carlos replied. “I just said that I’d be a horrible boyfriend if I didn’t know when your birthday was.”
Placated, Cecil nuzzled his head against Carlos’s, “This was very sweet of you Carlos, thank you.”
Carlos grinned and returned the nuzzle, “You’re welcome Cec. Now, let’s get dinner and then have at that birthday cake. I worked hard on it.”
~~
As it turned out, Carlos’s baking skills weren’t as on par as his cooking skills. The cake was crumbly to say the least, but Cecil enjoyed it nonetheless. Once Carlos cleared the plates from dinner and the cake, he returned to the dining room table and sat down. With a grin, he pushed the sloppily wrapped box toward Cecil.
“I admit this is not my best wrapping job ever and there’s more tape on there than actual paper,” Carlos confessed, looking sheepish. “But it’s the thought that counts in the long run and the paper isn’t on the box for very long so really it’s not that important and-.”
Cecil leaned over and silenced his boyfriend’s rant with a quick peck on the lips. Carlos instantly responded, kissing Cecil lightly before pulling back with a light blush.
“I understand completely,” Cecil replied, tearing the wrapping paper off of the box.
Carlos leaned forward in his chair, giddy with anticipation as Cecil continued to pull the paper off of the box. Once the paper was discarded, Cecil carefully lifted the lid off of the box and set it aside. As he looked inside, his jaw dropped.
“Is… Is that a turntable?” Cecil whispered, staring at the wooden lid of the antique music player.
“I was looking around Dark Owl Records for the perfect gift and I found it tucked away in the back,” Carlos responded, his grin widening.
“How did you manage to convince them to let you take it?” Cecil asked, carefully lifting it out of the box.
“Simple, I offered to show them how to discover fire for themselves,” Carlos said with a shrug, settling back.
“I know the perfect album to play first,” Cecil muttered, leaping from his seat and running off to the couple’s bedroom.
Carlos grinned and moved to clear away the debris from Cecil’s gift. He tossed the discarded wrapping paper in the garbage as Cecil came bounding back into the dining room, a record clutched in his hands.
“Whatcha got there Cec?” Carlos asked as he straightened.
Cecil didn’t reply, he just grinned as he lifted the lid of the turntable and removed the record from its sleeve. Cecil carefully placed the record on the turntable and turned the music player on. With a bit of gentle flourish, he dropped the needle on the spinning record. The sounds of an acoustic guitar came from the speakers and Carlos’s face split into a wide grin as Freddie Mercury’s voice crooned out of the speakers.
“This thing called love I just can't handle it. This thing called love I must get round to it. I ain't ready. Crazy little thing called love.”
Cecil ran over to Carlos and grabbed his hands before pulling the amused scientist back towards the center of the room. Carlos laughed as Cecil began to move in a bad pantomime of a swing dance, barely keeping in time with the record.
“Cecil, cariño, what are you doing?” Carlos asked as he tried to follow Cecil’s steps while avoiding trotting on his boyfriend’s feet.
“There goes my baby. She knows how to Rock n' roll. She drives me crazy. She gives me hot and cold fever then she leaves me in a cool cool sweat.”
“What does it look like?” Cecil responded as he spun Carlos away from him before pulling him back in to dip him with a flourish. “I’m dancing with my favorite scientist to my favorite Queen song.”
Carlos laughed again as he was pulled back into Cecil’s chest and the two continued to incorrectly swing dance around the dining room. As the clapping breakdown came on, Cecil and Carlos separated, clapping in time to the song.
“I gotta be cool relax, get hip, get on my track's. Take a back seat, hitch-hike, and take a long ride on my motor bike until I'm ready (Ready Freddie). Crazy little thing called love.”
The two raced back together as the bass line came through the speakers, grabbing each other and renewing their dance with fervor. Cecil lifted Carlos and spun in a circle, the scientist gripping his shoulders and laughing as Cecil did so. The two continued in this manner as the song slowly faded out, their laughter drowning out the end of the song. It took the pair a few minutes to realize that the song had ended and that a gentle static sound was coming from the speakers of the turntable. The two grinned at each other.
“That was just the Crazy Little Thing Called Love single. I have other Queen albums you know,” Cecil said after a few moments of comfortable silence.
“Do you have A Night at the Opera?” Carlos asked. “Maybe we can rock out to Bohemian Rhapsody and I can show you what my hair looks like after I head bang a bit.”
Smile tugging at his cheeks, Cecil pulled Carlos closer and dropped a kiss on the top of his head before replying, “Sounds like a plan to me.”