Work Text:
“Hey Lusia, I was wondering if I could ask you about something that’s been troubling me lately?”
“Of course Carlos, just be quick, I’m in the middle of an experiment.”
“Well, its just that I thought a native Nightvalian would understand the meaning of this?” Carlos held out a hand full of origami mice and continued, “I’ve found these under my pillow every night for the last week and a half and-”
Lusia cut him off with a grin of total misunderstanding, “Oh Carlos! Congratulations! I’m just so happy for both of you, truly, I am. Now I must go back to my desk.”
With that, Lusia returned to her desk full of potatoes, muttering about what miserable disappointments they all were to her. It was an important and award-winning experiment, and Carlos understood that she was preoccupied with it, but her response made him more confused then ever.
Of course, he had never been particularly good at interpreting social interactions, but it was a decidedly interesting abnormality that each person he had questioned about the mysterious origami mice had a completely different and equally bizarre reactions to the phenomenon. Cecil seemed to be consistently sad and disappointed, while Nilanjana was just as confused as him. Carlos relied on Cecil and Nilanjana when it came to decoding most things, but neither of these responses were helpful. He knew that questioning Lusia further would just lead to more confusion, so he decided to let it rest.
The origami mice were gorgeously made and were always thoughtfully placed. Perhaps he would discover the answer while looking into some of the other ordinary Night Vale phenomena.
-----
Carlos jumped as he heard the door open and close so suddenly, but called out his usual, “Hey honey!” before returning to cutting onions for dinner.
Cecil sashayed into the room with his usual smile that came with a good day at work, but it disappeared as quick as Janice passes a ball when he saw his boyfriend.
“Carlos! My dearest! What is the matter? Are you okay?”
“Huh?” he replied, looking up from the onions with tears in his eyes, “Oh it’s nothing, it’s just the onions.”
“WHAT IN THE MIGHTY VOID DID YOU SAY TO MY BOYFRIEND YOU SLIMY CLUMP OF CELLS?!”
“Darling, calm down, it’s okay.”
“No it absolutely is NOT, they better apologise this instant or they are going straight into the bin.”
“The onions really aren’t going to apologise.”
“Well, then I have no choice do I?” Cecil said as he tossed them into the bin.
“Er, okay then, I guess I can make something different then.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t be around anything that would upset you so much.”
“You’re sweet, come here you.”
And with that, Carlos grabbed the sequinned tie Cecil was wearing, and pulled him down for a kiss.
“How was your day sweetie?”
“Oh it was great, the new intern is really organised, and we have a new sponsor – Universal Entropy!”
“Ooo that sounds cooler than cryogenics.”
“And how was yours?” Cecil said, as he went in for a forehead kiss before sitting on the countertop.
“It was okay, lots of questions to answer, and even more answers to question. You know, I just wanted to say sorry for talking so much about the scientific stuff last night. I know it bugs you sometimes when I don’t shut up.”
“Okay, we both absolutely know how much I love your info-dumping. And to set the record straight, you literally just sat on the couch for a solid two hours while staring at your fingerprints and the only thing you said was ‘How’.”
“Huh, ain’t that funny? I don’t remember it like that at all. Oh, I know! We can go to Arby’s for dinner!”
“You know, I’d actually really like that.”
-----
The lights above the Arby’s looked down on the two lovers, just like they did just a few years before, on their First Date. Side by side, the pair sat in each other’s company and shared each other’s warmth. Just being so close, made them both feel so utterly safe and at home. Carlos took Cecil’s hand in his and lent his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. Though sitting here reminded him of their first date, both held the mutual understanding that the way they felt about each other now was completely different. At the beginning, love had just been a feeling they had shared, but now, after all these years, it was a decision. Day after day they both made the decision to love the other more then they did the day before, and that was the sort of love that could not just withstand everything that was thrown at it but was more tender than anything either had ever known.
The void watched, the moon taunted, the darkness lurked, and Carlos’ love burst.
This was the moment. He could feel it in the air.
With sweaty hands, Carlos grabbed the ring that he had kept in his pocket for months now. He gazed up Cecil, in his ever perfect eyeliner, and squeezed his hand to get his attention.
“Cecil,” he began, “Cecil – my love. These past few years with you have been extraordinary. You are more important to me than the pursuit of scientific research itself. And I was hoping that you would give me the honour, of becoming my husband?”
Carlos had obsessed upon this moment since their very first date. Each most likely scenario had been played in his head more then a dozen times each. With each second that passed, all these possibilities of Cecil's response ran through his mind and his heartbeat was loud in his ears. In none of his scenarios did he expect what Cecil he did next.
“What?”
Perhaps he had misheard. He repeated, “Will you marry my Ceec?”
“Darling, of course I’ll marry you, but I already proposed – eight times in fact?”
Now it was Carlos’ turn to be confused.
“I know you noticed the origami mice I kept leaving for you? I thought that maybe you just weren’t ready or something?”
And with that, Carlos burst out crying. This was his fiancé. This beautiful awkward piece of perfection. This hilariously handsome bit of magnificence. He had the privilege of spending the rest of his life with him.
The happiness he felt in that moment was immense and utterly immeasurable.