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“There are simply too many things to show you today - that’s why I made a list!” Carlos pokes his head out of the bathroom and into the bedroom segment of the efficiency apartment. "Lists are incredibly scientific, you know,“ he informs the lumped shape still shrouded in a bundle of sheets. "I thought we could start with the hike,” he continues in an over-loud voice as he retreats back to the process of splashing water on his curls in hopes of arranging them in a more attractive fashion. The shape in the bed replies in a single drawn out moan.
Carlos quickly finishes work on his hair and returns to the bed in a playful pounce. "Alicia is already getting their dog leashed up, which means if you don’t get out of the bed we’ll be late!“ He pokes at the lump to no avail; his boyfriend’s only response is another little moan. "You okay?” Carlos asks, teasing energy fading into slight concern. He pulls at a few of the layers of blankets until he can unwrap Cecil - pale and slightly trembling beneath a veritable mountain of bedding. Cecil instinctively shies from the thin bands of sunlight trespassing into the bedroom through the window. "Hey,“ Carlos murmurs softly, reaching out to brush back the stringy locks of Cecil’s hair that cling to his face.
“I’m fine,” Cecil insists, gently batting the gesture away. While he attempts to sit up, his body sways as if maintaining balance on a tilting surface. The scientist gently lays a hand along his boyfriend’s clammy forehead, assessing how much heat is internally generated and how much is a natural result of sleeping under so many blankets in a desert.
“You’re burning up,” he realizes, immediately launching into dampening strips of cloth and digging through his collection of dried otherworld flora for the petri dish of samples he has discovered to have medicinal properties. Cecil mumbles a string of weak assurances, culminating in an unconvincing attempt to appear casual and calm as he leans against the doorframe to the bathroom. A faint rumbling echoes beyond the walls of the apartment, and the earth gives the faintest lurch. Carlos has long adjusted to the unanticipated rumblings that quiver through the desert with no distinct pattern, but the motion throws off Cecil’s balance and with it any facade of composure. He’s positively green by the time Carlos has him tucked back into bed: an herbal tea already steeping in the mug on the bedside table and a damp cloth spread across his clammy skin.
“But, Carlos, we had so many adventures today - scientific adventures - to go on,” Cecil protests even as he curls back into the pillows and blankets that Carlos affectionately arranges around him. His last words before drifting back off into a fitful sleep spark an idea in the scientist: “I wanted to see all the wonderful things you’ve discovered.”
When Cecil’s eyelids flutter open again, he is disoriented by the light. He feels he’s slept for hours, yet the sun still shines in through the blinds of the apartment. Something awoke him: in a dream the little pads of pressure on his feet and legs were Khoshekh’s paws, but as his vision adjusts to the stripes of light illuminating the bedspread, he can make out several evenly-spaced rows of rocks criss-crossing down to his toes. Nestled beside him on the bed is Carlos, who fondly lifts each rock, examines it carefully between his fingers, hums scientifically to himself, and then places it back in its ordered row.
“Are you doing science?” Cecil asks, surprised at how much stronger his voice sounds after his rest.
“I am!” Carlos confirms, placing a vibrantly vermillion stone back in its place. "Are you feeling better?“ Cecil nods, then cautiously pushes himself up to a sitting position - partially in an effort to not dislodge the rocks, partially because he still feels a touch shaky and unsettled. "Great! I had an idea. I thought, since you can’t go out and explore all the amazing things on the hike, I would bring the most mobile specimens to you!” The scientist gathers a handful of selections and puts them into Cecil’s lap. One-by-one he lifts the stones, exhibits the different ways their facets refract the sunlight into cascading patterns on the bedspread, and explains various aspects of each that Cecil listens to, but can’t claim to fully grasp. His focus remains rapt between each display on the scientist himself. Cecil has a secret fondness for watching Carlos work; the way he channels all his enthusiasm and passion into discovering and explaining the world around him is beautiful beyond the many words Cecil has often used in an attempt to capture it for his listeners.
“I thought you could name this one,” Carlos announces, placing a dark shimmering gem into Cecil’s cupped hands. It’s mesmerizing - the way it catches the light in every imaginable hue. Iridescent flickers reflect deep within, reminding Cecil of the lights that flicker deep in the void above the Arby’s.
“Me name it?” Cecil whispers, tilting the stone this way and that, wondering if perhaps it reminds Carlos too of their first truly shared moment that summer long ago. "But you’re the one who has worked to discover these,“ he sheepishly admits, offering the gift back to Carlos. The scientist reaches for it only to close Cecil’s fingers around the stone and weave his own fingers in the spaces between. His lips carefully press against Cecil’s temple, a stolen kiss with the dual purpose of checking his lowering temperature. He unfurls their linked fingers again and angles the gem until it transforms the prisms of light into a miniature galaxy within itself.
“I may have discovered it,” he sighs in contentment, resting his head gently on Cecil’s shoulder, “but science is so much more fun when we can do it together!”