Chapter Text
Cecil paced around the room, petting Khoshekh when the cat wandered by and avoiding the spines on its back. He double-checked the wide-screen TV, making sure that Ghostbusters was ready to play and triple-checked that the house was in order.
Carlos got out of his car, some red, rusted, 1965 Ford Galaxy he had gotten as a gift ages ago, locking the door and knowing the 'blip-blip' of the horn would probably catch Cecil's attention. Cecil would know Carlos' car horn in a lot with ten separate car alarms going off at once. He ran a hand through his hair, wondering if he had forgotten anything with his rush to get out of the lab, giving some instructions to his co-workers and hoping they'd have the lab in order when he returned in the morning. Even so, he might spend the night with his radio-host of a boyfriend, so he'd probably be late in the morning either way. He approached the door, and, as expected, didn't even have to ring the bell before it was opening.
"Carlos!" Cecil grinned, throwing the door open and beaming at the scientist.
"Cecil," Carlos greeted in return, giving him a smile and a kiss on the cheek shortly before realizing he had left his lab coat on. "Oh, sorry, I knew I was forgetting something..." he mumbled in reference to it.
"It's alright, I love that...science stuff. Sciency…science. Come in?" Cecil offered, blushing and stepping aside.
Carlos chuckled, walking in and saying, "Yeah, sciency science," as he hung the lab coat on one of Cecil's claw-shaped coat hangers. Cecil’s living room had a dark, hard wood floor, but he had a white rug covering the majority of the area. The walls were purple, but all the furnishings were lighter colors to offer a nice contrast. There was a huge fireplace off to the left of the couch, and on the mantel there were various pictures and trinkets, including an hour glass with one half holding beads flowing down as the other half of the beads floated up. There was even a sound system near the TV, presumably for listening to music on one station and using it to watch movies on another. The living room was connected to the kitchen, which looked more like it belonged in a five-star restaurant, what with the large hooded stove and cooking utensils covering nearly every available counter surface, half of which Carlos wouldn’t even know what to do with. Between the kitchen and living room there was an island with silver barstools that had purple cushioned seats. He had already taken an allergy pill, so he wasn't fazed when Khoshekh entered the room and mewled at them for attention.
Cecil picked the cat up, scratching under his chin as he carried him to the kitchen, saying, "I ordered dinner."
"Ooh, what'd you get?" Carlos asked, having several guesses in mind. Khoshekh purred loudly, looking as though he were grinning as his head tilted up for Cecil's hand.
"Big Rico's wheat-and-wheat-by-product free pizza," Cecil said, "the delivery child should appear in the living room any minute."
"Right, I forgot about those," Carlos said, as he preferred to pick up food from restaurants when he ordered out in Nightvale. That way, he could try to avoid future incidents with the delivery wraiths and various other forms of delivery monsters.
Moments later an empty howling noise filled the room, a tiny blank-faced boy appearing in the living room amidst a small onslaught of black sludge. The boy clutched the pizza box, making a hissing sound.
Carlos asked, "Uh, did you want me to pay for half?" as the delivery boy continued hissing.
"It's my treat," Cecil grinned, handing some money to the boy and tugging the box from his grip.
Carlos said, "Right, thanks," to the boy awkwardly, giving the pizza a concerned glance, as some of the black ooze was stuck to the box.
The boy convulsed and disappeared, the black sludge around the room slowly fading.
Carlos said, "I might never get used to that," as he shook his head, heading to the living room.
"Why not?" Cecil said, sitting on the long, curved, white couch, "Do you prefer delivery falcons?"
"Almost," Carlos nodded with a light chuckle, sitting next to Cecil. "So, what are we watching?"
"The Ghostbusters horror movie," Cecil said happily, getting paper plates for the pizza.
Carlos raised a brow, saying, "Alright, I haven't seen it in awhile," and not having the heart to reveal that Ghostbusters wasn't the best example of a horror film. He grabbed a slice of pizza, taking a bite and making a satisfied 'mmm', Rico's always having amazing pizza.
Cecil put a plate of pizza on the floor for Khoshekh, settling on the couch happily and starting the movie.
Khoshekh trotted over, nuzzling Cecil's ankle in thanks before licking the pizza, watching it dissolve bit by bit as he continued lapping up the melted remains. Carlos wasn't fazed by the cat’s actions anymore, instead putting an arm around Cecil's waist, which still seemed incredibly skinny to him, eating pizza with his other hand.
Cecil's tattoos wiggled happily, before gasping as a woman screamed at the ghost appearing.
Carlos rolled his eyes, a small smile playing at his lips as he leaned on the taller man's shoulder, taking another bite of pizza.
Cecil gasped again when the ghost hunters were called, drawing a pillow up to hug.
Carlos grinned, rubbing Cecil's side and not flinching at any of the 'scary' parts. He set his plate on the coffee table, Khoshekh sniffing at it for crumbs and grumbling in disappointment, as Carlos was a clean eater.
Cecil whimpered, his tattoos writhing as the Ghostbusters prepared to catch the ghost.
Carlos raised a brow at his boyfriend, asking, "You sure you want to keep watching? If this is too scary..."
"No, I'm fine," Cecil said stubbornly, adding, "They just have very convincing villains." He gestured to the ghost buster attaching a hose to the vacuum.
Carlos asked, "Are you talking about Dr. Venkman?" Cecil shivered slightly at the name, bringing the pillow up to his chin. Carlos didn't have the heart to tell him that Venkman was the main protagonist, rubbing his side again and saying, "It'll be alright," comfortingly.
"It's a horror film, there's never a happy ending," Cecil said indignantly.
"You don't know that," Carlos replied, smirking at Cecil's belief the good guys were taking advantage of the "poor ghosts".
"Yes I do," Cecil said, his tentacles peeling away from his tattoos and clinging to Carlos nervously.
Carlos blinked, leaning up from Cecil's shoulder in surprise and starting, "What the hell...?" in a half surprised and half fascinated tone.
Cecil didn't notice for a moment, a tentacle wrapping around Carlos's arm before he realized. He flailed back, yelping, "Oh void, Carlos I’m so sorry," and flushing bright purple.
"No, don't worry about it, I was just startled," Carlos said, looking to the tentacles that were slowly melding back onto Cecil's arms. "How are they doing that?"
Cecil hissed, forcing them back and dragging them, somewhat painfully, back into tattoos. He remained bright red, stuttering, "I’m so sorry, Carlos, I should never have done that."
"It's alright," Carlos said, settling again. "I just didn't know they could move, is all. It's really...rather interesting, actually." Cecil continued to huddle to the opposite side of the couch, his eyes wide. "Cecil, it's honestly ok," Carlos said, scooting a little closer. "It was kind of a...cute gesture, I suppose," Carlos said, blushing slightly as well, as he wasn't the best in these situations.
Cecil blinked at him again, asking, "What?"
"I don't know; it's a Cecil thing, I guess," Carlos grinned, leaning over and gently pushing one of Cecil's hands away from his chest, giving him a quick kiss.
Cecil blinked, saying, "You don't mind?" slowly.
"Not at all," Carlos grinned. "Hell, if you had grown crab pinchers I wouldn't be surprised. They just caught me a little off guard, is all."
Cecil blinked, the tips of his tentacles reappearing as he said, "Are you sure?" cautiously.
"If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't be living in Nightvale," Carlos chortled.
Cecil seemed to be struggling for words for a moment before saying "neat." He then turned bright red, hiding his face in the pillow again.
Carlos laughed at that, taking one of Cecil's arms gently, saying, "C'mere," and tugging him into a hug. "We have a movie to finish, and if it makes them feel better, your...tentacles can join in." Cecil blinked again, slowly letting himself be pulled back to Carlos. Carlos rubbed his back, asking again, "But really, how do they do that?"
"They're just always like that," Cecil said, still clinging to the pillow.
"I've never even seen them move; I mean, how do they peel off your skin? The molecular structure must be something to behold," Carlos said, trying to stop himself from going into science-mode.
"They just do that," Cecil said, never really having considered the science behind that.
"Can I see one?" Carlos asked, pulling back from the hug but keeping a hand on Cecil's lap. Cecil allowed one to peel off his skin slowly, the tentacle wrapping around Carlos' hand. "Incredible," Carlos said after a moment of thought, turning his hand and watching it peel a little more off Cecil's arm to stay connected to his skin. He used his other hand to pet it, watching it curl affectionately tighter around the hand it was already holding. It was reacting much like a normal octopus tentacle might. Cecil was still watching him carefully, prepared to retract his tentacles and possibly run. Carlos started talking to himself under his breath, wondering about the genetic makeup and if it was made from some sort of specialized ink or if this was just another happening of Nightvale better left untouched. He decided to go with the latter, and ended up saying, "It's cute," lamely, though he grinned when it seemed to wiggle in response to being complimented.
Cecil blushed again, burying his face in his pillow as the rest of his tentacles manifested.
Carlos snorted when one of the tentacles hit a ticklish spot, saying, "They're ticklish," through a laugh, other tentacles already trying to join the first. "Are they...jealous?" he asked, as the others now seemed to be vying for his attention.
"No!" Cecil squeaked, far too fast and brushing some tentacles aside.
Carlos said, "Don't worry about it, if they are. I can't pet them all at once, but I can try," as he used his free hand to rub the ones that seemed a little more persistent. His other hand was on Cecil's hip, ignoring the tattoos that were wrapping around it. Eventually Cecil lowered the pillow, forgetting the movie playing in the background and watching Carlos with mild awe.
Carlos turned his arm again, watching various tentacles wrap around it. For reasons even he wasn't sure of, he ended up holding one in his hand and pressing it to his cheek as though cuddling a small animal. He also realized the scruff still on his chin might not be too comfortable against the smoothness of the tentacle, but it didn't seem to mind.
Cecil stared for another long moment, asking, "Are you sure you're ok with this?"
"Why wouldn't I be? I could live here for twenty years and I'm sure there'd still be something else to impress me," Carlos said, rubbing a thumb along the tentacle he was holding, which seemed to be draped in ecstasy.
"Oh," Cecil said, at a loss to say anything else.
"Can you feel that? Me petting them, I mean," Carlos asked, setting the tentacle in his hand on his lap to pet another one, which curled happily under his hand.
"Maybe," Cecil mumbled, blushing again.
Carlos grinned slowly, trailing a finger down one of the tentacles to brush Cecil's arm, humming, "Mmhm," as he ran the finger back up the tattoo.
Cecil shuddered slightly, mumbling, "You stop that."
"Why?" Carlos asked, his grin turning more evil as he continued to run a finger along the tentacle, curling it around his finger when it got to the tip.
"Because I said so," Ceil frowned, retracting the tentacle.
Carlos pouted, "Fine, if you say so," before leaning to nuzzle Cecil's cheek. "They are cute, though. I don't really know how else to describe them without reverting to full-on scientist speech."
Cecil blushed again, mumbling, "Can we finish the movie?" desperately.
"Sure, if you think you can handle it," Carlos grinned, kissing him briefly.
Cecil frowned, grumbling, "I’m fine," and curling up again.
"Alright," Carlos said, grinning in contrast and putting an arm behind Cecil's back, leaning his head on Cecil's to finish the movie. Three of Cecil's tentacles wrapped around Carlos's shoulder, the rest covering Cecil's face at the 'scary' parts. Carlos wore a content smile for the rest of the movie, hugging Cecil when he curled against Carlos' shoulder for the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man scene. Carlos also remembered to use his free hand to stroke the tentacles curled around his shoulder that was opposite Cecil.
Cecil purred quietly, the sound at first easily mistaken for Khoshekh until the cat wandered out of the room. Carlos blinked, turning his head and asking, "Are you purring?"
Cecil blushed but didn't look away from the screen, saying, "No," defensively.
"Are you sure?" Carlos asked, setting his head against Cecil's chest and listening to the purr with a grin.
Cecil tried to stifle the purring, mumbling, "It's Khoshekh."
Carlos hummed, "I'm not sure it is," as he stroked one of his tentacles with a finger again.
The purring returned, Cecil saying, "Then it must be the void buzzing again."
Carlos smirked, "Mmhm, sure," as he moved his head, nuzzling Cecil's neck affectionately.
Cecil tilted his head appreciatively as he blurted, "Yup, it's probably the void, screaming out against its own endless silence. The void. Or maybe it's the faceless old woman that lives in your house."
Carlos said, "I think the faceless old woman was in someone else's house tonight," with a grin, kissing his neck.
Cecil hummed again, mumbling, "Then it must be the void."
Carlos said, "I may be more of a chemist, but I'm pretty sure the void doesn't purr," as he ran a hand across Cecil's lap.
"It might sometimes," Cecil said indignantly.
Carlos shrugged, "Fair enough, you probably know more about it than I do," before winding a tentacle around his finger again. Cecil sighed, wincing as the ghost got sucked away and the movie ended. Carlos glanced to the screen, asking, "There, was that so bad?"
"Yes," Cecil grumbled, sitting up straight.
Carlos sighed, "I thought you'd like it, but we could have changed the movie at any time."
"I like scary movies," Cecil said, crossing his arms and tentacles.
Carlos chuckled, "You can pick the movie next time," as he rubbed Cecil's back.
"Maybe the Ring, that has a good ending," Cecil said, leaning on him again.
Carlos asked, "So you're scared of Ghostbusters but not the Ring?"
"Well of course, the Ring has a happy ending,” Cecil said defensively.
Carlos shook his head, sighing, "If you say so." Then he paused, "Did you actually make copies of the tape?"
"Well, no," Cecil said, "that would be..." he lowered his voice, looking around the room before whispering "piracy."
Carlos made a thoughtful expression and said, "That's true, I suppose. And I suppose the Secret Police would take poorly to that?"
"Of course," Cecil said, "it's against the Council."
"Right, I'll keep it in mind," Carlos said, continuing to lean against him. "By the way, I don't meant to be intrusive, but would you mind if I just crashed here for the night?"
Cecil blinked, after a moment saying, "Uh, sure, that'd be... neat."
Carlos grinned, saying, "Thanks, but really, if it's too much to ask, I can drive myself home."
"No, no," Cecil said immediately, "it's fine."
Carlos said, "Thanks, I know it was kind of last minute..."
"It's fine," Cecil said, "Khoshekh will like the company."
"I'm sure he won't be the only one," Carlos chuckled. "I can take your guest bedroom."
"Uh, sure," Cecil said, blushing again and standing to remove the disc from the TV.
Carlos stood as well, saying more to himself, "Guess I should take another allergy pill if I'm sleeping here."
"Probably," Cecil said, "Khoshekh likes to sleep on people."
Carlos sighed, "Right," as he went back to his lab coat, rummaging through the pockets and pulling out a bottle of pills. He dry swallowed one, putting them back and asking, "Can I have some water?"
"Yes," Cecil said, nearly stumbling over his feet as he hurried to the kitchen for a glass of water.
Carlos added, "It's no rush, Cece," with a small smile upon seeing Cecil rushing to get his request done.
"Don't call me Cece," Cecil said, returning with the glass.
"Does it bother you?" Carlos smirked, adding 'thanks' for the water.
"No, not at all," Cecil said sarcastically, scooping Khoshekh up.
Khoshekh meowed contently, nuzzling Cecil's chin and licking his own paw as his tail swayed back and forth. Carlos said, "Good, 'cause I think it's a cute nickname, Cece," before taking a drink.
Cecil sighed, resting his head back on the couch as Khoshekh started kneading his arm.
Carlos sat back next to Cecil, saying, "Sorry for sort've inviting myself over. I'm feeling lazy tonight."
"No, it's nice," Cecil said, "just make sure not to step on the black tiles in the bathroom, they're lava."
"Oh...alright," Carlos said. "Thanks for the warning. Anything else I should know?"
"Uh, the sink might be cursed, but I don’t think so," Cecil said.
"I'll keep it in mind," Carlos said. Now that he thought about it, he had been staying over with Cecil a lot lately. He rubbed his neck, saying, "By the way, have you heard about the ads for condos coming to town?" casually.
Cecil nearly choked on his own saliva, coughing, "I suppose I have."
Carlos asked, "Well, I don't suppose you were thinking about getting one?"
Cecil choked further, asking, "In what way?"
Carlos said, "If you wanted to get one, I don't know, I suppose we could move in to one, y'know, together...if you wanted." Cecil appeared to stop breathing entirely, staring at Carlos slack-mouthed. "Cecil?" Carlos asked after a minute, snapping his fingers to see if he could jog Cecil out of it. Cecil continued to stare, his tentacles writhing around in confusion. "Cecil," Carlos raised his voice slightly, considering if what he was about to do would make it worse but putting his hand on Cecil's jaw, locking their gazes and saying, "say something." His tentacles froze in place and he blinked, a second later emitting a high-pitched noise. Carlos grinned, sighing, "Close enough. I'll take that as a yes?"
Cecil blinked again, suddenly coming back online and hug-tackling Carlos. Carlos ended up falling backwards onto the couch from the force of the hug, only getting time to say a quick 'whoa' of surprise before he was hugging Cecil back.
Cecil continued to squeal for a moment before straightening suddenly, brushing off the front of his shirt and vest before saying, "I mean, if you were so inclined."
Carlos snorted, remaining laying down and saying, "Yeah, I'm very inclined."
Cecil squealed again before clearing his throat again, saying "great."
Carlos sat forward, using a hand behind himself to prop himself up. "I can take care of buying one; I know you've got your show, so you must not have much time."
"No, no, I insist on at least helping out," Cecil protested.
"Don't worry about it," Carlos waved a hand dismissively. "Your audience needs you. Also, do you know what a condo is?"
"No," Cecil said cheerfully, now enthusiastically petting Khoshekh.
The cat purred in reciprocation, Carlos saying, "Alright, because I don't either, so I was naturally curious."
"I hear they're for sale," Cecil said, "we can check next week."
"Sounds like a plan," Carlos said, yawning a moment later. "I think the movie took more of a toll on me than I thought."
"I told you, it was terrifying," Cecil said, still grinning widely.
"Just because it was 'terrifying' doesn't mean it should make me tired," Carlos stifled another yawn, confused as to why Cecil's expression told him his yawns were cute.
"Then you should go to bed," Cecil said, still petting his cat with extreme enthusiasm.
"Probably," Carlos agreed, "but now I don't want to get off the couch. It's very comfortable," he ran a hand along the light purple fabric.
"You could sleep on the couch if you want, but my room might be more comfortable," Cecil said.
It was now Carlos' turn to blink. He slowly asked, "What happened to the guest bedroom?" with a sly grin.
Cecil blinked, realizing his mistake and blushing heavily, stuttering, "N-no, I meant...you...I mean you can sleep in my room I’ll take the guest..."
Carlos interrupted him with a kiss, saying, "You can stay in your room if I'll be there." He was still amused and amazed by Cecil's purple blush, and had yet to discover why his blood was such a color, whether that be extra hemoglobin or maybe that his blood cells didn't bond with oxygen and perhaps Cecil breathed a different element altogether. In Nightvale, anything could be possible. Cecil blushed harder, his radio voice lost in a desperate stammer. Carlos chuckled tiredly, "Or maybe I shouldn't if I'm going to cause you to malfunction by just the mention of it."
It was a long moment before Cecil was recovered enough to say, "You can... you can sleep wherever you want."
"Alright, let's go then," Carlos said, standing slowly and offering the radio-host a hand. Cecil scooped Khoshekh up again, standing with Carlos's help.
Khoshekh settled contently, making a quiet purr and cuddling into Cecil's chest. Carlos had to let Cecil lead them to his room, which was certainly something to behold. It was mostly shades of purple with white, black, and silver accents. The round mattress was at least king sized, and had a multitude of pillows sitting against the headboard that looked like a very large dream catcher. The quilt was purple with an inlaid swirling design that looked to be moving, and the sheets and pillowcases were white with hints of purple that matched the comforter. There was a sort of chandelier casting a soft white glow around the room, and no clocks in sight, as time didn't exist. There was a closet to the left and presumably a bathroom door to the right, and the carpet was off-white shag. There was also a white dresser sitting by the door to Cecil’s closet, and Carlos took note of the skinny jeans and other clothing articles hanging out of the drawers. Somehow, if Carlos had ever tried to picture Cecil's room (and he had), now he couldn't see it any differently.
Cecil blushed, looking around his room and saying sheepishly, "Sorry, I should have cleaned up first."
Carlos said, "Don't be ridiculous, it's perfect," as he headed for Cecil's bed, sitting on the edge and peering through the partially open bathroom door, seeing that the mirror was covered. "Why's the mirror blocked?" he asked. Cecil gave Carlos a wide-eyed look, not responding. "What's wrong, did I say another forbidden word?" Carlos asked, glancing back to the bathroom and hoping the Secret Police wouldn't kick down their door at any moment.
"No, but, Carlos," Cecil murmured, his voice low, "no-one uncovers their mirrors."
"Why not?" Carlos asked, a bit more awake now that his curiosity was turning on.
"Because they don't," Cecil whispered.
Carlos gave him a confused look, shaking his head and saying, "You're the Nightvale expert. Ah, just realized I didn't bring a change of clothes."
"Oh," Cecil said, blushing heavily again, "you could borrow some."
"Nah, don't worry about it, I already invited myself over," Carlos sighed, glad he had taken his shoes off prior to the movie and scooting over, laying in Cecil's bed, which was in fact extremely comfortable.
Cecil blinked at the sight, flushing and coughing as he went into the bathroom to change.
Carlos folded his hands over his stomach as he lay on his back. It was pleasantly warm in Cecil's room, so Carlos slipped his plaid button-up shirt off without thought to leave his tank top on. He always wore several layers at the lab in case of a chemical spill.
Cecil came out in a t-shirt and sweatpants, seeing Carlos in a tank top and choking again.
Carlos opened an eye, asking, "You alright?" as Khoshekh hopped up on the bed with him, curling up on a pillow and watching Cecil with an unblinking gaze.
"No," Cecil coughed, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"What's wrong?" Carlos asked with a hint of concern, sitting up. Any muscle mass he had was gained from lugging equipment around the lab. Such it was that when he sat up, the muscles in his right arm became a bit more defined when he used it to prop himself up.
Cecil nearly fainted, saying, "Nothing," in a high-pitched voice.
Carlos raised a brow, shortly realizing he was sleeveless in front of Cecil. "Oh gosh, I didn't even think..." Carlos stammered, reaching for his shirt again.
"No, it's fine," Cecil squeaked, his tentacles making death-twitches.
Carlos' hand paused by his shirt, asking, "You sure?" slowly, as he didn't want to give Cecil a heart attack.
"Yes," Cecil said, one of his tentacles twitching and collapsing, "if you're comfortable."
"It was just warm, so I took it off without thinking," Carlos said, rubbing an eye. "Are your tattoos going to live?"
One twitched, Cecil saying, "Maybe," and slowly peeling them back into tattoos.
"Alright, and are you going to live?" Carlos decided to double check, glad he didn't have tattoos as well, or Cecil might very well have died.
"Maybe," Cecil repeated, lying back faintly.
Carlos put a hand behind his back to help him lay down, gently pushing with his other hand and moving the one that was behind his back. Khoshekh grumbled when Cecil lay down partially on his tail, flicking it away in irritation and staying where he was on the pillow between Carlos and Cecil.
Cecil stared at the ceiling, mumbling, "Should've turned out the lights."
Carlos chuckled, "I can get them." Before Cecil could object, he sat up and went to the light switch, finding the one in the on position and turning it off, not able to resist flicking another switch, which happened to make the underside of the bed glow softly purple. Cecil blushed, a tentacle peeling away to cover his eyes. Carlos raised a brow, asking, "Is there a reason your bed glows purple?" as he left it on for fun, rejoining Cecil. Cecil mumbled something, tentacles reappearing to drag blankets over his head. Carlos grinned, laying down and pulling the blankets over himself as well. He said, "I like it," as his hand roamed until it located Cecil's hand to hold. Cecil squeaked again, burrowing impossibly further under the covers. Carlos ran his thumb across Cecil's skin, feeling a shy tentacle and stifling a laugh. "It's funny, but I was under the impression I'd get to fall asleep seeing my boyfriend, not a pile of blankets." The radio-host remained burrowed, Khoshekh pawing at his head. Carlos smirked slowly, slipping under the covers and saying, "Well, if you'd prefer sleeping under the covers...may I join you?"
"Yes," Cecil mumbled, clinging desperately to a pillow
"Good," Carlos said, scooting closer albeit Cecil's probable death and putting an arm around him before shutting his eyes. Cecil's tentacles twitched again and he seemed to forget how to breathe. "Goodnight, Cecil," Carlos said, yawning and moving a foot to slip between his.
Cecil squeaked again, squealing a "Goodnight," and remaining frozen.