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Carlos was fully aware Cecil possessed not so human qualities about him. There had been times when he caught Cecil’s shadow moving when Cecil was otherwise stationary (Cecil had been reading a book upside down while his shadow did odd cryptic interpretive dances beside him). Sometimes, Carlos would get a glimpse of eyes appearing on different places of Cecil’s body. One purple eye that manifested right in the middle of Cecil’s forehead actually had the gall to mischievously wink at him only to glare down at its owner when Cecil had leaned down to kiss him on the cheek before he left for work.
Carlos, however, did not say a word about any of the things he saw. Carlos knew that Cecil was not… human. Carlos did not know what Cecil was, actually. But it hardly mattered to him. Cecil was Cecil. Cecil was and will always be Cecil. Cecil, who liked his eggs bathed in butter and sprinkled with a pinch of Parmesan in the morning. Cecil, who cooed at the litter of “kittens” currently taking residence in the men’s bathroom of the community radio station. Cecil, who beamed with pride when one of them breathed a ball of fire at the green rat that had been the cause of torn up paperwork for the whole week. Cecil, who was absolutely inconsolable every time they made it to the end of Casper the Friendly Ghost and would only stop when he finally cried himself to sleep. Cecil. Smart, wonderful, thoughtful Cecil who had the vocabulary of a politician but did not (thankfully) have the impatience of one.
Carlos could go on listing every little thing Cecil was but it ultimately boiled down to one thing Cecil was not.
Cecil was not and will never be hideous to Carlos. Carlos would just have to wait until the day Cecil realized that as well. And when he did, Carlos would be ready.
It turned out that that day would be when he accidentally walked in on Cecil mid-sneeze.
"Oh dear," Cecil had muttered while he wiped his nose with a lilac handkerchief. "It looks like it’s that time of the year again."
Carlos did not hear him though because he was busy staring at the numerous inky darkness that wreathed behind his boyfriend in unrestrained awe. The purple third eye, the very one Carlos was extremely fond of, was blinking back tears from the sneeze before it saw Carlos. It blinked, twice, three times, and it smoldered.
Carlos could not help but grin at it, amused at its cheeky behavior as its host quelled another body-wracking sneeze against the soiled handkerchief.
"Bless you." Carlos announced his presence in the room and making Cecil freeze on the spot.
"Carlos!" he yelped. Cecil stared at the him blankly for a second before his face paled in terror. "Oh crap, Carlos. Y-you’re early!"
The third eye had been batting its eyelashes at him before it glared down at Cecil almost as if it were reprimanding him for stating the obvious.
"Yes," Carlos cleared his throat. "I- uh," he eyed the two newly forming eyes on Cecil’s throat that glared at each other before glancing at his direction, sheepish.
"Oh no, don’t look!" Cecil yelped, grabbing an afghan that had been laid out on the couch and throwing it over his head. "Don’t look! I’m not ready!"
Carlos had not wanted it to be like this but he supposed he’d have to improvise. “Cecil, hey.” He shuffled to where the radio host had huddled close to the arm of his overstuffed leather couch. “Sweetheart, it’s okay. C’mon, don’t hide from me.”
"No! I’m… I’m… hideous. Don’t look at me!"
Carlos winced. “No, oh my God, Cecil that’s not true! Hey, c’mon.” Cecil struggled against Carlos for a few moments before he finally calmed down. Breathing a sigh of relief, Carlos slowly peeled the cloth away to watch as three sets of purple eyes blinked up at him. Two frightened and concerned, the other four exasperated and a little bit offended.
"Hi." Carlos said, grinning down at the radio host who was finally starting to unstick himself from the couch.
"You’re…" Cecil swallowed and liked his lips with a purple tongue. "You’re not afraid?"
Carlos shook his head, pulling Cecil upright and leaning up to kiss him on the chin. “Of you? Of course not, Cecil. You’re the least frightening thing in Night Vale.”
"I’m aware of that." Cecil snapped but softened his tone when he felt Carlos flinch. "It’s just that… I’m also aware that I’m not exactly, you know." He gestured at himself, "Human."
"That is true." Carlos offered, acknowledging that Cecil’s concern was not something he was about to brush off. "However, recent studies show that there is no direct correlation between "not human" and "frightening". Any statements saying otherwise are allegedly based off of biased assumptions."
Cecil blinked incomprehensibly at him for a moment, taking in what he had said in one solid breath before offering a small grin. “Cite your sources in APA format, Mr. Scientist.”
Carlos laughed. “The Scientist, Carlos. (2013). Cecil Palmer: Walking Dream Come True. Retrieved from-“
Cecil slapped a clawed hand over Carlos’ mouth. “Okay,” he giggled. “Okay, I get it.”
Licking the hand that was covering his mouth and making Cecil pull away and squawk in shock, Carlos tucked a lock of soft hair behind Cecil's pointy ear. “I’m serious, though.” he said, delicately framing Cecil’s face in both hands and bringing his head down to let their foreheads touch. “There are human beings out there who are capable of or have done … inhumane stuff, Cecil. Frightening, malicious and absolutely disgusting crimes that I can’t really for the life of me imagine you doing.”
"But that-"
"Also," Carlos interrupted, "Casper wasn’t exactly human either but that didn’t stop Kat from befriending him, did it?"
That got a little giggle out of Cecil which made Carlos absolutely pleased with himself. "Okay,” he said, leaning away from Carlos but not dislodging the hands that held his face lovingly. “How long have you known, though? I get the feeling you’ve known for a while.”
"I’m not sure. Months, probably. Besides, it’s not exactly easy to ignore the third eye that gets all jealous when you kiss me."
Said eye blanched in indignation and leered at Carlos as if saying “Who, me?”
"Oh yeah," Cecil looked up at his own forehead, "I think it’s sentient. I can’t control it."
Carlos brought Cecil’s face down again to kiss his forehead where the third eye shut tight, “Hmmm, I think it’s adorable.” Then his long nose, “You’re adorable.” His cheeks, “And so, so wonderful.” And then finally his lips. “You’re absolutely perfect.”
"Oh, Carlos." Cecil sighed, wrapping his arms (and a few of the dark shadows that were wreathing behind him) around Carlos’ waist, "No one has ever said such sweet words to me before."
Carlos chuckled, “Then I’m just going to have to say it over and over again,” he whispered, lips lightly brushing over Cecil’s as he spoke.
"I’d very much like that, yes."
"Hmm-mmm."
"And for the record, you’re a walking dream come true for me, too."
"I’m glad." Carlos smiled, pressing a quick kiss to the underside of Cecil’s jaw. "Thank you, Cecil."
"My wonderful, amazing Carlos."
"Hmm-mmm."
They stood there holding each other for a moment, basking in each other's warmth and swaying to music only their feet could hear. Cecil was silent, obviously lost in his own thoughts.
His hands drifting down to Cecil's shoulders, Carlos leaned a fraction of an inch away so he could watch as several emotions fleeted by the radio host’s face, too quick for him to catch, making him wonder what was going through his boyfriend’s mind.
When Cecil suddenly grinned goofily at him, teeth white and inhumanly sharp, Carlos could do nothing but blink bemusedly back at him. "Cecil?" he asked, a confused but fond smile finding its way to his lips.
Whatever Cecil and his mind had come to an agreement with; Carlos was not privy to. However, it looked like it amused Cecil to no end because he chuckled to himself, voice deep and low in his throat before he leaned down again, pressing their foreheads together and whispered,
"Can I keep you?"