"It's fascinating, because I've looked at all the blades of grass I could find, in amongst all the sand and rocks, and I've run many experiments and tests on them, and it turns out they're not actually blades of grass at all," Carlos explained over a bowl of wheat-free spaghetti substitute.
"They look like blades of grass, and you can touch them with your hands and they feel like blades of grass, but I've done the tests and they're just not real blades of grass."
"Uh huh," Cecil said, his head in one hand, shifting his wheat-free spaghetti substitute around with his fork.
Carlos glanced at him for a second before continuing. "The sand and rocks around the blades of grass seem to be real, though I can't be certain. It's possible that - hey, aren't you going to finish that? You usually love my wheat-free spaghetti substitute."
Cecil had pushed away his plate and begun the process of standing up from the small kitchen table.
"Oh, absolutely. It's the best wheat-free spaghetti substitute in Night Vale. I'm just… not hungry, I guess!" he said as he extricated himself from the space.
He yawned, spreading his arms wide.
"Gosh, I am beat. I'm going to shower and get some sleep."
He stepped over to kiss Carlos - gently, lovingly - on the forehead, lingering for just a second longer than was strictly necessary - and then he darted to the stairs.
Carlos stared after him, his thoughts far away from the blades of grass.
()~~~~~()
"Cecil, I'm just going to grab some -" Carlos stopped dead in the middle of shouldering open the bathroom door.
Cecil was there, shirtless, head twisted around to look at his back in the mirror. As Carlos entered, he dropped the shirt he held clutched to his chest and turned around, fumbling.
"Carlos! Just, uh, inspecting the old torso. Got to make sure that it's still there, right? You know what they say: only you can prevent your torso from disappearing."
A pause.
"Cecil… what is that?" Carlos asked carefully.
In the space above Cecil's left shoulder blade, there was a large, red mark. It was angry and welting, and it looked rather like it was in the shape of a bright, burning sun. In fact, it looked exactly like it was in the shape of a bright, burning sun. It looked exactly like a brand, in the shape of a bright, burning sun.
"What is what? Oh, that?" Cecil said. "Standard procedure. There's nothing to worry about. Well, there are a lot of things to worry about - the inevitability of death, the undeniability of the void, for instance - but this isn't one of those things. It's totally fine."
"Cecil, this looks quite concerning - scientifically speaking," Carlos added. "I should definitely examine it. For science," He took a step forward.
"Oh - no, you don't have to - well, I suppose, if it's for science," Cecil said, lowering his head.
Obediently, he dropped his shoulders and allowed Carlos to examine the brand. For science.
Carlos gently brushed his fingers over the mark, and Cecil gave a barely audible wince.
"Let me run a few experiments," Carlos said over Cecil's shoulder.
First, he traced very gently around the edges of the brand with his index finger. Then, seeing no immediate results, he traced around the brand again. No response.
"Hmm, very interesting," he murmured.
Next, he blew softly on the red area. This elicited a small shiver from the subject. Very promising. He blew gently again and got the same small, tense shiver.
And then, very gently, with the feather-light touch of an angel (although, as we all know, angels are not real), he pressed his lips to the centre of the mark. The subject shuddered and breathed out heavily.
"Very interesting." Carlos moved around Cecil to face him. "I have concluded that this mark is not real."
"Not real?" Cecil's mouth opened slightly in confusion.
"Yes," Carlos said, somberly,with a powerful, warrior's gaze. "It is not real, and therefore it cannot control you. My results show conclusive evidence that you are still your own person, and that no mark - real or otherwise - is going to change that."
Cecil's whole body seemed to melt, as if his muscles had converted from the solid state of matter to the liquid. He let out a heavy, shaky breath.
"That's excellent news. It is a good thing there was a scientist here."
Carlos smiled, a perfect smile, and Cecil smiled back.
"Always happy to do science."
They kissed.
()~~~~~()