A/N: Plain and simple, this is a sweet Cecilos fic I wrote for my good friend's birthday. Enjoy~
The Question
"Welcome back, listeners! I hope you paid attention to that weather report, and remember to take your steel-plated umbrellas with you if you are traveling tonight." Cecil smiled and leaned into his microphone, hands clasped together and elbows resting on the desk.
"And now, a final update on today's on-going story: the threat has dissipated! The City Council has given the all-clear, so come on out of those underground bunkers and begin taking stock of the damage done to your property and/or vehicles. Remember: even if you report it, insurance probably will not cover it... but there is still no harm in trying!"
The radio host glanced down at the notepaper on his desk, reading over the handwritten list of items he needed to cover that day:
-"Minor" crises at the Moonlite All-Nite Diner? Check.
-A message from our sponsors (featuring Deb, the sentient patch of haze, representing Dunkin' Donuts)? Check.
-An update on adorable Janice, her mother, and her... step-father? Check.
-Continuation report of earlier crisis? Check.
-The weather? Check.
-Resolution/summation report of earlier crisis? Check.
-The Question?
"Ah!" Cecil exclaimed for the entirety of Night Vale to hear. "Listeners, it is almost time for me to break the comforting trance created by a dulcet-toned radio host speaking words of existential consequence. But before that, I have one more thing I would like to report. Well, not so much report, as much as to inform you all..." He paused, running a hand through his hair nervously. "There is a very important question that I am going to ask my boyfriend, Carlos, tonight. It is... it is a question that has been plaguing my every waking and subconscious thought for some time, and I can take it no longer; I must ask him this evening.
"So, listeners, wherever you are and whatever you are doing... I ask that you pause for just a small moment to send your good wishes to this old radio host." Feeling a presence staring at him, Cecil glanced up at the long window at the front of the broadcasting room to see Intern Joshua giving him an enthusiastic thumbs-up. He chuckled. "Hopefully, with your help, I will get the answer that I so desperately desire.
"And with that, it is time for this broadcast to come to an end. I fear that I am leaving you too soon, but I must hurry home and nervously await the arrival of my darling Carlos. As always, goodnight, Night Vale..."
"Goodnight."
As the first haunting notes of the "Welcome to Night Vale" theme began to drift across the airways, the pen clutched in Carlos' hand slipped out of his grasp. The sound of writing utensil impacting desk jarred the scientist out of the mental reverie he had been trapped in for the past two minutes.
"A... question...?" he mumbled to himself. His cheeks flushed red.
A female with dark, black hair pulled into a tight ponytail walked into the room, holding a clipboard. "Carlos, we have the results of the experiment that you-"
"No time, Natasha, I have to... I have to get home!" Carlos cut her off, jumping out of his chair. Natasha observed him curiously as he rushed around the room, propping his duffel bag on the seat of the chair and shoving random papers into it. After a moment of watching this, she flipped to a blank page of paper and made a note.
"What's so urgent?" she asked nonchalantly. Carlos froze in place, eyes flicking to hers before he looked at the floor and resumed stuffing things into his bag, a little slower this time.
"Erm... Cecil, uh... You see, I just remembered that I'd promised to make dinner tonight, so..." He trailed off, scratching the back of his neck and gazing around the room, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything important.
"Mm-hmm," Natasha responded, though her tone implied that she didn't accept that excuse for a second. She made another note on her clipboard and raised an eyebrow. "This wouldn't have anything to do with that 'question' your boyfriend mentioned on the radio about a minute ago, would it?"
Carlos made a noise akin to a startled mouse. He had momentarily forgotten that Cecil's show could be heard by anyone who cared to listen. Zipping up his bag, he squared his shoulders and looked his lab partner straight-on.
"W-Wish me luck," he said, fists clenched at his sides. Natasha grinned.
"Go get 'em, Bunny!" she cheered. Carlos frowned at the use of a nickname she must have heard on-air, but nonetheless grabbed his things and walked towards the door.
He didn't quite know how he managed to get back to the quaint apartment, but somehow Carlos found himself at home once again. It seemed as if he'd driven there in a daze, yet his car was parked in the usual spot and the keys were in his hand. He shrugged this off; ending up places without being aware of how exactly you traveled there was certainly nothing new in Night Vale.
Carlos entered the apartment and dropped his bag on the ground. Closing the door behind him, he searched the entryway for anything out of the ordinary. From the way Cecil had spoken on-air, Carlos half-expected an extravagant welcome full of noise, decorations, and his beloved radio host waiting just inside the door.
Alas, the only thing that the scientist found was silence.
"Cece?" he called, making his way towards the kitchen.
"Carlos!" a deep voice exclaimed in response. The person it belonged to subsequently stuck his head out from the around a corner of the wall, his three eyes shining with excitement. "You are home early today!"
"Yeah, I, uh... I got let off early today for... for stuff," Carlos sputtered out. He gave a half-shrug, holding out his arms as if to say, Well... here I am!
"I am so happy!" Cecil responded, immediately walking over to wrap his arms around Carlos' neck. His boyfriend returned the hug, giving Cecil's waist a brief squeeze before releasing the radio host in favor of gazing lovingly at his face.
"I... have something I would like to ask you," Cecil continued slowly, glancing at the floor. Carlos blinked.
I guess it's straight to the point, then, he thought, running a slightly shaky hand through his hair.
"O-Oh?" he questioned aloud, wincing as a finger caught in one of his curly locks. Come on, Carlos, there's nothing to be nervous about.
"Yes." Cecil cleared his throat, eye still glued to the ground. "Carlos, you and I both know that our anniversary is coming up, and in light of this very important event, I need a crucial piece of information from you."
Carlos remained silent, afraid that any attempt to speak would end in a slew of unintelligible babble. His brain was finding it hard to form coherent thoughts, so he assumed that speaking would be even more difficult. Taking this silence as a signal to go on, Cecil gave a nervous smile.
"My darling Carlos... would you..." He paused, and the tattoos that blanketed his body began to shift- a sign that the radio host was feeling some sort of strong emotion. While it wasn't always obvious exactly what that emotion was, Carlos half-hoped that at the current moment, Cecil was just as anxious as him. "Would you... help me choose a jacket to wear for our date tonight?"
The scientist blinked. Cecil finally matched his gaze, smiling nervously. After a moment of quiet, Carlos slowly nodded.
"Oh... oh, sure. Yeah, of course," he agreed, doing his best to put on a smile as well.
Really, Carlos, why in the world did you expect this to happen now? Compared to a lot of couples, we haven't been going out that long, he mentally berated himself, following his boyfriend to the bedroom closet. And anyway, why did I ever think he'd be the one to ask me to-
"I am stuck between three options and cannot bring myself to choose one over another," Cecil explained, holding up the sleeve of one of the jackets in question. The sleeve belonged to a brown garment made of tweed-like fabric, which was embellished with a vibrant purple trim. Carlos desperately resisted the urge to grimace; fashion had never been one of Cecil's strong suits, and although Carlos didn't pride himself on being that fashion-forward either, he at least knew when something was just... wrong.
Still, his love for the radio host far outweighed any qualms he might have about his style. Giving a soft laugh, he gestured to the open closet. "Show me the options, love."
Without hesitation, Cecil shuffled through a few items of clothing and pulled out a yellow suit jacket with vibrant red and blue lines forming a plaid pattern across the fabric. Again, Carlos quickly suppressed a wince; this option was far worse than the first one.
"I feel as though this would look better with the salmon shorts I am wearing- you know, the ones with the turquoise fish all over them?" Cecil nodded towards the bed, on which the offending pair of shorts lay. "But I am just not sure..."
"...What's your third choice?" Carlos asked. Cecil absently threw the yellow and brown jackets in the direction of the bed and looked through the hanging garments once again.
"Hmm...," the radio host muttered, frowning slightly. "I cannot seem to find the third one, although I swear I hung it up right about here. Maybe it was moved by -"
His speech was abruptly ended by something solid hitting the hardwood floor. Both men looked down to find a small, black, velvet box sitting innocently next to the closet door. Carlos' jaw dropped and his gaze snapped up to his boyfriend, to find Cecil's cheeks already flushed crimson. His third eye began to cloud over, indicating that he was under a sudden, extreme deal of stress.
"Um...," Carlos began, but before he could say anything else Cecil snatched the box off the floor and hid it behind his back. Biting his lip, he looked everywhere but at the man in front of him.
"Now, I... I know for a fact that I did not leave that box in such a vulnerable position," he began to babble. "The Faceless Old Woman who secretly lives in our home must have moved it without my knowledge, because I would certainly never leave it where it could be found so easily! Haha..."
Carlos could only stare, not wanting to misread the situation.
There's no way, he thought, watching his boyfriend's tattoos squirm and gravitate towards the hands hidden behind his back. There could be anything in that box. Besides, I highly doubt Cece would do that the "traditional" way...
"Well, I... I suppose I cannot put this off any longer," the radio host announced with a small sigh. He swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and to the scientist's absolute astonishment, bent down on one knee and proffered the still-closed box towards him.
"C-Cecil!" Carlos exclaimed, pressing one hand to his mouth and the other over his heart. He gazed down at the man in front of him, feeling an overwhelming surge of surprise as Cecil, in his most sincere voice asked:
"My beautiful, beautiful Carlos... will you take a new journey with me and spend the rest of our lives in the fantastical realm of marriage?"
Though Carlos found himself unable to speak, he managed to let out a delirious sort of laugh. The request was a little unconventional, sure, but the scientist had left any sense of normalcy behind him when he'd taken on a job in this friendly desert community with the hot sun, the beautiful moon, and mysterious lights passing overhead while everyone pretended to sleep. With a shout, he threw himself into Cecil's arms, knocking the radio host over and causing him to yelp very uncharacteristically.
The men soon detangled themselves, though they remained seated on the floor. The black box lay on its side, knocked out of Cecil's hands in the excitement of the moment. Cecil grabbed it, turning it upright, and then abruptly smacked a palm to his forehead (carefully avoiding his eye in the process, which seemed to wince of its own accord).
"Ah, silly me... I was supposed to open this when I asked you, was I not?" the radio host questioned, giving Carlos an apologetic smile. Carlos let out another laugh, gently pushing a wayward lock of blonde hair out of Cecil's face.
"Forget about that; I'm just so happy you asked me in the first place," he said, unable to stop his grin from widening. He squeezed Cecil's knee and placed a kiss on his cheek, causing the radio host's blush to reemerge with doubled intensity.
"W-Well, of course; it felt like the right time, and I did not want to wait any longer because I feel as though we have been in a relationship long enough that we are ready to take the next step and..." Cecil trailed off, realizing that he was beginning to ramble again. He placed the box in Carlos' hand. "Anyway, you should open it."
Hesitantly, Carlos lifted the velvet lid. He'd imagined a small band of gold or silver resting comfortably in-between the tiny cushions- something simple and not very flashy. However, as he carefully picked up the ring and held it to the light, he couldn't help but let out a small gasp of surprise.
The ring did have somewhat of a traditional design, but only on the outer edging, which lined the piece of jewelry in parallel bands of gold. The center of ring was a strikingly deep blue, flecked at random by slivery-white dots. It was hard to tell exactly what color they were as they changed depending on the angle of the light, but Carlos instantly determined that they were meant to represent stars.
"Do you like it?" Cecil asked, scooting closer, an eager smile lighting up his face.
"Yes, I... it's beautiful!" Carlos breathed. Gently, Cecil guided the band onto the scientist's left hand. As soon as Carlos felt the cool metal wrap around his finger, tears of happiness welled up in his eyes.
"Oh, I am so relieved!" Cecil let out a sigh. "I was not sure if you would enjoy a unique design... But, I wanted to make it truly special and decided that the best way to do this was to create something that only my beautiful Carlos would have."
"You custom-designed this?!"
"Not entirely on my own, but the basic idea was mine, yes." Cecil awkwardly cleared his throat and directed his attention to the floor yet again. "When I think of our future together, I am reminded of the endless possibilities we still have ahead of us- options vaster than the universe itself."
Carlos smiled and squeezed his hand, not realizing that the endearingly outlandish radio host could be this romantic. Spurred on by this gesture, Cecil returned the grin and added:
"Additionally, when I look into the night sky I am reminded of our time together on the night after your near-death experience at the bowling alley." Carlos raised a curious eyebrow, wondering why this was the one moment that had cemented itself in Cecil's mind to associate with the starry sky. The radio host chuckled lightly, drifting his fingers across Carlos' cheek. "I knew I loved you from the day I first saw you, but it was at that moment, sitting underneath the stars and the light of the Arby's sign, that I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I did not know how much time I had left- nor do I know this now-, but I do know that I want to spend whatever I have by your side."
"Aw, Cece..." Carlos furiously rubbed a wayward tear from his face, grinning so hard his cheeks began to hurt. "I'm not sure what to say except... me too. Er, yes. Yes, I will definitely spend the rest of my life with you, no matter what this crazy town throws at us."
With that declaration, there were no more words needed to be said. Carlos placed a soft kiss on his fiancé's lips and sat back, admiring the man who he would soon be able to call his husband. They remained like that until the sunlight completely faded away from the windows, leaving the pair illuminated only by the moon and stars in the vast, never-ending sky.