Hi y'all,

Again bored at work, and again procrastinating commissions. Heh ^^;

This was an idea that's been bouncing in my angsty mind for forever because I heard this song ( watch?v=WdwnGG29Upw) and I pictured this, and a culmination of lack of sleep, existential crisis, and stress like a motherfucker led me to this. Agggh why does my fucked up self let me abuse my otp's so much?

This takes place somewhere after Strex buys the station, and before "The Visitor".

There's a few headcanons at play here too, so here you go:

-Autistic Carlos that stims and is not good with tone

- Cecil wears glasses but is otherwise not described

- Carlos is Latino

- Carlos is good with first aid

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

The scientist glanced up at the clock that didn't work and cursed under his breath, unease in his gut and fingers tapping out a rhythm on the pine-colored table. His chocolate-colored eyes scrutinized the place he had set, white dishes with the nice silverware, a goblet for the red wine he had chilling in the refrigerator, and a small bloodstone circle that casually surrounded a single tall white candle, just off center so he would be able to see the person that would sit across.

If he would sit across.

Carlos banished the thought. So what, Cecil was late coming home. He didn't exactly know Carlos had planned a surprise romantic dinner to lift his spirits since he had been so depressed after StrexCorp bought the station. However as Carlos racked his university-educated brain, he remembered he had sent him a text to ask when he would be home, and Cecil had replied that he'd be home at the usual time. Carlos frowned. It wasn't like him to be so late and not send a text to let him know. He checked his phone, with the background of a Snap Cecil had sent him a few weeks ago with a lab coat and safety goggles, flashing a peace sign, with a caption that simply read "SCIENCE!" and an emoticon of an Erlenmeyer flask. No new messages showed on his screen. A few Tumblr notifications, but nothing from Cecil's URL.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, then let his hands drop to his lap and idly rubbed his fingers. The stim did nothing to ease his worry, and after several more minutes he glanced at the clock again, and then checked his phone again. Nothing. Still nothing.

He had just opened up his messages and started tapping out a text to Cecil when he heard the door open, and a groggy-sounding voice hit his ear. "I'm home," Carlos recognized that the voice was Cecil.

Carlos sighed in slight relief, but kept up his slight frown as he stood from the chair and walked quickly towards the entrance. He couldn't decide what emotion he felt- irritation, worry, annoyance- he felt as he walked to the door to meet Cecil, but all of it immediately left his body as he saw the host leaned against the door frame, looking as though he was about to collapse. "Cecil!" Carlos immediately rushed to his side, tilting his face up to examine the swollen right eye and the bruises beginning to blossom around it. "Oh my god, Cecil what happened?"

Cecil looked down, unable to answer as Carlos went to put his boyfriend's arm around him to hold him up. Cecil yelped in loud pain as Carlos moved it. the scientist recoiled in slight shock and dropped the arm immediately, starting to ask for explanation but then realizing there was a small bulge on the outside of Cecil's shoulder, disguised by his shirt. "Oh fuck, oh fuck, I'm so sorry Ceec, I didn't know," Carlos apologized immediately, switching to the other shoulder and making sure it was uninjured. "Come on, let's get you sitting down. Oh my god, Cecil…"

Cecil leaned against his scientist's chest. Somewhere in the shock, Carlos remembered that Cecil had been a few inches taller than him when he left this morning. He didn't take much pleasure from the proof of his theory that Cecil could shift his height depending on his mood. Neither them said a word as Carlos half-dragged him into the dining room and turned on lights. The Host's heart sank slightly as he saw the place settings for two and candle on the table. "C-Carlos…" Cecil croaked slightly, "H-honey, I'm so sorry…"

"It's okay," Carlos lied to himself. His Cecil was hurt. It was absolutely not okay. He didn't know what else to say so he went with the lie. "Don't worry about that, baby. Just sit."

Cecil didn't need to be told twice, and slowly sat down in the chair, cradling his bad right arm close to him. Carlos left for half a second, fetching a glass of water, a bag of peas from the freezer, and the red first-aid kit from the cupboard, and brought them back to the table and adjusting the chair so it faced Cecil. He frowned slightly and willed his hands to be steady as he placed the glass and peas next to Cecil on the table. He removed the horn-rimmed glasses from Cecil's ears, folding them up and placing them on the table. Cecil squinted at him, and Carlos hushed him. "Just keep the peas on it," he scolded himself, he knew he didn't exactly sound comforting. "It'll help keep the swelling down."

Cecil nodded, obeying his boyfriend's words and taking the bag from the table. It was a little bit of a struggle, having to cross his arm over his body to hold the cold food to his face, but he did. Carlos swallowed the lump in his throat and adjusted his glasses, pushing them up onto the bridge of his nose then quickly pulling on the blue latex gloves that were in the box. Treat any bodily fluid like it is infected, the voice of his teacher for first-aid echoed in his ear. "Cecil, what happened to you?" he tried to keep panic out of his voice, but he didn't know how well he actually did at it.

Cecil stared down at his lap, only moving his head when Carlos's gentle hand tilted it upward so he could see the laceration at his temple. "S-StrexCorp." His voice was hoarse. "Th-they… L-Lauren and D-Daniel… th-they were angry th-that I didn't f-fire an intern…" he inhaled sharply and winced in pain as Carlos touched the cut with a gloved finger. "S-she was s-speaking out about th-the new b-breakroom policy…" his voice wavered and his hands were shaking. "L-Lauren and D-Daniel tried to m-make me f-fire her… b-but I refused…" he whimpered as Carlos daubed the cut with a cotton ball soaked in disinfectant. "th-they jumped me wh-when I was walking to my car… c-called it a 'w-written w-warning'…" he looked up at Carlos with eyes glazed over in pain. "C-Carlos, they threatened you and Janice… th-they told me if I stepped out of line again…" he couldn't speak as tears bubbled from his eyes.

Carlos blinked away tears that threatened to fall, and wrapped him in a hug, being mindful of the bad shoulder. "I'm here, honey," Carlos fought to keep his voice above a whimper, stroking his back. "I'm right here, baby. You're safe now, I promise."

"They know where we live, Carlos," Cecil's voice was not it's usual baritone, and instead was almost a full octave higher as he sobbed. "Th-they know where Abby, and Janice, and Steve live. Th-they're-! th-they're gonna-"

Cecil's voice cut off into sobs, as he clung tightly to Carlos, letting the bag of peas rest on his knees. "We'll keep them safe," Carlos promised him, "I swear, I swear on my Abuela's grave, we will keep them safe. I'll call them right after I get you cleaned up."

Cecil didn't respond save for a nod, and slowly sat back in the chair, returning the peas to his eye and letting Carlos daub at the cut. "It looks like they're all superficial wounds," Carlos muttered, mostly to himself, "Save for the shoulder… We need a doctor for that."

"N-no!" Cecil sucked in a quick breath and tensed. "I-I mean… Th-they said they'd have a s-sling for me tomorrow at work… I-if we can just p-put it back into place, I-I'll be fine..."

Carlos frowned, but understood Cecil didn't like the thought of hospitals. Especially not Night Vale hospitals. "Okay." He kept up his frown. "I'll set it."

He scooted the chair closer, so that his hips were right next to Cecil's knees. He thanked whatever gods Night Vale worshipped that Cecil had worn a button-up shirt today, undoing the buttons one by one and helping him remove the fabric from his uninjured arm first before the injured one. He gently took his hand, running his hand over his knuckle in a comforting motion. "Try your best to relax, sweetie…"Carlos soothed him, pressing a gentle kiss to the fingers, and then guiding it up to his shoulder. "Keep your hand there… I know it hurts, but I'll be gentle."

Cecil whimpered. "J-just do it quick." He whimpered softly. "h-hurts…"

"I know, honey, I know." Carlos said softly, rubbing Cecil's bicep in a comforting massage, "I know it hurts… I'll make it better…" he moved his hand to massage the back of his shoulder, over the trapezius and anterior deltoid muscle. "Soon, we'll make everything better… Strex, everything with Station Management… it'll be alright. We'll make it better."

Cecil sighed slightly and kept his head down. "Sit up straight as best as you can, sweetie," Carlos directed him, moving his hand back to the bicep. "How do you feel? Relaxed?"

Cecil nodded quietly, sitting up straighter. "Okay. Good." Carlos pressed a kiss to Cecil's bruised collarbone. "This is going to feel really weird and uncomfortable for a minute or two. Your muscles are basically seizing up to keep you from hurting yourself, and we're guiding it back to the socket. Try not to fight it… shrug your shoulders?"

Cecil took a deep breath, shrugging his shoulders and bracing himself for pain. Carlos kissed the hand that gripped his shoulder and rubbed the outside of his shoulder, around the deltoid muscle until he felt a quiet clunk under his hand. He checked to make sure there wasn't a bump on the side of the shoulder anymore, and smiled. "There… easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy."

The radio host's eyes went from his shoulder, to Carlos, back to his shoulder, like he couldn't believe it was as painless as it was. "H-how did you-?" he found himself asking.

"I've dislocated my shoulder a couple of times working in the field," he explained with a gentle smile. "I've picked up a few tricks here and there."

Carlos kissed Cecil's fingers again, and put his hand across his body again. "Hold it there for now," he said softly, "how about a warm bath?"

Cecil nodded, still not looking at Carlos. "Th-that sounds nice, darling." He smiled slightly, not trembling as much as he was before.

Carlos kissed his forehead and pulled the latex gloves from his hands. He helped Cecil stand, and maneuvered his good arm around his shoulder. They slowly walked through the apartment, through the bedroom into the conjoined bathroom. Carlos eased him onto the toilet seat, then started the water. As the water filled the claw foot tub, Carlos knelt down in front of him and unbuttoned his pants. What was usually an intimate, sensual action was almost businesslike or clinical, but was still an intimate action in and of itself. He pulled the slacks from his legs, then the mismatched socks on either foot, rubbing them a little bit as he did. After everything his honey-voiced-honey had been through that day, he deserved all the love and affection in the world. He planted a gentle kiss to Cecil's bruised and scraped knee. "I love you, Cecil." The scientist smiled.

"I love you too," Cecil smiled slightly, still shaken from the events of the day.

Carlos pulled down his boxers, then helped him into the bathtub. Cecil curled his knees to his chest and rested his forehead to his knees. Carlos sat on the edge of the tub, squeezing soap onto a washcloth and rubbing circles over his back. Cecil sighed quietly. "Feel okay?" Carlos asked quietly, "water not too hot?"

Cecil shook his head, sitting up slightly. "It's perfect… the cold water ban is being lifted so it's not too hot anymore."

Cecil scooted forward slightly and looked back at Carlos expectantly. Carlos smiled slightly, standing from the side of the tub and shrugging the lab coat from his shoulders, followed by his flannel shirt and the sciencey tee shirt underneath ("Stand back, I'm going to try science"… classic!). He unbuttoned his jeans, and pulled them down with his boxers in a single movement, then kicked them off so they were next to Cecil's. he slowly climbed into the bathtub with his boyfriend, legs on either side of Cecil's, and let him lean back against him so they laid back against the tub. Carlos wrapped his arms around the host's smaller body, holding him in a comforting embrace. "I don't know what I've done to deserve you." Cecil murmured. "Thank you for… taking care of me…"

"Of course, Ceec." The scientist placed a kiss to the back of his head. "I'll always take care of you, as long as you'll have me. I love you, bigger than the sky, deeper than the Void."

"I love you too, my perfectly imperfect Carlos… b-but don't you always say the sky and the Void can't be measured?" Cecil asked, slightly distrusting his answer.

"Exactly." Carlos pressed another kiss to his head.

If you're curious how Carlos set Cecil's shoulder, it's called the Cunningham technique. There's lots of videos on youtube, and that's where I got my reference for it, but I've never actually had to do it to someone or had it done to me, but from what I understand it is completely painless and really fucking cool with the science and things and how it works.