Notes: You know that Night Vale thing? Alas, it's not mine.
*Click* The first time they kiss, it's quick and gentle. Carlos bolts from the car, and leaves Cecil dazed and dumbstruck. Cecil presses his fingertips to his lips, a smile slowly spreading on his face. He can feel the warmth of Carlos' slightly chapped lips. He can almost hear the click of Carlos' glasses against his. The buzzing shadow thing lurks behind his car. Cecil drives home in a haze of happiness, that little click ringing in his ears.
*Click*
"Sorry!"
*Click*
"Agh, sorry."
*Click*
"This isn't working." Passionate makeouts, as it turns out, are difficult with glasses. They're curled up together on Cecil's frankly hideous sofa, Carlos with his arms wrapped around his boyfriend. Carlos's lab coat is draped on a chair nearby, and Cecil revels in the rare opportunity to see his dark forearms. ("That's a really weird thing to look forward to seeing, Cecil." "But I hardly ever see them!" "They're just arms." "They're beautiful arms.")
Carlos sighs. "I think the glasses are going to have to come off."
Cecil frowns. "But then I won't be able to see you."
"That's not how glasses work, Cecil." "I know, but you'd be, like, a fuzzy brown blob." "I think that's a sacrifice we're going to have to make." Cecil nods and wriggles to get his arms free. Carlos beats him to it and slides Cecil's glasses off for him, then his own. He sets them down on the coffee table, which despite looking like a piece of warped driftwood always seems to remain flat and level. Cecil squints up at his blurry boyfriend. "You're definitely the cutest fuzzy brown blob I've ever seen." Carlos laughs and suddenly they're kissing once more.
*Click* Carlos hates the lab's safety goggles. They're bulky and awkward they're always covered in scratches. He put in an order for new goggles last week, but most postal carriers don't deliver to Night Vale ever since a FedEx truck got commandeered by a hoard of semi-sentient scorpions. They made it about five minutes, clicking and buzzing an off-key version of "A Pirate's Life For Me," before crashing into a cactus. Carlos readjusts the plastic monstrosity currently taking up 60% of his face. They *click* against his glasses. He carefully drops a clear liquid onto a slide, venom from a three headed rattlesnake that had gotten into Big Rico's Pizza. Big Rico had handed it to Carlos in a greasy paper bag with an "I was gonna stuff this one, but I thought you might want a sample." Carlos had seen Rico's taxidermy once. It was less "taxidermy" as it was "Frankenstein-like attempts at corpse reanimation." He shuddered at the memory. Carlos places the slide under his microscope, adjusting the lenses accordingly. Cecil's smooth voice on the radio informs Carlos and the rest of Night Vale of the day's news.
"The Night Vale Board of Public Safety reminds listeners that it is haunting season. Remember, many angry spirits feed on the sentimental value of objects, so make sure to keep personal valuables in a cardboard box coated in beeswax. This way, the spirits will not be able to sense the emotional value you place in otherwise worthless material objects." Carlos wishes he had known that earlier. That's how he had lost his good safety goggles. But the thing haunting the chemical cabinet was threatening to mix the acids and bases. Everyone agreed it was an appropriate sacrifice. Except Carlos, of course.
"Hey, boss?" a female voice says behind him. Carlos turns around to see Monique, the biologist of his team, holding a Petri dish. "I tried to run some tests on the skin, but it turned into sort of an iridescent powder when I took the sample off the snake." She holds up the dish, revealing something pale yellow and shimmery.
"Interesting. We'll look into the composition later. Come look at this venom, I think there's something living in it!"
*Click* Cecil's headphones catch on his glasses, pulling them off and letting them fall on the carpet under his desk. "Ugh." He leans down and gropes around for them. It's so dusty down here, Cecil swears he can feel dust gremlins scuttle along his hands. Finally he finds the frames. Cecil pulls his little bottle of cleaner and cloth out of his pocket and cleans his glasses off. He dusts off his artfully ripped lime colored jeans and checks the "On Air" sign.
"Khoshekh, kitty kitty!" Cecil sing songs as he enters the men's bathroom. The large, fluffy cat lets out a droning meow when Cecil scratches behind his ears. Cecil turns slightly and immediately bolts from the room. "Who left the mirror uncovered?" Cecil all but shrieks. Intern Tyrone sheepishly pokes his head out of the break room. He has a large bandaid stuck to his face. "Uh, sorry Mr. Palmer. One of the cats scratched me. I had to perform a purification ritual with the mirror so I wouldn't get poisoned." Cecil pinches the bridge of his nose. "Just cover it next time, okay? I don't want to die anytime soon." "Ok. Sorry Mr. Palmer." Cecil waves absently as he leaves the station. He's shaking vaguely, but he figures it'll be fine. He's seeing Carlos tonight. They'll watch a movie and eat leftover pasta and Carlos will cuddle with him and let Cecil play with his hair. And glances of mirrors will be almost forgotten, saved only for the middle of the night when the power goes out.
*Click* Carlos has his arm wrapped around Cecil, and Cecil's hand is toying with Carlos' curls. Cecil leans over.
*Click* Carlos looks over, and Cecil smiles sweetly.
*Click*
"Cecil."
"Yes, honey?"
"Nothing."
*Click* Cecil is clacking his glasses against Carlos'. Carlos glances at his boyfriend. Two can play at that game.
*Click* *click* *click* *click* *clickclickclickclickclickclick* This is ridiculous. They're literally whacking each other with their faces. At some point, one of them starts giggling, and the other starts. They're laughing so hard that their impromptu glasses war has been eclipsed by giggles.
"Oh my god," Carlos laughs, "Oh my god, what was that?"
"Heh heh, I don't know, sweetheart. Your glasses were there, my glasses were there. It seemed like the right thing to do." Carlos looks at his boyfriend, who is giving him the biggest grin imaginable. He's suddenly filled with affection for this man who can make him laugh with such a silly little gesture. He takes Cecil's face in his hands and kisses his forehead.
"Carlos?" Carlos wraps his arms around Cecil. "Is something wrong?" He shakes his head.
"Nothing, everything's fine. I love you." Cecil hugs him back.
"I love you too, Carlos." Carlos nuzzles Cecil's shoulder. Their glasses click together.
*Click*
End Notes: This fic is inspired by the various experiences of myself and other people I know who wear glasses, and little else.