Carlos regretted his decision to let Kevin stay with him almost as soon as Kevin accepted the invitation. Kevin talked too much, and he was not nearly as careful around the lab equipment as he should be. But Carlos felt partially responsible for Kevin being trapped in Night Vale without a home or job, so he decided to help him. However the apartment above the laboratory wasn't meant for two people, so he was very eager to help Kevin find a new job, and then a new home.
"You have so many interesting things here," Kevin said, examining a Bunsen burner, "I've never seen so much science crammed into such a small space!"
"Please just be careful," Carlos said, "It's very breakable. And flammable."
Kevin made a sort of pouting face, but he was still smiling so it was hard to tell what he was going for, "You're just no fun at all."
"Sorry, I'm just not in the best of moods recently," Carlos said, "Still trying to work through the cheating boyfriend thing."
"When I'm upset with someone I get revenge," Kevin said, "Then I'm not upset anymore. I can help you make a plan."
"Sorry, but I don't think your style of revenge would make me feel better," Carlos said, "I get the feeling it'd be bloody and violent."
Kevin laughed, "Don't be silly Carlos! Revenge is about getting even. He caused you emotional pain, so to get true revenge you have to pay him back in kind."
There was a small voice in his head that said Kevin was a bad influence, and that Carlos should just ignore him and go to bed. However the rest of Carlos' head was still very angry, and revenge was starting to sound like a good idea, surely it wouldn't hurt to hear Kevin's idea, "And how would I go about that?"
Kevin's smile grew, "Jealousy! You just need a new relationship, preferably with someone Cecil despises."
Carlos frowned, "Cecil doesn't hate anyone more than he hates Steve Carlsberg, but Steve's married. Cecil gets along really well with everyone else in Night Vale."
"Oh does he?" Kevin said, "Even those of us who aren't natives?"
It took Carlos a minute to understand what Kevin was implying, he was certainly not expecting it, "You'd go along with that?"
"Of course I would!" Kevin said, "You've been so nice to me, I can't just sit by and not help you out when you so clearly need me to. And just think of how much it would bother Cecil!"
Carlos studied Kevin's face, trying to decide what was going through the man's head. Whoever said that a person's eyes were the key to their soul had clearly never looked into Kevin's, because they were completely unreadable. He had to admit it was a very good plan, and it would certainly hurt Cecil, but did Carlos really want revenge? Especially when he leaves with Mr. Harlan. He could still hear the annoyance in Molly's voice, as though it was a regular occurrence that she was quite fed up with.
"If we're going to do this we'll have to be convincing," Carlos said, "And very public."
"I can't imagine that will be very difficult," Kevin said, his grin taking up his entire face, "I tend to draw people's attention."
XoXoXoXoX
Cecil stared at the end of relationship paperwork that was placed on his desk. Half of it had already been completed, and he didn't need to look at the signature to identify Carlos' messy scrawl. The relationship was over as soon as Carlos filed for the paperwork, Cecil's half of the document was merely a formality. Something to ensure he knew the relationship was truly over. Cecil had to start his show soon, he should be looking over his notes, not staring at the forms. But he couldn't tear his eyes away. He couldn't believe Carlos wouldn't even talk to him about it before getting the paperwork.
"One minute till the show starts Mr. Palmer," Molly said.
Cecil took a deep breath, he couldn't let this mess up the show. He was a radio professional, and radio professionals didn't cry on the radio. He took another deep breath, then signaled to Molly that he was ready.
"All the time in the world could not save you now. Time is not real, and therefore cannot save anyone. Welcome to Night Vale," Cecil said, ready to lose himself in his broadcast and forget the problems of his personal life, at least for a bit.
XoXoXoXoX
"Maybe I could help you and your team with your science?" Kevin said, "I'll bet that's a really fun job."
"It is, but we're not really getting paid to investigate Night Vale," Carlos said, "The lab and equipment is paid for by a research grant from the college, but anything else my team and I have to buy ourselves. If we need cash we can take on a side project, usually some sort of calculations or projections for big companies, but other than that we're working off our own savings."
"But if you're not getting paid for your work, why do it at all?" Kevin asked.
"For scientific discovery," Carlos said, "It's about the thrill of learning, of understanding the world. We do the work because we love it. So if you're going to be able to afford your own place you'll need something that pays better."
Kevin wasn't sure he understood Carlos' ideas about money not mattering, but he decided not to question it. Instead he watched Carlos work on his science, he was studying some sort of green slime, adding different chemicals and making notes on its behavior. Carlos had hardly looked up from his work the entire conversation, and Kevin wondered when he had learned to multitask that way.
"Well where are you planning on living," Kevin asked, "If science doesn't pay well?"
"I have my savings," Carlos said, "And I have several patents that bring in income. So I really just need to find time to go house hunting."
Kevin's smile became more mischievous, "What if we moved in together?"
Carlos nearly dropped the beaker he was holding, and his faced flushed as he started stammering. Kevin laughed, "Is that too much? I just thought it would help with our little scheme."
"Oh, right of course," Carlos said, recovering some of his composure, "That would be a very good idea, given the plan. Very smart, very effective."
Carlos tried to bury himself in his work again, and Kevin tried to staunch his laughter, "So would you like me to start house hunting?"
"That would certainly save time," Carlos said, "Just, stay away from condos."
Carlos shuddered, as if reliving a bad memory. Kevin just nodded and accepted it as some strange Night Vale quirk.
