It had been a quiet day for Carlos and Cecil - or as quiet a day could be with typical Night Valean goings on - and the couple had settled down on the sofa, Carlos sat just off from the middle, with Cecil draped over his lap, his feet propped up on one arm of the sofa, his head on the other. Happily lost in his municipally approved book, Cecil only noticed the gentle touch of Carlos gliding his fingers over the exposed skin of his stomach, and not the accompanying frown. It was only after a particularly forlorn sounding sigh from his lover did he lower his book, frowning at the look of unhappiness on his boyfriend's face.

"Carlos? Is everything okay?"

Carlos nodded, idly tracing a finger around Cecil's navel. "Yeah…" He cast a quick glance at Cecil, quirking his lips into an unconvincing smile before looking back down at his hand.

Cecil dropped his book, uncaring of losing his page and pushed himself up to sit on Carlos' lap, snaking his arms around his shoulders. "What's the matter? I don't think I've seen you look so… so down."

Carlos shrugged, fitting his arms around Cecil's waist, giving him a gentle squeeze. "It's nothing… and everything."

"Tell me."

"It's fine, Cecil. I'm fine."

"You're not. Tell me, and I'll help."

"No, it's silly."

"I won't laugh, I promise. I'll never laugh at you, you know that. I didn't laugh when you said that clouds are just masses of liquid droplets and you can't actually catch one and keep it as a pet, and that was ridiculous! Mr Grundle from down the road has one!"

Carlos couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips. "I told you, Cecil, what Mr Grundle has is a sheep. Not a cloud."

"Ridiculous! Sheep are vicious carnivores who devour everything! And clouds eat grass and are fluffy, everyone knows that… But we're not talking about the cloud, we're talking about you; what's the matter?"

Carlos sighed, pressing a quick kiss to Cecil's temple. "It's just… your tattoos…"

Cecil frowned. "But… I thought you liked them."

"I do! That's not the problem. I do like your tattoos, they just… don't like me."

"What?!"

"They… everytime I touch you they just… leave. I'll touch your arm and you'll have an empty patch of skin, and the moment I let go they come back… I've chased them around your back whilst you sleep, but they never let me touch them. And I'm sure one bit me once."

Cecil shook his head. "No. No, that's not true, Carlos, my tattoos don't dislike you!"

"Then how do you explain it?"

"They're shy!"

"Shy people don't bite, Cecil… and we've been together for a while now, we've seen each other naked! Why would they still be shy?"

"I don't… I don't know, Carlos. I'm sorry I don't have an answer for you… Maybe they're just scared of you?"

"That doesn't make me feel much better." Carlos frowned, dropping his head against Cecil's shoulder. Cecil looked down at his arm, watching his tattoos writhe and wriggle about, but as Carlos had said, none of them were touching him. There was at least an inch of space between where Cecil's arm made contact with Carlos' neck, and where the tattoos were. He scowled, unhooking his arms and bringing them closer. He jabbed a finger against one of the larger ones, startling it from its happy squirming.

"What are you doing?!"

Carlos' head jerked up, bewildered to see his boyfriend scolding his tattoos.

"We like Carlos! Carlos is nice! He's very nice to us, and he has nothing but nice things to say about you… So you can damn well be nice to him back!"

"Um, Cecil, you don't need to-"

"All he wants to do is stroke you, he wants to make you feel good, and loved! Why won't you let him?!"

Carlos watched, fascinated to see Cecil's tattoos droop, looking thoroughly chastised. One of the smaller tentacles wriggled towards Cecil's finger, attempting to brush against it, but Cecil pulled away.

"No. Don't try to act all friendly with me. You've upset Carlos, and you've disappointed me. We want him to like us, and he's not going to if you're mean to him. Now you go show you're sorry!"

Cecil held out his arm, urging Carlos to touch it. Carlos hesitantly rested a couple of fingers on Cecil's arm, watching the tattoos cautiously inch closer. A tentacle finally brushed against his fingers, startling him.

"They… I can feel them!"

Cecil giggled, holding Carlos' hand against his arm. "Of course, silly."

"I didn't think… Wow… They're amazing, Cecil."

The tentacle squirmed happily, brushing against Carlos' fingers again. Other tattoos made their way over to Carlos' fingers, caressing his skin, rubbing against him. One adventurous tentacle wriggled onto his finger, making its way up his hand. Carlos shivered at the sensation, staring intently at the tentacle crawling circles around his wrist, wriggling excitedly. He looked up at Cecil, grinning at his boyfriend's gooey-eyed smile.

"So?" Cecil asked, hopefully. With his free hand, Carlos cupped Cecil's cheek, pulling him into a chaste kiss.

"They're absolutely amazing, Cecil. I love them… I love you."

Cecil's smile brightened, Carlos could feel the tattoos humming against his skin. "I love you too, my perfect Carlos."