Note: While I do not have many very solid Night Vale headcannons, one of them is that Carlos sings Can't Help Falling In Love to Cecil whenever Cecil is upset. All of the moments where Cecil is upset in this were taken from actual episodes.

Second Note: I've hit a rock in the OTP Challenge fic. I'll fix it later.

The engine of Carlos' car hummed quietly beneath them as they sat, Carlos with his hand on Cecil's knee, and Cecil with his head on Carlos' shoulder.

Cecil loved Carlos, more than ever in that moment.

And in that moment, Carlos realized that he loved Cecil, too. No matter how irrational and unscientific of him it was, he loved Cecil.

From the car radio, Can't Help Falling In Love played. Carlos hummed along.

From that point on, Carlos considered it their song. Cecil took no notice, but Carlos had asked Gino's to play it in their doorless room. It had taken quite a bit of haggling to convince them, but eventually he did, using an excuse he didn't really want to use, since it was a lie: "The Voice of Night Vale loves that song."

In reality, Carlos didn't know if Cecil even knew the song, or knew anything about Elvis at all. Carlos didn't know if the song would translate into some sort of weather warning to Cecil. But he knew he liked the song, and he felt like it fit his and Cecil's relationship.

During the rest of their date, Carlos mostly managed to embarrass himself, but he was very excited when he heard Cecil humming the tune to Can't Help Falling In Love. Whether he knew its significance yet or not was inconclusive, like his experiments on those trees, but the fact made Carlos happy all the same.

The song was stuck in Carlos' head, too, when he kissed Cecil and ran into his lab.

Maybe engraving the words, "Can't help falling in love with you," onto the back of Cecil's one-month present without informing him that it was "their song" was a bit much.

But Carlos liked it, and Cecil did too.

That was all that mattered, as far as Carlos was concerned.

It was nearly three in the morning – at least, from what Carlos could tell, since time didn't work in Night Vale – when Cecil stumbled into his apartment, crying and bloodied, with shards of glass in his clothes.

"Cecil?" Carlos asked, nearly half-asleep, as he sat up on the couch that doubled as his bed.

"Carlos," Cecil whimpered, looking at him with bloodshot eyes. "Carlos, I had a family."

Carlos winced, remembering the broadcast earlier. He held his arms open, and Cecil collapsed into them willingly, sobbing openly now. Carlos rocked him back and forth, stroking his hair and kissing his forehead repeatedly.

"I – Carlos, what does this mean? Did…did I…. Was I reeducated? Where…. Wh-where did my mother and brother go? I had…I had a brother!" Cecil whimpered, grasping at him harder, as if Cecil was downing and Carlos was his only salvation.

"I don't know," Carlos whispered. "I don't know, but it's going to be okay. It'll be alright, Cecil. We can go to the record hall tomorrow, okay? We'll go and read the records."

Cecil nodded, sniffling. "I just…. I don't know…. What…wh-what to think…."

Carlos kissed his forehead again, lingering. "I know. It's okay. How about, tonight, you leave the thinking to me?"

Another nod. Carlos smiled, running his fingers through Cecil's thick hair and scratching at the base of his scalp. He swore he heard Cecil purr.

"Come here," Carlos murmured, adjusting so they could both lay on the couch, with Carlos as the big spoon.

Cecil simply pushed closer, still sniffling, but much calmer now than before.

"Would you like me to sing to you, Cecil?" Carlos asked softly, moving Cecil's shirt so he could stroke his abdomen gently.

Cecil shivered and nodded. "Please," he whispered. "I…. I think my…my m-mother used to sing to me…."

Carlos nodded. "I'm sure she did, Cecil. I'm sure she did."

"I don't remember her. But…I think…I think I m-miss h-her."

Carlos nuzzled Cecil's ear. "That's okay. But I told you to leave the thinking to me, mister."

That made Cecil give a weak laugh. "Please sing, Carlos. I'd like to hear you singing."

"Wise men say only fools rush in," Carlos started, a little nervously. "But I can't help falling in love with you. Shall I stay? Would it be a sin, if I can't help falling in love with you?"

Cecil made an approving noise, so Carlos continued. "Like a river flows surely to the sea, darling so it goes: some things are meant to be. Take my hand; take my whole life too, for I can't help falling in love with you. Like a river flows, surely to the sea…."

As Carlos sang, Cecil relaxed further into him, starting to hum the tune lightly. When Carlos stopped, he yawned.

"I like that song," he murmured.

Carlos swallowed. "It's ours."

Cecil smiled, kissing the crook of Carlos' elbow. "Good." And with that, he fell asleep.

Carlos fell asleep ten minutes later, still grinning.

Carlos awoke to Cecil tossing and turning in his sleep, mumbling desperately, with an agonized look on his face.

"Cecil?" Carlos asked, blinking away sleep. "Cecil, wake up. Cecil!"

Finally, Cecil's eyes opened wide, looking at Carlos in terror for a moment before his surrounding became familiar again.

"Oh, Carlos," he murmured. "I had the most terrible dream."

Carlos pulled him closer. "What was it about?"

"Fey," Cecil whimpered. "Poor, poor Fey."

Carlos sighed, shaking his head sadly. "Yes. Poor Fey. But you know there was nothing you could have done, right?"

Cecil shook. "That's the thing, I don't know, what if I had gone earlier, could I have done something? Maybe Fey was real, and the computer ate her, maybe I was just too late to save her, or maybe –"

Carlos interrupted his rambling with a kiss that Cecil quickly melted into.

When he pulled away, he bean humming, and then singing, hoping to calm Cecil down before he began to panic again.

"Wise men say only fools rush in, but I can't help falling in love with you," he sang softly. He heard Cecil chuckle softly before he started to sing, too.

"Shall I stay? Would it be a sin?" they sang in unison, smiling at each other in the dark.

"If I can't help falling in love with you?" Carlos finished, kissing Cecil again.

Cecil kissed back with fervor. "Thank you," he murmured against Carlos' lips. "Thank you."

"Of course, Cecil," Carlos whispered back. "I love you."

Cecil stormed into the apartment with a huff. "The new management can just – well, they can – ugh! I can't even think of a proper way for them to – well – suffer! I'm so angry, what they did was so unfair! Poor Khoshekh!"

Carlos bit his lip, equally as angry with the Station Management for hurting Cecil's pet. "Come here," he murmured, holding his arms open. Cecil marched into them, and Carlos could see that he was fighting back tears.

"I wish I had been able to do something," Cecil murmured, taking a deep breath and squeezing Carlos tightly. "I wish I had tried to do something."

Carlos shushed him. "That…that thing…it could have killed you. I'm glad you stayed in the stall. Khoshekh will be fine, Cecil, I promise. You might not have been."

Cecil shook his head, but didn't say anything more, simply turning his face into Carlos neck and breathing deeply.

Carlos kissed his ear and sang softly, their song, and felt Cecil smile slightly against this throat. Slowly, as Carlos began to sway, Cecil started to sing the end of the song with him, finishing it out by himself when Carlos dissolved into giggles.

"Take my hand, take my whole life to, for I can't help but fall in love with you," he sang, horribly off-tune without Carlos to guide him.

"I love you so much," Carlos announced, kissing Cecil sweetly.

"I love you too, Carlos. Thank you for being here," Cecil replied, kissing him again.

Once he had escaped the Company Picnic, and begun broadcasting for the revolution of Night Vale, Carlos' disappearance really hit Cecil.

He spent most of the day listening to old voicemails, reading old texts, and staring at old pictures of Carlos, yearning for him to be home.

But none of it comforted him, and he often fell asleep crying, only to find nightmares waiting for him. Nightmares that centered on Carlos dead or hurt or alone, and every single time, Cecil woke up sobbing or screaming or whimpering Carlos' name.

He wanted his beautiful, perfectly imperfect scientist home.

He started singing to himself to pass the time and distract the loneliness. At first it worked, but slowly, eventually, each song he sung would turn wrong; the tune would change in his throat, and it would come out strange, until, finally, he realized that he was singing or humming their song. Every song he sung would somehow turn into Can't Help Falling In Love.

And eventually, he accepted it, and started to sing that, and only that. It was a small comfort.

Even after Carlos found out he could call and Skype Cecil, Cecil had those nightmares. They were still all about Carlos, Carlos in that desert, Carlos alone, Carlos not being fine like a scientist always is.

Cecil could hardly breathe when he woke up. But he trudged on, praying to whatever could hear him and the Glow Cloud that Carlos would text and call that night. Hoping beyond hope that Carlos would come back. Hoping that Carlos would be okay and happy and lively when he called.

Cecil's heart ached when he looked at his pictures of Carlos, even though they now included some newer ones that Carlos had sent.

He missed his scientist. Phone calls and texts and video chats were more than wonderful, but nothing could compare to the real Carlos in front of him, in his arms.

Cecil sighed and began to hum.

Carlos returned to Night Vale, not through a door as he would have expected, but through a very colorful wormhole, and he entered with a loud bang, confetti, and coughing.

When he opened his eyes, he was suspended exactly three feet off of the ground, upside down, by his shoelaces, which he noted were untied. In an attempt to reach up and tie them, he fell to the ground with a hollow thud and a groan.

After several minutes of lying in the dirt and moaning, Carlos sat up and looked around. He had landed exactly twenty feet from his and Cecil's apartment complex, in their neighbor's dirt patch. He stood slowly, hoping he hadn't damaged the dirt, and started limping toward the apartment, searching his pockets for his key.

He didn't have it.

He cursed to himself, but continued anyway; he was too desperate to see Cecil to care that he would probably have to pound on the door til morning.

Cecil, meanwhile, tossed and turned in bed, barely dozing, but mostly awake; it was too hot and too cold all at once, and his latest nightmare still lurked in the corners of his eyes.

He sighed, pressing his palms against his eyes, trying to focus on the bursts of light it brought. Absently, he started humming their song again, imagining it was Carlos humming it in his ear. The thought made him sadder that he had been already.

Suddenly, there was a pounding on the door. Cecil sighed, exasperated, and rose.

It was likely the Sherriff, here to make sure Cecil was alive and feeding himself properly while Carlos was gone.

"Look, Sherriff, while I appreciate your concern – " Cecil began as he opened the door, still looking at the floor.

As he looked up, his words died on his lips.

Carlos tackled him, taking them both to the floor with a thud and a surprised squeak from Cecil.

"C-Carlos?" Cecil stammered, gingerly wrapping his arms around the man on top of him.

"Cecil," Carlos replied, nuzzling his face into Cecil's neck and sighing contentedly.

Cecil was in shock. He was almost positive he was dreaming.

"Oh, querido," Carlos gushed, running his hands all over Cecil, "oh, mi amor, I missed you so much."

Tears came to Cecil's eyes. "Carlos," he whispered, tightening his grip on the man considerably. "Oh, Carlos, Carlos, you came home."

Carlos laughed. "I promised I would, didn't I, mi amor?"

Cecil laughed, too, the sound choked by tears. "Oh, Carlos, I missed you so very much."

Carlos kissed Cecil's throat. "And I, you, querido."

Cecil kissed Carlos' ear, murmuring something in a language Carlos didn't know. It made Carlos smile all the same.

"Mi amor, I am so tired. Can we go to bed?" Carlos murmured, leaving a trail of warm kisses up Cecil's throat to his lips.

Cecil whimpered softly into his kiss, nodding in response to Carlos' question.

But instead of moving, they stayed there for several more minutes, kissing and murmuring to each other, Carlos running his hands all over Cecil's torso, as if he couldn't believe he was really home, that Cecil was really beneath him.

It was a long while before they separated and Cecil closed the door. But Carlos was no longer interested in sleep, as he pressed Cecil carefully against the closed door, kissing him slowly.

Cecil responded easily, wrapping his arms around Carlos' waist while Carlos' fingers danced along Cecil's stomach, under his nightshirt. Cecil replied to his touch with soft whimpers, and Carlos smiled, moving his lips along Cecil's cheekbone, to his ear, and down his neck.

Cecil moaned softly, tilting his head back against the door and tightening his grip on Carlos' waist. "Carlos," he whispered. "Oh, I missed your kisses."

Carlos hummed, low in his throat. "I missed your skin, querido," he whispered back, biting gently at Cecil's exposed collarbone. Cecil moaned in reply.

"I forgot how sexy you are," Carlos murmured, trailing his kisses back to Cecil's mouth to kiss him deeply. Cecil's split tongue wrapped around his sensually, telling Carlos that Cecil was in the exact same mood as him.

When Carlos pulled back, he was breathless. "I want you," Cecil panted. "Please, Carlos, you've been gone for far too long."

Carlos swallowed hard and took Cecil's hand, leading him to their bedroom. Once there, it was only seconds before Cecil began to strip him, ridding him of his filthy lab coat and t-shirt; he had Carlos' jeans unbuttoned and unzipped before Carlos stopped him.

"Be patient," he murmured, kissing Cecil gently as he tugged at Cecil's shirt. "I want to prove to you how much I love you."

Cecil gulped, but nodded, taking his shirt off as he did. "Lay down, on your stomach, querido," Carlos murmured, kissing just below Cecil's ear. Cecil whimpered and obeyed, laying on the bed and looking over at Carlos expectantly.

"You look beautiful," Carlos breathed, looking over Cecil as the moonlight illuminated his pale, tattooed body. Cecil blushed, and Carlos smiled.

Carlos slipped out of his jeans and leaned over to the bedside table, rifling through a drawer before he straightened, with a bottle of massage oil in his hand.

"You're even sexier than I remember," Cecil mumbled into the pillows. "It's like you're some kind of long-forgotten god."

Carlos laughed, straddling Cecil's legs. "I could say the same about you, cariño," he murmured. Cecil shivered beneath him, and Carlos repressed a small moan.

"Relax, mi amor," he whispered in Cecil's ear. "Relax."

Cecil took a breath and seemed to relax slightly as Carlos poured some of the massage oil onto his hands. Slowly, gently, he started to rub it into Cecil's smooth skin, starting at his shoulders and working down deliberately, making sure he worked out every tense muscle he could feel.

Beneath him, Cecil was gasping and moaning loudly, arching into Carlos' touch.

"You're very good at this," Cecil murmured when Carlos stopped to adjust himself.

"I'll be good at anything for you," Carlos replied, kissing Cecil's round ass. Cecil giggled and jutted his hips up, pressing his ass into Carlos' face. Carlos chuckled.

"Now, now. You behave, Cecil," he reprimanded pleasantly, smacking Cecil's ass gently.

Cecil giggled.

After a moment of kissing along Cecil's spine, Carlos moved and poured more oil onto his hands, starting on the back of Cecil's right thigh.

Carlos whimpered softly as he felt the strong muscles there. Cecil whimpered, too, but for a different reason as Carlos massaged the back of his knee.

"Oh, Carlos," Cecil moaned as Carlos continued his massage down to his foot.

Carlos grinned, feeling his love for Cecil swell in his chest. He kissed Cecil's heel softly, making Cecil wiggle a bit and laugh lightly.

"You have beautiful feet," Carlos complimented as he began massaging Cecil's left leg. "And your toes are absolutely adorable."

Cecil giggled again. "Oh, stop it Carlos! You're making me blush!"

"Good," Carlos chuckled, snapping the waistband of Cecil's boxers against his lower back. "May I take these?" he asked softly.

Cecil gasped. "Y-yes, of course," he murmured, rising onto his elbows a little so he could look back at Carlos.

Carlos just smiled at him, slowly sliding the material down Cecil's legs and throwing them to the floor. Then he returned to his previous spot, between Cecil's legs now, still looked directly into Cecil's bright eyes.

Cecil's heart pounded in his throat. Carlos' hands were warm, and oh, how he had missed them. Slowly, Carlos began to massage his ass cheeks, and Cecil dropped back onto the pillow, moaning embarrassingly and pushing his hips against Carlos.

"You're adorable," Carlos murmured, dropping a light kiss on Cecil's lower back. The kiss made Cecil whimper, and Carlos felt his desire rise.

"Move up," he ordered, his voice husky. "On your knees."

Cecil moved quickly, if a little clumsily, the position raising his ass in the air. Carlos was still holding it like a treasure, massaging with his thumbs.

"Beautiful," Carlos breathed. "You are so beautiful."

Gently, Carlos spread Cecil's cheeks apart. Cecil whimpered impatiently as Carlos inspected him, twitching his hips. Carlos only chuckled, gripping him tighter, which made Cecil whine involuntarily.

"Carlos," Cecil gasped after a moment. "Carlos, please do something."

Carlos smiled and licked a slow, heavy circle around Cecil's hole. "Like this?" he asked.

Cecil squeaked. "Y-yeah!" he cried, thrusting back, toward Carlos' face.

That was all the encouragement Carlos needed as he pressed his tongue against the tight little hole. He licked at if fervently, drinking in the little noises Cecil was making as he did; adorable whimpering and deep moans were his favorites.

"Carlos," Cecil gasped suddenly. "Carlos, please, more!"

Carlos bit his lip as he considered. After a second, he gave Cecil one more long lick and then sucked on his finger, coating it in saliva before he rubbed it against Cecil's puckered skin.

That was exactly what Cecil wanted. "Oh, please!" he begged, his hips twitching. "Please, Carlos, oh, please, I've missed you so much…."

Slowly, gently, Carlos pushed his finger in, using his other hand to stoke Cecil's very hard dick.

"Do you like that?" Carlos asked darkly, knowing full well what the answer was.

"Oh, yes, yes, Carlos…," Cecil whimpered. "Yes!"

Carlos smiled, mesmerized as he fingered Cecil's ass softly. Cecil kept pushing his hips back, though, making it very hard for Carlos to move slowly.

Finally, Carlos couldn't hold back any longer. He pulled his finger away, savoring the way that Cecil moaned and moved back to try and find it again.

"Flip over," Carlos said roughly as he climbed off the bed again. Cecil did so, looking at Carlos with both curiosity and lust in his eyes. Carlos smiled at him as he put the massage oil back and grabbed Cecil's favorite lube and a condom.

"No," Cecil murmured, and Carlos looked at him questioningly.

"The condom," Cecil clarified. "I don't want you to wear one, this time."

Carlos raised an eyebrow.

Cecil swallowed audibly. "I…. I know i-it's kind of a b-bad idea and I know I'm a-always the one telling you to p-put one on, but…. I don't want you to…tonight. I want to feel y-your sk-skin." His cheeks were a deep crimson, and Carlos licked his lips, smiling at him.

"If you don't want me to, I won't."

Cecil smiled in relief, and then beckoned him back onto the bed, leaning up to catch his lips in a kiss. Carlos straddled him quickly, pressing him against the bed with his passionate kiss.

"Cecil," he whispered when they broke apart. "Cecil, I love you so much."

Cecil bit his lip shyly. "I love you too, Carlos."

Slowly, Carlos kissed from Cecil's mouth to his cock, kissing its tip lovingly before he took it into his mouth.

Cecil grasped at his hair and groaned, arching up. Carlos just pulled up and then went back down, using Cecil's distraction to lube up two fingers and push them inside. Carlos could tell that Cecil hadn't been leaving himself alone in his absence, and smiled as best he could around Cecil's dick.

There was a sharp gasp as Cecil pulled on Carlos' hair. Carlos couldn't contain the moan that came from deep in his chest as he practically deep throated Cecil. Cecil had never pulled his hair like that; apparently, Carlos liked it.

"Car-Carlos," Cecil gasped. "Carlos, that feels good."

Carlos slowly released Cecil's cock to grin at him as he slowly moved his two fingers, starting to finger Cecil gently.

"Yes! Oh, Carlos, yes. Oh, oh, Carlos!" Cecil tilted his hips up, grasping at the sheets and writhing in response to Carlos' ministrations.

"You're sensitive," Carlos mentioned, grinning lecherously. He knew exactly why Cecil was this sensitive.

"W-well," Cecil stammered, blushing as he looked at Carlos. "I-I w-was lonely."

Carlos chuckled. "Well hopefully I can fix that."

"You already have," Cecil said shyly. Carlos was amazing that Cecil could still sound shy with two fingers in his ass, but it was endearing, and he loved it.

"I'm glad," Carlos smiled, and then took Cecil by surprise as he rubbed against his prostate.

Cecil jolted, his eyes going wide. "Carlos!" he shouted.

Carlos just smiled wider and rubbed against the little bump harder.

Slowly, Cecil started to lose it, writhing and moaning incomprehensibly. Eventually, he would gasp out intelligibly words, begging as Carlos fingered him.

Cecil was completely out of breath when Carlos decided he was ready. Gently, he pulled his fingers away, chuckling when Cecil whined, and lubed himself and Cecil up.

"Deep breath," Carlos reminded him, hooking Cecil's knees on his elbows. "I'll be slow, I promise."

Cecil nodded, gripping his own knees as Carlos began to push. It was slow and painful at first, but as soon as Carlos was fully seated inside him, Cecil was ready for more.

"More," he begged. "Move, please, please make love to me."

Carlos swallowed and kissed Cecil softly, thrusting gently and groaning at the feeling. He had missed this very, very much. Cecil was perfect, tight and warm and loving, and Carlos loved him, Carlos loved making love to him.

"Cecil," Carlos whimpered, his hips snapping forward harder than he'd intended. Cecil just jumped and groaned in response, digging his fingers into Carlos' hair and pulling again, tugging a moan out of Carlos' throat.

"Carlos," Cecil panted. "Carlos, I want you to cum. Inside me, please."

Carlos gasped and kissed Cecil as he started moving faster, feeling Cecil move one of his hands to his own cock.

Cecil was moaning and crying out uncontrollably, and Carlos wasn't much better. They moved together, Cecil stroking himself in rhythm with Carlos' thrusts, breathing each other's names and kissing sloppily between whimpers.

It wasn't terribly long before Carlos could see white on the edge of his vision. "Cecil," he gasped. "Cecil, I'm close, oh."

Cecil whimpered. "Please," he begged. "Please, please, please, Carlos, oh, Carlos!"

With a swipe of his thumb over his tip, Cecil was coming, spreading milky white clear to his throat. Watching him was Carlos' undoing as he thrust completely into Cecil and growled, his orgasm overtaking him completely as every muscle in his body tensed and released at once.

For a moment, Carlos and Cecil lay in their own mess, still connected. Cecil was gasping and grasping at every part of Carlos he could reach, peppering his face and neck with kisses.

Carlos was lazily sucking at Cecil's neck, never wanting to move from his spot. Eventually, he did, though, clambering over Cecil's leg and onto his side, still with one arm around Cecil.

Neither seemed to care that they would be crusty in the morning as they kissed lazily and began to drift off to sleep.

"Carlos," Cecil whispered, yawning. "Would you sing to me?"

Carlos smiled and kissed Cecil's ear, pulling him closer as he began to sing. "Wise men say, only fools rush in, but I can't help falling in love with you…."