A new story filled with Welcome to Night Vale prompts that mostly revolve around the Cecilos pairing. Please enjoy!

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Title: Wednesday Drabble - Scientific Facts

Alternate Universe: Covers pre and post One Year Later/First Date

Pairing: Cecilos (Carlos x Cecil)

Rating: T (vague mentions to scenes of a sexual nature)

Warning: Minor Character Death (Carlos' Team of Scientists) / General Night Vale darkness

Inspired By: Carlos' appearance inspired by drawings done by randomdraggon.

Summary: Carlos is a scientist. A scientist deals with facts and Carlos muses on some facts about himself, Night Vale and, of course, Night Vale's Voice.

::

Night Vale had to be the most scientifically interesting community in the U.S. Carlos didn't say this because of the hooded figures, the place that sounded like log bark, the City Council that was as Big Brother as it could get, the six-armed reptilian mayor, the angels who did not exist, or even the fact time didn't exist- Actually, that last one made sense. Time was a human concept and not a natural law of the world when thought went into it, so Night Vale deciding to ignore time altogether and just live in the moment was actually inspiring and better than- Off track. He was getting off track.

The point was that none of that was what made Night Vale the most scientifically interesting place in the U.S. No, what made it that was the fact that the people of Night Vale actually liked Carlos. Look, Carlos had some self-esteem, he knew he wasn't all that bad. He also, however, was a scientist, and a scientist looked at the facts.

Fact number one.

His hair, while being a rich dark brown, was shot through with gray at the temples. This wouldn't be so bad if he was older than thirty three, but here he was, not even halfway through life, and his hair made him look at least ten years older than he was - maybe more.

The fact his hair had been like this for years also didn't help matters. At least the older he became the more he grew used to the comments and looks and the more natural it looked. Before, though- Well. It was the same comments everywhere he went.

"Oh, dear, you're how young? I just thought… Well, nevermind. You look good for your age!"

"Need help crossing the street, mister?"

"You know, I have this really good hair dye you could use. It'll cover up the other gray hairs in the back."

"Oh, Carlos, you're so sweet, but it's just not going to work. I need to be with someone closer to my age, or, well, someone who at least looks it."

That last one, said by an ex-boyfriend, had been particularly insulting considering the mand had been six years older than Carlos and had a thin spot of hair that was quickly turning into a bald spot and, okay, Carlos was still bitter about that one. Fact was, no one liked his hair. Or at least, no one had liked his hair.

"His hair is perfect, and we all hate, and despair, and love that perfect hair in equal measure." His first day in Night Vale and an unknown voice on the radio had started talking about his perfect hair and for a while Carlos thought the man had been mocking him. Then the Telly incident had happened and Cecil had incited a mob to chase the man out of town and it had been so sweet. That was probably the first time Carlos had really taken notice of the radio host.

Fact number two.

Carlos had dark skin - of course he did considering his heritage and the fact he grew up and lived in deserts his whole life. He liked his dark skin, and so did a few other people he had met, but what they hadn't liked was the lichtenberg scarring he had. The scars, like bolts of lightning, were an off-colored white and began at the palm of his right hand before traveling up his arm, across his shoulder, and even touching parts of his neck. Fact number two actually related back to fact number one a lot.

The gray hair he usually told people was just from bad genetics, but both that and the scarring had been from a lab accident he had in his early twenties when working with some shoddy equipment in his lab. The scarring had been pretty cool looking once he recovered, but the comments…

"I have some makeup that will cover those right up! Don't worry, Carlos, I'll help you look normal."

"You know, if you're disabled you shouldn't be working like you are. You should just quit and get some government money or something."

"You had such beautiful skin, too. It's a shame what happened. Don't worry, I'm sure someone will accept you."

"I just can't do this anymore, Carlos. I can't handle the pitying looks I get whenever we go out in public together, anymore!"

That last one- Yeah, Carlos had been through a lot of shitty exes, okay, he knew that. He had bad luck with dating and even more bad luck with relationships and there was a reason scientists were self-sufficient. He had been quite content to hate his scars for the rest of his life until…

"Oh, Carlos… They're beautiful." Until Cecil. The man had always admired his scars and there had been one night where a sweet kiss to the palm where some of the scars were had ended up with Cecil tracing each and every scar with his tongue and teeth and Carlos hadn't known his neck was so sensitive, but that had been a very fun way to find out, certainly. If he hadn't been in love with Cecil before that night - which he had evidence to prove otherwise - then the way he had lavished attention on those scars had certainly changed that.

Fact number three.

Carlos tended to dress… Well, odd was putting it mildly, really. Night Vale was used to seeing him run around in his lab coats and his galaxy print jeans trying to fix the latest crisis, but outside of Night Vale it was typically considered that lab coats were only for the lab and anything galaxy print should be reserved for teenage girls under the age of seventeen. If Carlos had gotten that memo, he didn't adhere to it.

It wasn't that he wore the lab coats to stand out or anything - god, no, the last thing Carlos wanted was to stand out, it was just… They were really comfortable, okay? Plus it was a statement and part of him had never grown out of being the little boy who ran around wearing a white jacket and playing with chemistry sets in order to make an acid that ate through concrete and cement. The galaxy print was because, come on, space. It was just his thing. That didn't mean anyone ever liked it.

"It's pretty hot outside, you know. Don't you think you should be wearing something else?"

"Sir, I know you like wearing your coats and jeans, but this is a formal meeting. We need to look presentable."

"You haven't been to the labs in a week why are you wearing that?"

"Carlos, sweetie, you know I think your science is great, but I can't be with you if don't respect me enough to wear something nice on our dates."

That last one was when they were at a science convention so it was perfectly acceptable to wear a lab coat and his galaxy print! At least Carlos had gotten to play around with some kids experimenting with thought controlled miniature robots, so that had been a good way to save the day. The point was that Carlos liked his coats, but no one else ever seemed to. Until Night Vale. Until Cecil.

"Oh, Carlos, why aren't you wearing your coat? … Don't be silly! I love you with your coats on. They make you look… Well, why don't I show you how they make you look?" That- Aha, that had been a very good night and Carlos had learned that Cecil really, really, really liked his lab coats. He may have started keeping some extra one's in Cecil's apartment because seeing them on Cecil was just… Ri- Right.

Fact number four.

His voice. His voice was… He supposed he could use objectively pleasing to describe his voice? The tone wasn't too high or too low and it was nice enough, but the fact it was ruined by the way he could not shut up about science was what truly made it hard to connect with people. It wasn't his fault science got him so excited! He just- He had a new thought, or an idea, or a realization, and he had to share.

Okay, so no one had ever had anything bad to say about his voice, but there was never anything good said about it. There was especially never anything good to say about his scientific rambling. Nothing.

"Did you hear a word I just said? I've been talking to you for the last ten minutes!"

"Science is great and all, Carlos, but you really need to shut up about work for once."

"I'm really sick of getting cut off by your 'deductions,' Carlos. Why can't you just listen to me for once?"

"I just don't think it'll work. Every time things get fun you start talking about your work again. Don't you ever want to know how my day went?"

That last one had not been said by a douche ex, but an ex with a point who still sent him birthday cards. Still, the fact was that his voice had never been the best until… Well, it was the first time his voice had been called 'oaky.'

"Just the sound of his caramel voice!" Cecil seemed to adore his voice and his ramblings. There had been one memorable occasion where the two had been in the middle of, well, 'making out' and Carlos had sat up and started rambling about the clock tower because he had finally figured out a way to track it and get inside before it teleported away. Instead of being put out, Cecil had only become more, ah, hm, 'affectionate.' Especially when Carlos' observations had turned into whining and begging and- Right.

Fact number five.

He hadn't exactly been completely honest with Night Vale when he first arrived. While this town was the most incredible in all of the country, it was less of that and more he had been politely exiled from his university. He had technically volunteered for the Night Vale project, but he had been put on a waiting list that should have taken years. His one week waiting period, instead, had probably had something to do with his practices when it came to his science.

See, Carlos specialized in seismology, but he also frequently found himself wrapped up in more inventive sciences. It wasn't all that bad, but apparently the death ray he built on a dare had been a step too far. His other scientific exploits hadn't fared much better.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Carlos, did you just build a fucking bomb?!"

"You built a weather ray. Oh my god. You built a way to control the weather. Oh my god, what are you."

"That's- That's a joke, isn't it? Being able to build something to cause earthquakes. That has to be a joke, right?"

"Don't come near me, don't speak to me, don't ever contact me again. I'll call the cops the next time I even see you, is that clear?"

That last one had been said by an ex who had broken into his lab and read a paper on how to build a mind control device. They were not Carlos' notes or papers, they were a snippet from a book Carlos was reading and wanted to study for scientific inaccuracies to help an English buddy of his. He had a lot of bad exes, okay? His science was unethical, and dangerous, and, well, mad. His grant was less of a gift and more of a 'don't ever come back to this school again.' They sent him here so they'd never have to see him again. He was resigned to that and to be shunned from Night Vale, too, until…

"Carlos - this station's favorite scientist - has just gifted the girl scouts with their own personal lasers after they came across them when earning their 'breaking into a labrotrary' patch. Adorable and perfect Carlos seemed scared, but he was reassured when I gently reminded him that lasers were only dangerous to children under four years of age." Night Vale - Cecil - liked his mad science. Every dangerous and stupid thing he invented that had a chance of killing at least one person was greeted with beaming smiles and interest and often ended up saving the day in Night Vale. Cecil had been very, aha, vocal about his love of Carlos' science one night, actually. It- Hm. Right.

Fact number six.

Playing into the whole mad scientist persona was his smile. It had never been called perfect, or nice, or even pleasant. Carlos' smiles were often met with worry, fear, or nervous laughter as colleges quickly backed away. It wasn't- He didn't- It wasn't like he actively tried to scare people away from him! Really! It was just that his smile was a little too crooked, a little too wide, and a little too wild.

The smile would have been slightly unsettling if it was just the smile, but it was the smile paired with everything else that did it. The prematurely gray hair, the lightning bolt scars that peeked out of his constant lab coats, the way he rambled about his very unorthodox silence… Mad scientist was the kindest word they had.

"Mad? Mad?! You're the one that's mad! You're probably going to end up blowing the whole school up the way you keep going on!"

"You're scaring me, Carlos. It was kind of funny at first, but now you're just… It was a funny joke, but it's over now, okay? Let it go."

"Enough, enough, enough. I've… I've had enough of this, Carlos. Look, you're a great friend, but I can't- Just go away now, okay?"

"Who would ever love a freak like you?"

That last one… That was the ex from before he had been exiled to Night Vale. The one he thought he had honestly loved and had started changing parts of himself just to- Jeez, he was glad for whatever ancient, eldritch forces sent him here to Night Vale, that was for sure. Here it wasn't a bad thing to be a 'mad scientist,' and his smile…

"He grinned, and everything about him was perfect, and I fell in love instantly." Cecil…

Fact number seven.

A year and a day after Carlos had arrived at Night Vale he found that this wasn't just the most scientifically interesting community in the U.S., but that it was his home. That feeling had only grown the more time he spent with the Voice of Night Vale and the more he ran into people on the street who smiled with him and swooned. That part had scared him the first time it had happened, but he was now quite used to such a thing.

Night Vale was his home the way nowhere else had ever been, but the problem right now was that it was not the home of his team that had come with him.

"Carlos, please, we need to get out of here. It's been a year, okay, it's been over a year, we have plenty of data, we can go now." Tina paced the lab floors as if she was about to jump out of her skin - which had only happened once so far - and Mike was nervously staring at the flesh eating plant that had been morosely playing Go Fish for the last two days.

"Do you think we need to try some different food for her?" He was listening to Tina's concerns, honestly, he was, but Audrey III had been drooping for days and even the leaves were starting to turn blue. "Maybe some human flesh this time…"

"Do you even listen to yourself?!" Tina's skin was edging towards an angry red, Carlos taking a moment to make sure it was just blood rushing through her veins from adrenaline and not the color changing virus from last month. "This isn't- This place- No one here is human!"

"Actually a good 49% of the population is human," Simon piped up, flinching under Tina's glare. "That's no excuse for how weird they are, though." Mm.

"We're scientists. It's our job to study weird." Carlos felt like he'd been having this conversation for years- Actually, judging by the way 'time' worked, it could be possible. Wednesdays tended to have the most temporal displacements. Tina also seemed to have the most complaints. "You all knew what was going to happen when you signed up for this post."

"I didn't know I was signing up to study fucking Sunnydale!" Aha, Buffy reference. Nice one. He liked to think they were a bit better than Sunnydale, though. "Carlos, last week you said we. When talking about Night Vale citizens, you said we."

"I- Well, typically it does take a year to be considered a citizen of a town in some places." Except he had started seeing Night Vale as his home long before then. "Why are you bringing this up? You know the grant is two years-"

"Four of us have died!" That… Carlos looked around the room. Mike, Simon, Tina, Josette, and Ryan stared back. Four empty places did, as well. There had been ten of them at the start of this and he hated himself a little for being surprised that so many of them had survived. "Do you even remember their names?"

"Tina." Josette frowned. "I agree that we need to leave soon, but attacking each other isn't going to help anyone. We're outsiders." 'We'. Carlos had never felt such a divide between him and his staff before. They had gotten along so well in the beginning, but then the losses had taken their toll, he supposed.

"We have enough research," Mike said quietly. "We have all the files, all the tests, all the data, all the proof. If we get out of here can you imagine what they'll give us when we show them what we've discovered?"

"We'll be heroes, Carlos. Are you really selfish enough to risk our lives just because you think you might be in love with one of them?"

"Tina." Ryan was the one to glare this time, which, good- That was good. Because Carlos might have felt himself itching to grab that miniature death ray he had been tinkering with. "As big of a bitch as she's being, Tina has a point, Boss. We've got enough and I want to go home."

"This is how you all feel?" Five pairs of eyes stared back at him, Carlos sighing and running a hand through his hair, frowning at the length. He'd have to have a talk with Cecil, soon. Maybe he could convince Cecil to trim it himself… Hm. "I suppose I can't stop you, then."

"We're really going back?" The words were quiet and hushed and disbelieving. Carlos felt guilt prickle at his insides. Just because he had found a home here didn't mean the rest of his team had. "When? Now?"

"How about after you gather your data and projects," Carlos laughed, already running through the ad he would have to place. Maybe some Night Vale scientists would be good around here. "Make sure you take everything you need. I doubt Night Vale will let you back in once you leave."

"Carlos." Mike swallowed, looking pale- Normal pale. Not the skin leeches. Good, those things were a bitch to get out. "Why do you make it sound like you're not coming with us?"

"I'm not." Alright, the looks of absolute terror and complete horror were a little much. "I signed an agreement with City Council. This post is to last two years, and while I'm free to dismiss and hire more team members, I have to stay as Head Scientist." Ugh, it had taken two pints of blood, three childhood wishes, and a dream of the future to get that paperwork finished, too. Also his memory of signing the paperwork, which, that had been a pain to deal with.

"Screw City Council!" Simon burst out, the large and obviously fake potted fern by the door making a noise of derision. Carlos gave a weak smile.

"Sorry, Officer Mara, he's still being affected by the mites from last week."

"Just file the correct 'speaking ill of City Council' paperwork, Mr. Scientist." Flashing a smile at the plant, Carlos almost laughed as the leaves all fluttered.

"Look, I have a pact and I'm going to honor it, plus if I ever did leave - not that I want to - I would discuss it with the man I'm currently in a relationship with."

"Carlos." Josette glanced over to the radio as if expecting it to be eavesdropping, which… Honestly, that was pretty likely. "Cecil is nice, but he's a bit controlling, isn't he?"

"Forget that, he's emotionally abusive!" Ah, Carlos felt the urge to reach for his death ray again. He needed to get better about controlling that habit, honestly.

"Look, pack your things, leave, and pretend that this was all a dream if you want. I'm staying." With that, Carlos was collecting his papers and Geiger counter, patting Audrey III's head, and walking out of the lab. As soon as the door closed he was sighing and leaning against it, rubbing at his eyes.

While the others were a little much, sometimes, they still reminded him of where he had come from and his home before Night Vale. He… At least he knew the five would survive. That just had to be enough.

Maybe Cecil had time to talk before his broadcast started.

::

Carlos was used to waking up and feeling like he had been hit over the back of the head with a baseball bat. Literally. It had happened three times, and there were plenty more times when it wasn't a baseball bat. What he wasn't used to, however, was the feeling of being drugged. The Sheriff's Secret Police liked taking people, but they never drugged them, so what…

"Fuck, Tina, I think he's starting to wake up." Mike? Oh, something must've happened and they had found him. He had such a good team. "Should I put him back under?"

"No, we should be at the town border, soon. Once we cross he'll be back to his old self." The words were clear, but Carlos was having a hard time piecing their meaning together with how murky everything was.

"I just feel bad we didn't let him say goodbye to Cecil." Cecil? Why were they talking about Cecil? They avoided saying or even thinking about him half the time. "Do you think Cecil will…"

"Are you kidding? He was probably just playing with Carlos. He'll get over losing his toy and we get our lives back. Win-win, if you ask me."

Working to get his eyes open, Carlos' thoughts were in overtime to the point he couldn't even understand what his own thoughts were doing. It was too much and- Okay. Simple things. Eyes open, look around, observe the surroundings.

He was in the back of a moving van and lying on what seemed to be some bunched up lab coats and a blanket with some green sludge on it. Everything was vibrating so the van was in motion. They were driving. Okay, simple.

He was wearing what seemed to be his outfit from yesterday so he hadn't made it to bed, yet. Good. Another data point. Okay. His team were around him and talking about miles and hours and that meant they were driving somewhere. His team were driving him somewhere. Cecil? Were they driving him to Cecil? Why was everything so fuzzy?

"Mike, are you sure you only gave him half the vial? His heart rate is pretty slow." Ah, that was Josette's voice. She had always been the kind one of them, but she still had a habit of overstepping boundaries- Focus, Carlos.

"I was only supposed to give him half?" There was a wave of groans and complaints and accusations, Carlos closing his eyes and nope, no, no way. That was way too much noise and way too much pain. "Okay! I get it, I messed up, so it'll take him longer to come to, he'll be fine!"

"He'll be hardly able to think until we're at the university, you moron!" University. Okay, he knew that word. He went there. That's where he got his PhD. Those years had been hell. He was so glad he was- Focus. Why were they talking about the university? They shouldn't be hearing from them. Right? Right.

"Just keep driving, Tina! We're almost at the border and after that we don't have to worry about those stupid secret police." They really needed to stop saying bad things when the police were always watching. Goodness, he knew it took some getting used to, but they were quite professional about their jobs - although there had been that one that had given him and Cecil 'supplies' when they first started being, ah, intimate. It had been terrifying at the time, of course, but, bless them, they had even pre-submitted the temporary authorization. Where was he?

Right. Moving van, team, talk about the university, town border- Why were they talking about the town border? Cracking his eyes open again, Carlos caught sight of a glint of silver and oh, he was in handcuffs.

He was in a moving van, his team was around him, they were talking about the university and town border, and he was in handcuffs after they had mentioned something about 'giving him more.' Oh, duh, his team had kidnapped him.

Carlos didn't feel so sleepy anymore.

"Why are you guys doing." Each word felt like it had to be forced out of him, Carlos whimpering when he felt Josette's hand pat his hair down.

"Easy, Carlos, easy. We're almost out, okay, and then we're all going home." Home- No. No, Night Vale was his home, and… Night Vale wouldn't let him go. Not if he didn't want to. He didn't want to. He didn't want to. He didn't want to-

His entire world jumped and shifted and he screamed as some piece of their equipment fell onto his back and fuck- "Tina! What the fuck was that?!"

"Something fucking rammed into us!" It felt like the truck had picked up speed, but Carlos couldn't tell. The ground seemed to be rumbling, but that wasn't right… Night Vale couldn't feel earthquakes. Did he have his equipment? He needed to take some readings- A sharp jerk and whatever was on top of him fell off of him, Calos gasping for breath and ow, ow, ow, it hurt-

"Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, we're going to die-" This time the entire van was filled with screams and when Carlos opened his eyes he saw he was on pavement that was burning into his skin and pieces of equipment and data and parts were scattered all around them in a shining field of shrapnel. Sucking in a rattling breath, Carlos let out what he was pretty sure was a whimper. He was almost certain a rib had either cracked or been broken. Punctured lung?

Good… Maybe that was good. He'd rather die than leave Night Vale. He didn't want to go back to that world. He couldn't. He didn't want to- "Carlos!" Josette's scream had him opening his eyes back up to see the others were all sitting up - no, Simon wasn't - and staring behind him in horror.

The color purple filled the world and something like the void manifested into a tendril of reality entered his vision, looking ready to snap and tear into him before the thinnest part curled around the handcuffs still around his wrists. The tendril tugged, Carlos choked on a sob, and the world shook with his rage.

Tendrils snapped out to wrap around him and lift him up, but they were careful and gentle and felt like warmth and love and Carlos felt all his fear leave him in a flash as he nuzzled against one, "Cecil."

He heard screams of the dying and he knew the sand would soon be red from the blood that stained it, but Carlos could only smile as he felt a tendril curl through his hair and stroke lightly behind one of his ears. Another was quick to break the handcuffs, the motion as easy as if the handcuffs were nothing but paper. Taking a shuddering breath, Carlos closed his eyes and relaxed. He knew he would wake up in a warm bed with no less than five blankets, pillows fluffed up around him, coffee on the table along with painkillers, and a silly radio host drooling on top of his chest. It…

Fact number eight.

Carlos had never really felt connected to a place before. His family had moved around a lot when he was a teeanger and straight after high school he had gone into college and then university and then all his studies and… Well. He was used to one-bedroom apartments, microwavable meals, and relationships that never lasted longer than three months. Others said-

No. It didn't matter what people had said, back then. That was then. Now- Oh, now, it was… His scientists thought they were saving him, but Carlos had been saved long before then. Carlos had found a home and been saved and felt safe long before his scientists thought he needed it. He… He had been saved when he first turned on a dingy little radio in the corner of his empty lab and heard a voice speaking soft and low and warm.

"A friendly desert community where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep.

"Welcome to Night Vale."