Cecil didn't like to be a nag. He didn't want to repeat his point again and again and again, he trusted that when someone said they'd do something, that they'd do it. He trusted Carlos. And Carlos had promised to cook him dinner on Friday. Cecil was immensely excited. He'd even written it on the calendar at the station with a little smiley face and a love-heart.

Carlos had seemed excited too, to be cooking his boyfriend dinner. It was going to be an old recipe his grandmother used to make. He didn't want to forget, so he wrote it on a post-it and stuck it to the wall in front of his workstation at the lab.

In hindsight, they both realised they could have made more of an effort; Cecil should have announced the meal daily on his radio show, like he announced almost every other milestone in his and Carlos' relationship; and Carlos should have written the reminder on the whiteboard next to his desk, and not on a post-it that would unstick from the wall almost instantly and fall to the floor to be forgotten until the next time Carlos dropped something.

Cecil skipped up to Carlos' front door whilst also ensuring the wine he'd brought wasn't shaken too much, rapping confidently on the wood. Nothing happened. There was no scuffling behind the door, no call from within telling him to let himself inside, or that Carlos would just be a minute. He knocked again, a little louder in case Carlos hadn't heard. Again, nothing. Frowning, he pulled out his phone, seeing if he'd missed any calls or messages from Carlos; he could have the wrong time, or Carlos could be running late. There was nothing. Cecil was on time and Carlos… wasn't home.

He brought up his contact list, scrolling down to Carlos' name, pressed call and waited for an answer.

"Y'ello?"

"Carlos. Where are you?"

"I'm… at the lab, Cecil, is everything okay?"

"Are you coming home soon?"

"Uh…" There was a shuffling noise, what sounded like Carlos shifting papers around. "Maybe. I'm just on the verge of a breakthrough with the Swedish mountain goat we found. I say breakthrough, I mean I'm closer to understanding why he speaks Swedish… Why, was there something you wanted?"

Cecil slumped, slouching forward until his forehead rest against Carlos' front door. He shut his eyes, taking slow breaths, not wanting to work himself up. "It's… it's Friday."

"I know," Carlos chuckled. "I'm aware sometimes days are cancelled but I do know today is Friday."

"Do you know what else today is? If… you were planning anything today?"

Carlos hummed down the phone. Cecil felt a small flare of hope swell inside him, hoping perhaps Carlos was just joking with him, pretending to forget, and he'd open the door right now and invite Cecil in to eat the beautiful meal he'd cooked for them.

"Nope, no plans. There's nothing on my board."

Cecil felt like a rock had just landed in his stomach. "Nothing?" he croaked.

"Well, nothing important. I write all important dates on my wall."

"Oh… okay."

"Cecil?"

"I understand… Bye then."

"Bye? Cecil-"

Cecil hung up, dropping the phone into his pocket. His lungs hurt, like no matter how hard he breathed he wasn't getting enough air, his heart thumping furiously in his chest. He knew Carlos was absent-minded sometimes, his wonderful brain never lingering on one subject for long, always eager to discover something new; that's why he wrote things down on his board. But to not even write down their dinner date? Cecil couldn't remember the last time he'd been so broken hearted. Things had been going to well with Carlos, he'd never been as happy as he'd been in the past few weeks. But now he understood. He understood science would always come first with Carlos.

Sighing, he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, wiping away any tears that may have formed; he took a deep breath and turned around, talking the short walk back to his car.

He bumped into Old Woman Josie on the way, forcing a polite smile, offering her the bottle of wine, insisting he wouldn't be needing it any more. She saw straight through his act, giving him a sad smile and a reassuring pat on the shoulder, telling him: "All men are the same, deary. He'll come around."

Carlos frowned at his phone. Cecil had never hung up on him before, and he'd sounded upset. He looked back up at his board to check he hadn't forgotten something. He rifled through his notes on his desk, still nothing. Next to him, the goat said something in Swedish which didn't sound polite. Frowning, Carlos grabbed the goat's leash, pulling it over to the make-shift pen he and his colleagues had built, making sure he wouldn't be able to escape during the night.

He brought Cecil's number back up, hitting 'call', sighing when his boyfriend didn't answer. He knew for sure he'd done something wrong, he just had to figure out what it was.

The next morning, Carlos woke to find none of his calls and messages had been answered. Cecil had even ignored his goodnight texts, which he never ignored; he'd said it was his favourite way to end the day. But nothing. Carlos was worried.

He hurried through his morning routine, eager to swing round Cecil's before he went to the lab. Unfortunately, Cecil didn't answer. He wasn't sure if Cecil just wasn't answering or wasn't in. His car was outside, but Cecil was also partial to morning walks. Sighing, he gave up, wandering back to his car, pulling his phone from his pocket.

"Good morning, Carlos."

Carlos' head shot up, instinctively smiling at Old Woman Josie and her angels. "Morning."

"Are you here to cheer up poor Cecil? He was quite sad last night."

"Yeah, I know… but he's not answering."

"Oh…"

He heard a staticky hum come from the black angel; Josie nodded, humming in agreement.

"Of course. Cecil was seen walking around near the dog park, maybe he's looking for intern Dana?"

"I should go find him, maybe."

"If you do, thank him for the wine, it was quite delicious."

Carlos frowned. "What?"

"Last night, we bumped into him coming from your house, he gave us the bottle of wine he had. He said he wouldn't be needing it."

Something twigged in Carlos' brain. He wasn't sure what yet, but he'd figure it out. He shouted a quick thank you as he ran over to his car, hopping in and driving straight for the lab.

Some of his colleagues were already in and working, one sat poring through a Swedish phrase book, another furiously scribbling down everything the goat was saying. Carlos hurried over to his desk, picking through every sheet of paper, stacking them on his chair.

"Looking for something, Carlos?"

"Yes. Did I make plans with Cecil yesterday?"

His colleague shrugged, sticking out his bottom lip. "Not sure, maybe. You usually write those things down."

"I know…"

The goat suddenly made its way over, bleeting something angry as it barged its way past Carlos' legs. It scuttled under Carlos' desk, shuffling back and forth before backing out, a green post-it sticking out of its mouth. Carlos took it gingerly, somewhat concerned by the stern glare he was receiving.

IMPORTANT! DO NOT FORGET! Dinner with Cecil. Cook him Ama's chicken stew. Also don't forget to buy chicken. Also also ask faceless woman to go out for the night.

Carlos felt his stomach drop; he looked up at his colleague, eyes wide. "I was supposed to cook him dinner… Crap… Crap! He was so excited! I need to find him and… Crap! What should I do?!"

The goat butted his leg, still glaring at him. "Du bör tala om för honom att du är ledsen, att du kommer att göra mer av en ansträngning att sätta honom först. Säg till honom att han betyder mer för dig än vetenskap, berätta för honom ibland du gör misstag, men du kommer alltid att göra ditt bästa för att rätta till dessa misstag. Säg till honom att oavsett vad du alltid kommer att älska och uppskatta honom, även om du har glömt att visa honom." *

Carlos nodded dumbly at the goat, eyes still wide. "Right… I'll go uh… do just that."

The goat nodded, huffing loudly before trotting back over to the scientist who was trying to translate. Carlos shrugged, tucking the post-it into his back pocket and rushed out of the lab, hopping into his car. He checked his watch, remembering how to tell time in Night Vale, figuring the radio station would be his best starting point.

His intuition paid off, noticing Cecil's car parked outside the station. He jumped from his car, running into the station, for once not terrified of the management. He found Cecil in the staff room, staring at his notes for the evening's transmission.

"Cecil!"

Cecil had barely managed to look up before he was enveloped in a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry, Cecil! I'm such a terrible boyfriend, I really am. I did write it down, but it fell off my wall. I'm an idiot. Please, please forgive me."

Cecil choked out a pained grunt, pressing against Carlos' shoulder, sucking in a deep breath when he was released. Carlos gasped, fussing over Cecil, straightening his clothes, repeating apologies.

"Carlos."

Carlos stopped muttering, looking sadly into Cecil's eyes. "I'm so sorry, Cecil. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"You promise? For real?"

"For real. I hate I upset you, I never want to do it again… And… I also never want to get shouted at by a goat again."

Cecil giggled, letting Carlos take his hand. "He shouted at you?"

"Yes, he was really quite angry with me… I've no idea what he said, but I'm sure it wasn't nice…I'm really, very sorry, Cecil. I really didn't mean to forget."

Cecil sighed, resting their foreheads together. "I know… I know how you get, I should have reminded you."

"No, it's not your fault, I should make more of an effort to remember important things… Tomorrow. I'll cook for you tomorrow."

"You will?"

Carlos felt his stomach do a flip at Cecil's hopeful smile, curling his arms around his waist to pull him closer. "Yes. I'll go straight to the grocery store and buy the ingredients. I promise I won't forget. I'll even write it on my arm, it's unlikely my arm will fall under my desk."

Cecil laughed, throwing his arms around Carlos' neck. "I love you, Carlos."

Carlos smiled, pressing a kiss to his boyfriend's neck. "I love you too."

* You should tell him you're sorry, that you'll make more of an effort to put him first. Tell him he means more to you than science; tell him sometimes you make mistakes but you'll always do your best to correct those mistakes. Tell him that no matter what you'll always love and appreciate him, even if you forget to show him.