well hello…. technically this is only 8 minutes late in my timezone would u look at that!! i had classes and a rehearsal tonight and just spent the past like 2 hours working on this, so if it seems rushed, thats because it was all written today, lmao. in the end i think i like how it turned out tho and thats why im posting it!
Carlos had been waiting for this moment for years. Picking up the pen, he glanced to Cecil, who looked like he just might cry. Carlos’ heart swelled. Biting his lip to keep himself from doing the same, he signed the form to change his name.
In the past, he was just Carlos, or Carlos The Scientist, or even just The Scientist (or The Cute Scientist, depending on who you asked). From now on, he was going to be Carlos Palmer. He would wear that name proudly. He was proud of himself, and of Cecil, for all the things they’d accomplished to end up together. He loved Cecil with all of his heart, and he truly could not imagine a future without him. He hoped that it showed. Cecil showed his love so openly and unconditionally. Carlos sometimes had trouble doing the same.
He had become a part of Night Vale in these last few years. Night Vale had become a part of him. Cecil had become a part of him. Carlos planned to show off his love for this adorable, beautiful man on his finger every day, and now, also on his social security card. There were still a few other places they had to go, but one day soon it would be on his credit card, his driver’s license, his passport…
Carlos was cutting off off his last tie to the outside world, once and for all – a last name that connected him to a family that never cared about him. He had been meaning to change it for a very long time, but had never known what to change it to. He was so grateful to Cecil for giving him this, and for being a part of his life, and for being so kind and forgiving to him all the time. They were different people, this was for sure, and they didn’t always see eye to eye… but Cecil’s love knew no bounds. He would walk to the ends of the earth and back for him. Carlos was filled to the brim with that love, and he wanted it to be to be an official part of him; one he could show to the world, and sign on grocery store receipts and government documents.
Carlos would always be a hot scientist. He would also always be a non-native Night Valean. But Carlos The Interloper is in the past. Carlos Without a Family is in the past. Carlos Who Doesn’t Belong Anywhere is in the past. And he is never looking back. He looks now towards the future. The future of Cecil and Carlos Palmer.
He looked over at his husband, the butterflies in his stomach beating their wings even harder and faster than on the very first day he met him. He passed the paper with his new signature on it to the clerk behind the desk and grinned at Cecil, giddily, like a schoolgirl on a playground.
Cecil felt the same. He took his hand, silently professing his great love for him in a mouthed whisper. The clerk rolled their eyes, having heard extensively about this meeting on the radio already that morning and just wanting it all to be over with.
Although they had seen him at the wedding less than a week ago, the Palmer-Carlsberg household were hosting Carlos a “Welcome to the family!” party, as Steve called it.
“Welcome to the family!” Steve said, pulling Carlos in for a hug. Normally, Carlos didn’t like hugs very much from anyone besides Cecil, but he felt warm inside at this particular hug. Carlos felt like he had been welcomed into their family already a long time ago, but it was official now. It was nice to share a last name with his official niece now. She wheeled up to him and offered a friendly fist bump, as she had adapted to after learning that Carlos did not appreciate hugs as much as her other uncle did.
“Thank you guys so much! You guys have always made me feel like family.”
Cecil stood in the corner grumbling for most of the party, but he accepted the cake that Abby made, and secretly, he enjoyed it a lot. The cake read: “congrats on becoming a palmer!!! we are pretty cool.”
Carlos treated himself to a few glasses of champagne with Steve and Abby and the few guests they had invited over, then he excused himself from some conversation about invisible pie to take a glass to bring to Cecil, who was sitting in the living room by himself.
“You’re welcome! Are you having fun?”
“I mean, this is nice and all… but I would kinda rather go home with you. How’s the party in the kitchen going?”
“Steve’s talking about the invisible pie.” Cecil made a face, and Carlos cackled, almost spilling his champagne on himself. “It’s okay! It’d be better if you were there…” He sat down on the couch, snaking an arm around Cecil’s shoulders.
They sat together like that for a few minutes, just listening to the chatter in the kitchen, and the music playing in the background.
“What would have happened if we had met at a party?” Carlos thought out loud.
Cecil laughed. “What, like in college?”
“Yeah. Would I have caught your eye across the room, and made you down your drink so you could come over and talk to me?”
“One look at you and I would’ve dropped my glass right on the floor.”
“No, it’d be a solo cup.”
“Ehh, let’s say it was a classy party.”
Carlos snorted. “In college?”
“For dramatic effect – I want to imagine a glass slipping out of my hands as I saw you for the first time, and shattering into a tiny million pieces on the floor. That’s how it felt. The room falls silent for a second, and then I look up at you, and Marvin Gaye is playing on the speakers.”
“I’d be too shy to talk to you, though,“ he acquiesced. "You know how I am.”
“What if I came over and talked to you?”
“The probability of that happening is even lower, honey.”
“Hey! But what if I did? C'mon. Would you have gone home with me?”
Carlos barked a laugh, giddy from the compliments and the champagne.
“You go home with many guys at college parties?” Cecil asked, eyebrow raised.
"Really?” Cecil made a show of sipping his glass, dramatically intrigued. “Tell me more.”
“It only happened a few times. And they didn’t mean anything. I was doing a lot of soul-searching in Uni.”
“By taking guys home from parties?”
“And you took them home?”
“Really? Walk me through that.” Cecil set his glass down on the table, turning to face Carlos on the couch. “How would you pick me up at your hypothetical college party?”
Carlos laughed again. “Hypothetically, we’re drunk enough that I could get you with a,” Carlos touched Cecil on the arm, running his fingers delicately down the skin, making all of his arm hairs stand on end, “Hey.”
Cecil pushed Carlos’s hand away, giggling. “You hate being touched like that!”
“I hate it. You don’t hate it.” Carlos grabbed Cecil gently by the elbow and pulled him in for a long, slow kiss.
“Carlos,” breathed Cecil. “Are you normally this romantic with your party hookups?”
“You think you could’ve fallen in love with me if we hooked up at a party?”
“Cecil… I would have fallen in love with you no matter where we were or what we were doing.”
Cecil blushed, a huge, dorky grin spreading across his face. He pulled Carlos in for a hug. “Can you believe we’re married?”
“Right? Can you believe I’m named after you now?”
“No,” squeaked Cecil, trying not to cry. “I can’t.”
Carlos’ face hurt from smiling, but he couldnt stop. “I love you, Cecil.”
He leaned in for another kiss, but they were interrupted by a loud voice:
“Golly, look at these two newlyweds! You can sure tell that they love each other.”
Cecil rolled his eyes, groaning, as if what Steve had just said hadn’t been completely wholesome and respectful.
Carlos chuckled, soothingly rubbing Cecil’s hand with his thumb. “We’re probably gonna retire back to our place for the night now. Thanks again for hosting us!”
Once the door was closed behind them, Carlos leaned in to deliver the interrupted kiss.
“Hi,” said Cecil, breathlessly as Carlos pulled away.
“Does this have to happen right on Steve Carlsberg’s porch?”
Carlos laughed. They laughed for a while on Steve Carlsberg’s porch, and then they went home.
As they walked home together, hand in hand, Carlos heard Cecil whisper, under his breath, with all the adoration and fascination in the world, “Carlos Palmer…”
