@alwaysxlate liked this for a E!2 Iris starter - accepting
“You know,” Iris walked towards her husband, her hands going to either side of his face gently. “I don’t know if I mentioned it or not, but...I am so proud of you after today, you know that right?” While she was always proud of her husband, the things she had seen him do in the last twenty-four hours (her real husband, not the other guy), watching him step out of his comfort zone, it reminded her all over again how she always knew he was the one for her.
there’s a defiant edge to her tone, despite the fact she’s struggling to suppress a yawn. left hand fumbles, reaching for the long - forgotten coffee cup set to the side on her desk, as right hand continues to pound on typewriter keys with unwavering speed. fingers find and wrap around the porcelain cup’s handle, absently maneuvering the cup to her lips and taking a gulp. she grimaces —- seems it’s gone cold in the time since he had first placed the coffee on her desk, unrequested but accepted gratefully, a good hour ago.
with a sigh, the cup is disposed of upon its saucer, and katherine stifles another yawn, feeling his eyes focused upon her, a chiding undertone to his gaze, as she still doesn’t acknowledge outright the extent of her exhaustion. sure, eyes are heavy and drooping. and the yawns are getting harder and harder to suppress. but she’s on the verge of finishing her article, and she is fiercely opposed to “finishing later”, always fearing she’ll lose her train of thought as a whole.
“gimme fifteen minutes.”
she half expects him to leave her be, but he lingers instead, moving forwards when a proper yawn finally escapes her lips to gently pry her fingers from her keys, distracting her with a series of soft kisses pressed down her neck. she squirms and whines, eyes fluttering shut, and here, she’s caught —- now that they’re closed, they’re being damn difficult to re - open, weighed down with her need for sleep. she can’t see him, no, but she knows he’s smug to have won so easily, one arm slipping beneath her knees, the other to support her back as he lifts her out of seat. he’s met with no other protest than a miffed whine, head tilting to rest against his chest.
“you’re the worst. i was almost done.”
blame is placed upon him only to avoid acknowledging the fact he had been correct in pointing out her tiredness. honestly, without his interference, she would have pushed herself to stay awake another hour at least, doing little good —- her writing, so incoherent in her tired state, would have been a mess in sore need of editing and, likely, reworking. the train of thought lost tonight was barely a loss at all.
she lets him undress and dress her in her nightgown, pleasantly eased by the sensation of his hands brushing against her torso, ever docile and tender with her. without much of the grace she possesses during the daytime hours, she collapses wearily into their bed, waiting for him to tug the blankets around her as he climbs into bed beside her, his arm instinctively falling to wrap around her waist. she’s still frowning at him, miffed to have been pulled from her work, and he chuckles lowly, kissing the tip of her nose then her cheek, telling her she’ll be thanking him come morning for coaxing her out of her office and allowing her the extra hour’s worth of sleep she’ll be gaining from having not stayed up.
she snorts in response, and conversation dies there as she dozes off quickly, tucked against hi, and enveloped in warmth. he’s got no worries she’ll be waking and trying to sneak back to work tonight. she’s heavily asleep, lips finally easing into a smile as stress eases with the surfacing of dreams, happy in his arms.
❝I’m okay with starving if it means
I don’t have to move.❞
( It’s difficult to tell whether he’s being serious or not.
Judging from the way he curls up on his side,
dark hair mussed from a night of sleep and an
arm tucked beneath his pillow, he’s being
completely serious. )
{ she laughs, freely and wholly, although halfway
through it's muffled by his skin where she's hid
her face against his chest. it's two in the afternoon
and nat can't bring herself to care; though her
stomach does rumble quietly, leaving her laughing
even louder }
"You're impossible..."
(but she's not moving either)
Why you shouldn't mess with Erik's cupboards (lookprettierlikethis)
Erik had found out it was Raven's birthday and....well he couldn't help but make it as special as he could factoring in their current position. Over the past several weeks he'd managed to steal all the ingredients to make her a rather nice dinner and cake. He'd even managed to cobble together a small—something. He'd gone for abstract but regrettably his magnetic sonar didn't let him see the finer details so for all he knew it was either it was fantastic or just a blob. He was hoping for the first.
He heard her come in the door and couldn't help his growing grin as he waited for her to at least get comfortable before pulling her to the kitchen like an excited child.
"How was your day?" he asked from the kitchen his grin spreading clear into his voice. Small talk first, excitement later.
You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!
You both like wtnv, kevin/diego, diego/kevin, cecil/carlos, nightvale, welcome to nightvale, cecilos, and carlos/cecil.
You: "Hello, Cecil," Carlos said quietly, startling the radio host as he leaned against the station doorframe. He was spinning a single rose between his fingers, grinning.
Stranger: Cecil was just finishing up his show as he cleaned off his desk somewhat. Tensing up in surprise before turning to look up when he heard his name get called. A large grin coming to his lips as he saw his perfect boyfriend standing there. "Oh, my lovely Carlos. You decided to visit!" He practically swooned, going over to the other as he wrapped his arms around him in greeting. "Any particular reason why? Or was this a spur of the moment kind of thing?" He asked, his eyes flickering to look up at him.
You: "You could call it spontaneous," Carlos said, handing Cecil the rose and shrugging off his familiar, semi-stained lab coat. He revealed a classic cut tuxedo, perfectly tailored and ironed, with a purple tie to match his boyfriend's apparel. Even his familiar chucks had been swapped out for rather uncomfortable shoes, but it was all about the image at this point. His glasses were new, his teeth were whitened, and his unruly curls were slicked back into a neat display. "Why don't we go out tonight?"
Stranger: Cecil pulled back as he took the rose, smiling at it before his eyes went wide as Carlos took off his labcoat, Cecil just expecting him to be wearing a flannel and jeans like he usually did. So when he saw a tux, his eyes went wide. Looking up at Carlos in question as his mouth gaped open in shock. "Oh my gods, Carlos...." He trailed off, pressing their lips together in a soft kiss. "You look....completely amazing, love." He smiled, kissing his cheek. "not to say you don't normally, but.....wow." He murmured, his hand tracing down the other's suit. "Never knew how nicely you cleaned up." The radio host said, before immediately nodding his head. "And going out sound absolutely wonderful!"
You: Carlos chuckled, still not quite used to Cecil's constant praise. Six months of dating later, and he still thought of himself as a chip off the old block. Regardless, he looped his sturdy arm through his boyfriend's slender arm and led him down the stairs of the station, Dana giggling and waving to them as they left. "I hope you don't mind, but my car's getting repaired. We'll have to be using a different mode of transportation." They walked out to where the limo was waiting, Carlos kissing Cecil on the cheek before running over to the vehicle and opening the door for the radio host. He took a good moment to memorize Cecil's expression, trying not to flat out laugh at how absurd it all seemed.
Stranger: Cecil smiled as Carlos started to lead him out of the station, his face flushing a light shade of violet when he heard Dana start to giggle and wave, Cecil having to hold back giggling himself because h gods his boyfriend was just so completely /sweet/ and amazing and.....was that a limo? "Oh....oh wow." He mumbled, his eyes wide as he stared at the vehicle, looking up at Carlos in confusion. "How....how did you even manage?" He started to ask, before trailing off as Carlos opened the door for him. Cecil's cheeks flushing a deeper shade of purple as he got inside. "Carlos, this is so /romantic./" Cecil grinned, letting out a laugh. "Where are we going anyway, my amazing scientist?" He asked, looking up at him in question,
You: Carlos grinned and shut the door gently, running around to his side of the limo and allowing himself a giggle. He was determined to sweep Cecil off his feet- it was a big night, after all. "Try not to ask questions, amado. It'll spoil it." The windows rolled up, tinting the outside and blocking their view. Carlos leaned forward and nodded to the driver. The strange shadow thing shifted back and the car started moving. "I know how hard it is to retain your journalistic curiosity, but you'll just have to trust me on this one."
Stranger: Cecil nodded his head, his brows furrowing for a moment as he saw the shadow thing shift back, but then his attention was immediately focused on his amazing boyfriend. "You know, I do enjoy cleaned up. But I miss that curly, completely perfect mess of curls you have." Cecil teased, pressing a kiss to the tip of Carlos' nose before trying to look out the windows and frowning when he couldn't even see a single thing. Wow, whatever Carlos was planning he /really/ wanted to keep it a surprise. "And of course I trust you, darling." He said as if it should be obvious. "I'm looking forward to wherever we're going."
You: Good, since they didn't have that far to drive at all. It would only take them about three minutes to make it to the restaurant, give or take. Night Vale was a small town. "I just wanted to be as perfect as you always say I am, at least for one night," Carlos said, pecking Cecil on the temple before reaching forward. He'd set everything up, handing Cecil a champagne glass from the cooler and pouring him a small amount from the pre-opened bottle. No messes, no spills. Just endless perfection. He'd made sure of it, picking the most expensive bottle he could find in the winery.
Stranger: A small smile twitched on Cecil's lips as he shook his head, pressing a kiss to Carlos' cheek as he smirked. "Don't be ridiculous love, every date we've been on has been perfect. Because I get to have you all to myself." He teased, flushing at the gentle kiss before he felt Carlos hand him a glass. His cheeks going back to flushing in embarrassment as he was positively spoiled by Carlos. "You're much too good to me, you know that right?" He hummed, taking a sip of his drink as his eyes went wide. He could /taste/ how expensive it was. How long did Carlos even plan this whole thing?
You: Carlos felt he was never 'too good' to Cecil, showing up to dates late and forgetting anniversaries. He'd thought he'd really blown it the day he'd given Cecil a Valentine's Day card- also known as the day he discovered Cecil carried a portable flame thrower with him in his back left pocket. This was his way of making it up, of showing Cecil that he truly /did/ care beneath his limitless imperfections. "You flatter me," Carlos said, pouring himself a drink and putting the bottle, gently, away. At first sip, he could tell why the dang thing cost $300. He just hoped it was all worth it, starting to drum his fingers along his knee in a telltale nervous gesture. "Tell me, how much do you love me?"
Stranger: Cecil continued to sip at his drink as he listened to Carlos talk, completely enamored in the other as he leaned in close, hearts practically evident in his eyes as he watched the other talk, and do that cute little nervous twitch, gods Carlos was much too cute. "Hm?" Cecil asked at the question, before a smirk spread on his lips. "I love you to the Void and back, I love you more than I hate that jerk Steve Carlsberg." He answered easily, still staring at Carlos. "My love for you will never wither away and die like everything else will....eventually, even our physical forms will slowly deteriorate and turn to the dark dust that blows in the Sand Wastes." He hummed, not aware he may of been getting a bit too dark. "But my love for you will live on, obviously." He added happily, grabbing his boyfriend's hand as he laced their fingers together.
You: The reassurance fell flat. "Te amo tambien, amor," Carlos said quietly, starting to physically shake. He'd made all the arrangements, he'd gotten everything organized, and he'd practiced dozens of times in (his own) mirror. But now, staring the moment in the face, he understood the butterflies all the men on Yahoo!Ask were talking about. Sure, Cecil loved him, but did he really love him /this much?/
The car slowed to a stop- they weren't far from the station. Not far at all. Carlos allowed himself a hesitant smile as he rolled down the windows a little, checking. Yup, everyone was there. Old Woman Josie, the angels, Megan, Pamela Winchell, and even Steve Carlsberg (who was stubbornly chewing on curly fries, blabbering off about how marriage proposals were really just figures of the imagination created to mask the true filth that resided in the gutters of every relationship). About three quarters of the town replied 'yes' to his invitations, but the numbers dwindled after Street Cleaning Day. No matter. It just made the catering less expensive.
Carlos cleared his throat and stepped out, shaking even more-so as the crowd gathered near the limousine. The Lights twinkled ever so softly, just as they had 6 months ago.
"Come out, Cecil."
Stranger: Cecil furrowed his brows as he looked at Carlos, pressing a hand to the other's cheek in an effort to calm him down as he pressed his lips to the other's forehead in a soft kiss. Pulling back and smiling when he heard what Carlos replied back. Feeling the car slow to a stop as he saw Carlos look out the window, his brows furrowing as he tried to sneak a peek, he couldn't help it he was curious. He pursed his lips when he got no such peek, but that was alright, because Carlos was already beckoning him out. "Oh, of course darling." He said, grabbing the other's hand as he got out of the car. His eyes going wide as he saw everyone here. "Carlos....oh wow." He said softly, seeing everyone smiling, except for Steve of course, but that was more than alright. Cecil didn't want to see him smile anyway. "Carlos, dear.....what is this?" He asked, confusion evident on his tone as he turned to look up at his boyfriend. "It's....it's completely beautiful of course." He nodded. "But what could possibly be the occasion?
You: Carlos quickly closed the door behind Cecil, straightening his coat and kneeling to the ground (carefully- it was a rental). He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small box, holding it in one hand while reaching up for Cecil's at the other. His smile faded, anxiety washing over him. /Just do it. Just like you practiced./
Stranger: Cecil furrowed his brows as Carlos didn't answer him, instead kneeling on the ground and pulling out a box and great gods above the man was proposing, Carlos was proposing. A surprised breath slipped past his lips as he pressed a hand to his mouth out of shock. Not even able to form coherent words, which was a first by the way. "C-carlos.....oh my, oh my God." He finally was able to get out, a smile coming to his lips even though his hand was still covering it.
You: "Cecil," he said, rubbing his thumb over the other's hand. It was quite a lovely hand, what with its long fingers and perfectly shaped nails. He was surprised that Cecil hadn't learned how to play the piano. "Ever since I got here, nothing's made sense to me. Nothing. I tried checking out a book at the library. I wore a heart-patterned tie on Valentine's Day. Nothing... nothing here followed the logic and traditional order of things as it did back in New Jersey. It was both wonderful and terrifying. There was always something for me to conquer. To figure out. To study, record, and drop in a file cabinet. Done." He chuckled, just a little. "And then you showed up. The strangest thing to ever walk into my life. I couldn't make sense of it- how I felt when I was around you. And your damn persistence-" The crowd interrupted him there, laughing. "You were very persuasive, sweetheart. I suppose, all in all, you're the one test I never want to conclude. I want you to challenge me, yell at me, engulf me, puzzle me, be with me, love me, for every day for the rest of my life." He released Cecil's hand there, opening the small box to reveal a solid purple band, with a small diamond engraved into it. "Cecil Palmer, will you marry me?"
Stranger: Cecil was smiling so big it almost looked like it had to hurt, listening to Carlos talk as he let out a laugh when the other brought up his newbies mistakes he made while just moving into Night Vale, mistakes which should've gotten him killed but didn't for some odd reason. The town just seemed to like Carlos almost as much as Cecil did, almost of course. "You almost got killed and maimed twice that week." He said softly, a breathy laugh slipping past his lips. His cheeks flushing as he heard Carlos bring up his persistence, he was a bit forward....maybe. Slightly, he waited at least two hours before committing that he had fallen in love with the man, that was enough time right? "I would absolutely love too, my wonderful Carlos." He said, nodding his head as he felt his eyes start to sting with the onslaught of happy tears. "Or should I say, my wonderful fiance?" He teased, ignoring the groan he heard from Steve as he just continued to smile at Carlos. Looking at the ring with wide eyes, it was completely and utterly breathtaking.
You: Carlos felt his heart thudding as Cecil beat around the bush, terrified that he wasn't coming right out and saying yes. /Oh gods. Now you've done it. It's over it's over it's all over in front of the whole town it's over oh gods strike me now oh gods--/
But at the 'fiancé,' he broke out into a triumphant smile. Carlos slipped the ring onto Cecil's finger, completely ignoring the thunderous applause surrounding them as he he jumped up and held the other tightly, crying and laughing. Yes. He'd said yes.
Stranger: Cecil didn't even notice he was quickly giving Carlos a panic attack by not coming right out and saying yes, it was just in his nature to ramble. He was a radio host you know. But he did end up nodding and saying yes, watching as Carlos slipped the ring on his finger. It was a perfect fit and completely stunning. Letting out a laugh as Carlos wrapped his arms around him. Cecil hugging him back as his hand tangled in Carlos' hair. "I love you." He mumbled, nuzzling into the crook of his neck. "With all my hearts." He hummed, pressing a kiss to his cheek. ".....Um, heart." he fixed quickly, before pressing a series of quick kisses to Carlos' face.
You: "Wh--"
The slight confusion at Cecil's statement was overwhelmed by an onslaught of onlookers, each one coming up and kissing the happy couple with congratulations after congratulations. Carlos nodded to each one politely, but it took a good fifteen minutes for them all to filter into the Arby's. Carlos was providing dinner for everyone, having spent a good percentage of his savings on this proposal alone. Still, as the last few guests filtered away and Carlsberg sulked back to his run-down tan corolla, Carlos reached into the trunk of the limo and pulled out two blankets. "I thought... we could look at the lights," he said, still laughing at himself a little in disbelief. Proposed. Fiancé-d. It was all so overwhelming. "On the hood of the car. If you wanted. Sort of sentimental, you know."
Karley asked "Molly finds out she is pregnant with her and JR's first child"
She's not surprised, really. They've been trying for months, and she couldn't help but think that the nausea she's been dealing with is morning sickness. So when the doctor tells her that she is in fact pregnant, it's not a life-changing moment. It really just confirms what she already knew.
Julian's waiting in the hall and when he sees her smile, she doesn't have to tell him. She just knows.
He pulls her into a big hug and asks her, "So can we get you one of those 'World's best mom' aprons?"
She chuckles. "Save it for when we actually have a kid who can put their handprints on it."
As she pulls out of the hug, she sees the biggest smile on his face. That's the life-changing moment.
