A Holiday Surprise (closed w/ selfmedicatingmayor)

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos nodded, setting down his chopsticks again. “Sure. Absolutely, Hancock,” he said. He turned to lean in and press a gentle kiss to Hancock’s cheek. “You’ll… let me know if it gets to be too much… right?” He didn’t even know when the guy’s birthday was yet, but he wanted to be absolutely sure he was getting a green light to do something small. Very small.

“Sure. You’ll uh…. you’ll forgive me if I ain’t too into the celebration, yeah? Or um…. if I need to take a chem break or two? Not gonna lie, I…. tend to spend the day high outta my mind most’a the time.” He poked at his food again, just pushing the noodles around in the bowl at this point. “When’s your birthday?”

Carlos nodded to him, leaning into the other man’s shoulder. “Um… well, my birthday’s in… May.” He chuckled softly, trying to lighten the mood again. “I’m a Taurus… if that means anything to you.”

A Holiday Surprise (closed w/ selfmedicatingmayor)

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos hummed as he nibbled on a noodle, trying not to make the gross noises he usually did while Hancock explained something so personal. He understood he supposed… he hadn’t bothered with his own birthday since… he was alone. Well, not alone, alone – not anymore – but the only other people who knew about it were safely tucked away in a vault never for him to see again. But still…

“Would you… mind too terribly if I were to get you something?” he asked softly. “Nothing big or extensively-planned, just… I dunno… a box of Snack Cakes and a ‘Happy Birthday’ kiss or something?” He tried to make the idea seem light, but he really did want to know what Hancock would feel about it.

“I uh…..” He paused, chewing on his lip as he considered that. One of the reasons he’d stopped acknowledging the day was because his parents had been killed not long after, it only served as a reminder of what he’d lost these days.

“I guess that’d be alright, as long as it’s not a whole….. thing, maybe. I dunno, we could try it anyway, if ya want.”

Carlos nodded, setting down his chopsticks again. “Sure. Absolutely, Hancock,” he said. He turned to lean in and press a gentle kiss to Hancock’s cheek. “You’ll… let me know if it gets to be too much… right?” He didn’t even know when the guy’s birthday was yet, but he wanted to be absolutely sure he was getting a green light to do something small. Very small.

A Holiday Surprise (closed w/ selfmedicatingmayor)

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos smiled at the kiss, feeling an absolutely lovely tingling sensation go down his spine. He then looked at Hancock curiously. “Why not?” he asked gently, going for his own bowl of noodles again. He tried to be careful not to make it sound like he had to know the answer right then… the way he said it Hancock could easily brush the question away for another time.

“Eh…. after my folks died it just kinda…. stopped happening.” He shrugged, poking at his food. “It’s been close to twenty years since I stopped celebrating and my brother didn’t really make much of an effort to keep it up either, heh. Just didn’t really feel the same without my parents, y’know?”

Carlos hummed as he nibbled on a noodle, trying not to make the gross noises he usually did while Hancock explained something so personal. He understood he supposed… he hadn’t bothered with his own birthday since… he was alone. Well, not alone, alone – not anymore – but the only other people who knew about it were safely tucked away in a vault never for him to see again. But still…

“Would you… mind too terribly if I were to get you something?” he asked softly. “Nothing big or extensively-planned, just… I dunno… a box of Snack Cakes and a ‘Happy Birthday’ kiss or something?” He tried to make the idea seem light, but he really did want to know what Hancock would feel about it.

A Holiday Surprise (closed w/ selfmedicatingmayor)

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos looked over at him and smiled. “Awe, but if you know when it is then how can I surprise you?” he asked, his voice taking on a cheerful and teasing tone. He gently nudged Hancock. “I’m just kidding,” he clarified. “Yeah, if you want me to I’ll mark ‘em on your calendar or something. Speaking of which, when’s your birthday?”

“Heh, surprises are fine as long as I ain’t feelin’ like I fucked up by forgettin’.” With a little smile, Hancock leaned in and pecked him on the cheek, eyes going back to his bowl when he pulled away again. “I uh…. I don’t actually celebrate my birthday anymore, haven’t for a long time.”

Carlos smiled at the kiss, feeling an absolutely lovely tingling sensation go down his spine. He then looked at Hancock curiously. “Why not?” he asked gently, going for his own bowl of noodles again. He tried to be careful not to make it sound like he had to know the answer right then… the way he said it Hancock could easily brush the question away for another time.

A Holiday Surprise (closed w/ selfmedicatingmayor)

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist :

Carlos put his chopsticks down into his bowl. He leaned into Hancock more, sort of cuddling up to him. “You do so much for me already, Hancock,” he said. “You basically let me live here rent free and you let me eat your food… you keep the nastier folks away from me because you know I can’t handle myself in a fight… Han, I get so much from you. Yeah, the holiday means something to me… but that was basically another life. I… I know the day doesn’t mean much to you, but I just wanted an excuse to repay you back at least some of the kindness you give me… you know?”

He could mention that he treated just about everyone that way, offering food and a safe place to sleep, but he did pay especially close attention to Carlos’ needs, he supposed. Still, in his mind, he wasn’t going above and beyond to make the other happy. “I….. I get it. I still feel guilty, heh, but I get it. I can learn to care about holidays and shit, it’s never really been somethin’ I’ve ever paid attention to, but I’m happy to celebrate with ya in the future, I just uh…. need to know when it is, heh.”

Carlos looked over at him and smiled. “Awe, but if you know when it is then how can I surprise you?” he asked, his voice taking on a cheerful and teasing tone. He gently nudged Hancock. “I’m just kidding,” he clarified. “Yeah, if you want me to I’ll mark ‘em on your calendar or something. Speaking of which, when’s your birthday?”

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist :

Carlos laughed. “Yeah, because the image of your country rests solely on your shoulders!” he countered. “Man, if I was that petty then that sandwich shop I would have done in my opinion. As for my wallet… unfortunately, I’ve been the only one bitten so far. And my brother too, when I forgot that it actually bit people and asked him to grab my driver’s license for me once. But actual pick-pockets, no. I guess it’s usually too far down in my pocket for any no-maj to reach. They don’t expect expanded pockets, after all…”

“Hey now, one bad trip somewhere can ruin a person’s opinion’a that place forever, sometimes all it takes is one bad person to ruin a trip.” He shrugged. A soft snort escaped then as Carlos went on and he laughed, thinking back to some of the magical pranks he’d pulled on his brother back when he was in school. “Did ya actually forget or were ya just messin’ with him? ‘Cause that sounds exactly like the kinda shit my brother and I would’a pulled on each other back when we were kids.”

Carlos just smiled and shook his head. “Nah, that wasn’t on purpose,” he said. “But I do give him jinxed pens on occasion when we’re around each other. And sometimes I’ll put a timed transfiguration spell on, like, a banana peel or something so he thinks its a video game controller before it changes back in his hands. Though… that’s getting harder now. Almost all of his game controllers are custom-made.”

Food for the Soul (closed w/ selfmedicatingmayor)

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist :

Carlos shrugged slightly. “Maybe,” he said, though his tone suggested he didn’t think he would.

He continued to take apart the machine, putting aside parts that were usable to be cleaned and tossing broken parts into the far corner. “I’m surprised at how many of these parts survived,” he admitted. “The machine probably hadn’t been used for 200 years before we found it.”

A small frown tugged at the ghoul’s lips at Carlos’ response, but he didn’t bother trying to argue with him, simply going quiet until the other spoke up again. “Is it bad for shit to just sit unused for a long time? I don’t really know anythin’ about technology, only thing I ever really had before I took over here was a radio and anytime one died, my folks would just fork out the caps for a new one–– not that anything’s really new around here.”

“It can be bad,” Carlos said. “But it depends on the place it’s kept in, I guess. If there isn’t a lot of ventilation, then there’s less chance of weathering and less chance for things to dehydrate. That phone I tore apart had some great wires where the rubber hadn’t cracked or become brittle, which was a great find.” He glanced at Hancock. “Were your folks well off? I think it would cost quite a bit of caps…”

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist :

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“Same to you,” Carlos told him, giving him a smile. He
started to shed his suit, and tried hard not to squirm under Hancock’s gaze. After what just happened, Carlos felt like he
didn’t have any right to be at all sheepish about his body. God, he had so much
hair… and he was starting to fill in again since having left the wasteland. He
was a little bit disappointed in himself.

He tried not to look at himself as he pulled off his
undershirt.

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist :

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Carlos gently head-butted him. “Stop… just stop. It wasn’t
you.” Carlos didn’t wanna keep playing the ‘no, it’s my fault’ game right now,
though he was damn sure it was his own fault. He just wanted to take a time out
from the world. So instead, he smiled at Hancock. “I dunno if you’ve figured it
out, but… I really like it when you touch my hair. So I’m all for you helping
me wash it out.” He tilted his head to press a kiss to Hancock’s cheekbone,
just under his left eye.

A Holiday Surprise (closed w/ selfmedicatingmayor)

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist :

Carlos looked at him, his eyebrows starting to scrunch together in worry. “Wha… Hancock, I didn’t want you to feel guilty!” he told the other man. “I – you don’t have to! You already do so much for me! And I wanted to do something nice for you! It’s okay, I promise.” Carlos put an arm around Hancock to pull him in for a side-hug. “I don’t want you to feel bad, Han…”

“It’s a holiday that means something to you, I should have been more on top of things. I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He leaned into the hug, looping his free arm around him as well and placing a soft kiss to Carlos’ cheek. “I promise I’ll be better about these things in the future, I want ya to feel appreciated. I want you to feel like I care, cause I do. I care more about you than anyone else in this hellhole.”

Carlos put his chopsticks down into his bowl. He leaned into Hancock more, sort of cuddling up to him. “You do so much for me already, Hancock,” he said. “You basically let me live here rent free and you let me eat your food… you keep the nastier folks away from me because you know I can’t handle myself in a fight… Han, I get so much from you. Yeah, the holiday means something to me… but that was basically another life. I… I know the day doesn’t mean much to you, but I just wanted an excuse to repay you back at least some of the kindness you give me… you know?”