the-perfect-scientist‌:

Carlos snorted softly. “Kinda takes away the illusion of me treating you when you say things like that, babe,” Carlos teased him with a grin. “But, uh, yeah… I think a table by the stage sounds great.” Carlos loved Magnolia’s singing too. It reminded him that even though the world supposedly ended, people were still creating new things. It just always put him in a good mood. It would make his night with Hancock that much better, he thought.

“If it makes you feel better, you can order for me if you like.” He teased right back with a wink. “We’ll find one close but maybe not so close we won’t be able to chat, yeah? Much as I love Mags, I want to spend the night with you, y’know?”

Carlos grinned stupidly. “You’re ridiculously sweet,” he cooed. “That sounds great. Dare I say, romantic.” It made Carlos want to just kiss him now. A lot.

A Holiday Surprise (closed w/ selfmedicatingmayor)

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist‌:

Oh shit, that’s right. Damn…

“Um, the thing with ice cream, Hancock, is that it’s frozen. It’s literally frozen milk and cream ingredients. And if we did find a container of it, it’d probably have not only melted but spoiled and petrified. I guess there’s a possibility that dehydrated ice cream still exists. It tastes the same, just drier. But if there was any to be had, I would assume that it would have been one of the first things to go.”

Carlos wished more than anything in that moment to have somehow rationed even a single piece of chocolate or a small package of dehydrated ice cream just to share it with Hancock – share as in give it to him since he had never tasted any of it before. But Carlos knew how ridiculous that thought was and tried to shake it away.

“I–– yeah, I s’pose that makes sense. Ya don’t think anyone’s figured out how to make it again? I mean, we got workin’ refrigerators now, it could be possible, right?” It was probably wishful thinking, but if he were being honest, it really didn’t matter that much, he didn’t know what he was missing so he couldn’t exactly miss it in the first place.

“Not unless someone’s got a recipe book from pre-war,” Carlos said a little sadly. But then an idea came to him. “Oh – but I can show you how to make popsicles! Some day, we should get some mutfruit juice and some clean skewer-type sticks and I’ll show you what my dad showed Mikey and I. You might like it.”

When it got warmer, of course – Carlos didn’t want Hancock to have any more issues with his circulation than the winter already gave him.

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist‌:

“I’m not sure,” Carlos said. “We had it in the Vault, so… maybe Vault 88 carried it out?” Carlos didn’t know much about Diamond City’s history past the Broken Mask incident and a little bit about the process of the ghouls being kicked out of Diamond City. “But basically… it was candy time.”

“I get like, the basics of it, I’ve heard somethin’ about it and seen the decorations still up from before the war, just never really got what it was about.”

Carlos nodded. “That’s alright,” he said. “It was some kind of harvest celebration maybe four hundred years ago, but turned into people dressing up in costumes for sweets and candy. Just… something about offering the the harvest to spirits of the land or something…”

Carlos set his tote bag on the coffee table and pulled out the funnel cakes. He offered the box to Hancock. “Wanna give the first one a try? I don’t know what a funnel cake is… but it looks good. If… squiggly.”

selfmedicatingmayor:

@the-perfect-scientist from x

Carlos beamed at him and he pressed another kiss to Hancock’s mouth.
“Well, I try to be,” he said. Another kiss. “Happy Halloween, babe. I
know it’s really only Diamond City that celebrates, but… yeah. Consider
that an excuse to get sugar.”

“Wait, what?” He looked a little confused by that, he’d lived in Diamond City most of his life and never knew about that tradition. “When did they start that up? I never got to do anythin’ to celebrate when I was a kid there.”

“I’m not sure,” Carlos said. “We had it in the Vault, so… maybe Vault 88 carried it out?” Carlos didn’t know much about Diamond City’s history past the Broken Mask incident and a little bit about the process of the ghouls being kicked out of Diamond City. “But basically… it was candy time.”

“Hey, Han! I got you something!” Carlos was carrying an old tote bag that he used when he went shopping. He pulled out a box of Sugar Bombs as well as a box of NukaWorld brand funnel cakes. “You have no idea how excited I was to find these!”

selfmedicatingmayor:

Delight crossed the ghoul’s face as he saw the sweets and he quickly descended on the bag, poking through it quickly before pulling out one of the funnel cakes and practically tackling Carlos in a hug and quick kiss. “You’re the fuckin’ best, y’know that? Absolutely phenomenal, sunshine.”

Carlos beamed at him and he pressed another kiss to Hancock’s mouth. “Well, I try to be,” he said. Another kiss. “Happy Halloween, babe. I know it’s really only Diamond City that celebrates, but… yeah. Consider that an excuse to get sugar.”

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist‌:

Carlos nodded. “Right, of course,” Carlos said. “The last thing you want to hear is a shitty joke.” He grinned and waited to see if this one landed well.

“What did I just say?” The redhead gave him a mock threatening look. “I’ll leave ya right here on the side’a the road if ya keep that up, pal.”

Carlos laughed. Or actually, he cackled. “Sorry, sorry, I won’t do it again! I just had to! I promise, only really good ones from now on!”

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist‌:

Carlos watched Hancock take the Addictol. He took it like he was huffing Jet. Did he already forget what it was that Carlos got him? He reached to take the inhaler and ensure that it was empty when Hancock had looked at him.

Carlos felt a pang of guilt in his chest. Hancock was like this because of him. Obviously. This had Carlos wondering, again, if they should stay together in the long-term if he was going to just be a source of pain for Hancock.

But he really couldn’t make that decision now.

“I… I’ll stay with you, Han,” Carlos said. He took Hancock’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m going to help you feel better. I’m going to take care of you, okay?”

It wasn’t Carlos so much as Hancock’s own damage that had caused this. The scientist’s initial reaction to things had been reasonable but the ghoul tended to be oversensitive about certain things, particularly when it came to what his boyfriend thought about his….. anatomy. It was a difficult situation for Carlos to win in the first place.

“Thank you.” The ghoul croaked, eyes beginning to water again. He pulled Carlos in, wrapping his arms around his neck and pulling himself up to hug the other man clumsily.

“‘M sorry….” Hancock breathed, a slight whimper in his voice. “I’m sorry I fucked up, I won’t do it again…..”

Carlos was a little slow to return the hug, but he did when he feared
that Hancock might lose his grip and fall somehow. Also, Hancock looked
so incredibly vulnerable… Carlos’ heart was hurting just from seeing
the tears. Hancock didn’t ever cry. Carlos felt like a monster for
making him cry, and he also felt like crying himself.

Carlos took in a shuddering breath – oh, he really did feel like crying! He breathed again, trying to even it out so he could speak.

“Hancock…
it’s o-okay,” Carlos told him softly. “You’ll be okay. We got some
medicine in you… I’ll get this place cleaned up, and with some rest
you’ll be just fine.”

Carlos supposed he should have been mad
about the substance binge, but he realized that really he was just
scared. He wanted Hancock to be well again. That’s all he wanted.

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist‌:

Carlos got up after him and followed, reaching ahead to take his hand.

“’And here, we see the Big Goof herding her young Goof to the nest’,” Carlos narrated, grinning cheekily. “’There they will get some much needed rest and bask in each other’s company. Tomorrow is a new day.’”

Hancock let out another snort and rolled his eyes as he tugged Carlos forward to make his way across the hall to the bedroom. “Now which one of us exactly is the young goof? Last I checked, this was my ‘nest’ but you’re older, ain’t ya?”

“I think so,” Carlos said. “I’m 35. Also, you were the ‘young goof’ because you already named me Big Goof. So there.” Carlos grinned as they went into the bedroom and he shut the door behind them. He reached to undo the clasp on his Pip-boy so he could put it down.

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist‌:

“Well… how does getting a bite at the Third Rail sound?” Carlos suggested. “I wonder if we could get a table over close to Magnolia’s stage, or maybe just spend time in the VIP room.” Carlos then smirked slightly at Hancock. “That’s not to say that I’m going to be drinking, however. If I did, then things would get boring pretty quickly.”

“Darlin’, we can get a table wherever we want, I own the place, remember?” He teased lightly. “That sounds wonderful. You know how much I enjoy listenin’ to her sing, heh, though it doesn’t matter much what we’re doin’ so long as I get to spend time with you.”

Carlos snorted softly. “Kinda takes away the illusion of me treating you when you say things like that, babe,” Carlos teased him with a grin. “But, uh, yeah… I think a table by the stage sounds great.” Carlos loved Magnolia’s singing too. It reminded him that even though the world supposedly ended, people were still creating new things. It just always put him in a good mood. It would make his night with Hancock that much better, he thought.

A Holiday Surprise (closed w/ selfmedicatingmayor)

selfmedicatingmayor:

the-perfect-scientist‌:

Carlos smiled at Hancock. He wished he had a bigger coat, but the labcoat was not meant to be used for warmth at all, and Carlos’ sweater was only built for one person. He cuddled back against Hancock as best as he could – at least it was a short walk back to the Statehouse.

“I’d like to look and see if we have milk too,” Carlos said. “If that’s okay.”

Now… back to chocolate… “Chocolate… it has like a sort of weird, rich flavor to it,” he started to explain. “I don’t know how to describe it… it felt kind of like warm milk when you chewed it because it had a low melting point and would spread all over your tastebuds. Kind of like ice cream, but not exactly the same.” Carlos laughed. “Gosh, I really don’t know how to make that make sense… but the science behind it is that chocolate can help improve blood flow and oxygen availability when you breathe. It just… feels really good to eat.”

“We can always pick up some more on the way home if you’d like.” He offered with a smile and pecked him lightly on the cheek. As he listened, only a little of what Carlos told him, clearly their experiences hadn’t been at all the same, because he was only able to relate to bits and pieces.

“I’ve….. actually never had ice cream before. That does sound good though, I wish I could try it. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find some someday, huh? Won’t be the same as whatever you had in your vault but should still be good, right?”

Oh shit, that’s right. Damn…

“Um, the thing with ice cream, Hancock, is that it’s frozen. It’s literally frozen milk and cream ingredients. And if we did find a container of it, it’d probably have not only melted but spoiled and petrified. I guess there’s a possibility that dehydrated ice cream still exists. It tastes the same, just drier. But if there was any to be had, I would assume that it would have been one of the first things to go.”

Carlos wished more than anything in that moment to have somehow rationed even a single piece of chocolate or a small package of dehydrated ice cream just to share it with Hancock – share as in give it to him since he had never tasted any of it before. But Carlos knew how ridiculous that thought was and tried to shake it away.