A drop here, a drop there (a one-shots/snippet book)

And the rain washed it all away (Welcome to Night Vale)

He tried, yes, but that doesn't matter. What mattered was the cracks in Cecil's voice through the phone, the desolate tone mixed with desperate and fragile hopes that Carlos obliviously stomped over and over again with each call.

Carlos was unable to meet any of their eyes, a habit that he thought he had trained himself out of. His gaze quickly flit over their faces, not looking long enough to pick up any details, before dropping to the carpet covered floor of the vehicle. A gnarled hand –not a monstrous gnarled hand like those of a librarian, but that of a normal old woman's– landed on his shoulder and he flinched. Soft and warm but with a core of strength in its fragile appearance, the hand of Old Woman Josie guided him to a chair next to her. On her other side was Erika, and the seat next to that was Erika, followed by a woman he didn't recognize. On his other side was Erika.

Carlos tentatively raised his eyes to a calm gaze looking at him. Through him.

"Welcome back," Josie said simply.

This broke the silence in the car, and signaled for the rest to do the same.

"-oh my god you-" "-took you long enough-" "-be so happy-" "-sheesh, you really-"

Chatter filled the air as people talked to him and to each other. Grins and smiles and rolled eyes bombarded him, and he didn't know how to react. What-why-?

"Uncle Carlos!" A childish cry rang out in delight.

His heart leapt into his throat at seeing what was unmistakably Janice, Cecil's niece, roll her wheelchair over to him. His breath stuttered, his chest ached, and some part of his brain took note of this and wondered whether he will come down with something later due to the cold. The thought was just a distraction, he knew, his brain trying to distance itself away from the overwhelming emotions birthed from a single word.

He suddenly wanted to cry, to crumple to the ground through this pain in his chest–because Janice just called him her Uncle! Even when he had been about to take away Cecil from her life.

Erika patted his head and Josie said sternly, but not unkindly, "Save it for later."

Carlos nodded shakily, blinking away tears and gathered himself before Janice can get close enough to notice. He can break down later, in the semi-privacy of their apartment and in front of the person who deserved everything and more. So much more.

"You're here! Uncle Cecil will be so happy!" She said happily, before she seemed to remember something that made her stop. She fell silent, fidgeting as she dropped her eyes for a moment, but when she raised them again she mustered up a brave smile. "You're taking Uncle Cecil to the desert otherworld with you, right? I heard it was nice there... I'm sure he'll be happy."

His heart broke all over again.

He can feel them staring, waiting, breath held, but he had already made his decision before he even stepped out the oak door. For the first time since he arrived, he spread his lips in a soft smile, quite unlike any smile that Kevin or Lauren gave.

Cecil is not going anywhere. Nor is he.

---------

Cecil was a warm presence next to him, seeping into his skin and bones as Carlos opened their apartment's door. This simple contact was almost too much for Carlos, overwhelming after almost a year spent without physical contact, but this was Cecil. Cecil who was cold and trembling, and looked at him with such emotion that Carlos had no trouble reading the awe and love in his eyes. And the fear, bubbling underneath the surface.

As if Carlos deciding to stay was almost too good to be true, and he would fade away like a dream once reality reasserted itself.

Carlos fumbled for the light switch, trying not to think about how thin Cecil felt under the arm he wrapped around his torso, how light Cecil's own arm felt as it was draped around Carlos' shoulder.