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[ There is a man, a person in front of him. Not close enough to call a friend, but... He is a friend of Carlos. And that man, that person, that second-degree-friend is crying, and trying not to. He is rubbing his eyes and shaking. He is asking what he is supposed to do. He is sounding as if he is afraid to be alone.

...It is hard not to care. It is impossible not to care.

He wonders for a moment what to do, what is best. And when he decides not to do what is best, he looks at his hands, and his wrist. And he takes off his watch. ]

This... is the one true timepiece in Night Vale, as Carlos called it. I am not sure Carlos even knows what time, or truth, or timepieces really are, but... That is what he believed. It is significant to him. Important. Precious, and... He gave it to me for an anniversary of ours.

[ He takes one of Jesse's wrists, and he belts the watch on, looking at it as he does, going on and on, as he does. ] It is precious to me, also. I'd like you to hold onto it while I am gone, while Carlos is gone, until both of us are back. It is a symbol and a reminder that none of us is ever alone. I'd like you to hold onto it, to protect it, and to keep it safe.

[ It'll be a lot easier than keeping Carlos safe.... probably. He lets go and looks up at Jesse again. ] That is what you are going to do. You are going to remember. You are going to fight to survive, to hold onto that precious something. And you are not going to give up.

...And also you're going to go talk to monsters with me, for a while. You and I are not the only ones who need reminders of who and what we are, and the friends we have.

[ While it happens, Jesse glances between the watch being fastened to his wrist and Cecil's face, more than a couple of times. He swallows a lump in his throat. When Cecil lets go, he has to hold his wrist up and stare at it before he can formulate any type of reply. This is... a gesture he didn't expect. He touches the side of the watch with his other hand, deep furrows in his brow.

Eyes back on Cecil now and no less shiny. If he had any confidence that he could convince him not to do it, he might try. Take the path of least resistance and wait for Carlos to come back. Eyes back on the watch now. The one true timepiece he called it, and while that doesn't make sense to Jesse, all the rest does. A blinding amount of sense.

And you are not going to give up. ] I-- [ Speechless. Very speechless at first. ] Um...

I'll take good care of it. Promise. [ Then his voice picks up. A lot easier than keeping Carlos safe. But he's not an idiot. This is for him, something for him to focus on while Cecil and Carlos are both out. He looks back up again, this time with a sad little smile turning up the corner of his mouth. He reaches over to give Cecil an appreciative pat on the arm, a quick one, for this and for offering all those words. For agreeing to distract Jesse for an indeterminate amount of time with monsters and nonsense.

He's grateful, but the words to express that are lost to him at the moment. So he opts for silently expressing it. ]

You think they can hear us? [ Jesse starts for the subway station first. ] I always wonder how long it took 'em to turn.

[ It is strange and amazing what death will do to a relationship. Even relationships that are not real, people who probably do not exist, brought together by a false and impermanent death. The world is a strange, amazing place.

Cecil follows in step, towards the subway. ]

Well, I have been here for nearly ten months. So... Longer than that, I guess. Longer than the people who have been here longer than me. ...Unless, of course, some of them are people we have known who have "disappeared." In which case "how long" is unknowable, and different for each of us.

...Anyway. There is no way for us to know. To know how long, to know who they were, to know whether they can hear us or not. But... It doesn't hurt to pretend, to guess, and to talk to them, anyway.

Years 'n years, I bet. Maybe hundreds and thousands of 'em; you're right, who knows? Only thing that matters is how long we got before we're the same.

[ Now that he's got ahold of himself, he slows to walk side-by-side with Cecil. Not rushing. The heavy reality of what's happened and what's about to happen is still settling, scattered around his thoughts like a bad fog, but he's going to focus on monster watching with Cecil and-- he's going to survive. ]

It's somethin' to do. Not like we have television around here.

[ Mindless distractions are crazy difficult to come by and sorely needed. ]

Or an accessible internet connection. Or bowling alley and arcade fun complexes, either.

[ It's better not to think about death, sometimes. It's easy to think about all the time, especially after the death of a loved one. But if you do that... Then you miss out on living. And what is the worth of a real and permanent death if you have not lived to see it?

Carlos wouldn't want that for Jesse. Cecil doesn't want it for either of them. So he moves on. ]

There is a carnival in Haven North now that was not there before. Getting through the tunnels is a challenge, though.

Have you been there yet?

[ Oh, cool, Night Vale had the internet. Jesse shoots Cecil a sideways, knowing glance, because the internet would be the perfect way to waste time or distract yourself from the horrible realities in Haven, let's be real. ]

A couple'a times. [ He muses, on the mention of Haven North. ] And tell me about it. It, uh, ain't somethin' I been dumb enough to attempt on my own. But I came close once.

Y'know, me bein' a pathetic burn-out, [ he doesn't have to pretend with Cecil (who knows everything, just how is a mystery, but whatever), ] and Haven bein' well awares, they stashed my stuff there this one time. After I spit on Kite.

[ That is a lot of interesting and meaningful information to respond to but, I mean, really. ]

You spit on Doctor Kite?

[ Because uh. Wow. ]

Yup. [ YEAH IT SOUNDS CRAZY NOW BUT... well. at the time it seemed very appropriate. ] I spit on him, he took my organs, we had a good old time.

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