Work Text:
Living and working in a cave far from civilisation was often quite the lonely experience. Though he would never have admitted it to himself, or to anybody else, for that matter, Dr. S did find himself yearning for company within the cave; he yearned for companionship, for someone to spend his days with, someone to talk about his harebrained schemes with. Somebody who wouldn’t look at him like he was a total nutjob whenever he got excited about his projects (although, freaking people out did make him feel accomplished in himself most of the time).
It seemed like a blessing in disguise when King Julien had assigned Dr. S and Rob McTodd (that’s Nurse Phantom, to you) to be the kingdom’s official Doctor and Nurse duo. Adjusting to the constant company of the lemur who Dr. S was no stranger to working with was quite the task at first, but he grew to like Rob’s company almost immediately. Although they appeared to bicker a lot--like an old married couple, some may say--beneath the surface, it was evident to see that Dr. S and Rob had grown quite attached to each other, like peas in a pod. Rob was always willing to listen to and give his input on Dr. S’ often impractical and unprofessional plans, and it seemed that Dr. S enjoyed listening to what Rob had to say, be it about his plans, or just about himself and how he was feeling. Quite the unexpected pair, it was plain to see to lemurs all around Madagascar that Rob and Dr. S definitely had chemistry together, and not just on professional terms.
More than once the two had actually been mistaken for a married couple.
“You two are such a lovely couple! How long have you been married?” someone would say.
“We aren’t married.” they would reply through stammering voices, paired with sheepish looks and flushed cheeks.
The amount of times that the snake and the lemur mistakenly got taken for a married couple began to clock over in Dr. S’ mind. Soon enough, he found himself thinking about Rob in a more than friendly way, as much as he tried to suppress it. A warm feeling would rise in his chest whenever the lemur smiled his way, or whenever he would make a witty remark and would laugh at his own joke. He would miss Rob endlessly when he would decide to put himself into a medically induced coma, and would yearn to hear his voice again, or to hear his footsteps around the cave. He found himself wanting to be close to Rob all the time, and so would sleep on the floor beside his bed where he was in his medically induced coma, the sound of the lemur’s breathing right next to him rocking him off into a peaceful night’s rest.
On one occasion, when Rob woke up from his medically induced coma, Dr. S couldn’t help but wrap himself around the lemur in a tight embrace. To say that Rob was surprised at the sudden physical affection was an understatement to say the least--not just because Dr. S had never really expressed such intimacy towards him before, but more because… well… Rob couldn’t exactly remember the last time he was hugged like that, especially with his appearance having drastically changed within the last few months, causing the other lemurs to often look at him with disgust or contempt. Rob felt a sense of safety and comfort wash over him as Dr. S hugged him--another feeling he hadn’t felt in years.
“A part of me almost felt as if you would never wake up again, Nurse Phantom,” Dr. S had explained shyly when he had finally let go of the lemur, his cheeks flushing a slight rosy colour.
Feeling as though his heart was melting as Dr. S admitted that to him, Rob smiled as he looked up at the snake, “How could I ever just leave you alone in this cave?” He paused for a moment to wipe the dribble running down his chin with the back of his glove. “I think you need somebody around here to keep you at least a little sane.”
Dr. S had smiled back at the lemur warmly, “I think you may be right about that.”
Ever since that small interaction, there had been a different kind of spark between the two. They still bickered like an old married couple, but not quite as often. They found themselves flirting over surgery tables when performing an operation on a patient, who may or may not have been under proper anaesthesia, and may or may not have heard their entire flirtatious conversations. They found themselves sleeping next to each other in the cave, moving closer and closer to one another each night until Rob was eventually wrapped up in Dr. S’ long body, snoring contentedly. Dr. S loved to make sure that the lemur was safe and secure, and when Rob was wrapped up in the doctor’s body, he seemed to sleep better, so there was no need for those terribly long and painful medically induced comas anymore.
One day, Dr. S had caught Rob looking at his reflection in a mirror once, and a wave of concern shook through him as he prepared himself for the lemur’s reaction. Losing his attractive physical appearance had had a serious detrimental effect to Rob’s mental health and self esteem, and it was tough for Dr. S to see someone he cared so much for to think of themselves so lowly. The snake was surprised, however, when he found Rob smiling at himself in the mirror, instead of falling to the floor in tears as he usually would.
“...How do you feel, Robert?” Dr. S had asked him, slithering closer to the lemur and tilting his head as he looked at him in the reflection of the mirror. Rob’s smile grew wider as he turned around to face the snake, his face beaming.
“I don’t hate the lemur in the mirror in the more.” He replied with his head held high and his bright smile stretched across his face, drooping slightly on his left side. Seeing Rob finally content with himself made the lemur’s happiness extremely contagious, and Dr. S couldn’t help but give Rob another tight hug.
“That is the best news I have heard in a very long time.” Dr. S told him softly. Rob had wrapped his arms around the snake’s body in response to his hug, and let out a happy sigh as he nuzzled into him.
Ever since that day, the cave seemed a little bit brighter. The days they spent together seemed to be happier. Their conversations seemed to be funnier. The chemistry between the lemur and the snake seemed to have grown stronger.
Dr. S and Rob didn’t exactly leave the cave unless they had to. One day, however, the sunset looked absolutely breathtaking, and Rob couldn’t help but sit outside the cave and watch the sun slowly fade out of view. When Dr. S noticed what Rob was doing, he silently slithered up next to him, and the lemur moved so that their bodies were touching as they watched the sunset together. Dr. S had wrapped his body once again around Rob, and Rob nuzzled into the snake, his arms enveloped around him as he did so.
“Robert?” Dr. S said quietly, looking down at the lemur. Rob looked up at the snake with his wide eyes.
“Yeah, Doc?” He asked, wiping the spit from the side of his mouth with the back of his glove as he did so.
The snake gulped and his cheeks grew red as Rob looked up at him with those big eyes of his. “I, um… I think I would like to spend the rest of my life doing this with you.” He stated, giving the lemur a fanged smile. Rob couldn’t stop the tears from welling up in his eyes as he heard what Dr. S told him, and a smile formed on his lopsided face.
“I’d like that.” Rob replied simply as a single tear rolled down the left side of his face.
Dr. S’ toothy grin only grew larger at his lemur companion’s reply, and he leaned his face down towards his. Rob rubbed his nose against the snake’s in a gentle eskimo kiss, before lightly kissing the snake’s nose with his lips. The two of them sat together in comfortable silence as they watched the stars peek out into the night sky, and they looked forward to watching the sunset together every other night for the rest of their lives.