Work Text:
Sttttewwww
Maybe it wasn’t so much the sound of the instant coffee but rather the smell that woke Stan up. The same coffee grounds for 13 years (Junior year of high school on), Almost like some kind of alarm.
Stan reached over his arm just out of muscle memory and left the still warm empty space next to him.
He rolled over his head and looked at his phone. Normally the alarm would be at 8 but this time it was at 9.
Instant coffee in the morning= get up.
Or rather-
Instant coffee in the morning= Xeno is awake= Probably going to work soon= Get up.
“Hmghmmmm,” Stan groaned as he slowly stirred awake.
Stan wasn’t really a morning person. It got better after training and all that but he’d still rather sleep in. Plus it had been a while since he had a chance to sleep in his and Xeno’s bed. Having an actual comforter was a damn luxury.
Just get up.
Stan groaned as he sat up. Trying to ignore the shooting pain in his ribs. Kinda the whole reason he was back home.
One slip-up from someone on his team and bang! Shot in his abdomen. They offered to send him home so he could rest when he got back. While the pain was a bitch it was nice to be back in Houston.
Stan turned and put his feet on the carpeted floor. As much as he didn’t want to get up… he wanted to tease Xeno a little bit more.
Stan pushed the covers off himself as stood up. The little crusts around his eyes got brushed off as he walked out of the bedroom.
The funny thing about living together with Xeno was, if you could consider Stan not a morning person, Xeno hated the very concept of a morning.
And like clockwork. There was Xeno glazing daggers at the boiling kettle of coffee. Hair a mess from not being styled yet but still keeping part of its shape, the oversized tees Xeno wore to bed that just so happened to be a NASA shirt this time (Who wears a shirt for the place they work at to bed?), and the eyebags Xeno yet to cover with makeup.
In short: The exact opposite of the image Xeno tried to present to others.
Stan being really the only person who sees this side of Xeno. That kind of ‘side only you let me see’ was something Stan admittedly took some pride in.
“Mornin’,” Stan yawned.
“Morning,” Xeno greeted back but kept his eyes fixed on the kettle. (Like he had heat vision or some kind of corny superpower like that)
“You’re looking handsome this morning,” Stan teased.
“And what do you get out of teasing me this early?” Xeno turned his glare to Stan.
“The satisfaction of making me look at you,” Stan shrugged, sitting down on one of the bar stools at the counter.
“If you wanted that, you could’ve just asked,” Xeno turned back.
Despite how cold Xeno was acting… he already had Stan’s favorite coffee mug out for him, along with a few sugar packets. It was a small thing but damn did Stan want to kiss Xeno.
“In any case,” Xeno sighed. “I have work in about 53 minutes. I don’t have time for games Stanley,”
Damn, pulling out the Stanley already huh?
“Strange, normally you're better at waking up early,” Stan glanced over at the oven clock.
“Slept in a little, that’s all,” Xeno quickly answered. Definitely didn’t have anything to do with how comfortable Xeno looked as he held him last night. “In any case, Anything you want me to pick up on my way back?”
“Ahh damn a burrito sounds good,” Stan thought. “That one place still open?”
“The one we went to last time?” Xeno pushed his hair out of his face, only for it to fall right back into place.
“Oh no the time before that. With your folks,” Stan corrected.
“Ahh the one in Katy?”
“Yeah! Taco heaven of something like that,”
“Taco paradise,” Xeno corrected. “And I’ll see if I can swing by,”
“Thanks, Xe,”
“Hmh,” Xeno nodded, taking the kettle off the stove to pour the water over the instant coffee.
It was a rather mundane conversation. (With a rather grumpy Xeno as well)
It was dumb. He knew that. Getting excited over what was going to be for dinner wasn’t definitely not something he’d pictured when he proposed to Xeno.
Because of both of their jobs, despite being together for years and married for a year, they rarely had domestic moments like this.
God damn am I pathetic.
“Hmh? Is something the matter, Stan?” Xeno noticed the slight change of expression on Stan’s face.
“Nothing, just thinking about how much I love you,” Stan calmly stated.
“A rather sudden decoration,” Xeno pointed out, handing Stan his mug.
“What? We’re married aren’t we?” Stan grinned before taking a sip. “Can’t I just tell you how much I love you every once in a while?”
“You could, if you weren’t trying to get a rise out of me,” Xeno commented.
“You were the one who said yes,” Stan recalled.
“Yes I did and I have no plans of changing that,” Xeno took a sip of the coffee. “A divorce right now would be quite problematic,”
“Oh?”
“Our finances right now are so intertwined, it would be a hassle to separate,” There was the smartass Stan knew.
“Well good to know you're with me because of how hard it is to get separate bank accounts,” Stan playfully rolled his eyes.
“No, it's based on how much I love you. A two-income household is just an added perk,” Xeno shrugged. “Plus I earn way more than you anyways,”
“Pftt,” Stan cracked up. “The love of my life everyone,” Stan joked as if there was a crowd watching them.
Xeno smiled a bit. Again something very few got to see. “If you’re done I need to start getting ready,” Xeno drank the rest of his coffee and put the mug in the sink. “And make sure you go to your appointment at 5,”
“Nah, they're just going to tell me things I already know,” Stan shook his head. “Two fractured ribs and a bullet straight through. Some ibuprofen and I’ll be fine,”
“Hmmm, truly elegant,” Xeno added. “I’ll be getting ready to go then,”
“Xe, you’re forgetting something,” Stan noticed the lunchbox on the kitchen island.
“Oh right,” Xeno stepped by Stan’s side.
Stan looked over at Xeno confused for a second until he felt Xeno’s lips push against his check. “Uhhh I meant-,” Stan pointed at the lunch box.
It wasn’t really the kiss that threw Stan off. He had kissed Xeno plenty of times, it was just how sickeningly sweet it was.
“Oh my lunch,” Xeno followed Stan’s finger. Though Xeno on the other hand seemed unphased.
And why wouldn’t he be?
Damn it Stan.
Xeno grabbed his lunch and went to the bedroom to get ready for work. Stan on the other hand felt like an idiot for getting all blushy just because Xeno kissed him.
He kept flipping through channels trying to distract his mind but damn it he was embarrassed.
It’s a normal thing. Ma used to kiss Dad all the time before they went to work so why the hell?!
Finally, Stan got it.
Sure he and Xeno had been legally married for a year now, they really didn’t have a chance to do small things like that. After the ‘wedding’ (courthouse) Stan got deployed again. No honeymoon, no newlywed phase, just work as usual and that was fine. He knew that would probably be the case. Really just a reminder he was married to Xeno. The man he loved for years. His fucking husband!
“Fuckkkkkk,” Stan pushed his hands up to his eyes. “Really took me this long to realize I’m married?” Stan slid his hands off his face.
“Hey Stan I’m heading out,” Xeno called from their room.
“Ahh Xe wait,” Stan got up from the couch.
“Hmh? Did I forget something else?” Xeno turned to look at Stan.
“Nah,” Stan hugged his husband. “Just thought of something,”
“Care to tell me?”
“Just how much I love you,”
“What are you playing at now?” Xeno deadpanned.
“Nothing, just being honest,” Stan snickered. “I’m glad we’re married. That’s all,”
“Hmh,” Xeno hummed in agreement. “A sweet sentiment, but, kind of undercut since you're still in your boxers,”
“Awww come on man!! You know how much it hurts to hug you with fractured ribs?"