Work Text:
Xeno had lost Stanley two hours ago. It was at this point during a party that he would be trying his hardest to find Stanley so he could beg him to go home. Xeno had never been a fan of parties. The only parties he had ever been to were one during high school that Stanley dragged him to and the rare company parties that he would attend where he had to rub elbows with people that he could not care any less about.
But things were different. Not only did Xeno find that he was actually enjoying himself at this grand celebration, surrounded by people that he had come to call his friends, he found that he could spend time away from Stanley at a party and not feel an overwhelming sense of annoyance and irritation toward everyone and everything going on around him.
That was to say that Xeno had lost Stanley and was trying to find him. Not because he necessarily wanted to leave, but because he feared that Stanley was having too much fun.
Everyone was celebrating their triumph on the moon. Following the medal ceremony, the entire rest of the day had been filled with many festivities. There was lots of dancing and games and drinks. Lots and lots of drinks. And shots. And more drinks. Which led into the evening where everyone was so drunk that they couldn't remember their own names but nobody was ready to call it a night.
Xeno and Stanley spent most of the night at each other’s side, but Ryusui had come along and challenged Stanley to a game of darts. Stanley, being the show-off that he is, accepted the challenge immediately, betting all the Dragos he had on him on his inevitable victory. At the mention of gambling, Ryusui nearly jumped out of his socks with excitement.
Xeno had planned on spectating, but he was approached by Chrome and ended up having a long-winded conversation about the twentieth-century and the infancy of modern technology. Xeno and Chrome had spent a lot of time together working on the rocket engine and he had told Chrome everything he knew about the pre-stone world days, but it seemed that there was always something Chrome had come up with to ask that Xeno had not yet answered.
By the time their conversation was over and Xeno went to where he imagined Stanley and Ryusui had gone to, the two of them had disappeared. That was two hours ago. Since then, Xeno had been walking around aimlessly, getting roped into conversations here and there, most of which were about the moon mission as Xeno was the man behind the curtain and everyone wanted a chance to stand in the presence of a genius. Well, he was one of them at least. He may have been tooting his own horn a bit, but Xeno was definitely the most significant member of the control room.
As repetitive as the conversations were, Xeno wasn’t complaining. He liked being acknowledged for his exceptional work. A working rocket engine in a world where automobiles still ran on steam engines? Only Xeno could manage such a feat.
But now, Xeno was tired from talking about how great his work is and wanted to go home. Xeno walked about the town, trying to catch a glimpse of Stanley anywhere, but with the amount of people buzzing around, it was like trying to pick a needle out of a haystack.
Just when Xeno was starting to get frustrated with his search, he spotted the man who had taken Stanley away from him in the first place and he was heading right toward him.
Ryusui practically tripped over himself as he walked up to Xeno. “Hey, doc,” he slurred. “I think Captain Stanley’s ready to go home.” He was in complete disarray, his once put together outfit so disheveled that it looked like he had fallen into a tumble dryer and went through it for about three cycles.
Xeno wrinkled his nose, smelling the alcohol on his breath. “You look about ready yourself, Ryusui,” he said. “Where is he?”
“The bar. Corner booth.”
That should’ve been the first place he looked. Xeno didn’t waste a second. He beelined for Bar Francois and headed right for the corner booth where he found Stanley.
Stanley had his head down on the table, his once neatly styled blonde hair fell messily over his face and his mascara was starting to smudge from the hot air of the bar. His tie was loosened around his neck to allow more breathing room, but in doing so, his collar had become incredibly wrinkled. His suit jacket was no wear in sight. The only thing that remained intact was his bright red lipstick. Strewn across the wooden table top were empty mugs of what Xeno could only assume used to hold beer, along with a couple small glasses made to hold hard liquor.
Xeno had never seen Stanley more drunk in his life, but he supposed that he deserved to have a little fun. Especially since he had been sent to the moon to confront a space alien with nothing but his trusty revolver and a prayer. As skilled as Stanley is with a gun, Xeno doubted that a revolver would’ve helped that much in the event that Why-man had turned out to be a malicious and aggressive entity intent on harming him and his fellow astronauts.
There was no doubt that Stanley Snyder was a hero, but looking at him now, all Xeno saw was a seriously inebriated man that was one more drink away from a total blackout. Or maybe he was already blacked out. They would have to find out in the morning.
“Goodness, Stan,” Xeno chided as he loomed over the drunk man. “Are you trying to drink them dry?”
Stanley lifted his head up and opened his eyes. “Xeno~!” he trilled lovingly, drawing out the last syllable. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
“Have you now? Because it looks like you’ve been camping out here,” Xeno challenged, gesturing at the empty mugs that surrounded Stanley.
“I was looking with my eyes,” Stanley answered lazily as he laid his head back on the table. “I have very sharp eyes, y’know.”
“Alright, it’s time to go.” Xeno clutched Stanley’s bicep and began trying to haul him out of the booth.
“Wait, wait,” he pleaded. “Sit with me. Just a sec.”
Xeno sighed and obliged, sitting next to Stanley in the booth.
Stanley hooked his arm around Xeno’s and rested his head on his shoulder. His breathing slowly became more rhythmic, indicating he was falling asleep.
“Stanley!” Xeno shook him.
Stanley shot up. “What,” he said, forgetting what he was supposed to be doing.
Xeno got up from his seat and again tried to get Stanley to his feet. “Let’s go,” he said, his voice straining as he exerted himself trying to bear Stanley’s weight. “I’d rather have you fall asleep at home than at the bar.”
The walk home was brutal. Stanley, a model soldier with deft reflexes, was stumbling over himself and leaning heavily on Xeno. Xeno was lucky that he and Stanley were the same height, otherwise the leaning would’ve gotten them nowhere.
Stanley draped his arm over Xeno’s shoulder and leaned in closer. “Carry me,” he whined uncharacteristically.
Xeno used all his might to push Stanley up. “I can’t carry you, Stan.”
Usually Xeno would get someone to help him, but he was one of the few people that didn’t get absolutely plastered. Those most capable of helping him haul Stanley back home were in need of hauling themselves. Everyone was drinking like it was the end of the world which was ironic since they quite literally just saved the world from ending.
“Why not?” Stanley pouted.
“You’re pushing one-sixty,” Xeno said as he readjusted Stanley’s weight against his. “That’s why.”
“You need to build some muscle.”
Xeno rolled his eyes. “And why is that?”
“Didn’t you hear what I just said? I want you to carry me,” Stanley answered sassily. “I always carry you. I want to be on the receiving end.” He paused and chuckled to himself. “Ha-ha. The receiving end. I’m always on the receiving end, if you know what I mean.”
“You’ll be on the receiving end of something else if you don’t start putting one foot in front of the other.”
Stanley chuckled. “I like the sound of that.”
When they finally reached home after what felt like an eternity, Xeno propped Stanley up on the wall so he could take a minute to catch his breath. Xeno bent over and put his hands on his knees, taking deep breaths. He was out of shape to say the very least, but he didn’t think he was that out of shape.
Stanley leaned against the wall next to their front door. “You alright, man?” he asked before belching.
Xeno stared blankly at him. “Just great,” he huffed.
“You’re sweating like a sinner in church. Something you wanna confess?” Stanley purred, wiggling his eyebrows. “Let’s get inside. I’ll get down on my knees and pray.”
Xeno shook his head in disbelief, trying not to let Stanley see his smile. “Stop being bad,” he said, immediately regretting his words. As soon as they left his lips, Stanley started eyeing him up like he was ready to pounce on him. Xeno tried not to laugh as he put Stanley upright again, practically dragging him inside.
He hauled Stanley to the bathroom and sat him on the toilet cover. He unlaced Stanley’s shoes and placed them off to the side. Then, he drenched a soft piece of cloth in water before ringing it out and cleaning the already messy makeup from Stanley’s face while Stanley kept his eyes closed and tried not to fall asleep.
It was quiet for a while as Xeno tried to gently wipe Stanley’s lipstick off which proved to be a very difficult task. Why did Senku have to go ahead and create long-lasting, waterproof lipstick? It was beautiful on Stanley, but Xeno couldn’t fathom how he managed to take it off every night.
It was strange not seeing Stanley with his petrification scar. It had only been a short time that he had it, but Xeno had gotten so used to it. Xeno wouldn’t get to trace the scar across Stanley’s face anymore, but he could still feel the smoothness of his bare skin. His bare face reminded him of the pre-stone days. They had traveled across two continents, engaged in a war, spent years without each other, and worked together to reach the moon, but Stanley was still the same man Xeno had fallen in love with some three-thousand years ago.
“Hey, Xe,” Stanley said loosely as he couldn’t properly form his consonants and vowels with Xeno rubbing the wet cloth over his mouth. His inebriation didn’t help either.
“Yes?” Xeno asked, taking the cloth away.
Stanley opened his tired eyes and blinked heavily. “If I never got revived for the mission and you had to live the rest of your life without me, would you have moved on? With someone else?” he asked in the softest tone.
Xeno huffed a laugh. "Ha! If they even implied that they weren’t going to revive you, I would’ve refused to build their engine to force their hand.”
“I know,” Stanley said dejectedly, “but what if…”
“Of course not,” Xeno asserted. “I would mourn your loss with every waking breath and annoy everyone with talks of how much I miss you.”
A satisfied smirk grew lazily on Stanley’s face. “Good. I would be mad if you didn’t.”
Xeno couldn’t help but laugh some more.
“What’s so funny?”
“Usually you would tell your beloved to move on and try to be happy in whatever way they had to be,” Xeno explained. “Even if it meant moving on with someone else.”
Stanley scoffed. “That’s some horse shit! You should be miserable.”
Xeno gently urged Stanley to close his eyes again before he began working on trying to clean off Stanley’s eyeliner and mascara. “For how long?” Xeno asked amusingly. “How long should I be miserable?”
Stanley sighed as he tried to think of an adequate answer. “A couple years,” he decided. “And then you swear off love and stay single forever.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“I’m kidding.”
Xeno gave him a knowing look. “You’re not kidding,” he smiled.
“I’m not kidding,” Stanley echoed with a mischievous grin.
Xeno examined Stanley’s face, making sure he didn’t miss a spot. Once he was satisfied, he returned to the sink and soaked the cloth before ringing it out and letting the water drain. “I already got a taste of what it’s like to be that miserable and I would rather die than experience that again,” Xeno said solemnly.
“I’m here now,” Stanley assured him. He got up and pulled Xeno into a hug, holding him with as much strength he could muster.
Xeno embraced him, burying his face into Stanley’s shoulder. He breathed a little too deeply and got a whiff of hard liquor. “Jesus, Stan,” he said, lightly pushing him away. “You smell like straight bourbon.”
“I spilled some on myself,” he admitted.
“Figures.”
“Xeno,” Stanley said, calling his attention back.
“Yes?” Xeno answered.
“I’m gonna be sick.”
Stanley’s knee-jerk reaction had been to turn the other way so he didn’t get sick all over Xeno. In doing so, he had gotten sick all over their shower curtains. Xeno didn’t know what to do with the sheets. Washing machines hadn’t been reinvented yet. They reinvented high-tech computers and spaceships, but they still did their laundry with washboards. Xeno swore to himself that when he went back to work on Monday, he would draw up some blueprints for washers and dryers.
In the meantime, Xeno let the curtains marinate in a soapy water concoction in a bucket of water and placed it outside. He would probably have to throw them away, but he was too tired to properly handle them. After he was done, he went to check on Stanley who had relocated to their bedroom.
Xeno sat on the side of their bed and helped Stanley sit up, getting him to drink some water before placing the glass on the nightstand. “How are you feeling?” Xeno asked, petting Stanley’s hair. He looked better after he had expelled whatever extra harmful waste his body needed to get rid of. Now, he just looked tired.
“Xeno,” Stanley called for him again, even though he was right there in front of him. He wrapped his arms around him and drew him closer.
Xeno held him and rubbed his back soothingly. “Yes?”
“I need you to either do me sideways or hold me until I fall asleep.”
“Goodness, Stan,” Xeno laughed, giving Stanley a playful shove. “How about we get you out of your suit before we do anything.”
Stanley bit his lip. “So that’s the option you’re going with. Good choice.”
Xeno snorted. “You’ll get yourself sick again if you even try it,” he said as he unbuttoned Stanley’s dress shirt and helped him out of it. Then went his slacks. The effort it took to get Stanley out of his clothes proved too much for him in his current state, so instead of getting him into some pajamas, Xeno let him relax in just his boxers and dress socks.
Xeno got himself ready for bed, dressing in a simple nightgown, before joining Stanley in bed.
As soon as Xeno’s weight dipped the mattress, Stanley called his name again. “Xeno,” he whispered.
“Yes, Stan?”
“Have I ever told you you look like Ebenezer Scrooge in your pajamas?”
Xeno gave him an unimpressed look. “Have I ever told you you deserve a clean slap in the face?”
Stanley snickered. “I wouldn’t be doing my job right if I didn’t tease you.”
“What job would that be? Professional nuisance?”
“My job as your partner. Duh.” Stanley wiggled closer to Xeno, inching toward him to bridge the gap between them on the bed. “Now, hold me,” he demanded.
Xeno laid down and got under the covers, bringing Stanley into his arms. “You are so needy when you want to be,” he teased.
“Thanks for taking care of me,” Stanley said, his words muffled into Xeno’s chest. ”I’ll get you back.”
“Oh, Stanley,” Xeno sighed. “You don’t owe me anything. I do this because I love you.”
Stanley peeked his head up at Xeno. “Gross," he said playfully.
Xeno brought Stanley back into his embrace to silence him. "Just be quiet and go to sleep."