Work Text:
Stanley hadn’t heard from Xeno in a while. It wasn’t unlike Xeno to disappear into his lab and get lost in his work, but the man hadn’t even been around for dinner. Now, it was almost midnight and Stanley still hadn’t seen him. He wasn’t particularly worried. He just wished that Xeno would give up some of his workaholic habits now that he had no one to answer to.
Lo’ and behold, passed out cold with his head resting on his workbench was Xeno. Luckily, Xeno hadn’t been working on anything crazy or else Stanley would’ve had no choice but to wake him up. Pieces of paper with nonsensical writing were being pressed between Xeno’s head and the table; plans for an invention Xeno was planning on executing.
Stanley gently picked Xeno’s head off of the table and peeled one of the pieces that had glued itself to his face, using every ounce of will he had not to laugh. Then, he carefully picked Xeno up bridal style and carried him to his room.
Once in their room, Stanley laid him down on the bed gently, careful not to accidentally stir him. He got to work and removed Xeno’s shoes, placing them on the floor beside his bed so they’d be there for him when he woke up. Then, he took Xeno’s left hand in his and gently tugged off his gloves, removing it one finger at a time, before moving to the right hand and repeating the process. Finally, Stanley placed one of his hands under Xeno’s back and the other under his hand and lifted him up and allowed Xeno to lean against him while Stanley took off his coat.
“Stan…?” Xeno murmured into Stanley’s shoulder. “You’re home?”
Stanley would hardly call the castle a home. It felt more like a military base than anything else, but it only clicked a second later what Xeno actually meant. Xeno was too wrapped up in sleep to remember that they weren’t back home in Texas in the twenty-first century.
He lowered Xeno back down onto his pillow. “Yeah,” Stanley said. “I’m home.”
“How…How’d you get here?” Xeno asked sleepily. “I would’ve come to get you.”
Stanley laid Xeno back down. “They organized transport,” he said. “Don’t worry about it.”
Xeno hummed in acknowledgement as Stanley pulled back the covers and helped maneuver him under them before tucking him back in.
“Get some sleep, man,” Stanley said.
As he turned around to leave, Xeno’s loose grip caught his wrist. “Where’re you going?” Xeno asked him with tired eyes.
“I have to unload the dishwasher,” he lied, trying to keep the illusion going.
“Leave it. Stay here.”
Stanley stood in silence, waiting for Xeno to go back to sleep. As much as he wanted to hop into bed and bundle up with Xeno, there was still a lot of work to be done around the compound before it was time for bed.
The muscles in Xeno’s face relaxed, seemingly drifting off back to sleep, but his grip on Stanley’s wrist was unrelenting.
Carefully, Stanley pried Xeno’s fingers off of him. As soon as he was about to release the last finger, Xeno woke up again. “Stanley…!” he whined lazily. “I’m waiting…!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Stanley sighed.
Xeno finally let him go. In exchange, Stanley kicked off his boots and shrugged off his holsters. He didn’t even take the time to put on his sleepwear. Stanley shrugged under the covers, getting comfortable by Xeno’s side. Even in his drowsy state, Xeno cuddled up to Stanley, subconsciously moving towards him like a heat-seeking missile.
“Mmm…” Xeno hummed, burying his face in Stanley’s side. “G’night, Stan.”
Stanley chuckled softly as he made more room for Xeno to burrow into. “Night, Xe.”