Work Text:
The cicadas and grasshoppers chirped gleefully in the tall grass, shadowed by the night. Their song making its way through the metal walls of the lab, adds a barely audible buzz to the otherwise quiet room. The night casted a shadow over the room, the only light came from a small desk lamp, which shone onto a small stack of papers with scribbled equations and various beakers filled with chemicals. Hunched over the desk was Doctor Xeno, peering closely at the beaker of clear liquid. One hand was on the beaker, stirring the liquid constantly, the other hand was holding a pipet with another clear liquid above it, occasionally dropping a bit into the beaker.
Xeno had created some chemical concoction that he desperately wanted to use for creating some stronger weapons. The question, however, was could it be used for weapons? Which led him to now, where he was trying to find the acidity with titration in order to get a better understanding of the chemical.
Footsteps echoed behind Xeno, however he kept his head down, solely focused on his work. A chair scraped on the concrete ground as it was pulled up behind him. A deep sigh sounded behind Xeno, approximately from the same position as the chair. A lighter clicked, and soon came the familiar smell of smoke.
“Stanley, must you smoke in here?" Xeno suddenly broke the silence, addressing the man behind him without making a move to change his position.
"I thought you'd be used to this by now,” Stanley replied, a smirk tinting his voice before falling again. “How much longer you planning on staying up?"
"Only a bit longer. I just need to finish this titration.”
Stanley hummed in response, leaning back in his chair. The two sat in relative silence, only being broken up occasionally by small drips and pencil scratching on paper. A mental clock ticked in Stanley's head as time passed.
“Ya done yet?” Stanley interrupted.
“Soon.”
“You said that 15 minutes ago,” Stanley groaned. Xeno typically had a good work-life balance. He knew when to stop to eat and sleep, but sometimes— if the experiment was particularly enticing— he knew to stay up way too late. Stanley huffed in annoyance when he didn't get a response.
Perhaps he would give the doctor the benefit of the doubt this one time… he did seem quite busy, afterall.
Stanley took out his dagger that was strapped to the side of his leg. He rolled the chair over to one other desk in the lab and grabbed a whetstone. This desk typically held all the items that Stanley would possibly use while in the lab. It is true that Stan didn't frequent the lab, as it was more of Xeno's area of interest, but he did occasionally stick around to keep Xeno company. To ensure his dear companion didn't get bored, Xeno always made sure to have things for Stanley in the room.
The dull sound of the whetstone against the shiny metal of the dagger blurred into the background as time continued to tick by. And honestly, Stanley also began losing track of time the more he got into the process of sharpening his dagger. Only once he was practically done sharpening had he realized that way more time had passed than what he initially intended.
“Xeno? Are ya done yet?" Stanley asked, breaking the silence, but only a dismissive hum followed. Xeno was now tinkering with some other concoction of vials and liquid, a small flame underneath slowly boiling an oddly coloured red liquid. It was now clear to Stanley, Xeno wouldn't get up on his own accord anytime soon.
In a few quick strides Stanley now stood behind the chair Xeno was sat in. He leant down, hands behind his back, so his mouth was next to Xeno's ear.
"Doctor..” Stanley purred. His warm breath wafted against the shell of Xeno's ear, making the scientist pause.
The sudden heat behind him certainly caught Xeno's attention. He tilted his head back, silver hairs dancing onto Stanley's shoulder. “What is it, Stan?"
“You keep ignoring me, and also you're a little liar,” Stanley poked the other man in the forehead, directly in the center of the dark X that marred his porcelain skin. “You said you'd be done yer experiment soon, but it's now been an hour."
"A simple miscalculation, it seems to be taking longer than expected. I just need another 30-”
“Nope," Stanley drawled, cutting Xeno off. “I don't wanna wait any more in here, I'm tired. We’re going to bed.”
Xeno's face quickly shifted into a frown, one that Stanley was well acquainted with. He didn't like being torn away from his research, especially when he was so immersed and confident he was going to find something, but he knew there was little he could do against Stanley's stubbornness.
Before Xeno could open his mouth and request a compromise, he was spun around in his chair and pulled up by the lapel of his jacket, nearly falling onto the ground. Luckily, Stanley never wished harm upon Xeno.
“What a crude way to get me standing," Xeno huffed, straightening out his jacket once he regained his footsing.
"It's effective,” he replied as he grabbed the slightly shorter man's waist and ushered him towards the door. Stanley could feel Xeno tense slightly at the sudden contact, but he quickly relaxed into the strong grip, allowing himself to be led out of the laboratory.
The hallway was somehow more dimly lit compared to the laboratory. They really should dedicate more time to consistent lighting. Moonlight shone in through the window's, casting perfectly sculpted shadows onto the pair. Xeno looked up at the blond next to him, noticing how elegant the lighting made the deep purple lipstick pop. Like immaculately carved amethysts, Stanley's lips were mesmerizing to look at.
Oh how Xeno dreamed of pressing his own lips against his companion’s. Their hot breath mingling together.
Feeling eyes on him, Stanley looked down. His amber eyes immediately caught Xeno's. A smirk pulled at his face as the latter quickly looked away, his cheeks tinted pink.
Before Stanley could tease the shorter male, Xeno had run off to his room, crossing the short remaining distance quite quickly. It was probably the fastest Stanley had ever seen the scientist move, when it didn’t come to science. Xeno turned to face Stanley, his cheeks still pink, and wished him a goodnight.
Soon after, Stan retreated to his own room for the night, which was right next to Xeno’s.
—
The cicadas seemed louder now, than they had been in the lab. Xeno was now finding it quite difficult to think about his research and form hypotheses. He sat smugly on his bed, his eyes closed as he tried to think harder. Sure, he had told Stan that he was going to bed, but that didn’t mean he had to actually sleep yet.
Then, Xeno felt the space on the bed beside him dip, sinking from an unknown weight. A groan of contentment fell from the lips from the person’s lips as they shifted, getting settled in the sheets.
Xeno opened his eyes to glare at whoever was next to him, but paused when he saw the familiar mop of blond hair and amber eyes. “Stan-! What are you doing?” Xeno was more exasperated than actually angry.
“Your bed’s just comfier,” Stanley shrugged.
Xeno huffed, feigning annoyance, as he got more comfortable in the bed as well. “I should tell you about the research I’m conducting. I believe it’ll benefit you quite a bit.”
Stanley hummed, “Can it wait ‘til morning?”
Any complaints about waiting died on Xeno’s lips as he felt Stanley shift closer and wrap his arms around the former. Now pressed chest to chest, Xeno can’t help but relax. Their shared body heat seeps into his bones, melting him almost instantly. He presses closer, tucking his head into the crook of Stanley’s neck.
“I suppose it can wait,” Xeno mumbles against Stanley’s skin.
Xeno's eyes felt heavier now, sleep tugged on him, begging him to succumb. What an interesting development. Perhaps it was because he was sleeping with another person. Perhaps it was because that person happened to be quite cushioned with muscles. Perhaps it was because that person was Stan.
No matter. This certainly required more research, and this experience will definitely be repeated.