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It was a cold day.
Anyone present in that city could feel the ice seeping into their bones, their bodies trying to raise their own temperature with shivering, vasoconstriction, and even goosebumps, where the erector muscles raised the hairs and desperately tried to trap a thin layer of warm air close to the skin. And it was winter.
There were still children in the street, especially at midday, when the sun was at its highest point in the sky. But it wasn't enough. Every time they opened their mouths, condensed water vapor came out. It was even funny. Everything seemed, despite being melancholic, simple. Christmas was coming; you could hear people talking about the decorations they were going to put up this year, the sweets, the presents...
And in the midst of all this, there was Xeno. Who was pathetically holed up inside his house, so silent, with a furnace that seemed to have just given up on life itself, just when Xeno needed it most. His fingers barely moved inside the double layer of gloves he was wearing. His wool coat (because despite the snow outside, elegance never rests) was practically wrinkle-free, and as he sat down to work, he immediately noticed how poorly his pants were insulating him. But it was alright.
At least he didn't have to leave the house for now, since with this weather, most of his colleagues had decided to do their projects online as well, so Xeno was completely immersing himself in his work to distract himself from these trivialities. But... well, he'd been doing this for quite a while. After having one of his projects rejected, Xeno spiraled into work, not trying to prove anything to anyone, but to himself that he could do something absolutely elegant and that it wouldn't be rejected for idiotic reasons and by stupid people with too much power. Ah, if he were the boss... humanity would probably already be on Mars.
But no. He had to watch society fall further and further into the hands of artificial intelligences that dumb down more than they help, that destroy human creativity instead of being a useful tool that would help people evolve. He had to watch politicians making proposals that defied human logic and thousands supporting them. Xeno couldn't even spend much time thinking about these issues without feeling a headache. Could it all get any worse?
At least Xeno had Stanley, who could listen to him talk about how science could evolve into something extraordinary and just... listen. Truly. Not out of flattery or anything like that, but because Stanley genuinely appreciated him as a person, a scientist, everything. And of course, all this stress was worrying his beloved Stan, who insisted on spending more time with Xeno (and convincing him to stay five more minutes lying in bed with him), which really helped.
Or conversations about silly things, like "Would you still love me if I were a worm?" (Which led to Xeno's unstoppable rambling about the lives of earthworms) to:
"If we went back to the Stone Age, I'd be a dictator. But a good dictator."
"Then I'd protect you from anything."
But Stanley wasn't home. Looking at the clock in the room, he realized Stanley had left two hours ago to buy a small grocery list and hadn't returned yet. Xeno wasn't going to worry about it, of course; he knew how well Stanley could take care of himself, but... the house was so empty. You could hear the muffled sound of urban noise, and his own tired breathing. And maybe all of this was alright despite everything, because Xeno was almost finished with his work, he just needed to send his report and—
"The United States government cut $6 million from NASA's budget."
...What?
Xeno felt his stomach churn with anger. His teeth clenched, and the headache immediately threatened to return.
If he was already irritated by human decay, now Xeno was seething. All that money withdrawn was surely being used for whatever idiotic thing the government planned, instead of funding the brilliant projects that Doctor X had to offer (as if Xeno were doing society a favor by sharing his genius).
Xeno shifted in his chair, feeling the heat of anger rise to his head. His pompadour seemed stiff now, perfect, as if his feelings affected his hair too, and his eyes widened like a maniac's. His hand, which had previously rested on the table, was now on his face, his fingers pressing against his skin with precise firmness.
Despite all these sensations, what frightened Xeno most was feeling a warm hand touch his shoulder.
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It was a bad day.
Stanley had gone out in the afternoon to buy food, and despite the snow, his heart felt warm. He was happy, or at least he tried to be. He had taken a vacation and could spend more time with Xeno, especially at home now that the weather seemed to be getting worse every day. Not that this was great for the world, but Stanley tried to see the bright side.
Upon arriving at the market, he perfectly remembered Xeno's instructions, and with his shopping cart, he made his way to the shelves with incredible efficiency, as if buying food were a super difficult mission. Pasta, meat, cheese, some vegetables... everything looked good. Stanley even made sure to buy some good quality chocolate powder even though it wasn't on the list, because he thought a hot chocolate might calm Xeno down and keep him warmer.
There weren't many people there, so paying was quick, and putting everything in the car was even quicker. The problem started when it was time to leave. Stanley hadn't noticed how much snow had fallen while he was busy inside the market, and there didn't seem to be many people concerned about clearing the snow from the streets so early.
The truth is, the traffic was hellish. He would never get home early like this, even trying to take the most unfamiliar routes; everything was at a standstill. Sighing deeply, Stanley sent a message to Xeno warning of the situation, which definitely wasn't read, and he already imagined that would happen. Xeno had been more absent-minded than ever in recent weeks, so absorbed and carrying the weight of genius on his shoulders that he didn't even look at his own phone properly anymore.
Probably if Xeno had seen the message, he would have created the most efficient snow-clearing machine in the world just to see Stanley soon.
But no. And now Stanley just had to wait patiently in the car and pray that things would improve. Or light a cigarette. Of course, he went with the second option, taking a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lighting it with a metal lighter with an "X" carved into it. Stanley knew Xeno would complain a lot about the smell of cigarettes in the car, but he would never open the window in that cold. It was either freeze to death or smoke a cigarette. And again, the second option won.
After an hour, the traffic seemed to be finally improving. Stanley was already extremely bored and just wanted to get home to rest, so he decided to focus on that. It wasn't going to ruin the rest of his day.
Upon finally arriving home, Stanley took all the bags and put them in the kitchen, organizing all the food in the cupboards and refrigerator, but while doing so, he noticed the silence in the house. Normally Xeno would be chattering alone at this hour, trying to discover some crazy secret of the universe, but... no. Something had happened to him, and Stanley was going to check immediately.
Silently, he walked to the bedroom, which seemed colder than usual. Oh, the furnace, of course, which Xeno had left acting strangely when he tried to make a crazy improvement on "total house heating without heat loss to the outside environment with 100% efficiency", and now it seemed to be breaking down completely. Then, when he finally opened the bedroom door, he noticed Xeno pale, as if he'd seen a ghost, his hand on his face, looking like he was about to tear his own eyes out.
Stanley simply approached and touched his shoulder carefully, gently.
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But Xeno wasn't gentle.
He immediately felt his heart leap, turning quickly and grabbing Stanley's hand, while the other hand came in a punching position. But his beloved had quick reflexes too, and easily held not only one, but both of Xeno's hands firmly, but without hurting him.
Xeno's breath was ragged, but when his eyes met Stanley's, with that amber glow blessed by the sunset light that flooded the room through the window, he finally felt calm. Stanley calmly released Xeno's hands, letting them rest on his thighs.
Despite knowing everything that was happening outside, with the news of NASA's budget being cut, at that moment only Stanley mattered to Xeno. So he finally stood up from the chair, calmly, and gave Stanley a small kiss on the lips, which were slightly reddened from the lipstick Stanley had applied earlier that day.
Stanley smiled in response, returning the kiss with a warm tenderness for a few seconds, finally breaking the silence that dominated the house:
"Want some hot chocolate?"
"Oh God, yes, please."
Because despite the world, they both deserved to have a hot drink and lie together on the sofa in their own home, able to be ignorant for at least that day.
Because Xeno could still feel Stanley's fingers undoing his pompadour, and he let him.
Because Stanley could still feel Xeno's soft lips kissing him, making him feel like the luckiest man in the world.
And neither of them needed to ask how the other's day had been, because they knew exactly that it hadn't been so good.
But at least they could finally rest together.