Chapter Text
He had him.
Robotnik wanted them all captured. He had Tails in his grasp, he almost made it.
Everything hurts. Everything.
His bike had been altered for better speed and movement, allowing him to make those sharp turns almost as quick as Tails could. He’d managed to grab onto the foxes foot and pull him down but everything had become too much. The nausea, the lightheadedness.
He had lost his grip on the bike.
Pain. Nothing but pain.
Was this the end?
He coughed.
Stone slowly opened his eyes to darkness, all dark if not for the small blue light that flashed from his alarm clock. He breathed slowly, staring up at his ceiling almost numbly—he didn’t feel right.
The first thing that made itself known was the heat and the sweat that he was drenched in because of that, making him glad to only be in his underwear. The next two were the symptoms he had been dealing with the past few days, only now Stone felt as if he’d been shot in the head with a log being thrown into his stomach at full force. The last thing was the amount of pain the rest of his body was now in and the bruises and bandages covering parts of him.
Gauze wraps had been put around his left shoulder from mid bicep to his pectoral muscles, another began where that one ended and covered from his diaphragm all the way down to the bottom of his stomach, and one on his hand though that injury had already been known. Gauze pads covered a few spots including his right clavicle, one elbow and both of his knees, with simple bandaids elsewhere—most notably one on his jaw. Lastly, his right arm had been put in a sling, meaning a fracture, if not a break.
Stones' breath shook as the pain creeped back into him, making him half afraid to get up. The thought of how much it would hurt held, but the thirst in his throat and the strong desire to get out of the extreme heat in his room had him sucking in his breath. Slowly—very slowly—Stone sat up, holding his breath with every hiss of pain as the simple act irritated all of his wounds.
He slid his legs over the side of the bed, finally taking in a full breath and letting it out shakily while his eyes finished adjusting to the dark. Wanting to just get it over with, Stone pushed himself forward and off the bed to stand, pausing to let the pain it caused pass and with a deep breath he slowly limped to his door.
The hallway was dark but the living room lights somewhat illuminated just about everything except for the bathroom and bedroom. Stone gently leaned against the right wall and used it to hobble towards the living room, wanting to know who was in his home this time—and completely ignoring the questions of what all happened and how he got back to his home in the first place.
He covered his eyes from the light above and peeked around the corner to an empty living room, just the way he left it—not including the rearrangement Robotnik had done. He took a quick breath before pushing himself off the wall and towards the kitchen, a sudden desire for water motivating him.
Without the support of the wall his legs felt like they would buckle under him, weak and in pain. Had his kitchen counters been just one more step away Stone wouldn’t have made it, putting all his weight onto the counters and almost letting himself fall to his knees.
Stones head felt fuzzy and the migraine just pulsed without relent, stomach and throat aching and burning. His ears rang as blackness closed in on his vision, body and mind going numb.
“Stone?”
He blinked his eyes until the darkness began to fade, registering the fact that he was now on his back on the floor and had passed out. Stone's vision cleared and the ringing had just about gone silent when he decided to sit up, wincing at the pain it caused.
Robotnik was kneeled down by his feet, one hand gently set on Stone's shin and the other holding what appeared to be a phone. He looked worried for a moment until he seemed to notice the both of them staring at each other, then returned to a sort of neutral expression.
“What do you think you’re doing on the floor?” Robotnik questioned—though he knew that Stone had passed out and wasn’t just taking a small nap.
Stone rubbed his head, eyes glancing at the front door being wide open and what appeared to be bags of groceries that were messily put on the floor as if they’d been dropped, “Nothing sir, sorry to worry you.” He lied.
Robotnik scoffed and stood, “What makes you think I was worried, you were simply in my way.” He crossed his arms and shrugged, “Now, you need to get out of my way and back into bed.”
“Of course, doctor.” Stone nodded and slowly began trying to pick himself up, that nasty thought of being fired showing itself again.
He tried hard, using the counters to try and pick himself up but his body was just too weak and he fell back to the floor, having to hold his breath to hide his pain. After a breath he tried again, once again using the counter to try and alleviate some of the difficulty; he made it further than last time but again his body gave out only this time he was caught before he could hit the floor.
Robotnik had Stone standing, arm around his waist before Stone could even think to try and save himself, turning them towards the bedroom.
“Doctor, please I can handle myself.” He breathed unevenly, mind racing with thoughts about what Robotnik would think about him.
Seeing Stone this weak, this helpless, it had to leave a bad impression. The doctor never even stood for anyone getting a single sick day when he was still rotating between groups, much less being present for that sick day. Robotnik had some sort of agenda in this, he had to have, there was no other reason for Robotnik to be here.
The thoughts made him dizzy and nauseous, too nauseous.
Oh no.
Stone had no other option than to push himself out of Robotnik's hold, practically sprinting for the toilet. He got lucky in two parts, one that he made it to the toilet before his guts spilled from his mouth, and two because the toilet seat had been left open—something Stone usually didn’t do.
It hurt, it stung his eyes and burned his throat—even worse since he hadn’t eaten anything or really drank anything so the only thing coming out was bile and stomach acid. His whole body shook, already in more pain from his rush to the toilet and now even worse.
The light to the bathroom flicked on but Stone's head was so buried between his arms and the toilet that he barely noticed. Stone puked once more right as the sink was being turned on, though barely anything came out.
Stone flinched as a hand gently pressed against his back and a glass of water was pushed up to his lips, “Drink.” A voice came so soft that he barely recognized it as Robotniks.
He listened and let the doctor slowly pour the water in his mouth, swallowing it gratefully despite the fact that it didn’t feel too great going down a very sore throat. After a few sips the glass was put down and an arm was tucked underneath Stones, pulling him up again though a bit more secure so they could actually make it to the bedroom this time.
Robotnik carried him to the bed, taking on most if not all of Stone's weight, and gently helped him down and under the covers.
“Now this time you should stay put like a good boy.” Robotnik huffed, “You’re not exactly the easiest person to carry.”
Stone averted his gaze, almost afraid to look Robotnik in the eyes—too ashamed of himself.
Robotnik sat next to him silently for just a moment before standing up, “I went and picked up some soups, I’ve heard it’s what you’re supposed to feed sick people. Do you want one now or after a nap?”
“Sir,” Stone then looked at Robotnik and half sat up, “please don’t bother. You should go back home or back to the lab. I can handle myself and you have so many ingenious projects that need to be worked on.”
Robotnik seemed to take a moment to process that and with every second that nothing was said, Stone found himself becoming more terrified. Would the doctor fire him now or wait until after he got better? Would he simply even be fired or would Robotnik have some worse idea in mind for him?
“Agent Stone…” Robotnik growled, “Are you questioning me?”
Stones breath caught in his throat, “N-no sir, I was simply saying that you have more important things to back at the lab and I wouldn’t wanna-“
Robotnik grabbed Stone's jaw and brought himself down close, faces merely an inch from each other, “You are by far the worst listener I’ve had for a henchman, disobedient any chance you get.”
Robotnik let go of Stone's jaw and without another word just walked away, leaving Stone with only his own thoughts.
Now he was truly terrified, Robotnik would never let anyone go this easy, he always had to do something to rub it in. One person had their entire savings account emptied, another was used in one last ‘experiment’ and now has a couple missing fingers. The worst Stone had seen was the guy who got shot out into space and was probably still just floating around with enough food and other necessities to live to a hundred.
Was he going to get shot out into space? Left floating all alone in the vast cold darkness with nothing to keep him company except the voices in his head? Or would Robotnik come up with something worse just because he had been with the doctor so long? Stone just stared at his ceiling, mind racing with all the things Robotnik could do to him.
“Good, you’re still awake.”
Stone's eyes shot to his door, Robotnik standing there with a cup in his hand.
Robotnik first walked to the side of the room opposite of the closet and turned on a lamp that stood there—Stone being glad he didn’t turn on the overhead because of the pain it would cause his eyes—and then towards Stone. He set the cup of steaming liquid down on the bedside table next to the clock and half sat on the bed next to Stone.
“I researched on what to do with sick humans and found that tea is supposed to offer some sort of benefit.” Robotnik said.
Stone stared at the cup, “Is it poison?” He asked, mind stolen with terrible thoughts.
“What?” Robotnik looked shocked, “No you moron, it’s chamomile. Why would I poison you?” He shook his head in disbelief.
“Sorry, sir.” Stone didn’t know what else to say, mind too fixated on ‘if not poison then what else does the doctor have in mind’.
Robotnik grabbed the tea and put it to Stone's mouth like he did the water, almost as if to make sure Stone drank it. He sipped it, the tea being just cooled down enough that the liquid didn’t burn his tongue.
He drank about half of it before Robotnik finally took the cup away and set it back down. Stone felt a lot more tired than he had been, the warm tea putting his body to sleep despite his hesitation and worry.
“Why would you even think that?” Robotnik scoffed, staring at the cup and thinking about Stones ‘is it poison?’, “Agent Stone?”
Robotnik looked over at his henchman, fast asleep and looking like he was finally in less pain. He sighed softly and got up off the bed, grabbing the tea.
“What am I to do with you?” He sighed.
———
Stone woke up feeling a little better than before but now instead of feeling like puking he just felt absolutely starving. He was still way too hot and sweating, with a headache that still made him want to down a bottle of Advil, and pains throughout his body that had him fear the inevitability of getting up and walking around. But, it was still not quite as bad as before.
A wet cloth had been applied to his forehead at some point, still slightly cool though it really didn’t do anything to battle the rest of his body being on fire. He needed to be out of his room, maybe make his bed on the couch or even just the floor in the living room.
Getting up was still painful and not much easier, but his legs could hold his weight a bit better than before so making it out wouldn’t be as much of an issue. He did this time pull the sheet off his bed to have something to wrap around him, light and comfortable but not too heavy to keep in any unwanted heat.
Robotnik was in the kitchen, where he seemed to have set up a workstation—though the workstation was basically just a holographic screen controlled by Robotnik's gloves. Robotnik glanced over at him but didn’t really pay any mind as Stone made his way to the living room and made himself comfortable on the couch.
They kept silent, Robotnik seemingly working on something and Stone enjoying the slight coolness of the living room. Stone simply looked out the window, the sun rising over the town, almost as if to wake it. Robotnik on the other hand began peeking through the screen at Stone, watching him with a certain look thinking that Stone would not notice—Stone was a bit more observant than Robotnik gave him credit for, he just wouldn’t acknowledge that fact.
Stone finally looked back at the kitchen, somewhat spooking the doctor back into pretending he was busy.
“I’m going to make soup.” Robotnik stated suddenly, shutting down the holographic screen.
Stone nodded, “Okay, sir.” He didn’t understand why Robotnik looked a bit annoyed at his answer.
The doctor turned and grabbed a can, just holding it for a moment, “If you want some, you can ask.”
Stone understood now what Robotnik was doing, the doctor was simply hesitant with Stone being a bit more lucid.
“Could I have some soup, sir?”
Robotnik simply warmed the soup in a small pot, putting it in a single bowl for Stone—he never intended to eat any since the soup was meant for Stone and Robotnik would never allow himself to eat anything that came from a can. He handed the bowl to Stone and took a seat on the couch, staring out the same window Stone had been.
It was chicken noodle, the same that his mother had fed him. Stone had only ever mentioned this once not really expecting Robotnik to be listening, but now he knew that he did. Maybe Robotnik listened to a lot more than Stone thought he did.
Once again they were stuck in silence, sitting with nothing to say. It had always sort of been like that, if not being berated or told to check out something of Robotnik's machines, they never really spoke but that was enough for Stone. He expressed his admiration through flatter and actions of care such as coffee, and Robotnik expressed something through just keeping Stone around and a look in his eyes. It was enough.
It was all Stone ever needed and now…now he wanted more. He wanted to know all that was hidden behind the doctor’s defenses, the insults and the abuse, but even more, he wanted to be known. He wanted Robotnik to know him, understand him like Stone understood him, he wanted Robotnik to know the depths Stone would go to please him.
Stone wanted him to know just how far his admiration would go.
Robotnik stood, tearing the empty bowl out of Stone's hands with a sudden fire, as if something had surged through him.
“You know Agent Stone, I knew you lacked my intelligence but by how much I had severely underestimated.” Robotnik dropped the bowl in the sink and rounded the corner back into the living room, leaning back against the counters.
Stone just looked at him, sort of happy for the silence to be over.
“Already sick with a simple flu and facing an infection from a small chuck of glass you left in your wounds, you decide to deprive yourself of basic needs and push your limits. Imbecile!” Robotnik ranted, “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
Stone, still wrapped in his bedsheet, slowly got to his feet and hung his head, “I’m sorry sir, I understand and if it would be easier I can quit so you don’t have as much paperwork.” Maybe this way it would be better, Stone thought, if he were to just quit then maybe he could go with some grace and dignity, maybe not end up all alone in space.
“Quit? Fire you? Stone, are you mad?” Robotnik gasped, pushing himself off the counters, “Did my machines miss damage to your brain?”
“N-no sir,” Stone stuttered, bewildered, “I just thought that since… well since I’ve been failing at my job and forced you to put off your work that I was-“
“Fired? Why would I fire you for being sick?” Robotnik interrupted him.
Stone looked at him with wide eyes, “Sir, I kept you from important work. I failed and caused you to lose the hedgehog. I deserve some sort of punishment!”
Robotnik stepped forward and grabbed at the sheet to pull Stone closer, “Do you want to be fired?” He asked, staring Stone down.
“Wha-no, of course not.”
“Okay then,” Robotnik smiled, letting go of the sheet and patting Stone on both shoulders to which Stone winced, “you aren’t fired.”
Stone couldn’t even begin to process this, how he could get away with no repercussions. It didn’t seem plausible, it didn’t feel real.
“Now, you need a shower. I can smell you.” He nodded condescendingly.
Stone could smell himself, a cold shower sounded like one of the best things to him. While Robotnik went back to his little setup in Stone's kitchen, Stone went to his room for a fresh pair of clothes to change into afterwards.
Having to take off all the bandages was almost enough for Stone to say never mind and just give himself a “whores” bath—which was just taking a wet cloth to his pits, tits, and whatever else he could reach—but in the end the cold shower would be worth it. So, he slowly peeled off each separate bandage.
He had in fact not broken any bones in his arm but instead his collarbone, something he figured out simply through the feel of his injury. Most everything else were superficial cuts and bruises, but he had suffered a rather deep laceration to his side as well as internal bruising to his ribs and some organs, all of which got treated to at least not need hospitalization by some of Robotnik's machines.
After Robotnik's own fall in the mech—in which he needed months of surgeries and physical therapy—he designed a few machines to take care of first aid. They surpassed the current world’s medical abilities and if Robotnik were to sell them he could make a fortune, but he would never. He saw them as too good for humans, he believed that humans would never deserve the genius of his designs.
These robots, which resembled his badniks just with a few extra tools on them, could do anything from putting a bandaid on a “boo boo” to internal fixation and even more. Of course these machines couldn’t just heal a wound, but they could do just about everything a doctor could do with more efficiency and in less time. They were by far the most priceless machine Robotnik had ever made, but they also were left under-appreciated since Robotnik would never fully understand what exactly he had made and the impact that would have on human society if they were to ever get ahold of it.
Stone wished that the machines could just heal—since that would make him feel so much better—but he wasn’t so ignorant when it came to what was possible and what was not. He understood that even someone as brilliant as Robotnik could not invent everything, though Stone wished he could for reasons more than just selfishness.
The cold running water soothed his muscles as it came down in balanced drops, pattering down on him like rain in a comforting storm that relieved his aching head. It didn’t feel the best on his collarbone and slightly stung as it caused a small stream of blood to seep from his stitched wound, but it was worth the trouble.
He didn’t dare use his loofah to scrub his bruised skin, instead deciding to waste the extra soap and simply rub it in with his hands—which in the end still didn’t fare too well on his bruises. Washing his hair presented even more of a challenge with one arm still in the sling and the other arm bruised badly enough that it hurt to raise it, but carefully he got it done with a mediocre outcome.
After doing what needed to be done, he wished to just stay in the shower with the water running down on him but the smell of almost-mint told him his time with an easy stomach had run out. He begrudgingly shut off the water and dried himself off, taking the time to throw on his underwear in case the doctor were to come in due to the sound of puking.
Finally, he got to his battered knees and hung himself over the open toilet seat, knowing there was nothing he could do except wait as that strange smell of mint became stronger and started to hint in his breath. Stone took deep breaths, mentally preparing himself—he always had a specific hatred, and maybe even fear, of puking, the unpleasantness of it topped most other unpleasant things.
Then it came and went, taking less than a minute from start to finish. Stone spit into the toilet, trying to rid himself of the bad taste that lingered in his mouth, before flushing the toilet and leaning back to lay against the floor.
“Agent Stone?” Robotnik could be heard on the other side of the door.
Stone didn’t wanna move; he didn’t wanna get up off the floor or even budge an inch so the doctor could open the door. No, he wanted to stay right where he was forever and ever—but that was unrealistic.
Stone sat back up, scooting himself to the edge of the tub and sitting up there, “Come in.”
Robotnik opened the door, a small basket of what appeared to be first aid supplies in one hand and a glass in the other—either having predicted Stone would puke again or having gone and got one when he heard the noises.
“I figured you might need these.” Robotnik said flatly, setting the glass down on the sink and the basket down beside Stone.
Their eyes met for a moment in silence, before Robotnik broke it by turning around and grabbing for the door as if to leave.
Stone looked down at the basket and then back up at Robotnik, “Thank you, sir.”
That stopped Robotnik at the door, leaving him standing there with his fingers tapping against the wall. Stone watched him, simply waiting for the doctor to leave and get back to whatever it was he had been doing but that did not happen.
“Do you…” Robotnik paused and looked back at Stone, “you would be to stupid to wrap your wounds properly, I should help so I don’t have to fix it later.”
Stone couldn’t stop the small grin that grew, “Of course doctor, I wouldn’t want to trouble you later on when you might be more busy.”.
Of course Stone could wrap his wounds efficiently, but this… flirting, amused him.
Robotnik huffed a laugh, turning around and taking his place between Stones legs to start grabbing at the gauze pads and securing them against the cuts that needed some protection. The pads came first and then the wrappings, followed by band aids and then a clean sling for his collarbone, one that wasn’t wet.
It had been a rather quick process with Robotnik's help, and even quite a bit easier since Stone didn’t have to lift his “good” arm quite as much. Everything was put on in just about the same way as before though maybe with a couple less bandaids, and while it all felt suffocating Stone couldn’t find it in him to really care.
The way Robotnik had carefully smoothed the pads over the cuts, the way he wrapped the bandages around every bruise and now covered cuts, all with such gentleness that Stone had never seen in the doctor before. He treated Stone as if he were a priceless artifact, needing to be handled with such care since anything more might break him. It felt so right to be touched like that, even if in the end it had been completely innocent—still it was worth everything.
Stone shuddered when Robotnik pulled his hand away, it softly swiping against Stone's cheek as he did. Luckily Robotnik didn’t seem to notice Stone's reaction, having turned back around pretty quickly to go for the door, though once again stopping right at the entrance.
This time Stone wasn’t entirely sure what Robotnik wanted him to ask, no clues being given. Stone sat there, looking at Robotnik, while the doctor simply stood there seemingly becoming impatient. The minutes moved very slowly, taking only two for Stone to become anxious and decide to just ask something and hope he got it right.
“Sir, as long as it doesn’t impose on your plans, I could use some help getting up.” Stone tried, though again he was fully capable of doing it.
Stone knew that was not what Robotnik had wanted him to ask when Robotnik had not moved or turned around with a smirk, but after a few moments Robotnik did turn around—this time looking a bit disappointed. Still despite that, Robotnik did help Stone up and walked him to the living room where it seems Robotnik had once again been busy.
The floor right in front of the couch had been covered in blankets with two pillows set right in front of the television, a bed made for Stone. Robotnik must have noticed the unbearable heat that seemed to fester in Stone's room, deciding that Stone would sleep out in the living room. He walked Stone to the make-shift bed on the floor, and carefully helped him down before taking a seat on the couch.
“You, my disciple, are going to sleep whether you like it or not.” Robotnik huffed, “I can’t have a dead henchman on my hands, not now at least.”
Robotnik had reverted back to the inconvenienced boss role, looking down at Stone with an irritated expression.
Stone faked a smile, “Yes, doctor. I would hate to cause you any trouble.”
He didn’t want to sleep, he’d already slept so much but even though most of that fear of failure had gone, that small bit kept him in check. Stone laid down, moving the pillows so he could spread out longways like the couch, and covered himself in one of the blankets.
Stone closed his eyes, and tried to sleep.
Except he couldn’t sleep, he kept his eyes closed but no matter how long he laid there, he just couldn’t. Maybe it was the headache, maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the lingering pain of all his bruises. Maybe, it was just the fact that he had been sleeping so long and now it wasn’t even midday.
He finally reopened his eyes after an hour passed, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth, trying to stay calm in ways his mother showed him.
Robotnik had fallen asleep on the couch, laying in an almost fetal position since it was probably the only way he could fit. Stone watched him, laying himself on his side despite the fact that it was his bad one, and just watched the doctor.
He enjoyed seeing the doctor so calm, so defenseless, so in need for Stone to watch his back. There had been three times in the past when ex-henchmen came back for revenge since then getting fired basically ruined their lives, and two of those times they had tried to get Robotnik in his sleep. Both times Robotnik simply woke up with a coffee ready for him, while Stone was out disposing of any evidence.
Those two nights were the best nights of Stone's life, the two times Robotnik needed him the most even if he would never know about it. Stone loved being needed by Robotnik—holding on to the idea that something only wanted can be let go, but to be needed meant that Robotnik could never get rid of him.
Stone sighed and rose to his feet, he was too hot and the air felt stuffy. He needed to step outside.
Stone quietly limped back to his room, throwing on a plain black hoodie and the shorts he used to go on morning runs when he had the time. He left without Robotnik even breaking a snore, something he had gotten rather good at over the years,and slowly made his way down the stairs of his apartment.
He hadn’t anticipated just how hard it would be to get down the stairs but step by step he made his way down until finally he got outside into the cold autumn air. It cooled his body, let him finally catch a full breath. Stone leaned back against the side of the building, not much caring about the couple of people that noticed his weird presence—a beat up and almost dead looking man.
It was perfect… but it did have to end. Stone didn’t want to worry Robotnik by not being there when he woke up, so he spent a few minutes taking in the fresh air before finally heading back inside.
Going back up the stairs was a lot more difficult, and once again Stone found his stomach very unhappy only now Stone could hold it in long enough. He just took deep breaths, suddenly regretting his decision to take the third and top floor of the complex—his initial thought was the nice view and less noise.
Stone finally reached the top floor, stumbling to his door before taking a small break
Creak
Stone picked his head up, hearing something sneaking around inside. It wouldn’t be Robotnik, he had memorized the way the doctor walked and the footsteps he heard were not him. Not only that, but Stone could hear multiple people sneaking around, multiple people inside his home, multiple people possibly trying to hurt Robotnik.
Without thought, Stone turned the knob and threw the door open, grabbing the gun he kept hidden in a jacket on the coat hanger. He aimed it at the first foreign body in his home, the one standing in his kitchen, but quickly aimed the gun back down on the floor.
“Again?” Stone groaned, shaking his head at Knuckles.
The echidna had just gotten through Stone's kitchen window, with Sonic and Tails in the living room on their tip toes since they didn’t wanna wake Robotnik. The hedgehog and fox both had markers in their hands, and seemed to be about ready to vandalize the doctor's face.
Sonic quickly hid the marker behind his back, giving an awkward smile but Tails either didn’t care or didn’t think to hide any evidence of what they were about to do.
“Hey…” Sonic chuckled anxiously, “We were just checking up on you.”
“Sure.” Stone sighed, putting the gun back in the jacket.
Stone took a breath, smelling the need in the air, and calmly walked to his trash can. He bent over it and puked, only having to do so once, before wiping his mouth and going for a glass of water. Knuckles walked around Stone as if he had some deadly contagious disease, speeding up his tiptoeing towards Sonic and Tails.
Stone put his glass in the sink, making a promise to wash it and the dishes from his soup after the three misfits left, and went to the other side of his kitchen to lean against the counters as Robotnik had done just a few hours prior.
“As you can see, I’m alive and doing… fine, so if I were you I’d leave before the doctor wakes up.” Stone gently warned them.
Knuckles grunted, “If he dies I say we burn the building before everyone gets sick.”
Stone shook his head and sighed, he never liked the red one.
Tails' attention was suddenly turned to the couch, eyes wide, “Um, guys…”
Robotnik, also wide eyed, picked himself up enough to look over the side of the couch at Stone, “Stone, am I dreaming?”
“No, doctor.” Stone pinched his lips together in a thin line, wishing this whole thing was a dream.
Robotnik looked back at the three, who all stared at him, and let out a high pitch scream. The three followed suit, screaming back at him in an even higher pitch that had Stones' headache acting up. They screamed until both parties ran out of breath, and then Robotnik screamed again and scrambled over the back of the couch to use it as a shield from the three.
“Stone! What are they doing here?” Robotnik hissed, trying to flatten himself to the back of the couch as if to hide.
“They,” Stone gave Sonic—specifically since he seemed to be the leader of the group—a look, “are leaving, sir.”
Tails frowned, “Do you always have to kick us out this quick? We’re trying to be nice and check up on you.”
“I appreciate that but you need to stop breaking into my home, I have a front door.” Stone sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“Stone,” Robotnik interrupted, peeking his head up from behind the couch to look at Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails, “Why are you being friendly with them?”
“We have a truce.”
Stones' heart dropped, if Robotnik wouldn’t fire him for being sick then knowing about his and the rodents' little treaty might just do the trick. This was gonna be the end of Stone's work and possibly his life depending on just how furious this treaty might make Robotnik. This was the end.
“No fighting in town, no playing any tricks to try and capture us in town. Holidays are off limits too meaning no matter where we are on them, you have to leave us alone.” Sonic continued.
“Which holidays?” Robotnik asked.
“All of them. That means you can only go after us when we are not in Green Hills or out on a holiday, and we must follow the same rules.” Sonic nodded, tilting his head, “And, you should be more friendly with us for having helped you save Stone and escape the police.”
“Yeah, without us you would be locked up and Stone could be dead.” Tails added.
Stone felt he might as well have died there because whatever the doctor was gonna do to him after this would be much much worse.
Robotnik squinted his eyes as if to challenge the misfits, but then his expression turned rather neutral. Had Stone's punishment been decided?
“Fine,” Robotnik huffed, “I want in on this little treaty of yours.”
Sonic then squinted his own eyes, in sort of a challenge, “Deal. We play pool every weekend, you pay for it for an entire month and we will call it even on us saving you and Stone.” He put his hand out, testing the waters.
Robotnik, straightened his back and smirked, taking Sonic’s hand, “Deal.”
They shook on it.
Sonic relaxed his shoulders and crossed his arms, “Ya know, now that we have this truce I say we have a movie night.”
“That sounds fun.” Tails smiled and half jumped in a form of excitement.
Knuckles huffed, “I have no quarrels with this.”
Stone sighed, not wanting any part of this.
“We can have it here.” Sonic added, making Stones eyes widen.
Stone was about to say no when Robotnik cut in, “Yes, we’ll have it here.” He said.
Stone scoffed, his home was being volunteered to be used as a theater for their enemies. Sure they had the truce but that didn’t mean that Stone could be voluntold by them, plus the betrayal from Robotnik kinda stung. If Stone were to pull off the same ruse with the lab, Robotnik would have Stone scrubbing the floors with his face until all his skin fell off.
“Wait, we can’t just-“ Stone tried to speak.
“Great, I just need to ask permission!” Sonic cheered, “I’ll be right back.” He was gone before Stone could get a single word out.
Stone sighed, shaking his head.
Robotnik sat on the couch with his hands between his legs, Tails and Knuckles going on either side of him and trapping him awkwardly between them. This treaty was brand new to Robotnik, so sitting between two people who had only moments ago been his enemy was unnatural, weird, especially with Knuckles staring at him—probably debating whether or not the treaty was worth keeping since Robotnik had betrayed him only a few months prior.
Sonic came back through the door, both hands supporting more blankets as well as a ton of snacks that he dropped in the middle of the floor of the living room.
“Boom, all we need on me!” Sonic grinned at Stone, “Only, if Tom asks where we had the sleepover, maybe don’t mention it was with you two.”
Stone at this point didn’t feel well enough to try and stop this, and in reality there would be no point since it was one against three—and one of those three was his boss—so he sighed and helped Sonic set up their little theater.
The floor bed was fixed up, Stone grabbing a few more pillows for the misfits, and the couch was made up with a few blankets for extra comfort. Sonic had grabbed some popcorn as well as candy, and Stone brought out some off brand sodas that he had bought and didn’t like so they ended up sitting in a cabinet for months. After that, the blinds were closed to block out the sun, and it came down to simply picking a movie.
They ended up picking some classic horror movies like The Shining and and Silence of the Lambs, and made comfortable with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles huddling up on the floor—terrified and covering themselves with blankets—and Robotnik on one end of the couch with Stone on the other. Robotnik was just as scared as the three misfits though he hid it just a bit better, but Stone had grown up watching these kinds of movies and while they weren’t his favorite, they were alright.
The movies slowly faded into sci-fi and then into b-rated cop movies, all until the late hours of the night. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles slowly fell asleep cuddled up together, and over the hours both Stone and Robotnik slowly began laying down until their legs became intertwined so they’d both fit.
Stone felt comfort and warmth as he and Robotnik came closer and closer together, it was right but… it also felt so strange and unreal. His heart pounded through his head and down to his feet, anxiety creeping up in him, brought on by the fear of this all being fake.
“I should clean up.” The words escaped Stines mouth before he even realized.
Robotnik seemed to flinch awake, probably having been on the verge of sleep, “Don’t you dare move, Agent Stone.”
“Doctor-“
“You move and ruin my sleep and I’ll make sure you regret it.” Robotnik interrupted, “Just sleep.”
Stone sank back into the couch, finally being tired again as his anxiety was lifted—if Robotnik didn’t want him to move then maybe everything was fine, maybe it was real. His eyes became heavy and the warmth that Robotnik emitted was comforting unlike the unbearable heat he’d been dealing with all through this sickness. Everything was alright.
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were gone by the time Stone woke just before noon, having been threatened by Robotnik to not wake Stone up or else the treaty be over. Robotnik had cleaned up—which Stone only after had realized was probably the most unlike him that Robotnik had been through this entire ordeal—and was again at his little set up in the kitchen.
Stone felt much better than he had the day before, wounds from the crash still hurting the same but the headache was only a small pulsing and the stomach ache was basically gone except for the fact that it had been replaced by absolute starvation. Stone had puked up his last meal and didn’t eat much of the popcorn due to fear of puking it up, he probably lost a pound or two from his body eating itself, and was by all accounts fucking starving.
The moment Robotnik heard Stone's stomach growling he made him some soup, which Stone promptly devoured, and forced Stone to drink more tea. Stone sort of missed the coffee, and Robotnik probably did too, but he was thankful for anything at this point but now, Stone wanted his privacy back.
He’d been surrounded by people for days and he missed his quiet apartment, he missed taking a shower without the threat of someone else walking in on him. He lovedliked the Doctor but even Stone had his limits.
He finally got Robotnik to leave around five in the afternoon, spending about one hour working up to asking Robotnik to leave, two hours hunting that he leave, and two hours outright telling the Doctor to leave. Stone had been nervous asking at first but when Robotnik didn’t seem to be getting mad and was really only giving lame excuses, Stone got braver and braver until he just began telling the Doctor to get out of his home. Even when Robotnik did leave it was only because Stone finally got him to step outside and closed the door in his face—something Stone realized he might regret later.
Stone denied understanding why Robotnik was so reluctant to leave, even though the reason was just Robotnik caring about Stone. Maybe it was just simple denial that Robotnik would care for Stone, or maybe it was that lingering fear of failure that he would never get over. Whatever it was, neither Stone nor Robotnik would admit anything unless it came directly face to face with them; but alas, their lips were always an inch apart.
The next day Stone was ready to return to work as his headache had completely gone, only leaving a few sores and scrapes. He felt refreshed, and got up earlier than he normally would to get a good cold shower and change his bandages before getting back to the usual.
He dressed himself up nicely, made sure his tie was done right and his hair was not messy so he looked as professional as he could be. Of course his arm was still in a sling and he still walked with a limp, but he had a black sling to match his suit and he took that limp with style.
Then into a taxi as his motorcycle had sort of been destroyed to a point that even Stone—who had once found the frame and some wires of a bike and fixed it up from there—knew it was beyond saving, and off for work he went. He got there on time and prepared both his coffee and Robotniks before taking his place at the counter and waiting.
A familiar shadow walked towards the doors, blocking the morning sun. The doors burst open and Robotnik strode in with a grin going from ear to ear. Stone smiled back and walked around the counter with both his and the Doctor's coffee in hand, giving Robotnik his.
“Oh it’s good to have you back my trusty subsidiary.” Robotnik patted Stone on his good shoulder with satisfied eyes.
“It’s good to be back, Doctor.” Stone sort of laughed, overcome with joy, “I promise your work won’t be interrupted today.”
Robotnik nodded before that satisfied look turned into a sort of confusion, and he put his finger to Stone's tie as if to point, “There’s a stain.” He said with a sort of disappointment.
Stone's heart skipped a beat but when he looked down to see the stain, Robotnik's finger flung up and hit Stone in the face with the Doctor's heel going into Stone's toes at the same time.
“So gullible!” Robotnik laughed and walked away and Stone doubled over in pain.
Stone surprisingly didn’t drop his coffee.
“Hurry up dupe, we have work to do!” Robotnik called back to Stone as he shifted the cafe into the top part of the lab.
Stone took a deep breath and recovered, quickly fixing the ripples in his suit and racing after Robotnik. He sped into the elevator and took his stance so Robotnik could cram in there with him, and as the door closed, Stone couldn’t help but to smile again.
He had to be the only person truly happy with a shitty job and shittier boss.