Work Text:
“Please Uncle Stone? Uncle Stone please? Please wear the doggy ears! Please Uncle. Uncle Stone. The doggy ears. Pleaseee?”
Stone sighs and adjusts his tie. His niece has been bugging him all morning to wear the dog ear headband he bought to work. They visited a market the previous Sunday and while there they found a stall with cat and dog ear headbands. His niece, Maple, loves dogs. And Stone does too! They bond over their love for dogs every time they catch up. Maple loves talking to Stone because her mom, Stone’s sister, is more of a cat person.
“Maple, I can’t wear the dog ears to work,” Stone says, bending down to meet her eyes.
“Why not?” She pouts.
“My boss would be angry with me.”
“Your boss sounds mean,” Maple says, crossing her arms. “At least wear them in the car? Please?”
Stone presses his lips into a thin line and considers her suggestion.
“Sure. If it’ll make you happy. But I’ll have to take them off before I get to work, okay?”
“Okay! That’s fine!” She grins, excitedly holding the headband out to Stone.
He chuckles and places it over his head, the little bells ringing as it moves.
“Perfect,” Maple nods.
“Thank you,” Stone chuckles. “I’ve got to go now or I’ll be late.”
He grabs his keys, presses a kiss to Maple’s head then leaves out the front door.
“Good old fashioned lover boy,” Stone sings softly as he pulls into the carpark at work.
His song ends and he pauses it before the next can play.
Glancing around his car he makes sure he’s grabbed everything. House keys, ID card, phone, and tablet. All good. But something seems to be missing. He frowns and glances around the car one more time. Nothing stands out so he shrugs. He has the important items. Whatever he’s forgotten shouldn’t be a problem.
He slams the car door shut and makes his way to the lab. His ID card gets him into the lab where he quickly heads for the coffee machine. The doctor always needs a fresh latte to start his day.
Speeding through the recipe as usual, Stone hums absentmindedly to himself. Making the doctor’s latte is second nature to him at this point. Once it’s finished he gives the counter a quick wipe down before grabbing the cup and taking it to the doctor’s desk.
“Doctor,” Stone says, announcing his presence. “Your latte.”
He approaches the desk and places it down next to him, smiling at the doctor who’s been engrossed in a new blueprint design.
“Ah, thank you Sto–” Robotnik pauses, his eyes falling on Stone’s hair.
Stone frowns, unsure why the doctor stopped talking.
“Stone this is not workplace appropriate,” Robotnik frowns, standing up to tower over him.
“What? Not workplace appro–?”
Stone stops, eyes widening. No. No, he didn’t. He hesitantly reaches up to his head, grimacing when he feels the fluffy fabric of his dog ears.
“Oh my–” his cheeks and ears warm up as he scrambles to tear the ears from his head. “I am so sorry, sir. My– my niece! She–”
“Don’t, Stone. Relax.”
Stone holds onto the ears with a deathly grip.
“It’s just not appropriate for a lab. Could catch on fire or tangle with something,” Robotnik says, turning back to his work. “They do look quite… dashing on you though, Stone.”
“They–? Dashing?”
“Yes, Stone. Perhaps I should purchase a tail for you. Complete the look,” he suggests. Stone can hear the smirk in his voice. His ears burn even more.
“Yes, sir,” Stone forces himself to say, never one to disagree with Robotnik.
“That’s a good boy, Stone,” Robotnik coos. “You go sit in the corner for me, hm? Can you sit?”
He cackles, throwing his head back.
Stone gulps, his shoulder’s tensing. “Yes, sir. On it, sir.”
He returns to his usual place by the door and stands with his hands behind his back, fiddling with the bow on his dog ears.
He watches the doctor sigh with a small laugh and shake his head.
Stone makes sure to bury the dog ears deep in his chest of drawers when he gets home the next day. He cannot make the same mistake ever again. No matter how much Maple pesters he will never give in again.
So today he drives to work, glad to know the ears are far away and unable to embarrass him and taint his reputation.
He follows the regular routine. House keys, ID card, phone and tablet. Head into the lab, prepare the doctor’s latte, tidy the kitchen, and deliver the latte.
“Your latte, sir,” Stone says, placing Robotnik’s latte down and taking the previous cup to wash.
“Stone! Thank you!” He grabs the cup and enthusiastically takes a sip.
“You seem to be in a good mood this morning, sir? Is the new design going well?”
“I am in a good mood today, Stone! Not because of the design, but because of you,” he says, as if it’s nothing.
“Me?” Stone repeats voice making it clear he’s on edge.
“Yes, you! One moment,” he ducks his head under his desk for a few moments before reemerging. “I have something for you.”
“You do?”
Robotnik holds his hands out with a small smirk. “Yes.”
When Stone sees what he’s holding his breath hitches. A tail. With a clip on the top, matching the brown of his dog ears and a bow matching the purple accents.
“A– A tail?”
“Yes! To match your ears!” Robotniks laughs, pushing the tail into Stone’s arms. “Put it on, then.”
Stone hesitates but when he sees the cold response to his pause he realises it’s an order. He fiddles with the clip until its held open and reaches around to clip it onto the back of his dress pants.
“Turn around. Let me see.”
Stone complies and turns around, feeling the tail bounce and tap his legs as it swings.
Robotnik laughs. “Fantastic. Do you have the ears?”
“No, sir.”
“What?” Robotnik scoffs. “Well you’d better bring them tomorrow. And the tail. They need to go together.”
“I understand, sir.”
Stone arrives the next day with his dog ears and dog tail in a little bag tucked under his arm. Of course he wouldn’t let himself where them from the car to the lab. His coworkers could see and they do not need to know about this. Robotnik knowing is embarrassing enough. Not to mention the way he’s mocking him for it.
Or at least he thought he was mocking him for it. That was before he walked into work on Wednesday to see the doctor with his own pair of dog ears on his head.
“Stone!” He greets his agent with a wide grin. “Check it out!”
He spins around, revealing a tail. He wiggles the tail around a bit.
“We’re matching!” He cheers as he turns back around.
Stone stares at the doctor in awe. Has he lost his mind? Maybe. But when he’s cackling maniacally and wiggling his behind with a glint in his eye, how could Stone be concerned.
”Looks like it,” Stone smiles.