Work Text:
Robotnik had a serious problem. Over the past few weeks, heck, maybe even months, he had been observing the strangest symptoms within himself. He rarely got sick, and when he did, he could immediately recognise the cause of his ailments. But this time was different. The symptoms would simply pop up out of nowhere, with no specific time frame or visible cause, and Robotnik was becoming increasingly agitated. He was no hypochondriac, but his observations were not pointless. As of right now, the symptoms didn't seem to have anything to do with one another, but Robotnik was certain they were somehow connected. When they really began to bother him, he started logging the incidents one by one.
The first time Robotnik noticed something was wrong was after a brief conversation with Agent Stone, who had shown up to work in a leather jacket carrying a motorbike helmet. When Robotnik caught sight of his own reflection in the mirror shortly after, he noticed his ears had turned red and his pupils had dilated. He concluded that the redness was neither cellulitis nor seborrheic eczema, nor was it due to overexertion of any kind. He eventually brushed it off as Stone bringing the heat in with him, as it was decidedly colder in the lab than it was outside. The dilated pupils were likely from the change in lighting as Stone closed the door behind him. Definitely.
But then there was another incident on the same day, when Robotnik had angrily ordered Stone to pin himself to the wall (as he often did). While giving his assistant a telling-off, he noticed a concerning spike in his heart rate, though he was careful not to make this apparent to his assistant. He had to sit quietly for a minute after that, waiting for his pulse to sink back down to its normal pace. It was then that he began to run tests on himself. He wasn't paranoid, he was simply being responsible and making sure he didn't have a heart disease. It had been a stressful week, he eventually decided, which must have caused his heart to race when he got angry at Stone. Maybe he should have taken a vacation, but one can't exactly take it easy when one has world domination plans to fulfill.
The fact that it was summer didn't help his stress. He hated the hot weather that crept through whenever Stone opened a window, making his palms sweat in his gloves. He tossed and turned at night, his thoughts racing and his back slicked with sweat as he kicked off the covers with frustration. His back pain had lessened lately, which should have helped him sleep, but apparently his hypothalamus had other plans. Giving up on his meager attempt at rest, Robotnik reluctantly got up, heading back to his desk. He may as well get some work done.
Several hours later, the hiss of the lab doors indicated Stone's arrival, and soon enough, the delightful smell of coffee graced Robotnik's nostrils.
"Good morning, doctor!" Stone greeted him cheerfully, placing his latte on the desk. "Were you up working all night again?" he asked with some concern, peering into the doctor's face with his tell-tale eyebags and pale complexion.
"Couldn't sleep," Robotnik grunted in reply, taking a sip of the hot beverage. It was delicious, as always. "You never disappoint, Stone," he said matter-of-factly.
Stone smiled so wide it almost reached his ears. It made Robotnik nauseous. Okay, this was getting really weird. What the hell was wrong with him?
"Mild nausea..." he muttered to himself, pulling out his notebook to log his observation. "Possible cause: latte?"
"What's that, doctor?" Stone asked curiously, peering over his shoulder.
Robotnik spread out his notes for his assistant to scrutinise, twirling his moustache thoughtfully. "Over the past several weeks I have noticed some rather unusual symptoms. I am in the process of finding a diagnosis for my potential illness," he explained.
"Illness...?" Stone picked up the notebook, eyes flicking left to right as he read the doctor's entries. Slowly, and much to Robotnik's confusion, he broke out into a smile.
"Care to share what you find so amusing, Stone?" Robotnik asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Stone tried (and failed) to hide his smile, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Sir...have you considered these could be linked to your emotions? These symptoms are quite common physical symptoms of emotional reactions."
Robotnik scoffed. "Emotions? You do make me laugh sometimes, Stone. I'm Dr. Ivo Robotnik! I'm not an emotional person."
"I'm being completely serious, Sir," Stone replied earnestly. "In fact..." He trailed off, hesitating.
"What is it, Stone? Spit it out!"
"Well...could it be that you're...in love?" Stone asked tentatively, his voice getting quieter towards the end of his sentence.
Robotnik stared at him for a solid ten seconds before he burst out laughing. "PAHAHAHAHAHA! In love? HAHAHAHAHAHA! As if I would ever fall in love!" He sighed, wiping a tear from his eye. "Oh dear...oh dear...that tickled me."
And that was the end of that conversation. Yet, as Robotnik once again found himself sleepless on a hot summer night, he couldn't help but let his tired thoughts run astray as he replayed what Stone had said in his head. Being in love was a stretch, the kind of stretch that pulls a hamstring, but perhaps the suggestion of his emotions affecting him wasn't so far off. He had been pretty annoyed at Stone when his heart rate increased, and it was likely that the stress he had been experiencing lately was causing all of this. But love? Hell, even the idea of liking someone was already impossible. It was simply not something he did.
But Robotnik's thoughts swirled like a tornado in his head, and he let them, too tired to even attempt to push them away. In his half-asleep state, Robotnik began to piece things together like a puzzle. Every time he had experienced one of his so-called "symptoms", Stone had been there. Every single time. Without fail. Could it be that...Stone was the root of the problem? Did he have...feelings...for Stone?
Robotnik considered this with a sleepy calmness. Heh, feelings. Silly little human things. He would be just fine without them. Perhaps he should fire Stone in the morning. It wasn't the agent's fault, of course, but he was causing Robotnik too much stress and one day his heart may actually give out. But could he really do it? Fire his favourite and only assistant? Robotnik knew he could never do it. Not just because he would miss his amazing lattes, but also because he had become dependant. He could not live without the man, he realised, and the mere fact that he cared so much about Stone was making his heart pound once more.
Robotnik sat up straight in bed, now wide awake. He walked over to the mirror. His ears were bright red, his pupils had dilated, his heart was racing and hell, he couldn't catch a wink of sleep because he kept thinking about his assistant. Oh, dear. He was in love with Stone.