Chapter Text
Stone has been sent to kill the fearsome red dragon, Robotnik, by the king. The kingdom had been throwing knights as his lair for years and no one ever came back, so now Stone was pretty much the last hope to stop the brutal deaths. If Stone didn’t return triumphant, the kingdom had no clue what they would do.
Stone entered the lair stealthily only to find a lean, maroon dragon that was pacing around a hoard of gold and silver and ranting about the stupidity of the kingdom. He had his back to the entrance as the dragon’s angry words echoed on the domed ceiling. It had a body about the length of five horses with thick legs and a tail that swung as it paced.
Stone should have taken its distraction as an opportunity to attack, but instead he watched, entranced by Robotnik’s words. The knight sat down in the entrance way off to one side as he listened. He listened about how the farmers did not raise their sheep properly so they tasted bad, he listened about how the kingdom was greedy and never gave him anything good to work with, he listened to-
“Intruder!” Roared the dragon mid rant as it brought its head close to where Stone was sitting cross legged on the floor. The knight squirmed back out of fear.
Now that the dragon was closer, Stone could see that he was even more beautiful. He had bright yellow eyes with cat-like pupils that narrowed in anger. The ruby red scales of his body shimmered in the light of the flames curling out of his mouth. Somehow he had a mustache, a poorly styled one, but a mustache none the less. Stone began to sweat as the dragon exhaled hot breath on his face. The dragon opened his jaws and prepared to eat the knight.
“Wait!” Stone exclaimed, throwing up his hands in surrender, “before you charbroil me, oh Great Robotnik, sir! Can I ask why you think the kingdom is full of imbeciles?”
“We’re you actually listening?” The dragon paused, moving its head back so as not to roast the knight alive in his armor, at least not immediately, “But why would you care if you weren’t sent to kill or rob me?”
“Because I agree that humanity is stupid,” Stone said before projecting his voice so the dragon could hear him better, “I just wanted to say your beautiful, oh powerful one,”
“Flattery is appreciated, but will not save you from being lunch,” Robotnik said even though he glowed just a bit more at the praise.
Despite the dire situation, Stone felt himself smile at how the dragon seemed to preen at his compliment. He was glad that his helmet hid his face, only he would know that the dragon had made him smile.
Stone lifted his helmet off as he spoke, “I do have to be honest with you, I was sent to kill you by the same kingdom of which you complain.”
“I guessed. A knight in my lair usually means someone sent them to their deaths.” The dragon shrugged, “I don’t see why you would be any different. Well, that was before you opened that mouth of yours.”
Stone should be terrified, he should have just accepted his fate and died in the belly of this terrifying, ferociously stunning beast. But instead Stone felt like betraying everything he had stood for as the dragon studied his face, “Please, sir.”
“Eh. You can stay for now.” The dragon seemed to shrink in size slightly as it folded his wings and used his teeth to delicately pluck the knight up by his armor, "I do need something to entertain me.”
Plopping Stone into the pile of gold, Robotnik circled him before flopping down next to him. The dragon stretched out, placing his head so it covered the knight's entire body except for his own head.
Stone should have fought back, or attempted to flee, or something but instead he felt surprisingly warm and safe as the dragon began to paw at the metal encasing him in an attempt to crack Stone’s armor open. His clawed hands dug into the metal, about to rip it as if the armor was made of paper.
“Do you want me to take it off, sir?”
“It’s not very comfortable to lay on,” the dragon grumbled as Stone began to strip out of his armor until he was just in a black tunic and pants. He added the armor to the hoard of gold they were laying on. The dragon plopped his head back down onto Stone. He let out another grumbling noise that was almost a purr as the dragon watched the knight. Stone felt the reverberations run through his body as he wiggled to get more comfortable beneath the dragon’s head. This was a much better ending to the day than Stone had feared.
——
Stone was kept as a glorified pet. He got to occasionally leave for food and to look for “shinies” and other trinkets to decorate Robotnik’s lair and already impressive hoard. However, his main day to day was just hanging around the dragon and helping with more fiddly tasks that required human hands. He even got to brush the dragon’s mustache in a way that the hair wouldn’t get burnt every time he breathed fire. The dragon was quite pleased with the new assistant even if he kept it well disguised as indifference.
One day while the dragon was out destroying a village because he was bored, Stone began working on a personal project for the first time in months. He had seen the dragon’s clear disgust whenever he wore his armor because it was embedded with the symbol of the kingdom on the chest plate and left shoulder.
So Stone set about embroidering the dragon's face onto the left shoulder of his tunic. He hoped to finish it before the dragon came back. Stone hummed a tune as he worked for almost an hour before a flap of wings announced Robotnik’s return, the dragon shimmied back into his lair with a sheep in his mouth. Gently lowering his head, he dropped it in front of Stone. The knight smiled up at him before showing the dragon his new and improved shirt.
Robotnik glanced at the design before moving his head as close as possible.
“Is that me, Stone?” The dragon asked, with definitely no awe in his voice.
“Yes, sir!” The knight beamed, “I wanted to show my allegiance is to you, and you alone!”
If the dragon could have blushed he would have, instead he flopped a massive hand and said, “Oh, stop!”
The dragon then lowered his head and nuzzled his nose into Stone’s chest to show his appreciation, before attempting to pretend that the affection had never happened by changing the subject.
“Now make your dinner,” the dragon said, moving the dead sheep closer to Stone.
The knight slipped back into his shirt and began to prepare the meat while Robotnik watched. The dragon only intervened once and that was to properly cook the meat since Stone didn’t have access to a kitchen. Normally Robotnik would let anyone near his precious scales, and especially not with something greasy like mutton. And yet he let him lean against his side as the knight nibbled on cheese, bread, and the mutton.
While the knight ate his dinner, Robotnik started to talk about his day. They didn't eat together often, but it still was nice to be able to share a quiet moment.
“Sir, I know where to find better goats!” Stone announced as he finished his dinner. He had come back from a reconnaissance trip before he had started sewing.
Robotnik’s eyes shot open as he looked down at the knight.
“Well then, lead the way,” the dragon said, making sure to keep his voice lower because whenever he shouted Stone would flinch no matter how well he tried to hide his reaction.
The knight frowned, “that’s the issue, it’s too far to make it on today foot-“
Robotnik rolled his eyes, “Oh just get on my back already,” the dragon interrupted as it slapped his tail into Stone and pushed him toward his back.
With minimal struggle, Stone sat atop the dragon gripping on to his neck with a sort of exhilaration as the dragon made his way out of the cave.
Flapping his wings, Robotnik took to the sky. While following the directions Stone had given him, the dragon couldn’t help but show off. After a couple barrel rolls just to hear the knight scream out in fear and exhilaration, Robotnik landed in a field next to a pin of goats.
“They’re imported from Austria you say?”
“Yes, sir! Apparently supposed to be the finest in all the land!” Stone said as he readjusted atop the dragon.
“Hmmph! I’ll be the judge of that!” The dragon said as he opened his jaws and snapped up a goat.
The dragon closed his eyes as he chewed. He paused for a second as he considered the taste. It was fantastic and he was furious he hadn't figured it out before.
“Sooo…?” Stone prompted after a good few minutes of silence.
Begrudgingly the dragon admitted, “tolerable.”
Stone laughed and held on to Robotnik’s neck as the dragon took to the sky again, goats clasped tightly in his feet for a later meal. The bleating caused both man and dragon to laugh all they way home.
The goats remained tied just inside the lair as Robotnik plopped down in his gold in what could only be described as a loaf shape. Stone snickered as he climbed on top of the dragon again, laying down against his back.
“Thank you for not eating me that night, Sir,” Stone whispered into the night air.
“Thanks for not being a problem every night after,” the dragon said in a low voice in an attempt to whisper back.
Stone chuckled softly and wrapped himself in a blanket as he lay across Robotnik’s back like a starfish. He fell asleep hugging the dragon. Robotnik turned his head to watch the human snoring. He gave a huff of laughter before curling his head up and falling asleep himself.