Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Agent Stone stepped out of the car, buttoning up his suit jacket and smoothing down his tie. He handed the keys to the valet, making sure to tip him to put the car in a closer location. He then crossed to the other side of the car, opening the door for Robotnik to step out. He kept an eye out for snipers and gunmen- he was assigned to the Doctor following an assassination attempt, after all. It had taken months to be allowed to drive the doctor anywhere, much less accompany him to events. But Stone had made a few cracks in his walls, after four months of work.

He remembered his first day vividly. The only tip he’d gotten from the previous bodyguard/assistant was that the Doctor hated black coffee. Following this advice, he showed up with a coffee in hand, one cream and two sugars. At which point, Robotnik took one sip and immediately threw the thermos at Stone, splashing coffee all over his neatly pressed suit. Well, it was a good thing that Stone packed an extra suit in his bag- though it was bound to be slightly wrinkly. Stone picked up the empty thermos, listening to the Doctor’s rant about not needing a bodyguard or assistant and Stone’s obvious inferiority. He didn’t know exactly how to feel, a strange mix of frustration and annoyance. But none of it was directed to the Doctor- it was at himself, at his own failure to perform to the Doctor’s standards. He knew what he was getting into when he volunteered to take over the bodyguarding job. Stone would get to work with the smartest man in the world.

The Doctor finally stepped out of the car, his usual coat flaring behind him, exposing the red underneath. Stone thought he looked brilliant, as always. He shut the door behind him and fell into step with Robotnik, exactly one step behind his right shoulder. Stone knew that this event would likely be very easy to sneak an assassin into- it was certainly easy enough to sneak his silenced pistol past the security at the entrance, to say nothing of whatever weaponry Robotnik was carrying.

The ballroom was filled to the brim with important military people and their bodyguards and agents. The high-priced gowns and well-pressed suits did nothing to assuage the fears that the Doctor may be attacked. Any assassin worth their price would have an extensive collection of clothing and disguises. Stone would know. Still, he was glad that those days were behind him, and he was even more glad that he got to keep many of his more extravagant uniforms.

“Stone, this place is nearly intolerable,” The Doctor complained, turning his head to face Stone.

“I agree, Doctor,” Stone replied. He scanned the room for exits and entrances, a little annoyed when he found many of them to be behind curtains or pillars supporting the upper balcony. The main entrance was up a flight of stairs from the main floor, which added another layer of security concerns. The upper level was likely more difficult to access than the front or back doors, but anyone coming in from there would have a clean shot on basically anyone in the room. Stone suddenly realized that Robotnik was still talking, and he quickly caught himself up on the conversation.

“I mean seriously, do all of these people think themselves so important that they would wear such fine clothing to an event that was celebrating some nobody generals who finally got their heads out of their asses enough to work together?” A rhetorical question, Stone didn’t have to reply. “We may as well be in a circus for how bright their outfits are. Come on, Stone, let’s go get some hors d’oeuvres. It’s likely to be the best part of this foolish event.”

Stone dutifully trailed the Doctor through the crowd, which parted as he passed by with whispers and glances. Robotnik either didn’t notice, or didn’t care, which given that he noticed everything, the latter was more likely.

While the Doctor ate as much of the snack table as he could reach (which, admittedly, had a nice selection- antipasto, bruschetta, crab puffs, crudites, samosas, prawn cocktails, potato skins, stuffed mushrooms, sushi, and more that Stone didn’t even know the names of), Stone kept an eye on the exits and balconies. One door clearly led to the kitchen, with servers entering and exiting through large double doors. He wasn’t sure why he was so worried. Someone could easily snipe the doctor during field demonstrations of his weapons just as much as he could be killed during this gala, but something was off. Or maybe it was just his anxiety.

The upper balcony had a few people on it. One of them was alone, but there were two other groups with three or four people in them. The person who was alone struck Stone as odd- unlike most of the other party goers, their suit was ill-fitting.

Stone saw it coming from a mile away, but he still found himself slow to act. The person was far enough away from everyone else so they could have a rifle stored beneath the railing of the balcony- the railing that was unfortunately solid instead of slatted.

The doctor had drifted slightly down the table since Stone last looked. He was moving before he knew what was going on- but the sniper was clearly very experienced, or at the very least knew their gun very well, and already had the bullet aimed at Robotnik’s skull.

“Doctor!” Stone screamed, tackling him to the ground. Unfortunately, this sniper was smart enough to follow the motion down, and a shot rang out.

“Stone!” The Doctor chastised. Stone wasn’t really listening. He felt the impact of the bullet in the middle of his latissimus dorsi muscle, just below the scapula. The suit he was wearing was certainly tougher than a regular civilian suit, but the bullet likely still punctured it. Still, it was likely that the bullet was near the surface, and hadn’t made it past his ribcage. He intentionally worked out the muscles around his chest, back, and shoulders to add extra protection to his vital organs, not that the practice was really backed up by science. So he was a little vain about his body, sue him!

He only had a few more seconds until the sniper fired again. Ignoring the doctor’s indignant cries, Stone grabbed him and rolled to the left, concealing them from sight under the tables full of food. Robotnik was now on top of him, legs and arms splayed to the sides.

“Wh- what are you doing, Agent?” Robotnik demanded. Stone pushed through the pain and shock of the bullet wound and started pushing them backwards with his legs, making sure to stay underneath the tablecloth. More shots rang out as the sniper fired again, narrowly missing them as Stone scrambled to get them to a safer section of the ballroom. “Stone, you imbecile, you’re dragging me across the floor!”

“Apologies, sir,” Stone said, pulling Robotnik up just in time to miss another bullet fired through the tabletop.

“Am I being assassinated right now?” Robotnik shrieked.

“Of course not, Doctor,” Stone reassured. He flipped them again, still mostly under the table, so in case security couldn’t get to the assassin in time, Stone would be hit instead of the Doctor.

“Why are you on top of me again?!” Robotnik tried to maneuver out of Stone’s grasp, but he held firm.

“If they shoot through the table again, I will be shot instead of you, Sir,” Stone explained. The pain from the bullet wound was beginning to cloud his mind, but he went through nearly two decades of training and field ops before his assignment to the Doctor, and he knew how to mentally work through a GSW.

“Stone, what-” The Doctor cut himself off abruptly, evidently feeling the blood dripping from Stone’s mid-back. “Are you bleeding on me?!”

“My apologies, Sir. I was unfortunately too slow to…” Stone’s vision suddenly swims, and he gasps for breath. “I was too slow to avoid the bullet. However, since I’m not coughing up blood, it didn’t make it to my lungs.”

The Doctor opened his mouth to say something- likely a series of insults- but the table was suddenly pushed away from them and the lights poured back in.

“Doctor Robotnik, Agent Stone,” A security guard said, “The assailant has been apprehended. Were either of you hurt?”

Robotnik pushed Stone off of him and onto the tiled floor. Stone let out a soft grunt of pain, but managed to push himself into a sitting position.

“I am fine. Agent Stone was shot.” Robotnik got to his feet, brushing off his coat.

“He was shot?” The security guard moved to help Stone up but quickly stopped. “Can we get a medic to the snack table?” The guard spoke into his walkie-talkie. Stone rolled his eyes.

“I can stand,” He said, ignoring the pain and the sudden dizziness as he got to his feet. “I am capable of seeing the Doctor safely back to his lab.” He could hear his pulse pounding in his ears, but he’d walked away from worse injuries before.

“Agent Stone, there is no need. I will remain here at this- distasteful establishment while you get that bullet removed.” While he was speaking, Robotnik grabbed Stone’s shoulders and spun him around, examining the bullet wound. “A simple local anesthetic should do, the bullet was slowed by your clothing.”

If Stone didn’t know any better, he’d think the Doctor was somehow worried about him. It was more likely a worry for his own safety- how could he get back to the lab if his bodyguard wasn’t there to take another bullet? Surely that was it.

Stone was eventually taken to an ambulance, where Robotnik quickly took over and basically stole their medical supplies to patch Stone up himself. If Stone hadn’t been so worried about who exactly sent that assassin and what it meant for Robotnik’s future, he would’ve been embarrassed at having to take off his shirt in front of the Doctor. Instead, while the Doctor carefully removed the pieces of the bullet in the back of a stationary ambulance, he worried about the future. He needed to find out who was behind this assassination attempt- because chances were there would be more where that one came from. He would need to be ever-vigilant while out of the lab with the Doctor- and perhaps, even within the lab.

“Stone, you imbecile! Your stitches are done, put your clothes back on and let’s get out of this tragedy of a Gala,” Robotnik left the ambulance, leaving Stone to shrug his bloody clothes back on, feeling the pull of the stitches in his muscles, and follow Robotnik to the car.

He had a feeling that this attempt to murder Robotnik would not be the only one. And since his gut feeling had allowed him to protect the Doctor the first time, he would listen to his instincts this time. Anything out of the ordinary, and Stone would be there to protect the Doctor from whatever his would-be killers dreamed up.

Chapter Text

Something changed within Ivo the night of the gala. Before then, Stone was just an insane Agent, one who had survived all of his increasingly deadly attempts to get him to leave Ivo the hell alone. He still vividly, and quite fondly, remembered one of the last things that he put Stone through before he finally accepted that Stone was going to be a thorn in his side for longer than any other government dog had managed before.

One day, about three and a half months into their increasingly strained relationship, he called Agent Stone to a cleared-out shooting range, to do a “live fire test” with a new weapon design. Unbeknownst to Stone, Ivo had programmed the Badniks to fire directly at Stone. Non-lethal shocks, of course, but Stone didn’t know that. Ivo observed him on multiple cameras as Agent Stone dodged Badniks left and right, ducking behind the targets at the back of the range and somehow tricking the Badniks into firing at each other. That shouldn’t have been possible with how Ivo programmed the AI, but Stone was proving to be something of an anomaly when it came to his code. After a few minutes of this, Ivo took the Badniks out of attack mode and sent them back to the lab, frustrated that Stone didn’t even get shocked a little. In fact, if Ivo was looking at his expressions in the hallway cameras correctly, he’d enjoyed what should have been a terrifying situation.

That was the moment that Ivo decided that nothing he could do would ever get rid of Stone. He didn’t have to like it, per se, but he would have to figure out how to deal with it. That pesky barnacle was stuck to his ship, whether he liked it or not.

After that, came the gala, and that was a train wreck all around. That was the moment when Ivo realized that he could do a bit more than just tolerate Stone’s presence. He didn’t enjoy Stone’s presence- that would be insane- but he… He couldn’t find the words. So he expressed himself the only way he knew how: with math. According to his calculations, Stone was a positive influence on his life. For example, before Stone, the equation for going to a gala or similar social event was something like this:

3 Hours(Robotnik + Gala) = Miserable, Terrible, Horrible.

After Stone, the equation changed. Significantly.

3 Hours(Robotnik + Gala + Stone) = Tolerable.

Besides that sudden tolerability, there was also an additional, stranger reaction, the moment that Stone tackled him to the ground. Even when the shot rang out and Stone flinched above him, all Ivo could focus on was the feeling of being pinned to the ground, underneath Stone’s weight. The sudden change in their positions equally confused his senses. Even after two weeks of private reflection on what exactly occurred at the gala, he still could not comprehend his own reactions. To say nothing of the sudden fear he felt at the thought of someone else removing the bullet from Stone’s back and stitching him up! It was all incredibly confusing to him, like a bug in code with no fix.

Stone took exactly three days off of work while healing from his bullet wound. It annoyed Ivo to no end to see him back in the lab on day four, a latte in his hand and a grin on his face. He was clearly still in pain from the shot, but that didn’t stop him from responding to Ivo’s emails, ordering parts, and cleaning up other minor issues throughout the lab. Despite this, Ivo could tell that he was still taking it easy. He made sure not to lift heavy crates full of mechanical parts and avoided other similar physical labor. Perhaps he knew that Ivo would’ve sedated him if he re-injured himself on the job.

Running his mind through the calculations again, Ivo realized that Stone also had a positive effect on his life in the lab.

~6 Days(Robotnik + Lab) = Sufficient amount of productivity.

When he calculated his productivity with Stone in the lab, the results almost surprised him.

~6 Days(Robotnik + Lab + Stone) = 49% increase in productivity. 64% decrease in stress-related exhaustion.

The only logical conclusion was that Stone needed to stay. This conclusion greatly frustrated Ivo. Additionally, Stone’s productivity only seemed to increase after he fully healed from the bullet wound, and by five months into having him in the lab, he seemed to be working even more efficiently. Perhaps the assassination attempt made Stone realize that he needed to do more for Ivo. How he could have come to that conclusion was entirely beyond the scope of Ivo’s research, so he elected to ignore that.

Exactly five months since Stone first stepped into his lab, Ivo presented him with a watch. Of course, it was more than just a regular watch, but the main purpose was to allow Stone to give rudimentary commands to his system, such as commanding a Badnik to their power station or accessing storage compartments in the lab without having to use the master computer. Discreetly, it also allowed Ivo to track his location and vitals. For normal reasons.

“Stone? Get over here, you fool,” Ivo called. He hadn’t put the watch in a box or anything- what was the point when Stone would immediately start wearing it. He ignored the way his own heart was racing with anxiety. What if Stone didn’t like the watch? What if he figured out that Ivo was tracking him? It was so stupid, but he couldn’t get the thought out of his head. Endlessly frustrating.

“Yes, Doctor?” Stone asked, his smile bright as always.

Ivo grabbed Stone’s wrist, slapped the watch on, and clasped it. He’d manufactured it to Stone’s exact wrist size (he had a full 3d model of Stone, based on many Badnik scans), so the watch band only had one size. As soon as he was sure that the watch was secure, he turned back to his desk.

“Doctor- it’s brilliant.” Stone sounded incredibly moved by the gift. The very practical, totally normal gift. That Ivo was not going to freak out about for the rest of the day.

“Yes, I know,” Ivo replied, “I made it. Now get back to work!”

“Of course, Sir,” said Stone. Was that a little tremor in his voice? No, Ivo must’ve been making it up.

Stone’s barely audible footsteps receded into the distance. Slowly but surely, Ivo’s shoulders lowered and he found himself relaxing. If Stone didn’t like the gift, then that wasn’t his problem. He was perfect. The watch was perfect. And if he ever saw Stone without the watch on, he’d fire him on the spot. Simple.

The rest of the week, Ivo found himself tensing whenever Stone drew near. Did Stone even realize that the watch was custom? Had he discovered all of the features? The questions filled up his usually efficient mind, leading him to create a new equation.

~6 Days(Robotnik + Lab + Stone + Watch) = Constant distraction, errors, and a decrease of 35% in productivity.

In other words, unacceptable. By Friday, Ivo planned to take the watch back just so he would stop thinking about it. Stone entered the lab perfectly on time, as always, with a piping hot latte gripped in his hand. His hand which also wore the watch.

Perfect.

“Your latte, Doctor,” Stone said, reaching out to place the thermos on the table. Ivo grabbed his arm the moment the latte left his grip. He reached his hand around the watch band to unclasp it, but in a surprising show of disobedience, Stone wrenched his hand away, stepping backwards.

“Stone!” Ivo chastised, turning his chair to face his misbehaving agent.

“Doctor- were you- you weren’t going to remove my watch, were you?” Stone clutched the watch to his chest, seemingly out of sorts.

“Of course I was, you imbecile! It is reducing the productivity in this lab by 35%!” Ivo leapt out of his chair, pointing his finger at Stone’s chest.

“Sir, please, I love the watch, may I keep it? I’ll stop wearing it to the lab, I swear, but-”

“Agent, why are you behaving even more moronically than usual? Give me the watch.” Ivo held his palm out. “Why do you even want to keep it anyway?”

“Doctor, I just- I thought it was a nice gift. Can I please keep it?” Stone was slowly backing away. His eyes were wide, and Ivo knew that if he checked the watch’s readings, he would find an elevated heart rate.

At least he knew that Stone didn’t hate it. Likely, he hadn’t figured out that it was tracking him, either. After all, who would want a megalomaniacal doctor to have their location at all times? Ivo dropped his hand to the side. Ugh, letting his minion win an argument this early in the morning? He almost doubled down, but Stone’s stupid expression somehow stopped him.

“Fine. You may keep it. And keep wearing it to the lab. I assume you know about most of it’s functions by now,” Robotnik said, returning to his desk.

“Yes. Thank you, sir,” Stone responded, relieved.

“Go back to work, Agent!” Ivo ordered. He didn’t want to have to look at Stone’s stupid face and stupid hands any longer.

Not that he noticed Stone’s hands. That would be crazy, and Ivo was a very rational man. Every impulse was guided by his rational mind, and he was never distracted by anything. So, very rationally, Ivo didn’t get any work done for the rest of the day. Perhaps he would be able to find a solution over the weekend.

He spent the whole weekend thinking about Stone. He sat on his couch and pretended to read scientific journals while thinking about Stone. The only time he wasn’t thinking about Stone was when he took a shower, and that was because he forcibly shut his mind down so that he wouldn’t think of anything or anyone while in there. By Sunday night, he updated his equation.

~6 Days(Robotnik + Lab + Stone + Watch) = 14% increase in productivity, 59% decrease in stress-related exhaustion.

Unfortunately, getting rid of Stone entirely wasn’t an option. So Ivo would have to resort to different methods to keep his mind on track: Dance Breaks. With a plan formulated, Ivo went to bed feeling ready to face his assistant with that damned watch without losing his sanity. He made a note to add more songs to his dance playlist, just so the frequent dance breaks would have more variety. He was ready. He could do this.

Chapter Text

Ever since the gala, Doctor Robotnik had been acting increasingly strange. First, there was that watch, the beautiful black watch with a multitude of features that fit perfectly on his arm. Second, there was the incident where Robotnik tried to take the watch away, which nearly sent Stone into a panic. He loved the watch- never took it off, in fact- and the idea of having to part with it was terrible.

In the weeks afterward, their relationship seemed to return to a sort of baseline. The Doctor demanded his lattes delivered and his email, schedule, and lab managed, and Stone provided.

Sometime around month 5 and a half, Stone walked in on the doctor having a dance break. Which was odd, because before the Gala, Robotnik’s dance breaks were much fewer and far between. That particular week, Stone witnessed the Doctor dancing approximately once per day, significantly more than his pre-gala once a week average. Perhaps the Doctor was stressed over the assassination attempts? That was the most likely option. Stone would have to work harder to keep the Doctor safe- starting with rearranging that supply pickup that the moronic fools in the government wanted Robotnik to do himself. Seriously, sending a scientist to pick up his own materials with an assassination attempt barely more than a month prior? It was like they were asking for their favorite asset to end up with a bullet through the skull.

“Stone, what does my schedule look like for this week?” The Doctor questioned, swiveling in his chair to look at Stone.

“Continuing work on Project NeoArmor, Doctor. On Friday, I have a few questions to ask you about the quarterly budget report, but I should be able to do most of it myself. Other than that-”

Robotnik cut him off. “Stone, what about my new supply of titanium mesh and lead alloys? When will that be delivered?”

“Ah. Doctor, I am going to go pick it up right now. They originally wanted you to pick it up yourself, but I decided to take over the job, as it is completely beneath your time. I will return in approximately two and a half hours,” Stone said, pulling on his semi-bulletproof leather jacket and armored tactical pants.

“Hmph. You were correct to assume that picking up supplies would be a complete waste of my time. However, I do expect you to return in time for my mid-afternoon latte. You are dismissed, Agent,” Robotnik grunted, refocusing on his work.

“Yes, Doctor,” Stone murmured, grabbing the keys to the Doctor’s custom-built armored SUV. He idly wondered if their suppliers were aware that Doctor Robotnik himself was supposed to pick up the shipment, but that would’ve been very foolish on the government’s part, given the recent assassination attempts. Even if these suppliers were reputable business owners, there was always the chance that they could be bought out or threatened into giving up the doctor’s whereabouts.

Stone pushed down his instincts that something wasn’t right and went to the pickup.

He returned to the lab four hours later, covered in soot and ash, making a beeline for the chemical emergency shower. It was a trap- it was a fucking trap, and only luck meant that Stone made it out alive. The chemical shower was thankfully near the entrance to the lab, but it was in the lab, so it meant that Robotnik would see evidence of his mistake. Even though the blast occurred much earlier in the day, Stone felt like his ears were still ringing. Or maybe that was the panic.

He pulled the quick release valve arm and high-pressure water slammed into him from above, soaking him to the bone within seconds. He knew he would probably still have chemical burns after this, just from the amount of time he spent with building materials caked on his skin, but they would be significantly more manageable post-shower. The water was freezing cold, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Agent Stone, what in the name of Einstein are you doing?!” Robotnik demanded, his voice approaching from across the room.

Stone shut the shower off. The water cascaded down the drain, a sickly shade of greyish-brown. “Apologies, Doctor, the supply run was a setup. I was nearly crushed by the warehouse coming down, it was only sheer luck that I survived. I will clean up this mess-”

“A building collapsed on you? They were planning to kill me by exploding an entire warehouse?!” Robotnik screeched, and if Stone didn’t know any better, he thought he heard concern in the first question.

“Yes, but I managed to get out. Unfortunately, I had a lot of concrete dust and insulation stuck on me for the drive home, hence the emergency shower,” Stone explained. From his months of work, he knew that the Doctor would be slightly less angry if he explained himself properly. Only slightly.

Robotnik huffed. Stone needed to get out of these clothes, but he wouldn’t with the Doctor just staring at him. He removed his jacket anyway, grimacing at the way his white dress shirt was slightly stained with grey dust. It clung uncomfortably to his body and made him feel gross.

“I will speak with the government fools about this, Stone, now get out of my sight,” Robotnik grumbled, turning away from where Stone was standing underneath the shower like a wet dog.

“Of course.” Stone kicked his shoes off to rest next to his jacket, followed by his socks. He wasn’t sure if any of his clothing would survive this, but he wasn’t excited to find out. The lab had a small room that Stone used as his office, his storage space, and sometimes, his bedroom if he was too tired to drive home after a long day. The Doctor’d given it to him after about a month of him working there, since Stone had taken to leaving a duffel bag with spare outfits by the door of the lab, to avoid the Doctor tripping over it.

He grabbed the towel he kept in the office and took off the remainder of his clothes, checking for any problem areas. The worst of it seemed to be on the back of his neck, so he applied a bandage there to keep it from getting infected. Moving as quickly as he could, he put one of his backup suits on. The Doctor would not like him to leave the emergency shower area uncleaned, so he grabbed a plastic bag and shoved his ruined clothes inside before returning to the lab. The Doctor was already back to his desk, so Stone had no trouble cleaning and sanitizing the shower area. After examining his clothes further, he determined that he could save them if he took them home, so he closed the bag and set it near his office.

It was past the time where he normally delivered Robotnik’s latte, so he hurried to make one as soon as he was done cleaning up. He kept the latte art simple, just a little Robotnik logo, and brought the mug to the Doctor’s desk.

“Stone, I have informed Walters that he will not send you or I on any more supply runs, so if he tries to, make sure you tell him that I have expressly forbid it.” Robotnik didn’t look at Stone while he talked. Was he disappointed? Frustrated? Stone would have to try harder to avoid injury in the future if it made the Doctor stop looking at him.

“Of course, Doctor.” Stone wasn’t going to bring up the delayed latte if the Doctor didn’t mention it. He was already exhausted from his day, and though he would usually welcome an argument with the Doctor, he was forced to admit that it would not be beneficial after such a disastrous supply run.

“Dismissed, Agent,” Robotnik said.

Stone turned and went back to his office, thinking about the collapsed. It was clearly planned for Robotnik, so that meant that someone inside the government was leaking information to assailants. And if it was an inside job, who was sabotaging the doctor? And why? Doctor Robotnik was one of the military’s greatest assets, so whoever it was had to be either really stupid, really angry, or both. That did not narrow down the suspect list at all, practically everyone in the government was like that.

With a sigh, Stone collapsed into his chair and grabbed the notebook he kept hidden in a secret compartment under his desk. It wasn’t hidden from Robotnik, but Robotnik wouldn’t waste his time reading anything he felt wasn’t important, which was most things.

The notebook had to be hidden from other government employees, however, because its contents were part of an investigation Stone had been running since the first assassination attempt. His suspect list was still annoyingly long, as it seemed that Robotnik had managed to piss off quite literally everyone he’d ever come into contact with. He flipped through the suspects again. He couldn’t think of anything.

Well, at least he could continue to do his job: protect Robotnik from his own actions. He sighed again and went to manage the Doctor’s emails and calls.