Work Text:
There were very few places Ivo wasn't allowed to go inside of G.U.N. headquarters. After all, he was their brains – what good was he if he could see what problems were to fix?
However, there was one area Ivo wasn't allowed in. He had no idea what was passed the locked door. Had no idea who even had permission to enter. He never caught the door opening before.
The mystery of what was being kept from him was driving him mad, but he bit his tongue and left it be. If it wasn't worth him to see then perhaps even G.U.N. knew it was beneath him to bother with. But the fact he could go there did irk him at times.
It was late as Ivo returned to his lab. He passed by that locked door once more. But this time, a noise caught his ear. He looked around. Once seeing the coast was clear, he walked closer and leaned his ear against the door.
There was noise coming from the other side. It was hard to determine from where he was. The noise sounded far from the door, which only fueled the interest. Whatever it was had to be noisy if the sound could travel this far. And possibly this was the loudest it had ever been.
In a split second, Ivo made a decision. He was going to get in there and see what was going on. Not tonight, no. But soon. He just needed to make something to bypass the security and sneak in and then all the secrets that door held were as good as his.
...
Two days later, Ivo made his move. In the cover of the night, he made his way to the door. He had already made sure the camera feed was messed up and wouldn't see him at all. It was easy as long as no one was around where he was going.
Ivo knew the routines of most. He was able to dodge anyone who might ask questions and quickly make his way to the door. No one stood guard, giving him an easy path in.
At the simply insert of a device, the code was cracked and the door slid open. No record of this would exist. The device made sure it wouldn't be tracked as having ever opened the door to begin with.
Ivo slipped inside as the door closed behind him. He looked around. It was a generic hallway just like the rest of the headquarters. Nothing stood out right away, so he began to walk. There was little around, just a blank wall guiding him down.
And then, he saw it. A room. A glass window. And someone in the room.
Ivo stared in. It was dark, the lighting being dim in this area – possibly by design. There was something lying on the ground. Something human-looking. It was hard to tell exactly with the distance of the figure from the window.
The door was locked, as expected. Ivo debated opening it with his bypass device, but hesitated. He didn't know what was inside. What if they were being locked in there for good reason? He didn't need to be reckless and get hurt just to satisfy his curiosity.
Ivo startled as the figure suddenly rose. Their eyes locked onto his and started walking toward the glass. Ivo took a step back, his eyes wandering over the figure.
A man, or so it seemed. Black clothes, disheveled but not too bad in condition. The most eye catching thing was his cold gaze. It felt almost inhuman.
The man stopped before the glass, studying Ivo with that unnerving gaze. Ivo stayed still, refusing to show fear. There was little to fear. Surely that glass wasn't going to break. They wouldn't keep someone behind it if that was a risk. He was safe out here.
"You aren't supposed to be here, are you?" The man spoke, startling Ivo.
He could talk. Ivo had almost thought that wouldn't be the case for some reason.
"Why does it matter?" Ivo replied, keeping a calm tone as he met the man's gaze.
"Why are you here?"
"Because I wanted to see what was back here. Not like you can do anything about it." Ivo retorted, crossing his arms.
The man studied Ivo closely. It was unnerving how calm this man was. "You don't know about me? Or the others?"
"What are you talking about? Honestly I'm a bit concerned to know they're keeping people locked in cells."
The man let out a bitter laugh. "It's much worse than that. I'm... an experiment. Nothing more to them."
"Experiment..." Ivo repeated, his eyes widening slightly. "Then you aren't human?"
"I am. Or I think I still am." The man shook his head. "An orphan taken away to be used for inhumane tests. That's all I am."
Ivo was silent for a while at the revelation. The idea of G.U.N. performing inhumane experiments wasn't that strange to him. With this type of group, it seemed more likely than not. But, hearing how they were getting these test subjects hit a bit more close to home.
An orphan. Just like him. Except he got lucky, this man didn't.
"What's your name?" Ivo asked, stepping closer to the glass. "My name's Ivo Robotnik."
The man regarded the question warily for a moment before he answered. "They call me Stone. I don't know if that is my true name or not."
"Stone." Ivo repeated. "Well, Stone, I'm willing to make a deal with you."
"A deal?" Stone narrowed his eyes, taking on a defensive stance. "Like what?"
"I'll get you out of here, if you join me." Ivo offered. "You see, I'm only here because they fund my inventions, but quite frankly I hate these guys. I'm sure that's a mutual feeling. Anyhow, with you, I think perhaps we could make a life without them. What do you say?"
Stone was silent as he pondered the offer. He seemed distrusting. Ivo couldn't exactly find fault in that. After what Stone had probably been put through, he was going to be wary of anyone associated with the same group.
"You can think about it." Ivo said. "I'll come back tomorrow and you can tell me your answer."
Stone nodded slowly. "Okay..."
With that, Ivo slipped back out and went back to his room. His mind was racing with thoughts. There was so much to think about now.
G.U.N. was doing human experimentation of some sort. What they wanted out of it, Ivo wasn't sure. But what he did know was that this particular man had caught his interest. Ivo wasn't sure what exactly it was, but he was drawn in.
...
The next night, as promised, Ivo returned to Stone. Stone walked back to the glass, still holding a wary gaze at Ivo.
"You came back." Stone said.
"I said I would." Ivo replied. "Have you decided? Will you join me?"
"What's in it for me? It just sounds like I'm going to be obligated to do as you want instead of these men." Stone questioned.
"Well, it is part of the deal that you would work with me. I can't deny that. But, I think it'll be much better conditions than these." Ivo answered, nodding to the barren room Stone was stuck in.
Stone stared at Ivo, conflict clear in his expression. He was silent for a while, thinking over his options closely. Ivo waited, wary of anyone potentially coming around and seeing this scene.
Stone took in a deep breath and met Ivo's gaze with a determined look. "Deal."
"Wonderful." Ivo offered a smile as he stepped up to the door and inserted his override device. In a moment, the door was open.
Stone warily approached, stepping into the hall and glancing around. His entire posture was tense.
Ivo held out a hand. "Follow me. Let's get out of here."
Stone took his hand. Ivo grabbed hold and lead him out and to his lab. It was a safe place to start at. No one came in here without his permission.
But, Ivo knew he had to act fast. There would only be so much time before Stone was noticed as missing. They needed to be out of here before that. He'd rather not have to try and hide Stone in the building until things blew over.
"This is... all yours?" Stone asked, slightly in awe as he looked around the lab. "But yet you are not part of that team."
"Must've missed the invite." Ivo joked dryly as he began grabbing things to take. "Not sure I'd have accepted, honestly. I like machines. They do as their told. Humans, not so much."
Stone watched him in silent curiosity. Ivo took a pause to actually look at Stone properly. Now in the light of his lab, he could make out a lot more.
Stone was in decent shape, all things considered. Probably a bit on the thin side, but nothing alarming. A few wounds and bruised here and there, but nothing deadly. They were clearly making sure he didn't die.
Though, one wound caught Ivo's eye. He walked over to Stone, taking his left arm and looking at a deep gash in the forearm.
"What happened?" Ivo questioned, tracing z finger just above the raised skin.
"Sample collecting." Stone offered, not seeming too bothered by it.
"What on earth kind of sample requires this type of wound?"
"Muscle, apparently."
Ivo dropped Stone's arm and looked him in the eyes. "They cut out part of your muscle?"
Stone nodded. "Something about genetic testing. They drug you to do so I wasn't really able to pay attention to anything they said."
"Well... it doesn't shock me they'd be capable of it but it still is something to see they have done it." Ivo stepped back and returned to packing his things.
Stone walked a few steps closer. "May I ask why you want me to come with you?"
"You'll see as we go." Was all Ivo offered. "I'm not intending to push you to the brink like they were."
Stone just nodded and fell silent after that. He watched Ivo pack.
"Alright. I've got what we're taking. You ready to leave this place?" Ivo stood up, throwing two bags over his shoulders.
"Where are we going exactly?" Stone asked.
"I have a few... unknown hideouts." Ivo replied, being vague on purpose. "We'll choose the one that suits us best."
"O-okay. I'm ready to go then, sir." Stone nodded.
"Then come. Don't fall behind."
Ivo took the lead out of the room with that. Stone kept right behind, doing well to keep pace. Ivo weaved them through the back halls of the headquarters, knowing it like the back of his palm at this point. It wasn't hard to get into the outside with no detection.
Stone stared for a while, taking in everything.
"Guess it's been a while since you've seen the outside." Ivo commented, taking Stone by his wrist and tugging him onward.
"I can't even tell you how long it's been." Stone replied in a quiet voice. "So long I've forgotten what this all even looked like."
"You'll have plenty of time to enjoy nature once we get to the hideout. Come. Before anyone does notice you are gone. I don't want to deal with a chase if I don't have to."
"Right."
Ivo lead Stone onward. The younger man was still looking around in awe as they went. Ivo almost felt bad for him. To be deprived of such a normal thing like that, it did almost pull a string in his heart.
There was something about the innocent way Stone looked around that caught his eye. The cold and calculated look had finally fallen from his face, showing that Stone was human at the end of the day. He still had emotions.
Ivo cracked a smile. He had a feeling this adventure was going to be full of surprises. At least, on Stone's end. Though, Ivo couldn't say he wasn't intrigued by the prospect of what this man before him could turn into given the right treatment.
He may be the most valuable asset Ivo could have, even if he wasn't particularly fond of humans.
...
Ivo had been right. Stone was much more useful than he had originally thought. The man was willing to help him with most things. And all it had taken was to simply treat Stone as another living being. Of course, Ivo had his moments – Stone did get on the receiving end of a few aggressive jabs here and there.
Stone stuck around through it all. Even with the occasional manhandling, he didn't leave. Hell, he stopped even flinching at the touch. He had gotten used to this life.
Ivo was glad he had taken a risk. Stone and him were thriving. Now without G.U.N. breathing down his back, he could focus on what he really wanted to do – and Stone was all too happy to help him, even with the questionable morals to some things.
The only thing Ivo had not quite accounted for was Stone being... well, human. Humans felt things he thought stupid. But Stone was human and feelings came up.
Ivo really didn't know how it happened, but one night as he was getting into Stone's personal space during a passionate speech, Stone had suddenly leaned in and their lips connected.
Ivo's eyes went wide. For once in his life, he was truly caught off guard. He could have never anticipated this was going to happen.
"Stone?" Ivo stared at Stone as the other pulled back.
"I... I'm sorry, sir, I just..." Stone started to try and explain, but gave up. "I like you."
"There are better ways to approach such a thing than kissing me without warning, you know?" Ivo huffed, getting back into Stone's face. His heart was pounding in his chest. "And if you're going to kiss me, do it right."
Ivo grabbed Stone by his shirt and smashed their lips back together, kissing him with much more force and passion. He didn't know what was possessing him to do this, but he didn't want to stop it.
"Sir, I..." Stone stared with wide eyes as Ivo stepped back after the kiss.
"Not a word, Stone." Ivo held up his finger to Stone's lips. "We do not need to speak of this any more tonight."
"Yes, sir." Stone agreed with a nod.
"Good, then clean up your mess and get to bed. We have much to do tomorrow."
Ivo took his leave, trying to ignore the way his heart was still pounding in his chest. Stone was doing things to him, making him feel things he never had.
That man was certainly something. That was all Ivo could think as he tried to settle into his bed. His decision that night to see what was hiding from him had lead to more than he could have ever imagined.
And he wouldn't change it, even if he was suddenly being forced into acknowledging emotions he kept buried inside.