Chapter Text
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Stone rubbed his eyes with his fingers, a small groan escaping his lips as his head throbbed. He didn’t know what had come over him, but ever since last night he’d been feeling dizzy, as if he’d drunk a ton of alcohol and was now paying for it with a hangover.
Which was ironic, since he couldn’t even drink—his job prevented him from getting drunk, and besides, he’d never liked the burning sensation in his throat.
Glancing up at the clock on the wall, Stone realized his shift would start in an hour. Reluctantly, he headed straight to the bathroom, took off his pajamas, and let the running water cascade over his face and body. The cold water against his even colder skin was soothing, making him want to stay there longer, but he knew that was a terrible idea. The doctor hated it when the agent was late or arrived too early, so he made sure to arrive right on time if he didn’t want to hear any more complaints about his apparent incompetence in the doctor’s eyes.
Stone knew he couldn’t deny how much he liked being pressed up against the wall while listening to the doctor complain, his warm, caffeine-scented breath lingering on his face. Would his blood taste like bitter coffee too, just like his breath?
Blood rushed to his cheeks, his eyes widening as he realized where his thoughts were heading. Nonsense—Stone couldn’t taste Robotnik’s blood even if he let him; even if he were starving to death, he wouldn’t have the courage to bite that neck so...
Stone pushed the thought away as quickly as it had come, turned off the shower, and headed back to his room with a towel wrapped around his body.
He put on his best suit—all black with a dark purple lining—which matched perfectly with his tie of the same color. As he adjusted himself in front of the mirror, he noticed how much longer his hair was than he remembered, which, in a way, wasn’t bad since it covered his pointed ears better. Taking note of that, Stone decided that after his shift, he’d go to the barber no matter what.
His eyes turned to the watch on his wrist to check the time. There were still twenty minutes left before his shift started, and in response, his stomach growled. His apartment wasn’t very far from the G.U.N. lab where Robotnik worked; he could walk there in less than ten minutes.
“Strange, I ate yesterday...” he muttered, opening the mini-fridge beside his bed. Stone furrowed his brow as he stared at the last bag of blood in his hand.
Indeed, Stone had eaten yesterday, and the memory of it was still vivid in his mind. Normally, a single blood bag was enough to sustain him for the rest of the week, so why was he still hungry? Shaking his head, Stone turned his attention back to the bag. He could figure out what was causing this later.
Swallowing hard, he sank his teeth into the bag, the taste of iron flooding his mouth within seconds. A satisfied hiss escaped his lips as a few drops of blood trickled down his chin.
Stone felt that no matter how much time passed, he would never be able to stop drinking the bags of blood he stole every month from the local blood bank. But it wasn’t as if he had much of a choice. After sugar, blood was one of the few things that truly filled his stomach. Human food, though satisfying, wasn’t very effective sustenance for vampires.
As he drank the last of the blood, Stone looked at the deflated bag in his hands. A sigh escaped him as he tossed the empty bag into the trash and headed straight back to the bathroom. He squeezed toothpaste onto his toothbrush before wetting it and brushed his teeth—especially his tongue—not wanting the doctor to notice the metallic smell on his breath.
Glancing at his watch one last time, Stone popped a mint into his mouth before locking the apartment door and finally heading toward the lab.
★
Stone stood in front of a metal door, mentally counting down the seconds before opening it with his watch. The first thing he noticed was Robotnik working on some file—he couldn’t tell from the doorway what it was about. A small smile crossed his face as he watched the doctor working so intently.
“Good morning, sir,” Stone murmured before heading to the lab’s makeshift kitchen; he knew full well that his boss had a certain addiction to caffeine. A small chuckle rumbled in his chest as he grabbed the coffee grounds and milk.
Ivo didn’t bother to reply, too absorbed in a report he’d received that morning. But upon hearing the sound of boiling water, he briefly looked up from the report to watch his assistant prepare the latte, and a flush he refused to acknowledge rose to his cheeks. Stone looked pathetic when he concentrated on doing something he’d been asked to do—or even when he did it of his own accord. Those brown doe-like eyes only made the situation worse.
With a grumble, he went back to fiddling with the console, his eyes scanning Walters’ report once more, his frown deepening even further. Was that old man with his annoying paternal attitude really complaining about the prototype of the upgraded motorcycle he’d requested last month?
Ivo would have rolled his eyes if Stone hadn’t startled him (as he always did) by placing a steaming mug on the desk in front of him. Even after all this time, Ivo still couldn’t get used to how silently Stone moved through the lab.
“Stop scaring people while they’re working, Stone,” he complained before taking a sip of his coffee, his eyes narrowing as the agent’s cheeks flushed a shade deeper.
“I’m sorry, sir. I’ll try not to do that again.” His nose twitched slightly, seemingly for no reason.
Since he received no further response, Stone decided to head back to the makeshift kitchen. It was even messier than yesterday. He furrowed his brow as he tried to figure out how Robotnik could make such a mess so easily whenever he was away. His lips pressed into a perfectly straight line. At least he’d have something to do until the doctor needed him, right?
Taking off his gloves and setting them aside, he placed a single Bluetooth earbud in his ear and let one of the doctor’s playlists play while he washed some of the many dirty utensils scattered across the countertop. After rinsing them, he lined them up from smallest to largest on a dish towel spread across the counter.
Eventually, Stone found himself enjoying the moment of tranquility, a soft hum escaping his lips like white noise.
The lab itself was always quiet, except for the not-so-rare moments when Robotnik flew into a rage over something one of his superiors had done. Most of the time, Stone spent his days taking care of the Badniks, making lattes, and cleaning up whatever mess Robotnik had made and been too lazy to clean himself. It was relatively calm compared to the field missions G.U.N. used to send him on before he started working exclusively for Ivo.
His smile faltered until it vanished entirely, and his usual melancholy settled heavily in his chest. Stone—or Aban, as he had been known before meeting the doctor—had enjoyed field missions in a way. It felt good to be out in the open, using his skills for something truly productive rather than working in a lab, feeling the fresh air brush through and tangle his hair as he chased after his target.
Still, Stone would never trade his job as Robotnik’s assistant for anything. Living alongside the man had become part of his routine. He wouldn’t know how to deal with his feelings for the doctor if he had to leave, and just the thought of going back to living alone sent an unpleasant shiver down his spine.
Fortunately, his thoughts were interrupted when he caught a strong scent coming from behind him. Stone recognized that fragrance instantly—it was the cologne Robotnik wore every single day without fail—but he didn’t remember it ever being this strong.
Swallowing hard before removing his earbud, Stone turned around, his eyes briefly meeting the doctor’s. He felt embarrassed by the proximity—something he should have gotten used to after all these years, but unfortunately never had.
“How can I help you, sir?” he asked, feeling his voice tremble. He silently cursed himself for it.
“I’ve been calling you for five minutes, Stone. Since when did you become so stupid that you can’t even hear me talking?”
The cold words made Stone’s shoulders slump even further, his sharp teeth biting lightly into his lower lip. The doctor was right. He couldn’t afford to let his mind wander while he was on duty. That was unprofessional.
“Screw it, whatever. Since you’ve finally decided to pay attention, go check the shipment of parts that arrived this morning. Screws, circuit boards, batteries, cables—the whole batch.”
“Yes, sir!”
“I’d do it myself, but apparently that suit-wearing idiot Walters needs me to review the prototype for an upgraded motorcycle. As if I’d actually messed up anything in the design. Fucking incompetents.”
Stone simply nodded. Despite Robotnik’s words, his mind was more focused on the scent of the doctor’s cologne than anything else. Had he bought a new one? No, that wouldn’t make sense. It still smelled the same as always. What bothered him was how strong it seemed now.
A soft hiss escaped him as his teeth sank into his lower lip again. The sound seemed to snap Ivo out of his complaints, and he turned his head sharply toward Stone.
“Why are you still here? Go do what I told you to do.”
“Yes, sir.”
Stone answered almost immediately, not wanting to give away the fact that he hadn’t been paying attention. His feet hesitated for a moment as a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead before he finally made his way to the storage room. A slight twitch crossed his face when he noticed his hand shaking as he opened the door. Shit. What was happening to him?
He felt the dizziness from earlier return as soon as he caught the scent of the small room. It was a mixture of metal and dust from the lack of regular cleaning. The smell had never bothered him this much before. It wasn’t pleasant, obviously, but it had never been this strong.
A pattern, Stone realized. Both the scent of Robotnik’s cologne and the smell of the storage room were affecting him far more than usual. There had to be a reason for that—but what?
Sitting down on the floor, he pulled over the three boxes marked "G.U.N." along with a list of everything they contained. After opening all three, he began counting the parts one by one, making sure everything was there.
Gradually, his concentration began to slip. The unbearable smell grew worse with every passing second, and his vision blurred briefly. This definitely wasn’t working.
He needed to figure out what was causing the dizziness and his heightened sense of smell before he could continue with his daily tasks.
Setting everything aside, he stood up and headed to the bathroom, which was actually larger than his bedroom back at the apartment. For some reason, his sense of smell wasn’t nearly as affected there, allowing him to think more clearly.
Stone pulled out his phone and quickly opened his calendar. He had gotten into the habit of keeping track of important events there. As he scrolled through the months and dates, his eyes landed on a specific phrase—one that sent a chill down his spine.
Blood Moon. It was a phenomenon that occurred every five years. During that period, his species experienced a hunger far stronger than usual. But it couldn’t be that, could it? Only four years had passed since his last Blood Moon. Had it come early? Why?
The only thing that had changed in his life over those years was that he now worked exclusively for Robotnik.
“You know, when vampires fall in love, their Blood Moon comes early. It's almost like a punishment for not tasting that specific blood.”
His brow furrowed at the faint bitter taste in his mouth as he remembered those words. Back when he still lived with his older sister, before being abandoned at a human orphanage.
Even after all these years, that woman could still torment him. How ironic. It didn’t matter. There was nothing he could do except wait for this period to pass and for everything to return to normal
He didn’t like the doctor like that. And even if he did, what could he possibly do about it? That man practically hated everything involving human relationships.He slipped his phone back into his pocket, took a deep breath, and returned to the storage room. Stone had a long month ahead of him.