Chapter Text
the time inched slowly. 6 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days. nearly 7 months of agony, torture, and the most stubborn man stone had met.
"CATCH!" Robotnik shouted, throwing a water-soaked sponge at stone. He hesitated, feeling the cold liquid drip down his face as the sponge landed with a loud "splat" on the ground.
stone scowled quietly, picking up the sponge and wiping his face off with his sleeve. This stubborn, self centered, annoying man was his boss. stone supposed this was punishment for being so sassy to walters all the time. but god. this was awful. he wasn't sure how much longer he could endure.
he lost his temper when the doctor had discarded the latte he had so delicately made with a bear on it. bears were cruel and unkind, much like the doctor,
"Too cold. less latte art, more latte making." Robotnik sneered, shoving it to the side as he started tapping away on the keyboard. Stone felt his blood boil, his teeth grit. His fists clenched, and, before he knew it, his mouth was moving faster than his mind could compute.
"You win." He snarled lowly. the growl in his voice was undeniable, as was the tears he so desperately held back. before robotnik even had a chance to reply, he spoke up again. "For the past 7 months, you've done NOTHING but torment me. you've thrown items at me, smothered me in work, and make crude comments about me!"
stone watched Robotnik hesitate— something rare from the man, he'd noticed. usually he'd have a petty quip by now. stone, in his anger, took the silence as an answer in itself.
stone turned on his heel and left. his body trembled with the restraint, and his mind felt too loud for him to quiet. it was all he could do to leave before he hurt his own boss and, god forbid, got fired.
~
time was moving faster than robotnik liked. 6 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days. nearly 7 months of his attempts at hitting on stone, and from what he researched, it seemed to be working.
"CATCH!" Robotnik shouted, throwing his favorite sponge at stone. a gift. after all, people loved gifts! a key to romance, or so he'd read. he watched the agent pause, letting it hit his face. he held back a giggle and turned back. the sponge had touched stone's lips— something he'd remember when he got it back.
he started typing away, almost frantically, to cover up his various searches; "how to romance someone", "thoughtful gifts", and "signs of love". and with all the signs stone was showing— flustered, red face, stuttering and babbling, and increased bloodflow and heartrate— robotnik hoped to confess soon.
stone had brought him yet another room tempature latte with a design. this time, a bear. bears represented strength, he thought to himself. how sweet! however, the latte was still unfit.
"Too cold. Less latte art, more latte making." Robotnik criticized, setting the latte aside. he turned to his computer again, calculating more problems and more of stone's reactions.
"You win." robotnik heard the anguish in stone's voice, powerful despite being a mere whisper. he was stunned, shocked as stone started up again. "For the past 7 months, you've done NOTHING but torment me. you've thrown items at me, smothered me in work, and make crude comments about me!"
robotnik's mouth opened. to retaliate, to explain, to do anything other than feel the confusion and horror wash over him. crude comments? thrown items? he tossed them at most, and he thought he was flirting! the internet had told him that words about the person you like's body were good thing!
he was helpless to stop stone from leaving. it's clear he'd been misinterpereted. but how? all the signs were there. his flirting was flawless...
~
"agent." Robotnik slapped stone's ass, gently enough to not hurt but hard enough to surprise him. "your work has been... alright."
he watched stone's face turn red— a fluster, or so he thought— and felt his heartbeat increase. how could he have missed it?
his flirting was being seen as assult— an attempt to get rid of stone.
the doctor turned to follow stone, flinching when a computer dinged. he turned to it quickly, to get it over with.
an email from stone, with a document attached.
...
stone was quitting.