Work Text:
“Pin yourself to the wall”
The order was familiar to Agent Stone as he rose and pressed a hand to his chest, slamming his back into the wall of Robotnik’s truck-lab with a thud that partially knocked the wind out of his lungs. He was working on autopilot at that moment, just following orders when he realized he should have hidden his newly painted nails underneath the lapel of his jacket. The doctor had already invaded what little personal space he had remaining, if Stone shifted now the doctor would notice. He really should have thought through his nail design, but he had been tired (he had spent almost 49 hours in the lab with only power naps) and he hadn’t thought through what would happen if the doctor noticed his nail polish. Robotnik hadn’t cared before about the hearts in his lattes so maybe he wouldn’t care about this. He kept eye contact with the doctor in the rare hope that he wouldn’t notice. The doctor’s mustache aggressively twitched as he forcibly reminded Stone just how replaceable he truly was.
Stone wondered, not for the first time, if letting his obsession with the doctor slip out was good work etiquette? No, but since when did Dr. Robotnik and Agent Stone ever have good work etiquette! Stone was pinning himself to the wall just so the doctor could shout at him, was it really so questionable to paint your nails in a pattern that was only possibly intended to match his boss.
“AGENT. STONE.”
“Yes, Sir?” Dragged away from his thoughts, Agent Stone realized the doctor was holding his wrist and twisting it so that his hand (and nails) were visible to both men. The doctor was staring at his hand.
Shit, he was caught.
“You know I hate repeating myself. But… Did you paint your nails black and silver? - To match my control gloves?”
Caught. Caught. Caught. Was this grounds to be fired? Anywhere else, no, but in this lab? With Robotnik? Anything was possible: good or bad. Robotnik could either consider this a compliment, an insult, or a secret third option which was somehow a combination of both. Why was he speaking so softly? Hell, his voice could have even been considered shy if Stone didn’t know Robotnik better than that.
“Yes, sir.”
“Hm.” Robotnik studied his hand for sometime before stepping back, leaving Stone longing for the warmth of the other man’s proximity, even if it was considered hostile by HR.
“Hm.” Robotnik’s expression was still unreadable to Stone as he turned away and went back to his screens. “Bring me a latte. You know how I like them.”
Maybe this was acceptance? Stone didn’t hesitate to hurry and steam the doctor’s Austrian goat milk. When he returned with the doctor’s requested latte, Stone had decided that this weird ‘no comment’ situation was better than being immediately fired.
When he delivered the fresh latte Stone could feel the doctor’s eyes lingering on his fingers as he took the mug. The silence was long. Stone expected… something. An insult, maybe? Being told to scrape it off?
“It’s a nice look, Agent.”
Robotnik could see a beaming grin spread across Stone’s face in the reflection on his holo-screens where he was trying so hard to focus his attention. He refused to look at the agent. Because why would he. The nail polish had no effect on him. This was not happiness. Dr. Ivo Robotnik was not about to feel happiness because another person took time out of their day to carefully paint their nails to match him. His assistant. A person who chose to work by his side.
‘Oh no, this is happiness.’ Robotnik thought. ‘Stone makes me happy with his perfect lattes, and his willingness to do whatever I want, and his coordinated nail polish, and his frankly ridiculously big smile… oh. Do I actually enjoy Stone’s presence? Oh. Bzzt. nope. Time to stop that train of thought.’
“You should wear it more often.”
The doctor took a sip of coffee, watching as Stone’s grin widened even more. He briefly wondered if Stone’s grin had ever actually blinded someone. Why was he still thinking about his smile? This was entirely new territory for Robotnik and he hated that he didn’t hate it.
“Thank you, sir.”
Robotnik inhaled deeply before spinning his chair to face Stone and screamed, “DO MINE.”
The aggressive outburst wasn’t what made Stone jump, he was used to that from Robotnik. It was his words. Did he really just ask Stone to paint his nails? This was so out of left field that Stone stood shell shocked at the man before him. The doctor was out of his chair and already yanking off his gloves. If he took them off now he couldn’t talk himself out of it.
‘I just have to have my hand held by Stone.’ Robotnik thought, ‘For an unknown amount of time. Why did I say anything? Because I like Stone’s smile? Because I enjoy the feeling my heart got when I realized Stone had painted his nails to match ME?? BECAUSE STONE CARED ENOUGH TO MATCH HIS FINGERNAILS TO SOMETHING THAT I WEAR EVERY WAKING SECOND??? Why oh why did I ask Stone to do my nails? Can’t back out now this is the widest I have ever seen Stone’s eye go and that is really saying something.’
“al-Alright. Yeah. Hold on, let me get my nail polish box. I have a lot of color options. Some need two coats or more but. Yeah. that will take longer since it has to dry between coats. I know you don’t like to have your gloves off for a while.” Stone was rambling; he knew that. “So uh . Pick a color.” He had run to his quarters in the lab to grab a small box of nail polish as he held it out to Robotnik and tried Very Hard not to stare at the doctor’s bare hands.
It was rare that Dr Robotnik took off his control gloves. He had only seen the doctor without his gloves twice, despite living in the rooms right next to the doctor’s rooms. It was even rarer that he was allowed to touch the doctor's hand while he wasn’t wearing his gloves. That wasn’t just rare, this had never happened.
The agent watched as Robotnik pawed through the polish collection before selecting a deep red.
“Will this need two coats?” he said, waving the bottle in front of the agent's eyes as a wakeup call to snap him out of his daydream.
“Nope! I mean no, sir.” Stone quickly regained professionalism and reached out his hand for the polish. Opening the bottle and gently wiping off excess polish, Stone gently reached out his hand again. An invitation for Robotnik to set his hand into the agent so he could paint them. An invitation Robotnik accepted against everything in his head screaming that this was a mistake.
Robotnik found that the sensation was-tolerable. Shit, he might even consider it nice. He had barely even noticed Stone’s methodical brush strokes on each nail as he looked everywhere except his agent. Even without look he knew they were neat, professional, and somehow almost perfection. Just like everything his agent did. Robotnik’s ears were as red as his nails by the time Stone finished his right hand and gently set it on knee to dry before whispering “Are you still ok with this?”
“Yes. Here.” Robotnik stuck his left hand out and placed it on Stone’s. “I want my hands to match. Can’t stop now.” He sounded flustered. The words came out softer than he meant them to. The blush spread from his ears to his cheeks when Stone took his hand and began painting again.
How was his agent so calm about this? Robotnik was so used to being the person in control and here Stone was clearly in control of the situation. He should be angry. This broke so many of the walls he had built to keep people out.
“There you go, Doctor. You should let them dry before you put your gloves back on. The paint might smear on your fingers or worse stain the gloves.”
Robotnik stared at his nails, the feeling in his chest hurt and his stomach felt all fluttery. The nails looked beautiful because, obviously, it was Stone’s work. Not like he would admit it out loud but his agent was skilled in many different fields. That’s why he was kept around. NOT because the doctor liked his presence or anything. Nope, Nada, Nu-uh.
“Doctor? Are you ok? Do you not like the color?” Stone shifted closer while tilting his head to try and see the doctor's expression through the short hair that had flopped around his face while he was sitting still. He was being uncharacteristically quiet.
“I LOVE IT.” Robotnik shouted suddenly. Contrary to popular belief at the government lab where they worked, Robotnik did acknowledge or praise people IF they did a good job. His praise was always loud, aggressive, and only ever directed at one agent.
The doctor held his hands out in front of him so he could better look at the nails. Stone reached up again, gently pressing his palm against the doctor’s and tilting their hands together to show the Doctor that the polish sparkled when the nail polish moved.
“How often do you paint your nails?” Stone had never heard the doctor speak in a whisper that soft.
“Usually weekly, but I will do touch ups if they get chipped. Why? Did you want me to paint your nails when I do mine?” Stone was just as soft answering.
“Maybe. Sometimes. Our little secret.”
“Alright, sir, our little secret.”
_________________🦀Time Skip🦀_______
Robotnik felt clingy so often in the crab mecha. He wanted Stone close to him at all times, which wasn’t hard since they basically had a one room apartment together under the sea. Hell, they only had one bed. But that wasn’t good enough. Robotnik knew what kind of proximity he wanted from Stone. He had figured it out the day he had ordered the agent to paint his nails. If he had the opportunity to say something then he would have taken it but that day was only a week before that damn blue hedgehog appeared and their lives flew off the rails. It was miserable alone on that mushroom planet, especially when the polish had completely chipped away from the elements. It was like he had lost the last connection he had with Stone. Robotnik had Agent Stone of course, but a literal stone wasn’t the same even when he was high on mushrooms
“I want you to paint my nails again, Stone.” he called out to the Agent.
Stone was behind his chair immediately or he might have been there the entire time, Robotnik couldn't tell. “Of course, sir. Any color preference? I picked up a new color changing nail polish, recently when we stopped in California. Do you want to try that?”
Robotnik’s answer was hummed as he watched his agent hand settle on his arm rest as he leaned over the back of the doctor’s chair. He noticed that his agent's hand didn’t have his go to colors of black and silver, purple, or red. He rarely went without nail polish now that they weren’t so professional, so seeing his bare nails was unusual.
“Go grab it.”
Stone retrieved a bottle of unassuming nail polish. When he came back, he seemed to look around for a chair before realizing that they really had so little furniture. He moved to sit on the couch, but Robotnik pulled the agent forward so that he was sitting in his lap. Stone gasped one hand reaching out to steady himself, finding only the doctor’s shoulder. He shifted so that his legs were draped over the armrest with his body resting against the other man. His arm remained gripping the doctor’s shoulder until he was sure neither of them would fall on the floor. They had never said anything but in the year they lived together in the crab, the two had grown so close. The proximity wasn’t new since Stone had spent every moment, waking and asleep, by the doctor’s side as he healed. Even now he never truly left the doctor’s personal space. Robotnik could be across the crab in their bed and Stone could be in the kitchen and they would still be in each other’s personal space. However, he had never sat in Robotnik's lap. If anything like that happened, it was usually the other way round.
Stone looked down at the other man’s hands in an attempt to hide the love in his eyes. Robotnik nuzzled his head against Stone’s bearded cheek as the younger man started painting. The polish went on red but as the thin layer was met with the warm air of the crab, Robotnik could see the purple shimmers begin to appear. When Stone was finished with the doctor’s nails he began to paint his own.
Robotnik shifted so he could watch his agent apply the polish to his fingers. His head was rested on the younger man’s shoulder, unkempt moustache brushing against the agent’s neck. He wanted to wrap his arms around Stone and pull him close but his fingers weren’t dry yet and for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to mess up Stone’s work. The air around them was warmer now because of their proximity so the purple of the nail polish had become visible. Red and purple swirled together. Robotnik tilted his hands to better see it sparkle.
He knew why Stone had bought this polish and it made his heart hurt again. ‘Purple had always been his partner's choice of accent color and while Robotnik went with red to add dynamic to the black of their usual outfits. Well their previous usual outfits,’ Robotnik thought, looking down at his thin T-shirt and baggy sweatpants and Stone’s too big maroon sweater he had definitely taken from the doctor’s side of the closet and a pair of black jeans. ‘Ok so maybe Stone had kept the color scheme up.’
“Can I stay here?” Stone’s voice cut through Robotnik’s thoughts.
“Yes.” The word shot out of Robotnik’s mouth before he could stop himself. He hoped Stone couldn’t see that he was as maroon as the sweater Stone was wearing. His hopes were unanswered as Stone could obviously see the blush since his head was right next to the doctor’s. The agent sucked up any courage he had, brushed the doctor’s tangled hair out of the way, and gently kissed the man on the forehead.
Time seemed to stop.
Stone had pulled back in realization that he had just kissed the doctor and the doctor was staring at him with such a… non-horrified expression?
“Do it again.”
So he did, Stone pressed more kisses to Robotnik’s face. Down his neck across his chest, along his arms, his hands, any part of Robotnik that Stone could reach received a kiss or five. Neither man was really counting.