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2022-04-30
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2022-05-03
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2/?
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How to Care for your Agent

Summary:

Robotnik can't have his loyal Agent Stone acting less productive from stress when the remedy for his partner's behavior was right in front of him.

Notes:

Hello, hello!
This fic will contain regression!
A reminder, regression is always %100 non-sexual and sfw! It is a coping method used for trauma, stress, and relaxation.^^

I hope you enjoy and have a great day!

((When you need more regression fics so you write them yourself 😩✌💯))

((I also am getting Sonic brainrot. Long live the hyperfixation! :> ))

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: Stressed but still the best

Chapter Text

It had been about a week now since Agent Stone's odd behavior.

Forgetfulness, nerves spiked, and an overly emotional state of mind (Robotnik still has the image of Stone wiping his tears away after he had told the agent his latte could've used more milk) were all reasons for concern for the doctor.

He had been keeping note of Stone for, yes, just about a week now, and found with every passing day his agent became more and more...unproductive.

He couldn't have that.

No, he relied on agent Stone to be useful and provide him with his favorite lattes, and, in the back of Robotnik's mind, he knew he felt concerned for the man.

He hadn't breached the topic just yet, wanting to know if this issue would resolve itself, but found quickly that his hopes were in vain.

He knew this for sure when agent Stone strode into the room, a lost look in his eye as he presented the doctor with papers to look over, not a smile nor a greeting on his usually adoring face. Robotnik had accepted the papers almost grudgingly and rose a brow as he looked Stone over, noticing the dark circles of sleep deprivation and red-rimmed eyes looking off to the side, mouth etched into a frown, and eyebrows knit with deep thoughts.

Ivo cleared his throat, snapping Agent Stone out of his thoughts, and pointed a finger at him.

"You've been crying.", he stated, not one to pick up on social politeness too often, especially if he were curious.

Stone's eyes widened, and Robotnik blinked at the honest fear he saw in the man's eyes before he masked his face into something more professional.

"... Yes, Doctor."

Ivo hummed, tongue swiping against the top of his teeth in habit. Well, if his agent wasn't going to spill the beans, he'd have to ask directly. He supposed it was about time he talked about this.

"Why have you been crying, Agent Stone?"

Stone swallowed, and Ivo didn't need a reading to know the man's heart was thumping, nervous, and reluctant.

Robotnik waited, unusually patient because, for the life of him, he would not be able to handle it if Stone fled now. He was so close to figuring this out.

Seconds stretched, and Stone must have felt he was pushing his luck, because he closed his eyes and said, "I've been...stressed, doctor."

"That's all?", Ivo couldn't help but say out loud, and Stone peeked his eyes open to look at him.

Well, of course, he'd be stressed! Who wouldn't be after working with someone who was infinitely above you in every way? Yes, Robotnik imagined the routine could become tedious.

"That's all...?", Robotnik repeated, because he knew his agent wasn't of low intelligence.
If Stone was simply stressed, he would have told Robotnik as such around the third day of his decline. He wouldn't have pushed himself until Robotnik had to come to him. That was a dangerous game, and Stone wouldn't risk it over something so mundane.
No, there was something else going on here, and they both knew it.

Ivo held Stone in place with his gaze alone, eyebrows drawn down to match his frown, waiting, waiting, for Stone to continue.

The man sniffed, a mix between breaking the silence and avoiding tears, Robotnik could tell.

"No, you're right, doctor, but I can't tell you."

Ivo's eyes widened and for a moment he was frozen. Frozen from the shock that came with those words. Stone "couldn't tell him?"
Well, what was it?! Now he was on the edge of his seat. Stone told him everything at the doctor's request, did anything at Ivo's insistence, and yet, now, of all times, Stone is breaking that cycle?
What. Was. It?

He so badly wanted to reach over and grab Stone's arm to yank him down to his level from where he sat in his chair, get close, and demand an answer.

However, he knew that would be crossing a line that would take ages to fix. Stone and he had a level of trust for each other, and Ivo wouldn't break it, not over something like this.

He breathed out through his nose and started up at the man, eyes filled with curiosity, restraint, and disappointment.

"Ok.", He sighed and wanted to roll his eyes when Stone stared at him with that same shock.

"Yes, I am capable of manners, now Stone, if you won't tell me what's wrong, then tell me what I should do.", Robotnik twitched his nose, mustache moving side to side. " I won't have you being so miserable you can't function properly. What'll it take to get the cogs rolling again, hm? A vacation? Extra pay? A t-shirt with my face on it? Go on, I'm listening."

Stone stuttered for a moment but thankfully regained his composer at least enough to get his words out.

"Sir, I-I'm very grateful. If I could request a week off to get back on my feet?"

Robotnik sniffed nonchalantly and waved his hand in a shooing gesture.

"Yeah, yeah. A week to get drunk, relax, and spend time with the missus.", Robotnik announced, although he knew Stone didn't have a partner, as his work required him to devote most of his time to the doctor. Either that or Stone wasn't the type of guy to date.
Or, have friends. Now that the thought crossed his mind, Ivo realized he hadn't heard anything about any social connections outside of work. Now that got him curious again.

"Stone."

"Doctor?"

"Tell me, do you have any friends? Chums? Pals, to hang around with like a bunch of baboons?"

Stone shook his head while Robotnik tilted his.

"No, sir."

Huh. Interesting.

"Well, Stone, perhaps I'll swing by later in the week so you don't get lonely.", He joked, but he noticed a glimmer of something in the agent's eyes.

"It wouldn't be much of a vacation if I were to see you while you were trying to distract yourself from me, though."

"What? Doctor, no, that's not what this is."

Stone's abrupt answer shocked Robotnik because he had been pretty sure that this is what it was about.
He was loud, crude, and harsh more often than not. Stone couldn't deny that, right? Was the man trying to protect his feelings? Ivo couldn't tell if that made this situation worse.

Stone must have picked up on his disbelief because he cleared his throat and held his hands up.

"I swear, doctor. I always enjoy your company. If you were to visit me I'd only ask for a call in advance. I would love to spend more time with you outside of work."

Robotnik rose a brow.

"I just...I can't tell you the reason why I'm so stressed, but it isn't you, doctor."

Ivo admired the man's attentive personality, soaked up the praise, and decided, maybe, even if Stone said he wasn't stressful, he'd attempt to be less...flamboyant around the man until he was sure he was better.

"Hm. Appreciated, Stone. You may gather your things and leave at your convenience, I except you back by next Tuesday, at the latest. Reach me if an emergency comes up."

And then that was that.

Problem...partially solved, because Ivo still wanted to know what Stone was so worried over. If it involved his agent, he wanted in.
Maybe in time, if he played his cards right, Stone would tell him.

"Thank you, doctor. I'll see you next week.", Stone breathed, awe and relief in his voice and Robotnik nodded.

"Adios, for now, Agent."

Chapter 2: Break in the Case

Summary:

While going through security footage, Robotnik finds a clue as to what could be bothering his agent.

Notes:

A bit of a short chapter here too!
Robotnik is getting closer and closer to figuring this out. •3•

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"Could anyone explain why my beautiful, perfect machine, is having trouble competing with a middle-aged man?!", he growled to no one, his lab empty aside from the aforementioned machines that glowed, hummed, and stood still, unable to answer.

Robotnik tossed his cup of coffee into the bin under the table, nose twitching as he scowled at the modified espresso machine that was supposed to deliver him with a perfect latte, cappuccino, or at the very least a decent cup of coffee.
Instead, it had failed to reach his expectations, the lattes Agent Stone made for him being far better in almost every way.

It made him angry, to be frank, that his machine couldn't yet achieve perfection, because Robotnik accepted nothing less when it came to his creations.
It also made him miss his Agent or at the very least the beautiful, energizing lattes that the Agent made for him.

It was only Wednesday, and he had a good five days left of Stone's mini-vacation.

He would do fine without the man, he knew that, but his absence was an inconvenience to his usual and structured schedule.

All because something was causing Agent Stone to struggle, and Robotnik couldn't know. Stone "couldn't tell him."

He grumbled and aggressively pushed in the order for another latte, changing a few measurements before turning around and pulling up his work for the day on his glove. A hologram appeared above his wrist and he checked over his assignments as he reached out with his other hand and grabbed the cup now steaming with coffee.

Weapons, weapons, blah, blah--could the government give him one challenge? Just one. His most prized and creative badniks came from his own plans. Of course, they did, though, these small-minded plebians ran on one track until the day they died, unable to see the potential in Robotnik's mind.

That was another reason why he found Agent Stone...bearable.
The man was always looking to expand his knowledge, grasping onto every word he spoke, every machine, seeing the beauty in Robotnik's work, even if it wasn't made for dear, Uncle Sam.

He closed the list before taking a sip of his drink and sighed out of his nose in disappointment at the taste.
He was not making another one, this would have to do.

With a few taps of his fingers, his beautifully crafted machines began working on the orders themselves, no need for him to get his hands dirty, and he sat down in his chair to pull up his other projects.

As he scanned through his blueprints, he became distracted as a new filegroup showed up by the first, this one belonging to security footage and tracking devices.

He flicked through previous Agent names, rolling his eyes at the memories of some, and swiped again until the security footage was right in front of him, dates lined up perfectly, waiting for a tap from his fingers.

He hardly ever reviewed footage unless he needed to replay a lab accident, or he was suspicious of one of those government lackeys trying to swipe something from him.

However, as he stared at the files, a figurative lightbulb went off above his head.
It wouldn't be spying, not necessarily.
It wouldn't be crossing a line, no, because if Stone didn't want him to know he shouldn't be in sight of the many cameras littered around his workplace.

He doubted he'd even find anything of interest, right?
Yes, yes. And if not, than that would be a pleasant surprise.

And he was curious.

He slowly tapped at the footage from last week, and blinked, adjusting to the sudden light, as multiple video shots were brought up for him.

A view of the lab, halls, and break room.
So many views, many little worker ants, even himself, and oh, yes, there was Stone.

Preparing two latte's, oh, how ironic, he huffed as he took another sip of his drink.

He leaned in, watching little Agent Stone prepare and finish the drinks.

He'd be taking them straight to the lab from here, he knew.

Except, oh, "What have we here?", Robotnik mumbled aloud as he watched Agent Stone take a right into a hallway that was supposed to be closed for renovations.

And by renovations, he meant he had blown up a good portion of that area with a mini-missile prototype.

Why would he be making his way over there, hm?

The man stepped over the caution tape and went into one of the rooms that took minimal damage.

Robotnik looked to the bottom of the mini-screens and was disappointed to find the footage for that room, had been filmed with a camera that had been damaged.
There was a crack through the screen, indicating a broken lens, and the edges were fuzzy, quality subpar, but at least Robotnik could make out most of what was in the room.

He leaned in even closer as Stone set the coffees down on a metal table and sat down in a chair of the same design.

The man ran a hand through his short black hair, and his other hand came up to gingerly rub the material of his shirt collar.

Robotnik could tell the man on the screen was trying to self-soothe, having been trained to pick up on micro-expressions and mannerisms for interrogation purposes.
This did not shock him.

What did shock him was why the agent would feel the need to isolate himself in a dangerous area to do it.
He could have gone into a bathroom, at the very least.

He continued to watch the man, rubbing his chin as he attempted to pick up on every little detail through the grubby camera lens.
Stone must have assumed the camera was broken, Robotnik concluded, as he watched Stone's leg start to bounce.

Whatever thoughts he was having at the time, it must have been eating him up, his body was attempting to calm him down as he--

Robotnik's eyes widened as the agent snuck his hand up to his face and stuck his thumb into his mouth.

Robotnik blinked a few times, tapping a few buttons on his gloves to zoom in on the footage.

Yes, there was no denying it.

The man had his thumb in his mouth like a child, eyes shut, and brows drawn down as he hugged himself with his other arm.

Robotnik tilted his head, watching the display with a mixture of curiosity and mild frustration.

Curiosity, because this was obviously another self-soothing tactic, and frustration, because his agent was alone, in a dingy room, soothing himself like a child, and this all happened just last week, and he still didn't know why!

Stone must have gone into the room out of fear of someone discovering his unusual tactic, yes, right.
Robotnik could see how his colleagues would respond to something like that. To Robotnik, it didn't faze him, far too above everyone to be concerned with what others thought or did, but for Stone, he must feel shame. Guilt, perhaps?

This... thumb-sucking thing must be a puzzle piece in the bigger picture.
It went hand in hand with what Stone was too afraid to share with him.

He had an inkling about what that something could be, but he needed more evidence before coming to any conclusions.

His afternoon was clear anyway, and this mystery was getting under his skin.

It was time to visit Agent Stone.

Notes:

Poor Agent Stone, all alone :<

Robotnik's morals are questionable because while he won't force Stone to tell him what's wrong, he will dig for the answers himself.
He wants to help, at least.

Hope you enjoyed and have a good day/night!
Leave a comment if you are so inclined, I love them^^

Notes:

First chapter down!
Ivo secretly cares very much for Stone, and Stone just needs to OPEN HIS EYES AND SEE THAT so Robotnik can help him smh.
I enjoy comments, if you feel like sending one^^
Have a wonderful day/night!💙