a-drifting-mannequin

[a-drifting-mannequin]

Chapter 8 (Crashing tides)

Fandom: Sonic (MOVIE) Pairings: None Characters: Fisher!Stone Warnings: Drowning Summary: Stone didn't like storms, but does he have a choice to avoid it? Not really

I apologize in advance if this chapter doesn't seem to be as well written as the rest

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The clouds drifted across the expanse of sky, lazily dissolving into each other or disappearing from sight. Stone grunted and sighed as he hauled up another net, taking his time to inspect all the fish inside before dumping them out.

His crew talked and bickered to each other, some nursing small shots in their hands while others nodded back and forth from lack of sleep. Stone took a deep drag of his second cigarette of the day and blew out smoke rings, listening to the quiet compliments from the newbies who just started smoking. The waves lapped at their boat gently, rocking it like a mother rocking a cradle. And, to Stone’s opinion, it seemed to be rocking some of his crew member to sleep.

“Anything been happening to you?” One of his closer mates asked, holding out his cigarette to him. Stone pulled out his lighter and light it with a shrug, twirling the lighter between his fingers a few times.

“Nothing much. Someone broke into my house though.” Stone replied, eyes focused on some figure in the distant. He wasn’t sure if he could rule them out as the merfolk he had been seeing or not, but he would like to take his chances.

Whoever broke into his house yesterday must be either stupid or oblivious. He was half-tempted to go down stairs with his gun, but it didn’t sound like they were stealing anything. He should probably check later when he gets back. There were at least three people in his house that night, but judging by how their shoes sounded against the floors, they were kids.

They were probably Team Sonic. Goddammit. He hoped Maddie and Tom would find out about this or else he’ll place matters into his own hands

Stone sighed and dropped his head into his hands, cigarette slowly slipping from his grip. His mate huffed out a small cloud of smoke and wandered back to the rest. Stone should probably follow along, he had a job to do after all.

Before he could even take his head out his hands, his cigarette slipped out his fingers and into the salty depths below. Stone could only stare after the last stick he had on himself, watching the way the last of the smoke evaporate into nothing, not even leaving a lingering smell.

Great, now he either ask anyone else for another or pay them for another. He didn’t even feel like paying a cent for one right now.

The fisher gingerly removed himself from the edge and gone back to the others, watching them trying to either haul up another net or haul each other into drinking. Stone let them place a small shot into his hand.

Today wasn’t going to be easy on him. he had Ivo to take care of, but then he also had those troublesome kids to deal with. Was Shadow and Rogue also involved in all of this? That would explain why they were staring at him weird when he left this morning. Rogue always had that girly poker face on, but Shadow’s poker face could be called a ‘resting bitch’ face. Stone wouldn’t tell the teen that.

Soon, the sky grew dark, the wind picked up slightly and the waves became more urgent. A storm was probably being blown in, and it was strange for this time of the day. Stone wasn’t sure what time it is right now, but it has to be getting late if the gray clouds were rolling in now.

Stone shook head and try to get those thoughts out of his head. He didn’t need to worry too much; the sooner he gets back the safer Ivo would be. Handing his mate back the empty shot, Stone lumbered over to assist the others. The leader of the crew suspected that they would have to move back in soon. With how dark the sky was already getting, he doubted they could stay out here for very long. Though, before they did that, they had to meet the quota first.

Everyone agreed in unison, all except Stone could feel dread curling inside his stomach. A storm out here is never good. He didn’t want to end up in those situation where the boat gets damaged and then they all drown. He understood that the quota needs to be met but their life is more valuable than a few dollar bills. Either his crew leader was oblivious or greedy, he wasn’t sure.

As soon as they were ready to pull back in, the rain poured down heavily. The drops were quite weighted and big, drumming harshly at the floor of their boat. Stone sighed and rubbed at his temples, watching his crew try to stir the boat back in. Rains like these don’t usually affect the waves or wind, but since Stone had predicted that there was a storming rolling in, the waves and wind were sure to pick up.

Stone clutched at the small railings his boat had, swaying just in time with the boat. His crew was a mess, to say the least. Some were freaking out; others were trying their best to not lose all the catch they had hours before. Stone shook rainwater out from his eyes and squinted hard into the distant.

Fish leaping out the water during rainy days weren’t rare, but these fish looked a lot bigger. Can’t be dolphins, they would’ve retreated back to a safer place. Were the waves pushing them out further into sea or was it his imagination? Stone wasn’t sure, but his mind was preoccupied with more important things like Ivo being alone in his house.

The boat continued to rock but it had lost all of its comfort. It tilted this way and that, making some who were more unbalanced slid across the boat. Stone could no longer make out the distant figures as his eyes became blurry with rainwater coating and dripping down his lashes. His crew leader screamed and rushed the boatmen to hold on and to steer back into the shore. But the more they tried, the more the waves pushed and pull. It’s like they’re fighting a losing battle.

Before Stone could remove himself from the railings, a loud thunderous noise rung out in his ear, temporarily deafening him. No way this storm was big enough for thunder, but it seemed like nature had something else in mind.

He wouldn’t die out here, would he? The waves were definitely big enough to topple their boat over with some more force and coupled with that the thunder. Stone’s heart thundered in his chest, blood rushing in his ears and his vision swim with the waves and fishes.

The thought of Ivo being alone terrified him, but the storm would definitely be keeping him back now. Stone continued to worry about the merman at his house, regarding his own survival and safety less and less by each passing minute. Ivo wouldn’t be able to always crawl around his house forever, let alone one day. He would be found one way or another and who knows what they’re going to do to him?

None of that suddenly mattered when his boat did indeed flip over, throwing everyone overboard and plunging them in the cold, salty depths. The net was still loose enough that any fish that was still somewhat alive swam away. Stone watched as some fish skipped across the surface of the water and dived down with one swift movement as if mocking him for having a heavy body. If he was above water right now, the fisher would scoff at such mockery.

But, unfortunately, he was not above water and was rapidly sinking due to his clothes absorbing the water. His crew members were as shocked and panicked as he was, waving their arms in a futile attempt to float above.

Stone wasn’t sure if he was trying to the same or he was just letting himself sink down. His mind was disorganized and yet way too calm. His thoughts screamed at him to keep himself afloat or to grab onto the boat, try dragging himself in or do something to stay alive.

His legs felt weak, his mind was still hung on Ivo and the distant leaping figures. Those were merfolk for sure now. There were myths that says mermaid could influence the weather to their liking. Sirens would do a more severe damage.

Fuck, he wasn’t getting out of this, was he?

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A/N: Fisher!Stone lore or something similar •His hair is fairly long, but he always throws it back so no one really notices

[a-drifting-mannequin]

Chapter 7 (Crashing tides)

Fandom: Sonic (MOVIE) Pairings: None Characters: Team Sonic, Team Dark (except Omega) Warnings: None Summary: You can't use fire to fight fire, or use light to figure out light, but maybe Team Dark could try to crack the case here

As the summary suggested, Shadow and Rogue will be in this chapter. Similar to Team Sonic, there will be tibbits of info for them at the end.

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“He has been acting real secretive lately.” Rogue commented as Mr. Stone past them. The fisher greeted his boat mates and hopped into their truck, accepting a cigarette when it was offered.

The clouds above them drifted fast, the movements slow and steady. Shadow looked up and squinted against the light in his eyes. Rogue licked the tip of her finger, raising it into the air. The wind licked at her wet fingertip, drying it in a record amount of time. The blonde grimaced at the stickiness it left beside, albeit drier.

Shadow rolled his eyes and tugged on his own sleeves, watching the crew drive out to the beach before he turned to Rogue with a dead stare. “You barely know anything about him.” The girl shrugged in return and casually strolled up to Mr. Stone’s front door, gently testing the knob before coming back. It was locked shut.

“And you do?” Rogue asked with a smirk, watching the way Shadow took in a quiet breath and turned away. Hah, he folded too easily.

Racking his fingers gently through his black hair, Shadow grunted and turned to walk away. “Let’s just go to Miles’s house. He asked me to help him with something.” Rogue hummed in acknowledgement and followed after him, falling a few steps behind to give Hot Topic some space.

The two walked their way down towards Miles’s house, chatting quietly on the way there. It was mostly about random topics before they circled back to getting Shadow’s hair dyed and Rogue’s makeup kit refilled.

Fortunately, they spotted Sonic and Knuckles walking there as well. From what they could see and not hear, the two were head deep into a topic, chattering nonstop about it. Rogue raised a brow and turned to Shadow, nudging his arm so he could look. The blue dressed youngster looked a bit annoyed at his redheaded friend while said friend kept shaking his head back and forth.

The black haired teen also shrugged in response, seeming more content to gaze out to where the sea is than bother looking for gossip. Rogue sighed and pulled out her cigarette and lighter, setting the butt alight and jogging up towards Sonic.

“Hello you two!” Rogue greeted them with a cheerful wave, making sure her cigarette was far enough away from Sonic so he didn’t have to take in the smoke. “You both going to Miles?” Unfortunately, Rogue and Shadow didn’t have the privilege to call the blond youngster by the nickname his friends would call them.

“Yup, we need to discuss something with him.” Sonic answered with a smile, pulling Knuckles by the elbow to steer him away from Rogue. She quickly caught on to his action, casually circling around until she ended up on Knuckles’s side.

Shadow walked quietly next to Sonic, occasionally glancing over the small notepad in Sonic’s hand. His eyes quickly latched onto a badly scribbled word that spelled out ‘mermaid?’. He assumed it was Knuckles who wrote it.

“Does Mrs. Wachowski know you’re out here?” Shadow asked quietly, avoiding all eye contact with Sonic.

“Of course my mom knows I’m out here. What kind of question is that?” Sonic replied, a confused smile on his face as he jogged by the brooding teen’s side.

“Does Mr. Wachowski also know?”

“He let me out here, actually.”

Soon, the four were standing in Miles’s driveway. His parents were still inside the house but Miles was sitting by himself on the porch, his cellphone in hand and a pencil sticking out from behind his ear. His head lifted up with surprise and recognition as his friends approached. The sun had died down.

“Hi Shadow, hi Rouge!” He greeted both of them. Rogue chuckled fondly and squeezed the youngster’s face between her hands while cooing. Shadow just gave him a subtle nod and sat down on the opposite end of his porch, far away enough so that Rogue could still smoke.

Miles, Sonic and Knuckles all crowded each other into one corner. Sonic handed his notebook over while frantically waving his hands in the air, face full of renewed shock and surprise. Knuckles scoffed and waved dismissingly as his friend, pulling out his own notebook from his bag and presenting it like a suitcase filled with gold. It seemed to have that effect on his younger friends however, even if it wasn’t a suitcase with gold.

Rogue and Shadow sat quietly together. The black haired teen occasionally reached up to rub the golden bracelets he had around his wrists, gazing at the way the light caught on the metal. Rogue puffed out smoke and stared curiously at what the youngsters on the opposite side of the porch were doing. She usually wouldn’t like to interfere, but she felt like this had something to do with Mr. Stone.

“Oh, right, I asked Shadow to help us!” Miles stood up and walked his way over to the brooding teen, tugging lightly on his jacket. Shadow sighed and stood up, swiftly taking Rogue’s cigarette from between her fingers and stubbing it on the wooden railings.

Sonic and Knuckles, however, didn’t seem very thrilled about having the teen help them. As quickly as possible, both gathered all their notes and notebooks close to them, placing whatever they could over it. Hands, legs, water bottles or even straight up laying on it to prevent Shadow from seeing what was on them. Miles pouted and let go of Shadow’s jacket, taking long strides to reach his two stubborn friends.

“Come on, I know he can help us!” Miles urged, gently but insistently pulling on their arms. Sonic refused to let go even if he treated Miles like a brother and Knuckles appreciated him as the smarter one in the group.

“But we can’t trust him.” Reasoned Knuckles. He had a point, though, and Miles couldn’t deny it. Even if Shadow did know a bit more about Mr. Stone, it wasn’t safe to fully trust him. There was a 50/50 percent chance that he might rat them out and this whole operation would be for nothing.

After a moment of tense silence, Miles shook his head and stood firm by his decision. Shadow didn’t know Mr. Stone well enough to understand how he would feel about the merman in his bathroom. Maybe he had a plan to flay him, like any other person when they witness a mermaid. They would want to keep them as a prize or turn them over to science for money.

“Fine, I supposed he could help.” Sonic quickly relented, moving out the so that Miles could resume his spot.

“What exactly is it that you want me to help with?” Shadow asked as he sat down, trying to avoid making contact with Sonic as much as possible. Sonic opted to sit next to Miles.

Rogue wasn’t the jealous type, but she also didn’t like being left out from activities that was sure to help her find more gossip. She scooted next to Knuckles and pinched his cheek, a playful smile on her lips while Knuckles just groaned in annoyance. At least he wasn’t trying to yell at her again.

What Shadow expected was maybe homework or something. Today was the weekend – or the few last days of school – and school hadn’t been them. Shadow often visited Rogue just to get some notes and advice for assignments. Shadow thought Miles wanted the same. Even if it was small

But what he gave him was not homework or anything related to school. Miles cautiously handed Knuckles’s notebook with a specific page flipped towards him. It was a really bad sketch, but the artistic inspiration was still fresh. The sketch depicted a bathtub, with its curtain pulled aside and slightly torn. The thick drag of lead down the edge of the tub signaled overflowing and inside was a man. Long hair, mustache and an exposed upper torso. Knuckles couldn’t work well with colors but he made an effort to show the ginger roots underneath all that dark hair.

But no, that was not the center focus of the drawing. Both Shadow and Rouge were drawn to the slightly detailed depiction of a fishtail, scales all drawn on individually though clumsily. There was orange, red and black glitter sprinkled on certain areas of the tail to show where the colors were most vibrant. The merman in Knuckles’s notebook looked oddly specific, like it supposed to be this specific one and no other.

“Knuckles drew this?” Rogue asked curiously, glancing over the hothead with a smile. Miles beamed back at her and vigorously nodding his head. Sonic bumped his fist in the air and offered Knuckles a high-five. The hothead smirked and happily took all the compliments offered to him, even if most of it was from Rogue.

Shadow, however, did not care to praise Knuckles for his admittedly great artistic talent. He just silently observed each and every detail. He looked awfully like someone he knew; someone he may have met but never properly interacted. The tail was a different color but it had some resemblance. Was he related to her? There was a slim chance but Shadow was willing to take it.

“So this is what you want help with?” Shadow questioned as he handed the notebook back to Knuckles. Sonic nodded and took a loud sip from his juice, side-eyeing Shadow. Miles nodded but he seemed to be deeper in his own notes than anything else.

“Didn’t know you kids broke into his house.” Rogue commented, flexing her nails out in front of her with a mocking tone. To be honest, they didn’t really care if Team Sonic – ridiculous team name, by the way – broke into Mr. Stone’s house. It was more important that they didn’t steal anything.

“Well, it was for a good cause. Who knows what he’s going to do with this mermaid?” Miles reasoned, his hand directed towards Sonic. The blue dressed youngster handed him a bag of chips. Shadow and Rogue both hummed in agreement.

It’s true. You don’t often – or never, actually – witness a myth come to life. Mermaids, vampires, werewolves and such defied biology but there just happened to be one resting in Mr. Stone’s bathtub. Shadow wondered if he was just pulling a prank on the kids or not, considering he was never the kind of adult to trick kids into thinking things like that exist. Maybe it was a prank

“Merman.” Knuckles corrected Miles, pencil in hand while he scribbled some other details down. Rogue nodded but didn’t offer a respond.

“Right, merman.” Sonic repeated. “Why call him a merman, though?”

“Because he’s a man.” Knuckles replied quickly.

“Because he’s a man, okay.” Miles echoed back.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Stone: •His favorite sea creatures are hermit crabs Team Dark: •Shadow and Rogue are fairly Sonic's age or older (by 2 years maybe)

[a-drifting-mannequin]

Chapter 6 (Crashing tides)

Fandom: Sonic (MOVIE) Pairings: Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik/Agent Stone; Stobotnik Warnings: None Summary: Moving out from that bathtub would be a great change for Ivo, though Stone was aware that he would much prefer to be back in the ocean.

Hey ya'll, school's starting up in the next week so expect updates to be slower and less consistent (if there was any at all)

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“Morning, Ivo.” Stone greeted the merman sleepily, a yawn escaping his mouth as he entered the bathroom.

The lights were still off and Ivo was still sleeping, his chest rising slowly with each breath. Considering the time that Stone used up to take care of him, he never once really stopped to admire all of his form and not just his tail.

Well, maybe there was a good reason why he didn’t.

Shaking his head mentally, Stone approached the sleeping merman and gently shook his arm, letting him stir for a bit. Stone took that time to go through his usual morning route, quickly stripping and changing before the merman opened his eyes.

“Oh good, you didn’t turn on the lights this time.” Ivo mumbled in his half-awake state, trying to roll over only to remember he was still contained in a rather limited space. The frown that appeared on his face was rather cute, not that Stone would ever say that out loud.

“Yup, now you better be awake now ‘cause I need to do something.” Stone stated, cracking his knuckles and stretching his hands out in front of him.

Before Ivo could ask or even get a noise of question out, Stone stuck his arm under his back and the other under his tail where, figuratively, the knees would be. An undignified squeak escaped Ivo as he wrapped his arms tightly around Stone’s neck, face buried into his shoulders as Stone hauled him out of the tub.

Stone grunted with effort and adjusted the heavy merman in his arms. Thank goodness for his military days and habits to keep him in shape. Ivo’s grip could have nearly strangled him had he not silently urged him to loosen up.

Ivo was quite surprised at being carried, his tail swaying as if it was still in water. Stone figured merfolk don’t usually carry their spouse or each other considering the water was already keeping them afloat.

“Christ, you’re heavy.” Stone commented jokingly, hauling the still shocked merman into his living room and lowering him into an inflatable pool. “Here, this’ll have to do for now. I don’t have a lot of things in my house to really accommodate a merman, you know,”

Despite already have been placed down into the pool that could accommodate his whole body, Ivo didn’t let go of Stone’s neck, intertwining his fingers together to keep them there loosely. Stone glanced at Ivo with confusion, but quickly lowered himself so that he didn’t have to bend over awkwardly for the merman to keep hold.

Stone was thrilled to see Ivo more relaxed than he had been in days. His tail was soaked just like his upper body, unlike in the tub. Ivo didn’t have to adjust his position too many times to make sure his body was equally wet. His brows relaxed and a content sigh escaped him as he sunk further into the inflatable pool. Stone hoped Ivo wouldn’t get too spooked otherwise his spine might pop the pool.

“Alright, I’ll go grab something for myself before I leave.” Said Stone calmly, slowly removing himself away from Ivo. Luckily, he didn’t protest as his arms slipped away easily.

Ever since Ivo had come to live with him, Stone hadn’t been able to make a latte with how much work he had to do. All he could brew up these days was just plain espresso. Taking his jet-black thermos out from one of the cabinets, he set it down on the counter before wandering back over to his espresso machine, going through all the necessary steps to brew it.

When he had hit the start button, Stone brought fish back for Ivo before he forgot to feed him. Ivo hummed in acknowledgement, quickly taking the fish by his teeth before hauling the rest into his arms. Stone couldn’t deny he hadn’t been staring at those teeth for a while now.

“What’re you doing, Stone?” Ivo asked from his place in the living room, snapping Stone’s usual focus. Now that he actually paid attention, Ivo had never once called him by his name. It felt nice.

“Just brewing coffee, Ivo.” Stone responded, pouring his steamed milk into the thermos before topping it with coffee. He screwed the cap back on and set it down, going to his fridge to find something to make breakfast with.

The way Stone had said his name sounded completely different from all the other times. It sounded more domestic, like he was answering his spouse who was sitting in the living room. Stone scoffed and smiled to himself. It was wishful thinking at best, Stone wasn’t sure if he would ever be mentally stable enough to go back into a relationship.

Even with how quiet Ivo was sometimes, Stone could hear him hum with curiosity. Of course he wouldn’t know what coffee is, but Stone wondered if he could drink it considering being half human and all. He wondered if he drank anything at all.

After whipping up a breakfast of pancakes with a side of bacon and scrambled eggs, Stone brought the plate out to the living room and set it down on the coffee table. His other hand carried his thermos so he was forced to hold the utensils in his mouth.

Ivo peered curiously at the food on his plate and sent a questioning look to Stone. The merman only ate raw and fresh things, so Stone wasn’t sure if he should be consuming cooked stuff. Well, maybe he might like it and Stone could finally use his groceries to make food for somebody instead of having to go out to the market ever so often to pick up more fish. This guy ate a lot so it should be good.

Using his fork to stab into a piece of bacon, Stone brought it over to Ivo for him to take a bite. Instead, Ivo opened his mouth and took the whole thing in, already start chewing it while it was still on the fork. There goes a piece of his breakfast. Stone quickly pulled his fork out and grimaced at it, quickly going back into his kitchen to grab a cleaner one. Ivo chewed the piece of bacon with consideration and intense focus, stalling enough time for Stone to pop a few pancakes, a small scoop of scrambled eggs and two pieces of bacon into his mouth before he asked for more.

“What is this?” Ivo asked quietly, smacking his lips a few times. Stone watched the way his tongue grazed over his sharp teeth, gathering what remained of the bacon and its flavor.

God, why was his face hot? No way he was thinking of that, was he?

…

Nope, he was.

“It’s bacon.” Stone said, voice sounding distant and unlike himself. “We got the meat from pigs.” He doubted Ivo knew what a pig is, since some of the only sea creatures that carried that name with it in the ocean were sea pigs. And they don’t even remotely look like pigs.

Before Stone could stop him, Ivo reached out and snatched the last piece of bacon off of the fisher’s plate, taking his time in consuming it. His eyes fluttered ever so often as he took in its taste, his mouth working slowly in order to savor the taste. Stone chuckled softly and scooped up a bit of eggs and handed over to him, waiting for Ivo to notice it.

When he did, he eagerly nibbled on it and hummed, a smile ticking up on his lips. Stone never thought he would enjoy feeding a merman before, but he would admit that it was bringing him joy just watching the way Ivo ate each piece.

“Alright, I’m heading to work now.” Stone announced as he passed his plate over to the merman, knowing he would probably want to lick the remains off. He did just that.

As Stone took the plate away from Ivo, his brain suddenly hit him with the moment from two days ago. The cold metal and the feeling of scales on his skin. The cold feeling of it, so unlike Ivo.

Jogging up his stairs and practically tripping to get back down, Stone clutched the item in his hand and sped walk over to Ivo who was still content with his new space. When Stone approached, Ivo stared at his closed fist and back up at his face, an eyebrow raised with amusement in his eyes. Before Stone could tell Ivo what had happened, the merman had already extended his hand out towards him, palm up and waiting.

Stone swallowed and handed the object over, fist slowly opening and then lying flat against Ivo’s hand, trying to remember how crawly his skin had felt. He had despised it at first, but now it felt more comforting than ever. Better than that mermaid’s hands, anyway.

“I assume someone gave you this.” Ivo said matter-of-factly, pulling his hand back and leaving Stone’s to hover in the air. The fisher pulled his hand back awkwardly, wiggling his fingers and rubbing a thumb over where their skin had come in contact with each other.

“Yeah, a mermaid, I think. Similar to you but not.” Stone responded after a while, crouching down to Ivo’s level to inspect the item as well. To be honest, he had completely forgotten about the object and never even glanced at it when he placed it on his work desk.

In Ivo’s hand was a small golden chain with a clear, plastic purple heart in the front. Or, at least Stone assumed it was plastic. The clasp attaching it together was bigger than the average necklace clasp but it wasn’t very significant. The more interesting thing was that the chain didn’t look rusty or damaged. Must be gold-filled, Stone guessed. But why display an assumingly plastic heart in front of a chain like this?

However, Stone didn’t question it out loud as Ivo unclasped the chain and placed it around his neck. The chain was long enough to sag down pass his gills, settling nicely on his sternum. The purple heart, despite being “plastic”, caught the light perfectly and made the whole chain more beautiful.

“That’s your jewelry, I assume?” Stone asked with a smile, hand twitching by his side to avoid reaching up to turn the heart in his fingers.

“Yup. One of the mer-children stole it from me a few days before I was beached.” Ivo explained touching the heart lightly with the pad of his finger. “I think the parents recognized you from that night.”

Stone tilted his head and tried to recall ever seeing any mermaids that night. No rushing of water, no sound of anyone jumping in or rising up, just ocean breeze and Ivo gripping onto that wooden plank for dear life. The fisher shook his head, denying that he had ever remembered seeing any other merfolk than Ivo.

“Of course you didn’t, you idiot.” Ivo said, flicking his finger against Stone forehead. “It was as dark as a moray eel cave. Your human eyes aren’t made for that.” Stone chuckled in response and apologized under his breath. Maybe Ivo was right, but it was surprising that they knew which boat he was on.

He couldn’t deny how beautiful the gold looked on him, it made him look exactly how they would describe mermaids in storybooks and romance books.

Standing back up and stretching himself out till he heard his spine and shoulders popped, Stone picked up his thermos and bid Ivo goodbye, watching the way the merman waved dismissively at him with no bite behind his words.

Stone closed and locked the door with his keys, making sure all windows were latched and the curtains were pulled shut. He made his way down towards the beach and greeted Shadow and Rogue on the way.

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A/N: Adding two notes here this time. I just wanted to put more info out there (the second one is for Stone) •His favorite hobby is human watching and crafting his own equipment from materials that humans throw into the sea •Stone has taken coffee as an interest not because he wanted to make the perfect coffee but he likes having different milk alternatives put in there

[a-drifting-mannequin]

Chapter 5 (Crashing tides)

Fandom: Sonic (MOVIE)

Pairings: None

Characters: Team Sonic

Warnings: B&E

Summary: They would never really thought of doing it, but hey! We're here now, might as well get on with it

Hey, I got a little note to add: Although Maddie and Tom are in the story, they would barely make an appearance but will be mentioned from time to time. Thanks for understanding, I'm not very good at writing them

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“What are we doing here again?” Miles asked, trying to peer past his taller friends.

“I saw something suspicious so I want to check it out.” Reasoned Sonic, a brave smile on his face as he continued to sneak through the backyard. Knuckles was close behind him but decided to stop midway for Miles to push himself through.

Team Sonic had deduced a plan to sneak into Mr. Stone’s backyard in search of suspicious activities earlier today after Sonic’s swimming lesson. It was Knuckles who noticed it first as he had spied on the man ever since he left a bad impression on the youngster. Being the ever reliable brute strength of the team with a keen eye, Knuckles had reported back to his two small friends about Mr. Stone’s suspicious activity such as spying out on the beach too often and buying more fish than usual, or necessary.

At first, Miles – known to Sonic and Knuckles as ‘Tails’ – had turned down those accusations as Mr. Stone could be unpredictable at times. His mother and father didn’t know Stone personally, but regarded him with respect because he used to be a part of the military. Knuckles said his father liked how straightforward the man was but he himself despised him. Sonic’s parents liked talking to him but the youngster didn’t know why. Just adult things, he guessed.

Despite all of this, they still agreed to sneak into Mr. Stone’s backyard when night fall. Sonic was the one armed with a flashlight while Tails kept their cellphones in his backpack along with emergency snacks and water. The only thing Knuckles had brought with him was the army Swiss knife his father gave him.

The night was cold as the ocean breeze moved in, rattling the youngsters greatly but they continued forward. Miles’s great foresight assured that all of them had at least two layers covering their bodies. The lights upstairs were still on but the curtains were drawn close. Muffled music could be heard.

With Miles’s expertise in different fields of lock, he managed to get the window open and hauled himself inside with a boost from Sonic. The blue dressed youngster was then hoisted up by Knuckles before he climbed in himself.

The kids had never personally seen the inside of Mr. Stone’s house so what they saw was quite ordinary but with a twist. His floorboards felt wet as if he had just mopped the place, but Sonic really doubted that as his shoes would leave imprints on the wood. It just proved that the floor was still relatively wet despite being wiped down.

Knuckles signaled for Sonic to point his flashlight in a certain direction, quickly pointing out the visible puddle by the couch. The cushions were completely soaked through with a lingering smell of sea salt. Sonic nodded and turned to Tails with a firm expression.

The kids had established long ago when they first became friends that, in situations where they won’t be able to communicate freely, it’s up to body language and face expression. Right now, Sonic was asking his friends to check around the house, wherever that wasn’t locked and avoid the stairs at all cost.

They spent around five minutes checking each and every drawer and cabinet, doing so as quietly as possible. The kitchen was cleared except for a bunch of fish in the fridge. The living room was cleared beside lingering traces of water. The last place they haven’t checked was the kitchen storage room and the bathroom. Knuckles suggested that they should immediately head to the bathroom as he doubted that there was anything in the storage room.

They checked either way. There were just boxes that they didn’t bother checking.

“Alright, is the bathroom locked, Tails?” Sonic asked, his voice hushed and flashlight dimmed down. Miles tried the handle a few times and gave one definite jerk of his head. Sealed tight.

Knuckles groaned into his hands and gently shoved Tails aside, making sure to position him right next to Sonic. “It can’t be locked. You’re just not trying hard enough.” The oldest of the three reasoned, one hand clutched into a fist as the other one tugged impatiently on the handle again.

To the three’s relief, it did open and Knuckles flashed Miles his winning smile. Sonic rolled his eyes fondly at the tallest and squeezed his way into the bathroom. He handed Miles his flashlight and instructed him to point the flashlight down the floor. He suspected that there was someone in here, so shining the light directly into the room won’t be a good idea.

To Sonic’s credit, there was. He quickly pointed towards a figure laying in the bathtub. The illuminating light on the floor provided them with the knowledge that the tub was filled to the brim with water and was practically overflowing, the small water droplets falling deafly into the small puddle on the tiled floor.

Miles slowly approached the figure, slowly bringing the light up to the tub but not high enough to hit the stranger in the face. Sonic gasped quietly when he spotted the huge tail sticking out on one end, swaying back and forth gently. The figure’s long hair was partly submerged in water and his mustache seemed to be the driest part of him.

Knuckles peered closer at the tail, curiously hovering his finger near the scales. They seemed to glimmer like sea glass under what little light the flashlight provided. Sonic let his friends stare and prod while he stayed at the doorframe, nervously glancing back out and up the stairs. He wouldn’t like being caught right now.

The lights upstairs flickered off and the sound of a door lock being turned could be heard. Good, Mr. Stone was heading to bed which meant they could stall around for a while longer to try and understand... whatever this is.

Miles turned to Knuckles and poked his arm gently. When the hothead looked over, Miles placed two fingers on his neck and tapped his own pulse twice.

‘He’s still breathing’

Luckily, Sonic could see that and shot a thumbs up in Miles’s way, no smile on his face.

This was…really new for the kids. Sure, it’s not like they haven’t snuck into other people’s houses before, but usually they wouldn’t need to go through the classic B&E in order to get in.

Mr. Stone, however? He never invites anyone in his house and always talks to everyone a safe distance from it. Team Sonic had their own reasons to think he was up to something.

This something being a whole mermaid in his bathtub, apparently.

Sonic gently pushed his way into the middle, letting his two friends be positioned on either side of him. Bracing himself on the tub’s edge, he peered in and took a gander at the gills on the merman’s torso and how his scales dissolved into skin. He could visibly see small, darkened marks that eerily resembled scars on the side of his stomach.

While Sonic did so, Miles took a closer look at the gills on his neck instead, fascinated by the way they flare ever so often to accompany air in. Knuckles cautiously smoothed the pad of his index over the scales and shivered internally. It was like touching a live fish.

Sonic, ever the impulsive, dipped his finger into the water below and brought it to his nose, taking a tentative sniff before putting it in his mouth. Knuckles grimaced at the sight while Miles looked like he wanted to face palm himself.  To Sonic’s shock, the water did not taste at all salty, not even by a little. It was fresh water, but there wasn’t any area that would host large bodies of fresh water around here.

The blue dressed youngster immediately tried to tell his friends about the lack of salt in the water, but rubbing two of his fingers together and pointing at the tub didn’t really make sense to them. Knuckles squinted at Sonic’s actions before pointing into the tub, watching the way Sonic nod before dipping his own finger in. Miles followed shortly afterwards.

Good, now all three knew.

Unfortunately, Miles pulled out his cellphone and showed his friends the current time. They had overstayed their welcome as it was approaching the early hours of the morning. Their parents will come up into their room to check on them at some point.

Miles escaped the bathroom first, still armed with the flashlight as he climbed back out the window. Sonic was hot on his tail while Knuckles stalled for a while longer to make sure they wouldn’t be caught.

When all three made out safely, they all dashed out to the street and stopped to take a breather under the streetlamps. Miles groaned to himself and covered his face in what seemed to be shame.

“What’s wrong?” Knuckles asked, peering over to their youngest member. Sonic placed both hands on his hips and waited for a response, heart beating inside his chest. Both were worried that Miles might’ve left something in the house.

“I forgot to take some pictures.” Muttered Miles, his face still in his hands as he gently shook his head back and forth.

Sonic breathed out a heavy sigh of relief, closing his eyes and placing a hand over his beating heart. Knuckles also shook his head, gently patting Miles’s shoulder in reassurance. They weren’t sure if they will ever get the chance to see that merman again, but it didn’t really matter. They really didn’t know whether he was dangerous or not.

“It’s okay, Tails.” Sonic reassured him, arms folded behind his head as he started walking towards his own house. “We all saw that, so it’s fine. Now let’s get back for the night.”

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A/N: Adding Ivo's lore here along with some from Team Sonic

•Denied from most merclans and wander by his own nowadays. Sleeps wherever

Team Sonic:

•Sonic cries in his room when things don't go his way. Tails get angry during dangerous situations. Knuckles threatens anyone who makes him angry

[a-drifting-mannequin]

Chapter 4 (Crashing tides)

Fandom: Sonic (MOVIE) Pairings: Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik/Agent Stone; Stobotnik Warnings: Minor bleeding, minor mentions of cannibalism Summary: Maybe humans weren't all that bad. Or maybe it was just Stone.

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Ivo shouldn’t really, he barely knew this human, but the sight of his bare chest was making his stomach do backflips. His heart beat loudly in his ears as he felt himself heat up. Luckily, the blush wasn’t visible enough for Stone to realize.

There they sat, on Stone’s living room floor with Ivo all vulnerable and Stone dripping with his own blood. The iron mixed with tangy sweetness made Ivo’s mouth water. His hands twitched by his side, his tail jerked at each movement the human made.

Oh how he wanted to pull him closer and lick up all that blood. The first time he ate human was maybe two years ago, but the taste never left his mouth. The sweetness of their blood, the thickness of it and how it flows and pollutes the water around it. The smell was like none other and Ivo craved it.

Stone reapplied some sort of cream onto Ivo’s wounds, making him hiss back at the stinging sensation. Stone muttered something about Ivo reopening his own wound, but the merman’s mind and eyes were latched onto Stone’s still bleeding shoulders. His mind was racing with thoughts that shouldn’t be had, but the more Ivo tried to push them down, the harder they become to resist.

Stone must’ve noticed how Ivo was staring at him when he begun to disinfect his own wounds. The merman’s pupils were blown wide, not completely overtaking the amber of his eyes but visible enough to be seen. His hands formed fists by his sides, nails digging painfully into the meat of his palm. The dorsal spines on his back seemed to be raised ever so slightly.

“You okay, Ivo?” Stone asked, concern about the merman’s new state. His skin didn’t seem all that flushed but his face seemed to be. If Stone wasn’t paying close attention, he wouldn’t have noticed the way Ivo’s body jerked.

‘For goodness’s sake, snap out of it!’ Ivo thought to himself, hands coming up to slap his own cheeks several times while groaning low in the back of his throat.

Stone stared back at him confused, the bandages haven’t even made their way onto his shoulders yet. Although the blood had started to dry, Ivo couldn’t deny the fact that his craving was sitting right in front of him, all on ravishing display.

“If you need something, just tell me.” Stone plead, his eyes somehow bigger and softer than they had appeared before. Ivo moved back, repulsed by the sight but Stone’s continuous talking seemed to have helped calm his mind down.

Ivo sighed and dropped his head into his hand, the other waving dismissively at Stone in order to get him to hurry up and bandage up his bloody shoulders. Stone’s brows furrowed but he didn’t question, quickly going through the disinfection routine before applying gauze and bandages.

The pair sat there in relative silence, except for every time Stone pulled out a gauze or use scissors to cut the bandage. Ivo placed his chin into his hand and glared at the human’s shoulders, frowning greatly under his mustache.

He had foreseen that this might happen at some point, when the human gets injured and then his tendencies acted up. But this was way too soon, it only had been three days and already he wanted to tear him into pieces.

Now that he thought about it, Ivo had never actually eaten a human that didn’t die from drowning before. He wondered if the meat would taste different and if the blood would flow thicker or easier above water. He really wanted to taste it raw and not blend in with the salt water.

Maybe Ivo could start with the eyes first this time instead of diving straight for anywhere that’s leaking blood

After Stone was all fixed up, the human rolled his shoulders a few times and sighed, but his expression immediately hardened when he looked towards Ivo. Normally, the merman wouldn’t care, but something about that stare seemed close to the night they first met, when he had planned on flaying Ivo.

“Since you would still stay here for another, let’s say, three days or so.” Stone said as he pushed himself up, walking to the other room and reappearing minutes later with a cup filled with some kind of dark liquid. Ivo curiously peered at the cup, hand ideally dipping into the bucket of water beside him to wet his gills. “Let’s set some house rules down, okay?” Ivo simply nodded and kept his ears open for Stone’s rant.

At first, everything seemed fine. Since human living spaces weren’t made to get wet often, Stone suggested that Ivo stay in the tub for the night and maybe he could move him to somewhere else in the morning just so he wouldn’t pull a stunt like this again. But then it quickly dissolved into Stone complaining about all the work he had to do to keep Ivo alive.

The merman frowned throughout all the complains, fingers absently smoothing out his mustache and racking through his hair. If Stone had hated taking care of him so much, then why wasn’t he back in the ocean tending to his own wounds right now?

Ivo had a hard time understanding humans and an even harder time figuring out human speech already but this just takes the cake. Their emotions were just so complicated; they never really have a reason for outbursts sometimes. Whenever they establish something, as soon as you attempt it, it somehow came out wrong.

Like, it’s difficult taking care of him? Then get him back into the ocean.

Why not? Oh, right, because he’s injured. But he can heal by himself!

Without warning, Ivo blurted out “If it’s so difficult taking care of me, then let me go already.” Though his speech wasn’t as fluent as Stone's. He stuttered a bit to form the word ‘difficult’ while also trying to make sure his string of words made sense to the human.

Stone, for once, shut up and stared, mouth slightly agape and hands still hovered in front of him mid waving around in frustration. Ivo didn’t regret what he had said, he only wanted to speak the truth. You don’t just care for someone who constantly tries to kill you whenever they get too scared, but Stone over here is doing the exact opposite. How could Ivo not get irritated?

On one hand, he was surviving alright, still breathing and moving. But on the other hand, Stone constantly complains about Ivo’s natural instinct against danger. It was unreasonable!

Stone’s shoulders slumped and his face seem to take on something more apologetic. Ivo remembered the term that humans would usually use for eyes that looked way too pathetic and pleading to be normal.

‘Puppy dog eyes’

Ivo had never seen a ‘puppy’ before but he felt like the term fit Stone’s current expression.

“Sorry, I just – “Stone sighed in defeat. He knew Ivo was right, he knew that he wanted to take care of him but also found difficulty in handling his animalistic instincts.

Ivo raised his hand, waved it and let a slow, low whistle, diverting his own eyes away from Stone. The human hoped it was Ivo telling him that it was fine and that he understood the situation he was in.

“What did that mean?” Stone asked curiously, his expression still saddened but at least his mouth was starting to tick up into a small smile.

Ivo didn’t really felt like explaining the complicated board of whistles, clicks, trills and screams to Stone right now, not to mention the different accents and vowels that comes with it. But the human had just accepted that he was wrong, so maybe Ivo could humor him a bit.

“I said ‘It’s fine’.” He responded, his hands raising up in front of him and performing a series of movements. His eyes stayed fixed on Stone to watch for his reactions, to which he was delighted to see that Stone understood.

Ivo knew what he did. It was easier to learn that than actual human speech but Ivo was anyone but a quitter. He learnt both in his free time, used coral shapes as guides and watched closely from a distant. At this point, Ivo was sure he had master both human speech, sign language (not merfolk sign language) and light Morse code. That one was most fascinating.

Ivo knew how he looked when he started to practice underwater, attempting to talk only to start choking. He was sure human speech made his esophagus open wider. Maybe that’s why they drown so easily. He had to urgently swim up to the surface to expel some of that water out by coughing profusely.

Other merfolk called him crazy when they saw him with a piece of glass in broad daylight. They called him inane and unreasonable. Being an invasive species wasn’t enough gossip for them.

The thought of teaching Stone merfolk sign language made him feel a bit more determine to stay around this area of land even though he knew it would be dangerous for him. To be honest, Ivo had grown attached to Stone, with how the human was so stubborn yet so persistent. The image of Stone trying to comprehend the different hand gestures for merfolk sign language made Ivo chuckle internally.

“Thank you, Ivo.” Stone smiled, the corners of his eyes wrinkling from how hard he was smiling. Or maybe it was a genuine smile.

Ivo snorted and returned his smile, but it was more or a smirk than anything.

‘Huh, his teeth are nice’

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A/N:

•He likes to munch on seashells and empty cones when he's bored. Or watch other sea creatures go about their life without the same IQ he has.

[a-drifting-mannequin]

Chapter 3 (Crashing tides)

Fandom: Sonic (MOVIE) Pairings: Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik/Agent Stone; Stobotnik Warnings: None I supposed Summary: How high are the chances that you might meet a mermaid out at sea? Not very high, I supposed

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Now that Stone had officially encountered a merfolk and had seen the way they move in water, to say his life was changing a little was an understatement. He never knew that the merfolks swam freely as human walked the streets.

There were loads of them when his crew managed to travel further out. Maybe there always had been. He always assumed those were really big fishes that they won’t ever be able to catch considering their nets weren’t always sturdy and big. Even his crew thought so.  

But the pattern, the way they swim and avoid boats just like when Ivo comes over just to bite his nets loose made a lot of sense. They were mermaids after all, half fish and half man, of course they’ll still be driven by their own instincts but also have those of a human.

Stone didn’t realize he would be learning a lot right now.

At some point during his shift, some took a break and sat down with each other on one end, smoking and discussing about business. Stone took that time to really sort through what they’ve brought up, but he was met with disappointment. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was looking for, but he was sure he was trying to search for evidence that these creatures were real.

Stone promised himself he would never tell anyone about the merfolks.

As everyone else continue to either do their job half-heartedly or continue gossiping about someone’s wife who was being accused of adultery, Stone picked up one of the fish that had fallen out and leaned over the edge of the boat, trying to catch for any glimpse of Ivo’s people.

It didn’t take him very long to finally spot a figure similar to Ivo. Long tail moved gaily with the waves and small, barely noticeable current. He couldn’t really make out their figure but he was sure he could see two arms there. There was no hair, though.

 Stone didn’t toss the fish back down but rather let it slip slowly from his hand. He had learnt that being quick with fishes aren’t always the way to go. Just as Stone reached the tail of the fish, the figure that he had been eyeing stopped, and then started to move towards him, positioning itself right under the fish.

Stone did freak out a bit which loosen his grip on the fish, unpromptly making him drop it. Then, a very scaly and very webbed hand reached up to grab it, quickly pulling the barely alive fish down and swimming away. All Stone could do was watch.

Their skin didn’t look like Ivo’s. Those hands were covered in scales and their fingernails were sharp like talons or claws. Ivo’s fingers didn’t look like that. And the scales had color, like something that corresponds with their species. Ivo’s whole upper body was relatively human with exceptions of the gills on his neck and the side of his abdomen.

So, was Ivo a different kind of mermaid or was he just like them but vastly different in appearance? Maybe he was interbred and one of his parents was a mermaid born while the other was human. That was the only logical conclusion he could really make right now.

Before Stone removed himself completely from the edge and get back to work in order not to seem so out of place, a similar figure circled its way back to him. Stone was sure it wasn’t the same mermaid as before. Their hand was raised just enough that it didn’t broke surface but could still be seen, fingers gesturing towards his hand and asking for it. Stone quirked a brow and lowered his hand despite every myth in existence telling him not to.

When his hand finally and awkwardly hovered above the water, two webbed hands darted up and broke surface. One of the hands clutched something in its palm as the other moved to flip his hand over so that his palm faced up. The other moved to place something cold and metallic in before curling his fingers and darting off back into the water.

Stone couldn’t understand or comprehend the feeling when those hands touched him, but he didn’t like it. He almost felt repulsed by it. Those hands weren’t the same as Ivo’s, that’s for sure. It was like touching an alive fish if it had fingers instead of fins, and if it could understand him. Mermaids was different from humans, but that didn’t mean they didn’t share some attributes of each other. First on Stone’s list being able to give and receive.

He didn’t have a lot of time to really check what the merfolk had given him since he still had a job to get back to. Stone quickly shoved it in his pocket and rejoined the rest of his crew, pulling up heavy nets and making a rough approximation of their catch before the sky grew dark and the wind picked up.

Despite everything growing darker, Stone still kept his eyes out for more merfolks. He still didn’t have a lot on them, but the appearance of their hands and the way they could understand that he wasn’t so much of a threat provided something.

Unfortunately, the whole trip back to shore was uneventful. No merfolks swam by, no fish gathered in small schools looking for food. Every single one of them had retreated back to their homes to prepare for night fall.

“See ya ‘morrow, Stone.” One of his mates greeted him, slapping him on the shoulder with their wet, salty hand. Stone chuckled and returned the gesture, except he tried to elbow the person in the stomach.

Stone jogged back to his house after buying more fish, trying to stay away from the stalls he would usually buy from in case if they get suspicious of him. He had enough ingredients at home to make a proper dinner even if it was small. But, for the past day, his concern was mostly directed towards how Ivo entertain himself when Stone wasn’t home.

Maybe he could call in sick tomorrow to stay with him.

Upon stepping to his doorsteps, Stone questioned himself why he was waiting for a merman with far better survival instinct than most of the world to heal. He could’ve just drag the merman back to the sea and let the waves take him back to wherever he lived. But he didn’t. He wasted an hour taking a shortcut back to his house just because, what, he cared?

It didn’t make sense to him, but Stone was a far cry from normal.

Before Stone could actually enter the house, a child-like voice called out to him, loud and clear although it cracked at the end. Stone immediately turned his head towards the person who had screamed out his name to find Tails.

His actual name was Miles, and Stone often called the kid ‘Mil’. Sonic called him ‘Tails’ for reasons he still hadn’t figured out.

“Hey Mil, you need something?” Stone answered back, stepping off his porch and slowly jogged towards the direction of the blond-headed kid.

Miles eyes were bright with curiosity and excitement when Stone approached him. The fisher could spot Sonic and Knuckles standing in the distance, just a few feet away from Miles.

“We wanna go out to the beach tomorrow to teach Sonic how to swim.” Miles answered proudly, his hand clutching a small present box. “But our parents are busy tomorrow so we wanna ask you.” And then the blond kid handed him the box. On top was a paper tag, handwriting clearly from Tom thanking him for watching the kids.

Stone smiled warmly at the gift and slowly took it from Miles, reading the tag on both sides before patting the little kid’s shoulder. Miles beamed back at him and patiently waited for a response. Although Stone would really want to help Miles complete the objective he had given himself, the fisher still wanted to assure that Ivo doesn’t try to kill himself out of boredom tomorrow.

“Why don’t you ask Shadow and Rogue? I’m really busy tomorrow.” Stone said, his tone and eyes apologetic towards the young kid. Miles’s smile dropped and he propped a hand to his chin, clearly pretending to be deep in thought.

Luckily, Miles understood reason and quickly accepted that, yes, Stone would be busy tomorrow and that he should ask someone else. Shadow and Rogue seemed fine, though Rogue had a tendency to tease Knuckles and Shadow considered Sonic annoying. Miles got along with both just fine, and if he just tactically paired the two who are neutral about each other then everything would go fine.

Stone liked that Miles could be so strategic when he needed to. The kid was brilliant, in Stone’s opinion, but he didn’t receive a lot of credit for it because he was young. Miles accepted back the gift he had given Stone and trotted back to Sonic and Knuckles, explaining the situation to them. None of the older kids seem to really object against it.

Stone sighed fondly and made his way back to his front door, unlocking it and quickly slipping inside. He really hoped the kids didn’t view his denial as suspicious otherwise he would have even more problems on his hands.

Upon entering his house, Stone immediately dropped all the stuff he was holding and gasped in terror. To know that Ivo had just dragging himself around his house wasn’t something he had expected. The water trails were still visible where he had dragged himself and there were a few morsels of fish laying around as well.

For now, Ivo had his arms crossed on the couch cushion, his tail curled beneath him and his eyes closed. Either he was suffering from not getting enough water again or he just fallen asleep. By the way his tail was still moving back and forth, it was safe to assume he was still alive.

Stone didn’t bother picking up his stuff from the door as he dashed to the kitchen to fill a cup of water. He doubted he had enough energy to carry the man back to the bathroom right now. With how wet his floors were already, Stone didn’t try to be careful with it.

“Goddammit, Ivo, you’re either really stupid or just really bored.” Stone muttered angrily as he just dumped the full cup of water onto the merman. He needed to dry-clean his couch now.

Ivo immediately stuttered awake, pushing himself up as he frantically looked around. Unfortunately for Stone, he just happened to be standing right beside the merman’s tail. Shocking him awake didn’t like a very good idea now. Ivo’s tail, on instinct, swept across the floor and knocked into Stone’s legs, bringing the fisher down as he slipped. Luckily, Stone had his arms under him already so his head didn’t quite hit the floorboards.

Stone groaned and pushed himself into a proper sitting position. Now that he was actually paying attention, Ivo’s back was littered with scales, small patches formed from his shoulder’s down towards his tail where it evened out a bit.

Also, were those dorsal spine fin? Was he mostly lionfish and not entirely human?

Before the fisher could question, Ivo whipped his head back and let out a deafening whistle and tackled Stone back to the ground, his heavy tail pining the human down. Stone let out a short lived gasp as he fell backwards, the air practically being punched out of him.

The next few clicks Ivo let out sounded threatening paired along with low growls. He bared his teeth at him as the merman’s eyes stared daggers into Stone. Despite his lanky frame, Ivo was incredibly strong, just enough to overpower Stone.

“I’m sorry, okay? Let me go!” Stone begged as he felt Ivo’s fingers dug themselves into his shoulders again, the wound there reopening and dripping with blood. Stone winced at the pain and grunted, eyes screwed shut as he tried to buck the merman off.

After a minute or two of Stone trying to fight off the pain and Ivo staying immobile above him, the merman huffed out a breath and moved back, his finger retreating and tail being moved off Stone’s body. The fisher sighed in relief and sat up, one hand clutching at his bleeding shoulder.

“Thought you were dying, is all.” Stone muttered quietly, crossing his legs and glaring at the merman. “Can’t even help you without you trying to kill me.” Stone grunted and pushed himself up, heading straight towards the bathroom to retrieve the med kit.

Ivo didn’t respond, didn’t even turn his head to watch as Stone came back, one hand carrying a bucket full of water and the other the med kit. Even though Stone was on the edge of his patience with Ivo, he knew the merman still couldn’t go back to sea with his tail’s current condition.

When Stone used two fingers to push down on Ivo’s wound, the merman jerked away and attempted to swing his tail at the fisher again but failed due to pain. Stone sighed and removed his shirt, staring at the offending small puncture holes on it.

“Come here, I’ll help you too.” Stone offered, a hand laid flat out on the side of Ivo’s tail. The merman didn’t respond but shifted to get into a better position for Stone to help him. 

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A/N: Moving from his appearance to his lore •He absolutely despises being a lionfish-born although he can't deny all the defense advantages he has If anyone's wondering, all (and most) of his description is in the prologue and the two last points were in the previous chapters

[a-drifting-mannequin]

Chapter 2 (Crashing tides)

Okay, Imma start doing my thing again (Chapter 1 on AO3)

Fandom: Sonic (MOVIE) Pairings: Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik/Agent Stone; Stobotnik Warnings: None I supposed Summary: Being a fish ain't easy, but it didn't look like being human was any better for him.

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Ivo didn’t know what to do while in this porcelain tub. There was nothing for him to do. Humans are unreliable as he had watched them fish up several different sea creatures and took them all back despite some carrying eggs.

He had spent enough time stalling around the caves closest to shore, listening between petty gossip and business discussion. Ivo was by no means unintelligent, but a lot of those humans would assume merfolks are dumb as rocks because they don’t approach shallow waters often.

Ivo does since there wasn’t really anyone around to stop him. He just swims and float by himself, occasionally coming by another merfolk but they would ultimately ignore him.

He didn’t expect himself to build a reputation besides being an invasive species. They stayed away from him because of his snappy personality and his mild obsession with the surface world. Down there, underwater, there really isn’t much to do other than scavenge around coral reefs for something interesting or watch the fishes do stuff that he couldn’t understand.

Ivo have taken a particular liking to watching damsel fish chase other fishes around. If there was a sea creature that Ivo would rather be born as, it would be an octopus.

He was already starting to yearn for the salt water again. It wasn’t like being in fresh water was a lot of problem, but it lacks taste and he had grown to like the salt that was always present in the waters he swims in.

Just as Ivo decided that he would climb out of the tub and drag himself around the human’s living space, the sound of something shutting pulled him out of his thoughts. On instinct, the spikes on his back and some on his tail tensed up, his teeth grinded into each other as he waited with bated breath.

Luckily, as soon as the entrance of the room he was in opened, Ivo relaxed a bit upon seeing the face of the human who claimed to have ‘rescued’ him. Stone was his name, if he recalled correctly.

The human’s hair was combed back neatly though a strand was tucked behind his ear. The clothes he was wearing were filled with colors and patterns Ivo hadn’t seen before. Strips and lighten tones, images stitched on his chest, just above where his heart should be. His beard was neat, to say the best. And although Ivo had wanted to grow one out himself, he had foreseen the disadvantages that would be mutually exclusive with it. No worries, he was still content with his own mustache.

“Hey, got you some breakfast.” Stone said with a smile, bringing in a bucket and placing it down mere inches away from the tub. He pulled out a stool and sat down, as if waiting for Ivo to take his pick.

Bending over to one side and heaving the bucket up towards him, Ivo settled it down on his lower abdomen and shuffled through the different options he was so graciously offered. None really caught his eye, but these catch were common enough that Ivo didn’t have a problem eating all of them. The smell of the salt still clinging to them made his mouth water, and soon enough he had gotten a fish between his razor sharp teeth, munching away at its flesh and gnawing on the bones.

Stone, ever the curious human he was, stared with fascination, eyes completely fixated on the way Ivo’s teeth and tongue worked around the meat and bones. And, for only a little while, Ivo liked the attention.

“You’re incredible.” Stone muttered, eyes blinking rapidly to tear his gaze away with a flushed smile. Clearly he has been staring a bit too intimately. Ivo hummed in acknowledgement, licking into the fish’s eye and pulling it out.

“Not a lot of people tell me that, but thank you.” The merman responded with a hint of amusement in his voice, crushing the tail bone in his mouth and swallowing the bones whole.

Ivo assumed the human was curious still, but felt like prying information out of him wouldn’t be very fitting for their current situation. Instead, both of them settled in comfortable silence. At some point, Stone pulled out a device that Ivo had come to known as a phone. The glass surface of the device is always pointed towards the user and the humans would use their fingers to do…something. Ivo still haven’t got an idea about that part.

Stone must’ve took notice to the way Ivo was staring intensely at his phone as he smiled and moved closer. Ivo himself tried to move closer but was stopped as he hit the tub. He grunted in the back of his throat and hauled himself forward, propping his elbows up and letting his tail be submerged once more. He still couldn’t get his caudal fin all the way in.

“I figured you’ve never seen a phone in your life before.” Stone chuckled as he handed the curious merman the device. “Don’t drop it in water, it’ll stop working if you do.” The warning was odd, as Ivo had witness many getting into the salty water with their phones, but he decided not to question. Not right now at least.

The glass screen was faced to him and the number of different images and shapes made his head spin in confusion. Ivo carefully tapped his finger against the screen, clicking into the different images to see what they contained.

Each of those icons or apps (as Stone called them) had names tagged under them. The colors were captivating, making Ivo want to see more and the different varieties there were.

Youtube

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Tinder

He didn’t fully understand each and every single one since their names seem to have an abstract meaning of sorts. Luckily, every time Ivo clicked into one, Stone was there to explain its purpose. He also taught Ivo how to exit the different apps, usually just by clicking the small circle at the bottom center.

“You use this to...?” Ivo trailed off as he pointed at an app in green with some weird shape on it. Stone hummed and took a closer look at the screen.

“That’s my phone app, I use it to call people.” Stone explained. From what Ivo could gather so far, the phone could be used to watch moments that had already been captured, things that are happening right then and there and pictures of others.

The human world was indeed fascinating and just so weird to the point Ivo couldn’t help but feel dreadful. The world underwater didn’t compare to this no matter how many ‘wonders’ were down there. Ivo wouldn’t know that himself, he only stuck around the sunlight zone after all. Some of the only moments where he had swim down to the twilight zone were near death experiences, but those moments were honestly fun.

Handing the phone back to Stone, Ivo sulked with his own thoughts while Stone rambled. He wasn’t the first human to try and capture Ivo and then display him, but he was the first to attempt to give him more exposure to the human world.

Ivo knew what a museum was because he had heard sailors and his previous capturers talk about it. A place to display the past’s wonders and achievement. If he wasn’t fast and witty, he would’ve been killed and dried, displayed in a glass case for all the other humans to see.

It was ridiculous. It was immoral.

Ivo must’ve zoned out too hard because he hadn’t realized that Stone had already left the room, closing the – Ivo just remembered – door and leaving him in the concealed room. Sure, this room had got plenty of water, but not a lot of moving space.

His tail still hurt when he moved it too much, so maybe this was Stone’s way of telling him ‘Stay here until you’re completely healed’.

He didn’t like how that sounded.

Turning the faucet back on, Ivo waited until the water overflowed the tub and sunk himself the rest of the way. The nictitating membranes didn’t conceal his eyes this time, but he could see just fine.

Ivo sighed into the water around him, letting out a low whistle before drifting off to an unwanted sleep before jerking back awake. Alright, looks like his body didn’t want to sleep right now.

Now to wait for Stone to come back. Ivo blinked rapidly under the water and one of his arms pulled itself out of water to retrieve another fish from the bucket, bringing it down to munch on.

His thoughts were deafening again, with no means of distraction like watching two mantis shrimp fight one another or spy on other merfolk activities. It was so quiet and yet so loud.

Ivo wanted to be back with the waves again.

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A/N (these exist at every end of each chapter):

• The scales on his tail connect straight to his skin, being infused with them slightly. Although the rest of his body doesn't show visible traces of scales, his back is littered with patches of them (under his arms, near his shoulder blades, etc)

[a-drifting-mannequin]

Crashing tides

Now, because the prologue for my mermaid au is finished, the first chapter is posted!

The reason I didn't compose the fic together is because the mermaid au was supposed to have multiple chapters but I used the supposed chapter 1 for SummerStobWeek

[a-drifting-mannequin]

Jello, wassup? How has it been going with y'all?

So, on AO3, Day 6 of SummerStobWeek has gain a small traction as some are loving the way I've described Mer!Rob

So, I've taken it upon myself to write a longer fic for "Waves" that will be titled "Crashing tides". "Waves" will now be considered as a prologue

Also

THE AMOUNT OF FISH FACTS I HAVE TO LOOK UP???? AND THE STRESS OF TRYING TO ALIGN HUMAN AND FISH ANATOMY TOGETHER

I don't like how much research I'll have to make, but it's really fun to talk about

[a-drifting-mannequin]

Day 7: Future

Stupid, stupid, stupid! - Drifting_Mannequin - Sonic the Hedgehog (Live Action Universe) [Archive of Our Own]

Welcome to the end of the week! Thank you to everyone who had participated and everyone who are supportive of all the fics and fanart made

I know that another chance like this will never come again in my life and I'm very grateful I got to join at all

[a-drifting-mannequin]

WWWWWOOOAAAAAA THANK YOUUUUUU!!!

[a-drifting-mannequin]

Day 6: Crossover

Waves - Drifting_Mannequin - Sonic the Hedgehog (Live Action Universe) [Archive of Our Own]

This was really hard to write up and I got like 9 different tabs (there was supposed to be 12 or 13 tabs but I deleted the ones I don't need) just do to fish research

[a-drifting-mannequin]

Day 5: Memories

Your words breathe life into me - Drifting_Mannequin - Sonic the Hedgehog (Live Action Universe) [Archive of Our Own]

I gave up actually

[a-drifting-mannequin]

Day 4: Experimental

Entertainment - Drifting_Mannequin - Sonic the Hedgehog (Live Action Universe) [Archive of Our Own]

Did I post this late? I'm not actually sure. Posted this on AO3 first and then I completely forgot to do the same for Twitter and Tumblr

[a-drifting-mannequin]

Day 3: Symbolism

The Fool who loved The Hanged Man - Drifting_Mannequin - Sonic the Hedgehog (Live Action Universe) [Archive of Our Own]

So, uh, I got tired of typing up the whole thing so I linked it

Don't worry about it being user restricted

[a-drifting-mannequin]

Sand and stars

Day 2: Day out Fandom: Sonic (MOVIE) Pairings: Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik/Agent Stone; Stobotnik Warnings: guns (maybe)

Summary: It's a beach episode with less playing in the waters and more performing a hit

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

It sounded ridiculous when it first came through.

Unfortunately, it still did now, no matter how hard Robotnik looked at it.

He had read it at least fifteen times now since the email first came through. He tried deciphering any hidden messages, figuring out each and every person mentioned within the email. He even tried to do a digital sweep of both the email and the location.

Nothing worked. It all turned out the same.

He hates this.

A mission, located on a beach? It sounded more like G.U.N. was finding an excuse to go beaching instead of actually performing a hit. Nonetheless, Robotnik was required on this mission as a type of backup. He wasn’t allowed to bring his badniks. Stone, as well as many other agents, would be the one performing the hit.

Sitting comfortably – or as comfortably as one could get – in the confines of his lab, Robotnik groaned loudly into his hands, dragging them down his face. A beach. A godforsaken beach out off all locations. Out of all the possible places to take this random asshole down.

The holo-screen displayed the digital sweep of the area along with the predicted weather, how many people would be there and any dining establishment that could cater to Robotnik’s needs. Some of the answers he got were more than disappointing.

Fortunately, before he could start throwing a tantrum, Stone came in the room just at the right time with a steaming coffee in hand. Robotnik quickly swiveled around in his chair, legs outstretched and parted, one hand resting firmly on the arm on his chair and the other propped up by the elbow. He leaned his cheek into his open palm, eyeing the way Stone cautiously made his way over to his boss.

“Your coffee, Doctor.” Stone announced softly, the same bright smile on his face as he had the cup over. Robotnik grunted in acknowledgement and snatched the cup out of his hand, taking in an urgent drink.

Stone continued to stand there like he always did, hands clasped in front of himself, awaiting orders with the kind of dedication Robotnik only saw in himself.

Maybe they should start packing soon. Maybe even right now if Robotnik could will his mind into a less murderous space. The trip to that godforsaken beach wouldn’t be until two days later, so Robotnik could make sure he brought everything to secure himself and his agent. He wondered if they would still be sharing a room again.

Turned out that they were expected to. There were no warnings for this.

Placing the empty cup back into Stone’s hands, Robotnik reluctantly pushed himself up from his chair with a heavy sigh. Stone moved out the way for his doctor as he brushed off some invisible dust on himself. Just something for his hands to do.

“Start packing, Stone.” The order was simple, straight forward and clear enough even a child could understand. Stone nodded and followed Robotnik out of the lab before separating ways with him.

Whenever Robotnik gave orders like that, it meant that Stone was granted an early leave whether G.U.N. liked that or not. Whatever the agent was going to pack, Robotnik would to. Sunscreen became a must on his list, along with a few mini-niks and other essential beach wear.

Another unfortunate thing had occurred as he was digging through his dresser for something a tad brighter: He rarely go to the beach. Maybe never. Beaches meant swimsuits, meant getting wet one way or another. It also meant swimming in deep, salty and sand-filled waters.

Fuck.

~~~~

“Target locked.” Stone said over the intercom, making sure his voice was dropped low enough that no one within two feet of him could hear. Robotnik hummed back in response, taking a leisure drink from his small cocktail glass. The drink tasted horrible.

The beach they arrived to was more or less crowded with families playing noisily in the water here and there and maybe a couple or three. Actually, scratch that, there were many. Their team arriving there looked a bit suspicious at first, with how uptight everyone looked, but as soon as they made contact with the damn sand, they all turned into children. Robotnik opted to stay dry and away from water.

Wait, this was a private beach, wasn’t it? He couldn’t remember.

Stone had already taken his position, Robotnik just had to wait for the rest of these cretins to get in theirs. The chair he was currently lounging on was one of the ones less covered in sand, and the shade was just right. Robotnik stretched his legs out towards the sun, but them quickly brought them back in.

Some people were eyeing him weird. He knew he looked out of place, what with his full body swimsuit all in black and dark red accents, but he couldn’t care less. Robotnik quickly looked away again as another person past him barely covered up. Disgusting, displaying themselves like that.

“This fucking suck, Stone.” Robotnik replied after a while, listening to the way Stone reloaded his gun.

“I’m sorry, Doctor, but it has to be this way.” Even with how fairly distant he sounded, Stone did try to make it sound like he was feeling bad on the doctor’s behalf. Robotnik huffed at the thought.

Soon enough, everyone was in place. Robotnik quickly typed up a message and sent it to Walters, letting that old man know that the mission was going to be finished soon enough. And just like he had predicted, Walters told them they could spend two days there before they had to return, as the idiot who called the hit wanted to ‘thank’ everyone formally for completing it.

I mean, it made a bit of sense. No one would pay for a team of six people to perform a hit on a beach in one day and then completely extract them from there without letting them spend a little off time. Actually, scratch that, he didn’t even have to pay for residence, and yet he did.

They could’ve finished the mission and then leave, it didn’t matter. But of course, Walters wanted to rid himself of Robotnik for a day or two. That much was obvious.

The rest of the mission passed in a blur, just coupling along with a few gunshots and terrified screams here and there. Robotnik vaguely remembered the agents getting into a little trouble, but that was as much as he could recall. The mission wasn’t important to him, so he didn’t feel obligated to care.

All he knew that it took far longer to actually take this guy out than planned. There wasn’t just one guy, there were several, a whole operation perhaps. But that didn’t matter now.

What really did matter was that Robotnik was sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest, shallow water washing towards him while Stone splashed around with the waves. The little bandage on his forehead had a little red spot in the middle, showing where the injury he had retained was.

“Don’t you want to come down into the water, Doc?” Stone called out, choking out a chuckle as a wave hit him in the back, knocking him off balance as he stumbled forward.

Robotnik smiled softly at the sight, but dread gnawed at him right afterwards. He never really did learn how to swim, much less ever being near a large body of water for a long period of time. He vividly recalled almost drowning in the river just a few feet away from his orphanage after a group of boys pushed him in. The nuns were concerned and extremely worried when he came back sopping wet and cold in the evening, but none cared enough to take action.

Robotnik frowned harder at the memory.

Stone must’ve realized the heavy silence that hung between them as he slowly made his out of the water, grunting as he sat down with his doctor, legs stretched out towards the water. Robotnik copied his movements.

“It’s alright to not know how to swim, Doctor.” Stone said, a sympathetic smile on his face.

Robotnik hated being pitied, it meant that others saw him as poor, weak and pathetic enough to be allowed a moment of sweetness. Being regarded as anything but imposing and worth fearing was below him. Robotnik scoffed and turned away from Stone, refusing to watch the sun go down with him.

Luckily, Stone was smart enough to not question or to pry for further information. The silence they held together was more or less suffocating, but Robotnik tried to drown out those thoughts with the sound of the waves.

Maybe he gave Stone too much credit for being smart, because this agent was anything but smart. With one swift movement, Stone scooped Robotnik up in his strong arm and carried him towards the water with the doctor clinging to him. he refused to deny or confirm that he was afraid.

The waves crashed towards his agent as he slowly lowered the genius into the water. When Robotnik’s foot finally found ground, he lowered himself the rest of the way while still having his arms wrapped around the agent’s neck.

Stone smiled brightly at him as Robotnik finally and slowly let go, letting the waves freely hit him and make him stumble. The overwhelming feeling of being knee deep in salt water disturbed Robotnik somewhat, but his fear quickly dissolved like sea foam when Stone splashed water at him. The doctor flinched away, but quick retaliated and tackled his agent in the water, listening to the laughter of the person that he cared about rung out and resonated back at him.

It was comforting.

Okay, fine, maybe Stone did have good ideas and was clever sometimes, but he wouldn’t outright say it.

[a-drifting-mannequin]

Syco-friend

Day 1: Song inspired

Fandom: Sonic (MOVIE)

Pairings: D. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik/Agent Stone

Warnings: Selflessness, minor mention of blood and injury

--- Guyfriend by Emezie

NOTE: Do go listen to the song first before reading! Although this story will contain some form of angst, the song itself sounded too cheerful, but the lines have the same sentiment that I’m going for.

****

“A sailor with nowhere to pray

A knight with no damsel to save

I know you don’t love me that way

But I’m here for you anyway.”

Come into work, have a few conversations with his colleagues before running off to perform tedious tasks for people who thought they were better than everyone else. Stone would regard his job as boring despite the constant need to look out for danger.

His muscles were always tense, like a rubber band ready to snap but not quite. All his limbs constantly felt sore, and he couldn’t take a little time off to actually try to loosen up the knots.

Taking orders was all he was capable of in this position of his. Running errands were the second most exciting thing for him if he weren’t on missions shooting at morons. Sometimes, just due to the repetitive routine of his job, Stone wanted to quit and return to being a normal civilian. But the memories of serving as a barista in cafés and dealing with customers every day kept him moving as an agent for G.U.N.

Another thing keeping him from quitting G.U.N. and had had him in a chokehold for a while now was Dr. Ivo Robotnik. The agents before him were given the task to be the doctor’s personal assistant, to lend a hand when the doctor’s work got to the point of too much. But, however hard they try, the doctor fought against it and had anyone who got sent out as his personal assistant throwing in the towel in just a few days. The resignation was one thing; the reports were another. They were no less brutal, describing the doctor’s behavior as if those agents were kindergarten teachers and Robotnik was a particularly rowdy kid.

“Stone, heard you got a new position, is that right?” One of his colleagues asked, raising his coffee cup to eye level as a small toast to him.

Stone just flashed a customer service smile, the one he had been practicing for years to perfect. “Yup. Heard I’ll be working for Dr. Robotnik from now on.” The chuckle that left him was weak, not nearly cheerful enough but that somehow fell into favor with his colleagues’ feelings on the matter.

Soon, the topic switched from talking about someone’s cat to complaining about the doctor. Even with all the things he had read about Robotnik, the insights from the fellow agents that had actually worked for the man were helpful in their own ways.

From what Stone hadn’t tuned out, Robotnik seemed to be a man of strict rules and needed utmost perfection from all his agents. The ones that were still working under him endured constant abuse, berating sessions and insults.

Stone had reassured his colleague that he could endure all of those. The words that left his mouth felt like an empty promise, something said just to fill a small void. Stone couldn’t remember what he told them.

When the day came, Stone didn’t receive any greetings from the people that used to talk to him. Everyone seeming more distant than the day before, as if coming into contact with him might give them a curse of sorts.

Being an assistant for a scientist that G.U.N regarded as ‘crazy’ would never be easy. But Stone was and is a patient man. He’ll get what he wanted in the end.

The first few days with the doctor was rough, not to mention extremely difficult to handle. His attitude was like a child’s tantrum, only with more intellect. Stone thought he could handle the doctor’s outbursts, but even those proved to be more extreme than any field missions he had been on.

Robotnik persistently tried to get rid of Stone, just like all the other imbecilic agents that had step foot in his lab. But, unfortunately, the agent turned out to be just as stubborn as the doctor himself. After a week of nonstop berating and abuse, Robotnik did eventually give up and reluctantly let Stone stay.

When Robotnik had officially announced to Stone while he was sorting the doctor’s emails that he would now tolerate his presence in the lab, the smile Stone gave him was positively blinding.

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Their new routine settled in quite nicely. Every morning, Stone would come in at 08:00AM sharp, greet the doctor and then busy himself with making coffee and any tasks that Robotnik threw at him. Occasionally, if it was a slow day, Stone would assist Robotnik in the lab, giving a hand in testing and being the test subject himself.

Although one specific day changed that routine for good. And for the better.

Stone came in just as usual, the now familiar greeting leaving his lips with the same kind of fondness. Robotnik wouldn’t give a verbal respond but would give Stone a hum of acknowledgement. The hum itself also worked as an order that Stone was now accustomed to.

The coffee came first, then the emails and anything else the doctor needed. The routine now well-known to Stone as if it was the back of his hand.

“Here you are, Doctor.” Stone announced, placing a steaming cup of coffee down next to Robotnik’s arm, making sure it was far away enough but also not too close to the edge of the table. “Do forgive me, I used a different ingredient for your latte today.” The words left his lips weird, but he wasn’t quick to doubt.

Robotnik just nodded, not paying attention to Stone in any way possible. Stone backed up and stood behind Robotnik, peering over his shoulder, pointing and questioning the doctor’s newest project.

Luckily for Stone, Robotnik had built up the tolerate for Stone’s constant curiosity for his work. The coffee was left neglected and nearly forgotten due to being too focused on the project.

When Robotnik actually reached for the neglected cup on the table, Stone’s heart nearly jumped out his chest out of nervousness. He knew the doctor was picky with literally everything that came into contact with him. From work, colleagues, projects to the simplest things like food and drinks. For the two months of working for Robotnik, Stone learnt to not disrespect his choice no matter what. The fact that he used the doctor as a test subject for his nearly perfect recipe in making the perfect coffee almost killed him mentally.

The reaction was as expected. Robotnik’s eyes widen slightly at the unfamiliar taste, his hand slowly lowered the cup back to its original place on the table before the agonizing slow turn of his head followed.

“What exactly did you switched out, Agent?” the question sounded like a command, a threat ready to be executed once the answer was received.

“I switched the usual steamed milk  for Austrian goat milk, Doctor.” Stone answered with fear in his voice. Not fear of being slapped, punched, berated or any form of abuse from the doctor. It was fear of not being able to serve him like he usually does, not being able to make the doctor his coffee every morning.

The lab was eerily silent for a few moments, Stone’s eye refused to meet Robotnik’s during those seconds of silence. Then came the sound of the latte being drained by the doctor, each gulp taking Stone back to the reality of the situation. Before he knew it, the empty was handed back to him, a satisfied Robotnik was left after the coffee was gone.

“Make me another and be quick with it.” Robotnik ordered, not a hint of anger on his face or movements. “This one gone cold already.” A simple excuse, but not a well disguised one.

Stone beamed at the doctor, a smile quickly forming on his face as he sped out of the lab to prepare the doctor’s new favorite latte.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Sometimes she doubts me, but that's okay

Some guys are shady in the shady way

Not me, ‘cause I’m her guy-friend, tried and true

A friend when she’s feeling blue.”

This wasn’t what he wanted to turn out, this wasn’t even supposed to happen.

But, it seemed like the universe really loves making its markings on Stone’s body. Or on his whole life, for that matter].

The sky poured rain down on the agent as he raced through the crowded streets on his bike, ignoring every traffic rules in order to get there in time. He hoped he wasn’t late already.

Adrenaline pumped through his blood, every noise becoming a distance memory for his heart was beating in his ears. His eyes never left the road.

From an outsider view, Stone looked like a madman, driving recklessly with no regards for anyone’s safety. But they would be wrong, they were so wrong.

No one’s safety mattered at that very moment. He would fight death, go to Hell and back, if that meant Robotnik would be safe.  

At some point, Stone had to stop in order to wipe off the rain water collecting itself on his helmet. The riding leather did nothing to get the water off, which frustrated him. He couldn’t stall time like this, the rain was making it harder to focus.

The location that he arrived to was not what he had expected.

Stone expected a high-end guarded facility, with barbed fences and people patrolling outside. Their store bought drones would surveillance the areas where the guards couldn’t reach themselves, making it difficult for Stone to get in if he was an amateur.

No, it was none of that. It just looked like an abandoned building with exactly one drone hovering near the regular fence gate. From where Stone was parking, he could make out two figures standing inside, in front of the main entrance smoking.

Making sure to park his bike somewhere safe, Stone snuck in through the back, being careful as to not alarm anyone at his early arrival.

Everything else past in a blur of blood, gunshots and agonized screaming. Before Stone knew it, he was back on his bike, pants soaked with blood and face more or less beaten up. A deep wound embedded itself on his thigh, gushing blood out more as he drove.

The doctor was in the same condition, if not worse. Stone had offered Robotnik his helmet as he didn’t have a spare. As expected, he berated him all the way back to the bike, even after accepting the helmet.

“Do you not have any concerns for your own safety, Agent?” Robotnik asked as he reluctantly mounded Stone’s bike.

The agent just let out a weak chuckle as he climbed on, immediately feeling the genius’s arms wrapping around his waist instinctively.

It was a good question, really. Did Stone care about the safety of his own being? Probably not, considering he joined the military just to have something to do.

“Your safety is paramount, Doctor.” He replied earnestly, which got him a tired and slightly pained groan in response.

Kicking the bike into the highest gear that would traffic allowed, Stone made quick work of getting the doctor back to the lab. He didn’t really wait for the gates to open up specifically for him as someone else was entering before him. Stone just sped through security with a few guards screaming after him.

The reports he had to fill out hurt his brain, but he was more than glad that Robotnik was okay.

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“You know I’d give you the world

You know it’s true

And you can brighten the day

The way you do”

He didn’t exactly remember how he ended up like this, but being pinned to the wall front first, arms twisted behind his back with the doctor pressed up against him wasn’t so bad. His mustache tickled Stone a bit, and he was doing his very best to remain neutral and mildly shock for the doctor’s enjoyment.

“- my plan then I’ll have my badnik flay you alive.” Robotnik spat, pushing Stone’s hands into the small off his back and listening to the way the agent grunted in pain.

“What?” Stone replied. To be completely honest, he wasn’t sure if he was listening to the doctor at all during his rant. Something about a plan was all he managed to catch with a very real threat.

Robotnik groaned in annoyance and released Stone with some reluctance, backing away and sitting down in his chair with a bit more force than necessary, back facing Stone. Stone rolled his shoulders to get his muscles working again before dutifully standing by the doctor’s side, waiting for an answer.

But none came.

Well, he really did fuck up this time. Maybe he should’ve listened instead of focusing on the feeling of his boss’s body against his own.

The silence was deafening, and it was supposed to be no noise at all, but it was deafening. Soon, the only sound that filled the room was the occasional grunt that the doctor let out while doing his work. Stone was sure that it had passed latte hour but none of them were willing to address it.

Shuffling on his feet uncomfortably, Stone clenched and unclenched his hands while still eyeing the back of Robotnik’s head. He fucked up and he didn’t know how to apologize for it.

What did the doctor say, though? A plan but what? And what made the doctor think that Stone would go and tell everyone about it?

Sucking in a quiet breath, Stone stepped noiselessly next to Robotnik, leaning forward slightly to speak right next to Robotnik’s ear. Luckily, he didn’t flinch or scream in terror like he usually would whenever Stone scares him. 

“Sir, with all due respect, I would follow you to Hell and back.” Stone spoke into their shared silence, watching the subtle way Robotnik stilled in his chair.

When he turned to look at Stone, the grin on his face was undoubtedly mischievous. He was already planning something. Stone backed up to give the doctor some space in case if he did try to get up.

Spinning around to face Stone completely, the doctor stood up again, moving quickly and soundlessly towards the agent. Stone stood completely still, hands behind his back, ready to shield himself from the next flood of insults or preparing himself for whatever test Robotnik seemed fit.

“You would let me hurt you, even kill you – “Robotnik began, hand leisurely being raised before forcefully gripping his face, finger digging into his cheeks. “Because you trust me? Or are you trying to pawn your way into my favor?”

Stone could feel the metal tips slowly being pressed into his flesh, sure to leave several marks or even a bruise when he releases him. Doing the best he could without shaking the doctor off, Stone nodded while trying to smile. Maybe he could just convey it through his ‘big doe eyes’.

He didn’t need to pawn his way into his favor. He probably deserved all the brutality that Robotnik had inflicted on him either way.

No. none of that. He trusted him with his life, even if it meant really little to the doctor.

Stone hoped his eyes were conveying the right message.

Fortunately, Robotnik seemed to understand what Stone was thinking as he hummed with a smile, his brows more relaxed than before. The doctor promptly released Stone and went back to work as if nothing happened.

“I’ll do whatever it takes

Just so you know

This sucker loves you enough

To let you know.”