After Agent Stone completes his takeover of the Mean Bean, he finds a surprising way to keep Robotnik close as he waits for his return. It all has to do with his new lackey employee.
Agent Stone x Reader
Agent Stone has given up trying to make you quit. It’s a pointless waste of time as none of his schemes have done anything to dampen your enthusiasm for making coffee. He nitpicks. He nags. He’s polite but poisonous. He gives you the worst hours, making you open and close the shop more often than not. He makes you interact with the rude customers and rarely provides backup. Yet no matter what he does, you always greet him with a bright smile in the morning and work tirelessly even through the tough conditions.
He’d taken over the Mean Bean in under a week, exactly as quickly as he knew he would. It was easy, like taking candy from a baby. Everything went according to plan except for you. You were insignificant to him so he felt no need to dispense of you like the others. You’re a hard worker and always reliable. You don’t talk much and take every criticism with an infuriating grace. By all accounts he should be grateful for a lackey to take care of the petty responsibilities that he has no time for. But you’ve wormed your way under his skin and your presence has started to become a distraction. You're a distraction he cannot afford if he is to have everything prepared for Robotnik’s return.
He should just fire you. He doesn’t know why he doesn’t. It’s not like he cares about your employment. There are plenty of other jobs in this sleepy boring town. Every night as he works on his tech, he imagines how he’s going to do it the next day. You’ll show up and he’ll send you straight home without a wave. Just a blank smile that’s perfunctory at best.
But then he remembers that he’s already two weeks ahead of schedule because your hard work means he has more time to take care of what’s really important. He can sneak away on his breaks and tinker. You handle all the closing responsibilities with care so he has more time in the evenings. He can even begrudgingly admit that your lattes are passable. So, every morning he greets you and every morning he pushes you a little harder.
You remind him of himself in a way.
Which means he reminds himself of…
Maybe he keeps you around because it’s a way to keep the Doctor close. After all, imitation is the highest form of flattery. He dares not compare himself to someone as great as the Doctor. But he can keep his spirit alive to help Stone cope until his Doctor returns.
Another sun rises.
“Good morning!” You greet him in the morning but he quickly notices the anxiety coursing through you. He cocks his head, smile going from polite to slightly sharp. He doesn’t have time for this. A badnik had blown a fuse last night due to a small miscalculation on his part and the disappointment in himself has turned into a pounding headache.
“Good morning. I assume you’ve completed all of your opening chores.” He replies blankly. He notices a slight beading of sweat at your temples as you laugh nervously.
“About that, there was a slight error when ordering supplies. We only got half of the usual amount of Austrian goat milk in this morning’s shipment so we…might run out if we’re busy enough. But I found a health food store half an hour away that sells it so if you’d allow me to…” You don’t have time to finish your sentence before he’s advancing. It’s autopilot really, it’s not his footsteps stomping over and it’s not him that’s guiding his hand. It’s as if he’s possessed, like the only way Robotnik will return to him is through invading his body to reach the mortal plane. Because before he can process it, his fingers have hooked themselves into your jaw and tugged you forward.
His heart pounds as you lock eyes. Your expression is wide-eyed and shocked. Your tongue presses against the pads of his fingers. His nose brushes yours. At that moment, he doesn’t see you. He sees a mirror reflection. The voice that comes out of his mouth isn’t his but one he's replayed in his head on constant repeat since the first time they met.
“You know what it’s like being the smartest person in this town?” He asks, familiar words flowing out of him like water.
You don’t reply. You just keep staring at him and it doesn’t escape his notice that your pupils have blown wide. You’re trembling and it fuels his ego. He gives you a little shake and your mouth closes around his fingers shamelessly. Stone suddenly feels hot under his collar as he glares at you.
Is this what he looked like? Is this how the Doctor felt?
“It’s not rhetorical. Answer me.” He sneers with a dangerous smile and your eyes flutter for a moment.
You answer but your mumbles are unintelligible with his fingers practically shoved down your throat. But it sounds close enough to what he wants so he slips his fingers out and wipes his spit covered hand on your apron. Your heart thunders in your chest so hard that he feels it.
“You have exactly an hour to be back with the supplies. I trust you have enough brain cells left to complete that task so we can open on time.” He looks down at you.
“Yes Boss!” You exclaim eagerly even though by all rights you should have slapped him and quit on the spot. Yet, you grab your keys and run to your car and wave at him as you drive to your task. He immediately runs to slip on the gloves so he can track you with the bug he left on your car. You stay right on target as you speed to the store.
“Good job Stone.”
A proud ghostly voice echoes in his ears. His heart soars.
“Thank you Doctor.”
Stone decides that he’ll be keeping you around after all.
