Infinite POV 3rd person 

Leaving the Resistance base in ashes while successfully finally retrieving the love of his life, made a feeling of high joy rise up in his chest that he couldn’t help but to smile underneath the mask. He had appeared in the laboratory where Eggman was.

“Hello Doctor.”

Though usually his unexpected entrances didn’t faze the scientist, it seemed to have the opposite effect this time as he clearly jumped in his seat; making the jackal snicker at him.

Turning around with a glare on his face, it quickly dissipated as he noticed the knocked out wolf in his arms.

“So you’re the one who destroyed that Resistance base, and you got him while at it.”

“Indeed. I had tried to obtain him earlier today, but was unsuccessful. I made sure to place a tracking device option in the infinity mark during our friendly interactions, just in case something came up that allowed him to escape. It was now a success.”

Grimacing at the term ‘friendly interactions’ as the man knew what he actually meant, he chose to ignore it as he spoke, “Alright, I’ll show you where the inter-dimensional room is. It’s all set up, you just need to decide a few settings before sticking him in.”

“Settings?”

“You’ll see what I mean when we get there. Come on.”

He followed the doctor with a still zonked out Gadget in his arms.

———-

*Gadget POV 3rd person 

Soft blankets shaped around him. That was the first sign. Normally, when he was feeling anything comfortable like this, it was either in that room in Nullspace, or in his dreams as both his room with his adoptive parents, and the hotel, had furnishings with a similar feeling.

A sigh of bliss left him, but knew deep down something wasn’t right. With the warning bells ringing in the corners of his mind, eyelids fluttered as he took in the room. It held wooden walls and laminate floors; giving a cabin in the woods atmosphere. It wasn’t like that one dream he had where Zero was in an office before playing with him and making him come.

Wait…

Shooting up in bed, realization dawned on him as dread filled his core. Infinite trapped him in an illusion. Was this an illusion too? It was hard to tell considering how real it felt. Still, he wasn’t going to know anything by staying in this extremely cozy bed.

Shaking his head, feet dangled before plopping onto the cold floor. He had no clothes on, but saw his glasses and gloves on the side table, while socks and shoes resided close to the door. Everything was put on that was available to him. There was no side bag, trackers, comms or weapons, so all he wore were just the basics.

Creaks sounded slightly as the wolf cautiously opened the door. The hallway was similar to the bedroom; with a few doors dotting each side, and all closed but the one Gadget was peaking out of, and the bathroom that was across the way.

Hm… everything seemed safe enough, but with Zero in mind, he couldn’t be too careful. Light steps trekked as he traveled down the hall. One way led to a dead end, so he exploded the other direction, and saw wood steps leading down.

Where in the world was he??

One foot in front of the other, the wolf slowly made his way down. Reaching the bottom, a clearing laid before him as to the left was a living room with a matching set of a couch, loveseat, and chair, all organized neatly to be stationed in front of a large television with various games and game systems. To the right was the dining area with the kitchen past that; all still giving that wooden cabin feeling.

Dejavu washed over him as Zero, without the metal on his face, was seated at the dining table with a newspaper in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. His gaze shifted from the news to the wolf now standing there on guard; fists raised and ready for action.

Zero laughed at him. “I’m not going to do anything.”

“I trust you as far as I can throw you.” 

Gadget snarled out, upset about the last two encounters they’ve shared. Frowning at that response, the jackal only shrugged his shoulders as he took a sip of his coffee, gaze never wavering from the other.

“Where are we? Another illusion of yours?”

“No.”

Zero merely replied as he finally put the newspaper down that he’d quit reading several minutes ago, and turned his body to face Gadget while still holding his drink in one hand; the change in posture making the other tense up. A smirk grew on his face.

“It’s cute how you think that position would help you if I were to ‘do something’.”

“Shut up Zero.”

“Nah.”

“Grr... I swear to Mobius, I’m gonna punch that stupid smug grin off your face!”

“I like it when you talk aggressively. Tell me more.”

“This isn’t a game!”

“Are you sure? You love playing games.”

“I cannot handle you!”

Feet pounded the ground as Gadget walked towards what looked like the front door. Opening it revealed beautiful lush trees with various types of plant life along with a thick fog from the morning dew. Eyebrow twitching, he slammed the door shut before exploring every section of the house in hopes of finding some kind of hint as to where he was or something useful like a map. Nothing seemed to work out as he found nothing beneficial.

“DAMMIT!!!”

Hearing the shout, Zero almost snorted his drink out as he cackled loudly from his seat. Gadget was back in two seconds flat after that outburst.

“Zero! Where the hell are we?!”

“In Eggman’s base.”

“WHAT!?”

“This is called an inter-dimensional room. I can make it how I want it to be inside, and only I know the way out.” His smirking only became wider as he explained to the dumbfounded and frustrated wolf.

“Are you freaking kidding me!? Let me out Zero!”

“No.”

“You…”

A loud growl interrupted their bickering as Gadget’s face turned the same shade as his fur in both anger and embarrassment from his very noticeable hunger. Laughter rang out as the jackal stood from his seat and went into the kitchen area.

“Sit. I’ll make you something.”

Hesitation filtered on Gadget’s face from the kind gesture. Zero was usually never truly mean to him, except lately due to strongly varying opinions. Still, he was hungry, and there was no point in starving himself...

“I won’t bite. Promise,” Infinite responded to the unspoken uncertainties the Rookie held. 

Letting out a quiet sigh, careful steps were taken until sitting across from Zero’s seat. Once situated, he finally took the chance to really take in the place, verses earlier where he went to look for anything that would help him in a quick manner. All he found were a few bedrooms upstairs with a bathroom, and downstairs the living and dining areas with another restroom and bedroom, and a laundry room that connected to a screened outdoor porch; all rooms bare except with the basic essentials.

The walls were empty, void of any pictures or artwork. Only thing going on was the beautiful architecture of the wood creating gorgeous walls and floors. Even the house had a scent of freshly cut wood and a slight honey smell wafting through the air. It was a wonderful home. Too bad the circumstances weren’t better, and that this was Eggman’s base. It would have been a great vacation spot.

A light tap on the table broke his concentration as he pulled away from the cabin to see scrambled eggs on a plate in front of him. Steam rising from the newly made food along with the delightful smell had his mouth watering. 

But before that, Gadget looked to see Zero placing a glass of water by the plate for him. Despite everything, even though he was still mad at Zero, he couldn’t ignore the kindness. Glancing up at the jackal, he gave a smile.

“Thank you Zero.”

White muzzle tinted pink before a hand patted his head softly.

“You’re welcome. Enjoy,” walking away, he sat back in his seat, across from Gadget’s, “There’s coffee in the pot on the counter if you want some. Sugar is next to the pot and I have a few creamers in the fridge. I wasn’t sure if you liked coffee or what kind you’d like if you did.”

Oh right. Gadget hadn’t started drinking coffee until right after turning sixteen. In his dream, he’d had coffee with Zero at the hotel, but that never happened in real life, so of course Zero would have no idea if Gadget liked coffee or not. It was really strange to make those comparisons. Shaking his head, he decided not to give that another thought. Currently, he was stuck here, and about to eat the breakfast made for him, so may as well make some conversation.

“What kind of coffee do you like?”

Surprise filtered on the jackal, clearly not expecting the wolf to start chatting with him. During that moment, Gadget took a bite of the eggs and a gleeful face was made. Smiling dearly, Zero complied and answered the question.

“Straight black. Usually the stronger the better,” that response earned him a disgusted look, making him chuckle, “I’m guessing you’re not a fan?”

“Uck no. I like lots of creamer in mine.”

Holding a humored grin, Zero inquired, “Want me to get you a cup?”

“I’ll get some in a minute. I figured I’d eat first. I don’t want the food to get cold. If I have coffee in front of me, I’ll just end up drinking that and not eat.”

“Heh, how are the eggs?”

“They’re really good. Thank you.”

Silence seemed to stretch after that small talk. It’s not that Gadget didn’t want to talk, because honestly the quiet was bothering him a bit, but he just didn’t know what to say. Zero was probably in the same boat as him. Things have been kind of hectic and strained between them, so neither had much idea of how to interact with the other.

Once the food was finished, Gadget stood from his seat before going to wash the used dishes in the sink. Plate, glass, and silverware now in the drying rack, he decided to go for that cup of coffee. Next to the pot was a red cup with ‘Gadget’ ingrained in cursive gold lettering. It was, very sweet.

“You said you had a jackal squad right?”

Gadget broke the silence as his back was turned and he worked on pouring a cup of coffee for himself; once more surprising Zero, but yet again, he answered the question. 

“Yes, I did.”

“Would you mind if I asked about them? What were they like?”

He now turned towards the jackal, cup in hand, but had not budged as he wanted to listen before grabbing the creamer from the fridge. Zero wasn’t looking at him, but more the table, as he answered soberly.

“They were really good friends. I confess I wasn’t the best leader, but they didn’t care. They were so stupid, and stupidly loyal… There were four of them. There was Ben, who wore a green headband. I think I mentioned him before when telling you about when I disappeared. He was so obnoxious, but I’d say I was the closest with him. 

“Then there was his older sister Kia. She had an attitude on her, but was excellent in her job and always knew what she was doing. Kevin was the airheaded one of the group, but made for good laughs. And finally, Gervais. He was our genius and tech guy. A super nerd really. I feel like he would have liked you a lot.”

Amber eyes grew wide as Zero spoke, unknowing to the jackal who reminisced about the past. Those names, those descriptions. It was exactly the same as his dream. How is this possible? How could he have possibly dreamed of Mobians that he never met before, and be completely accurate with the real life versions. Some differences are possible, but to have names to each one be the same as in real life? There’s no way. How…??

*CRASH*

Due to the utter shock of it all, Gadget had accidentally dropped his cup, causing it to shatter on the ground; snapping both out of their distracted thoughts. Zero was next to him in an instant before gently pulling Gadget away from the broken glass and spilled coffee on the floor.

“Gadget!” Zero examined the wolf’s muzzle and then his hands and arms, “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah…” he replied apologetically, “I’m sorry. It just slipped.”

“I don’t care about the damn cup. Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“...No, I’m fine.”

Tiny red squares suddenly appeared and seemed to be scanning Gadget from top to bottom. Puzzled, he asked, “What…?”

“I’m checking to make sure no glass got in your fur.”

“Oh.”

The scanning didn’t last long before the cubes instantly disappeared and a sigh of relief left the jackal. A gloveless black furred hand cupped Gadget’s cheek, making his face slightly flushed from both the action and the expression Zero held.

“Good. You’re not hurt.”

“S-Sorry,” Gadget mumbled, feeling guilty.

“Don’t be. Accidents happen. I was just worried about you.” That comment made Gadget blush even more. Why did he have to be such a sucker for Zero? “How about you sit and relax in the living room? You can pick out a movie or play a game while I clean this up.”

“But I made the mess. I…”

Fingers touched his lips, shushing him, “Let me. My power can easily clean it up, and I don’t want you cutting your fingers or anything. So please, go relax. I’ll join you shortly.”

“Okay…”

With no further arguments, Gadget retreated to the living room. Sitting on the floor, he looked through the array of dvds that lay scattered along the television’s base. It was kind of amusing that Zero seemed so concerned over broken glass considering they duked it out yesterday over the war. But, even he figured out the other had been going easy on him, and felt genuinely bad when scratching his face with the tip of his sword.

This whole situation was really no surprise. Not the glass thing, but being here in general. He lost the battle yesterday, and now here he was, locked up once more. Zero was determined, and he barely escaped him the last two times. Eventually, knowing Zero’s stubbornness, he figured he’d get captured, but hoped maybe it wouldn’t come down to this. His anger from before breakfast greatly subsided, and all he could do was wait for now until an opportunity presented itself, and hoped that nothing bad would happen until then.

“Find anything?”

Flinching, Gadget swirled around to see Zero standing right behind him while giving an amused expression. With a slight pout mixed with a glare, Gadget crossed his arms as he replied, “Not yet.”

Sitting next to him, Zero grinned, “Let’s both look.”

Legs brushed as Zero reached over for a stack of movies to search through. Feeling shy, Gadget tried to ignore the burn in his muzzle as he also took a stack and began his quest to find a film. Knowing Zero, he’d probably like action, or maybe adventure. Comedy is not a bad option either...

…

Ugh! This was so awkward! 

He then noticed a copy of Maria Kart. Picking it up, memories went back to his teenage years when he and his siblings would race each other every Friday night while playing this during family night. Those were some of the most enjoyable activities during family time on Friday evenings. He missed those nights.

“Do you want to play?”

Thoughts disrupted, Gadget looked at Zero, whom gave him a warm expression. How could he be such an ass yesterday, but sweet as could be today? He didn’t know, but he felt his heart float as he stared deeply into those different colored eyes; feeling himself falling for him all over again, not that he ever really got over Zero.

As if sensing the mood change, Zero gave him an odd look. One hand was placed on Gadget’s that held the game, and leaned forward. It was careful, as if afraid to scare away the timid wolf, but Gadget had not budged. Warnings screamed in his mind to run, but he just didn’t. Maybe it was the longing he held in his heart for the other male, or maybe he was too forgiving. He didn’t know.

Lips softly touched his.

“Mmm.” 

A small happy noise left the Rookie at the sweet contact. The game case was dropped as fingers intertwined and the jackal shifted closer, still cautious in his movements. It was soon over as Gadget held a bit of an adorable, glazed over face; causing a quiet chuckle to be heard.

“You’re always so cute.”

Tan muzzle brightened, “Shut up.”

“Heh. So, do you wanna play that game?”

“Huh?” Was questioned before the lightbulb to earliers conversation went off, “Oh! Sure.”

Setting up the game was done in a flash before the duo began to race one another on the television screen, quickly forgetting he was a prisoner and just letting himself relax for now until he knew what he should do next.