Phew, sorry! I didn't meet my goal of getting this chapter up by Friday. I got sidetracked with birthday and Christmas stuff but I've finished it over the weekend and here you go. A new chapter in which Infinite tries to go full edgelord and fails miserably.
Gadget ditched Sonic and Tails easily with the excuse that he had to be home to meet the plumber. Tails still wasn't buying it and let him know with his eyes. Sonic probably wasn't buying it but waved him goodbye and told him to enjoy his restored hot water. They didn't follow him when he took off via grappling gun, which was just as well because instead of going home he headed to the hospital. He went straight up to the coronary care ward, a route that he had committed to memory by now so it was almost sad to know that he might never come up this way again. After signing in he took his visitor tag and went straight to Infinite's bed, hoping the jackal would be in it today and not planning some form of escape. He stepped into the ward and if he had been less attentive he might have bumped straight into the person trying to exit. Gadget and Infinite stared at each other, one with a dropped jaw, the other looking a bit disoriented.
"Uh, is this part of being discharged?" Gadget asked. "Are we going somewhere?"
Infinite growled. "No. You're leaving. And I'm leaving. But we're leaving differently."
"I think you need to sit down," Gadget said, pushing Infinite back to bed gently. By now it didn't surprise him that the jackal stumbled back easily.
"No. They told me I could leave, so I'm going," Infinite argued, grabbing Gadget's wrists. His grip was weaker than ever before. After a week in bed with painkillers and other meds pumping around his systems Infinite had no strength left to put up a resistance and Gadget easily led him back to his bed and pushed him to sit on it.
"You and I both know that you wouldn't make it down the street in your condition," Gadget told him calmly. "Just sit here and wait for the doctor."
"Need I remind you again that you have no right to be here," Infinite said bitterly. "Not that it matters evidently, you and your resistance forest friends seem content to do whatever you please with me."
Gadget gulped. He had to remind himself that Infinite was just high and didn't actually know about the conversation that happened earlier that day. "I'm not gonna let them do that," he mumbled.
Infinite's ears twitched. They were so large Gadget was certain there was no way he didn't hear that but he didn't reply immediately. He just stared at the red wolf through two mismatched eyes, one scarred and less vibrant than the other. Gadget really wanted to ask what happened to it but knew their relationship hadn't broached that boundary yet.
"Why don't you listen to me?" Infinite finally asked. Gadget's eyebrows rose, not expecting a question phrased like that.
"I do! It's just… what you're saying right now isn't sensible," Gadget replied.
Infinite stared some more, looking as though he didn't quite understand the answer. But he left it too long and didn't get the chance to reply because the vet walked in with a peppy greeting that took both of their attentions. She looked from one to the other, very pleased with the circumstance.
"I'm glad you haven't left," Simone said, talking mainly to Infinite, "because there's a bit of ground we need to cover before you're officially discharged regarding management of your recovery. Thank-you for coming, Mr. Gadget, you can take a seat if you like."
She set a cardboard binder down on the bed table, revealing that she'd been carrying an armful of items that, as far as Gadget could tell, were mostly comprised of an intimidating amount of medicine boxes. Gadget pulled the bedside chair out to sit down, staying deliberately close to Infinite. In case he bolts, he told himself. Simone wiggled the binder out from under the boxes and opened it up before beginning her explanation:
"So, despite a low level of cooperation over the past few days, you have healed remarkably well following your surgery. I'm a little baffled but nonetheless my professional opinion is that you are fit to continue your treatment at home. However, there are quite a few instructions I need you to follow since the nature of your surgery involves a very long healing process and your specific condition is a bit complicated. First off, you'll probably be in quite a lot of pain in the coming weeks so I've prescribed some oral pain medication." She lifted one of the boxes, showing Gadget and Infinite the brand name and the sticker with her instructions. "It's technically optional but you'll probably want it. You can take 1 to 2 every 4 to 6 hours and no more than 6 pills in a 24 hour period. I also recommend you purchase a sternum support device at the pharmacy on the ground floor.
"The next medication is unfortunately compulsory. The tear in your vena cava couldn't be fixed surgically nor did it need to be but while it heals you'll have to take this injectable anticoagulant," she put down the painkillers and picked up a large yellow box. "You'll need to inject once a day every day for the next 12 weeks and I must stress that while you are on the anticoagulant most over-the-counter pain medications are off limits. I've put a list of appropriate pain relief medicines in with the rest of your instructions.
"Lastly, I'd also like you to take these beta-blockers to lower your heart rate while your heart recovers. Take 1 pill once daily. With all your daily medications, make sure that you take them at roughly the same time each day but don't worry if you forget your instructions. All of the boxes have the instructions printed on them. I just need to relay them out loud to make sure that you understand them without a shadow of doubt."
Infinite remained silent and looked away in disinterest while Gadget took a deep, daunted breath. "That's a lot of meds…"
"It's actually not too bad. Most patients who undergo heart surgery need more extensive drug treatments but since Mr Jackal has a healthy weight and doesn't have worrying blood pressure levels we were able to tone it back a little. Maintaining that will help with recovery as well, so eat a healthy diet and try to do some light exercise every day starting as soon as possible. Under no circumstances are you to do any strenuous activity for at least the next six weeks, don't drive and don't lift anything heavier than 2 kilograms."
Despite the firm instruction, Simone didn't sound chiding. She leafed through the papers in the folder. "The instructions are also duplicated in these documents, as well as your follow up appointments."
"I'm not coming back here," Infinite grumbled.
"You don't have to but if that's the case you'll have to sign a waiver acknowledging that you're refusing recommended medical care."
"Where do I sign?"
Gadget smacked him in the arm in annoyance. He'd only meant for it to be a light hit but Infinite cringed and hissed as his arm jerked against his torso. Simone frowned.
"And no roughhousing," she reprimanded. "I didn't think I'd have to say that."
Gadget's ears folded back guiltily. "Sorry… but you're coming to the appointments," he said to Infinite.
"Normally, we'd have a nurse go out to check on you once a week," Simone continued, "but since you refuse to give us an address, the weekly check-ups will be hosted here as well as appointments with me to assess your recovery progress. Our first appointment will be in 15 days." She pulled out a sheet of paper with a line highlighted in yellow to emphasise the time and date of the appointment.
"Sounds good," Gadget said, voice not as optimistic as his words. It was a lot to take in. "Anything else we should know, Dr Hai?"
"That just about covers all bases," Simone replied, putting the paper away again. "I'll need to show you how to use and dispose of the injectable properly and then go through some more of these documents with you. After that, you can put your shoes and gloves back on and you're free to go."
She smiled brightly at Infinite. He scowled back. Suddenly the wolf beside him grabbed his wrist in a gentle hold, getting him to turn. Gadget gave Infinite what he hoped was a reassuring grin that promised everything would be okay and he'd look out for the jackal but instead of relaxing Infinite curled his lip at him. Gadget gulped, letting go of him and looking away. He instead focussed on Simone's hands as she picked up a dummy injector and demonstrated how it worked and where to inject, not daring to look at Infinite's face again for the rest of the appointment. Perhaps this was a bad idea after all.
Just a little over half an hour later, the two finally emerged from the hospital with Infinite back in his signature hi-tops and leather gloves but the menacing style was diminished by the large patch of week old fuzz that barely concealed pale skin and a large scar underneath. Gadget stayed close behind him, carrying a large white paper bag as one would carry the groceries, only instead of groceries he was carrying drugs, medical supplies, and paperwork.
"Is there any place in particular you'd like to go to?" Gadget asked. "I can walk you there. Pity you can't have any exhilarating experiences for the time being, otherwise I could have taken you by grappling gun. It's really fun," he said, trying to keep the mood light.
Suddenly Infinite stopped, causing Gadget to nearly bump into him. He stared at the jackal's back, wondering what was up as he stood silently for a few seconds. Then a low growl came from his throat that had all of Gadget's primal instincts scream at him to run.
"You're disgusting."
Gadget blinked. The remark hurt like a stab to the chest but he had no idea what had brought it on. He bit his lip, mulling over whether he should ask or just remain silent on the matter when Infinite elaborated on his own:
"Back there... where do you get off touching me like that? You're acting like we're boyfriends but I don't want you anywhere near me."
Gadget stammered in astonishment but didn't get a sentence out. He hadn't thought about it like that. Back in the resistance and even in the days before then physical banter like that was normal if a little painful, especially with the resistance since many of its members had varying degrees of super strength. A bump here, a hand on an arm or shoulder, a tender look, those things were given out freely, mostly by one particular blue blur. Gadget had internalised it as friendship—that's just how friends let each other know they cared—but apparently Infinite thought of it as intimacy. The realisation made him blush.
"Sorry..." he finally mumbled.
"Hmph. Do whatever you want with that junk," Infinite grumbled, waving his hand dismissively at the bag. "This is where we part ways."
He began to walk away. Gadget's jaw dropped, watching him go. It took a few seconds but he managed to come back to his senses and run after him.
"W-wait!" Gadget exclaimed, jogging a bit to catch up with his head start.
"Why are you following me? We're done."
"I promised Dr Hai that I'd take care of you. I'm not going back on it just like that."
"Of course, only your own word matters to you." Infinite walked on.
"What do you mean?" Gadget demanded, keeping up with his long strides.
"You know what I mean but you don't want to admit it to yourself." He stopped abruptly again and turned around, looming over Gadget in such close proximity due to the red wolf having nearly collided with the guy he was following. "You're selfish in your righteousness. You believe now that you've won that victory was the proof of your higher ground. So now you have the right to impose yourself on any decision that strays from your vision of what the world ought to be. I have told you enough times by now that your presence and your help is unwanted and yet you persist, frustrated to find that the puppet you inherited from the mad scientist doesn't have any strings after all. Your desperation to control this situation is pathetic."
Gadget shrank away with his tail tucked. In a way, this was the thing he hated the most about Infinite even when he had near-unlimited powers; he had a way of searching for the worst things to say to make one feel at their lowest. 'Selfish' struck a nail in his belly and 'pathetic' hammered it in. The old fear crept in again, familiar despite the stakes being much lower. The jackal hovered over him, talking down from high while everything below wavered, wobbled, and eventually burned out of existence. Gadget felt like he did back then too. It would be easy to run away and let Infinite think whatever he wanted because hurt like that was hard to fight back against but it wasn't right to let it go.
"No... you're wrong," Gadget replied, trying to make his voice bigger than the whisper it wanted to be. Infinite raised an eyebrow. "I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing this for you. The way I see it, the path you want to take only goes one way and it's hopeless. You'll die down there and then you'll feel sad for yourself thinking about how you were right all along and nobody cares about you but you're wrong because I care and so many people have already died so far and I'm not letting anybody else join that list!"
He'd shut his eyes to hide himself from the reality of what he was doing, who he was berating. It made shouting the words out a little easier and when he opened them he was shocked by how the sides had switched. Infinite seemed smaller than before. The tip of his tail wagged slightly at his ankles while Gadget's had risen to its highest and fluffiest point. Many of the passersby and those loitering a bit beyond the hospital entrance to smoke had turned to stare at him. He took a step back and coughed awkwardly.
"So, uh, yeah... war's over, no more dying."
Infinite glared at him critically but didn't bite back with a response. His tail was still lowered, which indicated to Gadget a few possible reasons for the silence. It remained down as he turned away with a gruff huff and continued to walk but upon stepping on a moderately sized hole in the pavement he stumbled hard. The world tilted blurrily. He'd thought he was over the meds but apparently not as his body was too sluggishly responding to every function his brain put out. They were all rendered obsolete when a warm bastion of stability pushed against his side, holding him steady by the waist. Any comfort he might have felt was overwhelmed by the excruciating pain in his chest. He tried to breathe through it but that was just making it worse.
"You may not want it but you clearly need it." Infinite looked down at the red wolf under his arm. Gadget smiled back at him and stood up to help him back to his feet. "I've committed to be here for you so I might as well see it through. There might not be any buses or trains running yet but maybe there's a taxi 'round here? It's probably not a good idea for you to walk all the way to my place."
"Who said we're going to your place?"
Gadget gawked at him in surprise. "You have somewhere else in mind?"
"Just one..."