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Zero and Shadow were sparring. And in the other corner of the training facility, Silver and Gadget were sparring, too.
After a few minutes, Gadget won (Silver let him win, obviously, since the sterling hedgehog could always just tear the Wispon out of Gadget's hands in a real no-holds-barred fight), and so they went to the other "arena" to watch Zero and Shadow spar.
It was always a treat to watch Shadow spar (with anyone, but especially Zero, who had a personal reason to keep fighting Shadow). His movements were so graceful, his punches and dodges so perfectly timed. With the jackal having a real reason to fight Shadow, this meant that both competitors were at their peak, with rarely a moment to breathe between dodges and punches and kicks.
Silver allowed his mind to wander, thinking of when Zero first joined the Resistance ranks, the month after the war...
"Why do we spar?" Knuckles asked. He was standing in the front of a group of new soldiers. There were some seasoned soldiers there too, like Silver himself, but it was mostly orientation for the new guys. He picked on one specific jackal in the front row.
Zero had been so glad to join the Resistance following his death, "resurrection", and healing from his chest wound. He said it was something about getting revenge on Eggman or whatever, but in reality, he just wanted to make it seem less likely that he could have been Infinite. "To keep our skills sharp?"
"Exactly. If we have to get into a fight, we need to be ready, no matter when the fight starts." Knuckles smiled and turned to Silver. "Shadow, Silver, would you mind demonstrating how a sparring match works?"
Silver and the aforementioned black hedgehog got up from where they were sitting and stepped into the makeshift arena. Shadow started first. "You start by standing on a spot. You stand across from your sparring partner."
It was Silver's turn to speak. "If you move before you're given the signal to start, you have to go back to the starting spot. As soon as you're given the signal..."
Knuckles blew his whistle, and the two hedgehogs rushed at each other.
Silver smiled. "You fight."
Knuckles piped up. "Usually, a sparring match between two seasoned fighters will take up to 10 minutes. However, for the sake of demonstration, would one of you please take a fall?"
Silver decided he would do it-- he was better at pratfalls anyways. He pretended not to dodge one of Shadow's punches, and took a flying fall to the mat. Shadow ran over to him and stood over him. Silver looked up at Shadow, hiding something on his face.
Knuckles piped up. "When one of you has been knocked to the mat, and are in a position where you can't get up, the match is over, and the soldier still standing is the winner." He turned back to the group of recruits. "Now, usually, we pair new soldiers with each other. After all, you won't get better at sparring if you're constantly losing. That being said, there are an odd number of you." He smiled. "Luckily, one of you," looking straight at Zero, "has been requested as a sparring partner by a certain soldier. The rest of you will be paired off in twos."
Zero blushed slightly as he got up and walked over to Knuckles. "Who wants to spar with me?"
Knuckles smiled, and simply pointed over to where a certain red wolf was sitting. "He does."
Of course, his boyfriend would want him as a sparring partner. Who else?
They got into the arena, standing across from each other as Shadow and Silver had done. The other recruits took their places in their sparring arenas, and Knuckles called out "ready?" When most of the answers came back positive, he smiled. "Then begin!" He blew the whistle.
Immediately, the jackal and the wolf got to fighting. As much as Gadget hated to admit it, his boyfriend wasn't as bad of a fighter as he thought. Eventually, Zero had pinned Gadget to the wall, with an arm on either side of his head.
It was at about that time that Gadget realized how vulnerable he was in that position, and he couldn't help but blush. Of course, Zero then saw how powerful the situation made him, and he blushed. The two lovers looked at each other, neither able to break the stare and get back to fighting. Zero finally gathered enough willpower to come in for a quick peck, but in doing so, he accidentally freed Gadget's hands. Big mistake.
You see, while Zero had intended for a quick peck, to lighten the tension, Gadget wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and refused to let go. As such, what was originally a quick peck quickly became an impromptu make-out session. There was tongue. It was passionate.
Eventually, they broke for air, only to hear a certain sterling hedgehog clear his throat, speaking in a hushed tone. "If you two are done eating each other's faces, I believe you have a sparring match to continue."
Before Gadget could even react, Zero gave him a quick peck and immediately hopped to his feet, standing over Gadget as Shadow had stood over Silver in the example sparring match.
Silver grinned. "I'd call that a win in style."
Zero smirked, looking down to see his boyfriend, who was currently an absolute mess. He wasn't sure Gadget even knew where he was at the moment, but he leaned down. "How's it feel to lose to a rookie?"
Gadget smiled back. "Pretty good, since that means I'm not the rookie anymore."
Ever since then, to prevent a repeat of that event happening, Gadget sparred with Silver, and Zero sparred with Shadow. That way, neither of them were tempted to make out with their sparring partner after simply pinning them to the wall. While Silver and Gadget were a bit laid back in their sparring matches, Zero and Shadow were all-out brawling.
Speaking of Zero and Shadow, Silver came back to consciousness just in time to watch Shadow land a devastating punch to Zero's jaw, sending the jackal sprawling to the mat. Shadow stood over him, and Knuckles declared the sparring match over. Silver's brow furrowed. "That didn't look good..."
Gadget looked at Silver, seemingly shocked to hear the hedgehog speak. "Welcome back to the land of the living. Where were you?"
Silver thought for a second, and then smirked. "Thinking back to that time you and Zero made out instead of sparring."
Gadget's face immediately went as red as his fur, before burying his face in his gloves. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"
Silver smiled. "Nope! Talk about 'make love not war'." He paused, giving Gadget a second to catch his breath as his blush intensified. "Now, let's go get your boyfriend checked out."