Summary: M-21 wakes up in an alley with no idea how he got there.

Pace the Night

By Dark Ice Dragon

Midnight Run

M-21's eyes fluttered open, feeling pavement underneath his cheek. Where...? He was on the street, obviously. With no shirt, or shoes.

He kept still, keeping his breathing as even as possible as he listened. A light breeze, cars in the distance. No sound of fighting, no burning or car alarms. No-one breathing close to him.

There was no ache in his body that said he'd healed from wounds, so why...? Exhaling, M-21 risked it and raised his head.

He was alone.

Frowning, M-21 got to his feet, looking around him to make sure. He was in a dimly lit alley; the only thing that moved was a piece of litter that fluttered out of view.

Maybe he'd been unconscious for so long he'd healed up completely. Then the others... His lips thinned, and he patted himself down.

No phone, of course. But he did have his wallet. Good. If he could find a place that sold phones at...whatever time of night it was. He sighed and looked up at the sky.

...Tao was going to have a fucking field day.

There was a full moon hanging above his head.

He groaned, already hearing what Tao was going to say. But if he had gone instinctual because of the moon's phase rather than a fight, that meant the others were all right.

He would feel better after he checked.

M-21 jumped up to the rooftops, looking for the more brightly lit areas. There had to be one place open that sold phones around here.

xOx

The wind had picked up by the time M-21 had bought a new phone (the cashier had stared at him, but M-21 was used to it — he was more worried about standing out and being remembered for that) and he stood on the rooftop of the closest building as he dialled Tao's number. He'd had to input it so many times into a new phone he'd memorised the damn thing.

He frowned when it rung three times and kept going. It was four in the morning, but Tao usually picked up as soon as his phone started ringing. Were they in a fight? He scanned the city again but couldn't see any trace of one.

"Hello?"

Tao didn't sound hurt. A small smile flickered across M-21's lips before he replied. "It's me." It was too risky to say his name over the call.

There was a brief pause. "M?"

"Yeah."

"So...you're not in bed, huh?"

M-21 could hear some movement in the background, as well as the clack of a keyboard. "No. Is everyone safe?"

"Hn..." The creak of a floorboard. This was usually around the time Tao picked up a midnight snack, so if Tao had gone back to his room to get his pocket computer... "You went out through the window?" Tao was checking if he was who he said he was.

"I have no idea," M-21 said with a sigh, pursing his lips. "I don't know how I got here-" Wherever 'here' was. "-but someone would have stopped me if I'd tried to go out the front door."

"Oh!" Tao's spluttered laughter, and there was the warmth in his voice M-21 was used to. "I meant that's exactly what you did. Your window's still open."

"Good to know," M-21 muttered.

"Hey, M?"

"Yeah?"

"Did ya know it's the full moon tonight?"

"...Yeah." He had a clear view of it.

"Juuust checking." There was a few more taps of the keyboard. "What're ya doing in Chuncheon?"

That's where he was? "I have no fucking idea."

"Okay, okay, head south west," Tao said, humming. "It won't take ya long to get back to Seoul, but keep a hold of your phone, just in case."

M-21 nodded. "See you when I get back."

"Mmhm! I'll warm something up for ya."

M-21 huffed, a smile curving his lips. That sounded nice to return home to.

Prompted by Prettymuchobsessive, who asked for 'Come pick me up, please' and M-21.