Summary: Tao gets a response he doesn't expect.

So I've been catching up with the new season and guess who got to chapter 407. 8D Oooh my god, my favourite chapter in a while, heh.

Pace the Night

By Dark Ice Dragon

Talk

Tao hummed as he ran his fingers through M-21's hair, who sighed every time he did that. Tao just grinned. M-21's hair had a static feeling to it when he went instinctual and M-21 calmed down whenever he did that -it was probably like grooming to him- so it was a win-win situation, really: Tao got to play with M-21's hair, and M-21 didn't wander off anywhere and got in trouble when he was least able to deal with it. Not that M-21 did that; he tended to stick close to the people he was familiar with when he was instinctual, but with how their life was, it was way better to be safe than sorry.

Tao nudged the ball the puppy had brought back to him with his feet, watching it zoom across the living room floor. The puppy chased after it in a clatter of paws, skidding to a stop right before running head first into the wall. He picked it up in his jaws and bounded back, tail wagging.

Tao grinned at the puppy, reaching down to pet him between the ears with his free hand. "Who's a good boy, huh?" It had taken a while, but the puppy was finally able to play fetch without M-21 acting as the middle-wolf between them. The puppy barked, dancing on his paws, and Tao sent the ball across the floor again, snickering.

"I'm..." Tao blinked, and looked over at M-21. "A good boy...?"

"M?" He lifted his hand away from M-21's hair. "You back?"

M-21 raised his head and Tao frowned. His eyes were pale and his pupils slitted. That, and his hair was still standing up like it usually did when he was transformed and instinctual.

"Hng." M-21 nuzzled Tao's shoulder.

He was acting like he was still instinctual. "Heeey, M?"

"...Yeah?"

His voice was lower than usual, rougher. Like he was saying it from deep in his chest, and there was a hint of a growl there too. M-21 was acting slower too, like he was dreaming or had been drugged.

"How're you feeling?"

"Feeling..." M-21 tilted his head, breathing deeply. "Okay?"

Maybe this was the next step to M-21's transformation, being able to think while he was instinctual?

It would definitely help with upcoming fights — M-21 was powerful in his transformed state, but he left himself too open when he attacked.

"All right," Tao said, starting to run his fingers through M-21's hair again and M-21 exhaled. "I'm just gonna tell Boss, okay?"

"Okay."

Tao unlocked his phone. [hey boss~ can u come up for a sec~? i think m needs a check up~ its not serious~ i think~ \^^/]

It only took a few seconds to get a reply. [I'll be up in a moment.]

"Boss'll be here soon," Tao told M-21, distracting the puppy with his ball.

"Something wrong...?" There was a frown starting to form on M-21's face.

"I hope not!" Tao grinned. "Boss'll be able to know for sure." If anyone knew if this was a bad sign, it was Boss.

Boss walked into the living room a few minutes later like he said he would, his labcoat off.

"Boss!" Tao waved and Boss nodded to him as he came over.

M-21 shifted to look. "Boss?" He frowned, studying Boss.

"Frankenstein," Boss said, and M-21's expression cleared. "How are you feeling?"

The pause this time was shorter. "Fine."

That sounded more like M-21, though his face was still a little too blank for Tao's liking.

"How long has he been like this?" Frankenstein asked, reaching over to press the back of his fingers to M-21's forehead. M-21 closed his eyes and sighed, leaning into the touch.

"Just since I texted you."

M-21 opened his eyes when Boss took his hand away and his eyes were still pale.

"I see." Boss smiled, nudging the ball the puppy had dropped at his feet. "There's nothing to worry about; he's no longer being overwhelmed by the transformation, so he's regaining control over himself during it."

Tao perked up. "He is? That's great!" He wrapped an arm around M-21's shoulders, hugging him.

"Nn? Hm." M-21 nuzzled Tao's shoulder.

"Heh, you're leaving us in the dust again," Tao said, chuckling. "Once Takeo's back from shopping, we're gonna train even harder!"

"Don't strain yourself," Boss said, his voice wry.

Tao snapped out a salute. "We won't." He would make sure of it — there was no point if they set themselves back trying to go forward.