Summary: Developing trust takes time.

Contains Takeo/Tao.

Set after chapter 143.

Written as a parallels treat for Kiyutsuna.

So this is what I've been working on for the past month. :) There are four parts to this, and I'll be updating on Fridays and Tuesday.

Developing Trust

By Dark Ice Dragon

Takeo couldn't sleep. He stared at the wall of 'his' room, lying in bed with one hand under his pillow. His gun (or rather, the gun Frankenstein had given him) was there, and he rested a finger on the trigger guard. It was quiet to his ears and had been for a while; he could only hear the occasional gusts of wind outside the window. The phantom pain in his body twinged but that wasn't what was keeping him up.

After being in the DA-5 for so long, it was strange not to hear other people's breathing or anything else: Shark sharpening his daggers, the shrill scrape piercing the air over and over again; Hammer opening a new bag of food, the sound of his chewing and the bag rustling when he reached for another handful filling the room. Tao tapping on his laptop to a beat only he could hear.

Takeo pursed his lips, exhaling. He and Tao were alive. That was what was important. Teira… She was alive too. Not in danger so long as the Union thought he was dead.

And he could have been if he'd continued using the D drug. His gaze was drawn towards where he'd kept Frankenstein's version of the drug. Had the man really been able to remake a better version in a few hours? Takeo was tempted to test it, but he and Tao only had a limited supply and as Frankenstein had disappeared, they couldn't renew it.

He sighed, turning onto his back. If the pills hadn't killed them, then Krans would have and - shit. Their entire existence was to power Krans that was it. All their gains had been for his benefit and – Krans had still lost in the end.

Takeo tensed at a soft creak outside his door, his heartbeat jumping as he pressed his finger to the safety. Who was it? Was the household showing their true colours? Had he and Tao been tricked?

Three light taps with measured spacing between them on his door. A pause. Takeo was out the bed, lowered gun in hand, by the time he heard the fourth tap. Walking was still difficult and Takeo hated that, his strength not fully back yet – he could still use his gun though and that was what mattered. He undid the lock and opened the door for Tao, who scurried in as soon as he could fit through the gap, his laptop under his arm. Takeo checked if anyone else was in view and then eased the door shut, locking it again.

"What's wrong?" he hissed, turning around. That had been a signal they'd used in the DA-5 so they knew who was on the other side. Why was Tao here? Had he found something about their protectors? Did they have to run? Or had Tao found something out about Teira?

Tao gave him a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck. "Nothing."

Huh? Takeo blinked in confusion. There…wasn't anything to worry about? The grip on his gun eased as he relaxed a little.

"The house seems clean right now," Tao continued. "I haven't found anything else yet about the occupants apart from Frankenstein founded and manages a high school." Tao's gaze slid from his, looking around his room. "They all go there, one way or another."

Takeo nodded. Any information was better than none, and he trusted Tao's information gathering; it had been because of Tao they'd been as successful on their missions.

"Uh... But yeah..." Tao still wasn't meeting his eyes. "I couldn't sleep, so I came here." A shrug.

Oh. Takeo didn't say anything as he tried to figure out how to respond. The longer he took, the more he saw Tao shift on his feet, his gaze darting about.

"Sooo, that's all I came here-"

"I couldn't sleep either," Takeo admitted.

Tao's wide eyes snapped to him; it took a second for him to control his expression again.

"I'm...just not sure," he murmured. They were out of the Union, yes, protected, and in the few hours they'd been in the house they had been treated better than the years they'd spent at the Union. But that didn't mean it couldn't be an act, that there were plans for them once they lowered their guard. For all Takeo knew, that was how Aris had gotten him in the first place.

"Yeah," Tao said, sighing, rolling back and forth on his feet. "It sounds too good to be true."

It did and that didn't seem right; Takeo was far too used to how the Union dealt with things. And now that Frankenstein had disappeared… It seemed suspicious for him.

"Maybe we should ask M-21," Takeo said. The other man had been here longer, so he would know better if they should worry or not. Takeo had asked him earlier, but that was before they had discovered Frankenstein had gone missing.

"Hmm, yeah, that's a good idea." Tao nodded, and his eyes drifted to the door. "Now?"

Takeo checked the clock on his bedside table. It was after midnight... He pursed his lips. He didn't know how M-21 would react to being woken up in the middle of the night (if he was asleep), but M-21 would understand their worry, wouldn't he? And why they had to ask.

Takeo nodded. "Yeah." He strapped his holster on, sliding his gun into it. Just in case it was needed.

Tao smiled and followed Takeo as he unlocked his door, keeping his laptop under his arm.

M-21 had told them who else was sleeping on their floor and where; Takeo headed for the door M-21 had pointed to earlier.

There wasn't a response when Takeo knocked on his door. Was he asleep? The knock should have woken him up if he'd been working for the Union, unless he did feel safe here?

At Tao's soft hum, Takeo shared a look with him. Should they leave or knock for a second time? They weren't at the wrong door; Takeo was sure of it. He double-checked anyway and yes, this was the door M-21 had pointed to.

He heard a soft creak of springs. Ah, now M-21 was up.

When M-21 unlocked and opened his door, there was a crease between his eyebrows, and a frown on his lips. "Ye-" He stopped mid-word at the sight of them. His expression cleared and he stepped back to let them in.

"Thanks," Takeo said as he entered the room. It was the same as his and Tao's - the bed was shoved up against the wall furthest from the door, staying out of sight of the window. Apart from the black and white suit draped over the back of a chair and rumpled state of the bed, the room didn't give much indication it was lived in.

Takeo got a nod in return and when they were both in, M-21 leaned on the wall and looked between them, his eyebrows raised in question.

"Sooo," Tao drew out, swinging his arm holding his laptop a little, "you're not worried?"

The eyebrows climbed higher. "About what?" That had to mean 'no', if M-21 didn't know what they were talking about, if he hadn't already been thinking about it.

Tao waved a hand, indicating the whole house. "Frankenstein disappeared without a trace -I haven't been able to find him yet- and you don't think there's anything...weird about that? Like..." He sighed, scrubbing the back of his head. "What if this is just a test or something, to see how we react?"

The fact Tao hadn't found anything was suspicious in itself. That meant Frankenstein had either tried not be spotted by cameras or someone had erased all traces of the man. Or both. It could have been both.

A smirk curled M-21's lip. "No. I trust them." His gaze wandered in thought. "If they wanted to test us, they would have done it in an easier way. They..." He exhaled, his shoulders hunching a bit. "They care, but they don't," he said, looking at them, like he was making sure they understood what he was saying. Takeo didn't; he kept quiet, waiting for M-21 to continue. "We're our own people here. They'll look after us but we don't have to answer to them - if we want to leave, they won't stop us.

"It's our choice to stay here."

This place sounded even better than Takeo thought and he wasn't sure what to make of that. It was strange having the knowledge that he had the power to leave when he wanted, but it was comforting to know if they had it. M-21 seemed to think so, and if he believed it… Then maybe…

M-21 didn't say anything for a few seconds and then shook his head. "Frankenstein wouldn't leave his master's side unless he had good reason to."

That Takeo could believe, his healed injuries thrumming like they were fresh at the reminder.

Takeo and Tao shared a look; they had gotten what they'd came for.

Tao grinned at M-21 and nodded, clapping once. "We'll take your word for it, thanks. We'll let you get back to sleep, heh."

"I wasn't sleeping," M-21 said with a shrug. "It's fine." He went to his door, opening it for them.

When they were back in Takeo's room, Tao flopped into Takeo's chair like he was trying to take up as much space as he could, legs spread, one arm bent over his head and the other on the armrest. "Okay, that's a vote of confidence from him." And for them, it was the most important one, seeing how they shared similar circumstances. Takeo wasn't sure what to make of Regis and Seira yet.

Takeo nodded, sitting at the foot of his bed on top of where he had put the folded blanket. "Are you going back to your room...?" Takeo asked, looking at him. There wasn't a reason for Tao to still be there.

Tao sniffed, hopping to his feet. "Oh, I see - I guess that says what you want." Takeo couldn't see his eyes, his hair covering them as usual, but there was a stiffness to his movements that wasn't usually there.

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Tao." He wasn't going to take the bait and let Tao lead him from the question. "Do you want to stay here?" Though, Tao coming back to his room had already answered that, hadn't it? And Takeo was glad he had, if he was being honest with himself.

Tao didn't say anything, stilling. "Kinda...?"

He nodded, and then looked around his room, realising the problem that arose from that. "Where will you sleep?" There was more than enough space on the floor, but it didn't seem right that he had the bed while Tao slept elsewhere.

Tao shrugged, setting his laptop on the desk. "Here?" he said, pointing down to the chair he was sitting on. "The floor? I dunno - we've slept in worse."

They had. The house was clean - there was no dusty or musky scent clinging to the air (only food), no stench of burning bodies or vehicles wafting in from the broken windows either. The carpet alone was better than bare rock. And having a bed with a blanket was a luxury, even though Takeo wasn't using the blanket.

Still.

Takeo shook his head and patted his bed. "Come on."

Tao blinked, glancing at the bed and then back at him. "Ah... Takeo..."

"Please," he said softly. The situation was different from what he was used to, too strange, and having someone he was familiar with close to him would be comforting.

Tao studied his face for a second and the defensive tenseness to his shoulders collapsed and he rubbed his face with a palm. "Yeah..." he said, matching his tone.

Takeo climbed into bed first, taking his holster off and slid his gun under his side of the pillow. Tao scuttled forward, warily watching Takeo like he was checking for something. Whatever it was (maybe he was worried that Takeo would attack him once he was within arms' reach?), Tao seemed satisfied with what he saw and joined him.

Feeling the mattress dip from someone else was strange but Takeo didn't say anything as Tao got in. While the bed was cool, bit by bit the mattress started to warm up under him.

They stared at each other, their breathing loud to Takeo's ears before he looked elsewhere.

"We should try to sleep," Takeo murmured, focusing on Tao's hair. They didn't know what would happen in the morning, so it would be better if they were as well rested as possible.

"Yeah."

They didn't say anything, Takeo far too aware of every breath Tao took until Tao snickered.

"Not what you expected?" Tao asked, a wry grin on his face.

"No." He hadn't had any expectations, not when he hadn't been sure if Tao would even accept, leaving Takeo no time to make any. "You?"

"Heh, same." Tao wriggled, rubbing his shoulder on the mattress before settling down again.

It was comforting feeling Tao's presence so close to his, knowing for sure that he was there, but Takeo wasn't used to allowing someone that close either. There had been a few times where he'd dozed off when visiting Teira; in those times though, he'd either fallen asleep in his chair or on top of her bed, meeting Teira's worried eyes when he woke up again. This was different.

Takeo waited for a creak of floorboards, Frankenstein's master at the door, telling them they weren't supposed to share a room and Tao had to leave, but it didn't happen, the house staying quiet.

Tao shuffled nearer, his arms held close to his chest, a margin of space kept between them. "I was going to fall off the bed, heh," he explained, studying his face.

Takeo nodded; there really wasn't that much space in the bed and he moved, pressing his back to the wall to give Tao more space.

"Thanks."

His mind had been settled about the household for now, which meant it was freer to gnaw about other things instead. Like how he didn't know where Teira was – it had been a while since they had last seen each other. She had been getting better, he knew that much. It would take some time, but she would be safe soon enough. The pills and Krans were also on his mind and he circled around those subjects over and over.

They lay in silence until sleep started to pull at Takeo, his eyelids going heavy. His body had healed the wounds Frankenstein had given him, but now he had to recover all the energy he'd spent.

He checked one last time that he was gripping his gun and drifted off to sleep to the sound of Tao's breathing.

xOx

Takeo woke up hearing Tao on his laptop and he didn't know where he was. Whatever he was on was too soft and there was material under his fingers? He would only hear Tao though – where was everyone else?

His gun was safely in his hand but it felt wrong. He knew every single scratch and scrape on his guns and this one had neither. Brand new. The angles weren't right, the planes angular, smaller. It was far too light as well, feeling like he had something akin to a pen in his hand rather than a solid weight. This wasn't his, but who could have switched it out without waking him?

Tao's keystrokes slowed. "It's safe, Takeo," he said, and Takeo opened his eyes, looking across at where he'd heard Tao's voice.

Tao was sitting on a chair – no, it was his chair and – "Shit." Takeo used his free hand to rub the bridge of his nose, everything coming back to him. What had happened to the DA-5. Where they were.

Why Tao was in his room.

"Morning," Tao said, smiling. He was already out of his night clothes, wearing what Frankenstein had loaned them.

Takeo must have been more exhausted than he thought – he would have normally woken up if someone was moving around in the room he was sleeping in, let alone getting out of his bed.

"How are you feeling?"

He took stock of how his body felt as he sat up, pulling an arm across his body and feeling some of his muscles protest. "Better," he said. He still had some phantom pain in his torso, but it wasn't as bad as it had been the day before. He didn't feel as weak, more capable of walking.

There was something in the air and Takeo inhaled, trying to identify it. There was a bit of a tang, and some meat, but that was all that he could tell.

"Yeah," Tao said, watching what he was doing. "I think that's breakfast."

"Breakfast," Takeo repeated, his brain making sense of what Tao was saying. Breakfast was a few ration bars if they were lucky – when they had one.

"Cooked breakfast," Tao emphasised, his lips twitching and Takeo stared at him, trying to figure out if it was another one of Tao's jokes. Having meals in a row was another luxury for them, let alone cooked.

It didn't seem to be a joke, Tao stretching his arms above his head with a groan. Then again, he hadn't been able to tell Tao was joking with him while teaching him Korean. He just hoped Tao had been telling the truth when he'd said that those were the only wrong phrases he'd taught him.

"Should we go down?" Tao asked, his arms still held above his head.

"There isn't a rule that we have to eat breakfast too," Takeo said slowly as he considered it. "But we probably should, just in case." He still felt full from the night before, but he would be able to manage a little bit to eat.

Tao continued to work on his laptop as Takeo changed, only looking at him over the top when he was done. "Ready?"

"Yeah." They left together, Tao leaving his laptop in his own room.

The smell got stronger the further they went down the stairs, a faint sizzling accompanying it.

Takeo turned at the sound of someone coming down the stairs behind them and paused at seeing M-21. He was wearing the black and white suit Takeo had seen in his room with a tie around his neck. Was it a uniform?

…Ah, Tao had said the household was involved with a high school, so maybe he worked there…? M-21 was too old to study as a student.

"It'll be Seira cooking breakfast." M-21's lips were pursed, his gaze not on them.

He walked past them and went in without pausing.

Takeo and Tao peered around the door frame and saw Seira wearing a pink apron, a pan in hand, other pans sizzling in front of her on the stove.

She turned her head towards them, and gave them a small nod. "M-21. Takeo. Tao."

"Hey." M-21 kept going towards the kitchen area and switched the kettle on. Once he'd done that, he started rooting around one of the cupboards, taking out cups.

Tao went in first and he waved at Seira. "Morning!"

"Take a seat," M-21 said, not looking back at them, and Takeo glanced at where the cutlery was set on the table. It was set out for seven people. Had Frankenstein come back?

There didn't seem to be anything else to do but what M-21 told them to. Takeo and Tao sat opposite each other, covering each other's blind spot – Takeo's eyes were on the kitchen area while Tao's were the door they'd come through.

"What do you want to drink?" M-21 asked, pouring the hot water into a cup.

"Tea," seemed to be a safe choice, Tao asking for the same thing and Takeo watched M-21 put some bags into the other cups.

By the time M-21 brought the cups over, Seira was scooping what she'd cooked into plates and bringing them to the table. There was one large bowl that Takeo had seen the day before and had the feeling would be filled with ramen. He'd seen Tao's reaction to it; he had to admit it didn't taste anything like what he'd had before, but the same could be said for everything else that had been on the table as well.

Takeo heard a soft tread approaching from behind him but Tao didn't tense, only looking mildly interested until he broke out a grin. Not someone to worry about, then. "Yooo, Regis!" Tao greeted, waving.

So that's who that was. That left one person to arrive (unless Frankenstein had come back).

"Good morning." Regis took the seat next to Takeo.

M-21 set a cup down of milk in front of Regis with a smirk. "Yours."

Regis sniffed, picking it up. "At least you remember what I like."

The smirk only widened, M-21 seemingly not put off by that answer. "Ah? You couldn't reach the top cupboard while I was away?"

Regis scowled at M-21 and Takeo watched the exchange between them, still unsure how to categorise what they were doing. The two had been the same at dinner, exchanging insults and glares like most people exchanged words, but the atmosphere was far different than what Takeo was used to in the DA-5. While they constantly snapped at each other, there was no threat there, neither of them prepared to come to blows. They sparred with their words, neither of them moving for the kill when they won a point, content to back off and start again from the beginning.

Takeo could see Tao's interest in what they were doing too, his eyes quick and in constant movement, hands wrapped around his cup. He couldn't tell what Tao was thinking though, no trace of a smirk on his face.

"Hmph. My height doesn't bother me."

Frankenstein's master walked in a minute later and M-21 and Regis' bickering didn't change. There was no reaction from him either as he walked past them and stood in front of one of the machines in the kitchen, pressing a button on it. The machine whirred, spitting out a dark liquid. From the smell… Coffee?

As Frankenstein's master did that, Seira carried the large bowl to the centre of the table. Takeo peeked and he'd been right – there was ramen was in the bowl. The soup was more the shade of the noodles this time, not as red.

The two finally settled down, glaring at each other across the table when Frankenstein's master went to sit with his cup.

The quiet lasted for fifteen seconds.

Takeo wasn't sure how M-21 and Regis had been able to eat with how they constantly sniped at each other. They ate faster than Takeo, who attempted to struggle with the chopsticks again, mimicking how the others were doing it. When that failed, the food slipping back to his plate over and over, he gave up and used the fork instead.

The space to the right of Frankenstein's master stayed empty. No-one commented on it.

It didn't take long for all the food to be eaten, even M-21's and Regis' bickering calming down. Regis cleared the table afterwards, and when M-21 jerked his head at them to follow, Takeo and Tao went after him.

They exited the dining room and M-21 grunted before saying anything. "I've got work and the others have classes," he explained, looking at them.

…Was…he saying what Takeo thought he was saying? That couldn't be right. He had to be interpreting that wrong.

"Wait," Tao said, jerking back a little in surprise, "you're leaving us alone here?"

So he wasn't the only one thinking that. They had to both be wrong, that M-21 had missed something out. The two of them couldn't leave the house, not when the Union had probably already sent agents to investigate their deaths; there was too much chance of being seen and identified.

When M-21 nodded, Takeo stared at him. They were strangers - with their history in the Union and after only knowing each other for a few hours (barring M-21), the rest of the house trusted them alone in their house? There hadn't been any suspicious looks thrown their way; were they really trusted here?

Which...considering the person in front of them telling this in the first place... Maybe it wasn't so strange for the household after all.

M-21 snorted. "I've got a job to do and..." He shrugged. "I think they like it there. I don't know why else they'd keep going."

"Because learning's a fun thing to do and school's mandatory," Tao quipped.

M-21's lips twitched. "From what I'd heard the other students say, it's not fun."

"Like I said, mandatory." Tao hummed. "If you're worried about us, we won't starve."

They wouldn't be able to, not with the amount they'd eaten in the last twelve hours.

"There's more food in the fridge," M-21 said, tilting his head towards the living room.

"How much do you keep here?" Takeo asked, incredulous, his eyebrows raised. He had just been able to finish what was there and there was more?

"Enough for us and the children," M-21 said, snorting. "Frankenstein's trying to get them to eat less junk food."

The children also hadn't paid any attention to Frankenstein's suggestions, so as much as Frankenstein could do with a lab, it was comforting to know there were things he couldn't.

Takeo is probably resistant to his bullets, so for him, sleeping with a gun isn't as bad, but...yeah. Not to mention he's got his healing to help as well.