Summary: Something nudged M-21's foot while he sat on the sofa and he blinked, looking down. There was a red ball there, the puppy staring up at him.

Set after season 4.

Play

By Dark Ice Dragon

Something nudged M-21's foot while he sat on the sofa and he blinked, looking down. There was a red ball there, the puppy staring up at him.

As soon as they made eye-contact, the puppy went down on his front legs, his ass still in the air.

…M-21 recognised that pose, but he couldn't place what it was.

Beside him, Tao snickered, his typing slowing down. "He wants to play."

Oh. So that's what it was. When he looked at Tao, he got a quirked eyebrow in return and then a shake of the head. "Hey, he gave the ball to you – you're the one he wants to play with."

Damn. M-21 sighed, looking back at the ball and the puppy. "So what do I have to do?"

The puppy perked up as soon as he said that and then ran off towards the entranceway.

…What… Hadn't he wanted to play?

"Heh, wait for him here," Tao said, resuming his typing. "And all ya hafta do is throw the ball." Tao demonstrated with an underhand throw, then paused. "Outside. Don't throw it in here."

"…What happened." Or did he want to know?

"Ah… Haha…" Tao cleared his throat. "He was playing with the puppy and he broke the TV."

M-21's gaze drifted towards the smaller TV that was in place of the bigger one that used to be there. He'd noticed the change, but hadn't bothered to ask. "I thought you'd sold it so you could buy more of your junk."

"I wouldn't do that-" Tao elbowed him in the side. "-and they are not junk!"

"Yeah, they are," M-21 muttered, and Tao nailed him in the side again as the puppy emerged from the entranceway, carrying…a shoe in his mouth.

The puppy bounded over and deposited it at his feet. He made a snuffling noise and then ran off again towards the entranceway.

He was fetching his shoes. "…I could have gotten them myself."

Tao chuckled. "Aww, c'mon, he's being helpful!"

It would have been faster if he'd done it himself, but the puppy was quicker with his other shoe. M-21 waited for him by the garden door and while he put on his shoes, the puppy carried the ball into the garden.

Once he stepped outside, the puppy did the pose again (it was called a play bow, wasn't it?), the ball in front of him.

M-21 made sure to keep his throws light, going nowhere near the hedge and the puppy brought the ball back to him every time, his tail wagging furiously. Except when the ball rolled under some bushes and the puppy paced up and down it, sticking his nose under the bush for a second and then backing away, shaking his head. He looked back at M-21, whining.

"…Okay, I'm coming," M-21 said, walking over. So the puppy had been trained to leave Frankenstein's plants alone without his help.

He couldn't see where the ball was when he crouched, and M-21 clicked his tongue as he got down onto his stomach to see under it. There it was, right by-

"Ack!" There was a wet tongue trying to cover his entire face. "Hey!" The puppy didn't stop and with a grimace, M-21 scooped him up by the belly and held him away from his face. "I need to get your ball first." But now that he couldn't use one hand, that meant he would have to wriggle forward to reach the ball.

There was a familiar burst of laughter behind them. "He was saying hi, M."

"And I'm trying to get his ball," M-21 grumbled, his fingertips brushing it. …None of the neighbours were going to see, not when his arm was covered by the bush. M-21 transformed his fingertips, using his claws to roll the ball back within grabbing distance.

Once the ball was in his grasp, M-21 looked at Tao. "How many pictures did you take?"

"Me?" Tao held a hand to his chest. A hand that was empty of a phone. And so was his other hand. "None."

"Uh-huh." He could have put it away by the time M-21 had looked. M-21 set the puppy down, but the puppy didn't rush for the ball like earlier. He yawned instead, his tongue lolling out.

Hm, that was probably enough playing for him. "Inside?" M-21 asked.

The puppy nodded, picking up his ball and waddling back to the house.

M-21 got back to his feet and dusted himself off as best as he could and followed.

"Heh, do ya want tea after all that hard work?" Tao asked, giving his shoulder a pat.

M-21 snorted, but tea did sound good just about then…