Summary: M-21 couldn't sleep. His skin tingled, like there was a new drug coursing through his system.

Set post-season 8.

Hold

By Dark Ice Dragon

M-21 couldn't sleep. His skin tingled, like there was a new drug coursing through his system. That couldn't be it though. He hadn't eaten anything new the day before, and Frankenstein hadn't given him anything either. Had told him his body had fully stabilised, in fact.

So what...?

He pursed his lips, staring up at the ceiling, running his fingertips over the bedsheets. The pressure made him more aware of his skin, how his clothes brushed against it, almost like they were itchy but weren't.

It wasn't painful and it wasn't getting worse.

But he wasn't getting back to sleep either.

With a sigh, M-21 sat up. Even that dragged his clothes and he frowned, curling his hands. Not bad enough that he wanted to scratch, but he was just so aware of his skin, where exactly his clothes touched.

Frankenstein was normally still up at this time (M-21 had only found the lab empty twice in the time he'd been in the house, and the first was because everyone had finally stabilised after a fight) so he could go ask him.

If Frankenstein wasn't there, it at least gave him something to do instead of focusing on his skin.

The lab lights were still on when the doors swished open and M-21 looked around, listening for the machines that were running.

There was a low humming sound to his right and M-21 smelled cookies. Chocolate chip?

"Frankenstein," he called out as he walked in, his slippered feet also announcing his presence.

"Mm? M-21?" Frankenstein was still writing in his clipboard but glanced up as soon as M-21 was close enough.

"My skin started feeling sensitive," M-21 said, shrugging and then grimaced afterwards at the reminder he shouldn't. "Just wanted to make sure it wasn't a sign of something worse."

Frankenstein nodded, flipping over the page he'd been writing on. "Do you have rashes? Is it sensitive enough that you scratch it, or are you making sure that you don't?"

Hearing the questions and seeing the concerned look on Frankenstein's, M-21 relaxed. It was good to be with people who cared again, where he didn't have to hide anything to keep up a certain appearance.

"Well," Frankenstein said, his eyes going over what his screens displayed, "I'm not seeing any drastic changes. As far as your data is concerned, you're normal and healthy."

M-21 snorted. "Whatever 'normal' means here." There was no-one under the roof who could be called that.

Frankenstein gave him a wry smile. "Normal for you."

"Fine." That was as close as it was going to get, wasn't it? Now his transformation was stronger than it had ever been and his humanity was decreasing bit by bit. ...Hm. "Is it because of my transformation?" It would be his luck if it was, or maybe it was a delayed reaction after what had happened with that noble scientist.

"As far as I'm aware, it doesn't appear to be," Frankenstein said. "But that's not my area of expertise." Frankenstein peered at him over his shoulders, his eyebrows a little higher than usual.

That wasn't the first time he'd said that.

But they hadn't had other werewolves under their roof before.

M-21 spent the rest of the night reading a book to pass the time. It kept him distracted enough to not think about his skin, and by the time the sun peeked over the horizon, he was turning the pages by flicking his fingers. The sensitivity didn't get any worse, so he was content to wait for the others to wake up.

He closed the book when he heard movement in the corridor outside his room. He eyed his change of clothes for a second and then turned away from it, grimacing. He didn't have to wear that yet and the less he moved the better.

Takeo and Tao were already in the kitchen when he arrived, and so was Kentas.

"Mornin', M!" Tao said, waving a spatula and grinning.

"Hey," M-21 said, and Takeo and Kentas were already eyeing him. It was that obvious?

He exhaled, the movement tugging his top across his shoulders.

"My skin suddenly felt sensitive last night," he told Kentas, studying his face for some sign of understanding. "I was wondering if-"

M-21 stopped, seeing Kentas blink and then frown, staring at him.

"What?" Was it something that recognisable?

Before M-21 could do anything, Kentas closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around M-21, hard enough M-21's feet nearly left the floor. He was held so tight he felt the growl rumbling through Kentas' chest.

M-21 sucked in a breath to demand what the hell he was doing, but then Kentas ran a hand through M-21's hair and...it felt nice. M-21 sagged into the touch, breathing deeply.

It was like he'd been punched in the head without the pain or blood that usually accompanied it. The change had been that sudden and with each breath, each stroke of his hair, the itchiness of his skin grew less and less.

"W-what-" It was almost like being drugged, his head both foggy and far clearer than it had been now that he was no longer distracted by his skin, focusing on what Kentas was doing, where he was touched.

"You needed physical contact," Kentas murmured, continuing to run his hand through M-21's hair. "That's what your body was telling you."

"...Didn't need it before..." But before he'd had M-24, and it had been days since the last time Tao had thrown an arm around his shoulders, hadn't it?

Maybe he'd needed it before, but never noticed, assuming it was another side effect to the experiments or drugs.

"Well now you do," Kentas said with a low chuckle.

"Hng..." M-21 had to admit it felt good, having someone there, and he wrapped his arms around Kentas, gripping his top. Just breathing. Letting Kentas' warmth seep into him.

"Heeey," M-21 heard Tao say after a while, "is this a werewolf-only thing, or can we join in?"

He felt Kentas' laugh.

"Get over here," M-21 with a snort, waving them over. He wouldn't be able to stop Tao if he wanted to anyway.

"Yesss!" There was a thump as Tao launched himself at them, Kentas not budging one bit at the impact.

Takeo came around their other side, leaning his chin on M-21's shoulder as he pressed up against M-21's back, his breath tickling his skin there.

"So we gotta do puppy piles every so often?" Tao asked, and M-21 groaned, because of course Tao would call it a puppy pile. And he couldn't move his hands because they were pinned between Tao and Kentas.

With how wide Tao's grin was, he was aware of that too.

"Mm," Kentas said. "The more often the better."

That was fine with M-21.

For the anon who prompted, 'Touch starved M-21. I think I've seen one by you before but may I have this one with Tao, Takeo, and Kentas taking care of him?'

This went a lot more straightforward than Need, haha.