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“Wait, you will? Are you sure? You’re not busy at all?” you mumbled out.
Though it made you cringe, every little question tumbled out of your mouth before you could stop them. Even as you listened to the Time Lord confirm his plans - albeit grumpily - you couldn’t help but want to ask why he would be willing to drop everything to visit you now. You two had just agreed not to travel together anymore, not even a few months ago.
There was a big emotional speech (completely one-sided, of course) after a trip to the Zawn Peninsula. While you nearly cried, The Master pursed his lips, seemingly unbothered, before claiming that it was such a human thing for you to do. Humans always leave because they’re too afraid, too weak to handle life like this, aren’t they?
So, with that playing in your mind, you retreated to your bedroom and packed your bags, listening to The Master tinker around in the console room as if he hadn’t lost a faithful companion.
But how could you stay?
You and your partner (well, now ex-partner) were slowly breaking apart. Your family began to wonder where you went so often, and how you could afford such travel. Sure, excuses slipped off your tongue easily. But eventually, you simply couldn’t keep up with the lies you were telling everyone.
“Oh, you joined the Peace Corps?”
“Oh, you backpacked through Iceland? How was that?”
Right. Uh, cold. So very cold. You know Canada.
“I thought it was Iceland.”
Of course, I meant Iceland. Travel messes with your head.
When it came time to return home from your final trip in the TARDIS, you decided to spend a long time with your family, making up for the lost time. After that, your partner would pick you up at the airport and you would, then, spend time with them. After all, it was summer - you could enjoy the weather and for once, feel a breeze on your shoulder that didn’t come from an artificial planet-wide cooling system.
That is, until your partner called to break up with you that night.
“Don’t read too much into this with your pathetic human emotions, okay?” The Master barked, breaking you out of your thoughts. When you tried to thank him, he continued to speak without letting you get a word in, claiming he was on his way. Don’t make him regret it. One press of a button and a twist of a lever and he would be back on the planet of Kryockis, sipping on Zoon Juice.
Then The Master hung up, leaving you with the silence of your apartment.
For a moment, you listened to the buzzing of the dead phone line, before you realized what you had done. Oh, no. Oh, NO. The Master was on his way… to your apartment. You glanced at the time and leaned against the kitchen counter, your hands splayed on the cold granite. Closing your eyes, you anticipated the knock on the door, knowing he would have to see you like this - red-faced and teary-eyed.
You moved towards the sink and splashed water in your face, rubbing your hands into your irritated skin. You began dabbing at your eyes with a damp paper towel when you heard a harsh knock at the door.
Heart stopping, you bolted to the nearest mirror, wincing at your red, blotchy skin. An absolute delight.
Swinging open the door, you tried to twist your face into some sort of confident grin, but it turned out to be genuine when you took in the sight of the man in your doorway.
The Master, normally dressed up in the finest of clothes, instead wore a red and black ugly sweater with purple velcro stars attached to it. Though, some were missing as if yanked off, leaving fuzzy black dots. He carried a large paper bag in one arm and fell into a wolfish smile as he saw you. “Hello, faithful companion. Miss me?”
You searched for the words, but could only find a question, a laugh bubbling out of your mouth for the first time in ages. “Why… are you wearing that?” The Master raised an eyebrow, and you continued, “Master, it isn’t the holiday season on Earth. In fact, it’s July.”
The Time Lord shrugged. “I was on Kryockis, trying to steal their prime minister’s bracelet. Had to blend in and play a game of Star Tag so I wouldn’t raise any suspicion.”
“Right.”
“I look good, don’t I?” Pursing your lips, your gaze fell over his skinny little body - sweater, black pants, boots before you glanced up at him. Before you could speak, he answered for you. “Ah, yes, dashingly handsome, I’m aware.”
You could only get out a slight hum in response.
As you moved towards the kitchen to grab a couple of glasses of water, The Master settled onto the couch as if this was his own humble abode. Comfortable, he pulled out a Styrofoam box and placed it on the coffee table with a thud. When you tilted your head in confusion, he rolled his eyes. “The TARDIS made it for you - your favorite. She misses you.”
And do you? you wanted to ask.
A warmth spread out through your entire chest at the TARDIS’s thoughtfulness. As you walked around the couch to join him, you sighed, “You didn’t have to.”
Though, you were glad he did. Earlier, you spent an embarrassing amount of time staring at your empty refrigerator in tears, wondering how to make a solid meal out of three wilted carrots, a jar of mayonnaise, and a mandarin orange. The smell of fresh food nearly sent your stomach howling.
“Well, what are traveling partners for?” The Master replied.
Though you could hear the sarcasm dripping from the words, there was an air of truth to it. The Master cared about you. He wouldn’t be there if he didn’t.
Tears nearly stung at your eyes again, this time out of pure appreciation. You wanted to tell him how much it meant to you - having him there, the way he thought of you. How much you didn’t want to be alone that night. But instead, you simply placed a hand on his thigh for a second and met his gaze. “Master, thank you. I mean it.”
The two of you stared at each other for a moment, as if searching each other's faces for something. Snapping out of it, you cleared your throat and glanced away, plucking the remote on the table. “Anything Earthen you can bear watching?”
The Master blinked at you. “Something with plenty of violence.”
You gave him a look and rolled your eyes. Plenty of nights on the TARDIS were spent cycling through horror films and gritty television dramas. Oddly enough, he liked Game of Thrones.
He let out a soft chuckle as you flipped through channels, settling on the first horror film you could find. You curled up on the couch and grabbed the box from the table, happy to eat and have company. Good company.
Without a second thought, The Master wrapped an arm around you and pulled you in close. Still an alien, he didn’t quite understand human intimacy - how strange this felt. He simply wanted to feel comfortable. Your heart skipped a couple of beats, but you tried to ignore it, relaxing and sharing your food with him. This was The Master, after all.
You were friends… well, if you could even call yourselves that. Or so you thought. Halfway through the movie, you glanced over at him in the middle of a scene, studying his face.
He was handsome, of course. A bit of stubble lined his round jawline, the caramel color in his eyes lit up with the reflection of the TV. Your gaze lingered on him before he noticed, his eyes squinting in amusement.
“I told you I look handsome,” he teased.
You playfully rolled your eyes at his unending ego, but he was right. “It’s the sweater.”
“Of course.”
Again, you stared at each other. This time, both of you couldn’t stop it. Completely ignoring the movie, you leaned closer and closer until your lips brushed in a chaste kiss.
Shocked, you pulled away. Your partner had only dumped you that morning. But your entire relationship never felt right. And, well, you would be lying to yourself if you said you never wanted to kiss The Master. Having your lips so close to his felt right.
“I’m glad you came,” you breathed, your forehead against his, your fist full of his sweater.
The Master chuckled lowly, a grin curling his lips. “Well, don’t read too much into it.”
“I won’t.”
“Good,” The Master whispered, leaning in to kiss you again.