Quickly The Doctor got up, abandoned her tools, and headed in the direction of the kitchen. It was about lunchtime, which meant that her friends would probably be gathered together making food, she just hoped that one of them would have seen The Master. Of course, she’d usually just ask the TARDIS where he was, but the circuits she’d been upgrading were the internal communication circuits, so that was currently out of the question.

“FAM!” The Doctor exclaimed as soon as she rounded the corner, standing dramatically in the doorway to the kitchen.

All of her friends had startled as soon as she appeared, it made her feel bad, but she currently had more pressing matters to focus on.

“Have any of you seen The Master today?!”

“…uh, no?” Ryan was the first to answer, still looking a little shocked from her entrance but trying to play it cool.

Graham took a dramatic sigh before answering, “Not yet luckily.”

“I haven’t either, why’re you asking?” Yaz replied, pausing making her lunch and turning all of her attention to The Doctor.

“It’s quiet, too quiet, and I haven’t seen him since last night. Which most likely means that he’s up to something.”

Graham groaned, “Why do we have to assume he’s up to something? Can’t we at least wait until after lunch to assume he’s doing something evil?”

The Doctor simply gave him a look, causing him to groan again, though he put his sandwich down. However she was quickly distracted by a nagging feeling in the back of her mind, she was missing something, something obvious. She looked back at her friends, and then she realised.

“Where’s Y/N?”

Her friends seemed to only notice your absence once it was pointed out, all looking around the room before looking back at The Doctor with blank faces.

“I haven’t seen them since last night.” Yaz told her.

“Me neither.” Ryan and Graham agreed with her.

Suddenly The Doctor felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. You were clearly The Master’s favourite out of the fam, what if he’d done something to you? Naively, The Doctor had hoped he was developing a soft spot for you - but what if it was simply an obsession? What if this had been his plan all along, to get close enough to harm you?

The fam seemed to come to a similar conclusion, horror dawning on all their faces.

“You don’t think-“

The Doctor didn’t give Ryan an answer, just turned around and ran through the TARDIS halls. She’d been at the TARDIS console most of the night, so at least she knew the two of you were still on board. Her first instinct was to head to the library, both you and The Master spent a fair amount of time there, it would have been the perfect place for an ambush.

The Doctor slowed once she entered the library, and she could hear the footsteps of her fam slow down as well. The library was surprisingly quiet as well, but The Doctor was still on edge. The fam followed her and she weaved her way through the aisles, coming to a sudden stop right before the rows of bookshelves gave way to one of the reading areas.

Nothing could have prepared her for the sight that greeted them. On one of the plush purple sofas The Master was laying down, fast asleep. That in itself would have been enough to shock The Doctor. However he wasn’t alone, you were laying next to him, curled into his side and fast asleep as well.

Huh.

The Doctor had known that The Master was developing a soft spot for you, but she definitely didn’t suspect anything like this. It was almost cute.

“Are they- Are they actually cuddling?” Graham was the first to speak, slightly startling the rest of them despite his voice being barely above a whisper.

“Uhhh… yeah, certainly seems like it.”

“Does anyone else think this is horrifying yet adorable?” Yaz queried, gaining agreement from the rest of them. “Glad it’s not just me.”

“What do we do? Do we wake them up?” Ryan asked.

“Yeah, what if he’s done that hypno- whatsit on Y/N?” Graham butted in.

“Hypnotism, I mean it would be a very odd thing to hypnotise Y/N to do, but we can’t rule it out I suppose.” The Doctor’s thoughts were zipping around in her brains, desperately trying to find all the signs she missed.

And there was so much she missed.

The Master’s ‘practical jokes’ had been lessening lately - both in frequency and maliciousness. The Doctor had chalked this up to him finally starting to settle in properly, but maybe that was the result of him spending more time with you? She hadn’t seen you around as much either, but with four humans plus The Master on board, she had hardly noticed. Then, the most obvious, there was the fact that the two of you had started to pair off more on adventures. Honestly, she had just thought that you were becoming good friends!

Maybe you were just friends? After all, friends were allowed to hug each other. Sure, the position you were in definitely leant more towards romantic entanglement rather than platonic, but that didn’t always mean something.

Just when The Doctor was about to reply, she and the fam were distracted by movement on the couch. You stretched slightly, but then snuggled even closer to The Master, your face smushing into his neck as you smiled. In turn The Master hummed contentedly, somehow bringing you even closer and wrapping his arms around you protectively. The Doctor could have sworn she saw a smile on his face.

Okay, probably not just friends.

The Doctor didn’t know what to do, she hadn’t considered this possibility. Regrettably, she was not prepared for The Master being romantically involved with you at all, which meant that she needed time to think. Putting a finger up to her lips, she turned to her companions and gestured for them to return the way they had came. For now, you and The Master had no clue that the rest of them knew about whatever was going on between the two of you. So, she had time to think, to observe the two of you, to find out if he was hypnotising or manipulating you, or if whatever this was was something genuine on both your parts.

Once they were back out in the hallway The Doctor explained everything to the other members of the fam, all of them agreeing to keep an eye on the two of you. The Doctor then walked off back to the console room, she needed to be alone with her thoughts for a little while.

——

You were warm and cosy, that was what you registered first. Of course, it wasn’t unusual to be warm and cosy when you woke up, but these days it was a new constant in your life, all because of one (alien) man. The Master.

When he had come onboard the TARDIS eight months ago you, you would have never imagined how your relationship developed. He’d pissed you off at first, especially since most of his ‘pranks’ had been directed at you. Once he had decided to take all of your jumpers and hoodies, just after you had returned from a particularly frosty adventure in Antarctica, causing you to confront him.

“You!” You sneered accusingly at The Master, who was lounged on one of the sofas in the library.

He placed his book down and raised an eyebrow, “Can I help you?”

“Give me my jumpers and hoodies back, now.” You tried to sound demanding, but you were still shivering from the lingering cold.

“No.” He smirked at you.

“No? What do you mean no?! I’m cold! I need layers to keep warm!” You pouted at him, unable to keep up the scary demeanour.

He chuckled slightly, “Well, that’s easily solved.” And then he lifted up the blanket that was laying over him and shuffled to make room for you.

You simply stood there in shock, not quite believing that The Master of all beings was inviting you to cuddle with him!

“Come on love, if you stand there any longer you’ll probably end up freezing to death.”

Hesitantly, you stepped closer and closer to the sofa, until you were stood inches from The Master, looking down at him. He offered his hand to you, and you gave him yours in turn. Then, slowly, he pulled you down into his hold, and covered you with the blanket. With his warmth enveloping you, you soon stopped shivering, though you didn’t leave him.

After that, cuddles in the TARDIS library became a regular for the two of you, soon turning into cuddles and kisses in your respective bedrooms, sneakily holding hands on adventures, and being there for one another behind closed doors. You loved him, not that you had told him yet, but you truly did.

Part of your hesitancy towards telling him was due to the fact that you were still keeping your relationship hidden from your friends. It wasn’t as though you didn’t want to tell your friends, you just didn’t know how to tell them, and you were scared for their reactions.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of your mind you stretched and finally opened your eyes. Your first sight was The Master, still asleep, and you took a moment to appreciate him. Then you took in your surroundings and your heart leapt in your chest as you realised you had fallen asleep in the library, where anyone could have walked in.

“Master.” You shook him slightly.

He woke with a questioning hum, sleepy eyes looking at you with curiosity.

“We fell asleep in the library.” You half-whispered.

“…And?” The Master replied.

“Anyone could have walked in and seen us!”

“Mm, but they didn’t love, otherwise we would have been woken up.” He told you, his voice still rough from sleep, as he pulled you closer again.

You didn’t reply, instead giving him a worried look. He sighed and sat up, moving you with him.

“It’ll be okay love,” He cupped your face with both his hands, observing you until he seemed satisfied that you believed his words - and you did believe him, even if you needed a little reassurance sometimes.

The Master smiled at you, “Come on, shower and breakfast is in order.”

“More like brunch by now.” You retorted, checking your phone to see that it was already past 11am.

The Master chuckled and lead you out of the library.

——

In the past week, nothing out of the ordinary had happened, at least nothing that was out of the ordinary for your life. A couple of trips back in time, a couple adventures on distant planets, an ungodly amount of running, and sneaking into The Master’s bedroom once your friends had gone to sleep each night. Yep, completely ordinary week for you.

Which is why your friends’ strange behaviour made absolutely no sense.

You couldn’t quite explain it, but they’d been acting weird around you, jumpy as though they were keeping something from you. However there weren’t any holidays coming up and your birthday had already passed this year, so their weird behaviour was worrying you.

You’d tried asking all of them about it individually, The Doctor had pretended not to hear while doing some engineering on the TARDIS, and the other three had come up with various excuses that you didn’t believe. It frustrated you that something was wrong but they weren’t willing to tell you. Luckily, you still had one person on the TARDIS who wasn’t acting weird around you.

You knocked on The Master’s door and let yourself in. His living space was becoming one of your favourite rooms on the TARDIS, it had dark wood panelled walls and an overall regal look with lots of purple accents. There was also a lot of clutter, mostly little projects and pieces for said projects. Occasionally you’d ask him about whatever he was working on, and he’d talk you through his whole process (secretly you’d only ask him to hear his voice, but he didn’t need to know that). He’d also gotten used to you being in his rooms, hence why you walked right in.

The Master was sat on his couch, reading a book that he placed on an end table once he saw you.

“Hello, love.” He grinned at you, making room for you to sit down next to him.

“Hello Master,” You smiled at him, cuddling into his chest as he wrapped an arm around you.

He hummed and nuzzled your neck, “How are you today, my darling?”

The combination of the pet name and him speaking so close to your ear caused you to shiver. It almost got rid of the knot of worry that had nestled itself in you, almost. The Master seemed to notice something was wrong, as he pulled back slightly so he could look at you properly.

“Have you noticed the others being kind of… off, this week?” You queried, not quite knowing how to word it.

“Quite honestly love, I don’t pay much attention to anyone else on this ship.” He smirked, and you rolled your eyes.

“You and I both know that’s not true, you may not like Ryan, Graham or Yaz, but they’re still my friends - which means you still keep an eye on them at the very least.” You retorted.

“Mmm, you know me so well.” He leaned in to kiss your cheek, causing you to relax further into him.

It had surprised you, at first, just how physically affectionate The Master was. You’d assumed after the first cuddle session that it would be a one off, that he’d kill you if you ever mentioned it to anyone (not that they’d believe you), but he’d only gotten more and more cuddly as your relationship had grown.

“Okay, yes, I have noticed they were behaving stranger than usual this week. I’d just assumed it was something to do with me, and I didn’t care enough to find out what.”

“Definitely not just you, they’ve been weird around me too. I tried to ask them what was wrong but they all made up little excuses and scurried off. The Doctor even pretended she didn’t hear me!” You exclaimed gesturing wildly, “I just- they’re my friends, and I’ve obviously done something to upset them, but I don’t know what!”

You flopped back into The Master’s hold and sighed, for a moment he simply held you close, rubbing circles on your back.

“Look, whatever it is they’ll probably get over it soon enough. It can’t be that bad if they’re still talking to you.” He reassured you, already helping you feel much calmer than you had all week.

“But, what if they found out about us somehow?”

“The Doctor probably would have kicked me off the TARDIS already love, and your friends would have helped her.” You glared at him, unamused.

“No they wouldn’t, I wouldn’t let them.”

The Master’s expression softened.

“Of course not love, I’m just teasing. I’m sure that whatever it is will be forgotten about soon enough.”

“Hopefully.”

“In the meantime, would it perhaps help if I could take your mind off them for a while?” The Master suggested, leaning in to kiss you again.

“Hmm, I think it might.” You replied with a giggle, kissing him back eagerly.

——

As The Master had predicted, your friends soon went back to normal. You still had no clue what had caused their strange behaviour, but you didn’t bring it up again. Instead you focused on your adventures and your relationship with The Master, separately of course.

After a few rather hectic adventures, The Doctor had decided that you all needed a bit of a break, in the form of a 38th century cruise spaceship. The Doctor had explained that there were many fun activities taking place on the cruise, but the main one was the ball. An evening of dancing, eating and socialising to help you and the rest of the fam relax a bit.

You were all looking forward to it, and you could tell The Master was excited too - not that he acted like it. Sometimes you thought he tried a little too hard to protect his reputation, but then you remembered just how lucky you were that he allowed you to see the real him when so many others were denied the chance.

Currently, you were in the TARDIS wardrobe getting ready for the ball with the others. You had elected to wear a simple black suit with a dark purple lining and accents, partially because you liked the look of it, and partially because you thought it would go with whatever The Master decided to wear. You may be hiding your relationship from your friends, but you still wanted the subtle sign that he was yours (and you were his in turn). Exiting your dressing room you smiled at Graham and The Doctor, both wearing suits as well.

“Nice suit, it suits you!” The Doctor told you, looking very pleased with her terrible pun.

You rolled your eyes and huffed out a laugh while Graham simply groaned. Ryan exited next, wearing a suit as well, tho it had a neon-coloured cubic pattern speckled over it. Then The Master exited.

He was wearing a black suit as well, though it had flowers embroidered in dark grey thread on it. He’d paired it with a reddish-purple waistcoat, a matching bow tie, and a dark grey shirt. He looked stunning, and in that moment you found yourself yearning for the freedom of a more public relationship, simply so you could tell him just how good you thought he looked. Instead you raked your eyes over his body and gave him an appreciative look, knowing he’d understand.

To your surprise he seemed to do the same to you, his eyes studying your appearance in a way that made you blush slightly, and giving you a far more suggestive look than you had given him. He was usually very subtle about your relationship, especially in front of The Doctor, but you weren’t going to complain in this moment.

Just then Yaz walked out of her dressing room, though your eyes lingered on The Master for a few moments longer. Taking advantage of the distraction, The Master winked at you, causing you to grin coyly before finally turning your attention to Yaz.

She was wearing a lovely rose gold coloured dress, it wasn’t overly flashy or attention grabbing, but you knew she’d still get a fair amount of admiration at the ball (though you suspected most of that would come from The Doctor).

The Doctor soon lead you all out of the wardrobe into the console room, piloting to your destination. You gazed in awe at the ship once the doors opened, it was decorated in a baroque-esque style and almost made you feel as though you didn’t quite belong in the ship. Still, you followed The Doctor through the hallways until you came to the ballroom. It was stunning, the room itself had the same baroque-esque look to it, though it was even more extravagant. Instinctively, you looked back to The Master and grinned, gaining a soft smile in return.

“Alright fam, all the food and drink should be good for human consumption - but if you’re unsure just ask! Let’s say two hours of mingling, then we’ll reconvene back here?” The Doctor addressed you all, gaining agreement before everyone started to dart off in different directions.

You had hoped that you would get some time alone with The Master, unfortunately it seemed that Yaz had other ideas as she invited you over to the bar with her to get some drinks.

An hour later you had finally managed to ditch your friends, it wasn’t as though you didn’t like hanging out with them - of course you did - but at an event like this you’d rather spend time with your partner. Once you found him you felt yourself relax, previously unaware of how tense you’d been without him. Larger social gatherings like this definitely made you anxious, but having The Master by your side helped a lot, mostly because you knew he’d never let anything bad happen to you.

He smiled at you and then nodded his head to the entrance. Intrigued, you followed him as he lead you out of the ballroom.

“Where are we going, Master?” You queried, grabbing a hold of his hand.

“You’ll see.”

Eventually the two of you came to another ballroom, though it was completely empty. There was a layer of dust over every surface, giving you the impression that this room hadn’t been used in a long time. The distant music from the party echoed through the halls into the ballroom giving it a haunted feel, but not a creepy kind of haunted, mor like the sort of haunted feeling you got from a placed that had so clearly been loved once, as though that love and warmth was still living in the walls.

After looking around the room you turned back to The Master, only to find him stood with one hand behind his back and the other stretched out towards you.

“Care to dance, my love?” He asked you charmingly, causing you to blush wildly.

“Of course, Master.” You replied, taking his hand eagerly and grinning.

He pulled you in close and began to guide you through a waltz, in time with the music from the ballroom. In that moment you felt as though you could spend the rest of your life with him, even if it was just the two of you alone in the universe, you’d always feel content by his side. That realisation seemed to finally give you the boost of confidence you had needed.

“I love you.”

The Master stopped dancing, looking at you with a mix of shock and awe.

“What?”

“I love you, Master. You don’t have to say it back, I just wanted you to know.” You told him truthfully.

“I love you too, so much.” He replied, grinning wide with tears in his eyes.

The Master leant in to kiss you, and your lips met his halfway. You’d kissed him hundreds of times before, but this time felt different, it felt perfect. The two of you started dancing again, still keeping in time with the music but completely lost in each other’s presence. The Master moved his arm around your waist, you rested your head on his shoulder and let the world fall away around the two of you.

——

The Doctor had been keeping a close eye on both you and The Master in the past few weeks, and to her surprise she had seen nothing sinister, nothing potentially dangerous. In fact, all she had seen was subtle glances and secretive smiles between the two of you, she’d caught both of you looking at the other while they were distracted, and neither of you had anything but love to look at each other with. On one occasion she’d even seen the two of you holding hands when faced with a particularly terrifying enemy!

The Doctor had known The Master for nearly his whole life, and therefore always knew that he had a softer side to him. What she never expected was for him to develop feelings for a human, considering his general hatred of Earth’s sentient inhabitants. She’d had her reservations at first, knowing full well that whatever was going on between the two of you could just be another one of his schemes. However, given how secretive the two of you were, and all the little interactions she’d witnessed, The Doctor believed that The Master had genuine feelings for you.

Nevertheless, The Doctor had continued to keep on the eye on the two of you - just in case. Therefore, she noticed pretty quickly when the both of you disappeared from the ballroom. At the end of the day The Master was still The Master, no matter how much progress he had seemed to make these past few months. Luckily, the rest of her fam had noticed your disappearances as well.

“Come on fam.” The Doctor started to lead the way out of the ballroom.

“Doc, are you sure we should go looking for them, I mean what if they’re, y’know…” Graham asked, looking rather uncomfortable.

“Snogging?” Ryan snickered.

“Yes, we should, because there’s still a chance that Y/N could be in danger.”

The Doctor continued on through the halls, looking through each of the rooms to see if she could find the two of you. Finally, she came to another ballroom and was surprised by the sight of the two of you slow dancing in each other’s arms.

Well, at least you weren’t in danger.

It seemed that she had sped off a bit too quickly, as Ryan, Graham and Yaz soon came jogging up behind her, startling both you and The Master (who hadn’t noticed her approach). For a few moments everyone stood and stared at each other in complete silence, no one knowing quite what to do. The Master still had his arms around your waist, and The Doctor could see that he tightened his grip on you, as though he was afraid you’d be taken from him.

You coughed, gaining everyone’s attention, “So, uhhh..”

“You two are together?” Yaz asked.

You looked to The Master and smiled softly, getting a small smile in return. “Yeah, we are.”

There was another moment of awkward silence before you spoke up again. “Wait, none of you seem surprised?”

“We caught you two sleeping on one of the library couches a couple weeks back.” Ryan told you, causing you to playfully hit The Master’s arm.

“I told you!”

The Master rolled his eyes, “How was I supposed to know? I was asleep as well!” He laughed along with you.

“Is that why you were all acting weird around us?” You queried.

“Yeah, sorry about that cockle, it was just a bit of a shock is all. Still is to be honest!” Graham chuckled, putting all of you at ease.

“How long have the two of you been together anyway?” Yaz asked.

“Uhh, just over four months now - right?” The Master nodded in response to your question.

“How did you two manage to keep it a secret for so long?” Ryan exclaimed.

“Lots of sneaking around, though it does help when your partner has alien hearing that’s at least 10 times better than humans’.” You replied, smirking in a way that showed how much you liked showing off about The Master.

On the way back to the TARDIS Graham, Ryan and Yaz asked you quite a lot of questions, most of which you answered happily while holding The Master’s hand. Despite having watched the two of you for the past few weeks to make sure this wasn’t just another one of The Master’s schemes, The Doctor finally felt as though she could relax. You were safe, and both of you were happy, she was glad that The Master had managed to find someone who he could be himself around, someone who he could love. Stopping just outside the TARDIS doors, you turned back to look at her.

“You’re alright with this, yeah?”

“You’re happy?” The Doctor asked, addressing the both of you.

“Very.” You replied, while The Master simply looked down at you and nodded.

“Good, I’m happy for you - both of you.” She made sure to address The Master, who looked slightly surprised before he rolled his eyes at her.

“Now, movie night?” She suggested, gaining nods of approval from everyone.

He didn't like to admit it, but you had a sort of power over him, a way of simply being that made his racing mind go quiet. You had been travelling together for some time now and he had grown accustomed to your presence. Even fond of it. Having you around, with your bright eyes and brighter mind, your mischievous smile that could get him to do pretty much anything you asked, your never-ending questions, your curiosity that only he could satisfy. You made him feel like he mattered to someone. After the first few months of you following him around the Universe, he had started to feel something different, like a shift in the atmosphere. He had tried to keep it at bay, thinking nothing of it at first. You were nothing but a mere human he was entertaining himself with. Once he grew bored, he would leave you somewhere and be off. But that never happened. Because, much to his dismay, he knew that he would miss you if you were gone. Even right now, after dropping you off at what used to be your house before you joined him, he was feeling...lonely. He didn't like it. The Master huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. He was sitting in his chair in front of the console, his feet propped up on it. He looked around the room, mostly to find something to keep his mind busy with but the only thought that came up was you. His gaze kept wandering over the furniture and small items decorating the room. He was a collector and he wasn't particularly tidy, so that resulted in a big mess most of the time. -You should really find a place where to put these- you kept telling him when you entered the TARDIS. -You'll end up tripping one of these days and most of these things aren't particularly safe either- He remembered the time you had fallen over a laser gun he had stolen a few days prior. It activated and started to shoot blindly. After that, you had forced him to put at least the weapons in a separate room. He smiled at the memory. You could be so damn bossy at times. Slowly, his smile faded from his face. He glanced at the phone you had gifted him with months ago. -What's this? - he had asked. -It's a smartphone. You use it to call people and text and take pictures...- -I know what a smartphone is- he had said, annoyed. -I mean, why are you giving me one, I already have a phone- -You have a relict, you mean- you had said pointing at the old landline phone sitting on his console. -You need something pocket size- -What for? - he had asked studying the device like it was the first time he saw one. -So that I can call you whenever I need. And you can do the same- you had explained like it was obvious. He had huffed out a laugh. -What would I need you for? - You had stuck your tongue out at him. -You're a jerk- "How long is this taking her?" he thought, getting up and checking his phone for any messages or missed calls. Nothing. He was getting bored. And he missed you. He shook his head firmly. No way, he didn't miss you. He was just bored. He couldn't stand staying put in the same place for too long. You were making him wait for too long, he didn't miss you. If anything, he was mad at you. For making him wait. And for making him feel all weird and dizzy. He started to pace around the room. He didn't like not knowing and right now his head was exploding with questions. Why was he thinking so ardently about you? Why couldn't he stop reminiscing your moments together? Why was he checking his damn phone when you had just left a few hours ago? He messed with his hair, like trying to shake the answers out of his brain. What could it possibly be? Right then, his phone let out a "ping". He looked at the screen and saw a text from you. "All done, come pick me out whenever it's convenient". He stared at it for a few seconds. He couldn't let you know he had been waiting for you all this time. "Did you take me for a taxi service? " he wrote out instead. "Busy blowing up planets, are we? " He scoffed. "You know me. I'm a busy man." "It's fine, I'll just run some more errands." "I'm on my way" "Missed me, have you? ;)" The Master cleared his throat nervously. "As if." And after that, he ran to the console to appear mere seconds later in front of your house. Yeah, maybe he had missed you.

-Could you be any slower?! - -I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have made the big bad ogre mad. Oh wait, that was you! - You and the Master were running for your life. What's new? He had thought it'd be fun if you two went to bother the literal king of a murderous species to get his most priced possession, the huge gem on top of his sceptre. The king didn't like that, of course. He could be pretty scary when he was angry, you had found. The creature behind you, however, was way scarier. It was a nine feet tall ogre looking beast, the bodyguard of the king, apparently. It was big but fast nonetheless, which made it harder for you to lose it. You were running as fast as you possibly could when suddenly, you tripped and fell to the ground, letting out a painful groan. The Master stopped abruptly in his track and ran back to you. -What the hell are you doing?! - -Oh, you know, I thought it would be fun to be eaten alive. I FELL, YOU IDIOT! - The Master rolled his eyes and gave you a hand, but as you tried to get up, you felt your ankle sting painfully. -Damn it, I think I twisted it- -What?! - the Master looked down at your ankle, then up at the monster gaining ground a few feet away. He put your arm around his shoulder and helped you steady yourself. You tried your best to speed up, although it cost you a lot of effort. Eventually, you managed to reach the TARDIS. The Master shut the door behind you and, as you pressed your back against it, he ran toward the console and activated it, taking you both away from there. Once he knew you were safe, he rested his hand on the console, trying to steady his breath. -Well, that was close- he said, turning toward you. -We had worse- you replied with a smile. The Master scoffed. -You're unbelievable- -What? - -You almost managed to get us both killed, and you say we had worse? - -But we did! Need I remind you of Archetryx?- -Oh, please don't- the Master raised his hands. -Besides, it was you who got all worked up about some stone- -Hey, it's not just "some stone". It's the gem of Dhakan- he said, taking the gem out of the inside pocket of his jacket. -It is said to have incredible healing properties and an even more incredible amount of interested purchasers- he explained, wiggling his brows. -Moreover, the king used almost all of its power. It probably only has one spell left, which means its price will probably skyrocket- You rolled your eyes. -You're such a materialist- you tried to take a step toward him, forgetting of your twisted ankle, which promptly reminded you with a sharp sting. You stumbled forward, but the Master quickly caught you before you could hit the ground again. You stared up at him and, for a moment, you got lost in his eyes, which were full of concern. -You got hurt pretty bad out there, uh? - he said, trying to fill the silence. -Uh...yeah I guess so- you found it difficult to articulate a full sentence when he stood so close to you. -Here, you should sit- He helped you to the closest chair and crouched down to hold your leg up. He inspected your ankle, handling it carefully. -It's getting swollen. I think you may have broken it- -Damn, this thing is gonna take ages to heal- you complained, throwing your head back in annoyance. -Just take me home.  I'll get a cab to the hospital- you said, scratching your forehead. The Master looked up at you thoughtfully. A broken ankle meant sitting home doing nothing for weeks, maybe even months. Humans were so frail and slow to heal. Furthermore, that meant weeks without you by his side. Now, that would be unbearable. That was when he realized there was a faster way to solve this. The Master took the gem out of his pocket again. Your eyes widened. -What are you doing? - -Healing you- he replied like it was obvious. -Now, stay still, it should be painless- -Wait, no- you placed your hand on top of his and he looked up at you. -No way I'm letting you waste the last of its powers for me. It's just a broken ankle, it'll heal soon- -Not soon enough- he said. -This is way faster- -But...you were gonna sell that. You said it was priceless- -I can find something else to sell. I'm good at finding priceless things- and he smiled, a soft smile that almost made you blush. You cleared your throat. -If you're sure...- -I am. Now stay still- and with that, he put the gem on your ankle. It started to glow and a few seconds later, your ankle was fine. The gem stopped glowing and became of a dull grey. -Here you go- he said. -Good as new- You rolled your ankle and got up to test it. It was like nothing had happened. -Damn, that thing is good- you smiled up at the Master. -Thank you. I know this was important to you- you said, pointing at the gem still in his hand. -Don't mention it, it's just a stupid gem. I'll find another one- -Maybe you're not as materialistic as I thought- you said, shoving him playfully with your shoulders. He avoided your gaze. -It was an easy solution to an easy problem. Besides, if I had to take you to the hospital every time you got hurt, I would hardly see you- You were taken aback. -Oh, so you would miss me- The Master froze. He couldn't let you see he cared, he couldn't expose himself like that. He scoffed. -Don't flatter yourself. You're a good resource, that's all- You lowered your gaze. -Right- The Master kept giving you mixed signals and you just couldn't understand whether he cared about you or what you could do for him. You were a good companion for him: you were a risk-taker, you were up for almost any one of his plans, you were able to keep up with him and you were clever enough to understand what he was talking about. So maybe that was all there was to it. But sometimes, when he smiled at you in a certain way, or he looked at you for just a little longer, or when he held your hand while running from a threat or, say, healed your ankle after you twisted it, you couldn't help but wonder if there could be more to it. You certainly hoped so. And for now, hoping was all you could do. You looked at the Master as he proceeded to type new coordinates in the computer of the TARDIS. You didn't know it, but he was internally cursing himself for being so obvious. He just couldn't help it, though. When you were in pain, he couldn't just stand by and watch. He had to act, to make you feel better. Besides, if you were hurt, you couldn't travel with him and, as he had found out, your absence was the most unbearable thing to him. He looked up from the laptop to look at you. You were studying the now useless gem he had discarded, turning it around in your hands. You looked focused and so beautiful. He brought his gaze back to the screen, feeling his hearts beating fast in his ribcage. There was no denying it anymore. He was in love.

Motionless Cyber units now stood centurion around the room’s locked doors, terrifying even in their stillness. They appeared to be without instruction, frozen in place, but very much still functional. What was wrong with them? You knew the answer. Your mind drifted back to The Master.

Where the hell was he?

How could he do this to you?

To any one of these people?

A stranger filled your vision, and you felt panic surging through you instantly, heart pumping enough adrenaline to power your chemically-weakened muscles.

“You alright?”

The woman had the authority and certainty of a someone medically trained, a kindness in her eyes even through her fear. She grabbed at your shoulders, checking your vital signs, moving her hands to watch if your eyes tracked them. You groaned. It was all too much, too intense, and you tried not to see rude as you flinched away.

“I’m fine thanks,” you dismissed, peering past her.

You couldn’t take your eyes off the sheer number of people in here.

With a nod she scurried away, back to the rest of the room. They had no idea what was happening, peering up in fear at the frozen metallic claws, at the empty faces of the Cybermen.

You had been so close becoming that. Rotting flesh, trapped inside of a walking tombstone, at the whim of the hivemind which controlled these creatures. You shivered, noticing one frozen in place a few metres behind where the Master had been. They must have encroached on the halted conversion room whilst you’d been asleep, creeping in like demons in the night. Fear gripped you at the idea of those monsters stepping over your unconscious, unguarded body, preserving your form only for its use to them as a puppet.

Since you’d taken those casings apart, you’d been terrified of them. Of the fate which befell those trapped inside, stripped of their humanity. None of those people inside were any more or less worthy of life than you, no one had saved them. They were undead, beyond saving but not yet released from life.

You shuddered.

Your legs continued to shake as you clambered to your feet, tiptoeing closer to one of the Cybermen, expecting it to jump back to life any moment. One question wouldn’t leave your mind: Why were you still human?

You suspected the Master’s involvement but, from the devastation on his face as the gas descended, perhaps he hadn’t had as much influence as you’d thought. With another glance back at the door, you reminded yourself that your worst fears had been realised: he was still gone. Only a frozen monster in an otherwise empty corridor loomed back at you, still locked away by the thick doors which had separated you from him.

They must have closed again after Cybermen entered the chamber, and you knew you couldn’t open them. Cybermen were far too methodical to allow your escape.

Nothing added up. Especially that you were alive without The Master’s involvement.

Had he left on purpose? Assumed you dead? Given up on you?

You couldn’t bear to think about the worst case scenario: that he wouldn’t come back for you. Was he already running, a million lightyears away? Had the Doctor gotten to him?

Had he gotten to the Doctor?

Dwelling on your fears did nothing but make you freeze.

You needed to do something.

There were still people who needed help, you could help them.

But you couldn’t be drawn away from the door. For a sickening moment you wondered if you had imagined him, the way he trembled, begged for you to fight off the inevitable. Perhaps induced by your fear, had you imagined the one person in the universe who could comfort you?

You longed for him to come back, to tut at you for being so scared and tease you for not having a respiratory bypass system.

Instead, he was gone. You were trapped. The noise of the crowd had gradually increased again, raising to a murmur as whispers and hushed sobs of children echoed off the walls. Tones were hushed, everyone terrified of waking the machinery again. Of restarting the horror. Every movement in the room spooked people, and the crackle of an overhead announcement system made people huddle together, whispering frantically as you all anticipated a robotic voice.

‘You will be converted’ still stung fresh in your ears, that sound which had followed you, been offered as the only explanation for what was happening.

That soulless reading of a death sentence still loomed over everyone trapped here.

You tried to stand strong in your position – if nothing else you could be a barrier between the crowd and whatever came through this door – even as freshly-dried tears made your eyes ache.

When a Yorkshire lilt called your name through the speakers, and you smiled.

“Here!”

The group of people backed away from you, watching with equal fear and curiosity as you desperately shouted up to the ceiling, hoping she could hear you.

“I can open one of the doors for a moment, need a power surge and an external battery, it’s a whole thing. Can you see me?”

You scanned the perimeter of the conversion chamber, and spotted movement on the far side of the room. A few of the crowd moved to let you through, whispering, and you could have cried with relief. Her mane of blonde hair was visible through the clear panel of a door, and she waved to you manically as you jogged over it. It was a harsh contrast to how you’d spotted The Master. This time, your relief was warranted.

Unable to hear her, you relied on trying to understand how she pointed frantically to the ground at your feet, before crouching as the played with wires sticking out of something which looked suspiciously-bomb-like. You mirrored her pose, hidden from each other, now below the glass of the window.

You could hear muttering behind you, the shudder of your own breath, as you waited.

There was no rejecting the Doctor’s help now, no matter where your loyalties or personal grievances lay. With the Master gone, she was your only way out.

You had to trust her.

With a gut-wrenching clang the door suddenly shuddered and rose upwards. The thick metal looked too heavy to stop if it fell, but you just held your breath and rolled underneath, trusting her yelled command of:

“Quick!”

She scrambled to pull you clear of the door as it slammed closed like the heavy drop of a guillotine blade, making you cry out as it shook the ground. You had barely made it. That impact would have been fatal.

“Doctor!”

She was already stood, hands on hips. You found yourself left shaking on the ground. She was already on to the next problem.

“I hope that didn’t rewake the system.” She mused as she picked at the smoldering wires, seemingly unaffected by your near-death experience.

You were panting, staring at her in shock. While you’d realised a long time ago that she wasn’t any more careful with your wellbeing than the Master, you couldn’t believe her complete nonchalance. Were The Master in her shoes he would be dragging you back to his TARDIS, apologising for putting you in the situation, his bravado stripped the second he’d seen your wellbeing at stake. He’d be all gentle hands and mumbled reassurance, fury at every single person responsible for the construction of the machinery which had scared you so much.

The memory of his face through the door of the conversion room made your chest hurt, your eyes sting, and you knew he’d never forgive himself for being so reckless. For putting you at risk.

When you looked up, expecting a concerned look at the minimum, you saw the Timelord’s spot vacated. A rat’s nest of wires were the only indication she’d even been beside you. The Doctor was already walking away, shoes clicking on the metallic floor of yet another identical corridor. The Cybermen here were still too, making you hug yourself and run to keep up with her.

“What’s happening?”

“I don’t know,” he ground out.

The Doctor couldn’t stand not knowing. She consulted her sonic screwdriver with a scrunched-up face, holding it to her ear, scanning one of the stationary suits as you finally caught up.

“Where’s the Master?” You demanded.

“What?”

“The Master.”

Her face turned dark, and she scowled.

“Of course he’s involved in all this. I should have known. Right, um…”

With another wave and buzz of the sonic screwdriver, she scowled at the result, then at you.

“Got him.”

Perhaps you shouldn’t have told her that he was here. Would it put him at risk? Would it put her at risk? You couldn’t bring yourself to feel guilty. They would have met eventually, dragged together like unwilling magnets. They always converged eventually. And you really needed to see him.

The Doctor took off running, backtracking occasionally as she followed the trace of him the sonic had picked up. You tried in vain to remember these featureless corridors, should you need to navigate back alone. It wouldn’t work. This facility was endless, an economically designed rabbit warren marked with ruthlessly minimal symbols which you couldn’t discern meaning from.

You wouldn’t be able to get out of here alone.

You spared a thought for the poor souls still trapped in the room you’d escaped, cowering under those metal claws and eyeless Cybermen, herded here like trembling sheep.

As you ran after the blonde Timelord the corridor suddenly opened to a large hangar-style door, like the hotwired one you had barely made it under. Seeing the metal above you made you shutter and halt at the threshold, but adrenaline forced you onwards. You cared more about what was inside, who was inside.

You could see him. Hunched over a computer, Cybermen shrunken at his feet like dolls, the Master was in a state of mania as he ripped the room apart.

Seeing him The Doctor gasped and tugged you around a corner and out of view of the room. You went to whisper a protest, but found her lean hand clapped over your mouth, barely touching but enough to stop you giving away her hiding spot.

“Just trust me,” she insisted. “Stay here.”

She grabbed your hand, squeezing it as though you might be less inclined to follow her somehow.

You couldn’t. Despite everything, you felt the draw of the Master, and she tugged your arm to hold you from straying too close to him as you peeked around the corner, just watching him.

His booming voice was unmistakable as he shouted into the room, but his face was hidden from you. The control room of the underground building was sparking and torn apart in places, The Master’s precise tapping of computer keys was interspersed with the ruthless smashing of server racks as he threw them to the ground, scattering the technology. His dismantling of the room was equal parts strategic and uncontrolled destruction, and you worried for the blood seeping from his knuckles and forearms, his jacket strewn aside and sleeves rolled up.

As he took another break from the computer system to punch at a glass pane, you couldn’t let him hurt himself anymore. You surged forward from your hiding spot, feeling the Doctor trying to hold you back. Adrenaline and happiness to see him was all which powered your body.

Calling to him, you imagined his excitement at realising you were alive. Maybe he’d stop smashing. Take you to safety.

“MAST–”

The Doctor grabbed you around the waist, pulling you against her body, muting you with a single hand clamped vice-tight over your mouth. For a moment the pair of you waited in silence, shocked by each other’s actions in equal measure.  

“I don’t know what he’s done to you, but you need to stay away from him.”

Her accent grew stronger as she whispered, and you frowned. Her hand allowed you to breathe through your nose, but was tight around your jaw, her grip as strong as the Master’s.

“This is between us. You need to go back to the TARDIS.”

Not her TARDIS, you were sure of that.

You grunted into her hand, making her yell in pain as you bit down on the flesh of her palm, wriggling to get free. It didn’t even matter who she was: you refused to be manhandled. Your eyes flashed to the corridor, hoping The Master had noticed you, run to your rescue.

No footsteps came.

With a sigh, her hands found your temple, and your body weakened.

“I’m sorry, it’s a dirty trick. He’s done worse, I’m certain.”

You wanted to cry when you realised she was right. But not for the reasons she thought.

Her TARDIS was a mere few-minutes’ walk from where the pair of you had hidden, and she half-carried you the whole way, her mouth set in a grim line which terrified you more than any time the Master had ever shouted around you. You wanted to struggle, to fight her, but your body was too weakened to do anything.

You couldn’t even cry out, forced into obeying her, muscles made limp by her touch on your mind.

Setting you on the ground in the console room, she finally uncovered your mouth and dashed to the doors, calling back to you. As quickly as you had lost it, you suddenly you regained your strength, able to run at her.

“Stay in here.”

“DOCTOR!”

She darted out of the time ship just in time to escape your fury.

The TARDIS doors slammed closed, locking in an instant as you rushed to try and tug them open. It was no use, your whole body weight against the wood couldn’t move those doors.

You looked up at the ceiling of the sentient ship, hoping she might take your side, only to be met with the gentle hum of the time rotor.

“I need to get out,” you begged. “Please!”

Your exit remained barred.

A blue-tinged screen on the console flickered to life, and you left your post by the doors to peer at it. You could hear muffled voices outside, the screen showing a mute overhead view of the Doctor and her best enemy.  

“Please,” you whispered to her, stroking the console. You hoped she was like the Timelords who piloted her, using the touch to tune into your heart. “Let me talk to them.”

There was static, then a click, and you rushed back to the doors. They were still locked.

As you spun to the console in confusion, two familiar voices echoed through the ship’s speakers.

“Is she in there?”

It was him, voice desperate, demanding. The Master.

“No.”

The Doctor was a weak liar at times. He’d see through her. You pounded your fists at the translucent glass of the doors, then held one palm flat against it, begging him to notice you.

He did.

“Doctor!” He taunted. “You lied to me!”

“Stay away from her.”

Glancing back at the monitor, you could see how the Doctor’s body blocked his access to the door, positioning herself between the two of them.

“She wants to see me.”

“She doesn’t.”

You wanted to scream, object as The Doctor stood cross-armed guard between him and the ship. Your words couldn’t permeate the doors.

“Is she okay?”

The feed showed how his attire was destroyed in places, how he slumped, and something else too…

“You’re crying!” The Doctor declared, shock clear in her voice.

The Master didn’t hesitate, taking a long stride towards her, making The Doctor jut her chin out.

“Is she ALIVE?”

You didn’t need the audio feed to hear his yell, and you could see how the blonde Timelord recoiled.

“Obviously!”

He relaxed a little, taking back control, but you could still see how anger dripped off him. His words escaped him as a growl – frustration and fear a melting pot in his voice.

“You have no idea what could be in that stuff she breathed. You haven’t even checked her over, Doctor.”

“Oh, as if you actually care.”

One of them would snap, the Master’s snarling voice met with a harsh laugh from the other Timelord. One of them would just throttle the other, pull the TCE or a gun from some deep recesses of their pockets, or snap the others’ neck. One of them would survive, pulling you into their arms over the broken body of the other.

You couldn’t bear it. Tension seeped through the doors, through the silence of the TARDIS speakers and the bluelight of the screen.

“I care so much it frightens me. Can you imagine that, Doctor? That it scares me?”

He got closer to her face, almost spitting from anger.

“You’re lying,” she growled.

“I destroyed the Cyberium.”

In the grainy monitor you saw her take pause, inspecting his face for a moment, like she’d be able to see whether the Cyberium had left him from nothing but his panting and the whites of his eyes.

You’d heard about it in vague terms, the Cyber AI which he’d absorbed. You’d seen how he avoided the species like the plague as you travelled, the way he fought with it inside his own head sometimes.

Even when it seemed to cause him unbearable pain, he’d promised you it wasn’t that bad. Only in the quiet moments, when he thought you couldn’t see, did you catching him muttering to himself with his eyes pressed shut.

“You what?”

The Doctor looked disbelieving.

“I followed it. I obeyed it, helped it, and this is how it rewarded me. So I killed it.”

Speechless, The Doctor just stared at him.

“I’ll give you the command codes if you like, just let me take her. Please.”

“Have you hypnotized her?”

The Doctor’s new line of attack made you wince, spitting out her words like poison. The Master held his hands up in a surrender, a small silver box tucked under one thumb.

“No. I swear.”

“Let me talk to her first.”

For a moment, the Master seemed to look straight through the monitor, directly at you, and you swore he could tell you were watching. You moved closer to the screen, arms folded nervously as his eyes flickered back to the Doctor.

“Have it your way. I’ll be in the ship’s command room.” He turned to walk away, but you heard his voice still, steady through the speakers. “If you dematerialise, Doctor, I will hunt you down. And everyone left here will die.”

He marched off and you watched on the monitor as he left, longing to run to him as much as you wanted to kill him. The Doctor’s image paused for a moment, and you could see her pacing outside the TARDIS doors. Distracted by the live feed, you jumped when the doors finally banged open. The screen went black, and you silently thanked the ship for being on your side.

“Let me go.”

You told her firmly as she trudged towards the console, playing with one of the instruments like she was toying with just piloting the ship away.

“I will.”

The pair of you stood in silence for a moment, and you longed to say more, but what else was there to say?

“Is there any way I can convince you to stay away from him?”

You were already looking at the door, wondering if you could remember the route back to the smashed control room alone. The Doctor walked towards you, hands awkwardly behind her back, and you felt a pang of longing for what could have been if she was a little more honest, a little more open.

Her voice was desperate, soft, and it made your heart ache for the happier times you’d spent together. Before the pain which surged back and forth between you, the harsh words and the abandonment. You’d hurt each other irreparably. You couldn’t be happy with her and the fam. They would never be enough.

Despite everything, though, you didn’t want to hate her.

“I’ll always remember the adventures we had together,” you promised her.

So much had gone unsaid earlier, in your anger at her for dropping by unannounced and whisking you away like she still had a guarantee you wanted to travel with her. Facing the realisation that this really might be it, you wanted to hug her.

It was strange, wanting to leave her, and yet being so devasted about it.

“What is he, to you?”

She looked afraid to ask it, and you were sure she wouldn’t like your answer. With a sigh, you saw no sense in lying to her.

“I think I love him.”

The drop of her face was enough to confirm it, that there was no getting out of this without hurting someone.

“No mind control,” you promised.

“You can still stay. He’s dangerous.”

Her words were half-hearted. She knew your choice. You shook your head, and she finally left her comfortable spot, rounding the physical barrier of the console so there was only a few feet separating you.

“I know.”

For the first time since you’d known her, she hugged you, awkward and all misplaced limbs. You accepted it, hugging her tightly back. Her face was hidden from you, and you held her as long as she’d let you, hoping you were imagining the ragged breaths which caught in her throat.

“Will he look after you?”

“I think so.”

She nodded against your shoulder, letting you go.

“Thank you, for everything.”

You meant it. For the adventures, for the chance to get more from life than Earth could give you, for the friendships you’d shared with the fam, and for the chance to meet him.

Perhaps she already regretted that last gift.

“Let’s get going, then!”

Her chipper tone was mismatched for the somber mood as you stroked the console goodbye one last time, mumbling your gratitude to the impossible, ancient ship which had first shown you the beauty and terror of this universe. The Doctor strode out the door like this was any other adventure, and you almost expect to be met with the surface of an unknown planet, just one more time.

She led you through the corridors in silence, and you still shivered at the Cybermen as you passed them, recalling the horror concealed inside these metal soldiers.

With a quick instruction to wait for her, The Doctor darted off to check a rack of servers. This was it. Her easy out. She knew you wouldn’t wait.

You kept walking, unexpectedly recognising where you were. He wouldn’t be concealing anything in the corner of a cramped storage room. He would be at the heart of the ship. Waiting for you.

You were right. The doors to the control room hissed open as you approached, revealing him stood in the center of the room. He’d cleaned up, put his jacket back on, brushed his disheveled hair back and lost that snarling, wild-animal demeanor he had been overcome by outside the conversion room, and while he’d spoken to the Doctor. Like the best of his disguises, composure covered his true feelings as he waited for the pair of you, distain on his face and his hands casually strewn in a trouser and jacket pocket.

When he saw you approach alone his performatively curled lip dropped, face slackening as he rushed towards you, open concern on his face. When you didn’t reach out to embrace him, and he stopped, deflated a few feet from you. He tried to lighten the mood, his features picking up into an unnatural smile.

“I told you I’d get you out!”

“You didn’t.” You told him flatly.

He reached for you, and you crossed your arms over yourself, resisting his offer of affection. You wouldn’t go back to him without an apology, if you could help it.

“You left me there.”

“You’re here, you’re…”

He trailed off at the Doctor’s appearance, barging flustered into the room, muttering that she’d ‘told you to wait’. At her entrance the Master wrapped one arm around your waist, pulling you tightly to him. You tried to get away, and he wouldn’t release you.

This was a show, meant only to remind the Doctor her friend had chosen him over her, and you hated it. You didn’t want to help him hurt her.

“Don’t touch me.”

He ignored your snarl. You kicked at his foot, and he broke his grip, allowing you to retreat from the two Timelords.

“Lover’s tiff,” he smiled apologetically to The Doctor, reaching out his hand for yours.

When you retreated further away from him again, he froze. He offered his palms up apologetically, and you noticed they were still littered with cuts, some particularly brutal looking. You suspected the smashed-up control room around you could answer for that. He caught you staring, open horror on your face, and shoved them in his trouser pockets.

“It’s okay,” The Doctor’s Yorkshire lilt tried to settle you, and she approached you from the other side like a scared animal. You recoiled from her too, and the Master stepped in front of you.

“You brought her here!” He scoffed to the other Time Lord. “Don’t pretend you’re any better than me!”

The Doctor was acting like the hero, as usual, treating The Master like a teacher calming a mid-meltdown child. Her soft voice and outstretched palms didn’t seem quite so sincere, on the receiving end. You could understand The Master’s anger, as her gentle voice tried to placate him.

“I brought you what you want, we can trade.”

Suddenly, pieces clicked together.

“You said you didn’t know the Master was here,” you frowned.

“Did I?”

You turned on her.

“This was on purpose. You brought me here on purpose?”

From the drop of her jaw, you could read that you were right. At least a little bit. You felt your throat tighten with tears. The Master growled.

“How dare you drag her into this!”

“What? Into your plan?” You caught yourself getting hysterical, but you didn’t care. The Timelords glanced at each other, herding you back towards the glass projection which covered the entire back wall.

“You were supposed to be on Earth! If you had stayed, like I told you –”

Under your glare, he fell silent.

The Doctor, ever playing at being a peacekeeper, tried to step closer to you, only to be matched by the Master. You had nowhere left to go, backed against the dark glass wall of the bunker as they looked between you and each other.

“Doctor, did you… know the Master was here.”

“Yes.”

She had the decency to sound remorseful. You thought back on when you first landed, how quickly you’d lost her, been swept up in the horde of people shepherded towards the conversion chamber. You remembered how you’d feared for your life, the heartbreak on the Master’s face as he’d almost watched you experience a fate worse than death.

How she’d suddenly decided she should have a heart-to-heart with you, the second the Master left you on earth.

“You used me.”

They played this game, and you were a pawn in it. She’d brought you were, let you follow her out of the TARDIS, to play with the Master. Just so she could be the savior, and he could play at matching all of her light with his dark.

“Give me the codes, and this can all end,” she spoke to the Master, refusing to relinquish any of her control as the two of them trapped you. “I’ll let you leave. Everyone downstairs lives. The Cybers get destroyed.”

“You’re monsters,” you whispered.

The two Timelords glanced at each other, not meeting your eye.

“Darling… ” The Master began. You cut him off.

“Don’t.”

“The Cyberium in my head, it was too much. I couldn’t handle it, and if I did this, I could find a way to get it out. I needed their technology, their trust. I’m sorry, love.”

You winced at the pet name. He’d called you that in bed, once, and you’d felt like the happiest person in the universe. You couldn’t even look him in the eye.

“I hope it was worth it.”

Even The Doctor wasn’t speaking. You glanced at her, trying to read anything but shock on from her expression. Following your eyeline, the Master seemed to jolt at the recollection she was even there. Both of you startled as he shoved a hand into the inside of his waistcoat, rummaging.

He threw a small silver communicator underhand to The Doctor, and she barely caught it, inspecting it with unguarded horror.

“Take this. You can dismantle the conversion facility with it, get the people downstairs out.”

She was already at the computer console, sneaking wary glances at the pair of you as her hands flew across the keys, computers still a little scorched from The Master’s earlier go at them. With the second Time Lord out of the picture, The Master turned to you.

“I was destroying this place. For what they did to you.”

“Why did you leave me?” you demanded, “down there?”

“I had to be here, to stop the gas, to freeze the hivemind. I’d already destroyed the Cyberium, I couldn’t stop it. I wasn’t in control.”

You wanted to believe him so badly, the pain in his eyes seemed so real, and he held eye contact with you like you’d never seen before.

“She was never meant to bring you were. I swear, I’ll kill every one of them myself if I have to.”

“Those people down there, they’re just like me. You were going to kill them?”

“They’re not you–”

“Believe it or not Master, I’m human. I’m the same as them. I know you hate it, but I’m the same as them.”

“You’re not–”

“I am! And you were willing to let them die.”

The tremble of his hand as he reached for your cheek gave away his fear, and you recoiled, wincing as your head collided with the hard glossy wall. The Master flinched too, dropping his hand.

“Think how many would have died if the Cyberium had taken over my mind. Taken my ship. Had you.”

The timeline was confusing. Upsetting. Too much to think about. You frowned as you tried to think about it.

“That’s why you dropped me home.”

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t let you see me losing control like that. I thought I could come back when it was all over, if I could get my mind back.”

The Doctor was working noisily, and an alarm started going off as she hacked further and further into the base’s system. Outside, you heard a ringing as a Cyberman crumpled to the ground.

“We need to leave.”

As angry as you were, you nodded quickly, letting him guide you out of the room. As you passed, the Doctor called your name.

“It was the only way, I’m sorry. I had to show him what he was doing…”

Her face was truly devastated, for the brief glimpse of it you caught, but you couldn’t forgive her. The Master’s arm found your waist, guiding you away from her quickly, and you let him.

Betrayal had rooted deep in your gut, making you want to nauseous as you looked at her face. All your history together, and she had knowingly dumped you in the middle of a crowd to be converted into Cybermen. Just to hurt The Master.

You saw those blank creatures, their masks hiding the faces of real people, who had loved and been loved, had dreams and wants and needs.

She’d told you it was the worst thing she could imagine. That she’d lost friends to that cruel death and would never risk losing another. At the time your heart had ached for her, for the suffering she had been through, her only crime trying to do the right thing. Apparently she didn’t consider you a friend anymore.

The screeching of collapsing metal ricocheted off the bare corridors, and the Master moved the two of you faster.

You screamed as a Cyberman moved beside you, an electrical twitch before it collapsed to the ground in a pile of loose metal, and the Master’s arm tightened around your waist even more protectively.

You couldn’t move. Your feet were stuck to the ground as you saw the unnatural way the creature fell, the skeleton inside so decomposed the usual flexibility limits of a human body were far exceeded.

Almost pulling you over with his momentum, the Master stopped beside you. He followed your stare towards the horrific sight beside you, and made a noise of discontent in the back of his throat. With a gentle hand he guided your head away until you couldn’t see the creature anymore and the vision was replaced with his face.

“I’m sorry.”

Against your better judgement, and despite everything you’d been through, you hugged him. In the corridor as the base started to crumple around you, you couldn’t help unravelling at his touch, his head against yours as he pulled you tightly against him, feeling tears welling up in your eyes as you pressed your face to his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” he whispered.

“No.”

Deep red lights illuminated the corridors around you, and you felt his sharp inhale of fear.

“Talk later. We need to run. Now.”

The Master struggled to navigate the corridors, swearing to himself each time he reached a junction, and dragging you in the right direction after a moment of panicked, hitting-his-own-head thought. It brought you some small measure of comfort, in the midst of this horrifying day, that he couldn’t have been here long.

Lungs aching, you fought to keep up with him. Even the Master was stumbling, unused to running for this length of time, and he shot you looks of concern as your human body needed to wheeze for breath. The collapsed bodies of Cybermen and the screaming of alarms were enough to keep you moving as the very structure itself rumbled. The burning pain in your muscles could wait.

You noticed the Master cursing up at the ceiling level above, where the Doctor still resided, muttering. What was she doing?

Finally you let yourself slow at the sight of his ridiculous outback shack. It was completely out of place and blocking a walkway. That stupid ship. You loved it.

It was facing the wrong way, and you had to use the back porch steps to clamber up onto the structure, faltering as the comfort of being near the machine finally let your adrenaline crash. He half-dragged you to keep up as you both rounded the veranda, throwing the doors open and firmly pulling you inside. He rushed to the console as the rumbling of breaking concrete and collapsing earth followed you into the ship, and you didn’t have the heart to care about the destruction happening outside.

The Doctor could handle the people who were trapped. She always did, their savior no matter the cost.

The moment the TARDIS’ doors closed, you fell into that old rickety sofa, and sobbed.

The Master piloted in silence, and once the murmur of the ship engines had stopped, he paced towards you awkwardly. He crouched to sit himself on the low table opposite your curled form, clasped his hands, and bowed his head. He let you cry yourself out, staring out as the windows at the vortex – empty and filled with flashes of colour all at the same time.

After a while he left, coming back with water and tissues, and you took them gratefully.

A few sips of water left you with enough voice to speak, albeit tremblingly, as he watched you worriedly.

“Do you think the bunker collapsed? After we left?”

“Probably. I think she got them out though. The computers could open the doors to the surface.”

“Good,” you said firmly.

“Good that they got out, or that the building collapsed?”

“Both.”

He chuckled, pulling your clenched hand away from your face. He pressed a kiss to your knuckles, keeping them held to his lips. His hands were warm against your fingers as he held them, leant forwards with his elbows resting on his knees, lips surprisingly soft.

You knew he could check the fate of the bunker collapse. Future archeologists would have found it, if no one at the time recorded its outcome. But you didn’t particularly care for the truth. This ending was nicer.

Even after you fidgeted, trying to get more comfortable with him holding your hand away from you, he didn’t let go. You noticed the marring on his hands, already scabbing a little, and turned onto your side to touch the wounds.

“Do these hurt?”

“A little. They’ll heal up with some sleep, though.”

You laughed hollowly. Of course, a nap could heal wounds which you would need stitches for. He smiled sadly against your lips.

“Did you get hurt, at all? I was worried about the gas.”

“I’m a bit bruised, but I’ll be fine.”

The fall and the running made your muscles ache, but the main hurt wasn’t physical.

She’d betrayed you.

“She asked me to leave with her.”

He bowed his head, lips moving against your knuckles as he spoke.

“You said no?”

“Duh.”

He smiled.

“Thank you.”

You shrugged, not totally forgiving of him yet either. The energy had left you to fight. All you wanted was a bit of peace, convalescence before this inevitable game started again. The reckless travel, fighting over how much damage to cause, and the sex he didn’t care about.

How much longer could the two of you keep this up?

You wondered if you’d ever regret the decision to stay with him. When death stared you in the face again? The next time he forgot how human you were? At the pull of the TCE’s trigger, as he killed someone without a second thought?

Maybe then the Doctor’s different-but-equally-grey morals might seem more appealing.

Perhaps if you’d begged her to let you rejoin the ‘fam’, the Doctor might not have used you as a bargaining chip.

“When I saw you through that window… I realised you mean more to me. More than I’d ever expected.”

The admission would have made you swoon, on another day, but you just threw your head back against the wicker armrest, emotionally exhausted.

“I mean it.”

He was watching you for a reaction, and you rolled your head to face him.

His eyebrows drew together in a frown.

“You must be shattered, love.”

You could only nod, and he dropped his forehead to the hand he was clutching, a silent apology.

“What can I do to help? I need you to tell me. I’ve been alone too long, and I’m not good at this stuff –”

His breath was hot against the skin of your hand. It made you shiver.

“I just want a shower. And to sleep. We can talk in the morning I just… I’ve had a long day.”

“Of course.”

It wasn’t a surprise to you, his capacity for tenderness, but you hadn’t seen it this exposed, this prolonged, before. He seemed to move a little easier than he had in the last few weeks, his mind not drifting so far from where it ought to be tethered.

You wondered if he’d ever tell you how badly the Cyberium had affected him.

“Sorry.”

Maybe he knew what your apology was for, maybe he didn’t. Nonetheless he shook his head, helping you up, his hands held out in a silent offer for support walking should you need it. You took your own steps, legs trembling a little from overexertion as you walked alongside him towards the corridor which housed both of your rooms.

“Wait a second,” he murmured, leaving you so he could check a screen, humming at whatever he saw.

Like he’d never left, he was back, arm held out for you to take. You laid a hand across his elbow lightly, not to lean on him, but to be near him.

“What was that?”

“Just checking you’re okay.”

At your puzzled look, he continued, tone dismissive.

“The TARDIS checks your vital signs. That green gas was nasty, unknown, I just wanted to check it didn’t need any immediate attention. Seems like it just knocked you out. How are your muscles feeling?”

“Exhausted, obviously. I think I’ll ache tomorrow.”

He hummed in agreement as you reached your door, surprising you when he opened it for you and followed you inside.

“High lactic acid. Blood-oxygen’s a touch lower than I’d like, too.”

You frowned.

“Do you really measure all that stuff on me?”

“Is it creepy? I hoped it wasn’t. I just… it’s not exactly intrusive, better than a checkup or whatever. It lets me know you’re not about to drop down dead.”

He moved around your room as he spoke, collecting pajamas and your hairbrush, various other bits and bobs you might need in an overnight bag. When he caught you watching him, confused, he walked back to the door. Your possessions were bundled against his chest, secured by one of his hands.

“Come use my bath. There’s some soaks that should help you recover.”

The shake in your legs wasn’t just from the running as you crossed the corridor, surprised by the realisation his door appeared to be unlocked. It was barely six feet from the entrance to your room, but you’d never seen this door open.

You had assumed his room was always locked. When he was in there, absent from the rest of the ship, it meant he wanted to be left strictly alone. Going inside, even with his hand guiding you, felt forbidden.

He’d always fucked you in your room. It was easier for him that way. It allowed him to leave the second he was done, if he wanted to. Even when the pair of you got more comfortable, laying together, spending more time intertwined just reading or watching movies, his space was off limits.

He didn’t miss the way you halted at the threshold, looking around at the curiously designed space. The furniture didn’t match the room, you noticed. Colourless walls were contrasted with a regal four-poster, antique bookshelves stretched high towards an iridescent crystalline ceiling, futuristic inlaid lights illuminated the messiness of a hand-carved oak desk.

Old and new clashed, everything regal and big, but barely filling the oversized space.

“It’s a bit weird,” he conceded, “you can stick to your room if you like.”

“No, no its fine. Just not what I expected.”

He set your things on the bed, and you picked over the sweats he’d brought, clutching them to your chest.

“What did you expect?” he grinned.

“I don’t know. Versailles? Or some kind of BDSM torture chamber?”

With a laugh he appraised the room, biting his lip in amusement.

“Are you disappointed?”

You found yourself grinning too, as he shucked off his coat and lay it over the desk chair.

“A little.”

The newly formed tension between you had felt like a lead weight, and you only realised when it was broken. You bounced on your heels as much as your injured muscles allowed, and let him lead you to the bathroom.

“Don’t change yet, I’ll just grab some shower stuff!”

More classic, the bathroom was all marble, the space dominated by an oversized claw-foot tub. For a moment you realised the pair of you could fit in there comfortably, before brushing the thought away. Exhaustion was making you hazy already. You’d just fall asleep.

Plus, you remembered, you were mad at him.

Ignoring his warning you started to strip off, left in just your underwear by the time he appeared in the doorway with an ‘oh!’

“Its fine. Nothing you haven’t seen before,” you pointed out.

He still looked sheepish.

“Rub this on anywhere that hurts before you get in the water, should stop any inflammation and you’ll feel better in the morning.”

“Help?”

You were too tired to navigate the pain mapped all across your body alone, and you didn’t want to be without company. The screams of the child who’d lost a mother, of the people who’d seen that gas descending, the slamming of the door you’d barely rolled under, they’d all find your ears again as ghosts the moment you were without distraction.

Without you stripping off any further, the pair of you managed to apply the chalky substance all over your body, the honey-sweet smell filling the air as his hands cautiously rubbed it across your muscles. You were more slapdash with your own application, and he quietly returned to spots you’d missed, making sure you wouldn’t ache. His attention to your muscles was so tender and careful, you had to keep talking, just to stop yourself choking up.

“I could have used this on the Doctor’s TARDIS!” you had tried to joke.

The other Timelord was far more fond of running, and you’d woken up countless mornings in agony, even as the fun of the day before electrified the atmosphere in her ship.

The Master stayed silent.

On many levels, you felt you understood him a little better now. It had hurt, to be betrayed by her, but you had something in common now.

“Did it hurt to leave her?” he whispered.

The Master’s eyes were on your calf as he kneaded the substance into your skin, but his hands froze at your momentary silence.

“Yeah. It did. Before I realised what she’d done, at least.”

He nodded silently, swallowing. The pair of you froze as you finally put the glass jar down, accepting that this excuse to be together was done. His hands left your skin and he walked to the sink awkwardly, washing his hands in silence.

He didn’t leave, leaning against the counter and watching you.

“Give me a shout if you need me, okay?”

You smiled, suddenly shy, barely recognising the man in front of you.

“Thanks.”

“I’ll be just outside.”

Finally, he left. He closed the door with a click, and instantly you felt like an intruder, left alone in his bathroom. It was tidy, but everywhere were reminders it was his space. Aside from your clothes folded messily on the counter, there was only his things. A matte black range of branded products scattered the room, lined up by his toothbrush, on a built-in shelf of the shower. You wanted to investigate them, smell them. See which of them were responsible for the smell you associated with him.

The tub of hair clay by the sink had the lid slightly ajar, and it made you smile as you corrected it. He must have gotten ready in a rush. It was strange, that he’d even wanted you in here, but you hoped it was some step towards real closeness. There was still so much to say, but that was easy to forget when he was there, caring for you.

You’d only left the Doctor because you could see a future with him – something she couldn’t offer you, surrounded by carelessness and lies and three other companions. The Master could offer you more. You could almost picture your own toothbrush, stood up next to his.

You stripped off your underwear and left it on the countertop, foregoing the tub for the alluring waterfall shower in the corner of the room. It was easily big enough for four people, all natural-cut stone with a simple pair of dials to control it. Beautiful, and completely to the Master’s taste.

Before you had touched anything the TARDIS started the water, a slow trickle turning into a warm sheet of water which made you sigh at the sensation of being underneath it.

“Thanks, dear,” you mimicked how he spoke to the ship, and she flickered the lights in return.

It was heaven, to finally have every remaining atom of that base, that conversion room, those corridors, swept off your skin.

The products you reached for all smelt faintly like him – a matching suite of mildly citrus-scented body wash and hair products. Exhaustion and the smell made you feel dazed as you rubbed the chalky healing substance off your body. The smell of him made you feel somehow guilty as you tried to clean the sweat and grime from your hair and your face. His senses were so attuned, you wondered if it would freak him out. Or whether he’d like it, to have you smelling of him. Like a claim.

If he was still outside the unlocked door the thundering of the water hid any noise he made. You rolled your shoulders and turned the heat up, letting the heaviness of the water rush over you, waiting for this day to make sense.

You had no idea how long you stood there lost in thought. The Master’s voice dragged you back to reality, calling your name worriedly through the door with a rap of his knuckles against the wood.

“Are you okay?”

“All good!”

Calling back, you quickly rinsed your hair before shutting the water off, suddenly driven back to motion by his concern. Back in your early days together he’d often overestimated how much humans could withstand, lamenting the ‘wasted’ hours of sleep you wanted, or the frequency with which you had to eat. He’d gotten better recently. He was aware of how exhaustion affected you, appreciated that you couldn’t walk or run forever. It had amused you when he started carrying food and even occasionally arranging places for you to stay overnight, should your travels require it.

On a fundamental level, he had started caring for you more.

The Master had never gone to this extent, though. Or perhaps you had never needed his care as much. The scans his ship seemed to run on you proved he’d at least been checking your body was okay all this time.

Maybe he’d always just checked your health and opted to let you heal alone, before today.

A deep burgundy towel hung on a heated rail beside the shower and you grabbed it, careful not to slip as you wrapped the material around you. It was oversized, thick and soft, and you couldn’t help the jolt when you felt the warmth of it on your bare skin and remembered it was his.

Even though he’d been inside of you, gotten to know you, you’d never been allowed to know him back. Not really. This felt like a start.

You had to brush the thought aside, drying your hair as best you could without a hairdryer, pulling on pajamas and leaving the wet towel back where you found it for the ship to deal with. It took a moment, and a deep breath, for you to finally emerge from the steam-filled room.

The Master was sat on his bed, reading some book from his collection which was quickly strewn onto his desk as you approached.

“Better?”

“Yeah, thanks. I think I’ll still ache tomorrow.”

He looked a little sheepish.

“Hopefully not. That stuff’s pretty good, usually.”

You stood uncomfortably for a moment, waiting for some cue from him on where to go from here. He turned down the bed, silently pulling the covers aside for you to climb in. Then he looked at you expectantly, as if you were obviously supposed to just clamber into his bed. You were surprised, but all too grateful for the comfort.

“Really?”

He left your question unanswered. You settled beneath the sheets, and The Master watched you as he tried to figure out what to do next.

“Do you want me to…”

He was mid-thought, it seemed, asking you if he should leave his own bedroom. You spoke over him.

“Can you stay with me? Just for tonight. We’ll forget it ever happened tomorrow if you want.”

He faltered, still watching you curiously. You wondered what his plan had been, if not to stay with you.

“Every time I close my eyes, I see those fucking metal claws, the insides of those creatures, I –”

Without a word he stripped off his jacket, boots and waistcoat.

“I just need a shower. Give me five minutes.”

You nodded, wrapping the covers around you and trying to get comfortable. You’d never had ‘sides of the bed’ - he’d never stayed long enough to designate those - but you couldn’t shake the feeling you were in the wrong place.

It was stupid. To be having casual sex with the man, to trust him with your life, and not even feel entitled to be sleeping in his bed.

Something had to change.

The Master was barely gone two minutes, emerging from his shower with a towel slung around his hips. He rummaged through his wardrobe before tugging free a pair of checkered pajama trousers, glancing to check you were still there before silently returning to the bathroom to change. You looked away at his half-nakedness, hoping he hadn’t noticed your breath hitch.

The two of you were a mess.

His awkwardness didn’t escape you as he rounded the bed, shirtless and with wet hair.

He climbed in beside you, careful not to touch you, and you tried to be as unobtrusive as possible, letting him pull the covers over himself and refusing to let your bodies roll together, even as the mattress gave. To your surprise, he lay out to mirror you, on his side behind you.

If not to the distance between your bodies, he could be chest to chest with you.

“Comfy?”

You nodded against the pillow, hands self-consciously tucked away in front of you. You could feel it when he spoke, the whisper of his breath on your neck. His head rested inches behind yours, intimate even as the pair of you didn’t touch.

“You smell nice,” he mumbled, nose close to your freshly-washed hair.

You laughed.

“I smell like you, of course you like it!”

That got a chuckle out of him, and you could feel how his body moved the mattress as he exhaled.

“Are you cold? Your hair’s still wet.”

You shrugged, and he brought his arm around you, resting it on you without pulling you in. He made a noise of contentment as you shuffled closer into him, letting him hold you more easily.

With a gulp, you hoped his closeness to you would stop him from recoiling at your question.

“Before you dropped me off… when I fell asleep…”

“I’m sorry.”

Oh.

“So, you did do it.”

“You wouldn’t leave otherwise. It is not safe for humans around Cybermen,” he trailed off.

The question you wanted answered was obvious, hanging in the air, making you tense.

“Its not okay, to mess with people’s heads like that,” you chided him gently, with no anger in your tone, nothing to make him explode at you like he had before.

“I… yeah. I know.”

You frowned, even as you knew he couldn’t see you.

“The Cyberium… it made me not trust myself. It was relentless, talking to me. Muddling my thoughts with the AI…”

“You were scared.”

“I was furious. It made me volatile.”

His face buried into your neck. As though this was the most natural thing in the world, you found yourself trusting his touch. You brought a hand up to stroke his hair as he mumbled against your skin.

“I was scared. It threatened to hurt you if I didn’t do what it wanted. I didn’t sleep for a month, couldn’t let my guard down, knowing it might use my body to hurt you. It was trying to get to me.”

You found his arm where it was strewn across your side and covered it with your own arm, squeezed his hand in comfort.

“You should have told me.”

“How could I?”

Without a response you fell silent, thumb tracing the hairs on the back of his hand.

“I hope you’ll forgive me, someday. You shouldn’t have been there. I promise.”

He blamed the Doctor, beyond all anger, he was just upset with her. You could never hope to understand the length and breadth of their tumultuous relationship. It would take a human lifetime to comprehend the bond between them – two near-gods who had been stuck in a game of cat and mouse for their whole lives.

“She used me.”

“I wish she hadn’t.”

Without seeing each other’s faces, it was easier to talk.

“Would you have stopped it, if I hadn’t been there?”

“Eventually. I wanted to destroy the base properly. I wanted a plan. I hate the Cyberium for what it did to me. It should have been power, knowledge, and instead it tried to steal what I knew, take my body for its own. The things it showed me… how it threatened me… I couldn’t let it take what’s mine.”

“The TARDIS…” you realised.

“And you.”

You nodded abruptly at his words.

One thought wouldn’t leave your mind: those people around you, he would have let them die.

Collaterally to you, he’d saved them.

And maybe that could be a start.

“Is the Cyberium totally gone now?”

“Yep! Transferred it to the supercomputer on the base, and then destroyed the machinery. Tricky to hide my plan from the AI, but I managed it.”

You couldn’t help smirking at his brag.

“And how do you feel?”

“Glad to have my mind to myself again,” his tone flattened.

It was hard to believe everything fell together, just like that. It still felt so unfinished, so… unhandled. In the minutes you were alone the feelings of betrayal, the sheer enormity of your ordeal, had felt so unmanageable. Now, you felt ready to heal.

Beneath his hand, your stomach gurgled loudly, and you cringed at the noise.

As you were about to apologise, the Master spoke.

“Wait, did you eat today?”

You frankly had no idea how long today had even been. You shook your head with a confused frown, realising that now the adrenaline had left your system, you were damn hungry.

He clambered out of bed, and you pulled the duvet aside to follow him, your muscles protesting at even the idea of walking to the kitchen.

“No, stay there, you need to rest. I’ll be quick.”

True to his word, a plate of food was dumped on your lap in minutes. Some of it not quite fit for human consumption, but most of it your favourites.

He clambered back into bed beside you. He used his body to prop you up comfortably. He picked off what you didn’t want, chatting away about nothing in particular, and something scarily like peace settled over you. That twinge of panic, the fear his mood would flip on a dime, ebbed further away every time he made sure the blankets were covering your feet. With every second he sat beside you, sneaking bites of your food and laughing when you spilt crumbs on his covers, your resolve grew.

You’d stay.

Maybe you imagined it, but he seemed so much happier in his own head. The dark moments when he wasn’t paying attention never appeared, the mental war he was fighting never sneaking outwards to play across his face. Every laugh felt sincere, every word authentic.

When you were done eating the Master cleared the plate, and you took it in turns to brush your teeth. He went first, and when you took his place in the bathroom you saw a brand-new toothbrush sitting innocently beside his at the sink.

The sight made you feel dizzy, even minutes later when you re-emerged into his darkened bedroom, taking your place once more in the bed. The image of those two toothbrushes side by side was burned into your mind. He pulled you to his shirtless body wordlessly, no hesitations this time, whispering a goodnight as the room fell into pitch-blackness.

You needed to rest.

Each time you closed your eyes, you tensed up. No matter the comfort, The Master had gone still beside you, but you were certain he was still awake.

“Where are we?”

“Somewhere near the Alzarium Galaxy, I believe.”

“How far–”

“Half a universe away, I promise.”

You closed your eyes again, feeling him breathe behind you as you tried to push the image of that collapsed Cyberman from your mind, the screams, that crying, motherless child. You’d seen horrors before, but rarely as the victim of them. Never so close.

Suppressing tears, you opened your eyes, staring into the darkness of the room.

“I can’t sleep.”

He hummed sympathy, pulling you tighter to him and brushing his nose against your neck. You sighed into him, trying to close your eyes again, unable to keep your mind from straying.

“Help me?”

It had probably been a few years since you had seen anyone else, and you found yourself getting lonely again. Talking to yourself became boring after a while, and there was rarely any good memories to focus on in the times you needed them. You were sat in your makeshift bed in the bunker you had discovered many years ago, trying to distract yourself from the hunger gnawing at your stomach, when you heard voices.

Of course, there was a possibility that you were imagining things, but it was worth investigating. Once you were out of the bunker, you set off down the hallway hoping to hear the voices again. Of course, you only heard them again once you had started to give up hope.

“- always wondering off?”

You only managed to catch the last part of the conversation, but this was definitely someone new talking, a man from the sounds of it.

“Not always.” There was a pause. “Well okay, yeah she is but-“

The second voice sounded like a woman, with a different accent to the man.

Unfortunately, since it had been a while since you had met anyone new, you had forgotten the importance of staying quiet and hidden until you could be sure they were safe. You accidentally kicked a rock across the ground, and it made a scratching noise as it slid across the worn tile floor.

Hopefully they wouldn’t hear it.

“Did you hear that?”

Shit.

Hopefully these people were some of the nicer ones, and not the kind who would attack first and ask questions later (you had encountered a few of those).

“Hello?” The man called out from around the corner, though his call was followed by a muffled exclamation from the woman.

You debated you options before deciding that the best course of action would be to talk to the newcomers. They didn’t sound like a threat, and even if they were you had a couple makeshift knives on you to defend yourself with.

Luckily, once you walked round the corner you were met with an unthreatening sight. Neither of them were armed with anything, and their clothes definitely weren’t ones that a warrior or soldier would wear. Still, you knew that appearances could be deceiving so you remained weary of them.

“Hi, I’m Yaz and this is Dan, we’re a bit lost - where are we?” The woman - Yaz - had an air of authority about the way she spoke.

“Hell, I guess. I don’t know exactly.” You replied, not wanting to give them too much information.

“Well that’s ominous.” Dan huffed out with a slight laugh, clearly nervous about your answer.

Yaz ignored him, “Okay, have you seen anyone else down here? We’re looking for our friend, she was here with us but then we got separated.”

“I haven’t seen anyone else in a while, she could be dead.” You replied bluntly, a combination of hunger and sleep deprivation making you forget about conversational rules.

“She’s not dead! Why would she be dead?”

“There’s things down here, monsters, they’re very good at killing.”

Both Dan and Yaz looked rather bewildered at your answers, though Yaz seemed to recover quicker.

“What’s your name?”

That question, that stupid question that everyone always asked!

Fed up of the useless question and answer session, you moved past the newcomers and started walking down one of the hallways. The sounds of footsteps behind you told you that Dan and Yaz had decided to follow.

“Look, we’re not trying to bother you, we’re just trying to find our friend and then we’ll go.” Yaz tried again, and you had to applaud her stubborn nature.

“Go? You can’t go anywhere, the only way out of this place is death.” You laughed a little at them, how hopeful they were.

“Luckily for us, our friend has a ship that can get us out of here - you could come too if you wanted.”

This made you pause where you were walking, turning around to face the strangers again. No one else had ever had a ship.

“Is your ship here? In this place?” Desperation was bleeding through your voice, but you didn’t care.

“Yes, it’s how we got here.”

You didn’t know how to react, all these years you had never had as much hope as you did in this moment. All of your thoughts were racing around your brain, though only one stood out.

“Koschei. Your friend, is her name Koschei?”

“Uh, no, her name’s The Doctor.”

Deflating slightly, you took a step back from the strangers, trying to ignore the twinge of sadness in your hearts. Even if this person wasn’t Koschei, she could still get you out of here, and maybe you could convince all of them to help you find Koschei.

“Alright, where did you last see her?”

———

Predictably, neither Dan nor Yaz remembered exactly where they had last seen their friend, which meant that you had all had to wonder around the corridors hoping you would find her. It had been about an hour since you started your search when you finally heard some noise in the distance. Picking up speed, you headed in the right direction, and you were met with the sight of another new person.

“Doctor!” Yaz called out enthusiastically, hurrying towards her friend.

Dan followed behind her as well, with a smile on his face. On the other hand, you were still being cautious, so you hung back while they all greeted each other.

“Ah! Yaz! Dan! There you two are, where did you wander off to?” The Doctor turned to greet her friends enthusiastically.

“We weren’t the ones who wandered off.” Dan pointed out, though The Doctor was distracted by your presence.

“Who’s your friend?”

“Uh, I don’t know actually - you never gave us your name.”

All three of them were looking at you now, clearly expecting you to give an answer. Unfortunately, you couldn’t just brush them off again, if they really did have a ship then you needed their help to get out of this place.

“I don’t know. Everyone else who has ever come here has had memories of a life before, but I don’t. I can’t remember anything about my life before, not even my name.”

The three of them gave you pitying looks that you did not appreciate. You’d had enough years to get used to the solemn fact, not that you didn’t hope everyday that you could get your memories back.

“But, you said a name before didn’t you? Kovu or something?” Dan pointed out.

“Koschei, it’s the only name I do remember, but somehow I know it’s not my name. Whoever Koschei is, I know they’re good, I’ve been hoping that they’d show up one day and help me escape.”

“Sorry, did you just say Koschei?” The Doctor asked, a curious look on her face.

“Do you know them?” Hope, again, bloomed in your hearts.

“How long have you been here?” The Doctor asked instead, ignoring your question.

“I stopped counting after the first century, but it’s probably been two centuries by now.”

“Y/N.”

As soon as The Doctor said that name, you knew it was yours. She was looking at you with such a sad look in her eyes, and you couldn’t help but wonder why. Whoever she was, she clearly knew you, and that meant she probably meant Koschei.

“That’s me right? That’s my name? You know me?” You took a step towards her, desperate for the answers she held.

“Yes, it is. Y/N, we thought you were dead. I mean I- I thought you were dead.”

“But, Koschei, who are they? Who are they to me? I can only remember them in my dreams, but I know that they mean a lot to me.”

The Doctor paused before answering, trying to figure out what to say to you.

“Y/N, I don’t know why you’ve lost your memories, but I need to know before I tell you anything.”

Theoretically, you understood. Memories, brains, minds, they could be tricky and intricate and so very easy to break. But you were so tired, and so close to answers, that you couldn’t help be frustrated with The Doctor.

“But it’s been 200 years! It’s been 200 fucking years and I just want answers! I need to know who they are, and I need to find them. Please just tell me something.” You were begging at this point, but you didn’t care.

All three strangers were looking at you with some of the saddest looks you had seen in a while, but you didn’t want their pity.

“Come on Doc, at least give them something,” Dan spoke with a soft voice, trying to urge her on.

“I can’t, I really can’t, but I promise I will find Koschei for you. Then him and I will do what we can to get your memories back, alright?” Luckily, she looked sincere enough that you believed her, nodding to show your agreement.

Before you could say anything else, you heard a familiar screech from a nearby hallway. You hated that noise.

“What was that?” Yaz asked.

“Danger, follow me.”

Then you took off running down the all to familiar hallways. You didn’t stop to check that the others were following you, hoping that they had the common sense to do so. Eventually, you made it back to the secluded alcove that lead to the bunker. Ducking in you let the three of them pass you before pushing the lose stone in the wall that caused the false wall to slide back in place. Not pausing to breath, you lead the three strangers down the hallway into the main area of the bunker.

This room had a few makeshift beds, as well as desks and your small stash of supplies. There were a few adjoining rooms, one of which you had claimed as your own, that were filled with similar items. The Doctor, Yaz and Dan started to look around the room while you moved into your own room, looking to see what food you had left over.

The Doctor followed you in not long after, and her eyes were immediately drawn to the hundreds of drawings littering the walls. They were all of Koschei, even if you were never able to get his exact facial features, you had drawn every version of them you could remember. She walked close to one of them, her fingers tracing over the drawing without actually touching it.

“These are beautiful.” She told you, a strange tone to her voice.

“Thanks, I can never quite remember their faces from my dreams, but I can get close.”

“He’d love them.”

You nodded, not trusting yourself to be able to say anything else without crying or yelling at her again. You hated that you were so close to getting everything you had been after for years, and yet so far at the same time.

“Y/N, what were we running from?”

“I don’t know, most of the time I only hear them. All I know is, when they make that sound, they’re out to hunt. There have been others here in the past, but they’ve all been killed by the thing - either by accident or willingly.” You did everything you could to avoid the creatures, and it helped that being here for 200 years meant that you knew the patterns.

“Do you know when it’ll be gone?”

“Three hours from now is normally when it gives up, might be a bit longer though if it smells you and your friends.”

“Alright, make sure you have anything you want to bring with you. We’ll leave to the TARDIS as soon as it’s safe.”

“How? Do you remember where you left it?”

“Nope, but I do have my sonic!” The Doctor pulled a silver object out of one of her pockets, seemingly very proud of whatever it was.

“What is that? Like a tracker?”

Her face fell at your question, clearly reminded of the fact that even if she knew you, you had no memory of her.

“Multi-purpose tool, but yeah, tracker works.” The Doctor gave you a half-hearted smile, before putting the device back in her pocket.

“Great, I’ll uh, gather some things together.”

Without being able to ask about your missing memories, you found you had little to talk about with The Doctor, leading to many awkward pauses from the both of you. Luckily, she didn’t try to make anymore conversation, and left your room with a nod of her head.

Looking around your room, you were unsure of what to take. You didn’t have much of sentimental value other than the drawings, and however much you wanted to take them all, you knew you wouldn’t be able to. The only other thing that you knew you definitely wanted to take was the remaining clothes you had turned up with.

It had been a long red robe, covering a blood orange shirt and trousers. The shirt had been torn many times, and you had cut the sleeves to a shorter length many years ago. The trousers were still in decent shape, though you had ‘borrowed’ a second pair from a long dead friend. You also had a black jacket that you wore over your shirt whenever it got cold, though that had been a gift.

You picked the robe up from its place on your bed. It was a soft material, and it was the first thing you grabbed for whenever you woke up in a cold sweat. As you held it in your hands you studied the intricate golden patterns woven into the fabric. You never knew the significance of them, whether they were simply beautiful patterns or whether they meant more. Maybe The Doctor would tell you.

———

The creature had left after three hours and forty-seven minutes. By then you had gathered your favourite drawings and your robe together, though you stayed in your room while you were waiting for the creature to leave. The few times that you had gone to the main room to check where the creature was by listening through the walls, The Doctor, Dan and Yaz had stopped their conversation nearly immediately.

It hurt that The Doctor was telling her friends all about you while you weren’t allowed to know, but you didn’t have the energy to confront her. Despite the fact that you had dreamt of leaving this place since you had arrived, you couldn’t help the fear and worry that plagued your mind. You had lived here for two hundred years, and it was literally all you knew. The only person who would have been able to give you some form of comfort wasn’t even there, and you felt a little betrayed at that.

Once you confirmed that the coast was definitely clear, you picked your things up from the ground and let the others know. The Doctor immediately pulled her sonic out of her pocket, and pressed a few buttons on the device. It lit up, though it only started to buzz when she faced in one direction. While you lead the way out of the bunker, The Doctor quickly took charge when you entered the main hallways.

The walk to her ship was quiet, the only noises that could be heard was the buzzing of The Doctor’s device and your collective footsteps against the tile floor. You had to resist looking back at several stages, knowing that if you did you might change your mind about leaving. For all you hated this place, you loved the familiarity and predictability of it. Now, following The Doctor and her friends to her ship, you were heading into the unknown. While The Doctor had promised to reunite you with Koschei, you had no guarantee that she would actually deliver on this promise. You also had no guarantee that whoever Koschei was would want to see you again, for all you knew they could have been the one to cause your memory loss.

As soon as you had that thought, you got rid of it, because it was a stupid thought. Somehow, despite whatever had happened to you, you knew that Koschei was safe and trustworthy. Somehow, despite every other memory of yours being wiped, that assurance still remained and it had to mean something.

Soon, the four of you rounded the corner and were met with a peculiar sight. There was a large blue box stood in the middle of a hallway, and for some reason you felt drawn to it. Without being fully aware of what you were doing, you walked slowly towards the box and reached out your hand. When you brushed the wood there was a strange sensation, and a strong wave of emotions, though they definitely weren’t your own emotions.

“It’s alive?” You asked, curious as to how a seemingly inanimate object could have a form of consciousness.

The Doctor’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion at your comment, though her expression quickly changed to a more neutral one when she noticed you looking at her.

“Yep, this is my TARDIS, and she is very much alive.” The Doctor gave you a proud smile, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

With a click of her fingers, the door opened for The Doctor, causing you to flinch back slightly in surprise. Then you followed the three of them into the ship. There weren’t words to describe how beautiful she was, the combination of glowing crystal like structures and the seemingly everlasting consciousness you could feel wrapped around the entire structure caused you to gape as you looked around.

“She’s beautiful.” You told The Doctor, though your eyes were focused on examining the different parts of the ship.

“She’s showing off a tad, I think she missed you.”

“She knows me?”

“Yep, I’m pretty sure she’s the reason why I managed to find you. Back when you went missing, I set up a program to search for any traces of you across the universe. I was under the impression that it hadn’t worked, but actually I think it might have. The readings I got from that place were, unusual to say the least. I think she’s been looking for you all this time, it just took her a while to find you. Now that I think about it, I might also know why she managed to find you now.” The Doctor muttered the last part of her sentence to herself, though you heard it anyway.

Then The Doctor started dancing around the console with Yaz, pressing various buttons and pulling various levers, presumably preparing to take off. Looking over to Dan, you saw he was bracing himself against one of the pillars, so you decided to follow suit. You were glad you had when The Doctor pulled a final lever and the entire ship shook. Once the four of you were stable again, The Doctor pressed a few more buttons, nodded at a screen, and then headed over to you.

“Right, I’ve set the TARDIS to start scanning and sending out signals to see if she can find him. So, while she works on that I was planning to give you a scan in the medbay to try and find out how and why you lost your memories.” The Doctor was smiling at you again, but it still didn’t seem to reach her eyes.

You were starting to feel even more unsure about trusting her, and you glanced around the room looking for possible escape routes incase the need arrived. Then you felt the TARDIS in your mind again, sending you a comforting sensation that managed to calm you down before you properly started to panic.

“Okay, but you promise I’ll see Koschei again as soon as you find him?”

“Promise.”

With a nod you let her lead you further into the TARDIS, towards the medbay, Dan and Yaz followed the two of you as well.

The room you entered was all white or light grey, though there were gold linings on the walls. There were three beds on one side of the room, and various pieces of equipment on the other side. The Doctor headed over to the equipment, telling you to sit up on one of the beds. You gently placed down your drawings and robe on a nearby chair, before doing as she asked. Yaz was hovering by The Doctor, occasionally holding items that were held out to her, while Dan was leaning against the wall closest to the door.

You watched closely as The Doctor started fiddling around with various bits of machinery, and you tried to calm your nerves. Finally, she clicked a few final buttons and stepped back from the apparatus that she had rigged up.

“There we go! Right, this machine is going to help the TARDIS give you a full scan, all you need to do is lie down and rest - it should take about an hour. In the mean time, Yaz and I’ll go and see if I can find The- Koschei. Dan’ll stay here though, so if you need anything just let him know.”

“Yaz, are you alright?” 

“Yeah.” She replied shortly, not even bothering to look at you.

“Are you sure? You seem a bit… off?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” She snapped at you, obviously not fine.

“Look, maybe we should just go back to The Doctor and see if the others managed to find anything.”

“Why? Are you scared?” She jested unkindly.

Your first instinct was to argue back, but you paused. Sure, Yaz had been acting a bit off, but this wasn’t that. Rapidly your mind was piecing together the puzzle until you came to the conclusion.

That wasn’t Yaz.

Yaz, or rather not-Yaz, finally turned around as she noticed you’d stopped.

“Come on, it was only a joke.”

“Who are you?” You queried with a scowl.

Not-Yaz laughed at you, “Y/N, what are you talking about?”

“You’re not Yaz, Yaz wouldn’t be acting how you are or saying what you are.”

Not-Yaz stared at you for a moment, before her demeanour changed entirely. You’d known - or rather strongly suspected - that you weren’t talking to Yaz, but seeing the difference in front of you was frightening. Not-Yaz started laughing, in a maniacal way that the real Yaz never would have.

“Have to admit, it took you a little longer to figure out than I’d expected. I was starting to question my decision to take you over the rest of The Doctor’s pets.”

You stepped back, scared and unsure of whoever was in front of you, but Not-Yaz noticed and lunged forward to grab you by the arm.

“Ah ah, not so fast. You’re mine now Y/N, and you won’t be getting away.”

You struggled in her grip, but Not-Yaz just held on tighter. You could feel your heart racing faster than it had before, but the rest of you was frozen in fear, stopping you from calling out for help (not that anyone would hear you all the way underneath the city). 

“Who- who are you?” 

Not-Yaz only cackled harder at your question.  

“Oh, of course, where are my manners? We were never formally introduced, so allow me to do so now.” Not-Yaz stepped away from you dramatically, though still keeping hold of your arm. 

You saw her reach into a pocket and fumble around with something, before you heard a click. Then there was a shimmer all over Not-Yaz’s body, and the illusion of Yaz was gone, replaced with a man in a purple get-up with an even more sinister look on his face.

“I’m The Master.”

For a second, it felt as though time froze. You’d known of him, of course, the rest of the fam had told you all about the strange man who blew up a plane and turned them all into wanted fugitives. They’d told you how he was supposedly an old friend of The Doctor’s, though she hadn’t recognised him until he introduced himself. They’d told you that after their encounter with him, The Doctor had rarely been the same as she was before. Before, she’d been upbeat, optimistic at all times, always willing to help those who needed it. After, The Doctor that you’d met and gotten to know, was cruler, she snapped at her friends and rarely gave second chances.

You’d often found yourself wondering about this man, a man who was supposed to be her old friend, a man who could change her personality so rapidly and leave her a shell of the woman she’d been before. Now, here he was, stood in front of you in all his mad glory. He had you in his hands and you were terrified, but before you even had time to process everything his grip on your arm tightened once again as he pulled you in close. Close enough that your noses were an inch apart, if that. Then, he reached out towards your face and you flinched back. Shockingly, his touch was far gentler than it had been, as he stroked his thumb pad over your cheek. 

“Oh little one, you and I are going to have so much fun together!”

The look on his face and the tone of his voice were a stark contrast to the gentleness of his touch, and your entire body was practically screaming ‘DANGER! DANGER!’ at you. However, you were completely helpless, and were unable to stop him from dragging you forward with him through a hidden passage in the wall.

When you’d entered you registered, somewhere in the back of your mind, that you were most likely in his TARDIS’ console room. Unfortunately, you were too far gone at this point to fully think that through. All throughout your confrontation with The Master you had been desperately praying to yourself that someone, anyone, would come to your rescue. Though as you stood at the side of the room and watched as The Master commanded his ship to dematerialise, you felt the hope inside of you die. 

“Just O?”

“Yep.”

“Like the letter?”

“Yeah, it was an old nickname from MI6.” He smiled at you and you couldn’t help but reciprocate.

Then you followed him into his house where The Doctor and Graham were already making themselves at home. While he and The Doctor discussed what was happening you decided to take a look around his place. It was the sort of organised chaos that you knew would only make sense to him, and that anyone else who needed to find something would have to really look. You smiled at that thought, as it reminded you of your apartment.

Throughout the evening you found yourself drawn to O. His presence was a nice change from the fam, though you still appreciated them you felt strangely connected to O in a way you never had with any of them. You weren’t sure whether you simply had a crush on the man or whether it was something more than that. Trying to distract yourself, you focused on helping The Doctor with the problem at hand.

————

The night had been rather eventful, with the glowing aliens showing up at O’s home and Yaz also appearing, clearly very shaken up at the events. Somehow, you had managed to get a couple of hours of sleep, which was better than none. You still found yourself nearly nodding off when The Doctor was rattling off about something to do with the aliens, furiously tapping away at O’s computer. Catching his eye briefly and accidentally, he gave you a small smile and you felt your face heat up. Luckily everyone else’s attention was focused on The Doctor as she lead the way back inside.

Eventually all of you were piling back into the TARDIS to prepare for Barton’s birthday party. It had been a while since you had been to a party, especially one this fancy, so it had taken you a while longer than the others to decide on your outfit. However you finally settled on a black and white suit, matching the others though tailored slightly different.

As you left the dressing room you found O waiting in the wardrobe room for you, leaning against one of the walls, and you felt a little giddy at the realisation. He was also wearing a suit, and you couldn’t stop your eyes from wandering over his form and taking him in, he looked good. Upon noticing you he stood up a little straighter, giving you a warm smile that caused your heart to flicker. You felt your cheeks warming when you realised he was checking you out just as you had done to him.

“You look great.” O gave you a sheepish smile, and you were glad you weren’t the only one who was nervous in this situation.

“Thanks, so do you.”

“Hmm, I think you need one last thing to pull you outfit together.” He told you, raking his eyes over your body again as he walked towards you.

You didn’t have time to ask him what he meant, as he pulled something out of his pocket and held it out for you to see. It was a small bracelet with marble patterned stone beads. Each was had its own unique pattern, and was either a shade of black, grey or purple. The colours complimented each other and your outfit perfectly, and you grinned at how thoughtful O had been.

“I found it with the rest of the accessories and thought you might like it.”

“I do, it’s perfect.”

You held you hand out to him, expecting to be handed the bracelet. Instead, he slipped it onto your wrist for you. The movement was incredibly slow and delicate, and you found yourself suppressing a shiver.

Eventually, his hand fell away from yours, and you couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. If you had been slightly braver you might have held onto his hand for longer, maybe even pulling him in for a kiss.

“We should, uh, probably get back to the others. They’ll be wondering where we are.” Somehow you managed to form two coherent sentences without tripping over any of your words.

O simply nodded at you and gestured for you to lead the way back to the console room, following behind you as he didn’t know his own way around the endless ship.

————

At the party you and O had stuck together while Ryan stayed with Graham and Yaz was with The Doctor. For the short time you had been there you had found you were enjoying yourself. Though you were sure that that was less to do with the party itself and more to do with spending time with O. Of course, all good things had to come to an end, and you soon found yourself on a motorcycle chasing Barton’s car as he shot at the six of you rather manically. You felt your heart beating out of your chest, more so than it usually did in these situations due to O being pressed up behind you clinging on rather tightly.

The Doctor had lead you all to follow Barton to an airport hangar, sneaking in as quietly and quickly as was possible.

“That’s one big plane.” Ryan observed as you all watch Barton start to board.

“Where’s he going in that?” Yaz directed her query at The Doctor.

“I don’t know, but we can’t let him get away.” She replied, turning to face the rest of you.

“How? It’s not as if we’re gonna just jump on a plane with him, is it?” Graham piped up sarcastically, though you could tell by the way The Doctor’s face lit up that he was going to be regretting his choice of words.

The Doctor nodded and the turned around to start sprinting towards the plane. It was a stupid plan, more stupid than the majority of her plans, but it was the only plan she had and it did sound rather fun. Ryan, Graham and Yaz started running after her, and you were quick to join. You watched as the others pulled themselves up into the plane, and you were glad that they helped to pull you up when you reached them.

Looking behind you you noticed O was only a few meters away, but the plane was picking up speed and you were worried he wasn’t going to make it. He sped up and managed to get a grip, you and The Doctor both helping to pull him up into the plane safely.

“Sorry, I’ve never been good at sprinting.” He half-yelled over the noise of the plane.

“What?!” The Doctor replied, though you weren’t to focused on her as you made sure O was able to get up alright.

“Come on Doctor, we’re about to take off!” Ryan reminded you all.

“In the main cabin!” She replied, and you all followed her instructions as she closed the cargo door.

You were still wheezing for breath as you walked up the isle and took a seat, trying to calm yourself down from the thrill and adrenaline.

“Never been good at sprinting?” The Doctor questioned O, a curious look on her face.

“I was the last one in every race at school.” He looked a little embarrassed at the fact and you felt a twinge of sympathy for him.

“No no, I read your file, you’re a champion sprinter.”

“Hmm, got me. Well done.”

Your head snapped up towards O immediately at the change in his tone of voice. It was as if the very atmosphere of the cabin had shifted at O’s words, heavily influenced by the fearful look on The Doctor’s face.

“What’s going on Doc?” Graham asked, voicing everyone’s thoughts.

“I don’t know.”

I turned round, a gleeful, almost sinister expression passing over his face.

“Well you best take a look out the window.”

As everyone else rushed to look out the window, you found yourself staying put in your seat as your eyes met O’s. He smiled at you, and your heart started to flutter instinctively, but there was a dangerous look in his eyes that caused you to gulp.

“How is your house out there?!” Graham’s voice caused you to break your gaze away from O, sneaking a glance of his shack - now spinning in the air outside the window.

You were almost entranced by O and The Doctor as they spoke to each other, unsure of who was at the advantage at any given moment. Though you found yourself observing O more than your alien friend, and you noticed the subtle shifts in his behaviour and posture more and more.

“So what’s going on then? He’s not really O?” Ryan asked from somewhere behind you.

“I’m her best enemy.” He replied, his voice almost calm despite the situation.

O walked past The Doctor towards you and the fam, chuckling softly at her despair.

“Call me Master.” He was replying to Ryan’s question, though when he spoke all of his direction was aimed at you.

In that moment you almost forgot the circumstance you were in, staring into his beautiful eyes. He started to walk past you, advancing on your friends though his eyes never left yours. As he got to your side one of his hands reached out to caress your cheek, far gentler than you would have expected from his manic demeanour. Finally his gaze turned away from you, back to The Doctor and your friends, though his hand stayed in place as his thumb started stroking your cheek softly.

Everything around you became a blur again as your focus remained solely on him, even as his hand fell away from your face to display the miniaturised version of the original O. It was like the events taking place before you were not real - simply a show playing on a television that you were forced to watch. You were finally snapped out of your trance as O danced around in a frenzied state and your friends rushed to the front of the place once The Doctor had announced that Barton was missing.

You managed to pull yourself up and out of your seat, walking along the isle slower than the others and stopping a little before the seat O had chosen.

“Cockpit bomb. Short fuse - I can relate to that!” He half joked as he stood up again and walked to the now empty end of the plane.

“NOW, do you really think that I would not make that sonic-proof Doctor?!” He yelled as The Doctor tried to sonic the bomb, his anger making you flinch back slightly. “Deadlock sealed, and I made sure, no parachutes on board.”

“But where’s Barton? We saw him coming in!” Yaz pointed out.

“Called away before take off, by me.” He told her smugly, before turning his attention back to you. “Stick with me y/n, cos I control… everything.”

You felt your breath hitch as he stared at you, and you weren’t sure whether it was because of the frightening situation or the near sinful way he was looking at you.

Then O whistled and spun around as the Kasaarvin emerged from thin air. Their arrival caused your fear to spike, though it only seemed to amuse O as he laughed gleefully.

“Get away!” Was all the warning you got from The Doctor before an explosion came from the front of the plane.

You were thrown onto the floor, causing you to become disoriented, and you gripped onto the closest chair in hopes of staying alive. Somehow O had managed to stay upright, and he started to swagger down the isle towards you and The Doctor.

“One last thing, something you should know in the seconds before you die. Everything you think you know, is a lie. Got you, finally.” He stood above The Doctor, clearly rather proud of whatever he had accomplished.

Then he reached for you, managing to pull you up off the floor and into his hold with minimal effort, though you offered no resistance due to the shock.

“Oh, and I’m taking y/n with me.”