TARDIS Tales ~ A Bundle of Short Stories From Doctor Who!

The Master and The Doctor... as it should be...?

The Doctor hummed slightly as he continued to do some repairs and fix up the console of the TARDIS. She was almost ready to fly, and he was more then relived that when the Master cannibalized her, she wasn't permanently damaged. "I can fix you." He cooed to the TARDIS as he rubbed the console lovingly. "You're a strong girl, aren't you?"

"Must you talk to the machine like that?" The Master drawled as he walked out to the console room, his arms folding over his chest and looking completely miffed- though, that didn't bother the Doctor, he was used to seeing the Master like that. 

Ever since the year that never was ended three months ago, the Doctor had taken full responsibility of the Master... and that meant the three aquariums, five malls, and a whole planet was destroyed because the Doctor wasn't watching the other Time Lord close enough. 

"Me? And she isn't just a machine!" He declared, turning to look at the Master with a small frown. "She's a living thing. She has a heart, and she cares about me-" Suddenly, the Doctor smiled mischievously. "How many times have you gotten lost in the last three months?" The look on the Master's face was murderous as he sat down on the captains chair with a small huff. 

"I don't need to answer to you. She just doesn't like me because she's a bipolar machine. I hope she explodes." He grumbled, making the Doctor smile and shake his head. The Master was so grumpy, something that hadn't changed since they were kids, just running around in the red grass... 

The Doctor sat down next to him, and the Master scooted away with a grumble, shifting uncomfortably as the Doctor just sat there, looking thoughtful as he allowed his mind to wander over things. Random things about how the Master had effected him in the last three months of having the other aboard the ship. He was with the Master again, and he had to admit, he had missed the Master so much- it didn't bother him to admit it... what bothered him was how he still felt about the other Time Lord.

The Master hated him. It was a known fact that was thrown out across each Galaxy, written in the stars throughout the universe. The Master hated the Doctor. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less. There was nothing the Doctor could do to change that. 

Nothing... but that didn't change the fact that the Doctor was still in love with him.

But they can't be together, because the Master loathed him.

It wasn't always like that, though. When the Doctor was Theta, and the Master was Koschei, they were madly in love with each other. The Doctor smiled sadly as distant memories flooded his mind, and he reluctantly allowed himself to remember them. Sitting in the grass as they stared up at the sky, holding hands (oh, how the Masters hands fit so perfectly in his) secretively on walks up to the forests, and last but not least, the Master's soft lips on his, making his hearts thump wildly in his chest as they kissed, even though they knew that it was forbidden on Gallifrey, that it wasn't proper. 

"What are you even doing right now?" The Master's voice rang through the Doctor's head, pulling the other out of his musings.

"Hm? Oh, nothing. Just thinking, Master. That's all." He mumbled distractedly, waving it off as he stood up once more, and started to move over to the console. The Doctor had his hopes up when he caught the Master looking at him softly sometimes, almost with a caring expression- but that was only for a split second, before the other Time Lords expression turned hard once more, and he demanded to know why the Doctor was looking at him like, and he quote, 'that',

The Master only looked at the Doctor with that expression when he thought the other wasn't looking- oh, but the Doctor was looking. Always. But yet, the lonely monster had been rather weary, so he couldn't really recall if it was just in his head, or if it was real. The Doctor (Obviously) was hoping for the ladder. 

"Wanna go anywhere special?" The Doctor asked suddenly, running a hand through his already messy and sticky uppy hair, making the Masters eyebrows raise as he stared at the others hair like it was an alien being itself. "We could go to a planet called Midnight! Go on a train to a sapphire waterfall together... or, or, or we could go to the biggest library in the Universe-"

"Or you could possibly shut up." The Master groaned, shaking his head at the Doctor's insolence. "Honestly, do you really have to behave like an eleven year old?" It was slightly hypocritical at what the Master was saying, but the Doctor chose to ignore it, and just stick out his tongue, walking over and standing in front of the Master. 

"And if I don't?" He pressed, smiling as if he was making a challenge with the Master, the Master he loved so dearly, and he knew that the other would be able to read it in his eyes. The love he had for the Time Lord who was sitting in front of him, his arms crossed and a serious look covering his face, wasn't the same love he had for Rose.

This Love was more important... ancient.

"What are you going to do if I don't stop talking? What are you going to do if I just continue to rant on about my favorite places in the Universe?" The Doctor asked, still grinning boyishly. The Master rolled his eyes, then sighed loudly. 

"Then I would simply have to do this..." Without any warning to the Doctor, the Master grabbed the other Time Lords neatly ironed blue and brown tie, and pulled him down into him, causing their lips to touch together in a gentle kiss. After a minute, the Master pushed the Doctor away, causing him to hit the console behind him, looking much like a deer in the headlights. 

For a long moment, neither one said anything, and the Doctor's reasoning for that was to try and process what had just happened. He studied the Master carefully, (who had the same bored expression on his face) wanting to try and figure out his emotions...

But the Doctor couldn't solve the Master at all. 

The Doctor's brows furrowed as he tried to think of why the Master could do that... how he could kiss the Doctor, even though the Master loathed him. 

"Not going to say anything?" The Master asked, still watching the Doctor intensely, looking (was that a hint of worry?) thoughtful. "And I thought you still 'loved' me. Hm." He hummed disapprovingly, making the Doctor shake his head quickly. 

"What! No, it's just- I always just thought- wait." He said, suddenly frowning at the other, his eyes widening even further. "H-How did you know that I still..."

The Master scoffed, waving the Doctor off with a small shake of his head. "It was obvious. The look in your eyes whenever you spoke to me, and how you keep promising to fix me." He let out a dry laugh. 

"This isn't funny..." The Doctor said, frowning as he noticed that the Master was taking this as a huge joke. "I thought you... I didn't know that you-" 

"Theta, shut up!" He groaned, throwing his head back with an obvious annoyed expression. "I do love you, you dunderhead. For Rassilons sake, I thought you were smarter then that. The drums, on the Valiant, they were stronger then they are now. Making me a tad bit more sane then I was before." He droned on, watching the Doctor with a small glare. The Doctor knew that the Master hated talking about the drums, and he couldn't help but let a warm feeling expand in his chest as the Master admitted that he loved the Doctor, and that he opened up about the drums... kind of. 

"Y-you... you love me?" He asked, swallowing the lump that suddenly formed in his throat, his eyes never leaving the Master's own amber ones. 

"Yes. Stutter again though, and I'll punch you." He warned, a glint in his eyes telling the Doctor that he wasn't joking about the warning at all. The Doctor nodded, then took a step forward, not sure what to say to the other Time Lord in front of him. 

Though after a moments of silence, he finally found a small phrase of hope that he had been searching for... those three words. "I love you, Koschei." 

The Master scowled at the name before sighing, and grabbing the Doctor's tie once more with a rather predatory grin playing on his lips, and a mischevious sparkle in his eyes. "I love you too, my idiot."