Chapter Text
The Master pushed open the door to the TARDIS with a careful gentleness that not many ever witnessed from him. It wasn't easy, with no free hands. A weary look lay in his eyes and yet he seemed refreshed. No wonder, had he just gotten back a part of his life force he had been missing for so long.
But at what cost?
He glanced down at the lifeless body in his arms. The weight of the young woman was so much heavier than it should be, although now there was even less of her than ever.
The Master quietly walked deeper into the TARDIS, searching for a room he had once found there, a long, oh so long time ago. It seemed like an eternity that he had been here. Then, to escape. Now, to preserve.
A majestic tree stood here, proud, in the centre of a small, lush forest. Not one with silver leaves, not one that reminded him of Gallifrey. No, this one had a more earthen look to it, with a thick, gnarly trunk that told of centuries and a crown as wide as the whole "forest". A creek ran its path next to it, whispering secrets, patiently digging into the ground and vainly hoping that - one day - it may become a river.
A good place, the Master decided. She had always loved water, had always begged to visit lakes and oceans, had wanted to skip stones or just sit there to listen, never getting tired of it. On that fateful day, he had found her by the sea even, bleeding out, willing to leave the world and still too enamoured with it to die anywhere else.
And he had brought her back.
Only to take the life he had given her for himself again.
Careful not to stumble, the Master walked over grass and sticks until he reached the tree. There he sank to his knees and bedded the body against the ancient wood. She was still in those sailor clothes and it made his hearts twinge for a moment. It looked as if she was just sleeping. With a tender movement that surprised himself, the Master reached his hand out to stroke her cheek.
He recoiled when all he felt was coldness.
.
"Wake up, Doctor!" The Master called out, annoyed. "We're leaving."
The other Time Lord had, for once, actually done what he had been told and had gone back to the sailing ship to sleep. There was a good amount of alcohol their bodies could just dispose of on command, but some beverages were nasty enough to knock even a Time Lord out. For a bit.
The Doctor groaned and rolled on his back, blinking at the Master. Then he suddenly shot straight and blushed bright red, drawing the thin cover higher over himself. "Wha- what are you doing in here?"
He rolled his eyes. "Waking you, isn't that obvious? And stop being so prude. I saw you naked already. Now get up and fetch your human. We're leaving."
"Why do we need to be awake, though?" the Doctor slurred, maybe from sleepiness, maybe from a rest of ginger. "And why don't you just get her yourself?"
The Master grimaced. "She's just going to slap me again." A hard admission, but it was what it was. And right now he had no desire to harm the red head.
He paused at that thought. This shouldn't even bother him. Actually, it shouldn't even have bothered him to get those two back with him. Sure, his unfinished Vortex Manipulator was powered and stable enough to survive another few jumps, especially since the distance wasn't that big. But those two would surely have managed to get back on their own. This ship, albeit on sailing mode right now, had an engine after all.
Bad influence. That was the reason, he decided, watching the Doctor fumbling for clothes. The usual suit and brown coat. After all these days at sea they surely must smell salty. There was a leaking spot right above their heads, collecting condensed water that now steadily dropped down. With all the salt in the air, who knows, it might grow a stalactite over time.
"You're… not looking."
The Master blinked and turned his head. The Doctor stood there, only in his boxers and the shirt in his hand. No, he hadn't been looking. He didn't care. So he shrugged.
"A second ago you blushed because I saw you under a blanket," the Master grumbled.
"Just surprised, 's all. And…" He struggled for words for a bit and turned away, talking to the floor. "I thought you wouldn't want to see me." The Doctor buttoned up his shirt and reached for the discarded tie, still wearing only boxers otherwise.
Of course he would think like that after blurting out his admission, some hours ago.
The Master felt numb.
All these centuries and he had wanted to hear those words and now that he had gotten them, he wasn't so sure anymore if they even meant anything. Or was he really stricken by his loss of the human he had just laid to rest? That small flame that had managed to illuminate the darkness around him just… enough. Without this light he might have never been able to even accept those words.
The Master stopped thinking. He stepped closer to the other man and grabbed the still loose tie around his neck to drag him down to his eye level. The Doctor stopped all his movements, swallowing, eyes darting towards the door and yet, he stayed. One simple fact and it made the Master feel something he'd rather shove back into an unnamed corner of his self.
"Say it again," he rasped out, momentarily disgusted by how pleading his voice sounded.
"S… say what?" The Doctor trembled slightly.
"Don't play with me." He dropped forwards just the tiniest bit, their noses almost touching.
If he could run, the Doctor probably would, but he was trapped and had no chance, the Master wouldn't let him have one. All those centuries of running and hiding and fighting and then more running, were enough.
"Master," came a plea.
"Say it."
The Doctor inhaled sharply, fixating his eyes on his counterpart. Oh, there were so many emotions swimming in those.
"I… love you."
The Master closed his eyes, inhaling the admission, spoken so softly and yet with a fever that burned so hot it made him squirm and then… lean in. He wanted to taste those words from the Doctor's lips, wanted them to be true like nothing else ever was. His grip on the tie hardened, leaving no room for escape. And, much to his equal delight and surprise, the Doctor didn't even try to. A soft, surprised noise came out of his throat, then he let himself fall, moved his own lips against the Master's, testing, tasting, uncertain if all of this really happened or was only part of a really bad hangover dream.
But no, it had to be real. The Master shoved him backwards against the wooden wall, pressing his own body closer. He wanted the Doctor to be trapped and at his mercy, he wanted to cut off every opportunity to prematurely run away. He wanted his head to be quiet.
None of the force and none of the restriction was necessary. It was as if the Doctor had only waited for the permission to obey the suffocating want that must have gnawed on him for centuries. The Master groaned when an image shot into his mind, of red grass and the smell of lemever flowers. Their minds bristled against one another, squeezing impressions into their heads like heated atoms that catapulted out of their fixed grid. And for just a second the Master was tempted to open up and let their minds pour into each other. Because now what would it matter? All was lost and no reason stayed to keep the boundary any longer.
Except… memories. Too many and too precious and too painful to let the Doctor see even a glimpse of them. It was too soon. It would be too soon in a hundred years and more. So the Master closed off his mind and instead used his body to substitute at least a fracture of the closeness he seeked. He pressed his leg against the Doctor's crotch and suppressed another groan when he found the man hard and ready, throbbing and willing.
Not what he had expected. And that alone rushed through the Master with a fierceful fire he could and did not want to tame right now.
His hand flew downwards, groping its way over the boxers and then, deliciously slowly, inside. There wasn't even a protest. The Doctor let out a sigh and dropped his head backwards. Such a good angle to bite that exposed neck, to nibble and suck and kiss along every inch of it. And the Master did exactly that, eliciting more sighs and soft moans from the Doctor, all while ignoring his own aroused state.
"W-wait," panted the Doctor, right as the Master was busy creating an especially pretty bruise on his skin.
"I waited long enough," growled the Master.
"No, w-wa… ohhhh." His words drowned in a moan when the Master sank his hand lower to cup his balls and squeeze.
"Not letting you run away again."
"Master."
"That I am."
And still, somehow the Doctor managed to softly push him away, just enough so their eyes could meet. Eyes that were almost completely black from desire. But no fear. "Lay down?"
It was all he asked and the Master blinked stupidly for a second, his gaze wandering to the messy bed. The sight made his guts twist.
"No." Too intimate. He was not here to be soft and gentle. He was here to claim this man, make him his. Mark him like prey.
To his surprise, the Doctor just nodded. He didn't stay as passive as before, however. No longer just a deer in the headlights. He shifted his weight to the side a little, giving the Master better access to himself, while also being able to fumble with the button of the other one's pants. The Master wasn't sure for a moment if he should allow it, but by all stars! That burning look in the Doctor's eyes! It made his knees weak and also made him too aware of the throbbing in his own too tight pants.
"It's only half the fun otherwise," the Doctor rasped out, having the audacity to wink.
And, oh, those long fingers, they made such quick process with that button. And the zipper. The Master closed his eyes, giving in to the sensation of wandering fingers and how the pressure lessened as soon as he got freed from the confines of cloth. Cold air hit him, but was then covered by the Doctor's warm hand and the heat he made flow through every single vein like liquid fire.
The Master buried his head in the Doctor's neck and breathed in the scent of this unfamiliar body, muffling all those involuntary noises there. How long had he waited for this? Not this precisely, but… all of it. Them, together, somewhere, not running, not fighting - except for not being the first to cum. The Master wasn't sure he would last that long. For a second he contemplated just letting go, maybe even allowing his body to produce semen for once, like they had sometimes done during the academy, to annoy the other, to soil and mark them. Primitive as it might be.
"Don't you dare," muttered the Doctor, his voice playfull. He remembered it too. Or maybe could see an image swim through their connected skin. It was impossible to close off completely with another Time Lord.
The Master chuckled. "Only if you stop struggling."
An indignant noise came out of the Doctor's throat, followed by his grip tightening, his pace speeding. But so did the Master's. They were both long past any point of coherence, both clinging to the strands of control they had trained for centuries.
Powerplay.
The Master smirked, then he bit down hard on the Doctor's shoulder, making him buck and slip for a delicious second. He heard a yelp and a whimper and the shaft in his hand pulsated hot and rapidly. The Master bathed in the sensation and finally allowed himself to let go as well, thrusting into the Doctor's hands one more time before he slowed, shuddering and tumbling into a delicious moment of almost silence. For seconds his own heartbeat was louder than the drums, or was it the Doctor's?
It didn't matter.
They returned eventually and the Master pushed himself away from the Doctor, bringing his clothes back in order in the process. Surely the other one would scold him or try to argue or whatever nonsense, but he already planned to get away, get them all down from this ship and back to the TARDIS to where…
"Can't be the only one who needs to sleep off some alcohol."
The Master shook his head and glanced at the Doctor. "Huh?"
"Oh, don't give me that look." He shyly chuckled. Still leaning against the wall, dishevelled, slightly confused, but with a strange smile on his lips. "That wasn't a sober action, no matter what you wanna tell."
No… no, of course it wasn't. Nothing this evening had been. There was nothing rational about all of this. And suddenly the realisation of everything he had done washed over the Master, the adrenalin, the fear, the pain, the remnants of hormones in his bloodstream, the ice cold shards that sat where his hearts used to be.
Why was it so hard to breathe all of a sudden?
What had he done?
Why had he taken his life force from her?
Why had he ran to the Doctor?
Why had he allowed himself to lose that much control, why had….
"Master!"
He winced and looked up. Two hands grabbed his shoulders. The Doctor's worried face loomed over him. The Master blinked again, taking one deep breath to calm himself. It didn't help and his reaction made the other man retreat, hesitantly, carefully; It looked as if he pondered about every reason why he might have messed up.
No, no, it wasn't the Doctor who had…
The Master shook his head and groaned, driving his hands into his hair and gently dropping forward against the Doctor's shoulder. Fuck. He needed this, he needed someone to keep him from doing something really stupid. Maybe even more so than burning up an entire planet because he had thought he could bring back… no, bad train of thoughts.
"Don't… don't run away," the Master ground out. "I can't stand it. I can't keep running after you."
There was a moment of hesitation, but then the other one moved and put a hand in the Master's neck, gently stroking skin. "I'm not sure how," he feebly admitted and chuckled. "I'm not even sure you're here for… For what even? Why did you just…" He huffed out an unspoken question.
That made the Master laugh, finally. He couldn't help himself there. It wasn't a loud laugh, barely a sound at all. "Because I wanted to." He fixated the other Time Lord with his eyes. "Because you let me. I've…" He pressed his eyes shut and ground his teeth. There were so many words that refused to leave his star's damned mouth! "It wasn't me who ran. That was always you."
It had to be enough, for now. The Doctor visibly swallowed. Another drop from the ceiling hit the ground. "Then…" His tongue darted over his lips. "Let's not run at all." And he nodded towards the bed. "Get sober again, see how we think then. Or… oh, right, you wanted to leave."
"Not important. That can wait." The Master walked the two steps backwards and dropped down on the mattress. "You're right. I'm not functioning properly. I can fix this, I can… No… no, no, no, it doesn't matter, not now." His eyes met the Doctor's and he couldn't help the crooked grin. It was hilarious that he was offered to sleep here without a second thought. "I could murder you in your sleep."
The Doctor only smiled. "I know. Now move over a bit."
He did, allowing him to crawl under the blanket.
"Almost like in our old dorm room."
The Master huffed and turned towards the wall. "Absolutely not. Otherwise we wouldn't sleep at all."
"Mhm… probably." The blanket rustled and moved. "I know it's too much too soon… But… can I… Oh, don't listen, just blame it on the alcohol."
It didn't take the Master long to guess what that rambling was about. Soon he felt the Doctor shuffle closer, but still far away enough not to touch him. The Doctor didn't dare to. But the proximity, it was close enough to let the Master feel his presence. And he hated himself for finding comfort in it.