timey_wimey | [RL con el Master - Time Vortex poisoning! :(]

The Master swatted at the other man's side.

"Don't lie down, git! You'll get all wet! Got a soggy arse as it is from all this mess..."

He chuckled and stood up slowly, offering a hand to help The Doctor up.

"Ah, come on. On your feet, Doctor Baanjxx, before we both catch damp!"

He chuckled feebly. "Ohhh, I'm never gonna get this place cleaned up," he said decidedly, before taking the hand offered to him and grinning as he stood up.

He wasn't really sure what spurred him to do it, a left over high, a fit of spontaneity or whatever, but in a moment he had pulled the Master into a hug, still stifling a few left over giggles.

The Master sort of froze for a moment - he didn't pull away, didn't reciprocate, just... stood there, and let The Doctor hug him. He had forgotten he was supposed to be angry with him. But how could he forget something so central to the core of his being? It was all about hating him, wasn't it?

Slowly, he rested his head on the other Time Lord's shoulder and put his arms around him. It felt... nice, actually. He might vehemently deny it tomorrow, but right now...

The Doctor feared the worst when the other Time Lord froze in his arms, suddenly remembering that only a few moments ago they'd been fighting tooth and nail. Not best form really, hugging someone who was probably still mad at you. But...

When the Master's arms came up around him, he blinked a little in surprise before sighing in relief, a bemused smile on his face.

"It's been ages since I've laughed like that," he said eventually, a small smile still in place.

The Master smiled faintly.

"Mm," he mused, and the vibration could be felt against The Doctor's neck. "Same. A real laugh, a proper one... it's been too long."

He couldn't seem to let go. It felt so... it just felt like something. Something he couldn't seem to get, no matter how many women he slept with, how much liquor he drank, how many people he tortured...

He didn't hold him tighter; just rested his head against The Doctor's neck.

The Doctor stood a little longer holding the other Time Lord, closing his eyes and sighing contentedly.

"I guess. You know. You'll probably want to go," he said reluctantly. "I mean, you don't have to, if you don't want to. But. I thought." His voice trailed off and he made no attempt to let go of him.

He stood silently for a long time, clutching the fabric of The Doctor's jacket in his hands.

"...No," he said finally, voice cracking. He couldn't bear the thought of going back to his empty house, howling and hollow, all alone.

He cleared his throat and sniffed. "I'll stay. Get cleaned up."

The Doctor hugged him a little tighter in response but couldn't stop a genuine smile spreading over his face.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea, considering," he said brightly after a moment. His expression turned a little sheepish as he finally let go of the other man. "Sorry about that, by the way. Didn't mean to ruin your shirt, honest."

The Master disengaged somewhat reluctantly. He opened his jacket and wiped at the still-damp stain to no avail.

"Well I did mean to ruin yours," he sighed, a smile playing on his lips. "But I suppose just this once, I'll settle for ruining your hair."

He paused. "...Do you still have that ridiculous wardrobe, or will I have to go about in soggy clothes?"

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Okay, so maybe the wardrobe was a little big, but still... "Yes, actually, I do still have the wardrobe. Errm, this way!" The Doctor headed towards the door and stopped, a glint in his eyes.

"Oh, and by the way... tag!" he grinned, and dashed off into the corridor before the Master could say anything.

"Wh - TAG?!"

He watched him scamper off in complete disbelief. Maybe he choked The Doctor a little too hard... he laughed at the ludicrousness of it, but he certainly wouldn't be able to find the blasted room by himself, certainly not in this mess.

He chased after him, leaping over bulkheads and chuckling to himself at how childish they must've looked. (But damned if he wasn't enjoying himself.)

If the Doctor was suffering from an after-effect of being choked, he certainly didn't notice it. He grinned at the Master's disbelieving voice and ran pell-mell down the crazy maze of the TARDIS corridors, past the bins and through the fifth door on the left into the cavernous wardrobe room.

The room was enormous and covered in clothes - plenty for anyone, any fashion sense to choose from. Well, with a life like the Doctor's you had to be prepared. He ducked behind the nearest rail and started sorting through it, biting back a laugh. Maybe he had gone a little mental. Well, more than usual, at least. Well, then again...

The Master stumbled into the room and stopped, gazing up at the sheer amount of clothes one Time Lord could possibly have. He'd seen it before, but it always managed to impress him... compared to this, he was positively low-maintenance.

He noted the rustle of clothes coming from a corner of the room. He stalked over quietly, a predatory grin slowly spreading over his face. He ducked down and, noticing a pair of shoes, tossed them to one side in an effort to distract him. He burst through the line of clothes and gave the Doctor a playful shove.

"There, I win!"

Not that he hadn't been expecting him, but the Master's bursting through the clothes did surprise him. A little bit. Not that he was ever going to admit that later.

"Okay, fine, you win," he said, catching himself on a part of the coral-like TARDIS supports and making a mental note to get more barriers put in the room. Survive a 30 foot fall he may be able to, but it still hurt when you were peeling yourself off the ground.

"Should be something in here for you. Well, somewhere. Well, hopefully."

The Master grinned beatifically at the Doctor's little conceding. He nearly swooned with it.

"Ahhh, I love to hear you say that..."

He swung around dreamily, oblivious to the Doctor's near-fall, and began to flip through the rack.

"Something comfortable, yeah?"

He was feeling rather chuffed with himself right now, for some reason. Probably thanks to replaying those words over and over inside his mind, savoring it, even if it was just a tiny outburst.

He came to a leather-vest-and-chaps cowboy ensemble, gave the Doctor a look, and kept going.

"Ooh look, thermals," he said as he pulled out a dark long-sleeved shirt.

The Doctor watched him with an expression somewhere between fondness and exasperation. Alright, don't mind me, he thought to himself. "Someone's easily pleased," he murmured.

"I have thermals?" he said vaguely, almost like filing away information for later use. "I forgot about those..."

"I am a simple soul~," he crooned in a sing-song voice. Along with the dark overshirt, he pulled out a white t-shirt and some jeans, slinging them over his shoulder.

He turned and looked at the Doctor, pouting slightly in thought.

"...Should I go in a corner to do this," he asked flatly.

The Doctor shook his head. Simple in what way, he wondered dryly, but thought better than to voice this thought.

When he heard the Master's question, however, he blinked, sure he had misunderstood. Then he began to look quite alarmed. "Errm. Yeah! About that. There's a sort of - changing room thing through that door there. First one up the ladder, you can't miss it." There was a slight note of alarm in his voice, because really? He didn't put it past the Master to start undressing there and then, just to spite him.

The Master gave him a sidelong glance. He was terribly tempted to undress in front of the Doctor, just to spite him. See him squirm. It'd be funny.

...Instead he huffed, shook his head, and walked off to the changing room.

"I won't wait up for you," he called over his shoulder.

The Doctor had begun to breathe a sight of relief before what the Master had just said sunk in and he froze. What. No. He couldn't have meant it in that way. He shook his head and frowned at the other Time Lord's retreating back.

"Well, it takes all sorts I guess," he muttered to himself before pulling a t-shirt, shirt and trousers from another rack and shuffling off to another section of the wardrobe, tugging off his jacket as he went.

The Master meandered down the steps a short time later. He stopped in the middle of the spiral staircase and sat on the handrail, gazing at the TARDIS. Ah, but he missed having one, even if Coral wasn't his favorite look.

He let himself fall backward, hanging on to the railing with his legs. He put his hands behind his head and hung there for a while, just thinking, waiting for the Doctor.

The Doctor wasn't long in returning from getting changed himself, buttoning up the shirt as he walked in. Looking up at the staircase, he stopped short for a minute, blinking at the sight of the Master draped on the stairs. Then he raised his eyebrows and walked until he was directly below the other man.

"Are you quite comfy up there, or what?"

The Master tilted his head to look down at the Doctor. He hadn't hung like this since he was a child, climbing trees back home. He supposed it was nostalgia that possessed him to do it now.

He furrowed his brow. "I used to be taller than you," he said moodily. He hefted himself back up and walked down to meet him.

"Fits, I guess," he sighed as he tugged at his shirt. "Bit tight, bit long, but you're a string bean this time around so I'm not surprised."

"Errm. Yeah, you did, didn't you?" he said, a small smile curving his lips. There was one perk to this regeneration. His eyebrows shot back up into their earlier position. "And oi, less of the string bean. S'not as if I haven't eaten or anything... actually... no. Well, you know what I mean, it was still uncalled for!"

He chuckled and grinned wickedly. "You know your hair's not gotten better with time either," he teased. "Honestly, what is that? Did it just regenerate like that or have you been sticking your head into the Time Vortex on purpose?"

[RL con el Master - Time Vortex poisoning! :(]

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