Secret Lover

Take My Hand {Dhawan!Master x Reader}

Summary: You & The Master have history. But it never ends the way you want it to.

A/N: Will probably do a part two

Warnings: TPOTD Spoilers! I guess a slightly toxic relationship??? It’s the Master so… always toxic lol

You stood anxiously, finding yourself subconsciously biting your lip in anticipation. What the hell had he planned this time? Every time you’ve found yourself in his presence, he’d manage to lure you in, make you feel sorry for him, but then he’d ultimately betray your feelings and conceptions about him with trying to hurt the Doctor. Truth was, you understood somewhat how he felt. To not want to be you. To want to be greater, have more purpose, to be… More.

You’d been around the Doctor a long time. Not consistently, after choosing to walk away a few trips after the year that never was, back when she was a different person. But you’d often find yourself mixed up in the Doctors antics over the next few years of your life. You saw her when she was an older Scottish man, and when the current man on your mind was a she… Missy. You’d stuck around for a little while when the Doctor found himself alone after Clara. You’d become close with Missy. Friends you may have even said. Perhaps it was easier, purely because Missy felt completely different to the man you had to face when he was Saxon. Once again, you left, after sticking around for a few months, going back to your normal life. It was only a year or so later you found yourself in another situation involving the Doctor and her greatest enemy.

“Not dead then?” You raised a brow at the new face of the man in front of you. He was donning a dark purple jacket, tartan waist coat and trousers combo with a beard. He somehow looked put together, whilst keeping that crazed look in his eyes that told you he was as wild as years before. Smirking, he approached.

“I could say the same to you.” He looked you up and down. “I see time has been kind to you all these years.” You rolled your eyes at him, shaking your head.

“Stop. Whatever you’re planning, just don’t.” You said exasperatedly. “It never works. Why do it to yourself?” His smirk dropped, a darker gaze falling onto his features, his eyes boring into your own.

“Because I have nothing else to live for.”

Of course, you were right. His plan was foiled, as the Doctor defeated him again. You had tried, time and time again to get through to the man, but every time you felt you got a bit closer, you were pushed back multiple steps.

You thought about all those times, as you were brought out of your mind by a familiar sound. The whirring of the TARDIS echoed through the building as you found yourself rushing towards it. You looked to see a swarm of UNIT soldiers aiming their guns at the box, whilst Ace & Tegan stood on the stairs, and Kate ahead, ready to face the crazed man when he stepped out with the Doctor. After what felt like a life time, the door finally opened, as the familiar face you had been thinking about appeared… The Master. He was quickly grabbed by two of UNITs men. He looked around, scanning the building, a grin breaking out onto his face.

“Put him in the bunker.” Kate spoke, ordering her men. “Constant monitoring, full security detail.” The two soldiers walked him, as they followed their boss’ words.

“Ooh, the bunker! That sounds nice! I love a bunker!” The Master smiled, looking around. “Anybody want to join me? Bunk-up in the bunker?” He smirked as you watched from the sidelines. He suddenly turned to Kate, pulling on the two armed men. “Your dad was an idiot.” He commented to Kate as she stayed straight faced, ignoring his quip. The two guards pulled him back, continuing to walk with him, as his head snapped back round, his eyes landing on the two former companions who stood above him. “Oh, Tegan Jovanka! How's your Auntie Vanessa? Do you keep her in a little doll's house?” He commented, as she glared down at him.

“I'm going to enjoy watching you locked up in a tiny cell.” Tegan narrowed her eyes at him as he raised a brow.

“That's right, you tell me. And Ace!” His attention turned to the other woman. “Or should I say Dorothy? Didn't the Doctor ditch you? No? Little fallout with your Machiavellian maestro?” He taunted.

“Last time I saw you, you were half cat.” Ace raised a brow, as he shrugged.

“A man’s allowed to experiment.” He retorted, before his gaze finally landed on you. You looked at him with a softer expression than the others, but kept your arms folded over your chest, showing you weren’t afraid and ready to stand your ground.

“And (Y/N) (L/N)…” He gave a half smile. “Still holding onto the Doctors beck and call I see.” You stayed silent. “No? Nothing to say?” He sighed. “Well that’s boring.” Truth was, what could you say that you hadn’t already tried before. “Still,-“ He paused. “-looking as young as ever.” He commented as you raised a brow, before Kate cut him off.

“Take him away.” She ordered as the men dragged him towards the elevator.

“Yes, yes, take me away! You'll all feel safer then with me in the building. You're not staying, Doctor?” He called from inside the lift. “You're not going to leave them alone, are you... while you go Dalek hunting?” The Doctor didn’t reply, as the doors began to close. “Whoo!” Was the last thing the Master said before the doors sealed, sending him down to below the building. You finally let out a breathe you didn’t know you were holding.

“(Y/N), Ace, Tegan, I need you to stay here and monitor the Master. We won't be long.” The Doctor told you three as she turned to head back into her ship, you found yourself zoning out, turning as you headed back into Kates office.

A few minutes later, Ace & Tegan entered the room, seeing you watching the security camera of the bunker on the screen, watching as the Master paced around his cell, occasionally staring up directly into the camera above him. It was like he knew you were watching.

“We can take turns watching.” Ace commented as you snapped your head towards the voice, not even registering them enter. “I really thought I’d seen the last of him.”

“Yeah, well, he has a habit of coming back when you least expect it.” You replied as the two woman came round to stand beside you.

“How’d you meet him?” Tegan asked as you sighed.

“Many years ago. When the Doctor was still a he. The Master came to Earth, became Prime Minister… He managed to slaughter thousands of people, take over, but the Doctor reversed time. None of it ever happened to you.” You told them.

“That sounds like The Master.” Ace shook her head slightly.

“Then I met him again, when he was a she. Missy. But she was different, like she had more of a softer side. In her own wicked way of course.” Both women turned to you in surprise at that remark. “And then this one. With a cyber army not long ago.”

“Wow… You really had a lot of run ins then.” Tegan said as you nodded.

“I would’ve even said we were friends…” You muttered lowly, causing both woman again to look surprised. “But that was long ago now.” The two woman shared a look.

“Is there…” Ace began, unsure how to ask. “History?” She raised a brow as you scoffed lightly, shaking your head.

“Not like that.” You sighed. “Well, not in a conventional sense I suppose. He’s the Master. He doesn’t do feelings.” You looked back at the screen, seeing him once again staring directly at the camera. Silence fell between you all for a moment before you began walking away. “If I’m not back in ten minutes, come and get me.” You called over your shoulder as the two woman furrowed their brows, watching as you left.

This was stupid. Again. You found yourself running to him. You knew it wasn’t healthy. You knew you couldn’t change his mind. Yet here you were, heading down to face the man for what felt like the hundredth time. To try and empathise with him.

Entering the bunker, you approached the room he was being kept in, seeing two guards stood at the door.

“I need to speak to him.” You told them both as they looked at you, unsure. “Ten minutes. Kates orders.” They sent each other a look before one nodded, as they turned to unlock the door. You send them a nod as thanks as you entered, the door slamming shut behind you. The Master had his back to you, as you slowly approached.

“It’s like you couldn’t stay away…” The Master quipped, slowly turning as he looked at you with a smirk. “And what do I owe this pleasure of your presence?” He gestured around cell with his tied hands. “I would offer you to come in but…” He trailed off as his eyes scanned the cell bars.

“So what’s it this time?” You asked, as you stepped closer, only a foot away from the bars that held him. “Take over the planet? The solar system? The universe? Take down the Doctor? Fail again?” You raised a brow as he laughed.

“Ever so perceptive.” He furrowed his brows. “Do you really think so little of me?” He took a few steps forwards.

“Can you blame me?” You folded your arms. “I mean, every time I’ve met you, you’ve tried to do one or all of those things. Your track record isn’t exactly varied.” He nodded, slightly shrugging.

“I’ll give you that.” He said. “But I could say the same to you.” He raised a brow, as he stood a right in front of the bars in front of you. “Still running to the Doctor every time she clicks her fingers.” He lifted his hands to snap his own fingers together, before breaking out into a manic grin. “It’s sweet really. Your loyalty. Your… What’s the word?” He pursed his lips. “Ah that’s it. Patheticness.” You rolled your eyes.

“I came down here to talk, not to be insulted.” You went to turn away but jumped at the sound of his hands hitting the bars.

“Do not turn away your back on me!” The Master exclaimed, as your head whipped back round to him, slight fear in your eyes as his expression looked dark. “You have no idea.” He said quieter. “No idea-“ He spat. “Don’t even try to pretend you do.” You swallowed the lump in your throat as you found yourself turning back to face him. “Remember what I said to you… All those years ago…”

“We could run away.” Missy shrugged, as you shook your head at her words. “No, I mean it. Imagine it. Me and you, on the open road of time and space.”

“You mean me watching you cause chaos?” You laughed lightly.

“If chaos was to follow us, then so be it.” She smirked as you found yourself smiling. “I always wondered what it would be like to be the Doctor… have a little pet-“

“I’m not a pet!” You exclaimed, as she gave you a ‘come on’ look. “I’m not!”

“Ok, ok, fine!” She said exasperated. “Companion.” She air quoted as you raised a brow.

“Why?” You wondered aloud. “I mean, you’ve always been a lone wolf right? What’s changed?” Her gaze softened slightly as she sat back in her seat, reaching her hands out as she began to play the piano that sat before her.

“I don’t know.” She said truthfully. “Maybe it’s age. Maybe it’s boredom. Doing the same thing, over and over and over.” She paused, focusing on her playing. “Maybe it’s you.”

“Of course.” You said quietly, almost breathless. “But that was then. Before you did what you did.” He sighed, leaning his head on the cold bars. He then pulled his gaze back to you, slowly holding a hand through the bars as you peered down at it.

“All you have to do is take my hand.” He said quietly. “Please-“ He tried as you blinked, peering down at his open palm, you found yourself subconsciously reaching out with your own, slowly going to do as he asked… Suddenly, an alarm blared throughout the building, jolting you away, as your head spun round to the metal doors, rushing over as you banged on them, trying to get a response, but nothing. You turned back to him.

“What have you done?” You asked, as the man before you smirked. “Master!” You exclaimed, storming towards him. He laughed as you looked concerned.

“Unleashed hell.”

Soft Spot In The Hearts Of A Murderer

Simm!Master x Reader

Summary - The reader has a panic attack after hearing people being killed day after day on The Valiant, and The Master comforts them.

Based On This Request - Anonymous requested - “Hi! May I ask for a soft fic with The Master where they hypnotise The Reader?”

Warnings -The Year That Never Was, The Reader has a panic attack/anxiety attack, hypnotism, hypnotism without consent, canon typical violence

Word Count - 1095

A/n - Gender Neutral Reader. Requested by this lovely anon. I will link the other fics inspired by this request HERE, if you would like to read them. I hope that you enjoy!

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For some reason, The Master allowed you to roam the halls of The Valient unaccompanied, maybe with the supervision of a guard or two, but usually, you could just go your merry way around the ship. However, you rarely ever did this. You never wanted to see what was occurring on the Earth down below, you didn’t want to see the Toclafane unleash a flurry of lasers onto Humanity, and you didn’t want to see what The Master had done to any of your friends. 

You were a coward. Or, at least, you thought that. Martha was Gods-know-where, her family were being used, and everyone aboard was being tortured and degraded, except for you. And you couldn’t do anything to stop The Master because you were so crippled with fear.

The past couple of days you have been staying in your room all instead of roaming The Valiant on occasion. You assumed that no one would notice your absence. Unbeknownst to you, though, The Master was causing hell to everyone around him whenever he didn’t see you. He constantly tried to escape the day’s plans, but apparently destroying the planet Earth and scouring it for a “fugitive” was difficult and time-consuming work. But eventually, the day was mostly over, and The Master was free to spend some time with you, just in time for dinner.

The Master made his way past random Valiant guards and security toward your room. He thought about what he would order for dinner in order to impress you, which he desperately wanted to do. He had absolutely no idea about how you were feeling or why you were absent today. But if he had been aware, he would’ve spent the entire day trying to cheer you up and make you feel special.

A gentle knock on your door startled you away from your anxious mind. You thought that you might just ignore it, as it was probably just a guard. But then there was another set of knocking, and you noticed the rhythm. Was it like that before? You couldn’t tell. And again: knock knock knock knock. You rushed to the door, worried that you had waited too long and now The Master would be upset with you. You had never seen him upset with you, but he always seemed upset when he was with someone else. He would probably be upset with you at some point, so why not now. 

You opened the door tentatively.

“Ah! Y/n, it’s lovely to finally see you.” The Master smiled at you, but his eyes looked clouded with latent rage. You cursed yourself. You should have gone out of your room today to see him. 

“I missed you today.” The Master up again when you didn’t respond.

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologise. We all have reclusive days. I just hope that I haven’t done anything wrong to worsen your mood.” The Master entered your room without asking you and instantly began looking around. He actually wasn’t trying to be intrusive, he just wanted to get to know you better. And maybe if he knew you better, then he would know the best way to get you to love him.

“No, no of course you haven’t done anything wrong.”

“You don’t have to lie to me, Y/n.” The Master suddenly stopped looking through the bookshelf he had gifted you, trying to see which books you have read, and he turned to face you.

“I don’t know what -”

“I know that my presence here hasn’t been the most comforting. I have destroyed your planet and terrorized your people and I have, frankly, been a right menace aboard The Valiant, especially when there are some political manoeuvres that I have to plan. All I am saying is that I would completely understand why you would hate me, Y/n.” It almost looked as if The Master’s eyes softened as he spoke, but you assumed that it was a trick of the light.

You didn’t know how to respond. You wanted to say something brave, something calling out The Master’s horrible behaviour, but nothing formed because your anxiety seemed to be controlling everything at the moment. You were too scared that this was all a trap and that The Master would kill you after you revealed your true feelings. But then a rolling thunder sounded around The Valiant.

“What was that?”

“Oh, just the evening patrol.” The Master nonchalantly responded. 

You felt your chest tighten. You immediately thought of Martha. What if this was the moment she was caught and killed? You could have done so much during your time aboard this ship, yet you did nothing. 

The Master was saying something, but you couldn’t hear him over the thumping of your heartbeat in your ears. Your breath began to quicken and heave. You suddenly felt incredibly dizzy, and the room looked like it was spinning. You tried to move to a nearby chair, but you missed the seat and stumbled onto the ground. You heard The Master calling your name, but you were unable to respond; you were far too focused on the anxiety attack you were having and the horrible thoughts circling around your mind.

“Hey. No. Don’t do that. Everything is going to be fine, sweetheart.” You shook your head ‘no’. Things did not feel fine. The Master joined you on the floor and stroked your arms and face soothingly. He hated seeing you like this. Is this how you acted when he wasn’t around? Did he cause you to be in this much pain? The Master never wanted you to hide anything from him, even your bad thoughts. The Master just wanted to comfort you and know the real you.

“Look into my eyes. Everything will be calmer in a moment.” The Master held your face softly in his hands and brushed his thumbs across your temples. You met the commanding alien's gaze tentatively. His eyes were beautiful; they were a warm brown with green specks and waves rolling through his irises. You never noticed that before.

A calm rushed over you. You were no longer plagued by the thoughts of Martha dying or that you were not being brave enough or that you were not being a good companion to The Doctor. You were so calm and relaxed in fact that you felt your body grow limper. You fell into The Master’s chest. He brought two of his fingers to your chin and gently moved your face to look at him.

“Now, tell your Master what’s wrong, sweetheart.”

Books Read In January 2024

What You Need To Be Warm by Neil Gaiman

Babel by R.F. Kuang

Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Sneaking Around Part 2

Dhawan!Master x Reader

Summary - The Doctor forces the Reader and The Master apart, not believing that The Master actually cares for The Reader. But the Reader getting hurt on an adventure make The Doctor rethink The Master’s opinion of the Reader.

Based On This Request -

Warnings - canon typical violence/unusual alien species, alien plants, stabbing via thorns, poison, near character death, the Reader being hurt

Word Count - 3721

A/n - Gender Neutral Reader. Requested by this lovely anon! Thank you so much for the request! I am really happy that you enjoyed Sneaking Around Part 1, and I hope that you enjoy Part 2 because I really enjoyed writing this.

Sneaking Around Part 1

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It had been tense aboard The TARDIS since The Doctor caught you and The Master “entangled together”, as The Doctor described it. You had assumed that your friendships with The Doctor and The Fam would become tense after the truth was revealed, but this was worse than anything you could imagine. You again assumed that this cold reaction had a lot to do with how The Doctor found you and The Master. That you couldn’t disagree with, it was awkward, but you did hope that your friends would be pleased for you for having found some happiness in your life. But it turned out that The Doctor thought that The Master hypnotised you into having feelings for him.

You couldn’t even turn to The Master for comfort during this strenuous time, though. The Doctor demanded that you and The Master were not to see each other again. The Doctor had rearranged the TARDIS floor plan and placed intensive security measures so The Master couldn’t hack into it. You were instructed to always be joined by a member of the Fam. The Master was moved to a more secure part of The TARDIS far, far away from you.

You had tried to sneak away from your guard of the day many times and hunt for The Master’s room, but you were never successful. You were always led back to your guard by The TARDIS. All you wanted was The Master.

One morning, while you were late for breakfast, you walked in on Graham and Yaz gossiping about The Master. Apparently, he had been trying to hack The TARDIS systems but failed and resorted to roaming the halls of The TARDIS in search of you. The TARDIS naturally notified The Doctor of his actions and the two Gallifreyians were currently engaged in a verbal fight. Ryan, who was supposed to be your guard of the day, was trying to find where they were fighting before you did. 

Naturally, you snuck off to try and find The Master and The Doctor before Ryan. You were a part of this, and you should be allowed to discuss your wants with them. Also, The Doctor couldn’t keep you away from The Master forever. Even if The Doctor and The Fam were right and The Master never cared about you, it was your right to be mad at him, not theirs. 

You heard distant yelling, and you knew that you were close, but then you heard The TARDIS beeping. Something in your subconscious knew that this time machine that you called home was not talking to you and was instead notifying The Doctor and The Fam. You began barreling down The TARDIS hallway toward the yelling. You could hear The Master and The Doctor now but then the hallway you ran into went completely silent. The TARDIS was keeping you away from them. You did your best to find where they were, manoeuvring around the labyrinthine halls of the ship. Eventually hearing yelling again and you ran down the hallway to finally see The Master again after weeks. But when the distant voices were finally becoming clear Ryan ran into you.

“Please, Ryan!”

“No, I’m sorry.” You bickered with Ryan for an indiscernible amount of time. You had thought that you were making some progress in convincing Ryan to let you see The Master finally, but through your pleading monologue, you hadn’t noticed Ryan pushing you back throughout the TARDIS halls.

“You will have to talk to The Doctor.”

“Then let me see Her! Wait, why are we in the kitchen?” You sighed realising that Ryan had walked you all the way back to the kitchen probably with the help of The TARDIS.

“It’s not fair that I am not allowed to talk to him, let alone see him!” You screamed at Ryan while he prepared breakfast for the two of you.

“The Doctor says that you will feel better once The Master’s hypnotism wears off. And you have to avoid seeing him during that process.”

“Hypnotism?! Ryan, The Master never hypnotised me. Ever! Not even when he was O! He would never do that to me!”

“How do you know, Y/n? You’ve got to admit, we barely know The Doctor even though we travel with her. How could you possibly know that the person who tried to kill us wouldn’t also hypnotise you and manipulate you?”

“He promised me. The Master promised me that he would never hurt me, and I believe him. Not because he hypnotised me, but because I love him and I know that he loves me, too. We wouldn’t do anything to hurt each other.” Ryan only sighed defeatedly and handed you your food. He felt bad for you, but he didn’t know how to handle this situation, and frankly, neither could you. You took the food that Ryan had offered you with a huff and ate in silence before spending the rest of the day in your room.

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A couple more weeks had passed since you overheard The Master and The Doctor fighting, and you still hadn't seen The Master. You believed that The Master hadn’t hypnotised you, but you played The Doctor’s games sullenly. Four days ago was the day The Doctor’s analysis of your brain ended and much to your excitement, there was no evidence of mind control. The Doctor was stumped and frustrated. She didn’t tell you then, though, she told you much after the fact.

The Doctor was going to tell you this morning, having finally accepted the truth. She guessed that she had to allow you to see The Master now; there was no reason why she could stop you. Except for the fact that she had received a distress signal from the planet Dazsos. The Doctor figured that she would tell you after all of you helped saved the planet as a reward for your hard work. 

All of you left The TARDIS in two groups; you joined the Fam in talking to the President of Dazsos and investigating the surrounding grounds of the President’s office while The Doctor and The Master did the heavy lifting. With this system implemented, all of you helped save the planet relativity quickly. The President thanked all of you for helping him and his people and allowed your group of friends to explore their planet after they and their people prepared all of you an extravagant dinner. The only warning the President gave you and your friends was to avoid the native Dyllitrio plant.

After the dinner, you had hoped to finally talk to The Master, but The Doctor pulled him away from you while Yaz pulled you in the opposite direction. You sighed defeatedly, but you tried to distract yourself from your loss by enjoying the rest of the day and the planet you found yourself on. The Fam, mainly Graham, helped a lot. The four of you laughed and joked about random things and took in the beauties of the planet, but then, somehow, you all got onto the topic of The Master. You didn’t bring him up because you knew that your friends would just complain about him, but you also couldn’t stop your friends from talking. 

Your mood instantly changed as The Fam began ranting about The Master. You tried to block out what they were saying, but some things poked through your upset mind.

“Why him?”

“He will never care about you; you know that right?”

“I can’t believe you actually like him!”

You huffed as you followed The Fam as they were all collectively ranting toward you about your partner that you were still determined to see again. You didn’t want to hear what they had to say; they had already uttered similar phrases since they discovered that you and The Master were together. Multiple times throughout the quarantine you defeatedly believed that your supposed friends would never understand, and you appeared to be correct. 

You sighed and slowly walked away from the ranting group in order to find The Master and The Doctor. They would both be annoyed by the fact that you went wandering off by yourself and potentially interrupted their talk, but you were positive that they would both understand why you left The Fam.

After retracing your steps, you finally saw The Master and The Doctor. They were walking swiftly along a cobblestone pathway; the two of them appeared to be arguing animatedly. The closer you had gotten to the President of Davsos’s residence, the more cobblestone pathways would crop up and lead you to the building. The pathway you were walking on eventually connected to the one the two rebel Time Lords were walking down, but in between the two paths was a verbose garden. If you were to walk or even run down your pathway, The Master and The Doctor were still far enough away to be all the way down the hill ahead of you. You were impatient and you wanted to see The Master after weeks of not being able to. So, you ran through the garden.

You didn’t manage to run that fast. Whatever alien plants were potted in the ground apparently didn’t like you treading in their bed. The smaller plants would nip and snap at your heels and try to wrap themselves around your ankles. You could always shake them away from you, though, and continue your pursuit of The Master. 

Before you, you saw a bundle of thick shrubs surrounding and stretching out from a tree. Thankfully, you were far enough away from the tree to avoid any consequences from it, but the shrubs possessed a challenge.

You tried your best to get out of range of the plants. And you almost thought that you had until you felt a thick vine wrap itself around your leg and drag you backwards. You let out a loud scream out of surprise and pain. The death grip the vine had on you was unyielding, you could already feel yourself losing circulation in your foot. Just as you thought that that lone vine was your only worry, another vine wrapped itself around your other leg, and then sharp spikes shot into your flesh. You then screamed in pain again as a searing hot wave ran through your body, starting where the spikes were digging into your skin and moving upward.

Your legs grew increasingly numb as you were dragged toward the shrubs. Occasionally, more sharp pains and heat waves would shoot through your body. You assumed that that pain was caused by more barbs being carved into your skin and the heat was caused by some sort of poison. The pain was becoming less apparent, though, just as the world around you began to fade and blur. Just as your vision went completely black, you saw two figures running toward you from over the hill.

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The Master and The Doctor ran to you as fast as they could; even with their advanced biology, they were heaving breaths in fear and adrenaline.

“Y/n! Oh, my gods, Y/n! What trouble have you gotten yourself into now?” The Master slide down on his knees and scooped you up in his arms while The Doctor soniced the plants to release you. The vines of the Dyllitrio plant completely unleashed their hold on you, shrieking and skulking back to the shrubs they weaved through.

The Master caressed your face in worry to wipe away the sweat from your forehead. You were beginning to thrash around, and spasm and your eyes began to roll back into your skull; the poison was beginning to spread.

“What’s wrong with them?!” The Doctor questioned, joining The Master by your side.

“I don’t know! I’m not familiar with the vegetation of this planet!”

“Give me a tick. Got to look something up.” The Doctor jumped up and pointed her sonic screwdriver up into the sky, which caused her TARDIS to materialise in front of the three of you. The Doctor quickly ran inside her ship, leaving The Master to help you, mumbling something about the library

“Doctor! Now is not the time to do a bit of light reading!” The Master screamed at his old friend. He swore under his breath, but you were more important than his anger towards The Doctor. He had to take care of you because there was no way to know what The Doctor could possibly be doing right now.

The Master carried you through the halls of The TARDIS. The medbay doorway couldn’t come across his path soon enough. He kicked the medbay door open with his foot, much to the TARDIS’s dismay, and placed you onto the nearest hospital bed. The Master began to frantically hook you up to the machines in the medbay to monitor your vital signs while he waited for The Doctor.

“I found it!” The Master’s old friend screamed as she barreled into the medbay holding an ancient and dusty-looking book.

“Found what?”

“The antidote!” The Doctor threw the book she was holding onto your legs, which The Master quickly removed.

“That’s where they're hurt, you idiot!”

“Sorry! Can’t talk now. In a hurry!” The Master rolled his eyes at The Doctor’s ignorance.

“Doctor, if Y/n survives this, I’m going to kill you!” The Doctor ignored The Master’s comment and ran to a random corner of the room with a bunch of cabinets, rifling through them haphazardly. She finally came back holding an IV bag containing a green liquid and a small pot containing a green gel.

“I’ll hook up the IV. Start removing any thorns and cleaning the wounds with antiseptic. Then spread this gel on the wounds.” Both of the Gallifreyians worked quickly to help you overcome the poison of the Dyllitrio plant. They removed all of the thorns that were dug into your skin and spread the reversal gel over your legs. The Master carefully wrapped your healing wounds in bandages and gauze while The Doctor ranted about something that The Master wasn’t really processing. 

“Can you give us some privacy, Doctor?” The Doctor nodded and mentioned something about collecting her companions before slowly walking out of medbay, seemingly suddenly aware of the gravity of what just happened.

The Master pulled up a chair to your hospital bed and just looked at you, taking the image of you passed out, wounded and hooked up to tons of medical devices fully into his mind. This really was The Master’s worst fear. Before the two of you began dating, he would have stated that his biggest fear was being captured by The Doctor. Now that he had you and experienced what love and care could actually feel like, seeing you hurt and broken really was The Master’s worst fear. 

He really wanted to hurt The Doctor. You wouldn’t be like this if The Doctor hadn’t forced the two of you apart. But you wouldn’t want The Master to do that. You would just want to be with him. Maybe, when you felt better, you would make a snarking comment about how The Master finally had complete control of you now that you were hurt, and The Master would have to help you with everything. That’s what The Master wanted to experience, not another revenge plan.

The Master leaned forward and held your hand that wasn’t connected to the IV. He brought your hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it before moulding your limp hand to cradle his face. The Master stayed like this for a while, just trying to enjoy being in your presence again and trying to suppress his ever-growing rage for The Doctor by reminding himself of his love for you. The Master then moved to brush some dirt that remained on your face from when you had fallen on Dazsos. He kept his hand there and just held your face. For some reason, he just felt the need to talk to you. It had been so long since he was able to do that.

“I don’t know if you can hear me, Y/n, but I’m here for you. Everything’s going to be okay, love. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. You are going to be just fine. I’ll make sure that you withstand this, and I’ll do anything and everything in my power to help you with the recovery process. And I’m not going to let anyone tear me away from you again. It’ll just be you and me. I’ll make everything right again. For you.”

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In your dreamy hazy, poison and antidote-filled state, all you saw was The Master. His calming tone, his deep and hypnotic brown eyes, his strong hands holding your body, his affinity for purple clothes; everything that made The Master The Master surrounded you and filled your mind. It gave you hope. It reassured you that everything was going to be okay, and you were going to be perfectly fine, even though you couldn’t really remember if there was anything to be upset over.

Suddenly, a bright light seemed to swirl and mix with all of the purples and memories of The Master, almost engaging in a battle. The brightness won out and overtook your mind. You felt as if you were falling until your eyes jolted open making you realize that you had just been dreaming before then.

“Good morning sleeping beauty. Have a nice nap, did you?” The Master knocked your chin with his knuckles before wiping away some of his tears. You blinked rapidly, trying to understand your surroundings. Once adjusting to the bright light of the medbay, you finally realized that The Master was beside you.

“Master! You’re here!”

“What did you think that The Doctor could get rid of me that easily? Never!” A stray tear fell down The Master’s face, breaking the strong facade he was trying to put on for you.

“You’re crying.”

“Yeah, I almost lost you, you silly Human.” You tried to move and brush away the tear, but The Master pushed you back down onto the hospital bed while tutting.

“No, no, stay down, love. Your wounds are still healing.”

“Everything feels fuzzy.”

“That would be both the side effects of the poison you were stung with and the treatment. You’ll be back to full health and memory in a day or two, three days at maximum.” You nodded in delirious understanding. Of course, three days was a long time for you and your Human patience, but you mainly only focused on The Master’s voice. The Master chuckled at you. You couldn’t tell if he was amused by your blissful drug-addled state or he telepathically heard you thinking about his voice, but you didn’t mind. You just wanted to be close to him. Especially after not seeing him for so long.

“Can you cuddle me, please? I want to be closer to you.” The Master looked around the room quickly before agreeing to your request. He apologised to you, though, because he had to leave your side for a moment in order to get a blanket. He could tell that you wanted him to stay with you, but he wanted you to be comfortable. 

The Master quickly retrieved a blanket and returned to your hospital bed. He covered you in the blanket and helped you shift over on the bed while making sure to not cause any extra injury. He then finally joined you on the hospital bed. The Master helped you cuddle into his side. Then he caressed your face, your neck, and every part of you that was not hurt and placed many bittersweet kisses on your forehead.

“I’ve missed you. So much.”

“I’ve missed you, too, Y/n.”

“I wanted you. I needed you, Master.”

“I’m so sorry, my love. I tried to talk to you and see you so many times, but The Doctor always stopped me. And I tried to keep civil with The Doctor and her little pets, so as to not hurt you, but I hate how much time we have spent apart.”

“I tried to secretly see you, too, but someone, or The TARDIS, always stopped me. I just wanted to be with you, Koschei. So, so badly.”

“And I just wanted to be with you, Y/n. Thankfully, we are together now, though. And we will get through all of this together. I promise.”

“I really love you, Koschei. Like, really really love you.” You had begun to tear up now, again, partially because of the drugs you were on but also because of the joy of seeing The Master again.

“I really love you, too, Y/n. Like really really love you, my little Human.”

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“He actually cares about them.” Graham perked up after seeing The Master reassure you on the display screen on the TARDIS console.

“Yeah, he does.” The Doctor responded coldly.

“We still can’t be certain. He could be lying or hypnotising them or all of us.” Yaz piped up, she still didn’t trust The Master.

“He’s not lying or hypnotising or manipulating. The Master actually cares about Y/n. Now, I suggest that we all head to bed. It’s been a long day.” The Doctor moved away from the monitor to click and press some buttons as a distraction, waiting for her companions to leave the console room. She saw out of the corner of her eye that Yaz hesitated from leaving and turned to say something but ended up closing her mouth abruptly and turned to fully leave the room. The Doctor understood why Yaz and the rest of The Fam had questions about your and The Master's relationship. It would definitely be something to get used to. But The Doctor knew The Master since childhood and knew that his feelings were genuine. 

For the moment, The Doctor was just trying to be happy for the two of you. You both had been for too much for her to be mad or suspicious right now. However, if The Master actually did anything to hurt you, there would most definitely be hell to pay. But there was nothing for her or The Fam to be worried about; The Master loved you more than anything in the Universe and would do everything to make sure you were fully protected.

[Image Reads]

Anonymous said - Hello how are you? I would like to please request a dhawan!master x reader request where the Master has to go and do something dangerous but he doesn’t want you going with them, they need to make it so you stay in the TARDIS. (Maybe the Master has tried to hypnotise the reader and the reader has said something like “I know what you’ll do if I look into your eyes.”) Maybe he could trick the reader into being hypnotised or use another method to keep the reader safe. Have a great night/day. P.s If you’re not comfortable then I understand.

(The image above is my copy of the request because I accidentally posted it too early and deleted it.)

Hello! Thank you for requesting, anon! I am finally getting this fic posted! I have had it finished for a bit now, but I had multiple anxiety attacks through the editing process on top of everyday executive dysfunction. So, I am really sorry that this took so long to post, but I hope that you enjoy this fic.

I will post this fic on Friday and link it below once it is posted.

Safety Over Teamwork - Dhawan!Master x Reader - Saturday, 22 July 2023

Thank you :)

- Ghost

And His Heart Grew Three Sizes That Day

Dhawan!Master x Reader

Summary - After everything that happened in the universe, you just wanted a calm Christmas with everyone you cared about, including The Master.

Based On This Request -

Warnings - The Doctor and The Extended Fam being a bit rude, The Master feeling depressed, some suggestive bits, some references to season 12 canon. This is a canon divergent fic - let’s forget that The Power of The Doctor happened for a bit.

Word Count - 4593

A/n - Gender Neutral Reader. Requested by @sessa23. Thank you so much for this request! I really enjoyed writing it, even though it made me emotional. I hope that you enjoy this and have a great Christmas!

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It was almost time for everyone to arrive, and you were dreading the decisions you had made leading up to this day. Even How The Grinch Stole Christmas playing in your living room couldn’t calm you down!

A couple of weeks ago, after The Doctor had brought you, Dan, and Yaz home for the beginning of the holiday season, you had the brilliant idea to host a Christmas dinner for everyone. And your tired, adrenaline and adventure-muddled brain meant everyone, including The Master. 

You had plenty of opportunities to change your mind and not invite The Master or uninvite him even, but you could never bring yourself to do it. Despite how The Master treated The Doctor and The Extended Fam, he tried to treat you with the utmost respect, always. 

You don’t think The Doctor knew, or if she did, she didn’t tell you, but you had texted and written to The Master many times. He initiated contact first. He was supercilious and threatening, with an undertone of flirting, during his first message to you. You knew that he meant to scare you, even though he was probably joking. You didn’t respond to his threat, though. Instead, you asked him where he had found his coat; you declared your desire to have a coat like that, seeing how warm it looked on him. This began a series of communications between the two of you. You talked about everything, including your shared pain of being ignored by The Doctor. 

It was probably dangerous for you to share such personal information with an intergalactic criminal, but you couldn’t stop. The Master just seemed to understand you on a deeper level than The Fam and definitely more than The Doctor ever could.

Things became serious between the two of you, though, when the two of you began calling and face-timing each other. Again, he called you first. You were having a panic attack over something minor in retrospect, and somehow The Master knew and called you to help you. He took your panic very seriously and quickly calmed you down. Now, on top of your regular texts and letters, you and The Master called nearly every night before you, at least, went to bed and sometimes in the morning or throughout the day.

It never seemed to cross your mind why The Master was so attached to you until today. Finally, you realised that he was lonely. You obviously couldn’t assume everything, but after all the conversations you had with The Master, you came to the conclusion that he was, at least, a bit remorseful for the things he did and he just wanted, or needed, someone to want him in return. Maybe he was only remorseful because he had accidentally hurt you in the past because of your closeness with The Doctor. Either way, The Doctor was wrong about him; The Master wasn’t an irredeemable monster. You just hoped that putting The Master in this environment today wouldn’t trigger him. For his sake, you hoped that this Christmas dinner went smoothly.

You were setting up your dining room table for the fourth time when Graham and Ryan arrived at your flat. You were glad that they arrived first. Graham especially always managed to calm you down. He was probably the person you opened up to the most other than The Master. Your relationships between the two obviously weren’t comparable, but Graham was definitely a support person for you. 

After placing some presents under your Christmas tree and putting some food away, Graham helped you organise the table to where it wasn’t so cluttered and busy while Ryan prepared the three of you some drinks.

Dan arrived next, with a bundle of presents under one arm and a stack of tin boxes filled to the brim with homemade cookies in the other. A bag filled with Christmas crackers hung precariously from one of his pinkies.

Yaz arrived with The Doctor, which didn’t surprise you. It seemed to not surprise Dan, Graham and Ryan either, so you were happy to not be the only one to see the obvious connection between the two. The Doctor had brought some alien dish that you were frankly scared to eat, while Yaz made up for that by bringing two large dishes that looked delicious.

You still hadn’t told any of your friends of the other suspected guest, however, The Master still wasn’t there, and it had been about half an hour since he was supposed to arrive. Maybe he wasn’t going to come. If he wasn’t, there was no need to tell your friends that you had invited someone that tried to murder them on multiple occasions to Christmas dinner. You could just enjoy the day with them and stop stressing about losing them as long as they didn’t ask any questions.

“Why do you have an extra seat set up, Y/n?” Yaz asked after the current conversation the six of you were having dried up.

“Oh, I just think that the table looks better that way. If I don’t set up that seat, then it just feels weird.” You lied, but you hoped that no one would question you too much. 

“That makes sense. One of my previous regenerations was like that! You would've gotten along well with him.” The Doctor stated before slurping up the neon green, spindly food of the alien dish she brought.

You were going to ask about The Doctor’s previous regeneration because you loved hearing about her past even though she rarely talked about it, but then there was a knock on your door. You thought it was a neighbour at first, but then three more knocks followed. It was him. The Master actually showed up. 

“Who’s that?” Yaz questioned.

“Maybe carolers?” Dan pondered out loud.

“I’ll get the door! Everyone stay here. Enjoy the meal.” You jumped up from your seat and ran to the door of your apartment. You opened it frantically to see an anxious-looking Master. You had never seen him like that before and worry instantly washed over you.

“Happy Christmas.” You commented in the hope that it might ease his worry, but it did not.

“Yeah, happy Christmas.”

“Are you alright?” You were about to reach out to hold his arm reassuringly, but you decided against it.

“Everyone else is here, aren’t they?”

“Yeah. I didn’t tell them that you were coming, just in case …”

“Just in case I backed out. I’m not The Doctor, love. I don’t do that to the people I care about.”

“Are you ready to meet them or … ?” You cut yourself off when you heard The Doctor shout about what was taking so long.

“I think we should just get the confrontational bit over with. I am starving and I heard that you Humans eat loads at Christmas!” The Master bumped your shoulder reassuringly as he showed himself into your flat. He wanted to try and seem calm for you so as to not worry you more than you clearly already were. He looked around for a bit, fascinated by being in your space and finally seeing how you live. After closing your apartment door and pulling The Master away from sneaking away to look into your bedroom or break into The Doctor’s TARDIS, you lead The Master to your kitchen and to all of your other guests.

“Who was at the door, Y/n? Are we expecting someone else?” You stuttered for a moment, unsure really of what to say. You had not prepared enough for this part of the day. You felt The Master walk up behind you and into the kitchen. You then saw the faces of your friends contort into various forms of fear, disgust, anger and confusion.

“Hello. Happy Christmas, everyone.” The Master gave an awkward wave to your friends as he anxiously shifted back and forth on his feet.

“Y/n, can I speak with you for a moment?” The Doctor asked, but it wasn’t a question. She was already beginning to stand from her chair and walk out of the kitchen.

“Of course, Doctor. Master, you can sit in the open seat next to mine.” The Doctor and the Master glared at each other when they passed. The Doctor felt betrayed that you would invite him here. The Master was just upset that The Doctor was choosing to ruin your holidays with bickering.

“Why did you invite him here, Y/n?” The Doctor asked angrily once the two of you were alone and as far away from your kitchen as possible.

“Because I wanted to.”

“Y/n?”

“Isn’t Christmas a time for forgiveness, Doctor? And besides, no one should be alone on Christmas, including him.” The Doctor sighed as if she were trapped. She understood your position, but she continued to be sceptical of The Master’s motives. But it was Christmas, so maybe he deserved one more chance.

“I don’t like that you’ve done this.”

“Fine, but can we yell at each other later and just enjoy ourselves today?” The Doctor nodded defeatedly. Then you and The Doctor walked back into the kitchen in silence. You could tell from the faces of The Master and your friends that they all heard your conversation, and frankly, you didn’t care. The Master was there for you when you needed him, probably more than The Doctor and The Fam had, and you didn’t care who knew about it.

It was uncomfortably silent while the seven of you ate. This isn’t what you wanted. You don't know why, but every time you imagined today, the seven of you were happy and joking around. No one would be mentioning the Kasaavin or Gallifrey or the Timeless Child; it would just be a fun day between unlikely friends. It was just seven people with a lot of trauma having a bit of fun. But you now thought that to be a naive daydream and you cursed yourself for setting this whole dinner up. 

You felt The Master bump the side of your leg with his knee. You looked over at him. The Master, you could tell, was trying to ask you if you were alright without using telepathy. He knew that The Doctor would have called him out for doing that if he had. You smiled at him before returning to stare at your food. You didn’t want him to know how upset you were.

The atmosphere was still incredibly tense. You racked your brain for a moment about how to salvage the day because the food wasn’t working. But nothing popped into your head. You couldn’t take it anymore. You felt like the day was ruined, that all of your friends were disappointed in you, and that you had forced The Master into a difficult situation for no reason. You needed to get out of this suffocating environment. You stood up abruptly and left the room.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What are you doing here?” The Doctor immediately sneered at her best enemy as soon as you had left the room.

“Y/n invited me.”

“You are planning something! I know it! You’ve hypnotised Y/n in order to get closer to us and you are planning something horrible and deadly!”

“I just want to be here because Y/n invited me.”

“No. It’s got to be more than that. Everything you have ever done in your life alludes to you doing something colossal! You would never do anything out of the kindness of your hearts!” The Doctor pointed her finger accusingly before slamming her hand down on the table.

The Master took a deep breath in order to calm himself down after withstanding to The Doctor’s tirade. He wanted to explode on The Doctor; to pull out his TCE and shoot his best enemy in each one of her hearts, but he wouldn’t ruin your Christmas like that. The Master took another deep breath before responding.

“As I stated before, Doctor, if you ever listen, I am here because Y/n invited me. And I didn’t want to disappoint them on Christmas. I’ve heard that holidays during this season of the year are fairly important in Human culture.”

An awkward silence fell over the table. The Doctor was glaring at her companions to back her up for support, but they remained silent. Even though they had been hurt by The Master in the past, and they were currently sceptical of him, but it was Christmas. They just wanted to have a calm and loving holiday season with their friends and families. The Master hung his head low and was wishing for your swift return.

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You initially left the freakishly silent table to just have a breath alone, just in case the tears you were fighting won the battle. You spun around your living room, looking for where you had placed your tissues, and then you caught a glimpse of your Christmas tree, which had many presents beneath it. You grabbed the lot and returned to the kitchen. 

“You don’t have to open them now. I just wanted to give them to you before I forgot. Not to mention that this might defuse some of the tension.” 

You handed each person their presents. The Master did a double take when you initially handed him his present. He didn’t think that he would be included in the majority of the holiday festivities, let alone this one. He held the present carefully, delicately in his lap. He couldn’t stop staring at it as if it were his most prized possession.

The Doctor almost instantaneously seemed to forget her anger towards The Master and immediately opened her present, which didn’t surprise you. But you breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing The Doctor return to her usual childlike self.

“Oh! It’s present time! Amazing. I’ll get my gifts for everyone! Do you want me to get yours, Yaz?” Dan jovially questioned.

“I’ll get mine and The Doctor’s. Ryan? Graham? What about you two?” Yaz responded.

“I’ll get the presents from the both of us, son.” Graham sounded as he joined in the present retrieving.

Once everyone exchanged presents, Graham and Yaz thanked you and tucked their presents away to open up once they got home. You did similarly to them and put your presents under your chair for later. Ryan and Dan, however, followed The Doctor’s lead and opened their presents as soon as their hands were on them, Ryan more rambunctiously so. The Master just continued to stare down at his present in disbelief. He couldn’t remember the last time someone gifted him something. The Master was going to refuse the present and give it back to you because he didn’t deserve it, but then Dan gave a raucous cheer upon opening Graham’s present to him. It was a brand new and expensive wok.

“Y/n relayed your handiwork with a wok.” Graham said, causing Dan to chuckle in response. But unfortunately, silence quickly returned to the table once the gift exchange was over. To your surprise, The Master was the first to speak up.

“I’m sorry that I don’t have anything to give any of you. I’m not particularly knowledgeable about Christmas and its specific traditions, or any holidays around this time of the year really.”

“That’s perfectly fine, Master. I’m just happy that you’re here with all of us.” You smiled at him genuinely.

“Yeah, you not leaving us on a crashing plane is present enough.”

“Graham!”

“I’m sorry. I-”

“There’s no need to apologise. I haven’t exactly been a joy to be around for the majority of you. So, I’m not going to be petty about just retaliation.” The Master spoke sullenly, and it broke your heart. Yes, he hurt The Fam and The Doctor and threatened them, but you could see that he was trying. You just wished that your friends could see that, too. You laid a hopefully reassuring hand on The Master’s shoulder, but then you felt him tense beneath you and saw that all of your friends gave you pointed looks. So, you removed your hand.

Dan then coughed awkwardly. He didn’t know much about The Master’s antics, mostly just what Yaz had told him, and he just wanted to have a good day with his friends. Despite The Doctor’s trepidation and Yaz’s ice-cold stare, Dan saw The Master as a friend because The Master was a friend of yours. Dan also noticed all the trouble you were putting into the event, and he just wanted to try and help you in cheering everyone up.

“I brought some homemade cookies from my parents and some crackers, too.”

“May I join in this festivity?” The Master asked politely as Dan retrieved a tin of cookies for the table. 

“Of course, mate. They’re for everyone.” Dan clapped The Master on the back. You gave The Master a look to not comment and thankfully he just enjoyed the cookies while Dan and Yaz began handing out some Christmas crackers.

Maybe it was the presents or maybe the crackers, or even the cookies, or maybe it was just Dan being friendly and nice as always that helped lighten the general mood of the room. All of you ended up talking about fun things and laughing at random stories. Everyone even enjoyed the stories The Master told. And there was no talk of the bad things that The Master had done in the past, only the fun and funny things. 

Yaz and Ryan opened a couple of bottles of wine, everyone pulled some Christmas crackers. You exchanged prizes and paper crowns and all of you seemed to be thoroughly enjoying yourselves. Everyone in attendance had wide smiles and full stomachs and so many presents and knickknacks to take home.  But unfortunately, the day had to end.

“Despite the  … surprises … I had a brilliant time! Absolutely brilliant.” The Doctor said before giving you a ‘goodbye’ hug.

“Thank you, Doctor.”

“I can’t wait to do this next year!” Ryan excitedly shouted.

“Well, I don’t know about that …” The Doctor muttered softly, but you and The Master both heard.

“Oh, come on, Doc, you just said that you had a good time.” Graham countered as your friends clambered into the TARDIS and said their final goodbyes. The Master, though, hung behind in your apartment for a moment to have a quiet conversation alone with you.

“Thank you for inviting me. You obviously didn’t have to. But I very much appreciate it.” The Master handed you the present you have given him.

“Do you not want it?” You were hurt. You put so much effort into the day and the present. You wanted him to enjoy it and to see how much you cared for him.

“Of course I want it. I just don’t deserve it, Y/n.” You sighed at The Master’s self-deprecation. Thankfully he wasn’t rejecting you, but you hated seeing him this sad. That was part of the point of the present, to cheer The Master up during the holiday season.

“Just take it, Master, please. It’s Christmas.” You forced the present back into The Master’s hands and then tackled him into a hug.

“And take care of yourself, Master.” You kissed The Master's cheek and with that, the two of you said your goodbyes for the day. 

The Master walked away from your flat bittersweetly. He didn’t know how to process the event that just occurred to him. He felt like he experienced a fever dream of a day filled with his wildest dreams and his deepest fears. And he still had a present to open, so the turmoil of emotions he experienced today were likely not finished turning in his brain.

When he arrived in his TARDIS, The Master brought your present out of his bigger-on-the-inside pocket and stared at it again. You were too sweet for your own good. First, you invited him to join you in your Christmas celebrations, then you got him a gift. Unbelievable! It was as if you were begging for The Master to become obsessed with you.

The Master carefully untied the purple bow and carefully unwrapped the wrapping paper in an attempt to not rip it. The Master wouldn’t describe himself as a hoarder, even though other people had, but he wanted to keep every part of this gift to remember it, and your effort and kindness, properly.

You got him a couple of sets of purple and orange socks. He smiled at this. You noticed his proclivity for statement socks. He took one pair out of the box and observed how heavy it was, not like any pair of socks he had before. He wondered if these were some new Human inventions, weighted socks, maybe made for anxiety havers. The Master then looked inside the socks and saw that there was an item inside them. Before discovering what you had hidden inside the pair of socks he first held, he looked into the other pairs you had given him and, like the first pair, you had hidden more gifts in those socks. 

Upon unrolling each pair of socks, The Master found that you had also gifted him a pair of expensive-looking cufflinks, a quaint key chain with a Spotify code of one of his favourite Human songs, “Rasputin”, and a small rubber ducky wearing an “I raided Area 51” shirt. He rolled his eyes at the last gift. He never should have told you that he was actually responsible for that “meme”. Under all of the socks was an illustrated copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. If the socks were anything to go by, you hid something in the book. And The Master was correct. In the section where Dorothy’s house flies up into the air because of the tornado, The Master found a letter addressed to him. 

Just like the box, he opened the letter with care. In your handwriting, written by a purple inked pen, you wrote:

Master, 

I never want to intrude when it comes to you and your personal space and needs, but I want you to know that you are always welcome at my flat and in my life. I’m not going to judge you or pressure you or rat you out to The Doctor in any way. I just want you to have someone, and I hope that I could be that someone for you.

I know that things are complicated because of your long history with The Doctor and, more recently, everything revolving around the Kasaavin and Gallifrey. But I have really appreciated all of our communications with each other. I actually felt seen and heard by you, and I hope I made you feel the same way. Maybe I could one day get everyone else to see the softer, more caring and more protective side of yourself that you so often hide. You probably wouldn’t like that, though. But thank you for allowing me to see that side of you. I really do love talking with you, and I appreciate everything you have done for me.

I hope to see you again, preferably in a non-threatening environment. :)

Happy Holidays

Y/n

The Master sighed deeply trying to hold back his tears, but apparently, his emotions won over his resolve. The Master burst into tears. Emotions from decades and centuries that he had pushed down now rose up and flowed through him; his loneliness and isolation all becoming painfully aware to him as he read your letter. You really were the only person he had at this moment, maybe in his entire life. The Master would have to prove his worth to you properly. Get you a coat like his, at the very least.

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You stumbled out of your room, still dizzy from sleep, to answer your door. An incessant knocking woke you up from where you had fallen asleep while watching How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Despite being incredibly drained from the anxiety of the day, you tried to cheer yourself up with some Christmas spirit. You grew incredibly annoyed, however, when there was no one behind your front door. You looked around; no one was down the hall, no one left anything for you, not even a note on the door!

You shut your door, disgruntled, but made your way back to your room. You stopped suddenly in your path, though, upon seeing something previously not there out of the corner of your eye. Under your Christmas tree sat a square, purple box tied up securely in gold ribbon. 

You strode up to the box and investigated it curiously. It looked safe, but you were still cautious.  Before opening the box, you opened the letter, addressed to you, which was placed on top.

My Darling Y/n,

If I had more time to plan, I would gift you something more sufficient in order to repay you for your overly caring nature. Though, I hope that this will make do for the time being. You may find some extra goodies hidden throughout, but I intend to spoil you greatly with many more gifts in the future.

With love,

Your caring Master

Of course, it was The Master! You smiled from ear to ear both because he got you a gift and because he reciprocated your feelings, but also because he opened your present and enjoyed Christmas dinner. 

You carefully, but quickly and excitedly, opened the present The Master had given you. To your wonderment, The Master had gifted you either his purple coat or a coat that looked incredibly similar. You quickly threw the beautifully crafted coat around you, and it instantly warmed you.

You couldn’t help yourself; you were so excited that you had to jump up and down and squeal in pure joy. You then skipped to your full-body mirror and snapped a photo of yourself modelling your Christmas gift.

You sent the picture to The Master, along with the text: ‘I look quite dashing, doncha think? ;)’

The Master instantly peered down at his Human phone, which he kept in order to communicate with you, as soon as he received your message. He smirked and then sent back a reply.

‘Incredibly so! Dare I say, dashing enough to conquer the Universe?’

‘I wouldn’t go that far. I was thinking more of a sexy stranger at a cosy bar…’ You removed your sleep shirt before putting the coat back on, revealing a good portion of your chest. You also moved to take the picture in your bathroom mirror instead in order to hide your Christmas pyjama pants.

‘You absolutely fit that role to a T, love! I hope to see you in that environment and in  that coat in the future.’

‘Oh, you will, Master.’

‘Good. ;) Now be a good little Human and get to bed. It might be Christmas, but you must go to bed at a reasonable time.’ You rolled your eyes at his protective nature, but you knew that he was right.

‘Only if you get a good night’s sleep, too, Master.’

‘That coat must have given you my talent for finagling and manipulation, love.’

‘Nope! That was all you!’

‘The Doctor would be horrified’

‘Let her be.’ The Master genuinely smiled down at his phone and the conversation he was having with you. You were so special to him. He didn’t need gifts or Christmas dinner or flirty texts, even, The Master just needed you in his life. You were the best Christmas present The Master could have asked for.

‘Happy Christmas, Y/n!’

‘Happy Christmas, Master!’

Books Read In August 2024

Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell (Began in July, Finished in August)

A Series Of Unfortunate Events - Book Seven - The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket

Chouette by Claire Oshetsky

Animal Farm by George Orwell

All's Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

1984 by George Orwell

A Series Of Unfortunate Events - Book Eight - The Hostile Hospital by Lemony Snicket

If it Bleeds by Stephen King (Began but Not Finished)

[Image Reads] Anonymous said - Hi! I’m not the person who requested the master x reader where she gets turned into a doll BUT I read it and it was so cute! I kinda need more, can I ask for a sequel? If you don't want to it's totally cool, love your account<3

I accidentally deleted the original ask, but here’s my copy of the request.

Thank you so much for the request anon! I really appreciate the fact that you enjoyed the first fic and that you requested. I am sorry that this too so long to write/post.

I ended up making this fic as more of a collection of scenes rather than a full connected fic. I really enjoyed writing this though, it was very fun and silly :) I hope that you enjoy it!

I will officially post My Baby Doll Part 2 tomorrow and I will link it HERE once I do.

Also, I will link My Baby Doll Part 1 HERE.

Thank you, again. And I hope you are all doing well! :)

-Ghost

Tell Me That I Belong To You

Dhawan!Master x Reader

Summary - The Reader is having a bad day. So, with the convincing of The TARDIS, The Reader seeks comfort in The Master.

Based On This Request - *This was originally based on a request but the more I continued to write and edit it, the more the fic drifted away from the prompt. So, I am just going to let this be its own fic and write another fic more closely aligned to the prompt.

Warnings - Reader not feeling well, insecurity on the part of the reader, canon typical telepathy. (let me know if I missed anything)

Word Count - 1864

A/n - Gender Neutral Reader. I have a smut version of this fic if anyone would like to read it, but I don’t want to post it if people would just prefer the fluff version. I also don’t know how good this is, but I just wanted to get something out there after feeling awful mentally for a while. So, I hope that you enjoy this :)!

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You woke up with a headache. The type of headache that no matter how much water you drank, food you ate, or sun(TARDIS created sun) you layed in would cure your malady. Headaches, in general, but especially ones as bad as the one you were experiencing, always made your whole day awful. Oftentimes, the pain in your head would cause you to spiral internally until your mental health was utterly destroyed. That’s where you were now, arguing to yourself in your head about you and your “Humanness” and how you weren’t good enough for The Master. How could you possibly be good enough for The Master? Even if you weren’t Human, why would he want to be with someone like you?

The TARDIS beeped determinedly. You were becoming better at understanding The TARDIS given how much time you had spent within the ship but still you could only understand part of what she was telling you. The bits you could discern were: “The Master loves you”, “you are good enough”, “you have always been enough”, and “The Master would never think such horrible things about you. Ever!”

Eventually, you stopped The TARDIS’s rant about how great you were and that she wished that she could help improve your self-image. You thanked her for everything she said. Even though didn’t understand everything, you could feel her distress over your thoughts and her want to help you.

“The Master could help you where I fail.” The TARDIS finally said telepathically.

“He’s probably busy, though.” You mumbled, worried about upsetting him if you interrupted him while he was doing something.

“Go to him. He wouldn’t want to know that you allowed yourself to suffer when he was there ready and available to help you.” The TARDIS had to say this statement a couple of times in order for you to fully understand, and you sighed in response. She was right. The Master would be furious if he found out that you hid your distress from him, you knew that, he said as much many times before. It’s just that your brain would lie to you when you were upset.

“The Master will understand.” The sentient time and spaceship whispered into your brain. The TARDIS, given her time being The Master’s ship, knew better than anyone how the state of a person’s physical health could affect their mental health. She knew how greatly The Master suffered, therefore The Master would never judge you. The TARDIS just hoped that you knew what she knew.

“Can you lead me to The Master, please?” You asked after ruminating over everything the incredibly kind ship communicated to you. The TARDIS cheerfully directed you to the main library where The Master often lounged. 

Like many times before, The Master was sitting horizontally on the sofa reading. He seemed engrossed in the thick tome resting up against his bent thigh. The alien’s engrossed demeanour made you want to turn back and talk to The Master later, but The TARDIS reassured you with a comforting presence. Both you and the ship knew that the only person who could make you happy when you were feeling off was the rogue Time Lord.

You walked up as quietly as you could and poked the Master’s cheek with your finger. The Master looked up at you with a smile, completely unbothered. Even while agonisingly planning an upcoming plan to toy with The Doctor, you would always bring him joy just with your presence. You were never a bother to him,

“Hello, my little Human. How are you today?” The Master seemed so calm even though you expected him to be upset. You wrapped your arms around your torso anxiously and subconsciously began rocking back and forth on your feet.

“Can I sit on your lap please, Master?” You sounded tired, which worried The Master, though he chose not to react for your benefit. 

“Of course, love.” The Master placed the book he was researching and moved slightly to allow you to sit on his lap. 

As soon as you rested your body against his, The Master scooted his body down the sofa until the two of you were practically lying down. The Master then wrapped his arms firmly around your back, trapping you against his chest with the beating of his hearts rattling throughout your body. 

You breathed a sigh of relief, causing The Master to chuckle lovingly. You then nuzzled against his clothes-covered collarbones and the base of his neck and then breathed in his scent. His presence was comforting, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. Your mind still hurt and your thoughts still moved far too quickly for you to properly calm down. You assumed that your thoughts were loud, loud enough for The Master to hear, but you didn’t put any effort into hiding your thoughts. You just wanted to dissolve into The Master’s chest and to let all of your anxieties disappear.

“I’m sorry that you aren’t feeling well, Y/n.” The Master said softly against your ear. One of his hands absentmindedly caressed up and down your back.

“Make me feel good, Master, please. You’re the only one who can.” Your headache seemed to peak right before you committed yourself to asking The Master for some help. The warmth of The Master’s body against yours and the severe pain spiking through your head was too contrasting and too overwhelming to put on a brave face any longer.

“What kind of Master would I be if I didn’t take care of my beloved Human.” The feel of The Master’s smirk against your skin sparked a warmth to spread through you. The Master always made you feel better and more secure, but on bad days you just needed a bit more reassurance.

“Please tell me that you mean that?” 

“Of course I mean it, my love. You are the only person I could ever care about.” The Master adjusted slightly in order to look you in the eye. You shied away, avoiding eye contact, and The Master didn’t push you to look at him. Though he did brush a hand down the side of your face a couple of times before kissing your forehead delicately.

“Let’s go somewhere more comfortable, love.” The Master said this to inform you that he would move the two of you. He would carry you places in The TARDIS without telling you where you were going when you were feeling like your everyday self, but not when you were feeling off. The Master never wanted to add to your anxiety, so he would always tell you when he would carry you off somewhere.

The Master moved the two of you so he was sitting up with you on his lap. He wrapped your legs around his waist and held you tightly against his chest before finally standing up with you securely in his arms. Then he carried you off to your shared bedroom. 

Once in the dark-themed and dimly lit bedroom, The Master gently placed you on the bed and wrapped you up in as many blankets as you wanted and needed. He stepped back from the bed momentarily to remove his clothes that were far inferior to yours when it came to the act of cuddling and resting. Eventually, he crawled under the covers to join you on the bed. He cuddled closer to you, holding you tighter than he did in the library, and then rubbed his hands up and down your back as you returned to your place cuddling into The Master’s side.

“What do you need, my love?”

“You.” You’re speech was muffled by The Master’s neck, but he still understood you.

“Yes, but what do you need me to do? I know that you are hiding something in that beautiful mind of yours.” You felt The Master softly tap a finger against your temple, a little jolt of calmness and relief coursing through you with each tap.

“You won’t laugh at me, will you?”

“Never.” The Master answered with sincerity heavy in his tone. You nervously mumbled your response under your breath and into his neck, making this comment more difficult for The Master to decipher.

“I couldn’t hear you, love.”

“Can you tell me I belong to you?” You asked a bit louder, but you were still quiet and nervousness permeated your question. The Master’s breath caught in his throat. He tried his best to hold in his excitement brought on by your request because this moment was about you. The idea of you belonging to him was exactly what The Master wanted, more than anything in the Universe, probably even the Multiverse. What added to his growing excitement and adoration of you was the fact that The Master didn’t even have to make you feel this way. You wanted him just as much as he wanted you. Somehow, the stars aligned and they delivered the perfect person to The Master. What else could he do but give you whatever you wanted in an act of gratification?

“You belong to me, love. You always will belong to your Master. You’ll be mine forever.” The Master cuddled you impossibly closer, intertwining your bodies in a knot, and whispered into your ear with all the devotion and fervour he felt for you heavy on his tongue.

“And you really mean that -” You tried to ask again, but The Master cut you off before you could finish your insecurity-filled question. 

“Of course I mean that. I would never lie to you, especially about this.” This time when The Master moved to look you in the eye you didn’t turn away. His warm chocolate eyes held all of the sentiments that were laced within his words and even more. If it were possible, you would stare into his eyes forever. 

“Thank you, Master.”

“There is no need to thank me. You just need some rest and then you will feel better.” You huffed into The Master’s neck, just wishing that he would accept your gratitude without dismissing it.

“Come on, rest your head on my chest and close your eyes. I will deal with that headache and those pesky thoughts that were troubling you.” You did as The Master asked, already planning how you would repay The Master for everything he did for you today. 

As soon as you placed your head on The Master’s chest, the sound of his heartbeats immediately calmed you down and the pressure on your mind began to subside. The Master massaged his hands along your back, starting slowly along your neck and then moving further down toward the base of your spine. He smoothed every ache and worked out every knot and kink, all the while placing delicate kisses across your head and face. You heard him whispering praises in your ear, some in your native language and some in his. Even though you couldn’t understand everything he spoke to you, you knew that what he said was entirely comprised of his love. Because of The Master’s actions, you soon fell asleep. You were completely consumed by the rogue Time Lord’s presence, just like you wanted to be when the day began.

One Good Day

O x Reader - Dhawan!Master x Reader

Summary - The Reader hasn’t been feeling well and their roommate, O, comforts them.

Warnings - mentions of depression/sad feelings/low days

Word Count - 3949

A/n - Gender Neutral Reader. Not Requested. This takes place when The Master was pretending to be O. Okay, so this is my fic Mental Health Date revisited. I revisited and revised it a bit because I didn’t like it, but I still don’t like it, but I’m going to post it anyway just to get it out there.

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It had been one of those days. And by days, you meant weeks. Nothing felt right. You had little interest in the things you would usually enjoy, and you had gotten incredibly far behind on your work, and you stopped talking to the people in your life, but you didn’t really care. It worried you sometimes, feeling yourself fall down the rabbit hole of dissociation and depression, but you didn’t know what to do. You couldn’t sleep at night because of how anxious you were about feeling behind in life, but you couldn’t get up to do anything of importance to relieve your anxieties and get better for yourself. All you really did was watch random videos and read fanfiction and sleep during the day. You were incredibly bored but didn’t have enough energy to do anything about it. 

Part of you didn’t know why you felt this way. This just always happens. Things get better. Things are going well and smoothly. Then things get bad quickly. and your mental health just plummets. It’s a horrible cycle that happens every couple of weeks or months, depending on what else is going on around you. You were sick of it! You just wanted one good day to get you back on track. Or just one good day, period. No matter how much you wanted it, however, you berated yourself for believing something as foolish as the thought that today would actually be a good day.

You didn’t feel like you could talk to your family about what was going on. They never reacted the way that you wished that they would, so you just didn’t bother any more with trying to explain these feelings to them. Your friends would understand your circumstance much more than your parents, however, you never wanted to burden them with your depressive thoughts. So, you just kept to yourself, which usually caused your depressive state to get worse until it would pass. 

You considered talking to your roommate, O. Or maybe not talk, but somehow convince him to go out to a cafe or park or something so you weren’t alone for a bit. You eventually decided against reaching out to O, though, so as not to bother him, just like how you didn’t want to burden your friends. But that didn’t stop you thinking about your roommate while in your state of boredom. 

O was quiet, reserved and sweet, he kept to himself most of the time, but he could also be quite blunt when he wanted to be. You couldn’t tell whether he was a nervous person or introverted or whether he just didn’t like people. He was usually polite, or just silently complained about a person through eye rolls, but it always shocked you when he would say something harsh. His comments were never directed to you but knowing the fact that he could be easily disappointed made you not want to upset him. Over the past few months of cohabitating with him, you had developed a small crush on him, but tried to deny it to all of your friends and yourself. Your crush was probably the reason you didn’t want to upset him, not the fear of his hidden harshness being directed to you, but you just pushed those feelings away and continued to scroll through your phone. 

You were thankful that he allowed you to share a flat with him, because there seemed to be no other apartments available in this part of the city, but you assumed that O just needed someone else to pay rent rather than actually wanting any companionship. And considering that you were the one to move into the flat second, you tried your best to stay out of his way, but you felt as if you always failed at that task.

Whenever you would find yourself walking in on O in the living room or kitchen having an intense discussion with himself, pacing and muttering about unusual things, he would huff and quickly walk to his room and lock the door behind him. His reaction would always make you feel horrible. You wanted to get to know him and make him feel welcomed in your presence, not shut away. 

But O would sometimes allow you to interact with him. Whenever O wasn’t too consumed by work, he would offer up genuine smiles around the flat and would sometimes express small, reserved instances of his personality that he deemed you worthy enough of seeing. You discovered that O worked for the government and had a passion for science and technology. But your favourite thing about O was his belief in aliens. You didn’t expect that of him, but it made you smile to see him get so excited when he rambled about his special interest. 

Even though you learned things about each other during your cohabitation, the two of you never made a consistent effort to build a rapport. And that made you feel slightly uncomfortable with the idea of going to O with your problems or even having a crush on him. You were afraid that he would act poorly, like your parents or previous professors or bosses, and blame you for how you were feeling and the state you were in. You wanted someone, though. Someone to be with you on a bad day. Someone to make you feel better. Again, you stopped that train of thought and chastised yourself for being so foolish to think that someone would ever help you in that way.

So, you continued scrolling through random apps on your phone while cuddling up in bed under a mound of blankets. You didn’t have enough motivation to get up at all this morning, like most mornings this week, but now it was around midday, and you hadn’t even eaten anything or even showered. You just let the minutes pass by while consuming random content in the hope for some dopamine. Suddenly, O opened your door without warning and just stood in the doorway, for a moment, staring at your startled face. You dropped your phone slightly to get a better look at O. He looked like he was questioning what he saw, but there was something different about the way that he was looking at you that you couldn’t place. His eyes seemed sad, and he was tapping his fingers on the doorknob of your room repeatedly in a pattern of four beats.

“Are you feeling okay?” O finally spoke after an awkward silent war between the two of you just staring at each other.

“Yeah, I'm fine.” You squeaked out. You didn’t mean to lie, but you were so startled by O barging into your room that you didn’t know how to respond.

“I know that you always say that I can be incredibly blunt, and by blunt you mean rude. Well, now I'm not trying to be rude, I’m just concerned, okay?” O held out his non tapping hand as if to reassure you, but it only made you even more worried. As if he were trying to prepare you for the final blow in a battle of wits that would be your downfall.

“Can you please get to the point, O?”

“You don't look fine. You look quite glum, actually. And a bit greasy.” You were right. It was the hard-hitting final blow to your already depleted ego.

“Well, you certainly know how to cheer a person up.” You huffed and turned so your back was now facing O. For an extra pinch of dramatics, you pulled your blankets up over your head to cocoon yourself. You muffled a mumble that you didn’t intend for O to hear, but if he did it wouldn’t be the end of the world, “You barge into my room and insult me. I sure picked a great roommate.”

You slightly heard O huff over the muffling effect on your blanket cocoon. You internally groaned at the thought that O was most likely rolling his eyes at your obnoxious behaviour. You didn’t want to have a fight or make him feel bad. You didn’t even know why you were acting this way, just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide from the world alone.

There was a long enough silence for you to get back to your reading on your phone and you assumed that O had left your room. Probably with the door open because he always seemed to leave doors open throughout the flat. You froze when you felt the opposite side of your bed dip. You turned a bit to look over your shoulder. You saw O sitting on your bed, looking at you with concern lacing his eyes. You had never seen that before.

“You don’t have to talk about anything that you don't want to, Y/n, but if you want to talk, I am here. If you need me.” You shuffled a bit more to see him more clearly and you saw that O was being sincere.

“I don’t want to talk about it. But I’m just not feeling good mentally. I’ve been feeling this way for a while, I just didn’t know how to say anything. I’m sorry that I told you I was fine early when I wasn’t. I was shocked by your question, and I panicked.” O smiled sympathetically.

“Why were you shocked?” You looked down and away from O’s eyes to try and prepare for what you were about to say.

“I didn’t think you cared enough to ask about me. I didn’t think you care about me at all.” You looked back up at O when you heard him sigh again. You were afraid that he was angry about what you had said. He didn’t look angry, though. He looked sad and disappointed, but it also looked like he was thinking about something.

“How about you take a long bath and I’ll go get some things from the shops so we can have a nice night in?”

“Why?”

“What do you mean why? It’s a nice thing to do, isn’t it?”

“When do you ever do nice things? You don't do nice things, especially not to me.” You shuffled down a bit into the cocoon of blankets to hide from O’s unblinking gaze.

“I’ve done nice things for you!” If you thought that O actually cared for you, you would have said that O looked offended and hurt at the thought of you thinking that he didn’t care about you. But that would be impossible.

“Okay, you have done nice things for me, I’m just being sad and only thinking about the bad things right now. And it’s perfectly fine if you don’t do nice things for me. I don’t expect you to. We are flat mates, not best friends or anything else.” O seemed to quirk his head upon hearing you say ‘anything else,’ along with having a small smirk lacing his face.

“Come on. Get up. I swear I'll make tonight worthwhile.” O smirked and sent you a wink. You huffed and stumbled out of bed, almost hitting O with your blanket before he dodged it by standing up from the bed.

“Don’t be flirty just to try and get me to not be sad.” You stumbled to your dresser and wardrobe and grabbed some underwear and comfy clothes and some towels.

“Who said I was flirting to make you smile? I would say that I’m flirting with you because I want to flirt with you.” You gasped slightly and turned to see O smirking in the doorway. You didn’t know how to respond, you just stood there with your mouth agape, so O took the opportunity to continue to speak, “I’ll probably be back while you’re still in the shower but take as much time as you need. I’ve got to make today a good day for you.” You stared at him for a second, you were worried that he had read your mind about wanting to have just one good day, but that would be impossible. So, you brushed that completely ridiculous thought out of your mind.

It felt weird experiencing him acting this way. You didn’t interact with O that often, even though you were living together. The two of you usually kept to yourselves, often preoccupied with your jobs. O’s advances didn’t feel fake, though, like he was putting on an act, but because it was so different from how he usually acts this did feel wrong. You shook away your thoughts and waved goodbye to O as he prepared to leave the flat and you prepared to enter the bathroom.

The shower was warm and refreshing and the perfect environment for your thoughts to run wild, even though you tried to push them away. You didn’t want to get your hopes up, but your feelings and crush on him was making that difficult. You had no idea what O had planned, but you assumed that whatever it was, it would be a short event. Because the two of you never hung out that much except in passing, and because O’s more introverted nature, you were now convinced that O would probably be planning a short meal with a fancy dessert. It would show that O cared about your mental health and your company, but it wouldn’t be too intrusive. But O had been known to shock you, so everything made you more curious about what O would actually decide to do.

You left the bathroom wearing the comfy clothes you picked out but with wet hair. You didn’t really care to dry your hair properly or do any sense of a skin or hair care routine. You assumed that you were going to have a short, friendly dinner and go back to sleep soon, even though you wanted something more intimate. 

Over the smell of soap and shampoo, you smelled your favourite candle, and this surprised you. So, you apprehensively walked into the living room, now candle lit, and observed a large supply of blankets and pillows piled up to form a pillow fort, covering up the sofa and the television. You looked into the fort and saw some of your favourite snacks were placed on the coffee table. Suddenly you heard a timer go off. This brought your attention to the kitchen. You saw O, wearing comfy clothes as well, preparing something. He eventually noticed you staring and smiled at you before speaking.

“What movie do you want to watch?” O finished preparing the meal and walked from the kitchen with two plates of your favourite food, one in each hand. O asked if you could open the fort again and placed the dishes on the coffee table before walking back to the kitchen.

“Although, we could start watching a show. But whatever you want to watch I will enjoy.” O spoke up again, carrying two of your favourite beverages and two delicious looking desserts precariously. You opened the fort to allow O to enter and you followed him silently. The two of you sat on the ground in between the sofa and the coffee table. The food smelled amazing, but you didn’t understand why any of this was happening. This was far fancier than you had anticipated.

O drew you out of your thoughts by asking what you wanted to watch again, and you suggested your favourite movie, but emphasised that the two of you didn’t have to watch it because he would probably hate it. While in the middle of your explanation, O had already begun the movie. You tried to grab the remote and explain that he didn’t need to do all of this for you, but O interrupted you.

“Y/n, enjoy this. And let me be here with you. For you. Let yourself have a good day. And eat, you should definitely eat.” O took a bite of his food and smiled encouragingly at you before starting the movie again. You sighed and stared at the plate of food before grabbing it and holding it in your lap and taking a bite. 

After you finished your meal, you sat with your back on the bottom part of the sofa with your head resting on the seat and you stared at the screen blankly. You weren’t paying close attention to the movie, but you heard O laughing and giving encouraging hums to the events of the movie. You were confused by the situation that you found yourself in. You had imagined having home date nights with O. And you had imagined domestically watching television and snacking on junk food with O. It seemed as if this was a cute amalgamation of two of your most prevalent fantasies of O. You joked with yourself that O must have read your mind and created an intimate combination of the date ideas to make you the happiest. But that would be impossible and ridiculous. But that thought kept nagging at you, so you stopped the film.

“Why are you doing this?” You turned to O who was adorably in the middle of eating a sweet. 

“You weren’t feeling well, and I wanted to. You deserve a good day, Y/n.”

“I didn’t think that you cared about me. I honestly thought that you were going to ask me to move out once the lease was up.” O smiled to himself knowingly. You were confused by this reaction and were about to question him, but O spoke before you could.

“No. I wouldn’t do that to you, Y/n. I’ve cared about you for a while now, I’m just not good at expressing it. And I never would have agreed to flat share with you if I didn’t like you. I want you to feel safe and comfortable around me.” You felt your face heat up upon hearing this confession.

O playfully threw your favourite sweet at you to distract you and turned the film back on before scooting closer to you. You smiled after noticing how close the two of you were but tried not to get your hopes too high. Of course, you wanted to get to know O more romantically, however, you would very happily settle for a nice friendship. Which was a terrible lie, but you thought that it was fine to be in denial for right now, so you just enjoy the moment before you and not overthink it. 

You began to grow a bit tired and yawned. O shifted closer to you again and placed his arm around your shoulders. Your head instantly fell into the crook of his neck and watched the remainder of the movie in a sleepy haze. Despite how hard you tried; you fell asleep in this position. The repetitive motion of O’s hand rubbing circles on your arm and his steady breaths were the final blows to you and caused you to enter a deep, calming sleep.

The Master knew that you were close to falling asleep throughout most of the second half of the movie and was eagerly awaiting the moment when you would finally fall asleep on his shoulder. He looked down at you when he knew that you wouldn’t wake up and smiled as if he had accomplished something great. The Master had seen worlds destroyed, by his hands, and he had planned coups and revolutions and created new species, but nothing he had done gave him as much joy as knowing that he made you happy and he gave you peace.

The Master snapped his fingers and his TARDIS turned off the television with a soft pop. Then he softly picked you up bridal style and carried you to your room. The Tardis unlocked your door for the Timelord, along with turning on your bedroom light and pulling your covers back. The Master gently placed you on your bed and tucked you in under your blankets. He paused to caress your face gently, smiling when you nuzzled into his hand in your sleep. The Master stayed like this, just observing you in a calm and peaceful state, before leaning forward and kissing your forehead.

“Goodnight, Y/n. Sleep dreams. I hope you enjoyed today, love.” The Master turned off your bedroom light and closed your door quietly before returning to the living room and kitchen area to clean up from the date. After everything was clean and back in its place, The Master got ready for bed. Technically, he didn’t need to because of the difference between Human and Time Lord biology, but he had gotten used to your Human schedule.

The Master sighed to himself as he closed the door to his room. He hated that he let you get this down. Not that you were aware of what he had done, but The Master performed an extensive vetting process on all of the people who had come to him as O looking for a flat share. He intended to be much more comprehensive and intentional with choosing a companion, as opposed to The Doctor who was reckless and impulsive. You had passed every test with flying colours and were now his, not that you knew this. You didn't need to know this information right now, though. At least, that's what The Master thought. He planned to pursue a relationship with you as O long before he ever revealed himself to be the Rebel Timelord. But he planned for that to happen long in the future from now.

The Master leaned against his bedroom door for a second before hitting his head with his palm. He was ashamed of himself. The Master believed and knew that it was his responsibility to take care of you and he took too long to notice your declining symptoms. The Master felt dumb. He had forgotten how Humans work. How Humans need constant attention and blatant acts and expressions of interest to actually understand the flirtation. Humans weren’t well versed in the art of flirtatious telepathy and “O” couldn’t flirt like The Doctor and blow your mind with the universe and all of time. That would ruin the act. 

For his plan to succeed, he had to do better. He swore to himself that he would do better in the future. He would interact with you more, engage in the things you enjoy, as this would be the best way to make you care for him just as he had begun to care for you more intimately, as more than just a Human pet. And he would try to not let The Doctor and his revenge plan for her get too in the way of your budding relationship. And then, once the two of you were fully committed to one another and The Doctor was destroyed, The Master would show you everything he possibly could because that’s what you deserved. The Master also knew that you deserved to feel safe and protected in your own house and head, and the rebel Timelord made a vow to show you how truly immaculate you were in his eyes. He also made a vow to help you with whatever you needed and drop anything and everything to help you. He wanted to make every day, for you, a good day. There would be no more wishing for good days with him around, but he would make sure that you would never get that low again. The Master knew that you were his and he was yours. You needed him and he needed you. And The Master was excited to make you realise that.