Summary - The Master comforts the Reader when they get a really bad headache.
Warnings - migraine/headaches, a bit of an overstimulation meltdown
Word Count - 1690
A/n - Gender Neutral Reader. Not Requested. This is purely a self-indulgent fic because I get frequent headaches, but I hope that you enjoy it!
The Master had been living aboard the Doctor’s TARDIS for a couple of weeks now, and everyone hated this new living situation. Except The Master, who seemed to be having a tremendous amount of fun tormenting everyone on board. The Doctor insisted that The Master needed to be watched; that the only way for her to properly make sure that The Master didn’t continue down his destructive path was to have him live with her, you and the rest of The Fam.
Despite being the main organiser of the situation, The Doctor didn’t seem happy. You got the feeling that she did not expect to feel cramped in her own home, but she seemed hopeful that this might be the moment where she could get her old friend back. You also weren’t the only uncomfortable companion of The Doctor’s, the rest of The Fam weren’t happy either, especially because The Master did try to kill them, multiple times. However, the reason why you were uncomfortable with The Master’s presence was different from the Fam’s.
The Master always watched you. As O, you thought that it was a bit flattering; all of the lingering glances and the soft touches the two of you had shared when no one was noticing. Since revealing himself as the rogue Time Lord, his gazes became more menacing and predatory. He always seemed to be in the same room as you, lurking in the corner, his eyes staring holes into your back. You knew that The Doctor wished for you and The Fam to be kind and welcoming despite everything, but sometimes you could not control your anger. Today was one of those days.
“How is my little Human today?” The Master questioned, his tone was teasing, as he came up behind you while you were making a cup of tea. He knew how much you hated his condescending attitude, especially toward Humans, which only made him more determined to rile you up.
“Don’t start with me.” Your speech was venomous. This shocked The Master, but he hid it well.
“Awww is my little human upset?” He cooed at you, miming sadness on his face and getting uncomfortably close to you.
“I said, don’t start with me, if you are so incapable of hearing! Don’t talk to me, don’t look at me, don’t even breathe near me. Just leave me alone!” You rushed past The Master, checking his shoulder, causing him to stumble backward slightly. He stood shocked into stupidity by your behaviour and the fact that you somehow managed to not spill your tea. The Master did not understand what was going on in his brain. He wondered if he was malfunctioning.
“You okay there, Master?” The Doctor teased as she popped her head into the kitchen. She heard everything and gleefully prepared to tease her old friend about his budding feelings for you.
“Of course, I’m okay.” He wasn’t. It was a blatant lie, that once spoken, he knew The Doctor could see through.
Two main thoughts emerged in The Master’s after his interaction with you. One: he hated how attractive you looked when ordering him around. Two: he hated how visibly upset you were, and how he was the cause. That was the opposite reaction he wished you would give when seeing him, despite how fun it was to joke with you. Perhaps you did not see his japes as fun or flirty.
“Good job with Y/N.” The Doctor knew of the mutual crushes budding between the two of you. She saw it happening a few weeks ago when The Master kept touching and playing with the hem of your shirt while she was rambling about her newest plan for an adventure. You had asked him to stop, but he kept doing it because he said that it calmed him down. The Doctor might have been a bit dense when it came to understanding how people felt about her, but she was quick to pick up on the energies of situations she wasn’t a part of.
“Shut up.” The Master retorted, half heartedly, still more concerned with your mood rather than his ego.
“Maybe tone down the teasing when Y/n is visibly upset next time, yeah?” The Master grumbled, knowing she was right. “Oh, and maybe consider apologising. I know that that’s not typical Master behaviour, but I think you should make an exception for ‘your little Human’.” The Doctor snickered as she saw The Master’s face turn into a scowl. She quickly left with a box of custard creams in her hand before the Master could throw any kitchen utensils at her head.
The Master sighed defeatedly, knowing that his old friend was right and that he should apologise. He questioned if he should do that now. You did sound incredibly upset, but he didn’t want this situation to grow and get worse. So The Master made his way to your room, after stealing some of your favourite snacks from the kitchen before he left.
Upon arriving at the door to your bedroom, The Master knocked on your door softly. He didn’t want to startle you and cause you to be even more upset with him. However, you didn’t respond. The Master was going to knock again, but The TARDIS opened your door for him. The Master thanked the ship and slowly creaked the door open until he heard you growl at him.
“I thought I told you to leave me alone.”
“What’s wrong, Y/n?” The Master blocked the light from The TARDIS hallway with his body, but refused to fully enter your room without your permission. The Master’s back straightened out of regret when he thought he heard you crying, but he tried to remain composed because he didn’t have all of the details yet.
“You don’t really care, so you might as well leave.” The Master heard your voice cracking, confirming his fears that you were in fact crying.
“Y/n, I’m sorry about earlier and for all my teasing before -” You cut The Master off before he could finish his apology.
“I have the worst migraine I’ve ever had in my life.” The Master responded with a soft, “oh,” having been on the receiving end of many headaches throughout his regenerations.
“How bad is it?”
“I can feel my heartbeat radiating through my skull.”
“Can I touch you?”
“What?” Even in your pain filled state you noticed how awkwardly he worded that question. The Master grimised, too, upset that his emotions were making him flustered.
“Can I massage your head? It might help your headache.” You agreed and heard the Time Lord enter your room and close your door behind him. You heard him place some things down then rummaged around your desk a bit, then you felt his hand brush against your arm, notifying you of his presence. You sat up briefly, allowing him to sit behind you on your bed. You let The Master reposition you until your head was resting on his thighs.
“Is this okay?” The Master’s voice was softer than you heard before, he almost sounded like O. You nodded. The Master brought one of his hands up to cradle the back of your head and the other caressed your forehead. He eventually moved both of his hands to your temples causing some relief to flow through your skull.
The Master continued to massage your temples, digging slightly rougher into the flesh. Whatever he did, it calmed the pain, but you could easily see him using this technique, albeit more forcefully, on an enemy he was about to execute with his bare hands. You heard him chuckle, causing you eyes to pop open.
“You heard that thought, didn’t you?”
“Given that it’s telepathy, I technically didn’t hear it.” The Master bluntly stated. You rolled your eyes at the technicality, but asked in your head if he killed people like that. He nodded sadly.
You thought, ‘Have you ever thought of killing me like that?’
The Master shook his head and projected his thoughts into your head, ‘I haven’t thought about killing you at all. In fact, I've planned schemes around trying to protect you.” You smiled at him, but winced when your headache spiked. The Master winced sympathetically seeing you in pain.
“I can calm you, telepathically, if you want.”
“You aren’t going to hypnotise me or look through my memories or thoughts, are you?”
“No. I wouldn’t do that to you. Also, that would probably make your head hurt more, so that wouldn’t be beneficial. It will basically be the same thing as listening to theta waves.” You nodded your head, understanding. “But it’s actually nothing like that.” You slumped your shoulders and glared at him because of his correction.
You let The Master reposition you again. Now you were lying between his legs with your head on his chest, while he rested back against your headboard. One of his hands partially cradled your face while he massaged your temple, his other hand petted your head and sometimes went down to caress your back. The Master notified you when he was about to start calming you telepathically; he wanted to give you another opportunity to stop this if you were uncomfortable with him doing this.
You let The Master do as he recommended. You felt a deep calm rush through your whole body and a numbing feeling radiating through your head. All of this, combined with the steady beating of The Master’s hearts lulled you into a serene mood. You were virtually on the brink of sleep and your headache was steadily dissipating.
“My little human.” Because you were on the brink of sleep you almost didn’t hear The Master say this, but a small smile etched onto your face when you did. The little nickname The Master had given you was filled with love this time, not a mean tease.
“My old Timelord.” You mumbled and then snuggled further into The Master’s chest. The Master smiled down at you then placed a kiss on your forehead, just before you fell into a deep sleep, completely free of your headache.
I went to my first ever Ghost Ritual last night and oh my satan! I wish that I was still there(even though I was sweating like a pig)!
I just miss it so much!
I had such a good time!
Touch Starved
Capaldi!Doctor x Reader
Summary - The Doctor has noticed your behaviour change over your time in his TARDIS and is determined to do something about it.
Based On This Request -
Warnings - Themes of depression and loneliness, not great parents
Word Count - 1292
A/n - Gender Neutral Reader. This was requested and posted on my old Tumblr account and I just wanted to post it on here. I hope that you enjoy it!
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You were a very affectionate person. You knew this from a very young age as you would love to hug your friends and want to hold their hands constantly. Your parents, however, instilled in you the harshness of society and how many people don’t like random and public displays of affection or how some people can use your naturally affectionate against you. So, they quickly moulded your behaviour after childhood and taught you to restrain yourself. They said that affection was cute when presented in children, but annoying and awkward when seen in adults.
After you grew up and went into higher education, your parents expected you to follow their influence. So, you grew colder and more isolated with age until you barely showed your friends physical affection at all.
When you first met The Doctor, you saw this opportunity to shed the influence of your parents and to return to your warm and bubbly self, but you hadn’t tried to hug either him or Clara, yet. You grew insecure when you heard The Doctor’s protests to Clara’s hugs. He would always give in, though, but you could see that he was still a bit uncomfortable with the act. You understood that Clara was The Doctor’s companion longer than you, though it still hurt your heart every time you would see the two of them hug or hold hands.
You wanted affection so badly your body physically hurt. You didn’t know who to tell, though. So, you internalized your past and your current wants. You began staying in more, staying in your room in The TARDIS and usually sleeping. You were conflicted with yourself. You knew what you wanted, but the voices of your parents continued to echo throughout your head. So, you stayed in and secluded yourself so as to not be tempted into giving into your more affectionate personality.
After much convincing from both Clara and The Doctor (both of them knocking on your bedroom door constantly to see if you were okay), the three of you went on an adventure together. The Doctor decided to take the pair of you to a planetary market. They both explained that they had both been there before, The Doctor many times so, but the two of them figured that you would appreciate the aesthetics of the planet, as well. You have described to both of them many times that you always loved fairs and festivals and markets as they always gave you an opportunity to meet and interact with many individuals. Even if you avoided physical touch, you loved spending time with new people.
As soon as you arrived on the planet, your spirits instantly rose. You would go from booth to booth, talking to all of the individuals from various planets and people, just happy to interact with all of them.
You then went to one booth, excited by what they were selling, but you were unable to understand the seller. The Doctor came up from behind you and unexpectedly placed one of his slim hands on the small of your back. You tried to concentrate on what he was saying and his conversation with the seller, but your mind continued to drift to the weight of The Doctor’s hand on your back.
Clara motioned for the two of you to join her at another booth down the main market pathway. It was clad in different accessories such as jewellery and scarves and hats. The Doctor’s hand moved up your back to between your shoulder blades as he pushed you toward the booth. Once there, he dramatically picked up various accoutrements and moved you around like a model to see which was the best looking on you. Clara giggled, then added to The Doctor’s madness by wrapping a thickly-knit purple scarf, with stars and moons embroidered into the fabric, dramatically around your neck. The pair of them stepped back and smiled broadly.
Clara removed a strange hat from your head and The Doctor removed the scarf while you struggled to get a complicated bracelet off of your wrist. You tried to ask them multiple times what they were doing, but they always responded with a jolly “isn’t it obvious?” You had finally removed the bracelet when you saw The Doctor holding a bag out to you.
“What’s this?”
“The scarf. You looked good in it and I thought that you would want a souvenir.” He smiled and shoved the bag into your shocked hands before quickly taking your arm in his and walking after Clara who had gone to find some edible food for you and her’s Human palate.
The day continued just the same. Clara and The Doctor trying to make you happy by showing you the wonders of the Universe and the amazing celebrations of this planet. All of you ate strange foods (as long as they were safe) and you got a few more souvenirs. All the while, The Doctor always had a hand on your back or his arm hooked around yours. You couldn’t understand the change in attitude and what was happening and why The Doctor was acting so differently. The three of you even took a couple of photos in front of a monument with your arms all wrapped around each other. The Doctor, rarely, if ever, acted like this, but you were enjoying it.
You were starting to worry, though, that this was just The Doctor’s way of giving you one last great adventure before sending you back to Earth. This plagued your mind even though you tried to enjoy the rest of the day and create lifelong memories of your time with your friends. But your inner fears were continuing to rage in a confusing rubble in your brain when the three of you returned to The TARDIS and The Doctor said to prepare for a much more running-filled adventure tomorrow.
“Both of us?” You stayed behind after Clara said her goodnights and went to her room in order to ask some of your questions.
“Not just you and Clara?”
“Why wouldn’t you be there, Y/n? Are you not feeling okay?” You shook your head in confusion.
“I just thought that you were taking me home. This adventure was so fun and happy, I had figured that it would be my last one.”
“Do you want to go home?” You practically screamed a frantic “no!” back to The Doctor, probably a bit too quickly.
“Then why would I make you do so?”
“I don't really know. I was just worried that I might have made you and Clara uncomfortable because of how much I love showing affection to the people I care about.” You were looking down at your shoes until you felt The Doctor’s hands come to firmly hold your shoulders. You looked up at him, but you were still too afraid to look him in the eye.
“Y/n, I promise you that you have not made either of us uncomfortable. We know that you care about us, and our boundaries and we really appreciate that. I do especially. I’m not that big of a hugger, but I will always love a hug from you. Whenever you need one, just ask.” The Doctor smiled bittersweetly, he could see that you were on the verge of tears, and he just wanted to make you happy. He slowly opened his arms for you, and you fell into his chest. The Doctor ran a hand over your back, rubbing relaxing circles into your muscles, while his other arm was wrapped around your neck, gently curling you into his torso. The two of you stayed like this for a while, you couldn’t tell how long, just simply enjoying the relaxing peace of the gesture.
Hey, I was wondering if I could put in a request? I would love to see a Martha Jones x Gender Neutral!Reader of Martha taking care of the reader while they’re sick. Just very sweet fluff. I’ve been feeling terrible lately and it would make my day. Thank you!
[Image Reads] Anonymous asked - “Hey, I was wondering if I could put in a request? I would love to see a Martha Jones x Gender Neutral!Reader of Martha taking care of the reader while they’re sick. Just very sweet fluff. I’ve been feeling terrible lately and it would make my day. Thank you!”
Hi, anon! I'm sorry that this fic took me so long to complete, I lost it in my drafts for a bit. But I hope that you are doing well and thank you so much for the request!
This is officially my first Doctor Who Companion x Reader :)
I will link the fic here once I post it!
Bedside Manner - 5 March 2023
-Ghost
Summary - Just waking up in your new apartment with Eddie.
Warnings - allusions to sex(minors please do not interact)
Word Count - 374
A/n - Gender Neutral Reader. Not Requested. I hope that you enjoy!
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The bed was cold when you woke up, except for the section of the mattress being warmed by the sun. You rubbed the sleep out of your eyes and sat up on your elbow. Eddie was nowhere to be seen. You expected him to be sleeping soundly beside you, both because of the “adventurous” night the two of you had last night and because it was your first morning in your new apartment together.
Getting bored with being alone, you slowly sat up fully and stretched all of the kinks out of your body before exiting the bed. Your feet immediately froze upon hitting the floor of your bedroom. You then stretched one last time before walking out to find where Eddie could have gone.
To your surprise, you found Eddie standing shirtless in his boxers by the stove in the kitchen.
“No! I was going to serve you breakfast in bed.” Eddie whined as he stirred something in a big bowl.
“Well, now I can help you. Or, at the very least, hug you while you cook.” You skipped over to him and then buried your head into Eddie’s shoulder.
“Are you making waffles?” You asked after a few minutes of hugging Eddie. You were still incredibly tired, so instead of removing your head from Eddie’s shoulder to watch him cook, you just resolved to ask him what he was doing.
“With all the fixin’s!” Eddie shouted in response.
“Not very healthy…”
“It’s our first morning here, can’t we celebrate?” You hummed in thought. It would be lovely to spend a cute morning with Eddie, but the memories from last night kept invading your mind.
“Just like we celebrated last night?” You teased.
“Well, yes. We haven’t had sex on the kitchen table yet, or the counter. And I always wanted to lick whipped cream off your body.” You playfully hit Eddie’s stomach while giggling at his comment.
“We should eat first, before we do any of that, Rockstar.”
“Yes. My precious must have a full stomach before we go for another round.” With that, Eddie turned around in your arms and stuffed a freshly prepared waffle into your mouth and kissed your face all over before returning to make your love-filled breakfast.
Also (continuing from my last post) I love Benoit Blanc!!!
I loved the first special.
Okay!
I am officially starting to make and accepting requests for Our Flag Means Death x Readers.
So, if anyone has any ideas, feel free to send them to me and I’ll be happy to write them!
I’m already working on a Frechie blurb because he’s my favorite!
Pairing: Dh!Master x Autistic!Reader
Word Count: 3000
Summary: The Master has recently had an epiphany, and feels the need to impress the reader. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go quite to plan.
Hurt/comfort with autistic!reader.
Warnings: Sensory overload/shutdown, self-deprecating language
A/N: There is now a second part, linked above 😊
Unknown to you, The Master had recently had an epiphany of sorts - or rather, he had finally realised that his feelings for you had developed further than friendship. He had spent a few weeks trying to deny the fact, or get rid of the new feelings, but just as he thought he was successful you would do something cute like jumping up and down when you were happy and he would just fall in love with you again.
So now, he was coming up with a plan to win your affections, narrowing down his list of planets that would hopefully impress you enough that you might fall in love with him too.
After a few hours of some very detailed research he found the perfect planet, Zacrypso. It had pale pink skies and waters to match, and the grass was a vibrant blue-green. Though the main reason he wanted to take you there was for the sounds the crystal leaves make when they moved in the wind, it was supposed to be beautifully melodic (at least according to the brochure). Of course, he was going to take you to a time before anyone had found the planet, so you wouldn’t be interrupted by any blithering aliens.
Though you normally liked knowing exactly when and where the two of you were going, The Master had been able to convince you to take a surprise trip. There was a minor hiccup when he entered the co-ordinates and his TARDIS deleted everything he had typed in, causing him to start over again after a quick kick to the TARDIS console (which seemed to stop her from intervening any further).
Finally, the two of you arrived on the planet. The Master grinned at you, earning a slightly nervous smile on response. He wasn’t worried though, that would turn into a proper smile once you saw Zacrypso.
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Truthfully, you were worried about a surprise trip. You always liked to know where you were going in advance so that you could prepare for any potential sensory issues or outright object if it was going to be too much of an issue. What didn’t help was the fact that you hadn’t actually told The Master about being autistic yet.
At first it had been because he already saw humans as weak and you didn’t want to give him anymore reasons to think that. Now though, it was more because the longer you put it off the more awkward it got, so you just tried to ignore that issue as best you could.
Still, you had been hesitant to accept his offer of a surprise trip, but when he looked at you with such an excited expression there was no way you could break his heart by rejecting his offer.
So now you were stood by his side in front of the TARDIS doors trying desperately to calm your nerves. When he opened the doors all of your nerves were momentarily put aside and replaced with wonder for the planet in front of you.
It was unlike anything you had ever seen, the colours were beautiful and you had to stop just to admire the place for a moment.
You were so focused on admiring the place that you didn’t notice the way The Master was looking at you as you slowly stepped out of the TARDIS (which had disguised itself as a purple-grey log).
“You like it?” He asked, and when you looked to him there was only a small and slightly smug smile on his face.
“Yes, it’s beautiful! Thank you Master.” You averted your gaze at the last bit in hopes to stop you from becoming overly flustered.
Unfortunately you could feel your heart beating away very quickly and you really hoped that his Time Lord hearing couldn’t pick up on the sound. The last thing you wanted was for him to kick you off the TARDIS because you had caught feelings for him and he didn’t reciprocate. Though in moments like these you couldn’t help but feel hopeful that maybe he had fallen for you too.
Pushing those thoughts aside, you followed him as he lead you further into the planet, towards a forest that you could just about make out in the distance. As you walked he would occasionally tell you facts about the planet, like why the sky was pink or why the grass was turquoise, but mostly you walked together in comfortable silence.
Once you started to get closer to the forest you heard a ringing in your ears, and while at first you thought it was just your head going funny, you soon realised that the noise was coming from the forest.
It was a strange sound, almost like wind chimes, it was beautiful and unlike anything you had ever heard before. Though, when you started to get closer to the forest the sound became a tad overwhelming. Still, you tried to ignore the growing tension in your body and continued in the direction of the noise.
Briefly, you looked towards The Master and saw a very satisfied smile on his face, showing he was clearly content, which urged you to carry on. Unfortunately, as you got closer and closer to the noise, you felt the tension in your body starting to grow as you became overwhelmed.
“What’s making that nose?” You asked The Master in hopes of distracting yourself.
“It’s the crystal leaves on the trees. As the wind moves around it creates different tunes. Basically like natural wind chimes.” His smile had grown while speaking to you and you felt your heart beating faster again, though now you weren’t sure whether it was because of him or the growing sense of discomfort.
The Master continued on and though you knew you were following him you were struggling to stay focused on anything other than the very loud and overwhelming noises.
No matter how much you wanted to stay for The Master, you knew that you wouldn’t be able to cope with it for much longer, and secretly started hoping that he would just get bored and decide to go back to the TARDIS.
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The Master was overjoyed, because his plan was working. Seeing the look on your face when you saw the planet was almost enough to make him kiss you right there, though he managed to restrain himself. He loved watching you as the two of you walked towards the forest, so delighted by the planet he had taken you to and absolutely fascinated by any facts he had told you.
The two of you had finally made it to the forest and he was actually impressed that the leaves sounded exactly like the brochure had described. The Master had turned to look at you and he took in your wide eyes and small smile and, well, he had definitely hoped for a better reaction, but you were probably just in shock.
Then you had asked him about the noise and his smile grew after he described it to you and your face seemed slightly more in awe of the place he had taken you to. He continued on further, just taking in the surroundings. If he was being honest, it was quite nice to take a break from your usual adventures, which often involved some sort of crime. Like how on your last adventure the two of you had charmed your way into a royal court, just for the two of you to steal the planet’s most treasured jewels. He always loved the thrill that bought him - not to mention the money that was acquired after selling the goods off to the highest bidder - but he knew that he would probably enjoy any situation as long as you were content by his side.
He turned back to try and catch a glimpse of your awe-filled expression, only to see your eyes flickering all around the forest, and a clear tension in the way you were holding yourself. The Master had expected you to be excited and amazed, not panicked like you currently were. On that note, why were you panicked? He had checked the planet when the two of you had landed, there were no hostile life forms. In fact, the only life forms were the plants and small critters.
Upon realising that he had no clue what had caused your panicked state, he walked over to you.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked in his gentlest voice, trying not to scare you any further.
“It’s fine, I’m fine.” Your response was strained and he tried not to feel hurt that you were trying to hide your discomfort from him.
“No you’re not, what’s wrong (y/n)?”
There was a pause before you finally spoke, “it’s too much”.
“What’s too much?”
“The noise, it’s too much, it hurts.”
He could tell that you weren’t kidding from the way you were holding yourself and the tears that pricked at the edges of your eyes. However, he was still confused, his hearing was much more sensitive than yours, but the noise wasn’t hurting him. Still, he could worry about that later, right now he needed to get you out of the forest.
“Okay, uh, does putting your hands over your ears help?” You nodded, “okay, do that. Just follow me, yeah? I’ll get you away from the noise.” You nodded again and he started slowly guiding you out of the forest.
Every few steps he would look back to make sure you were still following him, until the two of you eventually made it out of the forest. The Master checked you over once before continuing to lead you to the TARDIS.
Honestly, he was scared, scared that you would blame him for whatever happened; scared that you would want to stop travelling; scared that you would never love him now. Though he was mostly scared that you wouldn’t be okay, and really that was all he wanted for you.
After what seemed like eternity but was really only a half-an-hour walk later, the two of you had made it back to the TARDIS. Pausing and resting his hand on the door, The Master looked over at you; your hands were still firmly over your ears despite the fact that you wouldn’t be able to hear the forest anymore, and your stare was burning a hole into the ground.
When he entered the TARDIS he saw a sofa in the console room that hadn’t been their previously, it had several pillows and a very soft looking yellow blanket on-top of it, as well as the headphones that he had seen you wearing around the TARDIS. You were stood rather awkwardly just inside the doorway, so he gently guided you to sit down on the sofa.
Automatically, you pulled the blanket up around yourself, giving The Master the opportunity to place your headphones on your head. Taking a step back he gazed as your slightly more relaxed form, you hadn’t said a word since the two of you had gotten out of the forest, and he was very worried that you wouldn’t want to speak to him again after this disaster of an idea.
Trying to distract himself from those thoughts, he made his way over to the console and started piloting away from Zacrypso. By the time the TARDIS had landed back in the time vortex, you had fallen asleep, and his heart twinged still hoe adorable you looked snuggled up on the sofa.
Walking as quietly as possible, he left the room and headed towards the kitchen, planning on getting you a drink and something to eat for when you would wake up. Even if you did want to leave after this, he was still going to take care of you.
————
When you woke up a few hours later you were confused and slightly groggy, especially since you were sat on a sofa in the TARDIS console room that had definitely never been there before. Beside you there was a small table with a glass of water and a sandwich placed on it. As you started to look around the room more you noticed that The Master was hunched underneath the console, and from what you could hear he was working on fixing or updating something.
Not wanting to disturb him, you grabbed the glass of water and tried not to think about your sensory overload that had happened earlier. You had known that a surprise trip wasn’t going to be a good idea, but now you were probably going to be kicked off the TARDIS for getting too upset over what was supposed to be a beautiful noise.
When you put the glass down it made more noise than you had anticipated, and The Master looked round to face you, finally noticing that you were awake. He placed down his tools before walking over to you and kneeling in front of where you were sat on the sofa.
“Are you feeling better? Is there anything you need?”
Okay, so that wasn’t exactly what you had been expecting. To be honest, you had been prepared for yelling and insults and tears, so his current behaviour had caught you off guard.
“Uhh, no I’m uh, I’m okay. Thanks.” You gave an awkward little laugh at the end of the sentence.
“Are you sure? I can get you anything you need.” He looked so hopeful that you would ask him to help you out, but at the moment you didn’t really need anything.
“I’m sure, I’m good now.” The smile that you gave him was small but genuine, and you hoped it would bring some comfort to him.
“Oh, okay.” Nodding to himself he stood up, and you expected him to get back to his work, but to your surprise he just sat down on the sofa next to you.
The two of you sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes before you finally gathered the courage to ask him some questions.
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
He looked up at you, seemingly shocked, “What do you mean?”
“It’s just, you hate humans. You think we’re weak and stupid and pathetic - I just thought that you would have taken this opportunity to finally kick me off the TARDIS…” As you spoke you got quieter and quieter, shrinking under his rather intense gaze.
“Yes, humans, but not you - you’re the exception. I could never see you as weak or stupid or pathetic. If anything I thought you’d want to leave because of me.”
“Because of you? Why?”
“Well, I took you to that planet. It’s my fault you got hurt. I should have done more research, to make sure it was 100% human safe. Rassilon, I still haven’t figured out why you were hurting in the first place.” He stood up at the last part and started pacing.
The Master seemed genuinely worried about you, and that was something you had never expected to see.
“It’s uh, it was my fault. I’ve been keeping something from you and if you had known this could have been easily avoided.” He turned to you with a puzzled look on your face but you didn’t let him say anything as you continued on. “I’m autistic, and I know I should have told you, but I just thought you’d see me as weak and you wouldn’t want me to travel with you.”
You were staring down at the floor, now very worried about what might happen. Did he even know what being autistic meant?
“Oh (y/n), I would never have thrown you off the TARDIS for that. I’d never throw you off the TARDIS full stop. And while you are completely right that if you had just told me that you’re autistic none of this would have happened, it was my fault for not making you feel as though you were in a safe enough environment to tell me.” The Master had come to sit next to you again, but you couldn’t bring yourself to say anything to him.
No one had ever reacted like that when you told them you were autistic, why was it that the psychopathic alien who had committed genocide on multiple occasions was being kinder to you than most people you had known?
“I guess we’re both idiots then.” You chuckled, trying to ease some of the tension. “Next time something like this happens, I’ll tell you as soon as things start to get too much - that way you won’t have to worry about me.”
“I think I’ll be worrying about you anyways, but it would be nice to know when you need my help.” He smiled at you fondly and you found yourself very flustered yet again. Luckily you didn’t have to speak just then, as he continued on. “How about we spend today in the TARDIS watching stupid movies and playing games, and then we get back to committing crimes tomorrow?”
Forcing yourself to look back up at him, you felt a smile form on your face, “that sounds great.”
The Master stood up from the sofa, held his hand out to you and lifted you up as well, not letting go of your hand even as the two of you started walking down one of the corridors.
You finally felt like you had a weight had been lifted off your shoulders after finally telling him one of your secrets. Of course, you still had another secret, and before today’s events you had never even considered telling him of your feelings for him. However, given the way he had taken care of you, you had a little hope that maybe he could like you back.
Still, that was definitely a confession for another day, for now you were just going to enjoy spending time with The Master.
25 - they/them pronouns - I write sometimes - multifandom - Requests Are Open. Moved from @summerstardust Free Palestine✊ Free Congo✊ Free Sudan✊ Stand with Ukraine🇺🇦
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