I was re-watching End of Time last night and got to the part where the Master's killing Rassilon and being thrown into the Time War and thought what if the Master wasn't thrown in, but left in the room but out of the sight of the Doctor and Wilf and what if all of this changed his perspective. Now I don't normally like nice-Master fics but this idea wouldn't leave me alone so I had to write it. Sorry it's so short. R&R?
To Begin Again
The Master looked across the room clutching his head in pain, not entirely sure how he was still alive, not exactly sure if he was glad that he was or not. The drums were still thumping in his head, still causing an unbearable level of pain, but he felt different. Everything felt different. The burning hatred, the uncontrollable anger was gone. He no longer felt the need to over-throw the Doctor, he no longer felt the need to hurt and attack and try to kill the Doctor. No, all of that was gone. Now all he saw was the man who had only ever tried to do everything he could for him, the man who had loved him unconditionally even and especially when he didn't deserve it, the man who he had hurt so many times and had made leave. The man who would take him back in the blink of an eye if he asked him to. How had he put it, "We could travel the stars, it would be my honour." The idea was amazing, the idea seemed so possible, the Master was tempted to take him up on it, to walk over to him, get him out of that glass case and save him. But he couldn't. He knew he couldn't do that, partly for the consequences it would have on the planet. Partly because of the planet, but mostly because of the Doctor himself. He knew now after all these years of denial, all these years of hatred that underneath it all he never stopped loving the Doctor. Looking at the Doctor now all he saw was Theta, his one and only true love. And he knew it was too late, too much had happened, too much had changed, too many times he had hurt the Doctor. Now he had to let the Doctor think he was dead, he had to finally give the Doctor a chance to live without him popping up. He had to let the Doctor move on. So he left him, his Theta, in the glass case, not to die but to begin again.