Over a Cup of Cocoa
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who...BBC Wales should hire me...
"Why are we here, Doctor?" the Master asked, stepping out of the TARDIS and into a dirt and gravel road. "What happened to France, planet France?" He looked around at the small grass and stick huts lining the dusty road and frowned. "Would have been a lot nicer. Cleaner." he muttered under his breath.
"Oh, don't be so negative about the whole thing." the Doctor said, striding up alongside him. "C'mon, let's find out where we are, then. Earth, I know, somewhere, somewhen." He started strolling down the street, pushing his hands in his pockets and his coat floating behind him.
"Why did you bring me to Earth again, though?" he complained, walking after the Doctor. "I said I wanted to go to another planet, any other planet, than this one." He eyed the little houses warily and practically shot a little boy down with his stare.
"Relax, they're nice people." the other said, leaning down to the little boy's level and smiling at him kindly. "Hello!" he said cheerfully. "I'm the Doctor. What's your name?"
The little boy glared at the Master, who had come up behind the Doctor now, but then answered in a polite voice, "Acalan." The Doctor beamed at him.
"Hello, Acalan." he said. "Could you tell me where we are? Got a bit lost, me and my friend here." He pointed back to the Master. "Been walking in the heat for too long, makes you forget things."
"Of course I can." Acalan said. "This is Tenochtitlan. The greatest city of the Aztecs." He smiled and waved, then ran off in the direction he had been going. The Doctor stood up, a far-off look in his eyes.
"I've visited the Aztecs before." he said. "A long time ago. A long, long time ago." The Master could tell from the misty quality of his voice that his mind was centuries away. With a great inhale, though, he brought himself back to the present.
"Allons-y." the Master said sarcastically. The Doctor looked at him sharply.
"Hey! That's my catchphrase!" he said indignantly. The Master shrugged and smirked.
"You weren't saying it, so..." he returned. "The point is, let's go anywhere but this goddamn street. My choice would be France, but I can see that's not going to happen." He sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets, kicking up a little cloud of dirt with the toe of his boot.
"Right then." the Doctor said, starting to walk down the street again. "Allons-y!" He shot a glance at the Master that clearly said, 'Stay away from my Allons-y.'
After what was an afternoon in the Master's opinion a great waste of time and energy and in the Doctor's opinion an extraordinary learning experience, the pair stopped off in an Aztec equivalent of a bar or coffee shop. The Master perched on a bench and pulled out his laser screwdriver, turning it over and over in his hand for something to do while the Doctor was occupying himself with something rather loud in the kitchen.
"You know, Doctor, I deserve some sort of prize today for not trying to kill anyone today." he said. "Namely you. But, honestly, I could have just strangled about seventy-five percent of the people we met." He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.
"Good to know that as much as a quarter have your approval." the younger Time Lord said. "I'll make us a drink, then?" He threw some pots out of a cupboard and the Master heard the sound of kitchenware being moved around left and right, knocked and slid out of the way. While the Doctor worked on whatever it was he was making, the Master began to think longingly of the TARDIS. Was it really just this morning he had seen her? It felt ages ago, regenerations ago, in fact.
"Here we are." the Doctor said, cutting through his thoughts. "Nice Aztec cocoa. One for you, one for me." They both took a sip, the Master grudgingly admitting to himself that it actually tasted quite good.
The Doctor prattled on and on about various things the Aztecs achieved, and the wonders of humanity as a whole, and the like. The Master half listened until the Doctor suddenly was quiet.
"What?" he asked.
"Um, Master? It's the cocoa." he said, sounding nervous. "Last time I was here, it happened too, and I forgot." He bit his lip and blurted out, "It's a proposal!"
"A proposal?" the Master asked. "As in wedding proposal? Doctor, what-"
"It's a tradition they have here." he explained. "If you make someone cocoa, it's like a marriage proposal." At this, the Master pushed his cup as far away across the table as possible.
"You did not just ask me to marry you."
"It was an accident, I swear." He threw his hands up in defense.
"Of all times to actually respect the rules, now, Doctor?" the Master spluttered. "Why now?"
"It's a very special, very old tradition." he defended himself. "We should respect it." The Master shook his head in disbelief, stood up, and stormed off.
Back in the TARDIS, the Master said forcefully, "Don't ever bring this up again." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Ever." The Doctor looked around the console.
"Of course not." he said. "Just forget about it."
"Good."
But as they set course for the planet of France, the Doctor couldn't help but feel that he would never forget this, how he got engaged to the Master, even if it was a one-way thing.
A/N Thanks for reading, and thank you to everyone who has reviewed and favourited my other fanfics in the meantime! Apologies for the long absence, I'm working on something longer that I should start posting soon, but I was re-watching Classic Who, and this idea came to me.