First tired and now drunk... Am I starting to notice a pattern here?
The Doctor slowly took off the blindfold and looked around. It was... well, it was a lot different than what he had expected. When he thought about a date and the Master what came to his mind were chains and BDSM clubs and the other Time Lord cackling over his shivering form. And that place... it was nice. Brilliant, in fact. The restaurant was small and cosy and for some reason reminded him a lot of the place on Gallifrey he used to visit with the Master when they were still young.
As if read his thoughts, the other smirked and let them to one of the many empty tables. Come to think of it, the Doctor studied the place again, there wasn't a single soul in there except for them. They were all alone and the Doctor couldn't help but be glad of that. He didn't want to be reminded of the people he was betraying, of those whose happiness he was sacrificing for his selfish desire to stay with the Master. He wouldn't have bore it... and that was the exact reason why he had thought the other Time Lord would do it.
When they got to their table, the Master pulled the chair for him and after waiting for him to sit, pushed him back. Wary, the Doctor watched his companion smile as he rounded the table and settle, half expecting chains to appear from either side of his chair and lock him to place.
Nothing like this happened, though, but the Doctor had yet to figure out if it was a good or a bad thing. Especially with the Master smiling at him with such a soft smile that should have appeared weird on his face but instead it was as if he had never looked at the Doctor in any other way. The Doctor smiled back tentatively and watched in amazement as the corners of the other's mouth lifted even more.
Before any of them could have said anything, an elderly man approached their table. At first the Doctor thought that he was a waiter, but then realized he wasn't dressed as one. The owner maybe? But why would the... oh. He looked back at the Master who was tracking the movements of the man as well, his composure relaxed as if it happened everyday. Probably it did, considering he was ruling over the planet now.
"Good evening, Master. It's always a pleasure to see you." The man bowed when he stood by their side. He then looked at the Doctor and the Time Lord caught the little cloud that passed over his face before his lips twisted into a practised and professional smile."Can I point out that your companion looks magnificent today?"
"Is that so?" The Master raised his eyebrow, looking at the owner of the restaurant as if he was an insect the alien was happy to play with before killing. The elderly man hadn't done anything wrong, but of course, the Time Lord probably had an image to maintain. The Doctor tried to catch his attention but his glares and kicks under the table went unnoticed by the other. The poor man had started shaking under the intense stare, his Adam's apple bobbing as he tried to form a sentence or maybe figure out a way to leave. His eyes lit up when he finally got it.
"Y-yes. I'll send the waiter with the menus," stammered the man, his words coming out rushed and barely audible before fleeing out of the room.
The Master followed him with his eyes before turning to the other. Pretending not to notice the glare he was receiving, he sighed, "Humans... And even after I went through so much trouble to preserve his restaurant..."
Those words made the Doctor do a double take and were enough to force him to drop off the glare.
"You didn't destroy it? Why?" he asked, barely keeping the wince off his face when his voice came out almost accusing.
"I thought you might like it."
"Oh." The Doctor tried to hide his disappointment when his question was so easily dismissed. He should have known better. Of course, the Master always had a plan, what had he been thinking, imagining the other had changed.
He couldn't hold back his bitterness as he asked, "So you planned everything from the start?"
"Only the good stuff." The Master laughed, free and teasing and happy laughter, not that the other was able to believe it was genuine, and turned toward the waiter coming toward them.
The waiter, a boy no older than twenty years, gave them the menus with shaking hands and was just about to leave them when the Master stopped him. He, then, proceeded to ask him about each and every meal on the menu, his eyes twinkling with amusement every time the boy's voice wavered which was every two words. The bastard was enjoying it far too much and finally the Doctor decided to step in. He smiled reassuringly at the waiter before throwing a dirty glare at the other Time Lord. The Master, for once in his long life, took the hint and ordered for both of them quickly.
A minute later their wine was served and they were assured that their meal would be ready in 'just a second'. The perks of having a dinner with a dictator, the Doctor mused as he took a sip of his drink. He had never been one to drink, he was terrible at holding his liquor, but now he realized he needed it just so he could stop his hands from shaking.
"And what else did you plan?" the Doctor asked and then frowned when the other stared at him blankly. "Don't give me that look. You always have something in your sleeve. What is it now?"
Rich laughter rang around the room, bouncing on the wall and making the Doctor shiver. The Master raised his hands in surrender. "You caught me. I was planning on ravishing you later tonight so I realized I'd better put you in the mood. And on that train of thoughts, come on, drink from that wonderful wine. You don't want it to go to waste, do you, Doctor?"
The Doctor glared at him, huffing, and reached for his glass before he could stop himself which earned him another chuckle from the other.
"I was joking. There isn't a hidden meaning behind my every action. Can't I just be nice once in a while? But seriously, drink more of the wine.
The Doctor didn't know how to respond to that and luckily for him he didn't have to because just then the waiter showed up with two steaming plates on his tray. He dug into his meal, using the excuse of his full mouth not to fall into a conversation with the Master who paid no mind to his silent companion and started talking about the time he'd been human anyway. The Doctor wondered who had given him advice about how dates worked. That's it if he'd even bothered asking someone.
"And what did you do after the Time War, Doctor? I doubt you just sat on your may I say brilliant bottom," the Master asked at some point, looking at the other with such an intensity that the Doctor knew he had to response.
"I traveled. Did this and that. Saved some people, caught some aliens. The usual." He shrugged. However, no one had said he had to answer in details.
The Master nodded, obviously mulling over the information.
"With that girl? Martha?"
The Doctor slowly shook his head, the memory of Rose making his heart clench.
"No. There was that girl, my previous companion." When he finally answered his voice was dull and slightly wavering, but he continued anyway. He hadn't realized how desperately he'd wanted to talk to someone about Rose. He laughed bitterly in his mind. So desperate he opted for a man whose only care was to break him. "She was brilliant. So young and beautiful and free. Kind and innocent. Unlike," us," me."
"You meant me, didn't you, my Doctor. I'm the evil one in this story," the Master teased, and surely it was from the light, but his eyes seemed dim. "And you, you are the magnificent one, not some mere human. Stone-cold brilliant and simply gorgeous. Well, you do have your moments of insanity." The soft smile that had appeared on his face at the beginning morphed once again into a smirk."Sometimes I wonder if you are doing drugs when I'm not looking"
"Sometimes I wonder if you aren't putting things in my drink when I turn my back on you," replied the Doctor without missing a beat, but only when he said it did he realize how true his words were. For the first time after Rose he felt truly happy and there had to be something the other was doing because that wasn't him! He had spent all his life in saving the universe, ignoring his needs and now, just because of the Master, he was willing to let the Earth pay for happiness.
"You know that I can have my wicked way even without using drugs," the Master's voice broke through his dark musings and he lifted his head only to be met with the other Time Lord's leering face and the almost-always-presentable gentleness in his eyes that told the Doctor he was joking.
He had to break free. He had to stop the Master, maybe even kill him, and return everything to its rightful place. It didn't matter if he wanted to or not. He was going to do it... Just not today. The Doctor smiled happily and returned to his meal as he listened closely to his date's life story.
Hours later, as the helicopter was on its way to the Valiant, the Master looked down at the body curled on the seat next to him. He was so adorable when he was asleep, the Master had learned that on the first week on their agreement. Which, the Time Lord mused with a smirk, had been more of a blackmail than a mutual consent. Not that it mattered to him what it was. It had succeeded in bringing the Doctor in his arms, something he had been trying to do almost all his life and that was the only thing important.
There was something else the Master knew perfectly well about the man that was slowly starting to waken. The Doctor couldn't hold his liquor. At all. Unfocused, hazy eyes gazed at him and the Master couldn't help but think, "This is going to be interesting," before he opened his arms, silently inviting the other in his embrace.
A/N Could I have written more? Yes, of course. Why didn't I? Because I'm evil :D But don't worry, the next chapter will be filled with slashy goodness and the best part? It will be 100% consensual. Weeeell, I'll leave you now, but first one more thing. I want to thank all those people who liked and/or reviewed the story, your attention really makes me happy.