AN: A short one this time. Enjoy.

~ CHAPTER TEN ~

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Ailla stood in the shower, enjoying the hot water pouring over her. Her mind kept conjuring up the memory of the Master kissing her. What was that about, she wondered. Saying she didn't have feelings for the Master would be an outright lie, but she'd been assuming her feelings weren't reciprocated. Now she wasn't so sure. Surely he hadn't kissed her for fun? Or had he? Was she laying too much into this whole thing? Ailla shook her head as if trying to shake the thoughts from her brain and turned off the flow of water before stepping out and drying herself off.

She stepped out of the bathroom wearing only a large towel and was surprised to see a seemingly freshly washed Master sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Still a fan of overly long showers, I see," he stated with the tiniest hint of a smirk.

Ailla didn't say anything and stepped over to the wardrobe to get a clean set of clothes. The Master got off the bed and walked over to stand behind her. Ailla could feel his presence behind her, "do you mind?" she asked.

"Is something wrong?" The Master asked her, "you seem … agitated."

Ailla grabbed a green dress and pulled it over her head before she let the towel drop to the floor from underneath it. She turned to look at the Master, "I'm not agitated … I'm … confused."

"What about?" The Master asked.

Ailla frowned, "what about? Have you had some kind of amnesic episode?" she asked.

The Master's left eyebrown lifted, "not to my knowledge, no."

Ailla bent down to pick up the towel from the floor, "could have fooled me" she mumbled as she walked over to throw the towel into the TARDIS' laundry chute.

"You're cross with me for kissing you." The Master stated matter-of-factly after half a minute of silence.

She let out a huff of air, somewhat amused, "cross? No, as I said: Confused." She corrected.

"Which part is confusing you?" The Master asked, stepping closer until he was right in front of her.

Ailla could feel her heart pounding. One thing was having this conversation but having the Master up in her face at the same time made her slightly anxious, "the part where your lips were covering mine."

The Master smirked at the phrasing before frowning his eyebrows, "I don't see what's so confusing about it."

"Why you did it?" Ailla elaborated as if he was exceptionally thick.

"I told you: For luck." The Master replied.

"And that's it? That was the only reason?" She asked, sounding kind of exasperated.

The Master shrugged his shoulders, "why else would I have done it?" He asked.

Ailla sighed, "I don't know." She looked down at her feet, trying to find a way to say her piece without sounding like some infatuated adolescent. She looked back up at him, "what am I to you?"

"How do you mean?" The Master asked.

"Our relation … what would you characterise it as?" She specified, "am I your associate, roommate, friend, ex-girlfriend, someone you only just managed to tolerate, what?" Ailla swore she saw his jaw clench as she'd said ex-girlfriend.

"You want me to label you?" The Master asked amused.

"I want you to let me in and tell me what the hell is going on!" She exclaimed. "You go out of your way to keep me from having nightmares; so much so that you currently snuggle up with me every night. We constantly banter in that inside-jokey way, you're willing to sacrifice your own life to save mine and now you straight up kiss me, and I don't understand where we're at."

The amusement seemed to leave the Master's face as Ailla went through her rant. He mulled over her words. For the past few weeks, he had felt a sort of infatuation over the Time Lady, he was perfectly aware of that, however he hadn't thought it was obvious to her. However, he was sure his feelings were mostly caused by being around the woman 24/7 – surely he wouldn't feel this way if he'd been free to go wherever he wanted? Or maybe he would … after all he had loved her before she betrayed him all those years ago. And truth be told he had forgiven her although obviously he hadn't told her that. Though he may understand her confusion about his behaviour, he wasn't willing to let her in on his feelings for her – he didn't want her to be able to use it against him if she didn't feel the same way; the thought of being used and manipulated didn't quite tickle his fancy.

The Master's nostrils flared slightly as he began to speak, "first of all, I don't snuggle." He said the last word with obvious disgust, "second of all, I sleep in your bed because when I don't you wake up screaming and I end up not getting any sleep," he stated in a venomous tone. "Yes, we banter – why wouldn't we? I banter with the Doctor as well; it doesn't mean I want to have his babies. And yes, I was willing to sacrifice myself back there in order for you to get away; I have after all gotten you killed before – though it has been quite some time – and I thought one of us might as well get out of there alive. And yes, I kissed you; I don't know why (oh, you do SO know why, liar, his inner voice corrected him) and I'll try my best to make sure it won't happen again (also a lie, he heard that inner voice again)."

The Master could have sworn Ailla almost looked disappointed by his words. "So … you're telling me it didn't mean anything?" She asked.

"What do you want it to mean, Ailla?" He asked her back.

She sighed. "Never mind," she said before she turned and walked over to sit on her bed.

"If you're so keen on me labelling you, I do consider you a friend," he told her.

Ailla looked up at him and gave him the slightest of smiles, "I need to sleep. I'm completely knackered." She told him.

"I'd offer to join you but after your little rant I'm not sure whether or not you want me to," the Master said.

She laughed slightly before padding the spot next to her on the bed telling him without saying anything that she wanted him to join her.

oOo

A few hours later, Ailla awoke, though thankfully not from a nightmare. She looked around and found the Master fast asleep half a meter away from her. After their chat earlier she been left with the impression that her feelings for the Master wasn't reciprocated in the slightest. She'd felt kind of deflated at the realisation but at the same time she'd been relieved to be assured that he did actually consider her a friend; at least that was something. She was sure in time her infatuation with the Time Lord next to her would die down again. Until then she'd just have to live with it.

She looked at him; laying there asleep he looked so peaceful. Much more so than she'd ever think possible if she wasn't seeing it with her own eyes. She regarded him for a few minutes before deciding to move closer to him. Carefully she placed herself in the crook between his arm and his chest and rested her head on his shoulder. She knew it was probably a bad idea but at the same time thought it would do no harm to indulge herself a bit; in this moment she wanted nothing more than to snuggle up to the Master, even if the man refused to be someone who snuggled. The thought made Ailla smile. Suddenly she felt the Master moving and she was sure she'd woken him up. She felt his arm tighten around her, holding her close, and she sighed in contentment when it'd become clear that he hadn't awoken. She closed her eyes and tried to fall back asleep.

oOo

The Master awoke. It had been a few hours since he and Ailla had gone to bed. He felt a weight on the top of his chest and looked down to find the Time Lady's head resting on his chest, close to his shoulder. His arm was wrapped around her, practically pinning her in place, making sure she didn't suddenly end up moving away from him. The Master sighed. It felt right having her laying here up against him. He cursed himself for feeling this way; he wasn't a sentimental being by any means and yet lately he found himself acting more and more like some lovestruck human teenager. At least the woman was fast asleep and didn't know how he was clinging onto her, craving her warmth. The thought of her rejecting him if she knew, stung within him; he knew this couldn't continue; that he had to try and distance himself from her until these feelings died down. Just one more night, he told himself. One more night and he'd go back to the top bunk.

One more night.