"Doctor, please get out," Roka moaned. "Get a hotel room or something."
"What for?" The blond scurried around the room, collecting parts and tinkering them together, while the Master did the same, more or less. "I don't need sleep now. And probably not for another while either. If I'm good, and usually I'm brilliant, this might only take..."
"Doctor, out!" the Master growled and pointed to the door. He rolled his eyes at her dumbfound expression. "Seriously? Who is hanging around those apes all the time? I think that was you, am I wrong? No! And if even I can remember that she needs sleep, I'm sure so can you."
"Oh." The Doctor dropped a few cables onto the sofa. "Right. Sorry, Roka. But hey, I could just..."
"No." The Master glared at her, his gaze leaving no room for interpretation. "You're not staying for the night. And if you have to sleep in a beggars cardboard shelter, I don't care a scrap. Get lost for a few hours."
The Doctor pouted and stemmed both fists into her hips. This regeneration seemed to be as moody as she was fidgety. "Fiiiine," she let out, "be back in eight hours."
With that she hurled around and rumbled down the stairs, leaving a chirped goodbye towards the girls, before she left the house.
Roka chuckled. "Bet you always wanted to do that."
"Throw the Doctor out?" The Master huffed amused. "Have done that more times than you might think."
"Sounds like you used to live together." She poked out her tongue.
Slowly the Master looked up, his mind returning from his tinkering, only to wander farther way into the past. Absently he slid his specs further up his nose, an almost nostalgic half-smile appearing on his lips. "Of course we have."
It was then that she remembered, feeling a little stupid for having forgotten the obvious. "Oh, right. The academy."
He hummed confirming and quietly laughed to himself about something only he understood. "I once let him sleep in a tree for five nights in a row. Got a week detention for it, but that was worth it."
Roka laughed at the mere thought and also was happy to hear something about this time. He never told about it much, if at all. She strolled over to peek at what he was working on, but the small device didn't make much sense to her. As good as Roka was with tech, what those two put together always slipped her level of knowledge.
Her thoughts got interrupted anyway as the Master took her wrist and pulled her against him. She steadied herself with a hand against his shoulder to not fall, but then decided to be bold and simply straddled one of his legs.
"Wait... five nights? Do young Time Lords need more sleep?" she teased and hooked her finger into his half opened dress shirt. The tie was discarded on top of a pile of cables.
A mischievous smile spread on his face and in his eyes, but he didn't move an inch towards Roka. Only his hands snaked around her middle, folded in the small of her back, but not drawing her closer.
"They actually sleep even more than you lot. It was an annoying time, I can tell you. It's like... puberty in humans. Our bodies change, grow, but a lot slower than yours, still." Roka listened fascinated, always happy to learn more about his past and his race in general. "We spend most of our childhood and adolescence with learning how to control our bodies and minds. How we can exist with almost no food or sleep," his thumbs gently stroked over her skin through the cloth.
"Speaking of it... Is it better now? You sleep a lot more often."
She had noticed him slipping into bed almost every night by now.
"Oh, didn't want to wake you." He smirked, almost apologetic. Almost.
"'S just instinct." Roka shrugged it off. "You know I haven't spend much time in... safe places. Hell, since I met you again I've spent more time in interiors than the whole hundred and fifty years before."
"That's good." One of his hands moved from her back and stroked her cheek. "You don't have to wander alone anymore."
Because you are mine.
He didn't speak it out loud, but it was visible in the possessive glint in his hazel eyes. The thought spreading a comforting warmth in her heart.
"So, your sleep experiment worked?" she wanted to know.
Only a Time Lord could call sleeping in bed with another person an experiment, but she wouldn't complain about having some time to snuggle up on him. Not that it would be necessary. It seemed he always made sure they had some kind of skin contact. Maybe that was what helped with the issue.
He slowly nodded. "Somehow, yeah. I'm not sure at all how and why, but..." He mulled over the subject in his mind, eyes drifting into the distance again.
"Well, at least you're not keeping yourself awake anymore."
He smirked. "Stop worrying about me, Roka. There's not much I couldn't handle. Now go and take a nap. Knowing the Doctor she'll be back even before the eight hours are over."
"I don't need so much rest." She pursed her lips. "Six hours maybe. Can go with less, if I have to. Eight is just," she shrugged, "boredom." She still had her finger in his collar, now tugging lightly at it. "Plenty of time to test just how much you learned about control."
The Master chuckled and grinned widely, capturing her lips in a short, sweet kiss. "If I truly wanted, you could do whatever you like to me and I wouldn't even budge."
Her eyes squinted a little, the temptation to try this out far greater than her tiredness. But the Master put a hand between them and motioned her towards the bed.
"Shouldn't have told that, eh?" he teased.
"You know it's dangerous to poke my curiosity."
"Mhm... I do." He took her face in both hands and kissed her once more, almost careful, gently, and in a way that made Roka feel so warm and protected it made her heart ache a little. When he retreated there was so much affection in his eyes, he probably wasn't even aware of it. Otherwise, Roka was sure, he would have hidden it. "You can play with me another time, little crow," he purred, "The sooner this stuff is done the sooner we can get away from here." His thumbs stroked along her cheeks. "And there was this high security fortress on Jaggera Zelgron I wanted to invade."
Roka giggled at the last part and leaned forward to pick a last kiss to his lips. "Okay. Work your magic, oh great superior Time Lord." She poked out her tongue. "And don't you dare invading that place without me, yah?"
oOo~-̶̰͕͑̐ ̵̡͔̕~̷̴̱̤̖͍̆͋̈́̂̽͘.̴̯̦̹͛ ̶͍̎͌#̷̷̡̳̟̲͆̇̋̑-̸̧͙͂ ̶͕̜̆̐̿~̵̵̡̛̳͖̣͂̃̊̓̄.̷͇̺́̏ ̷̞̑͐#̶̴̢͈̦̰͌̃̐͠-̸̝́ ̵̛̱͉~̸̴̫̙̈̎̇̿̄.̵̧͙̻̓͛̓ ̵̦̠̈́̿#̵̷̳͎̯͓̩̞̀̑̉̑͑-̴̮̞̕ ̸̢̭̪̊~̷̵͔͇̞̙̬̈́̓͝.̶̶̰̘̯̝̏͐̿͛͘#̷̶̪̼̆́̎̾͋-̸̨́ ̴͙̹̪͆͊~̵̶̛͓͎͍̗̓̔͐.̷̀̎ͅ ̴̳̬͆͝#̵̶͉̻̭͈̗̩̓̑̂̈́-̷̢̛̙͆͐ ̶̙̐~̶̵̬͓͓̎̈̄.̶̹̪̆͝͝ͅ ̵̥̑̀̈́#̵̷̭͚̤͔͂̔̈́͜-̷̥̗̈ ̵̝̀͆͘~̶̸̺̣̓̿̈́͜.̴̜͗̅ ̴̿͜#̷̴̡͈͉̠̋̒̾ͅ-̵̡̯̤̒̕ ̸̺͋͂~̸̸̦̗͚̭̝̾͋̕.̸̢͖̻̅̇͝ ̴̨̬͗#̵̴̺͍̮͖̫̂̈́ͅ~oOo
Roka was awakened by a waft of coffee scent swaying her way, gently guiding her out of a dreamless sleep. Once more she turned under the blankets, enjoying how warm and comfy they were. She felt someone leaning slightly over her, the scent getting stronger. Roka yawned into her pillow, sat up with still closed eyes and smiled to the person next to her.
"Thanks for the coffee, Mast...er..." She blinked perplex, but still too tired to react otherwise, as she saw it was another face smiling down, another set of hands presenting the mug. "Oh, hi, Doctor. Thanks."
"I remembered you like it," she beamed and placed the beverage on the night stand. "Hope it's not too strong, haven't brewed any coffee in ages, but your little friend downstairs was so friendly to help."
"Oh my, I hope you haven't scared Cassy," Roka mumbled while climbing out of bed.
"Whaaaat!" the Doctor made indignantly. "Why do you think I would?! Not even the Master does! However he manages..."
Roka yawned again and smiled. "Because he's clever enough to deceive people into thinking he's a nice person."
He appeared next to the Doctor, shoving something into her hands and herself away. "That almost sounded like an insult," he stated, slightly amused. "Am I not nice to you?"
"Yeah, to me." Roka poked out her tongue and moved past him. "Now, don't kill each other while I take a shower, okay?"
She quickly manoeuvred past the arguing Time Lords, picked a few clothes from the wardrobe and vanished into the bathroom. Even across the hallway she could hear them arguing, although didn't understand a word. The hot water woke her up some more and she enjoyed staying under it a few minutes longer than intended. It wasn't as if she could be of much use, anyway. Maybe she should leave for some hours, wasting some time wandering the city.
Finally Roka turned off the water, grabbed a towel and stepped out of the shower, right in time to have the door opened and an exciting Doctor rushing in.
"Oh, don't mind me! Just need that toothpaste and..."
"Hey! Out with you!" Roka commanded. "You can't just walk in like that!"
"Huh? Why not?" The Doctor asked, honestly puzzled. "I know what a human body looks like. And females look pretty much the same in your species as in mine, so..."
Roka sighed. "That's so not the point. And besides, you were a man before!"
"Doctor, I told you not to... ugh, you did. Of course you did." The Master appeared behind the blond, grabbed her collar in the neck and dragged her away. "If you ever ask again why I want to murder you dead, please stop and think twice."
They argued the short way back, the door got slammed shut and Roka closed the one to the bathroom to get dry and then into her clothes. Dark jeans and a red hoodie with a Nuka Cola logo on it. She had found that one in a small gaming shop and loved it to bits.
After that she sauntered down into the kitchen to get some breakfast. Trying the Doctor's coffee wasn't exactly what she wanted for her stomach right now. Cassy had already left for university, so Roka sat there for a while, head in the clouds, thinking about nothing in particular.
A loud crash made her jump up, almost spilling the remaining coffee. There were screams, clearly coming from the Master, a thump as if something had hit the wall. Roka rushed upstairs, only happy that Cassy wasn't here.
When she opened the door she found the telly smashed and some broken and smoking pieces of unfinished devices littering the floor. The Doctor had her back pressed against the wall, the Master holding her at the collar, his gaze seething with anger.
"Do I really have to remind you not to annoy me, Doctor?" he growled, not even noticing Roka. "If you know anything, anything at all, then you better tell, or regret it forever."
The initial shock vanished from the Doctor's face and she got visibly irritated. "You know I can't," she hissed. "As much as you couldn't tell me the truth about Gallifrey! Oh hey, wait. No. That wouldn't have caused a paradox."
"With you in the picture?" the Master sneered. Then a cruel smile tugged at his lips. "Besides, what makes you think I'm one for telling good news?"
"Well, I helped you with Roka, didn't I? And what will you do to her? You..." She paused, bit her lower lip and glanced away.
"I what?" The Master's eyes narrowed to tiny slits and he pulled the Doctor closer by her collar.
"Nnnn...othing. You... always treat everyone badly!" It was so obviously a distraction it was almost laughable. Even Roka could tell, but she kept silent, still unnoticed and curious about what this might be about.
"Don't play dumb!" the other Time Lord snarled. "We'll meet again in your past and something happens!" He shook the Doctor, almost violently. "What is it? What?"
Suddenly he flinched, squinted his eyes shut as if in pain. The Doctor reached up a hand and carefully touched the Master's temple. "I can't. I don't know if it would help or make it worse. I'm so sorry, Master."
"You better be!" he shouted and flung the woman to the ground, where she landed with a loud thump.
He then stumbled backwards slightly, holding his head in both hands, shaking it, teeth clenched. With a muffled cry he sunk down, sat on the floor and bent over. Roka finally rushed into the room and crouched down in front of him, carefully lay her hands on his shoulders.
The Master glanced up, eyes slightly twitching. Roka wasn't sure if he even recognized her in that moment, and it took him a bunch of seconds to react at all. But when he did it was fast and sudden. He gripped both of her wrists and pulled her into his lap. The Master took her head in both hands, thumbs lightly pressing against her temples. She winced a little, unsure of what exactly was happening, but he left her no room to move, the tightness of his grip bordering on pain.
Years on trained instinct told her body to fight, to slap his hands away and to run, but instead Roka willed her body to calm down and just wait for what would happen. If anything at all. The Master made no more movement, didn't even initiate any sort of mental contact. None she would have been aware of, at least.
They simply sat there, letting time trickle by. Roka eventually dared to move and gently dropped her forehead against his. "I'm here," she muttered. "I'll stay for as long as you need me, yeah?"
To her surprise the Master nodded slightly, eyes still closed however. Roka sighed relieved. At least the drums hadn't overwhelmed him completely. But she wished so much that she could help, that she could just make them quiet again. It was painful to see him like this again, reminded her of the time they had first met, when he had been tormented by the rhythm constantly. It made her feel so useless.
You're not, came his soft voice, whispering in her mind, confirming that they were, indeed, connected somehow.
On the edge of her consciousness they heard the Doctor shuffle behind them, standing up. The Master raised his head to meet her eyes and Roka turned to do the same. The Time Lady only stood there, however, only this sad look in her eyes, as if she knew about something that would happen, that already had happened - in her timeline. She held her arm, rubbed a spot of bruised skin. Then she turned and left the room.
What's this all about? Roka asked mentally, hoping he could hear her thoughts.
The Master put his forehead back against hers and sighed. I don't know. She refuses to tell me. His thumbs idly stroked along her cheeks, his breath ghosting her lips. By all stars, what are you doing to me, little crow?
I don't know. She smiled. But I hope it's something good.
He chuckled, barely audible and leaned closer to capture her lips in a soft, almost tentative kiss. You're screwing me up. He lightly sucked at her bottom lip. I should be causing chaos, not snogging some human. The words were accompanied by amusement and she felt him smile against her lips.
Then get us away from here, fast, she responded, not less amused. Whatever the future holds in store, we can deal with it, right?
The kiss tapered off. There came no answer, but the Master put one hand on Roka's chest, right over his name he had cut into her skin and bone, so long ago. She felt his warmth through the cloth, soothing her heart and mind. He looked into her eyes, his stare so intense it sent goose bumps down her spine.
Are you better now? Roka asked.
He smiled and nodded. "Can't tell you how glad I'll be when I don't have to see that face anymore," he sneered aloud, the same moment she heard the Doctor return into the room. "Speaking of..." The Master gestured Roka from his lap. "I need to get a few more things. Will be back in an hour or so."
"You sure you want to go now?"
"It's okay again," he assured with a soft smile.
She heaved herself to her feet, followed by the Master, who cast a glance at the table and all the things that lay there strewn around. He scrambled together a few parts at which he pointed. "Can you build some melcar conductors while I'm gone?"
"Yeah, sure," Roka confirmed and took his place, happy to be of help.
The Master left without another word, leaving the women behind to tinker about. For a while they sat there in silence, one that was heavy and filled with unspoken questions. There were so many things Roka would have loved to ask, simply because the Doctor came from their future. Surely they had met a few times from now on. Surely she...
Roka blinked, glaring at the finished conductor in her fingers. She lay it aside and started with the next one, finally deciding to ask, "You know who that boy was, right? The one that attacked me?"
It seemed as if the Doctor hadn't heard her, but some moments later she seemed to decide it was futile to ignore Roka. She lifted her head, a thoughtful look on her face and something in her ancient eyes that told of something she'd rather not think about.
"Stay away from him," the Doctor muttered. "I know you won't and I know you can't. And I know they won't let you. But... but..." Were there tears in her eyes? "It's not a fixed point. It can still change."
Roka sighed. "And I guess you can't simply tell me what would happen otherwise?"
No answer.
They kept tinkering. The Master stayed away for some time longer. Hours? Probably just minutes, but there were so many thoughts racing through Roka's mind, it was impossible to stop them, to silence the feeling of threat in her stomach. Something was so awfully wrong about all of this. Like a word that lay on her tongue, but wouldn't pop into her mind.
Wrong.
It was there. Right where she could grasp it. So obvious, yet not.
"It's my brother," she whispered. "That boy was Josh."
The Doctor jumped, almost unnoticeable, her hands stilled, even trembled a little. She put them into her lap to hide it.
"There is something you are not able to remember," the Doctor said and her voice almost broke from all the sadness in it. "Even if I tell you now... Oh Roka. They found the data in my TARDIS. They found out how it works. And they used it to enhance an entire species to... it doesn't matter."
"It is him, isn't it?" Roka had no idea what the other woman was rambling on about. All she wanted to know was if her suspicion was right.
"Yes. And also no. They changed him. They took him and... it's the same as with River." The Doctor shook her head. "Stop looking for him. He's lost. You will be, too."
Numbly Roka glared at the tiny parts in her hands. Someone was using her brother for a plan she didn't know. They had altered her past to get him and now he was forced to attack her, maybe lure her somewhere.
On the other hand it meant that he was alive! That thought alone let Roka's heart jump.
"I can't, Doctor," she uttered. "Whoever has taken Josh follows a bigger plan. And I don't think they will let him go without interference." She glanced over at the blond woman. "You say it's not a fixed point. So whatever you saw happening... doesn't mean it has to happen again, right?"
The Doctor shook her head, although her eyes were filled with sorrow.
"Then... is there something you can tell me? Something that might help?"
It didn't matter how small the detail, how insignificant it seemed. Roka had learned enough about time travel to know that even the smallest of hints could change the course of events. And whatever was about to happen, she wasn't going to let her brother alone.
"Yes," came the soft answer. "Don't die."
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