A/N: You can skip the third part of the chapter if you want. No plot to be found there ;D
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"You've go-tzzzt- to be kidding me, Master!" River exclaimed over the connection. "That thing isn't e-eezzz-en working properly! Who tells me it won't ju-ktztz- blow up in my face?"
"I am telling it," the Master drawled and thudded his head back against the sofa rest. He had his small communication device on the TV table in front of him and was sitting cross legged, but not relaxed at all. "You'd be pretty useless right now, would you die."
"Oh, are you worried ab-zzzz-t my wellbeing, deary?" River quipped back sweetly. "I knew you secretly like me. Just don't tell Roka."
The Master tossed a short glance in her direction, only to find the woman in question giggling to herself at his misery. He groaned exasperated. "Cut it off, human! Just press the sodding button!"
All that was audible was a light chuckle, then a wheezing, a rumbling. Something zapped so loud as if an electric spark had went through the whole console room.
"Master?"
"What? If you don't tell me you landed, I don't want to hear it."
"I landed."
He shot up from the sofa, tossing a half emptied coffee mug to the ground. "What?! Where?!"
Roka scowled at the mug, but was also eager to hear if it had really worked.
"Deary? You won't li-zzk- that." The usually so teasing tone the blond one reserved for the Time Lord was now serious. "It's not earth."
"You sure?" Roka asked before the Master could start shouting again.
The other woman confirmed and told them a repeat of all steps she had executed, as well as the coordinates on the screen. Nothing was wrong according to the Master. He growled deeply in his throat, looking as if he wanted nothing more but to smash something. Again.
"Why doesn't the TARDIS land?" he whined, ruffling through his already tousled hair.
"Not be-zzzt-ause I screwed up."
"No, you're doing fine," he grumbled into his beard.
"Was th-aaaaztzzz- just a complim-zzt-ent?" Even through the static the amusement was clearly audible.
The Master groaned and buried his face in his hands.
"It's alright. I won't te-eeee-ll anyone." She chuckled, but it sounded somewhat tired.
"Since when are you in there, anyway?" Roka asked. "We're here since some weeks now."
"Oh? Okay, then w-heeee- have a goo-zzzzt-d difference. Been... maybe half a day for me." A small pause, some more static. A short laugh. "Does earth still stand?"
Roka let out a giggle, which she almost regretted when she caught the venomous look from the side. "Yep," she happily told, popping the 'p'.
"I'll burn it to the ground the moment we get out of here," the Master mumbled indistinctly into his hands. "Never want to see this shithole again. Not without everything being on fire."
"-kttttzzzzz-e Doctor will stop you a-aaaa-nyway," River chuckled. "Too bad, he-zzzzz- not here."
They looked at each other, wondering, not for the first time, why the Time Lady had asked them to stay silent about her. Maybe something had happened between the two, during the past years. Had they separated on bad terms? Was it simply a risk to let the young River know about the future Doctor? It was hard to tell without knowing all the details.
oOo~-̶̰͕͑̐ ̵̡͔̕~̷̱̤̖̆͋͘ ̴͍̈́̂̽.̴̯̦̹͛ ̶͍̎͌#̷̡̳̟͆ ̷̲̇̋̑-̸̧͙͂ ̶͕̜̆̐̿~̵̡̛̳͖͂̃ ̵̣̊̓̄.̷͇̺́̏ ̷̞̑͐#̶̢͈̦͌ ̴̰̃̐͠-̸̝́ ̵̛̱͉~̸̫̈̎ ̴̙̇̿̄.̵̧͙̻̓͛̓ ̵̦̠̈́̿#̵̳͎̯̀̑ ̷͓̩̞̉̑͑-̴̮̞̕ ̸̢̭̪̊~̷͔͇̞̈́͝ ̵̙̬̓.̶̰̘̏͘ ̶̯̝͐̿͛#̷̪̆́ ̶̼̎̾͋-̸̨́ ̴͙̹̪͆͊~̵͓̓̔͐ ̶̛͎͍̗.̷̀̎ͅ ̴̳̬͆͝#̵͉̻̭̓̑ ̶͈̗̩̂̈́-̷̢̛̙͆͐ ̶̙̐~̶̬͓̎̈ ̵͓̄.̶̹̪̆͝͝ͅ ̵̥̑̀̈́#̵̭͚͂̔ ̷̤͔̈́͜-̷̥̗̈ ̵̝̀͆͘~̶̓̿͜ ̸̺̣̈́.̴̜͗̅ ̴̿͜#̷͈͉̋ͅ ̴̡̠̒̾-̵̡̯̤̒̕ ̸̺͋͂~̸̦̗͚̾̕ ̸̭̝͋.̸̢͖̻̅̇͝ ̴̨̬͗#̵̺͍̮̂ ̴͖̫̈́ͅ~oOo
The Doctor returned from time to time, never telling where exactly she had been, though. She only ever told about signals she was following, signals that seemed to have the capacity to disrupt a TARDIS' functionality, and they had to be alien. And quite powerful.
"But when I get closer it always disappears," she whined. "As if it's a ghost!"
"No weird occurrences around this area?" Roka pondered.
"Nope, nothing. Good thing the fam is at home."
Roka turned away from the TV and paused her game. "The fam," she repeated. The Doctor had used this term a few times already.
"Oh yeah! A few people I'm travelling with, right now. They are awesome! Bet you'd like Yaz. Graham is a little grumpy and Ryan... well, he's him."
"Full house, then. Good to see you're not alone." She smiled a little to herself. Even after all this time she still found herself caring for the Doctor. They had been friends for a long time, glitch or not. And Roka understood better than most how it felt to be a lonely wanderer through time and space. "Guess I shouldn't ask what happened to Amy and Rory. Last time I saw you, they were still with you."
Suddenly there was a dark shadow in the Doctor's eyes, giving Roka the suspicion that something bad had happened. Did she really want to know about it?
"Doctor..." It was hard to look into those sad eyes, making a mean lump form in her throat. No, she really didn't want to know. But she had to and whispered, "Please tell me Amy and Rory are still alive."
Relief washed over her as she saw the Doctor's eyes lighten up a little. The overall mood didn't change, but this detail alone was almost enough. "Yes! Yes, they are. I even assume they should be quite well. Can't tell much. You know, time and stuff..."
"It's alright." Roka let out a sigh of relief. "I'm just glad they ended up okay."
"As if that insufferable red head would come to harm," came a sarcastic voice from the door.
Both women turned to see the Master enter with a small white plastic bag. He placed it on the table and proceeded to take off his jacket. Roka sniffed in the air and opened the bag to find some take away in it. Enough for all three of them.
"Still into anchovy pizza, Doctor?" he asked with disgust as he flopped down on the sofa next to Roka. "Thought so. Take that nasty stuff and eat it far away from me."
For them he had brought a big box with small pizza buns with different fillings, something they had both found a tremendous liking for, recently. Roka snatched one out, blew at it and took a careful bite. Next to them the heap of electronics and wires started to crackle. River's voice resounded through the static.
"I th-iiiii-nk we might have a prob-zzzk-lem."
"Not now, ape," the Master growled and bit into another bun.
The Doctor took her pizza and moved to the desk, placing herself in the chair and being strangely silent again.
"I can't land on earth," River explained. "Does-sssss-n't matter where and when."
"What about 'not now' didn't you get? Seriously..." the Master growled. He looked concerned about the news, though. If she would have been able to land anywhere on earth at all in the right time, they could have just travelled there. "You sure?"
"Yes. I've checked all parameters, calcu-uuuu-lated the temporal space influx around the planet and also let the TARDIS run some simulations on the atron fields surrounding your location."
The Master lowered his bun and raised a brow. He seemed honestly impressed at that speech, giving Roka an almost confused look. She only shrugged, having no clue what to respond. To her, though, it seemed as if the curly woman showed a level of intelligence that was quite beyond that of normal humans. A quick glance at the Doctor also gave no answer to this. It only sparked Roka's curiosity about that woman even further.
"Well..." The Master contemplated for a moment. "I'll think of something. Maybe infuse the simulation with a bunch of random generated testeran particles... Meanwhile I'm having dinner, so stop pestering me, human."
"Diner... good idea. I'm starving. Wher-kzzzzzt- kitchen?"
"Second corridor to the right, the first door," Roka told.
"Don't tell her where my kitchen is!" the Master whined. "Who knows what she'll do there!"
"I'll eat, you m-ooooo-ron!" River giggled and cut the connection.
The Doctor smiled to herself. A sad smile. One that told of loss and past memories. Roka couldn't hold it in any longer, she had to know.
"What happened? You don't want River to know who you are. And you look so sad."
Both Time Lords looked at her in surprise, the one in question opening her mouth, only to shut it immediately again.
"It's complicated," the Doctor muttered. "I think... last time I saw her... I saw her for the last time. Well, I thought so... Can't be sure. We seldom meet in the right order, but..." She slightly shook her head and cast a quick glance over at the Master. "Doesn't matter."
"It does," he snarled. "I want to know who is trapped in my TARDIS and what I can expect happening."
"She's a... friend. Definitely a friend, Master. No danger. Not now, anyway. Not to you."
He narrowed his eyes at the Time Lady and stuffed another pizza bun in his mouth. It was clear that he didn't believe a word, but what could he do, right now? They all were trapped. Roka huddled a little closer, both, to get comfortable and also to snatch more buns.
"My, you're a hungry one, today," he commented teasingly.
"Mhm... Dunno why."
"Pregnant?"
Roka almost choked on her bun and sat straight, giving the Master a dooming glare.
"You know that's not even possible!"
He cackled to himself and poked out his tongue. "But your reaction was priceless."
"Why should she be anyway?" the Doctor asked baffled with a full mouth. Roka and the Master shared a look and burst out into chuckle, only then did it seem to dawn on the Time Lady. "Oh," she made and flushed bright red all of a sudden.
The Master snorted. "You're such a prude, Doctor, still."
"Oi, I didn't know, okay!" she blurted out and somehow seemed to shrink a little. "Not quite the thing we would have had time to talk about... last times we met, I mean."
Roka giggled at that. But It made her wonder what was about to happen, even though she knew the Doctor wouldn't tell. Maybe a little?
"So," she started carefully, snatching another hot bun, "How often will we encounter you?"
"There were quite a few times, actually. Look forward to it." Now the Doctor beamed brightly. "It's gonna be fun! And dangerous... but fun dangerous... Anyway... haven't actually seen you two in quite a while. Last time was in my previous regeneration... well... not both... only... err... On the colony ship. Aaaanyway..." She shot a glance at the Master. "With this body... no, haven't met you. I mean, now I have, but not before."
"Oh so secretive again." The Master sighed dramatically. "I hope I'll get you into plenty of trouble, though."
The Doctor rolled her eyes and busied herself with the pizza, obviously unwilling to tell any more. It was good to know they would meet again, Roka thought to herself. She wondered if it would be the bow tie wearing Doctor or another one. She hoped it was, it would mean to also see Amy again.
While they ate in silence, Roka pinned her eyes to a particular spot on the wall opposite to them. None of the two seemed to notice, but that small patch of shadow over there wasn't cast by... well, anything. And it hadn't been there yesterday.
oOo~-̶̰͕͑̐ ̵̡͔̕~̷̱̤̖̆͋͘ ̴͍̈́̂̽.̴̯̦̹͛ ̶͍̎͌#̷̡̳̟͆ ̷̲̇̋̑-̸̧͙͂ ̶͕̜̆̐̿~̵̡̛̳͖͂̃ ̵̣̊̓̄.̷͇̺́̏ ̷̞̑͐#̶̢͈̦͌ ̴̰̃̐͠-̸̝́ ̵̛̱͉~̸̫̈̎ ̴̙̇̿̄.̵̧͙̻̓͛̓ ̵̦̠̈́̿#̵̳͎̯̀̑ ̷͓̩̞̉̑͑-̴̮̞̕ ̸̢̭̪̊~̷͔͇̞̈́͝ ̵̙̬̓.̶̰̘̏͘ ̶̯̝͐̿͛#̷̪̆́ ̶̼̎̾͋-̸̨́ ̴͙̹̪͆͊~̵͓̓̔͐ ̶̛͎͍̗.̷̀̎ͅ ̴̳̬͆͝#̵͉̻̭̓̑ ̶͈̗̩̂̈́-̷̢̛̙͆͐ ̶̙̐~̶̬͓̎̈ ̵͓̄.̶̹̪̆͝͝ͅ ̵̥̑̀̈́#̵̭͚͂̔ ̷̤͔̈́͜-̷̥̗̈ ̵̝̀͆͘~̶̓̿͜ ̸̺̣̈́.̴̜͗̅ ̴̿͜#̷͈͉̋ͅ ̴̡̠̒̾-̵̡̯̤̒̕ ̸̺͋͂~̸̦̗͚̾̕ ̸̭̝͋.̸̢͖̻̅̇͝ ̴̨̬͗#̵̺͍̮̂ ̴͖̫̈́ͅ~oOo
Roka came back from a small shopping trip with Cassy and Ana. It was good to leave the house here and there, especially since she couldn't be of much help with teaching River or finding signals. It was, however, surprisingly enjoyable to hang out with the two girls. Roka even had some fun to push them both together a bit, whenever she saw an opportunity arise. It was cute how they behaved around each other without anyone of them ever admitting anything. Had she and the Master been that obvious too, Roka wondered. To Amy surely.
Amy... Roka found herself missing the feisty woman. It had been fun travelling with her and the bow-tie wearing Doctor. And the Master. She still was glad to finally have some alone time with him, even though that was cut quite short, now that he had a task and a goal.
On some days he was outright ignoring her, until he seemed to come back from somewhere deep inside his mind, only to realize he wasn't alone in the room. She then got a short greeting, a warm smile, but that was it. Not that she would be complaining, after all, she knew how occupied he could be, and she, too, wanted to get away from here as fast as possible.
But gods, did she miss him.
Still in thoughts Roka tossed her bag onto the sofa and started to unpack its content. She had found a few more plaid shirts for her ever growing collection, then a new videogame and finally a kit to assemble a tiny drone she could use to make some photos in hard to reach areas. Cassy was impressed by the pictures Roka took and wanted to take her to a few old ruins to shoot some more. And Roka actually looked forward to this, even though it was so... normal.
Only after a while did she realize that she was alone in the room, the Master nowhere to be found. Odd, since he rarely left the house. At least not while she was awake, and then only to gather new parts. Wherever he might get those. She didn't quite dare to ask.
In the end she slipped into some boxers and a T-shirt to get comfortable and decided a quick shower would do it. Somewhat still in thoughts she opened the bathroom door and stepped in, blinking confused at the light and the water filled bathtub - with a Master inside.
"Oh, sorry," she mumbled, "thought you were out."
He looked up from the tablet he had been holding in front of him and smirked. "I was."
Roka placed her folded towel over the sink and flopped down on the edge of the bathtub. "Found anything useful?" she asked hopefully and couldn't help but cast a glance down, only to find the water surface to be covered in a thinning layer of white foam.
"No, just collected some bits and pieces." He sighed and put the tablet away. "It's really bothersome to gather certain things on your planet."
"Mhm..." Roka poked the foam and made it wobble slightly. Her fingers found water fast and she let the tips glide through it, watched by a pair of curious hazel eyes. "How's River doing?" she asked casually.
"Better than expected. For a human." The Master snickered. "Would have thought she'd need a lot longer to learn the basics."
"Good, good." Only then did she realize that her hand was dipping deeper into the water, near his knee, brushing away some of the foam to reveal a tiny spot of water underneath. Not that she had never seen him naked, but in the bathtub definitely was new. Way too cosy and time consuming for him, actually.
The thought instantly let some warmth pool between her legs, a pleasant tingling. The knee nearest to her dipped below the water completely, giving her more space to roam. And she did, aware of the eyes on her and the curious anticipation. Did his breath speed up a little? He probably smelled her slight arousal already, the shadow of a smirk gracing his features.
Her hand dipped a tiny little bit deeper, brushed something. She moved back, let her finger-tips glide over him once again. Now he definitely let out a small shuddering breath, his reaction encouraging her to repeat the motion, to dive a bit deeper to glide down his length, and up again, enjoying his hitching breath.
Roka smirked at him. "Now I wonder what you actually were looking at on your tablet."
When she reached down once more he suddenly grabbed her hand to stop her and sat up, pupils widened slightly. And before she could react properly, there was a grin and hands around her middle, pulling her into water, where she landed with a small splash a yelp. The Master grabbed her bum and pushed her into his lap and against him, made her inhale sharply, before he pressed his mouth on hers, one dripping hand snaking around her neck.
Roka smiled against his lips, the surprise now faded. She kissed him back passionately, happy about not wearing too much cloth that could be soaked. She squirmed a little in his lap to get her knees to either of his sides and herself a bit more comfortable. It brought her closer to him though, she could feel his erection through her soaked shorts and Roka rocked against it slightly, eliciting a groan from both of them. He grabbed her shirt and dragged it over her head, sending it with a splash to the bathroom floor. Cool air hit her wet skin, made her shiver as much as his hands that found her breasts, kneading them, twirling her nipples between his fingers before he broke away from the kiss to take in her dishevelled state.
"You're beautiful, little crow," he muttered, letting his eyes roam over her. His finger traced along a thin scar right below her left breast and to her hip. His other hand pressed her against him. "Can't get enough of you."
"Good." She grinned, slightly flushed. "Hadn't planned on leaving so soon."
Her fingers stroked his beard, his cheek. His eyes closed, breath heavy, mouth slightly opened. Roka loved how she could make him react like this, how he obviously trusted her. At least enough. She started to slowly rock against him again and moulded their lips together.
A loud crash from outside tore them apart with a confused look. Then the Doctor's voice shouted something they couldn't understand, followed by what sounded like a small explosion.
The Master let out a deep, frustrated growl and dropped his forehead against Roka's
"This bloody, idiotic piece of..."
She giggled and cradled his head in her palms. "Let's get out, before she destroys the house. We can continue this another time." Roka leaned to his ear and whispered, "I like you so wet and slippery, Master."
He tensed with a shuddering breath and she felt him twitch against her. So much to control. But her mischievous grin didn't last long. He suddenly moved and quickly threw her below him into the water, before he got out of the bath tub to dry himself. He bent over and smirked at her.
"Who's wet here?"
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