Tw for choking and rough sex in this chapter, though not at the same time.
-DW-
He was still sleeping when they got there, but she could see he was starting to wake up. A quick scan said the inhibitor was still there, which meant that soon enough, she was going to have to put her money where her mouth was. So to speak.
The Master groaned, tried to stretch and found himself halted by his chains. He growled; his voice was rough with sleep and the Doctor did her best not to like it.
"Get these damned things off me!"
As they were hers, the Doctor gestured to River.
"You'd better be sure about this Doctor."
"If not, you have a gun and can fly the TARDIS, I'm sure you'll figure something out."
"Urgh. You could have at least showered."
River rolled her eyes.
"We did. It was a very pleasant shower, actually."
The Doctor couldn't argue with that, still a little weak in the knees from the feeling of River's mouth. When she had a penis, River had done things with her mouth that were illegal in some solar systems... and the intensity hadn't changed just because her equipment had, as it transpired.
"Must just be the smell of the mongrel."
River didn't rise to his bait, answering smoothly.
"Oh, do shut up dear."
River finally popped the lock of his shackles, both collar and cuffs coming open as one as she stepped back. The Master tore them off and threw the metal down, on his feet in seconds and starting to shake out the tension of having been bound.
"Well then, time to pay up."
The Doctor nodded, swallowing thickly. He'd let her put the restrictor in. It was only fair she hold her end up.
"Give it a go. The last guy couldn't strangle me. Bit old school, but you've tried before."
At the top of the tower, when he was masquerading as a Nazi soldier to track her down. Now, in his slightly battered purple suit, though his colouring was a little better for the sleep, the Master looked a bit less threatening. And there was no great fall waiting over a slightly flimsy looking railing.
With him standing so close, eyes surprisingly intense and her body still thrumming from River's explorations, the Doctor had to fight to remember it wasn't one of their ill-advised trysts and that she was offering him the chance to possibly almost murder her. Almost, because, well, she probably had some more regenerations in her, and there was an armed wife close by.
His face was oddly curious for a minute, taking her in. The Doctor wondered if he could feel the inhibitor, or if it was only tangible when he tested the limit of it. There was always a chance it wouldn't work at all.
He lunged, bare skin of his palm hot against her neck before his fingers were tightening. His palm squeezed tight against her windpipe, fingers holding back bloodflow to her brain. Even with a Time Lord's tolerance for holding her breath, she'd still be dizzy before long. Just as River started to say "Doctor-" in a warning tone of do you need rescuing?, she saw the Master's face scrunch up, felt his grip melt away as both hands lifted to press against his head.
As she sucked in several deep breaths, hearts pounding, the Master was growling with frustration; he'd been more placid earlier, accepting anything for the sake of his freedom but now it had worked, he was obviously not happy. River moved to her side, examining her neck carefully.
"I'm... fine."
Ever so slightly - and perhaps disturbingly - aroused, because that was just what her body often did when the Master inflicted pain on it, the Doctor tried to reassure her wife, who had never really thought much of the idea to begin with. They both watched the Master wrestle with his rage. With the phantom sensation of his hand on her throat lingering still, the Master whipped around, eyes dark and furious and at odds with his newly cool, calm demeanour.
"Well, I can still hurt you in other ways. I could break your hearts and tell you what happened to Missy. Tell how you how I became... me."
Swallowing thickly, hearts still beating hard in her cjest, the Doctor knew he was baiting her but she needed to know.
"What happened to her?"
"Well, me and... me were waiting for the lift, and Missy started to have a little crisis of conscience. I think she... well, I, had quite a few, but I digress. She pulled me in ever so close" he actually stepped forward, though he didn't hug the Doctor "and told me how much she'd loved being her former self, and how she missed the fire he burned with. And just as she stabbed himself in the back, she promised to remember it always. She was coming back to help you, but he wouldn't stand for it. Gave her the full dose of his laser screwdriver, which is not the euphemism he wished it to be."
The Doctor went through several emotions at once, one being guilt for dismissing Missy completely there at the end, and pain for knowing what her choice got her. And also confusion.
"That screwdriver suspends regeneration. How did Missy become you?"
"Well, you see, I fancied myself a little too much. Quite literally. And Missy, being as brilliant as me, because she is me, or was me... anyway, yes, she fiddled with his screwdriver. Sadly also not a euphemism. Isomorphic controls, so they responded to her. But I think she knew just enough not to trust herself. And she was right."
He paused for breath, stretching out the kinks in his shoulders, looking lazy and leisurely even as he obviously fed on her responses.
"I don't entirely remember getting off the ship, to be honest. It's possible I found an emergency teleport earlier on and never told anyone... or something, but since we had the TARDIS, I didn't expect to need it. Plus the time streams were still knocked out of sync with two of us dying at the same time, same place, and I was regenerating the whole time so things got a bit blurry... her dress didn't quite fit me, so I woke up with my bodice all ripped open. Shocked the first person who saw me. I ditched the heels."
"Should have kept them. You didn't really win in the height department this time."
River snarked, and the Master scowled.
"At least I don't overcompensate for it with my hair."
"Will you two behave? Honestly, you're worse than an old married couple."
"Blame the mongrel, she butted in when I wasn't talking to her."
Rolling her eyes, the Doctor stood in between them and gave them both disapproving looks.
"Both of you, stop it! This is a very big ship, and I will seperate you."
They both scowled and turned away, muttering under their breath. It was that moment that the Doctor was reminded; she definitely had a type. Reigning herself in with the residual guilt she had for doubting Missy so, the Doctor looked to the Master.
"Why don't you go clean yourself up? You know where the wardrobe is from when you were O and we went to that party."
He grumbled - she knew he was fond of that purple suit, but it was pretty battered after everything he'd put it through recently - but stomped off, swearing at the TARDIS and getting several chastising rumbles in return. After watching him go, she turned back to her wife.
"Going to order me around too?"
"If I thought you'd listen. I need to go set up a scan to look for the Cyberium."
"What is a Cyberium?"
"Spoilers."
River tsked as she followed the Doctor back to the console room, settling in a casually seductive pose as she draped herself across the bench.
"That's my line."
As the Doctor hummed to herself, she wondered. River had thought she only had twelve faces. If she hadn't met Mr Attack Eyebrows yet, but had met the next Doctor after him, why didn't she remember?
"Well, as I know you haven't reached one of my earlier selves yet, I can't go giving you advance knowledge. So yes, spoilers. Just sit there and behave for like, five minutes. Please?"
Sighing as though it was a great hardship, River chuckled.
"Oh alright. Five minutes, and not a second more."
Quite certain River was going to hold her to it, the Doctor got to work with the console, tapping buttons, twisting knobs, feeling the TARDIS telepathic circuits respond to her and watching the screen. The Gallifreyan symbols twirled their way around the monitor, taking on the data from the sonic about the Cyberium to look for any trace. The universe was a big place, and she mostly expected it to be gone, but with what it was capable of... it paid to be sure.
"Done?"
River asked, already starting to rise from her perch.
"Yeah, now I-" before the thought could finish, her stomach growled loudly "guess I need to eat something. You?"
The TARDIS kitchen had foodstuffs from many galaxies, but all the Doctor could think about was fried egg sandwiches. River did not share her love for them, chewing on some of the finest chocolate in the galaxy. Actually, the Doctor had no idea where she'd found that. It must have been stolen; some of those bars were sold for the income of a small planet. The Master found them there, and the Doctor was mildly embarrassed by her reaction. Or lack of. He'd picked out a dark blue button up - she liked blue - and black trousers. The trousers were rather snug, and he'd left the top two buttons of his shirt undone. She wasn't sure why that was what grabbed her attention so easily. He'd obviously showered and shaved, hair clean and soft looking, stubble nicely shaped again.
"Doctor?"
River's voice jolted her from something of a reverie, clearing her throat and turning back to her now-cold sandwich. The Master was smirking so smugly it was audible.
"Feeling better?"
"No."
"Well, suit yourself."
Both River and the Master looked a bit confused. What was she saying? Clearly, she needed to occupy her mouth with sandwiches.
"How long am I going to be stuck on this godforsaken ship?"
"I don't know yet."
He rolled his eyes, before they dropped and lingered. At first, she thought he was checking her out, but then realised his gaze had stopped at her neck.
"What is it?"
River was looking too.
"You have bruises starting to come up."
Doing her best not to think of the thrill of fear and pain under his hand earlier, the Doctor shrugged it off.
"Oh. Better sort them before I check on the fam. They'll worry."
"Oh, your pets survived too? How depressing."
"Behave."
Strutting as though he owned the place, the Master opened a fridge at random, grabbed a few completely uncomplimentary things - come to think of it, the Doctor couldn't think when she'd last seen him eat something... when he was O, perhaps? - before he disappeared.
As soon as she finished her sandwich, the Doctor found herself being rather forcibly 'persuaded' to the medical room, so River could tend to her neck.
"You're not very subtle, you know."
"I know. It's an ongoing problem with this whole regeneration. I swear, everything comes out on my face!"
River, obviously more than comfortable finding her way around, pulled out a balm for the bruising and pushed the Doctor into a seated position so she could begin applying it.
"I'm not the jealous type, but you know he's no good for you."
"I know that too. Then again, you're no angel either. You did kill me."
"I also brought you back."
"Saxon fought off the Time Lords. Missy was turning back to help me. That's the thing about all of us. We're all a mix of past and future selves, echoes of who we were and calls to who we can be."
The ache in her neck faded as River worked, quiet for a moment or two before she screwed the lid back on the pot and put it away.
"Except me. I will always be this."
"So? You say that like it's a bad thing. Ok, so you're not perfect. Who is? Certainly not me. Doesn't change that I chose you. I have, or perhaps I will, tell you my name. Do you know how very unique that makes you?"
River shrugged tightly.
"He knows."
"He was there when I was a kid, before that name became a secret buried deep beneath my hearts. I chose to tell you. You were my choice. Even after Madam Kavarian. Even though you killed me. My bespoke psycopath."
That finally got River to look at her again; jealous, she wasn't. Insecure against the history between her and the Master? Perhaps.
River wouldn't hold her gaze.
"Stop that."
"What?"
"That thing you do with your face. This one is ever so... earnest."
The Doctor let out a laugh.
"I can't seem to help it, this one really went for it with the expressions. The last me just had a variety of scowls and a smile I got told was scary a few times. I had very, very angry eyebrows. And I think someone told me I ran like a penguin with it's arse on fire. He did have much longer legs than I have now."
She remembered that from her first day as herself. That jump on the crane when they were dealing with Tim Shaw would have been much easier if she'd still had those legs. River was cracking up laughing by then, which was far preferable to that awkward half-sadness of before. It was well worth perhaps saying a bit too much, but then she remembered River hadn't recognised her. Him. So whatever she said now hadn't been enough of a hint. Still, she supposed she better stop with the spoilers.
"That reminds me! I need to go look for some new boots. These ones are all worn out from the running."
Following the habit River had, the Doctor leapt up, grabbing her wifes hand and pulling her along. River resisted long enough to pick up the rest of her chocolate before allowing herself to be led, the two dashing through the TARDIS until they happened upon the wardrobe at last. The Master hadn't been terribly tidy about his searching, clothes discarded in piles that hadn't been there the last time they were there, hunting for stuff suitable for that black tie party.
"Oh, I forgot how much I love this room."
It took the Doctor five minutes to locate some new boots that fit her, and another ten to lace them up the way she liked. It was another couple of hours before they left the wardrobe. River picked out all sorts of outfits, and the impromptu fashion show was very, very enjoyable. Nothing in the wardrobe was particularly lewd, but that didn't stop River looking the epitome of seduction.
They weren't alone, but the Doctor stayed quiet about that. And then she was too distracted to notice... they left the wardrobe in perhaps more of a state than when they got there, but she had new boots and a fresh bruise on her healed neck, courtesy of River's teeth. River was quite pleased with a few of her finds in the wardrobe too, complaining she didn't know where her red heels had gotten to.
"I think I saw them in London. Hard to say. That whole... incident is blurry."
Three of her selves in one place. Gallifrey. Kate Stewart. Zygons. A rabbit. And marrying the 'virgin' queen... rubbing her head, the Doctor followed River, barely allowed to take off her new boots before River was tackling her down to the bed again, seeming endlessly keen to explore her latest incarnation.
It was two spent, sated bodies that slumped into the ruined bed some time later, RIver laughing as the Doctor did her best to extricate herself from twisted sheets.
"It's not funny! They're trying to trap me!"
"Oh, you are ridiculous."
Despite her mockery, River did help her escape eventually. Though neither went far, falling asleep where they lay.
She woke first, found River laid on her side still deeply asleep. The Doctor took her in, curls a magnificent mess splayed across two pillows and her bare skin undoubtedly tanned by the suns of many solar systems. Her lips were slightly parted in slumber, double-beats of her heart slow and rhythmic, calm as she rested. Her wife was beautiful, no doubt about it.
The Doctor took stock of her body as she slipped from the bed, finding her rainbow striped t-shirt and discarded boxer shorts on the floor and dressing quietly. Small aches here and there, not unpleasant to experience if she was honest. A glimpse in the mirror was sore viewing, even in a darkened room. Patting her messy hair down, she noted a second lovebite on her neck. River had figured out pretty quickly that her current form liked it... rough. She slipped socks on her feet, knowing the floors could get cold.
Not bothering with additional layers or fussing with her oversized trousers and braces, the Doctor went wandering, unable to stay in bed with the sudden bout of restless energy. The TARDIS was dim, cool and quiet, only the occasional thrum of an engine echoing through the ship now and then.
"Bored of the mongrel already?"
His voice found her before her eyes found him, leaning casually against a wall like he spent all his time wandering the halls, waiting to find the Doctor wandering around half-dressed.
"Don't call her that."
He shrugged.
"It's what she is."
"Isn't it what you all are now?"
That made him scowl, though he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from her state of undress for long.
"So, why are you bumbling around like... that?"
She shrugged.
"It's my ship. River needs more sleep than I do."
He pushed himself up from the wall rather suddenly, and the Doctor took a step back on instinct. The Master tutted, fingers coming up to press against her jaw, turning her head to the side.
"Marking her territory?"
"No. River's not like that. She knows I just enjoy a little... pain in my play."
He knew that. So why did the Doctor feel exposed admitting it, when he'd seen her go to pieces under his rough hands so many times, in so many bodies?
His eyes dragged down her body, left her feeling utterly naked despite what she had on.
"Which reminds me of why I was looking for you."
"You were?"
Did he need to stand so close? The open buttons at his collar drew her eye, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed.
"Yes. I realised as I felt your pulses race under my fingers before" the Doctor really hoped her face didn't look as warm as it felt "that I don't know just what the limits of this... thing are."
He tapped his head, referring to the restrictor that resided deep in his brain.
"What do you mean, limits?"
"Oh, I think you know Doctor. And, given what you've just admitted to, and the fact you're almost as fond of my current body as I am... I'd say it's in both our interests for you to help me find out."
She wondered if he'd ever just say he wanted her, wondered if it was ever going to stop being played as some kind of twisted back and forth.
A deeply buried part of her even wondered if he might stay...
He slammed her into the wall with his weight, her mouth not even opened to complain before he was kissing her. It was as rough and fiery as his kisses ever were, the taste of some exotic, bittersweet fruit on his tongue. She hated herself for how easily any resistance faded, but River knew as well as the Doctor did that some part of her would never be able to turn the Master away for good. Greatest enemy and oldest friend all rolled in to one. Everything left of their kind all on one spaceship, bouncing around the depths of the universe.
Just enough of her brain was working to push him away, the Master growling in irritation.
"Not here."
The room he'd taken wasn't far. The TARDIS had made him comfortable, it seemed; the colour scheme was all dark wood and sharp edges, but his bed was wide and comfortable, and it made a change from crashing down against the floor with him, or being pinned to a wall somewhere.
If he realised the change, he didn't say it. Nor did she.
His stubble scratched against her face, dragged against her jaw as he ducked down and bit her neck, fingers burying themselves in her hair and yanking. It stung in all those awful, delicious ways, tingles running through her.
She hadn't bathed after leaving her wife's bed; he must have been able to smell River on her, but suddenly that scent didn't seem to bother him at all. She'd known he was exaggerating, but it was even more clear just then.
The Doctor arched up into his mouth, and the shivers of pain and pleasure that darted through her seemed to have confirmed already that the restrictions on him did not extend to consensual sadism during sex. Then again, he'd definitely been rougher than hickies and hair pulling before.
Or was that just her own internal justification for letting it continue?
His shirt was tossed aside before long, exposing his chest to her eyes. He'd burned through a little of his weight while carrying the Cyberium, but he was still strong and solid against her when his body settled over hers.
Something was different, and she couldn't quite place it for a while. He peeled off her t-shirt, seeming pleased to find nothing but bare skin underneath it. Rough hands groped her, fresh bruises on her collarbones and the burn of stubble on her chest left in his wake before the Master was biting at tender skin, sucking roughly enough at her nipple for it to leave her aching, almost delirious with pleasure.
It was only when he lifted his head and looked into her eyes that she realised what it was niggling at her, realised what was different. It wasn't just that his eyes no longer promised a massacre the moment they were finished.
It was the drum beat. The Saxon-Master had showed it to her once before. The heart beat of a Time Lord, sent back through time to take root in the mind of the Master. They'd tormented him for all his lives, just to have a way back. And not even in peace that time; they'd planned to let the universe be torn to shreds, to reign alone free of any consequence.
The Master had dropped his mental barrier. He was letting her see inside his head. She could see the fire, hear the explosions and shattering glass. There were images of the great glass dome cracking, screams and pleas and always, always the drums.
"They're still there."
Her fingers brushed his cheek, her fingers pale against his dark skin.
"They fixed my never-ending death, but left the drums. I think they thought it was funny."
There was never, ever going to be an excuse for the vicious, indiscriminate anger and actions of the Master. But that didn't excuse the cruelty of the Time Lords either. They'd both been playthings, pawns in someone else's game who'd gone in very different directions to forge their own way.
He'd never let her in so... openly before. She didn't offer the same in return, not when her thoughts were so tumultuous, but she was gentle with the winding paths laid out in his mind and didn't force her way through his memories. The vulnerability in his face faded but her memory of it never would, even as he turned back to the biting and bruising they both enjoyed a little too much. The boxers she'd put on were all but ripped from her body, leaving her bare save for her socks, which she quickly wriggled out of too.
His nails raked down her inner thigh, legs spasming in surprise as she gasped. His smug smirk at her response was decidedly unearned, she decided. Any retort she had died in her throat when she felt his tongue. It was acid when he spoke and silver when he tasted her, rough and demanding, nails digging in to her thighs when he wrapped his arms around them to hold her in place so the Doctor couldn't squirm away.
River had already spent several hours tormenting her in all manner of pleasant ways, and the Doctor was still a little tender to the touch, hypersensitive to every stroke of his tongue over her clit, muscles clenching needily around nothing.
Even as he bit her, leaving those splotchy bruises under his fingertips with the power of his grip, the Doctor knew something had shifted. Just a little. As though the Cyberium had left a small crack somewhere. He was still the Master, still Koschei, still a madman... but they were linked in a way that could never be undone now, by the secret of the Timeless Child. Maybe one day, he'd stop resenting her for it.
They both worked to get his trousers off; flattering as they were on him, both wanted the skin-to-skin sensations. His hands knotted in her hair again, their kiss messy, teeth and tongue clashing as she felt the Master push, filling her in one burning thrust. It was enough to make her shake under him, thighs twitching against his.
It wasn't long before she knew they weren't alone. If he noticed, he didn't say. River seemed content to watch in silence, half shadowed and looking awfully appealing wearing nothing but the Doctor's coat... it was hard enough for the Doctor to focus when there was only one... lover? sexual partner? in the mix. With River's eyes on them and the Master's cock deep inside her, bruises throbbing on her skin and scalp stinging with his tight grip...
well, the fact she could focus on anything was an achievement.
His slipping back into Gallifreyan was enough to make her a little dizzy; he hadn't spoken to her in that tongue for a long time. Her hands tightened against his back before she tensed her muscles and managed to flip them. He grunted in complaint, though his eyes lit up when he saw her shudder in pain, his hands still twisted tight in her hair.
It was clear he did know River was there - either that, or he just didn't care when small, warm hands covered his, unwinding each of his fingers until her hair was free. River's hand replaced it, less rough but no less firm as she turned the Doctor's head, mouth sweet and rich with chocolate as they kissed.
"I don't remember agreeing to share."
The Master, as petulant as anyone could look while still feeling the slick heat of her around his cock, scowled, but she heard his hearts quicken, knew the sight did something for the most base, primal parts of him.
"Oh, do be quiet dear. We've been sharing the Doctor as long as she's been the Doctor. With each other and half the universe. Not to mention the ship."
Were they really arguing about her during sex? Actually, she wasn't that surprised. More surprised that nothing had exploded - not like that! - yet, if she was honest. River dragged the very tip of her nail over fresh bite marks, soothed her free hand over the Doctor's still-sore scalp.
"I suppose you call this science? Testing the limits of his restrictor?"
"S-something like that."
Not to be ignored, the Master was still flexing his hips beneath her, his smirk visible in the corner of her eye whenever he made her voice shake. As though it was something perfectly ordinary for her to be doing, River shucked the coat, though she was polite enough to place it down carefully.
Actually, it sort of was. They'd had threesomes before. And moresomes. River was an adventurous woman. Never another Time Lord though...
The Doctor let out a giggle, which had both the Master and River looking at her oddly.
"What's funny?"
"Just... strange to hear four beats that aren't my own."
The Master frowned, blinking before he looked to River.
"She has two hearts?"
Shameless as ever, River pulled his hand from the Doctor's hip, placing it against her own chest. His face was a picture as he felt the tell tale double beat.
"You could have let him feel your wrist."
River winked, mouth stretched into a glorious, mischievious grin.
"Oh Doctor, where's the fun in that?"
Somewhere in the back of her mind, the Doctor couldn't help but wonder if River had simply come up with the best way to stop the Master's derisive commentary. It was pretty hard to dislike a naked River Song. Even more so one who was openly encouraging touching of said naked body.
"How?"
She wasn't from Gallifrey, after all. Not that Gallifrey produced the only binary vascular system in the universe, but it was pretty rare. And the Master only knew River had regenerated at least once before.
"Exposure. River was conceived in the Time Vortex."
If it were for anything less shatteringly surprising, the Doctor might have felt slighted by how distracted he was. His mind still open to her, she could see the way his thoughts tumbled, trying to work out what it all meant, what it could mean. River's hand slid down her back, squeezing cheekily at her backside and the resulting jolt jerked the Master's attention back to her.
There was something utterly, completely incredible and explosive about the moment the Doctor came whimpering against River's mouth, the Master's hands tight on her hips and River's trailing up and down her spine as she shuddered. Three people, six hearts, the Master's mind still close enough to explore and River's hair tickling the side of her cheek as the TARDIS wound them gently through deep space.
It was probably the closest the Doctor was ever going to feel to home ever again. Not that she was going to be sharing that with River or the Master. They'd call her sentimental, and she was feeling a little too vulnerable to open up to both at the same time just yet.
Maybe some day...
"Come on sweetie, up you get."
River had her up and draped rather gracelessly across the bed before the Doctor realised what was going on, trying to blink away the hallucination before she realised it was actually happening; for all his 'mongrel' comments before, the Master seemed more than content with River taking the Doctor's place on top of him.
Oh, they were a little bit gorgeous together, actually. Head still pleasantly fuzzy with post-coital hormones, reward chemicals swimming in her blood, the Doctor was transfixed by the display before her. River took his rougher touches happily, and the Master let her ride him as she pleased, her head thrown back sending those magnificent curls shaking, tumbling, quivering even when she slowed to tease him with comments that he'd better last for her.
At some point, the Doctor was going to have to test whether or not he liked being bossed around, at least during sex. The fact she seemed so certain there would be more occurrences in the future probably should've registered, but she was still too pleasantly blissed out by her climax, by the fact River and the Master were... getting along? At least for the moment. They were done before long with each other... but not with her.
As soon as the Master realised he could have a partner in crime in torturing her, he suddenly seemed much happier to share with River. One of them held her wrists while the other touched her, and though she could have gotten free, the Doctor had no inclination to, even as they taunted and teased her; both of them had an awfully arousing habit of low, breathy chuckles in her ear, and it was unfair how much it affected her.
She was already completely hooked, if she was honest.
Dizzy and sore and sweaty, the Doctor laid spent upon the bed, wondering where those two got their energy before putting it down to sheer bloody competitiveness, refusing to be the first to admit they were done. So the Doctor just watched their entwined limbs, hearts pounding when River cursed colourfully at the Master in Gallifreyan, the gentle music of their language coarsened by her choice of words. And yet, it was River, so it still sounded lovely.
It was a weird night of weird things... but the night wasn't done surprising her. Or at least, the Master wasn't.
A common thread of most of their past encounters was how quickly he was dressed and leaving when they were done. Of course, they'd never been on a bed, in her TARDIS before. Before tonight, the Doctor couldn't remember when she'd actually seen him sleep.
And yet, there he was, making himself at home in his chosen bed and closing his eyes. Granted, he may not have been asleep. The Doctor wasn't about to poke him and see.
Not content to remain quite so messy, River commented that she was leaving to shower. Waving her wife off, the Doctor sat on the bed, watching the Master (possibly) sleep. The events of the last few days had been... a lot.
And while it probably wasn't the smartest idea in the world, the Doctor opted to sleep there. River came back, and so despite the myriad of available places to sleep on the TARDIS, the three of them shared that bed.
When she woke, the Master was already awake. They looked at each other silently for a minute or two, River asleep behind her, one warm arm resting across the Doctor's waist. She felt the brush against her mind, gentler than he'd ever been before. She tried, but couldn't quite allow it. She did use the basic link between all Time Lords to speak to him, hoping it would reassure.
"Not yet. But I'll get there."
Her mind was still a little messy after everything on Gallifrey. He didn't answer, but he also didn't throw a tantrum. So she called it progress, and then realised she needed to extricate herself from River's hold, because damn she was thirsty. Not too surprising after the long night, she supposed.
The Master watched quite openly as she slid naked from the bed. It was the longest she'd gone without clothes since regenerating!
"If I leave, are you going to behave?"
"No, I'm coming too."
He rose from the bed, stretching before he pulled on his trousers. Seeing as he wasn't using it, the Doctor picked up his blue shirt and threw that on, adding a pair of stolen boxers to her hoard of his things before remembering she was going to the kitchen. The Master followed her, giving her 'outfit' a confused look or two before he went back to helping himself to whatever he liked. She downed two glasses of water, feeling a lot better for it when she was done.
"Where are you going now?"
"To get dressed! I can't go see my fam dressed like this. Well, I could... but there would be a lot of awkward questions. They've not even met River yet."
That was going to be an experience. Graham was probably going to hide in a cupboard, as he'd already had that whole thing with Jack. She still had to go find Jack... maybe when things with the Master were more settled. There were only so many people who were keen to get into her pants the Doctor could handle at once.
She'd showered and dressed and headed to the console room before River rose, wearing nothing but a dressing gown she'd probably stolen from the Master's bedroom. Her already wild curls were absolute chaos by then, and her features were a little soft with sleep. She looked divine.
They shared breakfast - not a fried egg sandwich, sadly - before River noted that the Doctor was cleaned up and properly dressed again. Or at least, before she commented on it.
"What are you up to now?"
"Oh. I need to go find my friends on Earth, let them know I lived. The last time we saw each other, they thought I was going to die. And I dropped some future folk there, I need to go confiscate their weapons before they change human history."
Bemused, River followed her to the console room, where the Master was prowling, pacing, looking at the machine. Hopefully he wasn't planning something awful. She wasn't naive enough to assume he was... fixed, in any way, though the Doctor did think she ought to try and see if they could do something about the drums in his head.
He knew her plan, gave her a distasteful look.
"Must you? I do so despise Earth."
He spat the word as though it disgusted him to taste the letters on his tongue.
"You can stay in here. The TARDIS won't let you fly her if I'm not on board anyway."
He rolled his eyes.
"Such a lack of trust!"
As she began programming in the right date range to find her fam, the Doctor heard River and the Master snarking at each other again. Everything went awful quiet behind her, and she turned with some slight trepidation only to find some very, very telling looks being exchanged between the two of them.
"We'll just... let you see your friends."
And with that, both River and the Master disappeared in what she strongly suspected was the direction of a bedroom. Well, the Doctor mused as she hit a few buttons and pushed a lever or two, at least those two had finally found some common ground. Maybe they might even get through a whole twenty four hours without death threats some day... as though hearing her thoughts, River's voice echoed back to her.
"I will slap you!"
Yeah... unlikely, she laughed to herself.
-DW-
No. No Hark. It's done. Step away! *plot bunnies arrive en masse, burying me in piles of ideas*