A/N: I planned to update a lot sooner, but I'm really exhausted lately. I don't know how non-autistic people handle work and life and everything without regularly shutting or melting down. The world is just too bright and too noisy. On the bright side... I have a few weeks off, so I can finally have a huge load of alone time and carefully regulated sensory input, lol.

And what's the first thing you do in that situation? Yes! Do a shopping trip and get a super spontanous eyebrow piercing!
But now I will rest... promise. And ofc I'll leave you with another chapter to compensate for my ranting ;P


.


It was surprisingly easy to convince the Doctor to land at the market. I told him a story of how I had read about it in a book and that it sounded interesting and fun enough to get my mind busy for a bit. An opportunity he eagerly wanted me to have.

Betraying him like that felt awful.

I knew he would hate me, would he ever find out. I knew it would probably be the end of me being allowed to stay in the TARDIS. What would I do then? Return to the hole I had lived in? Trying to go back to a normal life? I didn't want a life like that. I didn't want to… live at all? Not like that, at least.

I shook my head. The Master would just 'kidnap' me from wherever the Doctor would drop me. I was sure of that. And as long as the Time Lord didn't find out… things would end well.

I still hated lying, though. It was disgusting how good I was at it. Thirty years of constantly hiding everything about me had made me that good. If you spend most of your life playing a role and wearing a mask, then lying comes naturally. At least it did for me.

I tried my best to keep my mind from the fact by enjoying the colourful market. It truly was a sight to behold. Huge buildings rose into the sky all around us, lurking giants that allowed only little sunlight to pass. Here, it was night at all times of the day and the streets were illuminated by thousands of signs and holograms, some advertising, some guiding, others warning.

And the whole place was bustling with life. I had never seen so many different species of aliens. Some of them looked like winged jellyfish, some had the features of squirrels, but we're as big as humans. I saw a species that looked as if a walrus had suddenly decided to walk on its hind legs and another that was paper thin.

Donna hooked her arm into mine and together we strolled along booths, eyeing the different wares and chatting along. It was so easy with her, the conversation just flowed in a way I had seldom experienced with other people, even though I didn't share most of her interests. Jewellery and dresses just weren't my thing. A collection of miniature spaceships caught my eye and Donna endured it with a smile.

We had some money. For once, the Doctor had been lucky and had won a large sum on this planet a long time ago. A long time for him, at least. He didn't have any use for it and so we were free to get some souvenirs.

After an hour I spotted a chance to get away from Donna. As much as I loved her company, I was here to fulfil a mission.

"Hey Donna," I pointed to the left. "There's a whole section just with necklaces. You wanted one, didn't you?"

"Yes! Oh we have to look at every single… Aaaw, but you'll be bored." She pursed her lips.

"Hm… yeah. How about we meet up in an hour again? Look, the fountain there. It's a good landmark. What do you think? I think I've seen a few booths with ghorenian video games and…"

"Alright! Brilliant idea, Lucy. Back in an hour we are! Have fun."

And off she went. I smiled after her, feeling a pang of guilt in my guts. In the other direction were a bunch of sellers that offered components.

"Master, you copy?" I activated a tiny earplug he had given me, waiting for an answer.

The Doctor had not allowed him to follow us. He had muttered some stuff about how he would just hypnotise every vendor and probably try to run away. Which… wasn't entirely wrong. Which was why the Master had equipped me with the equivalent of a GPS sensor and this little earpiece.

"That took you long," came the disgruntled reply. "I could have conquered a whole planet in the time you flauntered around with the red head."

"Stop complaining. I've got roughly an hour. Where can I get the fuse?"

"Wait a sec… mhm… alright. Follow the road until you see a green statue. Looks a little like a bird-fish. From there take the route to the right and see if you see a booth with an uh… octopus in it."

"An octopus?" The directions were at least easy to follow. I had demanded that he would guide me, knowing my horrible sense of direction.

"Eh, you'll see. Just don't stare at them."

"'Kay, 'kay. Won't."

It didn't take long for me to find out what he meant. I found a place that was built like a small workshop, with bits and parts lying strewn around. My heart started to pound stronger. Interacting with complete strangers… not my favourite task. But they probably wouldn't pick up on me being weird. To them I was an alien anyway.

The booth was occupied by a small creature that walked on four legs and had six arms. Their skin colour was a mixture of blue and purple, depending on the light. They were busy screwing some metal parts to something that might be a vehicle of sorts.

Well, okay, it wasn't a usual sight, but in between all the other aliens this one didn't look too strange.

"Hey there." I approached, trying to sound confident. "I'm looking for something."

The creature gave off a squelching sound that suspiciously reminded me of a laugh. I told it what exactly I needed and the alien actually quieted down, considering me with a tilted head.

"So…?" I inquired.

"Yerp. Ha'it. Wit 'ere."

My brain took some seconds to decipher the words and the alien already vanished behind some shelves. The Master had said it wouldn't be expensive. The fuse was special, but not especially rare. Why he had wanted it from this market then was a mystery to me, though.

"Haf foor in stog." The alien lay the small parts on the table, pointing two hands at them. "Tenty shiko fo one."

Well, that really wasn't much. I took them all and carefully put them in my backpack, leaving with a curt nod. Only when I was some booths away did I activate my ear piece again.

"Okay. I have some. Twenty bucks each."

"Bugger!" The Master laughed. "They aren't worth much more than some pennies in your currency. What you gave him were… mhm… probably the equivalent of a thousand pounds."

I paused in my steps. "Wh… what? How much did the Doctor win there? It must be a lot then!"

"Oh, it is." The Master sounded amused and continued speaking while I strolled along some more booths, eyeing different tech parts that meant nothing to me. "If he wanted to, he could settle down here and live for the next two hundred years or so without getting bored."

"Did you know about the money?"

He chuckled.

"Is that why you wanted the fuses from here?" I paused for a moment, pondering. "You had to know he wouldn't let you come along."

I thought there wouldn't be an answer, but after a minute the ear piece gave off a sound again, followed by the Master's voice. "Maybe it will get your head somewhere else for a bit and we can finally get your shields up properly."

I flinched in embarrassment. He had tried to teach me how to build a mental shield that would prevent unwanted intrusions and would also help with keeping us apart better when we connected. But my head had been too distracted by grief and too many thoughts. So every attempt had availed to almost nothing.

"Arsehole," I grumbled, smiling, and heard the Master bark out a laugh. "You know, I had actually planned to bring you some snacks, but I guess I'll eat them all myself now."

"Oi! Is that a way to thank your Master for the nice vacation?"

I evaded a group of small children with wings for arms. Excited chatting followed them, overshadowing the noises of the crowd.

"Just for mocking me."

"Tch, then no more mental shenanigans from now on."

"Oi!" Now it was on me to protest and on him to laugh at me. "Okay, let's have a truce. I'll get you some waffles. There were some near the TARDIS."

"That's the minimum price. See if you can get more than that. I'll enjoy my peace and quiet while you all are gone. It's soooooo relaxing, you can't imagine."

"If you say so." I smirked, knowing exactly that it pissed him off to no end to be so excluded. "See you later then."


.


No one suspected anything. I reunited with Donna and we shared another few hours hunting for cool souvenirs. Now that I knew how much the currency was worth, it also made sense that most items cost "only" a few cents. Or whatever it was called here.

The Doctor joined us in the evening. He had used the opportunity to get parts himself. There was always something in need of repair in the TARDIS.

Was I really going to do this? The fuses weren't heavy, but their weight was still dragging me downwards.

I didn't want to leave them. But if I could fix everything…


.


The TARDIS library was of great help with this. Although I didn't understand half of what I read there, it became clear that there were… options. Under the right circumstances I might be able to trick causality. It would create a paradox, yes, but reality was a complex thing. Maybe even alive? Whatever the case, it was able to fix most simple paradoxes.

"What are you reading there?"

I jumped in surprise and shut the book, trying to hold it in a way the Master wouldn't be able to read the title. "Nothing. Just browsing. Oh right… I promised snacks, didn't I?"

I grabbed the backpack and waved the Master to the sofa. The book stayed on the armchair, its cover facing down. "I don't know what most of it is, to be honest, so I took everything that smelled nice."

"Big mistake, little one. Sometimes the good smelling stuff tastes the worst." He laughed and fished something out of a paper bag. "Mhm… They still have maenki pancakes then. Those are mine."

"No waffles though. I thought I saw some, but it was… I don't even know what. Nothing edible, that's for sure."

"You'll get the hang of alien food eventually." He snatched a box and stuck a piece of sweet sticky stuff in his mouth. "I think… I have a hunch what this might be. Mine too."

"Uh… those are all for you, actually." I laughed at his surprised face. "I have my own share in my room already. And I even found Kira's favourite bugs."

The Master continued to rummage through the souvenirs, tasting some here and there and putting others aside. He looked quite pleased by the arrangement.

I watched him, reminiscing about the time we had met. He had been so closed off and mean. Cruel, actually. He had pushed me away again and again, only to snatch me from my home several times. It was always the contrast with him. Light and shadow. There was so much bad inside of his soul and yet he also possessed a light that many people lacked their entire life. He was rough and he was gentle, cold and distanced, yet warm and caring other times.

"You're smiling," he noted, head tilted a little, his fingers busy with putting another treat between his teeth.

"Am I not allowed to?"

He huffed and tried one snack after the other until he fished out the small paper bag with the fuses. His fingers wandered over them with experienced movements and he nodded, obviously finding them to be the correct object for his plans.

"Good, good. You can put them in, later."

"Me?"

"Sure." He gave me a challenging grin. "So far there wasn't one single task I ever gave you, you couldn't accomplish. Good fine motoric, good memory for technical details." I blinked at him, perplexed by the unexpected praise. "You should train skills like these. They can come in handy."

"Mhm…"

He wasn't wrong with that statement. And at every other time I would have eagerly agreed. Now, though, my mind only wandered to the book on the other armchair, and a pang of guilt shot through my guts. If I would really go through with this, I would not only betray the Doctor.

I would betray the Master too.