A/N: Plot? What plot? No one needs plot.
For my own dwindling mental health I need some fluff before I throw myself off a bridge or something. _
And maybe someone likes it too... if not, there are enough other stories with actual plot. ;P

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"Wait… You're coming with me?"

"That was the thought, yes."

I glared at him with an open mouth. "Hell, no! Leave me alone."

"Wha-haaat?!" The Master laughed. "You have no money! And the worst sense of direction I have had the displeasure to witness!" He poked my forehead, giggling. "And I want to see where you'd end up, what places you'd be drawn to."

I swatted his hand away. "Why?"

"The people here don't… uhh… like me. I want to learn more about what makes them tick."

"I'd have an idea or ten why they hate you."

"I bet you do. But now go. Shush! Move!"

"And you'll follow me around or what?" I didn't move one step and instead glared up at his stupid grin. "That's the opposite of exploring. That's like having a babysitter in my back who comments on everything and mocks me for every wrong turn or whatever."

The Master tilted his head. "And if I keep quiet? I won't say a word, I won't judge any of your decisions, won't mock you for getting lost." He stepped closer and bent down a little, his look suddenly serious. "I'll be your shadow. You'll be my eyes."

Something about the way he said this made me shiver. Not in fear or discomfort. There was just an… honesty in those words I hadn't expected. And for a second, just for one, I fought the urge to take his hand before I turned to walk away.

The guards watched us as we passed and saluted, but after that no one paid us any attention as we meandered through the streets. The Master kept his word and not only kept entirely quiet, but also stayed behind me so that I didn't even see him most of the time. Even when I sat down on a bench to watch some birds or when I spent almost half an hour wandering through a park with orange and purple trees.

I forgot about him here and there and only got a reminder when he grabbed my arm out of the blue to drag me under a roof, seconds before a curtain of rain swooshed down from the sky.

"Huh? That was sudden," I remarked. "Thanks."

"Rainstorms here often come from one moment to the next."

And with that he was quiet again.

For the entire morning that hadn't bothered me at all, quite the opposite. But now in the white noise of the rain and the tight space we shared to stay dry, his silence started to weigh more and more with every passing second.

"I guess it'll pass soon," I ruminated. "Rain like that never stays for long."

"Here, it does. Sometimes." The Master leaned against the wall, thumbs in his pants pockets and head leaned back. "The storm yesterday, it was just one of many." And as if to underline his words, the first lightning forked over the sky.

"Great." I sighed. "Should have taken an umbrella with me."

Not that that would have helped much. The rain was so strong I couldn't make out the world in front of me anymore. Everything was hidden behind a grey veil of water.

The Master had been right, unfortunately. The weather didn't want to change anytime soon. If anything, it only got worse, the sky darkened and the temperatures dropped. A light wind also blew the rain under our shelter, soaking my shoes and pants. It didn't take long and I shivered lightly, cursing myself for not having taken a jacket with me. I had assumed the temperatures would be the same as they had been during my first day, when I had cursed myself for wearing a hoodie because it had been so warm. Now I was happy about having at least that on me.

Luckily, the rain didn't manage to get completely under the roof. I damned it anyway and rubbed my arms to get a little warmer. It didn't help much, so I resorted to wearing a grumpy look and hoping this would stop soon.

"Come here," said the Master all of a sudden. He looked me up and down, brows knitted together tightly. "You'll be terribly dull and annoying if you get sick."

And before I could even think about a response, he already pulled me into… a hug? I struggled against his grip, too surprised to comprehend the situation. But the confusion only lasted some seconds, before I realised what he was doing. His leather jacket was neither big, nor warm enough to be of help, so instead he had simply pulled me against his chest and wrapped his arms loosely around my back.

Still in shock, I stood there, hands raised between us and now, slowly calming down when I accepted that he didn't want to hurt me or do anything weird. Quite the opposite. And that was even more confusing.

"Uhm…" I started, but didn't know what to even say. He was just watching the rain, as if nothing at all had happened.

Now he looked down at me and it took some visible seconds before his face changed into an expression I couldn't read. But then, "Ohhhh. Well, it's effective." He raised a brow and grinned. "No funny business, you have my word."

"I wasn't going to… I didn't think you would." Strange. Somehow I just knew that he didn't plan to do… anything. Maybe something like this was just no big deal for his kind?

It didn't help, however. I wasn't used to being just held. And now I could smell his aftershave, could feel his body heat, the double heartbeat close to my fingertips where they still lay between us. After a short hesitation I moved my hand upwards, placing it right in the middle of his chest. The Master ceased his rain-watching and glanced down again.

Du-du… du-du…

"Two hearts," I muttered and wasn't sure he could hear it over the noise.

"Told you so." The Master smirked, but the teasing tone couldn't quite hide how… happy it made him feel. It was so easy to pick up at that moment.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I shouldn't have been so defensive there."

He kept eye contact for a long while, studying my face. A smile sat in the corners of his lips, never growing, never vanishing. "I forgive you," he announced, poking his tongue out teasingly. "Just this once."

It shouldn't make me smile. It shouldn't. I didn't need him to forgive anything. My heart also wasn't supposed to beat so fast all of a sudden. It was hard enough to keep so calm while being pressed against him, while feeling his hearts and partially also his emotions that were by far too positive. Didn't he hate me? I was his prisoner, for god's sake!

The Master still looked at me, his gaze intense and so strangely fond. I couldn't endure it and lowered my head, placing it against the hand that lay over his hearts. Warmth seeped into me, filling my bones and every gap within my soul with a comfort that shouldn't even exist. The arms around me tightened almost unnoticeably.

"Shouldn't you be colder than I?" I mused, to a part so I would stop thinking about… this. I looked up again, meeting his questioning look. "I read… I think I read that. You know, when I did research."

"Obviously, we are not." The Master chuckled quietly to himself and looked back at the rain. "Our internal temperature is lower, but not the surface, what we give off."

Right, obviously.

"I know I'm handsome, but staring is rude. Has no one told you?"

I winced and struggled instinctively, but stopped when I heard and felt the Master laugh. And, to make it worse, he also dipped his head down and put a finger under my chin, leaving even less space between us than we already had.

"Do I fascinate you?"

My mind blanked, although I had the feeling that this wasn't the first time he had asked that exact question. And it made me wonder if, the last time, my heart had also leaped right to my throat to beat there like a frightened little bird. Except that it wasn't fear that made it race. It wouldn't need much, just a tiny stretch upwards, just a little to… did he move? Did I?

"Also," he muttered, so incredibly close. Closer than I would normally allow anyone to get. "It's not raining anymore." The Master suddenly pushed me away. "So stop being annoying."

Perplexed, I stumbled backwards, keeping myself from falling down. Too many thoughts raced through my head in a single second. Confusion sat at the front, then, as slow as a moment could be, it turned into anger.

"Whoa, hey! You started this! I never asked you to warm me up or anything!"

"No." He scrunched up his nose and regarded me like someone would a disgusting bug. "But as I said, humans are unbearable when they get sick. I'd normally just let you die then, but who else would be my eyes and ears in the city?"

Right. I immediately regretted the apology from before. How could he switch from one mood to the other so quickly? Had that been just an act?

Probably.

But what for?

With some trouble I swallowed down my anger, not wanting to feed him any more excuses for being an arsehole to me. I wasn't even surprised, not really. This… this is how people are, after all. They only ever treat you well when they gain something from it. They try to play you like an instrument and often succeed. And afterwards you're worth no more than the dirt on their soles.

Nothing unusual. Get over it! I scolded myself.

"Where to now?" the Master asked. "This is fun! I didn't think there were so many boring places in a single city. I can't stop thinking about what to blow up first."

"How about nothing?" I grumbled. "'sides, that wouldn't help at all to be liked more."

"You would know. You don't even have friends."

Okay, that really stung. Mostly because it was right. I almost wanted to protest and tell him that I absolutely had some, but the truth was… none of them had ever bothered to ask about me, to write, to call. It had been over two years, according to my phone, that I had had any contact with anyone. At least not in the form of texts or chats. And those were my main methods of communicating.

At least before I had stumbled into a time machine. Who knew what and how I might have changed since then.

The Master grinned at me and for a strange moment I was sure he had read my thoughts. Because there was someone who knew.

He did.

Of all people and for reasons I didn't understand yet.

"You don't care if I blow up anything here," he taunted, "admit it. Also, we could find something with less people."

"Or no people?"

"An ancient monument!"

"Absolutely not!" I called out. "You can't just destroy history! Do you even know how old some of that stuff is? And why are you grinning like mad?"

Indeed, the Master wore a grin as wide and as happy as I had seldom seen it on a grown man. It was stupidly contagious and I did my very best to stay serious.

"You're saying you prefer blowing up people over old architecture?"

"Wha-? I did not!" Well, sort of, to be honest. And the Master knew. It was written all over his face. Stupid, stupid face! I had to laugh, I couldn't stop it. "Prick!" I accused and slapped his arm playfully.

"Always a pleasure, little one." He did a short, mocking bow and evaded another slap. "How about I show you around for a bit? Meaning, I'm awfully hungry and you have no money anyway." With twinkling eyes he stretched out a hand. "Do you accept?"

My stomach grumbled, as if to warn me to not even think about refusing the offer. I hadn't planned to anyway. Of course, he would push me away again at the next opportunity, like he had just done, but right now I didn't care that much. There was no one else, literally. It didn't matter that he took care of me because of ulterior motives. It was more than anyone else had ever done.

And yes, albeit I would never ever admit it aloud, he did fascinate me.

Stupid, stupid knowing grin and stupid stretched out hand. The bastard knew I knew I would take it, long before I did and all that remained for me to hope for was that he wouldn't feel how fast my heart beat as we strode through the crowd.