I thought the outstretched hand had only been a gesture for the dramatics, but when the Master didn't let go I had to accept that this would continue. His skin nestled warm against my own and sometimes, when we stood still, I could faintly feel his double pulse. The rhythm drew me in whenever I got aware of it, like a long forgotten melody.

I wondered if holding hands had a different meaning to Time Lords. The Master didn't seem like one for endearment and yet he had kept me warm and now… well. I wouldn't complain, however; my life never contained much of any kind of affection, unless I "paid" for them with things I did not always want to give.

The Master closed his hand firmer around mine, as if in response to the train of thoughts in my head.

"Uh, say…" I waited until the Master turned his head, signalling that he listened. "Can it be… Can you read my thoughts?"

He smirked in an all too knowing way, but responded before I could call him out on it. "Not right now. And believe me, you'd feel it…" He stopped and looked at me, touching my temple with his free hand. A strange bristling sensation ran through my skin at that, tingling… somewhere. "...if I were in your mind."

The tingling vanished and I glared at him with an open mouth. "So you can! How? Did you just…?"

"No. I won't enter your mind without consent." The Master hesitated for a moment and tilted his head this way and that. "Not anymore, at least. And what I can read or sense are the things you project out so loud that it's hard to miss them. We are touch-telepaths, some stuff simply gets through."

I looked at our joined hands. "So that's the reason, huh?"

But the Master barked out a laugh. "Not really, no. There is just quite the crowd and I don't want you to get lost. It would be really annoying if I had to waste my time having to search for you."

As much of a prick as ever. I frowned and sighed, following him into a building.

There really was a big crowd of people around us, but nothing you wouldn't expect in a city this size. And I was good with navigating crowds. In my youth I visited London almost daily, to wander the streets, admire the buildings, stroll through stores without ever having the money to buy anything. I was a ghost among all the people, unseen, unnoticed.

The people here ignored me too, paid me no attention at all. But this time I wasn't alone. I focused on the sensation of the Master's hand holding mine, the warmth, the comfort, the safety it gave me. And then it was gone and he shoved me towards a bench and a table near a window.

We were in a restaurant, I realised. Nothing fancy or expensive and it was filled to the brim with people coming and going, eating and chatting. Only here, by the window, was it a little quieter. A fact I appreciated a lot.

The clock showed an hour somewhere late in the afternoon, as far as I could tell with the slightly different length of day. Most people probably just came from work, searching for a meal and some distraction before the day would end. Many eyes were glued to a screen on a wall, showing the news.

The Doctor had been right. This place actually did feel a lot like earth. It had so many similarities that it felt uncanny to me. Like home and yet entirely not.

And then I saw the Master's face on the screen. He wore the most charming smile, beard and hair as neat as one could get them and clad in a suit that also almost looked like one from earth, only that the cut was a bit different. There was no audio, however, so I couldn't make out what he said. And I also couldn't read the letters.

"How come no one here recognizes you?" I asked the Master, who studied the menu.

He glanced up, smirking. "Och, only a weak little perception filter. It makes them see me as just some ordinary everyday-face. I'd recommend the fish, it tastes the same as on earth and you'll like the sauce."

"Why doesn't it work on me then? And yeah, sounds good. I like fish."

"I know." The Master continued to read and nodded to himself before closing the menu. "You know me," he said. "The filter loses its function when someone is… hmm… when there is a sort of… mhm… no, forget it. It's too complex for your tiny brain."

"But I want to know."

I pouted when I got no answer and the insult also got on my nerves. A waiter came over to take our order, in a language I couldn't understand.

The fact made me think. I knew the TARDIS enabled me to read and understand foreign languages and her radius was quite big. This could mean only one of two things. We either were too far away or the Doctor had left.

A shiver went down my spine at the thought. It had been me, after all, who had suggested it; leaving the Master here to do whatever he wanted, but ultimately being stuck. And since I hadn't returned for days they must think I was dead, or worse. But it still stung that they hadn't even tried to get me back, that they had just vanished without checking, leaving me behind as their sacrifice.

"...you even listening?"

"Huh?" I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at the Master, blinking away my short confusion. "I… sorry, I wasn't."

"I noticed."

Our food arrived, smelling heavenly after the rain and the cold and all the walking. I cast a curious glance over to see what the Master had ordered, but had no clue what anything on his plate was. Probably some kind of bird with vegetables. Nothing looked familiar, though. The smell made my stomach growl, reminding me that I hadn't eaten anything since the last evening, so I dug into my fish and forgot the Doctor and any maybe-implications of the lacking translations.

"This's really good," I praised, swallowing down a bite.

"I thought you would like it."

"Mhm, good pick. What's that on your plate? Looks weird."

The Master pondered over the question for a few moments and then shrugged. "The closest comparison would be a huge rat, I think. They don't live in sewers, however. Want to try some?" He nudged his plate in my direction.

"Rat, huh?" I eyed the meat with raised eyebrows. "Ah, fuck it. I'm curious." And so I stabbed a piece with my fork and slowly chewed on it. "Hm… can't quite place the taste. It's almost a little… sweet? Interesting."

Meanwhile the Master stole a potato-like thing from me and hummed appreciatively. Like that we continued the meal and enjoyed some wine, talking mostly about the different food sources of this planet. The Master knew surprisingly much and willingly shared the knowledge.

"How about you get that dwindling agriculture back on track?" I suggested. "That might help with making you more likeable. And give them a better health insurance system. In the park I heard a bunch of people talk about how shitty it is and they went through a pandemic recently. Might help put their minds at ease."

The Master cocked his head to the side, contemplating for a minute. I wasn't sure he would actually consider any of my words because they didn't really fit into any sort of evil scheming. It was worth a try anyway and maybe it also was the wine that loosened my tongue a little. In the past I always had trouble with the stuff and always got a headache from it, even from small amounts. Which made me hope that the ones from this planet wouldn't have the same effect.

"Yeah, that might be possible. I looked through the health system files a few days back. It's a total mess, if you ask me. And easy to fix. Let's start with that."

Surprised, I blinked at him. "Okay. Would have expected more resistance."

"Why?" A smirk appeared on his lips. "Too good? I want their compliance and this might be the best way. Contrast," he explained. "Their last leader was not far from being a tyrant. That's why they blew him up in the first place."

"Hm," I said. This didn't sound too bad and… "Wait a sec. They blew him up? But that was you!"

"Shhh! Don't be so loud." The Master held a finger in front of his lips. "And no. For once it wasn't me. But since all of you assumed it anyway, I went along and took over the place." The smirk took on a cruel note, but I sensed that it was more a… facade.

"The Doctor didn't even consider another option." I played with the rim of my glass, looking away. Because… so had I.

"No. Who could blame him?" He leaned back with his Glas and let his eyes wander over the room. "It's what I would do. It's who I am." Now the smirk was no longer cruel. Maybe it never had been. Bitterness, I realised.

"You changed." It was a daring comment, but it wouldn't leave my mind.

The Master hummed at the ceiling. "Maybe."

The admission came quiet, almost drowning in the noise around us. I didn't dare to speak up again in fear of saying something entirely too stupid.

"I'm still the same anyhow, little one." The Master now looked straight at me, his gaze boring into mine, not allowing me to look away. "I just found something more fun to do for a while."

"You're lying," I deadpanned.

The Master just laughed. "I hate it when you do this. You always know if I tell the truth or not."

"Mhm, it's a skill." I grinned. To this day I don't really know why I can always tell. For how bad I am at reading people I still always sort of sense when they lie. And, hearing him confirm that it also worked on him, gave me a little comfort.

"Shut up. I only change when I want to. And what I want."

"Yeah, right."

The Master regarded me with a burning look, but there was no real anger behind it.

I couldn't help but giggle. "Are you always like this? When no one's 'round to impress." I poked my tongue out and winked.

"Like what? I'm always me," he spat.

"Like… considerate and full of stories and weird facts." I emptied the rest of the wine and blamed my directness at it. "You're fun to be around when you don't try an' be an arse, you know?"

Maybe that had been too much, but right now I really didn't care.

The Master snorted. And then suddenly burst out laughing so loud that people started to turn around. They all didn't seem to mind, luckily, too busy with their own lives and events.

"Hilarious little thing you are." He calmed down a little and wiped a tear from his eye, suppressing another laugh from bubbling up. "Every time. I can't get you to hate me. I just can't. You're fucked up. A total mess." He pressed his lips together, clearly still holding back.

"Thanks?" I raised my brows. It was hard not to join his mood, even though I had no clue if his words were meant as an insult or a compliment.

"I'll make a suggestion. Tell me what you think. Because I, for one, want to continue our little exploration. The days here are longer than you're used to. I think you noticed already." I nodded. "How about we stay here, you sleep for however long you need and yes, I know I woke you up way too early this morning. But look at you. Trodding on!"

"And there I thought you're just ignorant." I rolled my eyes. "What's that suggestion? It's not as if I have any plan in mind anyway."

"That was it. You sleep for a while, I scheme something evil to balance out my previous not-involvement and after that we make something explode!"

"Minus explosions maybe?"

"You're no fun. Fine."

"Okay. Why not? I'm actually tired as hell. Thanks by the way."

The Master poked his tongue out and waved a waitress over, telling him in a commanding tone that we would get a room for free and the meal on the house. The poor guy stared blankly, blinked a few times and then nodded.

"We have one room left, actually," he agreed. "I'll get you the key, Sir."

"Splendid." The Master rubbed his hands. "I might take a nap too. A bit of quiet from the drums…" He rose from the table and nodded to the counter. "Coming?"