A/N: You'll get your smut, don't worry. But first I couldn't pass the chance for this funny dialogue and then I also was in dire need of some fluff.

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"Soooo," drawled Vienna, casually leaning back in her chair in front of the monitors. "Our Time Lords are dating now? How's that working out? They hate each other. Well, one does. Not sure the Doctor can hate. Too much of a sunshine, that one."

In front of her a set of flat-screens showed a crowd of people. Maybe a hundred of them, maybe a little more, or less. They huddled together, talking, some staring out of the windows were soldiers ran about, securing the area. The fire still burned wherever it could reach grass.

Donna let out a deep, weary sigh. "I wish it were so easy. They refuse to call it dating. Or anything else official, for that matter."

Their voices barely reached my ears. I still felt tired and in a strange way not entirely there. I wish they would have taken longer to arrive here. I wish those damn people wouldn't have attacked. I wish I could just be alone with my thoughts.

"Ah, so it's just a… thing." The blond did some air quotes. "Well, it makes sense, I guess. To me it seemed more as if those two were dating." And here she pointed… at me.

"Whus?!" I blurted out, tearing my eyes away from the screens to give Vienna an incredulous look. "Not for a million pounds!"

She snickered. "So, you tell me you'd shoot people with a bloody laser beam for just anyone?"

"You what?" called Donna, shock clearly visible and audible.

I clutched the laser screwdriver in my pocket, feeling the warm metal against my skin, the knobs and rotating parts that had a rougher texture. At some point I would have to return it, but right now I found a sense of comfort and security in having the device with me. The… weapon.

"People shot at us. It was just defense." I let go of the screwdriver and breathed out. My vision blurred a little and my head felt dizzy. If only they would be quiet. I didn't want to defend myself. "If I hadn't we'd all be dead now."

"Yeaaaah, suuure," made Vienna and winked at me. Sometimes she had quit the childish attitude to her, matching her high voice and the spring in her steps. That woman loved to be in danger. "That's why you completely freaked out when I pulled a gun on him. Several times."

It might be unfair to call it luck that a small commotion broke out downstairs, but it distracted everyone from me and the answer I didn't have. A bunch of people had started a fist fight, but the soldiers couldn't get to them because of how many people were in the way. The two women discussed what to do and I silently slipped away, glad about the opportunity.

For a brief moment I wondered if the wound might have gotten infected. It didn't hurt much, just itched a little, but my head felt strange. All of my senses felt skewed, somehow not quite as they should be.

The Time Lords hadn't walked too far, I had seen them vanish behind the door to the Master's bedroom. It had all the meds stored within it, so that made the most sense anyway. I knocked on the door and heard a grunt, so I went inside, stopping dead in my tracks when I saw the scene in front of me.

The Doctor knelt on the carpet, looking upwards, whereas the Master stood above him, just slightly bent down, one hand holding the other one's shirt collar in a tight grip.

"What is it?" grunted the Master, barely taking his eyes off of his prey. "I'm busy."

"Yah… I can see that," I mumbled, but then smirked, folding my arms and smelling just the opportunity to be a little mean. "I'm afraid you have to postpone that blowjob, though. There's a commotion downstairs."

The Doctor's head twirled around and his mouth clearly repeated my words without any sound. Then he suddenly shot up, tugging his shirt out of the Master's fingers and then hurried out of the room, babbling something about needing to help. The Master, for a moment, glared at the now empty spot and started to laugh. He stepped closer, nudging me with his elbow.

"Don't be so horny."

"Pffff, I'm not." I poked my tongue out, grinning. "You know exactly what that looked like."

"Like me being master of an idiot?"

"See?"

The Master rolled his eyes, still silently chuckling to himself. He tapped my shoulder, ushering me outside. "And now you're jealous?"

"Wha-? Heck no." I gave him a smirk. "'sides, all my gay friends insist that men can do better blowjobs anyway."

The Master stopped walking for a second, fixating me with a truly baffled stare. "I don't know why anyone would make themselves that vulnerable. People have teeth, in case you forgot, you horny idiot."

"'m not," I chuckled. "I might just have remembered how much fun it is to tease you about that stuff."

His face fell in that moment, every expression vanished in one go and without a warning he grabbed my shoulders. "What else?"

It took me a second to react, too perplexed by the sudden change. I shook my head. "It's… only snippets here and there and I'm not sure if they're only guesses or real. I mean… is it?" I babbled and my brain took over. "It's logical, in a way. You're an alien and you brag about being superior and it… it just makes sense to tease with something you'd see as primitive and-"

"Shut up," he mumbled, toneless, and let go of me, running a hand over his face. All energy seemed to have left him. All hope. Again. "And stop being annoying."

"Oi, you two!" Donna waved from the door to the control room. "They're not fightin' anymore."

"But the soldiers have brought up a guy who might be one of the shooters, " Vienna added from behind. "I'd go and thank him personally, but..."

The Doctor glared down at the woman with an open mouth and shook his head. She grinned at him, but stopped talking. Under different circumstances I would have probably liked Vienna a lot more. Her quirky, direct way and humour fell right into the territory of things I appreciated.

Not so much when it was directed at someone I… yeah, what even? From my current perspective I still barely knew the Master. I could sense that there used to be a connection between us, although its nature eluded me. I sensed that we used to bicker and joke like we had just done and it felt familiar to tease him about aspects of his alien nature.

But what else was there?

I didn't follow them to look at the suspect. Partly because I wouldn't be of help there anyway, partly because my stomach grumbled, partly also because the shot wound did hurt now and itched and made me antsy, and also because somehow everything started to be more and more simply… too much.

Too many aspects to think about, too many unanswered questions, too many people in a single spot, too many sounds and lights and voices to listen to. I still heard them, following me wherever I went. In my head, in my veins, somewhere where I couldn't blend them out.

I stopped, suddenly aware that I had no idea where I had gone. Not to the kitchen, that was for sure. Also not to any place I really knew. Stairs. There were some stairs, leading down. And without a second thought I simply took them. Maybe out of curiosity.

A pair of soldiers stood close by, watching me, but doing nothing. They probably knew everyone's faces and had orders not to touch me. It turned out not to be necessary anyway. As soon as I came close to the lower level I got hit by more noises, screaming right into my head. Some of them literally screamed, others just chatted, but the sheer amount added up quickly and I fled upstairs again, feeling nauseated.

What happened to me? Why did I feel so strange? My heart raced, my palms were sweaty, my lungs refused to fill with air properly, feeling as if all my muscles had become so strained that I just couldn't breathe anymore.

A panic attack?

No. I shook my head, pressing forwards. This came out of the blue and without a real warning and also without a clear cause. Nothing all all happened right now that would count as a reason for panic. Everything was under control, I was safe. It made no sense.

And still I had to force every single breath into my body. It hurt. The lights were loud in my eyes. Why now? What had changed? What triggered this? I stopped in my tracks, trying to get more air. Why was it so fucking bright?

Without thinking I grabbed a door handle and pushed it down, slipping inside the room, pausing.

No lights pierced my eyes in here. No sounds bombarded my ears. Yet, everything still hurt and itched and was too much. Just too much.

I sank down against the wall, not bothering to look where I had ended up.

Too much.

Yeah. Maybe that was the reason. I took another strained breath, trying to feel the air, but even that overwhelmed me. So I just sat there, in the darkness, in the quiet, waiting for whatever this was to stop.

"There you are."

The sudden voice made me look up. Someone stood in the doorway. Light flared through the room and it hurt so badly that I groaned and wrapped my arms over my head, sinking together. A moment later it was dark again and someone crouched down in front of me.

"What's wrong with you, Lumin?" the Master asked. Was there concern in his voice?

I only shook my head, but sank my arms to look up. It wasn't completely dark in here. The sun rose slowly and offered some faint, diffuse ambient light, without actually hurting. I wanted to tell him, but no words came out when I opened my mouth.

To my surprise, the Master didn't look confused any longer. Instead a look of recognition whizzed over his face, followed by a simple question: "Too much?"

How did he know? I nodded.

"Move," he said softly, gesturing towards himself. When I only gave him a confused look he chuckled and repeated the gesture. "Only a bit away from the wall. I'm going to uh… well, I guess I have to hurt you a little. If it gets too much, tap my arm and I'll leave you alone, yeah?"

I didn't know what exactly he even meant or planned to do, but I obeyed, making space and the Master slipped behind me, sinking down at the wall and wrapping his arms around my middle, pressing my back flush against him.

In the first moment I tensed, a surge of actual panic rising from some place I couldn't name. But the Master's hold on me instantly softened and I relaxed, letting him squeeze me again afterwards. This wasn't bad. Not at all. He was warm and the firm hold grounded me in a way I was sure I had never experienced before. The wound hurt a lot more because of him, but I could manage. Actually, the pain helped too.

After a while it felt as if I could breathe freely again and my muscles relaxed in places I hadn't even been aware had been tense. Only now did I start to feel the ground I sat on, hardwood floor, warm from my own body by now. We were in a simple office space, not too dissimilar to the one I had been imprisoned in, yet devoid of any trace of having been used.

"Better?" muttered the Master behind me.

"Mhm," I made, surprised that a sound managed to leave me. I swallowed and tried again. "What… did you do? Is this another… mind trick?"

He chuckled and squeezed me even tighter, making me sigh shakingly. How could this help so much? "It's not a trick." He loosened the grip a little, but kept it firm enough. "You kept talking… before the memory loss… You always went on about not being properly human. So I did a bit of research on your condition and used your biodata to see what might trigger certain reactions."

"What, to torture me more effectively?" I huffed.

The Master huffed and unexpectedly nuzzled against my neck, muttering, "No, idiot. To make you feel better."

My heart jumped. Because of his actions and because of his words. His breath ghosted against my skin, his face so close to my own. For a way too long second it took everything within me not to turn and…

"H… how'd you even find me here?" I managed to press out.

"No idea." His voice vibrated against my neck, sending goosebumps down my arms. Finally he retreated again, leaning backwards a little. "It's actually peculiar. I just knew where to look."

"Huh?"

He hummed. "I think… that piece of life force you held for a while… That might still hold… mhm, how to put it… a memory of you? An imprint of sorts. I can't say for sure. There is no literature on anyone who has ever tried that before." He loosened the grip and leaned back. "Are you better now? There is much to do outside."

"Y… yeah. A lot better. Thanks." I scrambled to my feet and watched him do the same.

I couldn't tell if he was annoyed or concerned. Maybe both. Which begged the question why he had helped me in the first place. Not only was it a nice gesture, it also was more than anyone had ever done for me.

"Come. There is a library." He grunted. "If I send you back to the others you will just have the next breakdown."

I smacked his arm, earning only a giggle in return. I didn't protest, however. A bit of peace and quiet would do me good.