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It had been about a week since you and The Doctor had saved The Master from the Cheetah Planet, and it had been a week of fangs getting way too close to The Doctor’s jugular, doors being nearly ripped off their hinges, and just general shenanigans. The Master was currently off in his room as The Doctor nursed a scratch on his face. You sat on the floor as you watched The Doctor, before hopping up and dusting yourself off.
“I’m going to go check on him.” You declared as you turned to walk towards his room. The Doctor stopped you, a look on concern on his face.
“He’s dangerous, Y/N. I wouldn’t go near him.” He warned, but you shrugged off his suggestion, a confident smile crossing your face.
“I’ll be fine, Doctor. I’m just going to make sure he’s not plotting your imminent destruction or anything.” You joked, masking the true reason you wanted to go see him. Truthfully, you just wanted to see him. Through all the times you’d encountered The Master, he’d always been fairly nice to you, even going so far as to make sure you weren’t injured in any of his mad schemes over the years. The last time you’d seen him had been during The Doctor’s trial on Gallifrey, only getting to shoot a quick smile his way (a smile that was reciprocated). When you found him on the Cheetah planet, he stole you from The Doctor, claiming that he was going to keep you as a hostage, yet he explained to you that the Cheetah People wouldn’t attack you if they knew you were under his care.
It was you who’d convinced him to come back to the TARDIS, you promising to keep The Doctor from being too much of a sanctimonious prat to him. That led you to where you were now, walking down the TARDIS corridors in search of the room that The Doctor was currently letting him stay in. Once you found the door, you knocked quietly a faint ‘come in’ signalling that instant death didn’t await you behind the door.
You opened the door slowly, peeking your head in and looking around in the dark room. Your eyes landed on The Master, his black-clad figure curled up in a ball on his bed, facing away from you. You walked in, closing the door behind you before approaching the bed, tapping him on the shoulder. He flinched but made no other acknowledgement of your being there. ’He must still be upset from his fight with The Doctor’ you thought, before deciding to abandon all self-preservation instincts and lay down on the bed behind him, the two of you in what was basically a spooning position.
You rested there for a few moments, before cautiously scooting closer to him, his back pressed up against your chest. You could feel how tense he was, and your arm almost instinctively wrapped around his waist in an attempt to make him feel more secure. ‘Cats like being cuddled, right?’ your mind justified as you curled into him. You felt him relax slightly, and you felt a small smile spread across your face. Your other hand came up next to your heads as you began running your fingers through his hair.
You really felt him relax then, the tension in his body dissolving. Your smile grew at this reaction, your nails lightly scratching his scalp as you held him. A few moments later, you noticed a slight vibration coming from deep in his chest, and you thought nothing of it until your mind clicked the pieces into place. The Master had a disease that made him act like a cat… and now he was… vibrating… Was The Master purring?
You moved your hand from around his waist to rest on his chest, and sure enough, you felt the vibrations stronger. The Master was purring. You made him start purring. Once this thought truly registered in your head, it was all you could do to keep from bursting into a fit of giggles. You knew that would spell certain demise for you though, so you refrained.
“I know you want to laugh, so just go ahead.” He spoke quietly, and you allowed a few soft giggles to escape you. You thought you felt him laugh a bit too, but you weren’t sure. You continued with your ministrations until he suddenly flipped over, turning to face you. His eyes were closed, but one peeked open when you stopped playing with his hair.
“I didn’t say stop.” He said, and you laughed again before beginning to run your fingers through his hair again. His eyes shut, and the rumbling from his chest got louder. It was a calming sound, and soon you found your own eyes drifting shut as you continued in your actions. Between the purring, the cuddling, and simply being with The Master, you felt so comfortable that you began falling asleep. Before you could fully drift into unconsciousness, you felt him move his face closer to yours, your lips only an inch or two apart. You opened your eyes to see his open as well, the look in them somewhere between curiosity and caution. In one final act of stupidity, you threw your caution to the wind and eliminated the space between the two of you, your lips connecting gently.
You felt one of his gloved hands find your waist, the other being used as a pillow by you. You felt one of his fangs scrape your bottom lip, your eyes flicking open quickly in response to the slight pain. He opened his eyes as well, but the look in them didn’t suggest that he was planning on eating you. Well, at least not like that. His lips formed into a smirk as you continued, and you could feel the vibrations of content in his chest increasing. You two were both quite content with your positions when the lord of terrible timing, also known as The Doctor, bursts into the room.
“Alright, Master! Where is she? It’s been over half an hour-” he began rambling before his eyes finally focused on the sight before him. A quite undignified noise left him as he realized what the two of you were doing.
“What on Earth are you thinking, Y/N? He could’ve eaten you!” He yelled at you, The Master tensing up as his fingers dug into your waist possessively.
“Yet he hasn’t. Interesting, isn’t it?” You quipped back sharply, The Doctor glaring at you. He looked at The Master, before walking up quickly, going to grab you.
“Come on; You’re coming back to the console room.” He commanded, but he never got the chance to grab you. Before you had the chance to stop him, The Master had popped up and punched The Doctor, releasing a hiss as he fell backwards. You clung to him to prevent him from getting out of bed and continuing, The Doctor jumping up quickly.
“You’re getting possessive… over her?” He asked, receiving only a low growl in response from the other Timelord. The Doctor began to argue, before looking between the two of you and sighing.
“I wouldn’t trust him, but if you’re going to then I won’t stop you.” He said defeatedly, turning to leave. Before he closed the door, he turned back around.
“Just be careful.” He warned, before leaving. You turned back to your bed partner, the man cuddling close to you the second the door closed. Your arms wrapped around him as his wrapped around you, and the tension that had built back up quickly dissipated. As you heard the low rumblings of his purr begin emanating from his chest once more, you knew that you weren’t going to be getting used as a scratching post anytime soon.
At least, not in a bad way.