Imaginary Worlds

"Well yeah but having a treat once in a while won't. I mean, give him a big ice-cream sunday and less for dinner and the problems solved. Not saying do it every day but kids love stuff like that," And it was better to offer it to them reasonably than deny it.

The Master knew all too well that rebellion lead to stupid and dangerous things. Smiling, he nodded his head. "Sure, I'll drive us home," the Master agreed, holding out his hand for the keys.

"I give him cookies...And cake...I bake a lot when I can't sleep." he murmured softly. Which meant that he did less treats throughout the rest of their week to balance things out.

Handing over the keys, he got Marnal settled in and got in himself. "Just one warning? It has a lot of power to it, so be careful." the Doctor cautioned. They didn't need to get pulled over.

"Hey I'm not doubting you, just saying, if I buy him something like that I'll warn you, it'll level out and be fine," the Master assured, he didn't mind getting the kid stuff at all.

Part of him felt like Marnal was one of his own and he didn't get that either but he added it to his mental list of things to look into. The Master took off at a steady pace, trying to make sure he didn't over do it.

"You know that you don't have to do that, right? I mean, I'm not expecting you to buy him things just because we're dating." he assured softly. What other explanation was there?

It wasn't like the Master did as he did, spending money he didn't really care for on others. That was why he bought Koschei things. At least that's what he told himself.

"I like Marnal, it's fun to get him stuff," the Master offered as he took a left into the highway. "You get Koschei stuff all the time, which is great, and I like to get Marnal stuff sometimes."

Course that usually extended mostly to treats and nothing more but there wasn't really much he could give the kid that he didn't have. "Plus it's just an ice-cream."

"Still. You do know that I don't expect that of you. I'm not saying not to or that you can't. I'm saying that you aren't obliged to do it." he murmured softly.

It was that simple. He wasn't asking that of the Master. It wasn't that he was trying to turn the man down. If anything, it was nice having a partner willing to accept and embrace Marnal.

"If it was an obligation then, frankly, I wouldn't do it. I never could do as I'm told, I do it because I like to do it," the Master informed the other man before smiling at the Doctor playfully.

"I don't mind doing these things, promise," the Master assured, knowing what the Doctor was getting at but frankly he didn't much care.

The Doctor sighed softly and nodded a bit. Couldn't really complain much. If that's what the Master wanted to do, then he would let the other do it.

There was little to no point behind arguing over something that neither of them really differed upon. He simply settled in for the ride and called it good. Why not? This was pleasant enough.

Once they managed to get themselves ready, the Master pulled up just outside the Doctors place and let the other man out of the car before heading ahead and tossing the keys to the Doctor.

Marnal followed after the two of them, content with his snack and ready to get himself upstairs. He knew the Doctor wanted alone time so he'd just play upstairs for a bit.

The Doctor let the kid go, smiling softly as he gave a small shrug. The kid wanted to head off on his own? Well, he wasn't going to fuss too much. He didn't mind Marnal being a bit independent.

"Right. So do you want to work out the details for your campaign now? Or no?" he asked lightly, taking up a seat upon the couch rather contently.

"If you fancy," the Master answered as he dropped down on the sofa and removed his shoes, he didn't fancy doing this sort of thing on weekdays as he liked to forget the world.

But he had to start sometime and now was as good as any time. "So what do you think I should do then? Ideas?"

"Well, like I said, let's focus on making a more kid friendly place. Like...Looking out for the future sort of thing. People tend to fawn over that a bit. We need to get your name out there." the Doctor said slowly.

"Help out at a school or fixing up a park sort of thing. We need you to get your name and image associated with the cause that will be your foundation." he stated with a small shrug.

((May disappear soon, I'm feeling really rough so tagging is hard))

"And then I can break all my promises," the Master joked because he couldn't think of many that stuck out what they said. Though if they'd benefit his boy or Marnals or even Vericas then he was in.

"... You know, I just remembered something, hang on," Jumping to his feet, he rushed into the kitchen and pulled out his phone. He was meant to have dinner with Verica tonight. Ringing her up0, he waited patiently. "Hello?"

The Doctor blinked owlishly as he wrapped his head around what just happened. O...Kay? Why did he get the feeling that the Master was about to be leaving soon?

It didn't take long before Verica answered the phone with a soft sigh. "Morning, Harry. And how are you?" she asked pleasantly. What? At least she was trying to keep it light and friendly.

"Hey, still dinner tonight? It is dinner tonight?" the Master offered before awkwardly bouncing on the spot. Boy did he have some awkward news for Verica when they met.

"So do you want to meet a friend of mine? Well, more a boss... well, I think you know him. Mr Smith?" the Master offered, not wanting to really ditch the Doctor nor Verica.

(Sorry. Had to run into town.)

"I know him. Why do you ask?" Verica inquired softly. Might as well find out, right? Though hearing that's who the Mazter went to work with was a bit of a bother.

"And it's still dinner tonight. I'm making steaks. Epsilon is excited to see you again." Verica offered. The kid needed to be happy about something.

If he brought the Doctor to dinner then odds were that he'd upset Epsilon and he couldn't risk that. "Erm, no reason, just curious. I'll be there at 7 so see you tonight. It'll be great to see the lad."

The Master said his goodbyes and headed into the living room with a sigh. "So, here's the plan, I have to go have dinner with my old boss and her nutso kid... I promise. But I'll be going at Marnals settle down time and I should be back half an hour after he's in bed," the Master explained, it wasn't too bad really.

The Doctor nodded slowly at that one. Alright. He could give in an allow for that. Why would he make any sort of fuss about it? "That's fine. Hope that you have fun." he offered lightly, meaning it.

He wasn't forcing the Master to stay and nor was he expecting permission from the Master every time he wanted to come and go. "So. What would you like to do up until then?" he asked lightly.

"I'd rather be here," He really did like Verica and Epsilon but being there was just like experiencing constant waves guilt and weirdness. "You remember Epsilon, right? Well, I would of invited you but he's a little... unstable."

"Until then we can do as we would of before. Campaign then we can kill some time with your boy, I'm sure he's itching to do something with you," the boy seemed to adore quality time with his dad.

"Marnal probably wouldn't have liked it to begin with. He isn't exactly comfortable with other children and I try not to push it on him." the Doctor said softly. It was that simple.

As for what they were doing? "Marnal always wants to spend time with me, but that sounds fine. If I turn on a cartoon or something, he's content to just sit there and watch with me." the Doctor mused softly.

"If it helps, Epsilon is not what you would call a social butterfly so frankly, Marnal could be worse," the Master sat back and eyed up the TV with a small raise of his eyebrow.

"Welllll, how about we have a snack, watch some TV with your lad then plan while you make dinner and I'llslip out and be back before bed?" the Master suggested with a small smirk.

"That's perfectly fine. Don't even have to cook. Sundays are leftover days." he admitted sheepishly. It meant getting out of cooking and still having a good meal.

Smiling softly, he simply called Marnal down, turning on a show that would entertain the lad. The Doctor didn't mind the show too much. It was one of the more tolerable ones.

"Well we'll find time," the Master assured as he moved up the sofa for Marnal to some sit by his dad and stare near mindlessly at the TV with great interest. That kid needed hobbies.

The Master, however, was soon watching with the same sort of fixated look, smiling every now and again when something funny happeed that would make Marnal giggle. So he was immature, big deal.

The Doctor wasn't nearly as interested as the other two. And could he be blamed? It wasn't exactly something that held his attention. He would choose a documentary or something any day, but he did it for his son.

That didn't stop him from feigning interest, leaning back against the couch and reaching around over Marnal to absently play with the Master's hair. The Doctor couldn't really be blamed there, either.

The Master smiled and tilted his head to the side, grinning at the other man as he enjoyed the feeling of having his hair stroked while the boy between them mindlessly giggled at the cartoons.

When the program ended, Marnal looked up and frowned at his dad before tilting his head up. "Can you get me some water?" he asked, effectively killing the mood as ever.