Imaginary Worlds

"This is why I like her more!" Koschei snapped, aiming to hurt. The Master was the one who was making him unhappy. It only made sense.

It didn't even matter that the man was looking out for him. What did he care about that? Koschei just knew something he enjoyed was taken for something stupid.

"You don't and you're grounded for a week, you don't throw things like that around," the Master warned with a serious expression before getting to his feet and moving into the kitchen to get a break.

Dropping his head in his hands, he sighed and looked at the Doctor. "I am forever going to be that dickish parent now, aren't I?"

"I'd have slapped him and grounded him for longer, so not really. I think that you got it pretty okay." the Doctor murmured as he kept his focus upon poaching the fish.

It was an easy enough dish. He couldn't be bothered to complain. He did feel bad that the Master was having to deal with Koschei like this though.

"He's not going to like me for a long time but when he grows up, he'll kick himself," Oddly enough, part of him just thought that if worst came to worst, he'd have Marnal.

Huh, maybe he was in this for the long haul, he'd ever thought domestically before. "He'll grow up sometime and then things will be better, for now I have to deal with these outbursts. He wants to hurt me."

"It will work itself out. Kids always have moments like this. And you know that I'm always open to talking with you. I don't mind lending an ear." the Doctor assured softly.

He would be more than willing to listen and offer advice. Even if things didn't manage to turn out. That was just the sort of person that the Doctor happened to be.

"Nah, I'll be okay, I mean, I have you as it is," he smiled somewhat before moving from the kitchen and heading back into the living room to sit with Marnal and watch cartoons.

Koschei was welcome to join them but he had no idea how stubborn the other boy would be. Marnal didn't let Koschei stop him from having fun with Mister Saxon though, he happily pointed to the screen and declared. "That one is a triangle!"

"It is!" the Master offered, looking clearly amused.

Koschei didn't bother with that, instead making his way into the kitchen. He didn't even ask, simply setting to work helping where he could. It was a distraction.

It was also a shock where the Doctor was concerned. Not that he was complaining. He just finished and called the other two in to eat.

The Master took a seat beside Koschei and looked at the fish on his plate, the Doctor was a much better cook than he was, he tried to make fish once but it burnt to a crisp.

So he had Koschei had to go get burgers for dinner instead. "So, besides ice-skating, how did it go with your mom?"

"Fine. Isadora is gone though. She won't be back for a few weeks." he murmured, picking at his fish. He wasn't all that hungry at the moment.

"Marnal. How was school today? Manage to make any friends?" the Doctor tried softly. He meant nothing by it.

The Master nodded his head somewhat, that wasn't really his brother, it was Lucy's, she was the one that damaged his son. "I'm sure she's just fine, she'll be back."

Marnal looked up from his fish and shook his head. "I drew you a picture but another kid scribbled over it... he didn't want to be my friend either," the boy summed up simply before returning to his fish.

The Doctor sighed softly and nodded a bit. "Sorry to hear that. Maybe a different school would be best for next year. A fresh start." he mused softly.

He would find a place for his son to fit in. Period. The Doctor wasn't about to give up on his boy. Not in the least.

"Can I?" Marnal asked with a bright look in his eyes. He may fit in, he may not... worth a shot, right? He was near desperate these days, he got awfully lonely.

"Can I go somewhere with less people?" Too many people together meant that he'd be singled out, people were so bad when they worked alone together, it was quite nice.

"No. But I will look into a different place. I just can't guarantee you will be able to have a smaller number of classmates." the Doctor said softly.

Unfortunate, but realistic. He wasn't making any promise that he might not be able to keep and that was simply that. The Doctor knew better.

"Okaaay," Marnal relented with a small sigh, finishing up his dinner. The Master finished and looked at Koschei before exhaling. "We're all finished up here so we should head off."

Smiling, the Master got to his feet and patted Koschei on the back. "See you tomorrow, I'll need you in the afternoon," breaking up with Ailla was going to be hard.

"I'll be in my office all day. You're more than welcome to come around." the Doctor assured, clearing the table and simply seeing the two of them out. He even behaved himself.

That didn't stop Koschei from glaring. "Why we're you here?" he asked slowly. He didn't like that. He didn't like that the Doctor had given him a ride over like that.

The Master got into the car and sighed. "Koschei, I like the Doctor. When you go away for three days, I don't fancy sitting around alone. Me and Sigma got lonely so we came here. While you're with dearest mother, I'll be here with the Doctor and marnal."

He was making it as clear as he possibly could for the boy so he didn't get confused. "Koschei, you can glare at me all you want but I really love being around-- like. I like being around the Doctor," the Master corrected swiftly, already going a tinge red at his accidental slip.

What? Koschei didn't miss the slip. He stared to the man, his eyes narrowing coldly. "No. You're seeing somebody. Remember? You don't love anything to do with him." he protested.

How had that happened? "Is this 'cause 'm seeing my mom?" Koschei asked slowly. He wasn't sure how he felt about all of this.

"Koschei, stop talking to me like I'm the child here. I'm an adult, I can do as I please and perhaps I want to be with the Doctor and I know I will because I want to," He was getting tired of being lectured by his 8 year old son, it was frustrating.

"It's got nothing to do with mom, I said you can see her and you are. I'm seeing the Doctor because I'm very fond of him," the Master asserted, not amused by this.

The problem was that Koschei honestly just didn't understand this time around. When he'd left, the Master had been with Ailla and at least seemed happy. So the change was rather sudden.

"But what happened to Ailla? You like her too!" Koschei asserted. He just needed to know what was going on already.

"I did, I still do but-- Look, sometimes you know who you love the most and maybe, just maybe, I love him," the Master muttered in annoyance, the words sounding so wrong in his mouth.

When he had broken up last time, Koschei had told him that if it had been love, he would of been more understanding. What was his excuse now then for rejecting this?

Damn it. The Master had to use that phrase. Koschei sighed softly and settled back in his seat, absently cradling his arm as he eyed the window. Fine.

"I just thought you liked Ailla." Koschei murmured. It was just confusing. That was all. But he would give the Master the chance to pursue this without as much opposition.

"So did I but as much as I like her, peraps I just liked her as a person. Going to try and stay friends," the Master muttered as they pulled up into the drive. It was good to be home.

Leading Sigma inside, the Master sighed and once they were inside, he crouched down and pulled the boy into a hug, careful of the hand. "I missed you, Koschei."

Koschei sighed softly and returned the hug absently. He got it. Really. The Master was far from happy with him going to see his mother. The kid understood and got it.

"I miss you, too. But I like going to see her." Koschei mumbled. Well...Sort of. It wasn't fulfilling what he had been looking for, but it was better than nothing.

"I don't mind, honestly," the odd thing was that he didn't, not when he had the Doctor and Marnal, the boy was away for weekends and while he missed him, it wasn't the end of the world.

"I'm getting used to it, I mean, maybe we could look at extending it a bit? You'd have more time to do stuff," the Master suggested, he didn't let the boy get out much because of his schedule.

"Weekends are fine. I don't need to leave you alone more than that." he assured firmly. No point in going longer.

He didn't really trust the idea. "Why? Do you not want me anymore?" he asked instead. Turning it upon the other.