Imaginary Worlds

"Bring an umbrella! Come on... I'll let you hold my hand if you get scared," the Master teased playfully with an amused look, he didn't know the meaning behind his hate of rain but he wanted him to join in.

Marnal bit his lower lip before looking at his dad with a half smile. "Can I go play with Sigma in the mud?"

The Doctor honestly didn't mean to cringe in response to that. "Go ahead, kiddo. I'm not going to keep you locked in because the weather is bad." he assured.

But he really didn't want to be out in it. At all. It was wet, cold, and filthy. It was also very difficult to refuse the Master.

"But... you're not coming?" Marnal did worry, what if it started thundering again? He was scared as it was but he supposed in he had an adult and Sigma, he should be fine.

"We won't go far out and I've done this sort of thing with Koschei before," the boy had enjoyed rainwalks when he was much younger, they had done them often.

((Off to bed))

It was ever more difficult to try and refuse the both of them. Damn. Sighing, the Doctor ran a hand through his hair. He was going to be in a mood of it rained again and they were out and about.

Nevertheless, he gave a soft nod. "Okay. I'll go with you. But I'm only going a little ways out." he informed softly.

"Deal!" the Master agreed, grinning as he headed back into the living room. He still had some time until he had to get anything done, seemed good enough to him.

Sigma joined the Master on the sofa, wagging his tail and waiting impatiently for the walk to happen.

The Doctor sighed, not looking forward to this little outing. Not to mention Pest. That car adored going for walks and the like. He just wasn't takin the creature out in the mud.

"Go get ready to go out." the Doctor instructed his son, heading to change himself. If he was going to get all muddy, then he was dressing in raggedy clothes.

Marnal put on his oldest pair of clothes and let the Master help him into Koschei's old raincoat. Once he was all dressed up and ready, they both waited downstairs.

The Master was in sports gear, which was an odd look for him but he didn't mind getting this stuff ruined. Sigma leaped around him, barking excitedly at the prospect of a ball.

The Doctor headed down shortly after and had to raise an eyebrow at the other. It wasn't normal to see the Master dressed like that. It was odd.

"So. Suppose that we should take off then." the Doctor said softly. He still wasn't lookin forward to all of this.

"Yep, I'm watching Siggy so I guess you have to watch Marnal," the Master joked and the boy was quick to offer his hand, he wanted him to hold his hand in case things went badly, it was just safer.

After all, he used his dad as a safety sort of thing. The Master rolled his eyes and adjusted the lead before heading outside, Sigma rushing around him, happily scampering through the mud.

The Doctor took his son's hand with a smile and followed along outside. It may not be raining anymore, but it was still unpleasant. But he could put up with it for the other two.

Sort of. "I don't understand." the Doctor admitted sheepishly. He didn't get what the enjoyment was in this.

"Course you don't, you're a grown up!" the Master complained playfully before gesturing at Marnal who was grinning and tentatively bouncing in the mud beside the Doctor.

"It's more a kids and puppies thing, we just sort of enjoy them enjoying themselves," the Master admitted as he watched Sigma lap up the left over water happily.

"I don't mind Marnal enjoying himself. I mind the laundry and bath time later." the Doctor murmured softly. Not to mention the tub and floors.

The Doctor was committed though. Which meant he'd allow his son this and take care of it all later. Not much else he could do.

"Which can all be washed. Come on, when you were a kid, didn't you ever do stuff like this?" The Master did, often it was against his will and he was forced out to play.

And often that involved being dogpiled by his much older brothers. "I'll do the washing for you," the Master offered as he watched Sigma leap at Marnal, plastering him in mud.

"Only until the river incident. My father didn't let me off of the property after that without somebody with me. So I stopped trying to go out." the Doctor dismissed.

It didn't matter much. His father hadn't been the sort of loving parent that most dealt with. The Doctor got over it.

"I was an indoors sort, my brothers didn't like that stuff hence I had to go out and play often. It was remarkably boring," the Master confessed but he had always liked the rain and mud.

There was something oddly satisfying about it, he watched as Marnal rushed off to play with Sigma in the mud and puddles and he smirked someone. "Children need to rebel a little and get muddy."

The Doctor sighed softly and nodded a bit. He wasn't going to complain much, if at all. Why would he? Marnal was having a good time and that was all that mattered.

"They do tend to get messy. Not much to do or say about that one, I suppose." the Doctor mused. He wasn't upset or bothered by it.

"He'll be fine," the Master offered as he walked along the wet ground beside the Doctor, watching the boy and the dog play. Every kid should have a dog, he'd always thought that.

"So, this potential life we may have had but you're in denial. Bet we were either close or knew one another," the Master theorised with a smile. Why else would their sons share a dream?

"I wish you would stop with that. I really do. Why would we forget? Why would we have wanted to? It doesn't make sense." the Doctor asserted. Which meant it wasn't somethig to bother with.

He didn't want to dig. He was happy. Content. So why did the Master have to pick at their lives like this?

"Maybe we were on a planet and there was a disaster or something and everyone was gone but us... and then we relocated and lost our memory?" the Master suggested with a small shrug.

It made sense to him, he was sure that dream had to of happened... but he'd ever had it with anyone else around him. Most of his, he was alone. "Honestly, tell me, have you ever had a dream where there's nothing?

"Honestly? I've had a dream where there was nothing and I was furious. A dream where I boarded up the house and took away the world around me in retaliation for something. I've dreamt of doing something horrible and wrong and having power. I've dreamt of using the power." he said slowly.

Frowning, the Doctor looked to the other and gave a curt shake of his head. "Now. Why would I want to know what kind of person I might have been?"

"Because you can't hide from the wrong you do? I had a dream of slaughter an entire room of people on this big ship thing," the Master mused, cocking his head to the side. "I was more scared that I didn't care than anything."

He only really cared about a few, as far as he cared, everyone else could just die. It wouldn't bother him. "I have a dream where I'm locked away in pitch black and I'm too much pain to move... I don't think the life I had was wonderful but I still need to know, everyone needs to know these things."

"I've had a dream where I burned whole races and their planets. I don't care if I ever remember. I don't care if I ever know the reasoning behind it. I don't want to know." the Doctor asserted.

He didn't like this. Not in the least. Because the Master was pushing the idea and the Doctor just wanted to run.

"But we have too, we might be missing something important. We might be-- well, more than this," he didn't want to keep on being Harry Saxon who did nothing with his life and was no one.

He wanted to be the man in his dreams because at least he had something to do. At least he was special. And he still had the Doctor. "John, please, we should uncover this together."

"I don't want to know. You know what? You can find whatever you want. But leave me out of it. I don't want to be the man from my dreams." the Doctor murmured softly.

Honestly? He had one thing about being fobwatched that seemed to come about each time. He was always happier when he was living such a simple life. It was feelings of obligation to another that dragged him back.

"If I find out then odds are you will. Either that or I'll have to tell you," the Master informed him with a small shrug, he couldn't predict the future but it was a lie to say otherwise.

Even if he did feel bad about it all, he just had to know these sort of things, they were vital to his existence.