Imaginary Worlds

The Doctor smiled softly and shrugged a bit. "They were. I got on well enough with your parents. And I liked you well enough first off. Considering the whole roommate thing and whatnot? I liked having a friend." he murmured.

And that was saying a lot. "My parents didn't expect me to make friends either. That or they didn't want ke to make friends. Verity might not have cared. My father felt it was a distraction." the Doctor admitted. And, in the Man's defense, it sort of had been.

"You're lucky you kept a safe distance from my house, I mean the estates were fine but there was a reason I never let you hang around, my cousins wanted to study you. They found you fascinating," Half hum and half Time Lord, some may have shunned it but what with his fathers obsession with humanity and all, Theta was a subject of interest for everyone.

"Half human made you interesting in our books, well their books, I didn't give a damn. Personally I just liked your alternative outlook on things," in other words, he loved Thetas rebellious spirit.

"Oh." the Doctor mumbled with a small frown. "Explains why your father was keen on having me around." he mused softly. Well. That was something of interest. His best friend's family had thought of him as some sort of science experiment to observe and poke at.

"At least Ushas had been upfront about it. Use to let her draw blood. In hindsight? Bad idea. But she'd been curious about DNA variations and the like." the Doctor dismissed. Huh. And he'd thought that his family was bad.

"The initial interest was your biology but surprisingly my parents ended up liking you as you," the Master admitted, well his father had, his mother had been disinterested from start to finish with her sons friends but Theta still got a sort of smile whenever he came round.

"My brothers never liked you but they didn't like me either," the Master offered with a somewhat amused smile, he didn't really get on well with his family, he tried but he was never that type of person. He suppose he was just lucky he had someone like the Doctor who was willing to forgive his little faults.

"Still. The fact remains the same. Your family thought of me as a science experiment in the making." the Doctor pointed out. Well. Now that bothered him. "And that had nothing to do with your interest in me. It was always my alternative views." he said slowly.

He wasn't sure what he was looking for. Maybe that the Master honestly wasn't one who ever cared or bothered because of his biology. "My mother use to like you. She was happy I had a friend." the Doctor murmured.

The Master offered a small shrug of his shoulders. "What do you expect? We're Time Lords. We don't like people for liking people, we like people because they offer something. Lets face it, no one just unconditionally loves."

It was a faulty concept that he didn't buy at all, everyone had something to put into a relationship and if they didn't then it simply didn't work at all. "I liked your mother, she was pleasant. Your dad... well, he was a dick."

"My mother loved unconditionally. My father...He didn't like that I was very much my mother's child. He definitely didn't like that I was part human and he couldn't weed it from my personality. And he didn't like that I shunned the idea of being the next lord president." the Doctor stated simply.

The Master just sort of...Fit into the category of things his dad hadn't liked. All of his 'distractions' had. "My father wasn't too bad at times. He was great with my cousins. I was just...The extra child that didn't quite belong, but happened to have a prophecy. And you were the distraction."

"You dad hates me, he used to try and see me off whenever I came for you. My dad used to say that yours just glared at everyone and that was just him," And thus the Master had spent much of his life pretty openly ignoring him.

The Master shrugged his shoulders a bit, no one was perfect, he knew a lot of people assumed he was a careless jerk but hey, he proved himself-- then he sort of killed any proof he made by trying to conquer the universe.

The Doctor actually cringed at that one. "Yeah...He did do that. He never hit me though. He just turned a blind eye when others did. I liked your parents. They didn't seem to mind me. And I liked being able to spend time with you." he murmured.

Sighing softly, he took to absently toying with his book, a small smile in place. "You know? I honestly didn't plan this. Any of it. I made Koschei on a desperate whim and everything sort of...Fell into place." the Doctor murmured.

((sorry about leaving so early yesterday, I fell asleep and I didn't wake up till the next day o.O which was odd! Long sleep.))

"It doesn't make it right. Any parent worth their salt doesn't ignore their sons suffering, they act and do something," He was sure his parents would of if he'd mentioned it but Koschei kept all his bullying to himself, he didn't like showing weakness. He could explain away anything, even bloodied and bruised faces.

"I don't think you did at least, I mean I did for a while but I was being a bit daft then, any excuse to blame you. But hey, I didn't chose to love Koschei, it happened. Sam with you," the Master admitted because he hadn't intended anything like this either.

{'twas fine.}

The Doctor smiled softly at that one and shrugged. No matter. "I dealt with it on my own. Case and point? Torvic. Dealt with him well enough." he chirped. What? It wasn't that big of a deal. He got over it.

"I didn't plan it either." he admitted softly, shrugging. "But I do love you. A lot. You shouldn't be surprised. You're charming. You know that already." the Doctor murmured. Yeah. He sort of blamed the Master. But in a good way.

"I wouldn't say you handled that well," not the act, just his reactions afterwards, all he'd done... yeah, the Master wouldn't say Theta proved himself to be a stand up bloke but hey, nothing ever went perfectly.

"Course I'm charming," The Master pointed out playfully before giving the Doctor a quick kiss on the cheek. The Doctor was someone that he loved and he was happy that way, he supposed anyway. "Its good we finally agree on something!"

The Doctor actually cringed at that one. "Sorry. I know I didn't do well. Can't help the past." he murmured. Though he grinned at the other due to the kiss to his cheek. It was...Sweet. And playful. But pleasant none the less.

"You've always been a charmer. We both know that. It's why I love you so much." the Doctor murmured. And it was part of the truth of the matter. He had fallen for the other's charm and charisma long before they ended together.

The Master nodded because yes, it was true, it was impossible to help what happened in the past unless they actually wanted to go back and alter their lives. Which everyone and their dog knew was a bad idea, how could it not be?

"I know, very charismatic. Why else can I win over whole worlds with just a smile and a nod?" the Master bragged because if he wanted too, he could do so indeed. Because he always had been somewhat... hypnotic to people. To put it frankly.

"You're very charming. It's frightening. Because it means that you have the ability to get away with more. You do get away with more. Rassilon knows I can't stay mad at you." the Doctor mumbles softly. And he really couldn't. He just sort of...Went along with the Master.

Which was saying a lot considering how it use to be between them. But since they got together? Being mad and fighting just seemed...Pointless. So did getting out and just...Going. The Doctor shot the other a pointed glare. "You've domesticated me. You trapped me here, made it so I had to keep Koschei, and stuck around. I've been domesticated." he said slowly.

"I didn't make you make Koschei. And you were the one that wanted domestic hell, Doctor. I wanted to go back to the real world. If anyone trapped anyone, it would be you," the Master informed him because that was pretty much how the Master looked at it, he saw the Doctor as someone that trapped him here. But he didn't hate him for it.

Not any more. "I did trap you but you trapped me better, you had every chance to get free but -- I suppose I lost control about a week into it and you've been in control ever since," Of everything really. Their relationship, their minds, what happened to them. It was all rather unsettling actually.

"You trapped somebody that was severely unstable at the time. I gave you power. You know what it's like trying to resist. It builds up and starts to hurt without an outlet." the Doctor murmured. Really! Totally not his fault there. It was...Expectable.

As for the control thing? "You realize I have, so far, done everything you've asked of me? I've altered our minds, tried to make me like I was before, have made myself a nervous wreck by giving you power to do with as you please, altered this place to make you in power, altered this place to make it more life like...The list goes on. That's not control. That's doing your bidding." the Doctor said slowly.

"Funny, I've been changing myself and adapting to please you," the Master admittedly, all his big changes had been to try and change so he could be happy here and now he was, he knew it was solely for the Doctors benefit.

The Master smiled and closed his eyes, settling back beside the Doctor with a small shrug. It seemed as if they were both trying to make each other happy-- was that even a good thing? "Is it right that we had to change ourselves so much to be happy here?"

"No. But it wouldn't have been any better had we left. I don't think that's even possible for me. I just...I don't know. I don't think I can leave." he murmured softly, shakin his head a bit. And he didn't. It was horrible and sad, but the Doctor didn't want to leave.

"I think...Had only one of us changed, we could have been just as happy, but it would have been that much worse." the Doctor admitted softly. He didn't like thinking about that one too much.

"I do miss the real world. I shouldn't, should I?" the Master asked, he had been altered and yet part of him still longed to be free of this world. It made no sense, he was happy here but part of him still wished he could go back.

He didn't even know why, he was miserable there and the drums made him a terrible person. Problem was that this world, in its own way, stood apart from time. Much like Jack, it was wrong. And deep down in the bones of any true Time Lord, they always knew when they were out of place. Without proper time was unsettling.

And there would be the simple words to trigger it. The Doctor immediately bristled, looking to the other quickly. He meant nothing by it. It was just...The Master had the ability to leave if desired. And that was a problem for him.

"I can fix that. Just...I can make this place more like the real world. I can...I can do something to fix that." the Doctor assured quickly. Yeah. The Master probably should have said that to him.

"No, no, no, no! Doctor, stop, you can't fix this universe any more-- I didn't mean, its like-- its not the real world!" the Master answered in frustration because he wasn't saying he hated this world, he was just saying that no matter what happened, he knew it wasn't real.

"Please don't take this personally, I can just feel that its not where the world really is, time doesn't really move here, everything is an illusion of sorts. Well, in a very basic way of speaking. But I love this world, I just know its not real," the Master tried to explain, praying the Doctor didn't take this whole thing wrong. "I always know its not quite right here."

The damage was already done. If there was one thing that the Doctor was afraid of, it was of the Master leaving. And discontentment led to restlessness. Which, in turn, led to the very thing he was afraid of happening. Because the Master wasn't content there.

Shaking his head, the Doctor shifted about a bit. "I...Don't know. I'm fine. It's fine. Nothing is wrong. I'm fine. I'm happy. You're happy. Don't worry about it." he murmured wig a small shake of his head. He did not like this.

Oh no, the Master wasn't thick, the Master knew being honest was a dumb idea, he just sort of did it anyway. He couldn't help it, it was true. This place was wrong but the Master had long since pushed that all deep down, from being unable to look at anything to embracing it all was a hell of a step.

"I'm happy, don't freak out. Please, just trust me, I'm happy. I just see this world for what it is and I always will, not the end of the world," the Master promised, if he could love Koschei, he could love this world.

How was telling him bot to freak out a good idea? That made him think there was a valid reason to freak out and made things worse. The Doctor shifted a bit and worried his lower lip, hiding behind his book as if none of this had happened.

Mind, he was still tense as hell, but that wasn't something he could fix. The Doctor would just be...Obsessing again for a few days. The Master would just need to put up with that one for a bit.