Fic: Embracement
Fandom: Doctor Who
Pairing: The Master (Ainley)/OFC
Comm/Prompt: hc_bingo / "hugs"
Rating: PG
Word Count: 490
Summary: Four times Seren hugged the Master...
#1
It started accidentally, when her emotions were high and she was still breathless from running for her life. Seren had thrown her arms around the Master's neck and hugged him hard.
“Thanks.”
“Do you mind?”
She'd let go abruptly and stepped back. She almost apologised, then decided she wasn't sorry. The opposite in fact. “Not in the slightest,” she said, closing the gap again. His eyes narrowed as she put her hands on his shoulders.
When he didn't protest, she enveloped him in a second, more purposeful hug, and the universe didn't end. She smiled to herself.
#2
The next time was when he returned weary and clearly dejected. Having been forbidden to go with him for once, Seren had no idea what he'd been up to or what had gone wrong. She'd just taken one look at his face and not been able to stop herself.
She gone to him and gathered him into her arms.
He tensed, then sighed. He didn't return her embrace, but neither did he argue or push her away.
When she let him go, she carried on as if nothing had happened and eventually his mood lifted.
#3
The fourth time, he finally responded to the hug. Seren buried her nose in the soft fuzz of his velvet jacket and smiled at the weight of his hand in the small of her back.
It was slight, and even without him speaking, she sensed a certain begrudging reluctance, but even that touch struck her as a victory. She'd gotten beneath his hard, prickly exterior and found something softer beneath.
He was undoubtedly annoyed at this discovery, so she didn't gloat but rather squeezed a little tighter.
Then giggled when he gave a huff of impatience.
A battle won, but not the war.
#4
Stumbling into that, they found themselves facing death and destruction on a mammoth scale. Tandoris left them both shaken and Seren scarred. She'd always known time was against her and it seemed close to running out. More afraid than ever, she curled against him and he let her.
But he didn't hold her back, and she needed him to. Eventually the lack of comfort hurt too much and she pulled away to run to her room.
The TARDIS reverberated to her sobs.
#5
The Master heard them. He could have lost Seren today. Almost had. And yet when she'd nestled against him, he'd not been able to comfort her as she'd wanted. That sort of thing wasn't something he did.
Neither could he stand in the console room and listen to her cry. The sound tore him apart and drove him to seek her out. She was on her bed, curled in a fetal position. It wasn't what had happened, it was what he'd not done. She'd needed him and he'd failed her.
He sat on the bed. Pulled her into his arms. “I don't mind,” he murmured. “Not any more.”
Pairing: The Master (Ainley)/OFC
Comm/Prompt: hc_bingo / "hugs"
Rating: PG
Word Count: 490
Summary: Four times Seren hugged the Master...
#1
It started accidentally, when her emotions were high and she was still breathless from running for her life. Seren had thrown her arms around the Master's neck and hugged him hard.
“Thanks.”
“Do you mind?”
She'd let go abruptly and stepped back. She almost apologised, then decided she wasn't sorry. The opposite in fact. “Not in the slightest,” she said, closing the gap again. His eyes narrowed as she put her hands on his shoulders.
When he didn't protest, she enveloped him in a second, more purposeful hug, and the universe didn't end. She smiled to herself.
#2
The next time was when he returned weary and clearly dejected. Having been forbidden to go with him for once, Seren had no idea what he'd been up to or what had gone wrong. She'd just taken one look at his face and not been able to stop herself.
She gone to him and gathered him into her arms.
He tensed, then sighed. He didn't return her embrace, but neither did he argue or push her away.
When she let him go, she carried on as if nothing had happened and eventually his mood lifted.
#3
The fourth time, he finally responded to the hug. Seren buried her nose in the soft fuzz of his velvet jacket and smiled at the weight of his hand in the small of her back.
It was slight, and even without him speaking, she sensed a certain begrudging reluctance, but even that touch struck her as a victory. She'd gotten beneath his hard, prickly exterior and found something softer beneath.
He was undoubtedly annoyed at this discovery, so she didn't gloat but rather squeezed a little tighter.
Then giggled when he gave a huff of impatience.
A battle won, but not the war.
#4
Stumbling into that, they found themselves facing death and destruction on a mammoth scale. Tandoris left them both shaken and Seren scarred. She'd always known time was against her and it seemed close to running out. More afraid than ever, she curled against him and he let her.
But he didn't hold her back, and she needed him to. Eventually the lack of comfort hurt too much and she pulled away to run to her room.
The TARDIS reverberated to her sobs.
#5
The Master heard them. He could have lost Seren today. Almost had. And yet when she'd nestled against him, he'd not been able to comfort her as she'd wanted. That sort of thing wasn't something he did.
Neither could he stand in the console room and listen to her cry. The sound tore him apart and drove him to seek her out. She was on her bed, curled in a fetal position. It wasn't what had happened, it was what he'd not done. She'd needed him and he'd failed her.
He sat on the bed. Pulled her into his arms. “I don't mind,” he murmured. “Not any more.”