Wife Swap!

[hideyosammich]

The Doctor was rather annoyed with the Master at the moment.

They liked to take turns on deciding where they wanted to go and what they wanted to do. Since the Doctor's last choice had been the highly successful tea party at the garden planet, it was the Master's turn.

And but of course, he landed them on Satellite Five. Luckily the Game Station's assortment of gameshows were no longer deadly, but the Doctor was still uneasy as they were directed into a large open room with a small live audience.

"Relax," the Master reassured him in a loud whisper, sounding rather amused as he wrapped an arm around the Time Lord's shoulder. "I told them I wanted a game where we can stay together."

Just after he'd finished speaking, a thousand bright lights illuminated the room, making the Doctor wince slightly as the loud announcer voice came on.

"Welcome to Intergalactic Wife Swaaaaap! Today's participants, the Doctor and the Master, now married for nearly a year!"

The Doctor just glared at the Master as the voice continued.

"After sweeping the entire universe and all of its related time streams for the perfect match, we finally found a couple to swap with them! While not officially in a relationship, this couple have been denying their affection for each other since their fallout after childhood! Please welcome....The Doctor and the Master!!"

The Doctor blinked in surprise, gaping in shock as the supposed 'couple' appeared across the room beneath the teleports. The seemingly older of the two, a tall man with a shock of white hair, quickly released his companion's hand and put some space between them, glancing about in mild interest.

"Well," said the Doctor's third regeneration, "who knew the void was a game show."

The bearded man beside him scoffed and the two Masters shared glances before the older one spoke. "I'm...trading wives...with myself?"

The tenth Doctor released his Master's hand and scowled. "I'm not the wife, how many times?"

He realized a moment too late that letting go of that hand hadn't been the best idea. A bright flash of light consumed both him and the younger Master, and a moment later he found himself in the nostalgically familiar TARDIS, slumped in a chair and feeling sick.

Comments

[willobeyme]

He wasn't sure how this had even happened, what had happened with the TARDIS, what they had done... The Master groaned a little, pushing himself carefully off of the floor he had seemingly collapsed on. With his vision clearing, he noticed that he was back on the TARDIS, but there was something distinctively different.

Glancing over, he noticed the other man in the room. "...Oh, no."

[hideyosammich]

The Doctor groaned, rubbing his temples and just focusing on breathing for a moment. Teleportation through time and space was a lot to handle for someone so sensitive to discrepancies in time.

"I told him I didn't want to be on another gameshow," he complained, talking more to himself than the other Time Lord.

[willobeyme]

"Do the two of you make a habit of this, then?" he muttered, looking this Doctor over curiously.

[hideyosammich]

He glanced over at the other man, clearing his throat and running a hand through his hair. "Game shows? Naaah, just happened to run into a rather deadly one my last body...we travel a lot, that's all."

[willobeyme]

"I see." He was quiet for a bit, trying to figure out what to even do.

[hideyosammich]

"Soooo..."

The Doctor finally pushed himself to his feet, circling the console once and stroking it lightly. "Hello, old girl. I look a bit different now, I know, but it's me."

[willobeyme]

For now, he just continued to look him over. "You look like a child that's starved himself," he pointed out. "Given up on the dignified look, have we?"

[hideyosammich]

The Doctor scowled, smoothing down his coat and looking himself over a bit self-consciously. "Oi, I like this body. I'm foxy. And many other things...but anyway look at you! I nearly forgot about that ridiculous facial hair of yours."

That's a downright lie, but he couldn't resist snapping back somehow.

[willobeyme]

"Foxy?" He snorted in amusement. "And my facial hair is quite good and hardly ridiculous in any fashion."

[hideyosammich]

"Somehow I highly doubt that. And yes. Foxy. I have word from several reliable sources." He did his best to look very stern and set about this.

[willobeyme]

"Such as?" The Doctor really wasn't helping his case with the 'stern' look; the Master simply couldn't take him seriously.

[hideyosammich]

"Weeeell. Me, for one. And a human named Cassandra. And I'm certain Rose thought it. And Martha called me pretty at one point, I think. Maybe she didn't say it out loud." Now he was trying not to laugh himself, fighting to keep a straight face.

[willobeyme]

"Oh, a bunch of your little pets. I would hardly call any of them a reliable source," he said.

[hideyosammich]

"You haven't met any of them, how do you know?"

[willobeyme]

"I can assume well enough." He tapped his foot.

[hideyosammich]

"Boooooooooooooring! I hope you aren't as dull as I remember you being all the time, since we're being forced to live with each other for a while." He sighed in annoyance. "I miss my Master."

[willobeyme]

His eyes narrowed somewhat. "Dull? Oh, don't blame me for the fact that I cannot match your level of obnoxiousness and hyperactivity," he said. "Perhaps your Master can, though if that is the case, I shudder to think becoming him one day."

[hideyosammich]

He flopped down into a swivel chair, spinning around a few times in it rather moodily. "He always has interesting ideas of things to pass the time," he remarked, smirking slightly.

[willobeyme]

"Should I dare to ask how?" he questioned.

[hideyosammich]

The Doctor just grinned, holding up his left hand and waving the wedding band rather obnoxiously at the younger Master.

[willobeyme]

He went very, very quiet at that for a while. The Master hadn't quite caught the introduction on the game show for the older pair, and wasn't exactly aware of the true nature of their relationship. Until now, obviously.

"...how long?"

[hideyosammich]

"Oooh, good question. Time is all relative in the TARDIS, isn't it." He went quiet for a moment, thinking. "We've been together for, oh...two years? Maybe longer? Married for just about a year."

[willobeyme]

It was something he needed to wrap his head around. "What regeneration are you now?"

[hideyosammich]

He wasn't exactly a fan of thinking of himself in numbers, but...He shrugged slightly. "Tenth," came the rather quiet reply.

[willobeyme]

"Another seven until you finally give in, then. Lovely. It would seem that I have a good period of waiting to do," he said mostly to himself.