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The Doctor pulled his light coat tighter around him against the cold as he stepped out of the TARDIS. He breathed out into the frigid air and smiled as he watched the visible puff dissipate into nothing.
“See, Master. I told you that I could get us here in one attempt!” The Doctor called back over his shoulder into the TARDIS before crunching his boots (the one sartorial concession he made to the weather--temperature was one thing, wet socks completely another) into the snow.
The Master followed him out only a moment latter, looking altogether dashing in his long, fur trimmed, black wool coat. Ever sensitive of the weaknesses of this Traken body, the Master had refused any thing warmer than his normal fair until the Doctor had insisted that he cut far too fine a figure in the winter coat for him to leave it behind.
“In a century or two this whole ice moon while be converted by Terren settlers into a Yule-time amusement retreat.” The Doctor announced, not unlike an over exited tour guide, as he looked out over the stretch of endless snow, broken up only by a light smattering of leafless trees. “I thought it might be nice if we beat the rush. I do know how much you detest a queue.”
“It was a single incident and there is nothing preventing us from returning to that Land of Disney before they instated our ban.” The Doctor tried his very best not to chuckle at the Masters quite serious expression. Instead he walked back to the TARDIS doors, where the Master was lingering, and pulled him along, into the white and grey world.
Snow was drifting down slowly in huge fluffy flakes and had already begun to collect in the the Doctor’s hair. He looked back to see the TARDIS, perched delicately on the surface of snow that he and the Master crunched down into, and watched as snow collected on her roof and in the square depressions in her outer walls.
“What are we to do here?” the Master asked, rubbing his gloved hands together, “if, as you say, there is nothing in the way of civilisation, I can’t see what recreations there could be for us.”
“Oh come now Master, we used to run about for hours on end doing nothing but chase each other around.”
“True my dear, but we haven't done that since the aeroplane incident. I thought you wanted to take things more gently for a bit.”
“Don’t remind me, hardly your most enticing of disguises. What exactly was that supposed to... Ah no,” the Doctor caught himself, “you know that wasn’t what I meant.”
“Yes, my love, but that generally ended in one of us tacking the other into the grass and a striping off of clothing that can’t be recommended at these temperatures.”
“Fair point, but that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind ether, well not yet anyway, and that would be inside, mind. But no, I have a perfectly nice organised activity in mind...” The Doctor reached into his pocket stuffing it into the shallow looking square of fabric all the way down to his elbow. “Ah ha!” He pulled out his arm and at the end of it was a hand grasping a carrot. He placed it in to the Master’s hand resolutely.
The Master simply stared at it and then the Doctor blankly.
“Oh you must know about snowmen? Centuries travelling and you’ve never seen a snowman?”
“I’m afraid my particular sort of travels did not bring me in to contact with any of your snow-men.”
“Then it’s an excellent thing that you have me for company, isn’t it, Master?”
The Master smiled, but it was more than simple amusement. The look in his eyes made the Doctor’s chest swell, it was clear that he felt truly grateful to have the Doctor with him, here in the freezing cold, engaging in what to him was just some silly human custom. The Master was truly happy and the Doctor had never felt so dearly loved.
The Doctor grasped the Master’s hands and leaned down to kiss him softly on the lips and then rubbed his nose against the Master’s. Both men chuckled and then the Doctor turned to begin to instruct in the perfect technique for snowman building.
In an hour’s time they had constructed a small army of snow men. After enough observation the Master had dismissed the Doctor's technique as inferior and had taken to constructing his own with an impressive efficacy. The Doctor had opened his mouth to tell him that speed and quantity wasn’t really the point of the thing, but closed it with a smile when he saw the focus determined look on the Master’s face as he patted down the torso of his newest construction. The Master was clearly enjoying himself and he wouldn’t ruin it.
After watching the Master for a little while longer, the Doctor had sneaked back into the TARDIS for a bit and returned with a large metal thermos full of tea in one hand and two mugs in the other.
The Master had made some truly impressive progress and was just plunging a small branch into his twelfth snowman as the Doctor returned. He watched as the Master eyed his creation for a moment and adjusted it slightly to give the twigs that made up the hand a more menacing look.
The Master was nodding with approval at his own work when Doctor joined him and offered him a mug of tea. “Well done, dear.” he tried not to laugh as some how the Master seamed to still be taking this all very seriously. “You’ve built yourself a fine army,” the Doctor sipped his own mug and then offered, “we should start on a fort for them to defend.”
“You don’t think that it would be more practical to animate them first.?”
“Go about ...what?” The Doctor blinked. “Oh, no. No. No animating. This is simply a... well I suppose, an artistic endeavour.” The Master looked slightly disappointed so the Doctor offered again, “we can still build a fort, though. I’ll even promise to let you design it, I’ll just shove around snow where you tell me.” The Master clear enjoyed the offer but shook his head.
“Certainly not, my dear Doctor, a mind such as your delegated to menial labour would be a crime.” The Doctor flushed a bit at the complement. “We need only find a way to animate these--”
“No, Master.” Both Time Lords frowned at one another for a moment but the Master sighed in resignation and turned to survey his troupes.
“Very well,” The Master considered the area around them, “begging by digging a trench between those two tree wells. I shall return with further instruction once I have better surveyed the land.” The Master kissed the Doctor quickly and plodded off into the snow. The Doctor laughed and shook his head as he watched the Master go.
After a moment he nodded to himself and set off to start digging. Already thinking of a few little secret hiding spots he could dig for himself to use in the inevitable snow ball fight that the Master was not aware was on the horizon.