Being casual

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

"You do realize you're supposed to sneak around them?"

"That takes up waaay too much time."

"It's called stealth for a reason..."

"Yeah, yeah... maybe next time."

"Stop killing them! Seriously!"

"But... it's so much more fun that way," Roka pouted.

The Master threw an annoyed look at her. "You're totally ruining my score!" And with that he ripped the gamepad away from her.

"Fine, do it better." She raised her hands and threw an amused look back at him, while watching the character on the screen performing some fast and precise moves. Dancing around some guards and evading every trap around. He actually was really good at that. "Well... at least I'm better at Dark Souls." She peered up and saw him rolling his eyes.

"Shut up. That game is awful. No one can beat that!"

"I did." She giggled. "Twice."

"I hate you." His character slipped in front of a guard and got caught, which made him reload the last save.

"Pff... I could do it too this way. That's cheating."

"It's not!"

Right now they weren't traveling because the Master calculated... something he didn't explain to Roka. But whatever it was, it was supposed to use as much power from the TARDIS as possible and it seemed to take a while to finish.

Which meant they both got horribly bored, which in return planted the weird idea into the Master's head to find out how humans spend their free time usually. Roka though, being the nerd she was, also wasn't a real expert on that subject, so she had reverted to the two things she found most amusing. Playing outdated videogames and watching bad horror movies. It also was an utterly amusing thought to see him doing those things.

The TARDIS once more proved to be of perfect help and had provided them with a room that couldn't be more casual. It wasn't too big, comfily dim and had a really big, wide and deep sofa and an even bigger TV inside. And there was one of those machines that produced food from atoms. In her head Roka always called those things Star Trek machines. Because... well... in the end they were exactly that.

In short it meant they had an endless stash of popcorn and other unhealthy stuff at hand. Two empty bowls of crisps already piled next to where the Master was lying. Of course he had occupied the sofa and somehow managed to fill it out completely. Roka sat on the carpet below, hands folded behind her head.

"Ah, screw that!" He threw the gamepad away after he got detected once more. "What about those horror movies? And why do they have to be bad?"

Roka glanced up and giggled. "Because those are the most fun."

There was a small tablet with which the TV could be controlled and she looked through a vast library. Having access to movies from all time spans really didn't help deciding. The Master sat up and looked over her shoulder from above.

"That one looks fun." He pointed at one with an ugly face on its cover. The reviews said it was awful, so she started it with a grin.

It turned out that the Master had never watched many movies. And he was surprised that humans made ones that had the only purpose to be scary. Emphasizing that certainly none of them would ever be able to spook him. Not that those bad ones would be any scary, but it was fun to bet on how many cheap jump scares they could predict.

"Ugh! Why would anyone do that?" he exclaimed, when one of the protagonists went down into a cellar. Alone and without a light source of course.

A hand reached down and snatched some of the popcorn out of the bag Roka had on her lap. She looked up and he was still sitting upright above her, cross-legged and fixated on the screen. It was a kinda hilarious sight, considering who he was.

He reached into her bag again... and once more.

"Get your own!" she complained.

He looked down to her, then to the bag... and snatched it completely away, leaning back.

Roka sighed and went to the machine and got herself a new one. But when she sat down again the Master also snatched that one away.

"Hey!" She threw a mean glance upwards and he stuck out his tongue, while grinning. So Roka decided to be annoying and slumped herself down on the sofa next to him, boldly reaching inside the bag.

"Get away!"

"Stop stealing my stuff!"

"Never." He held the bag away from her.

That moment a ghost appeared on the screen, accompanied by a loud scream. The Master winced and Roka laughed meanly at him.

"Oi! It's just because it was loud!"

"Of course." She had a sarcastic grin on her face and once more reached towards the popcorn.

He pushed her way, but winced once more and cursed loudly when a very ugly face appeared on screen.

"Who the hell designs such things!" he complained. "That's horrible!"

"That's the purpose." Roka could barely keep herself from laughing out loud.

"That do'n' ev'n make any sens'..." he said, munching more popcorn. "Ho' 'ould they e'en exist? Their gravikum fiel' would ha'e to exceed the..."

"It's just a movie."

"That doesn't excuse the lack of logic!"

"Your stomach is a lack of logic," replied Roka while taking down the second now empty bag that he had placed onto her head with a grin.

She went to get a big one this time and sat back onto the sofa, putting the bag between them. He would have stolen it anyway, but like that she might have a chance to get some herself.

The credits rolled and Roka got the tablet to look for a good movie this time. Maybe something from Asia. At least something really creepy.

"Don't grin like that. You can't spook me with those." He looked like he was about to just snatch the bag away, but then decided to let it sit there and just reached inside.

After a while Roka saw that the bag was still full and she glanced over to the Master, who sat tensed and upright, staring at the screen. A roguish grin stole itself on her face and she leaned carefully over to poke him.

He jumped, cursing, and backed away towards the end of the sofa, before realizing that it was just a now loudly laughing human. Roka could hardly breathe anymore.

"Didn't know you were such a chicken." She wiped a tear away, snatched the popcorn bag into her arms and put her attention back to the TV, expecting some revenge.

It came promptly, but not in a way she would have expected. He got up, trampled over the sofa and suddenly slumped down right behind Roka, folding his arms on top of her head and throwing a mean grin down to her surprised face, before he reached into the popcorn she still held in her hands. "At 'east y' can't do stu'id things there."

Roka froze completely for a few moments while her heartbeat got so fast that she feared to simply drop dead soon. Why could he not just... not do things like that! In her head she cursed very nastily at him and tried to calm herself and her heart rate.

It didn't work. Not even a bit. Worst of all was that she had not the slightest clue why she reacted like that when he was close. It certainly wasn't fear. Actually... it wasn't even uncomfortable to sit like that...

Something brushed her ear. A squeak escaped her and she jumped, only to hear a loud laugh from behind.

"God dammit!" she exclaimed. "You're such a sod!"

"You totally deserved that." He folded his arms on her head again and grinned down.

Roka grinned back. "So, you admit I spooked you before."

"Pfff! You wish!" He peeked into the popcorn bag, but it was already empty.

Roka remembered it only now and her stomach growled, followed by another mean laugh from behind.

"Just because you ate all of it!" she complained.

"I'm so totally not sorry about that." He chuckled and finally moved away from her again, occupying the other end of the sofa, hands folded behind his head.

Finally she remembered the movie again. It seemed like she hadn't missed anything important. The plot was quite predictable. "I bet he will try to revive her now... and then she'll probably turn into a zombie - or something similar - and eat him," she foretold. "If it comes true you'll get me a pizza."

"Tz, you know this one already."

"No. But I've seen thousands of those." Roka giggled. "Deal?"

"Won't happen anyway, deal."

The Master squinted at her when the first half of her prediction came true. "What a stupid thing to do!"

"Typical plot. The viewer is supposed to have some compassion for the guy, cause he wants to save his love." She shrugged.

"Ugh, boring." The Master rolled his eyes. "Who would do that?"

"Saving a loved person?" Roka laughed. "Everyone?"

"That's stupid. I wouldn't."

"Surprise. Well... you Time Lords aren't experts on that subject anyway," she chuckled, thinking back at all the companions of the Doctor, who sooner or later had given up on gaining his affection. Okay, there had been Rose, but she had been unique somehow.

"What for?" The Master raised an eyebrow.

Roka sighed and said more to herself "Why am I not surprised about that question..."

"No really... it's no use when almost your entire species is sterile. What do you think the loom chambers were for?" He looked at her as if that were the most obvious thing in the universe.

Right, she had read about those. They took a random set of genetic material and bread it into a new life form, a new Time Lord, perfectly genetically engineered. To a human like her it was a strange concept though.

"It's not just for reproduction..." She poked out her tongue and giggled.

"No... obviously not." He furrowed his brows. "People also seem to have a liking for getting eaten... Aaaalright. You'll get your damn pizza." He scowled while the second part of Roka's prediction unfolded on the screen.

Later they landed on the planet Athral and when they stepped outside they were in a modern city and a very tasty smell hit their noses.

"I totally need one of those now." The Master said, sniffing the air.

Roka stared at him, flabbergasted, remembering the pile of snacks he had just shoved into him. "How the hell can you still be hungry?!"

------------------------------------------

Not travelling was maybe the worst thing that could have happened. Simply because there was only one thing that was worse than an evil Master... and that was a bored one.

"You know..." he threw a serious glance at Roka. "There is something that really bugs me about you..." He tapped his chin, while letting the dramatic pause sink in. "You lack style," he finally said, looking at her usual flannel and t-shirt outfit.

Roka gave him a mean look back. "It's called the no one sees me anyway and it's comfy so I don't care how it looks... style."

"Clearly..." He tapped his chin again and raised an eyebrow. "Let's see... that giant wardrobe surely has something."

"No freakin' way!" She crossed her arms. "Just because you're bored doesn't mean..."

"Och, come on. That won't hurt." He grinned at her nastily.

"No, no and absolutely no!" She turned her head away, but her eyes peeked back to him. "I really don't even want to know what you would pick."

Unwillingly she had to admit that he looked quite handsome since he had given up on hoodies. He definitely had a good taste. Not that she would tell him.

There was a tug at her collar and suddenly she got dragged along, while all her protests fell on deaf ears.

"I won't wear anything too girly!" she moaned. "And definitely nothing even close to a dress!"

The Master let go of her when they reached the wardrobe and snickered. "That would only suit pretty girls anyway."

"Pfff..." Roka crossed her arms and turned her head away, still feeling the Master's gaze on her, wandering up and down, way too intensely for her taste. "Stop getting all creepy, you pervert!"

"Certainly not on you," he chuckled. "Rather want me get your size the old school way?" His hands mimicked getting out a measuring tape.

Roka just threw him a mean glance and he left her, grinning to himself. She sighed and leaned against the wall. When he had set his mind on something it was impossible to talk him out of it anyway. A grin stole itself onto her face. Getting fashion tips from her enemy surely wasn't a thing she would have ever imagined happening to her. Well... enemy... in a way they had almost become something like companions... although there was still the fact that the only reason she was still alive was the paradox.

The thoughts got disrupted by a bunch of clothes dropping on her head.

"There ya go!" came a happy voice from above. "I guess you don't need help with that." He chuckled to himself and went somewhere else.

With a sigh Roka got into a changing room. Much to her displease it wasn't something girly or anything else she could have just plainly refused to even try on.

Outside she turned around in front of a mirror and frowned at her reflection. That actually looked really cool. It was a black, diagonally buttoned shirt with a white collar and above a likewise black jacket with some carefully placed neon blue lines. It looked a bit like something out of a sci-fi game.

"What's that mean look for?" He stepped next to her, looking up and down.

"I hate that it actually looks nice," she sighed. He definitely had some taste.

"It really does." His reflection raised both eyebrows. "See? It's still comfy. And you look female for once." He stuck out his tongue toward her.

She rolled her eyes and let out another sigh when she saw that he had brought some more stuff.

-------------------------------

The Master still refused to move the TARDIS anywhere so Roka sat inside her room some hours later and stared at the data she had copied from the research room. Her PC was way more enhanced than anything from her original time, but not nearly advanced enough to calculate the Master's simulations properly. At least not with a visual output, but she got at least a bunch of numbers. Which was better than nothing, since she clearly wouldn't get any answers from him.

She stared at it for a longer while and sighed, rubbing her eyelids. Then her gaze fell onto the date and she blinked at it a few times before she recognized it. Should she do something? It was so useless... but then she decided that some cookies would be nice.

The TADRIS had the absolute perfect kitchen anyway. The tech inside here was amazing and baking stuff usually only took a few minutes at maximum. Usually though she only came here to get coffee.

"What are you doing?"

Roka rolled her eyes and sighed. Of course he had to come in here, while she was busy. "What does it look like?"

"There's an Atom Fuser." He shrugged and sat onto the counter, far enough away from the dough not to get dirty himself, but close enough to snatch something away. "No need to make anything yourself." He tried to snatch more, but Roka slapped his hand away.

"Stop eating that!" She threw a mean glance upwards and formed the dough into cookies.

"Don't hit me, cheeky human!" He tried to steal more and Roka slapped his hand again. "Oi! You can't just do that with me!"

"Wait a few minutes." Roka grinned and peered up to see a venomous look on his face. She turned around and put a few bowls on the counter. "So... what do you want? Chocolate, blueberries, Smarties?"

"Huh?" He looked perplex into the bowls, then back to Roka.

"On your share... what sort do you want?"

"Wait..." His eyebrows furrowed. "You make some for me too? What do you want?"

"Uhm... weird question. I want to bake, because it's fun... and it doesn't take significantly longer to make some more... so..." But the Master didn't look satisfied with her explanation. It was more as if he was intensely thinking about what price he would have to pay. "Don't tell me..." Roka began slowly, "no one ever made something like that for you?"

"What for?"

He sounded so honestly surprised about that question that it took Roka some seconds to respond.

"Nothing for... Because it's a nice thing to do. And if I make an extra share for you it reduces the probability of you stealing mine away." She laughed, but his confused look made her serious again. "Did anyone ever did anything nice for you?" Her eyebrow raised. "I mean... just for the sake of it. Without demanding payment of some sorts..."

"Don't think so." He squinted at her as if that question was a trap. "Where's the use in that? You gain nothing from it."

"Aaaaalright." Roka sighed and shook her head. "You'll get an extra portion."

"What! Why?!"

"Because... I have fun making them, I don't want you to steal my share... and maybe I'm just a nice person. So... before you can ask more dumb questions, what do you want on yours?"

"Everything!" His look was still a mix of puzzled and cautious.

Of course. It made her grin and she decorated a first sheet full of cookies, before putting it into the oven. And while the smell of them started to fill the air, she filled the next few, being observed by curious eyes.

"So... are Time Lord's in general such cold hearted bastards... or were they just mean to you?" She didn't look up.

"No idea what you mean... but... I guess they didn't like me much." He sounded thoughtful.

"Why's that? Aren't you all equal? I mean... weren't those loom chambers designed to eliminate all differences... except for appearance and character."

"I'm not."

"Hm? Not what?"

"A loom." He stared at her and finally she looked up and at him. "That's... almost some kind of scandal, depending on the house."

Roka blinked perplex. "Let me guess... because natural born Time Lords aren't perfect? That's ridiculous."

"For humans maybe." He crossed his arms. "Had to prove my worth like everyone else... maybe a little more... but still..." He shrugged and hopped from the counter, ending the topic with that. Not that he would have to tell much more. The implications were strong enough.

It made her grin to see him pacing up and down, watching the cookies get ready. She giggled and put on an oven glove to get out the sheet and put in the remaining ones. Now that she knew the perfect temperature they would only take a minute. It smelled fantastic.

The Master immediately tried to grab one of the cookies, but let it fall down to the sheet again, shaking his hand.

"You know..." Roka grinned at him, when he put the burned finger into his mouth. "I really have no idea how I was ever supposed to be scared of you."

His arms crossed and he straightened up to tower above her with a very mean look on his face. "There are some fine sharp knifes in here." He nodded towards some. "Want me to try them on you?"

"Not now. Step back from the oven." She shooed him away with a wave of her hands and got out the rest of the sheets.

"You're so annoying." He sounded deeply disappointed.

Roka wrapped up the cookies into bundles, tied them together and put three of them into the Master's hands, smiling up. "There, have fun."

"I bet they are awful." He stared down to the cookies, a confused look on his face.

With a smile she left him there and went to her room. The best thing about being inside a TARDIS was that there never was a need to tidy anything up, since rooms could just be set back in time.

A few minutes passed before she peeked out once more. The

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net