Revery of Madness (Doctor Who)

II - Same old future

The next few weeks went by in a similar manner. Breakfast, then packing lunch - Roka made sure they always had at least some sandwiches and a thermos bottle of coffee (tea for the Master) - then they went out and searched the area for any signs of the Doctor. In the evenings they returned, although Roka was sure the Master went out at night, as well.

Since they shared the kitchen with Cassy it also turned out to be more convenient to prepare meals for everyone at once. Again, the Master proofed to be an exceptional cook, a fact that had astonished Roka immensely when she had first learned about this - it also had turned out the Doctor had been clueless about this skill.

"How are your studies going?" Roka asked curiously one evening, while the Master prepared something in the back that made her stomach twist and turn in anticipation.

"Eh, well, I guess... can't concentrate much, these days," Cassy sighed and lowered a textbook she had been reading.

"Anything wrong? We're not bothering you, are we?"

"No! No, you don't!" the girl exclaimed, but calmed down fast. "It's actually nice having people here. It got a bit lonely since Caleb moved out. And Anna isn't visiting so often, since she's studying herself and... uuuuugh...." She let out a long drawn sigh. "She wants to visit tomorrow."

"Isn't that good?" Roka pondered. "You talk about her a lot, after all."

"D... do I?" Cassy squeaked and hid her blushing face behind her book. "I mean, yeah, it's a good thing. I... I'm just a little nervous."

"Because of us?"

Cassy slowly shook her head, although her eyes briefly darted towards the Master.

"Mhm... alright. Just tell if we can help, yeah?"

"No! Don't!" the other girl protested, her voice high pitched. "Just... uh... don't. Everything is alright. Really. Totally. I'm fine."

Roka blinked perplex. That behaviour certainly was off.

"I'm missing something, don't I?" she mumbled more to herself.

"You do," the Master remarked mockingly, putting a big pot on the table. "It's so obvious, even I get it." His eyes glinted with glee as he leaned down to her, pecking a quick kiss to her cheek.

"Wh... what was that for?" Said cheeks started to glow red. Roka sunk together in her chair and saw Cassy chuckle quietly to herself.

"For being an adorable idiot." The comment was followed by a downright evil snickering.

He sat down with the two and gestured over the food to signal them to suit themselves. Cassy wasn't able to hold in a groan.

"Letting you stay here was the best idea ever." She closed her eyes and took a bite. "Gosh, Matt, where did you learn to cook like that?"

The Master smirked smugly. "Och, here and there. I travelled a lot, tried out even more. You learn stuff when you look at the world with open eyes, when you seek after the most hidden secrets, when you feel the age of the stories a place has to tell."

There he was again, the man who loved the stars more than anything else. Roka didn't need any kind of connection to feel his longing to go back out there. Each time he had told her stories of his travels he had that look on his face, one that didn't tell of the bad things he did, but of the times he was a mere explorer, doing as he pleased, but never without admiring and appreciating what he saw and learned. And however much he denied it, Roka was certain he did most of his exploring to experience all the strange wonders of the universe instead of using them for nefarious deeds, even if those might be his set goal.