[camillerouillard]

Singapore, 2063 | Camille + Alan

[camillerouillard]

“You drive a hard bargain, Monsieur.” She felt intimidated by how close he stood to her now and tried to resist the urge to cross her arms to bring more distance between them. Her eyes wandered everywhere but to where she could see into his blue hues, which were looking at her so indiscriminately. Then she let out a sigh and her shoulders sacked. “Another time, Alan? I’m absolutely tired and just want to fall into my own bed.” Finally her eyes met his and held the gaze until she couldn’t bear it any longer. Her thoughts went back to Antoine and how she had always felt so at ease in his presence. Things had been so clear back then and if it hadn’t been for the second war she’d still be there with him, raising their children. She didn’t want to move past that image, she couldn’t. “Please.”, she added as a barely audible plea.

[alancarters]

Alan let out a sigh and didn't attempt to hide his frustration from his features. Sometimes he couldn't understand how Camille was so complacent with not doing anything but the job. What did she even do when they were back at the Institute? Cry in her pillow and dream of the old, old times? That didn't really seem like the woman he knew, but then again he hardly seemed to know her at all even after the years that they've known each other.

"Fine, if you'd rather head back then we will." His shoulders sacked down, when he gave in to her plea. His arms were crossed in front of his chest and he made a point of walking past the blonde, heading straight towards the car without even so much as glancing at her another time. "Sometimes you're just so boring, you know that Cammy?"

The End.

[alancarters]

Good Morning Vietnam | VEGA + ALAN

Alan stifled a yawn. It was too bloody early in the morning for him to be arsed to do anything but of course the Powers that Be had decided that it was the perfect time for him to show up for a meeting. 0600 hrs was too early definitely but an order was an order even if he wasn't in the army anymore. He warmed his cold fingers on the steel mug filled with coffee as black as his mood and just as sour while waiting for the others to show up. This appeared to be an important meeting but apart from one other person no one had arrived yet. Another yawn came over the man.

[camillerouillard]

Singapore, 2063 | Camille + Alan

[camillerouillard]

One of these days she might even let follow his moods but now was not that day - whatever that meant to a time traveler anyway. She liked her routines and felt like an alien among the fast-speeding world around her. At the Institute the surroundings were at least familiar, if in some places also too modern for her old-fashioned soul. The Frenchwoman had never been a prude but when she compared herself to the way young women portrayed themselves nowadays, she felt completely out of her element. 

Camille liked to bicker with Alan and she knew that some of their colleagues talked behind their backs about them acting like an old married couple - an analogy which she found highly troubling but couldn’t do anything against - but today she was just tired of his attempts on getting her involved with the places and times they visited. “Are you implying that I don’t know how to enjoy myself, Carter?”, she talked back with a small grin that didn’t reach her eyes.

[alancarters]

"I wouldn't really put it like that.", he replied and a real grin spread over his features, "Okay, that's exactly what I mean." He couldn't help but laugh at her expression which was full of defiance at his suggestion. His step was full of confidence when he closed the small distance between them. Alan lowered his voice into a confiding tone. "Forget where we come from for a moment, be one with the movement here and forget yourself." He was no stranger for feeling out of place himself but he knew that the cultural shock always hit Camille harder than him.

"I'll bring you back home alright, Camille." The mocking was gone out of his words as he looked at her with his most sincere expression. He meant what he said, he would not return without her because after all they were partners.

[camillerouillard]

Singapore, 2063 | Camille + Alan

Camille walked towards the car that was still waiting for them were they had parked it before this mission. She felt exhaustion creep through her bones and wanted to just quickly get the trip over with. One of the things she truly disliked about her job and special ability was the feeling of time stretching her limps and mind, the feeling of suddenly not being something physical anymore but rather just something else that’s wandering through time. It was so easy to get lost in simply existing and seeing different moments of her life and the lives of others pass by her, inviting her in to take a peek. If she was truly honest - and she rarely was to anyone but herself - she often wanted to follow the urge to not exist anymore. It would be such a sweet relief of the pain and guilt she felt weighting down on her shoulders. 

Instead the machinery in the Institute and the tracker inside her skull made it impossible for her to get lost like that. It would rip her apart and she’d die and as much as she wished for that to happen, she couldn’t let go yet. What would Antoine say if she just gave up like that?

The blonde stopped in her tracks and turned around, when she noticed that the all too familiar footsteps beside her had stopped. She looked back to her partner. “Are you coming? You know I can’t drive.”

[alancarters]

Alan had places his hands inside the front pockets of his blue leather jacket as he strolled just a step behind Camille, who as usual seemed more than ready to return back into the secure confines of the Institute. He should be used to this by now but he wouldn't be able to ever understand why she couldn't use their gift for something else than the job. It had been an easy one this time and they only had to spend three days cooped in a cheap motel room, waiting for their thieves to turn into the driveway and take up residence in the room next to them. After a generous application of knockout gas - especially designed by their scientists to have the maximum effect in the shortest of time possible - they had simply robbed the robbers and returned the price. Easy game. 

Yet Alan wasn't really satisfied with the experience and they weren't expected back for another three days at least. He hardly noticed how his own feet stalled and his eyes wandered back to where the small alley would lead them back to one of the smocking centers of 2062 Singapore. The sun was already getting low and the clubs would open up and invite eager party-goers in with their pulsating, modern music. 

"Can't we just… enjoy ourselves?", he asked her with his usual half-smile, "Have you ever been to Singapore before? In this age it is the hottest strip there is." He knew that Camille knew all of that through her meticulous planning before the mission started but she never applied it to herself. She was clinical in her approach and it was most unlike Alan, who loves jumping into new environment after the official part was over. "When was the last time you just tried to shake it all off?"

[thechronosinstitute]

Name: Alan Carter Nicknames: Al Age: Between 30 - 35

THE S T O R Y:

Alan was the middle child of three and suffered through his childhood by having to mediate between his older sister, Brittany, and his younger sister, Elisabeth. His parents were more interested in the grades their children brought home than in having a proper family dinner in the evening. As a consequence Alan soon decided to spend his spare time not practicing for school at all but instead began playing the guitar, bands like Green Day being his inspiration.

He set his eyes on becoming a singer and guitarist after he finished school but those dreams never came true. Tensions at home were at its peak when Elisabeth became pregnant at age 17, which was absolutely scandalous in their parents’ eyes and as a consequence they became even more overbearing and controlling of their children’s extracurricular activities.

Motivated primarily by the urge to defy his parents, who want their son to follow a prestigious career path, he joined the British Forces in 2001. He served for four years and did two tours during that time, one in Afghanistan and one in Iraq. It was the latter that brought him in contact with the Institute. His convoy got hit by still unknown assailants and when he woke up, he found himself in a hospital that was definitely more advanced than what he knew.

THE M I N D:

He’s a hopeless romantic, who likes to pretend he is anything but soft, mostly by hiding behind an arrogant façade. He sees close connections with other people as hopeless and primed for failure due to his bad experiences in the area. Alan also likes to act before thinking about the consequences and when someone tells him not to do something he will most likely do exactly that. In complete contradiction to that, he is structured and separates work from private life very efficiently.

THE C O N N E C T I O N S:

Camille Rouillard - Close friends and partner in the field

[camillerouillard]

Well if you would actually listen to them sometimes, we’d have to hear fewer of those lectures, wouldn’t we?

[alancarters]

I'm an angel, I promise. See you at the assembly, ok?

[alancarters]

camillerouillard:

I hardly think that completely detroyed means the same as faulty. You do remember that they ignited carbon monoxide in one of the laboratories and it ended badly. Three people where hospitalized.  

Do you have to be this grim all the time, Cammy? Could you listen to another lecture about the responsibility we have and the privilege that we got by working here? 

[alancarters]

I hope this isn't about the faulty airconditioning down on level seven again. I wasn't even involved in that incident.