@vortexparadox - continued from here.
BY THE TIME CARMEN HAD FOUND THE ELUSIVE BLONDE, HE WAS SUCCEEDING IN MAKING HIMSELF BUSY DEEP WITHIN THE CONFINES OF HIS INVENTING ROOM. Ever since he had established the factory, this had been the place for him to unleash his inner frustrations with the universe - from a young age, back when Gallifrey had been his home, he had been well-aware that to allow one’s emotions to fester within was to eventually facilitate their outburst, no doubt damaging anything or anyone that had made the mistake of being within the vicinity at that time. Instead, he had developed an ethic of distraction - whenever the blood began to boil, or whenever the heart began to pain him, he would almost always seek to dabble in something, anything productive, so that those ebbs or anger or hurt would inevitable fizzle out in time. Luckily for him, they did.
AS CARMEN SPOKE, HE CONTINUED TO WORK, MOST OF HIS ATTENTION FOCUSED ON THE TABLE OF CHEMICALS AND OTHER SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT IN FRONT OF HIM - ALTHOUGH, HE DID LISTEN. Picking up a test tube filled with a clear liquid from a rack that was holding one or other almost identical tubes, his other hand delicately dipped a pipette into a flask that was filled with another liquid, only this one constituted a gentle cloud of white in colour. Sampling a small amount, he examined it closely in the light for a moment.
“You think I don’t know what the CIA puts their trainees through?” He asked, keeping his back to her, “The Academy thought I was destined to become one of their best. They tried to glorify it - I’d be working for the good of Gallifrey, a lifetime of service against the apparent evil of the universe...a hero, almost. They couldn’t believe I wanted no part of it. I suppose that was the beginning of it all...the end...”
AFTER A SECOND’S SILENCE, HE PROCEEDED TO ADD A DROP OF THE CLOUDY LIQUID TO THE TEST TUBE, HIS EYES SQUINTING AS HE DID SO. After a moment, a quiet POOF! was heard as a tiny plume of smoke was created, wafting out of the tube and into the air. As he watched it, he paid further attention to Carmen’s words. At her comments on his own persona, he froze. The Black Sheep was a mysterious individual at the best of times, so much so that he himself had almost given up at attempting to decipher how she truly felt about him - but to hear this? Granted, it was nothing concrete, but...it seemed she was just as conflicted about her own emotions as he was about his. The heart - or, in their cases, hearts - was a delicate mechanism, although once they became attached, there was where the real trouble lay. Zorana had never intended to fall for Carmen, and yet, fate had clearly proposed other plans.
WHATEVER THE TRUE NATURE OF JUST HOW THEIR CONNECTION WAS DESTINED TO DEVELOP, THE FACT REMAINED THAT SHE DID NOT WANT TO LEAVE HIS SIDE - AND HE DID NOT WANT HER TO, EITHER. Throughout her monologue, he hadn’t uttered a word, although his telepathic senses had been on high alert, immediately picking up those last, damning words of hers almost immediately. He placed the equipment he was holding back onto the table, settling the tube into its original spot on the rack. Straightening his posture, he finaly turned to face her, staring deeply into her eyes, his gaze lingering for a further moment before he dared to speak.
