With Fragile Promises (Doctor Who Fanfiction)

Chapter Five: The Beginning of an Adventure

  Chapter Five: The Beginning of an Adventure

  The Doctor, some time unknown to him in the last few hours, must have dosed off cuddled up beside Clara in her bed. The next thing he could recall was his eyes blinking awake and feeling fully refreshed, even though he didn’t need to sleep as often as humans and couldn’t remember falling asleep in the first place. The next thing he was aware of was Clara. They were both lying down on their sides in the middle of Clara’s bed, facing each other. The Doctor’s face was merely inches from hers. Clara was lost in the Doctor’s arms as they were wrapped protectively around her, and her small body was pressed against his chest, her arms pulled up and resting under her head. It was very intimate and for once, the Doctor found himself not becoming worryingly embarrassed. Instead a smile tugged at his lips as he stared into Clara’s face, observing details he hadn’t been able to see before; faint freckles shadowing her skin, something that no one would notice unless they were looking at her underneath a microscope. There was a soft hairline scar underneath the left corner of her right eye too – probably from a childhood accident judging by how it was barely distinguishable against the tone of her skin colour.

  It was weird looking at someone you knew like the back of your hand this close up. It was like looking into a fraction of their soul. They looked like a completely different person. He could count every one of Clara’s eyelashes and describe the very creases on her lips.

  He was so absorbed in recording every finer detail on her previous details that he failed to notice Clara’s eyelids slowly open. Her eyes took a while to focus to the Doctor’s face, and even though she was surprised at their intimacy, she didn’t complain nor let it show. She watched him, silently, for a moment as his gaze focused on her nose before interrupting his thoughts.

  “So, what brings you here?”

  The Doctor’s eyes immediately flicked up to her gaze, like he was just caught in a dishonourable act.

  She gave an amused frown at his anxiousness. “What were you staring at?”

  There was a moment of unsure awkwardness as he tried to decide whether or not to tell the truth of brush it off. He ended up taking a completely different approach and raised his eyebrows in an almost challenging, flirty manner. “You.”

  It was only one word, but the impact and the force behind it sent a shiver down Clara’s spine. He said it as if it was the best compliment he could give her. She didn’t know when she decided to stare at his lips, yet she found herself gazing at their structure and shape.

  That was when Clara sat up straight like she had been electrocuted. What was getting into her? Were these thoughts about the Doctor a side effect from Trenzalore or had they been hanging around her subconscious for a while now?

  She couldn’t help but notice how he frowned when she pulled away. It made her feel terribly guilty.

  “How are you? Did you sleep alright?” the Doctor asked as he pushed himself up beside her.

  “Yeah,” said Clara, actually surprised when she thought about it. “The best I’ve slept in ages, actually. Thanks, again.”

  The Doctor chuckled. “Yeah, I thought you would. The shield I placed in your mind made your body fall into a deep sleep so it could build itself up nice and strong.”

  “So no more memories of the echoes?”

  “No more memories of the echoes.”

  Clara smiled and nudged his arm. He glanced at her, grinning widely of course, while one of his free hands brushed his luscious thick hair which was sticking up all over the place. In a tentative voice, a little too high for it to be casual, he asked, “So you don’t remember our… conversation last night?”