Oswin and Smith

Starry Night

Clara sits at her favorite French bakery with a soufflé and a cup of chamomile tea, enjoying being inside given the windy Chicago weather. After finishing her soufflé (her favorite breakfast which she could never quite master herself) she exits the bakery, tea in hand.

The weather was brisk so she goes on a short walk, and then heads to the salon. She may be a secret agent, but she was also Clara Oswald, and Clara Oswald seriously needed a day at the salon.

That night, Clara steps out of the black car that had escorted her to the event, sent by the Doctor. She was wearing a sleek gold shimmery dress with a slit up to her mid thigh. On her feet she wore nude colored stilettos with her toes peeking out of the tips. Her nails were painted crimson and perfectly un-chipped and her chocolate hair was wrapped in a loose chignon hairdo, a few strands framing her petite features. Her makeup was angelic, and of course featured her crimson lipstick. In her handbag she carried her ID, cuffs, and pistol in case she was to run into danger. You could never be too safe, and she had a clue the Doctor hadn’t invited her there for a date. Showing the man at the door her invitation, she is greeted inside by another staff member who collects her white faux-fur coat.

Clara loved dressing up and attending events like these, but sometimes the snobby rich customs irked her. She could take off her own coat. Trying to fit in though, Clara lets the young boy take her coat and slips him a friendly smile as he hands her a ticket for coat check.

Once inside she decides to look at the art, hoping for a clue to what sunflowers meant. She observes all the beautiful paintings, and reads about the brilliant painter and his wonderful post-Impressionism style work. Then, Clara turns into a dimly lit room that held only one medium-sized painting that was illuminated by a soft yellow glow. It was absolutely gorgeous.

The painting is a simple yellow vase with a bouquet of sunflowers set against a sky blue background. Each brush stoke made up the beautiful yellow flowers and green leaves, and every inch of the painting blew Clara away. On the vase there was a small inscription: "for Amy, Vincent". Clara wondered who Amy was… Whoever she was, Clara wished she could see the people admiring Van Gogh's beautiful dedication to her. 

"Sunflowers." She whispers under her breath, remembering the note.

Hearing soft music coming from the ballroom, Clara decides to look for the mysterious Doctor who had sent her the invitation. Re-applying her lipstick, she steps into the ballroom, romantically lit with a beautiful crystal chandelier. 

There were tables, and, figuring she would be seated next to the Doctor, she goes to find her name. After she found her name a friendly waitress escorted her to table 11. As she had presumed, next to her was a name tag labeled "Doctor". She smirks a little, wondering why he had chosen Doctor as a code name. Looking more closely, she sees a little note sprawled in the Doctor's wispy handwriting.

Meet me at the bar

Quite intrigued now, Clara makes her way over to the bar, her heels clicking on the mahogany dance floor. After scanning the bar she decides to approach the only man there who wasn't mingling or gossiping. Instead, this man was elegantly sipping a glass of red wine that was draped between two of his fingers. To her dismay he was turned away so she couldn't see his face, so she orders a drink and casually sits down at the stool next to him.

"Hello Doctor" she says, causing the man to turn and face her. 

He wasn't your traditional American handsome, but he was indeed gorgeous. He had angled cheekbones and his hair was slicked to the side, but not completely back. His chin was funny, but Clara liked it... Actually, she quite liked everything about his face... He wore a clean black tux but instead of a tie he donned a black bow tie, which simply made him more attractive. Clara quickly snapped out of her haze remembering that this was not a date, or any arrangement of that sort.