WHOUFFLE WEEK 2020

DAY FOUR: Coat, outerwear / Food

NOTES:

Day 4 of the Whouffle Week 2020! Today's prompts:
"COAT, OUTERWEAR / FOOD".
Loosely inspired by @NairobiWonders' chapter "Coat" of the July writing challenge "Watson's Many Woes 2020"
This week I'm experimenting with my writing, so this is again something short, sweet and domestic. The hard stuff will come later in the week.
ENJOY!

The Doctor had had the suspicion lately that Clara had been sneakily using his coat, probably hoping he wouldn't notice. The first time he suspected he was in the TARDIS, on his own and working on the old girl when he felt a bit of chill spread from the base of his spine. He looked for his coat, not the black one with the red lining he'd been using that day but the velvet one, which was made of a stronger and warmer fabric that fitted snugly around his arms and frame. He liked that one, and despite Clara believing he was blind to such things, he had actually taken notice of her eyes on him whenever he wore that coat. It felt humbling. He was aware his body wasn't the same as when he had too much chin and no eyebrows, and yet he felt Clara's appreciative gaze whenever he wore that coat. It was nice to know he was liked despite having grown older.

He finally located it, hanging half-hidden between two bookcases. He had the strange feeling the coat hadn't found its way to this particular coatrack on its own. When he put it on a strange smell hit him, and he realized it was Clara's scent. A mix of sandalwood, whiteboard marker and something he couldn't quite place but that was distinctively her, filled his senses, and he took several deep breaths, his lips drawing a fond smile.

It smelled like home.

He didn't know why Clara had used his coat or in what circumstances she'd worn it and he wanted to find out, but he wasn't going to confront her with it. He knew that telling her would probably make her stop doing it, and he realized right when he pulled the coat more around his shoulders he didn't want her to stop. So, inhaling her scent once more before he got to work, he decided to wait until the next time he would put on his coat and find her smell all over it.

As it turns out, he didn't have to wait that long. Two weeks later, after stopping for a quick coffee before leaving Clara home, the TARDIS had refused to cooperate and move from its parking spot.

"Come on, Doctor, I want to go home and have a bath!" Clara complained from the top of the stairs, her forearms resting on the railings.

The Doctor barely looked at her, focused as he was on his old girl.

"Come on, why don't you take us to Clara's home? Then I can take a look at you properly" the Doctor pleaded, but the TARDIS hummed impatiently.

"Doctooooor!" Clara's whiney voice made the Doctor smirk slightly.

"I don't know what's going on with her, she won't budge!" the Doctor exclaimed. He was looking at the screen while frowning, but the screen returned a blank image, he would get no answers from there.

"Urgh, I see there's nothing to do here," Clara said, exasperation filling her voice "I'm going to have a bath and find some good book to read. You keep working on it!"

"Will do!" the Doctor answered without raising his gaze from the screen in front of him. He unbuttoned his vest, rolled up his sleeves, and got to work.

He didn't realize how long it had been until he finally saw what was wrong with his old girl. Or rather, the TARDIS showed her, as she'd almost had to put some neon lights signalling the breakdown. She hummed impatiently, she could tell the Doctor was somewhat distracted but he didn't seem to notice.

"I GOT IT!" he exclaimed triumphantly before he had to duck and his throat emitted a moan of pain as he bumped his head against the underside of the console "urgh..." he rubbed the point where he'd hit himself, blinking back tears, and got out of his hiding place.

"Thank you for that" he complained to the TARDIS, who simply hummed in amusement.

Now that he knew what was wrong with her, it would be a matter of minutes, maybe half an hour until the TARDIS could move again. He decided to go find Clara to tell her, he needed her to help him after all.

The Doctor walked through the corridors, his feet taking him to the library. She normally graded the exams or papers in the console room, keeping him company while he read or worked on something, but some other times she needed some peace and quiet, and the library had become her cosy corner for those times.

So, upon arriving at the door he turned the knob already expecting to see Clara snuggled on the sofa with a blanket, a couple of cushions, a good book and a steaming cup of tea next to her. What he wasn't expecting, though, was to find her dozing off with half her body covered with his coat.

He grinned, surprised and amused when he recognized the velvet coat he'd worn just a couple of weeks before. So that's what you do when I'm not looking he thought, and silently walked the few steps that separated the door from the sofa.

When he was next to her, however, he didn't have the nerve to wake her up. She had curled up as much as she could so that the coat covered as much body as possible, her arms tightly against her chest and her hands under her head. However, a shiver ran through her and he realized she was cold despite the coat.

He scanned the room and located a warm-looking blanket on one of the chairs, he grabbed it and gently draped it over her legs and torso. He let her keep his coat, but he made sure she was tucked in so that it wouldn't move even if she did change position. His hands worked quickly and expertly, not wanting to disturb her sleep.

Then he looked at her. Her expression changed a lot when she was sleeping, she was much more relaxed, and after a few seconds, she seemed to realize she wasn't cold anymore and her lips drew a satisfied smile. Warmth filled his hearts upon seeing her sleeping in abandon, and he grinned too when Clara shifted slightly, snuggling closer and covering half her face with the coat. Her nose buried itself against the lining and he noticed her inhaling, her body immediately relaxing further when his own smell seemed to hit her senses.

He suddenly couldn't believe his luck, that such a rare woman would decide to spend her days with him, of all people. The relationship with Clara had been easy with his previous regeneration but once he'd turned into this Scottish angry man their start had been bumpy, she'd needed some time to get adjusted to his new appearance and personality. Now, he briefly wondered what he would do if he disappeared from his life. He shook his head, not wanting to fall down that path, and focused instead on observing her. Her chest expanding and contracting with each breath, her calm expression, the trust she put in him and in the knowledge that being with him meant safety.

The Doctor still had trouble processing that, he was well aware he put his friends in danger too many times to count. And yet, despite all the times that her life had been at stake, Clara refused to leave. As he watched her sleeping peacefully without a care in the world, the Doctor felt humbled by her complete and utter trust in him. She put her life in his hands, trusting she was safe in the TARDIS with him, and despite having been proven wrong time and time again she never once stopped believing in him. The Doctor gulped audibly, suddenly overwhelmed by the confirmation of her blind trust, and promised himself he wasn't going to throw that precious gift away so easily. He had a duty of care and he would carry it out come hell or high water.

Silently he got up from the floor, wanting to let Clara sleep, but before he left he allowed one of his hands to gently stroke her forehead, gently removing some strands of hair from her face.

"Rest, my dear Clara" he whispered before leaning over and placing a gentle, almost light-feather kiss on her forehead.

With that, he turned on his heels and left her sleeping form. He'd have to fix the TARDIS without her help, but for once, he didn't really mind. When he got to the console room he was humming slightly, and the TARDIS hummed in reply. She didn't even bother to ask him why he was so chirpy.