makemeasong | Open post/meme overflow 💫

[ Clara hums and kisses his cheek softly before pulling back to look at him. ]

Now that we have some very important foods out of the way, I need to know something equally as vital. Do you like to dance?

[ The face right before this one, they danced quite a bit, but he was more tactile with her then and he hasn't asked her to dance since. ] Because if not, we'll have to come up with something else that involves music and my body pressed against yours.

[ She loves being able to flirt with him again, a skill she misssed sorely. ]

[He lets out a bit of a harumph, immediately understanding where she’s coming from. He can’t help but have his cheeks flushed a slight pink at the implication as well.]

I can dance. It just hasn’t been a priority for me since.

[It was also just another reminder of his past self and how starkly different they had been. Was it possible to be jealous of someone that was technically you?]

Time to rearrange your priorities. [ She calls him a term of endearment in Gallifreyan before pressing a chaste kiss to his lips and getting up from his lap. Moving into the living room, she moves to an old record player that has amazing sound, and pulls out an Ella Fitzgerald album. ]

Do you remember listening to her in that smoky lounge with Marilyn?

[ Clara expects the Doctor to be right behind her, but it isn't as though much space separates them anyway. Soon, the smooth sound of Ella's voice moves through the cabin and Clara turns back to the dining room and grabs her glass of wine, taking a sip and holding out her free hand for him. ]

[His grumbling really is all for show as he follows after her dutifully into the living room. The dishes can always wait for later. Although this current state of him had a taste for punk-rock and electric guitars, there was something about Ella’s voice that held a special place in his heart.]

How could I forget? The pair of you fawned over each other; it was like I wasn’t even there. [He says it jokingly despite it being the truth taking her outstretched hand and bringing her close to him. His other hand finds rest in the small of her back.]

As if you didn't get plenty of attention from Marilyn Monroe.

[ Clara rolls her eyes, but the real reason for slow dancing with him is made apparent quickly. She melts against him, one arm looped around him where she's able to perfectly hear his heartbeats. ]

I missed this. I missed the way it feels to be in your arms like this, and the way we've always fit together somehow. Even now that I'm unfairly short.

We’ll just have to agree to disagree there then.

[And it wasn’t like he was particularly jealous of that moment; it would have been an honour for anyone to have Marilyn take interest in them.]

You were always short. [He says with a laugh as he holds her close to him and sway with her in time. It’s less dancing and more swaying, but he hopes she doesn’t mind. Lively dancing didn’t seem to fit Ella’s voice like this did.] We fit then and we fit now. [His fingers draw tiny circles on the small of her back.] And we’ll always fit no matter what our regenerations bring.

[ His laugh. The sound of it is like magic, and she absolutely doesn't mind the swaying. She wants slow and close, so it's perfect. ]

Let's try not to regenerate again anytime soon. [ Because usually, it means something awful has happened, and she thinks they deserve this, to reclaim their lives for themselves. For a few minutes she lets the record play without say anything, but a thought floats through her mind and she can't help but ask a question. But her voice is quiet when she does. ]

We spent such a long time apart. [ Clara takes a deep breath then lets it out. ]

Did you ever...fall in love with anyone else? [ Loving, and being in love, are two vastly different things, and she knows that he always kept walls around his hearts. But she never asked anything about his love life because before, it didn't seem like any of her business. ]

You don't have to worry about that. That's something I'm not rushing into any time soon.

[He had his own hangups about regenerating and it was one of the commonalities that he had with his tenth face. Regeneration felt like dying as much as it was a new chapter on his very long life and while he knew it was inevitable, he couldn't help but feel more trepidation thinking about it in this iteration of himself.

Clara's question surprises him and catches him off guard. He hadn't expected her to go in that direction.]

Am I going to get in trouble for answering this?

[ Clara laughs softly and shakes her head. ]

No, I promise. I know about River at least. I liked her, a lot. She helped me realize I could jump into your time stream and save you. I'm glad you weren't alone, that your hearts still allowed people in.

[The slight prickle of fear he gets after she asks the question disappears when she reassures him he isn’t going to get in any trouble for answering it.]

There were a couple, including River but not all of them were romantic love. [The music swells and the next track begins just as he begins to think about all the people that he’s travelled with. In many ways he did love all of them. There was no way for him not to. That was one of the things that set him apart from other Time Lords, he realized. It was the ability to love in many forms.]

Rose Tyler was one of them. She was one of the first faces my tenth face saw. [He hopes that she’s well. That was one of the few bittersweet moments in his life that had crossed paths with love and he had allowed some version of himself to be with someone in a very long time.]

[ Clara can't help but smile softly and stroke his cheek. ]

You weren't alone, and people loved you. Took care of you. Do you know how relieved that makes me feel? I know where I stand.

[ Pulling back, she holds his gaze. ] After everything, you let yourself love again. That just makes me love you more.

[Clara would have spun it that way. He can’t help but feel his hearts melt slightly, knowing that she is nothing but caring, nothing but loving, even after all this time.]

I was lucky. I am lucky. And I keep having to remind myself of that even on my worst days.

[He leans down, brushing his lips against her forehead before chuckling slightly.] How is this dancing doing it for you? I’m not exactly twirling and spinning you around a room but I haven’t stepped on your toes yet.

It's exactly what I wanted. [ She hums at the kiss to her forehead. ] But I guess if I'm looking for an excuse to be pressed against you, we don't necessarily have to be standing.

[ Her arms loop around his neck. ]

I'm happy to do anything though. We could let the TARDIS take us somewhere after cleaning up. Or we could go explore the forest.

I knew there had to be another reason. [He bends down even further to press the lightest of kisses to her lips again.]

We could explore more of the planet. Head out tomorrow? I think we deserve a planet not as dangerous for our first night together as a married couple in a long time.

[But he knows them; they both love the rush, the thrill that a new adventure presents to them. His suggestion is just a way of deliberating slowing them down, a valuable lesson that he’s learned since they had parted ways.]

[ Her hands reach up to cradle his face, keeping him them as she hums her agreement before kissing him again. Still a sweet kiss, though not as light. She ends it, then lets the tip of her nose glide along the side of his. ]

I'll help clean up.

[ But first, another kiss. Because he has the right idea about slowing down. And it only seems right that they kiss as often as possible. ]

[He knows that he should get more used to affection because a relationship - a partnership - is all about balance and compromise. They won't work if he can't at least give her something.

And maybe, he thinks, he would have gotten there eventually with Clara had they kept adventuring. Maybe not as soon as she would have liked or hoped, but eventually. But there's something easier in knowing that she remembers his real name, his first face, and their shared history.

He returns the kiss, taking his time to explore her again, taking more time than he normally would before reluctantly pulling back to urge her towards the kitchen.]

The dishes aren't going to wash themselves. We're Time Lords not wizards.

Edited 2022-08-19 04:25 (UTC)

[ Clara laughs and goes to the kitchen with him, the music till playing from the other room. They settle into an easy back and forth of drying and washing, and she wipes down the countertops while he takes care of the stove.

By the time they're done the record has played both sides and they've finished the wine. ]

Job well done, us. I missed doing all of these little things with you. I missed being your wife. Not just a wife, but yours, specifically.

And I missed being your husband.

[Alcohol doesn't effect him as much as it does humans so he can't blame the sudden thought that crosses his mind on it but he doesn't want to anyway. He'd rather be honest with her. He carefully wrings the tea towel in his hands, not necessarily meeting her gaze.]

Emotions are a funny thing especially when you don't remember them but I think I'm starting to remember now why I was so annoyed when I first met Danny.

[ Clara sort of freezes, because there isn't a single thing she doesn't regret. Clearing her throat, she dries her hands for too long, not looking up. ]

...Okay. [ If he thought her question earlier was a trap, she feels the same about this. ] Are you gonna make me guess?

[It's not like him to be sheepish or to say something so possessive, but he wants to be honest with her.] I was annoyed because I think I knew deep down what we were. Or at least my body remembered.

He wasn't wrong though. I knew that if you were going to be with someone else, even if it was him, that you'd be taken care of.

[ She's quiet and studies the dishcloth in her hands. She's pushed Danny into a box in the back of her mind because there's so much she couldn've handled better - her and the Doctor both - and she hates thinking about it all. But here they are, and this is her husband. She might've had secrets with the Doctor, but never with her husband. ]

Since you brought it up then. I was so in love with you when you regenerated. We were so close, I was so close to telling you everything in Christmas. But then you sent me away and I couldn't get back to you for three hundred years. I had to beg for your lives. I shouted into that crack about love and then...then you pushed me away. You couldn't even touch me, couldn't stand to hug me. I didn't understand then.

[ There's so much regret in her voice and in her eyes when she looks up at him. ]

I didn't know how to go from what we had to nothing, and when Danny was interested I let it happen and then it went too far. I didn't love Danny. I wanted you, but until the end, I had no idea what you wanted from me.

[ And they were married, the whole time. What a mess that was. ]

[Hearing it hurts. He knows how much time they've lost when they were together as just Clara and the Doctor, partly out of their own stubbornness although it was mostly his. He doesn't know what to say and is quiet for several beats.]

I didn't not love you, Clara. I did. I do. I [His voice trails off.] didn't know how else to react. [The corner of his mouth quirks upwards in an attempt at humor.] If there's one thing that hasn't changed from regeneration to regeneration it's that I'm an idiot.

Edited 2022-08-19 16:58 (UTC)

[ She manages to let out a watery laugh. ]

I'm not much better. [ The moment she thought she was throwing the TARDIS keys away forever, that hurts. God, she was stupid. ]

If it still means anything, I'm sorry. [ Clara's looking up at him, brown eyes a little watery as she steps closer to him. ]

[The Doctor can only nod. He's not hurt by it anymore. Danny was a time in their lives that was hard for both of them especially considering how things had ended. He had no hard feelings towards Danny now, but it was still difficult to think about.

After a minute he walks towards her to pull her close.]

It's all in the past now.

You know where my hearts really rest? [ Her hand takes his and she lets him pull her close. ]

Because I begin and end with you.

[ Taking his hand, she kisses his palm, then right over his wedding ring before a realization crosses her features. ]

My ring is gone. [ She feels distressed at the realization because it was special, because he'd had it made especially for her. ]

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