Chapter 1
Clara always prided herself with her ability to negotiate. Most of the time she could get nearly everything she wanted as long as she gave in on little things. This skill came in handy during the year she began to live with Danny Pink.
Danny preferred darker towels in the wash room instead of her favorite pale pink set. Okay, she could handle it. That compromise meant Danny did not argue when she changed out the wall paper in the den to a color she knew he detested.
Danny on the other hand constantly tried to tell himself that he could deal with how she lived her life. Clara continued running away with the Doctor, and he was use to it; Because he had to be. As time passed however, some nights she did not to come home after work. Then it wasn't long before she seemed to lose track of her days in her personal time line due to how often she disappeared.
Danny's patience waned after the third time of trying to explain away her absence to the Headmaster at their work.
"I thought her Gran died last week," The Headmaster had said the day Danny decided he'd had enough.
"It was the Gran on her other side this week," He had grumbled, knowing he looked foolish.
When Clara arrived back the next morning, she knew she had some trouble on her hands. Danny's arms were stiff at his sides, and his face was set in a hard expression.
She looked at Danny with eyes too wise for her age. Her hair was a wild birds nest halo around her head.
"Sorry I'm late," She said casually, as she rushed to their bedroom to change into her teaching outfit.
"How can you be late with a time machine?"
"No idea," Clara called back to him, her voice muffled as she struggled to pull her soiled shirt over her head. "...Actually that's a lie. The TARDIS is slightly broken."
Danny sighed as he leaned against the door frame to their bedroom. "You're flying about in a broken time machine? Do you know how insane that sounds?"
Clara's naked back became visible as she dug through her bureau for another shirt. He watched her muscled back with interest as she did so. "Have you been working out?"
"Um, sure." She did not elaborate. Instead she pulled her pants off and stepped into a skirt.
"What were you covered in anyway?" Danny gestured to the pile of sticky clothes she had tossed onto the floor.
"Oh," Clara hesitated. "Just some tree sap."
"Must have been a pretty big tree."
"It was." Clara finally looked at him, her eyes shining as they always did when she talked of her adventures. Danny knew with a sinking heart he could never put that look on her face. "We were running from these three foot tall aliens- They had tried to lock us in a box... to sell us as servants."
Danny's eyebrows rose as his arms folding up in front of his chest. He began chewing on the inside of his cheek, attempting to keep his anxiety in check.
"At first the Doctor figured, 'why not let them catch us?', because he'd never been on this planet before and he was curious. But of course, it turns out the aliens on this planet eat their servants after a couple days and-"
"Alright, Alright, I get it." Danny held up his hand to stop her. Any more detail and he would have a panic attack. "Lets just get to class okay? You can tell me more about this..." He waved his hand about. "Tonight."
xxxxx
Clara had a feeling a conversation like this was inevitable ever since Danny had moved in. She loved him too much to just disregard his needs completely, but she also had needs of her own- and unfortunately Danny did not own a time machine to fulfill them all.
However, it was also more than that; Clara knew at this point she would feel like half of her was missing without the Doctor in her life. The Doctor had seen her at her weakest moments, and he stayed. He believed in her. The Doctor held her heart just as much as Danny did.
"To an outsider, this would look very odd." Danny said after a long stretch of silence. He sat on the other end of the couch, his legs crossed."I'm letting another man take care of you."
This was a fact that Danny knew all too well. Danny did not want Clara traveling anymore. Every time she would utter 'we should have died but...' he would cringe. He could have lost Clara over and over again and never had known.
Danny often privately theorized that once you met the Doctor you changed forever. Whether that was a good thing he had not decided. At this point he was just tired of being banished to the couch they now sat on each time they had a fight about this.
Clara remained silent. He could not read anything from her face so he continued to speak. "Look, I know you're in love with him."
Clara opened her mouth in protest, her hands balling up. Fury flashed in her eyes. Danny winced.
"No, Clara it's okay," Danny quickly said to cut her off before she could speak. "I've always known. It's not just the adventures you love, not completely. Its the time you get to have- with him."
Danny let out a slow breath and he caught Clara's face momentarily soften. "How could I not know Clara? The way he looks at you when you don't notice tells me more than you ever could."
She continued to not speak.
"No matter what the scenario. I just can't deal with you possibly disappearing and never seeing you again." Danny's voice cracked and he swallowed.
"I guess we'll just have to come to a compromise then." Clara said stiffly as she looked away from him.
