Devoted
All the beauties and wonders of planet Jovalis were wrapped in the blanket of night when the TARDIS materialised in the Fairy Glade, in the middle of a small forest.
The Doctor knew this world well - no monsters, no danger whatsoever, just a beautiful scenery that was to be revealed to his Clara. A paradise where he could spend some nice moments with his companion without being disturbed.
Clara stepped outside, her feet touching the soft, glistening moss that covered most of the glade that was nicely illuminated by three moons in the sky full of stars. Plants and flowers of various shapes, colours and height decorated the glade and the forest here and there, and some of them were even glowing in the dark, making that place even more magical and dreamy. It was like one of those fantasy or sci-fi pictures that she encountered on the internet every now and then, except this was the real thing.
"Come on, let's have a small night walk," the Time Lord said as he joined her side, brushing his hand against hers.
Clara smiled at his sweet and shy gesture, so she took it and intertwined their fingers.
"Doctor, this is amazing. Where are we?"
"Fairy Glade, Skyhawk Forest on Planet Jovalis. A peaceful place. No threats, just beauty all around," he explained with a smile when he saw that lovely spark in her beautiful brown eyes.
He was getting lost in them way too often and he enjoyed that dearly.
"It looks like a fairy-tale land, doesn't it?" he continued.
Under the moonlight, they strolled through the forest hand in hand, enjoying the serenity and the caressing of the light breeze.
Clara leaned into his side and admired this wonderful night world. It was so romantic, quiet and so soothing... and yet it was even more exciting than running away from monsters.
"Doctor, what's this about?" she finally asked.
His lips curled into a smile as well and his eyes flickered between her, the sky and the ground for a while before they settled on her divine face. Curious as always.
"I just... wanted to take you somewhere nice," he explained softly, feeling how the butterflies fluttered in his stomach.
"It's marvellous, Doctor," Clara gave him one of her sweet smiles, sharing his excitement inside.
"Wait," she stepped in front of him and went on her tiptoes to give him a gentle kiss on his cheek while holding onto to him to steady herself. A little thank you.
If he wasn't blushing before, then he was certainly now and he was quite happy that Clara couldn't see it that well in the moonlight. He bit his lower lip and his dilated pupils gazed at her for a moment before he pulled her into a hug to hide his grin in her shoulder.
He did that now - hugs, but only with her because she meant the world to him. Other people were still a no-go. It was so soothing to hold her small, fragile human body in his arms and share her happiness.
"Everything for you, my Clara," he whispered and Clara beamed, caress his neck with her thumb in response.
I would tear the universe apart for you, he thought before he picked her up for a spinny hug, smiling when he felt her twitch a little with surprise.
Then they continued on their way with Clara leaning into him and asking questions about the things the caught her interest - the giant plants, waving plants (a little creepy), glowing plants, the three moons and the planet itself... But, something interrupted them. Peeps - like those of a bird. They followed the sound until they got to a depression in the ground - a small crater with a being the size of a cat inside it.
"Oh my God, this is so adorable," Clara said with excitement, looking the creature.
It was a little pinkish octopus with a blob-like body, webbing between its tentacles and two large eyes, and on its head were two quite big flapping fins that looked like ears. Too cute.
"It can't get out, can it?"
"Nope. It can only move on flat ground and in swim water. It had probably just slid down by accident and now it can't get back up. Put it out of the crater, it won't hurt you, Clara" the Doctor assured her softly.
Clara approached it slowly in order not to scare it and picked the gelatinous, fragile creature up.
"Sweet pudding thing," he whispered as he joined her side and rubbed the octopus' head with his index finger - to her surprise, the little alien started to emit a bit of light.
"This is a little wonderland," Clara giggled and put the cute mollusc on the ground and they watched it glide away.
"Come, I want to take you to a lighthouse – there'll be a great view from there at dawn," the Doctor suggested.
Not even five minutes later, it started to rain like crazy. Clara wasn't even sure if she had encountered such a heavy rainfall before, but probably not. They decided to run, but it was no use because they were soaked within two minutes.
The Doctor and Clara ran out of the woods and continued along the top of the cliffs towards the lighthouse as the wet grass squelched under their feet. With one unlucky tread, Clara slipped and fell.
"Are you okay?"
"I nearly sprained my ankle," she muttered as he helped her up.
"Nearly is a good word."
The raindrops were drumming against the roof of a small building in which they sought sanctuary. A little out of breath, they opened the door and found themselves in a small strange room. Strange, but cosy. There was a big circular window and on the opposite, one fluffy white something resembling a couch - a couch made of clouds. A few white, light orange and golden stones that emitted a small amount of light were distributed in the corners. The Doctor and Clara left a trail of water from their dripping clothes behind them as they walked in.
"You could have checked the weather forecast," she teased him.
The Doctor smirked.
His hand slipped into his coat pocket and pulled out a blanket and a spare holey jumper.
"Bigger on the inside."
"I'd love to have some Time Lord clothes with infinite pockets as well."
The Doctor chuckled.
Good idea - he could give her this special kind of clothing for her birthday. Maybe a pair of trousers or a fancy coat. Or a handbag. Did she even carry handbags? He would have to think this through.
"Here, put the jumper on. I don't want you to catch a cold."
"Thanks," Clara smiled.
The Doctor turned around, so she could get rid of her cold and wet cardigan and blouse. His eyes remained on the wall, but being aware of the fact that Clara stood behind him half naked made his hands tremble. He had the itch to touch her skin, caress it... No, no stop thinking about this, Doctor. He couldn't help it. So madly in love he was. He already had tons of opportunities to confess his feelings, but always when he was about to speak, his brain just froze and the words wouldn't come out.
The Time Lord stopped dreaming and remembering and concentrated on the present again. His lean body slipped out of his black coat that was all drenched. Some water soaked into his hoodie as well, so he took that one off too and remained only in his light pink t-shirt and another layer underneath.
He turned around and saw Clara sitting on the cloudy couch.
"Come here."
"You're always wearing so many layers as if we travelled to Siberia," she giggled, poking him lightly into his chest.
Clara. Her hand. His chest. Even this nothing could conjure up tingling sensation all over his body. He was smiling now, not quite sure whether it was because of the funny remark about his clothes or because she was touching him. Probably both. And now he wished he wore less.
Clara was reading him like an open book - dilated pupils , dreamy smile... One of the looks he often gave her whilst thinking she was not looking. Oh, how beautiful he was.
"Come here you idiot," she whispered and drew him slowly closer.
The caress of her warm lips was softer than he could have ever imagined. The taste of Strawberry chapstick and her lovely scent were so intoxicating, making his hearts beat harder and faster than ever before. Without knowing it, he kissed her more eagerly as her hands pulled him down onto her and they sunk into the cotton floss couch. His tongue swept along Clara's lower lip and she let his tongue dance with her. Shivers were running through his body, a hurricane of the most pleasant emotions. He felt her hands in his wet, dishevelled hair, massaging his skull and then moving lower to cup his face. He sucked on her lower lip and then placed a few gentle kisses along her jaw and behind her ear.
He took her hand that caressed his cheek and kissed it lovingly.
"I love you, Clara" he whispered through his slightly swollen lips.
"I love you too."
They'd said this sentence many times before - implicitly with their actions or cleverly masked in other words, but now… The weight fell off their chests at last in this intimate and special moment when they finally confessed what had burned inside them for so long.
The Doctor moved next to her and remained as close as possible.
"It'll stop raining in a bit and the sun should be up in two hours. We could stay here till then and then go to the top of the lighthouse," he said softly, stroking her flushed cheek.
"That'd be nice."
With a jittering feeling in his belly and flutter of electricity flowing through his body, he kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose and they he met her lips again.
Thank you for reading!
Hope you like it. :)