Space Husband

When the Tardis materialized in her living room on a lazy Sunday morning, Clara had thought that the Doctor would whisk her off to another one of their crazy adventures of running away from human eating plants, fighting car-sized cockroaches (which is something she never wants to see ever again) or escaping a city that was being massacred by a clown couple, but instead, he had grabbed her hand, dragged her away from the couch and into the Tardis like an excited 10 year old.

"How would you like to taste the best chocolate cake in the universe?" the Doctor asked her as he began punching in coordinates on the console.

"Doctor, can you at least tell me where we're going?" she couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.

It was at that moment he realized that he didn't say anything except for "Clara, Clara, Clara," when he walked out of the time machine and absentmindedly dragged her away from the couch. "Oh, right. We're off to a wedding," That explains the velvet red coat and why he looks dapper.

"You do realize that I'm still in my nightwear, right?"

The Doctor gave Clara one of his smug looks. "I got that covered. It's in your room."

He had it all planned out.

So now here they were at a space wedding, eating the best chocolate cake in the universe and mingling with various other life forms. As it turns out, the Doctor had been invited to the wedding because he had saved the groom from being devoured by a 'slithering croco-shark'. Whatever it was, Clara wasn't eager to find out. She was still recovering from the encounter with the giant roaches a week ago. At the moment, all she cared about was the cake. He didn't lie. It was definitely the best in the universe.

The Doctor on the other hand, was having a chat with the newlyweds.

"I'd just like to thank you again for saving my husband, Doctor. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be here – none of this would be possible."

"Yes, well, it's no big deal. Just don't jump into the water like that again," being the Doctor, he had a few more things to say which included the words 'blind', 'idiot' and 'running' but he knew better and Clara would make him apologize anyway since she was a few feet away from him.

And so the Doctor took a seat next to his companion and asked, "How's the cake?"

"It's absolutely wonderful. I thought you were exaggerating but it turns out you weren't."

"I don't exaggerate, Clara," he retorted and stole a small piece of her cake. Ignoring the look she gave him, he said, "Anyway, I haven't told you about this planet yet. The Alderonians are well known for their expertise in desserts, especially chocolate but they only serve chocolate cake when there is a wedding. It's -"

He was interrupted when the groom had asked him to meet a few of their guests, eager to introduce them to the man who saved the groom's life. "Doctor, we'd like you to meet my friends over here!"

The time lord merely rolled his eyes before standing up. "I'm beginning to regret saving the idiot's life."

"Be polite, Doctor. You can continue your story later."

"Yes, Boss," he murmured with a cheeky grin.

What Clara had expected to do that evening was to have a few dances with the Doctor before leaving. She just loves how much he has changed for the better since he had first regenerated. He had gotten used to her hugs and would sometimes hug her first. She was definitely proud of her idiot Doctor.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a man suddenly approached her.

"A beautiful lady like yourself shouldn't be here by yourself," the man said with a smile.

Clara forced a smile. Great. He's probably going to ask her to dance and she wasn't interested in dancing with anyone except for a certain doctor. "I'm actually not by myself. My husband is just having a chat with the groom and his friends," while Clara may have looked calm externally, internally, she face palmed. She had no idea what possessed her that night.

"Ah, I see. Sorry for bothering you," she could almost hear the disappointment in his voice.

It didn't help ease her internal dilemma when she spotted another man approaching her a few minutes later. Clara quickly left the table and headed for the Doctor. "Would you boys mind if I borrow the Doctor for a few minutes? Thank you."

She dragged the Doctor to one corner and before she could say anything he beat her to it. "Thanks for saving me, I didn't know how much longer I could keep up before I decided to grab you and run to the Tardis."

"That makes the both of us. How much longer do we have to be here?"

Their conversation was interrupted when the bride said, "Doctor, will you and your wife be staying for the dance?"

The Doctor held his breath. He had a lot of explaining to do and he wasn't sure how Clara would react to being called his wife but she surprised him by informing the bride that they would be leaving after a dance or two.

"Care to explain why I'm suddenly your wife?" she asked with a grin.

The time lord was lost for words at the moment. He wasn't entirely sure how to explain it to her. "Well," he started, "the groom wanted to introduce me to some of his single female acquaintances but I told them I, uh, I came… here with… my… wife."

"I said the same thing too."

The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows and gave her a look. "You came here with your wife?"

"No! Doctor! I told a man that I'm here with my husband."

Then it dawned to him. "At least we're not being pestered to meet other people anymore. I just came here to eat the best cake in the universe."

As if being interrupted earlier wasn't enough, an old lady said, "Just look at you two love birds! I hope my daughter's marriage will be just as happy."

"Thank you so much for your kind compliment."

"Tell me dear, how long have you two been married? I've never seen such a cute couple before."

Both the Doctor and Clara exchanged looks. "We've been married for about…"

"Over a year!" the Doctor finished. "We've been married for over a year. It was a small and simple wedding."

The old lady smiled at them. "Do you have any children or are you planning to have any? I can imagine how beautiful they will look."

The Doctor was completely silent. He didn't know how to answer such a question. Little versions of Clara or him running around the Tardis? He could almost hear the imagined children giggling as they attempt to use the console… or break it.

"We don't have any children. It's something we're still discussing about right, Doctor?" when she looked at the Doctor, it was as if he was in a completely different world.

"Wha- yes, children, Clara Junior or Basil Funkenstein running around the Tardis with hand drawn pictures everywhere…,"the Doctor was beginning to drift off into his wild imagination again.

Clara let out a nervous laugh. "It's still an on going discussion like I said. Oh look, everyone is dancing. Excuse us," she grabbed the Doctor's arm and led him away from the old lady.

"What an adorable couple."

"Doctor, are you alright?" Clara asked once they started mixing with the crowd.

"Yes, I'm fine. I just wasn't expecting that kind of question."

"Having kids? That's a normal question for married couples."

He looked at her straight in the eye. "Yes, but we're not married. We just claim to be married," he said as he placed one hand on her waist and began dancing.

Neither said anything as they danced the night away. Less than an hour later, both were outside, walking towards the Tardis. Clara wrapped the Doctor's coat closer to her as the night was chilly. They haven't said much after the dance and so she decided to break the silence.

"Basil Funkenstein and Clara Junior?" He gave her a confused look before unlocking the door to the Tardis. "You named the children Basil Funkenstein and Clara Junior."

"Those were the names that popped up in my mind."

"Those are terrible names. Well, Basil isn't half bad but Funkenstein is a no. The same goes for Clara Junior," she gave him his coat back. "I had a lovely night. Thank you, Doctor," she said and stood on her toes before kissing his cheek, a gesture that took him by surprise.

A few moments later, he spoke, "Well, what would you name our kids then?" It hit him that they were casually discussing about naming their children. He had thought it would just be an evening of eating cake with Clara at a wedding but it turned out to be so much more than that. The Doctor set the coordinates for Clara's flat.

"I think that's an on going discussion."


As I've mentioned in the summary, this is a story inspired by the Cloister memes by dreameater1988. They're hilarious and I couldn't help but imagine what it would be like if the Doctor and Clara had introduced one another as their spouse. Well, thanks for reading :)