A/N: Partly inspiration came from here .com (/)post/133227436094/gillsanderson-clara-oswald-the-doctor-being
But it also came from a random brainwave about the Doctor saying he'd reset Kate's memory 15 times already... which means Clara knew this had happened 15 times previously so she had a damn good poker face hence this little one. It's a little on the sappy side.
The Doctor hated playing poker with Clara.
Maybe it was her time with him that had taught her such a perfect poker face but she gave nothing away. Her mask of indifference was stunning to watch… when he wasn't her opponent in the card game. She had won most hands against the Paternoster Gang; Jenny had almost beaten her a couple of times but Clara always navigated the trickiest of situations while maintaining her cool façade during poker.
She'd raise an eyebrow occasionally when he hesitated, his own poker face not up to scratch when he was playing against Clara, his impossible girl.
"You need a different hobby." He grumbled, throwing his cards down for the fifth time while she drew all of her winnings back to her.
"I told you, you are my hobby." She beamed at him, counting her way through her steady pile of cash now. "You owe me three hugs now by the way, one silence card, two bunny ears days and now… you owe me fifty quid!" She smirked again and he growled.
"I should never have let you get so good at this."
"Stop erasing Kate's memory so often and I wouldn't have to practice the damn look so often." She was still smirking as she stood up from the poker table. "So where to now Doctor dearest?" She strolled her way back towards the control room, knowing the Doctor would be close on her heels. "Who shall we visit this time?"
"We could meet the Greek gods?" He nipped in front of her, still with a frown on his face… "Two days of wearing bunny ears?!" He was desperately unhappy with this situation.
"Two." Clara said firmly leaning back on the console, patting the TARDIS hub absentmindedly, he caught her thumb stroking down the metal of the console before she caught him staring, though still unaware of her actions.
"Fine. Two." He sulked as he flicked switches across the control panels. "I have the place for you Clara Oswald." He smiled suddenly and on the short journey there, he had the chance to watch her from the corner of his eye as she paced slow circles of the room. She was his impossible girl who had saved his life and that of his people; she had a resilience he had yet to seen matched; a heart bigger than any sun he had flown past; a woman who had fractured her very being for his rather moony and fuzzy eleventh self and now in his twelfth incarnation (he still wasn't counting the face he wore during the war), he realised he was still in love with Clara Oswald. It wasn't the same kindling passion that he had held during his eleventh life, but if it was possible it was purer in his twelfth – she was the glue that kept him together and he was okay with that. She had taken on every kind of monster to save him and he knew he would take on every kind of monster to save her.
"Doctor we're here." She nudged him with her sharp elbows. "Wherever here is…" She peeked out of the window.
"Here Clara Oswald is the multiversal Poker Championship – are you ready for this?" He held out his arms as they opened the doors to a busy hive of activity. "There's no way you can win this."
"Spoken like a true loser Doctor. Time for me to kick ass." She cracked her knuckles and strode out confidently, almost getting swallowed up in the crowds before the Doctor caught up with her.
/D.W\
"There's no way!" The Doctor was sulking and for good cause. The four foot high winner statue was now obnoxiously in the corner of the console room and she had generously donated the money to a charity that the Doctor had casually suggested – what was she going to do with 3.5 whelemps anyway? Though it wasn't until the door closed and they were rapidly materialising back at her flat that the Doctor told her it roughly equated to about 2.2 million pounds.
She whacked him, in the arm, hard at that revelation.
"What would you do with that much money Clara?" He shrugged and rubbed the sore spot.
"You're right… what I've got is priceless." She grinned. "Plus the satisfaction of knowing you still lost is all the more worth it." His unamused look made her erupt in giggles. "See you soon Doctor? Unless you're coming up?" She gestured up to the flat and he shook his head.
"I'd rather be with my guitar than you when you're a sore winner." He scooped up said guitar and had the opening chords to She's A Lady going as she struggled out of the TARDIS doors with her prize.
"Jealous!" She shouts back as she lets the door snick shut.
"Oh I know that face Clara Oswald." He murmurs quietly. "But not when you're playing poker." He grumbles and flicks a few switches, aiming to swan around space for a while to amuse himself.