The Tardis settled down just behind her flat with a steaming hiss from the engines and he scoffed, slapping at the controls with a rag before uttering, "Well, you, with your lack of patience, it's no wonder you exhausted yourself!" He huffed a breath and then dropped the rag atop the screen that sat in front of him, telling him it had overheated – it needed at least half an hour to cool down – and he shrugged.
From all around him, the cloister bell sounded just as he'd started to grin.
"Oh, you hush," he barked, "I'm off to get Clara and you'd better have recalibrated your sensors by the time I'm back and –" he pointed up at the center console's brilliant green lighting, "Without another hissy fit – she already thinks you hate her!"
A double bong echoed through the Tardis and the Doctor passed another frustrated glance up, slapping the breaks on and then whipping on his coat to stride through the doors, legs carrying him quickly up the steps and to her apartment door where he dug in his pockets. He removed a yo-yo and a five sided highlighter, then gripped a sling shot and a Barbie doll. Sighing, he shifted it all to one hand awkwardly and dug deeper, pushing past the box of fizzy mints and the odd coins he'd accumulated and he clasped two fingers around a key.
"Ah-ha!" he gasped, plucking it out and dropping the other items to open the door to her flat. "Clara?" he called, stepping inside and frowning at the darkness. He pocketed the key again and then stood with his hands anxiously working against themselves at his stomach. "Clara?"
From somewhere nearby came the steady ticking of a clock and he pressed his lips together tightly, wondering if she'd just left for the evening, but, he knew, it was Wednesday. At least, he pondered, he'd told the Tardis to land on a Wednesday. Maybe, he thought, she'd arrived too early… or too late… and Clara had made other plans? She had, he knew, the option to make plans aside from himself, though the idea made him frown.
Moving down the hallway and towards the room, he smiled, imagining she'd be in for a shock when he entered, and his hands clasped together devilishly as his brow rose slightly. He pushed open the door and just as his mouth opened to shout her name, he froze, a cold splash washing over his body as he watched her shift in her bed, nestled with her back to the chest of… some man.
"Cl…" he started, but his throat restricted painfully at the thought of calling her name and he found himself gripping the door knob tight enough to sting his knuckles. The Doctor turned slowly, an odd churning in his stomach he didn't recognize making him feel ill as he made his way back through the hall, head hung in defeat between his shoulders.
"Hey," Clara whispered roughly, and he glanced up to see her pulling the door to her room shut behind her, arms wrapping protectively at her chest as she eyed him curiously in the dark. "It's three in the morning."
Tugging his arm up reluctantly, he flipped his wrist to examine the time before nodding, "Yes, you would be correct about the time."
She passed a quick look back to the door and then stepped closer to him, asking quickly, "What are you doing here?"
"I was…" he started, smile forcefully spreading on his lips as he finished, "It's Wednesday."
"Technically," Clara nodded, eyes rolling quickly, "But it's three in the morning."
His hand dug into his breast pocket and he rummaged a moment before removing her key again and showing it to her with a shrug, "You gave me a key; thought it was like an open invite. Traditionally the offering of a key implies…"
"You can come in whenever you'd like?" She laughed, another glance back at the door. "You gave me a key too," she reminded, "But I can't very well prance into the Tardis at three in the morning."
Pointing, he responded, "If I were landed outside at three in the morning and you'd wanted to come in, that key was an open invitation to… well, prance."
She offered him a weak smile and shook her head, "If you'd arrived at three in the morning, it wouldn't exactly be my decision…" Clara trailed and then touched her brow, gesturing back at the room, "Could you come back, maybe later? Maybe, at a reasonable hour?"
Nodding, the Doctor turned to the door, but then stopped, and lifted a finger slightly, "A friend?"
Her head began to shake as she grinned, then she paused and her eyes met his as she challenged, "Bit more than a friend, actually."
"Ah," he said simply, head coming up, mouth remaining slightly open before he elaborated, "Boyfriend?" And Clara caught the way his voice cracked on the word nervously.
She licked her top lip and glanced sideways before shrugging, "Yeah, maybe."
"Ok," the Doctor supplied quickly. "So, good bloke? Clever bloke? Young bloke doing young bloke things?"
"Quite a bit older, actually," Clara told him slowly, "But good, fairly clever – or so he thinks."
He tugged at his collar, feeling warmer by the moment before choking out, "You're not thinking about bringing him aboard the Tardis, are you?"
She laughed.
"Well I know how these things go," he hissed, "First you girls find them, like puppies wandering the streets, and then you expect me to play chauffeur or chaperone or some such nonsense and I end up dragging you both around like love-sick idiots keeping you from getting yourselves killed… or killing each other." He looked away a moment, lips curling in disgust, "Or making babies in bunk beds, which is preposterous."
Clara took a step towards him and she settled her palms atop his hearts, leaning up and gently kissing his cheek before shifting back and shaking her head, "Don't be jealous, Doctor – you'll know him soon enough."
He leaned away with a shocked gasp and a shake of his head, "I'm not jealous."
"Oh," she chuckled, "You're jealous."
"Am not," he repeated firmly, feeling like a child because his hearts were pounding with the urge to rush into the room and rouse the other man to size him up. To judge him and then explain to Clara why he wasn't cutting it for her because compared to himself… he straightened with a frown. He was jealous. "When should I return?" Then he muttered, "When will he be gone?"
She pushed him towards the door, hand patting softly at his back, telling him knowingly, "Come back in a few hours, I'm sure the Tardis will get you here promptly." Then she laughed, "We'll have another chat about your jealously, Doctor and I'll introduce you to my…" she trailed, shaking her head, smile still firm on her lips as she closed the door on him.
Clara moved slowly back through the hallway, slow enough that just as she pushed her door open, she could hear the Tardis dematerializing from the yard and she lifted a hand to her mouth to smother her laughter, but it was no use, the man in the bed slipped up on his elbow and looked to her, cheeks burning crimson.
"So jealous," she told the Doctor as he grinned.
"You could have told me," he offered, hand coming up to meet hers as she inched back into the bed, snuggling up to him with a small shake of her head.
"And miss that show?" She told him with a smug grin, "Besides, maintaining the timelines, remember?"
He nodded slowly, smirking as he kissed her shoulder, "Back into the Tardis before she was ready to travel and arriving at ten in the evening on a Tuesday."
"Worked out alright, I suppose," Clara sighed as he dropped a hand over her waist and hugged her tightly to him, his lips now back at the exposed skin of her neck. "Funny how jealousy can sometimes work in one's favor."