Clara Oswald always knew her life would be complicated.
It all started when her mother died. Ellie Oswald was the only one she could ever turn to, so when she died, Clara felt that a little part of her had died as well.
Then she met the Doctor, and all of her sadness was placed in a little box and pushed underneath her bed. He showed her the stars, and she showed him that he didn't have to be alone.
She never told the Doctor how much she cared for him, and if he felt the same, neither did he. Each assumed that the other knew, and neither of them understood how the other felt.
Maybe Clara, for once in her life, hadn't said enough. Maybe this one time, she kept her big mouth shut when it came to talking about her feelings- and maybe that's where she went wrong.
"Clara Oswald, don't you ever do that again," the Doctor had gasped, stumbling into the Tardis after another near death experience- a regular occurrence these days.
"What, am I supposed to sit in this little blue box and wait as you throw yourself into the hands of some mysterious, murderous aliens?" She'd told him, clutching the console as she caught her breath.
"Yes, actually. I'd rather leave you in the Tardis than risk losing you to these creatures. I didn't know how powerful they were, I've never even heard of them before, let alone how dangerous they could be. You had no right following me into that village!"
"No right?" She had nearly shouted, her voice raising as she stepped closer to him. "Doctor, when have you ever been scared of losing me? I'm your companion, am I not? I've seen every version of you, I gave up my life for you on Trenzalore. A little adventure isn't too much for me to handle."
"That's completely different," the Doctor had protested. "What if you died? I'd be the only one to blame. One stupid mistake and you'd be dead and it would be all my fault."
"Yeah, and tomorrow morning I could slip down the stairs, hit my head, and die. I could die any time, I'm only a human! But that's never been a problem before. Are you going to stop me from traveling with you just because I might get a... a paper cut or something in the Tardis?"
"I might. You deserve a normal life, Clara. I can't keep putting you through this much danger."
Clara remembered looking into his eyes with disbelief, and maybe event pinch of disappointment. "I can't believe you. You would get rid of me just because suddenly you're too scared to take me anywhere? What am I to you? A child?"
He hadn't replied, instead landing the Tardis in front of Clara's flat. He wouldn't look up from the console, wouldn't answer a single thing she asked. So she had left.
Which led her to lock herself in her room, curled in a pile of crumpled sheets, lost in her thoughts for hours. Clara was no coward, the Doctor knew knew that. Why did he have to be so impossible?