Clara felt electric.
The grass was cool on her bare feet, but the air felt like a warm bath. The wind whipped her hair wildly around her face as she ran, hand in hand with the Doctor.
They reached the top of the hill, and Clara collapsed on the brilliantly green grass alongside the Doctor. She breathed heavily, her eyes wide with wonder.
It really was extraordinary. But of course, everywhere he took her was extraordinary.
The sky was breathtaking. It was astonishing on this planet, the stars were so close. She felt as though she could reach out and touch them with her finger. And they went on forever, millions of twinkling bits of light as far as she could see in space.
Once, she might have gazed at the same sky from her bedroom window, always wondering if there was more, always knowing that there had to be.
She felt so little. So very small, here, lying next to this brilliant man who promised her impossible things.
"Do you ever get used to it?" she asked him.
"No, I suppose not," he whispered.
She turned her head and was greeted by his warm gaze. A smile tugged at his lips, his eyes delved into hers.
She laced her fingers with his. Her heart beat fast as she looked up at the impossible sky.
"When I was a child I always thought I would rather be a star," she said. "So I could fly far away and never look back. I always felt so…trapped. Like sometimes I couldn't even bare to breathe. I never got over the feeling that I was meant to be somewhere else."
"And now here you are, Clara Oswin Oswald," the Doctor raised her small hand in his and kissed her fingers. "Among the stars."
Warmth coursed through her body as the breeze rippled the grass.
She stretched her arms and legs as far as they would go, tilted her head back and screamed into the night.
Lying here, sprawled out next to Doctor, surrounded by stars and her long brown hair, Clara was free.
The Doctor laughed, never taking his eyes off of her lovely pink cheeks and those wonderful wide eyes. He could lie here forever, with her.
He cradled her in his arms as she gazed at the universe, playing with her soft, tousled brown hair.
After a while she looked up at him, her eyes glistening.
"Sometimes, I get scared at how much I love this," she said.
"Oh, Clara, Clara, Clara…" the Doctor murmured as he kissed her face. "You beautiful, beautiful girl."
"I just hate endings," Clara whispered. "I want to run forever with you and never, ever look back."
"Then marry me," the Doctor whispered into her ear
Clara's breath caught in her throat as he continued to trail kisses down her neck.
"Wha…what?" she breathed. "I thought…but we can't…how…?"
She searched the Doctor's eyes for answers.
He took her face in his hands.
"I never know how," he whispered, placing his forehead on hers. "I only know…who."