She was waiting when he showed up, standing at the edge of a stairway, looking out through the pane of glass that separated her from the unseasonal warmth outside and when she heard the sound of the Tardis, she found herself inexplicably running down the stairs. Reaching the doors, she could see it, parked in the middle of a field, not exactly the best hiding place, but she didn't care. And she tore off over the grassy hill that lead onto the occasional soccer pitch, hands coming up when the green paper hat she wore went flying off her head.
It didn't matter, she thought to herself as it toppled to the ground and her legs carried her forward. He had arrived and he would save her Christmas. This one time – without the insanity of a fleet of Daleks, or the audacity of a villainous mastermind, or the quiet of a burning planet – this one time he would walk into her kitchen and he would look into her oven and he would save her by being the one thing she needed more than a warrior or a hero or a Doctor.
Her boyfriend.
Her every day, ordinary, ridiculous man.
And when the doors opened and he smiled out at her, she approached him quickly and shouted, "What took you so long!"
"Already with the screaming!" He raised his hands to say as she turned, leading him back towards her apartment building as he followed in confusion. "Oi! Clara! There were Cybermen. Cybermen! Surrounding the Tardis, aiming their guns, preparing to attack – I made it here as quickly as I could!"
She shifted to glance back and informed him, "I've got a turkey in the oven and I'm not sure what to do, but it's not cooking and I just need you to take a look at it, or Sonic the oven, or do something because without the turkey – without the main dish – dinner is ruined and I can't have Christmas ruined. I can't be the one to ruin Christmas."
She stopped, turning, and he almost ran into her, Sonic held tightly in his hand as he took in the horrible look on her face and he understood – Christmas meant she was thinking about her mum and if she was thinking about her mum and she was the one making the Christmas dinner, then she expected to be as adept at the Christmas dinner as she'd once told him her mother was. He managed a smile before bending and explaining, "Cybermen, Clara."
"Turkey, Doctor."
He watched her and then asked quickly, "Miss me?"
Clara's worry slowly vanished and it began to sink in – Cybermen, surrounding the Tardis, aiming their guns, preparing to attack… and he was in front of her to help her because she'd called. She leapt up and wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing just a little too hard as she laughed and felt his own arms quickly cling to her body, lifting her ever so slightly off the ground in a hug.
And then she dropped away and he asked, "So, boyfriend?"
She cringed, "Sorry."
"Didn't get a chance to… refresh the memory, but, boyfriend – what does a boyfriend entail these days? And boyfriend? You lied to your father about having a boyfriend?"
Clara turned away from him and began making her way towards the apartment, breathing back, "I told him you were a teacher, just act teachery and boyfriendy."
His hand pushed through his hair and he half smiled, then awkwardly asked, "But should we be kissy? Are we going to be the kissy sort?"
She glanced back at him, steps slowing as she asked, "Would you like to be the kissy sort?"
The Doctor's brow rose quickly and then dropped away as he studied her, "Would you like to be the kissy sort?"
She stopped now, turning fully to take in the awkward way he was trying to look calm, but seemed anxious as he tossed the Sonic from one hand to the other, "It's nothing serious, just be my boyfriend."
"It is serious," he told her in a panic, "Being your boyfriend is serious business."
"You're very concerned about this," Clara informed him, feeling amused.
He explained, "I've got to get it right, worlds have ended over bad boyfriends."
"You won't be a bad boyfriend," she surmised, then she tilted her head and asked, "Are you happy about this?"
His smile was involuntary before he shook it away and pointed the Sonic at her, "I'm, honestly, honored that you'd make me up and then ask me to be the made up me."
"I made up a boyfriend," she nodded. "Lanky fool who loves custard and travelling and is a darling."
The Doctor raised one eyebrow and watched her blush. "Am I your boyfriend?"
"Tonight you are."
"Tonight," he repeated with a sly grin.
Her mouth dropped open and he raised his hands as she declared, "You're really thinking about this; you're really enjoying this," then she eyed him, "You didn't even hesitate about this on the phone – Doctor, did you think… you thought…"
"Turkey!" He gasped, "We have to get the turkey sorted!"
"You're avoiding…"
He pushed at her shoulders, turning her and giving her bum an unexpected tap that she gasped at before he reminded, "First boyfriend assignment is to figure out how to get the turkey in your oven cooking properly!"
Clara laughed inadvertently.
His eyes squeezed shut and he shouted at her as she rushed forward, "You know what I mean."
"I know what you mean," she repeated with a nod as they reached the back door and he bumped her as she turned and smirked, "Doctor, you might want to pocket the Sonic."
He frowned and cocked his head, asking, "What for?"
"Poke a girl enough times, she might think you really want to be her boyfriend."
Mouth dropping open as she pulled the door open and began working her way up the stairs, he gasped and thrust a finger in her direction, shouting, "Oi, I wasn't trying… I didn't… shut up!"
Clara managed a laugh before reluctantly shaking the playful teasing out of her mind. "Come on, we've got a turkey to cook!" She told him quickly, refocusing as she glanced back at the Doctor climbing the steps behind her and she realized, as she saw the flustered look on his face and the fact that he couldn't as easily shake her words, that he actually might have wanted to be her boyfriend.
And for a quick moment, she allowed herself to stop tricking herself, and she wondered if maybe. If maybe she asked him again, in all seriousness… if he'd say yes.