Smiley-Face
Danny has been having a good day.
He is proudly displaying the yellow smiley-face sticker that Clara stuck to his lapel on the way into school this morning.
"You saved the world yesterday," she said, smiling at him as she patted the sticker down. It was the sort of smile that always had to be reciprocated.
School is now over for the day, the kids filtering out as quickly as they can; trotting, some even running, to get out the doors faster. Danny takes his time as he walks down a corridor. He has a bag full of marking slung over his shoulder that he is in no hurry to begin. The sticker is becoming a little dog-eared already.
He groans quietly when he sees what is walking towards him. He waits for a gap in the kids and slips across to the other side of the corridor, so there is something between him and the Doctor, who is likely on his way to meet Clara somewhere.
Danny isn't surprised to see that the Doctor is frowning—it seems to be his default expression. When he sees Danny, his frown turns into a full-on scowl. A little instinctive voice in the back of Danny's head screams at him to turn and run, but he doesn't listen to it—he keeps his shoulders back and walks determinedly on, making sure to look the Doctor in the eye, no matter how hard it is.
Danny's cheeks grow warm when he remembers he has a smiley-face sticker on his jacket, and he really hopes the Doctor doesn't notice.
After what seems like far too long, they pass each other.
But then Danny frowns, and stops.
He cautiously turns on his heel, only to find that the Doctor has done the same.
On the Doctor's dark lapel is a round sticker, yellow with a smiley-face.
They blink at each other.
"Let's never speak of this again," says the Doctor eventually, his cheeks visibly redder. Danny feels like this would be a victory if his cheeks weren't also as red as beetroots.
"Agreed," Danny nods, clearing his throat awkwardly.
And with that, both men quickly, and with as much dignity as possible, continue on their respective ways.
THE END