Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.
A/N: I don't have any beta readers so please forgive me of any grammar slips and let me know so I can fix them!
This fanfic is dedicated to my dear friend Any, whose birthday is today and who loves Doctor Who and twelveclara as much as me. I hope you'll enjoy this, xo.
"Clara, wake up"
Clara Oswald opened her eyes, but not before letting out a pitiful moan. She waited for her eyes to adjust to the lighting that surrounded her, but they never did. Good thing she didn't need any lighting to recognize that Scottish accent. "Doctor?" her voice was raspy, due to the amount of sleep that was still running in her veins.
"No, it's the big scary monster that lives under your bed" he rolled his eyes. "Of course it's the Doctor"
Her body refused to move an inch. "What… what are you doing here? What time is it?"
"I want to show you something" his answer was simple and dry.
Finally, Clara moved her head so she could look at the clock in her nightstand. She wanted to kill him. "Doctor! It's three in the morning! What are you doing in my flat at three in the morning?"
He sat down in the chair at the corner of her room, waiting for her angry mood to subside. "Like I've said, I want to show you something"
Another long moan escaped her lips, before she dug her head even deeper in her pillow. "I don't care. Come back sometime in the morning"
"Yes, you do care" he was growing impatient. "Come on, we don't have no time to waste"
If she didn't want to risk waking up her neighbors, she would surely be yelling at him. "You have a time machine! Just pop in some hours ahead"
The Doctor frowned his brows at her. "But I'm already here!"
Realizing there was no way he was going to let her sleep, she turned her head in his direction. "You know that, right about now, I hate you, don't you?"
He shrugged to himself. "I'll get over it, it's no biggie"
She sighed, the form of his body finally becoming clear with the moonlight coming from her window to her eyes. "What is it that you want to show me?"
"You'll see when we get there" he crossed his legs, not caring the slightest bit.
Unable to hold herself back, she threw a pillow at him. "Really! You have the decency to simply show up at my flat at three in the morning and you won't even tell me where you need me?"
His left foot started to tap impatiently against the floor. "First of all, you have a terrible aim. Second of all, I never said I needed you, I just want to show you something. And least but not last, this thing I want to show you needs to be seen during nighttime"
Clara offered him an angry look, one that she was sure he was able to see even in the midst of penumbra. "You have a time machine, Doctor. It could be night forever if you wanted"
"I don't want to" he argued. "Come on, are you coming or not?"
Dragging her body across the soft mattress, she nodded. "Of course I am. You've already woken me up, anyway"
"Great!" he explained, getting up as well. He basically jumped towards her, grabbing her by the hand. "Come on, time is precious"
"Wait-!" she tried to pull back, but he seemed so excited she couldn't simply break the touch. "Let me at least put on some clothes!"
He took a quick look of her body, not really understanding the meaning behind her words. "You're already wearing clothes, Clara"
"I'm wearing pajamas" she tried to point out the obvious, but he seemed to busy shoving her into the TARDIS to pay any attention to her.
"Don't worry, we're not going anywhere fancy" he explained, hearing her close her TARDIS door as he ran towards the console. "Just sit on tight and we will be there in a bit"
Regardless of his instructions, she joined him in front of all those bottoms. "You could have at least let me pick up some shoes, Doctor, I'm wearing nothing but socks"
"Don't worry," he repeated, "we're not going anywhere you'll need shoes"
Her eyes grew large. "You know, you're not the best fashionista in the universe, so why don't you just tell me where we're heading and I'll be the judge of what I should or should not wear"
The time machine took off abruptly the moment he pulled down the level. Soon enough, they landed in wherever he had planned. "Put this on"
Clara giggled the moment she saw the blindfold in his hands. "No!"
"Clara…"
"I'm not putting that on" she put her foot down. "Now, let's go"
"I'm not taking you out if you're not wearing this" his words remained calm as ever.
"Why?"
"My ship, my rules"
"That's one heck of an argument, Doctor" she remarked ironically.
"Just for once in your life do as you're told, alright" his voice was soft, more in a sweet request than a bossy order.
She sighed, taking it off his hands while mumbling fine under her breath. "Okay, you've got me blindfolded. Where are we going, now?"
The Doctor took her by the arm, guiding her so she wouldn't trip over anything. "You'll see when we get there"
Clara made a face. "Do I need to explain you what's the main purpose of a blindfold?"
"Don't be silly" he objected. "It's not like I'm going to leave you blindfolded the whole time through. Just until we reach the destination"
She chilled the moment he opened the TARDIS door, feeling the cold air against the bare skin of her arms. "You could have at least let me grab a sweater, Doctor"
"Just a few steps and you won't feel cold anymore, I promise" he walked her out, Clara then feeling the soft ground beneath the thin fabric of her socks.
They both walked a few steps, until the Doctor stopped. He helped her sit down, besides a few words of annoyance coming from her. "Lie down, Clara"
She chose to ignore him. "You said I'd be feeling warm by now, Doctor"
The Doctor carefully wrapped a thick blanket around her torso, relieving her from the cold weather of the night. "Better now?" he didn't wait for an answer, though, "lie down"
Reluctantly, Clara did as she was told. She didn't quite enjoy the idea of laying in the ground somewhere she had no idea where it was. "Doctor? Is this a pillow under my head? And a blanket? Where did you get these from?"
He rolled his eyes at where her subconscious decided to pay attention to. "Clara, I have a time machine. I made a stop before I picked up and left them here. Does it really matter?"
Clara took a deep breath. "Guess not" she muffed in an almost inaudible tone. She tugged herself into the puffy soft of the fabric around her, enjoying the warmth that finally took over her body. "So, are you going to say where we're at or what?"
"Close your eyes" he demanded.
Clara laughed at him. "I'm already blindfolded, Doctor"
She felt his hands move to the knot of the blindfold. "Do it"
She did. Next thing she knew, her eyes were being freed of the fold and she wanted nothing more than to open them, but she knew if she did, the Doctor's excitement would be over because of her. Clara didn't want that, not after all the amazing things he had already shown her, even if he was being a complete douche with her.
Because part of her knew that there was something even more amazing before her.
"Right above you," he started, lying next to her, although his Time Lord biology didn't feel as cold as hers. Perhaps not cold at all. "is one of my favorite views in the entire universe"
Feeling his presence, Clara leaned herself onto him. "That surely means something coming from a 2000 years old alien who knows the universe as the palm of his hand"
The Doctor chuckled. "Are you ready?" she nodded, a slim smiled appearing in the corner of her lips. "Alright, open your eyes"
Clara opened them and almost gasped out of air with the universe ahead of her. "D-doctor, it's… it's…"
He smiled at her lack of words. His vision focused on her reaction rather than the sky above him. For him, her face was remarkably more unique then the universe that surrounded them. "This is the smallest planet in the entire universe. Not a star, not a comet, just a small planet. Circling its way around the Evren galaxy. It's so tiny no spaceship has ever been able to land here, except, you know, mine. The atmosphere here barely reaches fifty miles up, which you know, could be quite scary, but it allows an splendid view of the stars and whatever else"
"…magnificent!" she finally got a word out, even if couldn't even begin to describe what she was feeling.
The Doctor couldn't help himself but to stare at the glare in her eyes. "It's quite beautiful, isn't it? You have a fine view of other galaxies, other planets, other suns, all in one particular moment in time. This little planet has an orbit of over a million years, and so many things happen in the course of a million years. Everything is constantly changing in the universe, nothing ever remains the same for over a millisecond, therefore this view is always peculiar, never again the same"
She kept staring into the sky. "If this view is never the same view, why are you looking at me rather than the universe above us?"
"Well," he tried to think of a clever way out, but he couldn't get his eyes out of her. "the universe isn't even remotely as beautiful as the expression on your face when you look at it"
Clara blushed immediately, but his comment didn't make her any uncomfortable at all. Slowly, her head turned away from the sky so she could stare at the universe inside his own eyes. In that precise moment, they held a spark she had never seen before, and she basically dove into them, seeing all the loneliness that had followed him for so long, but at the same time, all the love he had ever felt.
Shyly, she approached her body to his, and for the first time since she saw him regenerate, he didn't seem to mind the physical contact. Their bodies together formed a symmetry that could be envied by the kind, but feared by all of those who threatened some part of time or space. Soon, she traded the soft pillow for his shoulder, even if that meant they couldn't look at each other's eyes anymore. Somehow, the intimacy they were sharing in that moment was enough.
"Doctor?" she called out for him in a whispered tone, but it was so silent it was easy to hear her. "Will you tell me their stories? I mean, from the planets and stars I'm looking at"
The Doctor awkwardly kissed her temple, before resting his chin against the top of her head. She was so amazed with the view, in such a wonder of spirit, he couldn't deny her request. In fact, he loved how she would always listen to the tales shattered across the universe, even if he would have settled down with simply looking at her. "Of course, Clara"
And he told her stories. From civilizations long gone, from reigns yet to be born, all lying in the galaxy above them. And she listened to him, his voice sometimes being mistaken by the sound of his heartbeats, but both of them bringing joy to her state of spirit. She wished she could stay in there forever.
"…and right there, in that little purple spot in the corner of your eye, oh that's the Mor Yagmur planet. Odd name, I know, but it's called after the purple mist that shields the whole planet, almost as a protective god, but their inhabits believe it's more than a god, something like, I don't know, the pure mother nature looking out for them"
Slowly and gradually, her head was getting heavier atop of his chest, and the moment he looked down at her, he found her sound asleep. The Doctor smiled to himself, finding her extremely cute and adorable when she slept. That wasn't the first time he had seen her asleep, but for sure one that he enjoyed the most.
He tugged her in his arms, not daring to move an inch. He didn't want to disturb her, she looked so peaceful he wished time could be frozen still and he would have the opportunity to hold her in his arms forever and more.
Because he didn't need all of time and space. As long as he had her, as long as he could stare into the wonders of the universe hidden beneath her, he would be okay. And part of her knew that so would she.