A/N: This is a one shot based on Clara's dream in Last Christmas. Personally, I'm more of a whouffaldi shipper, but I think that Clara x Danny deserves a little fiction of its own from me, haha :)
Enjoy! And Merry Christmas by the way! (Or Kwanza. Or Hannekkah, or none! It's also fine not to celebrate. in which case- have a jolly day for no reason) Hope you are all happy, and that you've spent time with the people you love. Because we often forget how much we depend on those people, especially when we're angry with them, and even when we aren't- every Christmas is a last Christmas, I found that for myself, last year. So take this in. Just look at the people you love, and think about all the good times. All the laughs. And try and spend just those extra few minutes making the most of it.
Merry Christmas :)
—
Danny had woken up early, his heartbeat skipping when he had seen the daylight seeping through his shutters, whitened by the crisp layer of snow outside that thinly cakes the ground and rooftops of the houses in their neighbourhood. It was Christmas Day, and Clara had stayed over with him. The night before had been a blast, with several friends and colleagues joining them out to share a few (well, many) glasses of wine at a club of sorts a short bus-hop away from his estate near town. It was for that reason though that he had left Clara to slumber until the fuzzy haze of wine and the thumping headache that it's legacy left had subsided. He, however, had already stored his quilt back in the cupboard and rearranged the cushions on his couch- they might have been a cosy unofficial couple, but they were fresh on the scene- and being a gentleman, that meant Danny felt it only right to forfeit his bed to the girl he loved for a night, and kip back on the plush couch instead.
Quickly gulping down a strongly made coffee, Danny refreshed himself with an icy shower and changed into a plain shirt, some checkered PJs and a christmas jumper, showing a wide-grinned Santa-Claus with a pint in his hand. Ready for the day, he finally kicked back, with the football humming quietly on the TV as he hesitantly picked up a book Clara had almost forced him to attempt to read. Of course it was a classic, and a Jane Austen too. For him, that meant it dragged slowly, was rather tedious and lacked any fiction, action or suspense. However, six hours later when Clara swiftly slipped downstairs to grab some food and join him in relaxing until the evening, she found herself tiptoeing past him and returning to bed, as he had wet eyes, and was virtually clinging to the novel- she knew of course that if she questioned him about the book he would shrug and say "Oh… yeah, it was alright I guess. Nothing special." 'Hm, I'll have to test that later.' she smugly thought, before ascending the stairs and falling into bed again.
At 6 on the evening, Danny sluggishly rose from his spot of comfort, leaning forward and stretching the limbs of his arms, and the muscles in his back as he let out a long, sturdy yawn. He placed down the finished book on the table tenderly, having grown a connection to it that would most certainly be kept to himself, and locked in a little chest of feelings inside his heart. His 'manly' reputation would be entirely taken down if it was shown that he had been bested by a classical novel given to him by an english teacher. Swiping up the remote, he switched off the telly and place it on the sofa's arm, before weaving his way out of the living room and skipping upstairs, almost entirely unable to contain his growing excitement to the fact that it was indeed Christmas- and as he had to tell himself many times… Clara was with him. She was actually, genuinely here. Not galavanting off with that Doctor, and meeting him for about 5 seconds completely drenched or with a scorched outfit before scurrying away again, or leaving for home. She was in his bed, resting, and ready to spend all of Christmas with him- and he didn't need to worry about that changing, not today.
Clara rolled over slowly, still savouring the soft cotton under her when she heard a gentle knock at the door to see Danny standing there, a goofy grin planted on his face. He quickly sprung to words, darting forward and grabbing her by the hands, pulling her up as she yelped in surprise and burst into a fit of giggles, "Merry Christmas!" He bellowed, swinging her around in a tight hug before pulling back so that he could see her smooth face and perky cheeks brought up into a smirk, "Merry Christmas to you too, tough boy." she replied warmly, eyes glittered with pure glee as she wrapped a tight arm around Danny's and they both made their way back to the living room. "Sit down my lady, and I'll get your presents for you." He courteously spoke, so she reclined back on the sofa and watched as he produced several promiscuous presents, placing them on the table in front of her, and taking the few she had got for him and nestling them next to him at his end of the sofa. Her wrapping was concise and neat, the paper uncreased and the edges folded without fault. He wasn't too surprised, of course. He knew she was brilliant with DIY and decorations. His wrapping paper, on the other hand, was forcefully straight, the edges crumpled rather than folded over neatly, but Clara didn't care- it was the thought that counted, and he'd still done a good job. She adored the perfume set he had bought her and was relieved to see he remembered how badly she had desired her own copy of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea- that had come with two tickets to see The Phantom of The Opera, and she had squealed at that, bursting to hug him. Danny immediately cracked open the deodorant he had been given- but her main present to him was a golden watch, of a minimalist design, something that glittered in his eyes and left him speechless. He wore it with pride, and Clara shuffled over to him then, laying her head on his shoulder and cuddling up as he gently wrapped an arm around hers.
After a moment of comfortable silence, she mumbled "Thank you. I love it. And- thank you for letting me stay over, too-"
"No, no! It's not a problem. Thank you, for staying. For giving me someone I can be with this Christmas. And, for giving me someone to love- and have an excuse to watch operas with." He replied jokingly and a warmth flowed over Clara- in Danny's arms, she felt safe. She felt secure. "Awww… thats really sweet- ooh! Talking of empowering emotions- did you read the book I let you borrow?" She asked, anticipating the answer as she turned her head and placed it flat on his chest to look up at him with her dark puppy dog eyes, feeling his every rising breath, "Oh… yeah, it was alright I guess. Nothing special." he replied, brushing it off. But she detected the hint of surprise and intentional stoicism, and chuckled, "I saw those discarded tissues in the bin, Danny Pink."
"I'm ill-"
"No you aren't."
"With… conjunctivitis. Watery eyes-"
"Oh really?" She questioned with amusement in her tone of voice,
"Really!" He responded back, eyebrows arching defensively, but she sat up and faced him, rolling her eyes, "I can prove that you're lying." She stated firmly,
"Oh? and how can you do that?"
"Firstly- you would have told me. you always make an issue about these things. And secondly-" Clara darted forward and planted her lips against Danny's, softly sharing a kiss with him for a few precious moments that lasted seconds and felt like hours. His lips were soft and warm, and formatted a sharp contrast to his soldier-boy personality- 'much like his newfound joy in heartfelt novels.' She pulled back, a faint smile's trace upon her face, "Secondly, you wouldn't have let me do that." He rolled his eyes at her, face growing a pinkish hue as he stood up and strolled over to the stereo in the corner of the room, pressing play and holding out a hand as White Christmas began to steadily eep through every corner of the room, giving the warm, dim Christmas Lighting an amplification to provide a cosy atmosphere that felt more than ever like home.
Blushing herself, Clara rose to her feet and took Danny's large hand, gently falling into a slow, lulling dance with him as they rocked around in circles, a chorus of voices and gentle bass completely blocked out, as they concentrated on each other's steady, whispering breaths, and dull, thudding heartbeats. Thinking about Danny brought intense emotion rushing into Clara's system, her own eyes watered, more than his had at the thoughts of fiction. 'God, do I love this man.' she thought, clutching more closely and firmly to him now, and parting her lips, hesitating, before she spoke up about what was on her mind, "Danny?" She whispered in question, feeling his buzz of a hum in response, "… you… you don't think this will be our last Christmas together, do you?" She asked, head planted firmly over his shoulder, "What? Of course not-… Clara. I would never leave you. You know this. I'll always be here to look after you, and protect you. I… I love you, Clara Oswald. Nothing will ever, ever pull us apart." He reassured, wrapping his arms around her back and hugging her- he gave amazing hugs.
Nonetheless, she was glad that she could hang her head over his shoulder, and wanted to hold him in a hug for more than one reason as she stared out of the window and watched the snowflakes sway down to the frosted grounds below- because the Doctor was right- hug could hide your face- and not only did she want to hide her premonitionary grief from him right now, but she also wanted to never physically, nor emotionally let Danny go. "I love you too, Danny Pink. I love you, more than ever…
Merry Christmas."
A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Please feel free to leave a review, and there will be more stories soon. I really wanted to include some Danny-Doctor conflict here, in regards to how he loves and knows her more than she him, and that she'd jump to have an adventure rather than go to the opera, because I feel like realistically that would have portrayed her connection to the Doctor and how it consumed so much of her life in contrast to her relationship with Danny a lot better. But I decided to just push that aside, because I thought it'd be nicer to just see the whole thing go warmly and smoothly. So, you are welcome! Hope I made the right choice there. Merry Xmas again!
~A