It took him three days, but he did it. Koschei was walking alongside the canals in Venice, feeling downcast. He wasn't quite sure where to look anymore. He'd been to all the major tourist attractions. He feared that he'd gone to each just before or after her. A couple people had recognized her face when he'd shown them a picture (which was actually a picture him and the original Clara had taken together), but it hadn't been much of a help.
Hearing a sharp intake of breath, he glanced up from the pavement that he had been boring his eyes into. There she was: the most beautiful girl in the world. Koschei mouthed her name in amazement just as her hand collided with his cheek.
"Ouch! What was that for?" he exclaimed, observing the furious brunette before him. "I thought you'd be glad to see me!"
"That," she started, poking him in the chest, "is for leaving me for seven months, without a single word." Clara Oswin was fuming, and her eyes were welling up with tears that she fought back.
"Oh, Clara. I am so sorry."
"Sorry? Sorry? Seriously, is that all you've got? You said you were falling in love with me and we decided to take a chance and jump into the adventure that lay before us, and you simply left!"
"I didn't mean to. It was an accident, I swear."
"Really?" she asked dryly. "Are you sure it wasn't just fear of commitment? You got ahead of yourself on that last day. You realized that you actually didn't want to take the chance of falling in love with me, so you abandoned me. I'm not an idiot."
"Of course you're not an idiot. But you don't understand."
"Really? I think the only thing I don't understand is why the hell you're back, or how you found me. Or was it an accident, a coincidence you just ran into me here?" Clara Oswin bit her lip. It was obvious she desperately hoped it wasn't a coincidence.
Koschei swallowed, glancing around. "Can we go sit somewhere to talk? I think people might start to stare if you continue to shout at me here."
She sighed, debating whether to protest before nodding. "Yeah, sure. There's a lovely place right this way."
They walked together in an awkward, tension-filled silence for about two minutes until they reached an outdoor patio and sat down at a table. A waiter came by, and Koschei ordered the most expensive wine on the list.
"Damn. Maybe you really are sorry," Clara Oswin murmured as the waiter walked away.
Koschei nodded. "Remember how I have a time machine?"
"How could I not? I've been waiting for you for seven months. The fact that you have a time machine made it all the worse because you could go anywhere you want, but you decided to let me take the long path." Tears were gathering in her eyes, and she blinked furiously to make them go away.
Koschei sighed. "I got into a spot of trouble."
"So?"
"So, I made a mistake navigating back to you afterwards. I entered the wrong date, and by the time I realized my mistake, I was standing at the door of your apartment complex listening to some lady tell me you'd moved out two months ago."
"You have a time machine. You could have just left and gone back in time," she said blankly, clearly not understanding.
"There are rules. Rules that I tend to break, but I couldn't risk a paradox, Clara Oswin. If I had gone back to before you moved, then you might never have moved at all, and then I wouldn't have heard that message when I got to your apartment, and then I wouldn't have the chance to go back and fix it, and it would all be a mess."
Clara Oswin blinked. "I … what? Is there a less confusing version of the story?"
He sighed. "Basically, if I had gone back, there could have been a paradox that meant I would never have the impetus to go back at all, and I could have lost you forever. I couldn't risk that."
She nodded slowly, taking it all in. "I'm still confused, but … I suppose I can believe you when you say it was a mistake. But, uhm, how did you find me?"
"Nicole," he said, a smirk on his face.
"You're kidding me. She told me if you ever showed up again she would rip you limb from limb for hurting me! There's no way she gave up my location!" She laughed aloud, amazed at his resourcefulness.
"Rip me limb from limb? Damn. I like her spirit!"
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, me too. How'd you do it then?"
"Well, after she was finished grating into me for being a horrible person, I fed her a lie that I was a secret agent who had been called off on a mission, and I had been unable to let you know."
Clara Oswin snorted. "Oh, that's perfect! She absolutely loves military guys. I'm sure she ate it up."
"It's certainly a more convincing story than me being a time-traveling alien who made a calculation error."
"Oh yeah, definitely. No one would believe that one." She winked at him, betraying her joy at being with him again.
He laughed, a wave of relief washing over him. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment after the laughter had subsided, and he reached his hand across the table to take hers. She allowed him tentatively.
"I'm still upset with you, you know. You could have at least sent me a message, or a sign. Something so that I wouldn't lose all hope in you returning to me."
He sighed. "Well, it's too late now."
"Yeah."
"Can you ever forgive me?" Koschei asked, squeezing her fingers.
Clara Oswin blushed and glanced at their hands. "Yeah. I think I can."
Koschei grinned at her widely, reaching for the bottle that had arrived without them noticing. Pouring them both a glass, he lifted his own. "To forgiveness and another chance at love?"
"To love, and to forgiveness," she spoke, raising her own and clinking it against his. Clara Oswin had realized she was in love with him shortly after he had left that last Sunday morning. She'd tried to forget it in the months he was gone, but looking into the eyes that held so much strange, confusing, incredible love for her, she knew it hadn't faded. Clara Oswin was in love with Koschei Oakdown. There was no doubt about it.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you did, please let me know in a review! Or, if you didn't like it for some reason, i would love to hear that feedback as well. I know that their relationship is moving kind of fast, but I think for Koschei it's kind of hard not to move fast given his relationship with the original Clara Oswald.
