She had a habit of biting her nails whenever she was stressed. Or anxious. Or whatever. Right now, she was busily pacing the hallway in her flat, waiting for the arrival of one Doctor. She had given him a call later in the evening yesterday to ask him where he wanted to go for dinner. And that's where he admitted that he wouldn't mind a home cooked meal.

So that's how she ended up in the situation she was in currently. She let out a sigh as she circled back towards the kitchen where the vegetables were still being steamed on the stove top. Luckily, she had prepared the rest of the meal earlier, some veal medallions, so all that was left was to grill the meat and serve the vegetables. Easy enough, right? Everything was set on the table, there was some classic music playing in the living room to give a nice atmosphere…

The only thing missing was some candles and then it would really be a candle-lit dinner; she smiled wryly to herself before giving her face a sharp slap. No, she can't jump to conclusions like that.

It was then that the doorbell chose to ring and she might've sprinted for the door, opening it up to reveal the Doctor, standing just a tad awkwardly in front of her door. "Doctor!" Clara exclaimed, ushering him into her home. "Thank goodness you found this place. Hope it wasn't too hard to find?" He had shed her coat and placed it on an offered coat hanger. "I managed. Your directions were quite good; the flat near the grocery store with the bee. That helped. Your place is…," He paused for a moment to look around him carefully. "Very nice. Thank you for inviting me over."

"Make yourself comfortable," Clara said, gesturing to the couches. "Did you want something to drink? Or eat now, are you hungry?" The Doctor took a moment to respond before he gave a sheepish nod. "Bit ravenous. Oh, I got you this," He procured a wine bottle from a package he held and passed it over. "We can have it with the meal."

"Wow, nice pair," Clara murmured, taking the wine before she started to backtrack into the kitchen. "Alright well, we can eat then. Dinner will be ready in just a tick."

Before long, the empty dinner table was now comfortably filled with plates of food and the two of them sitting opposite to each other on the table. She waited carefully to see his expression as he bit into the food and was relieved when he murmured his approval.

"With the food and the wine…," The Doctor started slowly as he took a sip from his glass, glancing around the room slightly. "I sort of expected some candles lit up around here." A flush crept onto Clara's face at his remark and she quickly ducked her head down to pick up some of the vegetables.

"Steady boy," Clara teased. "You're sounding desperate." Now it was the Doctor's turn to stutter and fumble around for words blindly, embarrassment causing the tips of his ears to turn bright pink. "I-I never-shut up." He grumbled finally before turning back to the food. Clara grinned at his antics; it never ceased to amaze her when she did get the ability to completely shut up the Doctor. He had always been one to talk in classes, even when it was the most irrelevant matter to discuss but the past few months had given her a chance to hone her ability to quiet the Doctor.

"So…yesterday. You're still married, yeah?" Clara asked, offhandedly. Their conversation had bothered her just a bit and she was genuinely curious as to what sort of relationship the two of them had. It didn't seem as if there was any time for the two of them to ever see each other.

"Well, not really. We're fully committed to ending it, just need to get some paperwork in. I'm contacting my lawyer about it soon, hopefully we'll be divorced by the end of this year," The Doctor replied. The way he talked about it seemed almost distant, as if he was just talking about taxes or whatever. Clara merely nodded her head, "Seems like you two are sorting it out fairly well. And adjusting to it better than expected."

"We didn't really think our relationship, marriage, could last as long as it did. We've been married for maybe twenty years? But really, we've barely seen each other in the past ten. Somehow, the thought never fazed either of us about trying to end it," He shrugged his shoulders. "But it's good that we're finally setting it straight. It makes things easier."

Clara smiled gently. It really did change the game, did it? She had been worried in the beginning that the possibility that Dr. Song was still in the picture wasn't going to bode well for her. She didn't think she was the type to try and get caught in the crossfires of a marriage that really was something she wanted to avoid at all costs. Maybe it was a bit sadistic of her to be happy that the two of them were getting a divorce but –she wasn't going to reveal it to anybody.

Glancing down at their plates, now empty, Clara leapt up to her feet. "Alright! Now for the highlight of the meal, the desert! I'll be right back with it," She announced as she made her way into the kitchen.

Except as soon as she reached the oven, she let out a cry of disappointment. It must've caught the Doctor's attention because next thing she knew, there was some noises from the dining table before the Doctor came bustling into the kitchen, a look of worry in his expression. "What's wrong? What happened? Did you start a fire?"

Clara let out a groan as she took out the two deflated soufflés from the oven. They were slightly charred around the edges too, she frowned. Probably needed more butter. "No…just failed my eighty-fifth attempt at making a soufflé. I swear I got the recipe right this time!" She grumbled out bitterly as she gingerly picked up the two. Looks like these were going to be added to the list of failures, she sighed in disappointment before making her way to the trash can.

She would've reached it if it weren't for the Doctor stopping her in her tracks. "What are you doing? They're perfectly good soufflés to me," The Doctor said, bemusement in his expression. "Here, let me try one," He fished out a spoon from the drying rack before scooping a part of the chocolate soufflé into his mouth before Clara could protest.

Chewing thoughtfully, he nodded his head. "It's good, Clara. Sure it's a little burnt but the inside is moist. Here," He spooned another part out of the soufflé before he pushed the spoon past Clara's unexpecting lips. There was a chocolate-y flavor bouncing in the taste as Clara accepted the spoon, eating her own creation carefully. There was a definite burning taste but it didn't completely overwhelm the chocolate. Maybe it wasn't as bad of a failure as she thought, she mulled as she watched the Doctor eat up an entire soufflé by himself.

"It was good. You baked it for me so I thought it was delicious," He admitted much to Clara's laughter. "Or maybe you're just saying that because you're my student and you want to win favor with your professor," She teased him gently, giving him a sharp nudge on the side. But his words were much appreciated.

"I…I always try baking a soufflé. My mum used to make it for me all the time before she died," Her face fell for a moment at the thought but Clara continued her story. "She never did get to teach me how she perfected her recipe before she died. So I've been trying to make it from her books. It's still something I'm working on."

The Doctor smiled. "The fact that you're still trying is admirable. I'm sure that your mum was a great person. And she would probably be glad to know that you're still trying." Clara looked back up to the Doctor, meeting his gaze and found nothing but sincerity and compassion within them.

Somehow, that made her heart skip just a beat faster. As he reached in for the other soufflé to finish, Clara didn't waste a single second in pulling the Doctor down to her level by the lapels of his shirt and placing her lips against his.

There was a burnt chocolate aroma in his lips and somehow, she felt as though it was a taste that she could very well be addicted too. Luckily for her, it seemed like the Doctor had the same idea as her. Letting go of the spoon, his arms were quickly wrapped tightly around her body, pulling her closer to him. They could kiss deeper and it wasn't a kiss that was going to end anytime soon.

When they finally pulled away for air, Clara flickered her gaze up to meet his. There was nothing but pure adoration in his gaze. "I thought-wasn't sure-didn't think because, I'm your-," The Doctor began to ramble and Clara quickly leaned in to kiss him again. That shut him up quickly as he kissed her back, wrapping one hand close to the base of her neck to tilt her head up for better access.

Another way to shut up the Doctor. And a way she rather enjoyed.