Chapter Ten: The Settlement

"…hello? Clara to Doctor? Come in, chin? You're not doing that sensory withdrawal thing again, are you? I got really scared the last time".

The Doctor continued his unintentional non-response, save for a murmur here and there. Most of him wanted to lead Clara somewhere intimate and let her indulge in whatever she had planned for him, but for once, his nerves were holding him back. Try as he might, the idea of a sexual relationship was something he feared just a little more than something he wanted.

And also, he really liked to win bets. Which sounded considerably better to him.

"Err, Clara, you do realise you're going to be freezing the minute we leave the kitchen, right?" retorted the Doctor, attempting sass of his own. "Space is cold, dear. Better go… put your top back on".

Defeated, Clara tried not to lose her smile as she slumped against the kitchen wall. "I don't get it", she sighed earnestly. "I believe you love me, and… yeah, you love me, so why is this so hard? Do I have, like, less parts than you're used to? More? I thought I got the blue right…"

"You get everything right! Come here". The Doctor pulled his Clara in for a hug, which almost always made everything better for both of them. "You get everything right, you're my perfect girl. But this just isn't easy for me, and that's my problem. Will you be patient with me?"

Seeing the vulnerability in his eyes, Clara's singular heart melted as she rested her head against the Doctor's chest, listening to his twin hearts beat for her. "Of course I'll be patient, Doctor. But really, not even a snog? Come on, it's easy! I'll even do most of the work"

Keeping her hands on the Doctor's chest, she looked up at him, closed her eyes, and puckered up, hoping a miracle would touch her lips. But instead, one touched her ears.

"That's it - we're going to bed".

Clara's eyes immediately shot open. "We're going to where?!"

The Doctor realised his mistake, and fought back a blush. "Not like that! No, I mean literally, the two of us spend the night together. In the same bed; mine's big enough for two. No… y'know, just… togetherness. If you want to, of course".

Clara crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, not attempting to talk until her heart stopped beating through her chest. She already knew what her answer to the proposition was, but oh, she would never tire of teasing her Doctor. "I think you need to be clearer, love. Last I checked, 'y'know' was pretty 'together'".

"You know what I meant" the Doctor pressed, his cheeks now regrettably pink-tinged. "Your answer? I rather think it could be nice for the both of us".

Clara, although genuine, entirely failed to hold back a grin as she replied. "That sounds nice. Yeah, it's a date. See you later, then!" She plucked her top from the ground and put it back on before blowing the Doctor a kiss, and skipped out of the kitchen, seemingly satisfied.

-x-

Some hours later, clad in her usual red and cream pyjamas, Clara gently tiptoed through the darkened TARDIS corridor, trying to find the Doctor's bedroom. It was no easy task, but not because of the lack of lighting, and not even because she wasn't sure the Doctor had a bedroom until now, but because the TARDIS seemed to be literally tripping her up on the way. She thought that maybe, just maybe, the ship would have warmed up her given the Doctor's recent confession of love. But whatever tricks she pulled, there was nothing that would keep Clara from her Doctor right now.

She eventually wandered past a closed door muffling what sounded like classical music. Inquisitive, she knocked on it lightly, really not sure what was happening on the other side. "Doctor?" she called lightly. "You decent?"

An extra-terrestrial green light appeared on the doorknob, accompanied by a familiar sound. The door swung open, and on the other side was a perfectly made bed with flower petals scattered upon it, visible by the light of the candles burning around the room. The Doctor – still donning his everyday clothes, minus coat and boots – was in the act of lighting the last one as Clara stepped in. "Clara! Just in time!" he complimented, glancing around the now-finished room. "Just doing up the old b-room. Took about, ooh… how long has it been since we spoke?"

All the amused Clara could do was shrug. "Two hours?"

Her Doctor glanced around the room once again, and timidly accepted the timescale. "Two hours, that little? Oh, that's no good; I don't like it when we don't talk for so long".

Clara held back an affectionate giggle, and gently sat down on the far side of the bed. "Doctor, when I said 'it's a date'…"

"What? Yeah, I know, of course". The Doctor slid onto the other side of the bed, suddenly feeling a little awkward. "I just thought… relaxing, pleasantness… no?"

Clara simply stared at him, the smile on her face barely comparing to the one in her heart. She fell back onto the bed, scattering some of the petals onto the floor, and took his hand. "Actually, I love it! You really know how to spoil a girl. Well… almost". She briefly glanced at his fully clothed body before moving to snuggle in under the covers. "Care to join me?"

The Doctor took a sigh of relief, his features morphing into a grin that would match Clara's. "You got it, boss" he told her as he slowly slipped under the covers, careful to stick to his side at first. "So-"

"I have a question" Clara interrupted, shuffling forward a little. "Why on Earth are you sleeping in your everyday clothes? I mean, there's never changing, and then there's you".

The Doctor, slightly embarrassed, nonetheless turned his body to face Clara, and shuffled forward a little himself. "I don't sleep nearly as much as you; it doesn't seem worth it to have sleep clothes. It'd be a bit like you having clothes for buying a lottery ticket… or something".

Clara nodded, accepting the typically zany explanation. "Okay, then answer me this" she continued, resting her head in her hand with her eyes trained on the Doctor. "How is it that you feel okay sharing a bed with me, but you just can't bring yourself to snog?"

He shrugged, surprised by the question and not really knowing what to say. "I don't know. I mean frankly, it's not that I'm out of practice, but… it's just that you really are someone special, Clara Oswald. I just… I adore you so much, and I want our first kiss to mean not just something, but everything. I want it to feel absolutely right. And I think- I hope that the intimacy here will help with-"

"Plus you want to win the bet" Clara interjected, shuffling a little closer to her Doctor.

"…yeah, I kinda do want to win the bet" he admitted. "Speaking of which, how is it that you feel okay sharing a bed with me, but you can't bring yourself to tell me you love me?"

She shrugged, surprised by the question and not really knowing what to say. "I don't know. I guess it's because I've not had anything close to a boyfriend since I was sixteen, and I've never said those words to a boy ever. It's like, I'm never going to say it to anyone else, and I've no doubt that I'll say it to you one day, but when I do, it'll be really, properly real, like there's no turning back. Might even be the biggest moment of my life! So, it might not be straight away, but I promise that-"

"- you want to win the bet?" the Doctor interjected, shuffling a little closer to his Clara.

"…hmm, I do want to win that bet" she admitted. She laughed slightly as one of her hands searched for one of the Doctor's, her eyes staring into his. "But I meant every word. Did you?"

Under the covers, the Doctor's hand found Clara's and held it firm, his eyes staring back at hers. "Yeah! Yeah, of course I did, mmm".

It was only then that Clara seemed realise where she was, and with whom, which prompted a larger than average giggle. She hid herself under the covers until she stopped, half playful, half embarrassed. "Sorry! Sorry, yeah, that's brilliant. I, erm… I seem to be exceedingly happy at the moment. This was a really nice idea after all, chin".

The Doctor, surprisingly calm and collected for having the girl he loved in bed with him, gently stroked the hand of his impossible girlfriend in response. "I'm happy too, Oswald. And I'm grateful. More than you'll ever know…"

Right there and then, everything seemed near-perfect. Surrounded by the ambience of candlelight, with their hands and gazes intertwined, it was obvious that neither the Doctor nor Clara would rather be anywhere else than in each other's sacred company. Their great and beaming smiles didn't tell of the insecurities they each held, and nor should they have. For the two were about to, for one night, reach a compromise – a settlement.

After nearly a minute of staring into his Clara's eyes, the Doctor, his hearts swelling with love, leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, his hand lightly squeezing hers under the covers.

Clara closed her eyes for a second, letting the tingling sensation on the cheek last. She looked back at the Doctor and quietly cleared her throat, wanting to be heard loud and clear. "I'm so glad I met you".

With his smile threatening to leap off his face, the Doctor stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, utterly treasuring his companion. "And I you, sweetie" he replied, immediately before an unexpected yawn. "Well, I guess it's time to get some shuteye". He soniced the nearest candle, which caused them to go out one by one, offering one last hint of beauty. "Good night, Clara".

"Wait!" Clara breathed, sitting up in the dark. "This doesn't feel right". She looked over at the Doctor's body and grinned, even though neither of them could quite see each other. "I wanna cuddle".

The Doctor emitted a short laugh, and stretched out his left arm, ready to receive her. "Come on then, but no shenanigans! You can get cranky when you're tired".

Clara gasped, lightly slapping the Doctor's arm before crawling back under the covers and closing the distance between them. "I can get crankier when I'm not. But if you say so…"

The Doctor chuckled and, at the hint of Clara's touch, he twisted his body to accept her in a full embrace. As she rested her head just under his, he felt his body intertwine with hers in sheer, glorious intimacy and, although he had no more words for the night, he would always have endless love to express. His hand stroked the back of her neck, causing Clara to nuzzle further into his covered chest, as if she were trying to gain entry to his very soul. He kissed her forehead in one final bid goodnight and, long after she fell asleep, the Doctor was still awake, still holding her, still smiling, silently wishing that the moment would never end.

But instead, the moment was interrupted under the most harrowing circumstances…

-Next Chapter: Full Circle-

AN: I'm a jerk. I'm a jerky jerk-faced jerk. Back in August, I promised an update every Friday, and I dropped the ball.

So, here's how I'm going to make it up to you all for being such a jerky Mcjerkerson: after this story is finished (two chapters away!) and before/while I write my second one (still in development), I'm going to start a series of Whouffle oneshots! Which means that from now until the foreseeable future, I want prompts from you guys. Lots of prompts. Please do shower me with prompts. I'll be grateful for each and every one.

Erm… perimeters. I'm too tired to really think of any. Obviously, it has to be Whouffle, but beyond that I'll take a stab at anything!

Okay? Okay. Oh, and thank you one and all for reading! It's as much a pleasure to read your reviews and such as it is to write this fic, it really is ^.^