Disclaimer: See chapter 1. I also do not own: Pride and Prejudice, Pulp Fiction or Kill Bill.
A/N: IMPORTANT! Alright, now that I have your attention this is a triple update. If you have skipped to here, go to chapter nine and start there. If you've done that and you're back, welcome. Now I'd like to quickly give a shout out. My best friend/unofficially adopted sister has put up a fanfic. It's her first fic, and she's nervous. Give her a little positivity with a review, favourite or follow. Hell, give her a PM. It'll make her day, she goes by Little Blossom Angel here on . Here's a link for her AU fic. s/12170212/1/The-Mystery-of-The-Doctor
Hope you enjoy her work, as you enjoy mine. As always, what did you like? Do you have any constructive criticism for me? Leave a review and let me know. ~TW
Chapter 11:
Clara sat at the table, about to read Pride and Prejudice for the ninth time in Missy's presence. It was cementing the idea of making Austen a fossil in Missy's mind.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that, a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife," quoted Missy.
"You're a fan of Jane Austen?" asked Clara.
"Not exactly," Missy deadpanned.
Clara raised an eyebrow, and opened the book she could recite by heart. Missy rolled her eyes at the human. Why she felt the way she did for the human, was beyond her. Missy took out a knife and tested the edge. It was blunt. Did the Old Man really get this lax? She found the knife sharpener and worked on the knife's edge. She began to whistle Twisted Nerve as she worked. Clara turned around to see what Missy was doing, and couldn't help feeling nervous. Sharpening a knife, while whistling that tune was frightening, more so when a psychopath was doing it.
"Tarentino fan then?" asked Clara.
"I don't mind his films, they're a little hit and miss," replied Missy.
"Kill Bill though?"
"Absolutely, can't go past Pulp Fiction though."
Clara raised her eyebrows and smiled.
"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy My brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay My vengeance upon you," Clara quoted.
Missy stared at Clara, squeaked and then giggled manically.
"And you know what they call a... a... a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?" quoted Missy.
"They don't call it a Quarter Pounder with cheese?" Clara replied.
"No man, they got the metric system. They wouldn't know what the fuck a Quarter Pounder is," said Missy.
"Then what do they call it?"
"They call it a Royale with cheese."
Both women stared at each other and giggled. This was unbelievable, if anyone had told Clara two weeks ago that she'd be trading pop culture references with the Mistress; she'd have checked them into a psychiatric ward. The two began to talk, as Missy bustled about the kitchen. They talked about preferred cuisines, cultures, adventures, more pop culture and their lives. Missy made sure to serve Clara a large portion of the stir fry she'd made. She couldn't have her puppy wasting away. Pouring healthy amounts of wine into two glasses, the women migrated to the library. They sat on the couch in front of the fire, and talked some more. Neither woman had had any clue how alike they were, underneath all of their differences. They both had a love for popular culture, fine dining, spectacular views and adrenaline rushes.
They were also beginning to find things that they loved about the other. Missy loved the way that Clara's nose would twitch just before she smiled. She loved watching Clara drum her fingers against the stem of the wine glass. She also reaffirmed her belief that with eyes like that, she'd never be able to refuse Clara anything. They were pools of dark beauty, and she could just fall into them. Clara found the way Missy scrunched up her face when she laughed, adorable. Clara's heart melted when Missy admitted she liked children's shows. She thought it was nice that the Mistress had childish side. She also had to admit she might have a little obsession with Missy's cheekbones.
Maybe it was the wine, or perhaps it was the atmosphere but Clara left her glass on the table and reached for Missy's jaw. She turned the Mistress toward her, moving her hand to Missy's cheek. Clara moved in closer and kissed Missy. Missy responded hesitantly, this had happened before and it almost turned out badly. Clara straddled Missy's lap, arms around her neck. As the languid kiss began to deepen, Missy came to her senses. She moved her head back, but made sure to keep her hold on Clara's hips. Keeping Clara in place was important.
"Did I do the wrong thing? I'm sorry," murmured Clara.
Missy could see the blush colouring Clara's cheeks and felt guilty. However she knew this was the right thing to do.
"You didn't do anything wrong Poppet, but this isn't the first time this has happened. The last time this happened, it was your Phratos echo. She thought I was Saira and I almost realised too late that it wasn't you," explained Missy "If we're going to do this, I want it to be right."
"You stopped me...I mean my echo?" asked Clara.
"Of course, I'm not that sort of monster," muttered Missy.
The Time Lady looked away from her human, feeling hurt that Clara assumed she'd do something like that. Clara put her hand under Missy's jaw, forcing the Gallifreyan woman to look into the human's eyes.
"It's just a surprise that you wouldn't have just taken what you wanted," said Clara.
Clara saw her mistake immediately when the Mistress' eyes reflected horror back at her. Oh she'd definitely done the wrong thing here.
"On Gallifrey intimacy is something to be treasured. Most wouldn't show affection in the streets for fear of causing offence. It was up to the individual of course to decide what they kept to themselves and what they were comfortable doing with everyone," said Missy.
"So for the Doctor it's hugging and beyond. For you it's kissing and..."
"Sex; yes my treasured intimacies are kissing and sex."
"But you were willing to kiss the Doctor and me for laughs."
"Yes, you and the Doctor; I've never kissed anyone else in this body."
It suddenly hit Clara, that Missy was very human and yet not in her intimacy choices. It was the reason why she'd snapped when Clara had mentioned the Doctor and implied sex in the same breath. While Missy had kissed for laughs, it was understandable that she'd done it with the people she was the most comfortable with. Clara suddenly realised how much she had just hurt Missy. She launched forward, capturing Missy in a hug.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry; oh god, I'm so sorry," Clara whispered "I should never have said that. I'm so so sorry."
Missy slowly returned the hug, tightening her arms around Clara and rubbing her back. She had to admit this was really nice, just to hold Clara like this.
"You didn't know," muttered Missy "Gallifreyans aren't like humans. We don't have specific rituals for these things. It's much more personal, we'll share it with the people closest to us, and depending on the relationship, the extent of intimacy we'll allow."
"So you're saying that you'd...with me?"
"Yes, but not now. When you're better and if you still want this, then yes. But you have to understand that once you do, this is a relationship. I don't do flings."
"I understand, but what if I don't get better?"
Missy froze, she hadn't even thought of that as an option. She couldn't, she wouldn't because it wasn't. She couldn't allow Clara to think that way either.
"You will."
"But what if..."
"No, you'll get better it's the only option.
"Missy, be realistic here."
"No!"
Missy buried her face into Clara's chest, beginning to cry for the first time in this situation. She couldn't let this happen.
"You're not going anywhere Clara," sobbed Missy.
"I don't want to, but we have to face the reality," murmured Clara.
"You don't understand! You're not going anywhere because I won't let you," cried Missy.
"Missy I..."
"Please don't, we need to be positive. Anything else just won't do."
Clara looked down at Missy, moving to kiss the Mistress' temple. Missy shivered at the touch, the psychic energy that had come off that kiss had felt warm and a little ticklish. Missy shifted Clara off her lap, and moved Clara onto her chest as she shuffled into a corner of the lounge. The human's body heat was a comfort to the Mistress. Other Gallifreyans would say the heat was uncomfortable but Missy liked the warmth. She was beginning to see why the Doctor kept a human around so often. Now that they were comfortable, it was down to business.
"Clara, have you noticed anything repetitive about any of this? Any particular thing that keeps cropping up?" asked Missy.
"Hmm, I don't know, I don't think so; I...wait there is one thing," said Clara.
"What's that?"
"Well there's this one echo that keeps showing up. She turns up in my dreams and my...hallucinations. She's really terrifying, and always has a cleaver. I don't know why she keeps showing up," said Clara.
"Right, ok. And these dreams and hallucinations are they only about your echoes?" Missy asked.
"No, sometimes they're about what a particular echo saw. You were cute in your original form by the way. Other times it's a dream featuring all the echoes, and the nicer ones try to save me from the bad ones," Clara explained.
"Well that's interesting. You should get some sleep, close your eyes here Poppet. I'll carry you to bed later," instructed Missy.
Clara nodded sleepily and snuggled into Missy's chest. The Mistress ran a hand soothingly through Clara's hair until the puppy fell asleep. Missy decided that she would write these details down on the Doctor's chalkboards later. It was time to corroborate the details, put a theory together and find a potential solution. It was all science, Missy was sure of it. For now though, she would sit here; enjoying the sound of Clara's heartbeat, and the warmth the puppy radiated.