And a Soufflé, Please

by the antisocial insomniac

Chapter 4- Trouble with the Wifi

x

"One vanilla latte and a souffle, please," requested a familiar voice from across the counter. The Doctor looked up in surprise, then smiled when he saw the customer.

"Hi, Clara," he said, grabbing a cup and starting to prepare her latte. "How are you?" Suddenly, he stopped and glanced up. "Do you want the vanilla latte, or do you want me to mess it up again?"

Clara tilted her head in thought. "I think I'll have the vanilla this time, thanks. I'm in the mood for an actual souffle today." She watched in amusement as the Doctor danced around behind the counter, pouring this and that into a cup and stealing a glance at Clara whenever he could. Then, he handed it to her and grabbed a souffle from the case before taking her money and giving her change. "So, are you always this much of a dancer?" she looked at him with the question still hanging unanswered in her eyes, then glanced down again to pick up her latte.

"I'm not a dancer," the Doctor replied angrily, snapping the lid shut and sliding the beverage across the counter. He watched as Clara gracefully made her way over to the table he set out with spices and sugars and creams, and smiled when she stirred in a little bit of nutmeg. When she came back and sat in a bar-like seat just down the counter from the cash register, he smiled. "Besides, if I was a dancer, why would I be working in a coffee shop?"

"You said you owned the shop," Clara pointed out. "You could be a dancer who has a passion for coffee and runs a shop in their spare time."

The Doctor shrugged. "Too much work," he told her. "I may do a lot of things, but juggling two jobs on a regular basis when I don't have to seems a bit extreme."

Clara nodded silently, taking a bite of her souffle. She squinted a little, then looked down to examine it. With a wide-eyed glance back up at the Doctor, she said, "I'm going to need to teach you how to make a proper souffle."

The Doctor was offended. "I'm pretty sure I can make a souffle, thank you very much. In fact, you're eating one right now."

"No, this is good, but it's not quite a souffle. There's something missing." she thought this over for a moment, before pushing her spoon into the souffle and reaching into her bag. She promptly pulled out her phone, and slid it across the counter. "Here, put your number in."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, but plugged the digits in anyway and slid the phone back across the counter. "Alright, here you go. I'm assuming what you wrote down yesterday was your phone number?"

Clara smirked, then nodded. "You're clever."

"Not really. I know how my employees write, and the handwriting didn't match."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine then, Chin. You can prove your cleverness another time."

"Oi! There is nothing wrong with my chin!"

"Really?" Clara asked with an eyebrow raised. "Careful, dear. You'll put someone's eye out."

The Doctor groaned and moved to help a customer who had just arrived. "Is there anything wrong with my chin?" he asked the man, sticking it out for good measure.

"Uhm, no?" the man replied uncertainly. "But can I please have my coffee? I'm in a bit of a rush, you see."

"Of course, just give me one second to prepare it," the Doctor apologized with a smile. He grabbed a cup and made his way over to the coffee, but not before stopping next to Clara. "Told you so," he muttered, walking away to pour the man's coffee. And although Clara couldn't see it, the Doctor grinned.

x

"Hello?"

"Ah, hello. I can't find the internet."

The Doctor pulled the phone away from his ear and groaned before replying. "Sorry, you what?"

"I can still hear you even if you move the phone away, Doctor. But anyway, the internet is gone. I can't find it anywhere. Where is it?"

"The internet?"

"Yes, the internet, haven't you been listening? Nina is rubbish with computers, so she wouldn't be able help me. So I thought, hey, he's got to be called 'the Doctor' for a reason, right? Maybe he can find the internet."

"You have clicked on the wifi button, haven't you?"

"Wifi? Wifi…"

"You'll see a list of names. Find one you recognize."

At that moment, the door flung open and someone walked in. "I'm home," a feminine voice called out. There was some rustling as they hung up their coat, and then footsteps as they walked into the living room, where Clara was sitting.

"Oh, hi, Nina," Clara said without looking up. What's the password for the internet?"

" 3," Nina replied, rolling her eyes and walking through the living room and into her bedroom. "And please tell me you haven't 'lost the internet' again," she called before closing the door behind her.

Clara squinted a bit and looked around on her screen. "Doctor? I don't see the wifi. Am I supposed to be able to see it?"

The Doctor sighed and stood up from his chair, turning to his own desk for a moment just to save his files and shut off his computer. "Y'know what, maybe it's best if I come over there. Where do you live?" Suddenly, the door to the Doctor's apartment swung open. He turned to see who it was and groaned. "Y'know what, just text me the address, okay? I'll be there soon."

"Okay? Bye then," Clara said confusedly, hanging up the phone and quickly plugging in her address. After clicking send, she yelled, "Nina? A friend of mine just invited himself over. I hope that's alright."

"Himself?!" the once-closed bedroom door swung open, and a brown-haired woman dashed out, her ponytail swinging behind her like an excited dog's tail. "It's fine!" then she frowned when she noticed all of the computer packaging sitting around their living room. "Don't tell me you told him to come over so he could find the internet."

Clara only grinned sheepishly.

x

A/N: shoooot. I'm so sorry for not updating sooner! I've been surprisingly busy, and I'll continue to be busy. So, no more daily or daily-ish updates. I'm really sorry. :(

On a side note, I'm a terrible person and haven't responded to any reviews. I feel really bad, so from now on I promise to at least try to reply to every one of your comments! Each one makes me smile, so it's ridiculous not to respond.

This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I wanted to get it up today. It's okay- it'll all be in the next chapter.

DFTBA! (nOt mine, it's from the Vlogbrothers but oh well)

~Aria