Just the two of us
Written by Loverly Souris
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Frost and fireworks
Frost
The snow was lavender-coloured.
The quaint little village was bustling with people whose clothing was far too casual for this insanely cold weather, at least according to Clara. She told herself that they must have been accustomed to this atmosphere – nevertheless, she winced as a couple of small children ran past her in tunics. The Doctor chuckled at her expression. "Don't worry about them. It's actually summer here. The hottest day in one hundred years."
"I can't imagine what winter must be like then," she muttered and shivered as a particularly cold gust of wind blew across the street. Dust-like snow whirled around them and with the pleasant laughter of the children and the cottages made of white brick in the background, it was a uniquely charming scene. Clara smiled and took the Doctor's arm, cuddling up to his side while they continued to walk. "This is really nice. Thank you for bringing me here."
She didn't look up at him, otherwise she would have seen the contented blush on his cheeks.
"I know a shop where they sell figurines made of permanent ice. Well, of the Kolorarian equivalent of ice. Let's check it out, shall we?"
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They stepped out of the shop, Clara holding a delicate leaf in her hand and they decided to go back to the TARDIS. The Doctor was babbling about this planet non-stop and Clara was listening.
Suddenly, a load of snow fell onto her head from the roof of a house. She shrieked.
"Are you alright? Oh dear, your hair is full of snow," he stated amusedly. However, Clara's irritation turned into butterflies in her stomach when the Doctor started to dust her off. After he was finished, he touched her flustered face cupping her cheek with a soft smile. "There."
"Your hand."
"What?"
At first, she didn't know if she felt it right or it was because of the surroundings, but one more second and she was sure. "Doctor, your hand is very cold."
"Oh."
"Don't 'oh' me!" She immediately tugged one of her own gloves off and shoved it into his palm.
"What are we going to do with one glove?"
"You'll see. Put it on."
He did and Clara grabbed his bare hand with hers, entwined their fingers and plunged them into her pocket. The Doctor was too smitten to tell her that even though his hand was cold, as a Time Lord, he barely felt the effects of the weather.
Instead, he cherished her warmth.
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Fireworks
Dallas, July 4th 1948
A fiery red-haired woman stepped to the window of the hotel room and glanced out at the lively street.
Kids were running around while their parents were busy decorating for the celebration. It was a nice sight and she smiled. She could feel their excitement even though she was not from this country. However, she suddenly spotted something on the corner and her smile melted into a gasp.
It was a familiar blue box.
"Oh my God!" she cried out and turned towards the bathroom door calling out to her husband, "Rory!"
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After dealing with a brief but potentially deadly Auton attack, the Doctor and Clara decided to join the crowd that started to accumulate by White Rock Lake for the firework display.
"I'm so exhausted!" Clara sighed and plopped down onto the soft grass.
The Doctor grinned at her somewhat lovingly and reached down to pat her head. "Well, we saved the world again, it's alright to be tired."
He was about to sit next to her when he was tackled onto the ground from behind. He was sprawled face down with this mysterious someone on his back and for a second he thought the Autons returned because Clara gasped. Then, however, he heard a voice that he was sure he'd never hear again. "Guess who, Raggedy man?"
"Amelia…?"
Amy got off him for a moment to let him face her before she locked him into her arms. "Gotcha."
When Rory joined them, the Doctor still couldn't believe his eyes. With a teary laugh, he just hugged his Ponds without the intention of ever letting them go.
Clara watched them with a smile – even though in the depth of her heart a tiny bit of jealousy was lurking. She couldn't deny it. There's no reason, you idiot, she scolded herself.
"So, what's up with you, Ponds? Still just the two of you?"
"Yeah, but soon there'll be three of us," Rory grinned.
The Doctor's eyes went wide. "Don't tell me you're-"
"No," Amy cut in. "We're in the middle of an adoption process."
"Congratulations! That's awesome!"
"Thanks," she nodded and looked at Clara. "But I can see you've moved on as well."
The Doctor blushed, suddenly remembering that he'd forgotten to introduce his companion. "Ponds, this is Clara Oswald. Also known as Soufflé Girl."
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They spent the remaining time until the fireworks with talking. The Doctor told them how Clara was the same girl as the one who'd saved them in the Dalek Asylum and what kind of adventures they had so far. Amy asked about River and the Doctor answered that he had no idea where she was.
Clara knew by the look on her face that she didn't believe him, but neither of them said anything.
They fell silent while they were watching the colourful explosions in the sky.
"We're not in New York, you know. I can take you back. No danger of tearing the city apart," the Doctor muttered almost inaudibly afterwards and the Ponds looked at each other.
"It's okay, Doctor," Rory said. "We have a life here now. We're settled. Besides, it's kind of interesting."
"Yeah," Amy added and they chuckled.
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They could say goodbye properly this time and after the door of the TARDIS closed behind the couple, the Doctor sank into the chair.
Amy's remark on how she was missing the glass floor was still lingering in the air.
"Clara…" he whispered and she stepped to him, hugging him to her.
He buried his face into her abdomen and cried.
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Thank you for reading! :)
Don't forget that you can send in your prompts for letter H until the 19th of November! :) See Chapter 4 for more information.