Author's notes:
So I left writing for a very long time, and I apologize for that. For the sake of transparency, sometime last year I got two negative reviews very close together. While everyone is entitled to their opinions, these reviews hurt my feelings. I wanted to just ignore them and continue on, but because it had already been very hard for me to start writing again in the first place after nearly six years. My self doubt already has me convinced my writing is garbage and those reviews felt like they validated my concerns. I've been trying to write this chapter ever since, but a lot changed. Season 9 has since aired, and we all know what happened with Clara. This made me want to abandon this fic altogether for a while, but my spark has been temporarily rekindled. I want to try to keep writing chapters. I appreciate all the feedback everyone has given me. I'm very sorry this story ended up suffering due to my insecurities. I hope you can all bear with me as I try to gain my confidence for writing back.
Also please note that the process I wrote for the DMV here is completely incorrect. I asked my friends in the UK at one point to explain how their driving test system works but I've since lost the conversation. I ask you to please give me some degree of suspension of disbelief for this.
Goosebumps covered Clara's skin as the Doctor's fingers trailed down her naked back. She rolled her hips, grinding into him tossing her hair back as she did so. The Doctor's lips found the hollow of her neck and he trailed kisses down to her collar bone. Whispering her name on her skin, he thrust his own hips upward to meet her. All the nervousness in his body began to melt away. The Doctor's eyes wandered over her her as a low moan escaped his parted lips. Her long brown hair was now delicately draped over her shoulders and parts of her small, firm breasts. If the Doctor believed in Goddesses, he'd be convinced she was one. He grasped onto her left breast, brushing the hair out of the way as he did, and relished as a gasp escaped Clara's lips when he placed his mouth on her nipple.
She gasped again as he entered her. It was a sound he was sure he would never tire of. He pressed his back to the edge of the pool where he sat, the water barely covering his knees. She was astride his lap, moving with his rhythm, her bathing suit bottoms abandoned on the deck.
'Gods above,' The Doctor thought, as he groaned into her chest. She felt so soft and smelled like flowers and chlorine. Clara had come to him some time after he had swam around the pool, complaining that she could only find half of a bathing suit. He had no objections to this however, even as she demanded to know why he had a pair of Alpacas running around his wardrobe.
Clara's legs were now wrapped tightly around his torso, and he could feel her tightening around him in other places too. She began to shiver and rock, digging her fingers into the nape of his neck. She murmured her love for him under her breath, making him come close to the edge-
"Doctor," Clara said firmly, except it wasn't the lovely memory of her from that morning, but instead she was elbowing him in the ribs, fully clothed, and sitting in the plastic chair next to him. "Wake up. It's not that boring you know."
"Number 56," said a droll voice over the intercom. There was a quiet amount of shuffling a few rows of seats away. Once it died the room went back to total silence with a thin blanket of hostility hovering in the air.
Oh of course, they were sitting at the DMV.
"Why couldn't they have just taken my photo and let us leave?" The Doctor grumbled.
"Its bad enough you tried to show them your old ID," Clara replied pointedly. "You're lucky they were understanding when I told them you were joking."
The Doctor shook his head- he knew he was never going to use the license, just by how little he had used the old one he had, but for some reason Clara was not willing to let the topic drop until he got a new one. He supposed if it were that important to her he might as well.
"This Time Travel vacation is only going to last a few days, but who knows when you may have to drive again?" Clara had said, and she had a point. Also, he certainly did not want to spend the rest of their time in town arguing over who got to drive.
There was something universally horrible about DMVs- and it was the same at all of them, on every planet. The Doctor could feel his limbs start to itch as his mind began to wander again. He had once blown up a star just to say goodbye to Rose Tyler, and yet here he was, sitting in this dingy concrete and plastic room with Clara Bloody Oswald making clucking noises at him with her tongue whenever he went to shut his eyes.
"Can't we just... I dunno... go have a romp in the bathroom... Instead?" He whispered to Clara, and she just rolled her eyes.
"57..." Said the intercom.
"Oh, oh, that's us," Clara got up and reached for the Doctor's hand. He reluctantly grabbed it and sighed.
When they reached the counter, a woman in her late 30s sat at her computer. She seemed cheerful enough, despite her occupation, and she gave Clara a welcoming smile when they approached.
"Hello there dear, how may I help you?" The woman asked.
"Uhm... oh yes. I'm Clara," She fumbled with the psychic paper she had nicked from the Doctor earlier She handed it to the woman as she spoke. "We're here so John to get a new license. That should be all the paper work you need..."
The woman frowned at the blank piece of paper for a moment, and typed whatever she happened to be seeing into the computer. The Doctor however, shyed away from the two of them looking away with embarrassment.
"And it says here... you're his emergency contact yes?" The woman smiled and looked at Clara with mild curiosity that Clara couldn't understand.
"I suppose you could call me that," Clara replied.
"Alright, may I have your phone number Mrs. Smith?"
Clara's mouth opened to protest but no sound came out for an uncomfortably long time. She stared wide eyed at the woman until the Doctor gently tapped her on the knee and rose an eyebrow at her. She cleared her throat and looked back at the woman and said, her voice wavering, "Yes, erm, It's-"
The woman glanced at Clara's naked hand as she recited out her phone number. Doubt overcame her features, causing the Doctor to nervously grab onto Clara's hand. "We're only married on paper, so its still a new thing for her to be called Mrs.," The Doctor said, acting as though he were reciting facts out of a text book, rather than making up absurd things. "The actual wedding celebration isn't until next month."
The explanation the Doctor gave seemed to bring the woman relief, and her demeanor returned back to what it had been when they had first approached her. "Oh my, congratulations then, to the both of you!" She smiled as she finished filling out the forms on the computer and the Doctor could feel Clara's furious eyes boring into him.
"Alright, you are all set Mr. Smith!" The woman said as she hit the enter button. "Now all you need to do is to pass the vision test, and we can have your license renewed."
The Doctor opened his mouth to say his eyes were fine, but he dared not to when he heard an angry low growl come from Clara. "That sounds satisfactory," He said, refusing to look her direction. He could see her arms were folded.
Twenty minutes later the Doctor sat in the drivers seat of the Spyder, looking over the black and white copy of his eventual license. "I might have to travel in time to get the actual one from the mail box," He said, mostly to himself. "Seems silly I have to wait two weeks to have the real deal."
Clara wasn't listening. Her arms were still folded and she was looking at nothing in particular with a scowl on her face.
"Is there a way for me to fix this?" The Doctor asked as he winced. He the placed the key into the ignition but did not turn it.
She kept her back to him as she spoke, her slender shoulders hunched. It took him a moment to realize her eyes were watering. "Do you even know what you did?"
"Well... Not entirely," The Doctor replied, turning off the radio and turning his attention to her.
"How long have you been going about telling people we were married?" Clara asked, finally turning to him, her eyes dark and her lip trembling as she struggled to keep her tears at bay.
"Not long!" The Doctor replied, startled by how heart broken she looked. "I mean, I haven't told that many people that particular lie... Maybe only to a few aliens to get discounts on things or um... well if someone or something tried to hit on me when you weren't around..." His voice trailed off and bewilderment came over his features as tears did fall from Clara's eyes, sliding down to her chin.
"Why would you tell people that?" She reached her sleeve to her eyes and wiped, but more tears came. "You barely tell me how you feel about me. Yeah we shagged a couple times, and we're doing this stupid date thing-"
"But you wanted to do this," The Doctor replied, feeling his pockets for a handkerchief or something to help her with her tears, because he did not know what else to do with himself. His new awkwardness showed most when he was with someone else being extremely emotional.
"That's not the point!" Clara did not shout but she had a frustrated tone, which was somehow worse. Her hands wiped her sleeves into her eyes harder. "I hate to be one of 'those' women, but Danny was always clear about how important I was to him. He would plan a future with me, and he knew just how to make me feel secure and safe."
Realization dawned on the Doctor then, and he stopped frantically patting his velvet coat. "Oh Clara," He said softly, reaching for her hands and gripping them tightly. "My Clara, I'm so sorry."
She sniffed hard, looking up at him with her eyes still brimming with tears and her lip still trembling. "Don't 'My Clara' me!" She snapped, but she didn't pull her hands away.
He didn't say anything for a moment. Instead his blue eyes looked into hers, making her heart slow down and her breath become unison with his. He thought about his words carefully, waiting for her biological processes to leave their heightened state so she could properly listen. He couldn't say the same for himself; his hearts banged against his rib cage as his throat tightened.
"I want to tell you something, Clara Oswald," He kept his voice low, and as he did his accent became thicker. He took one of her hands and placed it on his hammering chest. "It may be scary, but please don't be frightened. But it's something you should know."
Clara did not say anything. Instead she just pressed her palm to his chest and searched his face. She had completely stopped crying now, but her body still trembled.
"When I was much younger," He began, attempting to keep his voice steady. The inside of the car seemed much hotter than he remembered, even with the top down. "I fell in love. After the war."
Clara nodded, encouraging him to go on.
"She was beautiful," He continued. "Blond hair, adventurist, always eager to save the world."
"Rose?" Clara asked, not taking her eyes off his face. He was having a hard time looking at her, but he did as he nodded slowly to confirm.
"When my face changed, I changed for her," The Doctor's grip on Clara's hand tightened. She could see he was struggling to keep tears out of his own eyes now. "I became such a different man tailor made for the first face I saw."
"Like when you became the Raggedy Man for Amy," Clara replied, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Yes. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?" The Doctor hoped she did. He would never be as eloquent as Danny Pink, and his insecurities ran deep, because though he was now tailor made for the ravishing young woman sitting in front of him, he often wondered if something went wrong. How could he possibly be anything like she wanted, after having someone like Mr. PE?
Clara closed her eyes for a moment her hand still on his thick velvet coat. The silence was comfortable again. "Do you know what I told Madam Vastra after you changed?" Clara said. Her eyes remained closed as she pictured the moment. "She called you a mountain range... And I said, 'I have never had the slightest interest in pretty young men. And for the record if there was anybody who could flirt with a mountain range she's probably standing in front of you right now. '"
Clara opened her eyes slowly and saw the Doctor looking at her with his lips pressed together. "How come I'm a mountain range?" He asked.
Finally a laugh came out of Clara, and she hit his chest and crossed her arms. She gave another great sniff and said, "Not the point, daft old man," She shook her head. "point is, if you want me, just say it. Don't think I'm going to reject you because you don't wear suits all the time anymore and you wear more layers than should be allowed. I'm not that shallow, I promise you."
"I never thought you were!" The Doctor's voice became tinged with hurt.
She laughed again, mopping her eyes up one more time as she did. "I know, I know... Its just, before you go around telling random people we are married can you at least take me out for a fancy dinner first?"
The Doctor scowled, and turned his attention to the car so he could drive them back to the house.
"One of these days your face is gonna get stuck like that you know." A small smile was now on Clara's lips as the wind blew her hair around her warm face. He kept his attention forward but he could still see it out of the corner of his eye.
"Well that would ruin all of our future wedding photos wouldn't it?"
Her eyes lit up and she settled back into the seat, finally content. "It's okay, we'll just put a bag over your head."