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Chapter 23

Like Missy had promised her the front door opened just thirty minutes later and the Doctor stepped inside the kitchen where Clara was just having a cup of tea. He looked sad, like he had been crying, and very, very weary when he came to a halt next to the kitchen sink.

"I see Missy brought you home," Clara commented, not knowing what else to say.

"Yeah," he took a deep breath, "She also said I was being an idiot."

"Can't argue with that."

There was a long pause in which the Doctor shuffled his weight from one foot to the other and neither of them really knew what to say. It was the Doctor who eventually broke the silence.

"I'm sorry," he uttered, "I didn't mean to hurt you or to push you away. I really just needed a bit of time to myself. To understand what has happened. So I went for a little walk."

"A little walk?" Clara raised her eyebrows.

"Thanks for calling Missy," the Doctor said sincerely, "I had completely lost track of time. We talked for a bit and she said I wasn't being nice to you. I want to apologize for that."

Clara nodded slowly.

"I'm trying to change that cause I really want us to have a chance. Even if you didn't get the impression."

"Okay," Clara replied softly, "I believe you."

"But you have to promise me one thing, Clara. You have to promise me that you will be honest with me. When something is bothering you I need you to tell me. Whether it's about us or just you, if anything at all is wrong, please, you need to let me know. I want to make this right but I can't always tell what's on someone else's mind."

"I can do that," Clara confirmed, "If you'll do the same."

"Clara-"

"I'm not asking about your previous muses," she gave him a weak smile. Clara knew that he would tell her eventually but that it would take time and from what she had learned so far she knew it couldn't possibly be that bad. There was still time for that later, "But there is one thing I would like to know."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows.

"How come you and Missy are still such good friends? I'm not judging you, I just want to understand because I couldn't ever imagine being so close to an ex. She must know an awful lot about you."

Clara gave a shy, insecure laugh and looked up.

"Missy knows everything about me and she's more than just an ex. Love or sex was never what really connected us, that just happened. Missy saved my life."

"How so?"

"Quite literally," he smiled at her.

She was about to open her mouth and speak when suddenly the Doctor took another step in her direction but stopped.

"Can I-," he hesitated, "Clara, can I hug you?"

"You don't need to ask that," she replied kindly, "Of course you can."

Clara rose from her chair and spread her arms wide and a few moments later the Doctor hugged her tightly, burying his face in her shoulder and to her it felt as if he never planned on letting go again.

"I wasn't sure," he admitted.

"Well, general hugging permission granted," she joked and squeezed him a little more tightly.

Suddenly his arms were gone from around her waist and the Doctor looked right at her, his hands cupping her face.

"What about a kissing permission?"

She smiled at him. "Also granted."

He lowered his head until their lips brushed against each other, careful and reluctant at first before the kiss deepened. If Clara hadn't believed his words before she now knew that the Doctor was serious about everything he had said. The rest would surely fall into place as well.

When their lips parted again Clara found him smiling dreamily.

"Hey, how about we make some dinner and then go upstairs and you can work on your paintings?" she suggested.

"I like the idea."

A smirk spread over her face. "And, well, if you want to paint me with flushed cheeks we could work on that, too."

Clara uttered a small noise of surprise when suddenly he kissed her again and she smiled against his lips. Yes, the rest would fall into place just fine.

OOO

Clara rested her head on his bare chest, her breathing still a little ragged from the exercise as she wrapped her arms around him.

"You know, you could leave some of your things here. If you like. Clothes or. . . you know," the Doctor suggested, "So you don't have to run home to change before school when you spend the night here. There's a completely empty closet in the guest room."

"Moving fast, mister," she giggled against his skin before she left a kiss on his chest.

"Or not," he quickly said, "If you think it's too fast, then-"

"I'll get some of my clothes tomorrow," Clara confirmed, "You're right. Even before this I've been spending a lot of time here."

She felt him kiss her head in reply before he sank back into the pillows, still holding her in his arms.

"But speaking about moving fast," Clara began, "My grandma's birthday was the weekend we went to Paris and since my dad ended up in the hospital they haven't properly celebrated. She invited me over for tea on Saturday and she said I could bring the nice man who had accompanied me to the hospital. I haven't told her anything about us. Really, I haven't. She just knows me very well and I think she picked up on a few things when she saw you."

Suddenly she could feel the Doctor stiffen beneath her touch and she knew what would come out of his mouth before the actually spoke the words.

"I'm not really good with family things. Trust me, they wouldn't like me."

"You haven't even met them," Clara raised her head to look at him, "And as for my grandma, she likes you already. Otherwise she wouldn't have invited you."

He took a deep breath.

"You don't have to come if you absolutely don't want to. I know it's pretty soon but I thought I should ask you since grandma has already suggested it. I would really like you there and I think that you would get along well with at least my grandmother."

"It's been a while since I've interacted with. . . families," the Doctor admitted after a moment, "And I can't say I'm really good at it. I don't want your family to hate me and I think the easiest way to make sure of that is for me to never meet them."

"Don't be silly, they won't hate you," Clara tried to reassure him, "Hey, just think about it. Like I thought about Paris for a few days. I would love for you to come but if you say no I won't hold it against you. Okay?"

He sighed and looked at her. "It would mean a lot to you, right?"

"You don't have to do it just to please me."

"I'll do it," the Doctor finally said, "Not just to please you. Your family means a lot to you, so I should get to know them. And it's just tea, right?"

"Just tea," Clara confirmed.

"Good," he said and kissed her again.