Hey all; here's chapter 2! Sorry about any weird formatting or text; I haven't quite figured things out yet. Enjoy! Tell me what you think!
Clara had packed all of her suitcases and carried them into the TARDIS in under half an hour (well, really, the Doctor had to carry them, while she 'supervised'). Their departure was delayed by another hour, though, because the TARDIS was intentionally reworking her interior so that all the suitable bedrooms for Clara kept changing their positions, making them impossible to find. Every time the Doctor and Clara neared a bedroom door, it vanished. "I told you this bloody snogbox doesn't like me," Clara complained bitterly, after yet another door had disappeared right in front of her eyes. "What did I even do?"
"Perhaps you've called her a bloody snogbox one too many times," the Doctor grunted, equally frustrated from the strain of having to lug four suitcases around with them (yes, four. He was certain that Clara had stuffed everything she owned in them; even pulling along two of them was like pulling an elephant. But he didn't dare to complain.) "How should I know?"
"Well, she's your TARDIS!"
The Doctor had no answer to this, so he turned left and dragged Clara down a long corridor lit with soft yellow lights that didn't seem to have a source. "Come on, maybe we'll find something good down here."
A door suddenly appeared on the left side of the corridor, no more than ten feet away. "Ah-hah!" the Doctor shouted triumphantly. "See? What did I tell you?"
"It's probably a trap," Clara warned him.
"Rubbish. She'd never set a trap for me." He reached out, hastily opened the door before it could vanish... and was rewarded with a wave of cold water that completely dowsed him.
"Pudding-brain," Clara mocked him. "You should listen to me more often."
Astonished and soaked to the skin, the Doctor could only stand still and gape at the door. "What...?! But - but - the water! Where did that even come from?"
"How should I know?" Clara replied teasingly. And then she gasped. Her suitcases had also been caught in the deluge and were now lying on the floor several feet away, their surfaces darkened by the water. "Aah! No!" She scurried forward and retrieved the suitcases. "Stupid snogbox!" She shook her fist at the air as the TARDIS groaned amusedly.
"Well, it is your fault, you know, for bringing so many suitcases," the Doctor pointed out.
Clara glowered at him. "If the contents of even one of these are damaged, I will have your head on a plate."
Rolling his eyes and throwing up his arms in the air, the Doctor declared, "This is useless. I'm sopping wet, and we haven't even found a bloody bedroom. Let's head back to the console room and deal with this later."
Uncomplainingly - she was more than willing to leave those evil corridors behind - Clara took hold of two of the suitcases and began pulling them back down the hall. Mercifully, the TARDIS decided to give them a break, and the Doctor was able to retrace their steps back to the console room without having the corridors change position.
When they reached the console room, Clara parked herself on the railing and crossed her arms. "Is it too much to ask to give me a bloody bedroom for a couple of weeks?" she demanded. "Seriously, what is the problem? Why does she hate me?"
The Doctor waved a hand dismissively, sending water droplets flying everywhere. "Forget the stupid bedroom; why d'you want to stay on here anyway? With only a grumpy old man for company?"
"Well, you certainly aren't selling me," Clara fired back. "And I can tell you're trying to get me to leave."
"Now, why on earth would you think that," he countered sarcastically.
"Look, Doctor, I just need a break. I can't keep grading papers and teaching classes; I'm cracking. I'm exhausted. I need a vacation."
He gasped dramatically. "The English teacher wants a vacation in the middle of term! Time to sue!"
Despite herself, Clara's mouth twitched in a smile. "Shut up."
"If it's a vacation you'll want, it's a vacation you'll get," the Doctor told her firmly, deciding for the moment to stop teasing her. "So come on. Let's get to my thing."
"And we're just leaving my suitcases in the console room, then?"
"They'll be fine. Maybe a little bit of major damage when the TARDIS is in flight - maybe a bit of being flung against the wall and splitting in half from the impact - but nothing to worry about. I just hope you haven't got any underwear in there."
"And why is that?" she asked stonily.
"Well, I just told you. The suitcases could split in half. And a rain of panties and -"
"Okay, that is enough," she cut him off, her face red with embarrassment. "No more said. And my suitcases are not going to split in half, because I am going to hold them."
"That could work," the Doctor admitted with genuine surprise. "Hadn't thought of that."
Clara shook her head pityingly. "Of course you hadn't. Now come on. What do you need me for? Are we going to investigate the Hindenburg or something?"
The Doctor seemed to deflate. "What? How did you know?"
Clara perked up. "Wait, really? We're really going to investigate the Hindenburg?"
"Yes, we are! But - how did you know?" The Doctor was completely disgruntled. Clara had entirely spoiled his nice surprise.
She giggled. "That one was really just a lucky guess."
"No, you're too smart for your own good," the Doctor snapped.
"Oh, really?" Clara's eyes widened in mock horror. "I thought human hunches were 'incredibly inaccurate'? And we were all just pudding brains?"
"That was two hours ago!" he protested. "And I said usually!"
"Well, sorry I'm too smart for you. I'll try harder to be wrong next time."
"Please do. What exactly is the point of having companions if not for them to ooh and aah at my brilliance? You're supposed to be stupid!" He pulled a lever on the TARDIS's console and the unique TARDIS-in-flight sound groaned to life.
Clara's eyes glimmered in amusement as she gathered her suitcases around her in preparation for the journey through space and time. She couldn't resist a final dig. "Must be hard for me to be right for once, eh, Doctor?"
He did not deign to look at her.