Whouffaldi: One shots

Somber Nights

It was quite a surprise for her, the first time it happened. She never expected him, at least not this version of him, to initiate anything like this. But she welcomed him nontheless.

It became more frequent, as time went on. It was a certainty that there would be bad days. But she never questioned him. She understood that it was hard on him, to allow himself this.

On the fifth day in a row he wearily shuffled into her room on the TARDIS, eyes glazed, shoulders slumped, she could only give him a sad smile.

Rising from the warmth of the comforters, Clara walked the Doctor to the opposite side of her bed. She sat him down, and pulled off that coat she had grown to love. She threw it over a chair in the corner, and kneeled down to unlace his boots.

He was silent the entire time, though his eyes always fixed on her. Beneath the pain that shown through, she detected another emotion. One she was frightened to pursue.

Shoes discarded, she took her place on her side of the bed. Moving forward, she placed an arm around the Doctor's waist, and pulled him closer. He didn't tense up as he used to; he welcomed her touch, especially after difficult days like this.

"I - I could have saved -" he choked out.

"Shhhh," Clara said, nuzzling her face into his neck."You did your best, Doctor. You and everyone else know that. Sometimes you can't save everyone. But you know what does matter?" she asked him.

He was silent.

"You tried. And you care. You can't keep blaming yourself. What would have happened if you weren't there? How many more lives would have ended?"

"I keep losing people, Clara. And it keeps reminding me how important it is to keep you safe. I can't lose you," he said, still facing away from her.

"You're not going to," she said.

"But -"

"Doctor, no. Don't tell me what I already know. I'm a human. I'm going to die sooner or later, you and I are both aware of that. But you have me now. And to be frank, you're not using your time wisely. You're moping about the days to come, when I'm forced to leave you. Why would you waste the time you have here with me now, being upset? When I do leave you, which I will do kicking and screaming by the way, do you want to remember the fear of constantly worrying about the inevitable, or do you want to remember the time we had together, happy, and remember how much I - I loved you."

He was silent for an almost alarming amount of time, until he whispered, "May I ask something of you?"

"Anything."

"May I hold you?"

She smiled widely, quickly responding her consent.

He turned to face her, eyes now overflowing with that emotion she saw before, but she wasn't afraid of it now.

He pulled her petite body close to his, her face burrowing against his chest. He wrapped one arm around her, the other he brought to her hair, stroking softly.

They stayed like this for what seemed like hours, until she could detect the Doctor drifting off, his breathing slowed.

Eventually, Clara succumbed to sleep as well, lulled by the sound of his hearts.

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Hi guys :)
So here's a short little drabble; may not be my best work, but I really enjoyed writing it.
So thank you to all who read my stories, and I love when you guys comment! I read every one of them, and I am going to try to respond to them from now on.

-Kate