Fan fic request. Twelve confessing his love to Old!Clara, only for Santa to tell him he's still dreaming.

"Clara Oswald, you'll never look any different to me."

And he knew, right there and then, that he had never spoken truer words in his life.

He just stood there, staring at her, a vision in her paper crown. No one would ever convince him she wasn't the same impossible girl he had always known. The same impossible girl who was always so brave. Always so funny. Always so beautiful. Always just exactly what he needed.

Perfect, in her flaws, in her bad days, in her mistakes.

He still found it hard to get to terms with the fact that he might have lost his chance with Clara. He held her firmly, to help her open a cracker, but he could feel her slowly slipping away and time taking her from him, nonetheless. And once again.

The only idea of listing arriving late for her as one of his many regrets was umbearable.

He sighed, in loss of better things to say, and lifted his head to stare back in those big eyes - those were another thing that would never change and would never stop surprising him.

"I'm sorry. I was stupid. I should have come back earlier. I wish that I had."

Clara looked up at him, speechless for what felt as an eternity.

"I wished it, too, for a very long time."

Those words came out as a whisper, as if she had tried very hard to keep them back, but they hit the Doctor like a loud explosion.

"But, Doctor," Clara added, hinting a smile, "I don't want you to be angry with yourself because you didn't. I'm not. I could never be."

Clara always knew, he should have known. And she would always know what to say.

"Why not?" He asked her "You would have every right to do so."

To his surprise, she laughed. "No Doctor," she shook his head, "You gave me excitement and wonder and more than any one could ever deserve."

"Don't say that," he interjected, angrily. "You deserved so much more, Clara Oswald."

She was still smiling, but, when she spoke again, her eyes showed the determination he had missed so much. "I did still live a full life, you know?"

There she was, the Doctor thought, the same, old Clara. This finally made him smile back.

"It was time for me to make my own adventures. And I did."

He looked softly at her. He felt conflicted, because he knew he had screwed up, once again, yet she still made him feel happy. As if everything was possible.

"I know you did," he answered. "You don't need me, nor the TARDIS, to be special. You've always been special."

He could see her struggling to fight the temptation of crying, but tears managed to make their way through and veil her eyes - somehow making them more beautiful still.

"Well, anyway," she said, after a long pause, loaded with memories and words that had remained untold. Her lips were curled into a sweet smile and the Doctor realized he had made her blush. "There is no resentment. I'm just glad I got the chance to see you, one last time."

He stared at her. "What do you mean?" He asked, confused.

Her eyes widened, seemingly just as confused as he was. She hesitated, not sure what he was asking her. "I'm just saying… I'm happy you found the time to come and visit this old lady one last time, before going back to your TARDIS and flying off, to save worlds or whatever you do when you're alone."

The Doctor didn't say anything for a while, but he eventually understood. Realization dawned on him and he started laughing.

Clara raised her eyebrows, unamused. "What's so funny?"

"Oh Clara. My Clara," he finally said, "I'm not going anywhere."

She blinked in confusion. "You're not going anywhere…?" She repeated, her voice shaking.

His hand took in her own and he stroked her fragile skin with his thumbs, without braking eye contact with her.

"I've already left too many times. It's time for me to stay. This time I'll be right here, until you need me, and you'll bet it won't be easy for you to get rid of me."

Clara seemed speechless. "Why?" was the only thing she could get herself to speak out-loud.

"Why?" He smiled at her softly. She knew him better than anyone before in his life, but she still managed to miss the obvious.

The Doctor reached for her face and cupped her cheek with one hand, while the other continued holding hers.

He felt her leaning into his touch, and relaxing her muscles against his hand. He knew she had completely surrended all defenses and had entrusted herself to him.

"Because, Clara Oswald," he began, his voice slightly trembling, "you are the person I love the most in all the universe."

He was afraid that all the emotions he was feeling in that precise moment - sadness, fear, love… - would overcome him. It was all too much and he wondered whether she felt the same way he did.

"There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you, no pain I wouldn't endure if it meant you were safe, and the Master was right - I would go to Hell and back if it meant I could make you happy."

He watched her blinking furiously, in an obvious attempt to keep back the tears. Without saying a word, she freed one of her hands and moved it so that it was resting on the one he was still using to cup her cheek.

"My impossible girl," the Doctor continued, and she closed her eyes, as if to hear better.

"It sometimes feels to me as if I've loved you all my life," he wanted it for her to sink in completely, so that she could finally understand how much her presence meant for him. How much he had always needed her. "And I think that I probably have. I would give anything to have a second chance. I wish I could have back those sixty-two years I could have had with you."

"Do you, Doctor? How much do you wish that?"

The voice came out of nowhere and the Doctor's hearts started beating hastily in his chest.

It can't be, was the first thought which crossed his mind. And yet, Santa Claus was there, in all his red and white glory, and that could mean only one thing…

"No, I'm not still-"

"Wakey,wakey!"

A second later he woke up, and his mind went straight to Clara.

He hurried back to her with the TARDIS, and, while he used his screwdriver to free her from the Dream Crab's embrace, he begged in his heart for everything to have gone back to normal.

"Doctor, am I young?"

There she was, his Clara, but he still couldn't answer this question. She didn't look any different from when he had left her in the dream. He had to pass her a mirror so she could see for herself.

He waited for the verdict in great trepidation, his hearts beating so fast he couldn't think straight. He counted the seconds of silence with promises he knew he would keep this time - promises about Clara and the times to come and the time he wouldn't waste any more.

"Is that any good?"

"Oh, that is good."

This was all he needed to hear. He didn't let her get out of bed, or even move for that matter, because he hastily crossed the room from where he was standing and held her tight in his arms.

At first, her body was rigid against his own, probably taken aback from that surprise embrace. It wasn't long until she relaxed and her arms hugged him back.

She actually dragged him further into her, and under normal circumstances he probably would have felt suffocated, but all he could focus on was her sweet scent, which confirmed to him she was real and still there and that not everything was lost.

"Did you mean what you said?" She whispered in his ear "Do you still mean it?"

She didn't need to clarify what she was talking about. It was seared into their memory, too fresh for there to be any doubt.

He let go of her and took a step backwards, so he could look at her straight in the eyes.

"Yes, God yes," he croaked, overcomed from all the emotions flooding through him.

Clara grinned at him, and her big, deer eyes reflected his own happiness. She leaned forward and, cupped his cheek with her hands, she gave him a quick and soft kiss on his lips.

"Then what are you waiting for," she said, as she moved away from him, "Lets go."

They looked at each other for a second. Then, he grinned back at her and, without further hesitation, he grabbed her hand and they were off, to a world completely new to the Doctor - one full of hope and possibilities, and where, once in a while, the universe gave second chances.

Before stepping in the TARDIS, the Doctor pulled Clara close and stole another quick kiss from her. She chuckled an inch from his lips and then intertwined her fingers with his own. Then, she pulled him into the time machine and closed the doors behind them with a snap of her fingers.