Hello, readers. It's me again. I'm having difficulty with Unexpected due to a bit of story-specific writer's block. I've had this idea for a story for a while and I decided to write it while I brainstorm new ideas for Unexpected. If anyone has any, please post them in Unexpected. Anyway, here's the story that is romantic and shippy af. I hope that it will give you the feels in the best way possible.

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As You Wish

Chapter 1

Clara was trying to have an ordinary day. She really was. Unfortunately, ordinary days were hard to come by when the Doctor had the tendency to pop in at the most inopportune of moments. Just last weekend, he walked into her bathroom while she was taking a shower to tell her about something interesting. He seemed oblivious to her nudity and it took her yelling at him and throwing things at him to make him realize that he was not wanted in that particular area of her dwelling. For someone who was probably one of the smartest beings in the universe, the Doctor could really be an idiot sometimes. To make things stranger, when she walked into her bedroom wearing a soft, fluffy robe, the grey-haired Time Lord blurted out, "I'm not your boyfriend!"

The timing was very confusing. She managed not to yell at him when she told him that a woman approaching him in her bath robe wasn't necessarily a come-on. He just looked at her as if she had said the most ridiculous, confusing, frustrating thing in the world before dismissing her- how he could dismiss her in her own flat was a matter up for debate- and hijacking her sofa, where he sat and watched Adventure Time and pretended that he hated the cartoon.

This past Wednesday, the Doctor had been very confusing once more. Well, more confusing than usual. They had been trapped on a space station, which was infested by Daleks. The Doctor had set it to self-destruct mode to save the planet below from the evil, hateful creatures. Due to a series of delays, it was uncertain whether she and the Doctor would reach the TARDIS in time. When they got lost, the Doctor grabbed her arm, turned her to face him, and said, "I'm not your boyfriend, Clara."

Once they were safely aboard the TARDIS and off the exploding space station, Clara gave the Doctor a scolding for inappropriate timing. She told him that she knew that he wasn't her boyfriend and that an exploding space station filled with Daleks was one of the worst possible occasions to remind her that the friend zone was an important, constant part of their lives that they both happily existed in. The Doctor got that frustrated look on his face again and immediately took her home without so much as a word. Sometimes she wished that she knew what was going on in that big, two thousand year old brain of his.

Now it was Saturday again and she was safe and sound in her flat, relaxing on the couch and watching 50 First Dates. Despite her complete and utter lack of anything even remotely resembling a love life, she was still in the mood to watch a romantic comedy. Just as Adam Sandler's character introduced himself to the love interest for the second time, Clara heard the sound of the TARDIS materializing. She let out an annoyed sigh and paused the movie. As soon as the TARDIS was fully materialized, the Doctor opened the door and stuck his head out. "Clara!"

Clara rolled her eyes and said, "Doctor, it's Saturday."

The Time Lord waved his hand dismissively and said, "It's the weekend and you're watching a romantic comedy. Don't pretend that you have somewhere to go."

Clara swore under her breath. Damn it. He was right. He knew her better than almost anyone else and he was right. She let out a sigh and asked, "What do you want, Doctor?"

"There's a thing you need to see." the Doctor replied.

"What kind of thing?" Clara questioned.

The Doctor wagged his finger and said, "Ah-ah, it's a surprise!"

"Doctor, you know how I feel about surprises!" Clara groaned.

"You'll like this surprise." the Doctor said with a grin. "Come on, then!"

Clara shut the telly off and got up from her couch. She then followed the Time Lord into his ship. "You'll definitely like this." the Doctor said as he pressed buttons, flicked switches, and pulled levers.

Seconds later, the TARDIS arrived at their destination. The Doctor opened the door and said, "Go on out. I'll be there in a minute."

Clara stepped outside to see that the ship was parked in one of the most beautiful meadows she had ever seen. There were clouds, but not too many. It wasn't too hot or too cold. The weather was perfect. To make things even better, the many flowers weren't making her sneeze. Exactly sixty seconds after the Doctor had let her out of the TARDIS, said Time Lord returned with a picnic basket and a picnic blanket tucked under one arm. Clara raised a brow as the Doctor spread the blanket on a clear spot and set the basket on top of it. He patted a spot near him and said, "Sit down!"

Clara, still dumbfounded, did what she was asked. The Doctor opened the basket and pulled out a bottle with some sort of liquid in it. He then took out two glasses and poured them each a cup. Clara sniffed it and asked, "Is this lemonade?"

"No," the Doctor replied snarkily, "It's chocolate milk. Of course it's lemonade."

Clara glared at the Time Lord, who had the decency to look sheepish. When the Time Lord reached into the basket to pull out two plates and a container of potato salad, the petite brunette asked, "Doctor, is this a picnic?"

"Yes, it is." the Doctor said. "I thought you would have realized that when I got out the blanket and the basket."

The Doctor put a scoop of potato salad on each of their plates. He then took two plastic-wrapped sandwiches out of the basket and handed one to Clara. The teacher raised a brown and said, "Well, I suspected that it was."

"Well, it's definitely a picnic." the Doctor said. "Turkey sandwich?"

Clara accepted the sandwich and said, "It's strange."

"The turkey sandwich?" the Doctor questioned. "If you don't like turkey sandwiches, I have cheesesteaks, fresh from Philadelphia- or do you like lobster rolls from Maine?"

"It's not the sandwiches." Clara explained. "It's this whole picnic thing."

"You like it, don't you?" the Doctor said with a furrowed brow.

"I do like it." Clara said. "It's just that this isn't really something that you do."

"I do plenty of things that you don't know about." the Doctor said defensively.

"I know that you don't do picnics." Clara replied. "I can't really picture you enjoying a picnic."

"I can enjoy it." the Doctor said sincerely. "You can enjoy it."

Clara gave the Time Long look before asking, "Will you pass me a lobster roll?"

The Doctor reached into the basket and pulled out a lobster roll, which he passed to his companion. "Thank you." Clara said with a smile. She took a bite and her eyes opened wide. The surprised woman exclaimed, "This is amazing! Where did you get it?"

The Doctor smirked at her and replied, "Oh, just a little place in Maine called Sandy's Seaside Seafood Shack. It's not exactly a popular tourist destination, but Sandy makes the best lobster rolls in the entire Northeastern United States."

"You have to take me there some time." Clara said with a grin.

"I'll make plans for that." the Doctor replied. "When we go there, you need to try the crab cakes. They're like an explosion of pure, unadulterated bliss in your mouth."

"How many times have you been there?" Clara asked.

"Oh, many times." the Doctor replied. "Though I've never taken anyone else with me. It's sort of a special, secret place that I go when I'm craving seafood."

Clara beamed and said, "I'm glad that you let me in on your little secret."

"Well, I know you well enough to know that you won't go blathering about it." the Doctor shared her grin before giving a conspiratory wink.

Clara laughed and took a bite of her potato salad. It was good, too. The Doctor seemed to remember something. "Clara, there's something I need to show you." he said with a grin.

The Time Lord snapped his fingers and the flowers across the meadow began to sing Rod Stewart's If We Fall In Love Tonight. Clara raised her brows. The Doctor calmly explained, "These flowers all sing Rod Stewart and Michael Bolton covers. They're unique to this planet and don't grow anywhere else in the universe."

"Impressive." Clara said, clearly surprised by the whole thing.

"It's not my thing, but I thought you'd find it interesting." the Doctor said with a shrug.

"Well, I'm glad you thought of me." Clara smiled at the Time Lord.

"Well, you can enjoy the music while you enjoy your picnic." the Doctor said with an amused note to his voice.

Clara and the Doctor spent the next few hours discussing their adventures and enjoying their picnic. Well, Clara was clearly enjoying it. The Doctor was pretending that he wasn't, but his companion knew him well enough to tell that he was. After the main meal was done, the Doctor brought out some banana nut cupcakes with vanilla bean frosting. They enjoyed those, too. After a few hours, just as the sun was about to set, the Doctor reached into the basket and pulled out two wine glasses and a bottle of wine. Clara's brows raised once more. When she saw that it was her favorite wine, her brows achieved lift-off. The Doctor smiled and poured them each a glass of wine. While Clara drank her wine, she leaned into the Doctor's side. He didn't complain at all. By the time that the petite brunette was nearly finished with her glass of wine, the fireflies had started to come out. With one last sip, she emptied her glass. She gazed at the beautiful scene around her and rested her head on the Doctor's shoulder. "Doctor?"

"Yes, Clara?" the Doctor questioned.

"This is one of the best things you've ever done for me." Clara said with a smile, followed by a contented sigh.

The Doctor shared Clara's silence, listening to the sounds of the evening around them. After a few minutes, he turned his head so his eyes met hers and spoke. With the next four words, the Time Lord killed the moment and completely ruined the evening. "I'm not your boyfriend."

Clara's eyes widened in surprise. A split second later, she shoved herself away from the Doctor and stormed off to the TARDIS. What the hell just happened? The Doctor had just treated her to a day that would be considered romantic by most people. Of course, since he was the Doctor, he didn't so romance. He probably said it so she wouldn't think that he was leading her on. Clara sighed. The whole thing was one massive set of mixed messages. Of course, he was the Doctor. He was the master of mixed messages. A few minutes later, the Doctor arrived with the picnic blanket under one arm and the picnic basket in his free hand. Clara glared at him and said, "I know don't want to be my boyfriend and I don't want to be your girlfriend, but did you have to bring it up on such a nice evening?"

The Doctor scowled at her. His scowl turned to a look of frustration. He didn't reply. Instead, he headed over to the console and did his thing, putting in the coordinates and taking her home. His moments were harsh, obviously fueled by his frustration. When they arrived back at Clara's flat, the Doctor spoke. In a tight voice, he said, "We're back at your flat now."

Clara exited the TARDIS without a word. As soon as she was off the ship, it began to dematerialize. When it was gone, Clara headed back to the couch. She turned the telly and the blue ray player back on. Pressing the 'play' button, she resumed watching 50 First Dates. She was still cross, so she didn't enjoy it like she should have. She was still in a foul mood when she went to bed. Thankfully, her sleep was dreamless.