Clara slipped into the kitchen and immediately leaned against the wall beside the door. She took a deep breath. This was only meant to be a quick stop by her place to wrap up some loose ends… Ashildr was out doing the same, and due back at any time. How had he managed to find their diner? She was certain she had cloaked it properly, with a psychic field that was supposed to make it so terribly mundane that nobody would take a second look at it. And of all people, it had to be him…
With each test she was understanding more and more that he truly was not the Doctor, but her eyes and ears refused to accept it. Sure, his hair was cropped a bit closer, but that was how he had looked when he first regenerated. His eyes were the same: piercing seafoam, flashing with cunning. His face, every line she had memorized was there. Same height and build. Though he had a slightly different fashion sense, it still reminded her of the Doctor: his steely grey jumper was slim-fitted and minimalistic, something the Time Lord certainly could have been seen wearing.
And his voice… it was seriously the same voice. Plus a few expletives here and there, of course, but otherwise an exact replica. Though the things he was saying… definitely more forthright than the Doctor had ever dared to be. She had to focus on that. Malcolm was saying all the things she had always wanted to hear, that her Gallifreyan “friend” never could.
He is not the same man. He is Malcolm Tucker, and you need to stop being weird before you scare him off. Clara straightened up, and procured some cheese fries from the TARDIS’ food machine. Convenient, that. She smoothed the front of her dress, then pushed through the doors and returned to the table where Malcolm sat patiently.
He looked so openly pleased to see her, not the fries, though he politely ate a few. Clara sat across from him again. She liked that he didn’t look away from her after a few moments of gazing; normally the Doctor would have averted his eyes at some point. But Malcolm’s eyes were fixed on her, determined to not miss a single expression.
“So, Malcolm. Tell me more. What should I know about you?”
“Am I being interrogated? Frankly, I’ve had my fill of that for a dozen lifetimes. What about you? You haven’t told me a thing aside from your name. It’s only fair.”
He had a good point. Surely his comment about a dozen lifetimes was purely coincidental. Clara dismissed it. “Okay, well, I’m from Blackpool, used to be a school teacher at Coal Hill, and then I started traveling a bit. A lot, actually.”