In which Clara and the Doctor have to keep their relationship secret in the office and especially at the office Christmas party where both are getting hit on and neither wants to be standing at opposite ends of the room.

Clara had to admit, if there was anybody in the world who really knew how to throw a party, it was Jenny Flint.

The lobby of Trenzalore Inc. was impressive to begin with. It had high ceilings, luxurious comfy chairs, and a wall made entirely of windows. Usually there was a very classy feel to it. Polished black tile, leather furniture, marble counters, and nothing else. Most people stopped dead in their tracks the moment they entered the automatic double doors.

That night, however, Jenny had managed to completely alter the atmosphere. Cheerful Christmas music played from the speakers, stockings hung across the fireplace, lights Clara had never even been aware of had lit up the room, and everybody who generally bustled about the office in a hush was in conversation with somebody else.

Her eyes immediately searched the room for him.

The Doctor sat on the edge of one of the lobby's leather chairs, clad in his trademark purple coat and... Oh dear Lord, she could feel the second hand embarrassment coming from his Frosty the Snowman themed bowtie all the way across the room.

His eyes found hers and whatever conversation he was having faltered as the Doctor's eyes glided over her red dress and silver heels. She managed a small wave before quickly glancing away.

Office romance was strictly forbidden at Trenzalore. Clara wasn't entirely sure she'd lose her job if Jenny found out about her relationship with the Doctor, especially considering the secret romance Jenny had with Madame Vastra, the Doctor's boss, but she wasn't too keen on the rest of the office knowing.

Clara wandered idly towards the bar as she watched three different girls all eagerly conversing with the Doctor. She really should have been used to this by now, honestly. He was easily the most attractive man in the work place, and it really should have stopped bothering her a long time ago that he got hit on so much. Maybe it would bother her less if he wasn't so completely blind to it.

No, on second thought, she supposed that would be worse.

Clara ordered a drink and sat down on the surprisingly comfortable bar stool. She took a moment to think that this was possibly the absolute best use the lobby's front desk had ever been put to.

"Uh, wow," The bartender looked up in a shocked manner. "You must be new here. Pretty lady like you, I think I would have remembered you from the last office party." He dropped his voice to what he must have believed was a seductive whisper. "And don't worry, you would have remembered me too."

"Oh. Good." Clara shot back sarcastically. "You've hit on me. At least we can get that out of the way now that I'm not interested." Out of all the pick up lines she's heard that might have been the most blunt and poorly delivered one yet.

"...Right." He slid her drink across the counter. "Have a nice night."

Clara took an eager sip from her much needed drink. Her relaxing first-day-of-holiday had not gone exactly as planned. She really did enjoy taking care of the Maitland kids. In fact she hadn't seen them in weeks now. They had of course gotten a new nanny when Clara got her job at the Trenzalore Agency but once Miss Angie Maitland had gotten word of Clara's new boyfriend, it had taken her all of an hour and a half to show up at her door with Artie in tow.

The pair had really worn her out. While Artie had busied himself with the telly halfway through the visit, Angie had decided that she was a proper grown-up now and therefore was entitled to a proper grown-up gossip session. It was nearly seven at night when their father had come by to pick them up and the interrogation about the Doctor had finally stopped.

So he's your boyfriend now?

Yes, I suppose he is.

And they call him the Doctor?

Yes, he quite likes that name.

And do you call him the Doctor?

Yeah, I do.

Doctor Who?

Well... His real name is John Smith. But he hates it. Not sure why. He really doesn't talk about his Dad much so I think it might have something to do with that. Maybe it was his Dad's name and his Dad left or something. Why am I telling you all this?

Is he a good kisser?

How would you even know what a good kisser was?

I might not, but you would, wouldn't you?

Yes, alright, he's quite good.

When did you two meet?

Few months ago.

When did you start dating?

Few weeks ago.

Have you slept with him?

Alright, enough Angie!

Having looked back at the Doctor, the jealousy returned. Not only was he being hit on still, but he hadn't even caught on that she was being hit on, which was just entirely inconvenient because Clara absolutely hated being the only jealous one in a relationship.

She walked over to Jenny and struck up a conversation about how lovely the party was. She was now in hearing distance of the Doctor and could hear him chuckle at a joke one of their coworkers made. Clara smiled a little to herself. He didn't usually laugh like that, so she could tell it was put on to be polite.

Luckily, Jenny was in the middle of a story about how the power went out hours before the party when Clara caught a blonde lady slipping a piece of paper into the Doctor's hand. He was so oblivious to what was happening that he nearly dropped it before giving her a quizzical look. The woman seductively winked at him and sauntered off. The dots slowly began to connect in his mind and Clara could tell the exact moment he realized there was a cell phone number written on that paper. His back straightened immediately and he shoved it into his coat pocket as if it was a scandalous note and nervously fixed his bowtie. Before he could continue his conversation with the brunette opposite of him, Clara excused herself from Jenny and confidently walked up to him.

"Hi, sorry to interrupt Doctor, Jenny just remembered another last minute detail and she wanted to make sure you got the e-mail from Madame Vastra this morning about Strax's papers?" Clara delivered the flawless lie with a cordial smile towards the brunette who was impatiently pursing her lips in Clara's direction.

"Clara!" The Doctor quickly muffled his excitement. "Um... no, sorry. I didn't get an e-mail, do I need to sign something?"

"Well, yes. Normally Jenny wouldn't ask, I know technically you're on holiday but if you don't mind? Mr. Strax had them faxed over this morning and they apparently the papers got mixed up with mine. I have the copy in my office, would you mind signing them? It would be a huge weight off of Ms. Flint's chest."

"Yes, alright." He turned to the brunette, "Sorry, be back soon." The woman smiled curtly at Clara, clearly not pleased to be interrupted. The Doctor waved to get Jenny's attention and threw her a thumbs up, getting a confused smile in return.

Clara really had no idea what had gotten into her but she giggled as she took the Doctor's hand and lead them past the lobby and down the hall towards his office which was much closer than hers.

"This is really unlike Vastra to leave things until the last moment." He thought out loud as he hurried to keep up.

"You're right. It really is." Clara whispered as she pulled him inside his office and pressed him against the door as it shut behind them.

"Oh." The Doctor's eyes widened comically as it dawned on him. "Oh!" He gestured frantically between the two of them before smiling. "I see now, okay!"

Before he could say much else, Clara looped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her lips urgently. She took his bottom lip between her own as she knew he loved. After a few moments of windmilling his arms, the Doctor responded eagerly although still moving his hands around, not entirely sure where to place them. Clara pulled him down further by his lapels and thoroughly kissed him senseless.

"Having fun tonight?" She asked into the crook of his neck as she laid kisses along the underside of his jaw.

"A bit more now than earlier on." The Doctor chuckled before boldly sliding his hands dangerously low on her hips. Apparently he had gathered proper control of his limbs.

"Good answer." Clara slid her lips back up to his while simultaneously running her hands through his thick hair. The Doctor moaned into her mouth as she deepened the kiss. Turning them around, he pressed Clara against the wall next to door, his leg hitched between hers as his body pressed against hers in every place possible.

Being in high heels put Clara at a solid six inches shorter than he, a big improvement over the usual 10 or so inches of difference. However this difference still seemed to be an obstacle for the Doctor, one he eagerly eliminated a few minutes later by tugging Clara backwards until he could lift her on top of his desk, putting them at eye level.

"Oi, I'm not that short." She playfully punched his chest and he did his best to pretend it had hurt, leaning backwards from the impact. They maintained eye contact for a few moments. She had already made a mess of his hair by now and his eyes were a considerable shade darker as he watched her bite her lip and look up at him through her eyelashes. His lips began to inch back towards her slowly, before they both urgently grabbed at each other, once again pressing their bodies as close as possible.

At some point his fancy purple coat that he had specifically rushed at the the cleaners for the party ended up on the floor, along with her heels. His bowtie was in serious danger of joining it's coat. The pins holding up her loose bun had been tossed onto the desk at some point as he ran his fingers through her hair.

Nearly out of breath, the two stopped abruptly when they heard a knock from the door.

"Doctor? Doctor are you in there? I'm terribly sorry but there's one more paper I need you to sign before you leave tonight." Vastra's voice was heard through the door.

"I thought there weren't any papers?" He whispered in a panic.

"There weren't any! It was a cover story." Clara said back in a hush.

"Uhh... Just a minute." The Doctor said professionally. "Hide!" The two chuckled into each other's lips in one last hasty kiss before Clara slipped off and underneath his desk.

Okay so this is the first installment in what I hope will be a series of AU whouffle one-shots. If you guys are interested in this, please let me know in a review or you can always contact me on Tumblr (my URL is riversung). I have a few ideas for my next one-shot, they aren't all going to be in the same AU, there will be some differences throughout them. Also if you guys have any prompts you'd like me to write, leave a review, message me on , or send me an ask on Tumblr.

Thank you so much for any and all support (also if anybody would like me to check out their fics, shoot me a message, I'm dying for more whouffle fics)