House's Apartment, Friday (NWS)

[geoff_chaucer]

After his phone call with House, Geoff decides to keep a little closer eye on the weather. So he's watching out the window when the power goes out in town. "Guess that solves that," he murmurs to himself. Packing up his stack of papers, journal, and book (someone really needs to get this man a briefcase), he pulls on his coat and heads toward the

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[gotcanewillpoke]

House had been checking for Geoff, though it was Cash's bark that alerts him to the man's arrival. Relif washes over him, though he tries not to let it show too obviously, as he opens the door to greet him.

"Glad yu could make it." He smiles and pulls Geoff inside. He has candles set up around the apartmet, just in case. Hey, he'd grown up in Michigan, he knew how to prepare for bad weather.

[geoff_chaucer]

Chuckling, he stops to give House a kiss just inside the door, then heads into the kitchen. "Let's see, I've got all sorts of food here. What they had actually sounded pretty edible."

Geoff drops his journal, book, and papers onto the table and unpacks the food: meatloaf, steak and kidney Pie, steamed rice and stir-fried vegetables, sauerkraut, gingerbread cookies, and snickerdoodles.

"I have no idea what a 'snickerdoodle' is, but it looked like a dessert so I grabbed some."

[gotcanewillpoke]

"Smells wonderful. And I happen to love snickerdoodles." House doesn't have his cane in hand, and dives right in to help unpack everything. It's a lot of food, which may well be a good thing. House wouldn't be surpried if they got snowed in for thw weekend.

[geoff_chaucer]

"Glad I brought them then," Geoff replies, grinning. He goes through House's cupboards until he finds plates, then sets the table. "How's your day been?"

[gotcanewillpoke]

"Nothing special. Spent some time here with Cash, watched some TV. I think one of my assistants opened the clinic this morning." He shrugged and pulled two beers out of the fridge and offered one to Geoff. "What about you? I'm glad I didn't decide to trek to your shop to see you, which I almost considered doing."

[geoff_chaucer]

"I'm glad you didn't myself. Although Paige was there part of the day. She would have orbed back here, I'm sure." He accepts the beer and sits down at the table.

"I actually had a quiet day. Got some work done for my classes. I'm trading lectures with Professor Dream for one class, so I'm doing some extra reading on Dante's Divine Comedy to prepare for it. And I have sonnets to grade, of course."

[gotcanewillpoke]

"I'm really impressed with the work those kids put in to the sonnets." House says as he sits next to Geoff. Cash sighs and plops down on the floor behind them. Hoping, but not expecting. House might be guilty of spoiling the puppy, but he didn't feed him from the table. But then, he didn't often eat from the table unless he had someone to eat with.

He takes a sip of his beer. "I wrote one, you know. I just, didn't want to share it with a bunch of kids."

[geoff_chaucer]

Geoff looks up and smiles. "Did you turn it in when Kiki collected them? I'd really like to see it."

Digging in to food -- as he'd skipped lunch to spend the day hiding in his office -- Geoff watches the other man. He's decided that an evening, which could possibly turn into a weekend, snowed in with House will be the perfect time to get to know more about him. It'll be a challenge. But Geoff likes challenges.

[gotcanewillpoke]

House shakes his head. "I wasn't sure, once I got there." he meets Geoff's eyes, the shadow of an apology refelcted in his own gaze. "It's about Wilson."

He walks over to his piano, and tugs a notebook out of a pile of books. He flips it open as he's walking back to the table, holds it out as he sits down.

A song of you playing in my head
I woke up alone in a cold, empty bed
I wanted to sing, I wanted to dance
But the words wouldn't come and I missed my chance

The wind still cries your name on the breeze
Drifting as a ghost wandering the world alone
I hear it whispering softly through the trees
Unsettled as a trembling moan

My tears they fall down like rain
I live a lie under a melancholy moon
Crimson tides of guilt and pain
And hum for you a haunting tune

When I lay me down again in that cold, dark, lonely bed
A song of you playis in my head

[geoff_chaucer]

"Greg...that's beautiful."

Geoff places his hand on the man's shoulder, and then lets it drift up to brush fingertips through House's hair.

"You don't need any poetry lessons from me," he says softly. "There's plenty of poetry already in you."

[gotcanewillpoke]

House draws his hand up to link his fingers with Geoff's in ihs hair. He leans against Geoff's hand for a moment.

"You've helped me find a way to put it in to words." He shifts his eyes toward the notebook. The pages are full of scribbled lines, usually in twos or fours that rhyme, or brief descriptions of things he's seen. A lot of it has lines drawn through it, but most of the words can still be read.

[geoff_chaucer]

"I'm glad." He glances at the notebook. "Maybe someday you'll let me read more?"

Geoff puts the question gently, without pressure, so that House can gracefully refuse if he wants to. There's a difference between what you write when it's meant to be seen, and what you write for yourself, and Geoff understands that difference very well.

He pulls House's hand, linked with his, to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to the man's fingers.

[gotcanewillpoke]

House's fingers twitch slightly, and he rubs a finger tip across Geoff's bottom lip.

"You can look through that. It's mostly fragments. Bits and pieces I might pull together. The problem is I can't always get the words to work on the page as well as they are in my head. I'm writing one about you."

House flips back a couple pages.

I never believed in destiny and fate
Until you came alone to open my eyes
Another minute might have been too late
But you were there to brighten the skies

Grey clouds pregnant with rain
Looming with vengence over my head
Darkness and shodaws, so much pain
Everything changed on something you said

Be happy for old friends, and grateful for new ones
It's a daily struggle to find balance and peace
But each day I manage to see the rising suns

Followed by words such as crease, grease, and geese, an obvious attempt to find something that rhymes with peace

[geoff_chaucer]

"You..."

Wrote that about me.

He stares at the page for a long moment, silent. People don't seem to write poems for poets, and this is only the second time in his life that anyone has done it for Geoff. Resting their twined hands on his own knee, Geoff leans in and gives House a light kiss on the corner of his mouth. "Thank you," he whispers against the other man's lips.

[gotcanewillpoke]

His expression has a childish innocence to it, and he smiles at Geoff. "You're welcome," he murmurs as soon as he's able to speak. It's a little challenging with someone's mouth right up against his and lips that taste so sweet he can't get enough.

[geoff_chaucer]

Still smiling, Geoff looks back at his plate and goes back to eating. His hand is still loosely twined with House's, although it would be easy for House to pull away if he needed. Which, unless the doctor can eat left-handed, he may have to do.

Obviously Geoff isn't really thinking about that, though.