House ficlets (House/13, Cuddy/Lucas)
I am catching up on replies today. That is my goal. That, and maybe finishing that holiday exchange fic that was due yesterday, hi. But for now, here are two more of the giftfics.
Title: Not for the likes of you and me
Pairing: House/Thirteen
Notes: For obfuscate3, prompt 'because'.
You don't ask why, not at first.
It's not because the answer doesn't matter, but because you know you won't get a straight one out of him. And you're so tired, so tired that he follows you home one day, his stupid flashy bike a fixture in your rear-view mirror, and he follows you to your door, and no. You don't ask why.
And then he's sitting at your kitchen table, and he's lying on your couch and complaining about the lack of decent cable and how far it is to the refrigerator. You don't ask, you make dinner; you need to take care of yourself, with the trappings of Foreman's test study spread across your apartment, and with the way your hands shake sometimes and you know it's stress and lack of sleep, you know it. But you keep your hands busy, washing lettuce, portioning food, sorting pills, folding laundry. Whatever works.
House eats your food and he doesn't look at you, he waves his cane at the television and speaks with his mouth full. He's found the least realistic hospital drama ever, and he delights in every stupid inaccuracy. You curl up in a corner of the couch with your bowl on your knees and you feel less alone and, still, you don't ask why he's here. You don't have to.
Title: I'll be stepping on cracks and close my eyes
Pairing: Cuddy/PI Lucas
Notes: For caesir. A continuation of the lunch date scene in Adverse Reactions.
Cuddy stirred her straw in her glass, her chin propped on her hand. She was smiling; it had been too long since she last sat with a guy and felt the potential for something more. Something good. "So you do roses, and lunch dates," she said, "what else is in your repertoire?"
"No," Lucas replied, "we were calling this a business lunch, remember? We were pretending to conspire against one of your employees, you were pretending you were going to pay me..."
She shrugged. "Since House isn't just pretending to pay you, and I pay House, technically," she pointed out, "don't you still work for me?"
He held up his hands then, sitting back. "Hey, okay, I have to ask you something. Are we flirting right now? And I ask because I'm usually very good at judging the implications of a given social interaction, but see, I kinda, I have a blindspot."
"A blindspot?"
"Yeah, it uh, it happens every time you smile."
"Wow, I... definitely think that was flirting. Bad flirting, but," she spread her hands.
"Okay. Well, I feel better for having established that, and I think now I'm going to push through this potentially ego-crushing moment by pretending to ask for your phone number."
"Pretending, because you already have my number."
"All five of them."
She frowned, thinking. "Home, office, cell... pager?" He nodded. "Five. You're not counting my social security number, are you?"
"I do not have your social security number. I'll put it on the list for this afternoon. No, actually, I was counting the main hospital switchboard. It is your hospital."
"You're lying now, aren't you."
"No, I'm really not. Look, I'm going to try really hard not to lie to you - you know, not any more. We already covered the deal with House. But from now on, no lying. I'm going to make it a rule. It'll be sad if I go to all that trouble to make it official and you don't end up having dinner with me. Think of all the trouble I went to."
"Do you think that's going to work on me?"
"I think that depends whether you were already going to go out with me, independent of how big an idiot you suddenly think I am. I'm pretty good at this flirting thing, right?"
She reached over and patted his arm, and confided,"To be perfectly honest, I only think you're a regular sized idiot."
"I'm going to see that as a positive. And, okay, to be slightly more honest than I was being before, I do have your social security number. Just, you know, not memorised or anything."
In spite of that, she found herself smiling. Again. Really, she hadn't actually stopped. "You're lucky I already decided to go out with you," she said.
Title: Not for the likes of you and me
Pairing: House/Thirteen
Notes: For obfuscate3, prompt 'because'.
You don't ask why, not at first.
It's not because the answer doesn't matter, but because you know you won't get a straight one out of him. And you're so tired, so tired that he follows you home one day, his stupid flashy bike a fixture in your rear-view mirror, and he follows you to your door, and no. You don't ask why.
And then he's sitting at your kitchen table, and he's lying on your couch and complaining about the lack of decent cable and how far it is to the refrigerator. You don't ask, you make dinner; you need to take care of yourself, with the trappings of Foreman's test study spread across your apartment, and with the way your hands shake sometimes and you know it's stress and lack of sleep, you know it. But you keep your hands busy, washing lettuce, portioning food, sorting pills, folding laundry. Whatever works.
House eats your food and he doesn't look at you, he waves his cane at the television and speaks with his mouth full. He's found the least realistic hospital drama ever, and he delights in every stupid inaccuracy. You curl up in a corner of the couch with your bowl on your knees and you feel less alone and, still, you don't ask why he's here. You don't have to.
Title: I'll be stepping on cracks and close my eyes
Pairing: Cuddy/PI Lucas
Notes: For caesir. A continuation of the lunch date scene in Adverse Reactions.
Cuddy stirred her straw in her glass, her chin propped on her hand. She was smiling; it had been too long since she last sat with a guy and felt the potential for something more. Something good. "So you do roses, and lunch dates," she said, "what else is in your repertoire?"
"No," Lucas replied, "we were calling this a business lunch, remember? We were pretending to conspire against one of your employees, you were pretending you were going to pay me..."
She shrugged. "Since House isn't just pretending to pay you, and I pay House, technically," she pointed out, "don't you still work for me?"
He held up his hands then, sitting back. "Hey, okay, I have to ask you something. Are we flirting right now? And I ask because I'm usually very good at judging the implications of a given social interaction, but see, I kinda, I have a blindspot."
"A blindspot?"
"Yeah, it uh, it happens every time you smile."
"Wow, I... definitely think that was flirting. Bad flirting, but," she spread her hands.
"Okay. Well, I feel better for having established that, and I think now I'm going to push through this potentially ego-crushing moment by pretending to ask for your phone number."
"Pretending, because you already have my number."
"All five of them."
She frowned, thinking. "Home, office, cell... pager?" He nodded. "Five. You're not counting my social security number, are you?"
"I do not have your social security number. I'll put it on the list for this afternoon. No, actually, I was counting the main hospital switchboard. It is your hospital."
"You're lying now, aren't you."
"No, I'm really not. Look, I'm going to try really hard not to lie to you - you know, not any more. We already covered the deal with House. But from now on, no lying. I'm going to make it a rule. It'll be sad if I go to all that trouble to make it official and you don't end up having dinner with me. Think of all the trouble I went to."
"Do you think that's going to work on me?"
"I think that depends whether you were already going to go out with me, independent of how big an idiot you suddenly think I am. I'm pretty good at this flirting thing, right?"
She reached over and patted his arm, and confided,"To be perfectly honest, I only think you're a regular sized idiot."
"I'm going to see that as a positive. And, okay, to be slightly more honest than I was being before, I do have your social security number. Just, you know, not memorised or anything."
In spite of that, she found herself smiling. Again. Really, she hadn't actually stopped. "You're lucky I already decided to go out with you," she said.