From the Park to Home

[jquayle]

Justin unlocked the front door to his house, it was a nice house but not too nice since Justin wasn't too fond of overflowing wealth; he slipped off his pennyloafers at the door as Greg let himself and Cash in. By the time Greg closed the door, Justin was in the kitchen, rummaging through the refridgerator for something to cook the both of them

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[gotcanewillpoke]

House braced one hand on the door frame in order to take his shoes off. He figured if Justin took his off, and it's his house, he ought to take his off too. He leaves them by the door and goes to the kitchen.

"Should I keep him on leash?" Blue eyes flickered down to Cash.

[jquayle]

"He's more than welcome to run throughout the backyard and around the house." Justin pops up from behind the fridge door holding a bottle of wine in hand, "No chance that you drink at this time of day, is there?" he asks politely, not wanting to pour two glasses and then learning that Greg doesn't infact drink.

The label on the wine said '1999 Woodward Canyon | Merlot', which meant it had that lovely crisp taste to it that Justin loved; he was an avid wine taster and had a large collection of old and vintage wines.

[gotcanewillpoke]

"Where do you keep the glasses?" House asked, figuring that was a good way to say he would, in fact, be glad to have a glass of wine. He didn't drink wine nearly as much as he would like, because he tended to go for Scotch or Whiskey more often.

He hung his cane off the end of the counter, then bent at the waist to let Cash off the leash.

"I had an infarction in my leg. A blood clot. Doctors had to remove some of the muscle and tissue in my thigh." He's pleasantly surprised Justin hasn't asked about his leg. He hasn't even looked at House with the look he's used to from so many. Justin had over looked his handicap, treated him like any other person. And now was letting an eight week old puppy run free around his home.

[jquayle]

Justin points to a cupboard at the end of the counter, there is a fresh mound of lettece and salad ingrediants set out there as well, hoping that Greg would eat the same things that Justin does. Hearing of Greg's accident made him rather intrigued now, he's never heard of an 'infarction' before and he intended of still treating Greg the same.

"That sounds pretty painful. I've been around thousands of AIDs and HIV victims, all of them in pain everyday of their lives, I know what pain is even if it's only emotional." he pours them both a glass of wine, "Cheers." a smile at Greg.

[gotcanewillpoke]

"Cheers," House answered with a little smile, and a sip of wine that had his tonngue drifting up to lick his lips.

"Before I came to Fandom, I worked at a hospital. Infectious Diseases. Some of the worst pain is not physical." He met Justin's eyes with a gentle nod of understanding.

[jquayle]

And he held that look in Greg's eyes before downcasting his own to his cup, he swished it about in the glass and brought it to his nose for a quick sniff as any wine lover would do; he took a sip himself and licked his lips afterwards as well.

"I know emotional pain too well, I suppose. My wife, Tessa, was murdered a few months back after the death of our son, Garth. Worst feeling in my life then, let me tell you but Fandom is making it easier to get past it all." he looked into Greg's eyes with a look of slight pain, it was good to have someone to relate to.

[gotcanewillpoke]

House hobbled a couple steps close to Justin and put a hand on his arm. he didn't say he was sorry, because he knew those words didn't hold much weight. A look, a little human contact went a whole lot further.

"They wanted to amputate. I wanted to ride it out. I knew the risks. I knew it could kill me, probably would kill me. My girlfriend went behind my back and authorised a debridement. That's the surgery that removed the dead tissue. Betrayal like that, you don't just get over." He held Justin's gaze, the weight of understanding passing between them.

House knew losing a wife and son was more traumatic than his leg, and he used his eyes to communicate that to Justin.

[jquayle]

Justin set his glass of wine down, a overwhelming sense of grief was overtaking him and he was atleast happy that Greg was comforting him in some way.

His bottom lip twitched a bit as he tried not to cry, "Tessa was out against the biggest drug companies in Africa. The Three Bee's, those bloody bastards, are the ones responsible for her murder and they're out for me now."

A pause and a deep breath before he started again, "I knew the risks of trying to finish Tessa's job, it only took one hard beating, broken ribs and all, from three of Moi's men to send me running again. I've learned my lesson, I'm weaker than Tessa." in a small movement, Justin layed his head against Greg's chest.

[gotcanewillpoke]

"Obviously I don't know Tessa, but I can say you're not weak. Weak is...giving up. Refusing to fight. Refusing to live. You're not weak, Justin." House's hand moved up to Justin's neck, fingers gently moving against the ends of his hair.

[jquayle]

"Thankyou." a muttered and crackled voice came from against the cloth of Greg's shirt, Justin wrapped his arms around the other mans waist, the warmth of Greg calmed him as well as the movement against his neck.

He's never felt such comfort, not even when people gave him the most sympathetic looks and hugs at Tessa's funeral, not even the money that the British High Commission gave him could give him solice; he was oddly comfortable just standing in the middle of his kitchen with his arms wrapped around another man.

It just felt..right.

[gotcanewillpoke]

House impulsively kissed the top of Justin's head. That wasn't the sort of thing he did. Ever. And yet...it felt right. It felt like he was supposed to do it. Not just to comfort Justin, but to comfort himself.

For so long he'd drifted through life never caring what people thought of him. He'd cared about one man's opinion, and now that the cycle had been broken, he was able to see just how lonely he'd been.

"There's room for me with Mark. With you I was always alone." It was the same With Wilson. He wouldn't make the same mistakes again.

"Shall we sit?" House suggested, drawing Justin out of the kitchen and into the living room.

[jquayle]

Justin cleared his throat and scooped up his whine glass, he checked to see where Cash had gone, finding the puppy sprawled out on the carpet in the office, he was quickly put to ease as he sat in the living room with Greg.

"I hope you like salad, as well as chicken. If you're a vegetarian, I'll opt to make something else." he smiled, trying his best to remain stable and play host at the same time. It was harder than it looked, especially after what had happened, he was always this emotional, he couldn't help it.

[gotcanewillpoke]

"Definitely not. Not vegetarian, I mean." House smiled gently. "I just don't eat much at all. The pills I have to take don't do much for my appetite. Salad and chicken sounds wonderful." And so did the company.

He was getting used to feeling comfortable with other people. Not many, though like Geoff, his instant affinity for Justin felt strange and wonderful all at the same time.

[jquayle]

Lounging against the soft cloth of the couch calmed him, as well as the sipping of the wine, until he decided to speak again, he licked his lips; "Do you like what you do, Greg? Cure those that are uncurable to some?"

Justin smiles, he's glad that Greg decided to come over, his happiness seemed to be at the top of the world right now.

[gotcanewillpoke]

House nodded. "It's a puzzle. Illness. Most of the cases here, I am at a loss. I've had boys turn into girls for no reason and they both turned back on their own, wasn't much I could do. I've had kids with blood that strongly objects to being removed from the body. I've got DEATH working as an assistant in my clinic. The cases here aren't like what I dealt with back home. I was the guy who saw the patients no one else could figure out, and they were going to die if I couldn't figure it out. So it was a puzzle, and I only had a couple days, sometimes only a few hours to solve it."

[jquayle]

"Sounds fascinating, Greg." Justin offers a smile, his hand mindlessly finds the other man's knee, "When I was with the British High Commission, it was a puzzle within itself, so many lies and so much corruption. That's what Tessa was fighting against, corruption at it's deepest. After he death, I figured I would go on the run and try to end the corruption at once, it's bloody hard to do both." a small chuckle as he sips down the rest of this wine, setting the glass on the table infront of the couch.