Curiosity killing the cat, maybe?
Who: House, Cade, Wilson might make some kind of cellular appearance at some stage
Where: The same bar they both went to last time
When: May 22nd, just after 5.30pm.
( Read more... )
Where: The same bar they both went to last time
When: May 22nd, just after 5.30pm.
( Read more... )
He set his glass back down and toyed his finger over the rim. He'd probably tell Wilson about what he got Cuddy when he saw Wilson next, unless Cuddy got to Wilson first and thanked him. Thinking about that made House remember back to the car trip home from Atlantic City, how awkward that had been. Asking Wilson to bed, fighting afterwards--
Cade suddenly appearing at his side snapped House abruptly out of his thoughts and he gave him a mildly startled look. Quickly composing himself, he then gave Cade a wry smile at Cade's greeting. House decided earlier on that he wasn't going to let himself get uptight around Cade. He was just going to try and approach everything in his stride.
"Wouldn't you like to know," House shot back. He broadened his smirk before sitting straighter and peering down at his watch with a disapproving frown. "You're almost five minutes late."
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“I’ll have a beer thanks,” Cade said, returning the girl’s mildly flirtatious smile. She was pretty. He then looked at House to see if he was going to order something a little harder than water. “Not afraid of getting drunk around me, are you?”
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He dropped his eyes down to where Cade's hand slapped him on the shoulder, then glanced back up at him in time to see Cade exchange flirty smiles with the bar girl. Huh. So, Cade was just the flirtatious type all round, or he was in fact bisexual. Or both.
He went to lift his glass for another sip, interrupted by Cade's question. House looked at him before narrowing his eyes mock suspiciously. "Should I be?"
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When the bar girl came back with his beer, Cade asked her to bring another one for House. He could afford two beers. If House wanted another one though, he was on his own.
“So, how were the last few hours of work for you? Did you do anything other than read tabloids?” Cade asked, swivelling on the stool so he was sitting facing House. The lack of space meant his knee was brushing House’s leg but Cade pretended not to notice this and waited to see what House would do.
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He sculled back the rest of his water while Cade ordered for another beer and set the glass back down empty, pushing it away for the bar girl to collect. He then started to shrug out of his jacket - no point in sitting around in it, getting overheated in the stuffy bar if he was going to be here for a little while.
As he shook his arm out of the sleeve, he looked across at Cade. "Told my boss I was going to plant cherry bombs in the staff toilet to celebrate her birthday."
Well, that had happened before seeing Cade. Cade didn't have to know that, though. Just as he was laying his coat down over his bag, he felt Cade's knee touch his, which made House instantly look at it. He negotiated the logistics of how close Cade's bar stool was to his, then wondered if Cade had for some reason done that on purpose. He shook the second suspicious thought from his mind and went with the former.
"No patients, no clinic. So, all in all, just ducky," he concluded.
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Cade shook his head, imagining for a moment the look on Cuddy’s face if cherry bombs were used in any of the hospital toilets. If such a thing were to happen, Cade hoped he ended up being nowhere near the toilets when it did. And nowhere near Cuddy for that matter.
“Your funeral, chief. Me? I’d go for something slightly less explosive. Say, flowers. She’d probably like flowers. I’d definitely go for flowers if you want to magically keep from doing any actual work.” Cade smirked a little and shifted again, his knee pressing a little more firmly against House’s. “I suppose it would be bad form to ask how old she is.”
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But flowers for Cuddy, for her birthday? Yeah, right. Particularly after the stalker dude left her flowers. "Cuddy's like me. She likes bold. And explosive. Flowers are way too debonair for the likes of Cuddy."
Reaching for his beer when it was set down in front of him, House felt Cade's knee press firmer against his and he looked down to it before glancing up at Cade, letting him know he was fully aware of what Cade was doing, even if Cade himself wasn't. Which, unless Cade had no sense of personal space, House was pretty sure Cade was aware.
If it persisted he'd tell Cade to back off. For now, he decided to let it slide, give Cade the chance to back off himself. "She's too old for you, I know that much."
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Cade noticed House looking down at their legs but he didn’t move away. He didn’t try anything further though either. Though he’d tried to tell himself he was only doing it to see what House would do, there was a voice in the back of his mind that was saying something else. Something quite a bit different. Cade refused to pay too much attention to that voice.
“Too old huh? And what is too much of an age gap in your opinion?” Cade asked, quirking an eyebrow. He kept his expression neutral, though he found himself very…invested in what House’s reply might be.
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He tapped his beer bottle on the counter as he looked back to Cade. His question made House think about Wilson again - not that Wilson was an age issue, but he was definitely a gender issue.
"Depends on what the person wants," he replied. "Too much of an age gap is when you want something more than just sex. If it's just sex, then it doesn't matter because it's not like the person matters to you. You're just using each other's bodies; who cares if the light's on and nobody's home."
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Looking away again, Cade scratched his head. “As for something beyond sex, well…if people are in love…they’re in love. I try not to judge one way or another.” Cade smiled at House. “It would be hypocritical wouldn’t it, if I were to expect people to accept the fact that I…sometimes sleep with men…if I didn’t accept whoever they choose to have as partners.”
Cade held House’s eyes for a moment before he looked down and drank some more of his beer.
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What Cade then went on to say made House feel suddenly very self conscious and as much as he wanted to look away, he found himself staring at Cade. Two conflicting thoughts started rushing through his mind at once: thoughts of Wilson and, not for the first time, the idea of what it would be like to sleep with another man. Out of curiosity, to see if he really liked sex with men or just sex with Wilson. He didn't return Cade's smile, and he kept his eyes trained on him when Cade finally looked away.
House then turned his attention down to his beer and shifted a little uncomfortably on the bar stool. He took to glancing around the bar, pretending to be taking in the surroundings before looking back to his beer as he leaned forward and propped an elbow on the bar. He really wasn't sure how to respond to what Cade said about sleeping with men or people being in love, not without feeling like he was giving something away about himself. So, he chose to stick to the first thing Cade had said.
"Sex doesn't mean anything if you pay for it," House eventually replied. "Don't even need to be attracted to the person." He paused as though contemplating to add more to that, then changed his mind and took another sip of his beer instead.
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Around that time, his eyes flickered down and he clicked his tongue upon noticing that he'd stuck the last four labels on upside-down. Right, leash not tight enough. He sighed and hunched over his desk a bit more, cradling his chin in his hand. The memory of falling asleep next to House was still fresh in his mind. A warmth and weight that set him at ease in an undefinable way. Wilson tapped his fingers against his cheek thoughtfully and stared out the sliding glass door. The sun was still out, if low in the sky, and shards of light poured in through the window.
His free hand fished into the pocket of his slacks and pulled out his phone. After flipping it open with his thumb, Wilson looked at the time. Not even six yet. Late enough for House to be at home, though. Maybe, if Wilson put forth an effort, home wouldn't seem so incredibly separate and different. Maybe if he showed House that he still wanted that closeness, assure him of it...
Maybe if Wilson called him and asked him if he wanted to do something, Wilson could quit agonizing over it and stop sticking labels on patient files incorrectly.
Without another thought, he straightened in his seat and ran a hand through his hair while holding down the TALK button with his thumb. House's cell number popped onto the screen and Wilson pressed down again, then pressed the phone against his ear firmly. Calling from the office phone would have earned him a jibe, anyway. He propped his elbow on the arm of his chair and rested his cheek against his knuckles, staring down at his coat as the dull ringing began.
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He stopped when he flipped the phone open and saw from the caller i.d. who the phone call was from. He threw Cade an off guard look, a feeling of apprehension coiling in his stomach. Looking away from Cade again, House composed himself and pressed the phone to his ear.
"Hey," he greeted lightly.
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Without thinking about it, Wilson started to tap the pen against his desk. He quickly put it down and scooting his chair foward, clearing his throat. Being uncomfortable made him less focused on the chatter faintly crackling in the background, and his licked his lips before speaking again.
"Your day go alright?" Wilson asked quietly. Thoughts turned to Cuddy and the fact that yesterday had been her birthday. He needed to go see her soon, come to think of it. "I'm just finishing up here at work. Thought I'd call and see what you were up to."
Just then, he heard the clinking of glasses and what he thought sounded like a female voice. Could've been the TV. Didn't sound like it.
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It was strange but from that simple ‘hey’ Cade felt like he could already tell a lot from whoever House was talking to; someone he knew well, someone he cared about a lot. A ‘hey’ was casual and familiar, almost intimate, something Cade doubted very much House would act towards someone from work or…many people at all.
The bar girl came back then and asked Cade if he wanted a refill. Cade smiled and nodded, though kept most of his attention on House.
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"I suppose," House replied noncommittally to Wilson's question about his day being alright. His day had been a little insane in a way, was more accurate. He pulled a mock concerned look. "Learned today from a very reliable source that there're killer babies on the loose. They're gonna take over the whole world."
He pressed the phone firmer against his ear when Wilson then went on to explain he was finishing up at work. And then asked what he was up to. House glanced at Cade. "Nothing much," he replied, keeping his tone light.
He looked away sharply towards the sound of glass clinking loudly, and saw the bar girl gathering up two empty bottles of beer standing nearby on the bar. "Just, uh," he glanced at Cade again, "out." He leaned forward and propped his elbows on the bar. "I also learned today from the same very reliable source that bars are a really good place to meet aliens. So, I decided to come to the bar after work, check that out for myself. Have a drink or two while I'm at it."
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