Folie À Trois (3/3)
Title: Folie À Trois
Author: Duckie Nicks
Rating: NC-17
Characters: Cuddy, House, Sam Carr
Author's Note: This was written for autumnrain78's birthday... which was in March. D: Although I am obscenely behind schedule, I remember what she wanted: a fic where House and Cuddy had sex with another woman (but not Cameron or Thirteen). This fic also fulfills 50kinkyways prompt 25. Orgy.
Warning: This fic contains sex, specifically sex between women and a threesome. If that bothers you, please don't read.
Summary: Having been confronted about her first marriage, Cuddy finds temporary solace in an unlikely place. Set during "Small Sacrifices," right after the wedding.
Previous Parts: Part 1, Part 2
Disclaimer: The show isn't mine.
“Well, see now I don’t know how to respond. Having sex with you and another woman is a fundamental yes situation. But Sam makes that kind of a no, so -”
“Yes or no.”
He grimaced a little, perhaps sensing just how serious she was. For a moment, he seemed to contemplate his options and then - “Fine. If that’s what you want -”
“It is,” she said honestly.
“Okay.”
The way he capitulated made her feel as though she’d pressured him into agreeing. Not wanting that at all, she felt sick at the idea that that might have happened.
“Are you sure? You’re not just saying that -”
“I’m agreeing because you obviously want this,” he said dismissively. “And I can’t stand her, but she’s hot -”
“You think she’s attractive?” she interrupted, jealousy burning in the back of her throat.
He ignored her and kept talking. “Enough, and at the end of the day, it’s sex with you and another woman, which is always good. Besides.” His fingers roughly pinched one of her nipples. “With these hanging out, it’s kind of hard to say no.”
“You think she’s attractive?” Cuddy wasn’t going to move past that point until he answered.
He smirked, went to kiss her. She resisted. That just made him smile widely. “Are you jealous?” When she didn’t answer, he said sarcastically, “This is going to be a great threesome.” He obviously knew though that she wouldn’t be satisfied without a response, so he added, “To answer your question, sure. Not my type, but seeing as how she has two breasts and a vagina and she’s legal, I guess she’s technically hot.”
She toyed with the idea that this wouldn’t work then. He wasn’t saying anything awful, but it didn’t exactly make her feel any better. Because in the end, he was admitting that a very tiny part of him was attracted to Sam, and Cuddy hated that. And if she hated that, how exactly could she have sex with both of them?
“I don’t care about her,” he said, reaching up and cupping her chin. His grip firm, he kissed her, not giving her a chance to turn away. “I want you. Watching you with her? Great, which is why I said yes. But you could throw her out and I’d be fine with that too. Actually, throw her out and -”
“That’s not going to happen.”
He might have been content to get rid of Sam, but she wasn’t. This was something he could deny himself if he wanted, but Cuddy wasn’t in the same position. She wanted this. If he were opposed, that would be one thing. Since that didn’t seem to be the case, she had no reason to even consider making Sam leave.
“I never thought you’d be the one insisting on the threesome. Next thing I know you’ll be wanting to add a hooker to the mix.”
She shook her head. “No.”
“No? So then you’re the one attracted to her.” There was no accusation, no jealousy. It was obvious that he would be okay if she said she was.
“This isn’t about her.”
He didn’t believe her. “Obviously it is. If you just wanted to have sex with another woman and me, a prostitute -”
“Sam has less of a reason to talk than -”
“Hookers who talk don’t generally get away with that. Pimps don’t exactly -”
“And you wonder why I don’t want to involve a prostitute,” she said with disgust.
“Oh I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were clinging to your ideals while simultaneously indulging in every straight man’s fantasy.”
“This isn’t about you.”
“So you’ve said.”
And then she understood: he wanted to know why. He couldn’t just participate; he had to get it. So far he’d eliminated inebriation, the possibility that she’d been manipulated. But that wasn’t an explanation. Exclusion of one theory was different than comprehension, and House being House, he couldn’t move forward until he knew the logic behind the act. As always, the facts needed a reason behind their existence. Observation alone was not enough.
But they were at odds with their desires in that moment, him and her. He wanted to understand her motivation. She didn’t. He wanted to look carefully at her behavior; she wanted to avoid that as best she could. Close examination of her choices might have made him feel better, but she didn’t care why she was behaving this way. Maybe the desire for self-reflection would come at some point, but right now, she just wanted to have some fun.
“Can’t we just do this?” she asked with a sigh. She sounded more tired than angry or frustrated. “You can dissect my motives afterwards.”
“You don’t want to think about what you’re doing.”
“I want to actually do it. I just want to forget our problems and have a little fun. Because that’s what I deserve right now. If there’s some deeper reason, surely you can figure that out later.”
She found his patronizing concern still scrutinizing her for answers. He couldn’t help it. His initial response to anything was to wonder why, and that wouldn’t stop just because she wanted it to.
In increments, however, he seemed to understand his behavior wasn’t appreciated; she wasn’t mad, but he wasn’t dumb enough, surely, to think that was all that mattered. He might have been motivated out of love for her, but if he overanalyzed this, ruined it for her, she would resent him for it. Not that that ever stopped him, she thought. But perhaps he realized he wasn’t going to get anywhere without her cooperation. And she was too distracted with need to be much help right now.
So he gave in.
She could see him do it before he said anything. His body relaxed, stopped assessing her for tells and hints of an explanation. He just quit, though he would be back at it soon enough.
“All right,” he said with mock frustration. “You win.” The remark was aimed at her breasts, as though the body part had convinced him. “If I must have sex with another woman while you watch….”
He started to stand up, but she grabbed his hand roughly. “Let’s get one thing straight,” she told him, as she pulled him back down onto the couch. “You’re not having sex with her.”
He looked at her as though she were crazy. “Exactly how do you envision this going if -”
“Make out with her. Let her suck your dick. I don’t care. But no penetration.”
She was offering nothing more than simple declarations. Having been his boss for years, she was used to short sentences, orders demanding obedience, and the small zip of power uttering the words offered her. For this though she was unprepared. Talking like that about sex was something she hadn’t experienced before, not like this. The occasional order for him to go harder or faster, to touch her clit, or spank her ass - she’d done that. But those had all been short moments in time, things moaned in the heat of sex and forgotten seconds later.
It had never been as powerful as this was.
Perhaps Sam had just worked her up that much. Whatever the cause, her words were making her warm all over but nowhere more so than between her legs. Her pussy tightened with promise, and her heart seemed to beat with begging.
For more.
For it to happen now.
She went with the feeling.
“Finger her if you want. If she lets you. But your dick doesn’t go anywhere near that.” The thrill of the language was making her wild with power and lust.
House looked just as maddened by her voice. One glance at his crotch, his pants forming a tent, and it was easy to see that he was enjoying this side of her as much as she was. His eyes blazed with desire, and there was no chance he would stop her now.
She went a step further, egged on by his approval. “When you come, you come in me,” she nearly barked.
It was the last straw for him.
Abruptly he stood up, his actions frantic with need. He pushed her legs apart and grabbed at her thong. Part of her thought she didn’t want to come like this. But she did nothing to stop him from pulling her underwear off. As he crouched over her, she welcomed his mouth on hers and his fingers roughly being shoved into her cunt.
She could have stopped him, should have if a threesome was the goal. Instead, she unbuttoned his shirt.
“You do want this,” he said in a gravelly voice. He was pleased. But just as she pushed his button down off of him, he pulled away. “Come on.”
She didn’t need anything else from him. It was easy to get off the couch. Making it down the hallway, however, was considerably more difficult.
They couldn’t keep their hands off one another. If he’d been feeling ill minutes ago, the possibility of sex had pulled him out of it. He hastily kicked off his shoes as they walked, his hands using her shoulders, breasts, hips, and ass to help him maintain his balance.
She palmed him through his pants - enough to make him grunt. But Cuddy made sure to keep him wanting. He didn’t know it, but she couldn’t forget what Sam had said earlier. The comments about the size of his dick were still in the forefront of her mind, and Cuddy wasn’t going to do anything to encourage him to orgasm before it was time. Then again, even if he didn’t have anything to prove, she wanted to ensure this would last.
Yet thoughts of prolonging the act left her the second they pushed through the bedroom door. House was behind her, grinding his erection against her bare ass. Sam was crouched on the bed, mouth and thighs parted and waiting. Suddenly then there was no consideration for making anything last. Cuddy just wanted to come.
With both of them.
Everyone seemed to be in agreement there. Words weren’t spoken, but they all shared a look of understanding. They were going to have sex.
Nevertheless their first moves were tentative. House cautiously stepped further into the room. Sam silently reached out for her, and Cuddy went to her without a sound. As he watched on, they kissed, their breasts lightly touching.
In the quiet, Cuddy could hear the effect it was having on House. He was undoing his belt buckle, hurrying to strip himself of his pants and his socks. If he’d ever really been ambivalent, there was no confusion as to what he wanted now. It was obvious.
Sam pulled away from her and turned her attention toward him. She seemed satisfied by what she saw. Not too long ago, criticism about his body had come from her with ease, but that had just been talk. Cuddy could tell as much. Sam was attracted to him, her hand gesturing for him to come closer.
He did, and then he leaned over her. Their first kiss was an unsure one, as coldly assessing as a kiss could be. They were careful, quietly feeling one another out, perhaps to get a sense that this was something they could do.
Fearful it wasn’t, Cuddy set out to prove that they could get past their distrust. Without uttering a word, she sat down on the bed once more. Next to Sam, she leaned over and pulled Sam’s nipple into her mouth again. As she worked the soft flesh into a tight nub, she reached over for Sam’s hand. Sam, who had begun to groan in pleasure, easily allowed her palm to be guided towards House’s penis.
Cuddy manipulated Sam’s hand to show her how he liked to be touched. But after a few seconds, that effort was unnecessary. House was hard, his cock straining toward Sam’s fingers. He was breathing hard, the sound hushed only by Sam’s mouth. There was no question he enjoyed her ministrations, which Cuddy found to be a relief.
She was working overtime to make both of them happy. They were deciding whether or not they were capable of doing this; she’d already understood that she could, and as such, she was determined to get the same answer from them.
Her thumb crept towards Sam’s clit once more. But the second she touched her, Sam pulled away from House. Questioning Cuddy looked up, afraid of the rejection she might see.
But what she saw was Sam with a half-smile on her face. What she saw was Sam’s fingers tucking into the band of House’s shorts and slowly pushing them down. When his erection sprang free, Sam had no comment. If she were unimpressed (Cuddy knew she wasn’t), she thankfully didn’t let that show. She just reached out and began stroking his cock.
He let her, his eyes closing and one of his hands running through Cuddy’s hair. But it was that contact with her that seemed to bring him out of the moment.
“Stop,” he told Sam gently. With one final run of her thumb along the underside of his dick, she pulled away. “Unless I heard wrong, you already got yours.”
She smiled. “Your girlfriend knows how to eat -”
“Of course she does.” He was being matter of fact, nonchalant. “You don’t get to be Dean of Medicine without great oral skills.”
When Cuddy shot him a look of annoyance, he ran a hand along her back. And when that wasn’t enough to soothe her irritation, he kissed her.
There was no hesitation on his part this time. He was gentle, his lips soft. But this was a kiss of apology, something that depended on their understanding of one another in order work. And it did work. Sam had to suss the situation out with him, because they had no baseline of comprehension between them. Cuddy, on the other hand, knew him. She could tell when he said things he didn’t mean (like now), could feel thousands of I’m sorries with every minute motion of his lips and tongue. And she could forgive him for the slight, both of them understanding that, on this anyway, she’d never really been mad to begin with.
The kiss suddenly turned bittersweet. They both knew what the other was thinking, and sadly for the mood, they were thinking of their other problem - their real issue. It would take more than a kiss. That was what was in their heads. The fight had gone on for so long it would now require an apology and probably not just that anymore. It would require an I’m sorry and some change. At least, she suspected it would; having not received an apology or anything else, she couldn’t really say what it would take.
They pulled apart further strained than they had been. But the unspoken agreement between them at that moment said the temporary solution was to ignore the fight. Doing Sam was more important.
“But unless I got it wrong,” he said, leaping at the opportunity to finish his initial thought. “She hasn’t come yet.”
Sam didn’t deny it. “You’re right.”
“So maybe you should focus on her. Or am I going to have to do all the work when it comes to getting her off?”
The question managed to set off a competition between them. Instantly all of their attention was focused on Cuddy. Sam’s fingers were in her once more. House cupped her breasts and kissed her back. They took turns telling her what they were going to do, muttering encouragements throughout. They talked about how Sam thought she was beautiful, how she couldn’t wait to taste her, how good it was that she was so wet and ready for both of them.
Cuddy basked in the attention. Sex with House had never left her wanting more, but she could see the benefits of having threesomes. Two sets of hands instead of one, two mouths - it was like nothing she’d ever experienced before.
His hands were on her shoulders, Sam’s on her ankles. Before she even knew what was happening, they were laying her out on the bed. Her stomach knotted with anticipation. Sam started to lower her head, and Cuddy could only think over and over excitedly that this was about to happen.
House’s mouth abruptly fitted over hers, she cried out into him when Sam’s tongue first made contact. Sam’s grip on her hips and his on her breasts were the only things that kept her relaxed on the mattress. Cuddy wanted to grind against them, wanted to move her pussy against Sam’s eager mouth. But she didn’t want a single thing to change about this moment. It was just too perfect.
Sam’s breath was hot against her wet skin. Her tongue was darting in and out of Cuddy’s body, and with each movement, Cuddy felt herself losing more control, more sense of herself.
House pulled away from her, replacing his mouth with his dick. Her lips were already parted. She’d had no trouble breathing through her nose, but need clamored in her body. There was nothing for her to do other than receive pleasure, and yet her body teemed with energy, begged for motion and purpose. Her fingers threaded through the bed sheets, and she was beginning to moan, and then in a blurred moment of confusion, she started to taste the salt of his skin and the bitterness of his precum.
He was above her, balls brushing against her hair. From the angle, it was going to be impossible for her to deep throat him without choking. And the way Sam was making her want to scream with pleasure, Cuddy understood there was no point in even trying to get him off. Or at least she would have if she were in the right mind for rational thought.
Since she wasn’t, she sought out mindless pleasure to both give and receive. Her tongue darted out and swept across the head of his cock. He shifted on his feet, which moved his penis along her mouth. Every inch she could touch, she did, placing wet kisses along the vein lining his erection, nibbling lightly on his balls like he liked.
But the contact wasn’t enough.
Sam pinched Cuddy’s clit between two fingers, eliciting a scream she could no longer hold back. Her pussy clenched hard though she didn’t come. It was as though her entire body had been shocked by the action, forced to tremble with want for Sam’s tongue to lick and lap and conquer.
Cuddy wasn’t left waiting for long.
Sam pinched her clit again, this time with a slight increase in force. Sam’s tongue slipped between Cuddy’s slick labia and into her pussy, and the full feeling of wet on wet sent Cuddy into a hard orgasm.
Her eyes were wide as she came. His cock and tiny, silver stars were all she saw as she broke apart. Heat ran through her like a crackle of lightning in water, and she felt tears bead at the corner of her vision.
It had happened, she thought, and the last seconds of release were filled with the relief that knowledge provided her.
They had done it, and there was no going back now.
She didn’t want to.
They had done it, and all she wanted was to see this through to the end.
That made it easy for her body to be manipulated by them.
Sam crawled on the bed once more. Cuddy watched as she looked over to House, a silent plan forming between them. She didn’t understand as Sam lay down on her back. Fingers tapping Cuddy’s ankle, she didn’t get it at first.
Then House pulled her up by the armpits. He was rough, insistent, which matched the way he told her, “Eat that.”
By “that” he meant Sam.
If he’d spoken that way in any other situation, he would have been denied. Even when it came to sex, she preferred to be the one giving the orders instead of taking them. Certainly, Cuddy didn’t relish being directed or controlled in front of anyone else. And he knew that, just as she knew he was behaving this way now because he could. She was too far gone to say no, too interested in doing what he wanted to care about how it might look to someone else. That she challenged him at all had far more to do with instinct than any sort of reluctance.
“Are you going to join us this time or would you prefer to jerk off in a corner?”
As he guided her over Sam’s body, he said, “You’ll know the answer to that in a minute.”
It wasn’t even entertaining banter. They were used to having conversations that led nowhere. Sometimes the verbal sparring was irritating, at others one of the funner aspects of their relationship. This was neither.
They were talking out of habit, clinging to something familiar, even as she was placing her knees on either side of Sam’s head. It was pointless and stupid, but it was something they recognized, something to root them.
Sam didn’t care either way, of course. Regardless of what they were doing, she seemed intent on having sex. Her nails scraped at Cuddy’s side possessively and dug into her hips. Soon after Sam’s mouth was on Cuddy’s bare mound.
It was just what Cuddy needed to push her back into the moment.
She braced all of her weight on her forearms, which were on either side of Sam’s hips. Instinctively she knew how House would take her, and she didn’t want Sam to absorb all of the force from the powerful motion.
As Cuddy fitted her lips to Sam’s clitoris, House pushed himself into Cuddy with one solid heft. Instantly she was full, his dick reaching every inch of her.
She gasped into Sam’s flesh, the sensation prompting Sam to do the same thing to her.
The sensations were hitting Cuddy all at once, and her control was quickly slipping. Her first orgasm should have helped stave off this all-encompassing need for a little while, but it didn’t. Nothing could have lessened the pleasure assaulting her senses at that moment.
House was pounding her, his dick moving inside and against her. His balls slapped her ass as he thrust in harsh motions. Sam’s tongue was on her clitoris, laving the tiny bud in languid strokes that made Cuddy cry with each flicker of movement. And throughout this, there was the taste of Sam’s pussy on her lips, the feel of the other woman’s juices dribbling onto her chin.
Sweat and sex surrounded her. The sound of flesh against flesh filled her ears and the silence between her heart pounding. Ecstasy was all around her. It seeped into her skin, poured through her.
Sam swept her tongue along the length of Cuddy’s cunt, down to House’s penis. Cuddy knew that was the case, because House exclaimed at that second, “Yeah!”
Other sounds escaped him after that, but that was the only word that made any sense. And hearing him lose his mind was the last straw for Cuddy. She was being driven to the edge faster than she could bear.
Granted, there seemed to be something embarrassing about being the first of three to come, but there was no way she could hold off.
Desperate to make her lovers orgasm with her, she scrambled to replace her tongue with her fingers. Frantically she rubbed the little bundle of nerves, thrust into Sam’s pussy. Her pace was as fast and hard as she could make it, her hand mimicking the speed with which House was fucking her.
She squeezed her muscles for him. She wanted to be so tight and wet and warm for him that he would never be satisfied with any other woman. She wanted him - them both to know that they would never have it as good with anyone else. And the chance that she’d wrecked them for other people was the thought that was her undoing. Fueled by possessiveness, she came with a sound that caught violently in the back of her throat.
Her body screwed House back, her hips circling to maximize her pleasure, theirs. Her being rocked on its own accord, her mind lost in a haze of need being satisfied. She might have screamed God, might have made her voice hoarse as she felt herself drown in waves of burning senselessness.
And then, as she thought it couldn’t get any better, she was awash with them. Sam came on her fingers, voice muffled by House’s balls. Her orgasm triggering his own, Cuddy felt him grab her ass painfully hard.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he grunted, spilling his semen inside of her.
As Cuddy had told him to.
She nearly came again at the thought. Her muscles twitched against his dick as if daring him to keep going.
But they’d all been drinking tonight.
They were all middle aged.
And what they had done had taken its toll.
Shortly after, Sam turned her head away from them first, a sign that she was done. Cuddy couldn’t see it, of course, but she could feel the change going on beneath her. House must have as well, because he pulled away immediately.
Breathless he sat down on the bed next to them. As he helped Cuddy off of Sam, she thought she saw a little disappointment in his eyes. That was not surprising. After sex, he liked to stay inside of her, liked to hold her close for a few minutes - at least until their need to be close was superceded by something else. So she guessed it was to be expected that he didn’t like being forced away from her before he was ready.
Or maybe, she thought as he lay back on the bed, he’d just thought this would continue on throughout the night. Cuddy couldn’t blame him for that line of thinking; it had been more wishful than anything else, but she could understand the unspoken question in his mind: that was it?
Thinking much the same thing, Cuddy curled up against him on the bed. Her cheek resting on his chest, she closed her eyes. It had been a long day, and the alcohol wasn’t helping her to stay awake. Exhausted she could only feel the mattress move as Sam got up.
She listened to Sam rummage through the room. The task of finding her clothing wasn’t going to be an easy one, given the speed with which they’d stripped. But Cuddy had no energy in her to offer aid, nor did she say anything when House spoke up, “Where are you going?” He was suspicious.
“Home.” Sam’s underwear snapped as she slid it back on.
“Home?”
“I need to pack…. He won’t be there, right?”
Cuddy opened her eyes to see how he would respond. If everyone had gotten along before, there was no reason why that would last. If she didn’t keep an eye on them both, a fight would easily erupt.
Thankfully House’s response was calm. “I doubt it. When I left him at the bar, he was getting hit on by -”
“House.” Cuddy didn’t want him to finish the sentence.
He didn’t get it. “What? I’m not saying he went home with any of them. He won’t.”
“And you’re sure?” Sam asked as she finished putting her bra on.
“You asking because you want him back?”
Sam rolled her eyes and reached for her dress. “I’m asking because I want to know if he’ll be there when I move out.”
“You should be fine,” he said with a shrug. “He’s not going to have sex. Unlike you, he thinks he still has a chance of getting back together. He’ll be drunk enough to contemplate screwing someone else, but -”
“I should go then,” Sam interrupted.
“Not so fast.” The change in his demeanor made Cuddy roll away from him. There was an edge to his voice. When he was like that, he was dangerous, and she didn’t want to be caught in the crossfire. “You did her. Now it’s time for you to keep up your end of the bargain.”
“Bargain?”
“Don’t consider getting back together with him. You ended it, so be done with him.”
“I don’t plan on doing that. But if I change my mind, what exactly are you going to do, House?” She started to zip up her dress.
“I’ll tell him you had sex with someone else,” he threatened.
“No, you’re not.”
“You think? You sure?”
“We’re not friends. James would assume you were lying, because I would never tell you I’d had sex with someone else or give you access to -”
“That’s true, which is why he’d just assume I’d stalked to you.”
“You’d stalk me while your girlfriend is angry? I don’t think so,” Sam pointed out. “James is a good man. He sees the best in you, and he would rather believe that you’d try to fix things with her than waste your time with me.”
Cuddy didn’t appreciate hearing her problems being used as part of a point. She liked even less knowing that Sam was right about Wilson. He would want to believe that House was busy fixing his own relationship… but he was wrong, Cuddy thought bitterly.
“If you push him hard enough,” Sam continued. “You lose either way. He’ll think you’re lying, and your need to invent reasons for doubt will convince him that we should be together. You’ll push him into my arms, which would put a strain on your relationship with him. Or he’d eventually believe you were telling the truth, and then he’d wonder how you’d known I’d had sex.”
House started to laugh. It was clear he wasn’t actually amused, the sound completely devoid of joy. “Oh, you’re good. Putting your little mind to work. But I can assure you: Wilson will never think I had sex with you.”
“But you did.”
“Barely.”
“It still counts.”
“Maybe. Doesn’t change anything.”
“Maybe,” she parroted. “But before you go down that road, I’d advise you to consider how this is going to end for you.”
“Assuming you even consider getting back together,” Cuddy interrupted finally.
This was not how she imagined her night ending. This certainly wasn’t how she wanted things to end. And she resented them both for being so quick to return to the status quo. The fact that they were fighting over a hypothetical only amplified her agitation.
“You’re fighting about something that may never actually happen.”
Sam looked at her apologetically, perhaps understanding that Cuddy deserved better than this. “No fighting. Not anymore anyway, because I think we’re clear.”
“We are,” House insisted.
“Good. Then I’ll go.”
“Feel free” was his sarcastic reply.
Cuddy didn’t admonish him until after Sam had left. He’d earned the humiliation, but she had no interest in sparking another round of who knew Wilson best. Since any criticism would inevitably bait them both, she stayed silent until the front door had shut loudly.
Then she turned to him and said, “You couldn’t just let her leave. You had to say something.”
She was angrier than she should have been, more frustrated than she’d anticipated. He didn’t seem to be surprised that though.
“That’s not what you’re mad about,” he said knowingly. He shifted on the bed to face her more easily. “You’re mad about -”
“I know what I’m angry about,” she snapped.
The threesome had been a nice reprieve, but now that Sam was gone, reality was tunneling in - and fast. Fury returned quicker than Cuddy had expected. The betrayal, the disgust - it was all there, no longer buried beneath alcohol and desire and the self-awareness created from having a third party present.
“I want an apology,” she demanded. “I deserve one.”
He didn’t deny it. For the first time, he wasn’t arguing within seconds that lies were good, necessary. He wasn’t telling her that, if the situation were reversed, she’d have done the same thing, that she had done the same thing with her marriage.
She wanted to believe that that was a sign of progress, but she didn’t trust it.
She wasn’t wrong to do so.
House abruptly sat up. “I forgot to put away the milk,” he announced. There was something… cool about his tone, dutiful and detached.
In her marrow, she knew that he knew he was wrong. He didn’t care about the milk. He just wanted a way out of the conversation. Knowing that he’d screwed up didn’t translate into an instant apology, and she thought with disgust that it would be some time before it did.
By her estimation, he wouldn’t come back to bed before she’d fallen asleep. He wouldn’t leave, because he would be aware that this would be the closest they’d be for a while. Until he apologized, there would be no more nights together. This was his last chance. But he also clearly wasn’t ready for or interested in having this discussion with her tonight.
Given how tired she was, she was willing to let him go. Part of her wanted to force the matter. Well, obviously, that was true. Her irritation was proof of that. But he would do everything he could right now to avoid the conversation. And she didn’t have the energy to drag him into the conversation and then force him to see her point of view. As much as she wanted this to be over, she was resigned to going to sleep with this fight looming over them.
Considering how many nights lately she’d fallen asleep like that, it was quickly becoming their new normal.
Cuddy hated that.
Fed up, she made her position absolutely clear, so that there was no confusion as to what she wanted, how she felt. “I have to have one, House. We can’t move on otherwise. I won’t.”
His gaze dropped to the ground. “I know” was all he could say before stepping into the dark hallway.
He knew.
She just wasn’t sure anymore that he would ever be able to do anything about it.
The End
Author: Duckie Nicks
Rating: NC-17
Characters: Cuddy, House, Sam Carr
Author's Note: This was written for autumnrain78's birthday... which was in March. D: Although I am obscenely behind schedule, I remember what she wanted: a fic where House and Cuddy had sex with another woman (but not Cameron or Thirteen). This fic also fulfills 50kinkyways prompt 25. Orgy.
Warning: This fic contains sex, specifically sex between women and a threesome. If that bothers you, please don't read.
Summary: Having been confronted about her first marriage, Cuddy finds temporary solace in an unlikely place. Set during "Small Sacrifices," right after the wedding.
Previous Parts: Part 1, Part 2
Disclaimer: The show isn't mine.
“Well, see now I don’t know how to respond. Having sex with you and another woman is a fundamental yes situation. But Sam makes that kind of a no, so -”
“Yes or no.”
He grimaced a little, perhaps sensing just how serious she was. For a moment, he seemed to contemplate his options and then - “Fine. If that’s what you want -”
“It is,” she said honestly.
“Okay.”
The way he capitulated made her feel as though she’d pressured him into agreeing. Not wanting that at all, she felt sick at the idea that that might have happened.
“Are you sure? You’re not just saying that -”
“I’m agreeing because you obviously want this,” he said dismissively. “And I can’t stand her, but she’s hot -”
“You think she’s attractive?” she interrupted, jealousy burning in the back of her throat.
He ignored her and kept talking. “Enough, and at the end of the day, it’s sex with you and another woman, which is always good. Besides.” His fingers roughly pinched one of her nipples. “With these hanging out, it’s kind of hard to say no.”
“You think she’s attractive?” Cuddy wasn’t going to move past that point until he answered.
He smirked, went to kiss her. She resisted. That just made him smile widely. “Are you jealous?” When she didn’t answer, he said sarcastically, “This is going to be a great threesome.” He obviously knew though that she wouldn’t be satisfied without a response, so he added, “To answer your question, sure. Not my type, but seeing as how she has two breasts and a vagina and she’s legal, I guess she’s technically hot.”
She toyed with the idea that this wouldn’t work then. He wasn’t saying anything awful, but it didn’t exactly make her feel any better. Because in the end, he was admitting that a very tiny part of him was attracted to Sam, and Cuddy hated that. And if she hated that, how exactly could she have sex with both of them?
“I don’t care about her,” he said, reaching up and cupping her chin. His grip firm, he kissed her, not giving her a chance to turn away. “I want you. Watching you with her? Great, which is why I said yes. But you could throw her out and I’d be fine with that too. Actually, throw her out and -”
“That’s not going to happen.”
He might have been content to get rid of Sam, but she wasn’t. This was something he could deny himself if he wanted, but Cuddy wasn’t in the same position. She wanted this. If he were opposed, that would be one thing. Since that didn’t seem to be the case, she had no reason to even consider making Sam leave.
“I never thought you’d be the one insisting on the threesome. Next thing I know you’ll be wanting to add a hooker to the mix.”
She shook her head. “No.”
“No? So then you’re the one attracted to her.” There was no accusation, no jealousy. It was obvious that he would be okay if she said she was.
“This isn’t about her.”
He didn’t believe her. “Obviously it is. If you just wanted to have sex with another woman and me, a prostitute -”
“Sam has less of a reason to talk than -”
“Hookers who talk don’t generally get away with that. Pimps don’t exactly -”
“And you wonder why I don’t want to involve a prostitute,” she said with disgust.
“Oh I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were clinging to your ideals while simultaneously indulging in every straight man’s fantasy.”
“This isn’t about you.”
“So you’ve said.”
And then she understood: he wanted to know why. He couldn’t just participate; he had to get it. So far he’d eliminated inebriation, the possibility that she’d been manipulated. But that wasn’t an explanation. Exclusion of one theory was different than comprehension, and House being House, he couldn’t move forward until he knew the logic behind the act. As always, the facts needed a reason behind their existence. Observation alone was not enough.
But they were at odds with their desires in that moment, him and her. He wanted to understand her motivation. She didn’t. He wanted to look carefully at her behavior; she wanted to avoid that as best she could. Close examination of her choices might have made him feel better, but she didn’t care why she was behaving this way. Maybe the desire for self-reflection would come at some point, but right now, she just wanted to have some fun.
“Can’t we just do this?” she asked with a sigh. She sounded more tired than angry or frustrated. “You can dissect my motives afterwards.”
“You don’t want to think about what you’re doing.”
“I want to actually do it. I just want to forget our problems and have a little fun. Because that’s what I deserve right now. If there’s some deeper reason, surely you can figure that out later.”
She found his patronizing concern still scrutinizing her for answers. He couldn’t help it. His initial response to anything was to wonder why, and that wouldn’t stop just because she wanted it to.
In increments, however, he seemed to understand his behavior wasn’t appreciated; she wasn’t mad, but he wasn’t dumb enough, surely, to think that was all that mattered. He might have been motivated out of love for her, but if he overanalyzed this, ruined it for her, she would resent him for it. Not that that ever stopped him, she thought. But perhaps he realized he wasn’t going to get anywhere without her cooperation. And she was too distracted with need to be much help right now.
So he gave in.
She could see him do it before he said anything. His body relaxed, stopped assessing her for tells and hints of an explanation. He just quit, though he would be back at it soon enough.
“All right,” he said with mock frustration. “You win.” The remark was aimed at her breasts, as though the body part had convinced him. “If I must have sex with another woman while you watch….”
He started to stand up, but she grabbed his hand roughly. “Let’s get one thing straight,” she told him, as she pulled him back down onto the couch. “You’re not having sex with her.”
He looked at her as though she were crazy. “Exactly how do you envision this going if -”
“Make out with her. Let her suck your dick. I don’t care. But no penetration.”
She was offering nothing more than simple declarations. Having been his boss for years, she was used to short sentences, orders demanding obedience, and the small zip of power uttering the words offered her. For this though she was unprepared. Talking like that about sex was something she hadn’t experienced before, not like this. The occasional order for him to go harder or faster, to touch her clit, or spank her ass - she’d done that. But those had all been short moments in time, things moaned in the heat of sex and forgotten seconds later.
It had never been as powerful as this was.
Perhaps Sam had just worked her up that much. Whatever the cause, her words were making her warm all over but nowhere more so than between her legs. Her pussy tightened with promise, and her heart seemed to beat with begging.
For more.
For it to happen now.
She went with the feeling.
“Finger her if you want. If she lets you. But your dick doesn’t go anywhere near that.” The thrill of the language was making her wild with power and lust.
House looked just as maddened by her voice. One glance at his crotch, his pants forming a tent, and it was easy to see that he was enjoying this side of her as much as she was. His eyes blazed with desire, and there was no chance he would stop her now.
She went a step further, egged on by his approval. “When you come, you come in me,” she nearly barked.
It was the last straw for him.
Abruptly he stood up, his actions frantic with need. He pushed her legs apart and grabbed at her thong. Part of her thought she didn’t want to come like this. But she did nothing to stop him from pulling her underwear off. As he crouched over her, she welcomed his mouth on hers and his fingers roughly being shoved into her cunt.
She could have stopped him, should have if a threesome was the goal. Instead, she unbuttoned his shirt.
“You do want this,” he said in a gravelly voice. He was pleased. But just as she pushed his button down off of him, he pulled away. “Come on.”
She didn’t need anything else from him. It was easy to get off the couch. Making it down the hallway, however, was considerably more difficult.
They couldn’t keep their hands off one another. If he’d been feeling ill minutes ago, the possibility of sex had pulled him out of it. He hastily kicked off his shoes as they walked, his hands using her shoulders, breasts, hips, and ass to help him maintain his balance.
She palmed him through his pants - enough to make him grunt. But Cuddy made sure to keep him wanting. He didn’t know it, but she couldn’t forget what Sam had said earlier. The comments about the size of his dick were still in the forefront of her mind, and Cuddy wasn’t going to do anything to encourage him to orgasm before it was time. Then again, even if he didn’t have anything to prove, she wanted to ensure this would last.
Yet thoughts of prolonging the act left her the second they pushed through the bedroom door. House was behind her, grinding his erection against her bare ass. Sam was crouched on the bed, mouth and thighs parted and waiting. Suddenly then there was no consideration for making anything last. Cuddy just wanted to come.
With both of them.
Everyone seemed to be in agreement there. Words weren’t spoken, but they all shared a look of understanding. They were going to have sex.
Nevertheless their first moves were tentative. House cautiously stepped further into the room. Sam silently reached out for her, and Cuddy went to her without a sound. As he watched on, they kissed, their breasts lightly touching.
In the quiet, Cuddy could hear the effect it was having on House. He was undoing his belt buckle, hurrying to strip himself of his pants and his socks. If he’d ever really been ambivalent, there was no confusion as to what he wanted now. It was obvious.
Sam pulled away from her and turned her attention toward him. She seemed satisfied by what she saw. Not too long ago, criticism about his body had come from her with ease, but that had just been talk. Cuddy could tell as much. Sam was attracted to him, her hand gesturing for him to come closer.
He did, and then he leaned over her. Their first kiss was an unsure one, as coldly assessing as a kiss could be. They were careful, quietly feeling one another out, perhaps to get a sense that this was something they could do.
Fearful it wasn’t, Cuddy set out to prove that they could get past their distrust. Without uttering a word, she sat down on the bed once more. Next to Sam, she leaned over and pulled Sam’s nipple into her mouth again. As she worked the soft flesh into a tight nub, she reached over for Sam’s hand. Sam, who had begun to groan in pleasure, easily allowed her palm to be guided towards House’s penis.
Cuddy manipulated Sam’s hand to show her how he liked to be touched. But after a few seconds, that effort was unnecessary. House was hard, his cock straining toward Sam’s fingers. He was breathing hard, the sound hushed only by Sam’s mouth. There was no question he enjoyed her ministrations, which Cuddy found to be a relief.
She was working overtime to make both of them happy. They were deciding whether or not they were capable of doing this; she’d already understood that she could, and as such, she was determined to get the same answer from them.
Her thumb crept towards Sam’s clit once more. But the second she touched her, Sam pulled away from House. Questioning Cuddy looked up, afraid of the rejection she might see.
But what she saw was Sam with a half-smile on her face. What she saw was Sam’s fingers tucking into the band of House’s shorts and slowly pushing them down. When his erection sprang free, Sam had no comment. If she were unimpressed (Cuddy knew she wasn’t), she thankfully didn’t let that show. She just reached out and began stroking his cock.
He let her, his eyes closing and one of his hands running through Cuddy’s hair. But it was that contact with her that seemed to bring him out of the moment.
“Stop,” he told Sam gently. With one final run of her thumb along the underside of his dick, she pulled away. “Unless I heard wrong, you already got yours.”
She smiled. “Your girlfriend knows how to eat -”
“Of course she does.” He was being matter of fact, nonchalant. “You don’t get to be Dean of Medicine without great oral skills.”
When Cuddy shot him a look of annoyance, he ran a hand along her back. And when that wasn’t enough to soothe her irritation, he kissed her.
There was no hesitation on his part this time. He was gentle, his lips soft. But this was a kiss of apology, something that depended on their understanding of one another in order work. And it did work. Sam had to suss the situation out with him, because they had no baseline of comprehension between them. Cuddy, on the other hand, knew him. She could tell when he said things he didn’t mean (like now), could feel thousands of I’m sorries with every minute motion of his lips and tongue. And she could forgive him for the slight, both of them understanding that, on this anyway, she’d never really been mad to begin with.
The kiss suddenly turned bittersweet. They both knew what the other was thinking, and sadly for the mood, they were thinking of their other problem - their real issue. It would take more than a kiss. That was what was in their heads. The fight had gone on for so long it would now require an apology and probably not just that anymore. It would require an I’m sorry and some change. At least, she suspected it would; having not received an apology or anything else, she couldn’t really say what it would take.
They pulled apart further strained than they had been. But the unspoken agreement between them at that moment said the temporary solution was to ignore the fight. Doing Sam was more important.
“But unless I got it wrong,” he said, leaping at the opportunity to finish his initial thought. “She hasn’t come yet.”
Sam didn’t deny it. “You’re right.”
“So maybe you should focus on her. Or am I going to have to do all the work when it comes to getting her off?”
The question managed to set off a competition between them. Instantly all of their attention was focused on Cuddy. Sam’s fingers were in her once more. House cupped her breasts and kissed her back. They took turns telling her what they were going to do, muttering encouragements throughout. They talked about how Sam thought she was beautiful, how she couldn’t wait to taste her, how good it was that she was so wet and ready for both of them.
Cuddy basked in the attention. Sex with House had never left her wanting more, but she could see the benefits of having threesomes. Two sets of hands instead of one, two mouths - it was like nothing she’d ever experienced before.
His hands were on her shoulders, Sam’s on her ankles. Before she even knew what was happening, they were laying her out on the bed. Her stomach knotted with anticipation. Sam started to lower her head, and Cuddy could only think over and over excitedly that this was about to happen.
House’s mouth abruptly fitted over hers, she cried out into him when Sam’s tongue first made contact. Sam’s grip on her hips and his on her breasts were the only things that kept her relaxed on the mattress. Cuddy wanted to grind against them, wanted to move her pussy against Sam’s eager mouth. But she didn’t want a single thing to change about this moment. It was just too perfect.
Sam’s breath was hot against her wet skin. Her tongue was darting in and out of Cuddy’s body, and with each movement, Cuddy felt herself losing more control, more sense of herself.
House pulled away from her, replacing his mouth with his dick. Her lips were already parted. She’d had no trouble breathing through her nose, but need clamored in her body. There was nothing for her to do other than receive pleasure, and yet her body teemed with energy, begged for motion and purpose. Her fingers threaded through the bed sheets, and she was beginning to moan, and then in a blurred moment of confusion, she started to taste the salt of his skin and the bitterness of his precum.
He was above her, balls brushing against her hair. From the angle, it was going to be impossible for her to deep throat him without choking. And the way Sam was making her want to scream with pleasure, Cuddy understood there was no point in even trying to get him off. Or at least she would have if she were in the right mind for rational thought.
Since she wasn’t, she sought out mindless pleasure to both give and receive. Her tongue darted out and swept across the head of his cock. He shifted on his feet, which moved his penis along her mouth. Every inch she could touch, she did, placing wet kisses along the vein lining his erection, nibbling lightly on his balls like he liked.
But the contact wasn’t enough.
Sam pinched Cuddy’s clit between two fingers, eliciting a scream she could no longer hold back. Her pussy clenched hard though she didn’t come. It was as though her entire body had been shocked by the action, forced to tremble with want for Sam’s tongue to lick and lap and conquer.
Cuddy wasn’t left waiting for long.
Sam pinched her clit again, this time with a slight increase in force. Sam’s tongue slipped between Cuddy’s slick labia and into her pussy, and the full feeling of wet on wet sent Cuddy into a hard orgasm.
Her eyes were wide as she came. His cock and tiny, silver stars were all she saw as she broke apart. Heat ran through her like a crackle of lightning in water, and she felt tears bead at the corner of her vision.
It had happened, she thought, and the last seconds of release were filled with the relief that knowledge provided her.
They had done it, and there was no going back now.
She didn’t want to.
They had done it, and all she wanted was to see this through to the end.
That made it easy for her body to be manipulated by them.
Sam crawled on the bed once more. Cuddy watched as she looked over to House, a silent plan forming between them. She didn’t understand as Sam lay down on her back. Fingers tapping Cuddy’s ankle, she didn’t get it at first.
Then House pulled her up by the armpits. He was rough, insistent, which matched the way he told her, “Eat that.”
By “that” he meant Sam.
If he’d spoken that way in any other situation, he would have been denied. Even when it came to sex, she preferred to be the one giving the orders instead of taking them. Certainly, Cuddy didn’t relish being directed or controlled in front of anyone else. And he knew that, just as she knew he was behaving this way now because he could. She was too far gone to say no, too interested in doing what he wanted to care about how it might look to someone else. That she challenged him at all had far more to do with instinct than any sort of reluctance.
“Are you going to join us this time or would you prefer to jerk off in a corner?”
As he guided her over Sam’s body, he said, “You’ll know the answer to that in a minute.”
It wasn’t even entertaining banter. They were used to having conversations that led nowhere. Sometimes the verbal sparring was irritating, at others one of the funner aspects of their relationship. This was neither.
They were talking out of habit, clinging to something familiar, even as she was placing her knees on either side of Sam’s head. It was pointless and stupid, but it was something they recognized, something to root them.
Sam didn’t care either way, of course. Regardless of what they were doing, she seemed intent on having sex. Her nails scraped at Cuddy’s side possessively and dug into her hips. Soon after Sam’s mouth was on Cuddy’s bare mound.
It was just what Cuddy needed to push her back into the moment.
She braced all of her weight on her forearms, which were on either side of Sam’s hips. Instinctively she knew how House would take her, and she didn’t want Sam to absorb all of the force from the powerful motion.
As Cuddy fitted her lips to Sam’s clitoris, House pushed himself into Cuddy with one solid heft. Instantly she was full, his dick reaching every inch of her.
She gasped into Sam’s flesh, the sensation prompting Sam to do the same thing to her.
The sensations were hitting Cuddy all at once, and her control was quickly slipping. Her first orgasm should have helped stave off this all-encompassing need for a little while, but it didn’t. Nothing could have lessened the pleasure assaulting her senses at that moment.
House was pounding her, his dick moving inside and against her. His balls slapped her ass as he thrust in harsh motions. Sam’s tongue was on her clitoris, laving the tiny bud in languid strokes that made Cuddy cry with each flicker of movement. And throughout this, there was the taste of Sam’s pussy on her lips, the feel of the other woman’s juices dribbling onto her chin.
Sweat and sex surrounded her. The sound of flesh against flesh filled her ears and the silence between her heart pounding. Ecstasy was all around her. It seeped into her skin, poured through her.
Sam swept her tongue along the length of Cuddy’s cunt, down to House’s penis. Cuddy knew that was the case, because House exclaimed at that second, “Yeah!”
Other sounds escaped him after that, but that was the only word that made any sense. And hearing him lose his mind was the last straw for Cuddy. She was being driven to the edge faster than she could bear.
Granted, there seemed to be something embarrassing about being the first of three to come, but there was no way she could hold off.
Desperate to make her lovers orgasm with her, she scrambled to replace her tongue with her fingers. Frantically she rubbed the little bundle of nerves, thrust into Sam’s pussy. Her pace was as fast and hard as she could make it, her hand mimicking the speed with which House was fucking her.
She squeezed her muscles for him. She wanted to be so tight and wet and warm for him that he would never be satisfied with any other woman. She wanted him - them both to know that they would never have it as good with anyone else. And the chance that she’d wrecked them for other people was the thought that was her undoing. Fueled by possessiveness, she came with a sound that caught violently in the back of her throat.
Her body screwed House back, her hips circling to maximize her pleasure, theirs. Her being rocked on its own accord, her mind lost in a haze of need being satisfied. She might have screamed God, might have made her voice hoarse as she felt herself drown in waves of burning senselessness.
And then, as she thought it couldn’t get any better, she was awash with them. Sam came on her fingers, voice muffled by House’s balls. Her orgasm triggering his own, Cuddy felt him grab her ass painfully hard.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he grunted, spilling his semen inside of her.
As Cuddy had told him to.
She nearly came again at the thought. Her muscles twitched against his dick as if daring him to keep going.
But they’d all been drinking tonight.
They were all middle aged.
And what they had done had taken its toll.
Shortly after, Sam turned her head away from them first, a sign that she was done. Cuddy couldn’t see it, of course, but she could feel the change going on beneath her. House must have as well, because he pulled away immediately.
Breathless he sat down on the bed next to them. As he helped Cuddy off of Sam, she thought she saw a little disappointment in his eyes. That was not surprising. After sex, he liked to stay inside of her, liked to hold her close for a few minutes - at least until their need to be close was superceded by something else. So she guessed it was to be expected that he didn’t like being forced away from her before he was ready.
Or maybe, she thought as he lay back on the bed, he’d just thought this would continue on throughout the night. Cuddy couldn’t blame him for that line of thinking; it had been more wishful than anything else, but she could understand the unspoken question in his mind: that was it?
Thinking much the same thing, Cuddy curled up against him on the bed. Her cheek resting on his chest, she closed her eyes. It had been a long day, and the alcohol wasn’t helping her to stay awake. Exhausted she could only feel the mattress move as Sam got up.
She listened to Sam rummage through the room. The task of finding her clothing wasn’t going to be an easy one, given the speed with which they’d stripped. But Cuddy had no energy in her to offer aid, nor did she say anything when House spoke up, “Where are you going?” He was suspicious.
“Home.” Sam’s underwear snapped as she slid it back on.
“Home?”
“I need to pack…. He won’t be there, right?”
Cuddy opened her eyes to see how he would respond. If everyone had gotten along before, there was no reason why that would last. If she didn’t keep an eye on them both, a fight would easily erupt.
Thankfully House’s response was calm. “I doubt it. When I left him at the bar, he was getting hit on by -”
“House.” Cuddy didn’t want him to finish the sentence.
He didn’t get it. “What? I’m not saying he went home with any of them. He won’t.”
“And you’re sure?” Sam asked as she finished putting her bra on.
“You asking because you want him back?”
Sam rolled her eyes and reached for her dress. “I’m asking because I want to know if he’ll be there when I move out.”
“You should be fine,” he said with a shrug. “He’s not going to have sex. Unlike you, he thinks he still has a chance of getting back together. He’ll be drunk enough to contemplate screwing someone else, but -”
“I should go then,” Sam interrupted.
“Not so fast.” The change in his demeanor made Cuddy roll away from him. There was an edge to his voice. When he was like that, he was dangerous, and she didn’t want to be caught in the crossfire. “You did her. Now it’s time for you to keep up your end of the bargain.”
“Bargain?”
“Don’t consider getting back together with him. You ended it, so be done with him.”
“I don’t plan on doing that. But if I change my mind, what exactly are you going to do, House?” She started to zip up her dress.
“I’ll tell him you had sex with someone else,” he threatened.
“No, you’re not.”
“You think? You sure?”
“We’re not friends. James would assume you were lying, because I would never tell you I’d had sex with someone else or give you access to -”
“That’s true, which is why he’d just assume I’d stalked to you.”
“You’d stalk me while your girlfriend is angry? I don’t think so,” Sam pointed out. “James is a good man. He sees the best in you, and he would rather believe that you’d try to fix things with her than waste your time with me.”
Cuddy didn’t appreciate hearing her problems being used as part of a point. She liked even less knowing that Sam was right about Wilson. He would want to believe that House was busy fixing his own relationship… but he was wrong, Cuddy thought bitterly.
“If you push him hard enough,” Sam continued. “You lose either way. He’ll think you’re lying, and your need to invent reasons for doubt will convince him that we should be together. You’ll push him into my arms, which would put a strain on your relationship with him. Or he’d eventually believe you were telling the truth, and then he’d wonder how you’d known I’d had sex.”
House started to laugh. It was clear he wasn’t actually amused, the sound completely devoid of joy. “Oh, you’re good. Putting your little mind to work. But I can assure you: Wilson will never think I had sex with you.”
“But you did.”
“Barely.”
“It still counts.”
“Maybe. Doesn’t change anything.”
“Maybe,” she parroted. “But before you go down that road, I’d advise you to consider how this is going to end for you.”
“Assuming you even consider getting back together,” Cuddy interrupted finally.
This was not how she imagined her night ending. This certainly wasn’t how she wanted things to end. And she resented them both for being so quick to return to the status quo. The fact that they were fighting over a hypothetical only amplified her agitation.
“You’re fighting about something that may never actually happen.”
Sam looked at her apologetically, perhaps understanding that Cuddy deserved better than this. “No fighting. Not anymore anyway, because I think we’re clear.”
“We are,” House insisted.
“Good. Then I’ll go.”
“Feel free” was his sarcastic reply.
Cuddy didn’t admonish him until after Sam had left. He’d earned the humiliation, but she had no interest in sparking another round of who knew Wilson best. Since any criticism would inevitably bait them both, she stayed silent until the front door had shut loudly.
Then she turned to him and said, “You couldn’t just let her leave. You had to say something.”
She was angrier than she should have been, more frustrated than she’d anticipated. He didn’t seem to be surprised that though.
“That’s not what you’re mad about,” he said knowingly. He shifted on the bed to face her more easily. “You’re mad about -”
“I know what I’m angry about,” she snapped.
The threesome had been a nice reprieve, but now that Sam was gone, reality was tunneling in - and fast. Fury returned quicker than Cuddy had expected. The betrayal, the disgust - it was all there, no longer buried beneath alcohol and desire and the self-awareness created from having a third party present.
“I want an apology,” she demanded. “I deserve one.”
He didn’t deny it. For the first time, he wasn’t arguing within seconds that lies were good, necessary. He wasn’t telling her that, if the situation were reversed, she’d have done the same thing, that she had done the same thing with her marriage.
She wanted to believe that that was a sign of progress, but she didn’t trust it.
She wasn’t wrong to do so.
House abruptly sat up. “I forgot to put away the milk,” he announced. There was something… cool about his tone, dutiful and detached.
In her marrow, she knew that he knew he was wrong. He didn’t care about the milk. He just wanted a way out of the conversation. Knowing that he’d screwed up didn’t translate into an instant apology, and she thought with disgust that it would be some time before it did.
By her estimation, he wouldn’t come back to bed before she’d fallen asleep. He wouldn’t leave, because he would be aware that this would be the closest they’d be for a while. Until he apologized, there would be no more nights together. This was his last chance. But he also clearly wasn’t ready for or interested in having this discussion with her tonight.
Given how tired she was, she was willing to let him go. Part of her wanted to force the matter. Well, obviously, that was true. Her irritation was proof of that. But he would do everything he could right now to avoid the conversation. And she didn’t have the energy to drag him into the conversation and then force him to see her point of view. As much as she wanted this to be over, she was resigned to going to sleep with this fight looming over them.
Considering how many nights lately she’d fallen asleep like that, it was quickly becoming their new normal.
Cuddy hated that.
Fed up, she made her position absolutely clear, so that there was no confusion as to what she wanted, how she felt. “I have to have one, House. We can’t move on otherwise. I won’t.”
His gaze dropped to the ground. “I know” was all he could say before stepping into the dark hallway.
He knew.
She just wasn’t sure anymore that he would ever be able to do anything about it.
The End