[open to anyone]

[whatstheddx]

House is sprawled on his side in bed, asleep.

ooc: well, howdy! i have decided to restrict all rp to house's lj only, which means no sixwordstories, no smuttysws, etc. i don't have the time to keep up with rp with people i know i'll never play with properly, anyway. i'm busy enough as it is! and i prefer keeping house contained in one place

Comments

[lieu_murphy]

Murphy, not sleeping, is on her chest next to him staring at his back.

[whatstheddx]

He's sound asleep, his breathing even and deep with a slight, quiet snore with each inhale.

[lieu_murphy]

She's wondering why she's staying when clearly she's not going to sleep tonight. She's should probably go.

[whatstheddx]

A sound suddenly stirs him from sleep. At first, he's too groggy to respond and almost goes right back to sleep when the sound happens again, and then again. He sleepily opens an eye and frowns at the persistent beeping noise. Lifting an arm, he slaps his hand onto the bedside table and fumbles around for his cell phone.

He squints at the bright light when he flips the phone open and presses the button to shut it down. Stupid thing. He'd forgotten to put it on charge and the phone was now letting him know the battery was approaching critically low. Snapping it shut, he tosses it back onto the table and as he's tugging the sheets up to get comfortable again, he's aware that he's not alone in the bed.

He cranes his neck to peer behind him at Murphy through the darkness. "Thought you'd be gone by now," he said, voice croaky and rough from sleepiness.

[lieu_murphy]

The sound of a cellphone actually makes her reach down the side of the bed to the floor, looking for hers out of habit and that it could actually be important.

When she realizes it's his and not work calling for her, she settles in for the inevitable confrontation. "You thought wrong."

[whatstheddx]

He remains looking over his shoulder in her direction, waiting for her to explain further. A beat passes and he decides that's his cue that she's not actually going to explain. He opens his mouth to say she doesn't have to stay but hesitates.

A moment later, he's settling back to his side. He doesn't actually mind that she's there. He's a little more awake now, too, and spends the next few seconds tucking and stuffing his pillow more comfortably under his head.

[lieu_murphy]

She's a little surprised that he doesn't press the issue further. Usually, he always did that until finally she gave up and left just to get away from the nagging.

Now her presence feels even more out of place. Acceptance was not what she was used to, but if she pointed any of this out it would just make it worse. She just tried to make herself comfortable enough to sleep. She might get lucky and actually manage it.

[whatstheddx]

Once House settled, he listened to Murphy settling, too. The sound of the sheets rustling with each move she made, the quiet creak of the mattress and the bed frame, her sigh once she was still.

He was fine when he was oblivious to her presence. As much as he did actually like her to stay with him, regardless of the fact that he'd never told her that, being aware that she was there now was somewhere between comforting and like there was a white elephant in the room.

"That's it?" he asked after the silence had lingered for a little too long. "No arguing? No arguing about why I'm not arguing?"

[lieu_murphy]

"You were going back to sleep. I figured letting you sleep would get me bonus points and I could stay for Wilson's breakfast."

For some reason, arguing was easier to take. She didn't mind hanging around with him. Sometimes she just liked to have a warm body close by and the reassuring knowledge that she wasn't alone. With him awake though, it wasn't so much comforting as confusing.

A lot about the conflicting emotions he seemed to inspire in her were confusing. Maybe that's why she couldn't sleep.

[whatstheddx]

He couldn't really argue with that. Well, he could. House could make an argument out of anything. He was tired, though. And the crutch of it all was he didn't want Murphy leaving now he knew she was still there. There were some nights he wanted her gone as soon as possible. There were other nights where he secretly craved the silent, comforting reassurance of a warm body close to his. Sometimes, she filled all the spaces in him that felt empty. For a little while, anyway

[lieu_murphy]

Since that seemed to be the end of that, Murphy retreated back in to her own head. House was probably the worst guy she could ever get involved with, worse than even her ex-husband but it never really felt all that bad. This thing they were playing at was complicated, frustrating and often a pain in her ass.

She liked it. There was something... reassuring about the constant back and forth, push and pull of their, well, relationship. There were no expectations either. Since the beginning they had laid out a simple understanding that this was just what it was nothing serious.

There was a funny little stutter in her chest when he turned over and looked at her though. She kept calm though and raised an eyebrow at him in silent question. She really thought he'd go back to sleep.

[whatstheddx]

Settled on his side, he tucked his arm under his head and let his other arm rest on the mattress, between them. Though his eyes were long adjusted to the dark, he could only just make out the outline of her features and he could see she was looking right back at him.

He was the first to turn his eyes away. He crooked his shoulder in a slight shrug. "I was going to go back to sleep," he began, his voice a quiet murmur.

[lieu_murphy]

She was grateful it was dark. He had an uncanny ability to read right past her walls. She'd never met anyone who was that good at it before. The dark was an extra wall.

She liked it when he looked away first. It made her relax a fraction. "Am I keeping you up?"

[whatstheddx]

"Hmmm," he mused, quiet and deep. Was she keeping him up? Well, he was awake now. Being aware of her still in his bed, warm and close, wasn't going to send him straight back to sleep, not yet, even if he was tired.

Under the covers, his hand found the side of her hip, the part where it began curving in to meet the top of her thigh, and he traced a light line down her soft skin. Enough to acknowledge her question without an actual answer, not enough to tell her anything that was truly on his mind or suggest anything. If she shoved his hand away, he'd simply roll back over and try to go back to sleep.

[lieu_murphy]

Maybe he hadn't meant anything with the gesture, but she assumed he did. She inched a fraction closer to him so there was just a little less space between them. She put her hand over his, then followed the length of it down to his wrist and up his arm.

"Maybe I should be more concerned with helping you fall back asleep," she said, a little warmth, a little invitation in her voice. She wouldn't mind a little sex. Sex with him was good.

[whatstheddx]

Even if he'd reasoned with himself that he wasn't going to push anything, he was relieved - and hit with a twinge of excitement deep in his groin - that she'd invited him that bit closer by moving in closer herself. Where her fingers trailed from his hand to his arm left a faint tingle in their wake.

"Hmmm," he mused again, with a hint of contentedness this time. He wasn't much in the mood to talk. Hell, he and Murphy didn't really talk, anyway. Sure, there were plenty of words exchanged between them, a familiar back and forth that never really went anywhere. He wasn't interested in that, either. Not right now. He was tired. He was calm. He didn't want conversation, he wanted... Well.

It was his turn to shift in closer, too, all the way in until he felt her breasts, warm and soft against his chest. He flattened his palm onto her hip and ran it around to the small of her back, pulling her in that bit closer while lightly grazing his mouth over hers and the tip of his nose rubbed briefly against hers. Not a kiss but an invitation for