FIC: Intrigues (House MD)
(First Posted: 24 December 2006)
Title: Intrigues
Author: JE / immortalje
Pairing: House/Chase
Summary: While taking care of a sick House, Chase realises just how much Wilson was involved in breaking them up.
Rating: FRAO (Adults only!!)
Beta: Zoe
Intrigues
Chase cursed Cuddy with all his might. House was sick and he had been chosen to take care of him. He couldn’t very well tell her that he used to have a relationship with the older man that ended badly.
Too bad none of the others were available. Foreman was helping out in Neurology, Cameron was off visiting family and Wilson was attending a conference. That only left him. At least House was way off of his mark and couldn’t comment on his presence in his apartment again. Although, he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing as House had taken to hallucinations instead. So far he had had one sided conversations with Cuddy and Stacy. Both conversations had been scary and he didn’t want to know why House told them what he did.
Chase’s thoughts were interrupted when House started cheerily, “Wilson! How can I help you today?”
“Really? Where did you see Chase do that?” asked House interested. And in that moment Chase sat up straight. He hadn’t been aware that House and Wilson talked about him. Maybe listening in to this conversation wouldn’t be so awkward.
“No, no. I’m sure he didn’t mean to do that.” - Was House defending him?
“Do you always have to remind me of Chase going to Vogler? I’d rather get the whole thing behind me.”
“Why can’t I just decide to let it be in the past, where it actually belongs?”
“I thought you loved your wife?” - This sentence confused Chase a lot. What had Wilson loving his wife to do with him going to Vogler?
“I have bad experiences with using friends as ‘get-over-someone’ shags.”
“So what if I still have feelings for him.” - Here Chase swallowed. That was unexpected and made him long to have the older man back, even more so than he did every day anyway.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t allow him to hurt me further.”
“Are you sure he found someone new?” - Now everything became clear to Chase, the comment about Wilson loving his wife and the talk about him. Wilson wanted House and the only way Wilson could get House was if he wasn’t in the picture anymore. He had never expected that the other man would go so far to get what he wanted though.
While House went on with his imagined conversation with Wilson, Chase was in shock. Instead of helping him get over House as he always thought the other man was doing, he was actively working against them.
No wonder Wilson was always reminding him about how much House didn’t care about him anymore and how little he did while they were together.
It also made so much sense why Wilson had told him that he’d be fired after his mistake. He had hoped that he’d do something stupid like rat House out to Vogler and idiot that he was he had done exactly that. There was only one thing Wilson hadn’t considered: Losing control of the situation. After all, Wilson had only wanted them apart.
From that moment Chase took care of House with a new vigor and regularly started conversations with the other man, making sure that House knew it was him and reminding him how happy they were together. He doubted House would remember them, but it was obvious that House responded truthfully to questions asked and it would be an advantage to know some things beforehand. It had taken forever to get House to allow him in and this time it’d be a bit more difficult, but it’d be easier if he could react to some things the way House would want him to react. It would level the odds again, maybe even get them up. Also, it’d be helpful to know if House really wanted him back.
~***~
When Chase entered the room two days later after a long night, House was already sitting up, ready to get out of bed. Not knowing what to do and how much House remembered from their conversations, he didn’t move from his spot in the open door. He was scared to say anything and thus breaking the moment.
“What are you doing here?” asked House when he noticed Chase watching him.
Chase swallowed nervously, “You were sick and Cuddy picked me to take care of you since none of the others were available.”
Now that he had the chance to really talk with House and get over this, he wasn’t sure how to go about it. Should he outright tell him about his suspicions or should he ask about the hallucinations.
“Well I’m better so you can leave now,” dismissed House him.
Chase nodded and turned wordlessly. He had hesitated too long and his chance had come and gone. On second thought though… Chase stopped and said without turning, “Wilson’s been lying by the way. I’m not dating anyone and I wish I had never listened to him when he told me I’d be fired after I mixed up the legs. I’d have never gone to Vogler then. Hell, I wouldn’t have even considered searching for something against you. Instead I was too scared that I’d lost you by making the mistake.”
With that Chase left, not sure if he just damned himself even further or if this was the point where they got over everything. Whether or not they got together again didn’t really matter. All that did was that Wilson wouldn’t be able to manipulate them anymore and he was sure that if House knew about Wilson breaking them up, he wouldn’t want the other man as well. So while he might not win, he knew that Wilson wouldn’t either and that was a small success, because he sure as hell didn’t want to look at the broken pieces of their relationship while Wilson laughed at him about successfully shattering said relationship and getting House out of it.
~***~
When Wilson came back a few days later and heard about House being sick and Chase taking care of him, he worried that his plot had been discovered. Thus, the first thing he did upon entering the hospital was going to House’s office and offering him lunch. Best way to find out if the other man suspected anything.
When House greeted him, like he usually did, Wilson was sure that nothing had happened. At least nothing he would have to worry about. Together they went to the cafeteria.
Once they had picked a table and sat down, Wilson started his interrogation, “He didn’t hurt you while he was watching you, did he? You could have called me, you know.”
“Don’t remember much. Chase said something about me having hallucinations, nothing more. All I really remember is waking up yesterday and Chase standing in the door. He looked very uncomfortable,” answered House distracted.
Wilson tried to seem uninterested when he asked, “What did you do?”
“What did I do? I sent him home. Feeling a little jealous today, are we? Don’t worry I won’t take him back any time soon. Trust needs to be won back first,” said House, rolling his eyes.
Wilson was shocked, “You grant someone trust after a betrayal like Chase did with Vogler?”
House looked sharply at Wilson, as if he already knew the answer to that question. Wilson did, only he was afraid that House might make an exception with Chase and actually forgive him for it.
“He told me that Cuddy made him take care of me since everybody else was either busy or out of town. Don’t think he liked spending 24/7 taking care of me,” mused House.
Wilson answered, barely noticeable relieved, “See what I mean? He doesn’t care about you, if he ever did. I mean he went to Vogler with the intention to hurt you. He must have known that you wouldn’t fire him over a stupid mistake like that.”
Lunch went on like that with both men talking about their usual topics, like nothing had ever happened.
~***~
Meanwhile, Chase watched them, disappointed that House still believed Wilson. One thing he knew for sure, he’d never get the older man back, not with the way House believed in Wilson.
He watched them be best buddies for the whole week and never once did House show that he had even considered what he had told him about Wilson. Not once.
At least Wilson had stopped bothering him so much. For some reason he seemed to be more relaxed about everything, as if he was surer about his relationship with House.
Cameron had asked him several times if he was alright. Apparently he had become too obvious in watching House and Wilson.
Once work was over he headed home. A nice and quiet evening might just be the thing he needed to get over House. It was just too obvious that he didn’t have a chance any more; House would never trust him again, no matter what he did. A bath might be a good idea as well. At least it would get rid of his sore muscles.
Chase was just about to enter the bathroom when he heard someone knocking at the door. Turning around he went to the door and opened it. He was surprised to see House standing on the other side.
“I felt Wilson out. Doesn’t have a clue that I know,” was all the explanation House gave before pushing Chase against the closest available wall and kissing him.
Chase broke the kiss after a while and stared at House breathlessly, “We should close the door.” He didn’t even bother to wonder about House’s sudden change of mind.
“Who cares about the door?” murmured House, but let Chase go to close it.
Chase turned and grinned, “Someone who wants to be undisturbed by what is to come?”
“Good point,” agreed House with a smirk and motioned Chase closer.
Chase shivered at the thought of what would follow when he stepped closer and into the older man’s arms. After a moment, Chase suggested, “How about the bedroom?”
“A grand idea,” responded House, kissing Chase.
House following Chase to the bedroom felt like coming home to both of them. It felt like the hurt of the past few months simply didn’t matter.
With every touch they became more excited. As soon as they entered the bedroom, House threw his cane away and started undressing Chase, who reciprocated the action. A short look into House’s eyes showed Chase all the love the older man had for him and Chase willingly surrendered to anything House had planed for the night.
While they kissed, House walked them to the bed, using Chase as a crutch. When Chase hit the bed with his legs, he broke the kiss and asked, “What do you want to do?”
“Claim you,” whispered House and after a moment of staring into Chase’s eyes he added, “Why don’t you finish undressing me?”
House could practically feel Chase’s heart beat as he was undressed by the younger man. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the hands touching him, undressing him, not sure anymore how long he had yearned to feel exactly this touch again.
Without a comment, Chase started undressing himself once House was naked. Meanwhile, House busied himself with getting the lube and condoms from their usual spot, before getting comfortable on the bed.
When Chase looked at him, he said, “Suck me while I prep you.”
House delighted in watching the shivers running down Chase’s body that were caused by his announcement. He watched Chase hesitate a moment. He could see the desire Chase held to kiss him before getting in position. When Chase abandoned the thought without pulling through, House felt slightly disappointed, but when he came face to face with Chase’s ass and felt the younger man’s breath ghost over his cock the thought left his mind. He had something more important to do.
House was glad that he had come up with this position as they seemed to fit perfectly together like that. It was the perfect position for him to prepare Chase, allowing him to switch between licking Chase’s ass to his delight and preparing him with his fingers. And Chase gave the best blowjobs. A dream come true having both at the same time.
The change in position once Chase was completely prepared was awkward, but that was forgotten when Chase lowered himself on House’s cock.
Without House prompting him, Chase willingly surrendered his control to the older man, by letting himself be guided by House’s hands on his hips. They built a hypnotizing rhythm, making both of them moan and groan frequently.
The long time that had passed since the last time they had had sex made House lose patience relatively quickly and it didn’t take them long to come, House coming shortly after Chase.
It was only then that Chase leaned down, kissing House breathlessly, before resting his head on House’s shoulder, before falling asleep with a smile on his face.
For the first time in a long while House felt at peace and all he had needed was Chase’s head resting on his chest again, snuggled close to left side. For the first time since the whole Vogler thing went down, House was able to sleep peacefully.
~***~
The next morning, Chase woke to the smell of House, reminding him of what had happened the previous night. He knew they would have to talk or this would stand between them forever, possibly spoiling their relationship. Absently, he started stroking House’s chest.
When he looked up after some time, he saw House watching him.
“I’m sorry for going to Vogler. I only realized that it’d be useless no matter what when it was already too late. I… Wilson told me you’d fire me and I was so tempted to tell him that you wouldn’t, when I thought about him being your best friend and knowing you much longer. I trusted his judgment. Needless to say that I never thought how hard it’d be to work with you when we’re not together anymore, no matter that I knew you firing me would be the end of our relationship. I didn’t think clearly. In a way I had figured if I kept working for you, we’d stay together. I never even thought that one would go without the other,” started Chase.
House ran his left hand through Chase’s hair and answered, “You should keep your emotions better in check when it gets complicated. It leads to huge mistakes and they could cost you your job, if not your career one day. Besides, I really like working with you. Also… I don’t fault you for believing Wilson. So did I and I never realized he was planning something despite knowing him for so long. To think… Every time I talked with him this week, pretending that I was still as clueless as ever, it became more and more obvious that he had played us to get me. I never thought he’d betray me like that. He always complained about me refusing happiness and when I found it he doesn’t want me to have it with someone that’s not him.”
“Wilson usually is an honest man. I don’t think anyone would have believed him capable of it,” soothed Chase House.
Silence settled between them until House asked, “How are you feeling? Truthfully… I… I know about your father already.”
“How?” asked Chase, looking shocked up to House.
House closed his eyes and took a deep breath before pulling Chase closer, “He was here for Wilson. I asked him to tell you. I demanded he tell you. Told him I didn’t fancy seeing your face when you found out by reading his obituary. Aside from the fact that I was missing the words whenever I thought about you realizing that your father didn’t want you to know, I felt that it was his place to tell you.”
“I… when the call came in I felt so hurt that he had refused to tell me. I…,” started Chase.
House hugged Chase closer, “Want to go to his funeral? Or visit his grave if you already missed it? It’ll be good for you to say goodbye, if only to close that chapter of your life.”
~***~
In the end Chase opted to take the consolation leave to attend his father’s funeral. Meanwhile House implemented the second phase of his plan. Now that he knew about Wilson’s betrayal for sure, he started to ignore him. There weren’t any visits, stolen lunches or making Wilson pay for his lunch and no pestering because he was bored. Instead he hid in the clinic and actually worked, just to keep his mind from thinking about the betrayal and Chase’s absence. Best of all, he could snark all he wanted, the patients had to live with if they wanted to find out what’s wrong with them.
House actually felt put out when Cuddy interrupted him telling a clinic patient how important it was to regularly get shots so they don’t get sick again, blatantly ignoring that said patient was scared to death just thinking about needles.
“What’s your latest plan to drive everybody crazy? I want to be warned in case the whole thing starts blowing up,” asked Cuddy.
House grinned, “Wanted to talk to you anyway. It was a bad and a good idea to make Chase take care of me. Bad because we used to date and had a bad breakup. Good because I was hallucinating and it came to light that Wilson was successful in trying to break us up because he wanted me, which is why I’m ignoring him. Chase and I are back together as well. You might want to take over responsibility for him, just so no one can call me on favouritism. Not that there is any to begin with.”
“You’re impossible, you know that?” asked Cuddy with a frown.
House grinned innocently, “However do you come to that conclusion?”
Cuddy didn’t bother to answer that question and left again, shaking her head in disbelieve.
~***~
Wilson felt that something was wrong. House had never ignored him like that before and if he did it never happened for more than a day. By now, House had been ignoring him for several days already and it didn’t seem to be over any time soon.
It didn’t help that it had started the day Chase left, that just made him more suspicious. Wilson feared that somehow House had found out about his plan. He’d know for sure if it was just Chase’s absence or if House knew tomorrow; when the Australian was back.
He was ready to go home for the day, when he found them not far from where his car was parked. House was pushing Chase against the wall, kissing him with the frenzy of a dying man. He felt his stomach drop with the knowledge that House knew. Only when had he found out? Or was it just House staying away to fight temptation while Chase was gone, but there hadn’t been any indication that they had gotten back together before Chase left for Australia. When did that happen?
~***~
While Wilson’s dreams of House and him were shattering, Cameron and Foreman were wondering about what had the oncologist so shocked. They received their answer when they saw House and Chase. Not only did it tell them what had Wilson so shocked, it also explained the confusing behaviour of Chase and House over the last couple of months.
Foreman pulled Cameron to the side and suggested to talk about what they witnessed over a beer. It was time they discussed what was going on. It wouldn’t do to be caught unaware by House after all.
The End
Title: Intrigues
Author: JE / immortalje
Pairing: House/Chase
Summary: While taking care of a sick House, Chase realises just how much Wilson was involved in breaking them up.
Rating: FRAO (Adults only!!)
Beta: Zoe
Intrigues
Chase cursed Cuddy with all his might. House was sick and he had been chosen to take care of him. He couldn’t very well tell her that he used to have a relationship with the older man that ended badly.
Too bad none of the others were available. Foreman was helping out in Neurology, Cameron was off visiting family and Wilson was attending a conference. That only left him. At least House was way off of his mark and couldn’t comment on his presence in his apartment again. Although, he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing as House had taken to hallucinations instead. So far he had had one sided conversations with Cuddy and Stacy. Both conversations had been scary and he didn’t want to know why House told them what he did.
Chase’s thoughts were interrupted when House started cheerily, “Wilson! How can I help you today?”
“Really? Where did you see Chase do that?” asked House interested. And in that moment Chase sat up straight. He hadn’t been aware that House and Wilson talked about him. Maybe listening in to this conversation wouldn’t be so awkward.
“No, no. I’m sure he didn’t mean to do that.” - Was House defending him?
“Do you always have to remind me of Chase going to Vogler? I’d rather get the whole thing behind me.”
“Why can’t I just decide to let it be in the past, where it actually belongs?”
“I thought you loved your wife?” - This sentence confused Chase a lot. What had Wilson loving his wife to do with him going to Vogler?
“I have bad experiences with using friends as ‘get-over-someone’ shags.”
“So what if I still have feelings for him.” - Here Chase swallowed. That was unexpected and made him long to have the older man back, even more so than he did every day anyway.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t allow him to hurt me further.”
“Are you sure he found someone new?” - Now everything became clear to Chase, the comment about Wilson loving his wife and the talk about him. Wilson wanted House and the only way Wilson could get House was if he wasn’t in the picture anymore. He had never expected that the other man would go so far to get what he wanted though.
While House went on with his imagined conversation with Wilson, Chase was in shock. Instead of helping him get over House as he always thought the other man was doing, he was actively working against them.
No wonder Wilson was always reminding him about how much House didn’t care about him anymore and how little he did while they were together.
It also made so much sense why Wilson had told him that he’d be fired after his mistake. He had hoped that he’d do something stupid like rat House out to Vogler and idiot that he was he had done exactly that. There was only one thing Wilson hadn’t considered: Losing control of the situation. After all, Wilson had only wanted them apart.
From that moment Chase took care of House with a new vigor and regularly started conversations with the other man, making sure that House knew it was him and reminding him how happy they were together. He doubted House would remember them, but it was obvious that House responded truthfully to questions asked and it would be an advantage to know some things beforehand. It had taken forever to get House to allow him in and this time it’d be a bit more difficult, but it’d be easier if he could react to some things the way House would want him to react. It would level the odds again, maybe even get them up. Also, it’d be helpful to know if House really wanted him back.
~***~
When Chase entered the room two days later after a long night, House was already sitting up, ready to get out of bed. Not knowing what to do and how much House remembered from their conversations, he didn’t move from his spot in the open door. He was scared to say anything and thus breaking the moment.
“What are you doing here?” asked House when he noticed Chase watching him.
Chase swallowed nervously, “You were sick and Cuddy picked me to take care of you since none of the others were available.”
Now that he had the chance to really talk with House and get over this, he wasn’t sure how to go about it. Should he outright tell him about his suspicions or should he ask about the hallucinations.
“Well I’m better so you can leave now,” dismissed House him.
Chase nodded and turned wordlessly. He had hesitated too long and his chance had come and gone. On second thought though… Chase stopped and said without turning, “Wilson’s been lying by the way. I’m not dating anyone and I wish I had never listened to him when he told me I’d be fired after I mixed up the legs. I’d have never gone to Vogler then. Hell, I wouldn’t have even considered searching for something against you. Instead I was too scared that I’d lost you by making the mistake.”
With that Chase left, not sure if he just damned himself even further or if this was the point where they got over everything. Whether or not they got together again didn’t really matter. All that did was that Wilson wouldn’t be able to manipulate them anymore and he was sure that if House knew about Wilson breaking them up, he wouldn’t want the other man as well. So while he might not win, he knew that Wilson wouldn’t either and that was a small success, because he sure as hell didn’t want to look at the broken pieces of their relationship while Wilson laughed at him about successfully shattering said relationship and getting House out of it.
~***~
When Wilson came back a few days later and heard about House being sick and Chase taking care of him, he worried that his plot had been discovered. Thus, the first thing he did upon entering the hospital was going to House’s office and offering him lunch. Best way to find out if the other man suspected anything.
When House greeted him, like he usually did, Wilson was sure that nothing had happened. At least nothing he would have to worry about. Together they went to the cafeteria.
Once they had picked a table and sat down, Wilson started his interrogation, “He didn’t hurt you while he was watching you, did he? You could have called me, you know.”
“Don’t remember much. Chase said something about me having hallucinations, nothing more. All I really remember is waking up yesterday and Chase standing in the door. He looked very uncomfortable,” answered House distracted.
Wilson tried to seem uninterested when he asked, “What did you do?”
“What did I do? I sent him home. Feeling a little jealous today, are we? Don’t worry I won’t take him back any time soon. Trust needs to be won back first,” said House, rolling his eyes.
Wilson was shocked, “You grant someone trust after a betrayal like Chase did with Vogler?”
House looked sharply at Wilson, as if he already knew the answer to that question. Wilson did, only he was afraid that House might make an exception with Chase and actually forgive him for it.
“He told me that Cuddy made him take care of me since everybody else was either busy or out of town. Don’t think he liked spending 24/7 taking care of me,” mused House.
Wilson answered, barely noticeable relieved, “See what I mean? He doesn’t care about you, if he ever did. I mean he went to Vogler with the intention to hurt you. He must have known that you wouldn’t fire him over a stupid mistake like that.”
Lunch went on like that with both men talking about their usual topics, like nothing had ever happened.
~***~
Meanwhile, Chase watched them, disappointed that House still believed Wilson. One thing he knew for sure, he’d never get the older man back, not with the way House believed in Wilson.
He watched them be best buddies for the whole week and never once did House show that he had even considered what he had told him about Wilson. Not once.
At least Wilson had stopped bothering him so much. For some reason he seemed to be more relaxed about everything, as if he was surer about his relationship with House.
Cameron had asked him several times if he was alright. Apparently he had become too obvious in watching House and Wilson.
Once work was over he headed home. A nice and quiet evening might just be the thing he needed to get over House. It was just too obvious that he didn’t have a chance any more; House would never trust him again, no matter what he did. A bath might be a good idea as well. At least it would get rid of his sore muscles.
Chase was just about to enter the bathroom when he heard someone knocking at the door. Turning around he went to the door and opened it. He was surprised to see House standing on the other side.
“I felt Wilson out. Doesn’t have a clue that I know,” was all the explanation House gave before pushing Chase against the closest available wall and kissing him.
Chase broke the kiss after a while and stared at House breathlessly, “We should close the door.” He didn’t even bother to wonder about House’s sudden change of mind.
“Who cares about the door?” murmured House, but let Chase go to close it.
Chase turned and grinned, “Someone who wants to be undisturbed by what is to come?”
“Good point,” agreed House with a smirk and motioned Chase closer.
Chase shivered at the thought of what would follow when he stepped closer and into the older man’s arms. After a moment, Chase suggested, “How about the bedroom?”
“A grand idea,” responded House, kissing Chase.
House following Chase to the bedroom felt like coming home to both of them. It felt like the hurt of the past few months simply didn’t matter.
With every touch they became more excited. As soon as they entered the bedroom, House threw his cane away and started undressing Chase, who reciprocated the action. A short look into House’s eyes showed Chase all the love the older man had for him and Chase willingly surrendered to anything House had planed for the night.
While they kissed, House walked them to the bed, using Chase as a crutch. When Chase hit the bed with his legs, he broke the kiss and asked, “What do you want to do?”
“Claim you,” whispered House and after a moment of staring into Chase’s eyes he added, “Why don’t you finish undressing me?”
House could practically feel Chase’s heart beat as he was undressed by the younger man. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the hands touching him, undressing him, not sure anymore how long he had yearned to feel exactly this touch again.
Without a comment, Chase started undressing himself once House was naked. Meanwhile, House busied himself with getting the lube and condoms from their usual spot, before getting comfortable on the bed.
When Chase looked at him, he said, “Suck me while I prep you.”
House delighted in watching the shivers running down Chase’s body that were caused by his announcement. He watched Chase hesitate a moment. He could see the desire Chase held to kiss him before getting in position. When Chase abandoned the thought without pulling through, House felt slightly disappointed, but when he came face to face with Chase’s ass and felt the younger man’s breath ghost over his cock the thought left his mind. He had something more important to do.
House was glad that he had come up with this position as they seemed to fit perfectly together like that. It was the perfect position for him to prepare Chase, allowing him to switch between licking Chase’s ass to his delight and preparing him with his fingers. And Chase gave the best blowjobs. A dream come true having both at the same time.
The change in position once Chase was completely prepared was awkward, but that was forgotten when Chase lowered himself on House’s cock.
Without House prompting him, Chase willingly surrendered his control to the older man, by letting himself be guided by House’s hands on his hips. They built a hypnotizing rhythm, making both of them moan and groan frequently.
The long time that had passed since the last time they had had sex made House lose patience relatively quickly and it didn’t take them long to come, House coming shortly after Chase.
It was only then that Chase leaned down, kissing House breathlessly, before resting his head on House’s shoulder, before falling asleep with a smile on his face.
For the first time in a long while House felt at peace and all he had needed was Chase’s head resting on his chest again, snuggled close to left side. For the first time since the whole Vogler thing went down, House was able to sleep peacefully.
~***~
The next morning, Chase woke to the smell of House, reminding him of what had happened the previous night. He knew they would have to talk or this would stand between them forever, possibly spoiling their relationship. Absently, he started stroking House’s chest.
When he looked up after some time, he saw House watching him.
“I’m sorry for going to Vogler. I only realized that it’d be useless no matter what when it was already too late. I… Wilson told me you’d fire me and I was so tempted to tell him that you wouldn’t, when I thought about him being your best friend and knowing you much longer. I trusted his judgment. Needless to say that I never thought how hard it’d be to work with you when we’re not together anymore, no matter that I knew you firing me would be the end of our relationship. I didn’t think clearly. In a way I had figured if I kept working for you, we’d stay together. I never even thought that one would go without the other,” started Chase.
House ran his left hand through Chase’s hair and answered, “You should keep your emotions better in check when it gets complicated. It leads to huge mistakes and they could cost you your job, if not your career one day. Besides, I really like working with you. Also… I don’t fault you for believing Wilson. So did I and I never realized he was planning something despite knowing him for so long. To think… Every time I talked with him this week, pretending that I was still as clueless as ever, it became more and more obvious that he had played us to get me. I never thought he’d betray me like that. He always complained about me refusing happiness and when I found it he doesn’t want me to have it with someone that’s not him.”
“Wilson usually is an honest man. I don’t think anyone would have believed him capable of it,” soothed Chase House.
Silence settled between them until House asked, “How are you feeling? Truthfully… I… I know about your father already.”
“How?” asked Chase, looking shocked up to House.
House closed his eyes and took a deep breath before pulling Chase closer, “He was here for Wilson. I asked him to tell you. I demanded he tell you. Told him I didn’t fancy seeing your face when you found out by reading his obituary. Aside from the fact that I was missing the words whenever I thought about you realizing that your father didn’t want you to know, I felt that it was his place to tell you.”
“I… when the call came in I felt so hurt that he had refused to tell me. I…,” started Chase.
House hugged Chase closer, “Want to go to his funeral? Or visit his grave if you already missed it? It’ll be good for you to say goodbye, if only to close that chapter of your life.”
~***~
In the end Chase opted to take the consolation leave to attend his father’s funeral. Meanwhile House implemented the second phase of his plan. Now that he knew about Wilson’s betrayal for sure, he started to ignore him. There weren’t any visits, stolen lunches or making Wilson pay for his lunch and no pestering because he was bored. Instead he hid in the clinic and actually worked, just to keep his mind from thinking about the betrayal and Chase’s absence. Best of all, he could snark all he wanted, the patients had to live with if they wanted to find out what’s wrong with them.
House actually felt put out when Cuddy interrupted him telling a clinic patient how important it was to regularly get shots so they don’t get sick again, blatantly ignoring that said patient was scared to death just thinking about needles.
“What’s your latest plan to drive everybody crazy? I want to be warned in case the whole thing starts blowing up,” asked Cuddy.
House grinned, “Wanted to talk to you anyway. It was a bad and a good idea to make Chase take care of me. Bad because we used to date and had a bad breakup. Good because I was hallucinating and it came to light that Wilson was successful in trying to break us up because he wanted me, which is why I’m ignoring him. Chase and I are back together as well. You might want to take over responsibility for him, just so no one can call me on favouritism. Not that there is any to begin with.”
“You’re impossible, you know that?” asked Cuddy with a frown.
House grinned innocently, “However do you come to that conclusion?”
Cuddy didn’t bother to answer that question and left again, shaking her head in disbelieve.
~***~
Wilson felt that something was wrong. House had never ignored him like that before and if he did it never happened for more than a day. By now, House had been ignoring him for several days already and it didn’t seem to be over any time soon.
It didn’t help that it had started the day Chase left, that just made him more suspicious. Wilson feared that somehow House had found out about his plan. He’d know for sure if it was just Chase’s absence or if House knew tomorrow; when the Australian was back.
He was ready to go home for the day, when he found them not far from where his car was parked. House was pushing Chase against the wall, kissing him with the frenzy of a dying man. He felt his stomach drop with the knowledge that House knew. Only when had he found out? Or was it just House staying away to fight temptation while Chase was gone, but there hadn’t been any indication that they had gotten back together before Chase left for Australia. When did that happen?
~***~
While Wilson’s dreams of House and him were shattering, Cameron and Foreman were wondering about what had the oncologist so shocked. They received their answer when they saw House and Chase. Not only did it tell them what had Wilson so shocked, it also explained the confusing behaviour of Chase and House over the last couple of months.
Foreman pulled Cameron to the side and suggested to talk about what they witnessed over a beer. It was time they discussed what was going on. It wouldn’t do to be caught unaware by House after all.
The End