Curiosity killing the cat, maybe?

[dr_gregoryhouse]

Who: House, Cade, Wilson might make some kind of cellular appearance at some stage
Where: The same bar they both went to last time
When: May 22nd, just after 5.30pm.

Comments

[dr_gregoryhouse]

House glanced at Cade again and considered for about a second saying that he'd met an alien at the bar, a one Caden Walker. Nothing suspicoius about that if he made out he just happened to meet Cade at the bar, right? House dismissed that idea almost instantly, though, because not only would Cade pick up on that being an out-and-out lie, but Wilson might talk to Cade and... no

[dr_gregoryhouse]

Cade turning around on his stool and facing him like made House feel completely exposed. He unconsciously pushed his beer away from Cade while he resisted the urge to turn away from him. He felt his stomach knot up when Cade boldly asked if House was open-minded enough to kiss... sleep with another man

[caden_walker]

“I can see your point,” Cade said. He was by no means the most observant person around but Cade could have sworn there had been relief on House’s face when he’d diverted the conversation away from sex again. Or, more to the point, away from gay sex.

And the plot thickens, Cade thought to himself with a smile, turning away to face the bar. “So you like puzzles. Me too…except the ones I like come in paper form, not skin. Do you see everyone as puzzles to be solved, or just patients and innocent young male nurses?”

Cade looked over at House and smirked a little. He considered for a moment, trying to push House again to answer his question about how open minded he was but decided against it at the last moment. Maybe Cade didn’t want to get a negative answer. “Or maybe I’m not a puzzle at all. Because, obviously, what’s there to solve about me? But if I’m not a puzzle,” Cade smiled, “that must mean you like me. Why else would you spend any time with me?”

[dr_gregoryhouse]

House gave Cade a wry look, refusing to be thrown off by the innocent young male nurse comment. The guy was audacious, that was for sure. "Innocent?" House snorted. "I have a sneaking suspicion you're about as innocent as you claim you are shallow."

Facing back to the bar a little more, House took a swig of his beer, just as Cade then went on to say something that made House falter again. He sat there, beer bottle poised to his lips without actually drinking from it, as Cade's words why else would you spend any time with me, rattled around in his mind

[caden_walker]

Cade scrunched his face up and then just settled for squinting at House for a moment. For a long moment. There were two reasons people asked that kind of question. One was that they’d never met a gay or bisexual person before. The other was because they were questioning their own sexuality.

Shaking his head, Cade looked down at the bar and ran a hand over his face. Was this why House was hanging out with him? There was no way Cade was the first non-straight person House had met but he just couldn’t quite believe House was having some kind of sexuality crisis. It just didn’t seem probable at all but then…who knew. Some people lived in denial until they died

[dr_gregoryhouse]

House wanted to kick himself for asking that question when Cade just sat there and squinted at him. He pretended not to be perturbed, however, by focusing on taking sips of his beer. Long sips of his beer; an excuse not to have to look at Cade. He also watched the bar girl moving about behind the bar, even giving her a brief half-smile when she grinned at him

[caden_walker]

“Amen,” Cade said dryly before taking another swig of beer. “Makes me glad I wasn’t brought up in a religious family. I agree with you, religion as a whole has done no one any favours. Not the environment either. It’s not just human nature that is evil according to many religions, but all of nature really.”

Cade shook his head and gave House a look. “Whoa, this is getting way too intellectual of a conversation for me. I’m gonna sprain my brain around you, I can sense it already.” Cade smirked a little, well aware that he hadn’t fooled House at all with his dumb and shallow act.

That didn’t mean he had to admit House was right. Besides, Cade had been hiding behind that mask for so long that it was hard for him to let go of it with someone he didn’t know well enough yet.

“So, why are you interested in how I came to know that I ‘swing both ways’? Don’t tell me you’ve never met an openly bisexual person before. Or…is sexuality a special interest to you recently?” Cade raised an eyebrow, looking at House inquisitively.

[dr_gregoryhouse]

House gave Cade a look. "Common sense gives you a brain sprain

[caden_walker]

Cade took note of House’s body language - the way he checked his watch and cleared his throat - and kept quiet, hoping to draw an answer out that way. He sighed when it seemed that was all House was going to say.

“You’re avoiding the question,” he pointed out bluntly before finishing off his second beer. For a moment he weighed up the option of getting a third before deciding not to - more because he had more useful things to spend his money on than concern over getting drunk.

“Look, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. But if there is…something, you can tell me and I promise it won’t go beyond me,” Cade said, trying a slightly different tactic. “I’m not the kind to be judgemental about people, in case you haven’t realised that already.”

[dr_gregoryhouse]

House's hope that Cade would let the subject go, sank when Cade pointed out he was avoiding the question. He was just about to ask Cade if he wanted another beer, just to shut him up, when Cade then continued. He gave Cade an assessing look. Even if he did say anything, he couldn't trust Cade would keep it to himself. On the other hand, Cade at least got the whole sexuality thing, judgmental or not

[caden_walker]

“Oh, I see,” Cade said, making it clear by his tone that he didn’t really see at all. Eyeing House, Cade rubbed at his jaw thoughtfully. “Are you…are you saying that…” Cade trailed off, frowning. “Have you recently realised that you might be…something other than straight?” Cade asked, raising his eyebrows.

At first, Cade thought this possible revelation of House’s had something to do with him but then…no. Whatever was going on with House, it was something recent but not that recent. At least, Cade didn’t think so. Not if House was - even reluctantly - talking about it with him.

“Well?” Cade prodded, still looking at House carefully. “Is that it?”

[dr_gregoryhouse]

House's cryptic answer made perfect sense to House, so he expected Cade to catch on to what he was saying - which would naturally mean Cade didn't. He shot Cade a sharp look when it was made clear that Cade didn't know what he was talking about.

He got even more annoyed when Cade prodded for an answer. Paranoid, too. House couldn't help glancing around himself to see who was within earshot - talking about this made him feel like every eye in the bar was looking at him. God damn it, why didn't people ever get his cryptic messages? Why did he need to explain himself?

"No, I've recently realised that I might be diagonally parked in a parallel universe," he sarcastically replied. "Does that equate to being 'something other than straight'?"

[caden_walker]

Cade chuckled a bit, aware that he was annoying House by demanding a clear answer but not at all perturbed by that. In his mind it’d do House good just to come out and say whatever there was to say.

“Could be. I guess it depends on what universe you’re in. There are some damn straaange universes out there. Probably.” Cade shot House a quick grin. “So what put you in this parallel universe exactly?” Cade asked, figuring he might get somewhere if he spoke in the same roundabout way House was.

“Find yourself ogling a bit of shirt instead of some skirt?”

[dr_gregoryhouse]

House gave his jaw an anxious rub, giving another cursory glance around the bar to make sure no one was looking at him or listening. This feeling of paranoia felt almost suffocating and he found himself unable to stop fidgeting - with his watch, drumming his fingers on the bar, giving his jaw an anxious rub.

He appreciated at the very least that Cade wasn't being so blunt by talking in a more coded way. Well, until he made the comment about ogling. Had he been ogling, though? He'd been so caught up in everything that had been happening between Wilson and him that he didn't really give much thought beyond Wilson himself. Except, of course, these couple of times with Cade.

"Something like that," House reluctantly admitted. He really didn't want to go into any specifics. "Definitely not a universe I'm used to."

[caden_walker]

“And it’s freaked you out,” Cade observed, taking his cues from House’s reluctance to talk about this and his body language. “I’m not sure I can relate exactly. For one, I figured my sexuality out while still young and for another…I was lucky to have people around me who accepted as is - my father, my brother, my friends.

“That’s not to say I had it all easy. I was terrified that people would find out, at school…wherever, and I’d get beat up or something. Or worse.” Cade gave House a long look.

“I found it helped to tell people about it. People can surprise you. Have you…talked about this with anyone other than me?” Cade asked, raising an eyebrow. “What about Dr Wilson? You two are obviously close. And he seems open minded.”

[dr_gregoryhouse]

House shifted uncomfortably on his stool and picked up a drink coaster to start fiddling with it. He really didn't like having it pointed out that, yes, it freaked him out. He liked to think he wasn't being obvious that it did, but Cade observing point-blank that he was in fact freaked out made House aware that he was being obvious