Prompt 3. Zombie

The darkness of the room reminded Chase of when he was a little boy. Reminded him of how it both frightened and comforted him as he pulled the covers up over his head, muffling the sounds from the kitchen. It was strange really, how the dark had frightened him until he closed his eyes. The darkness didn't disappear, but when he closed his eyes he could see things. Patterns and shapes of colour, like a kaleidoscope. Something he could focus on.

He remembered the shouting and the smashing and the crying. He remembered waiting for it to stop, waiting for the front door to slam before he'd slide out of bed and creep into his parent's bedroom where he knew he would find his mother crying into her pillow, her eyes already red and unfocused from the gin.

He'd lay next to her and snuggle into her body, comforting himself more than he was her. He needed to know she was still with him. Needed to know she wasn't going to disappear in the darkness. He needed to feel her, hear her, smell her, only then could he fall asleep.

Now the darkness wasn't quite so frightening. In the dark he could hide his face, he could hide his tears.

"He should be awake," Chase said to himself as he sat beside House's hospital bed, Cameron's hand firm on his shoulder. Typical Cameron. She should hate him for being with House but still, at a time like this, she's there, stepping up and lending a shoulder.

"He'll wake when he wants to," Cameron told him, her voice raw from all the crying she had done.
"What if he can't?"

Cameron didn't have anything to say to that, her hand just tightened. He couldn't lose him too, not him, not now.

"Would you go to sleep already? Some of us start back at work tomorrow," House mumbled into his pillow.

"Sorry," Chase whispered, because it was what people always did in the dark.

"Chase, if you keep doing this I'm gonna end up sending you home. I need doctors working for me, not zombies."

"I'll be fine. I went to med school remember. I can survive for days without sleep," Chase told him, trying to sound light but feeling the darkness of the room choke him.

"It's been weeks, take some Xanex," House suggested as he turned over in the bed and moved closer to Chase. in the darkness he could just make out the blond's worried face and his shinning eyes.

"Some of us don't see pills as one of the major food groups," Chase quipped and snuggled his head under House's chin.

"Tell me," House whispered after several moments of silence.

"Tell you what?"

"Why you've been crying."

Chase didn't speak for a moment and he thought his heart might have stopped. "I just... it's stupid."

"Probably," House said softly. "Tell me anyway."

"If I close my eyes..." Chase began reluctantly. "If I stop watching you you'll stop breathing," he whispered.

House thought about that for a moment. He thought about the logic behind Chase's thinking. "Seriously, what medical school did you go to?"

With a exasperated sigh Chase pushed himself up until he was sitting and House did the same. The older man waited patiently for him to explain himself.

"I was with my mum in the hospital. I stayed with her, praying and praying and it looked like she was getting better. At least, she was feeling better. She told me to go to the vending machine to get something to eat and when I came back there were doctors and nurses trying to revive her. They pushed me out of the room and drew the curtains. The next time I saw her she was dead."

House's hand came up to Chase's back and he rubbed soothing circles on it. "That's not going to happen to me," he promised, kissing the back of Chase's head.

"I know," Chase said turning to look at him. "But I can't stop feeling like I`m going to lose you."

Prompt 4. Rehab


"Hey," Cameron greeted Chase with a little too much cheer as he walked into the diagnostics department.

Since the shooting Cameron had been looking at Chase like she could see right into him. See exactly what he was thinking and how he was feeling. He knew he should have appreciated her concern but he just found it annoying.

"Hey," he greeted back, walking over to the coffee pot and pouring himself a cup.

Work without House had been slow. Cameron would ask him several times a day if he were okay and Foreman would act like nothing had changed. To his credit, he hadn't once teased Chase about his relationship with House other than to say he now understood why Chase was always defending him.

"Where's House?" Foreman asked getting the milk out and handing it to Chase.

"He insisted on running here," he said through his teeth. He knew it was good that House keep active but he was over doing it. Running eight miles on a leg that hadn't been used in years was not a good idea.

"Running?" Cameron asked, her pretty face contorting into a frown. "Is that wise?"

Chase didn't want to go against House in front of the others. He had told him to his face that he didn't like the idea, especially as he had stopped rehab now, but he wasn't about to say this to them. Instead he just took his coffee and went into House's office to get his ball. Their ball.

He took a moment to lean his forehead against the wall in privacy. The blood stain. House's blood, it was just there, a constant reminder of how close he had come to losing him.

He straightened himself up and went back out into the main office. Just as he was about to sit down House came barrelling in through the glass door.

"Let's start with the cute paraplegic."

Everyone just looked at him for a moment before Cameron moved closer to him, looking genuinely happy to see him. "Welcome back."

"Hey," Chase said with a soft smile.

"You look..." Cameron began.

"Healthy," Foreman finished. They were both smiling at him like idiots. That was the problem with nearly dying, it made people annoyingly nice.

Chase just watched them, he knew House better now, he'd been living with him for months. He knew better than to make a big deal out of things, to play them off, and House appreciated that.

"Quad with no broken neck, struck me as odd," House mused out loud, completely ignoring them.

"Uhhh, you can take a whole two minutes to ease into being back," Cameron said with a slight laugh.

House sighed and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Take the whole month to ease back. But eight weeks is the maximum rehab time for a gunshot wound to the stomach and neck, so... Go!"

"We heard they never found the guy. There's no new leads?" Cameron asked him, as if he hadn't even spoken.

This was all he needed. He didn't need to look over at Chase to know he had tensed. That right at this moment his worst fears were playing out in his head.

"What? You think he might have shot this patient too? Would explain her symptoms," House said, attempting to shut her up with humour and his usual method of completely ignoring the subject.

"Could be MS," Chase suggested as he stood up, also wanting to put a stop to this line of conversation.

House looked over at him appreciatively and got back on topic.

~~~~~~~

"I know that look," Wilson said as he came into his office to find House sitting behind his desk. "It's the I want to talk to you about something important but talking about my feelings is as painful to me as pulling teeth so instead I'm going to annoy you and make fun of your ties look."

House glanced up at him. "I think it's time we started seeing other people," he said, a little disturbed but also a little comforted by how well Wilson knew him.

"Having trouble adjusting to being back?" Wilson took a guess.

"What do they call that colour?" House deflected the question and looked over at his best friend's tie. "Exorcist green?"

"Is it Chase?" Wilson tried again.

House just turned to look out the window and Wilson took that as a yes.

"He isn't sleeping... not since the shooting," House admitted. "If a patient said that to you what would you suggest?"

"Considering he saw his lover shot down and put into a chemically induced coma I'd say it's perfectly normal that he can't sleep."

House nodded in agreement. "But is it something that'll just go away after time or... or do I need to start crushing pills into his hot chocolate?" He thought about it for a moment. "Actually, that's not a bad idea."

Wilson rolled his eyes and sat on the chair opposite House. "You can't drug your boyfriend... it's illegal... and unethical... and why am I even bothering to think these things would bother you in the least?"

"Beats me," House said with a shrug. They sat together in easy silence for a while, during which Wilson began sorting through the stack of files on his desk. It looked like he was going to be there late again. Not that it really mattered, it wasn't like he had anyone waiting for him at home any more.

Suddenly a memory hit House and he smirked. Stacy. Sex with Stacy had always assured that she'd have a good night's sleep. But Chase was younger, harder to wear out. He needed to be completely and utterly exhausted.

"Gotta go," he said as he quickly got up, with a speed he hadn't had in a long time, and left Wilson alone.

Prompt 15. Chocolate Cake


"You pulled it," House complained as Chase pushed the controller, making Tiger Woods' golf club swing.

"I didn't," Chase insisted watching as the ball moved across the screen and hit the side of an old castle ruin.

"Oh, then why did it go to the left?"

"The wind was stronger than I thought," Chase lied. Last time he and House had played Tiger Woods Pro Golf on the PlayStation he had smacked Chase's hand away from the controller for constantly pulling the club to the left and messing up his shot. It would seem that eight weeks off work drastically increased your frustration levels and lowered your patience, not that House had much patience to begin with.

"There was a yellow line behind the swing. You pulled it," House told him, reaching over for his glass of wine.

They had eaten dinner, one of Chase's healthy concoctions. House had actually taken to sneaking burgers from roadside vendors on his way home so that he could fill his weekly quota for fat. Now they were sat side by side on the couch, both with their feet up on the coffee table, playing a not so relaxing game of golf with a nice glass of wine and a slice of chocolate cake that Wilson had given him as a Welcome Back gift.

"What do you care if I fluff it anyway? It just means you'll win," Chase told him, sitting his controller on his knees and picking up the cake for a bite. He glanced behind him at the squeak that came from one of the cages there. Pulling off two small pieces of chocolate cake he fed one bit through James Dean's bars, who took it greedily with both his paws before running back into his little house.

Steve McQueen, who was by far better behaved than James, having once been a homeless rodent living off scraps, just cocked his head at the small piece of cake being offered to him before cautiously sniffing it and taking it with his teeth.

Chase sucked his fingers and turned back round. "Hurry up."

House was biting his tongue and concentrating far too hard. "Can't rush golf, Grasshopper. This is a gentleman's game, not like your Aussie idea of football."

"Which is very similar to your Yanky idea of football," Chase argued. "Just take the damn shot."

House pulled back the aviator and pushed it forward again, striking the ball and sending it flying. He watched as it ripped through the air before hitting the green and bouncing just a few feet away from the pin. He turned to look smugly at Chase. "Like I said, you can't rush golf."

Chase sent him a mock glare and took up his controller again. "I can still get a par."

"You're pulling it," House warned as he watched Chase take his club back.

With an annoyed sigh Chase released his club and tried again. He pulled it back and smacked the ball. Without realising he was doing it Chase was motioning with his hand to go left, as if he thought he could control it with the power of his mind.

House watched him and tried not to grin at the action. There were times when Chase would do something and make House want to cuddle him, but he rarely allowed himself to act upon it. Even though they were in a relationship, even though they were living together, he still couldn't seem to let himself relax completely. His constant air of indifference was even starting to annoy himself.

"Do you realise we've only been on one date?" Chase suddenly asked, keeping his tone casual as he leaned back in his seat and picked up the plate again.

House looked away from the screen and over at Chase. He wasn't sure what to say to that. "If that was a complaint then I'd like to point out how much of a woman you just sounded."

Chase snorted and tore off a smallish piece of cake. "I'm just saying that we don't ever go out together." He reached over while House's eyes were glued to the screen and put the piece of cake to House's lips. The older man looked down at the offered cake, his eyes now focused on Chase seductively.

He took the tasty morsel from Chase's fingers with his mouth. "That's not true," he argued but the sudden softness of his voice gave him away. "I took you to lunch today."

Chase smirked and shook his head. "You took me to the hospital cafeteria and made Wilson pay for both of us," Chase pointed out as House tore off his own piece of cake and brought it up to Chase's mouth.

Chase smirked and took it, letting his tongue flick out to tease the tips of House's fingers. He was pretty sure he knew where this was going.

There was some more squeaking from behind them as James Dean watched jealously as the delicious cake was being eaten.

"Why did you choose this course anyway?" House asked, bringing his fingers to his lips and sucking them. "It's the hardest one."

"`Cos on the ninth hole you can hear The Lock Ness Monster."

House just froze and stared at him like he was an idiot. "You're an idiot." Always one to say what he thought.

"You can, look," he insisted, taking up his controller and changing it so that they were on the ninth hole in The Highlands.

They both sat there looking at each other, waiting to see if they could hear anything.

"There," Chase shouted excitedly, only to realise that it was in fact bleating. "No wait, that was a sheep. But you can hear it."

House was trying really hard not to laugh. This was another of those moments when he really wanted to cuddle Chase.

Suddenly a loud sound rang out through the room and both their eyebrows rose. It sounded like a special effect from Jurassic Park.

"There, see, I told you."

"That was a cow," House argued, even though he knew it wasn't.

"It was the bloody Lock Ness Monster," Chase argued only for House to smoush a piece of cake against his mouth to shut him up.

Chase just looked at him for a second, not believing that House had actually just done that. The bastard started smiling and he moved closer on the couch, taking Chase in his arms and licking the cake of from around his mouth.

It tasted so much better this way, he decided. Soon his tongue was pushing between Chase's lips and he moved over the younger man, forcing him to lie down on the couch while House covered his body with his own.

They shared a sticky, messy kiss for a few minutes but when House pulled back, just enough to look into Chase's face, the younger man surprised him with his own handful of cake. Chase smoushed it over House's mouth and smeared it as much as he could so it was halfway up his cheek.

House didn't even blink, he just gathered up some of the cake from his face and brought his fingers down to Chase's mouth, watching as the younger man lost his satisfied smirk and began sucking on the chocolate-coated fingers.

Chase could feel House's cock grow hard against his thigh and he moaned around the fingers. "Fuck me," he whispered around the fingers and House had to close his eyes for a second.

"Not here," he told Chase softly, reluctantly pulling his fingers away and getting up. He helped up his young lover and led him to the bathroom.

"You wanna shower?" Chase asked, pulling his t-shirt up over his head. Actually it was House's t-shirt. Usually Chase slept naked but it had been getting colder lately and it felt good to have something so intimately House's close to his skin.

House didn't answer him, he just mimicked him by taking of his own shirt and sliding open the shower door.

Once there were both naked they stepped inside and House tested the water, making sure it wasn't too hot or cold.

As soon as he heard the shower door shut behind him he spun round and attacked, pushing Chase up against the wall and latching onto his neck. Chase gasped and let his hands drift up House's back to his hair.

"Oh God," Chase moaned as House's hand enveloped his cock, stroking it to full hardness.

"You want me to fuck you in here?" House asked, his voice rough against Chase's ear. It sent the most delicious shudder through his entire body and he nodded, feeling weak suddenly with desire.

House had never had such an eager lover before. Never had he known anyone so easy to please. He barely had to touch him and the boy was mewling like a kitten.

House wouldn't fuck Chase dry and he didn't have any waterproof lube. He pulled his head away from Chase and looked over at the small rack. There was shampoo, Chase's ocean smelling conditioner, and Johnson's baby body wash. It was perfect, slippery but also gentle enough not to burn.

Grabbing the bottle and squeezing a generous amount onto his fingers he brought it down between Chase's legs. The younger man moved, forcing his feet further apart to allow house access. He moaned and let his head fall back against the tiles as he was breached by two fingers.

House had often wondered if he could make Chase cum just by fucking him with his fingers. Some day he'd have to find out.

House's body, firm against his, was the only thing holding Chase up. The fingers inside him were stretching and pumping and the hand on his cock was squeezing him teasingly.

"Do it now," he demanded through shallow breaths.

House smirked and started rubbing his own erection against Chase's thigh. The young man was beautiful. He was creamy silk all over with soft downy golden hairs.

"It'll hurt," he warned. He hadn't stretched Chase nearly as much as he usually would.

"Good," Chase breathed, making House's smirk widen.

"Masochist." House squeezed a little more body wash onto his hand and coated his cock. He nearly brought up the issue of condoms but he stopped himself. They were both doctors, they knew the risks, they were also smart enough to get tested regularly and not have unprotected sex with strangers. But they weren't strangers, far from it.

He slid inside Chase's body and had to bite the join between Chase's neck and shoulder to stop himself from groaning. Chase was so tight and hot inside.

The younger man didn't protest and no pain flitted over his face. "Fuck me," he demanded and began moving against House, forcing his cock deeper inside him.

He fucked his young lover hard until they were both close to collapsing. He wasn't quite able to pick Chase up and fuck him like he wanted to but this was the first time he had fucked standing up in such a long time that he didn't care.

Later that night as he lay beside a sleeping Chase, who was snuffling slightly as he always did, he smiled to himself and curled his body around the younger man's. His plan had worked.

Prompt 25. Apple.


It is better to have loved and lost then to never have loved at all. Bullshit. Because when you don't know what it is you're missing out on then you aren't really missing out at all. Ignorance really is bliss.

When House was a resident he had an old patient who complained that she had been on a waiting list for surgery for over a year. She had been rapidly losing her hearing for years and by the time her surgery came around she could only hear if you shouted at her.

A month after her surgery she came back to see him and asked to have the procedure reversed. She said she hadn't realised before that the world was such a nicer place when it wasn't so noisy. He had thought the old woman crazy, wanting to give up her hearing because she had gotten used to it, but now he understood.

He swallowed down the two Vicodin dry and hid them back in the pocket of the coat in the closet.

"If you're planing on running to work again then you'd better get going," Chase shouted to him from the bedroom where he was getting dressed.

House rubbed his leg and tried to walk up and down the small hallway to see if his limp was noticeable. It could just be the vigorous sex they had enjoyed the prior evening in the shower, but he knew he was just deluding himself. This pain was so familiar to him now that he knew he couldn't be mistaken.

"Hey," Chase said, emerging from the bedroom while pulling on his jacket. "Did you hear what I said?"

House looked at him and tried to walk towards him without limping. "We're taking the bike."

Chase smiled and opened the hall closet. If they were taking the bike then he'd need a warmer coat. He loved riding the bike, sitting behind House, arms wrapped around him. "What are you doing for Christmas?"

House froze, the pain in his leg temporarily forgotten, and rose his eyebrows. "Volunteering at a homeless shelter."

Chase smirked and got out House's riding jacket. He held it out for him and helped him put it on. "Seriously, do you have plans? Do you go to your parents'?"

House leaned in and kissed him quickly, catching him off guard and making him sway back slightly. "What, are you worried I'm going to run off and leave you here all on your lonesome?"

Chase shrugged and placed his arms around House's waist, resting his head on the older man's shoulder.

House smiled and stroked Chase's hair. "Damn snuggler," he moaned affectionately.

Chase grinned against his shoulder and turned his head to kiss the side of his neck, over the scar that the bullet had left. "I miss Christmas. When I was with my mum we went all out. Tree, decorations, baking. At school too when my dad sent me to boarding school, all the boys would put on plays and we'd go round the local town singing carols. But after that it just stopped. Friends always go to their families for Christmas, but I don't have one."

House closed his eyes at the hurt he could hear in Chase's voice. It pained him and he wished that he could be as open about his own feelings. "Yes you do," he whispered, holding him just a little tighter.

~~~~~~~

That afternoon they were all sat round the table discussing their newest patient. A young boy who claimed to have been abducted by aliens. So far House had managed to avoid questions about his leg from everyone. Chase had given him a questioning look when he suddenly grimaced and shifted his weight onto his other leg earlier but he had just made a joke about being too old for sex standing up.

"Rectal bleeding plus alien abduction fantasy's most likely sexual abuse. Penetration causes the bleed. Trauma causes the fantasy," Cameron said as if it were that simple.

Under the table House began to rub his leg, his eyes on Chase, ready to stop if the young man looked over at him.

"ER ran a rape kit," Foreman explained. "Found no evidence of tearing, semen or pubic hairs."

"I think we should talk to the kid," Chase suggested, making House stop rubbing his leg and ask, "Why? In case he's telling the truth?"

Chase just shrugged, ready for the teasing that was bound to come.

"You're a believer, aren't you?" House asked in amusement, sitting back in his chair and motioning for Chase to explain himself.

"Well, I'm just not arrogant enough to think that of a 50 billion galaxies, 100 billion stars per galaxy and 10 million-billion planets in the universe, that we're the only ones alive," Chase explained defensively, only for Foreman to snort beside him.

"So it's not just The Lock Ness Monster you believe in," House said, smirking at Chase only for the younger man to smirk back. Trust House to use that against him.

Cameron and foreman just exchanged a confused look and House got up, giving them their assignments.

~~~~~~~~

"I did not screw up the test," Chase said angrily as he closed House's office door behind him. "The kid does not have a blood clotting disorder."

"I know," House said calmly around a mouthful of apple, without looking up from his computer screen where he was playing crib with some guy in Russia.

"What do you mean you know? If you know then why did you say I'd screwed up?" Chase demanded, his tone loosing some of its anger though.

"I didn't, Foreman did. I just didn't stand there and defend you like the good, protective boyfriend I'm not," House explained. "Fight your own battles."

Chase sighed and sat down opposite him. "I'm not asking you to fight my battles, I just... it felt like you didn't trust me."

"I made you my proxy. I trust you," House said distractedly as he silently cursed the Russian.

"You... you what?"

"Did I develop a speech impediment? I made you my proxy, after I woke up from the coma," he explained slowly, never taking his eyes off the computer screen. He picked up his apple again and took another bite.

Chase didn't really know what to say to that. House wasn't really one for words but that act had just spoken volumes to Chase about how House really felt about him.

"Cameron and Foreman both got these jobs because they were the best people for them... my dad got me mine. Sometimes I feel like I have to prove myself worthy. Make myself invaluable," Chase told him softly.

House's eyes flickered away from the screen just long enough to look at Chase. "I know. But your dad's been dead now for over a year and I still kept you. Not because you're pretty, which by the way is the only reason I hired Cameron, but because you're good at what you do."

Chase smiled slightly and nodded, accepting this.

"I didn't hire any of you because you were the best, because you weren't. But you've become the best. Now quit bugging me, I got a Russian to beat."

Chase's smile grew but there was still a sadness on his face. "Your leg's hurting, isn't it?"

House didn't look at him. "Yes."

Chase nodded and got up. "I'm sorry."

House just shrugged. "Me too. No more shower sex."

Chase always found it hard not to smile in a serious situation when House was around. "Damn. I'd best not bring chocolate cake into the house again then."

They stayed in silence for a while, Chase just watching House. "Why did you try and hide it from me?"

House tried to think about his answer. The truth was he wasn't really sure why he'd tried to hide it from Chase.

House stared at the gleaming handle of his cane as he sat in the darkness of his livingroom. The whole place still smelled of Stacy. The wineglass that she had been drinking from while waiting for him to come home had her lip print on the rim.

"I'm so tired," she'd said. "It shouldn't be this hard. You blame for everything. You say you don't but I know you do."

She'd told him she was miserable, not that he couldn't already tell. Misery loved company. She was giving up on him. Getting out while she still could, while she was still human. Before she became as bitter as he was. He couldn't really blame her.

"I don't know," House finally answered.

Chase knew that was a lie but he also knew better than to force House into a corner. He simply nodded, hoping he would open up to him eventually, and left.

Prompt 11. Boots.


"Chase," Wilson called out to him from his office in a hushed voice, motioning for the younger man to come in.

With a worried frown Chase changed his direction and went into Wilson's office, closing the door behind him.

Once in the room he looked at Wilson expectantly. "What's up?"

"We need to talk," Wilson said with a sigh as he sat down on the edge of his desk.

"About what?" Chase asked, almost nervously.

"House, of course. His pain's returned."

"I had noticed," Chase replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm not sure why we need to be talking about that though, especially behind his back."

"Do you think it's real?"

"No, I think he's faking it. Attention seeker," Chase said with a sarcastic roll of his eyes.

"You know, you're starting to sound more and more like him," Wilson accused, making Chase smirk. He took that as a compliment. "You don't think it could be psychological?"

Chase shook his head but it wasn't a no. "I don't know, I don't think so. He's taking the pills again."

Wilson nodded and sighed, leaning his head back.

"Weren't you the one who told me not to try and save him but to accept him as he is?" Chase didn't wait for Wilson's reply. "Well this is who he is. House isn't the kind of person you can help, not unless he wants it. He's an addict... but he has it under control."

Wilson laughed humourlessly. "You're a doctor Chase. The very definition of an addiction is that you can't control it."

"He's taking less than he was when I first moved in," Chase told him. "He doesn't know but I check his bottle," he admitted ashamedly. "Just to see how much pain he's in. He won't tell me himself. He won't tell me anything."

Wilson nodded sympathetically. Loving House was never an easy task and most often a thankless one. "There's nothing we can do," he said in defeat.

Chase shrugged. "We can accept that the pain's returned, that he needs those pills and that there's nothing we can do about it."

~~~~~~~

"Seventy-one year old cancer research specialist. Minor tremors, localised melanoma removed two years ago, cataracts and he can't breathe. Also, disregard the facial lacerations. They're creepy, but unfortunately, irrelevant," House announced as he entered the diagnostics department, dropping the case file down on the table.

All the ducklings zoned in on the fact that he was once again using his cane. Chase had left the apartment before House this morning as he had clinic duties first thing. When he'd gone House was still in bed. He'd known that the older man had gotten up in the night and walked around the livingroom, trying to ease his ache, but he didn't realise it was so bad that he needed his cane again. He was hoping that if the pain was coming back then it would at least be lessened.

"Don't you wanna know why?" House finally asked after no one spoke.

"You have your cane," Cameron said, looking at him with that typical annoying concern of hers.

"No, why the lacerations are creepy. He was about to dissect one of his lab rats, when he collapsed. Little vermin seized the day, so to speak, and went medieval on his ass."

Chase's eyes followed House's movements and finally the older man turned to him. "What? My fly open?"

"So, the pain's returned?" Foreman asked and House almost laughed. As if he cared.

"There was no pain," House answered him irritably. "He was unconscious, I'm guessing, because he wasn't able to breathe."

"We're talking about you," Cameron said, her voice once again developing that annoying, caring tone. He hated people who gave a crap.

"Obviously. I'm obviously not. What is it with you people? I don't use the cane, you're shocked. I use the cane..."

"We're just concerned," Cameron interrupted.

"About the wrong person. I can breathe. Ezra Powell on the other hand is gonna die," House told them seriously. He really wasn't looking forward to getting through the rest of the day.

~~~~~~~

"What, can you track down my pheromones now?" House asked from the room as Chase entered. "How did you know I'd be here."

Chase looked over at the unconscious man in the bed before glancing down at his watch. "Time for General Hospital, only four places you'd be and the chapel has actual mourners in it so..."

With a long-suffering sigh House turned to look at him. "You're going to insist on one of those conversation thingies, aren't you?"

"Oh you mean where you actually tell me what's going on with you?" Chase asked, his voice just the right side of angry. He sat down on the other side of the coma patient.

"I told you my leg was hurting."

"No, I figured it out and asked you," Chase argued. "I shouldn't have had to."

"So we're meant to share everything? I brought a new pair of boots on Saturday, I'm sorry, I should have ran it past you first," House said, feeling himself grow quickly irritated with this conversation. "It's my leg, how does it effect you?"

"Because the man I love is in pain."

"And that changes me," House concluded. "You got used to the new, pain free me and now you have to go back to the old me."

Chase rolled his eyes skyward in frustration. "Trust me, you didn't change. You thought about changing but decided you couldn't be bothered."

They sat in silence for a while, the voices of the actors from the T.V filing it. Finally House turned to look at him again. "You're mad because I didn't kill him," he asked in reference to their patient whom House had made a deal with. If he couldn't figured out what was wrong with him in twenty-four hours then he'd help the old man die.

He had told his ducklings to leave and make sure they were seen far away from the room while he did it. Chase had been the only one to stay behind with him. Not because he cared at all about the patient, but because if House was forced to do this then he shouldn't do it alone.

"You tricked him," Chase said quietly. "You lied to him. Instead you just put him in a coma so we can do whatever we like to him."

"What you mean is I tricked you. I lied to you," House said knowingly, looking at him hard.

"I'm not mad at you... I just wish you'd talk to me more," Chase said with a sigh as he stood up and made for the door. "We're supposed to be partners."

House kept his eyes on his cane and waited for the sound of the door closing. He picked it up, his old friend, his worst enemy, and twirled it in his fingers.

Prompt 24. Silk.


"Why aren't you miserable?" House demanded as he and Wilson walked together down the corridor of the hospital. "You clearly can't make a relationship work and are doomed to be alone for the rest of your life. You've moved from a four bedroomed house, in which you ex wife is now shacked up with her tennis instructor, to a one bedroomed apartment alone. You should be miserable."

Wilson just smiled patiently as he always did. "Well when you're friends with you, you tend to build up a high freshold for misery."

"And yet you're not miserable," House concluded as if Wilson hadn't even spoke. "I'd go as far as to say you're chipper. Which means there must be a reason for it."

"Can't I just be happy to be alive?" Wilson asked, walking over the reception area in the clinic and asking a nurse to schedule a follow up appointment for the lady he had just seen.

"No. You're wearing your favourite yellow, silk tie, your gucci loathers..."

"They aren't gucci," Wilson insisted.

"Why Wilson, don't tell me you've found the next future ex Mrs Wilson already." House said with a fake smile.

"Shut up," was all Wilson came back with and blushed, looking down at his shoes when the door to Cuddy's office opened and out she walked.

"Why do I get nervous when the two of you hang around outside my office?" she asked, looking from one to the other.

Wilson glanced up to smile at her before looking back down. "I have to... go," he said, leaving House and Cuddy alone together.

"I don't think your boyfriend would be happy to hear that a seventeen year old girl keeps calling you," she said in annoyance.

"Can't help it. It seems that all the cool kids are doing it nowadays," House told her, leaning against the desk.

"What, developing inappropriate crushes on sexually unsure disabled diagnosticians?" Cuddy asked.

"I'm not unsure... I'm greedy."

"Right. Young and impressionable is your type, regardless of gender," Cuddy said as she began to walk away from him.

"Oh now I get it," he said with false sympathy. "You're worried you're too old... don't worry, the lines around your eyes say forty-nine but the cleavage still says twenty-five."

Cuddy couldn't stop the smile that flitted over her face. "You're a pig... and don't encourage her, it'll only end in another law suit... or worse, prison."

He watched her walk away, eyes glued firmly to her pert ass before looking over at the nurse who was watching him disapprovingly. "Lover's spat," he said apologetically.

~~~~~~~~

In the diagnostics offices Chase took a mouthful of the coffee he had just poured himself and spat it back out again. It was cold.

He hated days when there were no cases to work on. Usually he filled his time with cross word puzzles, the clinic or trying to persuade House into sneaking into the storeroom with him again.

Things at home had been like they always had. They had reached that place where it all just fit. It was all comfortable and Chase couldn't help but wonder if it bored the hell out of House.

They woke up together, Chase would chastise House about drinking milk from the carton, they'd shower together, sometimes with groping but mostly not anymore since the pain in House's leg had returned. Who ever dragged themselves out of bed first would make the coffee. They drove into work together most days, they worked together, they went home together, Chase cooked dinner and House pretended not to like it. They'd play on the PlayStation for a while before having sex and then fall asleep, only to repeat it all again the next day.

To Chase it was perfect, he wouldn't change a thing. For the first time in his life he had something stable, something he could hold onto. He had domestic bliss, at least that's what they called it in the magazines.

He loved House and he wasn't going to lose him, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let House push him out. It would hurt too much if he lost him now. He knew his fear was an irrational one. Just because House hadn't told him he was in pain, hadn't told him a lot of things apparently, it didn't mean anything, not really.

He hadn't told Chase about the seventeen year old blond who had suddenly developed a crush on him and was sending him presents. He didn't really have anything to worry about though, not even House was that big a pervert. Right?

"Uh, Chase," Cameron said as she came in the room, wearing pink scrubs for some reason. "I was just in the children's ward and I ran into an old friend of yours."

He raised his eyebrows waiting for her to continue.

"Ned, cute paediatric nurse. Australian," she explained.

Chase's face apparently went a little white because Cameron sat herself down next to him and took his hand. "Are you alright?"

"Uh, yeah. I just didn't know he was back here. I thought he moved away," Chase told her with a forced smile.

"So you know each other from back home?" she asked, clearly intrigued.

"Uh, no actually. We met over here. We sorta became friends I guess because we were both new here," he explained to her before wondering what business it was of hers anyway.

"He's really cute. And he's so great with the kids," Cameron gushed.

Chase nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think you're wasting your time there though."

"Oh," she said, her eyebrows raising. "You mean he's... you and he..."

"Look I've got something I need to do, I'll see you later," Chase said, standing up and heading for the door. Cameron's eyes were glued to him as he left.

~~~~~~~

Why was everyone having a go at him today? First Cuddy had told him to stay away from the pretty girl, then a nurse in the ICU had kicked him out for playing tiddly winks on an unconscious patient. He walked from the room, glancing back at the nurse and smiling at her charmingly. It didn't work, she continued to glare at him. The poor girl, she could run and go tell Cuddy but that never really got anyone anywhere, House was untouchable in this place.

"Hey," Chase said as he went to passed him, but stopped when he saw who it was.

House turned away from the nurse and gave Chase a small smile. Yeah, how'd you like it if I started making out with my boyfriend in your ward? he thought to himself.

"I might be going out for a drink with a friend tonight," Chase told him, only for House to frown at him.

"You don't have any friends."

"I have friends," Chase argued, offended.

House rolled his eyes. "Cameron and Foreman don't count."

Chase thought for a second. He did have friends, just not ones he would consider close friends. "Wilson."

"Wilson's my friend. He's only your friend by association. If we divorce I'll get him, along with the rats."

Chase looked at him outraged. "Why would you get the rats?"

"Because Steve was mine before you moved in and you brought James to be ours. And you couldn't possibly think about separating them. Haven't they been through enough already? What with witnessing their parents separation?"

Chase just looked at him with that adorable confused wombat face of his and House wanted so badly to kiss him, not just to piss off the nurse either.

"Okay, whatever, we'll share the rats," Chase said, hoping to put an end to that line of conversation. Why had House brought up separating anyway? "An old friend has moved back into town. I'm going to see him now and he'll probably wanna catch up with a drink after work, I'm just telling you."

"Okay," House said nonchalantly before a big smile spread out across his lips. "I'll have dinner at Wilson's."

Chase smirked at him and shook his head. "What you really mean is that you'll have dinner at the KFC."

House shrugged. "Hey, you're abandoning me, leaving me to fend for myself, I don't have a choice."

"Uh hu," Chase said with a bright smile. He quickly glanced around them to make sure no one was looking before he leaned into House and kissed him sweetly on the mouth. House's eyes fluttered close and he had to fight the urge to let his cane fall to the floor so that he could wrap both his arms around the soft young body against him.

"I won't be late," Chase said softly as he pulled away.

House smiled at him again and watched as he started to walk away. "Then neither will I."

Prompt 8. Backup.


"Hold on, hold on," Wilson said, putting his hands up. "You're telling me this girl wants to sleep with you?"

House grinned and looked down at the beer in his hands. They had decided to go to a sports bar instead of KFC, seeing as KFC didn't have beer and waitresses in tight tops. "She sent me a calendar with her birthday ringed so I'd know when she's legal."

Wilson's eyes went wide. "Ho ho, you lucky son of a bitch. You're like catnip to hot, young blonds."

House just smiled and took another swig of his beer.

"What did Chase say?"

"About what?"

Wilson looked at him incredulously. "About the seventeen year old who wants to have sex with you."

House just shrugged. "He's a guy, I'm sure he understands."

Wilson cringed and shook his head. "You dumbass. He may be a guy but he's your guy. They don't usually like it when their man's being seduced by someone else."

"Is that right?" House asked in mock interest. "Tell me Doctor Wilson, just how many guys have you been with?"

"It doesn't matter. They're the same as women deep down when it comes to this kind of thing. Think about it, how would you feel if Chase suddenly had an admirer?"

House snorted. "You've seen him right? There's not a person in that hospital who wouldn't sleep with him, man or woman."

Wilson just rolled his eyes. Apparently he wasn't getting his point across. "I'm just saying you'll suffer less in the long run if you nip this girl's crush in the bud, and soon."

~~~~~~

"How long have you been back?" Chase asked as he and Ned brought their drinks over to a table in the corner.

"About two weeks, didn't start back at the hospital until Friday though," Ned explained as he took a seat. "I didn't know if you were still there or not then I got talking to Doctor Cameron and she mentioned she worked in the diagnostic's department so I asked if she knew you."

Chase laughed and quickly to a sip of his drink. "Poor girl, I keep getting their first where men are concerned."

Ned rose his eyebrows. "Oh?"

"I think she might have mistook your friendliness for flirting," Chase explained.

"Oh," Ned said frowning. "I hope not, she seemed like a nice girl, I wouldn't want to hurt her feelings."

Chase just smiled at him. Ned was the kind of guy you couldn't help but like. Actually that's not strictly true. House would probably hate him. He hates anyone that nice. He doesn't believe it, thinks it's an act.

"You said you keep getting their first, are you seeing someone?" Ned asked interestedly.

"Uh yeah," Chase told him, sounding slightly embarrassed. He hadn't really had anyone to talk to about this before. No one to gush to about House, not that he was the kind of guy that gushed. "My boss actually," he answered with a little laugh.

"Wow," Ned said, matching his smile. "Is it serious?"

Chase thought about it for a moment and nodded. "Yeah. We live together. We've... got rats."

"Well I never thought I'd see the day that you'd settle down," Ned said, leaning back in his chair. "I mean, I don't mean that in a bad way. I just kind of figured you weren't that interested in anything serious. I mean when we dated you weren't."

Chase cringed slightly and shrugged, feeling bad. "Nah, I wasn't. But things change, I guess," he explained, not knowing what else to say.

They sat in silence for a moment, during which Ned sat looking at Chase. He looked different, more relaxed in his own skin. He looked happy.

"It's a guy?" he asked suddenly, realising that he had no idea, knowing Chase swung both ways.

Chase laughed and nodded. "Yeah. And what about you? I can't believe you're still with Jude. That's like... what... two years now?"

Ned nodded and took another sip of his drink. "Yeah. He was the one who wanted to move back. His family's here and his dad got sick so he wanted to come home."

Chase nodded and was about to mention that his dad had died but stopped himself. He didn't want the looks of pity to start all over again.

Chase and Ned had only dated for a few months and it certainly never got serious but once they separated, because Ned was looking for something more than just fun, they had realised that it would be a waste to just walk away from each other, considering how well they got on.

~~~~~~~

Chase got home at around nine that evening, feeling tired and wanting nothing more than to snuggle up in bed. He went into the kitchen and fixed himself a sandwich as he hadn't yet eaten that night.

"I doubt you've been fed, hey?" he asked the two rats looking over at him. He put his finger in Steve's cage and let the rodent sniff him. He didn't like it when you just reached in and picked him up, he liked to sniff you first to make sure it was really you.

He tore off bits of his sandwich and opened both their cage doors. He placed a small pile of breadcrumbs in front of each one and watched as James came running out of his cage to gobble it all up while Steve took his time, glancing over at the young one ready to glare him down if he came near his own pile of food.

Once James had eaten all of his he scurried off over the couch and ran across Chase's legs. The young man picked him up and sat him on his chest as he laid back, stoking his surprisingly soft fur.

Steve took his time looking around before coming to join them on the couch. He sniffed at James, who squeaked at him either in protest or encouragement, Chase wasn't sure.

So far there hadn't been any fights between the two of them. James was slightly more playful and had tried to jump on Steve a few times but Steve just ignored him and let him get on with it.

House and Chase had spent many a night arguing over the behaviour of their rats. House argued that they weren't gay because they had never seen them have sex. Chase argued that just because they didn't see it didn't mean they didn't have it and that even if they didn't then maybe they just weren't very sexual animals.

Steve had missed House when he was in the hospital, Chase could tell. He'd come to the bars and sniff Chase's finger, hoping that it was the man who had rescued him, but it wasn't.

Cuddy stood watching Chase as he sat beside House's hospital bed, one hand holding House's, the other stroking his hair back from his forehead. Wilson came to stand beside her and smiled at the look of complete shock on her face.

"Make a cute couple, don't they?"

She turned to look at him with wide eyes. "When... how?"

"When? Started about four months ago... and how? Well, when two men love each other they..."

"I know how they... I just had no idea," Cuddy said, unable to take her eyes off of them. House had woken earlier that day and Chase hadn't left his side hardly at all, only to go home to shower and change once in a while. She had thought it a little odd at the time but hadn't thought for a second that they were in a relationship.

"But House isn't gay," she argued. "He spends far too much time complimenting my breasts... or did Stacy scare him off our sex for good?"

Wilson followed her eyeline and saw House's hand come up to stroke Chase's cheek. He was comforting him it seemed. Chase had been a wreck if truth be told and Wilson had pleaded with him to come back to his so that he could cook him some dinner and let him sleep but Chase refused to leave House.

"He isn't gay," Wilson explained. "He's... well I'm not too sure what he is. As far as I know he has no interest in any other men so far, only Chase."

"They look... like they're in love," Cuddy observed wistfully. Beside her Wilson smiled and turned to her. He put his arm around her shoulders, hearing the slight sound of melancholy in her tone, and pulled her against his side gently.

"They are."

Chase hadn't even realised he had fallen asleep until the front door slammed shut and both the rats went scurrying off of his chest at the sound. Wilson and House came in through the door laughing and both stumbling just a little.

Chase rolled his eyes and sat up, smiling at them both in amusement. "I didn't know KFC was next to a brewery."

House looked at him, smiling in a way he never did when he was sober, and tossed his cane into the corner so that he could stumble over to the couch. "I'm not drunk," he insisted, sitting down and kissing Chase.

Chase, tasting the beer on him, said, "I beg to differ."

"Mom, can Wilson stay over," House asked him in a mock child-like tone, motioning towards Wilson who was now leaning on his elbows on the back of the couch looking down at them.

"He needed some backup apparently. He said he wanted to show you that I was drunker than he was so that he wouldn't look so bad," Wilson explained, actually sounding a lot less drunk than House.

Chase frowned and looked at them both. "When did I become your wife? I don't care if you have a drink."

House looked at him then with such affection. He reached out and ruffled Chase's pretty hair, which just made the younger man sigh sufferingly. "See? Men are so much easier to live with," he told Wilson. "Find Wilson a man," he then said to Chase.

Wilson raised his eyebrows but then shrugged. Hey when in Rome. House had actually once asked Chase if he minded his friendship with Wilson, because apparently most of Wilson's wives had minded it.

"Mind it?" Chase had asked incredulously. "I'm thankful for it. No way could I cope with you on my own."

"Yeah," Chase said, in reference to House's question. "I'll find him one in the morning." He looked at Wilson and smiled. He wondered how Cuddy would feel about that.

"Come on, let's get you to bed," he said standing up and looking around for the rats. He didn't usually leave them out all night. "Wilson, do you need me to make up the couch?"

"No, I know where everything is," Wilson answered, watching in amusement as House pulled himself up off the couch and swayed a little.

Please sign up at chouse_ficswap even if you have never written before but have always wanted to try. It's just for fun.

Prompt 23. Helmet.


Cuddy had chewed him out again over the pretty blond girl and she had even gone so far as to get Wilson to talk some sense into him, which he was now trying to do as they made their way to the diagnostics office.

"Why is everyone so against us?" House asked sarcastically. "This is just like Romeo and Juliet you know."

Wilson rolled his eyes and opened the door for House. "No, they were both underage."

House glanced over at Chase who was sitting talking to Foreman and looked up as he heard the door open. He smiled at him. "Good morning children, are we all sitting comfortably?"

Foreman looked at him totally unimpressed and followed him with his eyes as House went over to the coffeepot.

Wilson continued to follow him and Chase watched them carefully as they began speaking in hushed tones. "What exactly are you hoping to achieve? Is it an ego boost? `Cos two young hotties aren't enough?" he asked, motioning with his head towards Cameron and Chase. "You need more flattery?"

Ali, the girl in question had come in with her father who had developed a cold after a trip they took to Fresno. Days later, and fifteen phone calls to the hospital, she came in her self with the same symptoms.

House just smiled smugly. "It's not about the girl," he told him, looking past him at Chase. "It's about chemistry."

Wilson rose his eyebrows. He didn't know if he should be afraid or intrigued. "Chemistry?"

"You put a fiery little chemical in a beaker," he said still looking at Chase. "Add a perky little alkaline, stand back and see how they react."

Wilson looked at him absolutely appalled. "I was right, this is about your ego. You want Chase jealous."

House just smiled at him again and handed him a cup of coffee. "Okay, who wants to save some lives?" he asked loudly as he pushed past Wilson and walked over to the table.

~~~~~~~~

"It's negative," Cameron said with a sigh as she removed the slide from beneath the microscope and replaced it with another. Chase made some notes and looked up when the door opened.

"Doctor Cuddy," he greeted politely, but clearly confused as to why she would be here.

"Chase, I need to talk to you."

It all made sense then and Chase just laughed and shook his head. "Oh no. You think now that I'm with House I can control him for you. Sorry," he said, leaning back in his chair. "I'm just as helpless as the rest of you."

Cuddy just gave him a look and Cameron tried to busy herself in her task. She felt awkward, as if she were eavesdropping on their conversation but she had no choice.

"That isn't it... well it kind of is. Listen, this little cheerleader has got to go, I found her straddling his bike and fondling his helmet... luckily that isn't a metaphor. I'm going to have a restraining order put on her if she comes round here again," Cuddy threatened. "I'm worried about something happening to him."

Chase thought about it for a moment. He didn't particularly like that the girl was hanging around his boyfriend, but House wasn't the kind of guy to ever think about your feelings in that way, it was all just a game to him. He was probably too busy enjoying the attention to even notice. House wasn't actually quite as big a bastard as he wanted people to he was. But then this girl did seem a little obsessive and unstable, what if she lied and told her father something had happened when it hadn't?

"I'll take care of it," Chase finally said. His eyes met Cuddy's and she smiled.

"Thank you."

~~~~~~~~

There was nothing better than a mid afternoon nap as far as House was concerned. He had taken his vicodin, taken off his shoes and was now curled up on an empty hospital bed with a blanket over him.

He wasn't quite so far into sleep yet that he was unaware of his surroundings, of the noises out in the corridor, but he was somewhere nice, somewhere he didn't want to leave.

So when he was poked with his own cane he wasn't happy. "Go away, Chase," he mumbled, knowing that only Chase and Wilson would have the guts to poke him with his own cane and he could smell Chase's spicy cologne.

"If you cheat on me I'll leave you," Chase said simply, hands on hips as if he were in a business negotiation.

House, still not quite fully awake tried to make sense of what Chase had just said. "Um, fair enough?"

He cracked an eye open and looked at him. Then he remembered and realised what this was about. Well he had wanted a reaction. This hadn't been quite what he had expected, he was hoping to have a little more fun with it but he guessed now he had no choice seeing as Chase apparently was even less secure than he had thought him.

"I mean it," Chase said, his voice growing softer. "I don't want to leave you, but if you fuck her..."

"Whoa," House stoped him. "There are children in this hospital."

House sat up and looked at Chase, trying not to smile. His ego was doing a happy dance in his head right now, but looking at the younger man and seeing how insecure he was about this he felt bad. He didn't like upsetting Chase, he did it enough by accident, he shouldn't be doing it on purpose too.

"Come here," he said opening his arms for him. Chase looked at him for a moment, trying to decide if he was mad at House or not but walked into his arms anyway, standing between the older man's legs.

He put his hands on Chase's waist and looked up at him. "I admit I do have a penchant for pretty young blonds," he said affectionately, his lips quirking into some semblance of a smile. "But I'm getting old, I can only sexually satisfy one at a time... unless your up for a three-way? Then I guess I could kill two birds with one... ow!" he cried out as Chase pinched his leg hard.

Chase was trying to glare down at him but the slight smile on his lips lessened the threat a little.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Chase," House said, grabbing both the other man's hands in his so he couldn't pinch him again. "I'm not into sadomasochism like your ex was."

"Shut up," Chase ordered and leant down to kiss him. House released Chase's hand and let his own arms wind round Chase's middle, pulling him even closer. He deepened the kiss and moaned softly when Chase's hands came up to his hair, stroking and pulling on it gently.

"I'll get rid of the girl," he promised when they finally broke apart. Chase nodded and hugged House, resting his head on the older man's shoulder and smirking to himself. That was too easy.

~~~~~~~~

"It's done," Chase announced as he entered Cuddy's office without knocking.

Cuddy and Wilson, who were sat talking on the couch in the corner, both looked up at him.

"Are you serious?" Cuddy asked in disbelief. "How?"

"Yep, he's talking to her right now. All I did was make him feel guilty." Chase told her, noticing the way they were both looking at him. "What?"

"Nothing," Cuddy quickly said with a smile. "Thanks."

Chase frowned at them both but nodded and left.

"He out manipulated the grand manipulator," Cuddy said.

"I'm so proud," Wilson said, looking back at her.

With a roll of his eyes House gripped the doorknob and slowly turned it. Damn Chase! Making him tell a horny seventeen-year-old wet dream that she had to leave him alone. And he was having so much fun with it too, until Chase had to go and make that sad little wombat face at him. What with Cuddy not letting him have his blood stained carpet back, telling him it was biohazardes, what did she think his blood was, radioactive? And Chase acting like a... boyfriend, it hadn't been his best day.

"Listen to me," he said upon entering the room and looking at the girl, Ali. "Do you have any idea what you'd have to look forward to if stay with me? Nine chances out of ten, we'd both wind up in jail."

Ali just smiled at him and looked coyly through her lashes. "You're only saying that to make me go."

"I'm saying it 'cause it's true," House insisted. "Inside of us, we both know that you belong with Victor."

Ali just looked at him with a confused frown.

"Is there a Victor in your class?" he asked hopefully only for her to shake her head. He could do the whole I'm gay thing and hope that'd make her go but this way would be more fun.

"If you're not with... someone your age, you'll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life," he told her in his best Humphrey Bogart impersonation.

Ali looked at him sadly and felt her eyes welling up. She couldn't understand why she was feeling this way. How she could be so in love with this man after only meeting him twice. She felt like her heart was breaking. "What about us?"

House shook his head and stepped closer to her. "I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see the problems that two little people don't amount to a hill a' beans in this crazy world. Someday, you'll understand that."

Ali began sobbing and she dropped her head. She just wanted him to love her. House tenderly took her chin in his hand and lifted her face, making her meet his eyes.

"Now, now," he said, still in character. "Here's looking at you..." he stopped himself from talking and took a closer look at her tears. They weren't just regular tears they were milky.

"Damn. Was there an earthquake when you were in Fresno?"

"What?" she asked confused.

"I ask all my girlfriends that," he assured her.

"Um, yeah, a little one," she told him, frowning through her tears.

House shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Damn." It had been so good, too good. A seventeen-year-old cheerleader had wanted to have sex with him. "Damn it!"

"What? What is it?" she asked, having no idea what was going on.

House gripped the handle of his cane and turned away from her. "It's not love. You have a spore in your brain. Coccidioides Immitis. California's full of them. You get an earthquake, they get released into the air, you breathe it in, you get a cold. Turns into sinus congestion, aches, weakness, milky tears and, sometimes... loss of inhibition and judgement. Damn!"

Ali shook her head and wiped away her milky tears. "So, loving you, wanting to have sex with you, was all just... the spores talking?"

Grumbling something under his breath he wrote her out a prescription and handed it to her. "You'll probably live," he told her, turning to leave. "Damn!"

~~~~~~

"How'd it go?" Wilson asked as he was waiting outside the room for him. House looked behind him at the closed door.

"She's gonna need some time, she's pretty upset. But I told her, I said Sweetheart, I'm already in a very loving relationship and this can never happen."

Wilson frowned but nodded. "And how'd she take it?"

"I think she'll get over me... in about two weeks," he said, his hand clenching on his cane. "Let's have lunch."

They began walking toward the cafeteria and when they got there House set about filling up his plate.
"Hey, how about you buy me lunch for a change," Wilson suggested. House frowned and seemed to be thinking about this as they reached the checkout.

"Sure," he said showing his tray to the woman there. "You know, sometimes when we're in bed together, Chase calls me daddy."

Both Wilson and the woman behind the till froze and stared at him. House just smiled at them both and walked off to a table, not having payed for his food. Wilson moved to follow him but then realised what House had done and quickly pulled his wallet out of his pocket.

"You were kidding right?" Wilson asked, needing to make sure as he sat down next to his friend. "That was just a clever ruse to get me to pay right?"

House, around a mouthful of cheese, said, "Just how sick d'you think we are?" He winked at Wilson and took another bite of his food.

Prompt 21. Stab.


"Okay," House shouted loudly as he entered the diagnostics department, making both Cameron and Foreman jump a little. "What do you get when you compare a sixty-two year old woman with a history of heart disease and a twenty-nine year old man with a previously clean bill of health?"

Cameron and Foreman just looked at him like he was mad, which fair enough, he was.

"Is this a joke?" Foreman asked.

"That depends," House replied. "Do you find heart disease funny Doctor Foreman?"

Foreman rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair. "No, but I wouldn't put it past you to."

"You said previously clean bill of health," Cameron said and House smiled and pointed at her.

"So I did. Two patients came into the ER at around eight this morning, both complaining of shortness of breath, tightness in the chest, abdominal pain and..." he paused to look down at the notes in the file. "Crippling headaches. That's a direct quote."

"Well I assumed the ER ran a tox screen," Cameron began.

"Of course they did," House replied. "They're not idiots."

"It could be anything," Foreman suddenly said, trying to grab the file off of House only for the older man to snatch it away. "They aren't necessarily related."

"I know, but wouldn't it be cool if they were." House looked down at the file again. "Mrs Flapgart... that can't be a real name, can it?"

"Heart disease causes shortness of breath," Cameron pointed out.

"True, except it's unrelated. She's..." He stopped mid sentence, only now realising that he was missing one of his fellows. "Where's Chase?" he asked in annoyance.

Cameron rose her eyebrows. "Um, he was talking with Ned ten minutes ago."

"Ned?" House asked, shaking his head to indicate he didn't know who that was.

"Yeah, you know his ex, the one that moved back into town?" Cameron informed him.

House didn't speak for a moment, he just continued to look at her. "Right. Go talk to the patients. Do all the usual tests, re-do what the ER did because Cameron was right... they are idiots." He tossed one of the files to Cameron and the other to Foreman and left the room to go in search of his stray duckling.

~~~~~~~

He found Chase standing outside the elevator laughing at something the Greek God beside him had just said. This guy had hair so perfect that it made Chase's look bad. It was also clear that he had a good body beneath his scrubs. He looked like he belonged on a surfboard not in a hospital. House hated him. And that had to be a fake tan. It was the middle of winter for Christ's sake.

He waited until Chase left, in search of House and the rest of the team no doubt. He stood there for a moment before striding forward and taking the chart out of `Ned's' hands. What sort of a name was Ned anyway?

"Um, excuse me?" Ned said irritably. "Who are you?" he asked, trying to get his chart back only for House to hold it away from him as he read it.

"It's alright, I'm a doctor."

"Okay, but you're not a paediatric doctor, so can I have that back please?" It had the ruse of asking nicely but it sounded more like a demand.

"Mary-Lou needs to see an oncologist," House said after having just briefly glancing over her chart.

"No she doesn't, She has glandular fever. We're keeping her in over night because she got dehydrated and fainted, that's all" Ned argued, starting to get annoyed. "And her name's Sarah. Do you actually want something?"

"She's lost fifteen pounds in the last three weeks," House pointed out.

"Because she's been sick and not felt much like eating," Ned argued.

"Swelling under her arms... which you're right could mean it's glandular... except no swelling anywhere else which suggests it's her lymphnodes. She has a fever and is sweating," House told him.

"It doesn't say anything about sweating in her chart."

"No, but you said she was dehydrated... she has non-hodgkins lymphoma. I'll send an oncologist down..." he glanced at the taller man's name tag and handed the chart back to him. "Nurse Moore."

With that he left, wondering how Chase could have ever lowered himself to be with such an idiot and pretending the stab of jealousy that he felt was actually heart-burn.

~~~~~~

"So," House said conversationally as he undressed for bed that night. They had been working late at the hospital and had only just gotten home. Chase was already under the covers with his eyes closed, desperate for some sleep.

"You wanna do that talking thing?" he asked, sitting down on the bed in his boxer shorts.

Chase cracked an open and closed it again instantly against the light of the bedroom. "What are you talking about?"

"That thing you like, you know, where we talk... share," House explained, looking at him expectantly.

"Oh, you mean that thing where I talk and you just look at me and ask me to be quiet because America's Next Top Model is on?" Chase asked sarcastically and tried to roll over only for House to pull him back.

"Okay, I'll go first," he said before sitting there for a minute to think about what to say. "I've been secretly meeting up with Stacy for drinks."

Chase was instantly wide-awake and sitting up in the bed. "You've been what?" he demanded.

House rose his eyebrows and tried not to smirk. "What? Is there something wrong with that? With spending time with my ex and not telling you?"

Chase looked at him for a moment, about to start shouting but something clicked in his head. House was with Chase pretty much all of the time. They were together every evening and there's no way he'd have time during the day, they were together then too mostly.

"You're lying... why the hell would you lie about that?" He rubbed his eyes. He was so tired, he really didn't want to be doing with House-isms right now.

"Let's just say that one of us was seeing his ex without mentioning it, that would be wrong, yes?" House asked, his face staying completely neutral.

"Oh God," Chase said rolling his eyes and laying back down. "This is about Ned?"

"Ned... Ned..." House pretended to wrack his brain. "I don't remember you ever telling me about a Ned. I remember you telling me about an old friend."

"Ned is an old friend. And it's totally different from you and Stacy," Chase argued.

"And how exactly is that?"

With a huff Chase sat back up again. "Because I was never in love with Ned. I didn't live with Ned for best part of a decade. We split up after just three months and then became friends... so I didn't lie to you," Chase told him, slightly annoyed that he couldn't just go to sleep.

"Why Doctor Chase, what an excellent politician you'd make," House said, smirking slightly.

"And it wasn't just a year ago that I was completely obsessed with Ned. Ned wasn't the love of my life," he pointed out, referring to House's little obsession with Stacy. "If anyone has a right to be jealous here, it's me... oh and let's not forget the seventeen year old."

House got up from the bed and walked round to his own side before getting in. "I told you I'd get rid of her and I did," House told him.

Chase turned onto his side to face him. "But this isn't about any of them, is it? It's about you and me. Deep down you can't shake the fear that I'm going to do to you what Stacy did."

"If I thought you were going to hack off my other leg I never would have made you my proxy," House said calmly.

"I'm not talking about the leg, I'm talking about leaving you," Chase told him.

"Like you threatened to this morning?"

Chase just looked at him stunned. He hadn't even thought about his earlier words before saying them, he had just wanted House to get rid of the girl. He had no idea his words would upset House.

He looked into the pale blue eyes of his boyfriend and felt his heart break a little. He scooted closer in the bed and put his hand on House's unshaven cheek. "I'm not going anywhere," he assured him. "I think it's a pretty fair arrangement there, don't cheat on me and I won't leave. It can't be that hard. If you managed to resist a seventeen year old cheerleader."

House smiled a little and turned his face to kiss the palm of Chase's hand. He held out his arm for chase to snuggle into, like he usually did, and they settled down in bed together.

"I love you, you know," Chase said, almost as an after thought. "And not just because I've got spores in my brain," he said with a barely restrained smile.

House closed his eyes and bit the inside of his cheek. "You know about that."

"Yeah... but don't worry, I won't tell Wilson. You can go on letting him think you're the man."

They laid there quietly for a while longer and Chase was almost asleep when House next spoke. "You know, I don't think you can determine who the love of your life is until you've lived your whole life," he said quietly before placing a kiss on top of Chase's perfect hair.

Prompt 5. Teddy

When Chase awoke the next morning it was with a smile. In their sleep House had somehow pulled Chase on top of him and was squeezing him much like he had the first night Chase had spent in his arms.

It seemed like such a long time ago now, that night when Chase had taken House home after drugging himself with cold medicine. He couldn't possibly say how long he had wanted House, loved him, or what a sweet torture it was sleeping in his arms that night, being clung to like a favourite teddy bear.

House wasn't the best looking man Chase had been with. He wasn't the kindest or the most loving. He certainly wasn't the most pleasant and he was very rarely all that nice to Chase, but he was brilliant. His mind and his sharp, sarcastic wit was what made him so sexy, so irresistible. And so unattainable, at least Chase had thought. Chase's respect and admiration had soon turned into a crush. He couldn't really say when it had deepened into love he just remembered when he realised it.

Chase had found out about the death of his father a few months ago. He was more angry at his own reaction that anything else. He didn't want to care, it hurt too much to let himself care. It was better this way, because now he wouldn't hope, wouldn't let himself.

So then why was he crying? Sat alone at ten o'clock at night in the diagnostics lounge, crying over someone who didn't care enough to stay for a drink, just one drink, their last drink together and he knew that, but he wouldn't change his flight. That's how much Chase had meant to his father.

And House had known all along. He hadn't told Chase, had just did what he did best, stirred the situation and sat back to watch. It hurt more than the death of his father, more than his father's silence because he loved and respected House in a way he had never loved his father.

His dad died months ago but he had only today found out that House knew, it was only today that he had nearly lost his job, lost everything. But House saved him, like he always did, and it confused the hell out of Chase.

"On the bright side... you got to keep your job," House said from behind him, startling him.

Chase wiped at his eyes quickly before turning to face House. Unbeknown to him his blue eyes were even bright for his tears. "Yeah, but a woman's dead."

"We all screwed up Chase," House told him, coming round to sit beside him on the table. "We learn from our mistakes, become better doctors... better people."

Chase just laughed bitterly. "I don't learn, I repeat them," he said looking directly at House. He loved men who couldn't love him back. His dad and now House. "Why didn't you tell me?"

House just held his eyes, not knowing what to say. Perhaps he should call Cameron back in. She'd know what to say, probably sleep with Chase if he made that sad little wombat face at her, like he was making now.

"Because I shouldn't have had to... he should have told you himself." House told him, tearing his eyes away from Chase's sad face. "Telling you your father was dying, that he didn't want you to know would have only caused you more pain. You'd have had to live with that for months, always waiting for the phone to ring... it would have distracted you from your work."

Chase was so ashamed and disgusted with himself that House's admission of wanting to spare him pain had made him feel better inside. He watched as the older man slid of the table and made his way to the door. He desperately wanted to ask House to take him home with him, but he knew that would never happen.

"Goodnight."

House shifted in his sleep, bringing his arms tighter around Chase's body and nuzzling his face into the Australian's soft hair.

"Aren't I hurting your leg?" Chase asked softly into the barely lit room. He tried to move so that he wasn't resting on it but House didn't seem to mind so he figured he wasn't.

House didn't answer so Chase assumed he was still more asleep than he was awake. He looked over at the clock and saw they had another half-hour before they had to get up for work. He closed his eyes and with a contented sigh rested his head back on House's chest.

Prompt 19. Facial


"So where's Chase tonight?" Wilson asked as he retrieved a bottle of beer from House's fridge and flopped himself down on the couch.

"Out with Nurse Ned," House told him, not looking up from the stack of DVDs he was looking through on the floor.

"Oh, do I detect a hint of jealousy in your voice?" Wilson asked, turning on the couch to look over at his best friend. House had gone out of his way to try and make Chase jealous and now Chase had made House jealous without even trying, this was too delicious.

"Jealous of Nurse Ned?" House scoffed, selecting a DVD and reading the back of it. "He's not even smart enough to be a doctor."

"Yes, you're much more intelligent than he is," Wilson agreed with him. "I wonder what it was that Chase saw in him? His runway model good looks perhaps? Must have gotten so tiring though, you know, not being able to play a decent game of scrabble."

House just glared up at him and tossed him the DVD. "We rarely play that anymore," House insisted, suddenly feeling like his manliness was being impugned. "The rest of the time we're going at it like dingos."
There was absolutely nothing wrong with playing scrabble with your... whatever Chase was. They both enjoyed it.

Wilson just smirked and read the back of the DVD. "The Sweetest Thing? What're we chicks?"

"Yes," House said seriously. "Next lets paint each other's toe nails and give each other facials...we've watched all my DVDs, I had to raid Chase's... I think he has a thing for Cameron Diaz."

"Who doesn't?" Wilson took a swig of his beer and moved over to make room for House as he got up from the floor and joined him. "Alright, movies are off the menu. What do you wanna do?"

House took the beer bottle away from Wilson and took a sip. "What we do every night Pinky, drink beer and watch bad TV."

"So this is life, huh," Wilson said defeatedly. "My life has gone full cycle. I'm back on my best friend's couch drinking beer and dreading going home to the emptiness of my apartment."

House turned to look at him. Ordinarily he would mock Wilson because it was in his nature, but he remembered when he was the lonely one, intruding on Wilson and... whichever wife he had at the time, not wanting to go home.

"Get your coat," he told him, getting up from the couch and placing the beer bottle on the coffee table. "We're going for a ride."

Wilson frowned but did as he was told then promptly froze in horror as House tossed his helmet at him.

~~~~~~

Chase had never really been very good at sympathy, which was ironic really as he was a doctor. The truth was, he was worse than House. Because where House told you to your face he didn't care, Chase pretended that he did.

When Ned had told him earlier that evening that he and his boyfriend had split up Chase's initial thought had been, How can I make an excuse to leave?

He supposed a therapist would study this side of him and blame it on his parents, that was what they usually did. But he hadn't left, he had stayed, he had listened, he had made sympathetic noises and patted Ned's back.

He knew he was a bad friend, but Ned had only been back a month and it wasn't like they were House and Wilson, they had never been really close, never shared their feelings before or anything like that. If truth be told Chase had never been that close to anyone... until House of course. It comforted him to know that when it came to someone he truly loved he would be there for them, like he was when House was in the hospital. He hadn't stayed by his bedside out of some sense of responsibility but because he couldn't bear to leave him. Perhaps he wasn't such a bad guy after all.

When his cell phone rang in his jean's pocket, though he knew he was a bastard for doing it, he decided to pretend he was needed somewhere urgently so that he could leave. He looked down at the display, already fairly certain that it was House, he'd understand if Chase suddenly started talking strangely to him.

He frowned though, he didn't recognise the number but any distraction was a good one, so he answered it.

"Hello?"

"Chase... not interrupting anything am I?" House asked from the other end and Chase smiled. Like he cared if he was.

"Nah, you're alight. Where are you? Where're you calling me from?"

"I'm using my one phone call."

"You're... what? Where are you?"

"Down town, in the slammer, the big house, the clink... stop me when you figure out where I'm going with this," House said from the other end and Chase closed his eyes.

"Oh God, what did'ya do?"

"It wasn't me dad, it was Wilson, he pressured me into it."

"Oh man, you dragged Wilson into it too?"

"Can you come and get us," House said, his voice suddenly sounding serious. "And uh, bring your check book... wait, bring mine."

~~~~~~

When Wilson and House were brought out front to meet Chase they both looked at him like naughty little boys.

"What did you do?"

Wilson rubbed the back of his neck and cringed. "Speeding, with drugs in his pocket," he said angrily, glaring at House.

"Are you alright?" Chase asked, walking round behind Wilson to look at his neck.

"Yeah, helmet kinda smacked me."

Chase shook his head and turned back to face House. "I can't leave you boys alone for one night, can I?"

"Where's Nurse Ned?" House asked, pulling on his jacket.

"Home," Chase told him, handing him his cane. Apparently it could have been used as a weapon. "He and his boyfriend broke up, I was glad to get out of there."

House turned to look at him, he wasn't sure if that was good or not. "Splendid idea, why don't we do the same."

Chase's eyebrows furrowed and he looked at House a little frightened. "Break up?"

"Go home," House told him after a moment, trying not to smile.

Wilson just rolled his eyes and walked out first.

"Insecure little thing, aren't you?" House said in amusement.

Chase turned and gave him a look. "I wonder why that is." And with that he followed Wilson, leaving House watching his back, not sure what he had just meant by that.

Prompt 9. Costume

"So, was it like the movies I've seen?"

House looked up from the couch where he was sitting and placed his book down on his lap. "Was what like the movies?"

"Prison," Chase supplied as he put Steve McQueen back in his cage.

"Depends on what movies you've seen," House said picking up his book again. "The Shawshank Redemption, The green Mile..."

"Bad Boys Get Punished parts one and two," Chase finished.

House looked up at him again and rose his eyebrows. "Doctor Chase, please don't tell me you brought porn into my home," he said mockingly.

Chase just smirked and leaned over the couch to kiss the top of House's head. "Wouldn't dream of it... besides, it's not really your thing, is it... gay porn."

House frowned again. Ever since House's run in with the law Chase had been dropping little remarks that House really didn't know what to do with.

He followed Chase around the apartment with his eyes waiting for him to say something else but he didn't, so House went back to his book. Perhaps he should give Wilson a call, see if he was speaking to him yet, and ask for his advice. Wilson was surprisingly good with other men, it was just women he had a problem understanding.

"What do you fancy for dinner?" Chase asked him after a few minutes as he came to sit beside House on the couch.

"McDonalds?" House asked hopefully. "Pizza Hut?"

"Do you have any idea what goes into those burgers?" Chase asked, screwing up his face. House leaned back in his seat and resigned himself to another healthy eating lecture. "It's amazing you lived so long without me, I think being with me has tripled your life expectancy."

"Okay, seriously now, what medical school did you go to? I'm gonna need some proof... a reference... a diploma... just something so that I can..." He was cut of by Chase clamouring over onto his lap and forcing their mouths together.

Chase's hands came around to grasp House's neck and his eyes fluttered close as House kissed him back.

"That's a very effective way of shutting me up you have there," House complimented him huskily once they had broken apart.

Chase gave him another little kiss and moved to get off his lap only for House to pull him back. His hands grasped Chase's ass and he pulled him closer, leaning up for another kiss.

"So the question is... where can we find a policeman's costume at this time of night?" House asked rhetorically, bitting his lower lip.

Chase smiled but frowned to indicate he had no idea what House was talking about.

"We could re-enact that movie of yours," he said slowly, his voice soundly rough. "Bad Boys Get Punished."

Chase wanted to laugh but found that he couldn't. Suddenly the image of House dressed up as a cop telling him what to do was all he could think about.

Prompt 10. Kitty



"I heard you had an interesting patient," House said, attempting to start a conversation with Wilson in the Oncology lounge. He received several frowns from other doctors there. The doctors in this place were more territorial than lions when it came to their break lounges. He wondered if they pissed around the edges of the carpet to warn off outsiders.

"That's right," Wilson answered him, not lifting his eyes from his magazine.

"Pictures of Angelina Jolie nacked?" House asked after a long moment of silence.

"An article on new experimental treatments awaiting FDA approval," Wilson answered him tersely.

"Oh come on," House finally said, snapping. "It's not like this is the worst thing I've ever done to you."

"Do you know how it looks, House? We're doctors, we were arrested."

"I was the only one charged, you were just along for the ride," House replied, sitting back in his chair. If Wilson showed his anger then it was okay, it was the first step back to forgiveness.

"Cuddy wants your balls," Wilson told him, lowering his voice so as not to disturb the other doctors.

"There's nothing new there," House said. He had to forcibly stop himself from making a fertility joke, though it nearly killed him to do so. "So your patient?"

Wilson's eyes sparkled a little and he finally put down his magazine. "Klinefelter syndrome."

"An extra X chromosome... nice," House commented.

"Not for him," Wilson told him. "Though, better than cancer I guess. He's young, just twenty-one. Small testicles, small penis, and what can only be described as breasts."

"Pretty?" House asked only for Wilson to roll his eyes.

"He had delicate features... yes," Wilson told him. "Why, bored of Chase already?"

"Hitting on patients, that's more your style surly," House remarked with a smirk.

Wilson smiled along with him slightly and finally closed his magazine.

"What are you doing this Christmas?"

Wilson looked at him with suspicion. "Why? D'you want me to come over and cook Christmas dinner for you?"

"No," House replied, not meeting Wilson's eyes, something he always did when he was being sincere. It killed him to let a person see that he cared. "Chase and I were wondering if you wanted to come over... the wombat'll be cooking, but be warned he's likely to serve up shark... or worse, a nut loaf."

Wilson smiled and looked down at House's shoes. "I have to go see my parents in the morning but yeah... dinner sounds good."

House just nodded and got up, grabbing his cane. "Great. So we're okay?"

"Yes," Wilson replied, his voice still low so the other doctors couldn't hear them.

"Good... buy me lunch."

~~~~~~~

As House and Wilson sat eating lunch, discussing whether or not Cuddy's skirts were getting shorter lately, House spotted Chase standing in the doorway looking round the room, presumably for him.

He whistled through his teeth loudly, making Chase turn in his direction.
"Here kitty," he yelled and patted his side, making Chase roll his eyes and look round at the other diners in embarrassment.

Chase reached the table and received an understanding smile from Wilson of shared suffering.

"Glad to see you two have kissed and made up," he said as he took a seat.

"Yes, but there was no tongue, babe... I swear," House said mockingly.

"Not from lack of trying," Wilson quipped back, offering Chase his bag of chips.

"Yeah, but on whose part?" Chase quipped back taking a handful of chips. "Patient's Echocardiogram was clear, his heart's fine," Chase then said turning to House.

"Damn it," House's hand tightened on the handle of his cane. "Do an MRI."

"His heart's not the problem, you won't find anything there that the cardio..." Chase began but was interrupted.

"Just do it," House barked. Chase looked at him a little stunned but then quickly took another handful of Wilson's chips and with a sigh got up from his seat.

Once alone again Wilson leaned back in his seat. "Well it's good to see you don't give him any special treatment because of your relationship."

House just glared at him and stole the rest of his chips.

Prompt 16. Phone


Chase stood in the doorway of their bedroom and listened to House play a song on the piano. He didn't know it but it didn't matter. At first he had just listened to the melody, letting it in, but then he had become so caught up with the idea that it was House's fingers that were making that beautiful sound that he was barely even listening anymore.

He slowly pushed himself away from the doorjamb and walked over to the piano, taking a seat beside his boyfriend on the stool.

"I'm sorry the patient died," he offered. House had finally figured out what was wrong with the young man but it didn't matter, he needed a liver transplant but the committee wouldn't allow it based on his alcohol dependency.

"Why, did you kill him?" House asked turning his head to look at Chase, his fingers still skimming over the keys. He changed the song abruptly and Chase's eyes were drawn to House's long fingers dancing.

He turned his head and watched House's face, it matched the sombre feel of the music being played and Chase couldn't stop himself from leaning in and placing a kiss on House's clothed shoulder.

"Play me something I know," Chase whispered, kissing the side of his neck.

The older man sighed and tilted his neck slightly in a silent consent for Chase to carry on. He began playing Moon River and Chase scooted closer to him, until he was up against his side, his arm around his back, kissing his way down his neck.

House let his eyes close but it didn't effect his playing. He knew every key by instinct. He continued to play a little longer until Chase's soft kisses became too much and he had to turn his head to capture Chase's mouth. His fingers moved from the keys and threaded themselves through Chase's silky hair, forcing the younger man's mouth open with his tongue.

Chase whimpered softly into House's mouth and he twisted on the seat, pushing his body against his lover's. House kissed like he played piano. It was made up of different notes, some soft and gentle, others dark and forceful but always beautiful.

Chase let his hand slide up over House's thigh until his fingertips were brushing over the swelling bulge encased in his pants. A near guttural growl escaped into Chase's mouth and he swallowed it, squeezing the hardening flesh under his hand. He loved the heat of it, he loved the texture and the taste of it and soon it wasn't enough, he needed more. His hand slid up to the waistband of House's pants and unbuttoned them before sliding his hand inside and gripping the hot, silky cock within.

House released Chase's mouth and let his head tip back with a grateful sigh as the hand on his cock began to move. House's own hands grabbed Chase's waist and he pulled him up so that he was standing in front of him, in the small space between the piano and the stool. The young man looked down at him with eyes near black, his chest was rising and falling hard and his lips were wet and pink and swollen.

"You're beautiful," House told him in a rare moment of honesty. He rested his forehead on the younger man's firm stomach, his hands skimming down his sides.
He began to slowly undress Chase until the younger man was standing before him utterly naked and exposed, his dusky pink cock thick and curling up towards his stomach.

House nuzzled the soft skin of Chase's belly and the blond gasped and tugged on House's hair sharply in encouragement.

"Fuck me," Chase breathed out raggedly.

House rose from his seat and knocked it backwards, giving them more room, he slid his arms around Chase's back and pulled him flush against him before bringing his mouth to the side of his neck and sucking on the young skin there.

He smiled against Chase's throat when he felt him rubbing himself against his denim-clad thigh and moaning in the back of his throat.

"You want me to fuck you?" House asked, his voice softer than Chase was used to. "You want me to fuck you here?"

Chase bit his lip and nodded, his cock aching and dripping already. "Fuck me right here," he all but demanded as his hands grasped House's pants and pulled them down. He knew it was something House would regret later when his leg was killing him but right now all Chase could think about was the feel of House's cock inside him.

They moved around to the side of the piano and Chase lifted himself up onto it, spreading his legs, which dangled off the edge.

"I need to get..." House began but was stopped by Chase.

"No, I don't need it, just use your saliva, please."

House smirked as he watched Chase lay back on the piano and he ran his hands over the young man's glorious naked body before pulling off his own shirt. "What is it with you and pain?" he asked teasingly.

"Shut up," Chase growled, thrusting his hips up slightly because the ache in his groin was becoming too much.

He glanced up at House through a frame of dark lashes and watched as the older man offered him two of his fingers. Chase sucked them into his mouth, wetting them for him, and moaned around them as House's other hand encircled his cock.

When House pulled his slick fingers free of Chase's mouth and brought them down to his opening he surprised Chase by doing something he had never done before, he lowered his mouth and licked over the head of Chase's cock.

A surprised but pleased yelp escaped Chase's mouth and he closed his eyes tightly as the fingers inside him moved back and froth and the lips around his cock sucked with just the right amount of pressure.

Asking House to suck his cock was just not something Chase felt able to do. He didn't expect it of him, assumed he didn't want to and left it at that, so to have House doing it because he wanted to made Chase's eyes close tight to try and keep in the building flood of emotion.

The fingers inside his body scissored and fucked and although he wished he could hold out longer he knew he needed House to fuck him now or he'd cum far too soon.

"Now," he whispered, his hand falling down and hitting some of the piano keys.

House looked up at him and gave him one last lick before lifting off and licking his own hand to coat his cock.

He was hard, so hard and he needed to feel Chase's tight velvet heat surround him. Surround him in a way it never had before, because this was also a first, the first time they hadn't used a condom.

House didn't even pause to discus this, he knew they were both clean and had been with only each other for almost a year now. He had never been inside someone like this without a condom and so when he pushed inside and felt Chase grip him his mouth opened around a silent scream at just how delicious it felt.

Chase's hands turned into fists at his side and he bit his lip hard as he was stretched so completely. It burned and it stung but only in a good way, it only made it better.

Once fully sheathed, House stayed very still for fear that the pressure around him would become too much and he'd cum too soon and he didn't want to hurt Chase too much so he waited until they had both adjusted.

Soon though Chase became frustrated and started moving his hips drawing out little groans from House. The older man began to move inside him slowly. His leg was killing him but he just didn't care, the pleasure he was experiencing far outweighed the pain.

Chase was laid out on top of the piano like an offering, so creamy and flushed. His dark pink, engorged cock moved with every one of House's thrusts and the older man found himself mesmerised by it. He had never thought much about Chase's cock if he was honest. He loved Chase and certainly loved fucking him but it was because he was Chase, not because he was a man. House hadn't before felt an atraction to a man before but here he was looking at Chase's cock and wishing he could bend enough to suck it into his mouth again. It was beautiful, just like the rest of him.

House thrust into the younger man as hard as he could, but still conscious of the lack of lubrication. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back, concentrating on nothing other than the feel of Chase around him.

He was brought out of his revere by the sound of the phone ringing and Chase watched him incredulously as he reached over and picked it up, not slowing down his thrusts at all.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Chase groaned out, biting his lip as House smirked at him and answered the phone.

"Hello?" House's free hand wrapped itself around Chase's cock, his own cock still buried deep inside him.

Chase brought his hand up to his mouth and bit on it so whoever was on the phone wouldn't here him.

"When?" House began fisting Chase's cock as he thrust into him faster now. "It's alright, I'll call Cuddy and arrange for him to be brought down here."

Chase could hear the words and wanted to ask if everything was all right but House's cock was hitting his prostate with every thrust and he could feel his orgasm building.

"Don't worry. I'll be there when you arrive," House said into the phone, his eyes glued on Chase's face as the younger man tensed and bit down hard before spilling himself all over House's hand.

Chase let out a shuddering groan and relaxed, his darkened eyes once again locking onto House's.

"Okay, don't worry, I'll see you in a few hours. Bye." House pressed the off button and put it down. He then grabbed his discarded T-shirt and wiped his hand before continuing to move inside Chase's spent body.

"Who was that?" Chase asked through a raged breath.

"My mom," House answered, gritting his teeth as he picked up speed. "My dad's in hospital."

Chase just looked at him like he was deranged. There was just too much wrong with what had just happened to even know where to begin.

Prompt 22. Floral

Chase chewed on his lips as he spied through the glass wall to House's dad's room. He was pretending to look through a file next to the nurse's station, hoping that if House saw him it wouldn't look too suspicious.

House's dad had suffered a heart attack and had been transferred just a few hours ago. Though House had insisted Chase wait for him at home he couldn't bare the thought of House being alone in this. He just wanted to be around in case House needed him, though realistically he knew House would never come to him or open up to him about it, still it made him feel better knowing that House had a choice.

"Have you been in yet?" Wilson asked as he came up behind him.

Chase quickly looked back down at the file and turned a page. "Hmm? Oh, no I haven't."

Wilson leveled him with a look. "He still hasn't told them about you and he has he?"

Chase cautiously looked up at him, not wanting anything to show on his face. "It's not a big deal. Not like they're close or anything. He hardly speaks to them."

Wilson reached out his hand and squeezed Chase's shoulder. "You know I like to think of myself as your friend too."

Chase looked up at him and smiled. He would consider himself very lucky to have a friend like Wilson, especially if he let him get away with even half as much as he did House.

"This isn't about me anyway, it's about him. I just wanted to be here in case..." he trailed off and laughed at himself. "In case he needs me." He knew that wouldn't happen, it never did. House was never going to be the kind of man to talk through his problems, to share with you when he was hurting or afraid. He was the kind of man who could hear that his father was in the hospital and not lose his hardon.

"I'm going to go in," Wilson told him, removing his hand. They both looked at the family in the small room. House was resting his chin on his cane, looking anywhere but at his father, and House's mom was busy fussing over her husband. Chase had seen this scene many times before with House. He was as unattached right now as he always was with his patients.

Wilson slid open the glass door and stepped inside.

"James," House's mother greeted him happily. "How nice of you to visit. And thank you for the flowers, they're beautiful."

Wilson smiled at her and looked around at the room. It looked like a florist. He wondered why people did that. He assumed that there were more flowers than there had been visitors, it made them feel better to send something but the truth was that most patients would prefer the company, a break in their dreary day of just lying there.

"How are you feeling, sir?" Wilson asked the man in the bed.

"Like I had a heart attack," he said with a small laugh.

House rolled his eyes and looked down at the pager on his hip. Why didn't the damn thing ever go off when he wanted it to?

"I was just talking with the nurse and she tells me you're going to be fine," Wilson said positively.

"Yes, and believe me there's going to be changes," Mrs House said, giving her husband a serious look. "No more of that junk you eat for a start."

Wilson smiled at Mr House sympathetically. "Sounds like Chase," he said before thinking.

House's head whipped up and rather than feel panic he actually felt amusement. What better time to tell his dad he was a big old queer than after he had just had a heart attack?

"Whose Chase?" House's mom asked, reaching for the water jug beside the bed.

"Oh... um... he's a friend of ours, always telling us to eat better," Wilson covered. He couldn't believe he had let that come out.

House continued to watch Wilson as his cheeks flushed, a smile spreading across his lips at Wilson's discomfort. Time to turn up the heat.

"And boy is he hot!" House suddenly said very loudly so that all three heads turned to him in shock. "Man, what an ass. You met him actually, mom. That day you dropped by unannounced. Good thing you weren't twenty minutes earlier or you would have been in for quite a shock, I can tell you."

"Are you insane?" Wilson asked him. He knew he shouldn't still be surprised by the things that House did. That he should be immune by now, but every day House seemed to step up his game.

"Uh... Um... Greg, what are you... what?" his mom stuttered, lowering herself down into a chair.

"Relax mom, it's not like I'm really having some illicit secret affair with a male co-worker... we live together, it's all above board."

She continued to stare at him for a minute longer before risking a glance at her husband. He was already turning away from his son and reaching for his crossword puzzle. She knew how this was going to play out, he was going to act like their son hadn't just shared something with them and Greg would continue to make insinuations to get a rise from him. Nothing had changed between them since he was sixteen. And once again she felt torn between standing by her husband and going to her son.

Without another word House began making his way toward the door, his eyes on Chase whom was still stood at the nurse's station. Wilson was quick to follow him out the door, not wanting to be left alone in there with the debre left in House's wake.

House whistled at Chase through his teeth and the blonde's head darted up from where he was with a frown. House just nodded his head towards the elevator and Chase put down the file and followed him.

~~~~~~~

House walked into his office, knowing that Chase was following and went straight to his desk to retrieve his Vicodin. He heard the door close and the increasing volume of Chase's footsteps behind him.

"Are you all right?" the Australian asked as he came up behind him and placed his hand on his shoulder. He began rubbing his hand soothingly up and down House's arm and the older man found he couldn't turn and look at him.

He questioned why he had asked Chase to follow him. Didn't he usually want to be alone at times like these?

Chase stayed where he was for a moment, feeling a little awkward and not knowing what to say. He wished he was better at things like this, he wished he'd payed more attention when Cameron was being disgustingly nice to patients. Finally, realising that he and House had never really needed words, he wrapped his arms around him from behind and rested his chin on his shoulder, kissing the side of his neck where his gun shoot wound still haunted him.

He felt House tense for only a moment before relaxing and even leaning back into him.
Chase didn't know why House had such a problem with his father, he didn't ask and he felt he didn't really need to. He knew from his own relationship with his dad that it wasn't something you could easily put into words. You couldn't describe the pain that all the little things, that had been building for years and years, had left you with.

House snorted at Chase's impression of a koala but the smile stayed on his face. Maybe he really had picked the wrong marsupial nickname.
"Damn snuggler," he moaned covering Chase's hands with his own.


Prompt 17. Sand

Chase looked up from where he was chopping up basil at the kitchen counter when he heard the doorbell go. He glanced around the corner to see if House was going to answer it but the older man didn't seem to have even heard it, so engrossed in his game of Mario that he was.

Chase rolled his eyes and grabbed a dishtowel to quickly wipe his hands on before walking over to the door, making sure to hit House with the dishtowel as he passed.

He opened the door to a smiling Wilson. "Hey, you're early. Come in."

Wilson frowned and handed Chase the bottle of wine he had brought with him. "House said seven," he explained, glancing over to the couch where his friend was still enthralled by Mario.

"D'you wanna glass?" Chase asked as he went back into the kitchen.

Wilson took off his coat and went to sit beside House, looking over at the screen of his GameBoy. "Please," he called out to Chase. "If you jump on that bouncy thing on the sand there's a hidden level under..."

"I know where the hidden levels are," House told him, breaking away from the screen to give him a look. "But I want the flying Yoshi before I do it."

"So what's this little dinner in honour of? I'm pretty sure that in all our years as friends you've never actually invited me other for dinner."

"I've invited you over for Christmas," House argued.

"Which is in three days," Wilson said, still frowning. "You couldn't wait `til then to see me?"

House ignored him and kept his eyes glued to the screen, though he wasn't really paying attention, he was playing on autopilot. It had been a strange week, a strange couple of weeks really. Things between he and Chase were always either perfect or awful. He couldn't count on one hand the number of fights or arguments they had had this past month. Ned, the cheerleader, his dad, patients, any little thing seemed to make them clash. And then as if by magic the next day everything was fine again.

It was like it had been with Stacy before she left. They argued and the next day she acted like nothing had happened, like he hadn't screwed up, because she knew she was leaving soon and so she took the blame.

His relationship with Chase was like a scab, he couldn't help but pick at it until it was red raw with irritation. So when the doorbell went again he tossed Wilson his GameBoy and went to answer it.

"Ned," he greeted with false enthusiasm as he pulled the door back. "Come on in."

Wilson frowned and rose from the couch to go over and introduce himself. He hadn't known he wasn't their only dinner guest tonight. And then he remembered who Ned was and it all suddenly made sense in a very terrifying kind of way. Wilson thought that perhaps he should warn Ned to run, he also thought that perhaps he should join him.

Chase stood in the doorway to the kitchen looking from Ned to House. The expression on his face told Wilson that Chase didn't know about this either.

"Ned, what're you doing here?" Chase asked, trying not to sound rude. He walked over to him and patted him on the back once.

"Um, you invited me," Ned replied with a confused frown.

Chase looked over at House and tried not to let his anger show on his face. Instead he plastered on a smile and went to get Ned a glass of wine. "Why don't you help me out in the kitchen," he suggested as an afterthought, realising how foolish it would be to leave him alone with House.

Ned smiled at Wilson and House and followed Chase. The second they were out of sight Wilson grabbed House and all but dragged him out into the hall.

"What the hell are you doing?"

House didn't look him in the eye and Wilson knew for sure that was a bad sign. Usually when House pulled one of his stunts he looked right at you, he was even proud with himself. But when did something that even he knew was a bad idea he found it hard to look you in the eye. Any minute now his leg was going to start hurting a lot more than it had been, it was how his guilt chose to manifest itself.

"We're having dinner Jimmy. A nice friendly dinner," House said, his voice low and void of its usual sarcasm.

~~~~~~~

House watched carefully, waiting for them to slip up. He wasn't exactly sure what they were going to slip up about. It wasn't like he thought Chase was cheating on him but he felt they were hiding something, down playing their previous relationship perhaps.

Wilson was doing most of the talking at the dinner table, he figured if he didn't leave room for anyone else (House) to talk then it'd be okay. He kept darting glances at Chase who had barely spoken. Once in a while he joined in the conversation if Wilson or Ned asked him something but he couldn't even bring himself to look at House.

Wilson knew he was making a mistake taking a sip of his wine. The second his mouth was full he heard House take a breath.

"So nurse Ned, Chase tells me your single again," he asked, propping his elbows on the table and leaning forward feigning interest.

Ned looked at Chase who just looked down at his food, his face set angrily. "Um yeah."

"You know Wilson's recently gone through a divorce... well several actually... you two have a lot in common," House said, picking up his wine glass and downing it.

Wilson's eyes fixed on House in horror. He couldn't possibly be doing what he thought he was, could he?

"What are you doing?" Wilson asked through his teeth.

House looked at him innocently. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I being too forward? I should just let you kids get to know each other by yourselves, stop butting in."

Chase ground his teeth but still didn't say anything. He didn't want the other two to see it when he finally blew up.

Ned's eyes moved between House and Wilson. "This was a blind date?" He guessed the older doctor was kind of handsome but he really wasn't ready to move on from Jude yet. He couldn't believe that Chase would do this.

"No," Wilson insisted a little too loudly. "I don't... I'm not even..."

"That's not what you were saying the other week, James. You asked Chase to find you a nice man, remember?" House prompted.

Wilson glared at him and stood abruptly, pushing his chair back along the wooden floor with a screech. "What the hell is the matter with you?" he demanded. "You can't help yourself, can you." He went and got his coat and turned to Chase, who was still staring at his food. "Chase I'm sorry. Thank you for dinner but I think I should leave."

Ned followed suit and stood up too. "Yeah, I think I'd better go too. It's getting late," he lied, following Wilson out of the door.

Once the door slammed shut House was expecting Chase to begin shouting, which is why it scared him when the young man just stood up and began clearing the table.

"What are you more mad at? That I was trying to take Ned off the market again, or that I didn't warn you to make extra pasta sauce?" House asked conversationally as he got up and followed Chase into the kitchen. He watched as the young man placed the dishes in the sink and went into the bedroom.

House looked over at James Dean and Steve McQueen, they were both at their bars looking at him through their big black eyes. "Go to your rooms," he said quietly only for them to continue looking at him.

When Chase came back out of the bedroom he had a bag with him and his coat.

"Where are you going?" House asked, suddenly moving towards him, unexpected fear etched on his face. "Chase?"

"You took my phone and you text him," Chase explained calmly. "You either don't trust me or you just enjoy making me miserable. I haven't done anything wrong. Since you and I have been together I haven't done a single thing wrong, but still you keep punishing me for the things that Stacy did to you. You're girlfriend left you, lets take it out on Chase. Your dad's an unfeeling prick, let's take it out on Chase. Well no more. I'm done."

House watched him as he put on his coat and slung his bag over his shoulder. "Don't go," he heard himself saying.

Chase didn't even turn to look at him before leaving the apartment.

Prompt 14. Green


Wilson walked through his small apartment towards the door, drying his hair with a towel. He knew he should move, find a real home, but habit told him to wait. Wait for the next wife to come along, even though he had swore to himself that would never again happen.

He tossed the towel over the back of a chair and answered the door. After an evening spent with House he always felt the need to shower, like perhaps his soul was a little less clean because of the continued exposure to Satan himself.

He pulled the door back and saw Chase standing there, cold and wet from the snow that had just started to fall.

"Something tells me you're not here to sing carols."

Chase smiled at him weekly, his arms around himself. "Can I come in?"

Wilson nodded and held the door back. He looked around and picked up his discarded towel, offering it to Chase who laughed slightly and took it. He brought it up to his nose and smelled it. It was damp and smelled like Wilson's shampoo.

"I used to be such a good host, I guess living on your own in a place like this makes you forget all that," Wilson said apologetically, going into his small bathroom and retrieving a fresh towel.

"It's fine," Chase replied going over to the window and looking out. "It's really coming down now. When I was a kid back in Oz I used to watch those old British Christmas movies and wish I could have a snowy Christmas."

Wilson smiled and came to join him at the window. "And now you can."

"I'm sorry about tonight," Chase said suddenly, turning to look at him.

Wilson just smiled at him sadly and shook his head. "Chase, don't become like me."

"What d'you mean?"

"I've spent half my life apologising for House. Trying to make people forgive him, feeling like it was my responsibility. You did nothing wrong, Chase, and he just doesn't care if he's forgiven or not," Wilson told him, walking away from the window and going over to the tiny green Christmas tree that was stood on top of his television.

Chase looked over at it too and smiled. "That has to be the smallest Christmas tree I've ever seen."

"Yeah, well I debated whether to get one at all, but I guess it just didn't feel right without one." He flicked a switch and the tree's tips lit up with optic fibres. He smiled as Chase sat down on his couch and watched the colours change from red to pink to purple to white.

"I don't have any eggnog to offer you or mulled wine," Wilson told him teasingly. "But I do have a nice bottle of wine that another doctor gave me today."

"That'd be nice, thanks," Chase told him, finally shrugging off his coat and sitting back on the couch. The apartment was small but it was clean and warm and the light of the tree was very soothing.

Wilson quickly came back with the bottle and two glasses. He set them down on the coffee table and joined Chase on the couch. "So is that why you came over? To apologise?"

Chase picked up one of the glasses and let Wilson pour wine into it. "No... the other day you told me you were my friend... and I think I need one right now."

Wilson just nodded. He knew better than anyone what House could do to a person. He remembered that Stacy was frequently at his house with he and his ex wife just before she had finally had enough and left. He hoped that wouldn't happen with Chase, even though House probably deserved it.

"I sorta walked out and I figured it would only put fuel to the fire if I went to Ned's, not that he probably wants to see me ever again after tonight," Chase explained.

"You're more than welcome here, Chase. Truth is it's nice to have some company."

Chase smiled at him sympathetically. "You miss your wife?"

Wilson suppressed a laugh and took a sip of his wine. "No, actually I was more lonely with her than I am now."

"I brought a bag with me, it's in the car," Chase said quietly, looking at him sheepishly. "I can't go back tonight, we'll only fight more and I need time to work out exactly what I'm going to say to him before we have important conversations or he just runs rings around me."

Wilson smirked and nodded in understanding. "You can stay here, Chase. Though I haven't properly tested out the comfort of this couch yet."

Chase smiled at him gratefully. "It'll be fine."

Prompt 12. Frame


House had forgotten how much he hated his apartment. He had forgotten the sickly ache of guilt that settled in his stomach as he drained an entire bottle of scotch alone. He had forgotten how different the place smelled without Chase's many, many hair and skin products, how quiet it was without his constant chatter and how cold it was without his body continually pressed up against his.

The clock on the fireplace ticked loudly making him all the more aware of how quiet the rest of the place was. The Who, his oldest and dearest friends, were providing him with his only source of comfort. The Vicodin he had taken was mixing nicely with the alcohol in his stomach and it created a pleasant numbness that was more than welcome. He took an almost sick amount of pleasure in knowing what Chase would say if he were here, if House hadn't pushed him away, if he hadn't ruined the best thing he had ever had. He was good at that.

Special talents? Diagnosing illnesses that no one else can and ruining relationships.

He hated Christmas. He wondered if he tried to top himself would an Angel come down and show him how much better the world is for having him in it, but he doubted it, that only happened in Christmas movies. He had a lot of love for James Stewart but Harvey was more his kind of movie. James Stewart as an alcoholic, lunatic who in the end everyone decides is fine just as he is, if only real life were like the movies.

If this were a movie, what with it being Christmas and all, then House would have an epiphany of some sort and vow to become a better man. Chase would then of course fall into his arms and swoon over how much he had changed and House wouldn't currently be feeling himself slip into unconsciousness.

He let his eyes slip shut, briefly focusing on the photo frame of he and Chase at the charity gala in their tuxedos, before passing out completely.

"Hello, Greg?" House's mother's voice said over the answer machine, but he didn't hear it. "I wanted to wish you a merry Christmas, honey... and Chase, of course. You're father and I are leaving for your aunt's tomorrow morning so I won't get to speak to you again before Christmas. Take care my darling."

Prompt 18. Dreams


"House," Wilson called out to him from across the reception as he saw him enter the hospital. He looked rougher than usual, his eyes bleary and red and his trademark unshaven look was bordering on being a beard. Not suprising given his night speant dreaming of The Who, talking pills and his mother for some reason.

"You look like crap," Wilson told him when he finally caught up with him.

"And now I feel like crap," House told him as he continued walking towards the elevator. "Gee, Jimmy, you sure know how to make a man feel good. And it being Christmas Eve and all."

"How's Chase?" Wilson asked following him into the elevator and waiting for the doors to close.

"He's fine," House lied.

"Then why did he sleep on my couch last night?"

House quickly turned to look at his friend and felt a slight surge of relief go through him. He hadn't really expected Chase to stay at Nurse Ned's, but the niggling thought was there none the less.

"If you know he left me last night then why did you ask?" House asked.

"Because I knew you'd lie to me."

"Again, the point was...?" House went to exit the elevator once it had stopped on his floor but Wilson put his arm out in front of him to stop him.

"He hasn't left you, he's pissed off, and justifiably so. Just, please promise me you won't be an ass about this. Apologise to him, do something because there's only so far you can push a person, House." Wilson gave him a long look before letting him go. He waited until House was opening his door before he shouted. "I'm still coming over for Christmas dinner right?"

House just smirked and let himself into the diagnostics lounge. He looked over at the table straight away. If Wilson was here than Chase was here too. Whatever had happened between them Chase was a professional, he wouldn't miss a day of work without a good reason.

"Hey," he said to all three of them and Chase just nodded back.

"Cuddy asked us to look a case over for her, her cousin's step son," Cameron informed House as he went over to make himself a coffee. She was clearly completely unaware of the tension between her boss and his boyfriend.

They talked through the possible scenarios and diagnosis. He gave them all jobs to do and waited for them to all get up to leave before saying, "Chase, can I see you in my office."

Chase looked at him in annoyance. House knew he hated when he used his status as boss over him when it was a them thing and not a work thing. But he followed him anyway.

"You stayed at Wilson's last night?" he asked, sitting on the edge of his desk.

"You know I did, or you wouldn't have asked," Chase said, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting for House to speak again.

"I went too far," he finally said quietly, looking down at the carpet between them.

"I'm not even sure what it is you hoped to achieve," Chase said, his voice staying low and calm. "Were you jealous? Suspicious? Bored?"

House let out a long breath and finally looked up to meet Chase's blue eyes. What the hell was Chase doing with him?

"I don't know. I don't know why I do that," he answered honestly.

"I think I do," Chase said, taking a few steps closer to him. "You like being lonely and miserable because it's comfortable. You know it, you're familiar with it, it doesn't disappoint you. It's easier to stay that way than to try and change. Everybody leaves you so it's best not to love them at all." He took another step closer to House. Inside he was aching. He wanted to touch the older man, comfort him even though he was the one in the wrong. He remembered Wilson telling him once that House was like a child with special needs.

"So you think that if you push and push then eventually I'll leave too, and you'll be right. I can only take so much, I'm only human. And then you can go back to being lonely, but you won't be happy, House, you'll just be right. And if that's more important to you than I am then this really won't work."

The look on House's face made Chase crumble inside. He looked like an old dog on his way to his very last visit to the vets.

"Don't give up on me, please," House said in a broken voice. "I don't wanna be right. I just want you."

Every cell in Chase's body was telling him to go to him now and hold him and kiss him but he wouldn't let himself. He knew there was more to be said and that if he just gave in this easily every time then things would never get better between them.

"I'll come home tonight, after work, to talk," Chase told him. "But right now we've got work to do."

House nodded and watched as Chase left. His hand automatically went to his pant's pocket to reach for his Vicodin but he forcibly pulled it away again. This time he wanted to feel the pain.

Prompt 6. Caged

Waiting for Chase to turn up at their apartment was like waiting for judgment day. He had actually found himself kicking dirty socks under the couch and moving last night's empty bottle and glass into the kitchen. It was the closest to tidying up House got. He had also turned on the lights on the Christmas tree Chase had put up a few nights ago. He looked at the presents sitting underneath it. Seeing a present from his mom and dad addressed to both he and Chase was an ache in his stomach he wanted to ignore. He wondered what his dad had made of that or if he even knew. He seemed to remember his mother being stuck with all the Christmas shopping and chores at home. Just like Chase, he thought bitterly, lowering himself down onto the couch and burying his face in his hands. Was he becoming his father?

He didn't know why he did the things he did, but he found himself doing them before thinking it through. If he could turn back time and undo what he had done then he would, so why couldn't he realise this before?

It was raining hard outside, turning that morning's snow into a grey, dirty sludge. He wondered if Chase would be okay driving in it. He wondered how comfortable Wilson's couch was. His old one was even better that House's bed but Julie had gotten it in the divorce, along with everything else. She had cheated on him and still ended up with everything. Wilson was pathetic.

He looked behind him at the squeak that was distinctively James Dean's. Steve McQueen wasn't much of a squeaker, he was more the strong silent type.

"Don't look at me like that," he warned the rodent who cocked his head as if maybe he could understand what was being said if he just tried hard enough. "He's coming back."

House reached over and opened the cage, letting the younger of the two rats scurry out over the back of the couch. He opened Steve McQueen's cage too but the older rat was asleep and House suspected he was ignoring him on purpose as punishment.

Prompt 2. Rain


"Hey," Chase said quietly, droplets of rain falling from his usually perfect hair.

"Hey," House replied, cautiously moving closer to him. He watched as Chase shrugged off his jacket and went into the bathroom to retrieve a towel. He walked back into the room drying his hair and House watched him intently. At least if Chase left him tonight for good then he would have a Chase smelling towel to sleep with. He was as pathetic as Wilson.

"It's fucking freezing out there," Chase said, seeming far to calm and at home than he should have been.

House looked but he didn't see a bag. But seeing as most of Chase's stuff was still here it could just mean that he was covering his basics just in case and leaving the bag at Wilson's.

"Yeah, you want a coffee?"

"Are you kidding?" Chase asked, flopping himself down onto the couch and turning to greet the rats who were both up at the bars looking at him. "It's Christmas Eve, if I drink coffee now I'll never get to sleep."

House smiled and came to sit beside him. Chase was acting like he was staying, like he planned on sleeping here tonight, that was a good thing.

"So, how was Wilson's couch?" House asked, not knowing what else to say and both dreading and wanting to start The Talk.

Chase made a face. "Lumpy. But it was okay for one night."

House visibly relaxed and leaned back. "One night? So, you're not going back tonight?"

Chase couldn't stop himself from smiling slightly at the insecurity on House's face. "I hope not," he said. "I um... things needs to change. I'm not saying that I want you to change just that you need to... think before you do something. Or ask me rather than just assume something."

House nodded eagerly, willing to agree to pretty much anything if it meant Chase was staying.

"I tried and tried to think of a way to make everything better but I realised that I couldn't. That I could either walk away and try and get over you or I could stay and accept that it wouldn't always be easy."

House swallowed and reached out to take Chase's hand. "And which did you decide?"

Chase smiled and scooted closer to him. "I realised that I don't want to get over you. I've never loved anyone before and that the good usually outweighs the bad."

House smiled too and ducked his head. "I will try, I promise."

Chase leaned in and kissed him gently, making them both close their eyes tightly and grip onto each other.

"You still think you're going to lose me and that's why you do the things you do," Chase told him, lips still against lips. "So I have a proposition for you."

House pulled back enough to look into Chase's eyes. "You wanna get married?" he asked incredulously.

Chase laughed and shook his head. "Not that kind of proposition." He tried not to laugh again at the look of relief that went over House's face.

"I propose a game of golf," he said, nodding over to the PlayStation.

House's eyebrows rose. "You think we can fix our problems with a game of golf?"

Chase got up and turned the TV on and then the PlayStation. "No, but it's a start. We make it a little more interesting though."

House smirked and sat forward. "We're betting on Tiger Woods Pro Golf?"

"Yep," he said, sitting beside House and handing him a controller. "If you win, I have to swear to never leave you no mater what. Under no circumstances can I beak up with you."

House looked more confused and more amused at this. "Is this going to be a legal agreement?"

"Was that a marriage proposal?" Chase asked suspiciously only for House to snort and shake his head.

"And if you win?" House asked, selecting the golf course to play on. He selected the one in the Highlands because it was the one where you could hear the Lock Ness Monster and it was Chase's favourite.

"If I win, you have to tell me you love me," Chase said, darting a look at House who seemed to think it over before slowly nodding in acceptance.

Prompt 13. Cigar


House snuck a look at Chase as he went first in teeing off. The younger man looked extremely focused and House found himself trying not to smile. Chase was home, on his couch, playing golf on Christmas Eve. It had been too close, he had nearly lost him this time, he couldn't risk that happening again.

House watched as Chase's ball went slightly off centre and this time he couldn't stop the smile from breaking through. "You pulled it left again."

"Shut up," Chase said, turning to give him a mock glare. "You always bloody say that."

"That's because you always bloody do it," House said back, pulling back his controller and letting the club swing perfectly, landing his ball right near the hole.

"Did you used to play gold for real? Before your leg?" Chase asked, wondering if he should have brought it up at all.

House just shook his head. "Too much walking. It's much more fun when you can do it sitting on your couch." The great irony was that he had never wanted to play golf, it had always seemed boring, like snooker, but now he'd give anything to be able to walk around a golf course.

It was somewhere on the ninth hole that the Lock Ness Monster started making noises and Chase stopped mid putt to listen. He turned to House with the grin of a child on Christmas morning and made a shushing motion.

"It's a cow," House said automatically, even though he knew it wasn't.

"It is not! Even the commentator says it," Chase argued once again resuming his putt.

"I got Wilson something and put both our names on it," House said out of the blue as if he were proud of himself for doing so, as if Chase should be proud of him for acknowledging them as a couple. He had even managed to buy his friend something he would like as apposed to the usual whisky and cigars that House himself would end up drinking and smoking.

When they finally reached the eighteenth and last hole they were almost level, with House just two points ahead. "You'd better catch up wombat," House taunted, only for Chase to give him a gentle shove.

"Stop trying to put me off," he warned. "Or you can cook Christmas dinner yourself tomorrow."

"You mean we'd be eating something other than tofu and nutloaf? Was that really the best threat you could come up with?" House asked, moving slightly closer to him on the couch.

"Fuck off," Chase quipped back, unable to stop the small laugh that escaped him.

House watched the younger man as he watched the TV screen intently. He wanted to suggest they turn off the game and go straight to bed, not for once because he was horny or bored or tired, but because he felt an unexplainable need to touch him, feel him against him. Sleeping without him, even just for one night, felt so cold and empty, it was a place he dreaded ever going back to.

"Pay attention," Chase scolded him, "I'm catching you up." He turned and gave House a big grin and House just smiled back before taking what could well have been his final shot. He lined it up as always and glanced back over at Chase quickly before taking it. He continued to look at him until Chase turned to him with a frown on his face.

"What're you waiting for?"

House didn't answer he just turned back to the screen and pulled back his club, watching as it left a yellow streak in the wake of the swing and pushing it forward.

They both watched as the ball missed it's target and went rolling into the water. Silence filled the room for a while save for the sounds of the game and the commentator belittling House's shot. Finally Chase turned to look at him.

"You did that on purpose," he said quietly, frowning in his confusion.

"Now why would I do a thing like that?" House asked, looking over at the Christmas presents, unable to look at Chase.

"You've never pulled it left, not once. Why did you do that?" Chase demanded but House still wouldn't look at him.

"Just take your damn shot," House snapped, nodding towards the screen.

Chase did as he was told and lined up his shot before taking it. He watched as it rolled into the hole and the commentator announced that they had drawn.

He slowly put the controller on the ground. "You did that on purpose," he said again.

House shrugged and did the same with his controller. "I guess now we both win."

Slowly a smile broke out on Chase's face and he moved in front of House to make him look at him. "You're an idiot," he said affectionately. Why House couldn't have just said it without throwing the game was beyond Chase, but then he guessed he wasn't emotionally crippled.

"Yes I am," House agreed with him. "And I love you." He managed to hold Chase's eyes without looking away but soon the intensity was too much for him, he needed to break it. He leaned forward and kissed Chase, shattering the tension like a chair thrown against glass.

Chase closed his eyes tight and wrapped his arms around House's neck, pushing their bodies closer together. He had never felt more like he'd come home in his life.

Prompt 20. Twinkle


"Merry Christmas," Wilson greeted as he dusted the snow from his hair. He held up a carrier bag of presents, which Chase took before ushering him inside.

"Thanks. How're the roads?"

"Crazy, I'm glad I don't live far. There's so much snow, it took me twice as long to get here," Wilson told him, taking of his damp coat and hanging it up over a radiator to dry. "Something smells good," he said, turning and looking towards the kitchen. He froze when he saw House standing in front of the counter mixing something together in a bowel.

"He's... helping," Chase supplied only for Wilson to look at him disbelievingly.

"Want me to get him out of your kitchen?" Wilson asked, taking back the bag of presents and getting them out on the couch. "I have something here that'll distract him for hours."

Chase laughed and shook his head. "I think it means something to him, to be helping me. And besides it's only the bread sauce he's making, I have a packet one in the cupboard just in case."

Wilson smiled and handed Chase his present. "Not that you aren't a good house guest but I gotta say I was happy last night when you did come back."

Chase smiled and nodded. He tore open his present and laughed to see it was an Australian beer tasting set, complete with twenty bottles all of a different brand. "Just what I've always wanted," he joked giving Wilson a brief but sincere hug.

"So everything's okay now?" Wilson asked tentatively.

Chase seemed to think about his answer for a moment. "Yeah, I'm where I wanna be."

"That's great," House said, surprising them both as he came into the living room. "But where I want you to be is in there glazing parsnips."

Wilson turned and gave his friend a smile before flopping down onto the couch and picking up House's present.

"What the hell's that all about anyway? Honey on parsnips? Is it an Aussie thing?" House asked, taking his present and ripping into it without so much as a greeting to Wilson first.

"No," Chase insisted, giving him a kiss on the cheek as he passed him. "It's a French thing."

House used his foot to kick Wilson's present out from under the tree and over to him before sitting beside him. He looked down at the present in his hands and grinned. "A collection of lesbian vampire stories... Nice."

Wilson grinned and opened his own present. He looked down at the bag and read the back of it. "An inflatable wife."

"To replace the ones you lost. Tiffany here won't bleed you dry, she won't ask you to look at fifty swatches, each one a slightly different shade of white and she most certainly won't have an affair with her tennis instructor. She's the perfect woman," House told him, putting his feet up on his coffee table and watching as Wilson copied him.

Wilson seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Thanks."

"Sure," House said with a nod, opening his new book and looking through it.

"Oh my God," Chase said as he came back into the room and looked down at the present in Wilson's hands. "You put my name on that?"

They both looked up at him and grinned. Then Chase looked down at the present Wilson had given House and rolled his eyes. "You two have a very strange friendship."

"Shut up woman, get back in the kitchen and cook us some food," House said, his eyes glued back on the book in his hands.

Chase smacked him lightly round the back of his head and Wilson snickered before getting up. "I'll give you a hand," he offered, following Chase into the kitchen. He looked back at House, completely emerged in his book of lesbian vampires and smiled. "See what'd I tell you? That thing'll give you hours of peace."

It was fairly late when Wilson left to go home. They had all eaten more than necessary and House had been just drunk enough to be unusually affectionate and rest his head on either one of their shoulders, depending on who was closest.

They had sampled some of Chase's beer and blown up Tiffany, who House had given her own seat up the dinner table. Now that they were alone Chase was watching House as they were sat on the couch. The older man's head was lolled back on the headrest sleeping.

Chase watched him with a small smile for a while before unsuccessfully stifling a yawn. He got up and went over to the Christmas tree, turning off the twinkling lights and went back to the couch. He moved closer to House and rested his head on his shoulder, sliding his arm over his stomach as he closed his eyes and joined him in sleep.

The End