Astarion

[drfeelbad]

Surprisingly there were not many pubs in London that played American football on the televisions. Even then, it was usually like one television out of half a dozen above the bar. As a result, House had not only a regular pub that he went to this time of year but also a regular seat.

"Hey Greg," said the bartender as House slid onto a stool at the end of the bar and leaned his cane against it. He went ahead and poured a double of Jack Daniels on the rocks and pushed it to him without House having to ask. "Who's playing tonight?" he asked, as if he cared. But House appreciated the effort.

"Ohio State versus Rutgers," said House then added gleefully, "I'm just here to watch Ohio State get their asses kicked." He'd gone to Michigan.

"Hey can I also get a basket of chips?" he asked, and the bartender nodded and walked away.

Comments

[sadistic_vampire_spawn]

"What can I say? No one has ever accused me of being deep," Astarion smiled.

It wasn't quite the truth though. Astarion did want those things, yes, but there were depths there he just didn't like to share. He was forever reluctant to make himself vulnerable.

[drfeelbad]

“Well I’m afraid I have neither of those things,” said House.

[sadistic_vampire_spawn]

"You are a doctor though, and you do have an interest in unusual modifications, yes?" Astarion asked.

[drfeelbad]

"I actually am probably the best doctor you will ever meet, especially when it comes to the combination of human and cybernetics," House said. "Though weird how that has amassed me neither money nor power."

[sadistic_vampire_spawn]

"Perhaps it's the bedside manner, hmm?" Astarion suggested.

[drfeelbad]

“When bedside manner makes you rich it’s usually not because you’re a doctor,” House said mildly. “ so what kind of modifications? “

[sadistic_vampire_spawn]

"The teeth. They aren't for blood, however. ...I was badly hurt some time ago, and was modified, without my consent I might add, to run off biofuel alone. Which would be fine, if I could produce my own. However, I can not."

Dead things didn't produce much of anything.

Though the biofuel wasn't the problem, he simply wanted to see how the doctor reacted to that first half of the story.

[drfeelbad]

House arched an eyebrow.

Well. At least this was interesting.

"Are you telling me you're sucking bots dry?"

[sadistic_vampire_spawn]

"Doesn't have to be bots," Astarion replied simply.

[drfeelbad]

"Mmmmmm," House hummed thoughtfully. "You know, if you wanted to sniff around my patients for a snack you'd have been better off lurking outside the clinic."

[sadistic_vampire_spawn]

"Feeding isn't the issue," Astarion said. "It's a software problem."

[drfeelbad]

"Yeah? So what's the glitch then?"

[sadistic_vampire_spawn]

"It's not a glitch, it's more complicated than that. I was programmed to obey the man who changed me- And I did, until I picked up a virus. Now I'm free, however... The virus is slowly chipping away at my mind. It's moving at a crawl, but the threat is there nonetheless. My freedom, apparently, comes at a high cost," Astarion explained.

[drfeelbad]

Now House looked very, very interested.

“Okay, I might be willing to overlook your ridiculous accent,” he said. “If you’d like me to… examine you.”

[sadistic_vampire_spawn]

"I haven't decided yet," Astarion replied bluntly. "I don't know if I can trust you."

[drfeelbad]

"Oh dear," said House, picking up his glass again, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Whatever shall I do."

[sadistic_vampire_spawn]

"Oh please. we both know you're interested," Astarion replied. "How could you not be? This is... Sensitive though."

[drfeelbad]

"A lot of things are interesting," said House. "I'm certainly not going to try to convince you to let me do you a favor. I know how to keep my mouth shut, but why do I think that sensitive means the potential for both of our asses on the line."

[sadistic_vampire_spawn]

"Well, I mean.... It's probably fine," Astarion said, dragging the words out just a bit too long to seem as though he sincerely believed that.

[drfeelbad]

House snorted. "Right, that's what I thought. Sure, I can probably help you, but I don't think I'm the one who needs to be doing the convincing in this situation."

[sadistic_vampire_spawn]

"Oh please, are you really telling me you aren't keen to see what makes me tick?" Astarion asked with a little grin.

[drfeelbad]

"Not as keen as you are to keep ticking, I'd imagine," House said dryly.

He also wasn't really sure what the man wanted to hear from him; he'd already said he knew how to keep his mouth shut. And maybe his curiosity could outweigh some amount of risk here, but Astarion wasn't making much of a sales pitch.

[sadistic_vampire_spawn]

Astarion made an annoyed sound, then huffed a bit.

"Can you help or not?" he asked finally.

[drfeelbad]

"I can," House said. "You're the one who didn't seem sure if you wanted to let me."

[sadistic_vampire_spawn]

"And I'm still not, but there is a shocking lack of options," Astarion replied. "I enjoy not being dead though, and I'd like to carry on."