Fox

[drfeelbad]

House still couldn't quite believe how the previous day had gone. When he'd gone into Fox's shop for an ingredient for an experiment, he certainly hadn't expected to share a bed with him. Asking him to dinner would have seemed like a slightly more likely outcome, and somehow that had ended up happening after.

Later that evening he went back to Fox's place, dressed nicely (for him) and smelling good.

Comments

[shadows_fall]

"How so?" Fox asked, leaning back in his seat as he spoke, his hand starting to tremble just a bit again.

[drfeelbad]

"I don't think I'd ever even heard of a half fae wizard before," House said. "But also... every time I come to your shop, you have something interesting to say, or clever to suggest."

[shadows_fall]

"Oh. Well, you're always buying interesting things," Fox shrugged. "Wouldn't have anything to suggest if you were just buying love spells or wart remover."

[drfeelbad]

"I wouldn't buy love spells from you, wouldn't want you to get jealous," House joked.

[shadows_fall]

"Oh? You wouldn't be buying them to use on me?" Fox asked with a little smile.

[drfeelbad]

"Oh no, I think you're far too smart to let me slip something into your drink," House said.

[shadows_fall]

"Oh, I don't know about that. I've been remarkably stupid in the past," Fox assured him, hesitating a beat, then leaning in. "Once on a... Let's call it a work trip, I somehow managed to get my drink spiked and nearly got sacrificed to an Eldritch god."

[drfeelbad]

House blinked at him, and then laughed. "Did you really ask me why you're interesting?"

The server brought over their food then, and as they dug in House said, "I would like to hear the whole story, please."

[shadows_fall]

Fox laughed and rubbed his face with one hand between bites. "It's embarrassing, honestly. This whole time we were investigating this village, trying to work out why their crops were flourishing despite the ground being cursed. I'd befriended one of the locals, a woman, she was trying to divorce her husband, but small villages, you know? Turns out she was the bloody ringleader. Thankfully my partner worked it out before they fed me to that thing. Not my finest moment."

[drfeelbad]

"And this was a... work thing?" House clarified.

[shadows_fall]

Fox hesitated again, then nodded. "I was with the WSS."

[drfeelbad]

Harry almost dropped his fork.

"Oh," he said after a moment. "Well I guess that explains the story."

[shadows_fall]

"It's how I wound up cursed. I got assigned to help infiltrate a hate group who have a problem with wizards reproducing with none wizards. ... Unfortunately they worked out what I was," Fox said, offering a tiny shrug, trying to make it sound like no big deal.

[drfeelbad]

"It seems like that was a very unwise assignment to give you in particular," House said with a frown. "Is that sort of utter incompetence why you left?"

[shadows_fall]

"I asked for the assignment," Fox admitted. "And I left because they offered me a very large sum of money to retire early. That, and it was apparent right away that the curse had left me weak, I was already struggling to cast properly. it was only a matter of time before I wouldn't be able to do much of anything."

[drfeelbad]

"... still, I can't say I'm surprised that you were hurt under their watch," House said.

He had problems with authority at the best of times, and the wizard cops were not exception.

[shadows_fall]

"I liked my job," Fox said with a small shrug. "I miss it, to be honest. If I were suddenly healed, I'd go back in a heartbeat, if they'd have me."

[drfeelbad]

"Ah," House said, then plucked a samosa off of the plate between them. "Am I putting my foot in it here?"

[shadows_fall]

"No, I just don't think you could possibly know how good at it I was," Fox said. "I was made for that job, and I know I shouldn't have asked to be on that assignment, but- I think those people might have been involved in the death of my parents. It was personal for me."

[drfeelbad]

House looked at him for a second, and then said genuinely, "I'm very sorry that it worked out like it did."

[shadows_fall]

"It is what it is," Fox shrugged. "At least I lived."

[drfeelbad]

"You did," House agreed. He held up his Diet Coke. "Here's to surviving... even if it sucks to constantly be in pain." Look at all these things they had in common.

[shadows_fall]

Fox offered a sad smile of understanding, then clinked their glasses.

"To surviving," he agreed.

[drfeelbad]

House found himself just looking at him for a moment. Admiring how strong he was, how interesting especially as of this last revelation, how handsome he was, and remembering what he'd looked like last night in his underwear...

He almost blushed, and looked down at his food. "This place seriously has the best butter chicken."

[shadows_fall]

"You have good taste," Fox smiled, warning even more to the other man the more they talked.

"Tell me more about your work," he nudged. "Is it, like, some sort of clinic, or... How does it work?"