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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

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."

From:

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.

From:

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."

From:

drfeelbad

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

From:

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."

From:

drfeelbad

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

From:

shadows_fall

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

From:

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.

From:

shadows_fall

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

"To surviving," he agreed.

From:

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."

From:

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?"

From:

drfeelbad

"I do," said House, and the way he looked at him suggested he was talking about Fox and not the chicken.

He took another drink of his diet coke and then said, "Yes, a clinic. My space is small, but honestly a lot of what I do is house calls. The only way people know how to find me is word of mouth, really."

From:

shadows_fall

If it wasn't for the careful and practiced composure of being a spy, Fox would have blushed. Instead a tiny smile curled the corner of his lips as he pushed his hair back.

Surely that wasn't always your job though. The way you talk about medicine, it's clear you have a deep past with the practice. Were you a surgeon, maybe? Neurologist? Something big, important, hard to accomplish," he guessed.

From:

drfeelbad

"Diagnostician," said House. "I solved the puzzles that no one else could." He sounded proud of this. "But after a while the challenges were few and far between, and what I see here, well.... there's always something new."

From:

shadows_fall

"I see," Fox said, a bit worried that might be the root of Greg's interest in him. Another puzzle. He hoped that wasn't true though, he was finding he quite liked spending time with the other man.

From:

drfeelbad

"I also function a lot better being my own boss," House added.

From:

shadows_fall

"I can imagine that," Fox said, looking thoughtful, his head tilting as though analyzing him. "A rebel. ...Shitty childhood?" he guessed. "My money's on daddy not being very nice."

More tricks left over from a past life of having to read people and understand their motives.

From:

drfeelbad

House arched an eyebrow. "Well spotted."

From:

shadows_fall

"Lucky guess," Fox shrugged.

From:

drfeelbad

"Oh I think it was more than lucky," House chuckled.

From:

shadows_fall

"I don't mean to be rude doing it, it just happens. You start seeing people, really seeing, and it's hard to make yourself look away," Fox admitted.

From:

drfeelbad

"Oh who the fuck cares if people think you're rude," House said. "It's a useful skill you have."

From:

shadows_fall

"I care," Max shrugged. "It's a useful skill I don't really need anymore. It's just an excuse to pick at people. I don't need to be on guard all the time anymore."