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

[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?"

[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."

[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.

[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."

[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.

[drfeelbad]

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

[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.

[drfeelbad]

House arched an eyebrow. "Well spotted."

[shadows_fall]

"Lucky guess," Fox shrugged.

[drfeelbad]

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

[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.

[drfeelbad]

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

[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."

[drfeelbad]

"I'd like to think I'm pretty good at reading people too," House said. "It's useful. Because people lie. Constantly. Especially to their doctors."

[shadows_fall]

"I don't lie," Fox assured him. "Omit, maybe..."

[drfeelbad]

"That's true, you don't," House said thoughtfully. He did appreciate that about him.

Then he smiled. "So how is this date going?"

[shadows_fall]

"Oh, are we on a date?" Fox joked. "This isn't a check up?"

[drfeelbad]

"Sorry, did I not make that clear?" House said mildly.

[shadows_fall]

"Well, I did think it was odd you'd not even checked my pulse," Fox smiled.

[drfeelbad]

House reached across the table, gently took his hand, turned it palm up, and put two fingers on his wrist.

"Anything I could do to quicken it?" he asked.

[shadows_fall]

"I'm not that kind of girl, Greg. Still our first date," Fox said with a laugh, smiling as he gently tugged his arm away.

[drfeelbad]

“Dan I thought that was such a good line,” House said sheepishly. “But to be clear I was totally thinking first date stuff.”