Chapter Text
They managed to have a quick fight about Wilson overworking himself. A mild fight, to be honest, House said some hurtful albeit true things and it ended pretty fast, with Wilson accepting the defeat. Not like he would suddenly go easy on himself, but he didn’t want to pursue some pointless conflict solely for the sake of conflict. This night has been already stressful enough.
After that, it became surprisingly enjoyable. House ordered them Chinese, Wilson paid, as always. In return the younger man took control of the remote and put on his favorite show, which of course was met with some whining on House’s part. They also dimmed the lights in the room to “let their eyes rest”, acting like the TV wouldn’t be more harmful, and Wilson made himself some tea. Thank God the Chinese place always threw in some bags for free, he was truly scared at the thought of what fusions might be hiding in his friend’s cabinet.
They sat down, practically inhaling the food in silence, while watching the show. House seemed especially hungry, which made Wilson wonder if he really didn’t expect him to show up. He could be just too lazy to go through the hassle of ordering and especially paying, of course. Unless he suddenly went on some type of diet. If that was the case, he hadn’t noticed. The older man was already pretty fit, very fit actually, for a cripple with little to no exercise. Or maybe it was the Vicodin. Whatever the case, he wasn’t giving up on his “check up on House” plan yet.
Wilson stopped shoving food down his throat and glanced at House “You still haven’t answered.” he said casually, taking a sip of his green tea while keeping his eyes were on the man next to him.
House also stopped eating. He furrowed his brows, seemingly lost, however Wilson swore he could see some panic in those blue eyes.
“Why the changes.” he clarified. He felt a blush creep up his neck as he realized what House must’ve thought he was referring to. “Should I?” - yeah, he couldn’t blame his friend for panicking, his heart also skipped a beat just now. Nonetheless, he tried to stay as cool as possible.
House seemed to relax a bit, rolling his eyes before answering “I’m flattered you pay so much attention to me, Jimmy, but save those insightful eyes of yours for the next Mrs. Wilson.” he followed suit with his friend, grabbing the glass and taking a long swig of his whiskey.
Seeing that House still wasn’t planning on giving him the answer, Wilson decided on a different approach. “People at the hospital are betting on why you started to shower all of a sudden.” he sighed. This was his best shot. With a little help from the whiskey it might seem amusing enough to the man for him to finally say something. Besides, it was true so Wilson didn’t have to worry about House snooping on the information the next day.
The older man chuckled, but quickly covered it by a theatrically wounded expression “Wow.” he scoffed “My best friend coming to my home just to cash in some gambling money faster. Cold, Wilson.” it was definitely working, the only thing left to do was waiting for House to get interested enough.
There was a pause. Both of them turned back to face the TV again. House sunk further in the back of the couch, propping his head on his hands. He kept clicking his tongue in forced disbelief and mumbling “You think you know a person…” under his breath. Wilson closed his eyes, trying not to laugh.
“How much did you put down?”
“A hundred.”
“Cheapskate.”
“Jackass.”
They both glanced at each other, finally letting their smiles show. Wilson picked his food back up. The key to success with his friend was usually acting uninterested or mysterious, so that’s what he did. Once more, they were watching the show in silence. However, Wilson kept discreetly glancing at the man next to him. He could see the intensity in his eyes boring into the screen and since House obviously couldn’t care less about some corny show Wilson chose, he was mentally somewhere else. He waited a moment longer for his friend to say something first, but he didn’t, so he struck first.
“So… Wanna help me get those sweet gambling money?” he asked, turning towards House, eyebrows raised in question.
“Right.” he broke free from his trance only to shoot his friend a sarcastic smile “Wouldn’t that be nice.” he took another sip of the whiskey.
Wilson shrugged, getting back to the food. The box was nearly empty anyway, but he tried to prolong the nonchalant image he was trying to sell his friend. He knew if someone heard him explain the methods he uses to deal with House, he would be laughed at, called ridiculous, or more likely both. It was like dealing with a child, but the thing was – they somehow worked. Matter of fact, it was working right now. In the corner of his eye he saw the man practically drilling a hole into his head.
“What’s winning so far?” he asked. His eyes squinted, curiosity finally getting the better of him.
“Wouldn’t that be nice.” he mumbled loud enough for House to hear, trying to imitate the other man’s voice.
“Just so you know you’re terrible at betting.” he shifted in his seat, trying to make himself seem intimidating, but his frustration clearly started to show “Probably put it on something stupid, like me starting to care about other people’s opinion.”
Wilson shrugged again, standing up to throw the empty food container into the trash “Guess you’ll never know.” he said heading for the kitchen. He still didn’t understand why a cripple only had one trash can in his entire apartment.
The other man rolled his eyes. He bit his lower lip in thought, but as Wilson was coming back he suddenly lit up again “Fine. If you tell me I’ll give you a hint.” he looked at Wilson and smirked seeing the glint in his friend’s eyes.
“How big of a hint?” Wilson practically power-walked to the couch, sitting down with anticipation. He raised an eyebrow to look skeptical, but his soft victory smile betrayed him.
“You’d have to be a moron to not get it. Like, parents who don’t vaccine their newborns because they’re scared of the government tracking them kind of moron.”
Very tempting. For a while, Wilson was delaying his response. Partially to build up anticipation in House, partially because he considered what he should say. Truth was the top contender, he wouldn’t have to worry about House sensing the mischief, so whatever that clue was, he would most likely get it. On the other hand Cuddy’s theory was so boring and typical there was a chance the man could lose his interest entirely. He could tell him anything for all he knows, he’d just have to deal with the outcome. That was the problem.
In his mind, Wilson cursed himself for being such a consequence-fearing wimp. He went with the safe option “Cuddy thinks you’re just messing with us. So far this theory has the most followers.” he tilted his head, observing the man. In case he wouldn’t get that hint, he kept his eyes peeled for something else that could betray House’s carefully shielded thoughts.
The older man searched Wilson’s face for some sign of deceit, but didn’t found any “Well, that’s boring.” he shifted in his seat, straightening up as to show off his triumph “And not even close.” he dragged out every word with satisfaction.
“Please don’t tell me that’s somehow my hint.” he took a deep breath. If it actually was then that’s it, he’s killing him tonight. Wilson also changed position, now leaning against the couch.
Surprisingly, House shook his head. The younger doctor was about to lean over again, anticipating whatever his friend had to say, but before he could react, House’s face was against his, kissing him.
Wilson completely froze, his eyes wide open and the rest of his body stiff. He’d like to say he wanted to shove House away from him and run, hell, do anything besides sitting there like a statue, but his mind went blank. The kiss wasn’t insistent at first, a simple press on the lips. House’s eyes were closed and, for a moment, Wilson saw him truly decompress, no concern behind that face, no thoughts either. Under different circumstances he would be extremely happy seeing his friend like that, but not now.
The kiss grew bolder. House, seemingly ignoring lack of any reciprocation (or movement) from the other man, started to move his lips, breathing into Wilson’s face with a faint whiskey aroma. When the younger man realized his friend was trying to get him to open his mouth further, he instinctively clenched his jaw, making the attempt futile. It was only when House squeezed his arm, either in plea or demand, that Wilson managed to get out of the trance. His head dropped, which finally broke off the kiss. He thought that would get House to back up, but instead he felt his friend’s face burrow into his hair. To his horror, that wasn’t a drunk person’s lack of balance, he could clearly feel House supporting his own weight with no issue.
He gave the other man a light push, not because he was trying to be gentle, but because he couldn’t muster up more strength. He still felt dizzy, but at least the two of them were separated now. House went back to his original space, on the other end of the couch. Wilson raised his head back, yet couldn’t dare to look at his friend. Instead, his gaze drifted towards the coffee table, where the alcohol sat, barely a quarter of liquid gone from the bottle.
“Told you you’d get it.”
He in fact did not get it. Last time was supposed to be a mistake, a drunken mistake they would push so far into the back of their minds they would eventually forget it ever happened. That was what they agreed on. Not directly, but nothing in their friendship was ever direct, except for the insults. Every possible conversation got shut down, every moment when they looked at each other and knew, they averted their eyes. It wasn’t supposed to happen again. Yet it did and this time House wasn’t drunk. It wasn’t right.
Wilson took a deep breath and finally turned towards House. His body remained still and his eyes wide with fear. However, he wasn’t sure anymore if it was because of what just happened, or because of what was about to come next.
“Don’t look at me like that.” House’s voice suddenly got lower. Just like his smug smile, it seemed like his whole enthusiasm suddenly got drained and replaced by discomfort and disappointment. Now he was the one to look away.
Wilson felt at a loss for words, but he knew if he didn’t speak up now the whole cycle would just eventually repeat “Why did you do that?” his voice was almost as low as House’s.
The man took a deep breath and turned to him once more, with a forced smile carved onto his face “Come on, I said the hint was for morons. Use your brain, that’s a hundred bucks we’re talking about after all.” his voice had that typical sarcastic edge to it. If it wasn’t obvious enough that House was using it to somehow shield himself from the outside problems, the way he couldn’t even look Wilson in the eyes was.
Wilson dragged his hands across the face in exasperation “House…” he wished he also had some sort of defense mechanism, but life of course wasn’t as fair to him “Believe me I’m the last person to want this, but can we talk about it like regular adults?”
The other man scoffed “You better believe I’m an adult, otherwise you just made out with a minor.”
Wilson couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He sat there, mouth agape for a moment, just nodding to himself for some reason. He decided it’s best to leave and even though he wouldn’t admit it, that decision was made mostly out of his own selfishness.
He stood up and walked over to the door, checking on his way if he still had his car keys. As soon as the hinges creaked, he heard House. He could tell it wasn’t supposed to be for him, but he heard it nonetheless and the damage was done.
“Sure, run away like you did last time.”
He never in his life slammed a door so fast.
“Then what should I do?” he spun around towards his friend, who was a little taken aback by Wilson’s suddenly raised voice “Seriously, what? You can’t just do stuff like this and then act like nothing happened. Either don’t do them or be willing to have a conversation after.” he was pissed.
“Yeah, like you talk about them?” House stood up and Wilson had to fight off the instinct to support him when the other man stumbled due to pain in his leg “Last time you didn’t even give me a chance to talk, you ran.” he spat.
“I gave you a chance just now and you still didn’t take it. I doubt it’d be different then.” he put his hands on his hips. He always did that when scolding his friend.
“You don’t know that…” he looked away, his voice back to normal.
“Then talk to me!” he stepped closer “What exactly is it that you expect? Because if it’s some friends with benefits crap, I’m telling you now I’m not interested.” unless it’s just some sick kind of mental torture – he thought to himself.
House’s head dropped. His eyes wandered on the ground before timidly settling on the man again “Are you interested in a relationship?” his voice was strained and uncomfortable, but despite that he didn’t avert his gaze.
Wilson didn’t know what to say. He never thought about being in a relationship with a man, let alone with House. More importantly, until now it would never occur to him House might’ve either. If he gave it a thought, physically House was really attractive. He was tall, handsome in his own “mad scientist” way and his eyes really could make you forget your own name for a moment. Paired with a fact he recently started to actually take care of himself, he was really good-looking.
It was the personality that was tricky. House was an addict. Manipulative, inconsiderate, vulgar and overall extremely self-centered addict. To this day Wilson asked himself how on Earth did he persevere in this “friendship” for a decade. Even when they had more tame moments, just being around him felt like a chore and when it was bad, it felt like negotiating with a bomb that has a self-destruct sequence built in.
But… there were some redeeming qualities. He definitely could make him laugh, he appreciated his cooking, albeit in an unnerving way. He was a brilliant doctor and a very talented person in many other fields. He was confident and unapologetic when it came to protecting his values. And most importantly, he cared about him. Of course it was sometimes borderline creepy and almost positively illegal too, but in his own way House cared. He took care of him after every divorce, not in a comforting way, but in a way that took Wilson’s mind off things. He would spend his free time with him and him only, even the holidays. He noticed every minor change in his friend’s behavior and would never drop it until he knew exactly what was going on. The lengths he went to just to keep his need-loving needy friend sane and by his side at all times were more than impressive.
Maybe the signs were there all along, Wilson was just too blind to notice.
No. That’s not normal. Why was he even thinking about it in the first place? He decided to look at the situation as rationally as possible, he couldn’t make this big of a decision on the spot.
Wilson swallowed “I don’t know, House. I feel like I can’t think straight right now. I mean…” he gestured towards his friend, but his hand quickly went limp when he saw the look in his eyes “Until recently I had no idea you even liked men. I don’t think I’m in the position to give you a clear answer about anything for the moment.” he sighed, looking away and biting his lip.
They both just stood there in silence. Eventually, House took a deep breath and nodded “I’ll wait.”
Wilson’s eyes snapped back to House. He saw the hope in his friend’s eyes, but more importantly, he saw understanding. Unable to think about anything left to say, he nodded back and headed out of the apartment.