"Oh, come on, Mac. he's clearly in love with her !!" Dick gestured almost angrily to the screen. Pop corn flew around. Mac cocked a brow at his reaction. They were watching TV. It had turned as an habit since Veronica had fled for Virginia. Mac had come to visit, mostly Logan, and had found that Dick was fan of the snarky Doctor as well. It was their weekly appointment. It had been unspoken, but they'd never missed it.
She shook her head in disbelief. House could not be in love with Cameron. "He's being mean to her." Dick pouted exasperatedly at her. She knew it was irrelevant, he was mean to everyone. But if he loved her, he should make an exception. Dick thought the exact opposite way. "So ? He's a guy. Guys do that. … Look at Spuffy !" Mac refrained her scoff. What a geek, after all. "They're fictional."
"Fine." He sighed, searching for another way to convince her. He held out his hand, stating the obvious. "Logan and V." She winced, that was kind of accurate… They'd been nemesis before dating. "Right."
"Even I did it." He uttered, shoving pop corn in his mouth. Mac chuckled. "Did ?" When had he stopped being mean to girls ? He was different with her now, but… she was one girl. Veronica made two. For the others… Dick huffed. "Yeah... I know I'm a bit late on schedule, but I'm trying to grow up."
Mac chuckled. This was so odd and actually nice that all of a sudden they could be honest with the other, and were. A funny idea crossed her mind. "So... you were mean to Veronica, does it mean you had a crush on her ?" he glanced at her, smirking. "Used to. I would have been so much better than DK, by the way."
At her shocked face he smiled cockily. "You're no lesbo, you can't understand how sexy her and Lilly were." He grinned. "Ask Logan, he'll tell you the same thing."
"Ew." She winced, trying not to picture what Dick could have thought about Lilly and Veronica at the same time. She still made a note to herself to mention that to her friend in her next email.
Dick titled his head on the side, his eyes settled on the tv, but not really watching. A thing had just hit him. That was what he liked about talking with Mac. She made him think. Not the 'study hard useless stuff' thinking you have to do in class, the 'reflect on yourself and be a better person' kind of thinking. "Oddly enough, I've never been that mean to Madison." Or maybe not that oddly, after all.
She shifted, unfolding her legs. "Does it mean you didn't like her ?" she asked curiously. "Maybe…" He settled his eyes on her. "Or just that I didn't know how to show it, I don't know." He shook his head, amused. "This is fucking too Freud for me." She laughed again.
She felt like teasing. "And you've been mean to me for so long because you liked me too, I presume ?" she'd said it as a joke, to break his case, for the last word. Or just to keep the friendly arguing going, like they always did. "Yeah, well…"
Her eyes widened as he trailed off, busted. He eyed her then picked up some food again. He didn't look sheepish, just trusting. She was shocked. "Whoa. Really ?"
Mac kept staring, so he looked back at her and grinned slightly. Then shrugged it off. "Whoa." She breathed out again. She studied him, his features in the dim light, the colours of the tv reflection in his eyes, on his hair. He lips quirked up a little. "When did Neptune go AU ? Just now, or when we started hanging out ?"
He tapped her hand, half-playfully. "Oh shit, don't you dare scoffing. I had everything, remember ?" The look in his eye wasn't angry at all, he was just a little hurt. "I had great life, a mom and a dad, money, Logan and my best pal ever as my bro." He was looking straight in her eyes. "Those were the times of great illusions." She nodded slowly, and he leaned his head back on the back of the couch. "And then he found you."
Dick shrugged. "And, then poof… all of a sudden, I was all alone. 'Cause my bff Logan was all wrapped up in the veronica hangover and Beav had a girlfriend." He pursed his lips, careful not to be aggressive. "I didn't understand. 'Cause I had never been like he was. I always spent the most of my time with him. Even when I had Madison. … So I guess I needed someone to blame. I went angry. At him, and at you. He'd left me hanging and you just…. were."
Mac got that he was done, so she tentatively asked her question. "I still don't get why... Well, I see the point of you blaming me for stealing your time with him. But..." Dick cut in, he had forgotten he was wrapped up in some kind of confession, he was just trying to make his point. "I was jealous ! That's all."
He lowered his voice. "He had a girl and Logan was winning back Ronnie, and I had no one. I guess… It just made me curious about you." He shrugged. "You were probably the only thing he ever got right !" he chuckled, going on with a smirk. "You were both so cute and annoying, and... I don't know... I always found that chick from Ghostworld fun and kinda hot, so..."
He stopped as he saw her mouth drop open. Mac shook her head, baffled. "I honestly don't know what to do with this." He shook his head, shrugging it off like it was nothing. "Well, then…" he shifted to get comfortable again, and tried to catch up with the episode they'd been watching.
Mac did the same, turning the new piece of puzzle she had been given in her head. She really didn't know where it fitted yet. Her train of thoughts was interrupted by Dick's chuckle, although nothing House had just said was funny -for once. "What ?" she asked, seeing him grinning widely.
He smirked comically. "Nothing. Just basking." She frowned. "Why ?" he chuckled, elbowing her gently. "You took it cool. For now, at least. You haven't hit me yet." He smiled even broader. "Or you did but you don't have enough strength for me to notice… Ow !"
She smiled brightly at him, stretching her fingers after punching him in the arm. She raised a challenging eyebrow. "I don't have enough what ?" he grinned. "You just have enough of everything, Macster." He held her gaze to add a kinky meaning in his words, some things never change. He scratched his chin, then pointed at her. "Or maybe you have too much brain."
Mac chuckled at his sentence, she didn't even know how it could be possible to have too much brain. She didn't even feel clever. And she didn't believe he was as stupid as he acted, so it wasn't clear for her why he would think that. "Anyway, I'm too stunned to react now."
Dick ran his hand in his hair. "So, before you do, and disappear from my continent… wanna go out with me ? Tomorrow ?" he asked casually. Mac blinked, this was definitely AU. Wallace, Logan or Piz said the same exact words all the time…. Yet, they didn't sound the same to her coming from him. Because of him, or because of her ? "Erm…" Dick shrugged, reassuringly. "As friends, date, whatever you like… I don't care." Mac nodded slightly, processing the info.
That was cool. He was just asking her to spend sometime, by day, with her. Which would be the opposite to a date, right ? But still, she couldn't help noticing the fact that he'd left the 'date' possibility on the table. She didn't know what to think of what she was thinking. She was so stunned that maybe she had gotten his intention wrong. She did want to spend time with him. Though the goodbyes after tv-meantings had been awkward for a long time, they weren't anymore. Maybe they weren't friends but close to that. And, after all, he just mentioned being friends.
"Kay. Just... let's do something your style." Whatever it would be, a date, an outing or something, she didn't want it to be a vain attempt to top what his brother had shared with her. She knew he wanted to make it up to her, but she wasn't saying yes to that. It would have meant sticking with the past and refuse to move on. She was saying yes to him. So it would be something he liked.
She smiled at the sparkle in his eye that made him look so much like a child, as he pouted to think of something that would suit them both. He snapped his fingers as he found it. "Hey, you know the paintball quad next to Oak Beach ?"
She stared a few seconds. This wasn't his style, it was her style. She raised both eyebrows and shamelessly smiled. "I'm gonna kick your ass…" He wrinkled his nose and grinned. "Looking forward to it."
She pushed away a memory of a Ten Things I Hate About You scene, and nodded. She leaned back on the couch, actually looking forward to it too. She didn't notice at first that she had shifted closer to him. "I wouldn't have guessed we had something in common." "Again." Dick added.
Indeed, since a few weeks, they'd share time and found out that they were way less different that they had thought. They watched the rest of the episode in silence, completely lost in the scenario, but happy to have plans for the next boring day of holiday. Or at least for her, she didn't think Dick would find any day off boring, even if it was latest of a row of thousand days of holidays.
As friends, dates or whatever.. they were going to have a great day. With a lot of laugh and paint involved. What it was going to turn into, was up to them. And they didn't know it, but they kinda did have the same idea in mind.
Inwardly, she gave in, and admitted that maybe…. Maybe House had something for Cameron.