Title: Rosh Hashanah
Author: sy dedalus
Rating: K
Pairing: House/Wilson
Summary: A short piece that can be read as HW friendship or HW slash. Formerly part of a fic called "Shorts."
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, etc.

Rosh Hashanah

House found him sitting on the bank of Carnegie Lake across the street from the tennis courts. To the casual observer, he appeared to be feeding a noisy flock of Canada geese under a brilliant early fall blue sky.

House stood quietly and watched him for a moment. Dear ole contemplative Jimmy, he was tearing off pieces of bread at random, not according to the squawks of the geese. House's mouth twitched upward in approval. If he were any kind of decent person, he would turn around and leave Wilson to his task—he'd been wondering all week if Wilson would take the day off, but Wilson had shown no signs of even acknowledging the holiday, never mind observing it; he'd said nothing to Wilson about it this morning, preferring instead to see if Wilson would do anything—but House was no kind of decent person.

"I think fountains count as running water," House said.

To his credit, Wilson didn't startle at the sound of House's voice.

"Has to be a natural source," Wilson responded, not taking his eyes off of the water. He tore off another small piece of bread but didn't throw it. The geese honked impatiently.

House carefully lowered himself to the ground next to Wilson, but Wilson made no attempt to help him.

Once he was safely seated on the grass, House nodded at the geese. "Does it count if they eat it?"

"It's just a ceremony," Wilson answered. He rolled the torn piece between his fingers.

"One you're observing," House pointed out. He straightened his leg and leaned back, supporting himself with his palms.

"Aberrations annoy you, I know," Wilson said.

"That, and I'm wondering if you're suddenly going to decide to visit your parents tonight," House clarified. He tilted his head back and let the sun warm his face.

"And ask you to go with me?"

House shrugged as best he could with all his weight on his palms. "Why else would I care?" He squinted at Wilson to gage his reaction.

"You could have just asked me on the way home," Wilson observed. "Didn't have to come all the way out here."

Unwilling to wait for the human with the food to toss it in the water, three geese swam to the shore and cautiously approached Wilson.

"Nice day," House deflected. "Fresh air, birds singing, other big, loud, annoying birds ready to tear your hand off for some manna—who wouldn't want to be outside?"

Wilson was silent for a moment, gazing into the water. At length he threw the piece of bread past the waddling geese into the water, causing a flurry of honking and wing flapping.

House tilted his head toward Wilson. "Are negative thoughts a sin? I can't remember."

Wilson sniffed, amused despite his meditative mood. House would never cease to be House.

"Come to bring me back?" Wilson asked.

"Can't have you praying on hospital time," House said. "People might be sick—even dying. Then you'd have to throw more bread in the lake."

"And you'd have to come all the way out here to get me again," Wilson replied.

"Yahweh forbid," House said.

Wilson sniffed again, smiling this time. The geese were becoming restless, swimming closer and closer to the shore.

House sat for another moment, then used his cane to climb to his feet.

"Better feed them or you'll be found mauled and I'll have to declare war on Canada," House said.

"You declared war on Canada in 1997," Wilson pointed out.

"That was a conflict," House answered. "This would be a war."

"Ah."

House waited. When it became clear that Wilson wasn't going to get up any time soon, he reached into his coat pocket, called himself a romantic sucker, and dropped an apple into Wilson's lap.

Wilson raised an eyebrow, squinting up at House.

"You know where the honey is if you want it," House said with a poorly-executed leer.

Wilson's lip curled into a half-smile as he shifted his gaze to a distant point on the far shore.

"Would you go if I asked you?"

House leaned against his cane. "Ask me and find out," he answered.

Wilson's lip twitched again. The three adventurous geese were only a few feet away from him now.

For the noise of the geese he didn't hear the grass move as House left.

Minutes later, the geese fluttered over each other to snap up the piece of bread that landed calmly in the water.