A/N: Been working on this a while. One shot full of Huddy goodness. Hmm, yeah.
There was only one word to describe the summer's heat in Princeton that summer—oppressive. Anyone who walked outside during the day began to hate summertime. There was a drought, water use restrictions, the grass had gone from spring's lush green to a crisp dead brown. Thoughts of the seaside were squashed by the heavy air, so thick with humidity morning showers seemed pointless. However, those who worked indoors and left their homes in the early morning and the office well after seven were blissfully unaware of the true atmospheric misery. Such, as those who worked in well air-conditioned hospitals…
The halls of PPTH seemed oddly still. Sure, the ER was humming and the ambulance bay busy, but something was amiss. The tell-tale click of heels was absent. It was rare, but Dr. Cuddy had not come into work that Saturday. She had never been required, or expected to work Saturdays, but then again Lisa Cuddy always exceeded expectations. The other absence was less evident. His snide remarks not missed in the least by the over-worked nursing staff of the free clinic. Dr. House also had not come into work, though he too was not required to be present . Technically, he should've gone into work to make up his clinic duty. But he had never been one to go on mere technicalities.
House had been content for a time holed up in his flat, with the smooth sounds of jazz his lean fingers teased from the keys of his Steinway and a tumbler of Jack Daniels. The air-conditioning was pleasant enough, but then the pain hit hard. So he began to pace, up the hall to his room, back down the hall to his piano and repeat. Usually he found the repetition somewhat soothing. However, today it began to grate on his already frayed nerve endings. His shoulders hunkered down like a proud lion in a cage pacing before the iron bars. A low growl rumbled thorough his chest as he flung open the door and stalked off to the park.
The rising sun peaked in through her window as she listened to the birdsong that morning with utter delight. The sun's warm rays woke her, but no earlier than usual. Any other day she would wince at the cheerful twittering outside her window, it wasn't that she disliked melodious birds. She just couldn't enjoy their song when it signaled another day confined in the hospital. Today—today was different. Instead of tugging a pillow over her head and swatting at the snooze, Lisa stretched locking her fingers behind her head and smiled, allowing herself to drift backing to sleep after the morning song subsided. She was not, repeat not going to the hospital, and that was final. Nothing could pull her in. Well, barring fire, flood and disaster, or House. She moaned when that last one popped into her head—House.
He hadn't realized how miserable the weather would be when he departed that afternoon. The thought of heading over to the cool corridors of PPTH flitted through his brain, ever so briefly. He was miserable. The heat was miserable.
He was miserable, what else was new?
She slept away the morning and the early afternoon. No one would have guessed that the industrious doctor and thorough administrator could be so lazy. Scratch that, she wasn't lazy; she deserved this damn it. It was those long 70-80 hour weeks she'd been clocking for years now as Dean and Hospital Administrator. A person could do but so much before collapsing in heap from exhaustion. And she'd nipped it in the butt, before it'd gotten to that. She'd chosen to take a personal day rather then be found sprawled on the carpet of her office floor. Sighing and sinking further in to the plushness of her numerous pillows, Lisa reviewed her options for today. She snuggled one last time under the comforter, before popping out of bed. A run, she'd go for a run. Humming happily she planned her route—not her normal loop around the neighborhood--that was dreary. She'd fallen into the routine of that run purely out of convenience. But today, or what was left of it she thought smirking at her idleness, was hers for the taking. Her smile broadened as she seized her ipod and keys heading towards the park.
The bass pounded in time with the blood pumping through her heart as she crested the hill. A wide toothy grin broke across her face as sweat trickled down her temple. She hadn't run this hard in a long time and damn, it felt good. At first she'd been slightly upset at the amount she was perspiring. Cuddy had thought, that she really must be out of shape, but after a few mouthfuls of hot sticky air she realized, it was the weather and not her physic that was the culprit. Music loud and running proud, Cuddy relished her stride and the exciting burn in her lungs as she gasped for air on her sprints. Earbuds snuggly in place, she didn't hear the rumbling of thunder in the distance. She was pleased not to need to squint due to the lack sunlight, but gave it no further thought.
House's pain throbbed through his thigh as his cane thumped on the tarmac. He pursed his lips as people deserted the park. Good, the few people the better, thoughtthe cripple as he continued to pace around the pond. It wasn't until the tenth drop hit his head that he let loose a low curse. He'd never make it back before rain broke. Looking skyward it dawned on him that this was no spring shower, but a summer storm. The dark clouds threatened to burst forth with torrents of rain at any moment and with enough ammunition for at least an hour onslaught. The only shelter in sight was an old dugout abandoned by the softball team.
At first she didn't realize it was rain. She was soaking wet, after all. Then she saw the steam rising from the ground. The ground hadn't even gotten wet the earth was so hot, the rain evaporated and hissed when it hit the asphalt. If she thought it was hot before, she was sorely mistaken. The steam from the rain doubled the humidity and seemed to kick the temperature up by ten degrees or more. Nevertheless, the cool drops of water hitting her cherry-red face were a pleasant byproduct. When rhythm of the rain speed up to tempo with her tunes, she looked up and was startled to see ominous thunderheads dominating the sky. Lightening streaked the heavens, followed closely by a clap of thunder that far exceeded the volume of her bass. No worries, I have two legs. And although, running in a thunderstorm was never advised she wasn't concerned. A small sparkle of energy zipped up from the tip of her toes to the base of her skull at the idea. Her childish glee was lessened by her foot slipping on the slick pavement. So she tried the grass, but that was worse. This is no good. Keeping up her pace she gave the area a quick scan. She had just spotted the deserted dugout when it really began to pour. By the time she reached cover she was soaked through to the bone. Thoughts of self electrocution had led her to shut off her tunes and shove them in her waistband. Now the only sound was her heavy breathing and the rain pounding on the tin roof of the dugout. She backed into the corner, to shelter herself from the strong wind and allowed herself to drink in the darkness that had swallowed the afternoon.
House had cast his eyes to the ground to aid in his sure-footedness. Cripple in a downpour, that sounded like a joke gone awry. His gaze broke from the ground at the magnificent flash of lightening. House's eyes were trained on the sky, determined not to miss another spectacular flash as he backed into the dugout. His elbow encountered something soft and squishy; he would have just assumed it to be an old glove if 'it' hadn't squeaked. Cool as a cucumber, House slowly turned his head in search of the noisemaker.
A flash of light illuminated the sky and for a few seconds it was as bright as day. One could've seen for miles if one was looking. Cuddy looked up at the exact moment the lightning struck, just in time to see the flash of two very familiar cool blue eyes staring down at her.
Being poked in the boob is never fun and it was the patented peeved glare that House caught at first when he gazed into her eyes. As the thunder sounded her look morphed into one of awe for the tremendous noise crashing down around them.
And House smiled.
It was dark now. She didn't see him grin at her tall stance. Cuddy didn't cower at the noise, didn't whine about the cold. Her slender form was drawn towards the sound. She stared blindly out at nature's magnificent power. House could see that she admired the strength of the storm, was envious of the thunder's roar and the lightning's indiscretion. Slowly, unconsciously she crept closer to the rain, the wind, the storm.
He studied her through sideways glances, and when the light filled the sky again he saw her clearly for what felt like the first time in ages. She was bare, raw, open and completely unmindful of his keen gaze. He thought she was sexy when she was all riled up, fighting, yelling, screaming. In the flash of light and truth he saw all of her: the small wrinkles at the corners of her mouth and eyes, the one white hair she'd missed tucked behind her ear, the salty sweat that coated her skin, the veins protruding from her small hands which were hugging her chest. And all he could think was that he'd never her seen her more lovely. As quick as it had come the light was gone, the sudden darkness and abrupt desertion of her image startled him. His heart beat through his ears and he thought it was all in his head, until he felt her warm breath on his skin. As she'd crept toward the opening she'd gotten closer to him as well. His heart slowed, his breathing calmed realizing she'd been there all along.
She'd always been there.
Cuddy looked towards the heavens. She so loved the rain. It was absolutely beautiful, powerful. And it was truly a gift after all the heat and the drought. She could sit and watch a storm for hours entranced by the grace and strength of the lightning and the calming sound of the rain drops pounding on the rooftop. The trees across the field danced wildly in the wind, branches moving at the storm's whim. She'd always been puzzled by a storm's dual structure: the rain could be life-giving and nurturing, but just as often it was extremely destructive splitting trees in half and cutting down power lines. But she couldn't lose herself in the thrum of the rainfall; she could feel his eyes on her, and shivered. Of course, it just figures. Red from the run, wet from the rain and breathless from the storm she was stuck with House. Her lower lip dipped into a pout and she silently cursed the sky. Damn days off; can't escape him.
His eyes had never left her and when she shivered he felt an inexplicable urge to touch her, to wrap his arms around her. House shook his head. Damn storm.
Exhaustion enveloped her in the darkness, his presence reminding her of all the work at the hospital she had abandoned for the day and all the emotional garbage and legalities he dragged her through. Cuddy's shoulders slumped with the weight of this mantle falling around her. She leaned against the metal frame of the opening, and slowly slid down to the ground. Turning her head from him, tears blended with sweat and rain on her face.
He'd been leaning heavily on his cane, but his leg was still screaming in pain. He watched her slink down, and grunted. He did the same though not as gracefully. His bad leg stretched out behind her, but the opening was so small that his other knee almost touched her far shoulder.
She didn't know why she was crying. She didn't care. She didn't mind. She did mind House, and was disturbed by his silence. How long could he be quiet before making a snide remark about her appearance, body or sexuality? Quips and comments flashed through her mind as she reviewed the weather and her current state of dress or rather undress. "Oh that's your ipod, I thought you were just happy to see me." But nothing…finally, she'd had enough and turned to glare at him. Only to be met with a blank (and was that caring?!) look. "What?" her voice was raw and raspy. She ignored the tears leaking from the corners of her eyes, although the blustery wind make her keenly away of the cool tracks running down her cheeks.
House lowered his eyes and focusing on his hands which were currently gripping the cane in his lap. He sighed, closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the door frame. It was metal, the door frame that is, and as is often commented House's head is rather large and in fact quite heavy. It made a rather amusing 'bonk' sound upon contact. Even the stoic House couldn't hold back wincing at the impact. The combination of the sound and his facial expression caused her to laugh. It was small at first, but the more she thought about it the more she laughed. He frowned at first, but her chortle was contagious and his chuckle added a bass line to the musical laughter in that tin can of a dugout isolated by the rain.
Their bodies shook with laughter and given their close proximity, his knee bumped into her back. Before he knew it his arms were wrapped around her shoulders and she was leaning back onto his chest, her head just below his chin. One hand on his arm the other swiped tears from her face as the rain and their laughter died down. Her breath caught in the silence when she felt the warmth of his skin under her palm, not sure how they'd gotten in this position. A light patter of rain filled her ears as her eyes traced up his arm, chest, throat, chin, lips, nose, and finally met his eyes.
He was lost in a sea of blue.
And as suddenly as the storm had started she looked away. But he didn't let go. She'd always been there, and now she was here. He wasn't letting her go. And with that thought his possessive grip tightened. She tensed, her brow furrowed in confusion.
She'd broken eye contact before he did, not out of weakness, but out of self-preservation. If he'd looked away first she'd have felt like a silly school girl, staring up with starry-eyes to an older 'boy' who'd only ever teased her. And it would have hurt, just like it always did. She looked away giving him the opportunity to belittle her, deflect the gentle embrace they found themselves in. Cuddy didn't get why he was still here, hugging her? What the fuck was going on?!
All thoughts ceased as his hand traced her earlier pattern smudging the tears from her cheek. His touch was so soft she couldn't help it; she lifted her chin and caught his eye again. She'd known him for over twenty years, but had never been able to read him all the time. This was one of those uncertain times; his clear gaze was strong and pierced her heart. For a brief moment Cuddy thought he might kiss her. Instead he hugged her tight once more. This stunned her and she only managed to squeeze his arm in response.
Pulling her closer to his chest, House was almost certain that he had taken complete leave of his senses. He didn't give a damn; her head just under his nose he nuzzled it in her hair inhaling her scent. The same fragrance that taunted him daily in the hospital, the one that spiced up the normally sterile smell of the building and lingered in her wake as she cut through the throngs of busy staff members and patients. Relaxed he sighed and squeezed her again, chuckling when she let out a small squeak. He pulled back, giving her some space, "I bet I could do something more interesting than that to make you squeak," his whispers laced with innuendo caused an endearing blush to flush up her neck.
She cleared her throat and tried to keep her breathing steady. Cuddy rolled her eyes at his comment, as usual, then stared at him skeptically finally glancing down at his arms which still encircled her. But he didn't move. Stubborn bastard, she hadn't fully decided but the word escaped her lips before she had a chance, she was a goner. "Really?"
Her voice low and sexy, as if having her practically sitting in his lap wasn't enough of a turn on. Hell, who was he kidding? He got turned on just being in the same room as this evil woman. He lunged, it wasn't far but it did take her by surprise. Her mouth still open in shock he moved in, pushing her against the other side of the doorway. The rain picked up, deafening thunder covering any sounds or squeaks. One last bolt of lightening flashed in the sky illuminating the park, a small part catching the flash of two pairs of blue-blue eyes lost in one another.