Author: MegTDJ
Category: Fluff
Rating: K (suitable for any age)
Pairing: House/Cameron
Spoilers: None
Summary: Snow brings out the kid in everyone... even House.
Disclaimer: House and its characters are not mine. The story itself is, however, so please don't archive without my permission.
Author's notes: I wrote this partly because it's much too hot today (I'm a winter person), and partly because someone wondered whether House/Cameron fluff was possible (if that wasn't a challenge...). So, here it is! House/Cameron fluff, designed to cool you down rather than warm you up. Well, cool me down, anyway. And a little bit of House/Wilson friendship snuck in there somehow. I hope you enjoy!
It's set before Role Model, by the way. Probably before Heavy, too. Actually, I'll leave it up to you when it's set, heh.
The Last Snowfall
It was quite possibly the last snowfall of the year.
As annoying as snow, ice, and slush could be, Greg still found himself enjoying the winter. There was something about snow that made you feel like a kid again, no matter how old you got. He missed being able to go skating or skiing, but he didn't have time for that anymore, anyway. No matter how many fun winter activities he missed out on, he still felt a pang of regret when he realized it was almost over.
A couple of hyper kids almost ran right into him as he passed through the hospital's main doors out into the crisp, evening air. He resisted the urge to yell and shake his cane at them when one of them glanced back over his shoulder and yelled, "Sorry, mister!" before continuing on his merry way.
Big, fluffy snowflakes falling down around him always did put Greg in a slightly less ornery mood than usual.
He pulled the collar of his coat up a little more to protect against the sudden chill, and started on his way to the bus stop. He'd seen the weather forecast that morning, and hadn't wanted the bother of driving home in it if it got as bad as predicted. He certainly didn't regret that decision - now he was free to just relax and enjoy it.
THWACK.
Greg stopped in surprise as something hit him in the back of the head. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn it was a snowball. After the initial shock had worn off, he whirled around to face his assailant, ready to give the snotty-nosed kid a piece of his mind.
"I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist!"
Cameron.
Greg glared at her, his mind racing through a thousand different ways he could make her life a living hell for this.
She didn't seem very intimidated, though, standing there snickering at him while trying to appear penitent. After a second or two, she raised her hand to cover her mouth and stifle her laughter. "You should see your face!"
Oh, she was so gonna get it now.
Greg slowly stepped towards her, barely even leaning on his cane as he anticipated raising it in self-defense if she tried to hit him again. To his satisfaction, Cameron started backing away nervously, no longer daring to laugh but still grinning at him like a Cheshire cat.
The second she bent down to pick up more snow, Greg dropped his cane and lunged for her. Cameron squealed like a kid and dove out of the way, throwing another snowball as she did so and hitting him square in the chest.
"Think I can't fire you for this, Cameron?" Greg sneered, limping over to a low wall and scraping the snow off into his gloved hands.
"You've gotta catch me first!" Another snowball hit him in the shoulder. Damn, her aim was good... for a girl.
Finally armed and dangerous, Greg threw his neatly packed snowball at her as she bent down to reload. He cackled when it caught her on the side of the head.
"Ow!" she cried.
Greg knew the snow was soft enough that it wouldn't have done any damage, so he just rolled his eyes and dodged as she sent another projectile his way. He laughed when it missed him by an inch. "Gotta do better than that," he said, and threw another snowball that hit her in the arm despite her best attempt to get out of its way.
"I can run faster than you," she taunted, dashing to get as far away from him as she could before he could collect enough snow for his next attack.
Greg cursed under his breath and limped after her. He didn't care that a dozen or more people were watching in amusement as they came and went from the hospital. All he cared about right now was making Cameron pay.
She ducked around the corner of the building, and Greg followed soon after... and received a faceful of snow for his trouble.
After coughing and spluttering and wiping the snow out of his eyes for a moment, he caught sight of Cameron, practically doubled over with laughter just a few feet away. "Okay, that's it... you're dead now," he growled.
She turned to run again, but fate was obviously on Greg's side - she failed to notice a patch of ice, her feet gave out from under her, and she landed butt-first in a snow bank.
Greg laughed in triumph as he threw himself on top of her, grabbed a handful of snow, and stuffed it down the back of her neck. She screamed and tried to push him off, but he wasn't ready to show mercy just yet. "Are you conceding defeat?" he asked, pinning her arms to her sides to prevent having snow thrust down his own neck.
"Come on, House, let me up!" she begged.
He shook his head firmly. "Not until I'm declared the winner."
Cameron kept on trying to push him away, though Greg could tell from her laughter that she was taking it all in good fun. "Oh God, you really do have superiority issues," she mumbled.
Greg feigned indignation at that. "Excuse me! What did you just say?"
"I said, you really do ha...AH!" She screamed even louder as Greg shoved more snow down her neck.
"What the heck are you doing?"
Greg winced as he recognized the voice that had just spoken - Wilson. "Uh... nothing?" he said, rolling over to lay in the snow beside Cameron and look up innocently at Wilson.
"Uh huh," Wilson said in his not-buying-it tone. He held up the cane that Greg had discarded a minute earlier. "I believe this belongs to you?" he said, offering his hand to help Greg up.
"Why, yes, I believe it does," Greg said, allowing Wilson to hoist him to his feet. He took the cane and leaned on it heavily as he watched Cameron sit up and start shaking her coat off and muttering to herself. He gave Wilson a playful smile, and then turned to hold his hand out for Cameron. "Need a hand, Cameron?" he asked.
She looked up at him suspiciously. "Yeah, like I'm going to fall for that," she said, struggling to her feet on her own.
"Fall for what?" Greg asked, mock-seriously. "Are you implying that I don't know when to stop?"
"Are you two finished?" Wilson interrupted. "Because if you are... House, I can give you a ride if you need one."
"We're finished," Cameron said, giving her coat another shake. "Goodnight, Dr. Wilson." With a pointed glare at House, she added, "Goodnight, Dr. House."
"Goodnight, Dr. Cameron," Greg said, giving her a tiny smile. "We'll continue this conversation tomorrow."
"Oh, no we won't."
"Oh, yes we will." Greg started to walk away, but damn it, if the fates hadn't decided to switch loyalties. His cane slipped on the ice, and he felt himself going down.
Cameron gasped and instinctively wrapped her arms around his waist to keep him on his feet.
Once the threat of falling had disappeared, Greg found he kind of liked the sensation of having Cameron's arms around him. Judging from the look on her face, she kind of liked it, too.
Wilson's not-so-subtle "ahem" brought the moment to an end, however, and the two of them broke apart as quickly as if they'd been burned. "Are you okay?" Cameron asked.
"Yeah, fine," Greg replied, cursing himself for feeling embarrassed, and Wilson for leering at him in such an annoying way. "Thanks. See you tomorrow."
Once Cameron had walked off to her car and was no longer within earshot, Wilson nudged Greg's arm and said, "What was that?"
Greg thought fast. "That... was childish behaviour brought on by the last snowfall of the year. Happens to everyone." As proof of his point, he grabbed a handful of snow from a nearby car and stuffed it down the back of Wilson's neck.
"House!" Wilson yelped as he tried to fish it out again. "You can be such a... brat sometimes, you know that?"
Greg smirked. At least he had successfully distracted his friend from his teasing.
He looked over his shoulder as a car passed by and pipped its horn. Cameron gave him a saucy wave as she drove by, and then pointed at something behind him.
Greg turned around just in time to get another faceful of snow. This time, it was the sound of Wilson's laughter that met his ears as he coughed and spluttered.
"You're right, House, it seems to bring out the kid in everyone. Are you going to pin me down and try to kiss me now, too?"
If looks could kill, one Jimmy Wilson would have died a thousand deaths on the spot. It was a good thing he had good use of both of his legs, or he wouldn't have been able to move out of the way fast enough to avoid a good caning.
Not that he would escape it again tomorrow...