Disclaimer: [H]ouse is not mine and never will be.
A/N: Written for LJ's sick_wilson community and Barefootpuddles' Hug Wilson Challenge.
It was so nice to write slash and caring!House again. It's been way too long, but season 7 wasn't inspiring me. Thank goodness for Barefootpuddles' challenge.
Enjoy!
Slumped against the counter wearing only his boxers, Wilson stared wearily at the coffee maker. A stream of high-octane caffeine slowly filled the carafe. Six in the morning, with a busy day ahead of him, he desperately needed a cup of French roast to jump-start his day.
Without warning, two arms snaked over his chest and he was spun around. He was looking at a neck, grizzled cheeks, inviting lips… a minty-fresh kiss exploded in his mouth. Strong arms held him in a greedy hug.
He had waited so long for House, and now… he closed his eyes and surrendered to the moment. His news could wait until lunch.
Buried under a pile of files from the moment he walked into his office, he rolled his shoulders and stretched as House banged open his door, announcing it was time to eat. A fragrant pizza box balanced precariously in his left hand.
Changing their status from friends to "something meaningful" had worked wonders on their relationship. In public they behaved as they always did, but behind closed doors any bickering had smothered under a blanket of resolved sexual tension. Banter underwent the same fate. Both were replaced with lingering looks and caresses.
Wilson enjoyed the companionable silence as he tackled a glob of mozzarella determined to stretch into a greasy thread. A shadow crossed his thoughts. He should talk to House now, but why break the mood. Tonight… after sex…
A sound, human but unintelligible, disrupted his thoughts. He looked up. House was peering at him with that soul-stripping gaze of his.
"Is there tomato sauce on my chin?"
House grimaced. "Living together is not working out the way I expected."
The cheese caught in Wilson's throat, but he managed to sputter, "What?"
"Under Cuddy's spell I was willing to ignore my patients. Under yours, I lost my JEWdar. Now that we are joined at the groin, I'm blinded to subtle day-to-day changes in you." House dropped his slice into the box, limped around to Wilson's side of the desk, and took up residence behind him.
Wilson froze as he felt fingers run along his neck, probing his lymph nodes.
"Make that color-blind. You're skin tone resembles a zombie's. And the first thing you do when we get home is fall asleep on the couch. I thought you were resting up for our marathon nights when I go Untamed and Uncut on your ass, but that's not the reason."
House swung the chair around so Wilson faced him. "We agreed from the start that the 'something new' in our relationship would be honesty. Level with me"
Halfheartedly swiping away House's hands, Wilson realized he had run out of evasions. "My GP called with the results of my blood tests."
"You're anemic."
"You know?" The walls broke loose from the floor and began spinning.
"Of course, I know." House leaned toward him, pressing his hand over Wilson's heart, pushing him gently against the chair. "Breath deeply," he ordered. You're getting tachy."
"But—?"
"Shut up. If your heart doesn't slow down in thirty seconds I'm calling for a crash cart."
Wilson simply nodded and waited for the light-headed feeling to recede along with the concern radiating from House's eyes. When the warm hand departed, he asked, "What was that crap about zombies and expectations?"
"Your misery was cutting into my playtime. I needed you to 'fess up."
"Everything comes back to you," Wilson accused, but he felt relieved knowing pre-relationship House still existed in the universe. "We both know anemia spells cancer."
"So says the oncologist. And anemia could mean anemia, Wilson."
As bad as cancer could be, he was confident it was caught early. The disease was not his worst-case scenario. There was something far worse worrying him. Keeping his voice light and steady, he said, "But if it's cancer, you don't have to stick around." His heart clenched as House turned away and looked out the window. "You have a history of avoiding sick people with boring diseases, I understand, I—"
"Idiot." House sowed a fierce kiss onto his lips while still speaking. "I'll never leave you, and you'll never leave me. Got it?"
Coming up for air, Wilson answered. "I do."
.
Thank you. Comments are always welcome.
