Wilson didn't need House's sharp tongue and ability to read anyone like a book. He didn't need to know that he could show up at House's place with a bag and only have to deal with one or two mocking remarks before having the door opened wide. He didn't need the drunken nights or hours spent watching movies that both men could quote.
He didn't need to feel House's breath against his neck, didn't need to feel the fingers crawling up his back as he arched into the touch and there was certainly no need to let House's name escape between his lips.
If he really wanted, he could find everything somewhere else: in wives, in work, in fair-weather friends. Wilson was a charming man; he knew that he could have the world at his feet if he wanted. Yet here he was, associating with a man that so many respected, but so few liked.
House didn't need Wilson, just like Wilson didn't need him. He didn't need to have Wilson to steal lunch or money from. He didn't need him to constantly remind House that he was a miserable individual who couldn't stand to be happy. He didn't need him to make those delicious macadamia nut pancakes and he certainly didn't need Wilson to back him up when no one else would.
He didn't need Wilson to moan the way he did, didn't need to feel Wilson's skin underneath his fingers as he traced every part of the other man, didn't need him to help House forget his pain, if only just for one flickering moment.
If he really wanted, House could find everything somewhere else: in hookers, in Vicodin, in the idiots he surrounded himself with every day. House was a man who knew how to get what he wanted, even if he wasn't the most liked individual around. Yet here he was, associating with this man who fueled the hospital's gossip mill, but so few ever really knew the truth about.
House and Wilson didn't need each other; they knew that when it came down to it, both men would be able to function without the other. They knew that what they had would never result in 'I love you's and stupid gifts on meaningless days. What they also knew, was that what they'd develped, was as close to perfect as either man could ever hope to get.