He wondered if they'd got around to fucking, yet.
Leaning his forearms against the rail that prevented anybody on the balcony from meeting the short stop of the ground floor, House had his startlingly keen blue eyes trained on the flocks of people that swanned back and fourth beneath him; never-stopping and never-apologetic, they acted as though they were rooted to tracks, more than happy to simply shove past those who happened to be in their path.
In the midst of this, however, there were two figures that stood out almost painfully. In a world where nobody had time to so much as pause to retie their damn places, these two stood still, forced to stand unnaturally close together by the multicultural throngs that filtered on by. Not that the pair seemed to care – their eyes hadn't moved an inch from each other in the half hour that Greg had been watching them.
James Wilson and Lisa Cuddy. Who would have thought it? She, in House's less-than-humble opinion, was nowhere near needy enough for him. And him? He should have been torn apart by her in less than a day. And yet there they were, standing close enough to touch without the casual onlooker suspecting a thing, but doing nothing more than talking. Talking, and looking.
He was sure they were at it like the Energizer Bunnies.
You simply didn't stand like that. Being jostled by nurses and visitors alike, it was simply impossible not to collide once in a while. Except if you kept yourself tied to the ground, making a special effort not to touch, not to fall against those you were with. Greg himself was always being nudged against people in elevators and the like.
House did drum it up, but that was really beside the point. If he just so happened to be getting pushed around a little, and then just so happened to fall in the direction of the latest hot intern? Well, it was all good.
Cuddy wasn't a hot intern, though. And Wilson definitely wasn't House. If Wilson was House, that would mean Greg would have to be James. He'd have to wear a lab coat and chat to cancer kids without ever hitting on the moms, 'cuz they were all 'fragile' in the Oncology Department. Plus he'd be lumbered with a wife, a mortgage, and a bit on the side. Everything but that last one sucked big time.
House had known Wilson for longer that he could be bothered to remember, now. He knew the man inside out. And one thing that he had learned in their time of acquaintance was that James seemed to have a disability when it came to keeping his hands to himself. He picked up something in a skirt, knowing full well he was about to cheat on Wifey The Third, or whatever, and then felt miserable for weeks afterwards as he wondered why he'd done it.
Jackass.
Wilson and affairs went together perfectly. But Wilson and Cuddy? It just didn't want to sit comfortably in his mouth. She was his boss, for crying out loud! James was far too ethical to sleep with his boss. He'd be worried about people thinking he was only doing her for a raise, or a promotion, or something.
Then again, that was probably why they were both so hellbent on keeping their hands to themselves down there. He wouldn't want to be seen as screwing his boss because she was his boss. And Lisa? Cuddy would most likely blow a gasket at the very thought of letting everybody know she was messing around with one of her staff.
Oh, burn. House would definitely be giving rise to the old debate on being ethical with her. Although he used the rule book as something to prop his feet upon, Greg was still pretty sure what they were doing was written down as a complete 'no-no'.
"House?"
From behind, an all-too-familiar female voice tacked a question onto his name, obviously testing out his mood. Typical Cameron. She'd probably stand there and try to decipher if he was okay from whatever reply he gave her. She was so easy to read, it almost made House laugh.
Planning to simply ignore her, Greg was a little surprised to find a hand resting upon his shoulder. Glancing back, he confirmed that it was indeed Cameron's, and he hunched his shoulders a little until she wrenched her hand away, as though his navy jacket was white hot iron. House scowled. Cameron looked away from his eyes.
"Foreman... told me you were up here." She informed him, eventually, stepping up to lean on the bar next to him. Greg kept his eyes firmly on his colleagues a floor down, apparently intent on forgetting Cameron was even there until she decided to go away. He really didn't need her hovering by his elbow, offering advice in a sad, 'I've been there too' tone. Ugh.
"House, are you alright?" Sadly, Cameron just didn't want to give up, and she turned her head to survey Greg cautiously. Always cautiously. Goddamn her for being so careful. He just wanted to see her scream at Chase, or something. Just once, she needed to loose it, and prove she was still actually human.
"Just peachy." Was House's reply, the two words grating against the back of his throat in more of a growl than a spoken tone. Why was it so difficult to find a little bit of alone time? All he wanted to do was lean there and watch Wilson for a bit. Not have one third of his staff come and try to worm into his mind.
"I know... I know you're close." Allison suddenly gestured down to where James was standing, and an indignant scowl crossed Greg's face. She had absolutely no right to be commenting on any aspect of his life, let alone his life with Wilson. Apparently, he couldn't even have friends without people remarking on them.
"Chase thinks Cuddy's... well. With Wilson. And I just--" She suddenly took a deep breath, and House figured she was about to go into mega-shrink wrapping mode. Oh, bollocks to this, where was the escape hatch?
"Even if they are... it doesn't mean he's going to stop wanting to see you. You're still his friend."
"What is this, National Feel Sorry For Me day?" House tore his eyes away from Cuddy's motion of flicking her hair back, glaring at Cameron who actually seemed to shrink back a little. "Wilson has a girlfriend. Yeah, like that's a first. I've seen him go through more women than Hooters' recruitment evening."
"I just thought--"
"You thought wrong."
"Fine."
The conversation came to an abrupt halt, and both of them went back to watching the couple amidst the crowds. Cameron appeared tired, while House's features were home to the customary frown. Quite a time passed before either of them spoke again, and even then it was just Greg proving his own commentary.
"Oh, for God's sake. This is so pathetic."
It was Cameron's turn to glare. House was an ass, she'd come to that much of a conclusion herself, but right then he was exceeding his own standards of ass-y-ness. So it was pathetic to date somebody you worked with?
That thought gave rise to a slight surge of an emotion on Allison, and she forcibly suppressed memories of her own date with House. Or her own disaster with House. It had never even been mentioned between them again, and she figured that Greg had simply hated it that much.
"Gee, I hope James knows how lucky he is to have you as a friend."
"Gee, I wish you'd stop being such a bitch." House mimicked her cruelly, limping away a few steps to lean against a different stretch of banister. Cameron was quick on his heels, and planted herself beside him once more.
"What is up with you?" She asked, looking vaguely bemused. "You've been a total bastard ever since they," Cameron jerked her head towards Cuddy and Wilson "went on that second date. What, you're jealous of him; you want to date her yourself?"
Greg gasped dramatically.
"You, like, seriously think she'd dump him for me? Oh my God! You're right! I love her!" Making a noise of dismissal, House had a sudden longing to trail back to his office, lock the doors and plug in for a bit of Grand Theft Auto.
Cameron shook her head, pitying him greatly. She hung around for a few more seconds, before deciding to go back and vent at Chase and Foreman for a little while. Perhaps she could actually cool down before the rest of lunch.
The clip-clopping of her heels usually would have made House want to drop down to his knees in gratitude that she'd finally left. But, if he wanted to be absolutely honest with himself (which he didn't), Cameron had actually left him feeling a little... well... awkward.
He wasn't jealous of them. He didn't want to be a serial philanderer with a track record of being unfaithful, and neither did he want to run a hospital and crave a child more than anything. Besides, if he was either of them, he'd have to cope with himself from a third-person sort of view. No way, José.
He wasn't jealous of them, said his conscious mind. Sadly, his subconscious thoughts said something a little bit different.
Maybe – just maybe – he was a little jealous of James. One decent chat-up line from that man's mouth and that was the firm basis for yet another affair. And perhaps – just perhaps – he was a tiny bit jealous of Cuddy too. She coped with practically everything, and barely a second was appreciated by anybody but the suck-ups who wanted a promotion. And she was able to get herself a halfway decent man, even if it was in the form of James Wilson.
Somehow, those thoughts managed to creep into the fore of his mind, and House shook his head a little in an attempt to dislodge them. Ew. Okay. Catch him ever thinking anything even remotely down the same lines. Ever again.
Yet, as he glanced down to the couple once more, one more thought did creep in. As he saw Wilson check his watch, then lean over to whisper something into Lisa's ear, as he saw him break the gaze for just a split second, and as he saw James brush her arm so very lightly in a silent goodbye...
He thought he was jealous of Cuddy just that little bit more.
"Stupid." He muttered to himself and turned away, making for the closest candy-dispensing vending machine. He needed a boost.