Formerly named "Here I Stand." Rewritten and reposted. One-shot Chase and House goodness.
The beeping of the alarm clock was shut off as a hand emerged from the sheet and whapped the off button. Gregory House slowly rolled over, careful of his leg. Gold hair greeted him, little wisps dancing around his check, tickling him in an unmanly way.
"Robert."
Nothing. No even a stir. House reached out and gave a shake to the lump next to him.
In a singsong voice, he leaned right over Chase's ear. "Paging Dr. Chase. Wake up."
Finally he was rewarded with a weak "humph" and a general hand swat. His bedmate's body curled up even more and Robert's hand grabbed the covers possessively.
The older man gave a slight pause. "Robert?"
Again, nothing.
"Get up, you lazy ass."
Another movement and tired eyes were looking into his and then the alarm clock. Accent thick with sleep, Chase yawned and muttered softly, "I'm too tired to get up dammit…"
House frowned. "Trouble sleeping again?" He knew that for the past few nights, Chase hadn't been sleeping well. Being the insomniac he was, Greg often laid there as Robert tossed and turned, never mentioning the cries that would sometime escape his lips. The blond man would feel guilty and no doubt start apologizing obsessively.
Greg considered the situation. Chase didn't often take days off, and it wasn't like House was going to rat him out. Unless of course, Cuddy offered his less clinic duty hours in return for his tattle telling. Then Chase was on his own. "Don't come into work today."
A weak and confused, "What?" was the only response Robert gave him.
"If something happened at work, say, oh I don't know, a patient went into cardiac arrest, you wouldn't be able to do anything. You're too tired. Go back to sleep."
Chase blearily stared at House before decided to take advantage of the situation and do as his partner said. The man rolled over and closed his eyes. He faintly House rub his back as he slipped off but didn't feel the man roll out of bed.
House softly closed the bedroom door, sighed in frustration, and went to work.
- - -
"Where is Chase?"
"The little wombat had a little to much fun last night. Didn't look so good."
"You let him take the day off?" Wilson's mouth dropped open comically. Greg wanted to roll his eyes. Or kick him in the shins with his cane.
He looked around- none of the other doctors were standing close or really paying attention. House let his facial expression soften, becoming more sincere. "Of course I did. Why wouldn't I?"
Wilson had the audacity to raise an eyebrow at him. House merely looked him in the eye before hobbling off. The sound of footsteps told him that Wilson followed.
"So, is he okay?"
House just shrugged and walked into his office.
When he came upon his other ducklings, he scowled. "So, what do we got?"
- - -
It was almost half past seven when House got back to the apartment. "Goldilocks?"
No answer. He moved from the doorway and saw that his television was on, but had been muted. As he limped closer to turn the tv, off he noticed the dozing form of his lover stretched out on the couch.
The older man sighed and rested his cane against the wall before reaching over to the blanket on his lounge chair. He draped it over the sleeping body and proceeded to eat dinner alone.
Several hours later as he read in bed, House heard movement from the living room. Soft footsteps made their way to the kitchen briefly before turning towards the bedroom. Chase slipped through the doorway, one hand holding a glass of water. The blond leaned over and gave him a quick kiss before depositing the drink on the bed stand and flopping down on top of the covers.
Greg moved to capture those soft lips again. Kissing Robert was always fun, but the activities that followed were even more exciting. "Did your all-day siesta make you feel better?"
His little lover scooted closer to him and House could feel those lips form a smile against his. "Uh-huh…"
Robert's arms winded around him, pushing House's body to lie down on his own. "But I'm not quite ready to get out of bed yet."
Greg smirked. "Good." He started to kiss his way down the throat that was offered to him. Chase arched up slightly, and he pulled away just enough that his lips dusted over the skin. "Neither am I."