TITLE: Laugh Like You Really Mean It
AUTHOR: piratejenn212
PAIRING: House/Cameron
RATING: Safe for the kids
WARNINGS: Spoilers for 1.14 "Control" and 1.20 "Love Hurts"
SUMMARY: It was a rare occurrence to see him smile, and she had never heard him laugh.

DISCLAIMER: I own some books, my backpack, and this laptop…most definitely not House, M.D. and nothing worth suing for.
NOTES: This is the a songficlet based off of/inspired by Snow Patrol's "Hands Open." This one kept coming to me, as I listened to the new record in the car to/from work. It's a quickee, but I've had a drought all summer, and it's high time I put it down.

It's hard to argue when
You won't stop making sense
But my tongue still misbehaves and it
Keeps digging my own grave with my

Before she'd had a chance to stop herself, she had asked him if he liked her. Christ, why did I say that? His "no" betrayed his feelings. Cameron had seen them through his ice blue eyes, which expressed far more than he ever wanted them to (enough to fill volumes) far more frequently than he ever wanted them to. They were there, and she had caught them.

Before she'd had a chance to stop herself, she had blackmailed him into taking her on a date. What was I thinking? Cameron decided, as she perused the menu, that she might as well go for it and confront him on the subject. He had proceeded to tear her apart with expert precision, something he did very well, and she hadn't been able to think of any comebacks to his bitingly accurate remarks. They were all true, and she had to admit it.

Hands open, and my eyes open
I just keep hoping
That your heart opens

Her tears fresh, Cameron now resolved to keep trying, perhaps just a little more discreetly. As much as he did to make it seem otherwise, he still had a heart. He didn't risk his job keeping patients' secrets, or going out on any of several limbs simply because it annoyed Dr. Cuddy. House probably loved annoying Dr. Cuddy, but that couldn't be – no, it just wasn't the reason why he hid pill bottles and stood up to transplant committees, kept parents from making the wrong decisions because they were as far from objective as he was from running a marathon…

It's not as easy as willing it all to be right
Gotta be more than hoping it's right
I wanna hear you laugh like you really mean it
Collapse into me, tired with joy

Cameron knew she could not simply hope he would open up to her; she had to start doing something – several somethings – to begin cracking the shell he had slammed shut over the years. He had managed to withdraw so much that he verbally expressed nothing, instead leaving it all up to his eyes. It was also a rare occurrence to see him smile, and she had never heard him laugh.

She wondered what it would be like. Not a mocking, idiots-are-amusing laugh, but a genuine laugh. Was it a giggle, a booming laugh, or the type of laugh where one's face lights up with a broad smile and their head nods in silence? He seemed the silent type, and she was determined to find out.