Hmmm... The end of the Vogler age is in sight. YAY! lol
I don't own House. I am, however, dying of excitement about tomorrow's premiere. WOOHOO::cough cough:: Anyway…
I am definitely writing this during class. Bad, bad Jennifer…
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(Heavy)
So. Vogler was talking to Cameron and Foreman. He might not even protect him after all. It was funny in a way. He could have done it all for nothing. In that case, he really would deserve what he got. It didn't really matter anymore anyway. He and House weren't even talking. That was what all of this mess had gotten him, an even farther rift between them. Sometimes he called it his fault, sometime's House's. The reality probably fell somewhere in-between, as things most often did. He toyed with the idea of telling Vogler he was done.
If he had thought House might have cared, he would have. At this point though he wasn't sure even an apology would cut it, and they hadn't even talked about anything. Since Chase had told House he could trust him, they hadn't even discussed it all. He wasn't an idiot, he knew that House knew. He knew it every time he looked at him-or, rather, every time he didn't. House never met his eyes anymore.
HHHHHHHHH
"Jessica's stable." Predictably, House didn't look up. He didn't even respond. His eyes were glued to his Nintendo. "House…"
"What? I can trust you? So I've heard."
Defeated, his resolve shot, Chase left the office without another word.
HHHHHHHHH
Considering the amount of nerve it had taken to work himself up to it, the betrayal came surprisingly easy when he spoke. Probably because he knew he had already been betrayed. What he hadn't expected was for it not to work.
Chase.
No.
What the hell? He had made this decision, a hard one, and now… It didn't even matter. He was stuck with Chase, stuck with all of it. He wouldn't choose between Cameron and Foreman, he could put his foot down on that at least. He had followed orders, made his decision. It wasn't his fault Chase was an ass kisser and Vogler was a lying son of a bitch. He had kept the deal.
Somehow, he knew Vogler wouldn't see it that way.
HHHHHHHHH
(Role Model)
So how can I work with you?
Well, you don't have a choice.
It was the truth, but it shouldn't have been. This wasn't what he wanted. When he went to Vogler he had only wanted his job, not to torment House. Well, maybe that wasn't entirely true. He knew there had to be some small part of him he would have never dared acknowledge in words that was looking for payback. But he hadn't wanted it like this. Things were out of hand, they were both miserable. For all he knew, House hated him.
He has every right.
He knew what he had to do, but even knowing didn't make it easy. His hand hovered over Vogler's door a full three minutes before he knocked. When he did, it was soft and uneasy. The darker side of him was hoping Vogler wouldn't be in.
"Come in." He slid in silently, eyes downcast. "Ah, Dr.Chase. Good to see you. What do you have to tell me today?"
"I quit."
A moment of startled silence. "What?"
"Not my job, just… This. I'm not your informant anymore. I work for House."
"And House works for me."
Chase tipped his chin up, proud in that moment of the fact that his boss was a stubborn ass. "But that doesn't mean he answers to you. Not all the time. And I don't either. Not anymore."
"He wanted to fire you, you know." A nasty shot, and he waited until Chase had his hand on the door to give it. "You're the one he chose."
It hurt, but Chase hardly missed a beat. "I deserve it. He knows."
HHHHHHHHH
The day following House's drug speech
He waited until Foreman had left, gathered his nerve, and vowed he wouldn't let this drop.
House sat in his computer chair, back to him, playing with a rubber band and looking into the dark. "House…we need to talk."
"Don't you ever get tired of me saying no to that? I'm running out of creative ways to do it. There's nothing to talk about."
"Yes, there is. We have to talk."
House shrugged. "Fine. Say what you want, then leave."
"We both know I lied. I ratted you out to Vogler. I was confused, I thought you were gonna fire me… It all seems stupid now but I can't do anything about it except not do it anymore. And I told him that today, and he told me…" Chase swallowed hard. This part still hurt. "He told me you wanted to get rid of me. I just wanted you to know, I didn't mean it when I said you had no choice. I was angry. I don't want you to have no choice. If you want me gone, if you just can't trust me and would be happier with me gone, then I'll resign. It's up to you."
For a long while, House didn't answer, didn't even move and Chase almost gave up and left. Almost. Finally, "Why did you think I was going to fire you?"
"I screwed up."
"Everyone screws up. I say that at least 10 times a day, give me a break. You're not that sensitive. Scratch that, whether you are or aren't you shouldn't be that sensitive."
"And…" This was hard. "Because of what happened. On the roof. I thought you might… Want me gone." He tensed, biting his lower lip hard between his teeth. Neither of them had spoken of it with so much as a word, an acknowledgement. He had no idea what to expect. He squeezed his eyes shut tight, surprised when he felt the rubber band hit him between the eyes.
"You idiot."
Chase blinked. "Huh?"
"I kiss you, so your natural thought process is that I must want you to get the hell out? What, did the nuns teach you that a kiss was secretly the curse of the devil or something?"
His mind was swimming, no, drowning. He clutched at coherent thought. "No, I…I thought you were just screwing with me."
"Yeah, that's what I had been doing up until that point."
"Wait… You like me?"
House stood, paced between the bookshelf and the end of the desk a couple of times. Chase was calmed, a little, by the rhythm his cane made on the floor. Not hardly as fast as his pulse. "I… Don't know." He stopped in front of Chase, blue eyes all seriousness. "Maybe."
Taking a chance, Chase reached hesitantly up to lay a hand against his cheek. "I'm sorry. For betraying you."
"I can't forgive you." The bluntness of it hit him like a heavy weight, crushing his heart. Well, he hadn't expected him to say he liked him. He wasn't sure if this made it worse or better… He could have had the chance at everything, and he had thrown it away to protect his damn job. "Yet."
He looked back up at House, almost daring to hope. "Yet?"
A short, stiff nod, then House pulled him forward into his arms and a warm, passionate kiss. He was taken in by the force of it, the feel of House's tongue against his own, that taste that he had tasted in his sleep, strong enough to be a drug. He attempted to pull away long enough to draw breath, only to have House reclaim his lips forcefully, right hand tangling almost painfully in his hair, arm tightening around him to pull his body closer. He was lost in the pleasure of it, the way their tongues danced. It was perfect. He moaned softly, his hand sliding around behind House's neck to anchor himself to him, his other hand falling to House's chest.
It was all too good to be true. He was making out with House in his office… The office. The glass office. He pushed House away, his heart leaping at the disgruntled look the diagnostician gave him. "We… Shouldn't be doing this here."
"Some would say we shouldn't be doing it at all." House moved in close again, caught Chase's lower lip in his own and sucked lightly on it. Chase pushed him back again.
"Yes, well, I didn't say that. Just not here."
House sighed, rolling his eyes in frustration and mock anger. "Fine." He swiped his cane up from beside his desk and limped over to his desk to retrieve his keys. "So. Ah… You want a drink? Pizza?"
Slowly, a smile crept across Chase's face. He tried very hard to keep it from becoming a stupid grin. "Sure."
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Something in me loves 'cute' Chase. BUT….I love disgruntled House even more(my dad is disturbed by this….LOL).
Hope you guys enjoyed…I loved bringing them back together.
