Yei, chapter 13 is here! It took me ages to finish it, and it's acceptably long. It's kinda fluffy and maybe a bit OOC, but I turned out to be a decent piece of writing :)

And Jiayu, thanks a lot for your comment. You made my day. I have a pretty good English level for my age and nationality and I also read a lot in English, which is always helpful.

I was thinking about getting a beta but the truth is I have no idea how that works. If some kind soul wants to explain it to me, I'll be very grateful.

I hope you enjoy this new chapter, I'll do my best to update SOON.

Chapter XIII-Peanut butter

'Shut up, House,' Cuddy spat out angrily ', it was just a stupid childish game.' She did have the hots for him, but they weren't just the hots for him.

'Keep telling that to yourself, darling,' was his reply, followed by a chuckle.

'If I have the hots for you, then you are madly in love with me.'

'And you are basing your assumption in the fact that I constantly express my undying affection by sending you flowers and acting nice around you?'

'I'm basing my assumption in facts: you keep interrupting all my dates…' She saw House open his mouth to protest, but she cut him off ', and don't even try to deny it. If you do, please remember why you are stuck at my house and then, perhaps, we'll have a reasonable conversation.'

'Yes, mistress,' House retorted, rolling his eyes.

'No matter how much you say you hate me, you're always around me. Maybe you are just trying to annoy the hell out of me, and believe me, you succeed almost every time, or it's your stupid, immature, screwed-up way to express feelings of a… romantic nature,' she realised she had gone a bit too far, but the look of shock on his face was priceless ', you helped me with IVF, you keep showing at my doorstep out of the blue…'

They heard a knock on the door. House, happy with the interruption, said out loud

'Emma, open the door or…'

'Aunt Lisa, did he tell you?' The little girl asked, ignoring House's words blatantly.

'What is it that he has to tell me?'

'He didn't tell you. Doctor House, you are a coward.'

'Let us out, you little parasite!' House demanded.

Cuddy let out a giggle.

'Who is freaking out now?' She then quoted him ', we're not gonna starve, we're not gonna…'

'Hey, I was supposed to be the one laughing at you! You confessed you've got the hots for me, and now you're making fun of me?'

'Of course, it's a golden opportunity!' Cuddy grinned. A wide, perfect smile. House forced himself to look away.

'Are you hungry?' The little girl asked politely. Of course, after locking them inside a room being polite was useless. House was determined to strangle her, and Cuddy was planning a serious talk with Jack and Juliet.

'Yes, very,' answered House. He hoped they could sneak away when Emma opened the door.

'OK,' she replied, and the sound of her footsteps indicated she was walking towards the kitchen.

Cuddy stared at House for a fraction of a second.

'Have you ever considered fostering an eight-year-old?' Cuddy asked, laughing, 'she could be your daughter, and you'd be proud of her.'

***

'What happened?' Matthew asked, jumping up and down excitedly before Emma even entered the kitchen.

'He didn't tell her,' Emma stepped into the room ', they're hungry. We need a plan; I don't want them running when I open the door.'

Matthew, who apparently had been bitten by the mosquito of evil plans, smirked mischievously.

'Let's make some sandwiches,' he urged his sister, 'and when we gave them to Aunt Lisa and Doctor House, we open the door a little, little bit and then we run.'

'Sounds fun,' she replied and stood in front of the fridge before opening it ', you think Aunt Lisa and Doctor House eat peanut butter sandwiches?' The boy shrugged and came to stand right next to her sister.

'I'll help you,' Matthew offered her a charming smile, his green-blue eyes sparkling ', but promise me you are not going to tell everyone about the time I…'

'OK dwarf,' Emma rolled her eyes and opened the fridge's door.

***

'House?' Cuddy asked, really willing to put this hostage situation behind her. He acknowledged her words with a barely audible "Huh?" ', what is it that you have to tell me?'

'Nothing! Don't you trust me?' he retorted. They were still sitting on the bed, refusing to look at each other for the same reason. A common reason they didn't even know they share for real. Of course, they had joked about it minutes ago, but neither of them expected the other one to take it seriously—or so they said.

'Of course not. I trust my niece, and I know she is not a liar. In fact, she has to be the more honest kid you've ever met. And if she says you have to say something, then I believe her.'

'You'd rather trust an evil 8 year old instead of me? I am offended. I've been your friend for 20 years…' he wiped an imaginary tear away.

'And I've known Emma since she was born—and you were not my friend for 20 years.'

'I was! We met on December 14th 1987. Do the math,' he snapped.

Cuddy was surprised he actually remembered the day of their first encounter. She surely remembered every detail of it, but House…he had never expected him to retain that kind of information. Truth be told, she didn't even think she still consider her a friend.

'You remember?' she whispered, her voice soft, calm and full of reminiscence. Oh God, she was about to get all emotional, and House was in the room.

'Of course I do,' he replied hoarsely, as if he hadn't used his voice in a decade. 'A man never forgets such a zesty body,' he winked, and she couldn't help but laugh.

It was one of their moments. When they felt the connection between them vibrating, burning, compelling them to be close, and they understood why they had put up with each other during all those years. As if attracted by a mysterious magnetic force, they leant forward, twisting their bodies awkwardly so they could face each other. House raised one of his strong, large hands and placed it on Cuddy's cheek, his callused fingers caressing her soft skin. She shivered with pleasure at the contact, not hiding her feelings anymore. She let her hand rest on the nape of his neck, his salt and pepper thick hair intertwined between her fingers…God, she was going to regret this…

House wondered at the silky smoothness of her skin against his fingers, rough and hardened as a result of playing the guitar for too many years. Why was he doing this, letting his deeper, hidden, feelings guide him? He placed the other hand round her waist, careful not to rest his weight on his bad leg, and drew her closer to him, sensing the heat coming from her body, from her, the tangled scent of warm skin, perfumed soap and that unique fragrance that was only hers.

They were just inches away from each other; an effortless move would just end up with their lips crashing together…once again. Their breathing became shallow and difficult, his hand rubbing soothing circles on her hips. One of them just had to take the leap…

And then, as unexpectedly as it had started, everything stopped. A knock on the door, and the connection was ruined. They froze in their stances.

'Can I come in?' Emma asked.

Cuddy, her face blushed and her voice quite hesitant, spoke up.

'Of course,' she replied with a shy smile.

Emma fumbled with the keys and finally got the door open. Matthew was with her. If they had been less shocked, they would have taken the chance to run away from their captors, but their minds were so baffled and bewildered that House almost granted the kids a smile. Not a smirk, a smile, for God's sake! The kids sensed the tension in the room: they were quite intuitive and perceptive.

'We…' Matthew held a plate in front of them ', brought you sandwiches.' He placed the platter on the night table.

'Thank you?' Cuddy replied, still not recovering from the shock.

'And Coke. Diet Coke,' Emma declared, and saw House rolling his eyes. 'Sorry, doctor House, there was nothing else inside the fridge. Only vegetables and… soy milk.'

'That's fine, kiddo. Now let us go,' he warned her. Emma saw him standing and threw the keys at her brother before House was able to snatch them away from her. Matthew promptly caught them in the air. She secretly thanked her Dad for insisting on taking her brother to baseball practice every Sunday.

'Did you tell her?'

'No, there's nothing to say,' he took a step further, and Emma and Matthew began their retreat. They knew House couldn't run properly because of his leg and, as much as their parent had inculcated them respect for the cripples, they took advantage of the situation and just flee of the room at a very high speed for their short legs.

After having the door safely locked, Emma shouted, much to House's dismay:

'Tell her that you l…' She stopped herself and House began to believe some kind of God may actually exist ', no, you have to tell her. Not me.' And with that, House and Cuddy heard her walk away hastily, followed by Matthew.

***

House took a deep breathe and turned around—Cuddy was eyeing him suspiciously.

'You could have grabbed the keys!' He deflected as soon as possible. Cuddy stood up, angry. He was not going to blame her for this. He was the one who was suppose to speak and free them; excuse her if she was shocked because of the positively mind-blowing kiss they could have shared minutes ago. She couldn't believe she was falling again. He would act like a human being, and then ruin it completely, like always.

'You could have spoken HOURS ago and we'll be out of here!'

'Can't you understand? I have nothing to say to you! Stop making this about you,' he spat out heatedly, and saw her take a few steps further, closer to him.

'I'm not making this about me! I just want to get the hell out of here!' She let out a shaky breath and tried to steady herself. She was definitely overreacting to the situation, but still… the fragrance of his manly cologne was getting into her head. Wonderful. 'Come on, House, speak. A little girl called you a coward. Try to save your dignity… or what is left of it.' She hadn't how close they were until she looked up and almost collided with House's nose. She was feeling rather ashamed; she seemed so desperate, aching for his touch and presence…

'I think I left it in my other pants, so there's no point on trying to get it back.' They were still dangerously close to each other

'You tried to kiss me again. You're sick.' She moved her hands up and down frantically. 'I'm done; I can't possibly tell what the hell is going on with your mind. And if you're not willing to tell me then, a, I'm gonna assume you are madly in love me, or b, I'm gonna pretend you are not here, or c…'

'Do you remember how we met?' The question took Cuddy by surprise. Of course, he was deflecting.

Of course she did. And it had been as odd and peculiar as their entire friendship, relation or whateveryoumightcallit-ship. And he was wearing a weird costume. But they were not going to discuss it so that he could avoid his confession.

'Stop deflecting! It starts with an l, you can loathe me, like me, love me…'

'Or it might not be connected to you at all, you narcissistic administrator!' He snapped 'Maybe I love Brian's Song or The Sound of Music…may be I like ballroom dance competitions…'

'Yeah right, my niece locked us up here to force you to confess to your unconditional love for the Von Trapp family singers,' she chuckled. She remembered how annoyed he used to get when people sang My Favourite Things. He just couldn't stand the raindrops, the kitten and all the "so called nice crappy things" the song made reference to.

'Why not?' He defended himself.

'Because you hate Brian's Song, you despise The Sound of Music and you are on your way to becoming a ballroom dancers serial killer!'

'I'm so gonna kill Emma when I get out of here,' House muttered, clenching his fists.

Cuddy sat on the bed again. Arguing with House was an extremely exhausting affair. Forgetting she was not suppose to eat white bread and peanut butter, she grabbed the plate Matthew had placed on the nigh table moments ago and took hold of one of the wonky sandwiches. She smiled, picturing the kids making them and trying not to ruin them completely. But then she remembered she was not supposed to succumb to their cuteness. She was incredibly mad at them, especially Emma, and it was a character license she could not afford to take. Being too permissive with the kids was not good for them. She chewed absent-mindedly, feeling like a small child at lunch breaks.

'I can't believe you are eating that, you must be really hungry,' he sat next to her, rubbing his leg, and clutched one of the sandwiches and bite it with almost animal fierce. He hadn't realised how hungry he was.

'How long is it gonna take?' Cuddy asked him, her voice calm.

'What?'

'You telling me what you have to tell me, whatever it is,' she explained, looking at him directly in the eye. 'Cause I really need to make some calls. It's 4 o'clock and we're still here.'

'Oh stop being so pragmatic, just enjoy the beauty of the moment,' he sipped at his Diet Coke and pulled a face to suggest how revolting he found it.

'What? Being stuck with the most annoying person in the entire world?'

'No, being stuck with the love of your life,' he continued his little speech before she was able to interrupt him. 'You can do all sort of naughty things to my hot bod and no one will ever know. I promise I won't offer any résistance.' She laughed, again. How come he always made her laugh, even when his remarks were intended to deeply offend her? Damn.

'What do you have to tell me, House?' She repeated the question, and saw House rolling his eyes. 'I'm serious.'

'I don't do serious,' he replied.

'I know you are able to do serious. Behave like a grown up and not like an 8 year old, for a change.'

He was going to argue. He was going to say something nasty to her. He was going to deflect again, like he had been doing for the last 10 years. Maybe 20. Instead, he chose to answer nonchalantly, as thought it wasn't a very big deal, as though he hadn't avoid his confession for hours, days, weeks, months, even years.

'I like you. Really like you.' His tone was casual and nearly indifferent, but deep inside he couldn't believe what he had done.

Cuddy's eyes widened in surprise. Had he just say that? She didn't know what to do. He was sitting there, stiff as a rock, leaning away from her, staring at an invisible point between his nose and the guest room's door. He surely was lying, messing with her. Why did he have to be so damn obnoxious?

'You're not gonna say anything?' He asked, and she sensed the disappointment in his voice, subtly disguised by his rough manner.

'Is that true?'

'Why wouldn't it be?' He retorted, turning round so that he could face her. He was being honest, he was opening up to her, and she still didn't trust him?

'I don't know,' she whispered, and saw her reflection in his glassy blue eyes. No, he wasn't joking. He was being so honest it almost scared her.

'Oh, cut the crap Cuddy, you know you love.' He tossed the dishes and glasses away, almost spilling its content in the process, and leaned forward, not giving Cuddy time to pull away (she wouldn't have) or even say something.

This time, their lips met, and the kiss they shared was far from gentle.