Back over here with the usual disclaimers. Don't own House, wish I did. :) Don't own the brief Monty Python bit, either.

# # #

The next two weeks flew by as Alex worked on his proposal and prepared to leave. Stewart was in fairly constant contact, alerting him to other galleries that were interested in his work, and he had shipped a few of his smaller pieces for display. He hadn't gotten any sales yet, but at least his work was out there. More exposure couldn't be a bad thing, Alex figured.

Before he knew it, it was the night before he was due to leave, and Alex was packing a large duffle bag while House sat on the bed, rhythmically thumping his cane on the floor with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Alex pulled a suit out of his closet and hung it over the door, inspecting it before he packed it. He tried to remember the last time he had worn the damn thing.

The memory came to him in a flash. The elegant restaurant, the ring burning a hole in his pocket, Mikaela seated across from him. He had been so focused on his mission that night that he hadn't noticed the tense expression on her face.

Six years, destroyed with one word. No. He huffed irritably and snatched the nearby garment bag, furiously tugging it over the hanger before tossing the whole thing on the bed.

House merely regarded his actions with raised eyebrows. "I hate suits, too, but I don't think I've ever felt the need to slap one around and call it names."

Alex felt the heat rise to his face, flashing House a quick smile. "Sorry. Bad memories."

House nodded, setting his cane aside and stretching out across the width of the bed, staring over at Alex with those ridiculously blue eyes. "Are you done yet? I'm starving."

Alex let out a short laugh at that. "Is food all you think about?"

House fixed him with a wicked grin. "You know that's not all I think about."

"Right." Alex shot back. "I forgot that sex is right up there, too."

"Sometimes before food." House agreed. "Depends on what I'm hungrier for."

House's expression stirred something in Alex, and he quickly closed the duffle bag, tossing it on the floor and crawling onto the bed to lean over House. "So which is it?"

"Right now? Food." House pushed himself to a sitting position and all but bounced off the bed. "Got all night for the other. And I do mean..." He threw a teasing expression at Alex. "...all night."

Alex merely shook his head as he followed House out of the room. He knew there was an element of truth to House's words, but he also knew it was just as likely that House would crash out after getting some food in him.

House and his team had been working on a difficult case all week, and it seemed that every time Alex had called him, the response was, "Can't talk. Patient's crashing." They had finally cracked it late this afternoon, and House had sent everyone home, including himself, once it was clear the patient was on the road to recovery.

Alex knew that House was nearly running on empty, and he had tried to send him home when he had shown up. House was having none of it, easily pushing past Alex and limping into the bedroom, muttering something about getting enough to get him through a few days.

The older man had managed a short nap, but it was clear by looking at him that it was nowhere near enough. Alex tilted his head as he watched House shove his feet into shoes. "We don't have to go anywhere, you know. I can always order in."

House shook his head. "I want mass quantities of horribly greasy food and beer. Can't get that delivered."

"Fine, but I'm driving." Alex asserted. "You look like hell."

House made a face, but reluctantly agreed. Alex drove to the same sports bar where their odd celebratory dinner had taken place, pulling into the parking lot and shutting off the car.

The two men entered the bar and were soon seated, placing an order for the same giant appetizer platter and a pair of beers as they had before. It felt like the beginning of another comfortable ritual to Alex, one he hoped he and House could keep going once he returned.

They spent the evening relaxing over their food and their beer while House regaled him with the twists and turns of his latest patient, complete with impressions of his team members. Even though Alex didn't follow all the medical parts, he still enjoyed listening to him. It was a side that Alex had never seen of him before, and it was a genuine pleasure to see House so relaxed and unguarded.

Soon after, they climbed into Alex's car for the drive back, settling into a comfortable silence. House was fading fast, his eyes fluttering between half-mast and completely closed. Alex suspected that he and House would not be indulging in House's secondary appetite tonight, and that was fine with Alex. More and more, he was finding that he enjoyed the times when they simply lay together, wherever they happened to be at the time.

Alex nudged House awake when he pulled up in front of his building. "Wake up, sleepyhead."

House's face scrunched up as he awakened, shaking his head as if to clear invisible cobwebs before turning to Alex with half-open eyes. "Mind if I crash here? I don't trust myself to make it home."

"Hell no, I don't mind." Alex answered, reaching over to run his hand over House's head. "Matter of fact, I kind of hoped you were going to stay."

House snorted, even as he leaned into Alex's touch. "I'm going to be useless, you know."

"What the hell ever, Doc." Alex rolled his eyes. "You're not useless."

House stared at Alex for a long moment, blinking slowly. "We've got kind of a good thing going here, don't we?"

Alex smiled, warmed by House's simple observation. "Yeah, Doc. We do."

One side of House's mouth curved into something like a smile. "Who'd have thought?" He murmured as he climbed out of the car and headed toward the building.

As Alex expected, House made a beeline for the bedroom, and he looked like a giant lump under the blankets as Alex crawled in beside him and pulled the covers over himself.

The lump shifted, snaking an arm around Alex's waist and pulling in close. Alex found himself rolling toward House in response, simply allowing House's scent and warmth to envelop him. If he got nothing else from House tonight, he didn't give a damn. This would be more than enough to tide him over for a few days. From the way House was snoring loudly in his ear, it seemed the same was true for him as well.

# # #

House awoke a few hours later to a freezing cold room. He was unclear on his surroundings at first. After he had left the hospital and come over to Alex's, everything had sort of become a blur. All he knew was that he was still worn out. That damned case had sucked up every bit of his energy.

He groaned, stretched and searched for the covers. Sure enough, that damn kid had stolen them again, wrapping himself up in them until he was virtually invisible under them. His time with Alex had made House realize there were many things he had missed about being in a relationship. This wasn't one of those things.

Relationship. The word rattled around in House's tired brain even as he managed to steal back the majority of the covers. House still had trouble seeing this thing that he and Alex had as a relationship. Relationships were for, well, other people. Other people who weren't as screwed up as he was.

He sighed heavily and rolled to his side, pulling the covers over himself. Alex shifted closer until he was pressed against House, what remained of his soft scent drifting into House's nostrils.

Almost automatically, House reached out and wrapped an arm around him. He did miss this part of being with someone, the closeness, the intimacy of simply laying with another person in the dark. It was a stark contrast to all those years he had spent alone, sprawled out across that giant bed. A few random women had shared that bed with him in that time, but those moments were few and far between. He had certainly never shared this sort of closeness with any of them. That was something he hadn't had since Stacy. He had been sure he would never want it again. Just as well, seeing as it hadn't looked like he was going to get it anyway.

He sure as hell hadn't been looking for it from Alex. Over the course of several months, the young man had managed to expand House's admittedly narrow definition of intimacy. Not only in the sexual sense, but in the emotional sense as well. It was unfamiliar territory, to be sure, but Alex seemed content to let House navigate that territory in his own way, even though it was in fits and starts.

It was one of the advantages of youth, House figured. When he was Alex's age, it seemed like he had all the time in the world for whatever he wanted to do, and he had taken full advantage of that.

Now, at fifty plus, he knew better. Time was short, and was getting shorter all the time. Eventually Alex would figure that out, too. Hell, the kid had already contemplated marriage once. Who was to say he wouldn't want that again? House was fairly certain he would be out of the picture at that point. He couldn't see this thing between he and Alex going long term.

House huffed irritably and rolled over onto his back. In an almost synchronized move, Alex rolled to his stomach, one arm coming to rest across House's own stomach.

"It's too damn early for all that heavy thinking, Doc." Alex murmured into the pillow. "Go to sleep already."

"If a certain redheaded twerp hadn't stolen all the damn blankets, I'd still be sleeping." House snarked. "And how did you know I was thinking anything at all?"

"Seriously?" The young man snorted and shifted to his side, patting House's chest awkwardly.

House rolled his eyes and placed his hand over Alex's. "Fine. You got me. I was thinking...what is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow? I swear that question's been driving me nuts for thirty years."

"Doesn't matter." Alex answered. "A five-ounce bird can't carry a one-pound coconut anyway." He pushed himself so that he leaned on his elbows. "So what's really bugging you?"

House glanced over, just able to make out Alex's tilted head in the dim light of the bedroom. "What if Mikaela had said 'yes' instead of 'no'?"

Alex looked puzzled for a moment before slowly answering, "Well...I'd probably be getting close to the wedding day and we wouldn't be having this conversation. Why?"

"I don't know." House muttered, feeling foolish for even starting this line of questioning. He thought for a moment before asking, "You think you might want that again?"

"Doc." Alex sighed patiently before moving closer to House and dropping down to lay across his chest. "I'm not even thinking about that right now. Got too many other things I want to do." A little smile crept across his smooth features.

House caught the hint. Normally he would be all over it, but a tiny voice kept nagging at him, reminding him that nothing had actually been resolved, nothing had been defined. He reached up and lightly stroked Alex's forehead with his thumb. "But someday you might want...more."

"Maybe." Alex huffed a little. "Maybe not. Who the hell knows? Who cares? Why does it matter so much to you?"

"I don't fucking know." House blew out a long sigh.

That same smile crept onto Alex's face again as he pulled himself so that he was nearly face to face with House, sliding one leg over the older man's as he did so and lightly running his foot up and down his leg. "I've got a theory, if you'd like to hear it."

"You and your damn theories." House snorted derisively. "Fine, boy genius, let's hear it."

"You're a man of science." Alex started. "You like things to be clear-cut, defined. Let's face it, Doc. We're anything but." He leaned over to kiss House lightly on the lips. "We're two people that kind of found each other and connected. It works. That's all that matters to me." He regarded House with an arched eyebrow. "I can't speak for you, of course."

House frowned, even as he had to admit Alex's theory had a few merits. "Nice that you can be so fucking casual about it. You've got all the time in the world. I...don't."

"Jesus, Doc." Alex rolled his eyes. "You're fifty. Hardly on the edge of death."

"But I'm not exactly a damn kid, either." House pointed out.

"I know that." Alex was on the move again, shifting so that he fully straddled House, bracing himself with his hands on either side of the older man as he leaned over him. "Now what's it going to take for you to quit obsessing, chill out, and enjoy what we've got?"

"Don't know." House let out a defeated sigh. "Knocking me unconscious might be a good start."

Alex chuckled and pressed a long kiss to House's lips. "Things are a hell of a lot better if you're an active participant. I say no to the knock out punch." He ran his hands along House's powerful arms with an appreciative smile. "What say you just turn off that insanely analytical brain of yours for a little while? You'll have time to obsess and overanalyze after I leave."

"No promises." House murmured, already melting under Alex's touch.

"Not expecting any." Alex responded softly, sliding down House's body and slipping his hands under the other man's shirt.

"Good, because..." House's train of thought derailed as Alex pushed his t-shirt up and over his head, pressing little kisses all over as he kept moving downward. "...Because...I..."

House simply gave up then. Whatever he was going to say couldn't have possibly been that important, anyway.

# # #

A few hours later, House was finishing his second cup of coffee as Alex rushed around, making sure he had everything he needed for the trip. He rolled his eyes as he watched the young man go over his checklist for the third time in as many minutes.

"Will you just relax?" House huffed in exasperation from his stool in front of the counter. "Now who's being the obsessive freak?"

Alex flashed him a quick smile as he gathered up a few more things and tossed them in his carry-on. "I just don't want to forget anything. It's not like I can just go back for it."

"Yeah, I know." House returned to his coffee, his mood darkening by the minute. Soon Alex joined him, leaning on the counter across from him with his own mug of coffee.

"If I remember correctly, I did invite you along." Alex pointed out. "No point in getting pissed now."

House shrugged and drained his coffee mug, setting it on the counter a little harder than he'd intended. Alex merely rolled his eyes and took it to the sink to rinse it out before putting it in the drainer.

House shoved his feet into his shoes and grabbed his backpack. "Got to fly. I need to go back to my place before I head into work."

Alex tilted his head, narrowing his eyes. "Doesn't your boss usually give you the day off after a case?"

House was busted. "Yeah, but...I've got...stuff to do. Paperwork, stuff like that."

Alex rounded the counter and caught up with House just as he started to open the door, grasping his shoulder to stop him. "Sorry, you don't get away that easily." He told House, gently using his shoulder to turn House to face him. "It's okay to say good bye, you know. I am coming back."

"I know that." House snapped softly. "I'm not an idiot."

"Then quit acting like one." Alex wrapped his other hand around House's neck, drawing him down for a long, sweet kiss.

House dropped his backpack and slid his hands to the small of Alex's back, deepening the kiss, their tongues sliding over each other, their bodies pressed together as they pulled closer to each other.

A knock on the door finally made them break apart, followed by the sound of Karen calling out, "You'd better be decent! We've gotta go!"

House rolled his eyes while Alex laughed. "All good, Karen, come on in."

The door swung open, and Karen came striding in as if she owned the place. "Ready, kiddo?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess." A nervous expression crossed his young face as he glanced at House.

House simply nodded, not quite comfortable with showing affection in front of Alex's friend. "Give me a call when you can. At least then I'll know the plane didn't crash."

Alex snorted while Karen looked slightly affronted. "I will. See you in a few days."

With that House left, driving home as quickly as he could get away with. Upon arriving, he dumped his backpack on the floor, hung up his coat, and made a beeline for the piano. He hoped the old girl was up for a workout. He hadn't had a chance to play for a while. Might as well get reacquainted with her while Alex was flying across the country. It wasn't as if he had anything else he needed to do.

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