Whew! I'm back with many, many many apologies for my extended absence but i have a new chapter which i hope will please you all!

Disclaimer: Do you see House and Chase snuggling? Don't own it...

Warnings: I think a lot of OOC in this chapter. A lot. FluffyHouse, FluffyChase, SoccerHooliganChase. Hey, twenty million Australians became temporary soccer hooligans during the World Cup (yours truly included) so why can't Chase?

For Grandpa.

Chapter Nine: Love and the World Cup

House woke with a start and rolled over. The clock told him that it was just past two in the morning. House drowsily closed his eyes, reminiscing on the afternoon just gone.

They had made love feverently, passionately, after Chase's startling admission of love. Then Chase had cooked them dinner, a recipe that he recalled making once before. They had watched a movie, and then Chase had taken them back to bed…

House stretched out languidly. Chase was a bloody good lay, and he seemed to always have a ton of energy. He hadn't felt this good in years. Even his leg wasn't giving him any grief. He stretched out again, and froze.

His hands swept out over to Chase's side of the bed and met empty sheets. Cold, empty sheets – Chase had obviously left the bed a while ago. House felt a lancing pain through his heart. Had Chase left?

Then he heard a sort of strangled half-cry from the living room. Fear replaced the pain. Was Chase in trouble? He heard the noise again. Quickly he grabbed his boxers on and picked up his cane. He hurried out of the room.

When he arrived in the living room, he saw that the TV was on and Chase was sitting on the couch watching it. Feeling his pulse return to normal, he hobbled over and sat down next to his wombat.

Chase barely registered that he was there. His attention was fixated on the television. He wore only his boxers, and wrapped around his neck was a green-and-gold scarf bearing the words, "Go Socceroos!". House glanced at the screen again. There was a soccer match on the screen. One team wore blue and white, and the other green and gold. House rolled his eyes. There were no points for guessing who the green and gold team were!

At a break in the match, Chase turned to him with a contrite look on his face. 'I'm sorry, Greg. Did I wake you? I was trying to be quiet.'

'It's all right, Robert. I would have woken up naturally. I didn't know you were a soccer fan.'

'Australia's playing,' Chase replied with a rapt and dreamy expression. 'I only just remembered that this is the first time we've qualified for the World Cup in thirty-two years, and the first time we've ever made the second round.'

'Who's winning?'

'Score-wise, no-one, but playing-wise, we are. We've got it all over those Italians. There's five minutes left, then injury time, then extra time, and penalty shootout…which we'll surely win,' he added confidently.

They watched in silence for a while, Chase occasionally making that half-strangled noise that House had heard before, when either team came close to scoring. Then, in the dying seconds of injury time, one of the Italian players took a flamboyant dive over the top of Lucas Neill, and the penalty – much to Chase's disbelief – was awarded. The Australian keeper Mark Schwarzer could do nothing about it. It flew high and hard to his right, and the Italians had won. Chase was verily howling in rage.

'How could he!' he was yelling, eyes flaming, 'How could he! That was so obviously a dive! You bloody bastard! How much do you bet that the Italians paid him off?'

House just sat back and watched with some amusement.

'And did you see the little prick glance up from the deck, with that smirk plastered all over his face! You can see him change directions, on the replay, just so that he can appear to trip over poor Neill! He was never hurt, anybody could have seen that! It's just like the Croatia game, FIFA would do anything to stop us advancing, they just don't want to deal with the threat that we pose!'

By now Chase's voice had reached such a pitch and volume that House felt he better calm him down; they would start to disturb the neighbours. Before he could begin, there was a knock on his door. It was Mrs. Ferris, the old lady who lived next door.

'Would you and your boyfriend shut up! Some people are trying to sleep!'

'Sorry Ferris, Aussie-boy there's been watching the World Cup. I'll sedate him,' House replied.

He went over to Chase. 'Robert, hey Robert, settle down.'

Chase sighed, stopped ranting about refs and Italians and diving, and looked up with a wry grin on his face. 'Sorry Greg, I didn't mean to just…go off like that.'

'Just calm down, Robert. Calm down. Breathe…' House broke off laughing as Chase playfully slapped him. 'I'm going back to bed.'

'I'll be just a second.'

House was still chuckling as he limped back into the bedroom. He hadn't felt so good before…even with Stacey he hadn't felt like this.

Chase giggled girlishly as he flicked off the television and cleared the lounge room quickly. House was a great tonic, and his heart was doing little flip-flops whenever he thought of House's smile. He'd never felt this way before, not even with Stefan, his ex-boyfriend back in Australia…

Suddenly Chase's eyes widened as the memories came flooding back. House was nowhere in the room, yet here he was…faces, thoughts, actions poured into his consciousness.

House frowned as he heard a squeal of absolute delight. Then Chase was back in the room.

'Greg, Greg, Greg! I'm cured, I'm cured! I remember! I remember everything!'

House stared at him, dumbfounded, for a moment. 'Are…are you serious? Really?'

Chase beamed brightly. 'I remember everything!' he repeated, joy evident on his face.

House smiled – not a sardonic smile, or a wry smile, or a smirking smile, a real smile, a smile of love – at his boyishly excited lover. He patted the bed beside him. 'Darn, I guess that means we have to go to work tomorrow.'

'We could stay an extra day at least,' Chase murmured as he slid into bed and snuggled up close.

'One more day,' House agreed sleepily. Then he thought of something. 'Robert, I have to ask…why could you only remember me?'

Chase's cheeks reddened as he switched off the lamp. 'I…for some reason, I couldn't stop thinking about you, that morning,' he said softly. 'I…I was thinking about how perhaps you could be a caring lover, but no-one gave you the space to do it…and I was worrying…that I might never have a chance with you,' he ended.

'Why would you think that?'

'Coz it always seemed that if you were gunna get with another guy, it'd be Wilson,' Chase explained, laying his head on House's chest.

House laughed again. 'Oh trust me, Jimmy and I tried it, but it didn't work. There wasn't any spark, although the sex was pretty good,' he added teasingly.

Chase kissed him. 'Who was better?'

'You, definitely. Wilson didn't have as much spunk.'

Chase laughed softly, and sighed. 'I don't wanna have to go home,' he said.

'Then don't. Move in with me,' House suggested. It was so offbeat that Chase looked at him for a moment.

'You're serious? I have to warn you, you thought Wilson was bad…'

'Hey, I'll put up with your beauty routine, so long as I get to mess up that perfect hair,' House teased again.

Chase wrapped his arms around the older man. 'Done,' he mumbled. 'Now let's get some sleep. I want you perky in the morning,' he added huskily.

'It's you who'll need to be perky,' House replied sleepily.

Hehehehehe ranting chase is so awesome.

Okay guys! Please review and tell me what you think!

Luv Lady Siruae