A/N: Fluffy fluff stuff here. Enjoy!
"Any requests from your favorite piano man, boss?" House asked even though he had barely begun to pick up with the Liszt he had playing before Cuddy arrived at the door. "I'm all yours." He looked over and smiled as Cuddy slid into the seat next to him, the tee-shirt still clutched in her hands. Woe to the person who dared try to take that shirt away from her. The bloody results would cause even the most steely of detectives to weep like a little girl.
"Not right now. Keep playing. That's lovely." She leaned into his shoulder and swayed along with the music.
"Classical music soothes the savage beast, namely me." With his fingers gliding over the ivory keys, he asked, "Who's your favorite composer?"
"I don't really have one."
"Not even one? You could have at least said Beethoven or something along those lines. Beethoven is a good back-up answer for a question like that. And I'm not talking about the big dog in those lame movies."
"I know you're not talking about the dog–"
"Good," he smirked. "You had me worried there for a minute."
"I wouldn't know Beethoven if I tripped over him. All those composers sound the same to me,"she replied, as if confessing a terrible sin after the guilt became overwhelming and she let to get it out one way or another.
House narrowed his eyes, not angry, just a bit baffled. "I'm playing Liszt here, but I could be playing Tchaikovsky for you all know or care. Lisa, I'm crushed." If he was truly disappointed it had no effect on his playing. Not one sour note in the bunch. She had yet to hear him play a single one.
"I was too busy busting my ass trying to get good enough grades to be accepted at a decent med school. No, I don't know one composer from another, but I know good music when I hear it."
"Spoken like a woman who's spent too much time keeping her hospital in tip-top shape."
"That's usually expected from someone with my job. I like to think my hospital is a good place to bring sick people."
"Hmph, you should have clinic duty every day for a month and come back to me on that statement. Too much work and not enough appreciation of decomposing composers. Do we have a special day off yet, dear boss?"
"I haven't had a chance to look. I'll let you know in the next few days."
"You do realize I'm going to bug you to death until we do."
"Yes, Greg. I wouldn't expect any less from you."
"That's better." Cuddy could see him grinning from the corner of her eye. He suddenly stopped playing and shuffled through the sheet music until finding what he was after. "Now, how about some real music?"
"What's real music?"
"Mozart, of course. The musical equivalent of Einstein. A true genius if one ever lived. At around six years old he could play the piano blindfolded with his hands crossed over each another. That's what I call talent."
"Wow!"
"Wow is right. Here's some music from the master."
The melodies flowed effortlessly from under House's long musicians fingers; Mozart's music filled the apartment. They sat at the piano for hours, Cuddy getting up only to fetch some drinks. She returned to her spot and hugged her shirt while sipping soda and letting her lover show off his admittedly wonderful piano skills. Better to let him show in the privacy of his own apartment than in front of an unsuspecting uptight housewife bringing Junior in for a tetanus shot. She never had a chance for piano lessons as a kid, not that she was interested in such things back then. Too busy studying for exams and funneling all her energy into a career she could be proud of. House was perfectly happy being in charge of his one department. He wouldn't have her job on a silver platter.
He smoothly switched from Mozart to a jazz tune. "Any requests yet, Lisa? Anything you have to hear or else you will explode from the anticipation of hearing my brilliant music?"
"No. Just play what you want."
"You're easy to please tonight."
"I'm enjoying your music and I'm enjoying being with you. Is that such a terrible thing?"
"I'm such a awe-inspiring influence on people."
"And so modest, too."
"'Modest' would have been my middle name but thankfully my parents decided it would look weird on my birth certificate and get my ass kicked later in life." He turned his gaze over to her, eyes glittering with mischief. "Are you going to try that shirt on or what?"
