Through Sickness and in Health
Summary: House is scared. Not that he would ever admit that though. Chase had stopped talk to him. To anyone.
Rating: M for adult themes
Pairings: Established HouseChase, SLASH
Characters: OOC R. Chase, OOC G. House
Status: One-shot chapters
Spoilers: none in this chapter
Trigger Warnings: Mentions of self-harm and bulimia
Author's Note: I really like this one, I hope you do to :) It's not as long as other chapters but there is a reason for that, you'll see ;)
Talk to Me
House was scared. Not that he would ever admit it though. Chase had stopped talking to him, to anyone. And House didn't know why.
Cuddy had given the diagnostic team two months of mandatory vacation, so House decided to surprise Chase by taking him to Australia for the second month and Chase had kissed him silly and had cried. House knew how much the blonde missed his home country, but couldn't afford to get plane tickets there and back. Once he had calmed down, he told House stories from his teenage years spent at Bondi and watching his mother preform at the Opera House with the Australian ballet company before she turned to alcohol. That had been three weeks ago now, and Chase had stopped talking a week ago.
Flashback
The couple were lying in bed together in the late morning, talking lazily about nothing, and drawing patterns lightly on each other with their fingers. Chase stretched, yawning in a way that reminded House of a cat, and got up.
"Hey, where are you going?" House whined. "We're on vacation!" Chase laughed at him, making his way to the en-suite bathroom.
"I need to pee, Greg. I'll only be two minutes." He grinned as House pouted. House stretched out lazily as he waited for his wombat to finish his business. He frowned as he heard the sounds of retching.
"Robbie? You okay in there?" Chase seemed fine a moment ago, didn't he? He heard the toilet flush, and the tap turn on, presumably Chase was brushing his teeth. Chase came back into the bedroom a moment later with tear-stained cheeks. "Robbie?" House asked, as Chase lay back down, trembling slightly. "What's wrong?" he pulled the Australian close to him.
"I'm fine." Chase whispered into House's chest. He sniffed and closed his eyes. "Must have been the pizza last night." He mumbled, accent heavier, clutching at House's shirt. House ran his hand soothingly up and down Chase's back, pressing a kiss to his blonde hair.
End of Flashback
That was the last time House had heard the Aussie accent that he's grown to love, and it was killing him. House didn't know what was wrong and he didn't know how to help. He would ask Chase multiple times a day if he was okay, and he would get a nod and a small smile in return every time. Chase would still smile, and hug him. He didn't want to kiss on the lips as much, but would happily kiss a cheek, or neck. Sex was a definite no also. Chase didn't even sleep shirtless anymore. He would always wear a pair of boxer-briefs – sometimes a pair of sweats – and one of House's t-shirts. Everything else was pretty much normal, apart from the lack of Aussie accent around the apartment. Chase had found other ways to communicate, and he used physical things to show emotions. House had been quick to learn that if he was huggy, he was feeling vulnerable. Chase had a very cuddly nature naturally, but it had gotten worse in the last week. If he wanted to hold House's hand a lot, or placed his head on the other man's shoulder, he was feeling upset, or sad. If he didn't want to be touched, he was angry. Unlike when he spoke, he didn't try to hide his emotions. It was like he had just…given up. And it scared the hell out of House. House had made it clear with Chase that he would be checking him every once in a while for self-harm injuries until he spoke again, and Chase didn't seem to mind. If anything, he seemed to relax when House had brought it up. The pair were currently sat watching TV after a busy day of beginning to pack for Australia. Chase had his head on the older man's shoulder, and a hand loosely on top of House's, while dozing lightly. House sighed as he looked down at his lover. He just wanted to help. He sighed sadly again, placing a quick kiss to Chase's temple.
Chase's POV
A week ago
I grin up at House as I stretch lazily, leaning up to kiss him softly. I moan internally as I feel the pain in my bladder again, reminding me that I can only hold it for so long. I yawned as I pulled away from House, getting out of the warm bed.
"Hey, where are you going?" House whines to me. "We're on vacation!" I laugh at him, moving towards the bathroom.
"I need to pee, Greg. I'll only be two minutes." I promise him, grinning as he pouted at me like a child. I close the door, not bothering to lock it, and go to take care of Mother Nature. My eyes land on the set of scales that were by the sink.
'I haven't weighed myself in a few weeks.' I think to myself as I finish up. I take a breath before stepping on, having always been self-conscious about my weight thanks to my mother. My heart drops as the numbers flash at me from my feet. 130lbs. 'I've gained 5lbs since being on vacation.' I think to myself, horrified that I've let myself slip like that. "I'm disgusting!' I drop to my knees in front of the toilet bowl, not caring that I still hadn't flushed after urinating yet, and shoved my index and middle finger down my throat roughly, gagging painfully before vomiting what little was in my stomach from the night before, tears streaming down my face.
"Robbie? You okay in there?" I heard House call to me. 'Shit! I can't tell him. He'll be disappointed that gained all that weight.' I decide quickly, as I flush the toilet and brush my teeth. I shuffle meekly back into the bedroom, keeping my eyes to the floor. House pulls me into him as I get back under the covers, mumbling that I'm fine into his strong chest, and closing my eyes, clutching at his shirt desperately.
Present
I know House is worried, but I just can't find it in myself to speak. What if he smells vomit on my breath from the multiple times I purge each day and night while he can't hear me? What if he knows and is waiting for me to tell him so he can yell at me? I always smile when he asks if I'm okay. I'm always lying, I'm not okay. And I need House to help me.
To be continued...
Author's Note: Let me know if you want me to post a continuation of this chapter ;)
