031. Sunrise

Family Matters

The warm light of the rising sun shone in through the windows right onto Wilson's face, slowly dragging him out of sleep and into wakefulness. As he slowly woke, he became aware of two things; one, that he wasn't in his own bed and two, he seemed to have a large, warm object attached to most of his right side. He pried his eyes open, blinking in the light streaming in through the open curtains and looked around.

Slowly the memories came back to him as he saw all the usual accoutrements of a standard hotel room. He then looked down, knowing that his human blanket was going to be House. Wilson snorted involuntarily as he caught sight of House's expression. House's head was resting on his shoulder and he had a small but very smug smile on his face. Wilson tried to be irritated at that but he wasn't very successful; partly because he was fairly sure the smugness was only partly a result of what they'd done last night but mostly because he was certain he had a matching expression on his own face.

House suddenly shifted slightly, burying his face into the juncture of Wilson's neck and shoulder and the older man's arms tightened around him. Wilson gently stroked his lover's back and chuckled under his breath; all things considered it was just as well they decided to stay in a hotel rather than accept Blythe's offer of Greg's room in their home. Neither of them had been particularly quiet the night before and it was easier to ignore glares, smirks and half-hidden snickers from anonymous hotel patrons than from your lover's parents.

Neither Blythe nor John had been especially surprised to see him there with House and had greeted him with their usual good humour. House had been a rather spectacular combination of cheerful, sarcastic, snide, amused and utterly appalled at what his parents were doing. He'd been in devastating form before the ceremony, leaving more than one person unsure as to whether they'd been insulted or complimented. Wilson had concentrated on not laughing and hustling House up to the front of the room where their seats were since he realised early that morning that getting House to shut up today would be an exercise in futility.

House actually managed to behave himself during the ceremony except for the pained, slightly appalled look on his face. The ceremony itself was lovely and John looked proud and amused while Blythe managed to look radiant.

However after the ceremony, things got a little out of hand.

John and Blythe had been the first to approach them and Wilson had seen the merriment in Blythe's eyes and smothered a grin.

"There, that wasn't too bad, was it, Greg?" she said with a laugh.

"It was excruciating," House replied grouchily. "Just what I needed to see…my parents being romantic."

Blythe laughed and John raised an eyebrow at his son.

"We weren't always your parents, you know," he said with a hint of relish. "We were once a couple of kids, young and in love. Why, I remember taking your mother down to the local lover's lane…"

House's expression became increasingly pained during this until John couldn't help but laugh.

"You know what they say, Greg," John said with open amusement. "Parents should always live long enough to be an embarrassment to their children. Have we done a good job?"

"Marvellous," House replied sardonically though there was laughter lurking in his eyes.

"Oh, good," Blythe said with a laugh. "We have to keep going. James, do try and keep Greg under control. And Greg, behave yourself."

The two of them walked off before either man could answer and Wilson gave House a long-suffering look.

"She doesn't seriously expect me to succeed, does she?" he asked.

"Nope," House said with a wicked grin. "But it gives her someone to blame other than me."

"I'm in trouble," Wilson said wryly.

At first it wasn't too bad. House kept things to a few scandalous remarks and the occasional mild insult but then he caught sight of a couple about their age and he swore under his breath.

Wilson raised an eyebrow and eyed the couple. They seemed perfectly normal; conservatively dressed and both moderately attractive. He turned back to House and was surprised to see the unhappy scowl on his face.

"They look fairly normal," he observed. "What's wrong?"

House swore quietly again as the couple caught sight of them and set sail in their direction.

"There's a reason I don't go to family gatherings and they're part of it," House growled. "Play along."

"House…" Wilson began then the couple had reached them

"Greg, it's lovely to see you again," the man said with apparent sincerity. He then turned to Wilson and smiled politely, holding his hand out. "Hi. I'm Alex House. I'm Greg's cousin. This is my wife, Alice."

"James Wilson," Wilson replied, shaking Alex's hand then Alice's.

Alex looked at them both curiously and it was then that Wilson realised that House had stepped closer to him. Much closer to him. In fact, their positioning pretty much mirrored Alex and Alice's and he could see the couple noticing that. They didn't seem to approve.

"I…noticed…" Alice began, her face paling slightly then he soldiered on. "Stacy not with you?"

"Obviously not," House said sarcastically. "And if you paid attention you'd known she hasn't been with me for the last six years."

"Oh…yes, of course," Alice said, sounding flustered. "So you brought a…friend with you."

House gave a smile that was positively evil. "Yes, James is my…friend. My close friend."

Alex and Alice's expressions stiffened and the disapproval became more obvious.

House's expression brightened and he looked over Alex's shoulder.

"Oh, look! Aunt Susan wants to speak to me," he said cheerily as he grabbed Wilson's hand. "Come on, babe. I want you to meet her."

With that House limped away, dragging Wilson with him. Alex and Alice watched them go with matching shocked looks. House slowed down once they were out of earshot but he didn't let Wilson's hand go.

House snickered. "Did you see the expressions on their faces?"

"Greg! What the hell are you doing?" Wilson said, torn between annoyance and amusement. "And did you just call me 'babe'?"

"Gee, you're slow today," House observed as they kept walking towards an elderly lady sitting on a chair next to the dance floor. "I would have thought what I was doing was pretty damn obvious."

"Well, true," Wilson admitted. "Are you planning on telling me why?"

"What? Annoying my relatives isn't reason enough?" House asked with a wicked grin.

Wilson took a surreptitious look around. "Actually, most of them don't look annoyed. They looked amused."

"That's because they think we've been fucking like bunnies for years," House said crudely as they walked up to the elderly lady.

She looked over at them with merriment dancing in her eyes then reached over and prodded House lightly in the stomach with her cane.

"You're not supposed to use language like that around women of my vintage, Greg," she said archly. "Now sit down and talk to me."

Wilson pulled up a couple of chairs and the two men sat down whereupon the elderly lady eyed him with approval.

"Very nice, Greg," she said mischievously. "I thoroughly approve. This one's definitely better than Stacy. Now, if I overheard you correctly, do you mean to tell me you two haven't been fucking like bunnies for years?"

House tilted his head back and laughed uproariously as Wilson stared at the woman with surprise. She gave House an amused and tolerant look then held out a hand to Wilson.

"I'm Susan House. I'm John's aunt," she said bluntly. "Greg adores me because I alternately amuse and horrify his father. I adore Greg because he's one of the few people who'll put up with me for more than five minutes."

"Uh, James Wilson," Wilson replied, feeling a little blindsided by this woman who seemed to be an older, more feminine version of House.

"Oh, I know who you are," Susan House said as they shook hands. "You're rather legendary among the family as the only one to last longer than five years with Greg. I'm impressed."

"Don't tell him that," House complained.

"Why not? It's true," Susan countered bluntly then she grinned. "You know, for two people who apparently aren't together, you do a pretty damn good impression of it. You certainly managed to convince Alex and Alice. They're off complaining to your father."

House's head whipped around and he scowled when he saw she was right. "Typical," he growled. "Tattletale."

"Some things never change," Susan said with amusement. "Are you two sure you're not together?"

House went very still and he gave Wilson an unreadable look. "He keeps getting married," he said blandly.

"Well, I didn't know you…" Wilson abruptly broke off and stared at House. The other man had raised one eyebrow and was looking genuinely surprised and more than a little pleased.

Susan burst out laughing and they both looked around at her. She waved a merry finger at them.

"Men," she said through her laughter. "Completely oblivious, the lot of you."

"Well, I guess we'll be fucking like bunnies tonight then," House said roguishly though there was a hint of question deep in his eyes.

Wilson paused and a smile flickered over his face. "Okay," he said in a deliberately blasé tone.

Susan crowed with laughter again and poked them both with her cane.

"I know where you picked up that habit now," he said with a grin at the laughing woman.

"It looked kind of fun when she was doing it to other people," House said with a matching grin. "You what…it is fun."

"For you," Wilson said dryly then he changed the subject. "So what's with you and that Alex?"

"Hate at first sight on Greg's part," Susan said with amusement before House could answer. "Alex always kind of liked him though."

"Which just proves he's an idiot," House sneered.

"True," Susan replied blandly. "Not the brightest spark. And let me tell you, one of the advantages of being my age is that you can say things like that without repercussions. Everyone just assumes you're going senile. Greg, on the other hand, gets labelled the black sheep of the family."

"My proudest moment," House said smugly.

Both Wilson and Susan gave matching snorts of amusement.

"Religious types?" he asked mildly.

"Born again," Susan said with a roll of her eyes. "Who'd have thought that would happen to someone in this family?"

"They're a disappointment," House said with a grin.

"Pity I can't use your tactic," Susan said wickedly. "But somehow I don't think they'd believe I've become a lesbian this late in life."

"That's your bad luck," House replied smartly. "Jimmy and I on the other hand can have some fun."

Wilson blushed and Susan immediately spotted it and teased him. They managed to spend the rest of the afternoon sitting with Susan which turned out to be alternately fun and somewhat embarrassing. The only interruptions came when Blythe insisted on dancing with them. House grumbled and looked pointedly down at his leg but his mother wouldn't take no for an answer and all but dragged him out onto the dance floor. Wilson watched with a mix of concern and amusement as House and his mother moved slowly to the music.

"He'll be alright," Susan said calmly. "He can do more than he lets us think he can. You should know that."

Wilson gave her a quick glance. "I do but he still pays a price for it."

"You think I don't know that," Susan said sharply then she fixed a gimlet gaze on him. "You're not planning on changing your mind once you get away from today's insanity, are you?"

Wilson smiled slightly. "Not a chance. I…I'd have made a move sooner if I'd thought he was interested. He's still able to hide things from me."

"Good," Susan said with satisfaction. "I'm getting too damn old to watch out for him at these things. I'm officially handing the job over to you."

"Thank you," Wilson said so dryly that Susan laughed uproariously again.

"You two are having far too much fun," House said as he limped back to them with his mother.

He dropped into his seat with a wince and a grimace and pulled out his bottle of pills.

"Too true," Blythe said, determinedly not looking at her son. "James, dance with me."

"That's it, Blythe. Take the pretty one away," Susan complained with a smile.

Blythe laughed. "I'll give him back to you soon, Susan. You are going to come over and terrorise John before you go?"

"Of course," Susan said staunchly.

When Wilson returned he found Susan talking quietly to House as he rubbed his thigh gently. She looked up and nodded once.

"Take him home," she said calmly. "He's had enough fun for the day."

Wilson crouched down and placed on hand on the knee of House's good leg. "Greg?" he said softly.

House shot him a glare then nodded. Wilson stood and stepped back, allowing House to get to his feet on his own. Once House had managed that, they both said goodbye to Susan then quickly found Blythe and John. House's parents eyed him with sympathy and shooed them both away. Wilson drove them back to the hotel in silence as House leaned his head against the window and closed his eyes.

When they got back into their room House immediately limped over and sat down on the bed while Wilson stood awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"I guess I'm going to get a raincheck on the fucking like bunnies?" he said in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere.

House looked over at him and gave him one of his rare crooked smiles. "Oh no, you're not getting out of that."

A slow smile spread over Wilson's face and he raised an eyebrow. "Hot shower?"

"Only if you join me," House replied as he levered himself to his feet.

"Cool," Wilson replied and followed him into the bathroom.

"Whatcha thinking about?"

House's sleepy rumble startled Wilson out of his thoughts. He looked down but House still had his face buried in his neck and hadn't moved an inch.

"How much I like your Aunt Susan."

House chuckled. "Crazy old bat. I like her too."

"I noticed." Wilson hesitated. "This is more than just last night, isn't it?"

House snorted then licked his neck, making Wilson gasp. "Stupid."

"That's a yes, then?"

House snorted again and the lick was replaced by a bite. "Didn't drag us both up here just to go back to sleeping on my own."

"You planned this?" Wilson asked incredulously.

"Not really," House mumbled with a small shrug. "Just took advantage of the situation. You complaining?"

House bit his throat again and Wilson's reply was lost in his moan.

"No," he gasped. "No complaints."