Dearest Readers,

[Insert important comment here.]

Read on, Cherubs.

Over and out.

Chapter 7

Chase sat on the kitchen counter, kicking his feet lightly as he waited for the kettle to whistle. His anger was bubbling like the water in the kettle; he was pissed at House for picking Lily's case, knowing that it was because she had an eating disorder. He picked up the tea mug that was next to him as the kettle began to whistle, signaling that the water was boiling. Holding the mug by the handle and holding the string of the teabag against the side of it with his finger, he pouring the hot liquid into the mug, enjoying the smell of tea that was floating up towards him.

He placed the kettle back on the stove and put the cup next to him again, picking up the crossword puzzle book that he put behind him. He loved doing puzzles; they helped him take his mind off of other things and made him think. Tapping the pencil against his lips and continuing to kick his feet lightly, he heard an odd buzzing sound coming from his left. Looking up, he realized it was a fly and sighed: he hated bugs.

He batted the fly away and turned back towards his puzzle, but sighed again when he heard the buzzing coming back towards him. He looked for the fly and realized that it had landed on the rim of his teacup. He swatted at it but harder than he meant to and sent his freshly brewed tea to the floor. Chase made an annoyed growl in his throat and pushed himself off the counter to grab the broom to sweep up the glass; his black lounging pants brushing lightly against the floor.

HouseXChase

House's fist hovered a couple inches from the door, prepared to knock when he heard something break. Even though he had a strong feeling that Chase was perfectly fine and just dropped something, he couldn't help but feel worry creep back into him. Knowing that Chase would get angry at him, he opened the door and let himself in, looking for the blonde.

Closing the door softly, he walked towards the light coming from the kitchen. Peering around the corner, his thought was confirmed when he saw a broken mug on the floor. He took a few steps into the kitchen and heard Chase walking back towards him. He heard a surprised yelp and looked up.

"God you scared me." Chase said, leaning lightly against the broom to slow down his pounding heart.

"Sorry, I heard something break."

"What are you doing here?" Chase asked, walking towards the mess and began sweeping; doing his best to keep the anger out of his voice.

"I know I made you upset," House started as Chase continued to sweep. He knew that Chase was channeling his anger through the sweeping because he was using more energy than was necessary. He sighed lightly; he hated making Chase upset.

"Why did you do it?" Chase asked, still sweeping even though all the glass was in a pile.

"I wanted you to see what will happen if you continue doing what you are."

"So you wanted to rub it in my face?" Chase shot back, anger seeping into his voice. House was taken aback. Chase thought he was rubbing his problem in his face?

"Chase, that wasn't my intention. I just wanted you to see what will happen if you don't accept help for what you're going through." He paused. "I honestly couldn't find an Anorexia case, so I had to settle for a Bulimia one." Chase let out a small sound of annoyance has he sweep up the glass, threw it away, and walked to the closet to put the broom away.

"I didn't need to see Lily to know that I can end up in the hospital, or dead, because of this." Chase said, tossing a few paper towels on the floor on top of the tea and moved them around with his foot, mopping up the tea.

"It was more of a visual reinforcement."

"Alright," Chase said simply, bending down to pick up the paper towels and threw them away.

"You don't care about that, do you?" House asked, taking a few steps towards him.

"Nope," Chase said, looking up at him. House hesitated before carefully reaching out and grabbing Chase's right wrist. The blonde looked down at his hand and then back up at him, confused.

"What are you doing?" House began to tug him towards the door.

"Slip some shoes on; we're going outside."

HouseXChase

They walked towards a small park area near Chase's apartment building; the warm late-summer breeze rustling their clothes, blowing blonde hair into Chase's eyes. House pulled Chase towards a nearby bench and they both sat. Chase noticed that House hadn't let go of his wrist, even as they sat on the bench. He turned to look up at the older man and was surprised to see how calm House looked. His eyes were a clear crystal blue as he looked up at the evening sky and he could've sworn that there was a slight trace of a smile tugging at his lips. He's never seen House so calm and peaceful.

"What are we doing out here?" Chase asked bringing House back to reality.

"You, my dear Aussie, have never taken the time to just stop and admire the world around you. Look," He pointed to a nearby tree to a bird making a nest. "That bird has a family…it has a life…has a meaning and purpose." He turned to look at Chase who was staring at the bird,

"You have a meaning too…you just have to stop and actually look for it. I have come to find that a person's meaning in this life is a lot closer to them than they think." Chase turned to look at him; they locked eyes. Chase felt his anger die down and was replaced by a sense of calm.

Since when has House thought of things like that?

"What…have you found yours?" He asked hesitantly. House smiled slightly and looked back up at the sky; his small smile enchanting Chase, who has never seen the older man express so much positive emotion.

"Mine? Yeah, I found it a few years ago." He paused and Chase felt a blush creep to his face as House rubbed his thumb against his skin, making his arm tingle. "Before you came to the hospital, people can tell you, I was an ass…still am." Chase let out a light laugh, making House's smile widen slightly.

"But, I treat you differently from everyone else because I've always known that you were someone special." Chase's blush deepened and he decided to make a bold move as he pulled his arm away from House and slipped his hand into his. A spark seemed to have been light in House's eyes.

"You're a puzzle, that's what drew me to you in the first place. I like to think that I'm not as much of an ass to you as I am with other people." Chase let out another laugh, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, you're right, and I'm grateful." House felt his heart leap as he saw a smile grace Chase's face. "So…" Chase started. "What is it? Your purpose?" House continued to search Chase's eyes, entranced by every aspect of them. He felt his heart pound in his chest.

"To protect you."

Chase's eyes widened as he felt his body freeze. What did House just say? Did he say that he wanted…to protect him? That he felt like that's his 'job'? To protect him? To be with him? He felt intense emotion fill him, unfreezing his body. His fondness of House warmed every part of him, and he felt like a fire was burning inside of him at the realization that House had the same feeling for him.

Who would have thought…that House could be like this?

House watched as Chase processed what he just said, knowing that he was feeling a bit overwhelmed. But he also felt a huge pressure being lifted from his shoulders, making it easier to breathe. Chase's eyes continued to stare up at him, now filled with something he couldn't name.

Chase tightened his grip on House's hand as he realized how close he and House were sitting. Feeling bold again, he reached out, hooked a finger into House's shirt collar, and pulled him towards him, feeling a new wave of warmth wrap around him when their lips touched.

House felt a brief moment of shock at Chase's action, but then reached up and placed his other hand around the back of Chase's neck, feeling his soft blonde hair brush against his skin. There was no fight for dominance, just a simple sense of content.

They pulled apart, Chase's green-blue eyes looked up at House, catching the light of the sun that was a beautiful shade of orange. House reached up and brushed a chunk of blonde hair away from Chase's face, tucking it behind his ear. Chase smiled slightly up at him and scooted closer to him, and rested his head against his shoulder. House rubbed his thumb against Chase's hand, amazed by the softness of his skin.

They both knew that no words needed to be spoken. As House stared at the sun that was now mostly hidden by the trees, he knew that Chase would now be more open to recovery and healing now that he knew that someone cared deeply about him.

HouseXChase

Alright Gang,

Aww, wasn't that sweet? Sweet-ish? ^_^

Reviews would be wonderful!

When-Rabbit-Howls