A/N: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE FANTASTIC FEEDBACK! For the reviews and the various alerts… Thank you so much, you guys! :) Viva la Huddy! In fics, and the show. :)

Special thanks to Chris P. for checking at least a portion of this for me despite her busy sched.

I apologize to the anonymous reviewers. I wasn't able to let you guys know that I wasn't updating soon due to a very important Qualifying Examination I had to take at school… Now that's done and I've passed summer subjects, you guys will get tired of me constantly until June 9th. :D Yay! Lol…

Okay, let's assume that Cuddy broke the engagement earlier… was so lost in her thoughts that she wasn't even able to shower and that she left Rachel with Marina since the Nanny does come early in the morning. :D

I surely hope and pray I was able to make this worth the wait!

Enjoy, Huddy smuddicts(myself included, lol)!

NOW

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She smiled against his lips when his hand trailed down her arm and opened wide so she could lace her fingers with his. The romantic gesture almost made her melt into a puddle of sweetness but she kept herself straight, kissing him much more now, their lips still tenderly gliding against each other but with more pressure than earlier.

Reluctantly pulling away, House rested his forehead against hers and asked, "I thought you needed to re-bandage my shoulder?"

Cuddy chuckled breathily and replied, "Maybe later…" before she reclaimed his lips with hers, her left hand snaking upwards to cup his jaw, tracing a finger gently along his regal nose. His eyes were closed and Cuddy took in his relaxed form and how he looked while he kissed her,

She gave his hand a squeeze before closing her eyes and focused on feeling their lips mesh together for what she knew was the first time since Joy.

But this had more meaning now. It stemmed from somewhere deeper.

It stemmed from love.

And they had it together, now.

She tilted her head to the side, allowing him to kiss her deeper, to feel his mouth entirely enveloping hers and to feel the love cascading from his lips as he bequeathed her with it with each and every kiss, every breath and every touch.

Her heart couldn't have been happier than at that moment-- she couldn't have been happier.

But she was proven wrong by the man in front of her as he slid the hand he had settled on her hip to the small of her back and pulled her closer to him, warranting no space in between them. Once again she smiled against his lips as he continued kissing her as if he hadn't done something very much new for her—for them both.

His lips were so warm against hers, so paradoxically light yet perfectly heavy on hers; tasting and feeling her, taking in the moment he never imagined he'd experience again as a man reborn; as a changed man who was free from most his demons, free from the temptation of drugs.

The last time he had really kissed her was when she lost Joy. But he cowered and deflected, he pushed her advances away—pushed her away; why did he ever do so?

As the saying goes, you never know what you have until you lose it.

And he lost her; to a friend—or so he thought was a friend. But there was nobody else to blame but himself. He pushed her away, he did demeaning things to her, he wasn't man enough to admit his feelings for her-even to himself- and start something with her.

He hadhurt her. So deeply, excruciatingly deeply that she just had to distance herself, protect herself for the sake of her sanity, for the sake of her child, and for the sake of her heart.

But he so truthfully wished that those were things of the past and wouldn't be repeated by him as much as possible.

He truly had changed… and he showed her that. He showed that he was ready to try and commit. He knew that there would always be times that he would hurt her, scathe her so deep that she'd want to pull away. But he knew he would never hurt her purposely.

He knew that the two of them hurting each other was as natural as the way she was drawn unconditionally into his orbit but he would vow to a god if he needed to that he'd try not to hurt her intensely. He had her now, he wouldn't risk losing her again, else he'd lose everything.

The way his grip protectively yet not uncomfortably tightened around her and how his body relaxed against her didn't escape Cuddy. She sensed that his lips mimicked his thoughts and she found it luring that she could understand them-- a split-second hesitance but absolute tenderness after, like the way he kissed her the first time earlier; regretful a while ago; hopeful and then determined just now.

She kissed back with just as much ardor as she could release, putting to rest any doubts he had that she was real, that she was there, living the moment with him.

From an empty hopeless, weak heart to an ecstatically fulfilled, beating one, House internally celebrated. Half an hour ago he had had nothing, had no one; he had been alone. All he had had was a friend—if you could have called her that--in Hannah earlier that night, but he had lost her too.

Now that he had Cuddy he wouldn't let go.

He didn't want her for the sake of having her. He didn't want her just because she had somebody- had Lucas.

He wouldn't stop wanting and needing her just because she was free again. He wouldn't do the same mistakes again.

He wants her because he needs her.

He needs her because he loves her.

"I love you," she told him that. They sounded so foreign escaping her lips but her words shot through to his heart. She was his one constant. And he regretted the days he had ill-treated her, hurt her, killed her with his razor-sharp bone-cutting words.

Oh he'd more than make it up to her, that was a fact. What he wouldn't give not to make her miserable. The best he thought he'd never have was in his arms right now and no way in the world was he purposely going to screw it up.

She could almost hear him thinking so she slid her left hand from his jaw to anchor it behind his neck, forcing their faces as virtually close as possible. She gradually slipped her tongue into his mouth and met his. Tentatively, slowly, they kissed passionately, open-mouthed now, breathing be damned, their tongues engaging in a sensual saccharine dance and their breaths mingling.

This wasn't rushing things… this wasn't anything but right. The timing was perfect, the events simply made for their reunion. Earlier stinging words forgiven and almost forgotten. Their time has officially come.

It could have been called a 20-year-long courtship—or foreplay and banter, if that'd make it sound more like them.

Cuddy unlaced their interlocked fingers and slid her hand from his arm to his biceps, feeling the contours of his fit arm through his jacket. House's hand planted itself on her hip, holding her steady as they continued kissing passionately.

That was until Cuddy's right hand slid up to his left shoulder, causing him to let out a pained breath. She instantly broke their kiss, gasping for air from the breathless state it left them in. "I'm sorry," she was quick to apologize, gazing into his eyes before trailing them down to his bloody shirt. "You're still bleeding," she whispered, moving aside the jacket that settled on the spot she had touched earlier.

"It's nothing," House replied throatily. It stung but he wasn't really complaining since any complaint would ruin a momentous moment that he had already cherished.

Cautiously, Cuddy pushed back his jacket, thrusting it from his shoulders and letting it drop to the floor. "I have to re-bandage now… unless you ripped my stitches from earlier," she seriously said as she pulled down the neckline of his shirt to examine his wound after gently setting aside the bandage.

Looking at the blood, yes, her big lummox ripped his stitches. "I have to bring you back to the hospital," she informed him. House's eyebrows shot up. "I'm fine," he argued. "Do you still have your kit here?" she asked him, ignoring his assurance that he was alright. He was okay at the moment since they were just standing still but there was a possibility that he would soon fall from the blood loss and his leg that she was certain is continually killing him if they didn't manage the bleeding and get him some Ibuprofen.

"No." Actually he just didn't remember. "Then we have to go back to the hospital," she stated, leaving no room for argument.

After a moment of thought, Cuddy took a deep breath and tentatively asked him, "Would it be okay for you to stay at my place for a while?" As much as his place was where he should be, after seeing the place where the Vicodin was hidden, she was sure there are more pills stashed in this place. She'll be sure to have his team clear the place out just in case. It wasn't that she didn't trust him. She does. But she wanted him to start anew in this apartment without the temptation of available hidden stashes of Vicodin well within his reach.

After inviting him, she recalled telling him that she and Lucas had a new house but she wanted to tell him that it was just that, a house. It had nothing yet and it never would have anything, she thought. What that new house symbolized vanished as soon as she broke up with Lucas. House nodded in consent. "I haven't moved to the new house yet… I just…"

He sensed her inner turmoil so he did what he thought would soothe her. In the simplest terms, he did what he thought would shut her up. Gently cupping both her shoulders, he leant forward and kissed her reassuringly on the forehead letting his lips linger there. He heard her sigh- in relief or acquiescence he didn't know; maybe both. But the way her shoulders relaxed under his grip somewhat assured him that she was calming down.

Cuddy leaned her temple against his lips, absorbing his nonverbal reassurances, soothing her anxiety about the matter. "I should really get your wound re-stitched," she told him concernedly, switching their focus on something else.

Lucas was a thing of the past, no matter how fresh a past it was. She didn't want to talk about it anymore, didn't want to give explanation for her decisions. Aside from the fact that she didn't have to, she just didn't want to dwell on it.

Though she didn't regret it since it taught her important things too. Her relationship with Lucas had taught her that it was true that not all things that looked good on paper was the best for someone. That stability and dependability wasn't anything without love. That settling would only work for such a short time.

She didn't have to explain herself but House wasn't pushing for one, remarkably. She was grateful for that. He wasn't pushing, wasn't jabbing, wasn't asking for any explanation. He was satisfied with her earlier words, it seemed. He was being the better man by not emphasizing , by not boasting right in front of her that she chose him over Lucas; that she broke off her engagement for him—maybe in front of Wilson, he'll do just that but that was the way he interacted with his best friend so it didn't bother her.

He was being extraordinarily grateful and just relishing the opportunity to start something with her. She smiled. The future seemed promising even if it would inevitably bring storms in its wake. Someway, somehow, hopefully, they'd be able to weather them together.

"I think my kit's in the closet in front of my room," House whispered, pulling her from her thoughts. He didn't want to trouble her to drive for a number of minutes just because he was too lazy to try and remember where his medical kit was.

Cuddy nodded and reluctantly pulled away from him to check the closet. House watched her as she walked to the closet he was referring to. Carefully, he walked to his living room, sitting on the bench of his piano. He waited for her as she got what she thought she'd need, hearing water in the bathroom and a few more cabinets being opened and shut. He didn't realize he was staring into space and massaging his thigh until Cuddy touched his shoulder, causing him to flinch in slight shock. "You okay?" she asked softly, brows furrowed. "Yeah," he answered, taking the glass of water from her hand and the Ibuprofen as well, downing them and thanking her. Cuddy gave a small smile as she put the glass away and came back with the kit and a damp towel with her.

"Take your shirt off," she instructed softly as she neatly folded the once wrung damp towel. "Don't you think it's a little too early for that?" House jokingly answered, a mischievous grin playing at his lips. Cuddy returned it as she shook her head. "It's not. Unless you want to wait and develop an infection," she retorted, lifting the hem of his shirt and carefully helping him ease his arm from the other shoulder.

"Found what you need?" House asked her. "Yes," she replied. They were silent once again as Cuddy picked up the damp towel and cupped the left side of his jaw. She gently dabbed at the scratch on his nose, being careful not to hurt him as she wiped away the blood that had dried. House kept his eyes on her, on how she focused on her task.

"You know, I forgot you actually were a doctor," he teased with a small warm smile, meeting her eyes. Cuddy let out a small scoff. "You never did have faith in me," she retorted halfheartedly. Grasping the hand that was cupping his cheek, House held it and gave her palm a kiss before looking up at her and saying, "You know you're a great doctor…" Cuddy smiled, "… probably not as great as I am but still, you're great at what you do, Cuddy, doctoring or administrating. Don't ever doubt that," he told her, making her heart flutter with happiness at his words and at the way he uttered them sincerely. She continued what she was doing after thanking him. He didn't know how much those words meant to her, coming from him. After cleaning up his face with the gentlest of ways, she tended to his wound.

Removing the blood-soaked bandage, Cuddy couldn't help but ask, "How's Hannah?" Almost immediately, House's body tensed and he grievously replied, "She died en route…" A sigh. The memory of how he failed at saving her started rushing into his thoughts again.

"I'm sorry…" Cuddy whispered, ceasing her actions, clearing the space beside him and sitting next to him.

Staring into her eyes House whispered, confused and hurt, defeated, "I did everything right. She died anyway…" he told her, reminding himself of what he had told Foreman.

Cuddy frowned, biting her lower lip as she looked at him. She placed her right hand on top of his heart, immediately garnering the attention of his lost cerulean orbs. Her eyes consoled him, comforted him without words until she finally spoke. "It wasn't your fault. If anything, you gave her and her husband hope…" she softly whispered. "You did great tonight… but we don't have any control on who lives and who dies, you know that. Don't blame yourself for what happened."

House closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He knew it wasn't his fault but still… it was inevitable not to wonder about the 'what ifs' of the situation. Would she have lived if he hadn't had to cut her leg off? Would she have died from Crush Syndrome if he didn't? Would she have lived at all or would she have died all the same if he had done something else? Whichever reasoning, there was nothing else he could do. Hannah was gone. He wished her soul peace and wished her husband happiness despite grief.

Cuddy stood up, resuming her task of re-stitching House's wound after cleaning it. "Who's with Rachel? It's six in the morning," House asked. Cuddy smiled at the thoughtful question. "Nanny." House nodded in acknowledgement and kept himself silent until she finished with his shoulder.

"All good," she announced after placing a fresh bandage on his wound. Clearing the mess she made, she stopped working when House settled her in front of him, holding her by the hips. House laid his head on her torso, wrapping his arms around her midsection. He felt Cuddy take a deep breath before feeling her arms cup both sides of his neck, caressing him there before sliding them up and running her fingers through his hair.

He was embracing reality. He really truly had her. His eyes were closed as he just savored the moment. Even if he knew it was real, it still felt like a fantasy. Her being here now reminded him of how close he got to losing her because of his idiocy. She gave him hundreds of chances before so now he'll be taking this chance and won't be taking it for granted.

This was real.

This was serious.

This was love and a lot more.

This wasn't a game, nor would he treat it like one and drive her away.

His heart was overflowing with emotions and the sensation of her in his arms made it so much more momentous. A milestone in their history. Breaking the chain that had them repeatedly going in circles.

Pulling away from her, he held her by the waist and urged her to sit beside him on the bench. She complied and sat beside him, a hand on his leg, absorbing the heat his naked upper half sent out.

Pushing up the lid from his sleek baby grand, House flexed his fingers before looking at Cuddy whose eyes and mouth immediately smiled in excitement at the prospect of him playing solely for her. Surprisingly though, before he started, he inched forward and tenderly caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, kissing her chastely on the lips before asking her softly to listen.

She heard him take a deep breath before relaxing. The moment he started to play she felt her heart melting and overflowing with some unknown emotion. Love was there… but there was something else she couldn't quite place her finger on.

He continued playing and she continued gazing from his fingers and up at him. His eyes were closed, his face was relaxed. They were both silent, his music speaking for his emotions as he continued gliding his fingers graciously along the ivory keys. The music was so relaxing, so familiar and it was the only sound that filled the room. She noticed that it held some of her Jewish culture's tunes and a lot more.

She was unable to help herself from leaning on his shoulder, her head resting against it as she closed her eyes and let the music bring her anywhere it could. She was lost in it, lost in the music he was playing and sharing with her.

She was utterly captured, incandescently captivated.

House was lost in his reminiscence of how far he had had gone to fortunately get to where he was tonight. This composition reminded him so much of his struggles and his desire to be with her, to not make her miserable by being with her, to be the one to be with her day in and day out, for better or for worse. The composition reminded him of how much he wanted to be with her but was afraid to be so.

This composition which was entirely made with her in mind, reminded him of her, everything about her. Including her daughter, Rachel. He had long accepted that she has a daughter. Until now he was scared as hell that he'd do something that would scar the kid for life but with Cuddy by his side, he was at least confident that she would lead him straight.

For better or for worse, even if this relationship didn't last—though he'd try to make it last—they were an undeletable part of each others' lives. A constant that could never be removed, no matter what was done.

"I'm always here… always," was what Cuddy had said once before in one of his hallucinations of her… Of her being there always, he had no doubt. He just wished that he'd be there for her long enough to see her incandescently happy, even if with the "most screwed up person in the world."

She had the child already… he wouldn't be that too—well, upon occasion he would be.

He'll be the man for her.

So many promises pinned on one night. So many reassurances. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep some of it but he'd try as hell to do so. He knew she wasn't expecting things to be perfect between them but he wanted it to at least have some semblance of perfection.

After all this time, after all these years searching, she had earned and deserved it.

Besides, he did love challenges. So he was challenging himself on this. Maybe Nolan was right. Time was indefinite but it finally came for him tonight. He'd have to visit that old scrooge and comment on that painting on the receiving area. Therapy seemed worth the opening up again.

Cuddy opened her eyes and gazed lovingly at House when a very soft version of the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want" started enveloping the air around them. His hands were so dexterous, so graceful, he was absolutely brilliant at what he was doing and she'd want nothing more than to ravish him then and there but she stopped herself. Storing this moment into memory was far more important than her hormones' demand to jump him.

There was nothing else in the world that moment. Nobody else but them and a piano which, by House's talent, provided them such a romantic ambiance, such a familiarity she didn't expect.

A few seconds later, the melody stopped and she waited for House to look at her. A while later he turned his head in her direction and gave her the smallest of smiles.

Cuddy couldn't help but beam up at him as a lone tear escaped her eye. House wiped it away with the pad of his thumb and let his smile grow a little. "It was beautiful, House. Perfect, really," she complimented on a breathy whisper to stop herself from the emotions overwhelming her. She came to his apartment tonight with low expectations of anything promising even as she had hoped everything would work out. Now, being next to him, everything had really fallen into place for them tonight. Her heart was thankful, her mind was hopeful that they could pull this off for the long run.

"It's yours," House announced almost timidly. Cuddy was stunned. He composed it for her? "What?" she asked, unable to say anything coherent as it dawned on her that he composed something for her.

"It's your serenade," he told her, a smile kicking at his lips at her expression.

Cuddy's expression of shock soon blossomed into a sweet smile as she asked him, "When did you make it?"

"The day of Rachel's Simchat Bat."

Cuddy's face fell at that, remembering how she treated him that day. How she had brutally stuck into his face how miserable he was and how she practically told him that he was unwelcome in that important day; no matter how much she had wanted him there after all.

She stood up stepped in front of him, pulling him up by the hands. House's confused look soon vanished when her contagious smile affected him and he found himself basking in her happiness… that he put that smile there.

"Thank you," was all yet everything she could say. The mere fact that he composed this with her and possibly, Rachel, in mind spoke volumes to her with regards to his feelings for her. Spoke volumes of his true feelingsfor her.

"I love you," House amorously whispered to her with his oceanic orbs fixed to her sapphire ones, never faltering as he let her know that by words.

Now those three words… spoke enormous volumes!

Cuddy beamed, her sapphire eyes sparkling like the jewels that they are; so precious, so beautiful. He finally reciprocated her earlier words with words of his own. They weren't just words though. They were so much more than just words.

"You know I love you," she fondly replied before fusing their lips together, wrapping her left arm around his neck she pulled him closer and kissed him passionately, pouring all her heart's unspeakable emotions in their kiss. Her right hand settled on his chest as House wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against his naked torso, literally enveloping her with his warmth.

Their kiss deepened as House sat her on top of his ivory keys and she held on to his nape to keep their lips from separating. She loved the feeling of his stubble grazing her palm as she caressed his stubbly cheek while they kissed, occasionally gazing up to watch him as he kissed her, as if a second glance would prove to her that she had only been dreaming even if she knew this wasn't one. The way his stubble brushed her lips and the skin around her mouth brought back sparking shots of desire that she suppressed earlier.

His hands slid from each side of her hips up to her arms to cup both sides of her neck. House broke their kiss reluctantly, thirsty for breath that the kiss deprived him off but instead of meeting her lips again, he focused on placing wet butterfly kisses from her jaw to the back of her ear, her hand still on his nape as she angled her neck to provide him more space. She separated her legs and propped her feet on the bench behind him to let him settle in between her legs before arching back on the baby grand, her movements causing a cacophony of notes to fill the air along with their labored breathing. She was sure she was turning pink as the mixture of his kisses and every single graze of his stubble on her amplified her need for him, for them to consummate this reunion which was 20 years in the making.

She faintly remembered his words during the seminar, remembered how he had told her that he honestly wanted to see where their relationship would lead to after that night so many years ago. That night was the last night she experienced being with him. If events escalated now, she was sure it was more than just sex. It would be making love with House.

What she felt now was more and would always be a whole lot more than what she had ever felt when she was with Lucas. She would always love House more than any man she's been with. Heck, it was possible that she failed at almost every relationship since nobody could compare to him. Her previous relationships fell apart since the men she dated could never compare to House.

It's always been him…

She was drawn from her reverie when his lips roamed her neck; nipping, sucking, and tasting her. It dawned on her that neither of them had even taken a shower yet but she didn't think House seemed to care since he was groaning in pleasure as he lavished her with attention.

Cuddy arched her head back when House bit on her pulse point, moaning at the spark it shot down her spine and straight to her core. "House…" she moaned breathily, causing him to suck on a spot on her neck he earlier found was very erogenous. She gasped at the feeling and wrapped her arms around his back while burying her face in his neck for a while. House's hands started feeling her, caressing her under her scrubs, massaging her breasts through her bra, all the while continually kissing her in every patch of skin he came across. "Undress me…" she whispered into his ear a while later, shamelessly imploring him to dress her down, the desire for him to take her soon overpowering her entire being. House felt his already tightening jeans to tauten even more with that plea. Everything about her was intoxicating. Her scent, despite the faint smell of where they were earlier, was enthralling. Her skin was so soft that he couldn't help run his hands everywhere and study the map of her body.

You're still here because you have the hots for me…

House chuckled gutturally as he remembered that chance he let slip in his empty office.

I think we should kiss now…

He was really an idiot for being so blind and ignoring his feelings for her. Well, not anymore and never again.

Taking the hem of her scrubs in his hands, House carefully pulled them off, admiring every patch of skin that was revealed until he finally got her top off. God, she's a vision. Her taught stomach was beyond sexy: her bra-clad breasts were enticing and calling to him, the way she looked up at him with desire-lidded eyes. Her sapphires darkening into a storm of want and need.

Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to her, whispering, "You're beautiful," a breath from her lips before enveloping them with his, kissing her fervently. Cuddy returned the kiss just as intensely and slipped her hands in between them, grasping the buckle of his belt to undo them, causing House to gasp in her lips as she undid his fly.

House toed his shoes and socks off, having little difficulty in toeing off the other but he managed, then breaking from their kiss again afterwards. Diving in the valley between her breasts, he breathed her in before kissing her ample bosoms alternately, mesmerized by their voluptuousness. Her hands instantly held onto his head as he kissed the uncovered flesh of her full breasts, moaning when he occasionally nipped at them teasingly. Cuddy reached behind her and unclasped her ruby red bra and let it fall to the floor, her eyes seductively scouring him from his eyes down to the skin above his unzipped jeans. She instantly closed her eyes though when House filled his hands with her breasts, feeling their weight in his hands, delighting in how her peaks reacted to his touch. Settling a hand to a side of her and causing a disharmonized set of notes to surround them again, he cupped a breast with his hand again, kissing around her areola before taking it into his mouth. Her hand remained cupping the back of his head, pulling him as virtually closer as possible to her breast, urging him to taste her more, sighing in reckless abandon at the pleasure she was experiencing under his touch; doing it again as he turned to her other breast.

Cuddy gasped, arching her back when his other hand cup her groin, brushing his fingers against her clothed heat and making her writhe yet want to buck against him. Stopping his ministrations on her upper half, he finally took time to look at her. Her hair messy even in her ponytail, her chest and neck filled with stubble burns, her eyes hooded with pleasure, and her lips swollen from their kisses.

Sliding his hands from her waist down to her calves, House took one leg and removed her shoes and socks, doing the same with the other while Cuddy remained sitting on his piano watching his every move. When he got her shoes and socks off, he settled his hands on her hips, wordlessly seeking her permission to remove her bottoms and matching ruby red underwear. Taking a nervous and anticipating breath she nodded, holding his hands where they were before sliding them up to his broad shoulders. She watched him gently pull them down and off of her, raising her butt a little to start sliding it down, marveling at the longing and admiring looks he was giving her and her body. He had always made her feel confident with her body even if she was already confident with it, herself. His comments, no matter how lecherous, no matter how wrong, had always made her feel sexy and at times, beautiful.

She was more than ready for him, she felt it herself. She wanted him more than she wanted anyone else at the moment. She doubted that she would even want anybody else after. She loves him. She would love him for as long as he would have her, as long as he would love her.

Always, House thought. He'd always love her. He leaned forward to kiss her again, to feel her lips mesh with his and to taste her again with his tongue. He couldn't get enough of her. Every bit of her. I always want to kiss you, he remembered from his delusion last year. She kissed back eagerly and started pushing and kicking down his jeans and his boxers, making him groan in her mouth as all restraints were finally removed from his throbbing erection.

They were physically naked now. Cuddy wrapped her legs around his waist, letting out a lustful sigh when she felt his erection on her abdomen. As awkward as her position was on the piano, she angled herself and readied herself for him, bracing herself on his shoulders, being cautious as to not disturb his bandaged wound.

House snaked his right hand to the small of her back, pulling her flush against him and burying his face in her neck, kissing her there once and placing a legion of soft saccharine kisses up her neck to the back of her ear before gutturally whispering, "I do love you," and kissing the side of her head.

"I know," she replied warmly with a smile, her eyes closed in bliss. She would never get tired of hearing him say that.

After a moment of being locked in a serene embrace he entered her finally, filling the void she had had felt ever since the last time he sheathed himself inside her. They mutually gasped at the sensation of flesh entering flesh and House buried his face in her neck, kissing her there as he let her accommodate his size and girth.

He had long wished to experience this with her again. Making love to her, making love with her. Hearing her whisper his name and hearing her sounds of pleasure.

Cuddy dropped kisses onto his neck a while later, letting him know she was ready and waiting for more. He was inside her, buried deep inside her and she wanted to give in to everything then and there but she wanted this to last. Slowly he began to move inside her, his right hand still spread on the small of her back providing support for both of them. She moaned and tilted her head back at the smallest of waves he made. He felt so good buried inside her like this that the pain only upped the ante of her desire. After a few tentative thrusts in and out of her, House found the right pace and worked on it, moving his head from the hollow of her neck to rest it against her forehead.

The way they swayed, the way they moved had the piano accommodating their sounds of pleasure with a cacophony of notes that strangely sounded beautiful for them. His intense cerulean gaze took in the vision of her, mouth slightly ajar, her breath morphed into pants for breath, her eyes shut closed. The sight of her like this made him harder inside her, made him thrust harder and deeper inside her. She moaned and gasped in different moments, gripping him tighter with her hands, digging her short nails into his back, causing him to groan in pleasure.

The tight, wet velvety warmth enveloping his penis was beyond incredible. It was addictive. The way her muscles clenched around him was exciting, rejuvenating, empowering.

"Oh god, House," she throatily moaned when he started hitting a spot inside her that made her legs turn into a pool of gelatinous matter. Her grip on him tightened, her lips kissing every area she could reach while House's thrusts started to intensify and quicken.

House bowed his back to reach a taut peak of her nipple, sucking it into his mouth, biting once in a while and making her cry out in ecstasy. She was a goddess.

He still couldn't believe she was his just as much as he was hers now.

House kissed her way up her midriff, planting kisses from her chest to her neck, slowing down when he reached her jaw line and finally setting his lips on hers again, making sure to thrust harder when he reached her lips. Her mouth fell at the beautiful mixture of pleasure and pain that assaulted her senses and he took advantage of that by slipping his tongue into her mouth, seeking her tongue to dance a sensual tantric dance with it again.

House pulled the elastic band from her hair and let her hair cascade down her shoulders, making her look sexier and beautiful than ever. It was as if he had Venus herself in front of him. She was a beautiful sculpture; perfect and smooth. Cuddy smiled at how he wanted her hair down and she continued to meet his enthusiastic thrusts as a thin film of sweat started forming in their bodies.

Their lovemaking wasn't all that good at the moment, as incredibly wonderful as it felt, but they would take what they could at the moment, seeing some of the predicaments actually having sex—or making love—would give them, given House's condition.

Well in fact, Cuddy wasn't even complaining. Yes, her ass was feeling like it was poked with piano keys but it was nothing compared to the pleasure and bliss she was living at that moment as House drove in and out of her, rendering her breathless with his powerful thrusts.

"Cuddy…" he groaned against her lips, feeling her beginning to quiver beneath him and feeling himself on the verge of exploding as well. He was thankful for the endorphins roaming his system. It made his thigh feel a little less hurting. Her legs wrapped themselves tighter around him, pulling him closer, driving him deeper as possible into her while she moaned in rapture at the sensations overpowering her.

She wanted it to last longer but she couldn't help herself. The position rendered her tight so every thrust he made caused him to snuggly scrape every angle of her core. He was deeply focused on pleasing her and so he kept his thrusts strong and powerful but also being mindful of her, not wanting to hurt her. Their pelvises were thumping against each other now, craving for release, craving for the tidal wave of an orgasm to reach them and wash them away together.

With a final deep thrust and his fingers vigorously rubbing her clit, Cuddy let go and cried out, House instantly swallowing her forthcoming cries of elation as her orgasm took over her. He continued his thrusts but was not far behind her as he exploded and spilled his warm seed inside her soon after.

Cuddy clung tightly to him while she rode out her orgasm and House never let go of her, his hand still supporting her by the small of her back and his other hand buried in her unruly hair. He unglued his lips from hers to press a loving kiss on her temple, lingering a while before burying his nose in her hair, engraining the scent of her hair in his psyche. A while later House pulled out of her but remained hugging her close to him, close to his heart.

House glanced at the clock on the wall and chuckled when he saw what time it was. "What?" Cuddy asked in a raspy voice, a smile tugging at her lips, pulling away from their post-coital embrace, looking up at him with a curious twinkle in her stunning eyes. She was absolutely glowing. He liked this look on her, he immediately noted.

"You're late for work," House informed her, a teasing smile on his face as he tucked a few tendrils of hair from the corner of her face, catching her off guard. When she got over the shock of his sweetness, she beamed, flashing him her thousand-watt smile. She glanced back to where the clock was and laughed.

It was indeed 7 am—7:30 to be exact. And she was late.

But today, as terrible and un-Dean-like as it sounded, she didn't care. She could be late once in a blue moon, right?

"After what happened last night, I think the boss wouldn't mind," she whispered in reply, turning her head to him with a mischievous smile.

House shot a brow up at her, "You're a slacker now?"

Cuddy shrugged coquettishly as she replied, "What can I say? You're a bad influence," in a smart ass manner.

"I like the sound of that…" House replied on a whisper, leaning forward to steal a kiss from her lips.

Cuddy laughed and smiled, just looking up at him with a blissful set of eyes. "What?" House asked curiously.

"Say you love me, again," she requested sweetly. House gave her a small grin. He had no problem in telling her that just as much as he had no problem telling Stacy that before when they were together.

Pressing his lips to her forehead, he kissed her again before whispering, "I love you," for the third time that night.

House stood straight and Cuddy followed suit. She hugged him and settled her head on his chest, his heart rapidly beating against her ear. She smiled… this day would be amazing. House settled his chin on top of her head, returning her embrace.

"When was the last time you showered?" Cuddy suddenly asked him, her nose scrunching up a little but a smile still painted beautifully on her face. He really didn't smell. She just recalled something from before.

House rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe she was the one who ruined the moment. "Scent of a man…" he told her like he did the last time she had asked him that and continued, "… congratulations, you've experienced it sober."

Cuddy laughed jovially in that low voice he always found music to his ears. He smiled back, burying his nose in her hair, relishing the moment she wasn't threatening to disembowel or dismember him, or double his clinic duty or firing him for not doing his job.

There was a reason why their time had come to start something together. A reason why they're incandescently happy at that moment. But the reasons didn't matter too much now.

They're happy… they aren't miserable… they're together.

They are in love.

This was their now.

Nothing else mattered.

A/N: It's 5:45 am, I am absolutely sleepy… forgive my errors in this chap.

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