"Seriously...?"
Cameron asks with a sigh, but she fails to hide the twitch of amusement tugging at the side of her mouth. Raising a brow as House turns to face her, she simply shrugs when he asks where she had imagined he would be taking her.
"Cheap and easy..."
He growls, and she imagines he's just dying to finish this sentence with some crude quip about her being the same. Still, despite their friendly banter throughout the day, it's been quite some time since they've been around each other for more than a couple of minutes, and she knows it's this awkwardness, rather than any consideration for her feelings, that keeps him from teasing her quite as ruthlessly as he once had.
"Are you insinuating something?"
She hisses dutifully, and again, House glances at her with mild surprise; wondering where the hell his meek little girl has obtained such blasé sarcasm from all of a sudden. He almost asks her - although, of course, he plans to suggest this is a negative trait simply to irk her - but he's afraid that she'll actually have an answer.
He finds he often falters when Cameron does not.
Offering her a mere grunt in response, he turns away and makes his way towards the warmth of the all-night McDonalds looming over them, the blonde following him amiably enough.
Once inside, House asks her what she wants and tells her to go and find a table, not that the place is packed in the slightest at this late hour.
He's just unsure what the hell to say to her.
When she proceeds to falter and asks him what they serve, he turns to her incredulously, shaking his head and pulling at her wrist to drag her closer to the garish picture menus displaying salt-bejewelled calories.
"What do you mean, 'what kind of stuff do they have'? It's McDonald's!"
He frowns, and Cameron shrugs, scanning the boards apprehensively as she strives to find the least unappealing option.
"I guess I'll have a garden salad and a soda."
She reaches into her back pocket to pull out a thin wad of notes, but House waves his hand irritably and tells her to go and sit down.
When he returns, the blonde narrows her eyes when he proceeds to dump a tray laden with fries and a burger in front of her.
"They ran out of salad."
"Odd. I'd imagine it would be one of the less popular choices..."
She smirks, before directing her gaze pointedly to the counter where a small artillery of greenery sits sweating beneath the harsh lights of the counter.
"Just eat."
House sighs, already halfway through his bacon and cheese; his mouth full as he grumbles at her. Watching as she tears open a sachet of sauce with her teeth, he can't help but smirk when she creates a little dipping pool at the very edge of the grease-spotted paper belonging to her unwrapped cheeseburger.
"Very pretty."
He teases, and she offers him a long-suffering sigh in response, before reddening the end of one of her slightly anaemic-looking fries and nibbling at it thoughtfully.
"Oh, god."
"What?"
"Are you seriously going to eat those one by one?"
"Well, I could try the whole 'stuff as much as possible into my mouth, who cares about breathing' thing, but I'm afraid I'm not quite as skilled at that as you are."
"You're such a girl."
"Observant, you must be a doctor."
"Mm. Of course, it's always best to double-check these things and get a concise diagnosis."
He raises his eyebrows at her suggestively and the blonde groans, inwardly hoping the heat she can feel creeping across her cheeks isn't painfully obvious.
"You're blushing."
"Am I?"
"Which means you're either hiding something - perhaps taping it to your leg to keep it discreet - or you're imagining yourself spread eagle on an examination table while I-"
"-So how did you get so adept at stuffing things into your mouth without gagging?"
"Ooh, Dr Cameron, was that an insinuation!? Look at you, with your big girl insults!"
Placing his hand over his heart in mock pride, House grins when the young doctor glares at him. Deciding to quit while they're both ahead - and refusing to dwell on the fact that a greasy dinner with the injured young woman is so far proving to be much more successful than the disastrous date he'd agreed to all those years ago - House sits back and licks the salt from his fingers, watching as the blonde picks at her food with minimal interest.
"I'm pretty sure these lovely people would like to go home at some point."
She glances up at him in confusion and he points to the untouched burger and litter of fries rapidly cooling in front of her.
"I'm full."
"You barely ate anything!"
She offers him a warning look and he sighs, leaning forward to steal her lukewarm cheeseburger and taking a bite; chewing loudly. He watches with interest when wrinkles her nose at the sight.
"One little trip to McDonald's isn't going to have you struggling to squeeze your little ass into your slacks tomorrow."
"I know that. I'm just full."
The blonde's customary warmth drops noticeably by several degrees and House frowns, attempting to skate over what he knows to be a touchy subject - and yearns so badly to know why - with sarcasm.
"And besides, if you were going to put on weight - which I'm all in favour of - the ER is the perfect place to be working. I have often wondered just what the difference is between scrubs and maternity pants."
"Besides the colour?"
"I don't know. I'm sure there are some women out there who rock the baby pink... Looks alright on you."
"... Yes... Well..."
Cameron sighs, hating herself for the small smile that threatens to alight her lips at such a weak compliment.
Ah, but it's House. He could commend you on anything and you'd be putty in his hands...
She frowns; knowing this to be true and despising the fact.
"Something wrong?"
The greying doctor asks her with genuine curiosity, and she shrugs uncomfortably.
"No, just thinking..."
"Oh, that's what that disconcerted frown was for. Don't worry, it gets easier over time."
Green eyes roll as House leans forward to steal a handful of fries.
"I did always wonder, though..."
He continues, although his tone is suddenly free from jovial teasing and the blonde looks up at him curiously, sipping at the sweet fizz of her soda.
"About what?"
"About you."
"What about me?"
"There's been two times you've been angry with me... I mean really angry, not just PMS-ing."
"Is PMS-ing code for having to deal with your constant shit on a daily basis?"
"... Two times when I wondered if you'd walk out. One of those times you did, if you remember?"
"Of course I remember, and I had every right to! You scapegoated me. You-"
"-Hey, I never said I disagreed with your actions... And, if you remember, I was willing to go quite some way in order to get you back."
"... You were."
"The other time, you looked at me and I knew you weren't just pissed off, you were livid... And not just livid... You were upset, too."
"When was that? It sounds like after most differentials."
"The little girl you were so sure was being abused - one of the little girls you were so sure was being abused - back when the wombat was still sniffing after you... You made a comment as to how if menstruating could give you cancer, you should have been in chemo at the time."
"I remember."
"And I told you-"
"-You told me that was ridiculous as I was much too skinny to be menstruating."
"I did, and you-"
"-And I got pissed off, because, believe it or not, it gets kind of tiring having people comment on your size all the damn time, especially your boss!"
"Ah yes, I can see how that could be the case... Only, I teased you for so many other things also - worse things! - yet it was always the comments pertaining to your weight that would get a rise out of you."
"... What do you want me to say?"
"Nothing. I imagine you will say nothing. I was just curious."
"You're always curious."
"And you're always evasive."
"Yes, well, excuse me for not wanting to give you the ins on my life up until now... Sometimes there really is just nothing to it, House. I can only tell you that I've never had any complications with my weight, with my body, or with my health so many times. It makes me less interesting, I know, but it's the truth... If you remain determined to believe otherwise... Well, that's your deal."
"Fair enough."
House nods, and the blonde sighs; frustrated to have what had been a curiously enjoyable evening flawed so easily - so predictably - but she supposes she should expect such altercations between the two of them by now.
"I don't like mayonnaise."
She states finally.
"Okay, I don't-"
"-I didn't mention it the first time you brought me up a sandwich, because I didn't want to be rude... After that, I felt like if I told you then, you would make fun of me for being pathetic the first time... Nothing to do with wanting to be small - I just am - I just don't like it. Or food - particularly burgers - which have it in."
"That... Is one of the saddest things I've ever heard!"
House confides gleefully, grinning as the blonde shakes her head in mock despair; inwardly thankful that the uncomfortable tension between them has been lifted.
Somehow, I imagine there's more to it, Cameron. But to use your term of phrase, I guess that really is 'your deal'.
"So what else have you been lying to me about?"
He demands.
"I wasn't lying-"
"-Oh your tongue is positively dripping with sin - of multiple varieties, at least in my head - 'fess up!"
"Oh, god..."
"Plain old 'House' will do just fine."
"You're impossible."
"No, I'm improbable. If I were impossible then you would be sitting here talking to yourself, lamenting society's use of mayonnaise."
She laughs huskily and he joins in - his attention trained on pretty white teeth - before realising just who he sits across from and how peculiar it is that they should be getting along in such a way.
How peculiar it is that he should be getting along with anyone in such a way.
Ah, but then Cameron always was the exception. Always the one you had a little bit of a-
-No. Enough of that.
"Well, I'd better get Cinderella off home before she turns into a pumpkin."
"Cinderella didn't turn into a pumpkin."
"Pity. That could have been the highlight of my diagnostics career."
"Or just a sure sign that you've finally lost it."
She giggles and House looks away; uncomfortable with just how strongly he's suddenly struck by the urge to ask her if she'll reconsider coming back to work for him.
After all... She's a brilliant doctor.
And I miss her.
"Get your coat."
Hard, gruff, disinterested.
She studies him cautiously in response to his sudden change of tone but says nothing, simply donning her jacket and pushing herself up from the table. The action is swift - automatic - and it's only when she receives a sharp bite of pain to her side that she remembers the reason they're out together in the first place.
"Alright?"
House asks, his gaze trained critically on the hand clutching her side. She nods, offering him a smile that's just a little too wide as she surreptitiously tries to deduce if she's ripped any stitches. She doesn't think she has - House's sutures methodical and flawless - but this in itself has her wondering why a brief movement should cause such sudden pain.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Straightening up, she gives a nonchalant shrug and follows him out into the cold winter air, oblivious to the purple thunder seeping delicately beneath pale flesh.