Work Text:
When Wilson finds out House was involved in a bus crash, his first reaction is panic.
His mind flashes back to all those years ago; he can smell the smoke, he remembers the broken glass and the screams and the sounds. He remembers the little girl from his nightmares. He remembers everything that had broken that day, everything he lost. His first reaction is panic, and horror, and then grief; grief for someone he doesn't even know if he's lost yet. But that's just the way he reacts to the news, instinctively drowning out everything they're saying to him as his chest tightens with pain, mourning without knowing if there's a reason to mourn at all. He can't breathe, he can't think. He doesn't understand. He doesn't understand why House was on a bus in the first place, he doesn't understand how this could have happened, or even why.
"-Wilson? Wilson, he's okay-"
He feels like he'd been drowning, like he just barely breached the surface, like he was finally getting a gasp of the air his lungs had been aching for. His eyes widen as he looks up, unable to move his gaze away from Chase's for quite some time. He just stares, because it's all he can do, the only way he knows how to react. He's scared to ask, but he does. "Is… is he awake?"
Chase looks almost quizzical, then understanding - as if he understands, as if he could - as he nods. "He's in the ER right now, Cameron's-" Wilson doesn't wait for him to finish his sentence.
He doesn't know he's moving until he's already halfway down the hall, rushing into the emergency room. He doesn't think he's ever moved so fast, so frantically, in his life, but he doesn't care. He doesn't care about anything except getting to where House is, checking him over himself and making sure he really is okay, that he's not hurt, that there's nothing really wrong with him - nothing that would be enough to take House away from him. He wouldn't be able to handle that, losing House. He wouldn't be able to handle the grief, the pain, the fury.
Seeing House as he bursts through the doors is even more of a breath of fresh air. He can't get close enough fast enough, shouldering past Cameron - he'd apologize later, of course - but for now House is his number one priority, as he takes his face in his hands and searches his gaze. His wide blue eyes were alert, startled, almost jerking back from Wilson's touch - but upon realizing who he was, he relaxed all at once, lifting his hands to curl his fingers around Wilson's wrist. He allows the other man to remove his hands from his face, settling on grabbing House's hands in a firm grip, and continues to flick his gaze across House's face. "Are you okay?"
House nods, raising his eyebrows slightly. "I'm fine, Wilson-"
"You can't scare me like that- god-" Wilson breathes in sharply and corrects himself, because he knows it's not House's fault, he knows he can't control these things, he doesn't want to blame House for any of this and he doesn't want House to feel like that's what he's doing - because he knows that that feels like, what it can do to a person. "God, I'm sorry- I'm so glad you're okay-" He paused to suck in another gasp of air, which almost comes out in a sob of relief. He's shaking, he knows that, but he can't make himself stop. House's eyebrows furrow, staring.
"You're more shaken up about this than I am," the man comments gruffly, but his grip tightens on Wilson's hands, offering a squeeze that briefly causes Wilson's gaze to dart downwards to their intertwined fingers before he looks back up at House again, wide-eyed. "I'm fine. Trust me."
He does. "I do-" Wilson swallows, breaking past the lump in his throat. "I do, but-"
House cuts him off with a kiss. It's short, lacking the passion of most of their other kisses, but it makes up for that in its sweetness instead, the gentleness in which House presses their lips together and pulls him closer. He immediately lifts his hands up to House's face and feels House's palm press against his cheek in response, drawing him even further, deeper into the kiss - before splitting apart far too quickly, far too soon. The smirk on his face differs greatly from the gentleness he'd possessed only moments before, the soothing kiss he'd drawn Wilson into; the expression is cocky and smug. "Would I have been able to do that if I wasn't fine, Jimmy?"
Wilson doesn't reply immediately. He just shakes his head, but smiles anyway, relieved and grateful as he pulls House into his arms. House rolls his eyes slightly at this - but Wilson feels his arms wrap around him anyway, holding him just as tightly as Wilson's holding the older male. He can feel House's heartbeat as he presses them closer together, thanking whatever God there might be for the fact that he was okay, and alive, and awake, and here in his arms now.
Later, he'll worry about why House was on the bus. Now, he's simply going to celebrate the fact that he'd been able to walk away from it - because he knows how lucky he was to be able to.