Work Text:
"I hate you."
"Did you just call me to say this?"
"Can you pick me up House?"
"Only if you'll cook for me in the morning. Gas prices are high, you know."
House hung up the phone without even asking where his best friend was. From the way that he talks, House guessed that Wilson is drunk and definitely in the bar they always go to when they want to have a boys' night out.
He sat on his car seat and popped a Vicodin. He knew that Wilson was going to probably be sleepy and fall asleep immediately, so he turned off the radio beforehand. The bar wasn't that far away from his apartment. That was one of the reasons why they always chose to go there. And hot bartenders, of course. Wilson was never really interested in them. He just went there because he enjoyed House's company whilst drinking.
House drove his car right in front of the bar and saw Wilson trying to stand on his feet. He knew that he was drunk, but he didn't think that he could've been drinking this much. He knew that Wilson liked lower-volume drinks, so he must've been having a horrible day.
House stepped out of the car and limped towards Wilson. The cold wind was strongly disabling him to walk straight. When he saw House coming at him, Wilson smiled widely and hugged him. House felt his warmth against his body. His body heat was so comforting, yet he smelled like he went into a liquor store and drank everything. He released himself from the hug and held his arm to get him inside of the car. Even though the weather was making house feel his leg pain down to his bones, he didn't need another Vicodin. The road wasn't that far in any way.
"I changed my mind."
"What?" He turned his eyes from the road to look at him for a moment.
"I don't hate you."
"Good."
When they stopped the conversation, Wilson started to drift into sleep. His head was leaning against the seat belt and making his neck somehow secure. He was breathing softly from his mouth. House liked Wilson's presence a lot. Even when he was asleep in his car's shotgun. He turned his head to examine how beautiful he was while he was asleep when he stopped by the red light.
They were home in a small amount of time. Wilson was still sleeping. House reached to him to touch his face with a finger.
"Wilson, wake up."
"Hmmn.."
He stopped poking his cheeks with his finger and instead started to caress his face with his hand. His cheeks were soft and warm.
Wilson opened one of his eyes and rubbed the other one with his right hand's back.
"We're home."
"Yeah."
He stepped out of the car and helped Wilson right after he got out. They went inside the apartment. It felt warm and cozy to be inside after the coldness of the outside. House helped Wilson strip out of his coat and hung it along with his coat on the hanger. Wilson was wearing a woolen jumper. On the other hand, House was just wearing a T-shirt.
Wilson walked towards House and hugged him once more. This time, he rested his head in the crook of his neck and inhaled his smell to feel comfort. House knew something was terribly wrong with his friend. He lowered his hands and rubbed his back with his fingers softly, just to remind him he was there for him. He placed his mouth on top of Wilson's hair. He didn't kiss his head but rested there for a while and smelled his hair.
House broke their hug and looked at Wilson's face. He surely didn't look okay. He made him feel vulnerable. His eyes, looking back at him with pain, just made House a different person than he acted in normal day-to-day life.
"Don't leave me alone, please."
"I won't." said House. "You can sleep in my bed if you want."
That was an impulsive decision. He didn't intend to tell him that he just wanted to be with Wilson.
"I wanna."
His face was close enough for House to smell his breath. The smell of alcohol and the way he acted indicated that Wilson probably drank enough to make a bear drunk. Normally, he would drink one or two beers and fall asleep. At least, that was what he did for fun when he was at home. House was trying to hide that he was worried about his situation, but he wasn't successful.
"What's wrong, Jimmy?"
"I don't know."
"Come on, I know something is wrong. Just tell me, it's okay."
"I jusst... I feel like I'm gonna die alone. Every single person I love goes away, or well, they die. I'm so scared House."
House felt Wilson trembling from the small distance between them through the air. He slowly raised his left hand and placed it on his shoulder. He gave his shoulder a slight squeeze just to make him feel listened. He was still shaking under his hand, and his touch made him close to crying even more.
"Well, I am certainly very much here, you know." Wilson didn't say anything and just stared at his best friend's mesmerizing eyes.
"Don't look at me like that, Jimmy, I know that I am one of those people that you love. And if you think that I'll leave you alone, you are an idiot."
He chuckled at House's words weakly. Suddenly, the silence grew between them when they stopped talking and gazed into each other's eyes. Wilson stepped closer to House as he placed his right hand on his other shoulder and pulled his embrace into a hug. Wilson nuzzled his nose into House's soft neck. He smelled just like his cologne and aftershave since he loved using his roommate's personal belongings all the time. He felt House's stubble burning his skin when he moved his head to place it into his warm neck. It was a nice couple of minutes that felt like hours for both of them. "I love you."
House pulled away. "You're drunk. Also, you told me that you hate me just half an hour ago, you whore. At least buy me a drink."
"Greg..."
"Yeah?"
"Do you love me?"
House moved his lips like he was going to say something and immediately closed them into a thin line. Wilson's doe eyes were sparkling with hope of his best friend confessing to him that he loves him. He knew House was never open about his feelings and would never confess it even if he loved him. He knew it even when he was drunk as hell. He waited a solid minute for him to answer. Like he expected, he didn't respond to his question. Instead, Wilson held onto him and rested his head on his shoulder sleepily.
"Goddammit, you're gonna drool all over my favorite shirt." He whispered. Wilson felt his warm breath on his cheek, his voice vibrating through his neck and chest. He rested his hand on his heart. House's heart was beating like a racehorse's hoofs clacking against the soft and dry dirt. Instead of pushing him away, he placed his hands right above his hips. He brought his lips on his ears. "C'mon, let's get you to the bed before you fall asleep on a cripple." His breath tickled Wilson's ear soothingly.
"'ere are you gonn' sleep, House?"
"My bed of course, as long as you don't hog the sheets I won't make you sleep on the couch."
"I won't."
House leads him to his bedroom. His leg was preventing him to stop Wilson from falling to the ground. They both limped to his bed. Wilson tried to climb on the bed. And then he felt a hand on his neck, pulling him like he was a newborn kitten.
"Change your clothes. I'm not gonna let you sleep here in your dirty dresses."
"Hrnnn..." Wilson replied. He had no energy to even unbutton his shirt. "Fine, I'll strip you myself."
Wilson brought his head once again on his shoulder while House unbuttoned him. He started playing with his collar when he stripped him of his pants.
"Sit. I'll give you some clothes." He didn't even bother to look at his clothes. He picked a band t-shirt and sweatpants.
"Raise your arms."
Wilson obeys whatever House says. He lets him put the shirt on and doesn't lower his arms until House gestures him to do so. Then he moves his legs to wear the sweatpants. The fabric feels cold on his burning skin. He gets help from House by holding onto his shoulders firmly. "You still didn't answer my question."
"You're not thinking right, Wilson."
"Nuh uh, I am." He let go of House's shoulders. With the sudden realization of his dizziness, he fell on the mattress. He didn't even bother to get up. House tried to move him to the left side of his bed. He was struggling to push him.
"You weigh like 200 kilograms, fucks sake. Just move yourself to your side." He sighed loudly. "You can't make a crippled guy sleep in this position, Wilson. What happened to your sense of ethics."
Wilson let out a very annoyed groan and did as he said. His shirt slid to his chest when he moved himself and left his back and belly naked. House threw himself on the covers after him. He couldn't help but watch his breathing pattern change as he slowly shifts into REM sleep. He used to do this since they'd started to share rooms so he knew exactly which breathing pattern belonged to his deep sleep. He waited for that in the dark, watching him shifting under the covers and wrapping himself tightly with the soft blanket. He really was touch-starved. Since his last divorce, he'd been miserable mainly because of a lack of affection. He needed someone to hold and feel in the night. He needed to share his feelings with a special person. That was why he got drunk in that pub in the first place, even though it didn't help but made it even worse.
House thought of every single divorce and breakup Wilson had gone through. He tried to emphasize them, for once at least. He thought about all the nice stuff his exes said to him about Wilson, how caring and sweet he was. Yet, they've still left him, with nothing but a broken heart. It was pathetic. He understood why he got drunk this much and why he needed his best friend at this very moment of his life. He desperately needed House now, and House tried his best not to open up about his feelings.
House always knew. He was always aware that he was in love with him. He never wanted to even admit that he was capable of loving people. It was pathetic to want Wilson in his bed, it was even more pathetic that this didn't mean that he wanted sex, but cuddles. Before the infraction, they used to fall asleep on the couch at House's apartment, watching House's soap operas, sleeping in the most bizarre and uncomfortable positions ever. Yet, they still loved sleeping heavily on top of each other with the sounds of subtle sizzles coming from the pipes and conversations running on the TV. They found comfort in each other's presence. House missed their late-night couch cuddles a thousand times more than he admits. When the conversation comes up to this matter, House always blames his longing for those to the infraction. He always told Wilson he missed the perfectly functioning leg, not the cuddles.
These thoughts kept House busy whilst he waited for Wilson to fall into deep sleep. He was sleeping sideways, his back facing House. House wanted to wrap his arms tightly around him as he slept peacefully. He heard the subtle change in this breathing... He was finally unconscious enough to cuddle him without him waking up. He went under the covers and shifted to get close to his body. His back was still bare, so he slid his shirt slowly. Then he finally touched his hip. He shifted closer and closer until his chest was completely pressing against his warm body. He waited a little bit for Wilson to show any signs of being awake before he placed his nose and lips in the crook of his neck. He was sleeping like a bear in it's winter sleep.
Not so long after cuddling, he fell asleep. They slept until the 6 am alarm of Wilson rang. House tried to ignore it by pressing his head harder into his neck. Wilson loudly groaned and reached to the nightstand to turn it off. He tried to get up but House wasn't willing to let him go.
"House?"
He didn't move. "House!" Still no answer. But he held him even tighter so he won't go. "If you don't let me go, I'm gonna call the police and tell them you're strangling me." He didn't loosen his embrace, but he moved his hands up to his shoulders and then to his chin. He caressed his cheeks when he slowly left soft kisses all over his neck and shoulder. Wilson didn't move. He didn't show any signs of discomfort, so he kept doing it.
"We're getting late for work, House, let me go!" He started giggling as he kept leaving small pecks on his skin. He made a huge effort to move himself backward so that he could face House. He kept his lips on his neck even when he was moving. Wilson was still giggling like a schoolgirl. He pressed his lips on the older man's silver hair, took a huge breath, and inhaled his scent. It was the most comforting morning he'd ever had since... well, forever. He didn't want to leave the bed even if it was to fire him from PPTH.
House moved his head from Wilson's neck. He gazed upon his eyes for a while and then moved his attention to his lips. They were distracting him when they were at work the whole time. He was finally this close to them. Wilson realized he was staring so he licked his lips under his sight, to show him what he wanted. Their noses were touching each other. Without a single thought in his head, House leaned in.
Wilson held his breath when House collided their lips together. It was soft and affectionate. Their morning breaths weren't exactly pleasant but they let their mouths open to taste the sweetness of each other's mouths. Wilson started kissing back and stroked the nape of House's neck softly. Their lips broke the contact with a smooch sound. Wilson opened his eyelids a little to stare at House. His hair was all messy. With the hand that's been on his nape, Wilson combed his hair. He looked beautiful in the mornings. House didn't flinch from his touch and leaned in again for a longer kiss. This time, he was kissing him harder, more passionate than before. He let his tongue slip into Wilson's mouth and just went on with it. He was holding onto House harshly. He was pulling his short hair with his hand roughly. On the other hand, House was being softer to Wilson. He was holding his jaw and stroking his cheek with his thumb, playing with the long strands on the side of his head.
Wilson pushed house away from him with the hand in his hair. They were both panting like two teenagers making out for the first time in their lives. House was still caressing his cheek. "Whyyyyy" House complained when Wilson got up from his bed.
"I need a shower, and you need to brush your teeth. Your morning breath is truly terrible, House."
"Alright, mom. Whatever. Your's is worse than mine."
"Yeah, I've been the one who's been licking into his best friend's mouth hungrily."
"Hey, Jimmy,"
"Yeah?"
"If you tell anybody about this, you're in trouble. I'll kill you."
"Oh, come on, like your team doesn't know how sensitive and needy you are with me."
"Shut up." He tried to hide his grin.
Wilson walked away from the bed. "And by the way, thanks for taking care of me last night, that was very nice of you."
"It wasn't being nice, you were pathetic without me."
Wilson grabbed a towel. Before he stepped in, he heard House yelling. "I do."
"You do what?"
"That was my answer to your question from last night."
Wilson felt the blood rushing up to his face, making it hot and red like a ripe tomato. "Yeah, I love you too House. Thanks." He closed the door behind him.
"JUST LIKE I SAID IF ANYONE KNOWS ABOUT THIS..." the door slammed loudly.