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….where did he go wrong?
The sound of steady rain cascading down the concrete walls had been ringing like a metronome in his head, clashing with the heightened tempo of his heartbeat. He had been tied to a chair in an unfamiliar room under an even more unfamiliar circumstance. How had he gotten here, how long had it been? He swallowed dryly, thirst gripping him like water teetering at its boiling point. He shifted in the chair, testing the rope grinding against his skin. It seldom budged, clearly tied by skillful hands. Walter sighed, sinking into the cold plastic chair.
The last thing Walter remembered was...being in the library of his old high school. He was with some bratty kid who had been forced into tutoring. Slowly, the memories became clearer. Jesse, the bratty kid he had the misfortune of meeting last week, was taking the SAT next month, and after bombing the PSAT, his english teacher had forced him into taking tutoring. Walter, being the covert man he is, had been utilizing the abandoned chemistry lab in the high school as a location to store some of his...goods. For some reason, the high school didn’t even teach chemistry, but Walter wasn’t about to question the opportunity. Made things easier, after all. However, he needed a good reason to be in the high school, so he applied and was accepted into a temporary tutoring position for the high school. Easy excuse, none of the kids knew jack shit about ionic bonds or Lewis structures and needed someone semi-competent to handle it. Walter was living the dream.
Jesse was definitely rough around the edges and had been a major pain in his ass the first time Walter met him. However, the kid was awfully eager to listen to Walter ramble about chemistry when Jesse begged to hear about anything other than dangling modifiers and trigonometry. Gradually, Walter found himself tolerating his company, at least enough to not groan internally every time he looked at a calendar.
Tutoring must have been no longer than thirty minutes, since the school was still bustling with life when Jesse had excused himself and left Walter to his own devices. He remembered being approached by a man around his age...his memory was fuzzy after that. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine the man. Tall, lanky, calculating blue eyes, a look of certainty with a slight limp in his step as he came to his seat, placing a large hand on his shoulder.
“Finally woke up.” A masculine voice called out, snapping Walter out of his thoughts. The door had been swung open, Walter’s eyes locking with the man from his memories. What the hell was he doing here? Walter scowled, wanting nothing more than to snap the confining rope and bash the chair into the man’s last good leg.
“And who the hell are you.” Walter demanded, but his voice was level, not letting on to his discomfort and the inkling of fear that came with his youth.
The older man chuckled, a dirty smirk curling onto his lips. “You’re stupider than I thought if you think you’d get an answer so easily.” he responded, using his cane to shut the door behind him, not wasting a second to even turn away from Walter as he approached.
Walter felt bile sting the back of his throat as the door clicked shut. House looked akin to a snake with the way he seemed to confidently corner him, eyes pinning him in a position where he couldn’t bear to look away. He was peering down at him now, no more than a foot away.
“You look cuter up close.” the man murmured as he picked up his cane. He shifted slightly, placing a hand against the wall behind Walter as he let the butt of the cane rest under Walter’s chin. “Though you don’t look 23.”
Walter felt his heart flutter with anticipation. “You don’t even know who you’re talking to.” He bit out.
He let the cane dig into Walter’s jaw. “Oh, no, I believe I do. You’re Walter White, a junior at the University of New Mexico, member of the American Chemists’ society. You’re currently tutoring high school students aiming to pass their SATs.” The man droned on. “Oh, and you have a tendency to be cruel to others and become senselessly attracted to older men. I’m sure that means nothing when it comes to your home life, though.” He leaned in. “Unless you have something to argue?”
Walter’s eyes widened slightly. Oh, this man had thoroughly pissed him off. “If you know so fucking much about me, care to elaborate on who you even are now?”
The man tilted his head. “Well when you look at me like that, who am I to deny you? My name is House, but you can call me Dr. House or simply Doctor, or…” Dr. House let his eyes roam down the man’s tense form. ‘You can call me sir, if you’re feeling bold.” He nudged Walter’s head to the side.
“I’m not picky.”
A chill ran down Walter’s spine. He took a slow breath, fighting the pressure of the obnoxious cane. “Dr. House? So you’re not some homeless scumbag kidnapping men from high schools and tying them up?”
Dr. House put a hand to his chest. “Excuse me, you’re say that like I’m some kind of a creep. Unlike other doctors, I don’t have any interest towards kids, Mr. White. Also, I’m anything but homeless, if that makes you feel any more secure beneath me.” He smiled coldly.
Walter felt the hint of a blush creep onto his cheeks, which House instantly caught. “Ah, the sweet simplicity of a man pursuing a tough career, swayed by even the most simple of compliments, desperate for that attention from someone who has it all figured out.” Dr. House mused, finally lowering his cane and taking a step back.
“Now, you must be wondering why you’re tied to a chair when you were just in the library not too long ago. Unfortunately, I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you the truth, so let’s just say you have been causing a bit of trouble for me, and I would like an explanation.” Dr. House explained. “Consider your predicament a light punishment for your crimes.”
Walter felt tension seep into his body at the nonchalant statement. How the hell could he know about the chemistry lab? “You must be mistaking me for some high school student if you think I’ve done anything. I’m just a temporary tutor.” He lied.
“Don’t lie to me, Mr. White.” he warned. “You know better than to test a threat that’s right in front you. You get one more chance to explain yourself. I don’t want any secrets from you.”
He could only smirk. “If you’re threatening me, you are pretty shit at it.”
The older man laughed, “I knew your were gonna say that.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a photo. Now, unless you’re trying to get a head start on owning the neighbors at having the sickest house on Halloween, I can’t help but think that this is more than a silly escapade”
He held the photo out for Walter to see. Shit. “Where the hell did you-?”
“Woah! I’m just the messenger, okay? You can’t shoot me anyways, that will definitely get you to lose your scholarship. Killing a doctor is highly unethical, baby.” House protested.
Walter sighed. “Just tell me what you want.”
“Your hand in marriage, your devoted attention, a kiss, all three….” House suggested. “Seriously, you don’t have to act dense, Mr. White.”
“Did you sample it, or are you just insane!?” Walter shouted in disbelief.
“Eh, bit of both, depends on who you ask.” Dr. House shrugged. “A kiss will do, though. One kiss and you’re scott free, Mr. White. I won’t snitch.”
“Are you fucking with me?”
“Surprisingly, no.”
Walter was thoroughly dumbfounded. “How can I even trust you? You’re aren’t even a doctor, are you?”
Dr. House pulled out his wallet, “Doctor and high school professor, honey. I’m a lot of bad things, but to you, I’m not gonna lie. Wouldn’t be a good man if I did. And hey, if you kiss me well, I might just explain myself.”
This is the moment Walter White went wrong. Where the walls he had painstakingly built had begun to crumble. When attraction turned into affection, and when a man felt more than the highs of his unethical life.
“okay, then.” Walter muttered.
House smugly grinned, leaning in like a kid that was going to learn a secret they shouldn’t know. Walter shifted in his chair, leaning slightly as he inched closer to House’s face. The air felt
heavy, but Walter couldn’t understand why. Was it House’s face? His face? He closed his eyes, pressing his lips to rough skin. He opened his eyes, a bit confused by the roughness.
His eyes met stubble. He looked up slightly, catching the eyes that were observing him from the side. Walter flushed. This man….. “you…” he mumbled, unable to stop his racing, frantic heart.
House laughed. “Wow, you really went for it? Either my intuition was right or you don’t think very hard in these situations.”
“You bitch.” Walter mumbled as House stepped to his side, kneeling uncomfortably as he untied the ropes.
“Get that a lot, baby, you can be more creative with it.” He said as the ropes fell from Walter’s wrists.
Walter stretched his arms, a soreness spreading through them after the having been in such a constrained position. As soon as he felt relieved, he whirled around and kicked the kneeling house in his good leg. House groaned.
House laughed. “Fuckin hell babe, way to kick a man who’s on his knees for you. Also, you didn’t think you could get out on your own did you?”
Walter blinked. “When the hell would you have locked-”
“When I closed it, duh.” House interrupted. “Now come on, let us talk properly for a bit, okay? I promise no more non-consensual kidnapping.” He said with a false pleading in his tone.
Walter sighed. Fuck it. He held out a hand to House. “I’ll take your cane and use it for firewood if you’re lying.”
House smiled, taking his hand. “So not for the meth lab? I’m almost disappointed?”
He didn’t let go of Walter’s hand as he guided them out of the building, which turned out to be an abandoned Chase Bank. When he had asked Dr. House why he picked the place, he said it was “a joke that required too much context for one night” and House “didn’t want to talk about other men.” The rain had still been heavy even as they left the building. Walter groaned, bracing himself as he charged ahead. Though he stepped out from the overhead structure of the Chase Bank, no rain fell on him, despite the droplets filling his vision.
“Seriously, have a little more faith in me, Walter…” Dr. House said gently, stepping closer to him as the umbrella cast a delicate shadow over them. “Let me lead, okay?”
Walter felt his heart melt at the gentle tone, but he couldn’t let himself fall yet. Not yet.
“Fine, but don’t fuck this up.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”