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instant karma's gonna get you (part 5)
Title: instant karma's gonna get you (part 5)
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
phinnia
Pairing: House/Thirteen; Wilson/Volakis (ctb); House/Wilson friendship
Spoilers: 4-12 "Don't Ever Change."
Rating: PG still
Disclaimer: Not mine. Still broke. Don't sue.
Notes: A piece of paper haunts the ride back to House's apartment, certain diagnoses are indicated, and someone's been peeing with another man.
(The band, the album title, and the song referenced in this are all real.)
(I feel like I should apologise for this taking so long. so, so used to one-shots. I hope the pacing isn't ridiculous. I'll stop apologising for nothing now. wtf, brain you make no freaking sense)
She had taken one of his origami napkin flowers from the table and twisted around her wrist, catching it in a soft ponytail elastic to secure it. He noticed that when she went to put on her driving gloves, and it caught in the back of his mind and tugged at it, not making sense combined with the rest of the meal.
He gathered from her demeanor that she was a careful driver, but not necessarily sedate: there were the gloves, which spoke of a certain something, and the car itself was cared for well. The leather upholstery was well-loved but scrupulously clean, and gleams of wax shone from gaps in the snow that had gathered on the hood during their meal.
She was talking. "You live over on Baker, right?"
"Yep." He nodded, still studying her with sidelong glances.
She did look good, Wilson had been right about that. Pinstriped slacks, a vest, black long-sleeved shirt that had had a soft sheen to it in the dim lights of the restaurant. Low-heeled boots. Hair in a twist. Nice.
He shifted in his seat, palmed another Vicodin even though he'd taken one shortly after the meal. He hated small talk. But the silence was stifling.
"Was that Slow, Deep and Hard you were playing in your office today?"
She kept surprising him, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of that. "Yeah, Type O Negative. You've heard of them?"
She nodded. Her eyes were still focused on the road, and he had been right about the driving; she handled the car confidently in the light traffic, even though the roads were wet and sloppy. "Grew up in a body shop. My father's assistants played some of everything, but they really liked metal. I guess it was easier to hear over the noise." That little smile was back, touching the corners of her lips. "A little Jackhammer Rape fixes pretty much any bad mood. And now I regret not saying that in the restaurant, because Amber would have looked great with red wine coming out of her nose and all over that spotless white jacket, you think?"
He laughed then, a real, genuine laugh, and some of the tension he'd been feeling (since oh ... about eleven that morning when he'd found out about this travesty) eased. "God, Wilson would have had a fit."
"Have to save it for next time."
"Seriously? Were we on the same date? Or did you go through some gap in the space-time continuum where that wasn't the world's most awkward dinner?"
"Eh, it was a setup. They're always awkward."
"You knew?"
"Of course I knew, I was there when Kutner drew the names, and Dr. Wilson looked way too proud of himself to not have had some hand in it. I also knew it wasn't your idea to send those flowers, but I didn't figure you wanted me to tell Amber and Cameron that - and I didn't either, really, they can both be pretty catty." The smile twisted a bit. "The look on Cameron's face was hysterical. I think she and Chase are fighting again. She was really nasty when she told me about the corsage. Made a point of mentioning they were orchids."
"Seems your jealousy diagnosis is indicated."
"Yep."
"How do you know about Cameron being catty? She doesn't usually slip."
"Ladies' room gossip. You and Dr. Wilson aren't the only ones who talk and pee at the same time."
"How -"
"Bathrooms use the same ductwork." She smiled at him directly then, turning away from the road a moment and raising her delicate eyebrows. Her face looked almost sculpted in the half-light. "That was the other reason I knew it was a setup. I heard Dr. Wilson gloating to Dr. Chase. So I was kind of expecting it to be awkward. Maybe the next date won't be."
"Jimmy's been peeing with another man, the bastard."
She chuckled and turned into the small driveway, nudging her car next to the bike and then shutting off the engine.
The silence was back, thicker than ever without the running undercurrent of engine sounds.
He heard a voice that sounded familiar, and it took him a second to realize that it was, in fact, his own. "You want to come in for a drink?"
Thirteen nodded. "Sure."
(to be continued)
Author:
phinniaPairing: House/Thirteen; Wilson/Volakis (ctb); House/Wilson friendship
Spoilers: 4-12 "Don't Ever Change."
Rating: PG still
Disclaimer: Not mine. Still broke. Don't sue.
Notes: A piece of paper haunts the ride back to House's apartment, certain diagnoses are indicated, and someone's been peeing with another man.
(The band, the album title, and the song referenced in this are all real.)
(I feel like I should apologise for this taking so long. so, so used to one-shots. I hope the pacing isn't ridiculous. I'll stop apologising for nothing now. wtf, brain you make no freaking sense)
She had taken one of his origami napkin flowers from the table and twisted around her wrist, catching it in a soft ponytail elastic to secure it. He noticed that when she went to put on her driving gloves, and it caught in the back of his mind and tugged at it, not making sense combined with the rest of the meal.
He gathered from her demeanor that she was a careful driver, but not necessarily sedate: there were the gloves, which spoke of a certain something, and the car itself was cared for well. The leather upholstery was well-loved but scrupulously clean, and gleams of wax shone from gaps in the snow that had gathered on the hood during their meal.
She was talking. "You live over on Baker, right?"
"Yep." He nodded, still studying her with sidelong glances.
She did look good, Wilson had been right about that. Pinstriped slacks, a vest, black long-sleeved shirt that had had a soft sheen to it in the dim lights of the restaurant. Low-heeled boots. Hair in a twist. Nice.
He shifted in his seat, palmed another Vicodin even though he'd taken one shortly after the meal. He hated small talk. But the silence was stifling.
"Was that Slow, Deep and Hard you were playing in your office today?"
She kept surprising him, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of that. "Yeah, Type O Negative. You've heard of them?"
She nodded. Her eyes were still focused on the road, and he had been right about the driving; she handled the car confidently in the light traffic, even though the roads were wet and sloppy. "Grew up in a body shop. My father's assistants played some of everything, but they really liked metal. I guess it was easier to hear over the noise." That little smile was back, touching the corners of her lips. "A little Jackhammer Rape fixes pretty much any bad mood. And now I regret not saying that in the restaurant, because Amber would have looked great with red wine coming out of her nose and all over that spotless white jacket, you think?"
He laughed then, a real, genuine laugh, and some of the tension he'd been feeling (since oh ... about eleven that morning when he'd found out about this travesty) eased. "God, Wilson would have had a fit."
"Have to save it for next time."
"Seriously? Were we on the same date? Or did you go through some gap in the space-time continuum where that wasn't the world's most awkward dinner?"
"Eh, it was a setup. They're always awkward."
"You knew?"
"Of course I knew, I was there when Kutner drew the names, and Dr. Wilson looked way too proud of himself to not have had some hand in it. I also knew it wasn't your idea to send those flowers, but I didn't figure you wanted me to tell Amber and Cameron that - and I didn't either, really, they can both be pretty catty." The smile twisted a bit. "The look on Cameron's face was hysterical. I think she and Chase are fighting again. She was really nasty when she told me about the corsage. Made a point of mentioning they were orchids."
"Seems your jealousy diagnosis is indicated."
"Yep."
"How do you know about Cameron being catty? She doesn't usually slip."
"Ladies' room gossip. You and Dr. Wilson aren't the only ones who talk and pee at the same time."
"How -"
"Bathrooms use the same ductwork." She smiled at him directly then, turning away from the road a moment and raising her delicate eyebrows. Her face looked almost sculpted in the half-light. "That was the other reason I knew it was a setup. I heard Dr. Wilson gloating to Dr. Chase. So I was kind of expecting it to be awkward. Maybe the next date won't be."
"Jimmy's been peeing with another man, the bastard."
She chuckled and turned into the small driveway, nudging her car next to the bike and then shutting off the engine.
The silence was back, thicker than ever without the running undercurrent of engine sounds.
He heard a voice that sounded familiar, and it took him a second to realize that it was, in fact, his own. "You want to come in for a drink?"
Thirteen nodded. "Sure."
(to be continued)