House

[london_spy]

After getting Fin home, Danny had done the same for himself, getting his homework done at last before calling it a night. House's text was what woke him mid-day. ...Apparently he was getting that lunch after all.

Car still in the shop, Danny took the tube into the city proper, meeting Greg in a diner he'd never been to before.

He spotted House in a booth and went to join him, dumping his bag on the seat beside him as he slid into the booth.

"Rough night?" he quipped.

Comments

[drfeelbad]

House was thinking the same thing.

He took off, enjoying the wind (not too cold today), the sunshine (in London!), and Danny's arms around his waist.

About a mile outside the city, he turned into a parking lot, and climbed off. They actually weren't near a stable, just a nice building that looked like a bar. "I thought you might prefer off-track betting where we don't have to look the horses in their kind faces."

[london_spy]

"Won't stop me thinking about my friend's furry porn though," Danny joked, flashing a teasing smile and pulling off the helmet. His hair was a mess, and he took a moment to try and fix it- Though that only left it looking wilder.

[drfeelbad]

"Should I give you a minute alone?" House asked, and took the helmet from him.

[london_spy]

"Depends how well you can whinny," Danny replied, letting Greg take the helmet and then following him into the building.

[drfeelbad]

House walked in and up to a table that had a good view of a large television showing the races. "Sit," he said. "I'll get us a couple of drinks."

[london_spy]

Danny sank down into the chair, tossing his backpack onto the seat next to him and looking up at the TV, eyes skimming over the numbers. He wasn't good at statistics, it was all over his head to be honest. Maths weren't his strong suit.

[drfeelbad]

House returned a moment later with two beers in bottles, and sat down beside Danny so that he could see the screen, and passed one to him.

"See anything interesting?" he asked.

[london_spy]

"The jockey in green doesn't like the one in red," Danny supplied unhelpfully, taking the bottle with a nod of thanks.

[drfeelbad]

House watched for a minute and nodded. The one in green came on then to give a short interview, and House tilted his head as he watched them. He was paying a lot more attention to the jockeys than he had been to the horses.

Then he said to Danny, "Go get two hundred in cash, then go to the counter and tell them to put it on the 3 horse, Seminole Uprising to win."

[london_spy]

"Two-hundred? Are you mental?" Danny asked, brows lifting. He had money now, but he wasn't used to being frivolous with it.

[drfeelbad]

"Oh, relax," said House. "If you lose I'll pay you back."

[london_spy]

Danny still looked unsure, but eventually went and did as House said, returning a while later with a slip of paper he handed Greg.

"Why that one then?" He asked.

[drfeelbad]

I don’t bet on the horses, I bet on the jocks," said House. "That rider’s bulimic; purges after his weigh-ins; leaves a two pound pile at the starting gate, shaves valuable time off that final eighth." Pause. "And the extra motivation of hating the guy who just came in first in the last race doesn't hurt either."

[london_spy]

"You're full of shit," Danny laughed. "Come off it, how'd you suss all of that out? You can't tell someone's bulimic by looking at them."

[drfeelbad]

"You a doctor?" House asked. And then added, "Shhhh," as the race started and he stared at the TV.

[london_spy]

Danny just smiled and knocked back his beer.

[drfeelbad]

House watched the race... and then grinned when the horse he'd picked one by a nose.

He looked at the odds printed on the slip Danny had brought back. "You just won six hundred dollars," he said.

[london_spy]

Danny looked at the slip, then at House. "You won," he pointed out, offering him the slip.

[drfeelbad]

"We could share it," House said. "Imagine all the trouble we could get into with six hundred dollars."

[london_spy]

"Oh? And what sort of trouble do you like, Greg?" Danny asked, a tad more seductive than he possibly meant it to sound.

[drfeelbad]

"The kind that costs a lot of money? Strippers and cocaine," House said.

[london_spy]

"Or, we take this, and go to Blackpool," Danny suggested.

[drfeelbad]

"Ah, you like cards better than horses?" House said.

[london_spy]

"I like the slots," Danny admitted with a smile, not ashamed that he wasn't keen on the more skill based games. "...And crane machines. Love a crane machine."

[drfeelbad]

"Crane machines are the worst odds in the place," House said. "Though they are a feat of dark pattern engineering. But... sure. Let's go to Blackpool."