House

[london_spy]

Danny had spent part of the morning with John, then most of his day in class. When he finally got out the first thing he did was text Greg. He'd reached out to him the night before, but the other man had sounded stressed and busy. Danny hadn't wanted to pester him. They'd been through a lot in that place, and Danny knew Greg had to be worried about James.

Just got out of class. You free tonight? I'd like to see you.

He paused a beat, then sent another text.

I've missed you.

Comments

[london_spy]

Danny glanced over, watching Greg a beat before returning his gaze to his phone.

"Don't expect you to say it back. It is what it is," Danny said softly.

[drfeelbad]

"I just wanted you to know that I don't take it lightly," House said. Even if a consequence of that was that he was even more sure he'd end up hurting him.

[london_spy]

"I know," Danny assured him softly. "I know that you don't. ...Like I said, it is what it is, and I'm alright with it."

[drfeelbad]

House nodded, and had the good sense not to say anything else about it. In fact, he found... he didn't know what else to say at all.

[london_spy]

Danny put the order in, deciding to let the conversation go.

"What do you feel like watching tonight? Film, maybe? I think I'm over all these 'Real' Housewives," he admitted.

[drfeelbad]

"Movie's good. You pick," House said. He knew odds were he wouldn't make it to the end anyway.

[london_spy]

Danny flicked through the films on offer, eventually settling on something French with a pretty man in it. Danny had simple tastes really when it came to entertainment. He liked a bit of titillation and some drama.

[drfeelbad]

A pretty man and an extremely attractive woman, to boot. The combination of this, and House's appreciation for it, suddenly made House realize something about Danny that he didn't know.

"Are you exclusively gay?" he suddenly asked Danny.

[london_spy]

"I am," Danny replied, nodding a little. "...Is that alright?"

[drfeelbad]

House shrugged. "Not at all. I was only curious... getting to know you." He paused. "And I assume it's not a problem that I'm not."

[london_spy]

"It doesn't bother me," Danny assured him. "I think as long as we're open and honest with one another, our sexual preferences aren't an issue."

[drfeelbad]

"Good," said House, and squeezed his arm. "I always got the impression that Fin was kind of worried I'd leave him for a woman. Though I get that. He was the first man I ever had a real relationship with."

[london_spy]

"...He was?" Danny asked, looking a bit uneasy. He didn't like the idea that Fin had been Greg's first anything.

[drfeelbad]

It was complicated, of course, because of the two versions of Fin. But that wasn't something to explain.

"I hooked up with a couple of guys in college," House said. "And there was, ah, a trans woman prostitute I was awfully fond of. But Fin was the first man I was ever in any kind of relationship with.

He'd almost said 'first man I had feelings for' but... that wasn't true. When he'd finally let himself admit it, he knew he'd had feelings for Wilson for years.

[london_spy]

"You don't have to explain, I was just surprised is all," Danny assured him.

[drfeelbad]

"I guess that's something you should know," House said after a moment, "that I don't have that much experience with dating men, all considered."

[london_spy]

"Neither do I, really. Fucking, sure, but dating less so. I've had boyfriends, but not as many as you might assume," Danny admitted.

[drfeelbad]

House really wanted to tell Danny that Fin had been a virgin when House met him, just to see the look on his face. But he wasn't actually that much of a dick.

"I suppose none of it matters, really, anyway," House said. "The past."

[london_spy]

"It matters," Danny assured him. "We carry it. It's always with us."

[drfeelbad]

"Well the good news is..." House said with a quirked smile, "I don't have any ex-wives."

[london_spy]

Danny laughed brightly, shaking his head. "A bit of a relief, if I'm honest."

[drfeelbad]

"James has three," House said with a snort.

[london_spy]

"...Really?" Danny asked, surprised. "Does that bother you?"

[drfeelbad]

"It bothered me when he was going through them," House said. "He was always a mess. Usually because it was his fault."

[london_spy]

"...Do they know he's sick?" Danny asked softly.