House

[london_spy]

The trip took much longer than he'd hoped, and he'd been right in assuming he'd wind up taking a ship back. That would have been fine, except the damn thing had sunk  miles out from the shore, forcing him and the other passengers to struggle to shore on planks and leaky lifeboats.

He'd done it though, all without losing a single item from House's order.

He was feeling victorious- Until only a few hours into the last leg of his trip back he'd begun coughing and his body shakey and unsteady by the time he reached Greg's door and began to knock.

Comments

[london_spy]

"What makes you think any of this is about want? I want to have a normal life. I want to be happy, and safe," Danny snapped. "That's not in the cards though, so it's about need. Needing food, needing transport, needing to buy fucking firewood so I don't freeze to death."

[drfeelbad]

House looked at him for a second, and then sighed. "I can't give you a life, Danny. But I can make sure you don't freeze. I'm trying to work out why you don't seem to want to take what I'm offering you. Are you afraid I want something in return?"

[london_spy]

"People always want something in return," Danny assured him, starting to cough again.

[drfeelbad]

"Well yeah, I want you to be my errand boy. That's why I'm paying you." House stood up from the table, and returned a moment later with the pipe again.

"This should help even more," he said. "Though I don't have much." It was John Constantine's mix, specially designed to open the lungs. Also a nice painkiller... and a high.

[london_spy]

Danny refused though, pushing it away.

"I'm fine. I'm- I should go, I shouldn't have stayed last night."

At first it had seemed like House had wanted him around, now he felt like things were getting weird. Like he'd done something he shouldn't by turning up sick.

[drfeelbad]

House ran his fingers through his hair, agitated. He was used to people being prickly around him but he had no idea what he'd done this time. "What the hell have I done? I'm trying to help you!"

[london_spy]

"You haven't done anything," Danny sighed, slumping in his seat.

[drfeelbad]

"I mean, look, refuse the magic lung clearing smoke if you want. Even refuse the advance if you want. But I seriously can't figure out what your problem is." House set the pipe down and sat back down.

[london_spy]

"My problems are plenty, but they've nothing to do with you," Danny sighed. "It's complicated."

[drfeelbad]

House wasn't really sure what to make of that so he finally said, "Well, the offer stands. My next shopping list is for the dryad realm. You can go whenever you want, and stay here as long as you want to before. But I'm not going to force you to stay anymore than I'm going to force you to go."

[london_spy]

Danny was silent for a long moment,Then sighed.

"Every moment I'm here I'm putting you in danger."

[drfeelbad]

Well that was not what House was expecting. "You want to elaborate on that?" he asked.

[london_spy]

"There are people, powerful people, who want something I have," Danny replied.

[drfeelbad]

House looked at him for a second and then said, "Well then you should definitely stay here. Safest place in the realm."

[london_spy]

"You'd be in danger," Danny replied. "Constantly."

[drfeelbad]

"It sounds to me like you're in danger constantly," said House. "So maybe it would be a good idea for you to crash in the best warded building in all of king's realm."

[london_spy]

"Are you sure?" Danny asked, still looking a little unsure.

[drfeelbad]

"I'm not offering to go to battle for you," House said. "But trust me, no one's getting into this house if I don't want them here. Yes, I'm sure."

[london_spy]

"...Then thank you. I'll stay," Danny said quietly.

[drfeelbad]

"Good," House said. "And now that that's settled, you want to tell me why they're after you?"

The thing was, House didn't like many people. So when he decided he liked someone it took a lot to change his mind, and it hadn't even occurred to him that Danny might tell him something he didn't want to hear.

[london_spy]

Danny was silent for a beat, then wet his lips before speaking.

"My lover was a mage. An artificer as well, like you. He developed a stone that could force people to be truthful without them knowing they were being charmed," he explained.

"He... He's dead now, but I have it. I was the only person he trusted to keep it."

[drfeelbad]

House blinked at him. Sure for a second that he was fucking with him. He'd heard rumors (which honestly he hadn't really believed), but even then they weren't widespread rumor, just passed between artificers, and there's no reason Danny would know about that unless...

"You're telling me that the veracity stone is real, and your lover created it. And you have it? Like actually have it?"

[london_spy]

Danny hesitated for a long moment, then pulled the stone out from where it rested under his nightshirt on a long cord around his neck.

[drfeelbad]

House's eyes darted to it. "Have you used it?"

He couldn't tell from here whether it was the real deal or not, but he thought he'd work up to insisting that Danny let him study it.

[london_spy]

"No, god no," Danny replied.