Chase's surprise

Part Two


House inhaled deeply and then released it in a blissful sigh. He was on that perfect plane of consciousness just after semi wakefulness and before complete awareness. Awake enough to know he was no longer asleep but not enough to let the concerns of every day life infiltrate his fuzzy mind just yet. He was so warm and comfortable and unbelievably relaxed—his body loose and sluggish. Sunlight prodded at his forehead, its heat and intensity insisting he wake up and House gripped his pillow tighter, nestling deeper into its comfort to avoid the inevitable just a little longer. His pillow shifted against his face and one of its hands brushed across his cheek.
House was suddenly very awake.

His eyes snapped open to find Chase’s face about six inches from his own, fingers running across stubble covered face. House froze and seemed to develop a spontaneous case of arrhythmia. Suddenly he couldn’t breathe quite right and his skin felt too tight.
“Chase?”

Chase’s eyes flicked downward, meeting his for a moment to acknowledge he’d spoken, then returned to scrutinizing the hair growth on his face.

“What’re you doing?”

“Touching your face.”

“I see that. Why?”

“I wanted to.”

Dead silence let House know that no more information would be forthcoming and he blinked a few more times, still not positive that this wasn’t some bizarre dream. He tried to focus and fit all of this into some semblance of something that actually made sense, something he could recognize, but failed.

He was in bed with Chase.

He was draped over Chase with an arm around his waist still clutching him like a pillow, his head still resting comfortably on his shoulder. One leg was even threaded between the two of his.

Chase was in bed with him.

In bed with him and touching him as if he were some intriguing new life form he’d just discovered.

No matter how hard House tried, the pieces just wouldn’t fit.

He decided to try a second time to get a little more information from his frighteningly affectionate house guest.

“Sooo. Why exactly are you in bed with me?” he hazarded, voice pitched a little higher than normal.

“You had a dream. A nightmare. You screamed. And you were shaking. I stayed until you fell asleep again,” Chase finished, his voice as bland as if he were discussing the weather.

“Hmph”

House was used to having plenty of nightmares. But the last one he could recall had been months ago and he definitely hadn’t been screaming or shaking when he awakened. The ones he remembered only left him hollow and depressed. He tried hard to remember, wondering what he could have dreamed about that would have him screaming and actually have Chase concerned for him.

“You screamed and you knocked over your lamp,” the blond repeated, his tone tinted with something that was almost accusing.

“You were really worried about me?”

“I…Yes, I was worried”

A smile played at the corners of House’s mouth as he let that knowledge sink in. He’d known for a while now that Chase cared about him. When he’d first come to stay with him last night, the bizarre things he did, had done nothing but confuse and irritate House.

The very first thing was how he’d taken it upon himself to clean his apartment.

Thoroughly.

Obsessively.

Everything had been moved and rearranged and even the neat little pile of not-too-dirty-to-wear-again clothes he kept in the far corner on his closet floor had been removed. House couldn’t find anything for several days without a time consuming search first, and when he’d demanded to know why Chase thought he had the right to take over his house, the other had only replied, “It’s filthy.” In reality it had not been filthy, but he would allow Chase his delusions this once. Not that he wouldn’t tease him about it later.
House was quiet, heart still pumping somewhat erratically as Chase continued to touch him as if it were the very first time he’d ever touched anything. He hadn’t felt anxiety like this since the days he’d been with his ex-wife. It felt odd but not bad. All things considered, waking up warm and comfortable next to someone who actually gave a damn about him wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. There were much worse things to be greeted by in the morning.

Of course there was the possibility that he was still asleep and trapped within that dream Chase had mentioned.

Somewhere between House falling asleep and the sun rising, he had no idea that a simple touch could produce such a wide range of responses from his boss. Seemingly automatic responses. He had been doing the hair stroking and cheek stroking thing off and on for a while now and even in the oblivion of sleep, House would still sigh in gratification, even touching him subconsciously in return. There was really no logical reason why touching him in various places should soothe his mind but it had. It seemed to be something that was ingrained into the fiber of a person’s being. Even in the grumpy House, Chase noted with some satisfaction.

One of the more significant discoveries of the night was that House apparently liked being touched by him. Hadn’t pulled away from him once. Even now that he was awake. As unsure as he may have been last night, he’d gotten something right because House had settled and burrowed into him, held onto him, encouraged him to continue with small wordless actions.

Perhaps most noteworthy, Chase really enjoyed touching House. More of those feelings he couldn’t quite place washed over him when House had relaxed and fallen asleep on him, comforted and reassured by his presence. He didn’t know what to call them but he wanted to keep them a while longer.

The petting was rhythmic and relaxing and House, never one who could be called patient, soon let curiosity cancel out the anxiety. House’s fingers started to draw lines around Chase’s eyes, down his face and to the neck of the t-shirt. Chase was soft.
Chase was young but not innocent by any stretch of the imagination.

He knew what physical attraction was. He even knew about sex. Had experimented many times in his life. He practically had a parade of both boys and girls that had gone through his bedroom over the years. It was just that he’d never thought of sex and House in the same context before. But now that he had, it really didn’t seem like such a bad concept.

Sure, House was his boss but he could see himself enjoying a little romp in the sack with him. He could do this because with House it would be what it was. Sex. Pleasure. Tension relief. He could experience sex without all the unnecessary lies and pseudo-emotions and hurt that was usually integrated into it.

Not a bad concept at all.

It wasn’t love but it was probably as close as Chase was going to get with House.

But there was the matter of whether or not House liked him that way, whether or not he would mind doing that with him. The blonde had let him touch him. And House was touching him like he was enjoying it. It occurred to him to try kissing him to find out for sure but there was the possibility of rejection and that wasn’t something Chase would handle well…

When House’s hand briefly slid across Chase’s body in an effort to untangle himself from his awkward position and the increasingly awkward situation, he was instantly aware of two things: One, when his hand momentarily skimmed Chase’s right nipple, a pause interrupted the rhythm of his breaths and his eyes widened a little. And two, at some point in the last few minutes a prominent lump had begun forming against House’s thigh.

House felt heat creep up his neck again and struggled to say something. It would’ve helped if he’d had a clue what to say. And if Chase’s face hadn’t acquired such an expectant look.
“Sorry,” is what finally came out.

“……”

“I didn’t mean—”

“If I didn’t want you touching me, I wouldn’t be here. And you’re not sorry,” Chase said matter-of-factly. The stiffness that was poking into Chase’s leg told him that House was a little embarrassed, yes, but not sorry at all. Especially since he still hadn’t bothered to remove himself from their intertwined position. It put a definite end to the issue of whether or not House was attracted to him.

Getting right to the point, he grabbed House’s hand and placed his open palm on the place that had caused that pleasant tickly feeling.

“Touch me again. Here. ”

It was an order.

An implied ‘now’ at the end of that statement.

One House didn’t mind filling actually. He was attracted to Chase for many reasons; otherwise he wouldn’t have bothered antagonizing him as he did. Chase was unique and appealing in many ways. But he had only thought of Chase that way once or twice. He was positive nothing would come of it so it hadn’t even occurred to him to act on his impulses.

Chase’s eyes narrowed and drooped as the sensations grew but curiosity wouldn’t let them close. He wanted to see everything House was doing.

He would never have thought this particular part of his body to be so sensitive but it was and what House was doing to it didn’t feel bad at all and he squirmed, his back arching a little into the movements of the man’s hand. His eyes opened fully, irritated, as House stopped fondling him. House, emboldened and encouraged, yanked irritably at the obtrusive t-shirt. Chase raised his arms to assist.
House flicked his thumb over one of the now bare hardened dusk pink nipples and felt a faint tremor beneath his fingers. He continued to touch, listening and watching the reactions from Chase while trying to maintain lucid thoughts.