Story [House, M.D.] Hide-and-Seek

Title: Hide-and-Seek
Author: amidalachick
Characters: Cuddy, House, Wilson
Summary: House wins a bet.

Notes: Written last year for a gift exchange at another community. I was going through some old files, found it again, and decided to post it over here.

Thanks so much to Nat and Mira for looking it over and giving me the okay to post!

Disclaimer: House, M.D. and all things related belong to David Shore. I own nothing, make no money, and do this entirely for fun.

*****

Cuddy pushed open her office door to find House laying on the couch. He looked over when the door opened, saw it was her, and returned his attention to his video game.

"What are you doing in here?" Cuddy asked.

"I'm hiding," House said.

"I found you," Cuddy said, heading to her desk to see if House had damaged anything. "Goodbye."

"Not from you," House said. "From Wilson."

"What did you do this time?" Cuddy asked.

"I didn't do anything," House said. He finally sat up. "And a more interesting question is, why do you always assume I've done something?"

Cuddy sighed loudly. She checked her clock, then said, "I have a meeting in half an hour, and I still need to look over some papers. Find a new hiding spot, preferably in your own office."

"That's the first place he'd look," House said.

Cuddy began shuffling through her paperwork, but House didn't leave. Finally, she looked up again.

"Okay," she said, folding her hands in front of her. "Let's just get it over with. What insane request can I say no to?"

"Nothing," House said. "I just need to stay away from Wilson."

"Do your job, in your office, and don't follow him around," Cuddy said. "Or you could even spend the day in the clinic. You still owe me eight hours this week."

"This is serious," House said.

Cuddy eyed him. He did look sincere, and a little embarrassed. She sighed again.

"Fine," she said. "You have two minutes to explain."

"We made a bet last night," House said. He gripped his cane a little tighter. "I bet that he wouldn't - you know what, the details aren't important. But we got a little carried away, and I didn't expect things to go as far as they did, and now I just need some time to think."

Cuddy stared at House, her mouth slightly open. A little laugh escaped before she could stop it.

"Do you mean you two - you actually - were either one of you sober?" she finally stammered.

"We were both kind of drunk," House admitted. "Well, really drunk."

Cuddy was torn between laughter and sympathy. She glanced at the clock again, then walked over to House and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked up, his gaze lingering on her chest.

"House," Cuddy said sternly. He quickly met her eyes. "I'll let you have the rest of the day off. Just today, understand? I expect you in tomorrow morning, on time."

"Okay," House said. Slowly he stood up. "Don't tell Wilson you saw me, or talked to me."

"I think you should talk to him," Cuddy said.

"Oh, I will," House said quickly. "Thanks, Cuddy."

"You're welcome," Cuddy said, watching House walk away.

*****

House shifted in the passenger seat of the Volvo. He hoped Wilson wasn't running late today. It was cold in the car. But he passed the time by gloating over how well his plan had worked, and anticipating Wilson's reaction when he found out he'd lost, and soon enough, Wilson was opening the door, looking preoccupied.

"I win," House said.

"Oh!" Wilson shouted, startled. "You broke into my car?"

"Well, you obviously weren't going to find me," House said, smirking.

"You weren't even around today!" Wilson said. "Nobody saw you anywhere. Cuddy gave me the weirdest look when I asked, too."

"Yeah, because she thinks we fooled around last night and I was too embarrassed to see you," House said gleefully.

"House!" Wilson yelped. He glared at House. "You - you told her that?"

"Relax," House said. He rolled his eyes. "All I told her was that we had a bet. Somehow she reached the wrong conclusion, but she's my boss, so how could I argue with her?" He gave Wilson his most innocent look. "Let's talk about something more interesting, like the fact that I won."

"You cheated," Wilson said. He started the car.

"The terms were clear," House said. "If you found me, you'd win and I would buy dinner tonight. You didn't find me, therefore I won, therefore you buy dinner. I want steak and expensive wine."

"If I pretend to go along with your delusions of victory, will you shut up about it?" Wilson grumbled as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"And give up the chance to mock you for losing at hide-and-seek?" House asked. He grinned. "Never."

He knew Wilson would probably tell Cuddy that he had lied, and they would both be mad at him for a few days, but he wasn't worried. Still grinning, he settled into a more comfortable position, thoroughly enjoying his victory.

 

I can always count on you for a good, good laugh!

 

Nyota's Heart: So glad you got a laugh out of this. Thank you so much!

Mira_Jade: Well, he's technically telling the truth... I love them and their 'stupid screwed-up friendship', and I have so much fun writing them. Thank you!

Sorry it's taken me so long to respond! I really do appreciate your readership and your lovely comments. Thanks so much!