for House

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It takes a few days before Mac is really able to put weight on her foot again and even still, it's not a sexy heel like she prefers and a flat little flip flop instead. Still, she's happy to just be walking on it and that means she can cash in House's raincheck. She still doesn't know what his first name is, at all, and finds that she's not really bothered.

She'd found him earlier that day and asked him to meet her at The Winchester, since it was closer, and that's where she is now, nursing a drink.

Comments

[misanthrope_md]

House was taking a drink when she said that, and he coughed.

"Thank god for forward women," he muttered. And held up a hand to the bartender to signal for another drink.

House had long ago given up on things like meaningful relationships, and so he had no qualms about taking her up on her offer, as bewildering as it was.

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"I've been reminded repeatedly that I am not in a committed relationship," Mac says, shrugging. "So I don't see a point in pretending to be in jail waiting on Nikola Tesla to get his head out of his ass."

[misanthrope_md]

That was enough for another cough.

"Tesla? Really?" House made a face.

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"I never said I had the best taste in men," Mac says, shrugging. "And apparently fucking me behind his boyfriend's back is the best I'm going to get, so, here we are."

[misanthrope_md]

Okay, at that, a little smile twitched at House's face.

"Suddenly I am very torn," he said, drinking again. "Because obviously you should not be in a relationship with Tesla since then you would not be here with me. On the other hand, you have no idea how much I would like to see someone steal that kid's boyfriend. Seriously. I would pay good money for that."

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Mac laughs because it's just so damned absurd. "I feel like a complete whore, since we're being honest, but I really, really want to be the only one. Unfortunately Nikola sleeping with me doesn't seem to be a dealbreaker for the boyfriend."

She downs her drink quickly. "And there are other men who might treat me better, so. Why should I keep myself at Nikola's beck and call?"

[misanthrope_md]

House had more he could say on that subject, but he didn't really want to talk about Alcuin, because ugh.

"First of all," he said, "you are not a whore. But..." He hesitated. "If you're looking for a, uh, boyfriend..."

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"Oh is that an offer? How many women am I competing with? Am I on The Bachelor?"

Mac is teasing but there's a little truth in it - her love life has gotten impossibly tangled and she'd like something simpler.

[misanthrope_md]

House offered her a wry smile. "No, I mean, I'm a terrible boyfriend. Just awful. So I don't want to give you the impression that... and besides that, I'm in a kind of fucked up place right now." He held up his hands. "Just trying to be up front and honest."

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"I appreciate it. I'm not really looking for much more other than to have a good time and to stop pining over my ex...he's not here. We dated for two years and he was perfect and I fucked it up. I don't blame him for being an asshole to me after," Mac says, shrugging. "So I'm not over him."

[misanthrope_md]

"No one's perfect," said House. "But okay. And just so you know, there's someone I sleep with sometimes too, though that's not serious either..."

It was probably worth mentioning that that person was Alcuin's sister, just for the incestuousness of it all, but on the other hand, no.

"Sorry, I feel like we're negotiating or something. I need another drink."

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"It's not a negotiation," Mac says, laughing nervously.

"We're just being upfront so we don't have to be awkward tomorrow morning. Besides, I would rather know before I get naked because once that happens, well. Nothing to do but go on, is there?"

[misanthrope_md]

House got a sudden mental image of her naked.

"No, nothing to do but go on."

He leaned a little closer to her and brushed through her hair lightly with his fingertips.

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Mac closes her eyes. It's such a stupid thing but it reminds her of Will for a moment and she wants to be nostalgic for a moment before coming back to the real world.

"I've always really liked that, you know. Smart call."

[misanthrope_md]

A little smile pulled at House's lips. "Thanks for the feedback. Any other tips?"

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Mac takes a few moments to try and come up with a witty response before she realizes it's just not coming. She laughs softly. "Christ, I'm so terrible at flirting. I promise I'm interested. I am beyond interested. I just have trouble coming up with something clever to express that."

[misanthrope_md]

House's smile turned a little more genuine. "Let's get out of here," he said.

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It really is just across the way and Mac is grateful they don't have a long way to go before she's somewhere somewhat private. Once they're inside, she draws a little closer and leans in to kiss him.

"I still don't know your name, you know."

[misanthrope_md]

Lips still a ghost from her mouth, he said quietly, "It's Greg," and then wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her more soundly.

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"Mm, finally," Mac manages before he kisses her again. She's always been excessively fond of kissing and outside of a few memorable relationships, she doesn't get to do it nearly often enough. She always thinks highly of a man who seems to enjoy it as much as she does.

[misanthrope_md]

House does enjoy kissing, maybe because he's always tried to be better at it. And particularly since his leg, he tries to make as good of an impression as he possibly can before the clothes come off.

He's still got one hand on his cane with the other wrapped around her waist, but he pulls her even closer to him anyway.

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Mac breaks the kiss but doesn't pull that far away - just enough to catch her breath and speak.

"Oh, you're good. Very, very good."

[misanthrope_md]

House smirked again and said, "More excellent feedback." He moved his lips to her neck, and his hand on her waist slid underneath her shirt.

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"That's me, all about positive reinforcement." Mac feels his hand go up her shirt and she's more than all right with that. The only thing better would be if it were off but there's time enough for that later.

"More, deeper, harder, faster...all amazing words you'll keep hearing tonight."

[misanthrope_md]

"We might need to work on some expectation management," House said quietly as he trailed a finger across her stomach.