He wasn't prone to fits of jealousy. Sure, he could feel slightly… more intrigued by certain occurrences, but never jealous. At least not of whoever James Wilson was talking to or having appointments with. Greg House knew that his lover had strayed before. He had had three wives and three divorces, all for almost the same reason.

Well, wife number one and Wilson had decided they had married under wrong assumptions. Both had been young and foolish, she had seen the glamour and glitter of being a doctor’s wife, he had seen the good sex. In the end they had parted without a bad word and a little wiser. The divorce had been quick and simple, and Wilson had turned to female companionship before the ink had dried.

Wife number two had had her suspicions and he had strayed, but it hadn't been the main reason for the divorce. She hadn't been able to really keep up with the hours a doctor kept sometimes. In a way it was like wife number one, but with a little bit more edge and the fact that Wilson had turned to get his rocks off with some pretty nurses and whoever else was available.

Wife number three had strayed herself and Wilson had been too shocked to really react for a while. The last thing he had ever expected was for her to have an affair. Wilson himself had been so adamant not to have one himself, to patch up what was already beyond repair, and House had watched the breakdown of yet another marital adventure with mixed feelings.

There had been women everywhere, House knew. Women liked Wilson. They loved the handsome, boyish looks. They loved the smiles. They adored the deep brown eyes and the puppy dog expression. They really did like the money he had. And they enjoyed the sex.

House couldn't fault them for it. He liked the handsome looks, too. He loved running his hands over the smooth, warm skin, feel the hard muscle over strong bones. He loved to map each imperfection with playful fingers, hear his lover moan. He also loved the eyes. Not that he would ever tell Wilson that. The deep brown, almost black in some light, was addictive, and it was deep. Very, very deep. Liquid brown, like dark chocolate.

The sex was great and while House enjoyed it immensely, it wasn't the sole reason he and Wilson had drifted together. It had taken years, and a few buddy fucks, until what had developed had finally come together in a hot, unrivalled encounter of both men on a wide bed and with no interruption.

There had been truths and revelations, slow and one after another, and each had been a test or a reaffirmation of what they shared.

No, House couldn't really feel jealousy when it came to others looking at his lover and partner. Wilson wasn't aware of it most of the time, and he had pushed advances from nurses or other doctors away. Yes, women dug him, but there were some men, too, though they had been look-not-touch kind of guys. It was known around Princeton-Plainsboro that House was Wilson's partner, and no one wanted to get between those two. Should Wilson make the advances, sure. The other way around didn't happen.

Until Dr. Nolan Stein.

House watched as the new kid on the block homed in on Wilson like a fly on honey, buzzing around the oncologist and trying to get closer. Trying to get into the man's pants. House just stood back, silent, not ready to intervene. He wasn't that much of a possessive bastard, and Wilson was a grown man.

And he was clueless, it seemed.

Stein was from New York and had taken over for a retired colleague, getting some experience under his belt until he moved on to bigger and better things. His specialty was radiology, but he always found time to hang around Wilson.

House said nothing in those days. He didn't even mention Stein, and Wilson didn't either.

It was when he was limping across the balcony to pay his lover a visit that he found someone else was already in the oncologist's office. Stein was standing with his back to the glass door, which was partially covered by blinds.

"Why?" House could hear the radiologist ask and there was almost a whine in the kid’s voice.

Wilson's expression was calm and firm. "I appreciate the offer, Nolan, but no."

"Because of House?"

One brow twitched up.

"It's because of House," Stein went on. "Why him, James?"

"I don't have to justify anything."

"You could do so much better!"

House's brow furrowed, but he remained completely still.

"Do better?" Wilson echoed coldly. "How do you judge 'good', Nolan?"

"He's…" Stein gesticulated, "antisocial. He's a jerk! He abuses people verbally. Is this a pity fuck?"

Well, well, well. Barely there for a few months and already deep in the middle of the grapevine. House smirked darkly. He knew what people thought of him and those people liked to heap their knowledge onto the new guys.

Wilson's face grew stony. "Stein…"

"You like crippled men? You like taking care of the wounded? You want them needy? Damnit, you could do better, James! You could have everyone! Your looks, your charm…"

"Shut up," Wilson ground out. "And get out!"

"James… please, give this a chance!"

"There is nothing, Nolan! Nothing at all. You've been trying to get into my pants from day one and I told you before, I'm in a committed relationship."

"With House? Committed? Don't lie to yourself! He's a drug addict! Do you know what other say about him?"

"Yes, I am. I'm very much aware of it. I've been here for a while longer than you, Nolan. I've heard and seen it all. There are lies. A lot of lies. And there’s a lie with a little bit of truth sometimes. It doesn't matter."

"You pity him and you think you can change him!" Stein snapped.

Wilson have him a wry smile. "I've known the man for over twelve years. I've never tried to change him. I accept what he is, good and bad and jerk and all."

"Looks like you are into abuse," Stein snarled.

"Looks like you are only into the superficial," Wilson shot back. "You want me as a trophy. Liam not enough for you?"

House felt surprise run through him. Who was Liam?

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course not. Out of sight, out of mind. You enjoyed the fuck and you dumped him," Wilson said coldly. "I'm a trophy, too. No, thanks. Even if it wasn't for House I wouldn't play your bed bunny. Now get out before I kick you out!"

Nolan shot him a dark look, then turned and left. House watched as Wilson touched his forehead with careful fingers, rubbing the skin. His lover was an empath and sometimes strong emotions filtered through the shields.

House turned and quietly slipped back to his own office. There was this need to go into his lover's office and reclaim what was his, but that possessive need  -- no, he wasn't a possessive bastard, no – was quickly squelched.

Too much other stuff was going through his mind.

Like how he could get rid of Dr. Nolan Stein without blackmailing Cuddy into doing it. The man was a threat, a menace, and he was after Jimmy.

House muttered a curse.

He was a bastard. And he wanted Wilson to himself.

* * *

Dr. Robert Chase, only full employee of the Diagnostics department and ally to both House and Wilson, wasn’t blind. Keeping an eye on the two paranormals gave him a unique first peek into a lot of troubles brewing at the hospital, and sometimes he steppe din and fielded that trouble somewhere else. Mostly he let it run its course. House and Wilson didn’t need his protection 24/7, especially House, and it wasn’t an ally’s job description to pack them in cotton wool and baby them.
He was just careful. Too much had happened to all of them and Wilson was especially sensitive to some things. Up to this day Chase had no clear idea why the man’s power fluctuated and Wilson himself seemed reluctant to pursue the answer, so Chase stood back, kept an eye on him, and made mental notes.

When Stein happened to show more than a passing interest in their head of oncology, Chase felt a prickle of apprehension.

“Dr. Wilson is an attractive man,” John had told him one evening when he had mentioned Stein. “People will look.”

Pyre was right. Chase knew that, but Stein was more than a little persistent. And after Chase had heard that the new guy had already fucked and then dumped Liam Stewart, one of the male nurses in the ER, he had become doubly wired.

Stein was only there to get some experience and then move on, but Chase felt that this experience included sleeping his way through most of the interested male population of the hospital. When the guy even gave him a more than interested look here or there, all his hackles rose.

It happened to be in radiology, when Chase was waiting for the results on one of his patients, and Stein was there for… whatever. Those eyes on him had felt like hands undressing him, and Chase had felt the man’s presence like a physical force. There had been an exchange of pleasantries, Stein almost invading his personal space. Chase had fought down the urge to hit the man when Stein had clearly come on to him, suggesting they go out for a drink some time.

He had declined.

Politely.

And he had nearly hit him again for being dense and still pressing forward.

“Come on,” Stein had said softly, “I know you’re interested, Robert.”

“I said no, Stein.”

There had been that mildly amused smile, then a hand on his side, and this time Chase reacted with more than words. In the end he didn’t know whether he had really wanted to kick the man in his privates or if his brain had misinterpreted ‘hit him’ with ‘kick him where it really hurts’.

Chase had simply left, steaming, clutching his results, and plotting Stein’s early demise. He had managed to cool down after a while, but House still picked up on his mood change. Thankfully he didn’t corner him that day.

John did, though.

And Chase told him what had happened.

“I told you,” his lover said softly, kissing his flushed cheeks. “He goes for the pretty ones.”

The younger man glared at him. John smiled more.

“You are, Robert.”

“Girls are pretty!” Chase snarled. “Don’t make me into a woman!”

He tried to twist out of the gentle embrace, but John was stronger and determined. He held on to him, face changing into a more serious countenance.

“You’re not,” the lawyer agreed. “I know that. You’re handsome, Robert. You are very attractive.” Hands slid around the narrow hips, pulling Chase closer. “I know it. Because I like to look at you, too. A lot.”

Lips brushed over Chase’s neck and throat and he shivered a little. John could be a force of nature. He could be seductive. He could be forceful and strong. He could be gentle and loving. He had never forced himself on Chase, had only gone as far as his lover let him, and Chase was very grateful for that. Up to today Chase still couldn’t bring himself to surrender his body completely to the man he loved. Penetration was something alien to him, something he had tried and found he didn’t like. Pyre accepted it. Their love life didn’t suffer from it and Chase had discovered that he enjoyed being inside John very much in turn.

“I’m not into women, Robert,” John continued, serious blue-gray eyes boring into Chase’s. “You know that. I never was.”

“I know,” he murmured.

Stein had rattled him. Not in a good way. And not in any way that made him unsure. It was just the nerve of the man… Chase felt himself tense and John smiled knowingly.

“Forget him. He’s an ass. I met those people every week in New York. They’re only interested in a quick fling, Robert.”

“Huh,” he grunted.

Pyre sought out his lips and slowly invaded his mouth, Chase meeting the questing tongue and giving as good as he got. They separated after a moment, Chase feeling a little flushed, and he shot the grinning man a dark look.

“What?” John asked teasingly.

“You’re an evil person, John Pyre.”

“I’m a lawyer. It’s what they teach us in our very first year.”

“Thought as much.”

And then next kiss pushed away his anger at Stein and his outrage at the man’s open come-ons. He let himself forget everything, just be there for the man he loved, running his hands all over the strong form. John made encouraging noises that spurned Chase on as he slid down the seated man and smiled knowingly. There was a tell-tale bulge and John’s half-closed eyes watching him were a silent urging on.

Chase had never been able to resist those eyes and there was always a thrill running through him when John moaned his name. Maybe he was addicted, but it was a good addiction.

Sliding his hand over the rising erection, still shielded by the material of the dark pants, he watched as those gray-blue eyes darkened. John moved into his touch, legs spreading, and Chase moved the zipper and freed his lover from the confinement, hearing a grunt of approval.

Blowjobs were no problem, had never been. Only penetration. Maybe one day, he mused as he licked over the head, suckling lightly. Maybe he could find his courage to let the man he loved so much enter him. Maybe it would be different than those two fucks before.

John urged him on, pushing a little, voice rough and low. Chase held down the other man’s hips, moving over the hardness in his mouth, tongue sliding along the length, sucking and teasing and scraping teeth over sensitive skin. John cried out at the sensation, growling as Chase briefly let him slide out of his mouth, only to swirl his tongue around the swollen head.

“God, you’re killing me!” he exclaimed.

Chase pushed his hand deeper into the pants to fondle the other’s balls as he continued his ministrations. He knew he could prolong this, draw it out until John was a whimpering mess, pleading for release, but he preferred to be in bed for that. Have him naked. Have access.

This was down and dirty and fast.

And he made sure of that, too.

When John finally came, Chase drew back and pumped him until he ran dry. Chest heaving, eyes wild, the lawyer watched his lover’s hand as it milked him.

“Damn,” John cursed.

“I take that as a compliment.”

Pyre leaned forward and Chase met him in the middle, their kiss hot and deep. The Australian felt his own erection pulse underneath his jeans and he groaned as John playfully nudged against it.

“Can I interest you in bed?” the older man asked slyly.

Chase smiled. “Oh yeah…”

* * *

"So, is this a pity fuck?" House asked lazily.

Brown eyes regarded him and blinked slowly. There was no shock, no guilt, nothing the like on Wilson's face. It was this… knowledge, a kind of realization, and James pushed himself up on one elbow. House kept caressing one smooth side.

"You heard," Wilson finally said.

"Was hard not to."

"You eavesdropped."

"I happened to be around."

Wilson looked at him, a hard to read expression on his handsome features.

"So, you pity me and we have great sex?" House teased.

"I never pitied you."

"But we have great sex."

"I guess."

"You guess?" House echoed, eyes widening. "You guess after what? Five years?"

"Twelve and a half, actually."

"I'm not counting quick fucks in the closet."

"I do."

House frowned, hand sliding up the smooth chest. "Jimmy?"

Wilson caught it, interlaced their fingers, and pushed it down as he rolled to be on top of the taller man. Their lips met and the kiss was soft and deep. When they separated, House looked into empathic eyes. He had learned to read when Wilson lowered his shields and right now they were down.

"I never pitied you, Greg," came the soft murmur.

House cupped the slightly stubbled face. His thumb brushed over one cheek, smiling.

"You into abuse then?"

"You don't abuse me."

"I'm a bastard."

"No argument from me."

And the next statement from House was swallowed by a kiss. This one was stronger, Wilson dominating it until House took control, feeling his lover's physical reaction, too. His emotions were running wild, stoked by Stein's blatant pass at the man who was his – no, not being possessive here – and his own need to have James Wilson to himself. James was the best thing that ever happened to him, though he had never admitted that to himself until maybe now. Wilson had stuck with him from day one, and that hadn't been because of the sex either. Their brief encounters hadn't been the main reason.

It had been a friendship that went deeper than most, that withstood so many bad things, so much fighting, and the infarction. That, most of all, had proven to House that this man was a true friend. And his lover.

Wilson moved against him, their erections sliding back and forth against the other, and Wilson gasped softly. House pushed up with more force and delighted in the sensation and the sounds coming from the empath. One hand strayed and he grabbed the hardness, movements hard and rough and fast. Wilson closed his eyes, head falling against his shoulder, and he whimpered a little as House squeezed.

It was over fast, which was more tell-tale than anything that all shields were down. Wilson was very receptive when it came to House and House knew he had a certain power over the other man in these situations, but he wasn't abusive.

Stein was a liar.

Stein was an ass.

Stein would get that ass kicked by more than his sneakered foot should he try something like this again.

Wilson shivered briefly and House kissed him, soothing the man.

"I can handle it," James murmured.

"Sure you can. But if he gets out of line, I'll be on him like stink on cheese," House rumbled.

That got him a little laugh and brown eyes glinted.

House fumbled for the towel and haphazardly cleaned off the mess, then pulled Wilson close. James willingly snuggled closer. He was a cuddler, and while House liked to tease him about it now and then, he enjoyed it. Like right now. Sharing body heat. Sharing skin-to-skin contact. Sharing a lot more on a different level.

Wilson snaked an arm across his waist and House smirked a little at the gesture. Lips kissed his neck gently, a tongue briefly licking over his scar, then Wilson gave a contented sigh.

* * *

Stein was suspiciously absent for the next few days. There was hardly a sign of the man and House appreciated it. He didn't know what he would have done if he had seen the man's face anywhere around his office or with Wilson.

A case distracted him from possible revenge plans. Chase was giving him strange looks, but his one and only permanent staff member kept his mouth shut. Whether he talked to Wilson or not, House didn't know. He didn't care either.

The clinic was a crowded mess over the week. People with abused muscles, with colds, with hangovers and stuff stuck in odd places. It was entertaining, but also an annoyance nine times out of ten for House. He liked his own, more quiet department. He liked kicking back, relaxing, letting the others work. He had lunches or coffee with Wilson, he bugged Cuddy, Cuddy bugged him, they traded insults, and all was well with the world.

Stein was back in their lives not much later, but he wasn't really approaching Wilson, though he looked. House couldn't say anything against looks, but he made a point to be around, to show Stein that whatever he was trying, it wouldn't work.

Wilson gave him amused smiles, shook his head, and called him childish, but House would be damned if he let that upshot from New York play him for a fool.
Chase had an almost hostile expression in his eyes, though his face looked perfectly neutral, whenever the name Stein was mentioned or the man so much as looked at him too long. House found it intriguing. He kept placing strategic remarks, but Chase wouldn’t bite. He would only look at him, sometimes he would shrug, but mostly he would either go on with what he had been talking about or leave.

Yes, very intriguing -- more so when Pyre came by one evening to pick up the other man, only to single out and talk pleasantly with Stein. House couldn’t hear what was spoken, but Stein looked suddenly very pale, then turned and left.

“Threatened him with a lawsuit?” House asked conversationally as he limped over.

Pyre smiled pleasantly. The eyes behind the glasses were hard and unyielding, though. “Something like it.”

“He touch your property?”

Another smile. “Robert is not my property, Dr. House. He is my partner. I don’t take it well when he is assaulted by a co-worker.”

House’s brows climbed. So that’s where the looks had come from. He had had his suspicions.

“Good thing Chase has his very own pitbull.”

Pyre chuckled. “And you’re what, Dr. House? Dr. Wilson’s terrier?”

House smiled darkly. “I have a mean bite.”

“I bet.”

* * *

The matter of Nolan Stein and his advances on Wilson and/or Chase tapered off into mere observation of their new radiologist for the next few weeks. House noted how Cuddy seemed to be more stressed lately, how she kept talking to various people around the hospital, and he wasn’t surprised when the head of radiology spent an entire afternoon in her office.

“He’s made to leave,” Wilson told him one evening on their way across the parking lot. “One of the nurses filed several complaints.”

“Stewart?”

Wilson nodded. “Apparently Stein gave up on me and Chase, and went for Liam again.”

“Stupid.”

“I think so too.”

“Giving up a perfectly good chase for something he had already fucked,” House added, eyes glinting a little.

Wilson just gave him an exasperated look.

Making another move on the man he had dumped had been Stein’s undoing. Liam was openly gay, didn’t lie about it when asked, and everyone in the hospital knew it. Trying to blackmail the nurse into sleeping with him again had been Stein’s last mistake.

“So… when?” House wanted to know.

“No idea. All I got from Cuddy was that the hospital who recommended him to us knew about his sexual preferences and his aggressive pursuit of it. Their recommendation was a truce between Stein and them. No mark on his record and he leaves them.”

House smiled darkly. “Oh, the medieval practices. How we love it. So… lemme guess… Cuddy does the same? She writes him a letter of recommendation and he goes off into the sunset? Stewart gets some bonus payments and everyone’s happy?”

Wilson shrugged. “Beats me.”

“Someone could leak it to his new employer,” House suggested, eyes glinting.

“Someone could,” was the vague answer.

“But no one does?”

“At least officially.”

“Ah.”

They were by now in the car and Wilson was driving. House watched the landscape fly by in the dark, pondering. He despised Stein. He disliked the man’s guts. He didn’t really hate him, but the antipathy was there. Not just because he had dared to come onto what was his. No, it was everything about the man. He had no clue how far the radiologist had gone with Chase, but there was no sympathy there either.

“Good riddance,” he murmured.

And maybe someone would leak the rumors.

* * *

Stein left two days later, his locker empty, his office space cleared, and no one cried a tear over his absence. All House could glean from Cuddy was that Liam had dropped the sexual harassment charges for a hefty payment – something House figured would happen – and Stein was told to pack his things. There were rumors about sending him off to a very cold place.

A new radiologist was to come in a month or two, a Dr. Janina Iglesias.

“You think you can resist her?” House teased when Wilson told him about the news.

“Barely,” was the dry answer.

No one knew what she would look like, but House bet she was attractive and would turn heads.

He stole some fries and washed them down with Wilson’s Coke.

“I might just give her a try, though,” the oncologist continued, frowning at his lover. “Seeing how my current partner keeps stealing my food.”

“And she won’t?”

“That needs to be tested.”

“Ah.” House grinned sweetly. “The test phase. After that it’s the marriage phase. Soon to be followed by the divorce phase.”

“We are currently approaching the last one,” Wilson added, saving his last fries from quick fingers.

“I didn’t know we were already married, Jimmy.”

It got him an eye roll and House shot him a mischievous grin. Wilson finished the fries and gave up his chocolate pudding, or what House had left of it, to his lover. It wasn’t like House wouldn’t somehow find a way to get to it anyway.

“I got us the Godzilla movie marathon box,” House said casually. “How about it? Greasy food, lots of beer and Coke, B-movies, me…”

“I might be convinced to come over,” Wilson played along.

“You live in the same damn apartment.”

“And I’ve got my own space. You get the food and beer and we have a date.”

House seemed to ponder that, then shrugged. “A small price to pay for a good fuck,” he then announced.

“When did movie dating become a fuck date?”

Those blue eyes were suddenly filled with deep, intense emotions that had Wilson swallow.

“When didn’t it?”

With that House rose and limped off back into the hospital, leaving Wilson at his table, shaking his head. There had been a time when the movie dates had been nothing but that, but for the last years the sex had been added, and it had been a really good addition. Like so many things.

Wilson took the tray back to the trolley and caught sight of House making his way through the people and into the hospital. He had clinic duty and he wasn’t happy about it, but he had bitched less than the last time. So that was an improvement. Wilson himself had an appointment with one of his patients who was on remission in half an hour.

He took the long way back to the office, enjoying the sunshine and the pleasant air.