[for greg]

[more_flexible]

Jack had maintained being drunk from the moment he figured out he could conjure hypervodka with the same ease Wilson had wished up beer. It was well after noon on Saturday before he woke up with a hangover and burning with jealousy. Everything that Ianto and Daniel and the Doctor had said crashed down on him and they were right. Right about how he shouldn't just give up. Right that if he wanted House, he should fight for him. Right that...

Right that this was all his fault. He'd made it happen. He'd somehow caused it. And then, he'd gone and made it worse. He was at their hut before he'd even had time to rub the sleep from his eyes.

And he had no idea whathe was going to do.

Comments

[misanthrope_md]

When the island's magical effects had simply worn off, poof, like a switch being flicked, House had been awake, Wilson asleep. One moment House had been looking down at the other man, stroking his hair... and the next, skittering back in the bed, horrified.

He remembered everything. He knew what had happened, why he was naked with Wilson in their old room off of the clinic. But now what he didn't get was the why. Why? Love? What? Everything that had seemed so clear five minutes ago was now completely absurd.

And Jack... oh god, Jack - it had been days. What was he thinking? Why hadn't he come looking for him?

Careful not to wake Wilson, House had pulled on his clothes and left the room, making his way as quickly as he could back to the hut. He'd thrown open the door, only to find... no one there.

More confused than anything else, maybe a bit worried that he was losing his mind, House didn't know what to do, at least not now, in the middle of the night. So he'd simply climbed onto the bed on top of the sheets, in his clothes, and fallen asleep.

He was still asleep when Jack arrived.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

Jack stood in the doorway and breathed a sigh of relief. At least he wasn't faced with both of them. Together.

Fuck...his head hurt.

He walked in, shutting the door behind him hard enough that it banged against the frame, and headed for the stash of Tylenol. House could sleep for a while, he just wanted to...to be dead.

[misanthrope_md]

House jerked awake at the sound of the door, and scrambled up into a sitting position, squinting as his eyes adjusted. "Jack? Where the hell have you been?"

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Drunk," he rasped, swallowing three and reaching for some water that was at least three days old.

[misanthrope_md]

"Drunk," House repeated. Could that be...? God, how drunk would he have been though? "Was I... drinking? Also?"

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Nope," he said tersely. "You were in love. Told me not to wait up. I made myself scarce for you. So you could be happy."

The water tasted bad. Flat and old and warm. He took another drink and made a face.

"Happy."

[misanthrope_md]

"What? I - " House tried hard to remember, but it was all a blur. "Oh, god." His shoulders slumped. "I don't know how this happened, but - oh god, Jack, I'm so - " He couldn't even get out the apology, his head was still reeling, trying to figure out what the fuck had happened.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"It's not your fault," he said softly, unable to turn around and look at him. Of all the things he'd done, the things they'd gone through, this was by far the worst.

"It was my fault."

[misanthrope_md]

House looked up at him, face still lined with confusion. "What? Please, Jack, don't go on some thing about how you're not enough for me... I swear, I didn't know what I was doing." Still, he hadn't come right out and said it, said what he'd done. Even though Jack seemed to know.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

He rested a hand on the table and looked back over his shoulder. "It was the island, Greg. Magic. Wishes. I don't know...but I did it. I thought it for just a second. Long enough to open my beer...and it happened."

[misanthrope_md]

House's eyes widened. "You wished for me to fuck Wilson?"

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

Jack blanched and looked like he might puke. "No," he spat. "Just...I really don't want to know. All it was...he was talking about how you two had watched baseball, had take out, spent Saturday afternoons. It was just a passing thought about when you said he was..."

Jack paused. Then mumbled, "the love of your life."

[misanthrope_md]

House just stared at him.

"I... don't even remember saying that," he offered lamely, honestly not having any idea what he was supposed to say. "So this was all a trick? Like some... love spell?"

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

House might not remember, but Jack did. He remembered...well, more than he really wanted to. The most minescule details about House, he had committed to memory.

Especially things like that.

"Like that, yeah. I guess."

[misanthrope_md]

House put his face in his hands and shook his head. "I fucking hate this place." There was a moment of completely stillness, and then he jerked his arm out, violently sweeping everything off of the nightstand, a glass shattering against the wall. "Fucking hate it!"

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

He flinched at the crashing glass and the outburst.

"I'm..."

How many times had he told Greg he was sorry? There was something he hadn't bothered to remember. It was too big a number.

"...Sorry."

A lot, plus one.

[misanthrope_md]

House wasn't even paying attention to Jack. "What, is there some sort of timer? On the amount of time I'm allowed to be happy? And then something has to come along and fuck it up? Why do I bother? Why do I fucking bother? Here's Greg House, happy for once in his miserable life, happy and in love, for god's sake, and oh, right, here, let's inflict a fucking love spell on his just for shits and giggles. And you - you!" He threw a pillow at Jack, hitting his soundly on the side of the head. "Love of my life? Are you fucking kidding me? What do I have to do to convince you that I'm in love with you and not Wilson? Throw him off a cliff?"

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Oof," he exhaled, anger flaring up as he retrieved the pillow and threw it bac, harder.

"Fuck you, Greg! It was a thought. I do think, you know. One little thought at just the wrong time. It could have been anything. Christ...it could have been me fucking Wilson for three days straight, you know. It could have been anything! Like I wasn't trying not to think about what I did? What I made happen? Three fucking days of feeling like it was okay? Like I didn't mind a bit?"

He was on the edge of hysteria, his voice rising until he was fully yelling.

[misanthrope_md]

House looked like he was going to be sick. "You're - it's not - okay, you're right, I can't exactly blame you. It's the fucking island. And it's... christ! What am I supposed to say to Wilson now? Goddamnit, we were just getting to be friends again! Things were going so well and now all... all that is out there again!"

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

Jack was holding the edge of the table with one hand and his head with the other. Screaming? Very bad idea.

"I don't know. I don't know, okay? Fuck...he's going to hate me more than he already does."

[misanthrope_md]

House shook his head. "I don't know... maybe not. I mean, it's not like he's with anyone. It can't have fucked up his life, really. Maybe he'll just see it as a few days of great sex and forget about it."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

He snorted in disbelief. "Yeah. Right. Because everybody forgets great se--"

Jack stopped and shook his head. "He loves you. He misses you. I...felt guilty, maybe, a little. Just one thought while we were talking about how you two were back home."

He felt like shit and the tylenol wasn't working fast enough, so he crossed over to the bed to sit down. Not too close, not touching.

"That part was an accident."

[misanthrope_md]

"He doesn't miss me like that," House retorted. "He never knew me like that. Remember? He doesn't remember. As far as he knew, we'd never..."

Well. They had now.

Damnit.

House groaned and let his head fall into his hands again. "Why didn't you come stop me, Jack? What have you been doing all this time?"

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"You told me not to wait up," he answered quietly. "And I wasn't jealous. It seemed...right. I don't know how to explain it. Like I shouldn't get in the way. I went to Ianto's. He and Daniel and I--"

He stopped and dropped his chin, then looked over at Greg. The least he could do was look him in the eyes.

"We went to bed." That was the easy part to tell. "Together. I...cheated."

[misanthrope_md]

House froze. He just stared at Jack for a second and then said evenly, "More love spells?"