anunluckypenny | IC Contact

[Smartass.]

Oh. Does that ever get confusing? Like, do you ever forget and bring up something that hasn't happened yet for them?

I try not to. So far House knows I'm not working for him anymore, and Wilson knows - [Knew] - a couple of things. It's hard to keep everything to yourself when you've got curses acting as a public broadcasting system.

That's... yeah, the curses wouldn't help that. I'm glad I don't have anything to hide from anyone here.

[Except for the stuff she's hiding, that is.]

[Of course. Though the phrasing makes Chase a little uncomfortable, a wince he distracts from by opening the Pizza box and offering her a slice.]

It's not hiding exactly. Think about trying to explain the decisions people are going to make in their future when they haven't lived through the experiences that motivated them, and you'll see why it's difficult.

[She bypasses the pizza entirely and grabs his other hand.]

No, I--I'm sorry, Chase. That you have to deal with that.

[Well it leaves him looking a little silly with his slice, but he catches his fingers in hers.]

Hey. I'm fine. I came over to make you feel better. Who knows, maybe Wilson will come back with some idea of what I'm talking about.

[It's a vain hope - and an unfair one, considering what that would mean for the other doctor.]

Maybe trying to make you feel better makes me feel better.

[She gives his hand a brief squeeze before relieving him of that slice of pizza.]

Maybe he will. People come back all the time.

[This smile? Very forced and wholly for Chase's benefit.]

And he's had a long run of it. Someone told me that if you last out the first six months, your chances of making it out for good get less and less.

[And somehow he doesn't seem like that concerns him. But he has taken his own slice, carefully (theatrically) examining it.]

Hang on...

[That's comforting, but Chase is up to something.]

What?

[It's all right Penny, this is still just an attempt to cheer you up. He frowns at the pizza.]

Just trying to figure out if I can eat my pizza meat-free while still claiming to be a) Australian and b) a man.

[It's working. Penny laughs and tries her pizza.]

I'm sure your manliness'll stay intact. Not so sure about the Australian part.

You'll have to let me know if the accent slips.

[That laugh has to count as a point to him. And the etiquette which dictates one shouldn't speak with ones mouth full means that he can watch her as he chews.]

I will.

[She picks at her pizza a bit, occasionally glancing at Chase.]

Maybe it's too early to tell, but I don't think eating something without meat is making you less manly. I mean, I don't want to jump to conclusions.

[He's finished a slice in the time it takes her to pick - definitely still eating like a bloke.]

Maybe the pizza's a stabilising factor. I could have been in trouble if it was quiche. [He exhales a laugh, leaning back against the table beside her.] I don't think we need to take it to clinical trials. Checking my voice is still broken every couple of hours would be no way to spend your night.

You're right, and I'm pretty confident in your masculinity.

[She shoots him a look that could be interpreted as... coy? Is that even possible?] I wouldn't say no if you wanted to stick around for a while.

[Whatever that look is, it's one he hasn't seen before.]

I'm here as long as you want me. [Because of mission missing Wilson. Of course.] To be honest I was hoping you wouldn't just grab the box and kick me out.

Because that's totally something I would do. ...No, I really appreciate the company.

Me, too.

[Company is a quiet preoccupation now. He seeks it out, to keep himself away from the bottle (or keep the glasses to a respectable social norm) and because company - the company he keeps lately - can provide a similar few minutes of forgetting himself. Problem is, beyond the people he doesn't see in the morning, most of the company he's closest to is becoming a problem in itself.

Penny's different, and he doesn't come to her for the same reasons, although they're not absent, when he's with her. But that me, too is heartfelt.]

I'm surprised you don't have more. [Which is a tactless thing to say, isn't it.] I mean - I really am sorry about Wilson.

[There's no way Penny can fathom the kinds of things that go on in Chase's life (although she truly would listen, if he cared to unburden himself). She's just pleased that he sounds sincere when he seconds her appreciation of the current company.

His lack of tact just gets a laugh--short, as the statement becomes less funny when she realizes that she usually doesn't have company after hours.]

It's okay. About Wilson, I mean... and the other part, too. You're here now; that's something.

[He'd be too scared to tell her - terrified of her judgement and terrified that she'd accept him and tarnish who she is. It's much too early to contemplate.

But nobody knowing is lonely as hell and there's a part of him that recognises something similar about her.]

Not sure I can measure up to Wilson, he's kind of a Jewish mother. I can't even make chicken soup.

But I'm here.

You guys're too different to compare, you know? Believe me, I like you for being you; I'm not looking for a replacement Wilson.

[Penny isn't sure what she's looking for. A friend? Someone to sleep with? A confidant?

Company? Definitely company.]

Have any plans for the rest of the night?

Edited 2012-10-14 21:04 (UTC)

[I like you for being you. the sentiment triggers a smile and a small pang of guilt all at once. It's a concept he'll never entirely grasp: that being him would be enough reason, let alone enough effort on his part, for someone to care.

But that's a distraction from the more interesting question, to which he shakes his head slowly in answer.]

Only you.

[Chase will just need to try harder to wrap his mind around being cared about for being himself.

And Penny's openly pleased with his answer.]

Then can I bother you to stick around?

I'd love to stick around.

[There is, after all, still half a pizza to finish, cooling in its box, but he doesn't seem to be paying that much attention anymore.]

But I can't promise it's going to bother me.

Thank you... and it'll be easier on both of us if you don't mind.

[She has successfully finished a slice, but the rest of the pizza is up for grabs.]

And it really does get lonely, sometimes.

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