experiment

Base pulse

Dr. James Wilson had a rather... undesirable past with romantic relationships. It wasn't anyone else's fault but his own if he was honest. He didn't exactly have a good track record with female staff at the hospital... or women in general. His best friend happened to also be a world-renowned diagnostic doctor by the name of Dr. Greg House. But underneath the façade of his accomplishments, there was a miserable man who was addicted to Vicodin to end his pain from the nearly fatal blood clot in his leg. Add that with being an asshole, not trusting anything anyone says, reading a stranger like a book, and acting like the rules don't apply to him, and you have one of the best doctors, yet one of the worst people, in the world.

And somehow, Wilson had fallen for him.

It wasn't something out of the blue. They had met at a conference a while ago, but Wilson got insanely drunk and started a bar fight. Because of it, Wilson had broken a mirror, and when they returned, the oncologist found out that there were charges against him. Granted, Wilson's first impression was that House was an asshole with a big ego and he was mad about the bar fight, yet there was something about him that seemed... unique. After a few weeks talking and hanging out, the two were inseparable. They would watch Monster Truck marathons while drinking beer, House would grill him for his choices in women, Wilson would help out if there was a case involving cancer. It was great.

At first, House merely saw Wilson as a means to an end. It was clear that he was on a fast track to become the head of the oncology department, but he was also easy to deceive. A few social experiments here, a bit of teasing there, and Wilson had proven his usefulness to House. The oncologist often referred to himself as House's ' conscience ', tried to stop him from making outrageous decisions, was the 'knight in shining armor' type, and got involved with the wrong women on too many occasions.

And somehow, House had fallen for him.

Now, he knew the guy had problems with romance, House had even been Wilson's best man at the wedding both of his wives, but somehow sentiment had clawed his way into his heart concerning the younger man. Wilson had even been the best man at House's wedding to Stacy, had been there with him through the first year after his leg surgery, and somehow maintained playing 'the good guy' throughout it.

Maybe it was having a positive person in his life, or maybe it was Wilson being practically the only friend he had, House didn't know the reason for his attraction anymore. He just knew that he wouldn't let it ruin his friendship.

***

Those years of friendship lead to Wilson being separated from his second wife, sleeping on the couch in House's apartment, and in the same day being thrown out simply because of his morning routine. He hated that he had to move out as soon as he had moved in, but it was House's home, so it was House's rules of who stayed and who didn't (even if it was for selfish reasons). Problem was the apartment owner never got back to him, so he was forced to stay a few more days with House.

Maybe this could be a new start for him. He could find a place to live in on his own, and avoid dating for a while. It could be nice... if it wasn't always the women who decided he was theirs, and not the other way around. It was a cycle ever since college: he'd ask a girl to hang out with no romantic intentions, after a few times they'd ask him on a date, and the last two times that happened, they ended up getting married, then divorced. How did he always get sucked into that? It was torture! These thoughts haunted him as he fell asleep on the somewhat uncomfortable couch.

House, meanwhile, was waiting in his bedroom for Wilson to fall asleep. He had decided that this second divorce was an opportunity for him to find out something important: was Wilson in the closet and secretly in love with him? He had his suspicions over the years from things like how far House could push the boundaries, to straight up covering for him when he did something possibly illegal... also a few looks here and there... basically the image of unrequited, secret love.