Straight to Center by Catherine (PG-13)

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Fandom: HOUSE
Pairing: Cuddy/House
Author on LJ: hihoplastic
Author Website: author's House tag on LJ
Why this must be read:

This left me fairly inarticulate when I first read it. I'm not overly confident I can express how wonderful it is, now. House and Cuddy have a secret language that sometimes they don't even understand. I think of this fic as a series of moments in which they learn to hear and be heard. It's about things as they might have happened, might still happen, might be happening right now, somewhere. It is solemn and joyful, beautiful and aching; full of sorrow and deep, abiding love.

She opens her eyes when he gets out of bed, falls instantly back asleep. She wakes up again an hour later, slips on her robe and follows the soft music into the living room. He’s hunched over the piano, bottle of pills and a glass of scotch and she doesn’t bother disapproving, just leans against the doorframe and watches. He plays Bach, Chopin, quiet, complicated pieces. His fingers barely touch the keys but it still sounds so beautiful, with the rain against the window as a percussive accompaniment. She closes her eyes and doesn’t open them until he shifts deftly from Liszt to Brick House.

She laughs softly and he turns, smirks. ‘How long have you been there?

‘How long have you known I was there?’

He shrugs, turns back to the piano. ‘Touche.’

She crosses the room, stands next to him as he plays, hears his voice in the notes, hears little things and little moments that mean so much, mean nothing.

Read Straight to Center.