Three Out of Two by leiascully (R)

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Fandom: HOUSE
Pairing: Cuddy/House
Author on LJ: leiascully
Author Website: Fic Index
Why this must be read:

The author describes this five-part series in the following manner: "Slightly mushy AU S3 fic. House/Cuddy resolving the pregnancy arc and assuming the ketamine lasted forever, hooray."

The reality is a little more lyrical, a little more beautiful. leiascully has a lovely way with words, with characterisation, with the way these two fit together. She gives us a slightly less rough-edged House with, of all things, a chance at real happiness, and a Cuddy who proves that sometimes what you want and what you need are the same. The banter is witty, Wilson and the Ducklings are themselves, House plays the piano for Cuddy and there's poker!

That was the night she realized she had been slowly falling in love with him for years. He was on a case, so they went to a small close restaurant, nothing fancy, North African food. She made him eat couscous with his hands so she could watch the elegance of his long fingers, and they had a glass of wine apiece and he laughed, even though she knew he was in pain the way he kept reaching into his pocket for the Vicodin and glancing at her and coming up empty-handed. He was charming. He licked his fingers and looked over at her with his eyes dancing, undignified as all hell, and she knew why Stacy had loved him so much. She remembered House before the infarction: a little merrier, always a thorn in her side but less brittle, fewer barbs. Now they were both older and wiser, with the ache of his leg between them, and something was healing that she had forgotten was wounded.

Read Three Out of Two.