milliways_bar | (no subject)

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He's sitting near the fire, dog at his feet, crossword puzzle book in hand, glass of coke on the table beside him.

He'd had a quiet Christmas with Triumph upstiars. He'd decided to stay downstairs by the fire for a while after he took the dog out for her evening walk.

He's feeling a little melancholy, but he'd probably talk o anyone who wanted to say hello.

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Behrooz is sitting nearby, looking extremely distracted by studying.

So much so that he doesn't seem to notice the festive surroundings or House sitting near the fire.

Thinking over the answer to a clue, House looks up, and his eyes scan the bar. He sees Behrooz studying and smiles.

"What're you working on?"

Behrooz doesn't look up for a moment, finishing a sentence, then hesitates just briefly before answering.

"It's for a Literature class. I have an essay test soon." He looks up now and smiles back slightly.

"What are you doing?"

"Crossword puzzle." He turns the book around and at his feet Triumph gives a doggish snorfle.

"Do you need any help? It's been a long time, but I was pretty good at stuff like that in school."

He shrugs. "It's mostly just for review. I've read this before, anyway."

It's The Odyssey. He looks briefly at the page to memorize where he is, and closes it.

House nods. "Read that a looooong time ago. Not my favorite, but it's okay."

"My parents didn't like it much when I read it in high school, either," he says. It's not really a sad thought at all, though he hesitates for a moment after saying it, as though unsure of House's reaction. "... I just didn't really want to read it again."

"I don't blame you. But if I'm bothering you, tell me, and I'll let youget back to studying."

"You're not," he says, keeping the book closed. "I have time to take a break, here."

"Yeah." Duh. Not like he was taking Literature classes in the bar.

That and time stops while he's in the bar. Convenient.

"How's the crossword?"

"I'm almost finished with it." He shifted his feet and Triumph rolled over, snoring as only a dog can. He rubbed her belly with his foot, and her paws turned up submissively.

"I do these things all day long in my office. It passes the time."

Pause.

"And you're a doctor?" he asks. Innocently.

"I don't see patients all day long like most doctors. I can go through dry spells, without a patient for several days. Crosswords and TV and my gameboy are my vices." He quirked a smile. He had it good, and he knew it.

"It sounds like you have more free time than I do," Behrooz says, lightly and not really enviously.

"Probably. One of the perks of being head of a department with a specialised specialty."

"Well, I'd look into it, but I'm not really planning on going to Med School."

House laughed. "Yeah. What do you want to do when you get out of school?"

He shrugs. "Whatever... I'll be able to, I guess."

"I always knew I wanted to be a doctor. I remember watching some show on TV in the 60's. I was just a kid. But I knew I wanted to be a doctor right away."

"Yeah."

The book shifts in Behrooz's hands, and he looks down.

After a moment, "I'm just working with... what I have right now."

"You'll figure it out." House nodded. "You're a smart young man. You'll figure it out and I'm betting you'll be highly successful, no matter what you decide to do."

Behrooz looks up, still kind of smiling.

"Right. I'll remember it."

There's nothing to suggest the smile is artificial.

"Good." House's smile was genuine.

[OOC: Works for me...I need to head off soon too]

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