[log] fuck [closed]

[devoutish]

Characters: Alfie Solomons, Emily Kaldwin, Gregory House, John Watson, Royce Melborn, Tifa Lockhart
Location: building 120 and building 101
Date: evening of 190 to morning of 192
Summary: when you see "House" and "Royce" in the same log you know it's gonna be a party
Warnings: ear removal

Catch-all for EVERYTHING - death, murder, torture, yelling, etc. Top-level and tag as you see fit.

Comments

[bywolves]

I can soundproof this room easily enough. [ Royce says quietly. ] I have packing tape to cover his mouth.

[ He's very, very annoyed that House has found this loophole. ]

[devoutish]

What would we do with him after?

[He's considering it! Uh-oh.]

[rubikscomplex]

You think you can leave me in the room alone with him to go get it? I'll scream if YOU leave.

[Jesus Christ. House has no idea how he's actually going to get out of this.]

[bywolves]

We wouldn't let him bleed to death. [ Royce says, softer. He's still icy. ] Death is too easy. It didn't work, the first time. It wouldn't work now, either.

[ Royce watches House for a moment with his glowing eyes, thinking this through. ] Nothing I say to you is going to stick, is it, House? You can't punish someone who wants to be punished.

[devoutish]

Look at his eyes. He doesn't want this.

[Alfie raises his eyebrows.]

But he just can't stop himself, can he?

[To Royce:]

He doesn't want me to leave you alone with him.

[rubikscomplex]

Don't talk about me like I'm not here, Solomons.

[bywolves]

Of course he doesn't want you to leave him alone with me. [ Royce says, bringing the letter opener around to tap it against House's cheek gently, once, twice. ] He thinks you're my leash, Solomons.

He thinks I'm asking your permission to do this.

[devoutish]

And now he wants us to stop talking about him like he's not here.

[So of course Alfie is just going to keep doing just that. He's not even looking at House - just Royce.]

[rubikscomplex]

[Well, while you boys are chatting...

House gauges his chances and brings a hand up to try to grab Royce's wrist for the hand holding the letter opener and yank him down. It's not going to get him very far with Alfie right there, if he can't untangle himself quickly, but he can try. There's desperation fueling him.]

[bywolves]

[ Dammit. House yanks Royce down, and Royce grunts as he stumbles into the tub. He's not going to go down without any fight, obviously - they thud down, and Royce is totally going to aim to break his fall with House's head. Maybe if he thuds House into the faucet he won't have to listen to House bait him. ]

[devoutish]

[Alfie moves quickly, grabbing for Royce's arm to pull him back up. In Elvish:]

All right, Ahval?

[rubikscomplex]

[House has the sense to jerk his head to the side. The faucet catches the side of his head, though, and cuts along it. He hisses for the pain, but lets himself go down further, angle...

He kicks up upward hard, not particularly caring if it's Alfie or Royce that he catches.]

[bywolves]

[ Royce catches about half of that kick to the side even as Alfie's pulling him up, and lets out an annoyed grunt of a sound. He braces himself against Alfie for about one second, getting out a quick, angry Elvish: ] Fine, Merea --

[ Before climbing back into the tub and sitting on House. ]

Hold his legs. [ Which comes out in a confusing mess of three different languages, because Royce is distracted by trying to pin House in the tub, slapping one gloved hand over House's mouth tightly and getting the letter opener back up to just take that earlobe. Off it goes. If the girls haven't heard the commotion by now, he'll eat his cloak. ]

[devoutish]

Royce--

[He wraps an arm around House's legs, but holds his other hand out to Royce. At least he remembered to clamp a hand over his mouth.]

[rubikscomplex]

[House writhes like an eel and tries to shake both of them off. When Royce sits down on him and brings the blade up, his scream is muffled. That doesn't stop House from trying to rake his nails across Royce's face. He's at a terrible angle to put any force behind a punch, so this will have to do.]

[empireofrats]

[The door doesn't open with sudden eagerness, but with a careful and slow, uncertain apology. Royce, Alfie, and House are missing, but Emily has to use the bathroom, and she thinks, sure, they're inside because over halfway there, she heard scuffling and low voices.

She doesn't know what she's looking at exactly when her head looks around the edge of the partially opened door. A bunch of men in the bathtub.] Are you giving Mister House a bath?

[But then there's a knife and some black stuff, and all Emily can remember is feeling hot and sick, and wanting when she plunged Royce's shiv into Alfie's soft belly. She remembers seeing two ends of the same sword on either side of her mother's body when she fell back. The door opens wider because she lets go. There's a pause of it sinking in.

And then she starts screaming.]

[devoutish]

[The second he hears Emily's voice, Alfie is whirling around, heading for her immediately. He reaches for her -wanting to move her out of the way, to hide her face - but stops when he sees the look on her face. God, she's screaming; what a disaster.]

Emily, Emily--

[powersouls]

[Tifa comes running when she hears Emily scream, and just like Emily, for a moment, she doesn't quite register what she's seeing, just Alfie reaching for a hysterical Emily and Royce pinning down House. Then she sees the blood, almost black in the dim light, and suddenly she's so furious she can't think.

She goes for Royce, grabbing at the back of his cloak and trying to pull him off of House.]

What the hell is wrong with you?

[empireofrats]

[When Alfie comes toward her, she jerks back, half bumping into a passing Tifa, half grabbing the handle of the door like she plans to slam it in Alfie's face.][ No! [Instead, she uses it almost as a shield, shutting Alfie off without completely leaving.]

Miss Tifa, don't! They are going to be bad like us! They are doing bad things to Mister House!

[bywolves]

[ A lot happens at once, and immediately, Royce regrets the blood.

He let his temper get the best of him, in a way that only House has ever managed to do. It's infuriating and he hates - he hates this, he hates himself, this is why he doesn't like people, doesn't like being around people. This is what happens.

Emily screams, Tifa grabs him, but he's already moving back, away. Tifa doesn't have to pull too hard - he climbs out of the tub near immediately, almost shoving her away to get out of House's range. He opens his mouth to say something - he doesn't know what - and then the song starts.

He stops dead as fear and sadness creeps in, curls like cold, terrible fingers around his heart. Where... where the fuck is it coming from, he doesn't know. Royce looks around the room to try and figure out the source, but he can't. He drags in an unsteady breath, distracted. ]

[rubikscomplex]

[House's main focus is on the pain and the blood dripping down the side of his head and neck from the cut to his forehead and now his ear. As soon as Royce is off, he's pushing himself up trying to get to his feet again. His back is to the wall of the tub and there's a little girl screaming and Tifa and-]

Fuck!

[Static and something mechanical in his ears. Then, a song that fills him with an overwhelming sense of dread to sit atop everything already there. His glowing eyes turn to Tifa and Emily.

What had their eyes been like on the night?]

Let me out. [It's quiet, but House's voice quickly rises to a frantic shout as he shoves off the wall of the tub, steps out, and tries to push past them. He needs to get away. There are too many people. Everyone in this room may want to kill him in about 20 seconds.] Let me out!

[devoutish]

[Alfie is completely ignoring House now. He knows he doesn't have to worry about an attack from him, so he's just totally off his radar. His focus is on Emily - until that song starts up. What the hell is taht? He glances at Royce. One look at him shows that he's hearing it, too. Behind him, House is panicking even more. And Emily and Tifa...

His focus is back on Emily now, crouching and looking at her through the crack in the door. "It wasn't those kinds of bad things, sweetheart. We've stopped, we're in control, and we're not gonna hurt you."

[powersouls]

[Tifa doesn't hear anything, so she's still focused on the mess in front of them. House pushes past her and she lets him, although she keeps herself planted between Royce and the door, because she doesn't trust him right now. He gets one more scathing look before she turns, her focus on Emily. She's half-tempted to tell Alfie to get away from her.]

Emily, it's okay. We're safe, I promise.

[empireofrats]

No. [A plea.

She regards Alfie through the crack in the door. It's too convenient. It's too close to when it happened last, and she remembers it too well. How she felt. What it was like. There's some peculiar about Alfie, looking at Royce, looking back at the others. The brows, furrowed. Something is happening she isn't aware of, she knows, though she thinks it's something else.] No!

[All at once, she swings the door open and slaps it directly into Alfie.] Miss Tifa, Mister House! Hurry!

The town is going to make them do bad things!

[bywolves]

[ Royce just stares up at the ceiling, thoroughly distracted by the music. He lets House go, lets Tifa go, lets Alfie go. Lets Emily. He's scared, and he doesn't like it. Carefully, Royce just sinks back, leans against the wall, frowning.

Go. He doesn't want to talk to any of them, anyway. ]