rolling dice and staying out 'til three.

[theorized]

There was once a period of time, shortly before Chase married Allison, where he'd let himself go a little where looks were concerned. Styling his hair, shaving every single day, these were things he did when it was necessary to keep up appearances, when he didn't have a reputation to fall back on, and when decisions could be affected by the way he dressed or held himself. When most of his time was spent at an operating table, these things mattered less. When he was married, with a woman whom he believed loved him, and in most ways beyond the superficial, he didn't need to hold himself to an artificially high standard.

He regressed shortly after their separation, kept himself clean and proper, something more routine than before. All the way up to Darrow, and the unfamiliar space he needed to learn to navigate from the first step.

It's been nearly a year since he first arrived, and he almost got to the point of relaxing. If he went a day without applying mousse in his hair, it didn't matter. If he went a couple of days without shaving, it didn't matter. The people he surrounded himself with, the job that he'd sunk his teeth into, all of it was comfortable in a way that he never quite fully accepted, but accepted enough.

With one disappearance, all of that faded, and now Chase feels like he's walking a tightrope again. It's the reason why he returns to his apartment more often these days, the reason why he hasn't called most people or offered to hang out.

It's the reason why he finds himself standing in front of a church, considering more than ever the option of stepping inside.

Comments

[losttheright]

"Oh, I don't mind at all," Molly says with a slight shake of her head. "Spicy's fine. Either of those sound good, actually." She's never been especially picky, all the more in the time that's passed since going off to college, joining the campaign, and showing up here. Especially in the middle, she couldn't really afford to be. Now, it just works out well for her. "I can't say I really have a favorite. Usually whatever's not going to leave me broke."

[theorized]

"Then Italian it is," Chase says, simply of a mind to direct them to the closer place, not having enough of a preference to bother with the extra time it'd take to walk a couple more blocks. He appreciates spending time with someone who seems to be less picky than he is with venues, people who won't do their best to tear down the very foundation of a place as House does. Over the course of a decade, House had managed to worm that mentality into a lot of the people who worked for him.

Chase hopes that he doesn't have to be one of them.

"Especially since I'm covering dinner. And drinks. And I'm genuinely not doing that to brag in any way, it's just... I used to budget a great deal for traveling, and now that option's suddenly gone. I kind of miss the sensation of flying in a plane."

[losttheright]

"Hey, you won't see me complaining," Molly says with a slight laugh, nudging him teasingly. There are plenty of people who would, she's sure, but she isn't and never has been one of them. Whether it's because she doesn't have nearly as much now as she was used to when she was growing up or because she doesn't have the kind of pride — ridiculous, honestly, in her opinion — that would make her want to cover anything herself, she doesn't know, but it makes no difference. Even when she tends to do a little better these days anyway, when she goes out with Patrick, anyway, she doesn't make that much money, and she trusts that he wouldn't be offering if he didn't want to, if he couldn't cover it. "I know what you mean, though. I was doing some traveling before I showed up, and... I didn't think I'd miss it, but I actually kind of do."

[theorized]

"I like having freedoms, even if I don't exercise them half the time, so I think part of it's that. I'd still be just as lazy about actually traveling if we had the ability, but not having it ends up bugging me twice as much," Chase explains, shaking his head at his own ridiculousness. If this place really is what he thinks it is, it's not like he's going to get benefits out of nowhere. It's not like he's done anything to deserve them. "Anyway, enough about that. What's been going on in your life? Work-wise? Or... personal life? Do you have time enough to date and things like that?"

[losttheright]

"I wouldn't call it dating, per se," Molly says, mouth twisting to one side as she looks up at Chase. On anyone else, the look would probably be a self-conscious one, but she doesn't wear it as such; as far as she's concerned, there's no reason for her to feel that way about her love life. She might not ordinarily talk about it without prompting, but now that she's here, anyway, and now that Stephen is gone and she's therefore not fucking her boss, she has nothing to hide. "There are dates. But it's not, like... exclusive or anything." She shrugs. "But I guess that means I have enough time for it."

[theorized]

"See, I'd definitely call that dating, I'd just also say that you aren't in a relationship at this point in time," Chase says with a slightly cheeky grin. As far as he's concerned, it's good that Molly's still going out and having fun with people, showing that she has some balance of work and play in her life. She's young enough that she probably hasn't completely settled on the idea of her perfect partner, anyway — Chase certainly didn't know it at her age.

"Anyone in particular interest you a great deal? People I should run background checks on, or...?"

[losttheright]

At least he seems understanding of it, Molly thinks, though she wouldn't really have expected anything different from him. She just also knows that a lot of people tend to be far too judgmental about that sort of thing. As far as she's concerned, though, she has nothing to be ashamed of. She's not breaking any commitment, she's careful, she's enjoying herself; those are the things that she believes matter most (if not necessarily in that order). If she were looking to settle down, she might be going about it a little differently, but she's not. She might as well have some fun while she can.

"No, no, no background checks," she says with a laugh. "I don't know about interest, anyway. There's the one guy, Patrick, I've gone on some dates with, but then..." Trailing off, she shrugs. "If anything, I think it's the ones I'm not dating who'd be more... consequential."

[theorized]

"Patrick," Chase says to himself, taking a couple of quick steps ahead to open the door for Molly, ushering her inside. He doesn't know anyone by the name, but given how long he tends to spend in the hospital, especially as of late, that doesn't come as a surprise to Chase. He does feel something almost like guilt, though. If there's anyone whose social circle he should be keeping aware of, it feels like Molly would be it. Not only because she's a friend, but... well, because he's come to think of her as family.

It's just that for the Chases, being family doesn't necessarily equate to being constantly around one another. Or even around one another every month.

Chase has always wanted to break that pattern.

"That name tells me absolutely nothing about him," he grins, shaking his head. "But wait, what do you mean by the ones you're not dating being more consequential?"

[losttheright]

"I mean, like..." Molly bites her lip through a grin of her own, fumbling for the right wording. It isn't that she's overly concerned about how it will come across — if he were going to judge her for it, he would have already, and the way she sees it, that would be his problem, not hers — but she spends little enough time talking about this sort of thing that she isn't entirely certain of the best ways to put it. In her own head, it makes sense, but she hasn't had to give it that much consideration. "Kind of like a friends with benefits thing, I guess? I mean, I'm sleeping with my best friend here, but it's not romantic or anything. We're just having fun. But he's a lot more important to me than the guy taking me out on dates."

[theorized]

"Oh," Chase says, eyes widening in understanding, and he quickly nods to show both that and his relative support. He has a funny background with that type of situation, but it's not one that he minds other people having. It's not even one that he shies away from, himself, having made that proposition some years ago to Remy. Romance and physical intimacy don't always have to be bundled together, even though Chase came to the realization long ago that he was more the type of man who did put them together. Maybe a romantic at heart. Or maybe just overpackaged with emotion.

One way or another.

"I understand that, definitely. Had that type of arrangement more than once at work. You're sure that there's nothing more that might go on with that best friend, though? Because the last time I had a friend with benefits, we ended up getting married. ...and divorced, admittedly," he adds, slightly self-effacing with a smile.

[losttheright]

"Oh, yeah, no, that's not — that's not gonna happen," Molly says with a slight laugh, shaking her head. It's more her own side of things that she's speaking about, of course, when she can't vouch for Russell, but she wouldn't be fucking him in the first place if she thought there were any chance of that. They're having fun, is all, and in no way that's preventing them from doing the same with other people. She's pretty sure he might be dating, too, actually, and she's more than fine with that. In her way, she loves him, but it's a platonic love; that much won't change. "Different sort of emotional attachment, you know?"

[theorized]

While he hasn't been one to judge sexual relationships for years, there's still little insight or advice that he can personally offer Molly, being someone who certainly did end up growing too attached through a relationship meant only to be sexual. In this way, he wonders if he's supposed to feel a bit childish, emotionally attached to everything and everyone, given enough time.

But he's learned not to fight it.

"I'll have to take your word for it," he grins, holding up two fingers for the greeter, who directs them towards the back of the restaurant. "I think everything tends to get a bit muddled in my head, unless I'm working."

[losttheright]

"Fair enough," Molly says with a shrug, following along as they're led further back into the restaurant. Much like she'd hoped he wouldn't judge her for her choices, she isn't going to cast any judgments of her own. If anything, she thinks what he's explaining is probably more understandable, or at least what happens with more frequency. She doesn't mind that, though. What she does works for her, and Chase has clearly found what works for him. As long as they aren't pretending anything else is the case, there's no reason for it to matter. "Work can be good for that."

[theorized]

"Work... makes the stakes higher. And my first priority isn't myself in the hospital, unlike almost any other time of day," Chase remarks with a small grin and a shrug, nodding his thanks to the server as they're seated, glasses immediately being filled with ice water. With the temperature having been fairly warm outside, Chase reaches out for his, taking a deep sip. "I guess that's part of why I like it so much. You can't really second-guess what you're there to do. You're being paid to take care of the people first and foremost. Now, getting there, that's another story entirely."

[losttheright]

"Yeah," Molly says, brow raising. "I think I get what you mean." It wouldn't even begin to be the case for everyone, she knows, where her own field is concerned, given the number of people that she suspects go into politics more to feed their ego than anything else, but as far as she's concerned, it's always been about the greater good. It's just in a much less direct way, broad instead of specific, not nearly so hands-on. She could never in a million years do what he does. She finds other ways of making a difference instead. "And when it's something you're that devoted to, it's... easy to get lost in it."

[theorized]

"Easier as time goes on, anyway," Chase replies, grinning and shaking his head at himself as he thinks about his own progression through medicine. "When I started working under my boss about a decade ago, I was probably the laziest diagnostician you'd ever meet. I was good enough at my job, but I fell into this habit of figuring that I could work smart rather than hard, which probably spared me some worry lines, but after a while you find that you can't straddle that area unless you don't mind stagnating, career-wise. There's always someone out there who's going to try to beat you out of your job. No one has it easy."

[losttheright]

"Oh, God, tell me about it," Molly says, head tipping back slightly. Before this place, she never had the chance to get far enough to be a part of that battle herself, but she's been witnessing the cutthroat world of politics for as long as she can remember, another instance where that's the case. Here, she got her start easily enough, but she's had to fight to keep it, to prove her worth, to begin working her way up the ladder. She doesn't intend to let up for a second. "People will do just about anything to try to get ahead. Even if they have to step on other people to do so."

[theorized]

He orders a bottle of red wine for the both of them, something likely to match the rest of the fare in the restaurant, then lets his gaze linger a bit longer on Molly. He likes that she isn't naive like some people are at that age, even though it's always a question of whether or not the steps that lead a person to that place were ultimately worth it. One thing's for sure, though — Chase is long past that naivete himself, and between being unable to keep quiet when it's in front of his eyes and wanting to preserve something of innocence in others, he generally gives those people a wide berth.

"Have you ever done something like that? Step on other people to climb the ladder?" Chase asks, tilting his head in interest.

[losttheright]

Though it's probably not the most appropriate response to a question like that, given her own history, Molly smiles a little at that, shaking her head. "No, no," she says. "At least, not on purpose." There's a difference, she thinks, between making the most of a situation and making someone else a casualty. The first, anyone would do. The latter just isn't the way she chooses to work, even if it means she has to try harder to defend herself against it. "But when you've been stepped on, you kind of learn a lot about all of that."

[theorized]

"That you do," Chase says with a wry nod, lips curved at the thought of what he's done in the past. Nothing serious in the grand scheme of things, but definitely enough to know that the consequences often feel worse than any gains. Especially when Gregory House wasn't the type of person who rewarded ladder-climbing when he saw it in front of him.

But that isn't a story that Chase wants to share over dinner, especially so shortly after he's finally decided to make himself available for socializing again.

"Anyway, shall we order?"

[losttheright]

"Yeah, let's do that," Molly says with a nod, smiling over at him. It's a little relieving, honestly, that there are no further questions asked about it than that. The subject is one she's come to terms with somewhat since showing up here, especially for the knowledge that what she'd first thought happened actually didn't, but that doesn't mean it's at all pleasant to recount. Besides, even if she left names and details out of it, it would be a strange turn of conversation when she's just mentioned Stephen in a totally different light. She isn't angry that he capitalized on her death — fuck, if anything, she's grateful, certain that he'll make sure it wasn't for nothing — but it wouldn't sound good, she's sure. "I think I know what I want, how about you?"

[theorized]

"I always look to the gnocchi first," Chase says with a hard sigh, glancing down at the items on the menu, letting down some of the tension in his body as he does so. Just because it's been a long day and the next should prove to be just as tiring doesn't mean that he can't enjoy the time that he does have off. "And I'm definitely not saying that as a gourmet, either. If anything, I am pretty sure that the only reason why I look for gnocchi first is because I like saying the word so much. Gnocchi... maybe with some type of red sauce tonight."