The answer might not be a yes, except that it is. It's flirting, not the same as pushing, but it's there in the smile in House's voice, the warmth of it. Chase understands about leaving things unsaid, about things that you can't quite manage to say out loud. There's a lot of things he wants to say to House, but he can't figure out how. There's that attraction, how things had fallen apart with Brett, how much he likes this, and all the other feelings bouncing around inside his teenaged head.

He could try and push back, say something about how House likes him mouthy, but he doesn't. He's pretty sure it wouldn't come out right, so he settles for letting the silence hang. But it's not the same quiet as before, he's not hiding. Instead, it's the sort of quiet that implies everything is too close to the surface.

That doesn't stop that jerk and the squeal, the way that he squirms shamelessly on House's lap when his hand spanks him again. His back arching a little, unable to stop moving as his ass starts to get physically hot to the touch from the impacts, the generous curves of each cheek now painted in a steadily darkening pink.