who ? Max Davies and Chloe Pucey. when ? Sunday 5th November, lunch. where ? Cassia and Terry's house. what ? Just friends catching up. warnings/rating ? SFW. status ? Completed in gdocs.
It had been a nice lunch, if rather more people than Max was really used to dealing with all at once, at least outside a business context. He'd done his best to talk to everyone, not wanting to seem like he wasn't enjoying himself, but at times it had been easier just to listen, to let other people talk to each other unless they specifically drew him in to the conversation. Even just listening, he had enjoyed it. It was certainly a novel experience, to feel included in such a large and talkative family. At home, it had only ever been himself, Roger and their dad, and even Siobhan's family was smaller and more reserved.
After they'd finished eating, at least until people were ready for dessert, Terry had insisted on taking Gemma and Arran out to see the wall that Max and Higgs had built, and Max had stayed behind to help clear the table, not feeling quite up to being the centre of attention when he'd only really done as Higgs had instructed. He was washing up the last of the glasses when Chloe emerged in the kitchen asking for more juice. Max handed her a clean glass, assuming she could find the juice herself as easily as he could point her towards it. "Did you not find the wall very interesting?" he asked, almost teasingly. He couldn't blame her, it was just a wall, after all.
--
After having spent, what Chloe personally considered, already too much time talking about greenhouses, Chloe had declined to go and look at a wall that she assumed mostly would just look like a wall. Instead, she'd stayed behind, chatting with Cassia and Siobhan before she'd run out of juice. Chloe was a little surprised to find Max in the kitchen doing the dishes, quite sure that if Cassia knew that's what he was doing she'd tell him off (Chloe had been previously told off for washing the dishes as a guest). Max seemed mostly done, though, so Chloe didn't tell him, instead giving him a smile when he handed her a glass for her juice pursuits.
"No," she replied honestly. "I mean, it's just a small wall, isn't it?" Chloe was sure it was very impressive for a small wall but it was still just a small wall. "Arran's new old house has a wall sized window that can reflect the sky or an aquarium, now that's impressive," Chloe commented. "I'd go and look at that if you and Terence had built it." That was definitely true. "Anyway, are you manual labouring your way into this family?" Chloe asked teasingly. She had, after all, heard about sheds and greenhouses.
--
"It is just a small wall," Max agreed. It had been enjoyable to spend time with Higgs building it, and it feel appreciated by Cassia and Terry for helping, but he didn't think the wall itself was very impressive. "Gemma definitely saw it on the way in. I assume she's just humouring her dad by going to see it." Chloe and Aran might reasonably not have apparated outside, so perhaps they hadn't seen it. Even so, they could definitely accurately imagine a small wall. He raised an eyebrow at Chloe's description. "I don't think you'll be seeing anything like that anytime soon," he said, not apologetically. "I just about managed to put bricks in a line. I don't think getting glass involved is a good idea."
He shrugged one shoulder, picking up a tea towel to dry the rest of the glasses, though he wouldn't risk putting them away when he didn't know the right places for everything. "I'm not very good at - dinners," he said, gesturing to the dining room. He was trying, but it was obvious that he wasn't as natural a conversationalist as Chloe, or Siobhan. "I'm better if there's something practical to do. Then I don't feel so awkward if I can't think of anything to say." Silence while occupied building a shed seemed inherently less charged than silence over dinner.
--
Chloe and Arran hadn't seen the wall since they'd apparated to the house, but frankly, Chloe didn't think she was missing a great deal. If she was, Chloe had no doubt that Arran would come and find her to tell her that she should go see the wall herself. Seeing how so far that hadn't happened, Chloe didn't think it likely. "Well, if you can't do things with glass, you might want to tell Terry you're not helping him with the greenhouse," Chloe advised. "He's going to grow candyfloss tomatoes in it," she informed Max before frowning. "Or maybe just tomatoes?" It was probably (disappointingly) just tomatoes.
Max's explanation made Chloe nod, because whilst she had never (ever) encountered the problem of not knowing what to say, she did understand why Max might. "I told Cassia about your button thing! And about how you took me to feed a duck, but she asked if the duck was starving and since I don't think it was were we just making a duck fat and if so why did you make me make a fat duck? Or a duck fat? Can I only make a fat duck if I create the whole duck rather than feed an existing duck to a point of fatness?" Chloe asked with a frown. "But yeah, you could talk about that. The button thing not the duck thing."
--
Max frowned, because as far as he could remember, he hadn't offered to help with the greenhouse precisely because he'd assumed it would be glass. If Terry wanted help, though, Max would probably try. "I will warn him that I don't know anything about glass," he promised. That way, Terry could decide for himself whether he wanted Max's help or not. "What are candyfloss tomatoes?" It wasn't a variety of tomato Max had ever heard of, but he didn't pretend to be an expert. "Are they white?" Max had seen yellow tomatoes, and black tomatoes, and green tomatoes, so white didn't seem so very out of the question.
At the reminder that Chloe had been the one to tell Cassia about Max's button collection, he smiled. "Yes, I meant to thank you for that," he said. "It gave us something to talk about, and now Higgs' aunt is going to let me have a look at her buttons, and see if she's got anything valuable." Max was quite looking forward to that, and he appreciated that Chloe had inadvertently been involved in it happening. He frowned again as Chloe started going on about fat ducks. "I don't think we gave it enough food to make it fat," he pointed out.
--
Max telling Terry he might not be very good at helping with the greenhouse seemed like a pretty reasonable plan so Chloe nodded before laughing when Max asked what candyfloss tomatoes were. He hadn't been there for their earlier conversation about candyfloss trees, so Chloe couldn't fault him for being confused. "No, they're tomatoes made of candyfloss," she explained. "Or maybe candyfloss made of tomatoes? Do you think it'd be possible to make candyfloss out of tomatoes?" There was sugar in tomatoes, right? So maybe.
Chloe didn't think Max owed her any thanks, but she smiled anyway, pleased to have contributed in a way that Max found helpful. "That's nice," she commented because it did seem rather nice for Max to look through Terence's aunt's buttons to see if they were valuable. "But what if we contributed to the duck's obesity? Does that make us bad people? It's not like we killed it." Besides, there had also been other ducks. "Cassia didn't think you letting me make a duck fat was very illustrative of you being nice, but she agreed that you letting me play with your cats is. How are your weirdly big cats doing?"
--
Max wasn't very familiar with candyfloss, but as far as he did know it was just sugar that was somehow made into fluff, through some mysterious process. "You could probably make tomato-flavoured candyfloss," he decided. "I don't know if you'd want to, but they have sweetcorn ice cream in Mexico, so maybe it would be better than it sounds." He had the distinct impression he was missing some reference, because he couldn't imagine Terry wanting to grow either candyfloss made of tomatoes or tomatoes made of candyfloss. "Are you looking for something new to feed Rock?" he asked, since he'd definitely heard either Chloe or Roger refer to the puffskein looking like candyfloss.
"The duck didn't look very obese too me," Max said, though he wasn't sure he'd really know a fat duck from a healthy-weight duck. "But if you like, we can go back and see if it's still there, and if it's got any fatter." He gave Chloe a puzzled look as he finished with the last of the glasses. "I don't think I took you to feed a duck to be nice," he said. "I just thought you'd like it more than a restaurant." He smiled as Chloe asked after the cats. "They're doing well," he informed her. "Kallie's new favourite place to sleep is on one of the shelves in the library." Looking through the window, Max asked, "Did you get a letter from the Vet about how to prepare Rock for Bonfire Night?"
--
Chloe thought she'd happily try tomato-based candyfloss but she didn't really think that Arran's dad would be the right person to ask. Maybe she'd ask Arran instead, they could go on an adventure of discovering whether such thing as tomato candyfloss existed or not. "He can't really have candyfloss, it makes him sticky," Chloe said shaking her head. "But he does like tomatoes!"
When Max said they could go back to check if the duck was fat now, Chloe smiled widely before nodding. "Yes! I'd like that, let's do that," she agreed. "That's definitely nice of you, to offer. Oh, I should've told Cassia how you took me horse riding! That was very nice. You're very nice," Chloe informed Max, before taking a sip of her juice and giving a nod. "Yeah, it said to make sure he doesn't go near a fire, but we're not going to have a fire in the flat, so it's okay. We're going to a beach bonfire tonight, with Tessy," Chloe told Max. "Will you be doing anything exciting?" She asked and then frowned, glancing over to the dining room. "I don't imagine Terence is a big fan of the fireworks?"
--
Deciding that he was never likely to track down why candyfloss and tomatoes had ever come up in the same conversation, Max let it drop. "Maybe if Terry grows just normal tomatoes, you can have some to feed to Rock," he suggested. "That way he won't get sticky." It did seem more likely that Higgs' dad was going to grow normal tomatoes, rather than ones in anyway associated with candyfloss. "I don't think Kallie and Klutz are very interested in tomatoes." Granted, Max hadn't tried feeding them tomatoes, but they seemed satisfied with their cat food.
Max smiled, only a little bewildered, by Chloe's praise. "I'm glad you think so," he said, genuinely pleased. He didn't imagine they'd be friends if Chloe didn't think him nice, but it was still good to be told. "You're very nice too," he informed her. "And very good at talking about things." Which was not a skill Max had, but was one he appreciated in Chloe. He laughed when Chloe informed him that she and Arran weren't going to have a fire in the flat. "That's probably for the best," he agreed. "We don't have plans to do anything, except this." Max was rather hoping they might all three go either to Terence's house, or theirs, but not to do anything particularly bonfire related. "There's not usually a lot of fireworks in Godric's Hollow." At least, there hadn't been in all the years Siobhan and Max had been living there, none that they'd been able to hear from their house. "So I think we'll be alright."
--
"Yes! I shall ask him," Chloe nodded. They could, of course, just buy tomatoes for Rock to eat, but homegrown tomatoes presumably were nicer (because why otherwise would Terry want to grow some?). "No, I don't imagine the dogs here would be very interested in the tomatoes either," Chloe nodded. Currently all four dogs were out playing in the garden (Chloe hadn't really thought about bringing Rock, which meant that they were the only ones to show up with no pets). "Rock will eat most things," Chloe told Max with a grin. "I think he gets it from Arran."
Chloe did think that Max was very nice and she was also very pleased when he told her that he thought her to be very nice, too. "And we can go and inspect fat ducks together! That'll be fun!" Maybe they could even feed some of the ducks if they weren't too fat. It was winter now so they'd have less to eat (unless they had migrated in which case there might just be no ducks to inspect). "Well, I would invite you to the beach with us but there'll almost definitely be someone wanting to set off fireworks," Chloe offered apologetically. "I can still ask Terence, though?" She added looking around as if Max's boyfriend was about to appear out of thin air. He didn't, so Chloe shrugged.
--
Max smiled at Chloe's enthusiasm for asking Terry about tomatoes. "Did you have a nice conversation with him about law?" he asked, remembering what Higgs had said about Cassia liking that Max didn't talk as much about law. It was obvious that Terry did enjoy it, though, so Max hoped he'd been able to enjoy it with Chloe, since Max himself had been otherwise occupied. He raised an eyebrow. "I would have thought Arran had to be careful, with his job," he said. Being a professional athlete and eating most things didn't really combine well in Max's imagination.
"Are you going to make the ducks feel bad about being fat?" Max asked, folding the tea towel and moving to stand closer to Chloe. He did smile, though, that Chloe thought it would be fun to go and look at more ducks. He paused, not sure whether Higgs would rather be asked, and potentially have to decline because he wasn't a fan of fireworks, or not. "I'll let him know we're invited?" Max offered, as a kind of compromise. At least Higgs had already talked to both Max and Siobhan about his PTSD, so presumably declining an invitation to them wouldn't be as awkward as it might to someone he hadn't talked about it with.
--
"We did," Chloe nodded. "We've been talking about the way Brexit and Britain's detachment from the European Court of Justice will affect the magical laws and what might be the best approach to take in proceeding with it." It was very fascinating to see the way the Brexit vote had affected the magical world (there hadn't been a distinction made between muggle and magical votes, so it was hard to guess which way the vote had swung, not that it really mattered since the result was still the same). "Arran is careful with what he eats," Chloe said. "He's just not fussy with it." Despite what his family might call him, Chloe really didn't think Arran to be fussy.
Chloe shook her head energetically at Max's question. "I would never make anyone feel bad about being fat!" She insisted. When Max said that he'd tell Terence they were invited, Chloe smiled. She doubted Arran's brother would be interested in coming, but she thought it was still important that at least he knew he was invited. "We can do something else together," Chloe offered. "Another day, when there aren't fireworks. We could have a bonfire on a beach! I hear Terence is very good at starting a fire. Though, we'd have to invite Roger and Daphne, too, and she's apparently very good at fire-starting."
--
Chloe's answer made Max smile, and give an interested nod. He was glad Chloe and Terry had been able to talk, hopefully without anyone else feeling they were being left out of lawyer-talk. It was not as if anyone at the table, apart from Max, couldn't simply start their own conversations, though, so he was sure it would have been alright. "And did you come to a decision?" he asked. Assuming that it would probably take longer than a single lunch to do so, really. "Does he do a lot of cooking?" Max asked. Higgs did quite a lot of cooking, but Cassia had seemed surprised by that, so Max had no idea whether Arran was a fan or not.
"Good," Max said, nodding. "Then we can go inspect the ducks. Maybe next weekend, if you're not away?" Going in the evening would likely be too dark to do much inspecting at this time of year. "That's a nice idea," Max agreed, smiling. "Higgs is going to take me camping, but probably not until it's warmer. But we could go to a beach in the meantime." And Max would enjoy inviting Roger and Daphne as well. "Maybe Higgs and Daphne can start the fire together. Or have a fire-starting contest."
--
"Well, probably more of one than David Davies has managed up until now, but nothing particularly significant," Chloe replied somewhat teasingly. It was very interesting to talk to Terry about his opinions on how Brexit might affect the Wizengamot, especially when Chloe approached it more as someone who predominantly worked with international law. There was a reason why no one else really ever tried to join in on those conversations (though, Chloe was sure that Max could, but perhaps not many others there). "Arran does some cooking, yeah," Chloe nodded. "He's very good at following a recipe," she explained and then gave a small shrug. "Unless I'm helping. He's not very good then." But that wasn't really Arran's fault, Chloe was clearly just irresistible.
Chloe was pleased when Max agreed to go inspect ducks with her. "Next weekend works for me," Chloe nodded. "I'll bring a camera and then we can take a picture and next time we go we can take another picture and compare the duck sizes!" Chloe told Max excitedly. "Camping," Chloe repeated. "Arran and Roger camp." Which obviously Max knew, he must've heard about the bear. "I hope your camping's more like my camping with Arran, though," Chloe offered, before leaning in and whispering conspiratorially. "It involves a lot more sex in tents," she said before frowning slightly and leaning back. "Well, I assume, anyway." Arran had never mentioned having sex with Roger in tents (or otherwise), so Chloe felt she still offered the better camping experience. "Beach, though, yes! I'd love a fire-starting competition between Terence and Daphne."
--
Max chuckled and said, "If only we could hand it over to you and Terry." It would, he was sure, be better managed. Unfortunately, it didn't seem a very plausible option. Not to mention, he doubted whether either Chloe or Terry would really want to leave their current jobs to do it. "Is that just so you can get out of helping?" he asked, the question not a very serious one. "I'm also only good at following a recipe." Substitutions tended to make Max feel flustered, which was possibly why baking appealed to him more than cooking. "I hear we have a cake to look forward to, when everyone's not full of turkey. Did you make it?"
Chloe's promise to bring a camera made Max smile. "Is this going to become a regular event?" he asked, amused. "A study into the obesity of ducks?" Evidently so, if they were going to visit a third time so they could compare. Max had, indeed, heard about the bear, and Roger and Arran's camping. Chloe's comment made him blush, because he imagined there would be sex in tents. "I hope so," he agreed, not quite meeting Chloe's eyes. "And if not, I did promise to research ancient settlements." In an ideal world, of course, there would be time for both. "I'll let Higgs know about that, too," he promised.
--
"No!" Chloe shook her head energetically. "It's not because I wouldn't help! Arran's just very distracting," she informed Max. "With his good looks and his touchable sides." It was really very hard not to bother Arran when he was in near proximity to Chloe, and it wasn't like he ever really objected either. "I didn't make the cake," Chloe shook her head. "I did buy it in a shop though. It looks like an angry cat, it's great." Chloe was very pleased with the cake and rather hopeful that it also tasted lovely not just looked funny.
Chloe gave a small shrug at Max's question. "Why not?" Chloe thought it was a pretty fun project, especially if the ducks would get fatter (Chloe had never seen a fat duck). The way Max blushed made Chloe smile, especially when he did, despite the blushing, add that he, too, hoped there would be sex in a tent. "Let Higgs know about what?" Terence asked as he walked into the kitchen and then gave Chloe a suspicious look. "Are you corrupting Max again?" He asked her and Chloe laughed. "Yes," she nodded energetically. "I'm telling him about how important it is to have sex on camping trips," Chloe teased and Higgs laughed, stopping close to Max. "That's the sort of corruption I can approve of," he informed them.
--
Max could, actually, understand how Chloe might find Arran very distracting in the same way he often found Higgs very distracting. It was, oddly, a nice shared experience to have. It wasn't something Max would ever really have considered before. "I hope he doesn't mind that kind of distraction too much," he offered, really fairly sure that Arran didn't, because he had seen the two of them together. "An angry cat," he mused, looking around in case the cake was somewhere visible, but it wasn't. "Well, I look forward to it."
There was, as far as Max could tell, no reason why not, so he nodded. "Do you think we'll be able to tell if they're the same ducks?" he asked. He couldn't really remember what the duck they'd fed had looked like, other than 'like a duck'. Somehow, Max managed to blush more when Chloe filled Higgs in on the topic of their conversation, but he did still smile at Higgs, especially as he came to stand closer. "Chloe also suggested we all go to the beach and have a bonfire one night," he told Higgs. "And you and Daphne can compete to see who can light the best fire." Or the fastest, or the safest, Max had no idea what would be the most appropriate way to judge. "Was everyone very impressed with the wall?"
--
Arran definitely didn't mind Chloe's distraction, she was pretty sure of that. "Oh, we definitely won't be," Chloe assured Max when he asked if they'd recognise the duck as the same duck. "But a photo will help," she added confidently. When Max caught Terence up on their plans, the other man nodded. "That sounds good," he agreed and Chloe smiled. She thought it'd be a pretty fun evening. "Oh, yes," Higgs confirmed with a nod. "It's a very impressive wall," he informed Chloe. "You're missing out." Chloe felt that was probably not true.
"So, Terence, do you have strong opinions on candyfloss trees and/or vegetables?" Chloe asked and Terence gave her a look before turning to look at Max. "I feel like I'm missing something," he said and Chloe shook her head. "I don't think so," she informed him because to Chloe it seemed both like a very straight forward and a reasonable question. "Arran said he'll grow candyfloss trees when he has a garden," Chloe informed both Max and Terence and Arran's brother shook his head. "I find this unlikely," he commented, perhaps fairly, because Arran's gardening abilities were somewhat questionable.
--
Max smiled, too, when Higgs agreed their beach plans sounded good. He wouldn't have wanted to accidentally promise his attendance at something he wouldn't enjoy, but a bonfire on a beach with his brother and Max and Siobhan, among others, really had seemed like a fairly safe choice. He shook his head slightly, because it really wasn't a particularly impressive wall, but he didn't point that out.
"Don't worry," he said. "I have no idea where the candyfloss vegetables originated, I just went along with it." Ish. In as much as Max ever really 'went along' with things. "Is Arran getting a garden as part of his house being done?" Max asked, since he thought he'd heard something about the plans including given Arran more of a garden than he currently had. "Is it going to be big enough for any kind of tree?"
--
"There will be a garden," Chloe confirmed. "Or at least a bit with grass?" She wasn't actually sure because the landscape artist still hadn't come. "But I don't know how big candyfloss trees are?" In fact, Chloe had very little knowledge about candyfloss trees at all, apart from the fact that Arran had said there should be some. She didn't necessarily disagree. "Wouldn't they melt in rain?" Terence asked and Chloe frowned almost in concern. "You might have a point there," she nodded. "I should discuss the logistics with Arran, I think," Chloe said and Terence nodded. "Yes, perhaps," he commented with some amusement.
Chloe went to top up her glass with more juice before looking around. "Where is Arran? Is he still being impressed by the impressive wall?" Chloe couldn't really imagine that to be true, because despite what Terence said Chloe was certain that the tiny wall him and Max had built was not, in fact, impressive. "I don't think so, but you can go look for him, I'll keep Max company," Terence said and Chloe snorted. "I bet you will," she teased but did also head for the kitchen door. "I'll see you later, Max, we'll discuss more of our plans about fat ducks," she said before disappearing through the door in search for her husband.