who ? max davies, siobhan vaisey and terence higgs when ? dinner time, wednesday, 9th november where ?higgs’ house what ? dinner! status ? complete
Higgs really loved the house him and Marcus had built. It’s open plan kitchen/dining room allowed him to cook and set the table with ease, as he readied for the dinner he had invited Max and Siobhan to join him at. It would be a lie to say that Higgs hadn’t mostly done it because he had known Max would have loved to say no. But luckily, Higgs had judged Siobhan well, as someone who didn’t refuse the invite just because she didn’t want Max upset. Max, Higgs was sure, was an excellent liar, who’d do his very best to act like he was enjoying the dinner. That was part of the fascination that Higgs had with the man.
Back in school, from what Higgs could recall of Max, he’d been a liar. Except back then, Higgs hadn’t thought him to be a very good one. In retrospect, Higgs was almost definitely sure that Max had been a good liar, the teenaged Higgs just hadn’t realised he was one of the rare people who found it so obvious. Now, with ten years of non-school environment behind him, Higgs could appreciate that a lot more. The army had taught him many things, but one of them definitely was that there weren’t as many people who could read others as well as Higgs could. It was a skill, just not one he would’ve realised in school.
Siobhan, on the other hand, Higgs knew nothing about. He was very curious to see what she was like, since presumably she had to be quite aware of what Max was like behind the facade, since Higgs presumed he would be intolerable if that was what he acted like privately, too. The dinner tonight, as much as it had been mostly caused by Higgs’ wish to annoy Max, was also going to offer Higgs an opportunity to get to know Siobhan better, which he quite looked forward to.
When the doorbell at the door came, Higgs was mostly finished with the cooking. Chucking his apron to one side, Higgs went off to let Max and Siobhan in. Greeting them happily, he led them through to the kitchen-diner, waving his hand towards the dining room table. “Please, take a seat! Glass of wine to start you off?” Higgs offered taking the bottle that Siobhan had brought along.
--
Max was not looking forward to this evening. In fact, he could think of few things he’d like to do less than spend time with Higgs. Siobhan had known they didn’t get on at school, though Max had never told her then the implications Higgs had made about him, and nor did he intend to tell her now. They were nonsense, and nothing good could possibly come of airing them. Max was doing his best not to think about them, though knowing Higgs lived with Marcus, of all people, was really not helping. And while Max usually told Siobhan the truth, letting her know just how much he didn’t want to see or speak to Higgs would only make her feel bad for accepting the invitation. So he’d done his best to limit his grumbling to a normal level for when he didn’t particularly like a person.
“No, thank you,” he said, when Higgs offered wine. Max would usually have a glass with dinner, especially since Siobhan had brought the nice wine that he liked, but the last thing he needed was to lower his inhibitions tonight. “This is a nice house,” he admitted, mostly because not to say so would draw attention to how little he wanted to talk. “We’ve been looking for houses lately, but we haven’t seen anywhere we want to make an offer on yet. Do you and Marcus own the place, or rent?” Max presumed they rented, because who bought a house with a friend?
Max waited until Siobhan sat, partly because it was polite but mostly so that he could sit next to her and thereby have at least one ally near him.
--
Siobhan nodded at the offer of a glass of wine. She had no worries about drinking too much. Loosening up a little and relaxing would be a fine way to come down off of the long day at work. She was more than ready to have a little relaxation and the middle of the week was a perfect time to have a small reprieve from the usual business of the day.
"It is a lovely house," she agreed, nodding. She quieted to let Higgs answer the questions that Max had posed, taking her seat and scooting into the table, not surprised that Max waited for her to sit before he did. "Finding a house is definitely one of the most difficult things we've embarked on," she agreed. "We've seen some really lovely ones, but making that decision is harder than I thought it would be."
--
Pouring a glass of wine out for Siobhan and himself, Higgs located a water jug so he could place it on the table, in case Max preferred that since he had turned the wine down. “Thank you,” Higgs offered to both of them when they complimented the house. Whilst Higgs did believe the house to be both nice and lovely, it still felt good to have people comment as much. Taking Siobhan’s glass over to her, Higgs placed the water jug on the table, too, before looking around at the house proudly. “We built it, actually,” Higgs offered at Max’s question of whether him and Marcus owned the place. “We tried to find somewhere suitable and none of the houses just... worked, really,” Higgs explained giving a small shrug. “So we built this instead,” he concluded.
Putting his own glass down on the table, Higgs walked to where the curry he was making was slowly simmering on the cooker. Pouring it over into a dish, Higgs found a leidle before taking the food over to the table, joining it to a bowl of rice already there. “I did not enjoy looking for a house,” Higgs offered with a nod when Siobhan expressed how hard she was finding the search process. “But once you find somewhere and move in, the time and effort put into it really feels much lesser,” Higgs assured with a smile.
“Tuck in,” he said with a small wave towards the food. “Let me know if it’s too spicy,” he added. Higgs quite enjoyed spicy food, so he never really knew where other people’s tolerance lay.
--
If it hadn’t been for the newspapers flaunting Marcus’s engagement to Ginny Weasley so extensively that even Max couldn’t miss it, he might have wondered if Marcus and Higgs were more than just friends who lived together. Why build a house together otherwise? What were they going to do when Marcus got married? Deciding that Higgs’ motivations were really none of his business, Max just nodded as he filled a glass with water. “I see.” He glanced at Siobhan. “I don’t think we have the time or patience for that,” he added. They’d waited a long time to move towards marriage and living together, and even with magic building a house could take considerably longer than moving into one that already existed. “Not when we’re trying to plan a wedding as well.”
Max took a bowl of rice and curry with some misgiving. He did not understand the appeal of spicy food - it never tasted good, it just burned his lips and tongue. Of course, despite Higgs’ instructions, he wasn’t going to say so. For a start, there was nothing Higgs could reasonably do about it at this stage, but more importantly it would make him look weak. “How long did it take you to build?” Max asked.
--
"I certainly don't have the skill to build a house," she told Max, smirking just a touch. "Nor the patience," she agreed. She had a great deal of patience, of course. She had to in order to be able to do her job efficiently, but that didn't mean she was willing to wait the length of time that it would take to get a house built perfectly. It would be easier and less stressful to find something that worked now and could be added to — or removed from — later on. She had to agree with Max's mention of the wedding that needed planning as well. It was a great deal of the stress she had on her now. Planning a wedding was worse than house hunting, she thought.
Tucking into the food on her plate, Siobhan let the boys chat about house-building, finding it all pretty fascinating. She was just as curious as Max was about the length of time it had taken to build the house.
--
“Yes, of course,” Higgs nodded plating out some of the food for himself when Max said him and Siobhan were a touch busy with the wedding. “I imagine it must be quite a lot of work?” Higgs asked. He might’ve been married, but him and Alicia had eloped, there had been no grand ceremony, no guests, nothing but the two of them signing a paper. Higgs had certainly preferred it to the fuss that he imagined a wedding was, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t recognise that such big ceremonies could be nice. He just wouldn’t have particularly wanted to be in one.
Taking a spoonful of the food, Higgs washed it down with a sip of his wine before proceeding to answer Max’s question. “Probably about six months?” He offered. “But we had building engineers, and project managers and so such on site almost every day,” there was no nice way in saying ‘we put a lot of money into this’, really. Higgs didn’t think, even magically, houses usually were built that quickly, but him and Marcus had been rather determined, and didn’t exactly lack money to reach their goals.
“How’s the food?” Higgs enquired, glancing at both Siobhan and Max.
--
So far, they’d talked about what they wanted in a house more than they’d talked about what they wanted in a wedding. Max thought that was probably more important, though he did have his own ideas of what their wedding should be, ones he was sure he and Siobhan could find ways to work in. “Doing both at once may not have been our brightest idea,” he admitted with a slightly apologetic shrug towards Siobhan. “I get caught up in looking at houses and forget we haven’t set an exact wedding date and need to book a venue before they all fill up.” Really, he needed to do better. He smiled then. “But I still don’t want to put either off any longer, so we’ll have to manage.” He’d been thinking about employing someone to help plan the wedding, but that was something he would talk to Siobhan about in private before he raised it in front of Higgs.
Six months was a lot less time than Max had expected, but he still thought having to make every decision about a house while they were building it was probably more stress than it was worth. “We’ve seen houses that we could be happy in, haven’t we?” he asked Siobhan. Given that, building from scratch seemed an unnecessary hassle. “It’s just deciding which one we like most, and which aspects are most important.” They would get there, he was sure. He took a spoonful which was more rice than curry, and managed (he hoped) to look as if it was edible. “It’s fine, thank you,” he said, entirely out of politeness rather than any genuine feeling.
--
"The food is wonderful," she said. "Who knew you were such a good cook? Marcus has been hiding a very good secret," she laughed.
Siobhan nodded. "Oh, yes," she said to Higgs. "So much work." Like Max, she'd been pondering just hiring someone to help with the planning. Just having someone that would set it all up so she wouldn't have to would be a godsend. Anything to take a bit of the load off of herself and off of Max. "Max's is right," she sighed. "It probably was a bit much to bite off both massive tasks at once. I think we can do it, though." She turned her attention to her fiance and smiled at him. If anyone could pull off a wedding and a move all at the same time, it was the two of them.
She nodded again at Max's question. "Yes. There have been some beautiful houses. That's part of the problem, I think. There are some that are just wonderful and it's hard to choose which one is the best fit. We'll figure it out, though. Eliminating one or two at a time until we get down to the best one for us."
--
“To finding the right house, then,” Higgs said raising his wine glass in a cheer, giving both Max and Siobhan a smile before he took a sip of the drink. Higgs did also grin when Siobhan complimented his cooking. “Very kind,” he told her. Higgs didn’t think he was a bad cook, by any measurement, but it was still nice of Siobhan to say she thought he was good. Then again, Higgs wasn’t convinced that Max agreed, not when he was doing a much better job at eating the rice than the curry.
Getting up from the table, Higgs walked into the kitchen area, opening one of the cupboards. “So you said you’ve been a healer for a short while, Siobhan?” Higgs asked over his shoulder. “What is it that you did before?” Or perhaps she’d just been training, Higgs wasn’t quite sure how long the Healer training took. Returning to the table, Higgs put a small jug of coconut milk next to Max. “It’ll make the spice milder,” he told the other man before returning to his seat. “You’re clearly a very talented Healer, I can only assume you were excellent at your previous job, too,” Higgs said to Siobhan like there had been no interruption.
--
“Of course we can,” Max agreed, returning Siobhan’s smile. Siobhan, as her two very different careers attested, could do anything she put her mind to. Besides, he certainly made enough money at his job to throw at the problem until it went away, if it came to that. He raised his own glass an inch or two off the table in response to Higgs cheer, taking a sip that did nothing to stop the burning in his mouth.
He glared briefly at the coconut milk when it arrived, then proceeded to ignore it in favour of taking a larger spoonful of curry. He immediately wished he hadn’t, but did his best to chew and swallow without obvious signs of discomfort. Washing it down with yet more water, he passed the jug of milk over to Siobhan, who probably didn’t need it. “Thank you.” It was infuriating having to be so polite to Higgs, but anything else would just make the atmosphere awkward. All Max wanted to do was finish eating and get out. He let Siobhan answer the questions about her job while he continued in his valiant attempt to pretend he liked spice.
--
Siobhan could tell that Max was uncomfortable even if he was doing his best to hide it. The way he was eating the spicy food like a bird pecking around was almost humorous. Stubbornly, of course, he ignored the milk that Higgs had offered. Politely, of course, but stubbornly. She decided not to mention it for now and focused instead on the questions that Higgs had asked.
"Thank you. That's very kind of you to say. I just finished my apprenticeship," she said. "Before I switched careers, I was a dancer. A ballerina. I toured with a troupe for several years, but dancing isn't a forever career." As much as she loved dancing, the older she got, the younger the new dancers became and she much preferred to move out of the path of that career while she had the chance to do so on her own accord rather than be benched by the higher ups.
--
Higgs had known plenty of stubborn people in his life, but clearly there was stubborn and then there was Max. The way he passed the offered coconut milk over to Siobhan despite the fact that Higgs could clearly tell he found the food too hot, was mostly just ridiculous. Pointing it out, though, seemed rather redundant. Max was not a child, he could make his own choices, albeit however silly. Spitefully, though, Higgs did reach for the coconut milk, pouring some on his own food. He quite liked spice, which was why the food was probably so spicy, but Higgs was damned if he wasn’t going to just spitefully make it milder for himself whilst watching Max struggle through his food.
“Ballet!” Higgs exclaimed somewhat surprised. Not because he didn’t think Siobhan would make a good ballerina (not that Higgs had the first clue what made a good ballerina) but because it wasn’t really a job you heard often one having. “That’s very impressive,” Higgs commented truthfully. “Must take a lot of discipline,” he added. Discipline was certainly something Higgs had a great deal of appreciation for. “Do you dance, Max?” Higgs asked feeling that it’d be rude not to at least attempt to include Max in their conversation, no matter how much he would rather not be included.
--
In other circumstances - if it hadn’t been Higgs - Max might have taken Higgs’ use of the coconut milk as permission to do so himself without, well, there was no better word for it than losing. If it hadn’t been Higgs, it might even have been a gracious gesture to give Max a way out of his self-imposed battle. But it was Higgs, and Max wasn’t fooled. “Siobhan is excellent,” he said, since she hadn’t actually replied to confirm that she’d been just as good a dancer as she was a healer. And just because she wasn’t doing it professionally right now didn’t mean she was any less good.
“Not ballet,” he said, in answer to Higgs’ question. “Ballroom, well enough that Siobhan isn’t embarrassed to be seen with me.” There had been one disastrous attempt at Latin before Max had decreed it impossible that he would ever master it and so now he stuck to waltzes and other European styles. He smiled at Siobhan. “Or so she says.” He knew he was decent, though no doubt Siobhan could find far more stylish partners on the dancefloor if she wanted. Max was technically proficient, but rather stiff. “What about you?” Higgs’ family wasn’t so very different from Max’s, he could certainly imagine Higgs would have been offered a chance to learn, though whether he’d taken it or not remained to be seen.
--
It was very difficult not to smirk when Higgs reached for the coconut milk and poured it on his own food. She managed, but only just barely. She didn't want Max to think she was amused by his suffering or Higgs's reaction to his stubbornness. She focused on the conversation at hand instead because that was much better than giving her amusement away.
"Yes," she said, nodding. "A great deal of discipline and a lot of practice. I think, in that way at least, it is a lot like healing." Max's compliment made her grin and her cheeks flushed. "I think you're a little biased, darling," she told him. It still felt very nice to be told she was good at dancing, especially when there was an audience to overhear.
"I am not embarrassed of your dancing," Siobhan told him, laughing. "You're really rather good at ballroom." Maybe he wouldn't be going professional any time soon, but that didn't mean that Siobhan didn't enjoy dancing with her soon-to-be husband. "You do plenty well enough to make it through the wedding, at least."
--
Taking a much larger spoonful of food than strictly necessary, Higgs smirked at Max before reaching for his wine glass to wash the food down. “Ballroom,” Higgs nodded. “I can do ballroom, and some Latin,” he explained, putting the glass down carefully. “I have a friend who greatly enjoys dancing, so we go out sometimes to dance classes and so such,” Higgs explained thinking of Ashleigh, before giving a small wave at Siobhan. “I must introduce you two, she loves ballet, I’m sure you’d get on excellently,” Higgs told Siobhan, honestly thinking that her and Ashleigh would get one, if for no other reason than love of dance.
“Do you now consider dancing more of a hobby?” Higgs asked Siobhan, genuinely interested in her answer. “I imagine it must be quite a different experience, dancing for fun rather than dancing for work,” he commented. Higgs could, of course, only presume. His career didn’t lend itself much to becoming a hobby.
--
Siobhan grinned broadly at the thought of making a new friend, especially one who shared her love for ballet. "That would be splendid!" she said. "I'm not going to deny making a new friend. I've missed having ballet buddies around that I can chat with. I'm sure Max gets tired of me yammering on about dance sometimes." He was a good sport and dealt with it more than he probably should be asked to, but sometimes she yearned to have a good friend who just got how she felt about ballet.
"Somewhat," she said, nodding. "I still dance, nearly every day, but it's just not a career for me right now. I've thought about doing classes, maybe, I just haven't really entertained the thought too much just yet. With the house hunting and the wedding planning, there's no need to add to all that stress. And you're right, it is different to just be able to dance for fun. It's relaxing, for me. Cathartic, even."
--
Max smiled back at the compliment, because if his dancing hadn’t been good enough for the wedding, he’d certainly have had to take steps to make it so before he showed Siobhan up on such an important occasion. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the whole reason we were taught,” he said, though of course he didn’t really mean that. There had been plenty of times in his life where being able to dance had been a useful bonus, if never an absolute necessity. He did shake his head when Siobhan suggested he might get tired. “I never get bored of listening to you talk about something that interests you,” he said. It was true - Siobhan made ballet interesting in a way it wouldn’t be otherwise, at least to Max. (He had always found watching the scenes she wasn’t in a little dull, when she was backstage and couldn’t be at his side, but he considered that quite different.)
“Do you still play quidditch?” he asked Higgs, doing his best to keep everyone included in the conversation. “Since we’re talking of hobbies.” Obviously, he knew Higgs didn’t play professionally, because he had a (presumably) full time job at the Ministry. Max took another spoonful of curry, relieved to see he was making some headway towards the bottom of the bowl.
--
Higgs couldn’t help but smile at the way Max assured Siobhan that he wouldn’t get tired of hearing her talk about dancing because of how much she enjoyed it. The statement both sounded and felt genuine, and Higgs felt almost pleased that at least there was something that made Max sound pleasant. It was also true that the way Siobhan talked about dancing was interesting, just the passion that was clearly evident. “I’m sure you’ll find a nice balance once you’ve sorted the house and wedding stuff out,” Higgs assured. Both were, as Siobhan and Max had noted, quite big things, so of course they’d be time consuming and presumably quite stressful. Higgs did hope, though, that Siobhan would find the time, since she obviously loved dance a great deal.
At Max’s question, Higgs shook his head. “Not really,” he admitted. “I’ve played a pickup game here and there, but both Marcus and my sister Gemma, they play professionally, so it’s always a loss before I’ve even started,” Higgs said with a small chuckle. It was true, he couldn’t hold a candle to the sort of way both Marcus and Gemma played. Higgs was very proud of both of them and their talent. “I don’t think I have a great many hobbies,” Higgs commented with a shrug. “I like animals, does that count?” He somewhat joked.
--
It was sweet of Max to say that he wouldn't tire of her speaking on her interests. She smiled broadly at him. It was always those little things that she loved most about him. Tiny little comments that he made and probably didn't even realize were so important to her.
She let her eyes move to Higgs at Max's question. It was a good one, of course. She often wondered how many people who played Quidditch in school went on to do so afterward. Siobhan nodded at the mention of his sister and of Marcus. She doubted she would have wanted to play professionally if she had a sibling that played. She'd never had much interest in Quidditch either way, though. "I think liking animals counts," she said, nodding. "Surely it can't be your only interest, though."
--
Max had, in the brief time between lunch with Roger and dinner tonight, managed to forget that Higgs had a sister. When Higgs mentioned her, he was reminded not only that she existed, but that Roger had slept with her. To know that, when he presumed Higgs didn’t, made Max feel even more awkward in his own skin than he’d been all evening. He didn’t want to know things about the sex lives of his acquaintances, and especially not those he was now going to be forced to talk about with Higgs. Maybe if he just didn’t say anything, they could all move on - but that seemed rude. “Does she play for the Falcons as well?” he asked. He honestly didn’t follow quidditch closely enough to know - he only kept track of those people he’d actually played with, or else knew well through other means.
“Liking animals counts if you actually spend time on it,” Max agreed. Just passively liking animals when they were presented - which was more or less Max’s attitude - was hardly a hobby. Learning about animals, or taking care of them, or training them, those would all count. “Do you have pets?” he glanced at the floor, as if expecting an animal of some kind to present itself through the floorboards for inspection.
--
“Yes,” Higgs confirmed with a rather proud smile when Max asked if Gemma also played for the Falcons. “She’s very good,” Higgs added needlessly. The fact that Gemma played professionally, for a team that was doing excellently so far this season, was enough of an indication that she was very good. Still, Higgs was proud, and he was more than happy to jump onto any possibility to tell others how great his sister was.
At Max’s specification that it counted as a hobby if Higgs spent time on it, he gave a small laugh. “I imagine most people will assure you that I spend more than plenty of time on it,” he admitted, letting the smile settled on his lips. It was true, whilst Higgs was sure he could do more, he did support shelters and tried to at least once a month offer his services in walking dogs. He’d also considered training a service puppy, maybe one day, it seemed like a nice thing to do. “I have a cat,” Higgs explained. “His name’s Pushkin. And Marcus has a dog, Fi,” Higgs added briefly looking around in case one of them was about to appear. Neither did.
“What about you?” Higgs asked instead. “Now that you’re getting a house, are you planning pets, too?” He certainly would highly recommend having pets, but Higgs did also know he tended to be a little bit biased in his opinion of pet ownership.
--
Siobhan looked to Max and shrugged her shoulder. "We haven't really spoken much about pets," she admitted, laughing softly. "I guess with everything else, the thought hasn't occurred to us." They'd been more concerned with the wedding, planning possible children, and buying a house. Pets would likely come into the picture at some point, but she didn't even know what Max's opinion on pets would be.
"Tell me, darling, are you a cat person or a dog person?" she teased.
--
“I’ve never had a pet,” Max said. There had been a kitten, once, that he and Roger had been convinced they could nurse back to health, but Max didn’t think that counted when they’d been ‘taking care’ of it for less than a day before their father told them it was no use. (At least, that was how Max remembered events. He and Roger had argued at the time whether the cat was really beyond help or if Maximilian Snr just didn’t want to be bothered with it.) He shrugged, unconsciously mimicking Siobhan’s gesture. “It’d be up to you,” he said. Siobhan would, after all, be the one at home to look after their children - and, therefore, any pets. Max would help out, but he didn’t have strong feelings one way or the other towards the idea of getting a pet.
He smiled at Siobhan’s question. He could hardly blame her for not knowing when he wasn’t sure himself. “Horses,” he answered, smiling just enough that she would know he was joking. He probably had more experience with horses than either cats or dogs, though. Still, he wasn’t about to suggest they get one when they were on the brink of three considerable financial responsibilities already. “So I suppose dogs, if I really had to pick.” The leap between the two made sense in his head.
Realising they’d all but left Higgs out of the conversation, Max forced himself to turn away from his fiancee. “Do you garden?” he asked. “Siobhan and I are realising we’re going to have quite a bit of garden we’re not sure what to do with.”
--
Higgs couldn’t imagine never having had a pet. It made him almost instantly feel very sad for Max, but really, Higgs would’ve felt bad for anyone who had never experienced the joys of pet ownership. The way Max joked with Siobhan, clearly almost forgetting that Higgs was there, was really rather sweet. Or at least Higgs thought so. They clearly knew each other well, which wasn’t surprising seeing how they were engaged, but it was more than that. Higgs felt that it was possible to see why they were engaged. Ever so often, at least, not that he could really blame them for wanting to keep private things private. There was probably a lot good to be said about that.
The question startled a laugh from Higgs and he shook his head. “No, I don’t garden,” he replied honestly. “I think I’ve spent too much of my life in deserts to have any understanding of gardening,” which probably wasn’t how it worked, but Higgs was far too used to sand not being something that gave life.
--
Siobhan was in no hurry to get an animal. She wanted the option later on in case their children were eager to have a cat or a dog or some other small creatures. She didn't think she'd mind adding to the family later on, but for now there were plenty of responsibilities she had without adding another mouth to feed into the mix.
"Horses are lovely creatures," Siobhan said, nodding. Massive ones that ate a lot, but she could understand why Max would like them. "We can figure out pets after the wedding and the move," she told him as she moved to take another bite of her food.
She looked up at Higgs at his response to Max's question and laughed. "I've been thinking of picking it up," she explained. "I thought that growing vegetables and herbs might give me a renewed interest in cooking. Who doesn't like fresh herbs?"
--
“Yes, dear,” Max answered, his tone not quite sarcastic but definitely teasing. He really didn’t mind Siobhan making the decision to wait until after the wedding and the move - especially when it was a decision he entirely agreed with. Even once they moved, they would certainly want to make changes to the house and having an animal underfoot for the process seemed stressful. Though they would never get a horse as a pet, that needn’t stop him from daydreaming about watching his children learn to ride.
He nodded when Higgs pointed out he’d spent too much of his life in less-than-fertile regions to understand gardening. “You’ve got a better excuse than me,” he said. “I’ve lived in England my whole life and I barely know which part of a plant is up.” Gardening had not been something Maximilian Davies Snr had thought it important for his children to learn. He glanced at Siobhan again and said, “I’m going to be no help to you.”
--
Higgs gave a genuine, almost startled laugh, when Max said he wasn’t convinced he knew which side of a plant was up and which was down. There was something amusing at the idea, but more so at Max inspecting a plant to tell. “Perhaps what you need is a landscape artist, I’m sure they do low-maintenance gardens,” Higgs suggested. The only reason he even knew what a landscape artist was was because of his own efforts in building the house they were sat in currently. Higgs felt he knew more about getting things in order within and around a house than he ever had before. Which mostly made sense, since it was the first time he’d ever been in charge (or at least partially in charge) of building a house.
Siobhan’s words of how perhaps fresh herbs might entice her to cook more also made Higgs smile. “Cooking can be a lot of fun,” he told her. “Especially once you start cooking things you deem quite nice,” he added, gesturing towards the curry they had mostly eaten by now. “Baking, now, that’s a completely different ballgame,” he announced. “But you get to experience my efforts at that, too,” Higgs informed them. “I promise,” he added glancing at Max with a smirk. “My citrus tart is definitely going to be less spicy,” he assured half-teasingly.
--
A landscape artist was a fine idea. "It wouldn't hurt to look into it," she said. "I think that asking someone who does it for a living is probably the best bet. Learn from the best and all that." Feeling in the dark for ideas wasn't a good plan so she welcomed any expert testimony that would help her accomplish her small garden goals.
"I think it might be something relaxing to do every night. A wind down from the long day." And a time to bond with her children once she and Max had them. She wanted their family to be close and loving and dinners would be a good way of making that happen. Siobhan smiled at the thought of baking. She already enjoyed baking for special occasions. "Oh, we're lucky tonight, aren't we, Max?" she smiled. She was glad that he seemed to be loosening up a little more. "Dinner and dessert."
--
Max nodded. “It’s a good idea,” he agreed. “Get someone to set it up and give you a few introductory lessons and then you can take over.” Perhaps, as Siobhan had originally thought, a small herb garden might be a good introduction while the made over the rest of the house, then a vegetable patch and other gardening could come later. “As long as we leave room for a swing,” he added. He was set on that, on his children having something to do that was purely for fun without being even remotely educational. He’d never felt he had that - or at least, never felt it was encouraged.
Glancing at the other bowls, Max was pleased to see he wasn’t too far behind and wasn’t going to have to make a manful effort at finishing the last of his curry. “So it would seem,” he agreed, though he couldn’t say he really felt lucky at having to endure another course. At least this one ought to be more enjoyable - which really wasn’t saying very much. He forced a smile at Higgs’ teasing, ignoring the way it brought him sharply back to earth, reminding him that Higgs had invited him purely to make him uncomfortable.
--
“I hope you feel lucky after you’ve tried the tart, too,” Higgs joked, though really, whilst he didn’t have a great deal of experience at making desserts, he felt rather confident in this. If only because majority of the ingredients in it had come pre-prepared and his main job had been joining them together. Picking up the wine bottle, Higgs topped up Siobhan’s glass before topping up his own and then getting up to fetch the dessert. Puting the tart on the table, Higgs proceeded to clear their plates, making sure not to actually comment on how much food was still left on Max’s plate as Higgs took it away.
Having provided his guests with plates and cutlery for the tart, as well as a small jug of pouring cream, Higgs settled back down, cutting a piece before placing it on Siobhan’s plate. “Swings are great for kids,” Higgs commented returning to the earlier conversation. “Gemma and I had one that was like a play set? It was shaped like a ship and came with a sandbox,” Higgs explained, having dished out a slice of tart for himself and Max, too.
--
Introductory lessons sounded like a good plan and Siobhan nodded. She made a mental note to get some information about such classes at a later time. She smiled at the mention of enough room for a swing. Knowing that Max was as excited about being a parent as she was made her happy. "We'll definitely make sure there's enough room for a swing."
Siobhan thanked Higgs when he filled her glass the rest of the way up. The tart looked lovely and she was sure it would taste just as good as it looked. "Oh, that sounds wonderful," she said. "I think that I'll enjoy shopping for things like that, won't you?" she asked, looking over at Max. "Or do you think we should come up with an idea and have it built?"
--
Max laughed when Siobhan mentioned having a play set custom built. “I think we should be patient,” he said gently. “Our list of things to do is getting longer and longer.” Finding a house, redecorating it, getting married, getting the garden sorted - all of these could come before accessories for children they weren’t even trying for yet. Max had refused to consider trying before they were living together, and he still wasn’t sure whether or not he’d let Siobhan into it before they officially married. “But either way, I’m sure we’ll enjoy it.”
Max thanked Higgs as he presented him with a slice of the tart, then poured some cream for himself and held the jug questioningly for Siobhan. It was good to see her eat cheerfully - and might even have been worth the curry, if it had been served for them by anyone else. “There must be magical swings and play sets,” he mused. “Might be another reason to look at more magical areas.” It was a difficult balance to make, because Max didn’t want his children to be isolated to the same extent he and Roger had been, but he still wanted them to be able to have the magical toys he’d dreamed for them. “It just seems to be decision after decision,” he said, addressing the room at large.
--
“Yes,” Higgs agreed with a laugh when Max noted how it seemingly was just one decision after another. It was true, of course, especially in his and Siobhan’s case where they were planning a marriage and looking for a house and trying to decide on an order in which all other things were yet to come. It was sweet, there was no other way Higgs could describe it. “Welcome to being married,” he added with a smirk, raising his glass in a mock toast. His own marriage, perhaps, hadn’t been quite complex in this particular scenario, as him and Alicia had picked a flat quite quickly, but then, they had also been much younger. Planning gardens had been far from their list of priorities for a multitude of reasons.
After taking a bite of the tart, and humming approvingly since it genuinely tasted rather nice, Higgs gave a small shake of his head. “Between the two of you, I’m sure you’ll come around to all the decisions in a timely fashion,” he noted seriously. “Whether it’d be pets or swingsets,” he added more humorously.
--
"Well, I don't mean tomorrow," she pointed out with a laugh. "There's plenty of time for that." The house. The wedding. Those things were at the forefront now. As eager as she was to try for children, Siobhan knew that she had to exercise her patience. It was difficult, but she still had to respect that Max wanted things in a certain order. She wanted that order too, of course. She would have moved in with him ages ago if they'd been less busy with work and training and school. A grand many things had pushed that step further back, but now they were on the precipice of cohabitation and she couldn't be happier.
She took the cream from Max, thanking him. She was trying to seem normal as possible with her eating. Doing so in front of people had become difficult, but the last thing she wanted was for her issues with food to be right out in front of her like a scarlet letter. She put a little cream on the tart, then set the jug on the table. "I think that I've been leaning that way, too," she agreed. "I want there to be a sense of freedom and not so much worry."
She laughed at Higgs's response. "I think so too," she agreed, smiling at Max. "We make a pretty good team."