HIGGS, terence. (higgles) wrote in reduxpitch, @ 2016-03-21 08:34:00 |
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Entry tags: | !thread, character: phillipa flint, character: terence higgs |
who ? phillipa flint and terence higgs
when ? monday, late afternoon
where ? shops that sell tiles
what ? higgs doesn’t trust himself or marcus to be any good at interior design, so he’s asking pippa to help him pick out tiles for the new house
status ? complete
It wasn’t that Higgs didn’t think either him or Marcus had much of a taste in interior design, but quite frankly, Higgs really didn’t think that either of them were capable of picking out things like tiles unsupervised. He had considered asking Alicia to come with him but hadn’t necessarily wanted to risk the sort of awkwardness it might potentially be to have his wife pick out tiles for a house he was building with his best friend. It seemed rude and unnecessarily cruel to point out just how much his relationship with Alicia were still not back to being considered a marriage. So instead, Higgs had asked Pippa.
Which is why Monday afternoon (that Higgs had officially got off from work, rather than just skipping) found them in a tile shop. The fact that Higgs hadn’t known there were shops dedicated to nothing but tiles should have been a pretty good illustration of why he wasn’t allowed to pick out tiles by himself. Currently, he was staring at six tiles that the shopkeeper had sworn down were different but to Higgs just looked sort of beige. All the same beige, too. Except their prices varied so crassly that Higgs was sure at least one of them had to be made of gold or something.
“Pippin,” Higgs said with a sigh as he looked over at the woman. “When did beige develop so many names for its nonexistent shades?” He asked with a frown as he attempted to decide what the difference between ‘apple crunch’ and ‘fleeting fawn’ really were. Apart from two ludicrous names.
--
Easing back into real life after a weekend away was always advisable in Phillipa's mind. Fair, her real life wasn't entirely a jumble of stress and commitments, but it kind of was, which meant starting into it after spending days away was difficult. Maybe that was why she'd agreed so easily to go tile shopping, of all things. Well, that and the fact that she didn't trust her brother or Terence to either put much thought into it, or not choose something bad. She loved them, but no.
She'd listened as the shopkeeper prattled on about different choices, paying attention but letting Terence do the talking because it was his house they were there for, after all. But then once it came to actually looking at the tile, she could see how it might be overwhelming. There were just so many choices.
"When people wanted it to seem like something one should buy," she replied, shrugging a shoulder. "Same with any color. Eggshell sounds more interesting than saying white. It's all to draw interest, make colors seem like more than they are."
-
The explanation didn’t help at all. Higgs was perfectly capable of understanding the words she used but the idea that names might make colours seem like more than what they were just confused him. So he frowned, leaning in closer to stare at the beige. Nope. Still beige. “This is such new-age wanker bollocks,” Higgs muttered but loud enough for an old lady walking past to give him a tut and a nasty look, which effectively made Higgs both apologise and blush at the same time.
When she had left, Higgs turned to look at Pippa again, making a face as he did so. “I don’t think I even want the tiles to be beige,” he told her with a small shrug. This was just the kitchen tiles, too, they still had four bathrooms to tile. Despite the fact that they had been in the shop for no more than twenty minutes, Higgs already felt like giving up. “Can we look at different shades of green?” He asked Pippa hopefully, because as much as there were many things about Higgs that weren’t Slytherin (like blushing when an old lady tutted at him), there were still plenty that were.
--
Phillipa snorted at what he said, and the fact that he was tutted at. It wasn't that she disagreed with him, but she was certainly used to the fanciful names people used for colors. It tended to be more straightforward when one was talking about clothing, rather than paint or tile choices, but it was all in the same realm.
"You're acting as though they were ever going to be beige," she replied, hooking her hand into the crook of his elbow and moving with him away from the bland and boring beige tiles toward ones with more color. "I never would have allowed you to get something so drab." There were better choices with green anyway, actual different shades - not just made up ones. "What area of the house were you thinking?"
-
Higgs let her hook her hand against his, following her with an ease, since he had zero intention of protesting. This was why he had asked Pippa to come. Shopping for tiles was always going to be stressful, Higgs was sure, so having someone here who he trusted helped greatly. And no, he didn’t trust himself. Or Marcus. Probably not even Gemma, because Higgs suspected she would just make him get stuff that looked awful for her own amusement.
“What area?” Higgs repeated genuinely startled by the question. “The... kitchen?” He offered her sounding unsure. “What other area would I tile with kitchen tiles?” Higgs asked. A question which might have sounded mocking but really, really was not. Higgs had no idea if kitchen tiles went into places that weren’t... the kitchen. Retrospectively, building a house rather than buying a ready made one was a lot harder than he had ever anticipated. “How is this so complex?” He asked more rhetorically than not.
--
Raising an eyebrow at his response, Phillipa let her fingertips drift over a few of the different choices. "Well yes, kitchen tiles go in the kitchen, but I didn't know if you were planning on tiling the bathroom and in what color, in which case we would look. at green bathroom tiles." She was really glad he had asked her, or at least not gone by himself, or with Marcus. Then they might have ended up with a house covered in apple crunch.
"I think this would look well in a kitchen," she went on, tapping her fingernails against a tile that was a deep green, with a slight bluish hue to it. "You'd want to make sure to choose features to go with it when you're choosing the cabinetry and counters, of course. What do you think?"
-
The idea that he might want to match or intentionally exclude particular colours hadn’t really occurred to Higgs, but now that Pippa mentioned green bathroom tiles, Higgs could feel a headache coming on. “I don’t want it to look dark,” he said with a small shrug, not specifying what the ‘it’ was. Higgs himself wasn’t too sure. The kitchen, the bathroom, the house, the anything. Light and airy was what he was mostly hoping for, not a Slytherin common room. “I think I’d prefer sea tones?” He offered before giving a dramatic sigh. “Oh, god, I now have opinions about made up colours,” he announced dramatically just as a shop-person appeared.
“May I help you and your wife?” The man asked and it honestly took Higgs a split second to realise that he was referring to Pippa not Alicia who wasn’t even there. “No?” He offered cautiously, glancing at Pippa. “Unless, of course, you feel like we need help, sweetheart?” Higgs asked her, this time a small smile playing on his lips. He was hardly going to bother objecting that the woman currently having her arm linked with his, helping him pick out tiles wasn’t his wife.
--
"Alright, so nevermind," Phillipa said easily, turning her gaze more to the lighter shades in front of them. She smirked softly at his dramatics and was about to say something in reply when the shop-person came back around and the word 'wife' hit her like a jolt. And then Terence didn't bother to correct him, which was fine because it wasn't like it mattered in that particular situation, and with the papers already tossing rumors around that she was his girlfriend, why the hell not?
"I think we can manage," she replied, her free hand coming up to pat Terence's arm lightly as she offered the worker a smile. "But thank you, I'm sure we'll let you know if we have any questions, won't we darling?"
-
“Yes, dear,” Higgs confirmed with a nod, frowning slightly at the way the shop worker gave him a look that looked like a mix between pity and understanding. Why Higgs would need pity for agreeing with his wife, whether a real one or not, he wasn’t too sure. But then the man spoke again and Higgs’ frown didn’t lessen. “We have some comfortable seating just over there,” he said pointing to the other end of the shop. “If you want to just let the missus choose,” he informed them. What a ridiculous notion. It almost made Higgs say as much, just the idea that men let their wives makes all the choices, with no input or support. Personally, he didn’t view that as a particularly good thing.
Tilting his head slightly, Higgs hummed thoughtfully. “What do you think, Pippin? Shall I abandon you and make you decide on everything so I can then pay and as soon as we arrive at home complain about how you don’t let me choose anything?” He asked and it was the shop worker’s turn to frown as he attempted to explain that that wasn’t what he had meant.
--
Phillipa caught the look from the shop worker but was willing to let it pass, but then he had to go and open his mouth again and start in on something she knew wouldn't sit well with Terence as much as it didn't with her. Her eyes narrowed as she considered him, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly as she watched him try to backpedal and find a different meaning in his words that would make them less presumptive and insulting.
"Yes, that sounds perfect," she said, her tone much cooler than it had been moments prior. "Just let me spend your money since goodness knows I don't go out and make my own. Might as well keep our marriage a battle than make it a partnership, that's what I say. Where would we be if you didn't have me to complain about to all your friends?"
-
“That’s not what I--” The shop worker started but unluckily for him, Higgs had no interest in a fake apology that would most likely follow the endless list of excuses and then high hopes that him and Pippa would not complain at an official capacity. “Well, sweetheart, I imagine, I’d be off with one of my many mistresses, explaining how I do love them but it’s just not the right time to leave you,” Higgs said cutting the other man off, before giving him an over exaggerated look of despair. “I need someone to pick the tiles, you know?” He said, voice too cold for the comment to be misinterpreted as anything but negative.
“I think,” Higgs continued, voice much softer in comparison as he addressed Pippa. “That perhaps, we need a different shop with far too many colour choices for tiles?” He asked her. The shop worker was starting to look like he might cry. For all the feelings of social justice, that did actually quite please Higgs. “Maybe I could even buy you a lunch?” He offered Pippa, a small smirk appearing on his lips. “Treat you right?” He added.
--
"Oh yes, the endless list of young, beautiful women you go after when you're tired of me," Phillipa said with a sigh, shaking her head. "It's so hard to choose between them - who would you leave me for? No matter who it would be, there would be so many left disappointed - not just me."
Her fingers curled a little against Terence's arm, but her expression softened as she looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, darling, I think this isn't quite the right shop for us." She smiled, batting her eyelashes a little. "Buy me lunch? Oh, you are sweet. So very good to me..." She brought her hand up to lightly cup his jaw, her thumb brushing against his cheek as she kept her gaze on him for a moment before looking over toward the worker and glaring at him. "Let's go, we're having our time wasted here."
-
The temptation to say something more was great, but Higgs did realise that he was going to actually cause a scene if he carried on in this fashion. So instead he gave one last look at the large collection of green tiles before deciding that he definitely rather spent time buying Pippa lunch than dealing with more tiles. Or sexist shop workers. Thus, not even bothering to say goodbye to the man, Higgs led Pippa out of the shop, with a small shake of his head. “God, that was worse than all the beige,” he sighed out before glancing around them, spotting a Muggle pizza place across the road.
“Pizza?” He offered instead. “I really rather buy you food, or let you buy me food,” he added with a small grin. “Than look at any more tiles.” Except, of course, they would have to look at more tiles because that was the whole point. Higgs was sure they were okay to postpone the tile acquisition for a lunch break, though. Surely. Hopefully.
--
Phillipa let him lead her out of the shop, glad to be done dealing with the worker even though she could have said much more if they'd stayed any longer. She huffed out an annoyed breath and rolled her eyes. "That was quite worse than beige. What an unbearable prat."
Her gaze followed his to the pizza shop and she gave a nod. "Pizza," she agreed, smirking softly. "And sorry, darling, you're the moneymaker, remember? Lunch is on you." There could be more looking at tiles afterward, but she was hungry, and the thought of trying to pick the perfect shade of green before eating something seemed impossible.
-
Higgs was glad she was happy for him to pay for the lunch. Not because he was the man and should have to, but because she was doing him a favour and Higgs wanted to thank her even if it was just by offering her pizza and a drink. Once they were in the restaurant, a waitress led them to a table, rattling off the daily specials before presenting them with menus. Higgs glanced at the menu briefly, mostly to make sure it had the sort of pizza he liked, before he put the menu aside, looking at Pippa across the table instead.
“How was your romantic weekend getaway with my sister?” Higgs asked with a small smirk toying on his lips. Despite what either Pippa or Gemma might tell him, Higgs refused to believe that there was no romance between the two women. Realistically, he was willing to accept that there very easily might not be, but Higgs had also planned out their wedding in his head so there was a lot of personal involvement in this. “Am I yet to ask you what your intentions towards her are?” He added jokingly, because Higgs had no doubt that whatever those intentions might be, they were probably a) not ones he wanted described when in relation to his sister and the woman he considered a sister and b) honorable (as well as point A).
--
Phillipa settled into her seat across from him and glanced at the menu for a moment before he brought up her weekend. She arched an eyebrow as she kept her gaze on the menu for a few moments longer before setting it aside and looking at him.
"It was lovely, thank you for asking," she replied smoothly, bringing her hand up to tuck her hair back behind her ear. "I should think you would know by now that my intentions toward Gemma are nothing but the very best." She offered him a smirk and reached for the glass of water the server had brought her, taking a sip before shrugging a shoulder. "She deserved a weekend away, I was more than happy to give her one."
-
Higgs hummed in approval when Pippa said that the weekend had been lovely. He didn’t disagree that both Gemma and Pippa deserved time away, they both worked very hard. “Never offer me weekends away,” he pointed out instead, mock offense in his tone. Higgs wasn’t too sure him and Pippa going away for a weekend abroad would be a very good idea. Knowing the two of them, they’d get in trouble before the Saturday morning had even had time to settle in. Then again, the two of them together were also rather exceptional at getting out of trouble together.
“I just want to wear a nice hat to your wedding, Pippin,” he informed her instead just before the waitress reappeared to take their order. Once she had left, Higgs smirked at Pippa. “I have it all picked out already,” he told her with a small laugh. It might have sounded like a joke, perhaps even been intended as one, but Higgs had had far too much spare time on his hands during slow days in the army, so if he was going to be perfectly honest, he might even find the sketches he had done for their table arrangements somewhere. He was a man who liked to be prepared, okay?
--
"Yes, well, I do have a list of reasons why I don't take you away to Paris with me for a weekend," Phillipa replied with a smirk. "It's rather short, but a list all the same. Top reason is that you're married." She would gladly go on trips with him, but they would most certainly get in all sorts of trouble. And besides, he was married, and she wasn't sure how Alicia would like that.
"You have it picked out already? Why am I not surprised. What happens if it goes out of style before the big day? You wouldn't wear an out of date hat to my wedding, would you?"
-
“Well, it would be nice to at least be asked,” Higgs pointed out with sadness that in no way was genuine. Pippa was right, of course, he was married and going off on a weekend trip with another woman, even if that woman was someone he considered a sister, might be a bit odd. Besides, it was hardly as if Higgs felt the need to go away on weekend trips with people who weren’t Alicia. And there was also, of course, the fact that Higgs much rather Pippa took Gemma away on trips than him.
Higgs laughed at Pippa’s question, his hat choices, no doubt, were incredibly unfashionable, especially when reviewed by someone with the sort of knowledge in fashion Pippa had. “I’d like to imagine that you wouldn’t notice the fashion relevance of my hat for Gemma will look so stunning she’ll take all of your attention,” Higgs informed her, rather pleased with that argument. He might have to reconsider the hat, though, especially since he didn’t want to look out of fashion in the wedding photos.
--
"Next time I'll ask you so you can turn me down," Phillipa replied, waving her hand dismissively. Who knew when the next time would be, but she'd try to remember to run it by him just to make him feel better by being asked. She was nice like that.
"My dear, sweet Terence," she started, giving him a look. "Of course she would. I wouldn't look anywhere else. But if you think I would allow some sort of eyesore at my wedding just because you couldn't bother to update a hat... I don't know who you think you're talking to." She sighed, shaking her head. "There would be pictures. And I'm sure I'd dance with you at least once, and be forced to look at it..."
-
“Good,” Higgs said with a nod. It wasn’t that he actually expected Pippa to invite him, not when she knew for a fact that he would turn her down. Still, now that he was thinking about it, perhaps what they needed was a weekend away. All of them. Except then Higgs had to wonder whether all of them would be the four Higgs-Flints or five with Lucas, or six with Alicia. Perhaps the travel arrangements would be a touch too difficult.
“But, Pippin!” Higgs explained instead with a fake outrage. “Wouldn’t my beautiful face make up for it?” He asked dramatically, turning his head from left to right and then back as if to illustrate just how beautiful his face was. “No ugly, outdated hat will take away from such beauty,” he informed her trying his best for a serious tone but failing rather miserably.
--
Phillipa rolled her eyes, smirking as she watched him. "No, Terence, it would not. Maybe if you were Gemma, but an ugly monstrosity on top of your head would definitely take away from your better features."
She rest her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands, looking across at him. "So moving away from this wedding you have figured out for me, you want a lighter green tile? That would certainly make the next shop easier, knowing what you're looking for before you go in..."
--
“Well, I disagree,” Higgs informed her, sticking his tongue out at her briefly. “I believe that my beauty would shine true,” he added just in case she wasn’t clear that his argument was, in fact, ‘yes, I’m pretty’. In all honestly, Higgs probably wouldn’t wear a hat to Gemma’s wedding, be it with Pippa or otherwise (even, though, he did hope it would be with Pippa).
He did groan rather loudly when she brought up the matter of tiles again. Really, Higgs rather forgot about the whole thing and pray for tiles to just be there. “Yes,” he said instead. “I want a light wood theme, so light greens would work well, I think?” Higgs offered, clearly having thought about this before. Just because he didn’t want or trust himself with tile buying, didn’t mean he hadn’t at least considered what might work. “But I rather talk about--” He paused with a small shrug. “Well, anything but tiles, really,” he finished rather truthfully.
--
"I think a light green would look nice, yeah," Phillipa agreed, ignoring his groan. That had been the reason he'd asked her along, after all - to help with tile. Of course that was hardly what she wanted to talk about either, but she'd wanted to get him off the topic of her completely made up wedding.
"Anything other than tiles," she repeated, letting her head loll to the side against her hands before sitting back her chair again. There were so many options more interesting than tiles, it was simply a matter of narrowing it down. "Wonderful weather we're having, wouldn't you say?"
-
Higgs was pleased that Pippa agreed that light green would look nice. Obviously, he thought it would but Higgs also knew all too well that he shouldn’t just base that decision on his own taste. It was good to have Pippa approve of it, because Higgs had no doubt at all that if there was anyone who knew good taste it was Pippa. So Higgs gave her a smile in return of her approval, because he felt it was well deserved.
Their food arrived before he could really question Pippa’s alternative to tile conversation being weather, but it didn’t escape him that the topic had rather swiftly changed off of his sister. Higgs wasn’t too sure whether he should push it, but he also refused to talk about weather with someone he knew could offer a much richer conversation. Once the waitress had left, Higgs glanced at Pippa. “I’m going to be nice and not question you on why you’d rather talk about the weather. But I’m also not going to accept that as a good conversation topic,” he informed her. “How’s your work going?” Higgs asked instead.
--
The food was a welcome interruption - only partially because Phillipa was hungry. She should have known better than to try the weather but she hadn't been able to think of much anything else. Pulling a piece of pizza onto her plate, she glanced across the table at him and offered a shrug.
"It's been going well. Fashion season's been happening so I've been busy," she started, tilting her head in thought. "Being at Paris was nice. I don't think I'd want to have to go to them all, that'd be too much all in a row. But overall, they keep paying me to write, so that's what's important, right?" She took a bite of her pizza and gestured over to him. "How's your work?"
-
Higgs started on his own food as he listened to Pippa’s reply. He didn’t exactly have a great deal (or any at all) to contribute to a discussion regarding Fashion season but that didn’t mean that Higgs wasn’t more than happy to nod along Pippa’s explanation, nodding in the right places. He couldn’t really judge how hard or easy her job was as Higgs knew very well he wouldn’t be able to do it. At least she seemed to mostly enjoy it, which was important. It did also bring him to her question.
With a small shrug of his shoulders, Higgs shook his head. “It’s fine,” he offered. “I’m not enjoying it as much as I would like to,” he admitted. Being a Hitwizard on paper had sounded greatly appealing but now that he was actually doing it, Higgs wasn’t convinced the profession was the right fit for him. “Do you think I could write about fashion?” He asked Pippa teasingly, knowing that they both were aware of what the answer to that question was. Higgs couldn’t even pick out tiles on his own.
--
Phillipa frowned softly at his response, slowly chewing a bite of her pizza as she listened. That was something she'd worried about before she found jobs to settle into - getting in a place where she was doing something she didn't enjoy. Her job at Witch Weekly, she could do that easily and did enjoy the writing that came across her desk, and then Abditum she clearly enjoyed since she'd practically willed it into being in the first place.
"Not in the least," she replied to his question, smirking softly before her expression went back to being more serious. "What do you think you might enjoy doing otherwise? I'm sure there are other jobs."
-
The answer to her question was rather easy. Higgs had loved being a soldier. Except that no longer was a plausible option, or at least not one he should seriously entertain. There was a reason he had chosen to leave the army, even if that reason wasn’t something he particularly wanted to acknowledge. “I don’t know,” he told her instead because it wasn’t a complete lie. He couldn’t go back to being a soldier, becoming a Hitwizard had seemed like a good alternative at the time. Now Higgs wasn’t too sure.
“Perhaps I’ll start writing really bad fashion advice,” Higgs said instead, giving Pippa a grin. “I could be your awful counterpart. You write about how nice fabrics flow and how things look a certain way because of--” He paused. “Stuff.” Well, he never claimed to be any good at it. “And I’ll write about wearing t-shirts and mismatching colours for reasons,” he concluded. ‘Reasons’ was pretty much as elaborate as that description would get.
--
Not knowing was something Phillipa was familiar with. She also knew how much it could suck. It could really cause trouble in one's mind, if nothing else. She took another bite and set her pizza down, brushing her fingers off with her napkin.
"Sure, but would you enjoy that?" she asked, a teasing smile aimed his way. "We can work on it, though. Maybe make a list of things you enjoy doing, or think you would enjoy, and we can go from there. Look at what there is, the job options, where you might be able to look into something. Certainly doesn't hurt to shop around, since you've a steady job in the meanwhile."
-
Higgs couldn’t help but smile at Pippa’s offer. It was both logical and helpful, so he reached across the table, putting his hand over hers before giving it a small squeeze. “Thank you, Pippin,” he said softly, the smile not leaving his lips. “I really appreciate you micro-managing my life,” he told her and whilst the words might have sounded patronising or sarcastic, Higgs meant them genuinely. They had known each other long enough for him to respect the fact that Pippa could be far more sensible that Higgs gave himself credit for being. He was also almost always more than willing to take her advice.
“I don’t think I would make a very good writer,” he said finally, pulling back so he could take a sip of his drink and another bite of his food. “So perhaps fashion magazines are not where I should be looking at employment for,” he added, the smile now replaced with a grin. “But if you ever need someone to model some pretty dresses,” he paused. “Gemma’s your best bet,” Higgs concluded with a small laugh, more amused at himself than he should have been.
--
Phillipa rolled her eyes at what he said, but she knew he didn't mean it in a bad way. Maybe she was micromanaging his life, but someone needed to. He'd asked her along to pick out tiles for his house, so clearly she was trusted to make some sort of choices. She'd meant what she said, and she would be more than happy to sit down and brainstorm potential job options with him. After all, what were friends for?
"She certainly is," she agreed, smiling a little more and taking a sip of her drink. "I think perhaps Witch Weekly isn't your target place of employment, but I'm sure we can find someplace better suited for you. There's no reason you should have a job you don't enjoy."
-
“I really do appreciate the offer,” Higgs assured her with a nod. There was still plenty he had to consider in his own right, but having some sort of a starting point would be very helpful. He also needed to talk to Alicia about it, but it would still always come down to his decision, which currently Higgs just wasn’t sure he was informed enough to make. With Pippa brainstorming it over with him, that would make a great deal of difference, Higgs was sure.
Giving a small sigh at the idea of needing to job hunt, Higgs shook his head. “Right,” he said, looking down at his food. “Lets eat and then lets get some fucking tiles,” he told both Pippa and his pizza with determination of a man who had no wish to ever shop for tiles again.