Thalia: Yay! More collaboration-ness! Alice here is my RPG partner-in-crime, and fellow ebil plotter extraordinaire! Based on ideas gotten from our RPG, etc., we're going to bring you lots and lots of happy ficcy-ness! Enjoy this one, in which we have Terence Higgs, Alicia Spinnet, and, since we are writing it, snark in large amounts! Leave us mucho reviews as well, to motivate us and placate our (read: my) smitational/homicidal tendencies XD.

Alice: XD This is my very first collaborationish thing, so bear with me XD I of course, could not think of a better person to guide me through this experience than the loffly Thalia! Whee! Review lots so she will not have to smite you :D

Disclaimer: After Thalia gets her Biology Degree; she will become a mad scientist and turn herself into a clone of JKR. Until then, Harry Potter is yet un-owned by either of us.

"Love is a friendship caught on fire."

~*~ Snarky Pastries and 'That Special Someone' ~*~

Terence Higgs was never one for weddings. Sure, he didn't mind going to them so much, but there was always that nagging grandmother-ish voice in the back of his mind that said, "When are you going to get married, huh? What about settling down, eh?"

He sighed, staring into his drink (only slightly stronger than butterbeer--he had found over the years that him and alcohol got along much better from a distance). This wedding was probably the worst for making him think about his own life. Cassius married... it just didn't make much sense. Sure, Cass and Maya had been together for a long time, and he figured living together and marriage had to be close to the same thing, but just the idea of it... the finality. They truly belonged to each other now. It was legal. But worse than legal, they had chosen it. They had, of their own free will, committed themselves to the other. Terence almost wanted to say they had to be crazy to do that. But seeing them together... he knew they weren't crazy.

He took a sip of his drink and glanced at his watch. Alicia was supposed to meet him here. He wasn't sure why he had asked her to come drink with him, of all people. After they graduated, the two had met through a series of random events and had somehow become... friends, he guessed. And now he was waiting there in the Leaky Cauldron to have a drink with her.

At that moment, the door to the Leaky Cauldron opened, causing the bells hanging on the door-handle to jingle slightly. And then, as Terence looked up, a purring ball of fluff sprang at him, landing squarely in his lap, nearly knocking his drink over. A female voice, half-amused and half-exasperated, called out, "Pernix!"

Terence smirked as he set the Kneazle down gently, scratching its head, then turned to look at its mistress. "Hello there, Alicia," he greeted, "Don't I get an enthusiastic greeting from you as well?"

Alicia Spinnet cocked an eyebrow at him, and returned his smirk, "Well, I don't know… it would be rather unseemly if I suddenly decided to jump across the room and launch myself into your arms, then purr and expect you to scratch my ears, wouldn't you agree?"

He laughed, and watched as she slid into the booth across from him, "Well… rather unusual, I daresay, but I'm sure it would be enjoyable. Not to mention… quite bloody hilarious."

"Oh, and get everyone staring at us, wondering if we were St. Mungo's Mental Ward runaways?" Alicia shot back, "You and your exhibitionistic tendencies…"

"You better believe it," he grinned at her as the waitress approached their table, "What will you be having?"

"Just a roll and a butterbeer for me," she said off-handedly, "I had a late breakfast..."

He nodded and ordered a sandwich for himself, barely glancing at the waitress's backside as she swished away. "So what have you been up to?" he asked casually, leaning back in his chair, his mind already relaxing, just being in her presence.

"Oh, not very much... The store's been pretty slow lately, too," she answered, leaning her cheek on her hand and her elbow on the table. "What about you? Wasn't your cousin's wedding yesterday?"

Terence sighed. "It was..."

"And...?" She raised her eyebrows at his lack of enthusiasm. "Well? How was it?"

He rubbed his finger over the label of his bottle thoughtfully. "It was... nice..." he said elusively.

"Nice?"

"Yes. Nice. Isn't that what you're supposed to say about weddings? Oh, I'm sorry--I meant it was beautiful." He rolled his eyes slightly.

"You sound rather unhappy for something so supposedly beautiful," she remarked, "Why?"

He shrugged, "Oh, I don't know. Cassius and Maya... hmm... it's just weird, I guess. They're actually committing themselves to each other." His face showed rather plainly his opinion of the sanity (or lack thereof) of this concept.

"Oh, and what's wrong with that?" she asked, smirking slightly, "Perhaps she can get Warrington to behave once in a while. That's not bad at all."

"Oh, she can get him to behave. It's rather scary..." he grinned somewhat, "But, I don't know... it makes me think of committing, myself..." he paused, then smirked, "Which immediately makes me think of committing myself to a Mental ward."

Alicia had to laugh at that. "You talk about it like being in love is just about not shagging other people... There is more to it you know..."

He rolled his eyes slightly. "Doesn't seem like it most of the time," he muttered to his bottle. "What's the point? My sister used to fall in love every other week, and then every other week she'd fall out of love and end up hexing the guy till he left her alone. Now she's married with fifteen or so sproglets from hell that she hands over to a nanny to raise. Is that what love is?"

She scowled slightly. "No. Love's not like that. It doesn't come and go weekly either--that's called lust, sweetie."

"Love, lust, it's all the same..." An idle wave of his hand illustrated his point.

"It's not," she insisted, "But if you want to live your life thinking like that..."

"You know, you're beginning to sound an awful lot like Maya..."

"Me? Sound like a Slytherin? Well, maybe that just goes to show how universal this is..."

"Sure," he said, his eyebrows raising slightly and dropping again.

"Fine, don't believe me... It doesn't hurt me any for you to not believe in love..." Her voice betrayed nothing, but if he had had the sense to look up, he would have seen the sadness that crossed her eyes for a moment.

"Bah… enough of that… I'm acting like a wet blanket, and that's very unattractive to the ladies, or so I've heard," he waggled his eyebrows at her, before managing a smile. "And how have you been? Any attractive men in your life, besides yours truly?"

"Oh, I don't know... the usual, I suppose," Alicia gave a light shrug, smiling back at him, "And there have been plenty of attractive men in my life. As per usual."

He pouted, "And you didn't tell me?! I'm hurt, Ali... what if they... they decided that they fancied you or something?" He looked horrified at the idea, "That would be terrible... I'd be forced to hex them all..."

"And you're acting like a daft overprotective older brother... why?" she raised an eyebrow, "You don't want me to tell you that you're doing a spiffing Ron Weasley impression, do you?"

"Ron... Ron Weasley?!" he sputtered, "I do not act like Ron Weasley!"

"Oh, he was quite indignant when he found out his sister was shagging Malfoy," she replied calmly, smirking up at him, "You're doing a great impression of him... but don't worry, I'm not going to shag Malfoy. Not into the blond, ferretly type, I'm afraid..."

Terence muttered under his breath. "Ruddy ferret shagging a bloody Gryffindor..." A hint of a smirk played at the corner of his lips.

"What was that?" she asked, letting out an almost-giggle.

"Nothing," he replied innocently, grinning.

She raised her eyebrows suspisciously. "Something about bloody Gryffindors...?"

"Would I ever say something like that?" He placed his hand on his chest. "I'm offended that you would think me so shallow as to judge people by what house they were in? Really..." He shook his head, hiding his grin, though it showed plainly in his eyes.

"Oh, how could I make such a horribly wrong character-judgement..." She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Will you ever forgive me?"

"Oh, I don't know about that…" he waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her, "You'd better make it up to me."

Much to her own surprise, Alicia found herself flushing slightly, but she laughed it off, swatting playfully at him. "And how do you propose I do that?" she asked loftily, a mocking twinkle in her eyes.

"I'm sure I could come up with some interesting ways," he said, leaning towards her. He lowered his voice slightly, "with or without flavored condoms..."

Alicia gave him a mock-glare, "You know, if I recall correctly, the last time you had offered flavored condoms to someone who wasn't quite receptive to them, you ended up in a pink tutu. I'm surprised that you're trying it again."

He gave her a sulky look, "Since when did you start banding up on me with Cassius?"

"Oh, let me assure you, I'm not," she laughed, "I just thought that I'd remind you."

"And where did you hear that story, anyway?" he asked incredulously, "What other things do you know about me, that you're not telling me? How much blackmail do you have on me?!"

"Oh, only enough to keep you behaved," she said sweetly, reaching over and patting his hand, "I'm not your cousin, after all. Which, come to think of it, is a good thing."

"Damn straight..." he smirked, "Otherwise, it would be a Very Bad Thing if I suddenly found myself lusting after you."

"Lusting after me?" she began innocently, "But Terence, I'm not your type... I thought you only went for blonde, ditzy girls..." she twirled her finger in her hair in dramatization, "With large... mouths...?" She grinned at him. "Speaking of flavored condoms..."

He laughed heartily at that. "Oh come on, Ali... you know I look at more than a girl's hair and mouth..."

"Oh of course, how could I forget--there's the boobs and the arse and the legs... nice tummies are always a plus..." She grinned evilly at him.

"Brains, Alicia, I was speaking of a girl's intellectual ability..."

"Right, how could I forget? She has to be able to say bed very clearly, and hopefully she can read the words Motel, and hourly rates..."

Terence groaned, though he was laughing. "Come on Alicia! Aren't you being just a little harsh?"

She put her finger to her lips, seemingly thinking for a moment. Then she looked back at him and dead-paned, "No," before a mocking grin spread over her face.

"Alicia, love..." he sighed, a mock-tragic expression on his face, "You make me sound like some sort of... of tart."

"'Love'?" she raised her eyebrow, "Are you trying to flirt with me, Terence? And you are a tart."

"I'm not," Terence pouted, "I'm... tastefully pastry-ish, but not a tart!"

"Only a tart such as yourself would flirt with a supposedly completely platonic friend, such as myself," Alicia pointed out.

"'Tart' sounds so... bad... wouldn't you agree that 'Sex God' sounds better?"

"I refuse to comment on the grounds that your ego does not need any further inflation," Alicia said firmly.

"My ego is not inflated," he bristled indignantly. "I'm just... healthily self-confident..."

Alicia rolled her eyes. "Right. And my great aunt Marcy is going to be the next centerfold in Play Wizard."

Terence shuddered. "Now that does not sound pleasant..."

"Believe me, it's even more unpleasant than it sounds."

"I believe you..." Terence said immediately, then pouted, almost like a child, "You almost never compliment me, Ali… if I didn't know better, I'd be thinking that you didn't love me after all."

"And where did you get the idea that I loved you?" she asked curiously, neither denying or agreeing.

"I'm me, and I'm just very lovable. Everyone loves me," he answered.

"Yes, Mr. Lockhart," Alicia snerked, "Everyone adores you. But I'm not everyone. I'm not one of your harem, you know."

"That's a good thing though! I can… well, I can talk to you, and… stuff! And it's fun! And we have fun together, even though I haven't shagged you yet! That's not something I find every day!"

"Yet?" she repeated, laughing. "You know, Ter, I appreciate our friendship as much as you do, but sometimes I get the feeling that you're expecting more..." She wasn't saying that was a bad thing necessarily...

He leaned towards her, grinning. "And is that such a bad thing?"

"I don't know, it depends..."

"Depends on what?"

She shifted, becoming a bit uncomfortable. "On... things, Ter... like how serious you are!" She laughed a bit nervously.

"What if... I was very serious... I could be in love with you and you'd never know..."

"I thought you didn't believe in love..."

"...Right. I don't." He smirked. "Lust, though, is a very fine thing, indeed. Maybe I've been lusting for you ever since we met..."

"And why would I care?" She asked mockingly.

"You would care because I'm just so... lovable--remember? We just went over this, love, and I thought you weren't one of those ditzy girls I 'always go for'..." He stuck his tongue out at her triumphantly.

She glared at him, "I'm not a conquest, you know. Don't treat me as one of your ditzy girls, since it's been established and agreed upon that I'm not."

"That's true, you're not," he agreed, "And I haven't been treating you like one of them… have I?" Somehow, the thought of losing her… friendship, or something… seemed far more dire than losing another girl's adoration. Something that would hurt more than his pride.

She sighed. "No... I guess you haven't... if you were, I'm sure you'd have shagged me long ago and I'd be sitting at home wondering why you haven't owled..."

He winced at that. "Oo, that's harsh..."

"It's the truth, isn't it?"

"...I guess so..." he said quietly. "But... I could never do that to you... you're too... special..."

"Thanks, Ter..." she said, looking away sadly, as if this was some sort of consolation prize.

He reached out to touch her arm gently. "Ali, love... what's the matter...?"

"It's nothing..."

"You know, I really do think you're special..." he said softly. "You're the only girl I could ever actually talk to..."

She nodded vaguely, still not meeting his eyes.

"I don't know, Ali... this is... hard for me... I wish... I mean, I wish I knew what to say..." He tilted his head, trying to look into her eyes. "Ali...?"

"I don't know, Ter… we sit, we talk, we flirt a bit now and then. What can one say?" She asked, almost rhetorically, "I mean… just out of curiosity, and I'm sure I'll regret asking this, but… why don't you ever try to shag me, or something? Go beyond light flirtation?"

"Because… you're you… and I can't do that to you?" he ventured, blinking in confusion. "I don't know. I'm just afraid that then, we wouldn't talk any more."

"Oh?" she looked at him, her eyes steady, willing herself to be calm.

"I… I mean, I can't treat you like… like you're one of them. Because you're not. And I like that you're not. And I'm just scared that if… well, if we changed anything, you wouldn't be my friend any more. I can't risk that. I don't know… it sounds all sort of… wonky. But, yeah…" he rambled, unsure of where he was going with all that, then sighed, "I don't want to hurt you."

She was silent for many moments, pondering over his words, looking at his genuinely confused expression through her lashes, and then, she spoke again, her voice soft. "So, more or less, you value our friendship."

"Yes… our… friendship. Or… whatever it is that we have. And… I'll just take whatever I can have with you. Because I don't want to lose it."

"Why?" her voice had gone even softer.

He reached over, gently taking one of her hands in both of his, "Because… I said, you're special."

She finally looked up at him, her eyes suspiciously bright. "And… and what if you prove your current philosophies wrong someday? What if you fall in love? I'm sure whoever the girl was… wouldn't want to have anything but your undivided attention."

"Well. I'm not. Going to fall in love. With some other girl," he said firmly.

"And how can you be so sure?"

He scratched his head, biting his lip, "I'm sure because… because… I've known so many girls. And I've never felt anything for them, beyond lust. What's to say that that's going to change? Except for you… you're not like them. And… I don't know. I can't imagine spending time… just spending time… with any other girl like I do with you."

"So… are you saying… that you've never had a girl for a friend before?"

"Well, we're friends, but…" he paused, frowning and looking rather flustered, "But it's different, kind of. I mean… I'm friends with other girls. Like Maya, for instance. But she's not like you… and even if she were single and all that, I don't think it would be the same. I… it's rather confusing."

She was still looking at him, somewhat expectant, her cheeks rosy, perhaps due to the warmth of the room. He couldn't look away, even though he felt as if he were baring something of himself, a sensation that most Slytherins avoided at all costs. But he forced himself to continue, not quite sure where he was going with it, but just saying what he felt, without adornment of any sort. "I don't know. You're special, Ali. I never want to lose you. Ever. And… and if that means that I won't be able to… to have anything but platonic friendship…"

"Well…" now her voice was somewhat bashful as well, "What do you want? Platonic friendship… is it what you want?"

"I… I want…" he looked at her, hesitant, before saying in a low voice, "I want to have what Cassius and Maya have. But I'm afraid that that's not what you want, and if you don't want it, I'm not going to push the issue, because I'll just take whatever I can get… that I can keep. And right now, I want to kiss you. But I don't know what you want."

Alicia stared at him, her mouth gaping slightly, her hand coming to her throat in disbelief. "You... you want..."

He nodded solemnly.

"Well, I... I want..." She couldn't get the words out.

He sighed, turning away dejectedly. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said anything..."

"No! I... I mean... I'm glad you did... I..."

He gazed at her hopefully, his eyes a bit wide. "You...?"

She nodded, a smile starting to form on her lips, as Terence smiled too and slowly leaned over the table towards her. She leaned towards him as well and soon his lips were on hers and pressing against them and she couldn't do anything but kiss back.

The two, completely unaware of the world around them, did not notice Pernix the Kneazle hopping from the seat to the floor, purring loudly, a triumphant sort of expression on his face. Terence smiled slightly into the kiss, then reached over, lacing their fingers together. Eventually, they pulled away, needing air. He had a silly grin on his face, almost childlike in its glee.

"So... I've not lost you?" he asked, his tone light, though his eyes were serious.

"You've just found me, I think," she answered, before reaching over and brushing her fingertips over his cheek.

"I'm... wow... erm... happy?" he ventured, eyes glinting. She felt a smile blossom over her face.

"I'm sure you are... your git cousin can't go smirking around and giving you the 'you're missing something' look any more, hmm?"

Terence laughed, "Sure... that... among other things."

~*~ FIN ~*~

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