Closing up Shop;;Erich

[Marlon Wagner]

Quitting time, well for most of the people in this office it was quitting time. For Marlon, it was gather up the work that he still had to finish and take it home with you to sit alone and work some more, time. Not the more glamorous of lives but he wouldn't have it any other way. He honestly felt like he was doing good here, that he was making at least a slight difference in how the Ministry was working. He wanted to make headway with the current problem, to help instill some of the already fractured confidence that so many held in regards to the ministry. He was trying so hard to hold down his own part, to hold his own weight here where hope was so hard to come by. In these days, there was almost nothing to strive for, at least that's what he saw on the faces of just about everybody who was passing through his office door. His real duties of traveling and acting at the diplomat that he signed up to be. Currently, he was acting as no more than a standard issue customs officer. He was however, still doing all of the paperwork for both jobs, not to mention he had to review everything that the rest of his floor did and make sure that it got sent out properly. Of course some might say that he just needed to delegate better but Marlon liked knowing everything that was going on around his floor. If it would have been possible, he would have done all of the work by himself just so that he knew everything was done properly all the time. Of course, then he would literally have to run himself into the ground. With new prospects in his life now, he couldn't do that. He had to think about the others around him now, how his life and actions were going to affect them.

There was a fifty year old port sitting in his fridge at home, becoming him. Even now he could feel the slightly sweet fermented grapes on his tongue. He only needed to get him, and his large stack of paperwork home to take care of it. He left his office silently, as per the norm, he was the very last person to leave the floor. All of the cubicles were dark, not a single desk lamp was left on. He turned off his own lights and headed toward the tiny speck of light that was the call button for the lift to take him to the bottom floor. His vintage brown leather over the shoulder attache case was stuffed to the brim with files and forms that needed his signature. His arms were overladen with the rest of tonight’s work. He was thankful for the busy work since he still had not heard from Autumn in regards to his proposal, or her thoughts on the matter at all. Stifling a yawn he didn't even want to know what time it was, and stumbled onto the lift as soon as it hit the floor and the doors parted for him. He moved to the back of the lift, and leaved up against the back wall, the railing cutting into his buttocks painfully. He should have moved, but he was far too tired to bother shuffling his weight to one foot and crossing them at the ankles was the best that he could manage to do. He managed to shove his workload onto one arm with some difficulty, and raised his free hand to latch his hand onto the leather straps that were going to keep him in place as the lift whipped him about the building until he reached the fireplaces in the lobby that were going to take him home.

He held on tightly, body swaying as the lift made a few stops on the way, he knew that those coming home at the regular hours would have had to been forced to stand in the over crowded lifts as everybody attempted to get home to their loved ones. It was just about the only thing good about coming home so late at night, he generally had the place more or less to himself along the way. No lines waiting to get into the fireplaces, and abundance of floor power because the night house elves would have restocked everything by this time. No strange chit chat as he made his way, he could push the buttons on the lift himself and not have to bother somebody by asking them to do it as he shoved himself and his work into the corner and waited for his floor. These were most of the same reasons that he came into work before almost everybody was here as well. The best scones were for the early risers, only available before seven am, then they switched to biscuits because they were far cheaper to make on a mass scale. He got to the coffee before it turned to sludge and always got a clean cup. It wasn't so much the people that he wanted to avoid, Marlon got along with almost everybody but the chatter he needed to keep away. He had to keep focused or risk forgetting about something important, and that was never a good thing. In fact, in all of the building there was only one person that he avoided at all, and that was just to keep from having to be lectured about how horrible of a person that he was and how he didn't deserve to share the same air as his highness Griesser. It was always a gamble as to whether or not they were going to bump into each other at some point during the day. After all of his owls and this long of a time, Marlon wondered daily why it was that he didn't just come upstairs and see him face to face. At least he was assured that by leaving this late at night, the Prince of sleeping in wasn't likely to be here.

[Erich Griesser]

Erich couldn’t believe he was here. His first night off in months and he was back at the damn Ministry. The very same place he had been only a few hours ago held up in his small little cubicle in the offices of the Daily Timestopper, conveniently located in the government building. He was in the place so often that it physically made him nauseous when having to come outside of work hours or when he didn’t need to stop by to drop off his latest article. He had always thought that Galaxia had been bad. When he was a teenager and forced to stay in the castle for nearly eight and a half months out of the year, going back after winter break or vacation was like a prison sentence. Here, the rules were far less strict. Erich could come and go as he pleased. As long as his articles were turned in by their deadlines, his editor could have cared less if he was in the office for longer than a day. Actually, he was sure that the man preferred him to stay out altogether. However, to be fair to the so-called ‘journalist’ prats he worked with, he was required to spend at least one full work day in the office a week. Those days were always pointless. He worked better on his own and in surroundings he was comfortable with. The Timestopper offices did not make him feel comfortable. Truthfully, they stressed Erich the hell out. There were too many idiots roaming around trying to initiate conversations with him when he wanted nothing to do with them. That and they were nosy. People loved sticking their heads over the flimsy wall of his cubicle to see what he was or wasn’t doing so they could rat him out.

There were simply too many bad memories associated with the place to make Erich want to be there. If he was left alone and didn’t have to listen to the bullshit ramblings of the twits around him, he’d be fine with writing in his cubicle. From the very beginning he thought he had made it perfectly clear. Stay away from him. He even remembered conversations he had with particular people in which he told them he was an angsty loner who hated people. That had apparently worsened things for him. People felt bad for him and tried to involve him in their outings or group discussions. He continued to tell them that he didn’t care and wished they would all suffer at the hands of the Dark Lord. A female reporter in her 40’s responded by bringing him a plate of cookies. Erich yelled at her for fifteen minutes before grabbing the tray out of her hands and devouring every single cookie by the end of the day. He couldn’t understand why it was so hard for people to comprehend that not every single person on the planet thrived off of social interaction. He could be, and was, a well functioning member of society on his own. He got the people skills he needed from his parents. Hell, he even got some from Cammie. He had seen her a few times since their nightmare of a first meeting in Somerset. Their conversations were usually very short-lived, but she was growing to become someone he could tolerate being around for longer than five minutes. That was a huge accomplishment in Erich’s book. Unfortunately, getting his co-workers to see that was impossible. Their heads were too far up their asses to think he did nothing but go home and read comic books every night.

Speaking of idiots, the night guard at the lobbyist’s desk was the king of them. The two had been locked in an exchange of heated words and glares for thirty minutes now. Erich had returned to the Ministry after realizing he had left a very important list of names in the locked drawer of his desk. Usually his nights off comprised of him sleeping them away from the moment he got home, which he had done for three hours previously. Sleep was so rare for him nowadays that he took every possible opportunity given to him to catch up on it. He had been in a deep sleep when he had suddenly awoke. There was no explanation for it. All he knew was that he was pissed. It took a few minutes of cursing at the ceiling for him to realize that he hadn’t brought home his list as he had intended earlier. It wasn’t for work since he would not be using any of his time to write. He wanted it at his home for safe-keeping. The list held names of residents of the Condominiums at Ilfracombe. Erich had gone through very difficult and not so legal ways of securing the list for reasons still unknown to him. He had met a strange man at the Waterfront about a week ago with information on Kaydence Morgan, the sister of the Dark Lord. It was Erich’s duty to find out where it was she was residing to gain more information to presumably write a scathing article about the bitch who had insulted him all throughout Galaxia. It wasn’t moral, but he still held a lot of hate for the woman who had deemed herself worthy of anyone outside of her house. She had dug her own grave. It went without saying that if the list fell into the wrong hands he’d be screwed, not to mention in trouble with the Ministry for having it in the first place. He needed to keep it at his house where he knew it would be safe.

He could have gotten it the next day. He'd have to suffer the forced hello's of his co-workers, but he could go back to sleep. The nagging feeling in his gut wouldn’t go away though. After almost an hour of internal conflicts, Erich pulled the covers off of his body, got dressed and apparated to the Ministry where he had been fighting with this muscle-head. To make things worse, he realized once he got to the desk that his badge had been left in the Timestopper offices while he was rushing to get out of there. The guard knew exactly who he was. However, due to his natural ability to make everyone hate him, the man stood his ground and refused him entry without proper identification. “Stop being jealous because I make more than you do at this low end job. I highly doubt I need to be blamed for your poor life decisions.” His insults weren’t going to get him to his desk any faster, but Erich couldn’t help himself. He hated not getting his way. “Let me go to the damn offices. Escort me if you want. See if I give a shit. I have work to do that your feeble brain couldn’t even begin to comprehend.” The guard’s face was getting red. Maybe he could get him pissed off enough to make him chase after him, run into a wall and pass out so he’d have no further interruptions in his journey to the office. “What’s the matter? Pissed that it’s taking you this long to realize what a pathetic waste of space you are?”

[Marlon Wagner]

The strange thing was, that the standardized classical music coming in from the small floating speaker next to the ceiling of the lift was actually calming him down. Of course, now that he was actually standing still the fatigue was starting to get to him. He could feel the heft of the book in his arms, the corners pressing deep into the flesh of his arms, the strap of his bag cutting into his shoulders and pinching the nerves there into painful little knots. The number above the door ticked down slowly until he reached the desired floor and the lift came to a halt. Cupping his mouth with his hand Marlon did his best to suppress a yawn as he exited the tiny room and stepped out onto the main floor. The welcome sight of dozens of fireplaces surrounding him on either floor. The giant marble statue took precedence over the room , but there were dozens of outstanding art pieces surrounding the entrance hall. He could remember the very first time that he had come into this building, he had spent the better part of a day admiring the fountain alone because even bothering to look at the other works of art. Knowing that he had been perfectly content spending his time just looking around, he had known that very second that this was the place for him. Just the following week he had turned his career path in his classes to the direction of the ministry. It never should have been a question, at the time he had felt so foolish for not thinking of it sooner. Yet, in moments like these where he was only just now leaving the already deserted building, he fantasized about what his other options might have been. He would have excelled in any field, he hadn't ever even considered the medical field because that had been Autumns thing, and given his personal history, he wasn't fond of ever coming in contact with a battered victim again...he would have taken it far too personal. He couldn't remember anymore that he was planning on doing instead of working for the ministry...and he was far too tired to speculate about it as well.

Pushing back another yawn he hoisted his bag up higher on his shoulder and moved closer to the fireplaces, taking comfort in their oddly warm green glow. Not a day went by that he wasn't totally impressed with magic and all of the things that could go by. His parents weren't magical, so he had been raised just like a muggle would have been yet, over time he could understand how some people would grow accustomed to magic, and rely on it to do even the most regular of tasks. He had grown jaded over time, and couldn't remember the last time that his tie didn't fasten itself around his neck, or the last time that he had actually waited for water to boil on it's own but the infinite possibilities overwhelmed him daily. Smiling weakly at his train of thought he shuffled his feet over, passing the doors that lead to the main floor departments on the way. Callista's office, all the lights were off there which was no surprise. She needed every wink of sleep that she could manage. What he wasn't expecting, was the lights on at the Ministry entrance to the Daily Timestopper. For some reason, he stopped. He didn't feel the same sense of dread as he normally did whenever he walked past and quickened his pace in a shameful way. He knew he shouldn't be snooping, but it was just so strange that the lights were on at this time of night that he was staring. Perhaps he was just overly tired and starting to become delusional, which was never a good sign. His shoes squeaked with a strange echo as he turned on the polished floors, his footsteps resounded softly as he took the seven steps to peer into the offices.

Peering into the dimly illuminated room only to not see a single person. Pressing his eyes together tightly he opened them slowly, Merlin he really needed to get back home. Shaking his head he laughed under his breath. What if he had run into the very man that he had been hoping to avoid this whole time. If his sleepy motions had been what ruined their whole avoidance schedule then he would have really kicked himself. He had almost just gotten himself into a real pickle. Shifting his documents from one arm to the other he turned heel with another squeak and started toward the entrance where he could finally find the fireplace that would take him to the town square in his neighborhood. Then he could just take his short walk home where he would find his toasty warm house waiting for him, his port and nice leftovers from his lunch with Autumn yesterday. He couldn't have been more thrilled over the fact that she was allowing him back into his life. If he were very fortunate, he could find a few choice memories that would replay themselves in his dreams tonight. Perhaps, maybe he would even get a good nights rest for the first time in a very long while. The fireplace was growing closer with every weary step, if he had only the energy, he would have walked faster. It felt like he was running, but he was certain that only every now and then he was taking a slow, crawling step. “What’s the matter? Pissed that it’s taking you this long to realize what a pathetic waste of space you are?” What was that? He hadn't heard a voice inside of these walls at this time of night other than Rupert the night guard whenever they said goodnight...which he hadn't done tonight and now felt rude for skipping that. His neck strained to see who was the source of the voice, but couldn't place it. Furrowing his brow he pushed his long blond locks back and over his head and started in that direction. “Rupert? Do you need any help?” He could see the body of the man, and the frustrated movements that he was clearly upset about but not the face. Rupert was clearly agitated, which was a shame.

[Erich Griesser]

As much as Erich hated to admit it, his insults were getting him nowhere, making this situation that much more frustrating. Groaning, he brought his hand to his face and wiped it down. As he had expected, his last words didn’t go over well with the guard. For the first time since their altercation, the man slowly pushed himself from his chair and stood with his palms on the desk, bent over and staring him down. “You’ve got quite the mouth on you, you prick.” Rolling his eyes, he sarcastically smiled at the guard. “Well then, that should only be further proof that I’m a journalist, shouldn’t it be?” He then smacked his hand down on the desk. “But yes, that’s right. You would have to be able to read to understand what it is that I do for a living, wouldn’t you? I dare say you only got hired for this job because of your large stature and ability to block people from getting to their destination. Nothing about that really requires brain power does it?” The man’s eyes closed as he lowered his head. With the way his jaw was clenched, Erich was sure he was trying to refrain from throwing his body over the desk to tackle him, which he had no doubt he could do. If he weren’t so damn stubborn, he’d be worried. The man was three times his size and could inflict serious damage with a single punch. Yet he was confident in his ability to outwit the idiot. He knew he was capable of maneuvering his words in such a manner to make the meathead distracted enough to make a run for it at some point. He just needed to keep at it before he was the one distracted.

“I guess you’re right.” The guard finally said after a minute or two of silence. “But you don’t really need brains to expose the ones of a pompous asshole on the cement of the floor.” Erich was never one to allow one’s flaws to remain hidden. “It’s actually marble in here mate. Not cement.” Before the giant lunk could squeeze the life out of him by wrapping his deformed hands around his neck, the arrival of another voice broke the silence. “Rupert? Do you need any help?” Of all times, of course the son of a bitch would pick now to show up. Marlon Wagner had a voice that wasn’t hard to forget. It was deep, scholarly and made him want to kick something whenever it tried to calmly explain how wrong it to remind the human race of how pathetic it was every time he noticed another one of its tragic imperfections. Marlon Wagner. His former best friend for practically all of his teenage years. The one man who he could share a heated debate with and want to share a pint with after. The man he ridiculed time after time for having an ungodly hair color and an inability to put down textbooks and quills to let loose for more than an hour. He was the most intelligent man that Erich had ever come across, which he often resented with how highly he thought of himself on a daily basis. He was the only person Erich had ever truly befriended and also the only person who had ever betrayed him the way that he had. Marlon hadn’t done anything physically hurtful, per say, but he almost wished his best friend had considering that Wagner had forced him to confront something he didn’t much like. Rejection.

There were times Erich had felt like a battered ex-girlfriend. Marlon and him got on each other’s nerves like any friends did, but never to the point where he thought the prat would just stop returning his posts or answering his damn door for him. He was well aware that he was a jerk. His friend never seemed to care though. The confusion which surrounded Marlon’s sudden disappearance angered the hell out of him. He didn’t like things happening without being known of it. He didn’t like lack of explanations for things that clearly needed them. Mostly, he did not like things being thrown away simply because one selfish jerk suddenly decided that he needed his space. He hated himself for it, but countless efforts had been made on his part to make contact with Marlon. Erich just wanted to know why. Why had his attitude towards their friendship change within the course of a week? Wagner was a coward. Since he couldn’t make the time to respond face-to-face or even by letter, he was a coward. After time, he had given up. He had stopped trying to walk Marlon’s normal course and wait for him in the locations his friend formerly haunted. Instead, he chose to thrive on his hatred for the platinum-blond prat since that was easier to do then accept the fact that he had been hurt by his old friend’s actions. He had been angry before, but now Erich was outraged. It was bad enough he had to do with one bulky prat. He didn’t need another one. Not to forget, his chances of survival in a battle of wits had now been significantly lessened. Marlon was the only man of his species that could knock him down a level with his fist and with his own words. He bloody hated that.

“This survival of the fittest doesn’t concern you Marlon,” Erich yelled behind him. How strange it felt uttering the man’s name. “I’m sure you have some highly confidential paperwork on trade agreements between Austria and Slovakia that need your sole attention, locking yourself in a room as you are so good at doing, for the upcoming weeks. You should probably get a start on it now.” He allowed a smirk to appear from his lips. His knowledge of the secrecy between the two countries shouldn’t surprise his former friend. He was one of the best damn investigative journalists the country had ever seen. He knew it was pointless to hope his words would fall on deaf ears as they had done for years now, but he had a sickening feeling in his gut that tonight would be different from all the rest. He had no doubt Marlon had a bone or twenty to pick with him after things that had been said and passed to him through word of mouth. The dimwit staring him down had gotten him riled up enough to not want to fight with anyone else for the night. Most unfortunately, Erich was still paranoid that Cammie had ratted him out and Marlon was simply biding his time before breaking every bone in his face. He really liked his face in one piece. “Look,” he started, forcing himself to turn his attention back to the guard, “if you let me into the offices, this will all be over with. No more insults, no more questioning your manhood, no more anything. Despite how it looks, I don’t want to keep making you feel bad about yourself. I have my own agenda just as you have yours and I would very much like to keep it.”

[Marlon Wagner]

He moved forward with caution, Rupert wasn't a small guy, and while it was horrible for him to say so, he wasn't the brightest either. He was the kind of man that one really shouldn't sneak up on, because it could end very quickly, and violently. Struggling under the weight of all of the paperwork that he was holding, he shifted a few things around so that he would be able to access his wand with only minor difficulty if he needed to. He couldn't imagine that it was anything serious at this hour, but it was always better to be prepared, just in case. He rounded the corner and could pick out more of the conversation “You’ve got quite the mouth on you, you prick.” Oh no, that wasn't going to end very well at all. Why anybody would pick on a minimum wage security officer was beyond him. “It’s actually marble in here mate. Not cement.” At the last comment, Marlon staggered in is step. He knew that tone, he knew exactly who he was going to be rounding the corner on, just the man that he had been avoiding this whole time. His eyes clenched shut for just a moment to steel himself against the verbal onslaught that was going to be coming his way the second that he rounded this corner full. Opening his eyes he took a deep breath. Time to face the music. Erich Griesser was truly one of a kind. Marlon prided himself on being well versed in a lot of things, and he liked to be able to read people. Yet, things that he couldn't understand, he liked to keep around for constant study. At first, Erich had been one of those people. He was really a soul to himself, very smart, but so blindingly rude and stubborn that it was almost never seen. He was really a very decent friend whenever he put his mind to it, but he was a man that you really had to work to gain his favor. Marlon had always deeply regretted how he had let things slip through his fingers. There had been more than one occasion in which he would have loved to pop over to Erich's to feast on his mothers cookies and chat for awhile. Just to have a place to get away would have just been wonderful, but he knew that bridge had been burnt a very long time ago.

There was no way that he was ever going to be able to explain to the man what had happened, or make up an excuse that would please Erich. He could claim a coma, but Marlon had always been a pathetic liar. No, there was no reason for letting things get away from him other than the fact that Marlon was a prat, he had explained that to Autumn, but she was a far kinder soul than Erich was. No, he may have dated Autumn, but he knew it was Erich's heart which had been battered. Whether he admitted it or not. For somebody so guarded, he really was fragile. Poor man. Marlon could feel his teeth grinding within his skull, and he closed the distance. With a good effort, he hoisted the folders that he had been holding in his arm, and placed them on Rupert's desk. The man seemed glad to have a friendly face on his side, and Marlon had never been anything but kind to the large man. If it came to blows, obviously Rupert would win, but if it was left just an argument, poor Rupert's ego would be bruised beyond repair. “This survival of the fittest doesn’t concern you Marlon,” He had been ready for the anger, but the yelling hurt, and not just his ears. “Neither are you, mate” The second that mate left his tongue, he regretted it. “His body mass is far larger than you own, obviously you are less fit than he is” He tried to lighten the mood, at least to direct the anger at himself and away from the night guard. “I’m sure you have some highly confidential paperwork on trade agreements between Austria and Slovakia that need your sole attention, locking yourself in a room as you are so good at doing, for the upcoming weeks. You should probably get a start on it now.” At the mention of the treaty, Marlon found himself smiling. He really was a top notch reporter, of course he knew Erich wasn't allowed to report on the subject since he worked within the ministry, but he wasn't surprised that he knew about it. Flexing his fingers in an attempt to get circulation back to them, he pulled a draft of that very treaty off the top of his stack of folders, and slipped it into the middle of the pile, just in case.

“Look,if you let me into the offices, this will all be over with. No more insults, no more questioning your manhood, no more anything. Despite how it looks, I don’t want to keep making you feel bad about yourself. I have my own agenda just as you have yours and I would very much like to keep it.” Marlon could see that Rupert was having some sort of moral dilemma about what to do. So, to help his acquaintance, he held up his hand to the large man. “I'll take it Rupert, not to worry.” That way, if something were to come back, then at least it would be Marlon's name that popped up as having let Erich into the offices this late at night. Being a department head meant that he had access to almost everything in the building. Minus of course, the law enforcement floors. Though, he knew that if anybody was going to have access to those floors, it would have been him. He had proven himself time and time again after all. Leaving his papers on the desk, he took his messenger bag off of his tired shoulders and lowered it to the floor. The strap was threatening to break as he did so, he was going to have to enchant it to hold fast at least until he got home. He felt fifty pounds lighter, and without saying a word, moved toward the door that would lead him into the time stopper offices. “Nothing illegal, I assume?” He tried to jest, knowing that it was just going to make things even worse whenever his friend did explode. Marlon was already running a mental stop watch until melt down. Swiping his badge against the key pad to the left of the door, he stepped aside as the thing clicked to symbolize that it was unlocked.

He found himself twirling it about his fingers once he had used it for it's purpose. He was anxious, a very unfamiliar emotion for him. He wanted to say something, to attempt to patch the sorrow that he must have caused by his constant absence from his friend's life. Yet, anything that he said wasn't going to be enough, he couldn't ever explain his reason to Erich. As far as he knew, Erich knew nothing about his past, or his family and it was going to stay that way. He shuffled his feet, hoping that Erich would say something so he could respond. He didn't imagine that they were ever going to speak again for no other reason than he had allowed too much time to pass without a word. It wasn't Erich's fault that this had happened, and Marlon couldn't honestly hold his accountable for growing impatient and not waiting for Marlon to get over his personal issues, even if it would have been nice.

[Erich Griesser]

It had been bad enough seeing his former best friend. The moment Marlon had responded to his comments however, Erich was livid. He would never admit it, but the man’s sudden disappearance in his life had really hurt him. Not in a secretly heartbroken because he had been in love with him kind of way, but out of the disrespect he had been shown. He wasn’t stupid. He knew he was an asshole. He knew he was rude, stubborn, arrogant, and everything under the sun that described how much of a prat he could be. He also knew that Marlon had been subjected to listen to hours upon hours of his hatred filled rambling about society and the pathetic wastes of existences that lived within it. The man himself had been victim to several of his insults as well, being made an example of whatever had pissed Erich off that day. Marlon often didn’t deserve it. He was just always in the wrong place at the wrong time, in the same room with him. Still, the man had stuck with him and laughed off what he said. When he couldn’t laugh, he’d put him in his place by slugging him in the face or contorting his arm behind his back in a way that he thought would have been physically impossible. Their friendship just worked. It didn’t matter that people didn’t understand how Marlon could stand being around him, they meshed well. It was as simple as that because despite the rants Erich was known for, he was still an intelligent human being who was an equal to his former friend in debates and long conversations about things the average witch or wizard couldn’t dream of taking part in.

Erich guessed he had missed having someone smart around him. The idiots he worked with at the Timestopper were nothing more than that. He had yet to find one single individual that could out-argue him and successfully prove their point when it came to a disagreement. He had yet to find anyone that knew what the capital of Uzbekistan was without looking it up. No one came close to the smarts that the platinum-haired git had in his brain. Though the results may have been different if he had actually been looking. Throughout the time that Marlon had become the ultimate wanker, he still had hopes the man would come to his senses. Erich was confident that he would be unable to find someone that could take his place since all the Ministry officials he had ever come across were incompetent and oblivious to a hand in front of their face. He was sure that any day the large oaf would come walking through the doors to his cubicle begging for his forgiveness and their friendship back. He had often envisioned this scenario ending with a nice punch to his friend’s face or forcing the musclehead to get on his knees in front of the whole office and proclaim how much smarter Erich was then him. Unfortunately, it had never happened. Marlon had remained tucked away in his office and out of sight from anyone and everyone. The few times he had contacted Autumn, the woman had sadly confessed that she hadn’t seen or heard from him either. He had always sworn to himself that the day he saw Marlon again he would punch the man twice. One for him, and one for breaking the heart of the fragile being that was Autumn Stanton. Erich didn’t like women, but she was the only one who stood out from the rest. The only one that didn’t deserve a brute like Marlon tossing her to the side.

“Neither are you, mate.” Erich wondered if steam was coming from his ears. The way Marlon said it so nonchalantly sickened him. “His body mass is far larger than you own, obviously you are less fit than he is.” The man’s attempt at covering up his mistake was even worse. They hadn’t been mates in a long time. Neither deserved the title from the other. The glare in which he gave Marlon would have burned a hole right through his large head if lasers had been able to come from them. Why was it that whenever he was infuriated something always had to come along to piss him off that much more? He couldn’t understand it. Bringing his hand to his head, Erich rubbed at his temples, feeling his head starting to throb. This was the worst possible scenario, certainly not the way he would have expected an eventual bump in with Marlon. He hated that his former friend was defending the guard instead of him. He still would have been upset at the git’s appearance, but might have calmed down a bit more if the man had told Rupert to bugger off. Maybe. Looking forward, he saw the guard looking between him and Marlon, trying to figure out exactly what to do. He would have enjoyed comparing the man to a lost puppy but had suddenly lost his desire to insult the man further. Merlin he hated Marlon for taking the only bit of maddening fun he had going for him for the night.

“I'll take it Rupert, not to worry.” Erich’s eyes shot to Marlon who had already begun to lighten the load in his arms before even giving him a chance to respond. “No thanks. I’d rather get help from this Neanderthal than you,” he spat, fighting the urge to literally spit on Marlon’s shoes. His words were truthful. His pride wouldn’t allow taking help from a man who had so carelessly tossed him to the side as if their friendship had meant nothing. His old friend had turned out to be just like every other member of the human race: a deceitful, lying bastard. “Nothing illegal I assume?” He was wandering over to a door that led to the first-floor access of the Timestopper offices. Marlon was his only chance of getting in to get his paperwork. His only fucking chance. His pride pleaded with him to give his old friend and the guard the finger before dramatically exiting the Ministry and pouting at home. Erich really didn’t want to come back to the office any earlier than he had to though and if he waited to get them, he’d have to come back tomorrow for sure. He turned his head to the fireplaces of the Floo network. Just a few steps and he’d never have to see the ugly mug of either of those brutes again. That damn list. It wasn’t safe in the Timestopper offices. His desk was locked up tighter than a prisoner in Azkaban, but he didn’t trust anyone who worked in the Ministry, especially guards like Rupert. Muttering a string of obscenities, he slapped his hand on the desk before pointing menacingly at the guard. “I fucking…hate you…so much,” was all he could say. Shooting one final scowl at the guard, Erich turned his body in the direction Marlon had went and closed the distance between them.

There was so much he wanted to say but getting in and out was more important. As long as Marlon didn’t try anything stupid, then Erich could do just that. He didn’t know what the man was trying to get at, if anything, but he wanted none of it. He felt like a ticking time bomb anyway. “Thank you so much for your bloody assistance. If you remember anything about me, I’d think you remember it’d be wise to leave me be," he warned, pushing past Marlon and turning the knob to open the door.

[Marlon Wagner]

Autumn had been difficult, but she was so kind it was a fault with her. Erich, had always been unforgiving, and he had been his friend in spite of all of their differences. He had known that Erich was guarded, and he liked to put on a very tough shell because of it, Erich was overly confrontational and rude but it was his defense mechanism, and Marlon had not once faulted him for that. Well, unless he turned that mechanism on him as a personal attack, that he couldn't stand. Marlon couldn't apologize for what he did, he was an unapologetic type of man but he did have regrets. He didn't want to have pushed Erich away because he really was a good man. At heart he was a very good man. He couldn't remember exactly how they had met, or what instance it was that had marked them as best friends, but they just had a dynamic that worked. Until Marlon had gone and ruined it of course. He just hoped that he still possessed the ability to read the man well enough to maneuver around the situation. “No thanks. I’d rather get help from this Neanderthal than you,” He was going to choose to ignore both the comment and the spittle that was almost foaming out of the man's mouth. At least outwardly he ignored the words, inside, he heard the truth that rang like a bell from them. It hurt, and he couldn't deny that. He knew it was more than just Erich pride, he was hurt on a deeper level. He really hoped that he was the man's only chance at getting into the offices, then he would be forced to talk to Marlon for at least a little while longer. While Marlon hadn't been expecting anything like this to happen, he hadn't been expecting to talk to the man ever again, why not? Why couldn't he attempt to patch that bridge if at all possible. He missed his best friend.

All he could do was wait, wait and see if Erich was going to accept his help. If he did it would at least be a start, some sort of starting point for the two of them. Once Erich was close enough, he held the door open for the man until he was inside. He followed Erich inside, with one last look at his paperwork which he knew would be safe until he exited, that is so long as Rupert didn't go on break at any time that he was in here. Taking a deep breath he moved forward a step and let the door click shut behind them, and a secondary click whenever the lock activated again. Flicking his badge back and forth against his hand, he tried not to let his minor anticipation get the best of him. “Thank you so much for your bloody assistance. If you remember anything about me, I’d think you remember it’d be wise to leave me be” He could remember, he remembered everything about Erich, including the cartoon characters that tended to appear multiple places in his room, even as an adult, like on his bedsheets. Nodding once, he couldn't help but follow Erich into the building a little bit further, wanting to slip right back into old habits without even thinking. “You know I can't do that Erich” It felt strange saying his name, since he hadn't in such a very long time, on the rare occasion that his friend had come up in conversation he had just called him Mr. Griesser, because it was proper. Sure, he had been keeping tabs on how Erich's career was turning out because he enjoyed reading Erich's articles, they tended to be the best represented. They delivered the best facts. He could hear the impression of his shoes on the thin carpet as he stepped inside. Strange what it must feel like to work in a cubicle like this all the time, to live the fast paced like of a reporter. It was just such an unlikely career choice for Erich, but he was undeniably good at it.

Running his fingers through his hair he stepped closer as Erich was getting close to what Marlon assumed to be his desk. “Listen, if you...” He exhaled, knowing that he was going to regret these words Gritting his teeth, he shoved his hands into his pockets so he could be read “If you want to sock me, then...go ahead” It wasn't going to make him feel better, but it might make Erich back down just a little bit and that would be a very good start. He was going to regret his next words too, spreading his hands out wide to either side he shrugged noncommittally “I, I cannot apologize to you Erich, you know that I can't” Erich was going to blow a gasket, he could already see the man's ears turning red. He just needed a start, and what he said was honest. He didn't want the sore jaw, but he knew that he did deserve it, he deserved a whole lot more than that . Following Erich another couple of steps he dropped his hands. “I didn't choose this...it just” He stopped “I mean to say that by the time it was done...it was over” He wasn't making sense, at least not to anybody but himself.

-Sorry so short.

[Erich Griesser]

Erich knew how foolish it was to think that Marlon was actually going to leave him alone. If there was one thing he had remembered about his former friend, it was his persistence. His twit of a sister had it as well. Marlon’s, however, was far more maddening. Sometimes, the wanker simply didn’t know how to take no for an answer. He could easily recall a number of instances in which the man had said something to upset him. More often than not, it had been about women. Always commenting on how a good woman would set him straight. How a few solid hours of naked wrestling would put him in a better mood then twelve hours of sleep. Every time Marlon opened his big fat mouth on the subject, Erich would respond by telling him to go fuck himself or giving him a good dose of the silent treatment. The oaf would then keep nagging at him and nagging at him to grow up and stop acting like a child or lecture him on the importance of women in society. The message never got through, but he talked so damn much that Erich was forced to break his vow of silence just to tell him to come off of it. Marlon was an intelligent man, but not when it time to giving him time to cool down. He could hear the heavy footsteps following after him. Each step made his eyes narrower further and further until he almost bumped into the edge of a desk. He was already heated from the altercation from the large lump downstairs. Marlon knew how quickly his temper reached its boiling point. If he wanted to make this situation better, he’d leave before getting Erich arrested.

He needed to keep his mind focused on what he had come here for. The list. Erich had to make sure those names were securely in his possession before doing anything else. Although he doubted he would have been fired if it had been discovered, he knew the shit-storm that would have resulted wasn’t worth it. He didn’t care for wasting his valuable time by being admonished and having to pay fines out the ass when he should have been writing. A lot rode on these ten sheets of paper. His skills as an investigative journalist, his credibility, his job. He just had a feeling about it. Normally, these challenges would have been enough to make the ordinary reporter refuse such liability. Erich wasn’t an ordinary reporter though. He liked pushing himself and getting under people’s skin by reporting truths they would have preferred to have kept hidden. He was incapable of letting opportunities pass by that gave him notoriety. He had spent so much time proving that he was a worthy writer that’d he be stupid not to accept any and all challenges. The task currently at hand didn’t guarantee success. Hell, he wasn’t even sure what kind of an article he was writing. All he knew for sure was that he had been given an assignment and he had agreed on said assignment, which he had no choice but to follow through with. Until Erich made sure that he could get sent to Azkaban for whatever it was he was doing anyway. He did have to draw his limits somewhere. The prison was just as good as any. Turning his head to look over his shoulder, he snarled as Marlon continued to follow behind him. He had to have his privacy. He didn’t like having any one watch over his shoulder. Not even his editor. Besides, he and Marlon weren’t on good terms anymore. If the man saw what he was up to, he was sure to be ratted out.

“You know I can’t do that Erich.” Hearing his name come from the brute’s husky tone made Erich cringe. “Can’t? Or won’t?” he sarcastically asked, turning a left into another maze of cubicles. He could see his desk in view. It was the only one covered in newspaper clippings and memos, unlike the picture-ridden, decorative and colorful ones of others. Quickening his pace to continue emphasizing his point to Marlon, he made sure there was enough distance between them as possible. “Listen, if you...” He shook his head, ducking right into his cubicle. He didn’t want to hear anything the jerk had to say. He just needed to unlock his safe, grab the list, shove it underneath his shirt since Marlon was going to remain a close presence and get out before he was forced to look at his old friend’s mug longer than he had to. Erich had just leaned over his chair to begin putting in the combination on the lock when the man’s voice suddenly came from behind him, “If you want to sock me, then...go ahead.” If he hadn’t been in such a hurry, perhaps he would have realized the words that had left Marlon’s mouth. Permission to punch him square in the face for being such a terrible friend. He needed to do it. It would have been a good outlet for the years, and now minutes, of pent up frustration. “I, I cannot apologize to you Erich, you know that I can't.” His fingers stopped moving the numbered gears. Clearly Marlon had other intentions that giving him the peace he so desperately need. The conversation was one that needed to be had, but Erich would have preferred it under different circumstances. When he maybe, just maybe would have been able to approach the subject at a time when he was calmer then he was now.

He stared straight into the thin wall of his cubicle. Erich could feel the heat coming from his ears, undoubtedly red and waiting to steam at any moment. “I didn't choose this...it just.” It sounded like Marlon was just digging himself into a hole. Pushing himself up from the back of his chair, he turned around to face the man, his expression stone-faced. “It just what?” He sounded like a jilted ex-girlfriend, but he was selective about the people he permitted to be in his life. That was why whenever one of them did something to hurt him, he took it to heart. Marlon was especially hard to get over because he had been his best mate for years. To be dropped without a second glance was unacceptable. True friends didn’t do that. True friends at least opened their barbaric mouth to offer an explanation. “I mean to say that by the time it was done...it was over.” For a man of eloquent words, Marlon was sounding like a bumbling idiot. A smirk briefly appeared on Erich’s lips, pleased at the inner turmoil plastered all over the man’s face. He was still too angry with Marlon to understand the truth he was attempting to convey. This wasn’t the time to talk. Not when he couldn’t fully wrap his brain around just exactly what was going on. The list still weighed heavily on his mind and he found it difficult to push it to the side for the time being. Fortunately for Marlon, this spared him of the more vicious insults that would have certainly been thrown his way. “That’s great and all, but I have other things to attend to,” he responded coldly, crossing his arms. “After all, I learned from you that when work is calling, you gotta listen and prioritize it above all else. Now if you’ll bugger off so I can get to it that would be the most respectful thing you’ve done in years.” Fighting the urge to flip him off, Erich turned back around and stepped closer to his chair for easier access to the safe.

[Marlon Wagner]

He wanted to explain to Erich that by the time that he had slowed down enough to realize that he had managed to alienate himself from everybody that he used to know, all of the damage had been done. There wasn't a way to just up and repair the gap that he had wedged between him and his best friend. Even if Erich hadn't been the type to hold grudges with him until the grave. Sure, Marlon could play dirty if he had to. He was truly repentant over the fact that he had lost their friendship in the mix. He knew that he had done to Autumn at the time had been intentional but Erich, had been collateral damage. Although, if he admitted to that, then there was no chance of them ever rekindling their friendship. Whenever Erich wasn't being a prat, or whining about how the world was such a horrible place, he really was an upstanding gentleman. Sometimes his priorities could be a little skewed, but he had always been there for Marlon whenever he needed him. He couldn't remember exactly how they had come to be such great friends, it just seemed like it had been something that had always existed. Something that he had naively assumed would just always exist no matter what. Even if they had spent months apart...apparently that had not been the case. Why now was any different than any other month he wasn't sure. His work load hadn't decreased, he wasn't any less busy and nothing else monumental had happened in his life, but he needed to fix his wrongs and now just felt like the right time to do it. Whatever that meant, he wasn't going to delve into the world of his personal emotions far enough to figure it out. Doing so would only end up messy and depress him. Something that he couldn't deal with if he wanted to keep working at the pace he was.

He followed step for step as Erich wove his way through the maze of cubicles, thinking to himself that if he had been the one to work in this place every day, he would very likely go mad. There was no privacy, anybody could just stand up and see into another person's work space. For reporters, this seemed like a highly illogical work environment. Why would anybody want to write something that anybody else could just walk over and see? How did they keep their private works, private? There must be an iron clad honor system amongst the Time Stopper reporters. If he were a lesser man, a petty man, he could just stop by and open up any one of these desks and pilfer things that didn't belong to him. How easy it would be disgusted him. Something needed to be done about this. Not to mention, all of these people had pictures of family members, what if somebody were to take a picture, and in turn that child? It send shudders down his spine, no, he needed to speak with somebody about this. Finally Erich stopped walking, and Marlon almost ran him over before he noticed that the man had stopped walking. Given his train of thought he stayed close enough to touch Erich, but not close enough to easily see what it was that he was doing. No doubt it was something integral to whatever scathing article Erich was concocting for the next edition's front page. Whenever Erich ignored his offer, the knot in Marlon's gut grew bigger. For such an aggressive person to pass up a free pass for violence was unhealthy, not to mention out of character. The fact that whatever his ex friend was doing might have been more important than whatever it was that Marlon was doing didn't cross his mind, he was just wondering how to try to run the offer past him again. It would help both of them feel better, he just knew it.


“That’s great and all, but I have other things to attend to,” “What?” he responded stupidly, it wasn't that he hadn't heard him, Marlon's hearing was impeccable. It was just that he couldn't understand why Erich was brushing him off. No, he was far too confrontational a man, far too angry with just about everything to pass off the chance to shout Marlon into oblivion. It wasn't possible that time had really changed him that much. Was it? “After all, I learned from you that when work is calling, you gotta listen and prioritize it above all else. Now if you’ll bugger off so I can get to it that would be the most respectful thing you’ve done in years.” Well, that was more in character, and he would be lying if he said that he wasn't hurt by the brush off. He knew that he spoke truth, Erich almost always did. Yet, there stinging bitterness underlying in his tone was what really added salt to his wounds. His hand came to rest on the entrance way to the cubicle, his hand picking at the lining of the metal frame composing the walls of his desk area. His back was turned so Marlon couldn't see his face, no doubt on purpose. He should heed his friend's words, he should walk away like he was being asked to since no doubt he really meant them. Erich had always needed time to process else he lost his top, whatever he was up to must have been very important to push this conversation off like it meant nothing. The bigger part of him wanted to grab Erich by the shoulders and spin him around in that chair until he was pissed off enough to take a swing at him, then at least they might be getting somewhere. Chewing on the inside of his cheek his fist balled up and hit against the top of the cubicle.

He hadn't seen Erich grab a badge yet, so it was safe to assume Marlon was going to need to lock up the room whenever they were done getting whatever was so important at this late hour. Clearly frustrated with how this conversation was going he nodded once to himself. “Have it your way mate” He added, hoping to irritate the man further this time. “I'll just wait by the door then” he shouldn't have been upset, but he was. Here he was, wanting to mend things and the git wouldn't even give him the time to explain himself. This was Autumn, he didn't need to be careful with Erich's fragile little heart and emotions, he should have been able to be more brusk with Erich, at least, that was how it had always been before now. Turning on his heel the cubicles all around him seemed to blend together, he couldn't remember the path that he had come, because he had been too concerned with keeping up with Erich's footsteps whilst speaking. Not wanting to admit that he had no idea how to navigate around the labyrinth he huffed and headed forward, rounding a corner that he hoped would take him closer to the side of the room that he needed to be. Yet, somehow he managed to wind up near a water cooler. This was insufferable, why would anybody choose to work here? Letting out another frustrated grunt he moved forward, only to be forced to backtrack. “Merlin's beard!” he finally gave up, he just wanted to get back to his paperwork that he was going to be forced to spend the rest of the night doing. Now he was also going to have to stew about what he could have said to make this conversation go better as well? He couldn't do any of it if he was forced to be stuck in this maze. He was half tempted to just start climbing over desks but wasn't quite angry enough to go breaking everybody's possessions.”How in the hell do you get out of here?” He shouted to himself, spinning around to glare in the direction of Erich's desk accusingly.

[Erich Griesser]

The sound of Marlon’s fist hitting the wall of his cubicle stole Erich’s attention from the quest at hand at once more. It didn’t sound like the brute’s hand had made a hole through the thin plastic, but damage certainly hadn’t been avoided either. Craning his neck to inspect the area, he frowned at the sight. There was a nice indent of Marlon’s knuckles gleaming back at him. Great. That was exactly what he needed. A reminder of this idiot in close proximity to him. If it wasn’t bad enough that the two former friends worked in the same building, now he would forever sit not even a foot away from the memory of the time he had been forced to accept Marlon’s assistance after years of not seeing the jerk’s ugly face. How he wished Merlin would have even a little pity on him. “Anything else in my life that you’d like to destroy before your second great disappearing act?” Erich antagonized. He knew very well how easily Marlon could break his face but it was about time the man felt a portion of the anger that had been raging within his bones for years now. “Though I suppose I should be satisfied knowing that I’m still able to spark some sort of emotion from the all high and mighty.” He smirked at the livid look Marlon was giving him. “Have it your way mate.” The smirk quickly dropped at the last word that left the man’s mouth. Mate was a word that Erich took very seriously since it was reserved only for those he chose to associate himself with. The people who didn’t completely succumb to society’s standards and stereotypes. Marlon had broken the latter, the most important thing to him. For that, he had been unable to forgive the man.

Erich and Marlon were about the same height with the only difference in their statures being the two times extra amount of weight his burly former friend had on him. So quickly had Marlon infuriated him though that the size of the bulky man was nothing more than a faint thought in the back of his mind. The way his lips had curled around that word was making him see red. Marlon knew the impact saying it would have on him. He knew how highly he regarded that word. To use it in such a spiteful way was insulting. Hadn’t he been insulted enough? It was possible that this was karma from all of the years Erich had spent belittling the various people whose names were and weren’t important enough to remember, but never would he thought he would have been slapped in the face by it in such a cruel way. The small inkling of hope that had remained locked up within his chest of one day resuming the friendship that Marlon had frozen was distinguished. No way could the brute really be interested in their friendship if he had to spit out the word like he did. This had all been some ploy to make fun of him for acting so womanlike over the demise of their relationship. That had to be it. Erich’s fist balled up to his side as his gaze followed the retreating back of the hulk. He had a shot of tackling the jerk to the ground with Marlon’s back turned to him. If he just kept his footsteps as quiet as possible, or even ran so fast that his former friend wouldn’t realize what was going on until it was too late, which wouldn’t be surprising considered he would be bewildered by the lazy man’s sudden show of athleticism, he could do it. Erich wasn’t quite sure what he would do after the initial tackling, but he knew he would have to think of something in a split second. That was all the time Marlon would need to comprehend being knocked to the ground before delivering a solid punch to his jaw.

But Marlon never followed the path that Erich had led the two of them down. He had been doomed from the very first left he had taken when he should have veered to the right. The bad decision resulted in the man becoming a victim of the very same cubicle maze he himself had been his first week in the office. Once he got the hang of it, it was fairly easy to remember. Of course with the information overload in Marlon’s brain, it was unlikely for the man to catch on as quickly. “Merlin's beard!” A satisfied grin spread across his face. He could watch Marlon be a human rat all night. It wouldn’t make up for even a single ounce of the payback the man deserved for being such an asshole, but it would make Erich feel better about his current surroundings. His arms folded to his chest as he stood and leaned against the knuckle-imprinted wall of his cubicle. He was a bit disappointed when the man stopped walking, instead choosing to look around angrily at his prison, but he couldn’t deny the happiness he got at seeing how red Marlon’s face had gotten. “Aww. Is ickle Marlie angwy?” Teasing was not going to make the man any happier. “Does ickle Marlie find himself in a bind?” At the rate he was going, Erich was going to have to pray that the man would be unable to find the correct route back to him. “How in the hell do you get out of here?” Somehow, his grin spread even further. This time, however, it was much more sinister in nature. There were so many responses to that question. So many. The one he really wanted to answer with though was what would open the cover that had been shut on the book that was their friendship. He really had so much to do. Was the time that would be wasted hearing Marlon’s pathetic excuses be worth the loss of sleep?

The nagging feeling washing over him urged Erich that it was. He deserved answers. He had a right to hear them from the man himself. With his behavior thus far, would Marlon even open up? Or would he just tell him to shove off? He could easily grab his papers and take the back route through the entrance doors of the Timestopper office, leaving Marlon to wait until someone came to rescue him the following morning. That stupid git at the desk downstairs was no help. The idiot would wind up losing himself in the maze and they’d both have to wind up waiting until tomorrow for assistance. This was his chance though. The man had no choice but to take it. Bringing a hand to the back of his head, Erich looked down briefly as he stepped out of his cubicle. “So,” he started, turning his eyes back to Marlon, “what you’re telling me is that the reason you want my help is because you have no choice? It must really be getting under your skin that you have to talk to me in order to help yourself.” The man would have to be an idiot not to pick up on the heavy emphasis of his words.

[Marlon Wagner]

“Anything else in my life that you’d like to destroy before your second great disappearing act?” Marlon had had breakups that had been easier than this, certainly a lot less complicated. He didn't break up with the man, yes, he had made mistakes. Yes, he had blown him off more than once and stayed silent for a long time but he was supposed to be his best friend, he should have understood, he knew how important his work was to Marlon. He knew that it had always come first and that was something that had always been there. School work trumped Quidditch, Quidditch trumped girls, he had never once said that he no longer wanted to be friends, it had just taken him a very long time to pull his head back on straight. If Marlon was forced to go over his friend's head to make him see reason, then that was exactly what he would be doing. He had no shame whenever it came to Erich. Spinning on the spot Marlon took a mental survey of how the cubicles seemed to be laid out, but they were all the exact same color, same height. In fact they were all perfectly identical with the exception of the personal effects. He didn't have time to distinguish one from the other, he wouldn't devote the mental capacity to it, he refused. He just wanted out of here. How did anybody ever learn their way around places like this? More than ever, Marlon was pleased that he had a large section of his floor dedicated to his office, his own private space that he could do as he pleased in. Since it was practically a second home to him, he needed it to be cozy. He was there more often over the years than his own bedroom. He had finally purchased a perfectly decent upgrade and remodel to his childhood vacation home, and never even had a real chance to use it. He didn't pay much attention to the other desks on his floor, for the people working under him, all he cared about was that they got their work done in a time efficient , and proper matter. He didn't really care what else they did with their days.

“Though I suppose I should be satisfied knowing that I’m still able to spark some sort of emotion from the all high and mighty.” He was really going to milk this for all that it was worth wasn't he? Raking his fingers through his long blonde locks he sighed, taking a step to the right, but once again resulting in a dead end. He was going to either blast these cubicles apart, or jump over each and every one of them to get away from Erich's insults. He would show Erich some emotion all right. In the form of his fist flying into Erich's arm. He knew he deserved the anger, he knew that Erich logically had every right to his hate and that Marlon had little to no room to do anything at all about it, but that didn't stop him from being irritated with it. Shooting a look back at the man he still considered to be his best friend to see what sort of effect his words had had, he found a demented glee in the gnarled expression taking over Erich's normally passive or bitter face. “Aww. Is ickle Marlie angwy?” “Shut it” he warned, extending an accusatory finger back in Erich's direction, he was just attempting to do what the hell he had been told and leave, but the room wouldn't allow him. Grabbing hold of the first cubicle he heaved, attempting to see if there was any give to be had, any way that he might just be able to squeeze between the holdings of the walls. He had never really had experience with desks like these before, he wasn't fond of them now that he had. They had seemed like such a cost efficient and space saving solution to his issue, but first thing tomorrow morning, all of the cubicles on his floor were going to go. He was going to get proper desks if it killed him, no matter how much wiggle room was in the budget. He knew how pleased Erich was bound to be over the situation, he could have already solved this issue, told Marlon how to get out and then he would have been out of Erich hair for a good while, no, Erich was enjoying his payback. Perhaps Marlon didn't even blame him for it. Surely if the roles had been reversed, he would have done the same thing.

“Does ickle Marlie find himself in a bind?” His eyes closed bitterly while Marlon attempted to get a better hold of his breathing. He felt his hands gripping onto the metal top of the cubicle closest to him, not even aware of how hard he was squeezing until the metal top popped off in his hands. For about half a minute he attempted to wrestle the thing back on before whirling his arms like a mad man and chucking the thing to the side, far away from his body. “So,” Marlon kept his gaze trained on the damage he had just done to some poor fellow's desk. No doubt that wouldn't end well in the morning, but he would deal with it them. He still had a very long night ahead of him and while this interlude with Erich hadn't been planned, it was now unavoidable. He hated how silent the room was, it wasn't helping his thoughts. “what you’re telling me is that the reason you want my help is because you have no choice?” His brow clenched and he spun to look at his friend “Yes of cou-” and he stopped mid breath, he caught the look on Erich's face, the implications, this was the opening that Marlon had been looking for earlier, it was a good thing that he had stopped talking whenever he had. ”It must really be getting under your skin that you have to talk to me in order to help yourself.” Well, that was a step in the right direction he assumed, if he was willing to hear Marlon out, then perhaps he could make some sort of headway, only, Marlon had no idea where to even start. There was so much that he could say, but what wouldn't make the situation even worse than it already was? Could it even get much worse than it was currently? Drumming his fingers against the topless area he sighed, turning his body to meet where his head was looking. Erich knew that Marlon couldn't apologize for his behavior, in his mind he had a good reason. Good enough at the very least, but Erich wasn't just going to take one on faith.

Running his fingers down the collection of facial hair that had formed over the past few days without shaving he nodded to himself, mentally running down a list of things to talk about, to at least touch on but nothing seemed more worthy than the rest to start with. He had already offered to let Erich punch him, that had to of been something? That only left bribery, and while he knew of one story in particular that Erich would love to have, Marlon didn't exactly feel like compromising his job at this junction in his career. Loosening his tie an inch, he attempted to mark his path back to the man, but he didn't want to risk it so Marlon decided to just stay put, his cheeks puffing out slightly with his deep exhale. “Why don't you just ask what it is that you really want to know?” he needed a starting point. Something to help, he didn't want to let this opportunity just pass him by. “Where would you like me to start? I know I've made mistakes” he held up a hand before Erich could start on his tirade “Large ones, I know, but I'm here now. I'm going to mend this, like it or not. I will go over your head if I have to” he tried to make a joke, but knew instantly that it had failed, but hopefully his point would have been made.