Office Confrontations Ch. 04

Yet Kyle avoided all topics of conversation that revolved around revealing the truth.

"We've talked about this enough Marshall. If you don't back off I'll rescind your ticket, so let it go."Kyle growled, shoving off Marshall's hand and stalking toward the office. Marshall rolled his eyes, catching the door before it slammed shut.

"You do realize I can just go purchase my own ticket, right?

"At a hundred-forty a pop?"Kyle retorted. Marshall turned his head and glowered at the white-washed walls.

"Low blow asshole."He threw his briefcase to the table and prized it open, practically dumping out half the paperwork in one motion.

"You're the one that keeps bringing up baggage. Drop it and so will I." Marshall ground his teeth but didn't comment. Kyle was always the man to use weaknesses against others. He was good at that. In fact, his personal motto must have been the best defense is a good offense.

His football coach would be so proud. Marshall thought, looking over at Kyle's tawny frame. Even though he wore his fake glasses, he still had the look of a lion on the hunt, the determination glinting in his eyes, the way they flickered with knowledge behind the thick glass. Marshall gulped, for entirely different reasons, and dropped his eyes.

Damn. How does he always do this to me? Even when he's not speaking he manages to change the topic to sexual tension. Prick.

Marshall tossed the papers around and fidgeted in his seat, ignoring how busy Kyle had gotten and how completely pointless their entire conversation was.

By lunchtime the tension dissipated, and Kyle grinned as they slipped from the suite.

"What's that terrifying smile for?"Marshall jabbed Kyle's ribs and resisted the urge to grab his hand. They were at work, he had to remember. He'd yet to come out to the rest of the building.

"Did we just have our first fight?"Kyle teased, obviously joking "sometimes it seemed all they did was argue and grope each other. The hallway was mercifully empty, otherwise Kyle would already be in that annoying perpetually shivering chihuahua routine Marshall despised yet lo―enjoyed to varying degrees.

"Oh, Schnookums, can you ever forgive me?" Marshall put a hand to his chest and pouted, rapidly blinking his eyes. Kyle punched him roughly, running a hand through his hair and shaking his head. The messy loose curls danced about his face, catching in the confines of his glasses. Marshall licked his lips.

"No more of that Schnookums shit, you know how I feel about--" Instantly Kyle drew into himself, hands quivering and lip caught between his teeth. He dropped his eyes and held his sides with both arms, nearly hiding in Marshall's shadow.

Marshall turned to find Aaron and a few work buddies planted at one of the lunch tables, and Clara waving them over with an ecstatic grin. Kyle blushed nervously and waved a shaking hand, turning his head away from the masses. Marshall withheld a chuckle.

"Your best friend is looking for you. Seems she saved us seats."Marshall grabbed Kyle's wrist and pulled him over. Anything to piss Kyle off put Marshall in a fantastic mood.

"Ky-ky!"Clara cooed, hopping from her seat and wrapping her arms around Kyle's throat, who coughed and tried weakly to pry her off. Marshall grabbed her gently by the forearms and directed her attention to the bench, where he pulled Kyle down to sit with them.

"I missed you dear. Oh, I'm going to hate not seeing you every day!"She practically purred, wrapping herself around his arm and holding tight. Kyle aimed a glare at Marshall before trying to escape her slutty clutches.

"Why don't you lay off the whiny little nerd and come cuddle with me, Clara? He seems a bit too skittish around you, I doubt he'll know what to do with a woman's attentions, much less yours."Aaron's condescending voice boomed, filling the lunch room with caustic laughter. The others joined in even as Clara smacked Aaron's arm.

"Be nice."She chastised, though she returned her attention to the brute's tanned biceps. "There's plenty of me to go around.

"So we heard."One of the others muttered under their breath. Clara flushed bright red but smiled, turning toward Kyle.

"Do you have any plans for your last day?"She inquired, blinking away the red in her eyes. Kyle's jaw clenched and from his position a few inches away, Marshall could feel Kyle's anger. But what came out was nothing short of pure wonder.

"N-n-no, of c-course n-not. I was j-j-just--"Kyle dropped his head and rubbed his neck with a hand, though only Marshall noticed the tinge of irritation in his words. N-nothing sp-special."He tried again, voice barely above a whisper.

"Sweetie you need a going away party."Clara announced gleefully. Kyle shook his head, a look of horror spreading across his face, and Marshall couldn't tell if it was sincere or fake.

But hell, if Marshall wasn't amused then he had no sense of humor. Though he stifled the laughter he couldn't help the elation in his face, and unfortunately Kyle spotted it. His eyes narrowed imperceptibly though his eyes stayed on Clara.

"N-no, th-that's okay, you d-don't have to..."Kyle mumbled, eyes pleading. Clara would hear none of it.

"Oh, don't be silly Kyle! We have to do something spectacular, otherwise I'll feel so very sad. I want to give you something to remember your time here.

"I don't th-think I'll e-ever forget th-this place."He replied, and his lips nearly quirked upward as he caught Marshall's gaze with intensity.

"Come on Kyle, let her celebrate with you one last time, since you're not in--"Marshall coughed, trying to cover the groan of pain when Kyle's fingernails dug into his thigh. "What I meant to say was how about we celebrate at the bar we all first got together? That's a good a place as any."Kyle's nails dug in deeper, but Marshall ignored him, focusing on Clara's shriek of delight.

"That's perfect! What a wonderful idea. I'll reserve a table, bring cake..."She trailed off, grinning happily. "Tonight, nine o'clock. You better be there Kyle, I might not get to see you after you leave."She pouted so prettily, lip quivering slightly with its subtle shimmer of gloss and large, watery eyes intensified by the thin stroke of dark eyeliner. Kyle sighed and nodded, keeping his eyes firmly on the table. Marshall patted his arm.

"You sit, it's my turn to buy lunch. I'm sure Clara will keep you company. Oh, and his favorite color this month is yellow."He grinned and took off without letting Kyle respond.

Sure, he'd be punished soon enough, but that was part of the fun.

* * *

"Marshall, damn you, now I have to deal with her incessant yammering and touchy feely crap all night. You know she gets worse the more liquor she drinks."Kyle yelled from the closet, where he was spending an inordinate amount of time dressing, though he kept saying he didn't want to go out.

Then why waste his time looking for something decent to wear, not that he didn't have a thousand well tailored suits and cashmere sweaters, while Marshall stood in the only pair of nice jeans he owned and a plain long-sleeved gray shirt. Marshall really needed a new wardrobe.

"Kyle, if you don't hurry your ass up we're going to be late to your going away party."Marshall reminded him."And I gave her the idea because she's going to miss you and you refuse to keep in touch. She deserves at least one night with you before you put her out of your mind forever.

"You know that's not--"Kyle started, poking his head from the bedroom and frowning.

"Yeah, yeah. I remember, I just don't agree with your ridiculous logic."Marshall grumped, but even through his complaining and irritation with Kyle's choices, Marshall was still warmed by the sight of Kyle's eyes rolling and the way his hair fell to one side as Kyle shook his head.

"The point is get dressed and let's go, prima donna. Fuck, if I knew you'd be such a girl about finding the perfect outfit I would have gone to help Clara set up instead.

"Oh you know you like staring at me in such a state of undress."Kyle winked, ducking back into the room and shuffling around. Marshall grunted vaguely, glad Kyle couldn't see his face heating up."And what do you mean 'setting up'?

"Nevermind. I don't want to overwhelm your pretty little head, go back to picking out the perfect party dress.

"First, fuck off."Kyle replied, to which Marshall laughed. "Second, explain already. What do you mean set up?"He reiterated unnecessarily.

"If you weren't wasting time you'd already know."Marshall smirked. Maybe curiosity would urge Kyle to choose a little quicker. Preferably, right at that second.

Kyle stomped from the room, glaring at Marshall in irritation. However, Marshall's eyes were more focused on his fantastically dressed boyfriend―okay, so the wasted time wasn't so wasted after all. Kyle was dressed in tight, low slung dark blue jeans and a forest green cashmere sweater that brought out the emerald shards in his hazel eyes. Marshall tried not to stare. Emphasis on tried.

"Close your mouth, you're getting drool all over the carpet."Kyle smirked, folding his arms across his chest. Marshall attempted to glare at Kyle(after closing his mouth of course) but found himself distracted by the soft, loose curls hanging in Kyle's eyes. He reached up to tug a curl between his fingers, pushing it behind Kyle's ear. Kyle himself had an eyebrow raised and continued to stare at Marshall's antics silently. Marshall's fingers drifted past the slight curl and trailed down the soft curls nearly reaching Kyle's shoulders.

"Didn't you say something about us being late?"Kyle's lip quirked. Not that I'm not enjoying the attention."Marshall cleared his throat and turned away, heading purposefully for the door.

"Yeah, thanks to your need to try on every pair of panties to make sure it matched your lipstick. Let's go already."Marshall ignored Kyle's laughter and trudged down the porch steps, tapping his foot impatiently next to Kyle's vehicle.

Kyle didn't speak as he got into the car and started it up, but he didn't need to. The amused grin said more than Marshall wanted to hear. However, as they sped toward Barney's, the hole in the wall bar they all got together for the first time all those weeks ago, Kyle became significantly more tense.

Marshall was tempted to say something to make him feel better but nothing came to mind, and Kyle's caustic remarks turned him off to speaking out. When they finally managed to park on the side of the halfway-to-condemned building, Kyle spoke up.

"We'll stay for an hour."At last, words. Just depressing ones. Kyle looked over, reaching out to grip Marshall's hand firmly. I mean it."Marshall turned his palm up and squeezed right back.

"Kyle, there's more to life than your own selfish needs. Now shut the fuck up about ruining Clara's night. You're going to get hammered and I'm going to drive your drunk ass home."Marshall's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You can't be serious."Kyle's eyebrow arched severely, questioning.

"Hand me the keys."Marshall stuck out his free hand and glared meaningfully at Kyle until he sighed.

"You're a pain in the ass."he grumbled, dumping the keys into Marshall's hand. Marshall smiled and tucked them into his pocket.

"I learned it all from you."He winked.

"Remind me to revoke the next lesson plan."Marshall chuckled and hopped out, careful to lock the doors with the little button on the key chain. Before they could head inside Kyle grabbed his wrists and tucked Marshall against the wall of the building, kissing him roughly and crushing him against the wall, holding his hands to the freezing cement forcefully.

When he pulled away, Kyle smirked with swollen lips and released him, rubbing his pulse points as he did. Marshall sputtered breathlessly and shook his head, still rucked up against the wall.

"I figured I'd steal a kiss before we head inside to the party of lies."Kyle patted Marshall's cheek and turned on his heel.

There was only a subtle hint of pain in Kyle's eyes. Funny, Marshall knew he was a phenomenal actor...why would he slip up?

Unless he managed to trust Marshall with sincerity. Was Kyle speaking openly to him instead of hiding behind a thousand different masks? Shit. Marshall numbly followed Kyle into the bar, heading toward the table in the back, where the supposed party awaited. The table Marshall had sent Kyle crying to the bathroom from. Had that really happened? Almost two months ago Marshall's biggest fear was having to sit next to Kyle in the booth. Marshall smiled at the memory.

"Get that look off your face, you hate me remember?"Kyle nudged his arm.

"I never actually hated you."Marshall countered. I just didn't trust myself around you.

"No wonder why."Kyle smirked. Marshall elbowed him roughly.

"After that elevator scene how could you blame me?"Marshall pointed out.

"Which one?"Kyle's smile turned salacious. Marshall fought the blush and was thankful for the dim lighting of the bar.

"The first one, asshole. You know, when you ordered me to pick up your files then kicked them out of my hands?"Marshall's voice dropped to a whisper, and Kyle nodded, expression surprisingly gentle yet burning with lust at the same time.

And who said women were the only ones with complicated emotions?

"How could I forget such a first meeting?"He asked just as quietly "they approached Aaron, Clara, and a few more people whose names Marshall wasn't exactly certain of. "That was the first time I ever broke character, but you were so easily entranced--"Kyle's reverie ended when Clara yelped and threw herself at him, babbling much too fast and high pitched for Marshall to follow.

Clara dragged a very uncomfortable Kyle to the foray with Marshall following behind, a bemused laugh drifting softly from his lips.

Above the table, a hand-crafted sign reading, "We'll miss you Kyle!" in big, swooping gold glitter had been hung. Kyle shot a glare back at Marshall before disappearing into his facade, ducking his head and clutching his chest tight. Clara's arms wrapped possessively around his waist but he had the decency not to push her off. Aaron tromped to Marshall's side, grinning.

"Feels like years since we last saw each other."Aaron clapped Marshall on the arm. Marshall sighed inwardly and smiled with no real joy. His eyes watched Kyle's tense, quivering shoulders intently.

"You haven't returned my phone calls, what gives?"Aaron questioned, though he was too stupid to figure out why. I'm avoiding you, can't you take a fucking hint? But instead of causing a ruckus, Marshall shrugged.

"Been busy."He responded vaguely. Not much time to go out drinking every night."Aaron laughed as if Marshall made a great joke. Fucking imbecile.

"And here I thought you replaced me with that nerd boy over there."Aaron's laugh grated on Marshall's eardrums, and he resisted the urge to punch Aaron square in the jaw.

"He's my partner. For the project."Marshall reminded him."And I didn't think you liked him all that much, what are you doing here?"

"I like him more than you do."Aaron grinned, causing Marshall to wince in embarrassment."But I'm here for Clara. She's been giving me the runaround for weeks and I figured with her all torn up by that loser leaving, she'll be easy pickings."If Marshall didn't get away from Aaron quickly that rich prick would be paying thousands in hospital bills.

"She's not here to fu--"Clara turned and called Marshall over, urging him with a wave of her arm. Kyle sent him a pleading look.

"You know what? I'm going to give Kyle my attention tonight. At least, I'll try to keep Clara from smothering him. Why don't you get a drink and take a seat?"Marshall walked off without another word, hands clenched into fists and jaw tight with frustration. Kyle looked grateful as Marshall approached, and Marshall took a slow breath, trying to ease his irritation.

"Clara dear, how about you and I grab some refreshments?"He offered, holding out his hand to her. She giggled and whispered something into Kyle's ear. He flushed bright red, eyes growing wide. Clara released him with a kiss on his cheek and took Marshall's hand. Marshall hugged her gently, giving Kyle a wink over his shoulder. Before he turned away he could have sworn he saw Kyle breathe a sigh of relief.

"The banner looks great, Clara."Marshall praised when they broke apart. She smiled warmly, though her eyes were slightly tinted with pink, and they glittered with moisture.

"Thanks. I spent all day on it."Marshall couldn't remember when his disgust became affection, but he was glad for it. Clara was more than she appeared.

Then again, so was Kyle. And me. Marshall watched the floor, deep in thought, as they walked. My best friends knows absolutely nothing about me, my boyfriend is a secret, and I keep finding out how insanely obsessed I've become with a man I used to be terrified of.

When did I become so complex?

"Are you going to miss him?" Clara asked. Marshall regarded her teary expression.

"I'm going to miss the mid-morning groping."Marshall grinned. Stunned to laughter, Clara gripped Marshall's arm to steady herself.

"Yeah, I'm going to miss him. But I'm also going to spend as much time with him as physically possible."Clara looked away.

"Kyle's been avoiding me."She admitted quietly. "He didn't even want to be here tonight. I don't think I'll see him again once he leaves."Marshall bit his lip, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Clara..."Marshall sighed.

"It's okay, I know he doesn't like me all that much."She dabbed at her eyes surreptitiously.

"No, that's not it."Marshall stopped and turned Clara to face him, gripping her shoulders. "He cares about you, I swear."He took a deep breath. Kyle would forgive him.

Right?

"He's afraid you'll hate him. He's...hiding something, and he thinks when you find out that you'll hate him."Clara shook her head, disbelieving.

"I could never hate Kyle."She exclaimed. Marshall smiled gently.

"Look, if Kyle really means that much to you, I'll risk his wrath to show you he cares. Even if it pisses him off at first. Marshall pulled her closer, dropping his voice as if Kyle was behind them, eavesdropping. "There's this...something you have to see. A month from now, something huge is going to happen for him. I know he'll want you there, even if he's too nervous to ask you."She watched him with her brows furrowed, lips puckered in thought.

"If it's going to make him mad at you, you don't have to do this. I don't want to upset him."She looked away. Marshall shook his head.

"You're not going to upset him, I'm going to upset him. But he deserves it for being an idiot. I'm doing this for both of you."Clara didn't look fully convinced but she didn't argue. "Just make sure you don't tell him about any of this, not until he sees you that night."Clara nodded seriously and Marshall smiled at her determination.

"Now let's get some liquor and get my boyfriend trashed."Clara laughed and nodded, twining her arm with Marshall's and tugging him toward the bar-top, ordering up a pitcher and a round of shots to be delivered to their table.

Marshall, coerced into carrying most of the drinks thanks to his 'manly' physique, struggled to balance the Tequila shots in one hand and the pitcher of Blue Moon in the other. Thankfully the table wasn't far, though he did have to avoid Aaron's grabbing hands trying to steal up all the liquor. Glaring with undisguised animosity, Marshall sloshed the alcohol away and veered right, toward Kyle hunched over the table under the banner.

"T-took you long en-enough."Kyle muttered under his breath, making sure to keep Clara out of earshot. Marshall set the three shots down and looked pointedly at them. When Kyle didn't respond, Marshall dropped into the bench beside him, scooting them closer.