Maggie leaned against the counter of the Daily Prophet break room, clutching her cup of coffee as if it held the secrets of the universe (or just the next story). She took a sip, sighed, and hoped the caffeine would chase her headache away. She'd nursed a hangover all of yesterday, and still, still felt like the Knight Bus had run her over.

Never again. Margo needed to find another drinking buddy.

It was just that Valentine's Day had been so... pink and cherubic. Making fun of the couples had helped improve her mood some, but now she was back where she started, fending off inquiries from her mother about her nonexistent dating plans, and overhearing the couples discuss their romantic romps!

So this Monday morning, Maggie hid away in the break room, glowering at any cheerful faces that noticed her through the glass pane. Maggie wouldn't say she enjoyed scaring off her fellow employees, but... well, she found some grim satisfaction in tilting her head over her coffee mug, and knitting her eyebrows menacingly at the cheerful offenders. And when their laughter or smiles died, she hid her smirk by sipping more coffee.

Unfortunately, one fearless soul she knew all too well came tromping into the break room, dreads swinging, paying Maggie's dark mood no attention.

Niobe, of course. Mags gave her a startled look, but recovered quickly enough to move in front of the coffee pot, guarding it.

"Mine," she declared, a challenge in her voice. Yes, the whole coffee pot.

"Ask me if I enjoyed my weekend, and I might have to kill you."

"Yea, well, see if you say that once you have a word with the goblins, Trev!" Niobe shouted through the noise and flying paper birds, the chaos of the main news floor of the Daily Prophet.  The high ceilings of what looked like an old warehouse just amplified the noise, but the space was bright and filled with Truth.  (Or so Niobe had always imagined.)

The noise abruptly muted once she stepped into the glass-windowed break room and the door closed behind her.  The reporter made ready to prance right up to the samovar but a vicious Groust postured aggressively.  Niobe narrowed her eyes and a sly grin spread slowly across her face.

"Baw...We spend Valentine's in a lonely witches' coven, did we?" she taunted.  Thursby didn't fear the formidable Groust, even when grouchy.  Niobe's glee was too great to be cowed by a coffee embargo, nor a scowl. 

"If we can't talk about your weekend, we can certainly have a chat about mine then.  I look forward to your silence whilst I weave a sordid tale.  And it's sordid, you betcha." 

Maggie heaved a sigh at her friend's taunt, and stood guard in front of the coffee pot as Niobe agreed not to pester her about her weekend. Instead, Niobe mentioned her own, causing Maggie's eyebrows to rise and her expression to relax slightly. As long as her tale was sordid and not overly romantic, there was room enough in the break room for two intrepid reporters.

"Alright, alright, gab away," she waved a hand at her and stepped towards the glass. "Don't mind me while I disturb the others."

What else was she supposed to do in this mood? Her head pounded, and she turned her scowl on more impressionable subjects, smirking when one of the fresh-faced interns almost dropped a large tray of tea as she passed by.  Maggie's position by the glass left the coffee pot free and clear, but she pretended not to see it if Niobe took some.

Niobe took her opening, both for the conversation and the caffeine, and whisked in at Maggie and the caraffe.   She decanted the dark, roasty-toasty liquid into her giant ceramic mug and went about dumping in packets and creams and syrup's like a practiced alchemist.

Eyes on her witch's work, Niobe left Maggie to her scowling - hey! she was freelance, what did she have to worry about?  She didn't actually have to work with these people.

"I've got a pair of choice words for you, Mags.  I hope you're ready because I had to get a thesaurus for these: Insatiable and -"

She cut herself off to lean in close to Maggie, and whispered, "and Domilicious."

Since the new year, Niobe had been doing only a mediocre job hiding her bonk-buddy relationship with Dominik Wiedman.  It was all that lovely danger, the sneaking around, the lack of approval of mothers, friends and aunties everywhere...  She was asking to start a fire.

Maggie did not approve of this new word. Not at all. She set her mug down a little harder than she'd intended, causing the coffee to slosh out a bit. Then she leaned against the counter, crossed her arms, and gave Niobe a dark look. Any chance that Niobe's sordid gossip would lift her spirits had been dashed.

"Ugh. Seriously?" Her tone was more accusing than playful.

"He's still hanging around? Doesn't that get old?"

She rolled her eyes. Valentine's Day weekend had tested the little patience she had for relationships, especially the Dominik-Niobe fling that just wouldn't die. Maggie had vowed to stay out of it after Dominik had thrown a temper tantrum in her kitchen, though she'd been pissed off and conflicted about that decision ever since. It was just easier to go about her business than to have a frank conversation with her friend about why she didn't like him, and besides that, Dom had been behaving - she hadn't seen him lurking around the neighborhood lately. If she told Niobe, Maggie knew she'd say something horrible and mean, because anything was better than admitting he'd freaked her out.

Maggie didn't want to do that. But she didn't want to hear the sordid details, either!

Everything was falling into place for an excellent Monday-After-Valentine's chat.  Maggie was surly and entertaining, Niobe was flip and entertaining.  It was the beloved play that passed over and over their stage, both playing their part perfectly.  Friendship really was in the predictability.  Had they been at home for this traverse, Niobe's coat would be on the floor by the hook, and Maggie would pick it up.  And so they played.

"What gets old is his nagging," she said with a wince of retreat.  "But he's grown out of that, the poor little puppy - we go to his place now.  I chase myself out of bed and he can't follow me to work that way.  Frankly, I like it better this way - I've got this completely under control finally."

And Merlin, didn't Niobe prefer it that way.  This way, she managed the secret tryst and could crank it up or tone it down depending on the gossip climate and how much attention she did or didn't want.  And it was pretty important she keep a lid on that - Dominik was coming up on his parole soon and she was going to have to play that extremely carefully.  She'd want to write it up, of course, but she also wouldn't mind her own natty mug in the paper along with him.

A twinge of paranoia wingled in for a moment.  She was in control of this, right?  "I did tell him to keep away from my flat.  Must have finally started paying attention."

Retreat into coffee cup and let the warm, bittersweet drink wash away the icky feeling.

Maggie met Niobe's explanation with stony silence, letting her talk about how she had things under control, the little tricks and techniques she used to keep Dominik from lurking around her flat or the workplace. She gritted her teeth, contemplating just leaving the room. She couldn't do this today. The dangerous game Niobe played a part in worried her too much, and her flippant arrogance was grating on Maggie's last nerve.

"How long is that going to last?" Maggie bit out, getting angrier by the second. "Woohoo, he doesn't follow you to work, he should get a gold star."

She walked a few feet away from her, arms still crossed.

"How stupid are you?" She turned around, voice raised, all traces of banter or mock arguing gone. "The guy's a psycho. Why is it so hard to just kick him out for good!"

She'd never quite understood the thrill Niobe got from 'Bad Boys' and tumultuous flings. Sounded like a headache to Maggie. And a headache was indeed brewing, giving a nudge to harsh words she was sure she'd regret later.

Well, this was going differently than Niobe had thought.  To Niobe's cloudy vision, this had gone straight from silly chitchat and the sharing of sexual conquests to Maggie going completely cross.   Out of nowhere!  Niobe knew Maggie didn't approve, but now it seemed like she was angry with her over Dominik - no call for that at all.

"Stupid!" she echoed, her intensity beginning to creep up to Maggie's.  "I'm having a good time! A bit of fun is all! He's completely harmless!"

Not like Cinaed.  Mental groan, outward scowl.  Niobe'd never admit a pattern connecting Dominik to Cinaed, and any thought of it was too real to fully access.  She pushed it down.  Being with Cinaed had been skin of their teeth and anger all the time.  Dom was soft and polite in comparison.  Cinaed hadn't cared for her at all.  Dominik worshiped her! Totally different!

"You're biased because of his record," Niobe said in that tone of voice she used when she was chastising Maggie for her naivety.  "You think that because he fights in bars occasionally and has a stupid charge from the war that he's going to hurt someone?  He's a kitten, Maggie!  He does anything I ask him to.  Get your drawers out of a twist and let me have this."

Their conversation was getting a touch too heated for the venue - the workplace breakroom with its giant fish-bowl windows.  Niobe was trying to keep her temper in check, try and keep the fight from her posture and her body, but Maggie was going to far, the little baby!

Though Maggie would have preferred to have this argument in a less public place, she was already known around the Prophet as a pain in the arse, and saw no harm in perpetuating that reputation. Pain in the arses got articles done. Pain in the arses irritated people until they blurted out something she could use against them.

Like now! "Bollocks!" She shot back at her, expression stormy. "Being a former Death Eater is a stupid charge, now? Quidditch is the only reason he's not in Azkaban! Not that a stint behind bars would bother you. You'd probably just pay him more attention."

As that comment hung there, she felt a prickle of guilt, but it faded away fast.

"And he doesn't listen to you! All he's doing is putting on an act because he thinks with a little bit of time, you'll suddenly fall for him and talk about making mini-Dominiks," She made a disgusted face. "And eventually, he's going to get tired of acting, and the stalkerish behavior will start again, because you can't get your head out of your arse and cut him loose completely!"

So much she hadn't said these past few months came tumbling out, and for all her scolding and lecturing, Maggie just didn't know how to handle this in a better way.

"Oh, screw you, Maggie!" Niobe lashed out with a scowl that was just beginning to show the frayed edges of a bruised ego and hurt feelings.  Niobe knew that Maggie disapproved, but she hadn't know she was this angry about all of it, that she thought so badly of Dominik.   And of her.  This was supposed to be fun.

But everything Maggie was saying disarmed Niobe completely, and she didn't know what else to say.   She couldn't rightfully admit that she got off in some strange way on being stalked by someone as (in)famous as Dominik, that she swimming very happily in the attention and all the Slither Girl-esque drama that came out of taming him.  She liked being the one force on earth that could quell his criminal, Death Eaterly demons. 

"What the hell do you know about it anyway?" she finally blurt out, lacking any substantive comeback.  "It's none of your bloody business at the end of the day, is it!  I don't recall that you've even met him more than twice, Maggie.  So everything you're saying's just jealous rot for all I know.  You can lecture me when you know something, how's that?"

She whipped her coffee cup around, and the remains of beverage flung out from the cup to vanish in the air.  She was done with this break.

Niobe's scowl and the childish 'screw you' comment brought forth a rush of guilt mixed in with smug satisfaction. Not a pleasant concoction. It was a bitter drink to swallow, and yet Maggie just kept chugging it down.

"You want to know what I know about it?" She repeated her words in a nasty tone, watching her empty her coffee cup. Maggie wasn't ready to let things go. This argument was just starting.

"He followed me home. All the way from work," she gestured angrily around the break room that was beginning to feel too small. "Then he stood on my doorstep and kept asking about you, wanting advice. And me, being completely daft, let him in."

She glared at her, though she wasn't just angry at Niobe.  She didn't like that she'd misjudged him.

"So I gave him advice. I told him that he needed to respect your boundaries, and I could have been a lot meaner about it, but I wasn't," she said defensively. "And what does he do? He flips out, throws things around my kitchen, and acts like a complete arse! I had to tell him twice to get the hell out. Finally he apologizes, acts like nothing happened, and leaves."

Maggie let out a huff and jutted her chin out petulantly, "But I guess that doesn't matter to you!"

Niobe was the type of person she often looked up to: strong, determined, courageous. Niobe's major weakness: Dominik. A real friend, in her opinion, would know why she was upset, and would have dumped him long ago! A real friend listened to advice sometimes - Maggie's advice!

At first Niobe wasn't capable of hearing the content of Margaret's response, already deciding she was firing out of the blunt end of a wand.  But a few sentences in was all Niobe needed.  Her anger at Maggie for minding someone else's business was beginning to move like a tide towards Dominik's shores.

"What?" was all she could say, before Maggie went on.  He'd been to Maggie's flat? Had harassed her and begged on for something about Niobe? 

"That bastard! I told him-!" Niobe could've spit, the disdain she felt was so great.  "I fecking told him not to shit around my-" She couldn't find the words, really.  If wratch was poestry, she was grasping for the right couplet.

"I'll kill him!" Ah, there we go.

All anger at Maggie was lost (including remorse for the position she'd put Maggie into, at least for now.  Certainly it'd dawn on her too late). 

"Yeh, that's what.  I'll kill him, and you can write the story, eh, Mags? Sixteen Feb - Weidman found inside out in the Trafalgar Square fountain.  There's your grabber."

She moaned loudly and ran her fingers into her hair until the knots stopped them.  "That psychopath...Why can't the crazy ones just be normal?" 

Maggie's anger started to fade just as Niobe's anger kicked into high gear, cursing about Dominik, threatening to kill him, so peeved she pulled on her dreads. Now Maggie felt vindicated. At least Niobe valued their friendship enough to get so pissed off at Dominik, instead of excusing his behavior.

"See! I told you!"

The tense emotion in the air made her antsy, and she walked around the break room, trying to calm down a bit. The worst was over, Maggie thought, but she didn't like lashing out with insults, or throwing in upsetting news during a fight. All her bluster and anger didn't actually make her feel any better; she just got more worked up. While she knew, logically, she shouldn't turn everything into an argument to get her point across, it was the only way she knew how to be heard.

Maggie hopped up on the coffee counter and sighed, slanting her a guilty look. She was quiet for a moment until a thought came to her. "You're going to break up with him before you kill him, right?"

She smirked even as she grumbled, hoping to lighten the mood. But Maggie was actually serious - about the breaking up part, anyway!

Part of Niobe was pulling her to storm out of the building imminently, find Dominik (even if he was in Falmouth) and fire a few holes through his chest.  She just burned at having been disobeyed, at Dominik having been skulking when she's specifically told him not to.

To ward off any ill-fated flouncing, she threw herself into a chair at the table and crossed her arms.  Was funny that through all of this she hadn't really considered not seeing him anymore.  She'd been mostly occupied with killing him or revenge or something.  But cutting it off...?  Breaking up? Break up from what? They weren't dating; that was the point.  She did not answer the question, even though she knew what the sane thing to do would be. 

The silenced dragged for a second, and Maggie seemed calmer having said (shouted) her piece.  Niobe, though, couldn't figure out where to point her wrath. 

Niobe looked over at Maggie and then asked in an inappropriately accusatory tone, "He didn't get rough or anything, right? When he was in your flat?"

Silence stretched for a few seconds. Instead of answering, Niobe countered with a question of her own, and there was something about her tone of voice that made Maggie feel immediately defensive. She stared at her, the smirk falling from her face.

"What?" She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I can handle myself. Especially against Dominik."

She paused. This uncomfortable anxiety bubbled up in her stomach. It was just the way she'd asked. She didn't want Niobe to think she was a big baby. And Maggie hadn't mentioned anything before because she didn't want to put an emphasis on it (or admit he'd freaked her out). Did shaking her even count as roughing her up?

"He shook me a little," she shrugged. "Like I said, he was just throwing a big temper tantrum. So I kicked him out. I was completely fine," Maggie insisted. "In fact, he shut up and left after I yelled at him. I should have done that in the first place. This is what I get for trying to be nice," she grumbled, letting out another irritated sigh. Despite her usual muttering and complaining, that uncomfortable feeling hadn't gone away, and she dreaded what Niobe would say next. Maggie made no move to join her at the table, and remained sitting on the counter, keeping a bit of distance between them.