The door slowly opens to I.M.P, the office silent with the exception of Moxxie typing on the computer.
When wasn't he busy.
She swallowed the lump in her throat, her voice shaky but audible, "Moxxie?"
Moxxie's fingers froze over the keyboard.
The clicking stopped instantly.
He blinked once, then twice, his eyes slowly lifting from the screen as if his brain refused to process what it had heard.
"Huh?"
He turned in his chair and the color drained from his face. For a second, he just stared. Then his hand slipped from Kadyr's entirely.
No.
No, no, no!
His chair squeaked sharply as he pushed back from the desk, standing so abruptly he nearly knocked it over.
"M-Millie…?" He stared at her like she was a ghost—eyes wide, pupils shaking, chest suddenly too tight to breathe properly.
"…No." A nervous laugh escaped him, small and breathless. "No, no, that's— that's not funny." His eyes darted around the room like he expected someone to jump out and yell surprise.
"Okay, who's doing this?! Is this... is this some kind of illusion thing? A demon thing? Because I've seen that happen before and I...I am really not in the mood..." His gaze snapped back to her. But he couldn't look away. Couldn't stop looking and his expression started falling apart.
"…Millie?"
This time it was quiet and small. Like he was afraid saying her name too loudly would make her disappear.