Mia didn't look like she wanted to be in Wilson's office a second longer than necessary. She stood by the door, arms crossed tight over her chest, shoulders so stiff it looked like she might snap in half just to stay in control.
Wilson stayed where he was for a moment, studying her. He didn't need her eyes to see the fight she was having with herself. He could hear it as clearly as if she'd shouted every word.
He pushed off the desk and stepped forward, careful not to close the distance too fast. If he did, she'd run. She always did.
"You came back," he said.
She didn't even blink. "You're a mess today, Carter. You know it."
He tried to smile like usual, but it felt wrong on his face. "You're worried about me. Again."
Her eyes narrowed a fraction. She moved closer, just enough for him to see the heat behind the frost.
"I'm worried about the pitch. About this company. About the fact that if you implode, we all pay for it. That's all."
Her mind betrayed her immediately.
Stop lying. You care. You know you do. Just stop it.
Wilson felt that slip of truth hit him harder than any insult. Part of him wanted to laugh it off. Another part wanted to close the last step between them and make her say it out loud.
Mia broke first. She turned her back to him and went to the window, bracing her hands on the glass. The rain outside made the whole city blur. Her reflection looked like another secret he'd never quite reach.
"What's wrong with you lately?" she asked, voice softer now. "You're distracted. You look at people like you're listening to ghosts. And Luna? Don't insult me by pretending you don't know what she's doing."
Wilson slipped his hands into his pockets. He could tell her everything right then. The voices. The noise. Her thoughts that cut him deeper than any truth he'd ever heard.
Instead, he said, "She's playing her own game."
Mia turned just enough to look at him over her shoulder. Her eyes were dark, sharp as a blade.
"Then stop letting her. Stop pretending you don't see it."
I see it. I see you. And I hear every word you don't say.
"I'm handling it," he said, voice steady even if he felt anything but.
"Are you?"
Her tone was cold but her mind was all heat.
Don't slip, Wilson. Don't make me care more than I already do.
He crossed the last few steps to her, slow enough she didn't back away. She didn't move at all. He could smell her perfume, clean and soft, the exact opposite of the chaos in his head.
"Mia," he said, his voice dropping. "Why do you care if I fall apart?"
She held his eyes without flinching. For one heartbeat, he saw the crack in her armor, the tiny truth she couldn't swallow fast enough.
"I don't," she said.
Liar.
He almost reached out, almost touched her shoulder, but she broke the moment first. She stepped aside, brushing past him on her way to the door. Her sleeve brushed his wrist, a small spark that made the noise in his head roar.
"Fix it, Carter," she said without looking back. "Before you drag us both down."
Before I let you drag me in too far to get out.
The door clicked behind her. Wilson stood there alone, listening to the rain against the glass. He knew two things for certain. The voices wouldn't stop. And he didn't want them to not if it meant hearing the only truth that mattered.