A Golden Opportunity

[Tabs]

Tabs’s reaction was as if he’d been struck. It would have been his response regardless of what was said. Once his appearance was made the center of attention, it was deeply ingrained in him to feel shame. Body language spoke before his faces, one by one, flickered back on. His claw moved further up his wrist to his forearm, pulling the sleeve of his suit up along with it. Faces that had been half turned away looked back. His red eyes were widened and turned to one side.

“You can call me that if you like,” he said, his voice reflecting back hardly any of the emotion that had been in her's.

Turning, he made an attempt to look busy, but failed in doing so.

“I’m sure It would have a way to repair me if any damage was done. If… It wanted to.”

Tabs’s brows furrowed and he stared out forlornly. He was fooling himself if he thought the Producer would ever save him, even if It had the ability to. He leaned over his desk and started to walk his claws over a stack of papers. Black lids flashed over his eyes as he brought his gaze down. It at last seemed like he was returning Aurelia’s eyes. A shade of pink started to fade in over the pale blue under his eyes.

“I-- um-- I--”

A couple of the papers he was fiddling with fell to his feet.