Summary: Striker and Moxxie have a surprising heart-to-heart talk.
This takes place between chapters 2 and 3 of Vol. 9: The Harvest Moon Festival.
Moxxie awoke with a start, panting heavily for precious air. It took him a few mins to calm down as he realized that he was in Striker's house. Oh, right. They were staying at his place. Unsurprisingly, Millie hadn't been woken up by his panicked yelp. She's always been quite the heavy sleeper. He smiled lightly as he ran a hand through her hair.
Unable to go back to sleep, Moxxie quietly slid out of the improvised bed and made his way downstairs towards the kitchen, guessing that Striker wouldn't mind if he made a cup of tea. To his surprise, he found none other than Striker, who was having a cup of tea himself.
"Can't sleep neither, Mox?" he asked casually.
Moxxie sighed. "Too many things in my head."
"Want some tea?"
Moxxie gratefully accepted a cup of the warm beverage. For a while neither said anything, they simply took small sips of the lavender tea.
"What a day, huh?" Moxxie commented, trying to break the silence.
"Don't remind me. It's bad enough that Travers defeated me in the Derby, but him singin' the song he stole from me...! I swear to Satan if Blitz offers him a job at I.M.P. I'm quittin'." Striker growled in a low voice.
"You really hate his guts, don't you?" Moxxie asked casually. "Is there more to your history than the song he stole from you?"
"Yes, I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind. It's rather..." Striker averted his gaze. "Embarrassin'."
A long, awkward silence followed. "Striker?"
"What?"
"Do you think I'm good enough for Millie?"
"What kind of question is that, wimp? It's fairly evident that you two are like soulmates. If Imps had a soul, that is."
"It's just... we're so different. Millie is a brave, strong woman and a bitch of an assassin while I'm..."
"A nerd."
"For the hundredth-!" Moxxie stopped mid-sentence. "...You know what? Maybe I am a nerd compared to Millie. She's amazing and I'm a weakling."
Striker glanced at Moxxie. The little nerd seemed truly upset. "This is about Travers, isn't it?"
"I don't get it. What did Millie see in me that she broke off an engagement with a man like him? He's strong, manly, her family loves him, he's everything a woman like Millie could want! And yet... She left him for me. What if...? I don't know, you know how happy she's been around him and he's been doing everything he can to win her back. What if Millie actually considers taking him back? If Travers was good enough to even end up on a tie with you- no offense, Striker." Moxxie added quickly when the cowboy shot him a frown. "Then he'd be the 'perfect man' for her..."
"Stop it, Moxxie." Striker said suddenly. "So the bastard's stronger, he has been in Mildred's life for far longer than you, her parents adore him and he probably has a bigger dick..."
"Gee, thanks, Striker."
"But Mildred chose you. If she did, it was for somethin'. There must have been somethin' in ya that Travers can only dream of if Mildred was willin' to leave him to join her life with yours. True, you are a wimp when it comes to physical strength, but ya make up for it with yer smarts and strategic mind. You are worried about what Mildred thinks and feels because you love her and want her to be happy, even if it means that she'd find that happiness with someone else. If that ain't the greatest proof of how much ya love her, then nothin' will be.
"I was once in the same position as you, Moxxie. My Jane came from an influential family and I was merely a poor bastard kid bein' raised by a single mother. There were times when I wondered why a wonderful girl such as her would give up her family's high status and wealth over a run-down life with a hitman like me. It took me a while, but I eventually realized that she was happy with me." Striker smiled forlornly. Moxxie swore he saw a single tear run down his cheek. "And she made me the happiest man in the Seven Rings during the time she was alive."
Another awkward silence followed. "You know, Striker. If I had to choose between having you or Travers as a co-worker, I'd definitely pick you. At least you're not as much of a dickhead as him."
Striker raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"
Moxxie gulped and chuckled nervously. "Sort of."
While Moxxie and Striker had little to no things in common, that day they discovered one thing they could both agree on: they both hated Travers.