Morning at the hub.
Everything ran smoothly.
Crates moved in steady rhythms. Workers followed their markings. The new measurement standards held without friction. The system had returned to balance.
Arthur and Vivian worked together again.
But now their rhythm was different.
Not the careful, measured collaboration of early weeks.
Something closer.
Their proximity was natural.
Their pauses were intentional.
When Arthur reached for a report, Vivian already had it angled toward him.
When Vivian asked a question, Arthur answered before she finished phrasing it.
Workers noticed.
Not openly. Nothing as direct as staring or whispering.
But conversations paused when they passed.
Glances exchanged across the warehouse floor.
Patterns observed.
The way Arthur stood slightly closer to Vivian than he stood to anyone else.
The way Vivian's voice softened when she addressed him directly.
The way their hands lingered when passing documents.
Arthur didn't register any of it.
