They entered the observation lounge — a quiet area with large floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the inner city of the facility compound. The city beyond shimmered under the midmorning sun, its silver towers and clean streets giving the view an almost surreal calm.
Vial stepped closer to the glass, taking in the unfamiliar skyline.
"Wow," he murmured, eyes scanning the organized rows of transit vehicles and spotless streets. "Looks cleaner than my world."
Shia, who had been watching his expression, blinked. "Your… world?"
Vial paused for a beat. "I meant—my hometown. Back where I came from, it's way messier."
Shia tilted her head, eyes narrowing slightly in curiosity. But after a short pause, she let out a soft chuckle. "Well, this place is borderline obsessive when it comes to sanitation. You'd be surprised how seriously they take cleanliness here."
He gave a half-smile, hiding his relief. "Noted. I'll try not to sneeze without permission."
She laughed, more relaxed now, and they stood side by side, watching the city for a few more moments.
As they strolled down one of the quieter hallways toward the cafeteria, the bodyguards followed at a respectful distance, eyes alert. Vial kept his pace relaxed, hands in his pockets.
"So," he said, glancing sideways at Shia, "how does it feel walking next to the rarest guy on the planet?"
She snorted. "Bold of you to assume I'm not used to attention."
"But not from someone like me, right?" He arched a brow.
She side-eyed him, but the faint color rising to her cheeks betrayed her composure. "Flatter yourself all you want. Doesn't mean I'm impressed."
"I'm just saying—if you suddenly start falling for me, don't blame yourself. Blame the ratio."
Shia let out a short laugh, covering her mouth. "You're ridiculous."
"And you're blushing," he said, clearly enjoying himself.
She looked away, ears turning red. "I am not."
"I'll pretend I didn't see it then," he said, smirking as they entered the cafeteria lobby.
Across the room, several women paused mid-step to stare at him. A few whispered, some outright stopped what they were doing.
Shia glanced around, then back at him. "You're lucky I'm not the jealous type."
Vial looked smug. "Yet."
She rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress the smile tugging at her lips.
After their meal, they returned to the clinic building where Rael had arranged for them to review Vial's incomplete registration data. The lab was quiet, filled with softly humming machines and blue-lit panels.
Vial stood by the central display while Shia checked the interface, trying to retrieve whatever fragmented files the system had on him. She leaned slightly closer to reach one of the upper controls on the screen.
Vial turned at the same moment to say something—and their arms brushed.
The contact was brief but unexpected. Shia froze, her breath catching.
Her stomach fluttered. A warm rush flooded her chest, something deep and unfamiliar pulling at her — like a magnet drawing her in before she could think. She blinked, startled by the intensity of it.
Vial raised an eyebrow. "You okay?"
"I—yeah. Sorry. Just… static," she mumbled, turning slightly to the side.
He gave her a curious look, but didn't push it.
She returned to her screen, trying to focus. 'What was that? Why did I—?' She didn't even know how to name the feeling. It was sudden, irrational… but not unpleasant.
Vial stepped back to give her space, though his gaze lingered for a moment longer.
Shia pretended not to notice.
She tapped through the interface, trying to focus on the data streams, but the numbers blurred slightly in her vision. Her pulse hadn't quite settled yet.
"You always do that?" Vial asked, his voice low.
She looked over her shoulder. "Do what?"
"Go all quiet when you're thrown off."
Shia blinked. "I wasn't thrown off."
"Right." He tilted his head. "It was just static."
She turned back to the screen, mouth tightening. "You're surprisingly observant."
"I'm used to watching people. Helps when you don't know who to trust."
Something about his tone made her glance at him again. There was no joking in his eyes this time — only calm curiosity and something gentler beneath the surface.
"What do you see when you look at me, then?" she asked before she could stop herself.
Vial seemed caught off guard, but only for a second. "You're sharp. Confident. But… you're also guarded. Like you're used to being in control and hate it when something doesn't make sense."
Shia's breath hitched, just a little. "You make a lot of assumptions."
"Do I?" he said quietly. "Or do I just notice the things others don't bother to see?"
The room felt warmer somehow. Or maybe it was just her again.
"I'm not the one being studied here," she muttered.
"Could've fooled me," he said, eyes still on her.
She looked away first.
The scanner beeped again, a soft reminder that the system had completed its current process. Shia quickly turned to check the results, using it as an excuse to break the moment.
"The fluctuations are still there," she said, trying to steady her voice. "You're not stabilizing."
"Is that dangerous?"
"Not yet. But it's not normal either."
"Guess I'm full of surprises."
"Yeah," she murmured, almost to herself. "You really are."
For a second, silence stretched between them again — not awkward, but charged.
Then Vial stepped closer, slowly this time, and looked at the projected grid.
"Mind walking me through it?" he asked. "I want to understand what's happening to me."
She nodded, grateful for the shift in focus. "Sure. Here—this line is your neural activity baseline. And these pulses here are where it keeps diverging from what the system expects…"
She talked, and he listened — really listened — eyes occasionally flicking to her face rather than the data. And every time they met her gaze, something about it unsettled her in the most curious way.
By the time they wrapped up, Shia's thoughts were scattered. She powered down the console and cleared her throat.
"Rael might want to run another session tomorrow," she said, keeping her voice even. "We'll need more data points."
"Fine by me," Vial said. "As long as you're the one explaining it."
She narrowed her eyes. "Trying to get on my good side?"
He shrugged. "Just following the feeling."
Shia didn't reply, but her lips curved — barely — as they left the lab together.