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As Head of Security, and part of Director Trench’s management team, Lin Salvador had a responsibility to keep an eye on every single thing happening within the Oldest House. At least, to the extent that it was possible to keep an eye on everything happening in a constantly shifting, changing building which regularly opened doorways to other dimensions.
In between keeping low-clearance staff from getting themselves killed in attempts to engage in inappropriate workplace behavior—a recurring problem everywhere from in front of the Furnace to inside various Thresholds—Salvador kept an eye on the high-clearance staff too. And this week, he’d noticed something weird.
Director Trench seemed happy. Or at least, happier.
It was so unusual that at first, Salvador assumed something was wrong. Granted, Trench had a real ability to put on a brave face in front of the troops. He believed strongly in the duty of the Director to inspire. Given that Trench had been so depressed for years that it was a wonder he got out of bed in the morning, Salvador found it pretty inspiring that the poor guy even tried to inspire anyone else.
Salvador had noticed the change in behavior during a meeting, when Trench asked Darling a series of questions about the latest Threshold that had opened in Maintenance. It wasn’t that weird for Trench to cheer up around Darling. They’d been close for a long time, and Darling’s enthusiasm was admittedly contagious to everyone who didn’t think he was a pain in the ass.
But this was more than the usual contagious enthusiasm. This boost to Trench’s mood seemed to carry over to the rest of the day, even when Darling wasn’t right in front of him spouting off about the wonders of the universe.
It sure as hell got more noticeable when Darling was around, though. Salvador had never been much of a poetic guy, always focused on his job and on trying to keep five steps ahead of any potential problems that might pop up. But it was like Trench was usually surrounded by sad grey clouds that immediately dissipated once Darling showed up beaming sunlight all over the place.
Salvador still hadn’t been quite sure what had changed, though. At least, up until he caught sight of Trench and Darling in Darling’s Executive Sector office, late one night when most personnel had left hours ago.
Mostly, they were sheltered by the growing wall of sticky notes and documents that Darling plastered to the window. But even with that, Salvador could make out a couple of things.
One, that they were pressed damn close together in the corner of the room, with Darling’s fluffy hair sticking up like hands had been lovingly ruffling it. Two, that Trench was now bending over his arm, trailing slow, tender kisses along the inside of Darling’s wrist with something like reverence.
Salvador smiled to himself, and pointedly altered his patrol route. Normally, he would intervene with a reminder of Bureau safety protocols. But when it came to Trench and Darling, he didn’t need to worry. Whatever workplace behavior they were getting up to, inappropriate or otherwise, Trench would make sure they did it safely.