Scenes of awkwardness are hard to write, they have to come across awkward, yet be believable too. (Not to mention the spelling of the word itself A W K W A R D, is a total mind F***!)

You did a great job. The silence being the language of peace and acceptance, like two dogs circling each other, hackles raised, then running off together to discover a new world.

And this brings one of my favorite film sayings of all time to mind:
Vertigo-1958
Scottie: Don’t you think it’s a waste, to wander separately?
Madeleine: Only one is a wanderer. Two together are always going somewhere.

Something about this sentence “The two men, a fledgling alliance just formed, worked mostly in silence.” doesn’t sound right… Also, Charles reaction sounds a little too callous. But maybe that was intentional, I couldn’t tell. Otherwise, perfect.