Only Lis.

On your second roughly-but-not-on-a-strict-schedule-weekly lunch with Lis you can't keep up appearances anymore. She's not your closest friend, but she's the only one at work you can talk to about anything serious.

For once you've both got enough of a break that you could get out of the station for lunch and you're in a corner booth at a tiny Asian fusion place where they do incredible things with shrimp, and it doesn't take much prodding before you're telling her everything about how you failed the test you didn't even understand, how Hurt is being much worse than before, how unfair it all seems. You even cry a little, something you never do otherwise.

Lis is sympathetic and comforting as always. She moves over to your side of the table and hugs you, stroking your hair while you compose yourself again and getting you a tissue.

When you try to backpedal a little she makes a shushing noise and squeezes your hand.

"None of this is your fault, Leila. Hurt is being a massive cunt and you know it."

You gasp, not only because you would never dare to speak about the Sub-Commander that way but also because you would never have guessed Lis to even know words like that, much less use them about one of her superiors.

She shoots you a cheeky smile and winks.

"I can be a bad girl too, you know." She composes her features into a mask of seriousness, then delivers a pitch-perfect imitation of Sub-Commander Hurt.

"Leila! Get in here! I'm using both hands and I still can't find my ass!"

You both break out in giggles after that, but despite Hurt being just as bitchy for the rest of the week it doesn't bring you down nearly as much.