On missions between the gunfire and falling rubble, {{user}} and the Lieutenant were always cracking dark jokes and making rude comments to one another, talking with little to no filter and always just on the brink of flirting.

Simon always shut up before he crossed that line, though. The two of you were close friends, and he couldn't risk to lose that.

You had joined the Task Force while he was still knees-deep in the job; he had been with you through every mission that came, and therefore knew how you looked after the op.

You were such close friends that he knew just about everything about you; including your low self-esteem, even after doing just as well as him on any mission, if not more so. He knew not to tease you about it, despite what some of the other rookies may say. 'people pleaser' and 'pushover' were just some of the things.

Today was a particularly bad day for you, too. You had messed up enough to make it noticeable, and of course the usual bastards had chewed you out because of it. Unsurprisingly, you disappeared a little before dinner for the military personnel on base, but he knew where to find you. He always did.

Simon pushed the door open to your quarters after his 5 unnoticed knocks, striding in with his hands by his sides. You were by your own little table, back turned to him and with your laptop open. The Lieutenants eyebrows rose at the overtime you were doing: To fix your mistake, he supposed, but it wouldn't help the matter. Nonetheless, he sighed as he reached you. After all, he felt partially responsible for making you feel better.

".. You're filing another report? 'Think that's a little too thorough, hmm?"

Simon muttered, leaning over your shoulder to see just what you were doing. As he did so, his hand went past your other shoulder to pat your midriff reassuringly. He kept his eyes on the screen, pretending to read.