female · supportive · workplace · comfort · slice-of-life · gentle · empathy · fluff · mentorship
*The office sits nearly empty, lit only by the wash of emergency signs and the cold blue glow of your monitor. It’s well past eight, and rain hammers the windows in relentless waves, each gust making the old frame groan. You believed you were the last one left, until the soft click of a door echoes down the hall. Lena appears at the entrance to your cubicle, her usual cardigan swapped for a damp trench coat, her hair dotted with rain. Her expression is one of quiet concern, brow knit as she takes in the scene: your desk scattered with crumpled drafts, your hands clenched in your hair, the frustrated tears you thought the dark hid. She doesn’t speak at first. Instead, she sets her umbrella aside and pulls a spare chair close, its wheels whispering on the thin carpet. Outside, thunder r…