Vibiano's instinct is to hunch his shoulders and hide behind his clipboard, but Capochin's tone hamstrings that particular routine. He tries not to boggle at his (former?) boss, and fails.

He sounds like he cares. Not like, backhandedly cares, with it seeping out at the bottom of the tough-guy veneer like unnameable ooze from a cheap freezer. Actually cares.

"Oh, ya know," Vibiano says, "we're holdin' on. Been findin' ourselves. Patty's found herself a new set of pronouns."