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Hurst found social norms incredibly amusing. One such, was that guys usually didn't shop at the mall together. This was a norm he broke, as the past few hours had been spent tag teaming the mall with Sergei to finish the last of their holiday shopping. Being comfortable with doing that though came from their time spent together in the Navy. Trivial things like social norms just didn't hold a candle to that experience.

Now, though, Hurst set down his mug of beer, and reached for the appetizer that had been placed between him and Sergei. After shopping came dinner. He had located a pub that'd been a few blocks away that he'd been wanting to try, and wrangled his grumpy Russian friend into coming as well. The man pulled some cheesy loaded fries off the plate, and popped them into his mouth. He ate in the companionable silence, and after finishing finally spoke up.

"I heard from Mrs. Vetrov that your sister is back in town." He so adored Sergei's mother, and made it a point to visit her now and again to chat. It was easier to talk to her than his own mother often than not. "How's she doing?"

"It's always more of a challenge when they're taken."



His friend was definitely in a foul mood. Where was his Christmas spirit? Tsk, tsk. "All joking aside, Cody, I'm just asking since she's been gone for so long. I'd ask if you missed her, but that scowl on your face tells me all I need to know." He smiled at the other man, and ate some more of the appetizer. "Spending Christmas itself with your parents with the family, hm?"

Hurst's perpetual small smile widened. "With an offer like that from your beautiful sister, how can I refuse? And you said you'll be working a lot?" He let the teasing implication hang in the air for a long moment before moving on.

"Ah, yes. That makes sense. Oddly enough, I find myself with plans this year. My sister wants to have everyone together at her house, and while I'll enjoy spending the time with Noah, my other companion will be a bottle of whiskey to see me through." He saluted the notion with his mug of beer, and took some gulps before setting it down.

"Is the job everything you ever dreamed and hoped for, Cody?"

Hurt clucked his tongue. "Why not, Cody?" He asked with a slight mocking exaggeration. "That's not very charitable!" The man chuckled, and nodded his head a bit. "Indeed, and no amount of time or holiday cheer will fix that gap." A brow rose.

"It's not another citation, is it?" He asked, amused. "We have enough kindling from the last time you decided to...gift us. If you need an idea, just stick with Pokemon. Lapras or Glaceon in specific." Hurst ate some more fries, chewing thoughtfully, before he nodded his head again.

"I believe it." His voice lowered. "Especially in this city. I imagine what shouldn't be blends too much with that should be considered regular, hm?"

"Point taken."

Still, he was utterly amused. Hurst held up a finger. "But I would argue that it's your fist that's the butter maker." And that comparison didn't need any explanations. He'd seen that fist in action before, many times. The man chuckled, and just shook his head. Sergei definitely had a...twisted sense of humor when one got to know him. Shame not many got to see it.

"What of me?" Hurst asked when the question was turned on him. "I'm not you, my friend. I'm leaving this crusade alone as much as I can. I only don the ballet suit when I'm cornered, and I make sure to keep that to a minimum. I don't actively go looking, and I don't want to."

Hurst quieted as the waitress came by to place their orders before them. He smiled, and when asked if they needed anything else, assured her they didn't. As she walked away, his eyes lingered on her back side for a moment before he turned to back to their food and conversation.

"You're going to run yourself ragged doing both, you know."

Hurst stopped eating fries to bring his hand up to his chest and clutched his heart.

"Cody, you wound me using that line. Just twist that knife a bit more, hm?" He didn't feel bad for not participating but, a small part of him, as much as he tried to ignore it, did want to look out for his friend in regards to this matter. It was that blasted time in the Navy. It was probably why he even bothered to talk about it and to check in on Sergei in regards to his patrolling. Hurst started to reach for more fries, but as Sergei explained why he was doing both, the man froze.

He stared at Sergei for a long moment, and though he tried to keep it in check, he felt the corner of his mouth twitching, yearning to stretch into a grin.

"You're doing both...because Olga says so?"

It tested every ounce of Hurst's willpower to stop his body from shaking with mirth, because he also knew he was in a mine field. His options were quickly limiting to either keep his mouth shut and his face in tact, or rub it in and have that butter maker making butter of his face.

Hurst made peace with the fact he wasn't going to look handsome for Christmas with the family.

"She has you whipped."