Welcome to Gaia! ::

Maybe she had been joking about a nice dinner, but Hurst took it to the next level and made it a reality. She had saved his life after all, of that he was sure. The least he could do was take her out for a nice evening. He hadn't dressed up quite so nice in a while, either. It'd be fun.

At the appointed time, Hurst's bike rolled to a neat stop in front of Nadia's apartment, and the man pulled off his helmet and looked towards the doors, waiting. He rode his bike all year long. No matter the weather...unfortunately for Nadia. He had thought of her though, and had brought along the additional helmet, and an additional leather jacket as well.

Now hopefully her legs wouldn't be too cold.

Hurst tilted his head up at the call, and spotted the woman. He smiled back at her. "Just like the women used to ride horses in older times. Side saddle." He could account for the shift in balance...and who cared if it wasn't necessarily the proper way. Possibly getting caught by the cops was half the fun.

"Don't worry. Riding behind, I'll block the wind for you."

He just smiled to himself as Nadia disappeared, and continued to wait until she made her grand debut for the evening in all her glory. The man let out a low whistle as she approached, eyes soaking in every inch of her appearance. He chuckled at her comment, and he reached to take the hand that was roaming up his chest. "I'm counting on him finding out." He replied in earnest, amused, and then pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

"I may clean up fine, but it's nothing to the stunning beauty I'm lucky enough to take out tonight."

He then offered her a helmet.

"Your coach awaits."

His smiled was covered up as he secured his own helmet back on and got situated, starting the engine up again. When she squeezed, he took off, and it was with practiced ease he accounted the shift in balance. Hurst drove faster than he should have, weaved in and out of traffic, but it was with a secure confidence. He had done this many times before.

After some time of bobbing and weaving, Hurst eventually pulled them into a parking lot of one of the more upscale restaurants in Destiny City. He parked his bike between some cars, turned the engine off, and dropped the kick stand. He kept it upright with his weight for the time being since Nadia was still on, and reached up to undo his helmet.

"Well, you're still on." He commented. "So the night is still off to a good start." Hurst reached up to ruffle his hair, and let the strands fall in an organized chaos.

He took the helmet from her, and placed it on the back of the bike, along with his own. He simply smiled at her, and offered an arm. "Oh, don't get too excited." He told her conversationally. "The first date is nice to lure you in, but after that it's pizza and Netflix." Hurst lead them towards the entrance, where the doors were held open for them and he approached the host stand.

"Hurst, party of two for the 6:30 reservation."

The host took a moment to consult his screen and confirm, and have the two a smile as he found it. "Good evening, and if you'll come this way---" He lead through deeper into the restaurant, with its swank furniture and beautiful atmospheric lighting. He finally stopped at a nice corner booth, structured in a way that it gave its occupants a fair amount of privacy for an enjoyable dining experience.

"Your server will be right with you. Please enjoy."

Hurst offered a thanks for the host, but didn't seat himself just yet, and waited to help Nadia slid into her side.

"It's fun once in a blue moon."

He slid into his own seat across from her, and stared back at her as she got situated. A corner of his lips couldn't help but curl further up at her astute conversation. She was clever, that one, to be able to decipher his intentions so fast. Maybe she didn't know why exactly, but the fact she could read his intent to a degree...

Nadia was the dangerous combination he tended to stay away from.

"Nadia~" He mock scolded. "At least wait until the wine arrives first before calling me out." As if on cue, their server came by to introduce herself and offer them a selection of drinks. Hurst ordered whatever was the wine for the evening, a bottle, for them to share, and waited until she moved off to retrieve the items. He turned back to look at his lovely companion, and didn't beat around the bush.

"You're correct, however. This dinner does have its ulterior motives, in addition to my gratitude." He leaned back against the booth seating, his hands at ease on his legs. "We need to have a little chat about your brother. You know, the one you're not acknowledging, just in case there was some confusion with how many you got." He smiled.

"I'm going to tell the waitress to skip bringing the cooler." Hurst commented. "The wine will be plenty chilled being at this table." He teased lightly, but aside from that, let her have this. He didn't have someone he had known for ten years he had lost, and hopefully would never know the pain she was going through. Even worse than being dead, was that the person was more than likely still living, but wiped completely of memory.

"Yes, that one."

He fell silent again as the waitress brought their wine. He thanked her as she poured them some, and when asked if they wanted to start off with any appetizers, he requested whatever was the most popular. They hadn't even touched the menus yet, but Hurst wasn't in a rush at all tonight. As soon as she went off to put in the order for the appetizer, Hurst resumed the conversation.

"Nadia." He started, his tone softening for both the subject matter and in sympathy. "I know you're hurt. You have every right to be, but you can't pin the blame on him. He couldn't have been there the entire time, and whatever happened, it flew enough under the radar that no one knew until it was too late. It seems likely that she set the dominoes to fall entirely on her own." He paused to take his wine glass and take a drink, thinking it wasn't bad at all.

And true to the tone of the start of the conversation, he didn't pull any punches. "If you're going to hold Sergei to this standard of being there, you failed it as well." Nothing about his tone was accusatory. Just a simple statement. "The silence needs to end though, Nadia. I'm worried for him. When he's not working, he's patrolling. Non-stop. He's running ragged, and if this keeps up, he's going to get hurt."

He let her go. Let her speak and let it get it out, and nodded his head a bit at times to show he was listening. While he couldn't relate on a personal level, he could understand where she was coming from, and why she felt the way she did.

"Worse or no, you have every right to be mad at your friend. It just shows the depths of which you care for her." He kept his gaze on Nadia as she turned away, and even sulking she was a sight. It was the confidence with which she did those emotions that made her beautiful. "Someone has to be." He replied good naturedly. "What also runs in the Vetrov family is stubbornness. Someone has to be in the middle of your tug of war to make it end."

For a moment, there was something softer about his tone. "He needs to ease up." Hurst said. "I know you both hope for the best, Nadia...but there's no guarantee you'll find anything. Maybe tomorrow, maybe a week from now. Months. Years. Maybe never. How long can he go how hard he's going?" It was a rhetorical question, because the truth was he couldn't go long at all.

The man pause once more, as the waitress returned with their appetizer, setting a well designed plate of crab and lobster stuffed mushrooms, in addition to the plates. When questioned about the menu, Hurst smiled politely and requested a few more minutes, waiting until she disappeared once more to resume.

"He told me to tell you he hasn't found anything yet, but he's going to keep looking. We also had a rather productive visit to his castle. Your grandma-ma was most kind and let him have his ring once we explained the circumstances."