The woman–Hailey–made the correct assumption that Max was a firefighter with that information, and he inclined his head in a quiet affirmative. He'd lifted his coffee for a sip when she started asking questions, mouth occupied so he couldn't answer immediately. Still, she was moving to show something at her belt, sharp eyes catching the flash of a familiar badge. Some context as to why she was interested in the possible feuds between the EFD and EPD. Max grinned at hearing she was brand spanking new to town, remembering when he'd been in that position.
As she elaborated some more, Max's grin slipped into a smirk, the coffee cup dipping low as he prepared to ask–maybe if she was expecting him to razz her immediately–but Max caught the hum of electronics a split second before her phone buzzed. When she excused herself, Max gave her another incline of his head, content to wait as he sipped his coffee and flipped open his notebook. He didn't try to eavesdrop, but sitting next to her it was difficult not to hear it. The voice of the person who'd called was clear on the other end, even if her voice was distorted through the phone.
Eyes on his notebook, Max couldn't help smiling faintly at the familiar lingo that he'd more or less set aside when he'd slipped into civilian life. Hot on the heels of that was that near-painful wistfulness as she signed off, citing 'sisters' to him. Glancing up, he gave her a wry smile, trying not to think about how anyone from his squad couldn't call him up randomly to sort out a problem, he shrugged off her apology.
“Don't worry about it. Good to keep in touch, right?” He said, pushing the notebook aside as it looked like they might keep talking, lifting his coffee cup to give her a playful wink over the lid before he drank.
As she elaborated some more, Max's grin slipped into a smirk, the coffee cup dipping low as he prepared to ask–maybe if she was expecting him to razz her immediately–but Max caught the hum of electronics a split second before her phone buzzed. When she excused herself, Max gave her another incline of his head, content to wait as he sipped his coffee and flipped open his notebook. He didn't try to eavesdrop, but sitting next to her it was difficult not to hear it. The voice of the person who'd called was clear on the other end, even if her voice was distorted through the phone.
Eyes on his notebook, Max couldn't help smiling faintly at the familiar lingo that he'd more or less set aside when he'd slipped into civilian life. Hot on the heels of that was that near-painful wistfulness as she signed off, citing 'sisters' to him. Glancing up, he gave her a wry smile, trying not to think about how anyone from his squad couldn't call him up randomly to sort out a problem, he shrugged off her apology.
“Don't worry about it. Good to keep in touch, right?” He said, pushing the notebook aside as it looked like they might keep talking, lifting his coffee cup to give her a playful wink over the lid before he drank.