Chapter Text
Aaron Thorsen stood in the middle of a sleek, aggresively minimalist espresso bar in Hollywood, waitinh for a cup of coffee that cost exacty fifteen dollars.. every day. The barista handed him the oat milk cortado with a look that suggested the cup itself was an art instillation, meant to be reverred rather than consumed. Aaron took a sip, adjusted his sunglasss with a practiced flick of his finger, and pulled out his phone as he began the brisk walk back to his very fancy and expencive car.
It was a beautiful, blindlingly bright Los Angeles morning, and he had about twenty minuets before he needed to be at the Hollywood division station for roll call. to pass the time, he tapped open his phone to check the bi weekly department email that had just hit his inbox. Usually, these emails were a blur of dry administrative updates policy changes that nobody actually read until they already violated them, and retirment notices for officers he had never met and would never see.
He scrolled through the dense blocks of text with a practiced flick of his thimb, his eyes glasing over the usual bullet points. He was just about to close the app and switch to a music playlist when his gaze caught on the offical header celebrating the personnel changes from the most recent promotional testing cycle.
Aaron stopped dead in his tracks on the sidwalk, causing a guy in a tailored suit to nearly crash into his back. If Aaron had been mid swallow, he would have absolutly painted the glass storefront next to him with his premium espresso
There, neatly typed out next to the ranking number was the text:
1) Chen, Lucy. - Newly assigned Mid-Wilshire’s roaming Night Sergeant.
Sergeant Chen??
Aaron blinked, staring at the screen. The exclamation points in his own brain were practically screming, bouncing off the walls of his skull.
Sergeant Lucy Chen!!!
Lucy had actually done it. She had passed the exam, survived the grueling interview process and was officially a superviser. Yesss Girl, good for her!!!
A massive grin broke across his face. He slid into the drivers seat of his car, tossed his coffee into the cup holder, and immedately plugged his phone into the dashboard. The info-etainment screen lit up, and as he pulled out into the chaotic, sprawling mess of the morning LA traffic he tapped her contact photo.
The digital ringing sound blared loudly from the car speakers, filling the cabin with its ryhtmic chime. Aaron tapped his fingers impatientley against the steering wheel, waiting through three long rings until the line finally clicked open.
"Hey Aaron."
Lucy’s voice came through the speakers, sounding exactly like someone who had spent the last two weeks desperatley adjusting to a completely inverted sleep schedule. She sounded tired, a little breathless; it was the voice of someone who wore sergeant stripes on her sleeve now!
"Sergeant Chen!" Aaron shouted, his voice echoing off the windshield with pure, unadulterrated excitement. "Sergeant Lucy Chen! Congratulations on the promotion!"
On the other end of the line, Aaron could hear the distict sound of Lucy laughing. A rustle of papers in the background suggested she was already buried in the endless administrative busywork that came with the teritory.
"Oh, yeah, Thanks," Lucy said, her chuckle turning into a soft, slightly ragged sigh. "For almost two weeks now, it has been exhausting, by the way. Seriously exhausting."
"Yeah, I bet, expecially with you being on the night shift," Aaron said, skillfully weaving his fancy car through a tight gap between a city bus and a delivery truck
"Oh, you have absolutely no idea," Lucy replied, her voice dropping into a groan of mock dispair. "Wait, how did you even know I was assigned to nights? The shift schedule hasn't even been fully updated on the main server, her because of more deparmetn personal changes happing all at once."
Aaron smirked, adjusting his rearview mirror. "Bi weekly department email. I make it a point to give them all a glance, and that's when I saw your name, and I litterally almost lost my mind in the middle of a hipster coffee shop."
"Right, of course," Lucy said, a warm famliarity in her voice. "The department email. I forgot they blast that out to everyone."
"We seriously need to catch up sometime," Aaron said, leaning back into his leather seat as the traffic cleared up a bit. "I feel like ever since I transfered over to the Hollywood division, I am hardly in the Mid Wilshire loop anymore. The only updates I get now are whatever random rumors get passed around in the main friend group chats, mostly from Celina."
"I know," Lucy said, and he could hear the genuine fondess in her voice. "I really miss having you around the station, Aaron. But Hollywood has been good for you, right? You like the change of pace?"
"Yeah, it has been really good," Aaron nodded, turning down a palm tree-lined street. "It is a different kind of crazy over here, but I am liking it"
"Good, I am really glad to hear that," Lucy said. "Are you heading into work right now, or is this your day off?"
"No, I have got to work today," Aaron said, checking his watch quickly. "Roll call is in a few. But I do have a vacation coming up next month, so I will actually have some free time. What about you? Are you still out on patrol for night shift this morning, or are new sergeants forced to sit at a desk first?"
"Oh no, thankfully not," Lucy said, her tone brightening up as she shared the news. "I have actually been covering shifts on day shift as backup for the past few days. And in a few more days, once all the official paperwork is finally finalized, I will be permanently moving over to the roaming day shift sergeant position."
Aaron raised his eyebrows, genuinly impressed. "Wow. That is a quick turnaround. But wait, who is leaving for you to take over the main day shift slot then?"
"Tim is moving to watch commander," Lucy explained, a note of immense pride cutting through her exhustion.
Aaron whistled loudly, the sound piercing through the car audio system. "Wow, that is a massive shift. I honestly cannot imagine a Mid Wilshire with Grey not sitting in that watch commander chair, but I am sure Bradford will do the job absolute justice. He was practically born to yell at people from a podium anyway, with her stern grummpy face." He paused for a fraction of a second, a mischivous smirk returning to his face. "And hey, congrats on getting back together, by the way. That was one specific update I did see passed around the group chat."
"Thanks," Lucy said, her voice instantly softening into that incredibly happy, comfortable tone she only used when talking about Tim. "Yeah, it has been good. We have been really, really good."
"Alright," Aaron said, his mind already spining with the grand possibilities of celebration. "This settles it. I have got to send you a congrats on the promotion gift. A double celebration requires proper recognition."
"Aaron, no," Lucy said immediately, her response so fast it was practically a reflex. "It is really not necessary. Save your money."
Aaron let out a loud, dramatic scoff, pulling his car into the secure parking lot of the Hollywood station. "Lucy, please. I am literally a millionaire. Saving money is a complete myth for me. Don't worry, I promise it is nothing big. Just a little something to celebrate your hard work. So, where should I send it? Should I just ship it directly to the station?"
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. Aaron could practically hear the gears turning in Lucys head as she weighed the options, completely unaware of the scale of the financial damage Aaron was capable of inflicting with a single phone call
"Oh, no, definitely not the station," Lucy said finally, sounding resigned to the fact that she wasn't going to win this argument. "I guess I will text you my new address with Tim. But I mean it, Aaron. Nothing big!Keep it smal."
"Deal," Aaron said smoothly, putting the car in park and grabbing his fifteen-dollar coffee. "Talk to you soon, Sergeant Lucy Chen!"
"Talk to you soon, Aaron. And thank you," Lucy said, her voice filled with amused gratitute
"Not necessary, but you are very welcome," Aaron said, flashing a grin at his own reflection in the rearview mirror before hanging up the phone.
The screen snapped back to his home menu, and Aaron sat in the quiet of his car for a moment. "Keep it small," she had said. Aaron chuckled to himself. Lucy was a sweetheart, but she clearly did not understand how the Thorsen mind operated when it came to milestones. A promotion to sergeant, a new house, and getting back together with Tim Bradford? That wasn't a "keep it small" situation. That was a milestone that demanded a statement!
He scrolled past his regular contacts and tapped on a number labeled Pierre - Flawless Florals LLC.
The phone didn't even ring twice before a smooth, heavily accented voice answered. "Aaron! My favorite visionary. Tell me you need something spectacular today."
"Pierre, my man," Aaron said, leaning his head back against the headrest. "I need something low key. A very close friend of mine just got promoted to Sergeant at Mid Wilshire, moved into a new place with her boyfriend, and I promised her I'd keep it small. What’s your most subtle, modest arrangement?"
A soft, horrified gasp echoed through the speaker. "Modest? Aaron, please, do not insult my craft. Flawless Florals does not do modest. We do not do subtle. If you wanted a sad little supermarket bundle in plastic wrap, you should have called a gas station." Pierre let out a dramatic, disgusted sigh. "The absolute smallest, most minimalist option I carry on my roster is 'The Empire Package'."
Aaron blinked, leaning forward. "'The Empire Package'? That sounds... pretty solid for a starter tier."
"It is practically a starter kit for beginners," Pierre sniffed, though his voice dropped into a reverent, theatrical whisper. " It only requires two delivery vans just to transport the vases and the structures, Aaron. It is... barely enough to fill a foyer, really. Quite quaint, I'm sure she'll love it."
Aaron grinned, nodding to himself. Two vans sounded totally reasonable for a guy who measured luxury by the acre. In his mind, this was basically the floral equivelant of a polite greeting card... it was the perfci somthing small!
"Perfect," Aaron beamed, a triumphant smile breaking across his face. "I love it. Send 'The Empire Package'."
"Are you certain, Aaron? You know how small it is compared to our red carppet gathering. It might barely make an impression!"
"Pierre, trust me. She begged me to keep it tiny, so this is ideal. Send the whole thing to the address I am about to text you. And make sure the delivery guy leaves it right inside if possible, so she gets the full surprise when she walks through the door. Let me know if you need my lock guy to help you out getting inside."
"Consider it done, my friend. I will have my team assemble the starter structures immedately."
"Awesome. Thanks, Pierre" Aaron hung up the phone just as a text message vibrated against his palm. It was from Lucy, containing the address to the home she shared with Tim now.
With a quick copy-and-paste, Aaron fired the address over to Pierre, completely satisfied with his work. He grabbed his coffee, stepped out of the car, and locked the doors. As he walked toward the Hollywood station doors to get ready for roll call, he felt a deep sense of acomplishment. He had kept his promise. He bought her a little something, that she deeply deserved to congralate her on her promtion.
Across town, in a quiet, orderly neighborhood, Tim Bradford and Lucy chens house sat completely unsuspecting, utterly unprepared for the floral apocalypse that was about to descend upon it...
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