Pairing: platonic!women of The Rookie x fem!reader (Angela, Nyla, Lucy, Celina, Luna)
Summary: Your neighbor Angela invites you to her Galentine's Day celebration, and you find that the right friends can fill you with more love than you anticipated.
Warnings/Word Count: fluff, Wesley is whipped for Angela (as he should be), Tim is just one of the girls, r is single, brief mention of r being set up on a date, mentions of the daddy cop song, 2.0k+ words.
More Valentine’s fics here!💌
“Good morning,” your neighbor, Wesley, calls. He usually leaves for work around this time, but today, he’s lingering by his car in a t-shirt rather than his usual suit.
“Morning,” you reply, waving from your porch.
“Have you spoken to my wife?”
“Many times,” you answer.
Wesley smiles as steps toward the short wooden fence separating your yards. “She asked me to make sure you got her text about the dress code if I saw you.”
“Yeah, I got it. Pink. It’s creative.”
“She’s nothing if not creative.”
“She’s actually my hero,” you admit. “I want to be Angela when you grow up.”
“Don’t we all,” Wesley agrees. “Have a good day.”
“You, too!”
He retreats into his house, leaving you to enjoy your breakfast and your book while you watch the sky continue to brighten. When you moved in last year, you hadn’t expected much from your neighbors. Los Angeles isn’t exactly known for the kindness of its residents. Yet someone had knocked the first night you were there. Angela Lopez and Wesley Evers introduced themselves with kind smiles, firm handshakes, and a promise that they were close if you ever needed anything. Now, they’re more than neighbors.
The first time you met one of Angela’s fellow cops, Nyla Harper had been struggling to balance three boxes of case files she was carrying into Angela’s house. You offered to help her and accidentally got yourself pulled into their investigation because you recognized an item in one of the evidence photos. Then you met Lucy Chen, who complimented the flowers growing in your yard. John Nolan came over to fix something for Angela and somehow ended up unclogging the kitchen drain you’d been putting off. You knew Angela was a good friend the moment she introduced herself, but you hadn’t anticipated all of her friends being just as kind and welcoming.
Without ever having stepped foot in the Mid-Wilshire police station, you feel like part of the family. That’s why Angela’s hand-delivered invitation to her Galentine’s Day celebration hadn’t been entirely shocking. Touching, though? Absolutely.
Your bathroom mirror is foggy from the shower you just took when you don your new pink outfit. You tried it on when it first arrived, then washed it, steamed it, hung it up, and didn’t look at it again. Now that you’re actually wearing it, you realize it’s adorable. With time to spare, you check your hair and apply lip gloss. You decide to ask Angela if she needs help setting up rather than wasting the rest of the time before the party starts.
“There she is!” Angela exclaims when you step out of your front door.
“I didn’t realize I had an escort,” you tease, walking toward the gate she had (had, not asked) Nolan install in the fence between your yards.
“Anything for you,” she scoffs, playing along. “I’m supervising a delivery.” She glances down the driveway and calls, “Easy with the cupcakes, Bradford!”
“Ah, making the men do the grunt work on Galentine’s Day,” you murmur approvingly. “I like it.”
“I’d agree if she didn’t make us do it every day,” Nolan interjects as he walks by with an oversized tray of cookies.
“You love me,” Angela reminds him.
“Then what’s my excuse?” Tim grumbles.
You’ve seen Tim a few times but have never been properly introduced. Still, you laugh at his comment.
“Well on behalf of everyone, thank you,” you offer.
“You’re welcome,” Tim replies. He glares at Angela and says, “See how easy it is?”
“Ease doesn’t make me care, Timothy,” she counters. She glances at you before adding, “This is Tim Bradford. I invited him to the party because he’s my bestie, but he declined.”
Your brows raise as you struggle to conceal your smile. “Maybe it’s for the best. I mean, he would look better in pink than me.”
Angela laughs, clutching your arm as she bends at her waist. Tim narrows his eyes at you quickly, then shifts his attention back to the bowing cardboard box that needs to get inside.
“Come with me,” Angela requests.
She leads you inside, not slowing when you gasp. Her house has been transformed into a red, pink, and white paradise. Streamers flow from the center of the ceiling to the corners, pink plates and cups are situated on the table, chocolates and candies are in decorative bowls, and soft music plays from the living room.
“Angela, it looks amazing,” you compliment.
“Thank you.” She lifts two gift bags and asks, “Which one do you prefer?”
You hum, lips pursed as you look between the two. One is light pink with textured red and purple hearts, while the other is white, bordered with stitched hearts around the edges and a light bouquet in the center. You point to the one you prefer.
“Lopez!” Tim yells from the kitchen.
“Can you tell him to figure it out himself?” Angela requests. “I need to finish this.”
You chuckle as you agree, then walk down the hall. Tim is holding the bakery box and staring at the covered counter.
“Oh,” you murmur. There are no flat surfaces where he can put the cupcakes that Angela asked him to come in, none that aren’t already taken by carefully curated decorations, at least.
Moving around him, you move the cookie tray Nolan carried in when you arrived off the counter. “Put it there?” you request. After he’s set it down, you carefully balance the cookies on top of it.
“Thank you,” Tim sighs.
“No problem.”
“Tell Angela I’m leaving?”
“Will do.”
Tim looks down at your outfit quickly, nodding. “Have fun. Try not to let Chen start karaoke.”
“I’ll try. Have a good night. Hey, do you want a cupcake?”
Tim looks at the box, then shakes his head. “Angela will know if one is missing.”
“I’ll take the blame,” you offer, smiling as you move the cookies again. “You’ve been smelling them for five minutes, you know you want one.”
Tim caves. He wraps a cupcake in a paper towel, thanks you, and leaves, taking Nolan with him. It only takes a few minutes to finish everything, and then the women you now consider to be your friends as much as they are Angela’s begin arriving. Nyla is a few minutes early just as expected, then Celina and Lucy enter together right on time. You share hugs and compliments with them, never once doubting that you belong.
“Did you get enough food, Ange?” Nyla inquires.
“Hey, we have all night to enjoy chocolate and candy that our kids can’t take,” Angela points out. “There’s just enough.”
“I have to ask,” Celina murmurs, shifting to stand at your side. “Where did you get that outfit? It’s perfect. I mean, it looks better on you than it would on me, probably, but I have to know.”
“You’re kidding, right? It would look beautiful on you. Although, they had a darker, like jewel tone red one that I think you’d kill in,” you reply. “I can just send you the link if that’s easier?”
Celina nods excitedly and tells you her number.
“So, I heard you’re dating the guy who wrote Daddy Cop,” you muse.
“Yeah,” Celina sighs. “Rodge.”
“Which I assume makes you the cutest cop from that song he debuted live here in LA?”
“You heard that?”
“It went viral, Celina. Everyone heard it.”
“Sorry I’m late,” a woman you don’t recognize says as she steps inside.
“No worries,” Angela answers easily. “We haven’t even started yet.”
“What exactly is a Galentine’s party?” Lucy asks. “I thought it was just, like, brunch.”
“Nothing is ever just brunch in the Evers-Lopez abode.”
“Hi, I’m Luna Grey, I don’t think we’ve met,” Luna introduces softly, offering her hand.
You accept her handshake and say your name, then look back to Angela, who’s talking about her plans to eat too much sugar, talk, play games, and make sure she knows her first loves – her friends – know she’s here for them.
“What games?” Lucy asks. “Karaoke?”
Stifling a laugh, you think back to Tim’s comment in the kitchen. He really is just one of the girls, a bestie in disguise with a grumpy frown and breathtaking eyes.
“This is way better than a date with my husband. I mean, I have to see him every day,” Nyla sighs, reaching for a pink solo cup.
“Or a guy who writes songs about your T.O.’s butt,” Celina agrees.
“Or a firefighter that asks you to deadlift you,” Lucy mumbles.
“You’re dating a firefighter?” you and Luna ask together.
Lucy nods, but none of the women she works with seem surprised to hear it. Apparently, it’s not a new development.
“What about you?” Nyla asks. “Any Valentine’s Day plans?”
“Me?” you check. When she nods, you shake your head. “No, I’m single.”
Nyla drops her cup away from her mouth, Lucy turns toward you with her brows drawn together, and Celina makes a noise of pure disbelief.
“What?” you inquire quietly.
“I thought you were dating that guy,” Angela says. She flaps her hand until she remembers, “Keith!”
“Keith’s just a friend. He was helping me unpack,” you explain. “I haven’t been on any dates since I moved in.”
“None?” Lucy repeats. “Are… I don’t know how to ask this.”
“I do,” Nyla interjects. “Why not?”
You shrug. “Just haven’t found the person, I guess.”
Nyla looks away from you first. Then Angela meets her eyes. When Lucy looks toward them as well, you know that they’re communicating silently.
“What is happening?” you whisper to Luna.
“I’m thinking they’re planning to set you up,” she says, chuckling.
“With whom?”
“We’re working on it,” Celina answers from your other side.
“I thought today was for the girls,” you redirect.
“Fine,” Angela sighs. “But February 15th…”
You accept a piece of candy from Celina and the song changes, making the house feel even warmer and full of love. Over the next few hours, you eat, laugh, talk, and fail to stop Lucy from starting karaoke.
“Okay, gifts!” Angela exclaims. Celina’s look of horror leads her to add, “From me! You didn’t have to bring anything.”
Lucy sighs in relief, and you laugh when Nyla drains the last of her soda-based punch like a shot. You each get different bags; you hadn’t realized at the time that you were choosing your own gift bag. Angela sends you a wink when she sits. Having best friends is certainly more fun than a valentine, you think.
Each gift is special, unique to the woman Angela offers it to. Yours contains a candle in your favorite scent, a new book, and an embossed bookmark.
“It’s perfect,” you murmur. “Thank you.”
When the gifts have been unpacked, the candy dishes are running low, and everyone’s getting tired, the party starts to wind down. Luna leaves first, then Nyla, both explaining they need to get some rest before Valentine’s Day. Celina and Lucy leave half an hour later, both hugging you and inviting you to come over to their shared apartment any time.
“Let me help you clean up?” you offer.
“Wesley hired cleaners, they’re coming tomorrow,” Angela says. “Take as much food as you want, though.”
You load a pink plate up with a few treats to enjoy on Valentine’s Day, then set it aside to hug Angela. “Thank you so much,” you say. “For everything.”
“Of course,” she replies. “It’s what friends are for.”
She walks you to the gate, then waves when you reach your porch. Wesley pulls into the driveway, his timing as good as always. Inside your house, you place your new candle, book, and bookmark on the coffee table to enjoy on Valentine’s Day and your food in the kitchen. You fall asleep easily, a smile on your face and an overabundance of joy and love in your heart.
When you wake on Valentine’s Day, you see that you missed getting a few texts last night. One from an unknown number:
Lucy did karaoke, didn’t she?
And one from Angela:
Giving someone a cupcake on Valentine’s Day has a lot of meaning…
Tim was right. She did realize one was missing. And she’s a better detective than you thought to know where it went.
