By 3:30pm, Ash had wasted about as much time seeming busy as he could. He was proud of his quick work on the Saunders bit that morning and was ready to take his boss up on her offer for him to head home early. He pulled out his phone, and sent a message to Luna. 

(Luna) Ash -- boss let me out early, any chance you could pick me up? 
(Luna) Luna -- I'm shopping for clothes, since I have none.. ask Addy, I asked her to pick you up today.
(Luna) Luna -- ohh, and late dinner tonight, 7

Ash was severely disappointed. Here he thought he was going to get to see Luna early, and now he was waiting another three and a half hours? Then suddenly, he remembered her birthday on Friday. With all the commotion about her ascension, he hadn't had time to shop and had almost forgotten about it. This was the perfect opportunity.

(Addy) Ash -- Luna tells me you're picking me up.
(Addy) Addy -- yup, busy day. be there by 6:30

Addison's definitive sounding response squashed his hopes. He had to find some time to shop for Luna's birthday. He wondered if he could get someone else to take him. Regan might be free to do it, but he'd probably spend the whole time fighting off her flirty touches. Amy was a registered Guardian and could take him, but she'd need Luna's permission. That certainly wouldn't keep it a surprise. No, Addison was his best chance, so he dug deep for the courage to ask her again.

(Addy) Ash -- I was kinda hoping to shop for Luna's birthday.

Ash hovered over the enter key for a while, building up the nerve to send it. When he finally did, every second that passed made him more worried that she wasn't going to respond at all. It was almost a minute before his phone chimed and the screen lit up. 

(Addy) Addy -- Grr. Last minute boys. Fine. 5, in uniform

Ash felt a little conflicted about her showing up in uniform. On the one hand, police uniforms were hot. A full-body combination of tight black leather and some kind of hard kevlar, they really commanded attention. On the other hand, it made being carried pretty unpleasant, some of the hard surfaces being very unforgiving. It also assured everyone around started at them. Still, it's what he had to work with.

(Addy) Ash -- ty. see you then.

-- 

If Ash being carried through the mall didn't demand enough attention, being carried by a uniformed police officer certainly did. He felt like every pair of eyes in the place was on them as Addison walked with broad steps, her boots making a distinctive sound. "Alright, where is this place you want to go?"

"It's right next to the lingerie shop." Addison looked down at him with a furrowed brow, and he realized how dumb he must have sounded. This mall had at least six lingerie shops. "Secret of the Goddess. It's next to Secret of the Goddess." Addison's attention returned front, as she only slightly changed direction, making her way through a large and only lightly attended atrium. Everyone looked their way as they passed. 

Ash wasn't sure if he was more intimidated by drawing so much attention, or being carried by Addison. The hard impersonal surfaces of her police uniform made Addison feel more like a machine than a person. Even with his legs securely around her waist, and her arm holding firmly around her back, his body slid and bounced against the hardness of her with each step. 

Addison's pace finally slowed as she reached the threshold of Concierto Jewelers. It was the same place Luna had been picking out jewelery when she had her episode. Ash shook his head, relieved that scare was over, in disbelief that it had only been days ago. 

Inside, the lithe cheery shopkeeper rushed over to Addison, thick-rimmed glasses framing a beautifully freckled face. "Hello Officer. I'm Vera. I hope you're not here on business. Picking out something for yourself or the mister, perhaps?" Addison looked to Ash, expecting him to explain what they were there for. It was his shopping trip after all. However, he looked like a glimmered fool with nothing to say.

Addison quickly lost her patience. "Ash here waited until the last minute to shop for a birthday present. He was in here last week looking at some stuff with his wife, Luna. Maybe you remember? She was a tiny who..." As soon as she mentioned the word tiny, the shopkeeper's amber eyes lit up in recognition.

"The tiny? How could I forget. First one ever in my store. Only one every in my store. She was looking at Necklaces. I trust she's okay?" Addison and Ash both nodded. The woman led them across the small display case, reached in, and held out the pink heart shaped diamond necklace Luna had wanted. Even before she'd taken a good look at it, Ash could tell Addison was not on board. 

"That's a pink diamond. It has to cost a fortune. You two can't possibly afford that, Ash." If the woman behind the counter was disappointed, she didn't show it. She merely stood there, brandishing her product.

"It's forty-five-thousand, and Regan said if I had enough saved maybe I could get it on a payment plan." Addison stood, silent and stoic, trying to figure out who was more of a child, Ash or her wife Regan.

"Ash, I don't know what Regan was thinking, but no matter how much you have saved, you can't buy a fifty-thousand dollar necklace. After you two make your first million you can spend that much on jewelry, not before." Ash felt crushed, and not only because he couldn't get her *this* necklace. Addison's attitude was so sharp, so certain, he felt like she wouldn't let him buy anything nice. "Miss, could you show us some options under a few thousand."

"Ohh, absolutely." The woman cheerily put away the lavish pink diamond, and sifted through her case, bringing up two comparatively unimpressive necklaces. Nevertheless, she presented them like they were equally valuable. "This heart is solid 24 karat gold for four hundred, and this wonderful solid platinum sea turtle is six hundred. I have a number of other pieces, but I'm sorry that they are all too large for a tiny to wear." 

"Can we see them!? She's not tiny anymore." Ash blurted out, a little too energetically. He was nervous, and when he realized there might be more options for Luna now that she's ascended, he couldn't help it. As the shopkeeper processed what he had said, Addison shifted her hip, hard pieces in her uniform making clicking sounds underneath him. 

"She's not tiny? You're wife? The one that was here last week?" Ash nodded, not sure how he could make it any clearer. 

Addison could see the woman was getting suspicious. The tiny woman. The police officer. This whole thing was just a little too strange. "I know, it's hard to believe. Ash's wife, my friend, she had a...medical issue. The only solution was ascension, and so she was induced this past Saturday. So if you have any more suitable necklaces, we'd be happy to consider them." 

"Ohh my goodness!" The woman became visibly excited. "An induced ascendant! And just in time for her birthday. How exciting. She could be famous one day, and wearing my jewelry. Let me see if I can find something suitable." A moment later, she laid out three comparatively huge necklaces, each one nearly as big as Ash's palm "This first one is our dual heart pendant, in platinum. It's six-seventy-five. Next, I have our classic infinity rings, in platinum, for one-thousand. Last, I have our diamond infinity pendant in 18 karat white gold, with a total diamond weight of 2 karats, for twenty-eight hundred."

"These, Ash, are much more your speed. Which do you like? Miss, maybe you could try them on for him?" Addison would have done it, but they would have looked wrong against the black ballistic Kevlar of her uniform. 

Ash was frankly relieved to have any options. Luna had liked the heart diamond, so maybe he should get her the heart-pendant. It was also the cheapest. The woman behind the counter opened a button of her red blouse before holding it around her neck. Even though it looked pretty large on the counter, it looked perfect on her. "This is always a good choice for love." After a moment, she set it down and put on the infinity rings. It looked like two finger rings bound through each other, and Ash didn't like it so much. "The infinity symbol signifies the connection of life, love, and ascension." Suddenly Ash knew which one she had to have, for both her birthday and her ascension. Of course it was the most expensive. The woman put on the diamond infinity pendant. It looked spectacular. 

It was a silver sideways figure-eight, studded with small diamonds, and attached at either end to a silver chain. It looks classy, and expensive, and kind of sexy. Addison could see the look in his eye. Of course he liked the most expensive one. At least it wasn't forty-five-thousand. She just needed to get the woman down a little more on price. "Let's look at the double-heart again, I think she would really like that one." The woman smiled as she switched back to the other necklace. "I think that looks really nice. What do you think Ash?" Ash looked disappointed. Addison only hoped he would play his part and speak up.

"Uhm. It's alright." Ash was a little afraid of telling Addison he wanted the more expensive one. Especially after she crushed his interest in the expensive pink diamond. He felt nervous jitters as he spoke up, "do you have anything more like the last one, and maybe a little less expensive?" The woman put down the heart, smiling as she picked up the sparkling figure eight. 

"The man has very good taste. This is really a one-of-a-kind piece, but for you and your special induced ascendant, I could perhaps give you our frequent customer discount. Fifteen percent off. That would be twenty-three-eighty." Ash looked to Addison, not sure if that was anywhere close to how much she'd let him spend. 

Addison, however, had already decided which one he was getting Luna. This was just price negotiation. "I haven't checked your account. That might be a bit over budget." She turned to the shopkeeper. "I'll tell you what, if you make it an even twenty-two-hundred, I'll cover the difference, and you can box it up for him right now." 

The women put on a critical look, knowing that Addison was the real shark. She should have expected it from a police officer. She wondered if their story about the tiny ascending was even true, or this was just a gift for her. Maybe she was another wife of his. Either way, all she had to decide was whether this was a good enough price for her product. It had been in her store for a few months, and she'd still make a decent profit above her wholesale cost. 

"Sir, your wife will be delighted. How would you like to pay for it?" Addison shuffled Ash a bit on her hip, reached into a pocket, and pulled out a credit card. "Excellent. I'll go take care of this, box it up, and I'll be right back." The woman smiled, hurrying towards her cash register.

"Thank you, thank you, Addison!" Ash hugged around her as hard as he could, the plates of her uniform digging into his skin. "Thank you. It's so incredible. Luna is going to love it." 

"Yes, I think she will. Now, can you keep this a secret? If she asks, I picked you up at 6:30 and drove you straight home." Ash nodded, giddy that he had found a birthday gift he was so happy about. The woman came back, showing him the necklace neatly placed into it's jewelry box, and sliding the charge receipt towards Addison. 

From where she set Ash on the floor, he was just tall enough to reach onto the counter for the sparkling figure eight. The elegant box was about the size of a large sandwich, and the pendant filled up a decent portion of it. It was so large Luna wouldn't have been able to even consider wearing it last week. Now it would fit her, and the occasion, perfectly.

Ash hadn't finished admiring it when he saw Addison extending her hand. "I'll hold onto that for you. Wouldn't want Luna finding it before Friday now, would we?" Ash closed the box, begrudgingly handing it over to Addison. A moment later, she bent down, slipping one of her arms under both of his, and hoisting him off the ground. By the time he was back on her hip, she was halfway out of the store.

Addison paused briefly in the large mall parkway, conspicuously just steps away from Secret of the Goddess, Regan's favorite lingerie store. "All done? Any more shopping you want to do? We don't have much more time, but you know how Harley likes you to drop in, and we're right there. I'm sure someone would model for you." Addison squeezed at him, and he knew her intentions. She was never one to pass up a chance to see women in sexy clothing.

However, Ash found jewelry shopping intimidating enough. Shopping for lingerie? It was getting close to 7pm, and he was excited to get home and see Luna. "No, no, that's good. I think I've spent enough for one evening."