"Another thrilling night in law enforcement," Riley muttered, checking her gun as they pulled into the dimly lit parking lot. She glanced over at Luke, who was focused, his usual tension settling in like a familiar weight.

"Be careful. Could be anything," Luke said, his voice low as they got out of the car.

"Yeah, yeah. I know," Riley replied, rolling her eyes as they walked across the empty parking lot. "One wrong move and you're dead, Riley," She mocked, deepening her voice as much as possible. "You're nothing but a liability. I'm Luke Maddox, and I hate fun and I like kicking puppies."

Luke glared at her as they approached the store entrance. "I do not like kicking-"

He was cut off by a loud crash coming from inside the store. Riley's muscles tensed with anticipation as they approached. It wasn't her first break-and-enter, but each one brought a different level of unpredictability.

The glass door of the grocery store stood intact, and nothing looked out of place from the outside. But Luke, ever the professional, motioned for her to stay low and follow him around the side of the building. They made their way to the employee entrance, where a door stood ajar.

"Well, there's your entry point," Riley whispered, gesturing to the door with her chin.

Luke nodded, his hand steady on his weapon. "Stay close."

Inside, the fluorescent lights buzzed softly, illuminating the aisles in their eerie glow. The store was silent, but there was an odd scent in the air—something musky.

They crept through the aisles, guns drawn, scanning each row for signs of movement. Cereal boxes were knocked over, cans scattered on the floor, but no sign of a person. Riley's pulse quickened as they moved further in. Then she heard it—an odd rustling sound near the produce section, like someone—or something—was rooting through the vegetables.

Luke held up a hand, signaling her to stop. They peered around the corner together, and Riley's heart stopped.

A bear.

A massive black bear, standing on its hind legs, paws digging through a display of apples. It grunted, shoving its face into the pile of fruit, completely unaware of their presence.

"You've got to be kidding me," Riley whisper-shrieked, lowering her gun slightly. "What the hell is a bear doing in here?"

Luke blinked, clearly just as surprised as she was. "Looks like someone left the door open, and he wandered in."

The bear growled, shifting its bulk as it moved to the next bin, oblivious to the fact that two armed cops were standing frozen just a few feet away.

"We need to get it out of here," Luke muttered, his voice strained. "But keep your distance. It could charge if it feels cornered."

Riley shot him a deadpan look, gesturing wildly. "Oh yeah, no problem. I'll just kindly ask it to leave."

Luke ignored her sarcasm, motioning for her to back up slowly. They crept away from the produce section, trying to figure out their next move.

"What now, genius?" Riley whispered, once they were a safe distance away. "We can't exactly shoot it."

"Obviously not," Luke muttered, wiping a hand over his face. "We need to clear a path for it to leave. Maybe spook it toward the door."

Riley glanced back toward the bear, who was now pawing through a stack of oranges. "And how exactly are we supposed to spook a 400-pound bear without getting mauled?"

Luke smirked faintly. "You got any better ideas?"

She didn't. So they began the ridiculous task of trying to coax a wild bear out of a grocery store. They used anything they could find—empty boxes, fallen cans—making noise and slowly moving in the direction of the open employee door. After thirty minutes, Riley huffed and threw the orange she was holding at Luke.

"This isn't working," she whisper-yelled. Luke ignored her as the orange bounced off of his muscular arm and continued to shuffle items around. Riley glanced around, trying to come up with a better plan.

Then she found it. Slowly, she crept up to the phone that was mounted on the wall next to her. She glanced at Luke, who was still on his knees rolling oranges across aisle 7, and pressed the 'page' button.

A few moments later, a crackling noise erupted through the grocery store's overhead speakers, followed by Riley's voice.

"Attention, large furry intruder," her voice boomed through the store's PA system. "Please exit the store immediately. This is your last warning. I repeat, please exit the store."

The bear froze mid-paw swipe, looking up at the ceiling, clearly alarmed by the booming voice coming from nowhere. It grunted, swiveled its head, and dropped down onto all fours, clearly spooked.

"Yup, that's right, big guy," Riley continued, her voice echoing through the aisles. "There's an open door just down the produce aisle. Feel free to help yourself to some apples on the way out."

The bear hesitated, sniffing the air, but it seemed to get the message. With a grunt, it lumbered toward the employee door, occasionally glancing up at the ceiling like it wasn't entirely sure what was going on.

Luke stood there in disbelief as the bear padded out of the store and into the night, the door swinging shut behind it.

Luke stood still for a moment, dumbfounded. He turned to Riley, who was leaning against the wall. Then they both burst into laughter.

"That... was brilliant," Luke gasped, leaning back against the wall beside him.

They stepped out into the parking lot, still laughing as the adrenaline from the bear encounter slowly faded. The night air was warm and quiet, a stark contrast to the chaos inside.

"So, do we call animal control, or just pretend that didn't happen?" Riley joked, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

Luke chuckled, crossing his arms. "Definitely not writing that in the report."

They stood in comfortable silence for a moment, the tension between them from the past week lifting, if only slightly. Riley glanced up at Luke, still grinning, and gave him a nudge with her elbow.

"Truce?" she asked, her voice softening.

Luke met her gaze, his expression gentler than usual. He hesitated for a beat, then nodded. "Truce."

For the first time in what felt like ages, they stood there as equals—no lectures, no orders, just two cops who had just survived a bear in a grocery store. Riley let out a long breath, feeling like maybe things between them were finally starting to shift.

Maybe.