Work Text:
Every day, Lewis and Lulu take the same path home from school. The path goes right through the bustling main street with its shops and museums and large park, perfect for Lulu to run and hop and twirl as Lewis followed along behind her and chuckled at her pressing her face against the shop windows.
They have favorite spots to pop into every so often on their walks. If Lulu had a particularly good day or received high marks on her work, they head to the ice cream shop or the toy store for a treat. If they have nowhere to be, they may stop into the candy store to watch the confectioners at work making the image candy or drop into the museum to look at a new exhibit. Sitting at the park is always fun, too, though many of the kids crowd Lewis, eagerly asking “Ranger Lewis” to tell them about a plant or bug they found. It always makes Lulu’s eyes fill with pride to watch Lewis work. Lewis is the best park ranger in the world, and he’s a ranger everywhere he goes!
However, there’s one spot they visit almost daily, nestled between the bookstore - another frequented place for them - and a coffee shop. It’s a little unassuming, with its plain signage and forest green awning and trim, but once inside, it’s all bright colors and textures.
The Ao Floral Company.
Lewis has always been partial to sunflowers, and the first time he’d passed the store with Lulu, the window had been filled with them, bright yellow and orange and rich maroon. It had been impossible not to go inside and buy a bouquet of them. He and Lulu had stood before them, looking over every bundle carefully. Finally, they’d narrowed it down to two, and Lewis had decided to just get both. One for their home and one for the visitor center at the park, his home away from home.
And as he turned to head to the counter, he saw him.
Short black hair, warm brown eyes, strong arms full of potted plants. Isami Ao.
And oh, Lewis was in love.
He’s never been good with words, though, so he’d gotten tongue tied around Isami, trying to say his flower shop was great while also asking if Isami was the boss.
He’d called the shop gross by accident. It took him two weeks to work up the courage to go back and apologize.
Since then, Lewis and Lulu had become regular patrons, and Isami seemed to have warmed up to them. Today, they’re visiting once again, hoping to find a little gift for Lulu’s speech therapist. Lulu insisted on flowers, since Dr. Mahoney’s office had them painted on the walls.
They entered, the bell on the door jingling. Usually, they’d hear Isami’s greeting.
Instead, they saw Isami brandishing a broom, backed into a corner. Lulu bursted into giggles.
“Isami’s losing!” She laughed.
Lewis chuckled. “You alright there, Ao?”
“Don’t. Move.” Isami hissed, gesturing to something with the broom.
Lewis looked in the direction Isami’s makeshift weapon was pointing. For a moment, he was distracted by lots of pretty pink, blue, and purple hydrangeas. Those would make a great gift for Dr. Mahoney; she loved blue and purple!
Then, he noticed something dart a bit closer to the broom. He blinked. Isami reared back to smack the offending thing.
“Wait!” Lewis cried.
“Wait? That thing’s going to attack me!” Isami snapped.
“She won’t! I’ll take care of her for you, okay?”
“What? You can’t…” Isami watched as Lewis walked over to the counter and grabbed a plastic pot and a piece of paper. “You aren’t thinking of touching it, are you? Look at how big it is!”
“Don’t worry, Isami~ I’ll just catch her and take her outside. She doesn’t want to be in here, anyway.”
“Then why the hell did it come in here in the first place?!”
Lewis chuckled. “The floor is damp. You were watering, right?”
“Well, yeah. The plants like water.”
“So do wolf spiders. It’s hot, and she was thirsty. She’s probably a fan of the flowers, too. They make for a safe hiding spot.”
“Just…Just get it out of here. And don’t get bit.”
“Fun fact about wolf spiders: they’re not particularly defensive. You’re unlikely to get bit unless you try to hurt them.” Lewis crouched down and put the pot in front of the spider and gently tapped the spider’s abdomen with the paper. “She’s hella chill, see?”
Isami nervously thrusted the broom forward as the spider skittered forward. Lewis was insane. What the hell did he mean, “chill”?! That thing was a beast, a big and fast one at that! It had jumped out from the hydrangeas and chased him!
Lulu crouched next to Lewis to watch as he herded the wolf spider into the container. This one was so little! Last time Lewis showed her one on a hike, it had been really big, and there were babies on its back! She’d drawn a picture of it at one of her therapy sessions and said it was Lewis. After all, she always liked when Lewis gave her piggyback rides!
It was also coincidentally the day she said “mom” for the first time. She hasn’t called Lewis anything else since.
“Lulu, you want to open the door for me? I’ll let you pick where we release her.” Lewis said.
“Ga-ga-pi!” Lulu cheered, running toward the door.
Lewis gently put the sheet of paper against the pot’s opening and put his other hand on the bottom of the pot. He picked it up and headed to the door. It shut behind him as Lulu skipped after him. She looked around until she found a small patch of dandelions. She tugged on Lewis’ sleeve and pointed to it excitedly.
Lewis nodded. “Can you say or sign it, too, please?”
Lulu’s hands began moving at an incredible speed, her left index finger pointing upwards and her right hand making an ‘o’ shape before opening, her fingers spreading wide. Lewis smiled. She’s gotten very good at the sign for dandelion. It was unsurprising. She’s spent the last few weeks studying them and blowing their fluff all over the yard.
“I think that would be a nice home for her. Good idea, Lulu!”
Lewis walked over to the dandelion patch and squatted down. He positioned his hands so the opening of the pot was facing away from him before removing the paper. The spider quickly wandered out and into the grass. Lulu waved to it.
“Bye bye!” She said.
“Bye bye, friend!” Lewis said, giving a two finger salute. “We better go make sure Isami is okay. I think the spider scared him pretty bad. Maybe we ask him what ice cream he likes so we can bring him some.”
“Bubblegum!”
Lewis chuckled. “That’s your favorite. I guess Lulu can have ice cream too, for helping me.”
Lulu cheered as they returned to the floor shop. Isami had put the broom away and was busying himself with a bouquet. Lewis smiled.
“Spider’s all taken care of. I think she’ll prefer the dandelions to your hydrangeas.” Lewis joked.
“Right. Thanks for getting it out of here.” Isami said, heat rising to his cheeks.
“Aw, don’t be embarrassed, Isami~ Lots of people are scared of spiders. It’s kinda my whole job to teach people to appreciate them, so I’m the outlier here.”
“What exactly is it you do, again?”
Lulu jumped at Lewis, hugging him tightly. “Ranger!”
Lewis laughed. “Right! I’m a park ranger at the national park about thirty minutes from here. I handle a lot of the education and conservation programs.”
“I bet you’re very good at it.”
“Oh. Well, I…I mean, I’m okay, I guess. Your job is really neat, I think. You grow things and you get to make flower arrangements and you have that cool gardening class and…”
Lulu looked between Isami and Lewis. They both had red cheeks, and they weren’t really looking at each other. That was unacceptable! Isami needed to thank Lewis! When Spar Kaiser saves someone, they thank him, and even give him a kiss sometimes! She marched over to Isami and began trying to push him toward Lewis.
“Lulu, don’t do that! It’s not nice to push! Sorry, Isami, she’s just excited, I said we could go get ice cream and bring you something back.” Lewis said.
Lulu shook her head. “Hero!”
Isami blinked. “What?”
Lulu stared at him. As her lips moved, so did her hands. “H-E-R-O.”
She pointed to Lewis. Isami felt something flutter in his belly. Oh.
She meant Lewis. Lewis was a hero. Because he’d saved Isami from the spider. She probably wanted him to thank Lewis. Isami took a deep breath.
“Thanks again. For saving me from the spider. You’re…my…hero…” Isami said, heat rushing to his cheeks once again.
Lewis grinned. “That’s right! I’m your hero! So anything you ever need, just give me a shout!”
The words came out before Isami could even think.
“Hard to do when I don’t have your number.”
Lewis thought his heart was going to stop. “Oh, right! Let me just write that down for you.”
Lewis patted his pockets until he found one of his business cards. He took a pen from the cup on the counter and wrote his number on the back and handed it to Isami. Isami looked it over and smirked.
“Rowdy Ranger Smith. Cute.”
Lewis laughed. “We all have names like that. It’s fun for the kids, you know?”
“I’ll keep you in mind when scorpion season comes around. Or do you only handle spiders?”
“Any kind of bug. I’m your guy!”
Lulu tugged on Lewis’ sleeve. “Ice cream!”
“Oh, that’s right. Want us to bring you something? I dunno what kind of ice cream you like, but…”
Isami began taking off his apron. “Tuesday’s a slow day. I don’t think anyone will mind if I close up a few minutes early. If you don’t mind me coming with you.”
Lewis smiled. “We don’t mind at all.”
Isami hung his apron on a hook behind the counter and grabbed his keys. He supposed he couldn’t be too mad at that spider for invading his shop; it wasn’t every day that he got to be saved by the kind, hunky man he has a huge crush on, after all.