Chapter Text
The immediate aftermath of the war was a haze of foggy memories and unrecognisable cries. Iris Lane was not a doctor of any legal or professional sort, yet at that moment, she had to stand up and learn, much like the others who survived and weren’t on the verge of death.
“Mama?” Jasper, her child, began to say, his eyes glazed in confusion as he tried to tug his mother outside the busy makeshift hospital. He just wanted to go home.
“I know, baby, but these soldiers need our help. You’ll stick with me for a while longer, yeah?” After she saw the subtle affirming shake from her boy’s auburn hair, she let him grip her spare gloved fingers as she paved the way through the crowds of nurses calming frightened patients, or doctors shouting orders as many passed through. Some were missing legs, others lost their arms.
Even though it had been weeks since the tragedy technically ended, her workload never ceased, and she had to leave her shop in the hands of her mother, who should be spending her time resting her bones, yet the stubborn trait ran strong through her family. However, as much as her mother insisted, Iris wanted to help with her workload and took Jasper with her to the hospital on weekdays. It helped that he was friendly with many of the soldiers, his youthful mind painting them as superheroes and asking them thousands of questions out of awe for their bravery.
“Iris, I can take over here if you do a quick last check-up on my patient, the Ackerman. You look like you’re about to pass out from lack of sleep. Promise me you two will get plenty of rest and don’t bother arguing with me about this!” Maria, her friend and actually a qualified nurse, asked before taking the pile of paperwork from her friend’s arms and heading back inside to the rooms filled with panicking patients, after pushing her friend in the direction of the stairs.
“Yay!” Jasper squealed as Iris gently picked him up and let him rest against her hip as she sneaked up the concrete stairs, fighting back the urge to sleep right there on the stairs, and followed the path to one of the doors she never seen the other side of. All she heard of this man was that he was one of the people fighting on the very front lines and was suffering the consequences.
“You wanna wait outside, kiddo?” Yet as soon as the words left her chapped lips, he was running through the now-open door and headed to the hospital bed by the window. The room was rather small as it was all they could afford to give in the circumstances, yet it was somehow still kept in impeccable condition. Iris knew for sure no nurse or doctor had the time to spare to disinfect the entire room from top to bottom, with not even a speck of dust reaching her smooth fingertips as she ran them past the doorknob. Who had cleaned this all up?
“Jasper, calm down! Give Mr Ackerman some space, he’s still injured,” Iris whispered at the young boy who was only a few seconds from jumping on the bed of the now-awake man. “I’m so sorry about him, sir. He just gets excited when he meets war heroes”
“Wouldn’t call us that particularly, who are you?” The man grumbled under the many layers of bandages hiding his face from her curious view.
“Ah, I’m Iris Lane, a stand-in nurse for the time being. Maria had to swap shifts, but from what I heard, you should be free to go today!” She chirped as she gently pulled the stool that stood waiting opposite his singular window. Jasper took the signal and sat up on the end of the bed with his chubby legs swinging in the air mindlessly, making sure to respect what his mother said and keep his distance from the groggy patient. “Now, does anything feel out of the ordinary? Aside from the expected aches and pains?”
“Nothing different, no, just feel like shit”
“Mama, what does that mean?-”
“N- Nothing, baby!” Iris forced past her lips as she pushed the loose strand of her chocolate hair away from her face. She put on a fresh pair of gloves and stood from the stool, nearing closer to the silent patient.
“I’ll just take off these bandages and check the scarring for any undone stitches. Is that okay?”
“I- sure” Taken aback by this stranger asking simple questions of consent made Levi sat still in the perfectly made bed, painfully aware of the gentle fingers grazing his skin as she undid the bandages around his eyes and jaw. Only when they were absent from his face did his eyes land on hers.
He couldn’t look away. From her elbow-length chestnut hair that lay ever so gently upon her sun-kissed skin. From her matching eyes that scanned his milky white eye for any anomalies. From the singular beauty mark that rested just underneath her rosy lips-
“Sir? Are you alright?” Iris spoke up as she removed the gloves from her hands. Jasper giddily jumped off the bed, knowing he’d get to go home soon and play with the toys he missed after being in the hospital for a while now.
“Fine. When can I leave?” Levi abruptly responded, clearing his throat shortly after and resumed his mindless thinking, scolding himself for staring. Instead, his thoughts drifted back to the usual dark place they had been in since the war ended. Who was he kidding? They’ve always found a way to stick by him, interrupting any moment of peace he managed to grasp.
“Soon, I assure you, have you tried walking?”
“Just around the room to clean up. This place gets dusty fast”
“Ah, so it’s you who’s been cleaning in here! I was wondering how the place was so spotless,” Iris laughed to herself as she urged Jasper away from the bed and began to pack up her small bag of supplies. “If it makes you more comfortable, I can let you try to stand yourself?”
“I’ll be fine on my own”
Brushing away the expected harshness to his tone, Iris only smiled as Jasper grabbed his mother’s hand. “Now I will have to insist you put as little strain on your leg as possible, only walking if you have nearby support, you will heal significantly faster using the wheelchair”, Iris began as she began unfolding the wheelchair left in the room, taking her time to ensure it was fully secured. “Would you mind sitting in the wheelchair? Just so I can adjust the heights of anything if necessary”
As Iris kept her eye trained on the patient, ensuring he didn’t fall over while getting in the wheelchair, but when she saw the frustration behind his silver blue eyes, she hummed under her breath before moving the wheelchair to be directly in front of him. “Now, it’s important to ensure the wheels are locked before you try to get in, or else you’ll just be sliding all over the place,” She explained as she gestured to where the wheel locks were, before looking back down at the man.
“Is this seriously necessary?” Levi grumbled under his breath as he picked at the edge of the seat handles, his mind elsewhere.
“I’m afraid so, just for the first six months, then you’ll have to return to the hospital for monthly check-ups, and they’ll be able to tell you when you can transfer to a cane instead” Iris smiled as she grabbed the back of Jasper’s collar before he could rummage through the nearby closet full of disinfectants. “I’m sure Maria has explained this, but you may experience some sleep loss as the pains can be quite severe in the first few weeks”
“Nothing I’m not used to”
Iris could only give her best sleep-deprived smile before moving to his room’s windows and opening them slightly, her gloved hands catching on the old wooden frame. “I think lack of sleep has unfortunately become quite common, although for me it’s mainly because of my little rascal”, Iris sighed as she fixed her apron, before looking at the black-haired man, with his pale face, and she couldn’t help but stare at his right eye, pure white with a thin scar going upwards from it.
“Take your time acclimating with only one eye too, my cousin lost his, and he spent the first month after… well, after you know, he spent it bumping into everything, had to ban him from my shop after the third broken vase” She laughed weakly as she grabbed the chipped clipboard hanging on the end of the bed, as she left Levi to his own devices as he packed up his small bag of belongings. Iris sang a song under her breath as she ticked off his report, before signing the end, as Jasper grabbed the jacket hanging on the hanger of the door and handed it to Levi, a childish grin somehow permanent on his face even in such depressing circumstances.
For the poor man’s sake, she resisted the giggle threatening to bubble up from her throat at his bewildered face.
“Now, is anyone picking you up?” She only received an awkward silence as she held the door open, waiting until he reluctantly left as he began moving away in the wheelchair swiftly, as she hastily flipped over the sign on the nearby sign to show it was devoid of a patient, before she sped walk to catch up to the man, Jasper in tow.
“Ah, Sir! You need to sign out first!” She called out, running to catch up to him before he was able to escape the hospital, as she caught her breath at the receptionist’s desk, where she handed over Levi’s report. There was only a moment of trepidation before Irish grabbed the sign-out sheet from the rather tall desk and grabbed a pen, before handing the pair to the man nearby.
“I have to go, but follow the home-care instructions in this sheet, and seriously, lay off your legs for a while, okay? And if you need anything, my actual job is at the florist's a few streets from here, if you ever feel like visiting!” Leaving the remaining forms by the desk, Iris turned to leave, not before gently waving the man goodbye, urging her son to do the same.
—
“Please, Ma’am, it’s on us,” Iris assured the same elderly woman who’s been visiting her quaint store for three years now, buying the same bouquet of lilies and forget-me-nots every Sunday before she’d leave a generous tip and head to the graveyard on the other side of town.
“You’re such a lovely soul, do remember to watch your own health too, darling. Do you have anyone to take care of you when you go home?”
“I’ve been okay without a partner for years now, so I can’t say I’ve been looking. I’m just happy with Jasper and my mother, but thank you, truly,” Iris responded with a smile before handing her both the bunch of bittersweet flowers and the change previously handed to her, before waving the woman goodbye.
“Mom! Can we go shopping now?!” Jasper half-yelled in excitement, with his red backpack donning his back, and his shoelaces messily tied. Not to mention the wicker basket in his right hand, and crumpled paper in his left.
“Mhm! Did you get the shopping list from the kitchen?” Iris asked as she knelt on the floor and fixed his shoelaces, before patting him on the head affectionately and following him outside, closing the glass-paned oak door behind her.
It was a humid day of summer, and the sun was obnoxiously beating down on the cobble path outside the store that was decorated all over with various paintings of flowers, and flowerpots that scattered the ground in front of the large windows, obviously painted by a child, that helped brighten the street around them with vivid colours.
“So, the market first, and then how about we stop for a treat?” As Iris giggled at her son’s enthusiasm, the pair walked hand in hand down the buddy street, making conversation about his excitement to start school in the near months, and who their favourite customers were.
Just as they reached the bustling town square, Iris was knocked off her feet by a girl no older than fifteen, with messy brunette hair and a terrified look on her face. Before Iris could even attempt to get up from the ground and acknowledge the girl, the teenager was frantically pulling her up from the ground, with Jasper ‘helping’ by tugging on her peach-coloured dress.
“Miss! I’m so so sorry, you see I was- Never mind, there’s no excuse! And now your pretty dress is ruined, please forgive me!” Iris stared in amusement at the girl who was shaking her hand vigorously and head hung low, words falling out of her mouth at an incomprehensible speed.
“You’re okay, kid, really. I fell more on my hands than anything, just be careful where you're running next time, okay?”-
“GABI! WHERE- Oh! Hello, Miss. A blond boy of a similar age stuttered as he ran to the girl’s, assumedly named Gabi, side, embarrassment showing up as a fading red on his cheeks.
“Morning, now why are you both in such a rush? Running recklessly through these streets is dangerous,” Iris questioned, her voice sweet like honey, but her posture stern as she stood up from the cobbly ground of the town centre, as Jasper found amusement at the nearby fountain, where a group of children were playing cards.
“We were sent to get groceries, but got a bit distracted and forgot about the shopping altogether! Please tell me you got everything,” Gabi asked, finally letting Iris’s scratched hands out of her surprisingly firm grip, before staring at Falco’s empty basket. “Oh, we’re done for”
“I was busy looking for you!”-
“I was on my way to do my own shopping with my son Jasper over there, if you’d like to accompany us. Then, when you get back to whoever sent you, just blame it on me, how about that?” Iris offered, before the lively pair in front of her turned to look at her, as if they were having a telepathic conversation on what to do next, before they shot her a thumbs-up each and showed her their list.
“Okay, Miss…?”
“Iris Lane, now we'd better hurry, I promised Jas a treat after all”
“You should come to the tea shop! It’s where we’re going back to, and I still feel bad about tripping you up. I’m sure Captain has something we can use to help with your hands”
“You knocked her over?!”-
“It was an accident, don’t worry. But that sounds nice, as long as the shop has muffins, Jasper will be distracted,” Iris began as the quartet walked in the midst of the market, frequently stopping at the various stalls, their baskets quickly filling up. As Irish checked various fruits and vegetables, she could only tilt her head at the obscure number of tea bags the two teenagers were filling the basket with. “And no need to worry about my hands, I have experience as a nurse, so I know when something’s serious. A strip of bandage should suffice”
As Jasper tugged Iris on her cotton bell sleeves and led her to a store piled high with sweets, Gabi and Falco followed soon after and began to drool at the various pastries and sweets. A few years ago, this luxury would have been unheard of; the rations were too scarce to waste on sugary foods. However, time healed, and there was no longer a fear of war constantly around the corner.
“Momma, can I have one? Please!” As the vendor caught a glance at the woman in front of him, his face grew a worrying shade of red, before stuttering out the question of which. Gabi could only giggle at the man’s obvious adoration of the older woman, yet she was none the wiser as she pulled out her money and picked up four jam-filled doughnuts.
“It- It’s on me, Ma’am!”
“Thank you, but I’d feel horrible leaving without paying,” Iris urged before practically forcing the coins into his sweaty hands, before smiling goodbye and handing the three children their newest treats.
“I knock you over, and you give me sweets! Ha! You’re great, Miss Lane!” Gabi giggled before handing the basket back to Falco’s hand and began skipping down the street.
“You can still stop by Levi’s shop with us, Miss. I feel so bad about Gabi making you fall over,” Falco announced, as the daylight began to drip with the evening orange, illuminating their shadow’s outline a wonderful yellow on the path behind them.
“That name sounds familiar, but I’ve met too many people over the years. Ah, I’m terrible with names sometimes”
“He doesn’t really leave his house, so I doubt he’s the Levi you’re thinking of” Falco chuckled, before ripping his pastry in half and sneaking Jasper the larger half to Jasper behind Iris’s back, being paid with a loud gasp from the toddler and a wide grin painting his sugar-covered face.
“As warm as the weather is, I would love a cup of tea right about now”, Iris mumbled to herself, as she ate her own sickly sweet treat with a grin, leaving her other hand to carry the heavy basket of groceries, trusting Jasper to stick by her side as they left the town market and headed down a less busy street.
–
Orange rays lit the empty store as evening approached, and the only sound that could be heard throughout the store was the sweeping of a mop and the mutters of Levi’s discontent about the floor’s overall cleanliness and the current absence of his groceries he had made the teenagers get over two hours ago.
“Captain! We’re back, and brought friends! Meet Iris and Jasper!” Gabi exclaimed whilst pushing the fragile door open with an energetic force, Levi not even bothering to lift his gaze from the stain that never seemed to disappear, even after scrubbing relentlessly at it for the past half hour.
“How have I never noticed such a nice shop across the street from my own?” A distantly familiar female voice questioned as three more pairs of footsteps filled the once-quiet tea shop.
Finally deciding to give them attention, Levi rested the mop back against the wall and turned around to the group of four. Levi only allowed himself to look at the woman’s face for a moment before his gaze fell to her hands.
“Why is she bleeding?”
“Ah, well that’s quite a funny story, you see, Gabi”-
“I tripped over a low wall, and these angels offered to help, and of course, I had to repay them, hence why they’re a little late getting back, all my bad”, Iris explained with a soft smile on her face, ignoring the gaping mouths of both Gabi and Falco. “If you have any first-aid kits, I can fix this up myself, and we’ll be out of your hair in no time. I’m sure you’re very busy”
Levi looked around the customer-less store with an exaggerated turn of his head, before looking back into the woman’s eyes a second time that day. “Clearly”
Before he could offer the first aid kit beneath the counter aside the quartet, Jasper, who was previously hiding behind Iris’s legs, caught sight of the display of various muffins within the glass counter, running away from the group and staring in awe at the variety.
“Jasper, hun, you just had a treat, we can come back another day and get some, alright? We’ll be going home to have dinner soon anyway,” Iris sighed before following the stranger behind the counter, not long before she was practically forced onto a wooden stool and her hands stretched forward, almost hitting Levi in his chest. A wave of embarrassment rushed over her head, and Iris had to fight against the blush threatening to rise upon her cheeks.
“Oh, thank you, but I don’t want to cause any more hassle”-
“You and your co-workers helped me a few years ago, just stop fussing and let me do this,” He whispered, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he carefully removed the pieces of rock with a silver tweezer he got from who knows where, noticeably holding her hand on the side where he had his eye. “And you don’t need to lie to me about those kids, I know Gabi probably knocked you over whilst being reckless, as per usual”
“Ah, you’ve got me”, Iris laughed, and Levi’s hands only faltered for an almost missable moment, before returning to their previous job. “I knew I recognised you, you’re the soldier from the hospital years back. Is your leg still bothering you?”
This time, his hands stopped for a full handful of seconds, his brain lagging when he heard her question. “How did you remember about my stupid leg? And to answer your question, not really. Just”-
“Aches sometimes? I understand, my mother has a similar issue with hers, but massages typically help with the pain! If you’d like”-
“No”
When he caught her caring smile falter on her tanned face, and caramel eyes fall from his own, he felt the panic from years ago resurge. “I- I mean I’ll be fine, but thanks. For the offer”
Unknown to the pair of adults behind the counter, two children were listening in the whole time with their eyes widened and fighting the urge to let out laugh after laugh at the awkwardness practically radiating from the usually composed man.
“Hey Gabi, you don’t think Captain”-
“Thinks the very pretty florist lady is attractive? He probably does, but he’s very dense about this kinda stuff,” Gabi loudly whispered back, before ducking once Levi’s head snapped in their direction at the mention of his name. “Ah! Iris, we promised you a cup of tea. Let me go make it!”-
“You’re so sweet, but I didn’t realise how late it’s gotten. Jasper will be pretty cranky if he doesn’t have some proper food soon”
“Could you come back soon then?” Falco asked, a grin slowly spreading across his face, matching the brunette teenager to his right, both their hands behind their backs.
“Oh, that sounds great, maybe I’ll bring over some flowers for the store, I noticed the ones by your windowsills look pretty… well, nonexistent”
When Levi didn’t express any disagreement with the plans, and swiftly finished wrapping her noticeably cared-for hands in clean white bandages, he walked back around and looked at the muffin in the cabinet her child had been entranced with this entire time- lemon and poppyseed.
“Great! See you tomorrow, Miss Lane!” Falco and Gabi shouted in unison whilst waving the pair goodbye before all that could be heard in the store was the bell above the door ringing.
“So, you suddenly care about the window’s flowers, Captain?”
“Shut it”, Levi forced his usual frown onto his face before turning back around and picking up the mop once again, trying to distract his mind from the feeling of Iris’s gentle hands in his.
God, he found himself pathetic.