- Reader is a zoo keeper from the San Diego zoo and has a special connection with Lulu their female tiger
- But Lulu is going to another zoo for breeding, however, when Lulu gets to the other zoo, she's anxious and won't eat. So reader heads to the zoo, so she can see if Lulu will eat for her.
- While reader is there, she meets one of the elephant zoo keepers, Nia Nal
Hope you like it, enjoy!

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"Up." The tiger stood up, putting her paws on the cage, then getting a treat for complying. "Good girl Lulu." The tiger rubbed against the cage, then sat and looked up at Y/n.

"How's she doin'?" The director asks, watching as the tiger got up, then walked away.

Y/n chuckled as she threw her gloves away. "She's good. She knows something's going on, and as much as I'm trying to remain calm, she just knows."

"Well, she is your cat. She knows you too well." Y/n nods, looking back at the tiger, who's rolling around on the floor. "Will you be okay?" He asks, looking back at Y/n.

"Probably not, but I will be. I can always visit her on my days off." Y/n gives a shrug, then walks up to the cage.

"Well, you have a few hours and I made sure mostly everyone knows you're saying bye. So take your time, okay?" Y/n gives a nod and thanks him, before walking towards the door, and walking inside. Lulu looks up from the floor, chuffing as she keeps rolling around. Y/n kneels down, letting the tiger come to her, then starts scratching her chin, which Lulu absolutely loves.

Those few hours fly by fast, and soon the tiger's in the crate and is being lifted up on the flatbed. As they're strapping the crate down, Y/n talks to her, trying desperately not to cry, but the tears do eventually fall as the truck drives off. Her friends and co-workers comfort her and her boss gives her the rest of the day off. Y/n just hopes she'll be okay in her new home.

One week later...

"Hey Y/n." The trainer looked up and smiled at the director. "I need you to go to San Francisco, there's some problems with Lulu, she's not wanting to eat and won't listen to commands. They thought she was just settling, but it's been a week and she just won't eat." Y/n immediately worried, knowing Lulu was starving herself because of the move.

"When do I leave?" She asks, putting the hose away.

"Now, we already booked the plane ticket. You leave at 2 and you'll probably get there at 4. And someone will be there to pick you up." Y/n nods and after some more details, she quickly goes home to change, before heading to the airport.

Luckily, the process is fast and smooth, and soon she's on the airport heading to San Francisco. But, the whole time she's in the air, she anxious and tries not to think about all the bad possibilities as to why she's not eating. Y/n just hopes it's because she misses home, and not something bigger.

Like her director promises, someone is waiting at the gate with her name on the sign, they quickly introduce themselves, then head to baggage, then to the car.

"How long have you been taking care of Lulu for?" He asks, driving towards the freeway.

"Close to two years. Her mom pushed her away since birth, so we checked to see if anything was wrong, and everything came back positive, so our director said to hand feed her, so we did. I was still a newbie at the zoo, so it fell on me and I guess Lulu and I just have a special connection. She interacts with the other trainers, but I'm the only one who can get her to do certain things."

"That's an amazing bond."

"I know, I'm lucky to have it." It's quiet the rest of the way, and when they get there, a few other zoo keepers are waiting for her.

"Not to be rude, but are you sure that you being here will help? When you leave, won't she stop eating again?" One of the guys asks, and that was a question she really didn't want to answer.

"I really don't know, but I'd rather take it a step at a time and just try to get her eating now, then we can move on." They lead her to the quarantine area, and let her inside, then take her to the cage, where Y/n can tell Lulu is homesick.

"Lulu." The big cat immediately perks up, climbing off the cot and runs up to the cage and jumps up, the other trainers surprised that she responded so quickly. The cat chuffs as she rubs against the metal fence, then jumps up and pressing her face against the fence. "Go ahead and feed her." One of the guys slides on gloves and gives the cat a ground beef meatball, which she instantly eats. He quickly makes another one and slides it through the hole, and she quickly gobbles that one up. But she jumps back down, then sits at the cage door. Y/n chuckles, but shakes her head. "No baby, I can't come in."

"You went in with her?"

She nods, "mhm, all the time."

"And no-one stopped you?" Someone asks.

"No, they know I have a special bond with her. One time," she starts, a smile coming to her lips, "I was walking out of the cage, and I tripped over something, causing me to fall straight down, breaking my ankle and hitting my head hard. They said I passed out and when they found me, Lulu was curled against me, chuffing at them and nudging me. They couldn't get her away from me, but as they were about to tranquilize her, I came to and told her to go to her cage, which she did and sat there, watching as they helped me. She never hurt me, no bite marks, nothing was on me. And yes, I do get she's dangerous, but I know my bounds and if I see she's getting anxious, I back away."

Lulu gave a little chuff, trying to get her to come inside. "Go ahead." The director nods, telling everyone to get ready incase it goes wrong. The cat stays seated as she opens then closes the gate, then jumps up to greet her, messing up her hair as the cats large paws rub all over it. Lulu head buts Y/n, causing her to laugh.

"You silly kitty." The tigers drops down, then gently takes her hand and leads her to the door the goes outside, then jumps up on it. "No baby, you have to stay in here. You haven't been eating. You need to eat." And as if the cat understands her, she walks over to the bowl and starts to eat. Then walks back when the bowl is empty.

"Amazing." Someone says.

"You can't not eat Lulu. You can't do that just because I'm not here. You have to eat to keep your strength up. I'll be here only for a few days, but then I have to go back home. But I promise, you'll see me again soon when it's time." The cat gives a whine, like saying it wasn't good enough. Y/n kneels down and buries her hands in the cats fur, and brings their foreheads together. "I'll be back tomorrow. You eat what they give you Lulu or I won't let them feed you any treats." Y/n kisses the tiger's forehead, before standing and walking out the gate.

"That's amazing. Truly amazing. Would you like a tour around."

"Sure, if it's no trouble at all." The director smiles, radioing for a woman called Nia Nal. After telling Lulu she'll be back before she leaves, they head outside just as a golf cart comes rolling up.

"Miss Nal, this is Miss Y/l/n, she's here because of Lulu. Can you show her around, just give her a tour."

"Yes sir." He smiles and walks away, the rest of the trainers walking away, leaving the two women together.

"You can call me Y/n."

"And you can call me Nia." They shake each others hands, giving awkward smiles. "Where would you like to go first?"

"Wherever you want. You decide."

"I know the perfect spot!" The two women get into the golf cart and carefully head down the path, heading to the elephant area, where she's a trainer at. They walk inside, one of the elephants, walking up to the chain, his trunk reaching out to touch the ladies.

"I know Zuzu, she's very pretty." Nia pats the elephants trunk as Y/n blushes. "He does that with most of the female trainers, but if he starts leaning too heavily on the chain trying to reach for you, we may have to leave." Y/n gives a giggle as she walks past the huge elephant, then over to a smaller area where there are two baby elephants by the gate.

"That's Betty and Veronica, they were saved from a circus and brought here about two months ago. They're the sweetest girls ever." Nia shows Y/n a few commands, and Y/n hands them treats, when they do them correctly.

They go through most of the exhibits, walking around backstage before standing in front of the big cat exhibits, watching the lions nap.

"So, good tour?"

Y/n chuckles and nods, "the best." Nia smiles widely, both of them watching the cats wonder around.

"Are.. um, I'm sorry, this may seem intrusive and personal, but are you seeing anyone?"

Nia looks at Y/n, but shakes her head. "If you're asking me out, then yes, I'll go out with you." A blush comes across Y/n's face as she smiles widely. They make plans, Y/n going over to Nia's for a home cooked meal tomorrow night, before exchanging numbers and then Y/n heading back to say bye to Lulu for the night.

Three years later...

Arriving at the zoo, Y/n was quickly let in after showing her badge. She walked down the paths, heading towards the big cat exhibit and headed inside the center, and meeting up with the trainer. "We don't know what happened, she was fine last night, but this morning, she wouldn't eat or drink." Y/n gave a sigh, not knowing why she started doing this again. She was literally here two days ago and everything was good. Why now?

They walked towards Lulu's cage and called out for the cat, but when she saw the sign the cat was holding, she let out a gasp.

Turning, Nia was behind her holding a ring, and behind her, people were holding their phones out.

"Because of Lulu, we met three years ago. Zuzu knew you were pretty from the moment you walked through the doors and I was already falling for you. When you asked me out, I was thrilled and when I told you the real me, you kissed me and hugged me until my tears stopped. You're it for me Y/n, I knew that from the first day. Will you marry me?" Y/n wipes her tears, looking over at the cat, who spit the rod out of her mouth.

"What do you think? Should I say yes?" She asks, the cat chuffing, before plopping down and rolling around. "I'll take that as a yes. Yes!" There's cheers behind them, both ladies hugging and kissing as they laugh.

Nia slides the ring on Y/n's finger, then pecks her lips. "I love you."

"I love you too my animal trainer."