A few hours had passed by now, and Iris had decided to go into the cafe today and take an actual day off tomorrow. He’d already gotten ready for the most part, packed up his bag, and was finishing up doing his hair. He held his hair in his fist as he tied it back into a ponytail before hearing his phone buzz. He looked down at it as it lay on the counter and it showed a few messages from his manager at the cafe, Mia.

Iris let go of his hair, the strands messily flopping down in the band. He picked up his phone and scrolled through the messages.

From Mia: “Hey Iris! Glad you can come in today, we’re slightly panicking <:3!!”

Iris’ brow raised. There weren’t any major event days happening there yet and rush hour hadn’t even started. He started to type a reply.

From Iris: “Is everything okay, did we get an early rush?”

From Mia: “No, no, not that. It’s just that…Okay, so, Lee had to call out today so Frankie’s the only one manning the back and handling orders right now, so me and Kate have to come in and out to help her cause you know Frankie’s not super great at keeping up with the orders and she may or may not have nearly set the kitchen on fire @^@; And then since we had to clean that up, we were behind on serving…It’s a bit of a mess and we desperately needed someone to call in to work on the floor, so please pretty please, HURRY!!”

Iris blinked at the message and hastily texted back a thumbs up before speeding out of the bathroom. They gave Prim a quick pet on the head and a treat, grabbed their jacket and bag, and walked out the front door. The cafe wasn’t very far from his apartment building so it wouldn’t take long to catch a ride there. He’d better get there fast before Frankie burnt down the whole building.

-

The sounds of chatter, the clanking of plates and silverware, and the sizzling of the food in the kitchen blended into one another. Iris passed through tables and chairs and people entering and exiting the building as they set down plates and took one order after another. Luckily, there’d been no more fires to put out. Iris and Kate were serving the tables and thankfully with Mia at the back assisting Frankie, everything was sailing smoothly. They’d made it through lunch and the sun was starting to set, only another hour until closing time.

Iris yawned while cleaning a table after the customers had finished their food. They’d been glancing at the clock over and over but only a few minutes had passed each time they checked. They placed some plates on their tail as they balanced the others on their hands and headed to the back. Opening the door with their hip, they walked in and put the plates next to the sink. Mia looked over and took two of the plates before smiling at Iris.

“Thanks again for coming in. But why the sudden change, you usually hate giving short notice. I thought you were busy all this week?” She tossed her head to the side, her ears both flopping with it. She scrubbed at the plates but kept her eyes on Iris.

“I thought I was but hours were cut since someone else could fill in my place.” Iris grabbed two of the freshly cleaned plates and placed them in the rack to dry. “It’s fine, I’d rather be here anyway.”

“Yeah, I know, but I know we pay you less than your other job.” She frowned as she rinsed another plate and handed it over to him. “Sorry, I can’t pay you more still, hopefully, if we get some traction through that account Frankie made, we can up it a lil. She said it could help sponsors find us which could mean more money for all of us.” She’d perk up, her tail wagging at the idea.

“I hope so too, you and Lee worked so hard to get this place off the ground. I’m rooting for you.” Iris smiled. “Plus, if you run out of business, how will I get my coffee fix? Your coffee is way better than Barkbucks.”

“You flatter me, Iris, but I highly doubt it is. Plus they have cake pops.” Mia nudged his arm with hers. “Gotta tell Lee we need more sweets on menu.”

A jingle from the front door rang through the kitchen and Iris’ head swiveled. “Better get back to it, we’re nearly out of here.” They nodded to Mia, picking up a menu.

“Sure are, good luck!” Mia called back to him.

Iris walked out into the dining area and but no one stood by the door. All the other customers that were sitting had looked familiar, having been there before Iris went to the back. “Probably just someone leaving then.” He shrugged it off.

“Excuseee me!” A small, high-pitched voice called from beside him. Iris looked over at the counter, seeing a small little rabbit. She swung her legs, waving to him.

“Oh, hello,” Iris walked over. “What can I get you, little lady?”

“Can I have a milkshake?” She beamed, her ears flapping at the ends.

“Mhm, what type of milkshake would you like?” He’d hand the little rabbit the menu and she swiftly opened it, scanning through her options. She gasped, pointing her finger at one of the milkshakes on the page.

“That one? Alrighty.” He’d write it down and ring it up to be made. Once he took back the menu, he waited on the milkshake to be pushed out. As the minutes ticked by, the little rabbit continued to sit alone, humming along and smiling wide at Iris. He raised a brow now. “Hey kid…where are your parents?”

“He’s not here.” She stated matter-of-factly.

Iris blinked. “Then…where is he?” He asked.

“He’s late!”

“Late to…?”

“Picking me up. He was supposed to pick me up from Miss Apple’s FOREVER ago, but he’s late so I got bored and decided to get a milkshake.” The little rabbit pouted, her bottom lip sticking out and she crossed her arms, making herself look as ticked as she could.

“So…who exactly is gonna pay for this little milkshake you got?” Iris rested an elbow on the counter, his chin resting in his palm.

“I will, silly!” She giggled. She then pulled her backpack from behind her, zipping it open and rummaging her paw around in it. She found what it was she was looking for, and pulled it out, holding her arm up triumphantly. “Wallet!”

It was a cute little pink wallet with golden zippers and a puppy keychain hanging off the pull. She opened it up and placed her money on the table, looking proud.

It was, however, not money. Iris looked down at the money she’d placed and picked it up before a chuckle escaped them. The money in question was play money, simply printed paper wrapped in plastic for cash register sets. They thought that was cute. They looked back at her, she seemed so proud, assuming that she’d be able to pay with her flimsy little fake bill. Iris pitied her because even if it was real, it was a one-dollar bill. They sighed.

“Well…guess you can pay.” Iris stuffed the bill in their back pocket. “You must’ve worked hard for this money, hm?”

“Yuh-huh! I sure did.” She nodded.

Iris found amusement in this and then the ring of the bell came from behind them. They turned to see the milkshake and handed it to her. He supposed he could just get the real money from the man in question who was supposed to be picking her up. Which would hopefully be soon as closing time was quickly approaching. She drank the milkshake from its straw, her ears flapping harder than before, her joyful little squeals pitching out through each sip. Iris stuck with her until her guardian would arrive just to be safe. The clock ticked and for once all evening, they hoped it would tick a bit slower. Finally, the bell at the door rang again and the little rabbit’s head turned quick.

Her tail wagged and she bounced in her chair. “Daddy!” She’d finished her drink, only a few drops still left and she placed it down, hopping off the barstool. She ran to the door as Iris picked up the glass and placed it on the hatch to the kitchen before looking back to make sure she was actually running to her dad and not some random person. She sprung on the man and he picked her up in his arms, rubbing her head.

Iris looked at the man’s face to examine him, and…

He looked familiar…

Extremely familiar.