Iris stared hard at the man standing in front of him, he couldn’t put his finger on who he was but he looked awfully familiar to him. The man spoke to the little rabbit and then turned his head to look at Iris. Iris blinked back as they stared at each other momentarily before he paced his way forward, with a rather concerning amount of speed. He approached the counter, his eyes widening, as if he’d seen a ghost. He seemed to be analyzing Iris and Iris finally spoke.

“Can I help you?” They asked. The man finally appeared to snap back to reality and cleared his throat.

“No, sorry.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, my daughter wandered in here alone and ordered something. How much was it?”

“Oh…” Iris looked down at the half-full cup of milkshake. “It’s okay, she paid me.”

“She did?” The man asked, raising a brow and looking at his daughter.

“I used my moneys!” She nodded, her smile reaching nearly across her petite face.

“Your-” He looked at the Iris. “The plastic money?”

Iris nodded. “Her money.” He emphasized.

“Ah…” The man seemed to slowly understand. “Well, as long as she paid, I suppose.” He looked at his daughter, a glint of exasperation in his eyes. “I will pay you back though, for…the accommodation.”

“You don’t have to-” Iris started but was interrupted by a squeal in the kitchen and a loud crash.

Some panicked voices came from the kitchen and a hiss came through it all.

“Oh, sorry to cut this short, we’re short on staff and I think someone just got hurt.” Iris quickly explained, turning and running to the kitchen.

The man hadn’t gotten to finish speaking and simply tilted his head to his daughter, who returned the tilt back. “Suppose we’ll have to pay him back some other time.” He grinned. She giggled in response.

-

Iris wiped his hands with the rag, drying their hands. They’d finally cleaned up the broken plate pieces and gotten Frankie sorted. While Iris had been speaking to the rabbit from before, Frankie accidentally cut her hand with one of the knives while she was cutting a sandwich in half for a customer. She ended up knocking over a plate in the process of pulling her hand away and it broke. Nothing too serious but Frankie was extremely upset because she’d been clumsy all day and felt like she was messing up everything. Mia reassured her and calmed her down, now putting on her coat so she could drive her home. They’d cleaned the cut and bandaged it but Frankie was still a little sniffley after all the crying. Iris couldn’t stay mad at her, Frankie was the youngest out of the four of them and this was only her second job and her first job in serving. Mia was one of the most forgiving people Iris knew but it was apparent that Frankie needed to improve or they’d have to look into other options. Kate closed the first aid kit, placed it back on the wall, and put a hand on their hip.

“This is the third time you’ve broken a plate this week, Frankie.” They huffed. “I’m not mad at you, but I’m just saying, you gotta be more careful, we don’t have the type of money to keep replacing tupperware.”

“Don’t be too hard on her, Kate.” Mia frowned. “We can replace plates, thankfully it wasn’t a serious injury.”

“I’m not being hard on her, I’m being critical.” Kate crossed their arms. “We’re gonna have to do training again at this rate.”

Frankie looked down, nodding. “I understand, I’m so sorry…”

Iris patted her shoulder. “It’ll be alright, Franks. You just need to get in more practice with emergency prep.” They nodded. “Lee’ll be back tomorrow to help you and we’ll do training in a few days so you’re more prepared.”

Mia jumped to her feet, clapping her hands together. “Well, no need to get gloomy, everyone’s okay and it’s finally closing time!”

The other three cheered back, in different levels of excitement as they were all very much ready to go home.

The four walked out of the cafe, and Mia locked the door. “Hey, Iris?” Mia called to them as they stretched. Iris looked back at her with a curious look. “Do you need a ride home? I’m driving Frankie anyway.”

“No, it’s okay, you know I’m in the opposite direction,” Iris said.

“It’s okay, I can always just turn back, it won’t take that long.” She shrugged. “You’re only about 10 minutes away, aren’t you? You won’t have to take the bus.”

“It’s alright, I promise. I’m gonna grab some groceries before I head home anyway.”

Mia looked at him, unsure. Iris shook his head and smiled. “I’m good.”

“Alrighty. Welp, let’s get going.” She looked at Frankie and Frankie nodded. They walked in the opposite direction to the parking lot. Kate waved to Iris as well, going in the same direction to go to their car. Iris waved back, walking up the street and towards the bus stop a few blocks away.

Iris didn’t really need to go to the grocery store. They just didn’t want to explain the real reason they weren’t going home. They sat on the bench, next to an elder and a mother with her son. Iris had to take three buses to get to his destination and it took an hour to get there. If he really wanted to, he could ask Mia to drive him, it would only take 25 or 30 minutes to get there, but he hadn’t told any of them about his situation and he didn’t plan to anytime soon. He’d been working there for about a year now but he didn’t feel like he could gauge how they’d react or how they’d all treat him after. He hated pity, he was scared of people brushing it off, and he despised people who judged, he didn’t need any of that.

Iris had only told a select few people about his financial situation in the past, and it had never ended well. He’d been hurt too many times, and he was so mentally and physically exhausted these days that having more people know only stressed them out. How would they see Iris if he opened up again? He trusted them enough, Mia, Frankie, Lee, and Kate had been so kind to them. Yet here they were, doubting their kindness. Mia didn’t need to hire Iris, not with how hectic Iris’ schedule looked. Not with how stressed she already was with such short staff. But she did and the team had welcomed him with open arms. They never pried in Iris’ life when he pulled away, they never made him feel bad for how he had to meticulously plan his schedule, they never talked behind his back…

Iris squeezed the hemming off his pants leg and saw the bus rolling up. He didn’t have time to worry about others when he had to worry about so much already. They were only coworkers, it’s not like they’d be in Iris’ life so long that Iris needed to have a vent session with them. It was okay. He stood up, got on the bus behind the woman and her child, and sat in the back. They inhaled deeply and sighed out an exhale. He was okay.

Iris sat back in their seat and watched as the city buildings flew by while the bus made its journey. Their eyes felt droopy and they were sluggish but the bus ride was only 30 minutes, the next would be longer. He could sleep then.

-

Iris got off the last bus, finally arriving at their destination. They didn’t get in a very good nap, the ride on the second bus was crowded and loud, there was an argument ensuing between two men at the front and it led to a delay of 10 minutes when they were asked to get off for disrupting. Iris was even more exhausted than before but they’d have to pull through it. They looked up at the hospital, cars and ambulances rolling in and out of the front. He walked up to the entrance and headed upstairs to speak with the front desk.

A lioness sat behind the desk, clicking away at her computer before looking up to meet Iris’ eyes. “Lookie who it is, my favorite boy!” She cooed.

“Evening, Miss Bessett. How are you?” Iris asked, giving their best smile through their drowsiness.

“I’m just lovely, honey, typical day of sick babies and angry elders.” She’d cackle. “But how are you? You look like you got run over by a bus!”

“No, just a long ride in one…I had a long day at work and someone got into a fight on the ride here.” Iris sighed into a gradual yawn. He looked at the mirror on the counter, and yeah, his complexion wasn’t great. “Sorry, didn’t mean to come in looking like this.”

“Don’t apologize, kiddo. You’re rippin' and runnin' for your momma, I ain’t gonna judge you for being tired.” She patted his hand. “She’s asleep right now but she said she was glad you were coming today, she’s not been eating well.”

“Yeah, I know…I spoke to her on the phone yesterday, she says she’s just not hungry this week, but I really don’t think it’s that.” Iris frowned.

“She’s tryin’, we’ll keep tryin’ with her.” She checked her watch. “She gets her next meal in about an hour, maybe now that you’re here, she’ll muck up some courage to get something in her stomach, hm?”

“Maybe.” Iris nodded. “Thanks, Miss B.” Iris turned and waved to her before going down the hall. He walked down to room 304 and opened the door with a small knock. She was still fast asleep. Iris walked to the chair by the bed and sat down, his head resting on the edge of the bed. He felt the slow way her stomach rose and fell under the blanket. “Hey, momma…” He whispered.

His eyes were still heavy and since she was asleep, he relaxed, closing his eyes for just a moment. He wasn’t sure how long he rested his eyes but at some point, he felt a hand slowly comb through his hair, lightly ruffling it. Iris opened their eyes, looking at their mom.

Her eyes were open now, she smiled softly. “Hi, Iris. When did you get here?”

“Around 8.” Iris yawned, taking her hand and rubbing it. “How are you feeling?”

“Mmm…okay.” She tilted her head a bit. “Had a little pain today but bearable.”

Iris picked up his bag, opened it up, and taking out a bag of berries. “You want to try some fruit? I know you can’t really eat anything big but this might help.”

She shook her head, raising her hand. “No, baby. I’m really not hungry.”

“Come on, mom.” Iris opened the bag up. “Just one? Please.”

His mother looked at the berries. They were blackberries and strawberries, her favorites. She let out a giggle. “Always know how to persuade me…” She held out a hand.

Iris smiled. “Of course, I’m your baby.” They were about to give her the berries but hesitated since she was only holding out her bare paw. “I’ll get you a napkin.” They stood up and went to paper towels.

They gave her the paper towel and put berries in it before handing it to her. “How did they say you’re doing?” Iris asked, sitting back down.

“They said I can go in a few more days, I haven’t shown any signs of getting worse.”

Iris laid his head back on the bed. “I wish I could just make you better myself.”

She smiled at him, rubbing his chin. “I wish you could, too, baby…” She ate a blackberry. “At least I’m not completely bedridden all the time, hm?”

“Mm…” Iris answered in just a mumble.

“They said when I come back to Harley’s, they’re going to throw me a welcome back party.” She giggled. “They’re gonna get me a marble cake.”

Iris didn’t really respond.

“I wanted to invite you and Adrien…how is Adrien?” She asked. “You haven’t spoken about him in a bit, although I know things have been hectic with me lately…”

“He’s fine, momma…” Iris muttered. “I just…don’t have much to say about him right now.”

“Oh…are you two going through a rough patch again? You can always talk to me about it, baby.”

“No, it’s alright…”

Iris’ mom frowned and stopped eating her berries. She wiped her hands and started to stroke her paw through Iris’ hair again.

“I know you’re sad, baby…but I’m really okay.”

Iris nudged his head into her hand, longing for her to continue patting his head.

Iris’ mom had been like this for years now, yet she still stayed so joyful and lighthearted. She always held her head up with a smile even on the days when she was hurting so much she couldn’t bear it. It hurt every day he had to see her like that. She hummed a song quietly as she rubbed their head, and she stared out the window at the night sky.