About time I posted something, eh? Just a Drabble for Gabe, but I though it was cute. I have others possibly. Enjoy. Alek is a barista, and... Well, you'll see.

"That's five ninety nine out of ten, and four oh one's your change." Alek carefully handed the hot drink to the customer and smiled. "Have a nice day."

The girl was already leaving, only nodding in acknowledgement. Alek slumped slightly. The café was quiet now that the initial after-school crowd had passed through. He'd be lucky if he got any more customers until six.

As it turned out, luck was with him after all. At almost exactly five, the bell over the door chimed to tell him that he had a customer. He quickly straightened up from behind the counter, where he'd been arranging various products. "Welcome," Alek said, a little too cheerfully in the empty room.

Alek was immediately caught off guard by his patron's disheveled state. Mussed blonde hair fell sloppily over frantic blue eyes. And there, on the sleeve of a worn aviator jacket- was that blood? The patron leaned forward heavily on both arms, staring up at the menu. Or not. Alek noted the frantic movement of the newcomer's eyes and found them instead on the mirrored wall above the menu.

"H-How can I help you?" Alek asked. "Are you alright?"

Those wild eyes on his, and a decision. Putting a finger to their lips, the stranger threw a glance toward the window and then braced themselves on the counter, vaulting over to Alek's side and ducking low.

"What are you doing?" Alek sputtered. "You can't be back here!"

"Shhh!" A grimy hand poked over the top of the counter and pointed.

Alek looked up in time to see the biggest, angriest, most frightening group of gentlemen he had ever seen in his young life. They strode into the café fearlessly, knocking over chairs and shoving tables out of their way. He looked furtively downwards, and got only the mouthed instruction "Act natural."

"Good afternoon," Alek croaked. He cleared his throat and cobbled together a strained smile. "What can I get you today?"

One of the men, holding the frayed end of a rope in one hand, turned slowly in a circle before glaring at Alek. "You seen a thief run this way?"

Alek's heart ground to a halt and it took all of his self control not to look down again. A thief. He was harboring a criminal? These men looked more like the criminal type. But he couldn't ignore a claim like that, and God's wounds where was the manager to oversee shift change?

A desperate hand clamped down on his leg, pleading. There was strength in the grip, but it trembled nonetheless. Alek clenched his jaw. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe anyone fitting that description is here." He pointed. "I did see someone run very quickly by that way- brown jacket, looked a bit bloody-"

"Come on!" The men whirled and thundered out of the café as destructively as they'd entered. They didn't pay him another thought.

After several breaths, Alek hopped the counter and locked the door behind them, flipping the open sign to closed. He hurried back to the other side of the counter and looked down. "I hope you know you have some explaining to do," he began.

His conspirator nodded and stood, using one hand to push up and the other to cradle a bulge in the aviator jacket. Alek stared, suddenly fearful. "That- that isn't..."

"Ah, belay that," the stranger scoffed, wrestling with the zipper of the jacket. Their voice was reedy from exertion, but the Scottish accent remained strong. "I'm not trying to blow anybody up- though they'd deserve it, blast them- will you unzip!"

Alek reflexively reached forward and brushed shaking hands aside to get at the stuck zipper. The lump was wriggling now, much to his alarm and frustration, as it made the process more difficult. He might be an engineering major, but lab conditions were out the window by this point. Finally, he gave a coercive yank and out tumbled a thrashing bundle.

"Gotcha!" Quick arms caught the squirmer and bundled it to a narrow chest. It was black and furry, with a loop of rope choked tightly around its neck. The end was neatly shorn. Big brown eyes rolled wildly, but quickly steadied on a smile, the first Alek had yet seen, that broke across the stranger's face as Alek gently pulled the restricting cord away from tender skin. "That's right wee beastie, you're safe now."

"Schisse," Alek breathed, shaking his head. "Is that a bulldog?"

"Aye, just a pup." Blue eyes pinned themselves on him, somehow commanding. "Got any towels? Alcohol?"

"Er, yes." Alek fumbled under the counter and found a slightly worn towel; it had some small holes, but was softer than the others from use. He briskly doused it in some strong whiskey and gestured for the stranger to kneel and hold the dog steady. "Do you mean to tell me you stole a dog from those... Neanderthals? What were you thinking!"

The puppy whined and scratched at the touch of the alcohol, so they had to work in silence and concentration, but together they held it down to disinfect the raw wounds around its neck. Just when Alek thought that he had found the last scratch, he found another one, the result of neglect or abuse. His hands stilled over a large bite mark and he gasped. There, on the dog's ear, was a small tattoo. A tag.

"You stole from dog fighters?" Alek squeaked. His head swam just from the sheer insanity of it. He looked over the thief again, seeing only slim wrists and a body completely overshadowed by the old jacket. What had made this mere slip of a person think they could take on dog fighters?

"Aye. But I'd steal from anyone who treated animals this way." Disgusted, they took the bloodstained rag from Alek and tossed it in the waste bin before reaching out expectantly.

Alek handed over the puppy and pulled out another rag to swaddle it in. The stranger sat back against the counter, cradling the pup, and Alek only hesitated a moment before following suit, pulling his knees up to his chest. "What happened?" he asked.

The puppy let out a squeak from the intensity of the grip around it, and the arms slackened. Inhaling deeply, the stranger looked Alek in the eye. "I saw them on the way home from the hanger. They were just around the corner, trying to bait the little mite into a frenzy before the fight." Another deep breath. "They were using sticks and splashing him with water. Look at him, he's just a pup. Never seen a fight a day in his life."

"How terrible," Alek whispered. He'd known these things happened, but never seen them first hand. And so close to his workplace, too. "How did you even pull it off?"

Another smile, this one devious and proud. "Solid right cross to the bloke holding him, break out the pocket knife, and it's a run and grab." Thin shoulders shrugged. "All I needed was to lose their tail. So thanks."

"You're welcome." Alek held out his hand, smiling. "I'm Alek."

That smile again, the one formerly reserved only for the puppy. A firm handshake. "Deryn Sharp, at your service. I suppose this would be a bad time to ask where your restroom is? Engine grease and blood don't mix, you know."

Alek chuckled and pointed, holding out his hands for the dog. "Funny, I think I did know that."

Deryn transferred the dog to Alek's arms and stood, grunting. After the door to the ladies' room closed, he was left alone with the dog. The sound of running water filled the café.

"You're one lucky pup," Alek told it. "You haven't got a name, have you?"

The puppy sneezed in his face.

"Didn't think so." Alek looked around, thinking. The self to his left held some rather exotic teas. He picked up a small tin the same color as the dog's eyes, looking back and forth. "Deryn!" he called when he heard the water cut off.

"Aye?"

"You're not planning to keep this dog, are you?"

Deryn strode back to Alek's. Her arms and face were clear of grease, and she had shed her jacket to scrub the dog's blood out of the sleeves. She was even more slender than Alek had first thought.

"Well, if I can't convince my ma I know a very well-off biologist who could probably take him." Deryn canted her head to the side. "Why?"

Alek grinned and held up the tin. "What do you think of the name Bovril?"

Thank you for reading :)