"Huh?"
"It's not stupid," Ruby repeated, louder this time. Her head lifted and her eyes bored into his. "I think it's brave! I think it's cool, too."
"C-Cool…?"
"Yeah, look at you. You're seventeen years old and already running your own business." She smiled and pointed around them. "That's amazing! Everyone I've ever seen who runs a place like this is middle-aged or older. Most people our age are still playing video games, and you're going to be a boss." It wasn't anything she'd ever thought of before, but now that she was on a roll, even she was excited. "That's amazing, Jaune. That's really cool!"
"Well, I wouldn't go that far," he said. He scratched his cheek, which was bright red. His smile felt more natural, happier. Ruby cheered internally. "It's not all that special."
"It is!" she said. "You could be the best."
"The best diner?"
"Yeah, sure - whatever you wanted to be." She slammed her hands down on the table and smiled. "Just think about it, you could be famous for how awesome your shop is, and it would be filled with famous people. You could be the best in the business."
"Or the worst," he said, smiling just a little. "Still, thanks Ruby. It means a lot to hear you say that. Who knows, maybe you're right. I wouldn't have been much of a huntsman with how weak I am. Maybe this life is more suited to me. Thanks for the kind words. They helped, really."
"Aw, shucks." She waved a hand demurely, even if inside she was waving flags with her name on and jumping around happily. She'd helped, she'd helped. Yang would never believe this, but she'd actually made friends with someone and then helped them. She smiled and rocked on her seat. "So, what kind of place are you going to be? What kind of food will you serve?"
"I'm not sure yet," he admitted. "I've got some lien put aside to buy stock, but the guy who helped me get this place suggested I get all the freezers and display cases up first. That way I can see how much stuff I need and not get too much. It was someone with the local business enterprise place," he explained, seeing her confused look. "They help new start-ups in the area, but only with finding stuff, information and advice. I'm on my own when it comes to money."
"Ah," she nodded in understanding. Like a teacher for business people, then. That made sense, actually. How else could someone just know where to find stuff or what forms to fill in? "So you've not decided what you'll be yet?"
"I'm thinking simple food and snacks. I can cook, but I'm not as good as my Mom. I'm going to practice and learn though, but for now I'll go easy. I do know how to make different kinds of tea and coffee though." He looked at her face. "You don't like that?"
"No, no," she lied. "Coffee is… nice…"
"Ruby, you look like you're eating a lemon."
Argh, curse her face! She tried to flatten it out, but instead ended up looking like she needed the toilet. When Jaune laughed, she pouted and gently punched his arm. "I like sweets," she protested. "I'm not a coffee person."
"Then you just haven't tried the right coffee. Wait here."
Jaune pushed off with a smile and went back to his boxes, rummaging around while humming to himself. Ruby didn't have the heart to tell him not to bother, even if her stomach – finally sated from ice-cream – was now roiling at the idea of icky, thick, black muck. Old people drank coffee. It was just the way the world worked.
Still, she watched curiously as he lumbered back to one of the counters with a strange-looking machine in hand. He put it down, and fiddled around with some switches and plugs until he'd got it powered. Out came a pristine white mug, never before used, and then he put that away. Instead, a glass dessert thing came out. The kind of decorative glass you'd serve a trifle in.
"Ta-da," he said, pushing the drink before her.
Ruby's eyes widened. It looked like a trifle, except dark and brown instead of white and red. It was tall and frothy, with whipped cream on top, and then what looked like chocolate sauce drizzled all over it. There was even crunched chocolate sprinkled onto it, and her mouth was already watering. It looked like a dessert, smelt like a desert, but was apparently coffee.
Her eyes narrowed. "This isn't a trap, right?"
"Huh? No, it's coffee."
"It has whipped cream on it."
"And chocolate sauce," he said, "along with milk and sugar, some syrup, caramel and crushed milk choco-"
He didn't get any further. Ruby had already lifted it up and took a long sip. She put the glass down, whipped cream suspended above her lip like a moustache. Her eyes were wide. This… this…
"No good?" he asked. "My sisters really like it, and I just thought-"
"This is so good!" Ruby cried, half-thrilled, half-shocked. She dove back in, guzzling at it. It tasted like cookies and sweets, except there was a familiar taste she recognised as yucky, but which was so much weaker than the horrible muck her dad had let her try. She knew why, now. She knew why when she'd asked to try some coffee; he'd made her the foulest concoction available.
He wanted to keep this masterpiece to himself!
All the adults did. It was a conspiracy! It was selfishness on a huge scale. It was every adult in the world tricking people below the age of twenty, so that they could keep all the sweets to themselves. How could they?
Those monsters!
"Heh," Jaune leaned his elbow on the table, cheek propped in one hand. "I take it you like it?"
"Jaune, that was amazing," Ruby gushed once it was all gone. She felt so awake, so alive and energetic. Screw Yang, she was going to run home. "This is so good. You need to open up your shop selling these. You need to give them names, and prices, and little glasses and… and… and you can make more, right!?"
"Yeah, of course I can." He shrugged. "Dad's a huntsman, and Mom runs the family, but she used to work for a small diner in Vale. She always told me how the city was so busy and everyone needed coffee, so she started to play around with different ways to make it. She taught me a few."
Best. Mom. Ever. No wait, second best Mom. Second best!
"I'm going to sell these, but I need other things, too. I was thinking sandwiches, but that feels a little boring. People make sandwiches when they want to make their own packed lunch, so I think the place needs something a little better."
"Sweets," Ruby said instantly. She then blushed when he stared at her. "Um… I mean that you're already making coffee that tastes like sweets, so why not do more? You could sell little cakes, and ice-cream. I mean, you already have the ice-cream."
"Just one tub, and that's because I knew I'd need the energy after carrying all this stuff." He stroked his chin. "But maybe you're right. I'm not exactly up on cooking yet, so any normal food I try to make isn't going to be all that good. Plus, there are already restaurants around who will do it better." He turned back to his counter, and the big, glass display case beneath it. There were several racks inside. "I could put cakes in there, and they'd look pretty good."
Shop display and organisation weren't her things, but cakes were – and Ruby nodded her head furiously.