Okay, here's a long-ass chapter. The delay in timing is due to the chapter length, but also some unfortunate traffic on the way back from work. The usual poo.
Chapter 6
Team RWBY, as it turned out, were not morning people. He could tell that the moment he opened the door to find the four slouched outside, Yang and Weiss being the worst, but Ruby and Blake not too far behind. To see four normally beautiful and immaculate girls looking like such a mess could have been cute. Would have been if not for the ferocious glare Weiss gave him. "Coffee," she hissed.
"What kind?" he asked reasonably.
"Coffee!"
"Coffee," Blake agreed, nodding.
He had a feeling he wasn't winning that argument. Deciding it was better to bite the bullet than cause a scene so early in the morning, he unlocked the doors and ushered the four inside, closing it after them. The diner was dark but for the dim illumination from the display units. The sun had yet to even poke its face above the nearby buildings.
Once the girls had gotten some coffee into them and had a chance to wake up, they became a little more cognisant of the situation. "I can't believe I'm up this early," Yang complained. "Why would anyone willingly do this to themselves?"
"Hngh…" Ruby agreed – or maybe she didn't. It was hard to tell.
Jaune looked nervously down at their outfits, which were not only what they normally wore, but which would be more than a little out of place for working all day. Weiss noticed his gaze, and after a brief moment where it looked like she might snap at him, realised what it was about. "I have uniforms for us," she said, indicating a folded case nearby. "Is there somewhere we can change?"
"You can use my apartment upstairs, but you might want to stay in your usual outfits until we're done with the lifting." He nodded to several crates nearby, some of which he'd dragged in one-handed on trolleys, and more of which had been delivered. His suppliers, mostly local businesses, had been unexpectedly sympathetic of his injury, and several had asked others to help deliver or carry them for him. He'd offered to pay more but they wouldn't hear of it. Business looked after business, or so they said.
In the end, if he did well, he'd keep buying supplies from them, so it was in their best interests to help him when he was in trouble. Even generosity was given with a self-serving reason.
"The machines need stocking up, and cakes need putting into the display cabinets. We'll then carry any extras into the back for later, and if we ever run short of something someone will need to come and grab them to refill." The girls looked a little confused, so he took the time to give them a quick tour behind the counter – pointing out various things they'd need to know. "When it comes to prices, you can just type in the price and click the add key here, and when it's done, click the pay key here. It will ask what they're paying with, so you put it in, and then it calculates what change you need to give, if any. Make sure to tear off a receipt for them as well."
Ruby nodded. "O-Okay…"
"Don't worry; it's a lot easier than it looks. I mean I can use it, so it has to be."
"What about the coffee machines?" Weiss asked, staring at one and the myriad buttons on it.
"I'll explain the different blends for that before we open. Just so you know, I'll still be here all day, so if you get confused you can ask me for help. I just can't do any heavy lifting." He nodded to his cast. "It's not like I'll be abandoning you on your own."
That seemed to give them a little more confidence, and they quickly moved to start lifting boxes around the diner as he gently directed them. There was water for the machines, which Yang was able to handle – cakes for the displays which Ruby saw to eagerly, not to mention the cutlery and crockery and various other knickknacks, which Blake and Weiss arranged with almost fastidious care. They did a better job than him, honestly, but that was probably because it had become routine for him by now. You tended to learn and take shortcuts as you went on.
Once everything was done, he had them sweep the floor one last time to make sure it was clean, and then arrange the chairs before the tables.
"I usually take a break for breakfast now," he said, smiling at the work that had been done. It was a lot faster than he normally did it, which made sense given there were four of them. "Did you guys bring anything to eat?"
"We have some lunchboxes," Ruby said. "Miss Goodwitch had the cafeteria make them for us."
That was probably to make sure they didn't have any excuses to back out on work or complain of hunger. At least it meant he wouldn't need to worry about them raiding his cakes. "I suppose you can eat those and get changed upstairs." He fished out a key and tossed it to Blake, who caught it easily. "I'll stay down here and do a stock check. If you need to leave your clothes anywhere, you can put them on my couch. I won't be going back up until after you leave, so whatever you leave there will stay where it is."
"Make sure to come back down within forty minutes," he called as they ascended the staircase hidden in a back corridor. "There's a busy day ahead."
/-/
Weiss should have known better than to trust Ruby and Yang in someone's apartment, although Jaune should probably have known better, too. The moment the door was unlocked, the two were looking around the small place with hungry eyes, taking in every little detail they could. While Blake and she walked to the couch and started to unfold their new clothes, Yang was peeking into a separate room with a guilty expression.
"Do you two have to act so creepy?" Weiss asked.
"Don't tell me you're not curious, Weiss-cream. How many chances do you get to look around a guy's apartment? Do you think he has a hidden porn stash somewhere?"
"You don't have time to look for it if he does, and no, I'm not curious at all." The latter was only a half-truth at best. Even as she stripped down in Jaune's living room – and didn't that feel all kinds of strange to think – her eyes roamed about, cataloguing little things wherever she could. Things like how the coffee table and wooden floor was immaculately clean… the kind of cleanliness you could only get from lack of use. The TV especially didn't look like it had ever been turned on, not if the remote resting atop it was any indication, and the thin film of dust that clung to the screen.
The apartment was small, and not only by her standards. It had a living room, a kitchenette separated by a counter, and what looked to be three other doors – probably a bedroom, bathroom and some kind of storage cupboard.
"For someone not interested, you're sure looking just that," Yang teased.
Weiss threw Yang's uniform at her. "Shut up and get changed. Lest you forget, we're here t help you with this."
"Yeah, I know." Yang pulled the uniform down and sighed, and Weiss immediately felt bad for dragging up the memory.
"Yang, I'm so-"
"It's fine." The blonde shrugged and smiled, unbuckling her belt. "You're right. Let's get on with this."
It didn't take them long to get changed, and the uniforms fit as well as expected. Weiss had purchased them from the best, of course. She just wished the shop hadn't quite been so liberal with the expanses of skin.
"What the hell, Weiss. Did you buy these from a sex shop?"
"No!" she denied, bright red in the face. "Don't be ridiculous. These are normal maid outfits." Weiss tugged down at the skirt of hers regardless, wishing it was just a little longer. In truth, it was no shorter than what she wore normally and actually reached her knees, but a combat skirt felt different somehow. The material she wore now was a mixture of black and white, with the occasional frill and bow for ornamental purposes. There was near the collar, leaving their shoulders bare.
She didn't think it had looked like that when she'd checked the catalogue, but to be fair they'd been in a rush and there hadn't been much time to think about it.
"There are leggings if you want them," she said, nodding to the other box. Ruby had already taken out a black pair of tights and pulled them on. Weiss took a white set in contrast, though Blake and Yang seemed content to go bare-legged.
"I swear to God, Weiss," Yang warned. "If I end up on some kind of website…"
"You won't, and besides, this is normal maid ware for Vale. I bought them from a company that supplies to some of the biggest restaurants and cafés in the city." The quality was reflected in the material and fit, which despite its rather revealing nature was still comfortable and warm. They hadn't been cheap.
"I suppose this is the appeal for the customers," Blake said, sighing. "It's not like we can back out now. We dug our bed."
"Yang did," Weiss prodded.
"It was you who got the uniforms!"
Blake interposed herself between the two before the argument could get any worse. "How about we don't start a fight in someone else's apartment," she said. "Not unless we want to be working here for even longer to pay off the damage."
"Good point." Yang sighed and stepped back.
"I'm not even sure why you're complaining," Weiss added. "The skirts are longer than our school uniform and you wear spandex shorts normally. This is practically conservative for you."
"Yeah, but this is a maid outfit." Yang's face twisted unpleasantly. "Argh, whatever. It's all to make more tips, right? I'm fine so long as it's to pay off my mistake. Not like I have to keep wearing this in the future. What do you think, Rubes?"
"I like it," Ruby giggled, twirling in place.
Yang rolled her eyes. "You would. Okay, fine, whatever. You guys ready to kick ass?"
"Do you think we will?" Blake asked. "I've never worked in a place like this before."
"How hard can it be? People tell you what they want and you deliver it to them."
"It doesn't sound hard," Ruby said. "Maybe it's just hard for Jaune because there's only one of him. It'll be easy with all four of us."
Weiss couldn't help but agree, even if she'd never worked a day in her life. She knew the theories of customer service, and was more than practised in keeping a pleasant smile on her face when she wanted nothing more than to strangle whatever sycophant was trying to mooch up to her. Compared to that, working for Jaune would be an absolute cinch.
/-/
"This cappuccino is cold."
It was not what Weiss wanted to hear, and was probably the last thing anyone with a shred of self-preservation should have said to her in the first place. She looked up into the woman's face, her eyes quickly latching onto the customer's sneer.
"I do apologise. I'll bring you another." Weiss gritted out, her hand shaking as she took the mug and stormed over to the machine. It took all her effort not to throw it back in the woman's face, and the steam from the machine hardly helped, only adding to the sweat that beaded across her face. Two hours. That was all it had been. Two measly hours – and already her legs were killing her and she wanted to take it out on the customers.
And the cappuccino comes out boiling hot, you idiot. The only way it could be cold was if you left it too long before you started to drink it! Of course, she couldn't say that. The customer was always right, and the cost of making another wouldn't justify the loss of a customer, not to Jaune anyway. She jarred the mug a little less gently against the nozzle – her only way of truly displaying her frustration – and brought it back to the customer.
She lifted it to her lips and sipped a little. "Better," she said, walking away. Weiss imagined what she might look like with Myrtenaster sticking from her back. It was a strangely cathartic feeling.
"H-Hey Weiss," Yang panted, slumping over the counter as she fought for breath. "Do you have the order for table six?"
"On the side," Weiss replied, nodding to the tray. Yang seemed disappointed it was already up, probably because she'd wanted an excuse to rest her legs. She took it nonetheless, muttering a quick thank you as she rushed back out to deliver it. En route, at least two other tables tried to distract her with fresh orders, causing Yang to panic and almost drop her drinks.
Weiss let out a long sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. She felt hot, sticky and claustrophobic, mostly because she'd been behind the counter since this all started. When Jaune had taken to teaching them how to make the various drinks, it was only her who'd proven capable of keeping up with the complicated instructions. Seriously, they were ridiculous. While she may have had enjoyed a good cup, she'd never had to actually make one before. That was what butlers and servants were for.
Eventually, they'd reached a compromise wherein Jaune had tacked a list of popular choices to the machine, and she could follow that while she was making them. It wasn't perfect, but considering they'd had less than an hour to prepare, she doubted it ever could have been. It was workable, and that was what mattered. Either way, with her being the designated coffee maker, it had seemed obvious she would work behind the counter, while the others waited on customers. In truth, Weiss had thought she'd gotten the better deal out of it all.
How wrong she was.
The customer was always right? No, the customer was a bumbling idiot at the best of times and usually worse! The customer was whiny, self-entitled and seemed to believe theywere doing her a favour by ordering from her in the first place. She'd started off as best she could – smiling in a way she knewwould put people at ease – but those smiles had soon frosted over. All that was left was something out of a horror movie, along with the desire to scream at the top of her lungs. She was Weiss Schnee – Weiss Schnee. Her coffee was not cold, overly hot, or lacking taste. She was following the recipes to the absolute letter!
Everything about them annoyed her. She got annoyed when they came up with complicated orders, making her already brand new job far harder than it needed to be. She got annoyed when they came up, listed things off too fast, and then sighed dramatically when she asked them to repeat it. She got annoyed when they asked for the usual – despite full well knowing they hadn't ever seen her before.
But nothing – nothing – annoyed her like this.
"Hello and welcome to Jaune's," Weiss greeted, forcing a smile onto her face once more. She had her notepad before her, pen ready. "What can I help you with today?"
The elderly aged man brought a hand to his chin. "Hmm…"
Weiss waited.
"Hmm…"
The pen dug a little deeper.
He turned to his wife, who looked equally ancient. "What do you think, dearie?"
"I don't know," the elderly woman replied. "I'll need to get my glasses out to read the menu."
Weiss could have snapped right then and there. She could see the headlines now. Prominent heiress massacres café full of innocent people – indecisive customers to blame. It was just too much. It was unbelievably annoying. Why would you even come to the counter if you didn't know what you wanted? Why would you not be wearing your glasses if you needed them? How could you possibly reach the age of eighty-something and not know what your preferred drink was!?
Her eyebrow continued to twitch as the elderly couple discussed their options with an incredible lack of haste. Behind them, a queue had already begun to form. The people in it didn't look exactly pleased, and had decided to glare at her for it. She'd had a feeling they'd somehow find a reason to blame her.
The customer was an idiot.
/-/
Ruby struggled to keep the stacked cups and plates on her tray, an act that wouldn't have normally been all that difficult were it not for someone backing their seat up as they made to leave, catching the back of her legs. She yelped as she tripped, and would have fallen if not for Blake quickly appearing out of nowhere and righting her.
"Thanks," Ruby gasped. "I thought I was a goner."
"It wouldn't be a problem if people didn't keep getting in the way…" Blake said, a little too loudly and a little too obvious to be anything but intentional. She glared at someone nearby, but Ruby quickly grabbed her attention.
"K-Keep smiling," she whispered, recalling Jaune's previous advice. "We're doing this to help him, remember? You need to smile."
Blake sighed, but forced a wide smile onto her face regardless – as was their job. It honestly looked a little creepy, but maybe that was only because she knew Blake personally, and thus recognised the toothy smile to be about as genuine as Port's stories.
It wasn't so bad herself, since she was normally a happy kind of person, but even she was finding it hard to keep it up for several hours in a row. She wanted to sit down. No, she wanted to frown – that was what she really wanted. A chance to frown, growl, and basically work her facial muscles which were right now locked in some kind of goofy rictus.
"Excuse me," someone called.
Ruby rushed over. "Yes, how can I help?"
"Can we get another round of drinks?"
"Sure." She quickly put down the tray balancing it on the edge of the table, and making sure to keep it there with her hip. She dragged a notepad out of her apron pocket and opened it. "What would you like?"
"Just what we had the last time, dear."
"Aaand what was that…?"
The Huntsmen, for he must have been with an outfit as bright as his, rolled his eyes and looked to his companion as if asking for patience. Ruby wanted to pout and point out she wasn't psychic, but knew better. Just keep smiling – that was what Jaune had said, and he was smiling even now, talking to some customers as he directed Weiss in making some particularly complicated drink.
"Mine was a coffee, Mistral blend with two sweeteners – not sugar – and some milk. My companion would like a latte, but please don't make it too hot." He looked to his maybe girlfriend and asked, "Do you want to get a cake between us?"
"That's not a bad idea," the girl replied. She looked to Ruby and smiled. "What would you suggest?"
"Me?" Ruby asked, suddenly on the back foot. It was bad enough her social anxiety still had her stammering every now and then, but now to be asked for cake advice? Well, it wasn't the worst thing. At least she knew about them. "I'd suggest the chocolate cake with cream."
"I don't like chocolate, I'm afraid." The girl said.
"Oh, okay." Ruby laughed awkwardly. "Then how about the carrot cake?"
"I'm not really a fan," the man answered.
T-Then why are you asking me for my advice!? Ruby let out a low keen, aware of other customers also trying to catch her attention. "M-Maybe a platter?"
"How about a vanilla slice?" the girl asked, ignoring Ruby altogether.
"Perfect." The man leaned across and cupped her chin. "I knew there was a reason I loved you."
The notepad in her hands was almost snapped in half as Ruby tried to look anywhere but at what was maybe taking place in front of her. "I-I'll be right back with your orders," she yelped when they started to lean closer to one another. It was only once she was away that she let out a relieved sigh.
Ugh… why is this so hard?
"Hello, waitress?"
"Coming!" she said, rushing over.
"Ruby," Weiss called. "There's an order to be delivered."
"C-Coming," Ruby repeated, crying a little inside.
There was only one of her!
/-/
Yang was a little more focused than her teammates, mostly because she'd had some part-time jobs in the past. Patch was nowhere near as busy as Vale, however, and when the lunch rush hit, it hit like a freight train. People didn't so much as stream in as they were vomited off the busy streets.
"I'll be right there, sir," Yang called, sliding through a gap that felt too thin for her. "Excuse me. Sorry. I'll – ah!" She glared in the direction of the hand she'd felt touch her rear, but no one was there, or at least no one was turned in her direction. She had a feeling, though. There was a table of four guys – about her age, or maybe a year or two younger. They'd come in an hour ago and proceeded to slowly mull their way through their coffees for an impressive sixty minutes or more. For the most part, they contented themselves staring at her, Blake and even Ruby and Weiss whenever they walked by.
Jaune had told them they mostly got Huntsman and Huntresses into the diner, and that had been true for the most part, but it sounded like news of their working here had gotten out, and they'd started to attract a different kind of clientele – hormonal boys. Huntresses were always fighting fit, for obvious reasons, and that tended to reflect on their looks and figure. To the average guy, they might as well have been super models.
Looking was fine – but touching? No way. Still, with no proof to her name, Yang was forced to grit her teeth and move on. "Here you go," she said, placing the tray down and quickly unloading two mugs before the respective people.
"Thank you, missy," the gruff man replied.
"No problem. Enjoy your drinks." She rushed on to the next, checking her notepad to figure out what went where. The doorbell rang again and another three businessmen came in, deep in conversation. Even with the place mostly being Huntsmen, the lunch rush was still the lunch rush, and everyone suddenly on their breaks and needing coffee couldn't afford to be picky. "If you'd like to find a table-"
She went ignored, the three walking by.
"Or ignore me. That's fine." The rude ones annoyed her more than anything, but she wasn't being paid to get annoyed (or being paid at all). Instead, she smiled and moved on, swallowing her exhaustion as she tried to keep up with ever-increasing numbers.
Even Jaune had been forced to step in, taking over from Blake at the till so that she could go out and support Ruby and Yang on the floor. It was only the fact it wasn't too dangerous taking money that let them accept him working at all, though an exhausted part of her said she'd have maybe stayed quiet either way.
How did he ever manage all of this on his own? It just didn't seem humanly possible. They were Huntresses – at least two, if not three times fitter than a civilian like him – yet it was they who were fighting back exhaustion. It was her who kept hiding yawns in her sleeve, or wanted nothing more than to sit down because her legs were turning to jelly. Jaune had promised them they could take a quick break after the rush, not all at once obviously, but thirty minutes each, taken one after the other.
She couldn't wait, even if an annoying part of her mind pointed out that he never seemed to take any breaks when they were here. That's not the same. We're no way near as annoying as some of these people are.
At least she hoped they weren't.
A sudden crash behind startled the entire café into complete silence, followed by a low hum of whispers and the scraping of chairs as people backed away from what had to have been a dropped tray. Yang's heart sank as she turned, but to her surprise it wasn't her sister at all. It was Blake. She was on her knees above a pile of broken white porcelain.
"Are you okay?" Yang asked worriedly. "I'll get a pan and brush. Wait there."
Jaune had one already prepared when she reached the counter, and she rushed back to help her partner.
"What happened?" she asked. "Did you trip?"
Blake shook her head minutely, taking the apparatus from her and quickly sweeping up as much as she could. Yang helped with some paper towels, drying the spillage as best she could. "I didn't trip," Blake whispered. "I… someone pinched me."
Yang's eyes flashed dangerously. "That table of teenagers?"
"I think so…" Blake sighed and poured the shattered ware into a bucket. "It wasn't too bad, just on the back of my hip, but I wasn't expecting it and I flinched. I caught the tray but lost a mug and saucer." Blake seemed more annoyed at that than anything else. "Look at me, a huntress unable to even catch a mug."
"I think it's about time I showed those idiots who they're messing with," Yang growled, about to rise. Blake's hand caught her wrist before she could.
"Don't."
"What? Why not? They totally deserve it."
"Whether they do or don't doesn't matter. It will just cause more trouble." Blake's eyes flicked in Jaune's direction, and Yang's fury fizzled in the air.
Blake was right. Damn it. As much as she wanted to go over and kick them out of the shop, it would startle everyone else, maybe making people leave. If that happened, they'd earn less money and Jaune would be even further out of pocket. It could be worse too, since if those idiots tried to fight back it might start a panic that had people leave without paying, or even damage things on the way out.
Even assuming none of that, there was a fair chance the assholes would come back after closing and smash the windows as payback for her humiliating them. There were literally no good options. Or at least no good options that both satisfied her temper and didn't screw Jaune over.
"Just leave them be," Blake suggested, standing once she'd collected the last of the shards. "They can't stay forever and once they're gone we can forget they ever existed. Just don't let Ruby take any of their orders." Yang nodded and followed Blake to the counter.
"What happened?" Jaune asked.
Yang watched Blake warily, wondering if she would tell the truth. From his angle behind the till, he'd almost surely failed to catch it, and if she knew anything about him, he'd be righteously angry if he found out. Seeing him storm over and yell at those idiots would make her feel better, but it might get him into trouble. Sometimes, the satisfying choice wasn't always the best one.
"I tripped," Blake lied. "I'm sorry for breaking this."
"Don't worry about it. The crockery isn't expensive at all. I have fifty or more to spare. You weren't hurt, were you?"
She shook her head, and took another tray that Weiss provided. Yang waited for one of her own and followed after. To her surprise, the boys had departed. She looked around for them and caught them leaving the café. More importantly, she saw them being guided out by a man in a black suit. He turned at the last, and Yang caught a flash of crimson glasses and an annoyed frown, before the door closed and the teens were pushed away.
That was the uniform from the goons at Junior's club. Did they notice the disturbance and get rid of those guys? She wasn't sure, and didn't even know if Jaune had noticed in the first place. The man with the glasses gave her a quick nod through the glass window, however. Jaune had friends in high places, it seemed. She wasn't sure if she should feel worried about that or not. At least it meant someone was looking out for him.
A hand rose into the air. "Excuse me, miss?"
And there went her little chance to daydream. Yang plastered a wide smile on her face and tried to keep her teeth from grating together.
Did it ever stop?
/-/
"It's not adding up."
"What isn't?" Yang looked over Weiss' shoulder as the smaller girl poured over the till and a little ledger beside it. The lunch rush had ended and the café was now all but empty, just a table or two in use, which gave them a much-needed chance to rest. "Did we undercharge someone?"
"No, not that. Everything is in order with the till." She sighed and placed the booklet down, pointing to what seemed to be several columns. "This is Jaune's records of his earnings day by day. The diner has earned less this morning than it ever has since it opened."
"What?" Ruby asked weakly. "How? We were so busy."
"And he must have been just as busy each day before, but we're still making less." Weiss growled and placed both hands on the counter, glaring at the booklet as though trying to threaten it into revealing its secrets. "The numbers don't lie. Despite our work, we've brought in less than Jaune would on any other day – even with the four of us combined."
Yang's heart sank. The news was a blow to their collective pride; with even Blake letting out a defeated sigh and cursing under her breath. They'd worked so hard, more than Yang felt she ever had before, and to hear it still wasn't good enough?
That hurt. It really did.
"Don't let it get you down," Jaune said, having overheard. "You girls have helped me out so much. Remember, I wouldn't even be open today if it wasn't for you. Any money is better than none."
While that was true, the whole thing wouldn't even be an issue in the first place if it wasn't for her. Yang groaned and planted her face down into crossed arms, forehead pressed against the cool counter. "I don't understand. We're doing everything properly – and we're hot."
"Smooth," Weiss drawled.
"It's no word of a lie, not when we're dressed like this. We're bringing in custom if just for the eye-candy, but we're still not doing as good a job as you would on your own? That's ridiculous. I refuse to believe it."
"The numbers-" Weiss began.
"I don't believe in numbers!"
Weiss rolled her eyes. "Moping over it isn't going to fix anything."
"No, but I'm feeling mopey and there aren't any customers. Give me my thirty seconds of sulk."
No one argued with her. They all felt the same, frustrated at their apparent inability to match the efforts of one person. It was like a personal insult, except there was no one to get angry at but themselves. It made them feel deficient, lacking… worthless. It wasn't even like they could blame Jaune for simply being better at his own job, either. They were simply worse.
"We're doing something wrong, aren't we?" Ruby asked.
"I don't think so. You girls have been amazing."
"Jaune…" Ruby's voice was uncharacteristically serious, enough so to silence his protests. "We're trying to help, but if we're doing something wrong then we're not helping. We want to make this work. Right?"
"That's what I'm here for," Yang agreed.
"I hate doing things poorly," Weiss growled.
"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't willing," Blake finished.
Ruby smiled and looked back to their temporary employer, crossing her arms and standing tall – well, short – before him. "See? We want to do our best, so if there's something we're not doing right, we need to know."
Jaune looked panicked. "But…"
"No buts," Weiss said, interrupting him and stepping up alongside her partner. "You said when we started that if we had any problems, you would have advice for us. We're asking for that now. We are not a team used to failure." Weiss paused to look at them all, and Yang nodded her agreement. She was competitive to a fault, and this sucked. "Tell us where we're going wrong. Don't hold back because you want to be polite or not hurt our feelings."
"Because feeling like we're letting you down is already doing that," Ruby finished.
Jaune looked at them with an agonised expression, but Yang held his gaze, trying to push across just how much she agreed. This sucked. It absolutely sucked. Eventually, he surrendered. "Passion," he said. "I guess you all lack passion."
"Huh? But we're trying our hardest to be friendly and smile," Ruby protested.
"Even when it hurts," Blake added, grimacing.
"It's not all about smiling, or not just that anyway." Jaune sighed. "Look, it's not like I expect you all to be passionate about this. It's work, and more than that you're working to try and help me out, not because you need the money or want the job. That you're all trying so hard is already enough. I can't ask you to be passionate about what is basically a chore." He waved his good hand and laughed it all off. "Like I said, you're doing great so far. Any lien is better than none, so don't worry about it. I'll go grab some more change for the till an-"
Weiss headed him off before he could retreat into the back room. She stood before the door, arms crossed.
"Good job, Weiss!" Ruby yelled, darting over to his left. Yang smirked and took his right, and when Jaune tried to back up, he bumped into Blake's raised eyebrow.
"Y-You guys. What's wrong?"
"Us, apparently," Blake said. "I don't think you get to leave without at least explaining what you mean."
"He doesn't," Weiss agreed. "Words, Jaune. Now."
"You're all getting worked up ove-"
"Now!"
"Okay, okay, fine." He winced. "Passion is… I guess it's more than just good customer service. No matter how much you smile, laugh or try to be nice, I, and probably the customers, can tell that you don't want to be here. It shows in the little things you do. Take Blake for instance," he looked to the black-haired girl, who stepped back, unprepared for the sudden attention. "I know you're trying to smile, but you do it at the last second when you think it's needed. If someone sees you snarling at the wall and then suddenly smiling a second later, I think they'll know it's fake."
Blake's cheeks darkened and she coughed into her hand. "I didn't think anyone noticed…"
"You're in a diner normally filled with people. There are way too many people not to notice. Weiss is the same, too. You smile at the right points and are polite, but the way you make coffee when annoyed shows. It doesn't affect the taste, but it's the way you hold yourself, the way you move, or even how loudly you settle the cup back down. If you settle it at all…"
Weiss' shoulders sagged a little, and she couldn't quite meet his gaze.
"I know the customers can be annoying, Weiss. I'm not blaming you. I'm not blaming any of you. Like I said, I couldn't ask for better people working for me. How can I expect you to be as passionate as I am? It's not your business. Your livelihood isn't on the line, and you don't get the same sense of pride I do when things go well. I bet you're all much more excited and passionate about being Huntresses."
"Ruby certainly is with her weapons," Blake quipped, trying to recover some of her good mood.
"We all are," Weiss said. "It's what makes us as good as we are."
"That's my point. You girls are passionate about the things youlove. That's normal. The reason I earn more is because I'm passionate about this… more than I thought I'd ever be. You're all trying to be something you're not, and people can tell." He reached past Weiss and tapped the book. "The extra bits you're missing? That isn't from there being more customers. It's gratuity."
"Tips," Ruby whispered. She reached into her apron and brought out some lien. It wasn't much, maybe fifteen or so. Yang's tips weren't much better, and judging from Weiss and Blake's expressions, neither was theirs.
"I get a lot more," Jaune said, nodding.
Yang had no response.
"Like I said, stop worrying." Jaune pushed past Weiss and paused with his good arm on the doorjamb. "The only ones blaming you girls are yourselves. I'm on track to make a profit today, so who cares if it's not as high as usual? You probably wouldn't expect me to hold my own if you took me out against Grimm, and I don't expect you to be as good as me at what is basically my job." He ducked away a second later, shaking his head as he laughed to himself. He left four girls in complete silence.
It was Blake who broke it. "Maybe he has a point," she said. "I guess it was arrogant to think we'd be better at this job than someone used to it."
"Is it?" Weiss asked. "There are four of us, even if we're inexperienced."
"I want to do better, but how can we fake passion?" Ruby asked.
"You can't," Yang answered. "At least, I don't think you can." She sighed and ran a hand down her face. "Like he said, no matter how hard we try, we don't actually care about this place – at least not as much as he does. We'll work ourselves to the bone to help him out because he's a friend, but we get our satisfaction from knowing we helped."
Weiss sighed. "And he gets it every time a customer is happy. I suppose that's why this place is so popular. Maybe that's why we come here."
"Jaune's good at what he does," Ruby agreed, smiling at the praise for her friend. It fell away a second later, however. "And we're not."
"We're not right now," Yang corrected. "Are we really willing to just let this stand? He might be all for saying it's fine for us to do worse, but I don't think I like the idea of us four losing out to a single over-worked civilian. Come on, we're supposed to be the best team in Beacon!"
"That's a big claim," Weiss warned. Her frown transformed into a small smile, however. "But no, I'm not willing to admit defeat. Weiss Schnee is not going to be beaten at money-making, and certainly not by some first-time café owner. My grandfather would roll over in his grave."
"I want to help him," Ruby agreed. "I want to do better."
"And I'll be dragged along for the ride as usual," Blake chuckled. "Very well, I'm game. What's the plan?"
"We can't fake passion, but I think we can do something better," Yang said. "We just need to be more natural, right? Instead of trying to be things we're not – let's try and take advantage of what we do have, even if it's not normal waitress stuff."
Yang held both arms out beside her, raising an eyebrow when Weiss and Blake didn't seem to know what to do. It took Ruby joining her in the huddle for them to catch on, and soon the four of them were crouched together, whispering ideas back and forth.
Jaune might have been the better barista, but he was way off the mark if he thought they'd just roll over and accept defeat.
Not. A. Chance.
/-/
"Welcome to Jaune's," Blake greeted as a middle-aged huntsman entered. She held her hands cupped before her and tilted her head to the side, smiling enigmatically. "Would you like a table for one, or are you waiting for someone?"
He seemed caught off-guard by her appearance, or maybe just her demeanour. "O-Oh, just the one, please. I didn't realise Jaune had hired help."
"He had a little accident and hurt his arm," she explained, walking away and trusting the man to follow. He did. "We're helping him out for today so he doesn't hurt himself trying to handle everything."
"That's very kind of you." The man smiled as he accepted the menu, but placed it down without looking. "I'll have a coffee black with one sweeter, please, and an orange cake."
Blake nodded. "Coming right up, sir." She made her way to the counter, but instead of asking Weiss for help, slipped behind instead and fished out the cake on her own, cutting it gently into place. By the time Weiss had the coffee ready, having read it off a note she'd subtly slipped her, Blake was able to take both back and offer them to the man. "Here you go. The cake's a little warm, so please be careful."
"I will, thank you." The man seemed intrigued by her air, or perhaps just the fact she hadn't once tried to smile out of place, or act like some kind of air-headed waitress. His eyes dipped a little lower, funnily enough to her arms. "You look like a huntress yourself. Are you in training?"
She nodded, impressed that he'd been able to tell just from her corded muscle. "I am. I'm studying at Beacon with my team. That's them, by the way. We're here helping Jaune today."
"Nice to see the next generation keeping up our trends," the man said with a chuckle. He reached into his pocket and pulled out some change. "Here, and a little for yourself as well."
Her eyes widened, and the first smile she'd shown appeared. "Thank you."
"I think you've earned it. Run along, missy."
On her way back to the counter, Blake flashed Yang a victorious smirk.
Yang took it in stride, nodding back as she danced her way between two tables, bending over to slide a tray onto both at the same time in a display of acrobatics that looked a lot harder than it was for some like her. "Orders are served," she cheered, shooting the guy who'd ordered a saucy wink.
He laughed and blushed in return, scratching the back of his head. Beside him, his partner – or at least she assumed it was – seemed all too amused. "Don't get too excited, buster. You're dating my sister."
"D-Dude, what the hell!?" the first cried, humiliated. "Don't say things like that!"
"Forgive him," the second said, smirking at her. "He's a sucker for a pretty smile."
"Oh my, are you calling me pretty?" Yang fluttered her lashes and giggled flirtatiously. "I'll have to be careful. No touching, mister." She leaned over to tap a finger against his nose, and was rewarded by his partner bursting into laughter.
"Oh, this is too good. I liked this place before, but it's nice to see it getting livelier."
"Well, make sure to show our boss how much you like it and maybe he'll hire more like us."
"Oh, I'll be sure to."
The doorbell rang, and Ruby darted back in sporting an empty tray. She'd been selling sweets outside, both to make a little extra and to lure people inside for more. It looked like it had gone well. Yang reached the counter just as Weiss finished stacking the tray back up.
"Hey, Yang," Ruby grinned. "Things are going good!"
"Looks like it," she replied. Something caught her eye on Ruby's face and she chuckled and wet her thumb. "Hang on. You've got a little flour on your face."
Ruby squirmed and flushed as Yang wiped it clean. "Yaaang," she complained. "Not while I'm working…"
Yang grinned, and then grinned even more when she heard some of the nearby customers `aww` at the little display. That would be more tips, maybe. Like Jaune said, they weren't passionate about the job, but they were competitive, and if there was one thing Ruby was good at it was looking adorable.
That was why Weiss had sent her outside. Less chance of any clumsiness causing problems and she was so cute she was luring people to the diner like a magnet. The clientele was much more varied as a result, with a wide range of people from every profession. That had been the plan, really. They'd utterly failed at conforming to what seemed like Jaune's method of working, but they were their own people, so maybe it was doomed from the start.
If Blake couldn't fake a bubbly personality, then why try and make her? It would never work. Better to play on her as some kind of enigmatic and mysterious maid instead. The formal and beautiful type with a hidden personality and a secretive smirk. It seemed to be working well. Ruby had the cuteness down, hence being their bait, while she could flirt with the best of them, and Weiss had her own appeal.
The door opened, and Yang twirled about to face the newcomer.
"Welcome to Jaune's." She crossed her arms and gave the customer a challenging smile. "Hope you're prepared for the best coffee ever."
/-/
"And that's the last of it," Jaune said, closing the book with a bemused expression. The diner had closed for the night, two hours earlier than expected, but there had been a sign warning of that. They had to get back to Beacon at some point, after all. There were arrayed in the foyer, back in their casual outfits and nursing drinks of their own.
"Well?" Yang asked, "Did we make it?"
"See for yourself."
He pushed the ledger over the counter and they all leaned forward to inspect the final figure. Yang's heart beat a little faster as she did, but she was the first to let out a whoop when she saw it.
"We did it!" Ruby cheered, echoing Yang's excitement.
"You more than did it," Jaune said, still a little surprised. "You absolutely smashed what I normally make. I'm… I honestly don't know what to say. This is like a day and a half. I should break my arm more often."
"Dislocated," Yang countered, and was about to give him a light punch for that comment but thought better of it. "As for us, well, you know what it's like. We are pretty awesome when we put our minds to it."
In the end they hadn't been able to fake passion – not real passion, but they'd come damn close and that effort had been rewarded by the generous people visiting. They'd played on what they knew, her with flirting, Ruby with looking cute, Blake with being mysterious and Weiss even breaking out in a little song to enchant their audience. What Jaune had in quality of service, they made up for in quantity. They'd made it work.
"You're all amazing," he said, earning a squeak from Ruby, and even a hint of colour from Yang herself.
"H-Hey, no need to go that far," she said. "We were just paying you back. Or I was. I did that damage to you, so picking up here was the least I could do. The others deserve more praise than me. They helped just because they could."
"I'll admit it was a new experience," Blake agreed. "I do feel a little pleased that we managed it in the end."
"The same for myself," Weiss said. "I have new appreciation for those in such careers. I'll have to make sure my future employees are enabled to exceed in such a manner as well."
"It was fun," Ruby simply said.
Jaune laughed and put the book away. "Then how about trying it again sometime?" he suggested. "I'd be happy to hire you all part-time."
Yang snorted. "Not a chance."
"No way," Ruby agreed.
"I'm fine, thanks," Blake deflected.
"I have a previous appointment," Weiss lied. "I'll be occupied for the next eighty years or so."
Jaune blinked. "Eh?"
"It was fun," Ruby explained, "but… well… how do I put this?"
"How the hell do you do this for a living?" Yang cried, throwing her arms in the air. "How do you do this and not kill yourself? Or kill someone else!?"
Ruby nodded and slammed a fist into her palm. "Ah yeah, that's a good way of saying it."
"I agree," Blake sighed. "I've never smiled so much in my life, and I had to fake giggles at some terrible conversation and jokes, even worse than Yang's. I feel like I've broken my face. I'm not going to smile for a month."
"My feet are killing me," Weiss agreed. "I'm actually looking forward to detention with Miss Goodwitch because it will be a chance to sit down. I think I'm going to sleep in the bathroom tonight with my feet in the sink."
"And the customers," Yang growled. "Gods, I've never wanted to punch someone so bad before."
"They're so demanding," Ruby whined. "How do you put up with it?"
Jaune opened his mouth to try and explain, but Blake cut him off before he had a chance. "If one more person comments about how there was too much milk or not enough sugar, I'll snap. If it's that big of a deal, pour it yourself."
"Um…" Jaune tried. He went ignored.
"I'm actually sick of cakes too," Ruby said, with the kind of expression normally reserved for someone going through severe PTSD. "I… I actually looked at a cake a few minutes ago and felt ill. I don't want to so much as smell a cup of coffee for a week!"
"Agreed," Yang, Blake and Weiss said in perfect unison.
Jaune chuckled nervously in the silence that followed. "So… I'm guessing my chances of hiring you are pretty slim?"
"Anorexic," Yang said with a little grin. "Sorry but not sorry."
Far from being offended, Jaune looked amused, and shook his head. "I guess I deserve that. It's not like this kind of work was easy for me at first, either. I just kept going because I kind of didn't have a choice. Thanks for all your help anyway – and I mean it. This means a lot."
"Happy to help," Weiss said. "But we're still never doing this again."
"I won't try and force you," Jaune said, laughing when he saw their wary expressions. He reached behind him instead, and brought out several sheets of paper he'd kept off to one side. "Could you do me a favour back in Beacon and put some of these up? I'm not sure if there are notice boards you're allowed to use, but it would help me out."
Yang took the posters and had a look at them. "Recruitment? You're hiring part-timers?"
"After seeing what you were capable of, yes."
"I feel nothing but pity for the unfortunate soul who applies." She held them under her arm nonetheless. "Yeah, sure, I'll pin them around. There are some boards in the common rooms. I'm sure someone will be interested."
"More fool them," Blake mumbled.
"Thanks," Jaune said, rolling his eyes at Blake. "I appreciate it."
The four of them slipped out of the diner, still half-leaning on one another for support. Their earlier doldrums were replaced with laughter, teasing, and good-natured ranting about the horrors of working in food service.
Yang paused to wave one final time to him, and felt a rush of relief when he waved back. She still regretted the damage she'd caused, but it didn't hurt quite so much. Maybe she'd come to accept it really was nothing more than an accident, or maybe it was just the way he never brought it up. Either way, she felt the weight on her shoulders lessen a little.
They'd done good work and passion or not… she felt satisfied with it.
/-/
Jaune leaned against the counter as the girls left, his eyes closed and a small, serene smile on his face. The day had been eye opening to say the least. They'd done about as well as he'd expected initially, plenty of effort but their hearts not quite in it. That they'd managed to turn it around in the afternoon had come as a surprise, but maybe it shouldn't have.
They were pretty incredible people, after all. He'd be lucky if he could find a part-time with even a fraction of their indomitable will. The strangest part was more the fact he didn't feel exhausted himself. It was the first time in what felt like forever since he hadn't handled everything, and his legs still had a strange tension to them, like they were waiting for agony but weren't quite sure why it hadn't occurred already.
"I guess a day to rest isn't so bad every now and then." He chuckled and hung up his apron, making his way over to the till to store the money safely away for the night. As he was collecting it, he reached over the ledger and quickly amended the figure by a couple of hundred lien. Downwards, of course. You couldn't fake passion, but they'd worked their hearts out, and genuinely earned twice as much in the afternoon as they had the morning.
For that, he was willing to fudge things a little.
The smiles on their faces had been worth it.
Gods, long chapter is long. Even looking back on this now, a part of me wonders if I should have tried to break it into two, but I really didn't want to. I wrote it longer as a result, and I hope it didn't come across as rushed in places. I wanted to keep it self-contained, and it just sort of felt like this would lose something if split over two weeks.
No point to have the delay, I suppose, since they worked nonstop through their day.
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur