Here we are with another chapter. Work is busy at the moment, and it always seems to hit hardest on my Tuesday.
Chapter 12
"Russel!"
Jaune paused in taking an order as the high-pitched cry split the café, bringing silence to every table as people looked towards the door. There, an orange-haired girl had a wide smile on her face. Beside her was a dark-haired young man, head in hands, obviously embarrassed about the sudden attention being heaped on them both.
"And here's your change," Jaune chuckled, finishing his order. "Would you like me to wrap that cake to go?"
"It's fine, my boy," the portly professor laughed. "It won't survive the trip to the door!"
"Have a little restraint, Peter," Oobleck sighed. "Thank you for the wonderful coffee, Jaune. It's a delight as always."
The Beacon professors left with a quick wave and a muffled `thanks` from Port, who true to his word had already started to devour his lemon slice. Their absence gave Jaune a chance to slide over to Russel, who was working a coffee machine. The young man sighed, not quite at Jaune, but rather the girl rapidly approaching.
"Friends of yours?" Jaune asked.
"Something like that…"
"Russel!" the girl practically shouted, hands on the counter. She was a rather pretty girl with bright eyes and a brighter smile. Her outfit was a mixture of pink, white and grey, and she definitely filled it out. It hardly helped that she was leaning forward, giving him an unasked – but not unappreciated – view of her assets. Orange hair fell lightly about her full face.
She didn't seem to notice him looking at all, but a polite cough had Jaune's cheeks flushing. The other visitor, a pink-eyed, black-haired, boy, didn't quite send Jaune a dirty look, but certainly knew what he'd been focused on.
"Nora," Russel said, more sighed really, in return. "Ren."
"Is that all you have to say to us, mister!? When were you going to tell us you had a job?"
"Nora," the other boy coughed. "He mentioned it to us yesterday."
The girl paused, accusing finger frozen in the air. "He did?"
"Yes."
"You're sure?"
"It was during breakfast."
"Why didn't I hear about it?"
"You were eating pancakes," Russel drawled. "I'd be surprised if you could hear anything over the sound of that."
Rather than be offended at what sounded like something of an insult, even to him, the girl – Nora – cocked her head to one side and tapped her lips with a finger. "Hm. That makes sense. Still, you should have told me you were a pirate!"
"It's fancy dress," Russel deadpanned.
"That's what a pirate would say. I'm onto you, mister."
She was so energetic, and so random, that Jaune had to laugh. With the queue clear and most of the people taken care of, Velvet doing her best to collect mugs and wash them, he sauntered over to stand beside Russel. "Are these your teammates?" he asked.
"No. Teammates of a friend."
The girl blinked up at Jaune. "Who are you?"
"This is Jaune," Russel introduced. "He's my boss. Jaune, this is Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. They're on my friend's team, Team CRSN or Crimson."
"Nice to meet you," Nora said, gripping his good hand – almost crushing it – and then forcing it into her friend's hand. "This is Ren. He's shy so treat him nicely."
Ren, far from looking shy, sighed dramatically. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said.
"So, is your name Lie, or…?"
"I prefer Ren, thank you."
Nora gasped and planted both hands on her cheeks. "It's finally happened. Ren's found his bromance!"
Ren sighed and Jaune laughed. Their `bromance` was short lived, and soon enough he had a cup of coffee for each of them as they took the stools at the bar so they could chat with Russel. Ren took a fine blend of coffee from Mistral, a soft, herbal, scent, while Nora asked for a Cappuccino, much to her companion's obvious horror. Jaune almost felt bad serving it but it wasn't like he could say no to a customer. She also had a chocolate cake slice before her.
"So, you're the owner," Ren said. "That's quite an accomplishment for someone your age. How long have you been doing this for?"
"Less than a month. This whole thing is fairly new. You two are from Beacon, right?"
"Hm." He nodded. "You seem to have a lot of huntsmen customers."
"It's pretty much by accident, to be honest. They just sort of made this their regular drinking hole." Jaune glanced over to see Russel talking to Nora, or rather Nora talking to him and the teen pretending to listen while he stared off into the middle-distance. "I'm kind of surprised how she is with him. Russel is a good worker but he's never seemed like the chattiest of people."
"That would be Nora for you. She's like that with anyone who isn't rude." There was a curious twist to Ren's face, almost a frown, maybe a scowl. It was washed away before he could comment on it, however. "He's not actually a part of our team but he doesn't seem to get on well with his own and often spends time with our team leader at mealtimes and between lessons. I'm not completely sure why but Nora took an instant liking to him and talks to him whenever she can."
"And you're okay with that?"
Ren chuckled. "I'm grateful for the little peace I occasionally get. Please don't mistake our relationship; we are good friends and nothing more. That said, I don't think Nora feels that way about Russel. I'm not sure what it is that makes her latch onto him so but she refuses to take his attempts to get rid of her seriously."
He must have meant Russel's rather obvious lack of interest, which did come across a little rude as he blatantly ignored Nora. Most people would have been put off by that, or at least they would have felt awkward. The bubbly huntress didn't seem to care, however. She kept the conversation going on her own, and refused to stop prodding him until he answered her questions.
"Oh, oh," she said, turning to the two of them. "Ren, we should totally make this a team meeting area. We could come here for cakes whenever we're in Vale and maybe even-"
"I don't think that's a good idea," Russel said.
Nora, for the first time, hesitated. "It isn't…?"
"Is there a problem with us being here?" Ren asked calmly.
Russel ran a hand through his Mohawk. He wouldn't meet Nora's eyes but did look to Jaune for inspiration. He shrugged in return, unsure what this was about, let alone how to help. "It's not you," Russel eventually said. "I don't mind you two coming here. It's just… it might be best not to bring Cardin or Sky."
Nora seemed to sag in relief.
"Aren't they your friends?" Ren asked. "More so than us, I would imagine."
"They are, but that's why I'd rather they didn't know about this place. I know what my friends are like, okay? They'd… they'd cause issues." He sighed and ran his hand down his face. "I'd rather not deal with it. I don't want stuff like that to get in the way of work."
"Issues?" Nora asked.
"I-I've cleaned the mugs," a shy voice whispered. Velvet stood a little behind them, drying her hands on a towel. "Should I stack them on the back counter?"
The four of them looked to Velvet, who shied a little under the attention. Oddly, there was a sound of understanding from Nora and Ren, but before he could think any further on it, Russel stepped forwards to take command.
"No," he said. "Put them in the steam-cleaner instead."
"B-But I just cleaned them…"
"You clean them to get the loose dregs out so they don't stain, not to make them fit to serve drinks in again." Russel crossed his arms and adopted a lecturing tone, perhaps even without realising. "That's not enough by health and safety laws, though. You need to steam-clean them to kill off any bacteria. If you just put them in there without giving them a rinse first you'd just clog the machine or dry stains onto the mugs."
"Oh… I guess that makes sense. Should I turn it on?"
"No, we'll do that at the end of the day. There's enough crockery to last. Once you've put them away, do a round of the café and make sure there isn't anyone who needs anything."
"Okay." The faunus nodded and hurried off, her ears poking up behind her.
Russel mumbled something under his breath and shook his head. When he turned back to Nora and Ren it was to find them both watching him with obvious surprise on their faces. His eyes narrowed. "What?"
"Nothing," Nora said, grinning.
"Doesn't look like nothing."
"We were just surprised," Ren said. "You're not normally so nice in school, or quite so mentoring."
"Yeah well, this isn't school. This is work." Russel rolled his eyes and poured some espresso into a mug, then whipped it with milk and cream without looking. "It's my job to keep an eye on her and show her the ropes. That's nothing to do with Beacon or anything else."
"I suppose that's why you would rather we didn't bring Cardin here," Ren mused. "I could see why he might cause problems." He eyed Russel curiously. "Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I could have sworn you would have caused the same problems. I thought you and he were of a like mind."
"This is work," Russel repeated, a little harshly. He glared at Ren. "I leave my problems at the door. Now, if you'll excuse me." He stacked up the mugs on a tray and slipped away. The second he was gone he seemed to transform, smiling roguishly as he flourished the tray and set the drinks out for some middle-aged huntresses. They said something and laughed, no doubt poking fun at the young man, who to his credit took it with a laugh and a smile.
"Wow," Nora whispered. "It's like he's a different person. Ugh, it's a shame we can't bring Cardin here. If Russel can be like this, it might be enough to make Cardin nice, too. Maybe the coffee has drugs in it."
"He is our team leader, Nora. We shouldn't be speaking of him behind his back like that."
"Not much of a leader…"
"Nora," Ren warned.
"I get it, I get it. He's your partner. You've got to get on with him." She pouted. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Would another cake slice help?" Jaune asked, pushing it before her nose. "It's on the house. No drugs, either."
"Best – omf – place – um – ever."
As ever, people were easy enough to understand when good food was put before them. Marron's cakes were to die for. Ren seemed pleased with the reprieve as well and gave him a nod of thanks. He probably should have left it at that but his curiosity, especially about Russel, won out.
"I take it you're not on best terms with Russel's friend."
"You could say that," Ren said. "He is my partner in Beacon, not to mention the leader of our team. While I can't fault his drive and determination, he has a few personality traits that make him… difficult to get along with."
He knew about the partner and team rules in Beacon, of course. Team RWBY had told him all about it numerous times. Partners weren't necessarily expected to be friends, and Ruby and Weiss hadn't gotten on very well at first, but they usually did end up becoming close, or at least close enough to trust one another.
"I'm surprised you and Nora aren't partners, to be honest."
"It was our intent to team up during initiation. We made plans to find one another but Nora came across someone in trouble. She couldn't leave them to fend for themselves and stepped in to help, making eye-contact and becoming their partner. That would be our teammate Sky Lark." Ren sighed. "By the time I found her it was too late but we decided to travel together and ensure that we would at least be on the same team. When we reached our destination there was one other person there. Mine and Cardin's partnership was born of necessity."
"And you don't get on?"
"He and I aren't too bad. He's brash and assertive but I don't mind playing along to keep the peace when required, and I think he respects that. Nora, however, clashes with him on a daily basis."
"He's a meanie," Nora mumbled.
"Finish your food before talking," Ren chided.
She did so, audibly, and then continued. "He's the kind of guy who always has to think he's at the top of the food chain. He just doesn't like it that I don't roll over and do everything he says, especially when his orders are stupid. Ren should be the leader."
It didn't look like Ren agreed, but from their silence Jaune figured it was an old argument. He wasn't sure the problem was Ren at all as much as Nora and this Cardin fellow not getting on. Nora seemed friendly enough however, and even Russel had advised against bringing their team leader to the shop for fear of it causing issues – so he had to assume there was some truth to him being a difficult person.
All in all, he wasn't sure what to say, or if he should even sayanything. It wasn't really any of his business and he didn't even know the full story.
"How do you know Russel, anyway?" he asked instead. "You say he's a friend of your leader?"
"Yep!" It was Nora who answered. "He knew Cardin from before Beacon and came over to talk. I don't think he gets on with his team. Anyway, he looked pretty lonely so I decided to talk to him. He's nice."
"He's not very sociable," Ren said, amending his teammate's story a little. "I think some people are put off by that but he doesn't seem to be a bad person."
"He's just shy."
Ren and Jaune shared a long look at that, and then looked over to Russel, who was busy chatting away with a customer. He didn't look shy, and certainly hadn't sounded it when he'd confidently walked up and said he'd be the best person for the job.
Maybe it was just something Nora could see – or something she was imagining.
Velvet stepped back up before he could think any more on it. Still a little nervous but slowly getting into the swing of things, he showed her how to operate the tills and take money, and left her to get a rest doing that. Since many people paid their bills from the tables, it was an easy task and a chance for her to catch a break.
"Where's your teammate by the way?" he asked.
"Huh, Coco? She went off with those two girls from earlier."
Jaune froze. A bead of sweat ran down his brow.
"Oh," he whispered. "That's… nice…"
/-/
"This coffee is cold!"
"I-I'm sorry, ma'am, I'll-"
"My sister said her coffee is cold," Miltia hissed, leaning one elbow on the table. "You gonna do something about that or sit there looking stupid?"
"I'll replace it right away," the waiter said, snatching it back and rushing off. He couldn't have been any older than them, but in the face of two angry girls, and one vaguely amused one, he'd folded like a house of cards.
"You know, he's not necessarily the enemy here," Coco pointed out, stirring her milkshake with a straw. "That guy probably doesn't even know Jaune, let alone hate him. It's the guy in charge that's causing the problems."
"You feeling sorry for the enemy, shades?" Miltia snapped. She was always the angry one of the sisters, Coco had come to realise. Her red dress seemed to match her personality since she was like to see red the second anyone questioned her.
"He may not be directly responsible, but he's still an enemy," Melanie cooed. Far more reasonable of the two, though no less cruel, Melanie smiled ominously. "It does no good to feel sorry for them when they're on the other side. You can feel bad for enemy soldiers in a war but you still have to kill them before they kill you."
"Don't go soft on us, bitch," Miltia echoed.
"I'm not going soft, sheesh." Coco rolled her eyes, not even offended at the little slur. She'd barely known the two for an hour or so and she'd already come to realise that `bitch` out of Miltia was as common as her saying `you` or `him`. "I'm just saying when you said you had a plan on how to get back at Sterling I thought it would be something a little less… petty…"
"Baby steps," Melanie said. "Let's not jump in straight away. We need information before we strike."
"This is a scouting mission, then?"
"Scouting mission, formal declaration of war… a little bit of one, a little bit of the other."
"Those two are very different things."
"Depends how badly the scouting goes." Melanie paused. "Or how well the declaration goes. Anyway, as much as I'd like to just trash the place, that's not going to be an option."
"Yeah," Coco agreed. "That's kind of against the law."
"Yeah," Miltia said, ignoring Coco entirely. "Jaune would whine at us."
"Exactly," Melanie agreed.
Coco stared at the two sisters with a raised eyebrow. Come to think of it she didn't really know much about them, not that such had stopped her making friends with people in the past. They were tough, antagonistic, bitchy, but kind of fun in a banter sort of way, not to mention they'd been hilarious in Jaune's place. But yeah, they were joking about breaking the law, right? They had to be.
"H-Here's your coffee, ma'am," the man said, returning with Melanie's drink. She sipped it and hummed, leaving him on the verge of panic as she smacked her lips together.
"It will suffice, for now. Can I speak to your manager?"
The man panicked. "I-Is that really necessary? I did what I could to-"
"It's not about you," Melanie sighed.
"Sheesh," Miltia agreed. "Talk about arrogant, thinking everything is about you."
"We just want to talk with Alexander Sterling," Coco said, interrupting the two before they could really give the poor guy an aneurysm. "It's not to get you in trouble or anything."
"Mr Sterling? I'm afraid he doesn't work here. He's the Regional Director. I could get the Manager of this store but that's all it would be. If there's a problem here, she can sort it out for you…"
"A problem with this store specifically?" Melanie asked.
"Yes. She's just the store manager."
"No, it's fine. Can you tell us where we might find Sterling?"
"I-I'm not sure. I'm just a waiter." The man continued to wring his hands together. "He comes down every month or so to monitor process and yell- I mean criticise any mistakes we make, but I don't ever see him otherwise and I don't know where he works. I'm not even sure what he does on a normal day."
The three girls shared a quick look. Their first port of call had failed. Melanie nodded and turned back to the man, handing him a small – an infinitesimal, in fact – tip. It might have been enough to buy him a tenth of a can of soda. "Take some advice from me, kid. Find yourself a new job before you're sucked into the war."
"War…" The man blinked dumbly and looked around. There were no gunshots, Grimm, or even people shouting. "What war?"
"The coffee wars," Miltia said, nodding.
"Um… I don't understand."
"Neither do I," Coco admitted.
"You will one day, Barry," Melanie said, reading his nametag. "Come on, girls. We've got places to be."
"Actually, the name is Billy. It says so on my-"
"Don't care." Miltia pushed past him.
Coco followed. "Sorry Barry," she said. "Bye Barry."
The three of them met up again outside, the Malachites waiting for her, though not without an impatient foot-tapping show from Miltia. Well, that had been a bust, even if Coco wasn't really sure what they'd been after in the first place. What were they going to do, threaten the guy in charge of Café Prime until he agreed to stop being a dick to Jaune?
"So much for that plan," she said. "What now?"
"We can try and find out more about this Sterling guy," Melanie said. "People like him, rich people in power, always have little things they like to keep hidden. We'll find the skeletons in his closet."
"And how do you intend to manage that?"
Miltia smiled cockily. "We have our ways."
"I feel like I don't want to know, but at the same time I kinda do. You two aren't Huntresses are you?"
"Pft. Do we look like huntresses?"
Coco looked at the two of them, dressed in bright and clashing colours, skirts, heels, and then focused on their weapons – which would have been ridiculously complicated for just about anyone without extensive training to use. "Yes. Yes, you do."
"It's a grey area," Melanie explained. "You probably don't want to know all the details."
"This is a `for your own good` kind of thing, isn't it?"
"Yeeep," Miltia drawled.
Coco sighed. "Does Jaune know?"
"Yeeep."
Great. So, she was technically, maybe, sort of, out with two girls who may or may not have been criminals. Well, at least if she didn't ask she couldn't lie if anyone asked her if she'd known or not. And to think I just wanted to help Velvet get a job. Sheesh.Since when was coffee so complicated?
"We're not going to do anything illegal to this guy," Melanie said. "Like Mil said, Jaune would whine like a pussy if we did. We're just going to hit him below the belt and try to help in our own way. This whole dress-up thing is cute, but do you really think he'll be able to outperform a chain that's crushed every other coffee shop that tried to open in Vale?"
"Jaune's good, but he's not that good," Miltia said.
"And if it goes down, so does Velvet's job," Coco finished. She could get work elsewhere but she seemed to get on with Jaune, and Russel, weirdly enough. Not to mention Fox and Yatsu loved the place and even she found it pretty cool. Those corporate monsters would treat Velvet like trash if she tried to work at Café Prime, too. If they even hired faunus. Conditions weren't always fair, especially for those deemed inhuman.
"Alright, fine," she said. "As long as we're not going anything that'll get me in too much trouble, I'm down with it. No involving Velvet, though. She's off-limits to anything you two have planned."
"Eh, Jaune wouldn't allow it if we tried. Still, good to have you on board, shades." Melanie appeared on her left, hooking an arm through hers. Miltia took the right, and Coco had the strangest feeling she'd just sold her soul to the devil. "Why don't you come with us for a little planning session, hm? I know a guy whose job it is to know things."
"What, are we going to visit the mafia or something?"
Melanie and Miltia burst out laughing – and continued to laugh as they dragged her away. It would be a while later she'd realise why, and slap herself in the face once she did. By that point it would be too late. Coco had joined yet another team named Coffee… except this one was involved in a war against something other than Grimm.
/-/
"Ten, carry the two – add it to the last page…" Jaune ran through some mental calculations, failed, drew out a calculator and ran through them again. The number on the screen flashed and he jotted it down.
"Is that good?" Velvet asked, leaning over his shoulder. It occurred to him that his employees shouldn't be quite so trusted to know every little thing about the diner, but he couldn't bring himself to complain. He was too busy smiling.
"It worked. It actually worked."
"I figured it had," Russel said, loosing another button on his pirate's shirt. He'd just set up the steamer and his skin was damp and flushed. "We were busier than we've been since I started." Even he couldn't quite hold his pride, despite how he tried. "I guess that'll show those guys it takes more than price to sell coffee."
Velvet clapped her hands together, shaking with excitement. Even if it was her first day she'd done well enough, not really excelling but meeting every challenge with enthusiasm. Sure, she hadn't been as good as Russel but he was pleased with how she'd done. Mostly, he was just pleased with how many people seemed to respond well to her.
"I guess this means we'll be keeping the themed weekends going," Jaune said. "We'll have to think of more. If you two have any ideas before next week feel free to let me know. Make sure it's something you'll both be comfortable with."
"We could do a movies theme," Russel suggested. "Plenty of options there."
"We'll come up with ideas later." Jaune put the booklet down and let out a relieved sigh. They'd really done it. He'd have to call Team RWBY and let them know, especially since it had been Ruby's idea. "Velvet, why don't you go upstairs first and get changed?" he suggested. "We'll wait until you're done."
She nodded and rushed off, still practically skipping after her first day on the job – and the sizeable amount of tip money she'd gotten to take away with it. Combined with her wages, she'd done well for herself.
It was Russel who wiped the smile from Jaune's face.
"You realise Café Prime aren't going to stop here, right?"
"Yeah, I figured. He didn't sound like the kind of guy used to being beaten."
"We've not really beaten him either," Russel said. "We've bounced back from what he did yesterday with the free drinks, but they're still the biggest place in Vale. I doubt they'll back down just because we dressed up like pirates. There are four other working days, and I think dressing up for all of them will get old."
He was probably right. Even if the weekends were where the real profit was, they still relied on what they earned during the week to keep the place going. They couldn't have every day as an event or dress up or the customers would get bored, not to mention Russel and Velvet would burn out.
"I guess I'll have to find some other way to stand out."
Russel nodded. The moment of awkwardness stretched between them, before the rough teen linked both hands behind his head and sighed. "Well, it's not like we need to deal with it now. This worked and we should feel good about that, right?"
"Right." Jaune smiled. "You know, you were good with Velvet today. Better than I was at training her, and I'm the boss."
"I've done it before."
"I can tell. You were patient with her."
"Doesn't do to be rough," Russel grunted. His eyes seemed to say he knew where the conversation was going and to leave it. "I'm just doing my job, boss. There's nothing more to it. She and I aren't friends and probably won't ever be."
"Do you not have a lot of friends?"
"I have enough."
"It's just that Team RWBY seemed surprised at how nice you were," he explained. "Hell, even those two who came by today were caught off-guard."
"It's customer service. It wouldn't do much good for me to be a miserable bastard to people looking to relax and have some coffee, would it? Besides, you're paying me to do a good job, not mope around."
"Hm, I guess. Those friends of yours were nice today."
"They're not really my friends," Russel sighed. "And by friends, do you mean friend? I saw you looking at Nora. See something you like?"
Jaune's cheeks heated up and he shook his head wildly.
"You could try your luck if you like," he went on. "Far as I can tell, the two of them really aren't together like that."
"L-Let's not be crazy. I'm no good with women."
"Not sure she counts as a woman, to be honest. That girl's crazy. Practically forces herself on me every time she sees me, and no, not in that way. I'm practically her second bestie and I didn't even get a say in it." He shot Jaune a smug smile. "I can put in a good word for you if you like, though. Who knows, maybe she'll stop molesting me with friendship and start molesting you with something else."
"N-No, it's fine."
"Ren wouldn't say no. Hell, he might even carry you to the altar himself."
Jaune's tongue twisted in his mouth and he stammered uselessly. It was only when Russel burst out laughing that he realised it was a joke, and even then his cheeks continued to burn. He couldn't help it. She'd been pretty and friendly, the perfect qualities for a girl. Weiss was a classical beauty, while Blake was mysterious and Yang was the kind of school heart-throb you looked at and never considered possible. That was what they were all like, but Nora had taken one look at him and basically treated him like a friend.
But he had a feeling that was just the kind of person she was, especially if she'd gone out of her way to befriend Russel.
"It seems like fun," Jaune mused. Russel made a questioning sound, so he explained. "Being on a team, I mean. Having people you can be friends with like that. I always wondered what it'd be like, especially living with people for four years."
It was a part of the Beacon experience he'd never get, but every time he saw Team RWBY together he thought about it. Those four girls were so different, so unique, yet they fit together perfectly despite, and perhaps because of, their differences. He had to wonder if he could have been like that, had he been given the chance.
"It's not as great as it sounds," Russel said. It snapped Jaune out of his daydream. "It sounds like hot shit, but that's only if it works out. Nora and Ren aren't even partners yet they spent the whole day together without their team. Doesn't that tell you something?" He sighed. "Things don't always work out like they're supposed to."
"You don't like your team, do you?"
Russel shrugged. "It's a team. It's alright."
"But you don't get on with your teammates."
"I don't get on with my partner," he corrected. "Teammates aren't bad. They stick to themselves kind of like those two from earlier. It's probably things between me an' my partner which makes it awkward but there's nothing I can do about it. She won't even talk to me."
"Have you tried talking to her?"
Russel shot him a look so disappointed it made him wince. "I'm not an idiot, man. Of course I have. When we first hooked up we talked, we talked when we were fighting, even talked when we were put on a team. Didn't last, though. Before I knew it she'd decided she was too good for trash like me. I tried talking to her. I gave her a chance."
A nervous cough interrupted them.
"I-I'm finished upstairs," Velvet whispered, not quite meeting either of their eyes. She must have heard everything.
"I'll get changed," Russel said, brushing past her. She stiffened, and he paused a metre or so away. He sighed audibly – and when he spoke, his voice was unbelievably gruff. "You didn't do bad today. Keep it up."
"Eh-?" Velvet spun on the spot, but he was already gone.
"I'm sorry about that," Jaune said, stepping up to her. "I don't think he's mad. I just pushed on stuff that wasn't really any of my business. Anyway, you did great today. How was it?"
"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," she said, flushing a little. There was no telling if it was imagination or not but her ears seemed to be a little perkier. "I was nervous at first but the people here were really nice."
He laughed. "Did you expect them to be monsters?"
"I thought they'd… n-no, never mind." She shook her head and smiled again. "They were mostly huntsmen, weren't they?"
"Yeah. We don't get as many normal folk nowadays. I hope that won't be a problem."
"No, I always get on with huntsmen more. They're usually a lot more understanding."
It wasn't exactly her he'd meant to ask that about. He'd meant it in terms of the business being okay to cut off half their potential customers like that, but it was still a little telling that Velvet thought he'd said it differently. Did she have problems with people? No one had seemed put off by her working here, but she'd definitely been nervous about something.
She headed off before Russel came back down, eager to get back to Beacon and meet up with her team for some late-night training. A few minutes after she'd gone, Russel returned, his outfit folded in his hands.
Jaune confronted him before he could leave.
"Look, Russel, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. It wasn't any of my business."
"It's fine."
"Is it?" Jaune sighed. "I know I'm your boss but I'm also your age. You can tell me if I mess up on something, otherwise I'm going to keep doing it until you get angry and leave."
Russel sighed and ran a hand through his hair again. "I'm not pissed at you," he eventually said. "Working here's fine, and so is Velvet. It's just school stuff, okay? I don't like bringing personal things onto the job."
"And you don't want me bringing them up, either," Jaune guessed,
"Pretty much. I'm cool with stuff on Beacon, even on Nora – annoying as she is. But leave my team out of it, okay? Things are… they're complicated."
He winced. "I was just trying to help."
"I know." Russel patted his arm and grinned. "That's why I'm not angry, not at you anyway. You're doing fine, boss. I'll be the first to tell you if you mess it up. Keep going as you are and we'll be fine."
Jaune nodded.
"See you later, Russel."
"See ya, boss."
/-/
Russel pushed open the door to his dorm with one foot, idly checking through the lien he'd earned. Pay came every week on the Sunday and all tips belonged to them as well, a nice change from the places he'd worked before. Two of his teammates looked up and rattled off a distracted greeting, one he returned with a grunt and a nod. His eyes flashed to the remaining one, however, his partner, who sat alone on her bed.
Pyrrha Nikos, the invincible girl. Or maybe he should have called her the invisible girl. Her beautiful looks and vibrant hair hardly made up for the fact she refused to speak to them, let alone interact. He'd given up on her already but something made him hesitate.
Fucking nosey co-workers, he thought to himself. With a heavy sigh he turned in her direction.
"I'll be working tomorrow afternoon as usual." He stuck his hands in his pockets and didn't miss how Pyrrha stiffened. "You don't need me for anything, do you?"
"No. I don't think so."
Russel waited for more – anything, really. Gods, he'd been thrilled to have her on his team at first, and it had looked like she hadn't been against the idea either, but that dried up the second he tried to talk to her. It looked like that hadn't changed.
"You get up to anything today?"
She didn't look up from the text book she was reading. "I trained."
He waited again. She didn't expand on it, nor look him in the eye even once. His other teammates didn't say anything either, they'd long since given up on the resident celebrity deigning to speak to normal people like them. "Forget it," he growled, turning towards the bathroom and a warm shower. "Don't know why I even tried."
It was probably Nora's fault, the annoying girl.
As he left, and as Pyrrha was cast once more into silence, the book came up to press against her face. The Invincible Girl shuddered and gripped the cover harder. No one on her team noticed the moment of weakness.
No one on her team cared to.
You know, since I've been accused of bashing in several of my fics lately I'll head this off by saying that no, I'm not bashing Pyrrha. There is obviously more going on here than meets the eye. That should be so obvious this isn't even a spoiler. Anyway, yeah, the teams are different – remember that. I know some people at first asked why they even would be, but one has to recall that Pyrrha sought Jaune out, altering her trajectory to find him – and then they went to the cave together on Jaune's suggestion, fleeing the Deathstalker and meeting Ren and Nora as a result.
Without all that, there is potential for initiation to have changed drastically. Pyrrha just lands wherever she lands and plays it normally, and since there isn't a Deathstalker to rush them forward, they arrive at the ruins a little later and miss Team RWBY and Ren, Nora. As such, she gets thrown on a team with two other late-comers, who I haven't really named yet since the show doesn't provide too many first-year names.
Please no PM me hundreds of OC's. Their role is minor, minor, minor, so I'll just make up some names.
Next Chapter: 30th January
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur
Chapter 12
Here we are with another chapter. Work is busy at the moment, and it always seems to hit hardest on my Tuesday.
Chapter 12
"Russel!"
Jaune paused in taking an order as the high-pitched cry split the café, bringing silence to every table as people looked towards the door. There, an orange-haired girl had a wide smile on her face. Beside her was a dark-haired young man, head in hands, obviously embarrassed about the sudden attention being heaped on them both.
"And here's your change," Jaune chuckled, finishing his order. "Would you like me to wrap that cake to go?"
"It's fine, my boy," the portly professor laughed. "It won't survive the trip to the door!"
"Have a little restraint, Peter," Oobleck sighed. "Thank you for the wonderful coffee, Jaune. It's a delight as always."
The Beacon professors left with a quick wave and a muffled `thanks` from Port, who true to his word had already started to devour his lemon slice. Their absence gave Jaune a chance to slide over to Russel, who was working a coffee machine. The young man sighed, not quite at Jaune, but rather the girl rapidly approaching.
"Friends of yours?" Jaune asked.
"Something like that…"
"Russel!" the girl practically shouted, hands on the counter. She was a rather pretty girl with bright eyes and a brighter smile. Her outfit was a mixture of pink, white and grey, and she definitely filled it out. It hardly helped that she was leaning forward, giving him an unasked – but not unappreciated – view of her assets. Orange hair fell lightly about her full face.
She didn't seem to notice him looking at all, but a polite cough had Jaune's cheeks flushing. The other visitor, a pink-eyed, black-haired, boy, didn't quite send Jaune a dirty look, but certainly knew what he'd been focused on.
"Nora," Russel said, more sighed really, in return. "Ren."
"Is that all you have to say to us, mister!? When were you going to tell us you had a job?"
"Nora," the other boy coughed. "He mentioned it to us yesterday."
The girl paused, accusing finger frozen in the air. "He did?"
"Yes."
"You're sure?"
"It was during breakfast."
"Why didn't I hear about it?"
"You were eating pancakes," Russel drawled. "I'd be surprised if you could hear anything over the sound of that."
Rather than be offended at what sounded like something of an insult, even to him, the girl – Nora – cocked her head to one side and tapped her lips with a finger. "Hm. That makes sense. Still, you should have told me you were a pirate!"
"It's fancy dress," Russel deadpanned.
"That's what a pirate would say. I'm onto you, mister."
She was so energetic, and so random, that Jaune had to laugh. With the queue clear and most of the people taken care of, Velvet doing her best to collect mugs and wash them, he sauntered over to stand beside Russel. "Are these your teammates?" he asked.
"No. Teammates of a friend."
The girl blinked up at Jaune. "Who are you?"
"This is Jaune," Russel introduced. "He's my boss. Jaune, this is Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. They're on my friend's team, Team CRSN or Crimson."
"Nice to meet you," Nora said, gripping his good hand – almost crushing it – and then forcing it into her friend's hand. "This is Ren. He's shy so treat him nicely."
Ren, far from looking shy, sighed dramatically. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said.
"So, is your name Lie, or…?"
"I prefer Ren, thank you."
Nora gasped and planted both hands on her cheeks. "It's finally happened. Ren's found his bromance!"
Ren sighed and Jaune laughed. Their `bromance` was short lived, and soon enough he had a cup of coffee for each of them as they took the stools at the bar so they could chat with Russel. Ren took a fine blend of coffee from Mistral, a soft, herbal, scent, while Nora asked for a Cappuccino, much to her companion's obvious horror. Jaune almost felt bad serving it but it wasn't like he could say no to a customer. She also had a chocolate cake slice before her.
"So, you're the owner," Ren said. "That's quite an accomplishment for someone your age. How long have you been doing this for?"
"Less than a month. This whole thing is fairly new. You two are from Beacon, right?"
"Hm." He nodded. "You seem to have a lot of huntsmen customers."
"It's pretty much by accident, to be honest. They just sort of made this their regular drinking hole." Jaune glanced over to see Russel talking to Nora, or rather Nora talking to him and the teen pretending to listen while he stared off into the middle-distance. "I'm kind of surprised how she is with him. Russel is a good worker but he's never seemed like the chattiest of people."
"That would be Nora for you. She's like that with anyone who isn't rude." There was a curious twist to Ren's face, almost a frown, maybe a scowl. It was washed away before he could comment on it, however. "He's not actually a part of our team but he doesn't seem to get on well with his own and often spends time with our team leader at mealtimes and between lessons. I'm not completely sure why but Nora took an instant liking to him and talks to him whenever she can."
"And you're okay with that?"
Ren chuckled. "I'm grateful for the little peace I occasionally get. Please don't mistake our relationship; we are good friends and nothing more. That said, I don't think Nora feels that way about Russel. I'm not sure what it is that makes her latch onto him so but she refuses to take his attempts to get rid of her seriously."
He must have meant Russel's rather obvious lack of interest, which did come across a little rude as he blatantly ignored Nora. Most people would have been put off by that, or at least they would have felt awkward. The bubbly huntress didn't seem to care, however. She kept the conversation going on her own, and refused to stop prodding him until he answered her questions.
"Oh, oh," she said, turning to the two of them. "Ren, we should totally make this a team meeting area. We could come here for cakes whenever we're in Vale and maybe even-"
"I don't think that's a good idea," Russel said.
Nora, for the first time, hesitated. "It isn't…?"
"Is there a problem with us being here?" Ren asked calmly.
Russel ran a hand through his Mohawk. He wouldn't meet Nora's eyes but did look to Jaune for inspiration. He shrugged in return, unsure what this was about, let alone how to help. "It's not you," Russel eventually said. "I don't mind you two coming here. It's just… it might be best not to bring Cardin or Sky."
Nora seemed to sag in relief.
"Aren't they your friends?" Ren asked. "More so than us, I would imagine."
"They are, but that's why I'd rather they didn't know about this place. I know what my friends are like, okay? They'd… they'd cause issues." He sighed and ran his hand down his face. "I'd rather not deal with it. I don't want stuff like that to get in the way of work."
"Issues?" Nora asked.
"I-I've cleaned the mugs," a shy voice whispered. Velvet stood a little behind them, drying her hands on a towel. "Should I stack them on the back counter?"
The four of them looked to Velvet, who shied a little under the attention. Oddly, there was a sound of understanding from Nora and Ren, but before he could think any further on it, Russel stepped forwards to take command.
"No," he said. "Put them in the steam-cleaner instead."
"B-But I just cleaned them…"
"You clean them to get the loose dregs out so they don't stain, not to make them fit to serve drinks in again." Russel crossed his arms and adopted a lecturing tone, perhaps even without realising. "That's not enough by health and safety laws, though. You need to steam-clean them to kill off any bacteria. If you just put them in there without giving them a rinse first you'd just clog the machine or dry stains onto the mugs."
"Oh… I guess that makes sense. Should I turn it on?"
"No, we'll do that at the end of the day. There's enough crockery to last. Once you've put them away, do a round of the café and make sure there isn't anyone who needs anything."
"Okay." The faunus nodded and hurried off, her ears poking up behind her.
Russel mumbled something under his breath and shook his head. When he turned back to Nora and Ren it was to find them both watching him with obvious surprise on their faces. His eyes narrowed. "What?"
"Nothing," Nora said, grinning.
"Doesn't look like nothing."
"We were just surprised," Ren said. "You're not normally so nice in school, or quite so mentoring."
"Yeah well, this isn't school. This is work." Russel rolled his eyes and poured some espresso into a mug, then whipped it with milk and cream without looking. "It's my job to keep an eye on her and show her the ropes. That's nothing to do with Beacon or anything else."
"I suppose that's why you would rather we didn't bring Cardin here," Ren mused. "I could see why he might cause problems." He eyed Russel curiously. "Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I could have sworn you would have caused the same problems. I thought you and he were of a like mind."
"This is work," Russel repeated, a little harshly. He glared at Ren. "I leave my problems at the door. Now, if you'll excuse me." He stacked up the mugs on a tray and slipped away. The second he was gone he seemed to transform, smiling roguishly as he flourished the tray and set the drinks out for some middle-aged huntresses. They said something and laughed, no doubt poking fun at the young man, who to his credit took it with a laugh and a smile.
"Wow," Nora whispered. "It's like he's a different person. Ugh, it's a shame we can't bring Cardin here. If Russel can be like this, it might be enough to make Cardin nice, too. Maybe the coffee has drugs in it."
"He is our team leader, Nora. We shouldn't be speaking of him behind his back like that."
"Not much of a leader…"
"Nora," Ren warned.
"I get it, I get it. He's your partner. You've got to get on with him." She pouted. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Would another cake slice help?" Jaune asked, pushing it before her nose. "It's on the house. No drugs, either."
"Best – omf – place – um – ever."
As ever, people were easy enough to understand when good food was put before them. Marron's cakes were to die for. Ren seemed pleased with the reprieve as well and gave him a nod of thanks. He probably should have left it at that but his curiosity, especially about Russel, won out.
"I take it you're not on best terms with Russel's friend."
"You could say that," Ren said. "He is my partner in Beacon, not to mention the leader of our team. While I can't fault his drive and determination, he has a few personality traits that make him… difficult to get along with."
He knew about the partner and team rules in Beacon, of course. Team RWBY had told him all about it numerous times. Partners weren't necessarily expected to be friends, and Ruby and Weiss hadn't gotten on very well at first, but they usually did end up becoming close, or at least close enough to trust one another.
"I'm surprised you and Nora aren't partners, to be honest."
"It was our intent to team up during initiation. We made plans to find one another but Nora came across someone in trouble. She couldn't leave them to fend for themselves and stepped in to help, making eye-contact and becoming their partner. That would be our teammate Sky Lark." Ren sighed. "By the time I found her it was too late but we decided to travel together and ensure that we would at least be on the same team. When we reached our destination there was one other person there. Mine and Cardin's partnership was born of necessity."
"And you don't get on?"
"He and I aren't too bad. He's brash and assertive but I don't mind playing along to keep the peace when required, and I think he respects that. Nora, however, clashes with him on a daily basis."
"He's a meanie," Nora mumbled.
"Finish your food before talking," Ren chided.
She did so, audibly, and then continued. "He's the kind of guy who always has to think he's at the top of the food chain. He just doesn't like it that I don't roll over and do everything he says, especially when his orders are stupid. Ren should be the leader."
It didn't look like Ren agreed, but from their silence Jaune figured it was an old argument. He wasn't sure the problem was Ren at all as much as Nora and this Cardin fellow not getting on. Nora seemed friendly enough however, and even Russel had advised against bringing their team leader to the shop for fear of it causing issues – so he had to assume there was some truth to him being a difficult person.
All in all, he wasn't sure what to say, or if he should even sayanything. It wasn't really any of his business and he didn't even know the full story.
"How do you know Russel, anyway?" he asked instead. "You say he's a friend of your leader?"
"Yep!" It was Nora who answered. "He knew Cardin from before Beacon and came over to talk. I don't think he gets on with his team. Anyway, he looked pretty lonely so I decided to talk to him. He's nice."
"He's not very sociable," Ren said, amending his teammate's story a little. "I think some people are put off by that but he doesn't seem to be a bad person."
"He's just shy."
Ren and Jaune shared a long look at that, and then looked over to Russel, who was busy chatting away with a customer. He didn't look shy, and certainly hadn't sounded it when he'd confidently walked up and said he'd be the best person for the job.
Maybe it was just something Nora could see – or something she was imagining.
Velvet stepped back up before he could think any more on it. Still a little nervous but slowly getting into the swing of things, he showed her how to operate the tills and take money, and left her to get a rest doing that. Since many people paid their bills from the tables, it was an easy task and a chance for her to catch a break.
"Where's your teammate by the way?" he asked.
"Huh, Coco? She went off with those two girls from earlier."
Jaune froze. A bead of sweat ran down his brow.
"Oh," he whispered. "That's… nice…"
/-/
"This coffee is cold!"
"I-I'm sorry, ma'am, I'll-"
"My sister said her coffee is cold," Miltia hissed, leaning one elbow on the table. "You gonna do something about that or sit there looking stupid?"
"I'll replace it right away," the waiter said, snatching it back and rushing off. He couldn't have been any older than them, but in the face of two angry girls, and one vaguely amused one, he'd folded like a house of cards.
"You know, he's not necessarily the enemy here," Coco pointed out, stirring her milkshake with a straw. "That guy probably doesn't even know Jaune, let alone hate him. It's the guy in charge that's causing the problems."
"You feeling sorry for the enemy, shades?" Miltia snapped. She was always the angry one of the sisters, Coco had come to realise. Her red dress seemed to match her personality since she was like to see red the second anyone questioned her.
"He may not be directly responsible, but he's still an enemy," Melanie cooed. Far more reasonable of the two, though no less cruel, Melanie smiled ominously. "It does no good to feel sorry for them when they're on the other side. You can feel bad for enemy soldiers in a war but you still have to kill them before they kill you."
"Don't go soft on us, bitch," Miltia echoed.
"I'm not going soft, sheesh." Coco rolled her eyes, not even offended at the little slur. She'd barely known the two for an hour or so and she'd already come to realise that `bitch` out of Miltia was as common as her saying `you` or `him`. "I'm just saying when you said you had a plan on how to get back at Sterling I thought it would be something a little less… petty…"
"Baby steps," Melanie said. "Let's not jump in straight away. We need information before we strike."
"This is a scouting mission, then?"
"Scouting mission, formal declaration of war… a little bit of one, a little bit of the other."
"Those two are very different things."
"Depends how badly the scouting goes." Melanie paused. "Or how well the declaration goes. Anyway, as much as I'd like to just trash the place, that's not going to be an option."
"Yeah," Coco agreed. "That's kind of against the law."
"Yeah," Miltia said, ignoring Coco entirely. "Jaune would whine at us."
"Exactly," Melanie agreed.
Coco stared at the two sisters with a raised eyebrow. Come to think of it she didn't really know much about them, not that such had stopped her making friends with people in the past. They were tough, antagonistic, bitchy, but kind of fun in a banter sort of way, not to mention they'd been hilarious in Jaune's place. But yeah, they were joking about breaking the law, right? They had to be.
"H-Here's your coffee, ma'am," the man said, returning with Melanie's drink. She sipped it and hummed, leaving him on the verge of panic as she smacked her lips together.
"It will suffice, for now. Can I speak to your manager?"
The man panicked. "I-Is that really necessary? I did what I could to-"
"It's not about you," Melanie sighed.
"Sheesh," Miltia agreed. "Talk about arrogant, thinking everything is about you."
"We just want to talk with Alexander Sterling," Coco said, interrupting the two before they could really give the poor guy an aneurysm. "It's not to get you in trouble or anything."
"Mr Sterling? I'm afraid he doesn't work here. He's the Regional Director. I could get the Manager of this store but that's all it would be. If there's a problem here, she can sort it out for you…"
"A problem with this store specifically?" Melanie asked.
"Yes. She's just the store manager."
"No, it's fine. Can you tell us where we might find Sterling?"
"I-I'm not sure. I'm just a waiter." The man continued to wring his hands together. "He comes down every month or so to monitor process and yell- I mean criticise any mistakes we make, but I don't ever see him otherwise and I don't know where he works. I'm not even sure what he does on a normal day."
The three girls shared a quick look. Their first port of call had failed. Melanie nodded and turned back to the man, handing him a small – an infinitesimal, in fact – tip. It might have been enough to buy him a tenth of a can of soda. "Take some advice from me, kid. Find yourself a new job before you're sucked into the war."
"War…" The man blinked dumbly and looked around. There were no gunshots, Grimm, or even people shouting. "What war?"
"The coffee wars," Miltia said, nodding.
"Um… I don't understand."
"Neither do I," Coco admitted.
"You will one day, Barry," Melanie said, reading his nametag. "Come on, girls. We've got places to be."
"Actually, the name is Billy. It says so on my-"
"Don't care." Miltia pushed past him.
Coco followed. "Sorry Barry," she said. "Bye Barry."
The three of them met up again outside, the Malachites waiting for her, though not without an impatient foot-tapping show from Miltia. Well, that had been a bust, even if Coco wasn't really sure what they'd been after in the first place. What were they going to do, threaten the guy in charge of Café Prime until he agreed to stop being a dick to Jaune?
"So much for that plan," she said. "What now?"
"We can try and find out more about this Sterling guy," Melanie said. "People like him, rich people in power, always have little things they like to keep hidden. We'll find the skeletons in his closet."
"And how do you intend to manage that?"
Miltia smiled cockily. "We have our ways."
"I feel like I don't want to know, but at the same time I kinda do. You two aren't Huntresses are you?"
"Pft. Do we look like huntresses?"
Coco looked at the two of them, dressed in bright and clashing colours, skirts, heels, and then focused on their weapons – which would have been ridiculously complicated for just about anyone without extensive training to use. "Yes. Yes, you do."
"It's a grey area," Melanie explained. "You probably don't want to know all the details."
"This is a `for your own good` kind of thing, isn't it?"
"Yeeep," Miltia drawled.
Coco sighed. "Does Jaune know?"
"Yeeep."
Great. So, she was technically, maybe, sort of, out with two girls who may or may not have been criminals. Well, at least if she didn't ask she couldn't lie if anyone asked her if she'd known or not. And to think I just wanted to help Velvet get a job. Sheesh.Since when was coffee so complicated?
"We're not going to do anything illegal to this guy," Melanie said. "Like Mil said, Jaune would whine like a pussy if we did. We're just going to hit him below the belt and try to help in our own way. This whole dress-up thing is cute, but do you really think he'll be able to outperform a chain that's crushed every other coffee shop that tried to open in Vale?"
"Jaune's good, but he's not that good," Miltia said.
"And if it goes down, so does Velvet's job," Coco finished. She could get work elsewhere but she seemed to get on with Jaune, and Russel, weirdly enough. Not to mention Fox and Yatsu loved the place and even she found it pretty cool. Those corporate monsters would treat Velvet like trash if she tried to work at Café Prime, too. If they even hired faunus. Conditions weren't always fair, especially for those deemed inhuman.
"Alright, fine," she said. "As long as we're not going anything that'll get me in too much trouble, I'm down with it. No involving Velvet, though. She's off-limits to anything you two have planned."
"Eh, Jaune wouldn't allow it if we tried. Still, good to have you on board, shades." Melanie appeared on her left, hooking an arm through hers. Miltia took the right, and Coco had the strangest feeling she'd just sold her soul to the devil. "Why don't you come with us for a little planning session, hm? I know a guy whose job it is to know things."
"What, are we going to visit the mafia or something?"
Melanie and Miltia burst out laughing – and continued to laugh as they dragged her away. It would be a while later she'd realise why, and slap herself in the face once she did. By that point it would be too late. Coco had joined yet another team named Coffee… except this one was involved in a war against something other than Grimm.
/-/
"Ten, carry the two – add it to the last page…" Jaune ran through some mental calculations, failed, drew out a calculator and ran through them again. The number on the screen flashed and he jotted it down.
"Is that good?" Velvet asked, leaning over his shoulder. It occurred to him that his employees shouldn't be quite so trusted to know every little thing about the diner, but he couldn't bring himself to complain. He was too busy smiling.
"It worked. It actually worked."
"I figured it had," Russel said, loosing another button on his pirate's shirt. He'd just set up the steamer and his skin was damp and flushed. "We were busier than we've been since I started." Even he couldn't quite hold his pride, despite how he tried. "I guess that'll show those guys it takes more than price to sell coffee."
Velvet clapped her hands together, shaking with excitement. Even if it was her first day she'd done well enough, not really excelling but meeting every challenge with enthusiasm. Sure, she hadn't been as good as Russel but he was pleased with how she'd done. Mostly, he was just pleased with how many people seemed to respond well to her.
"I guess this means we'll be keeping the themed weekends going," Jaune said. "We'll have to think of more. If you two have any ideas before next week feel free to let me know. Make sure it's something you'll both be comfortable with."
"We could do a movies theme," Russel suggested. "Plenty of options there."
"We'll come up with ideas later." Jaune put the booklet down and let out a relieved sigh. They'd really done it. He'd have to call Team RWBY and let them know, especially since it had been Ruby's idea. "Velvet, why don't you go upstairs first and get changed?" he suggested. "We'll wait until you're done."
She nodded and rushed off, still practically skipping after her first day on the job – and the sizeable amount of tip money she'd gotten to take away with it. Combined with her wages, she'd done well for herself.
It was Russel who wiped the smile from Jaune's face.
"You realise Café Prime aren't going to stop here, right?"
"Yeah, I figured. He didn't sound like the kind of guy used to being beaten."
"We've not really beaten him either," Russel said. "We've bounced back from what he did yesterday with the free drinks, but they're still the biggest place in Vale. I doubt they'll back down just because we dressed up like pirates. There are four other working days, and I think dressing up for all of them will get old."
He was probably right. Even if the weekends were where the real profit was, they still relied on what they earned during the week to keep the place going. They couldn't have every day as an event or dress up or the customers would get bored, not to mention Russel and Velvet would burn out.
"I guess I'll have to find some other way to stand out."
Russel nodded. The moment of awkwardness stretched between them, before the rough teen linked both hands behind his head and sighed. "Well, it's not like we need to deal with it now. This worked and we should feel good about that, right?"
"Right." Jaune smiled. "You know, you were good with Velvet today. Better than I was at training her, and I'm the boss."
"I've done it before."
"I can tell. You were patient with her."
"Doesn't do to be rough," Russel grunted. His eyes seemed to say he knew where the conversation was going and to leave it. "I'm just doing my job, boss. There's nothing more to it. She and I aren't friends and probably won't ever be."
"Do you not have a lot of friends?"
"I have enough."
"It's just that Team RWBY seemed surprised at how nice you were," he explained. "Hell, even those two who came by today were caught off-guard."
"It's customer service. It wouldn't do much good for me to be a miserable bastard to people looking to relax and have some coffee, would it? Besides, you're paying me to do a good job, not mope around."
"Hm, I guess. Those friends of yours were nice today."
"They're not really my friends," Russel sighed. "And by friends, do you mean friend? I saw you looking at Nora. See something you like?"
Jaune's cheeks heated up and he shook his head wildly.
"You could try your luck if you like," he went on. "Far as I can tell, the two of them really aren't together like that."
"L-Let's not be crazy. I'm no good with women."
"Not sure she counts as a woman, to be honest. That girl's crazy. Practically forces herself on me every time she sees me, and no, not in that way. I'm practically her second bestie and I didn't even get a say in it." He shot Jaune a smug smile. "I can put in a good word for you if you like, though. Who knows, maybe she'll stop molesting me with friendship and start molesting you with something else."
"N-No, it's fine."
"Ren wouldn't say no. Hell, he might even carry you to the altar himself."
Jaune's tongue twisted in his mouth and he stammered uselessly. It was only when Russel burst out laughing that he realised it was a joke, and even then his cheeks continued to burn. He couldn't help it. She'd been pretty and friendly, the perfect qualities for a girl. Weiss was a classical beauty, while Blake was mysterious and Yang was the kind of school heart-throb you looked at and never considered possible. That was what they were all like, but Nora had taken one look at him and basically treated him like a friend.
But he had a feeling that was just the kind of person she was, especially if she'd gone out of her way to befriend Russel.
"It seems like fun," Jaune mused. Russel made a questioning sound, so he explained. "Being on a team, I mean. Having people you can be friends with like that. I always wondered what it'd be like, especially living with people for four years."
It was a part of the Beacon experience he'd never get, but every time he saw Team RWBY together he thought about it. Those four girls were so different, so unique, yet they fit together perfectly despite, and perhaps because of, their differences. He had to wonder if he could have been like that, had he been given the chance.
"It's not as great as it sounds," Russel said. It snapped Jaune out of his daydream. "It sounds like hot shit, but that's only if it works out. Nora and Ren aren't even partners yet they spent the whole day together without their team. Doesn't that tell you something?" He sighed. "Things don't always work out like they're supposed to."
"You don't like your team, do you?"
Russel shrugged. "It's a team. It's alright."
"But you don't get on with your teammates."
"I don't get on with my partner," he corrected. "Teammates aren't bad. They stick to themselves kind of like those two from earlier. It's probably things between me an' my partner which makes it awkward but there's nothing I can do about it. She won't even talk to me."
"Have you tried talking to her?"
Russel shot him a look so disappointed it made him wince. "I'm not an idiot, man. Of course I have. When we first hooked up we talked, we talked when we were fighting, even talked when we were put on a team. Didn't last, though. Before I knew it she'd decided she was too good for trash like me. I tried talking to her. I gave her a chance."
A nervous cough interrupted them.
"I-I'm finished upstairs," Velvet whispered, not quite meeting either of their eyes. She must have heard everything.
"I'll get changed," Russel said, brushing past her. She stiffened, and he paused a metre or so away. He sighed audibly – and when he spoke, his voice was unbelievably gruff. "You didn't do bad today. Keep it up."
"Eh-?" Velvet spun on the spot, but he was already gone.
"I'm sorry about that," Jaune said, stepping up to her. "I don't think he's mad. I just pushed on stuff that wasn't really any of my business. Anyway, you did great today. How was it?"
"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," she said, flushing a little. There was no telling if it was imagination or not but her ears seemed to be a little perkier. "I was nervous at first but the people here were really nice."
He laughed. "Did you expect them to be monsters?"
"I thought they'd… n-no, never mind." She shook her head and smiled again. "They were mostly huntsmen, weren't they?"
"Yeah. We don't get as many normal folk nowadays. I hope that won't be a problem."
"No, I always get on with huntsmen more. They're usually a lot more understanding."
It wasn't exactly her he'd meant to ask that about. He'd meant it in terms of the business being okay to cut off half their potential customers like that, but it was still a little telling that Velvet thought he'd said it differently. Did she have problems with people? No one had seemed put off by her working here, but she'd definitely been nervous about something.
She headed off before Russel came back down, eager to get back to Beacon and meet up with her team for some late-night training. A few minutes after she'd gone, Russel returned, his outfit folded in his hands.
Jaune confronted him before he could leave.
"Look, Russel, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. It wasn't any of my business."
"It's fine."
"Is it?" Jaune sighed. "I know I'm your boss but I'm also your age. You can tell me if I mess up on something, otherwise I'm going to keep doing it until you get angry and leave."
Russel sighed and ran a hand through his hair again. "I'm not pissed at you," he eventually said. "Working here's fine, and so is Velvet. It's just school stuff, okay? I don't like bringing personal things onto the job."
"And you don't want me bringing them up, either," Jaune guessed,
"Pretty much. I'm cool with stuff on Beacon, even on Nora – annoying as she is. But leave my team out of it, okay? Things are… they're complicated."
He winced. "I was just trying to help."
"I know." Russel patted his arm and grinned. "That's why I'm not angry, not at you anyway. You're doing fine, boss. I'll be the first to tell you if you mess it up. Keep going as you are and we'll be fine."
Jaune nodded.
"See you later, Russel."
"See ya, boss."
/-/
Russel pushed open the door to his dorm with one foot, idly checking through the lien he'd earned. Pay came every week on the Sunday and all tips belonged to them as well, a nice change from the places he'd worked before. Two of his teammates looked up and rattled off a distracted greeting, one he returned with a grunt and a nod. His eyes flashed to the remaining one, however, his partner, who sat alone on her bed.
Pyrrha Nikos, the invincible girl. Or maybe he should have called her the invisible girl. Her beautiful looks and vibrant hair hardly made up for the fact she refused to speak to them, let alone interact. He'd given up on her already but something made him hesitate.
Fucking nosey co-workers, he thought to himself. With a heavy sigh he turned in her direction.
"I'll be working tomorrow afternoon as usual." He stuck his hands in his pockets and didn't miss how Pyrrha stiffened. "You don't need me for anything, do you?"
"No. I don't think so."
Russel waited for more – anything, really. Gods, he'd been thrilled to have her on his team at first, and it had looked like she hadn't been against the idea either, but that dried up the second he tried to talk to her. It looked like that hadn't changed.
"You get up to anything today?"
She didn't look up from the text book she was reading. "I trained."
He waited again. She didn't expand on it, nor look him in the eye even once. His other teammates didn't say anything either, they'd long since given up on the resident celebrity deigning to speak to normal people like them. "Forget it," he growled, turning towards the bathroom and a warm shower. "Don't know why I even tried."
It was probably Nora's fault, the annoying girl.
As he left, and as Pyrrha was cast once more into silence, the book came up to press against her face. The Invincible Girl shuddered and gripped the cover harder. No one on her team noticed the moment of weakness.
No one on her team cared to.
You know, since I've been accused of bashing in several of my fics lately I'll head this off by saying that no, I'm not bashing Pyrrha. There is obviously more going on here than meets the eye. That should be so obvious this isn't even a spoiler. Anyway, yeah, the teams are different – remember that. I know some people at first asked why they even would be, but one has to recall that Pyrrha sought Jaune out, altering her trajectory to find him – and then they went to the cave together on Jaune's suggestion, fleeing the Deathstalker and meeting Ren and Nora as a result.
Without all that, there is potential for initiation to have changed drastically. Pyrrha just lands wherever she lands and plays it normally, and since there isn't a Deathstalker to rush them forward, they arrive at the ruins a little later and miss Team RWBY and Ren, Nora. As such, she gets thrown on a team with two other late-comers, who I haven't really named yet since the show doesn't provide too many first-year names.
Please no PM me hundreds of OC's. Their role is minor, minor, minor, so I'll just make up some names.
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur