A/N: Chapter 4 of Ice Prince. Thank you Shiranai Atsune for ideas and allowing me to write this. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Roosterteeth.
Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.
Chapter 4: Pizza and Bumblebee
The next morning...
"Oh shoot oh shoot I'm running late!" Ruby ran with a piece of toast in her mouth. She stayed up late helping Yin with his homework while chatting about work that she slept through her alarm. Barely grooming her hair she flew out the door, making her way to the bus stop and then from there she made her way to the airship. So here she was, at least half an hour later running the rest of the way to the cafe.
This is so bad! This is so bad! I shouldn't have been with Yin when he had a lot of things to do. She silently berated herself, skidding around the corner, not checking her surroundings beforehand. Oh I'm gonna get my ears chewed out!
"Watch out!" She collided headfirst into something, sending both herself and the person she hit sprawling to the ground. Sitting up she was relieved to see that her toast was still intact before finding herself looking up at a blond haired male who had his hand extended towards her, "Are you alright? That was a nasty crash."
"Yeah, I'm good. Sorry for running into you." She took his hand and got to her feet, dusting off her clothes with her hands. She quickly scarfed down her toast and shouldered her bag.
"Color me surprised, I wasn't expecting someone to run around the corner at that speed." He grinned before picking up what seemed to be a bicycle. "Oh good, nothing seems to be broken. However..."
"I-Is something wrong?" asked Ruby.
"Some of the pizza boxes flipped upside down, so the pizza on the inside got messed up." He replied, pointing to the large bag attached to the vehicle. "I was on route to my last delivery of the morning so there's at least three boxes got messed up."
"I'm really sorry about that."
"You seem to be in quite a hurry, mind if I ask where you're heading off to?"
"I was on my way to CinnaBun Cafe because I'm running late, kinda woke up late...hehehe!" She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.
"Well lucky for you I'm headed that way as well, but I can't go with these damaged goods." He frowned, thinking really hard for a solution. "Umm...is your boss going to be mad if you're late? Cause I mean...you're already late."
"I...actually don't know. It's already 11 o'clock and I was supposed to be there at 9...yeah I really messed today."
"Hmmm...and don't you guys get lunch break?"
"Always at 12!" The boy snapped his fingers with delight, a huge smile on his face.
"That's the last time scheduled for my morning delivery so how about this, you and I will go back to my workplace and then we'll head off to the cafe together? How does that sound?"
"Go back with you...to your work place?" Ruby tilted her head to the side. He grinned, wheeling his bike around and gestured for her to follow him.
"Come on, it's not far away." They walked together, making small talk and laughing here and there. Some people would have mistaken them to be the best of friends even when they just met.
"This is where you work?" Ruby gasped as she followed the blond-haired boy to a mid-size shop, located close to a minor intersection. Luckily there was adequate parking spaces for the workers or customers that were there for a quick pickup. She squinted and read the name of the shop, "Papa...Jaune's...? Is this a pizza parlor?"
"Yup, we have the best pizza in town! Other than that it's a very nice place to work at!" He replied, putting the bike lock on his bike and opened the door, listening to the little bell that was hanging over the entrance. "Hey Pyrrha! You still here right?"
"Be right out, just one minute!" A sweet voice floated from the back and a bright eyed, red-haired girl stepped out after wiping her hands on a rag towel. She had an apron on and her green eyes sparkled with happiness when she looked at the two of them. "Oh! You brought someone with you?"
"Hi, I'm Ruby Rose!" Ruby introduced herself.
"I'm Pyrrha Nikos, welcome to Papa Jaune's!" Pyrrha smiled, her arms folded before her. She then turned her eyes to the boy. "Jaune, I thought you were out on your delivery? What are you doing back here so early?"
"Wait...you're name is Jaune? As in 'Papa Jaune's' Jaune?" Ruby looked at him while scratching her head with a hand. "So does that mean you own this pizza place?"
"I actually don't but my father named this place after I was born and kinda passed ownership down to me. The full name is Jaune Arc, it has a nice ring to it and rolls off the tongue nicely." Jaune replied, feeling pride swelling up within his chest. "But I'm only the delivery boy since I do start school soon. My parents will normally be here during those times."
"Where do you study at?"
"Beacon University, actually transferring there as a first year."
"No way, me too! I'm starting there as a first year I mean. Hopefully we'll have some classes together!" Ruby explained before looking at Pyrrha. "What about you, Pyrrha?"
"I go to Vale University as a sophomore, I live only ten minutes away from the school anyways." The red-head replied, chuckling at how big Ruby's eyes bugged out. "It's nothing special really, I'm just there to get an education like everyone else."
"Are you serious?! Vale University is one of the most prestigious schools there is!" The younger of the two squealed before collecting herself. "I'm really happy for you!"
"As much as I would like to stay and chat, we have three pizzas to remake." Jaune grabbed an apron and put it on, tying the strings behind his back into the shape of a bow. "Pyrrha please get the preparations ready. Ruby, what time is it?"
"Ummm...currently it's 11:10." She replied, glancing at the clock hanging on the wall. "Why?"
"Yeah we'll make it in time. Lucky for us, all the pizzas will cook in the same oven at the same temperature." The blond male rushed around, setting various materials on the counter. Mixing a couple of things together he soon had a good size dough, made out of a high protein flour. Kneading it with his hands he tossed it up in the air, entertaining Ruby as she watched the dough expand till it was a large circle. "Here Pyrrha! This one's ready!"
"Alright Jaune!" She took over and sprinkled flour on her work space. Taking the dough she started spreading tomato sauce evenly across the surface. As she decorated it was various toppings Jaune was already working on the second dough, tossing it up into the air with ease. "And this one is ready for the oven!"
"Great! Here's the second one! I'm gonna start making the third one!"
"Woooooow!" Ruby smiled, watching the two of them work side-by-side. Her eyes switched back and forth but focused intensely at the amount of toppings. Once all three pizzas were finished they were placed into the huge oven, with the timer set to 20 minutes.
"Perfect!" Jaune exclaimed when the timer rang and he checked up on each one separately. After dictating that they were good enough he turned off the oven and pulled the pizzas out. Placing them in separate boxes he stepped to the side to let Pyrrha slice them up into equal pieces with the pizza cutter.
"And done!" She smiled, boxing them up and handing them to Jaune. "There you go, now have fun with your delivery!"
"Thanks so much Pyrrha, I'll see you later! C'mon Ruby, we have some place to be!"
"A-A-Ah right! Bye Pyrrha, it was nice meeting you!" She scrambled after him, waving goodbye to Pyrrha as she stepped outside to send them off. Luckily for them traffic wasn't too bad so it was just a linear line towards the cafe, which both of them were happy about. According to Jaune, the worst part of delivering on a busy day is the fact that people don't move out of the way. He only had one story of where he ran over a pedestrian on accident, but he really had a delivering deadline to complete.
"I thought it was rare of you to not call in, but I'm glad you're here~ It's only the second day after all!" Velvet greeted them at the door, tilting her head in a cute manner. She had been sweeping the dust outside with a large broom when she saw the two booking their way down the road. "She's in her usual spot so you can go and meet her~ I promise she'll be nice."
"I'm really sorry for being super duper late!"
"I'm sorry for being the one responsible for her lateness. Please don't punish her and even if you do then don't make it severe!" Ruby and Jaune made their way in and stood before Coco in her office, their heads bowed. The brown haired girl looked between them before arching an eyebrow as Velvet walked in afterward.
"So that's what happened...I appreciate you coming straight to me to explain yourself, but next time it would be more efficient if you call in ahead of time." She scratched her cheek in thought, "Never knew this situation would happen before...I can honestly say I was caught off guard."
"So...I'm not being punished?" Ruby asked meekly, prompting the woman to roar with laughter.
"Of course not! I'm not that mean! Just make sure you clock in when you go back to work!" Coco wiped away a tear and looked at Velvet. "Right? You can vouch for me right, Vel?"
"I mean...sometimes you can be very brash, and that mouth of yours has gotten you in trouble more times than I can count on my hand." The faunus spoke with honestly. "But overall you are very sweat Coco."
"Thanks Velvet, knew I could count on ya." Coco sighed before deciding what to do next. Glancing at the clock above the door she smiled, "Well since it's almost lunch break we don't have to waste time figuring out what we're gonna eat."
"Ehh?"
"Because our lunch has been delivered to us!" She pointed at the boxes Jaune carried in and smirked, "Well done Ruby! You completely something on Velvet's list of errands!"
"I don't get it, what exactly did I do right?" Ruby admitted before Velvet giggled in response.
"Sometimes when we're super busy or if Coco wants to be lazy, we'll order take out at some of the local restaurants. Luckily for you, Papa Jaune's is one of her favorite places to eat! Normally she'll send someone to get lunch for her if she forgets to pack one herself. She is really bad at remembering to bring her own lunch, so I have to worry about her."
"Velveeeetttt! Don't tell her about that! That was supposed to be private info!" Coco pouted, grabbing her first slice of pizza. "Oooo this looks delicious! Honestly Jaune your pizza place is da bomb!"
"Sorry Coco, it just slipped out~" Velvet apologized, giving Ruby a wink before grabbing a slice for herself. "I'll make it up to you later~"
"I need to get going, got to prepare for the amount of orders that's soon to pile up in the evenings." announced Jaune who pulled out his Scroll since it had been vibrating in his pocket. "You ladies have a nice day!"
"Wait! We still have to pay you for your service!" Coco said as she rummaged around for lien, but Jaune stopped her by placing a hand over hers.
"Think of it as a thank you for not punishing Ruby since she was late to work. Well I'm off then! Perhaps I'll see you ladies around!" Waving goodbye he left the cafe, hopped on his bike and whistled a happy tune.
After school...
"Ugh, because of all that homework, my mind feels like mush!" Yin complained, taking a break by sipping some water. He was really excited to be out of Port's class, making a beeline to the courts to let off some steam. "And I feel like the worst brother in the world..."
"Why? Cause Ruby was late to work or something?" asked Neptune, knowing he hit the nail on the head when the blond missed the basket entirely. "Honestly, she stayed up late to be with you so it was her choice to begin with."
"Yeah but as her brother, Yin should've told her to hit the sack." Sun argued, shooting a 3 pointer with ease. "No offense dude, but Ruby is still a growing girl. She needs her beauty sleep."
"How does an individual such as yourself know what beauty sleep is?" Yin teased his friend, dribbling the ball down the court before throwing it into the basket. "Don't tell me you watched documentaries on BeaconTube?"
"Hey! I can't help it when my mom flips to that channel and keeps it there all morning!" Sun barked with embarrassment. "Besides, my skin's felt smooth and refresh recently because of something she purchased...it feels amazing."
"Speaking of purchases, did you guys know that there's a whole shipload of merchandise is coming in straight from Menagerie?" Neptune asked as they sat on the benches, letting the leaves shelter them from the sun's rays. "That's what Professor Oobleck talked about in class. The market's gonna be flooded with new wares!"
"Menagerie? What do they have to offer?"
"Things you wouldn't even imagine! Why, they have some minerals that are only native to their land so it's exceedingly rare to be traded between continents. They also have exquisite foods and their clothes are something to look into, especially to the females. The best part is that none of them own things from the Schnee company, these are genuine native elements from the mother land herself!" The blue-haired male rattled off, well verse in the modern history. "Honestly, having a trade-relationship with Menagerie was the best thing we have done this year alone!"
"As you can tell, Nep really likes interacting with a lot of folks that aren't from around here. But he's extremely jittery when it comes to traverse through water to meet new people because, well, he absolutely hates the liquid that basically sustains our life." Sun smirked, his tail twitching back and forth with amusement. "He's like a walking contradiction if I ever saw one."
Beep! Beep!
"Oh! There's my ride." Yin glanced up to see Taiyang sitting in the driver seat with shades over his eyes. Bidding farewell to the other two, the blond shouldered his bag and walked across the lot to where the car was. "Hey, Dad."
"Did you have a good day today?" Taiyang asked as the younger male gently threw his stuff into the trunk. "Class wasn't too hard was it?"
"Yup, nothing too hard. It was basically one of those normal lecture days." was the reply followed by the trunk closing. "How come you're picking me up early? You rarely do that...even on a good day."
"You forgot what we were going to do after school already?" It took a while before Yin's eyes lit up with excitement and he quickly fastened his seat beat.
"No way! Is it done already?! Uncle Qrow said it would've taken at least three more days!"
"Well your Uncle Qrow pulled an all-nighter yesterday and today I left work early to lend him a hand. So the two of us managed to fix it all up! Besides...I think it's about time you drive yourself for a change, you're a responsible adult."
"Thanks Dad, I really appreciate it."
"And make sure to take your sister sometimes, the two of you need to go out more. You can even drive her to work since it's on the way to school." Taiyang looked over to see a pout starting to form on his son's lips. "Yeah I knew you were gonna try and weasel your way out of responsibilities."
That night...
"I'm hoooooome~" Ruby sing-song her way into the house and threw her bag on the couch. Taiyang shuffled in after her and went about to cooking a dish for his kids; after dropping Yin off at home and changing into something more casual, he left to pick up the younger of the two.
"Rubes! You wouldn't bee-lieve this!" Yin rushed in and scooped his sister up, twirling around with glee. Ruby yelped from being picked up without warning before laughing alongside her brother. "Today has been blessed by everything good in the world!"
"What's got you so happy? Finally got yourself a girlfriend or what?"
"Nah, who needs a girl when you got the best thing waiting for you in the garage!"
"...why would you hide a girl in the garage? That's not very ethical."
"Ruby I promise you it's not a girl! C'mere you little stinker!"
"W-Wah, hey! Yin!" Ruby scrambled as she was draped over his shoulder and carried out the house. She snorted and said teasingly, "If you drop me I'm gonna be mad!"
"I won't drop you because the distance between our house and the garage is hella short." Yin smiled, unlocking the chains and sliding the double door open. Walking in he placed Ruby down and covered her eyes and said, "Before you see what it is, take a wild guess."
"I thought I already gave you my guess!" She replied, placing her hands over his. Hearing Yin's laughter she decided to actually try and give a good educated guess. "Umm...well out of all the things that could make you this excited...is it your baby?"
"It is! My sister's so smart!" Removing his hands he watched as Ruby let out a small squeal. Sitting in the garage was the blond's most treasured possessions, his very own motorcycle named Bumblebee. Yin made it all by himself, with a little help from Qrow, so it was practically his baby.
"It's out of the shop! Wooow!" Ruby walked around it, admiring the awesome paint job and the large burning heart insignia printed on the front. It was named Bumblebee because of its yellow and black coating and she really loved it to death, just not as much as her brother. "So that means you'll be able to go out on rides like you used to do!"
"And you can come with me too, just pulled these babies out from the cabinets." Yin held up a red motorcycle helmet, his own yellow helmet tucked underneath an arm. "They need to be wiped though because of the dust...do we need to get you a new one soon?"
"Hmm? Why do you ask?" Ruby asked as she looked at the red helmet in her hand.
"Just afraid your big head can't fit inside that baby helmet~" Yin snickered, lifting his arm up when she punched him. "But I think we may need to get you a new helmet, I already know you wouldn't be able to fit in it just by looking at it."
"When do you wanna go and get that done?"
"We'll probably go this weekend because that's when Dad will have time to take us, I might need mine modified too." Yin said, walking out behind his sister and closed the garage door shut, locking it properly. He wasn't going to risk his baby getting stolen just when he got it back and lately, there's been rumors of things being stolen circulating around the news. "So make sure your head doesn't get any bigger than it already is."