Weiss hated morning shifts. Logically, she knew that no one really liked them. There was a reason no one volunteered for them. When she had first started, Weiss had thought it was just the early rise. No, that was only part of it... a terrible part of it to be sure. When her alarm sounded, Weiss always woke up bleary eyed and confused about what was actually happening until her brain caught up. Then came the battle to actually force herself up and face the day.

But if it had only been that, it could have been manageable. Yes, it wouldn't be pleasant but once Weiss managed to get out of the morning cold and into Beacon with a mug of coffee, the tiredness could be medicated.

Then they had to actually set up for the day. Clean all the surfaces, fill up the fridges, turn on the coffee machines as well as the dishwasher and put away anything the delivery trucks dropped off.

And then they would have to argue about who had to do the stock check, before drawing straws to see who would have that unfortunate job. Up to an hour in the walk-in freezer noting what they had, what was going out of date and what needed to be ordered in.

Finally, just to add insult to injury, after the initial rush of morning coffee, the rest of the shift was fairly boring with not many people coming in until lunchtime. By that time, they tended to be handing over to the next shift anyway. Overall it just wasn't the best shift to have and Weiss, like everyone, much preferred the mid shift or the closing shift.

Guess which shift Weiss was working today?

Well, it could be worse. She could be working with Nora who despite recently being outed as having a secret relationship, would be determined to tease her mercilessly about her new relationship with Ruby.

Guess who Weiss was working with today?

"So?"

Nora grinned at her as she leaned on the counter that Weiss had just cleaned. Weiss did her best to ignore her, continuing to wipe down the various tables of Beacon. If she gave an inch, Nora would take a mile. Weiss was only lucky that Yang had been too busy this shift to really join in tormenting her.

"Weeeeiiisss."

At least, Weiss assumed that was the reason.

"Weiss, talk to me."

"We had sex."

Nora stopped, her mouth half open as she tried to comprehend what Weiss had just said.

"Uhh what."

"That's what you were going to ask right," Weiss said bluntly. "I thought I would save us both some time. Yes, we had sex. It was wonderful, hot and passionate. Since then we've done it many times and each is better than the last. Last night, we introduced chocolate sauce, whipped cream and sprinkles. Ruby's idea of course, you know how she loves chocolate but it's my turn to pick tonight. I won't tell you what we're doing since it's obviously a private matter but I'll give you a hint. It involves a ping pong bat and several costumes changes."

There was about a minute of glorious silence as, for possibly the first time in her life, Nora was speechless. The redhead just stared at her even as Weiss had gone back to spraying and wiping tables.

"You didn't have sex, did you?"

Weiss just looked at her.

"No Nora, it's been two weeks." She began to spray the windows. "And even if we had, I would not be telling you about it. I'm not some teenage idiot, boasting about her first time, especially not in the work place."

"So..." Nora asked. "I can ask you outside the work place?"

Groaning, Weiss was saved having to answer (or possibly murder) Nora by the arrival of Yang.

"New company rule," the blonde muttered. "No talk of relationships at the work place."

Yang pulled off her gloves, throwing them onto the counter as she made her way towards the fridge. Nora and Weiss glanced at each other, watching as Yang took a sip of her soda before pausing.

"What?"

"You did the stock check."

"So?"

"No one does the stock check voluntarily," Nora said. "It's really fricken cold."

Yang shrugged.

"It's not that bad. I just couldn't be bothered with the argument today. I'm tired; I couldn't get much sleep last night."

"Nice."

Weiss groaned at Nora's comment but Yang just laughed.

"I wish. No, it was just one of those nights." As if to prove her own point, Yang yawned. "See."

Satisfied with both Yang and that the work area, Weiss nodded. The three of them quickly fell into a familiar pattern, putting away the cleaning supplies before fixing the rest of their uniforms. Reluctantly in Weiss' cases, she still hated the peaked caps they had to wear. Ruby liked teasing her for it.

Absentmindedly, Weiss slid her scroll out of her apron pocket, checking if she had any new messages. There wasn't, but that was hardly surprising. Ruby probably wasn't even awake yet so Weiss wasn't disappointed. Any excuse to look at her scroll's background, the photo of them in the rain. The fact that they hadn't gotten sick from that was still amazing to her.

With her mood slightly boosted, Weiss put her scroll away and began to prepare herself for the work day. Today was going to be a good day.

"Weiss, you're on counter duty."

Today was not going to be a bad day.

Today was turning into a bad day, or at the very least, an incredibly stressful one. First off, Weiss hated counter duty. She didn't think she was good at it and hated doing things she couldn't do. No matter what, her scoops of ice cream just didn't look right. They should be spheres right? Not... whatever it was she made.

It didn't matter how much everyone encouraged her (or how pathetic that made her feel that she needed encouragement) or if they said it didn't really matter, it bothered Weiss.

Even worse than that though, was that it had also been busy as all hell. Weiss didn't think they had a spare second since the doors opened. That meant nonstop coffees, ice creams and specials leaving Weiss frazzled and making her cones even worse than usual.

At one point, what looked like about a dozen children came in as a group. It was like a horrible horde and only Yang's surprising talent for handling the brats had stopped Weiss from just opening the counter and letting them go nuts.

In the end, she had persevered despite the nigh unintelligible amounts of orders she had been given. Her workspace and apron had been left a mess, littered with sprinkles, chocolate, sauces and melted ice cream.

"Ugh, I feel so sticky," she groaned as Yang passed with extra supplies. The blonde paused, a small smirk on her face. Weiss just rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up."

All in all, Weiss had never been more relieved to finish a shift. Groaning, Weiss climbed the stairs to the changing room, passing Pyrrha who gave her a sympathetic smile. She returned it halfheartedly, opening the door and practically collapsing onto the bench, pulling out her scroll to see a new message.

Ruby: Hey, how's work?

Weiss :You have no idea. I hate children.

Ruby :What?

Weiss :We had a party come in. At least I think it was.

Ruby : oh, yeah kids suck. They're loud, needy and annoying.

Weiss : Yeah and I get enough of that from you, Weiss messaged, a smirk on her face. I can't imagine twelve of you.

Her scroll buzzed a few seconds later, a photo of a pouting Ruby in a car flashing up.

Ruby : Meanie. You'd be lucky to have twelve of me.

Weiss was lucky to have one of her, though she was hardly going to tell her that. Instead she just wrote.

Weiss : Whatever you say. Looking forward to Patch?

Ruby was visiting Patch today, her uncle taking her since Tai had to stay with the store. She was still a little out from actually moving out but the Art School was putting on a meet and greet as well as a university tour and a look at the accommodation.

Ruby : It's going to be so fun. I can't wait to see what facilities they have.

Weiss :And meeting people?

There was a longer pause.

Ruby :Yeah that too.

Somehow Weiss doubted that. If Ruby could avoid it, she probably wouldn't talk to anyone for anything more than the bare essentials.

Before she could reply, the door swung open and Nora skipped into the room. Sending Ruby a quick good bye and promising to talk to her later, Weiss put her scroll away and started to get her clothes out.

"Ugh what a day," Nora said, throwing off her uniform as she started to change. "I'm just glad we had Yang. Girl's pretty good with kids." Nora laughed, lounging about half naked as she searched for her clothes. Why hadn't she gotten them out first? "This one time, we had a birthday group come in and Pyrrha gave away almost all our stock because she couldn't say no to them."

Sighing, Nora stopped for a breath, finally seeming to notice Weiss wasn't quite looking at her. For a second, Weiss though Nora might notice she was uncomfortable with such unnecessary nudity but then she remembered, this was Nora.

"You hungry, Weiss?"

"How did you two think I would like this place?"

Weiss was in a bar. A sleazy bar. A very, very sleazy bar with no air conditioning, a funny smell and sticky floors. Looking around, Weiss could see that nearly every patron was a male and every server female. It was the type of place that truck drivers would stop in on between trips... Oh dust, there was even a mechanical bull.

"Honestly Weiss, we didn't," Yang said, back to normal after the strangeness of the morning. "But we like it and no one else will come with us anymore."

"Something about 'objectifying' and making us feel 'uncomfortable,'" Nora said, emphasizing with air quotes. "I think it has character. Coming here is never boring."

"Is that wine or a blood stain?"

Nora ignored her, sighing happily as she stared over the bar as though reminiscing about happy times.

"Food's good too."

"I seriously doubt that."

"I recommend the triple cheeeze burger."

Somehow Weiss could tell that cheese wasn't spelt the normal way. It probably also wasn't really cheese. That wasn't the worst bit though.

"You have a recommendation? How often do you come here?"

As if to answer her question, a waitress approached them, eyes gleaming in recognition and smiling.

"Yang, Nora. Been a while. You want the usual booth?"

Yang shrugged at Weiss, shamelessly shooting her a grin before starting to chat with the waitress. Weiss turned to Nora. not really expecting much but deciding to try anyway. Nora pointed up to a wall.

"I have a plaque."

Yang sucks. Nora's number one.

"I lasted longer on the bull. The strategy is, get Yang wasted first."

They ordered food fairly quickly, perks of Yang and Nora being popular. Weiss didn't plan on drinking, just ordering water while Nora and Yang took beer. Thinking about it, it was probably smart to go with beer. Wasn't that what they used to drink instead of water in the olden days because it was safer than the dirty water?

Her water however had seemed clean enough when it arrived so Weiss figured the food couldn't be that bad either. Well, not dirty anyway. Probably still horribly unhealthy and greasy though.

Weiss went for a chicken wrap in the end, not trusting the salad. Yang ordered a cheese burger (which was actual cheese) and Nora got chicken strips. Both her friends decided to tease her about how picky she was and Weiss soon found herself getting annoyed.

"It's not elitist to want to put something of quality in my body... Shut up."

Irritated, Weiss excused herself to go text Ruby for a bit. The signal was awful in the bar and none of her messages were going through. It was a little cold and she was getting strange looks from passers-by (clearly she didn't look like the regular clientele) but Weiss was too pissed off to care.

Weiss : Hey, how's it going

Ruby's reply was almost instant, a picture of her smiling in what looked like a fairly crowed lecture hall. Weiss smirked, mostly at the dark skinned girl in blue sitting next to Ruby who had been caught in the background and looked somewhat confused.

Ruby : Oh god, she's staring at me.

Weiss : And?

Ruby : She might think I'm weird.

Weiss : You are weird

Ruby : Yeah but she doesn't know that

Weiss : Better to rip that band-aid off now

Ruby : You aren't helping

Weiss : Relax. She probably won't remember this anyway.

Weiss : And if she does, what are the chances you will have to see her a lot anyway?

Ruby : Knowing my luck she will be my room mate

Weiss laughed out loud.

Weiss : I'm sure that won't happen

Ruby : She's still staring at me

Rolling her eyes, Weiss was about to type out a reply when another message flashed onscreen.

Yang : Foods here

Weiss : Be one minute

Switching back to Ruby, she typed.

Weiss : Got to go. Getting food at a dive bar with your sister and Nora. If I don't message tonight it's because I caught tetanus

Ruby : Oh that place sucks. Talk to you later baby

Weiss : Don't call me that

Ruby : Sweet cheeks?

Weiss : No

Ruby : Baby doll?

Weiss : No

Ruby : My little Snowflake?

Weiss : I'm taller than you

Ruby : Only in heels

Smiling happily to herself, Weiss pocketed her scroll before heading back into the bar. Realizing what she was doing, Weiss controlled herself, not wanting to give it any excuse to tease her further.

However, suspicion was the first thing she felt upon getting back to the table. They had done something, she could tell. Yang was covering it well, but Nora's attempt at a neutral face was a dead giveaway.

Slowly, she pulled back her chair staring at her friends as she tried to work out what was wrong. A quick glance at her seat confirmed she wasn't going to sit on anything, so she sat down carefully. Maybe they had put salt in her drink. Yes, that was probably it. That seemed like a Nora prank.

Picking up her wrap, she continued to stare as though she could intimidate them into breaking. If was ridiculous really, none of them had said a word since she had gotten back yet it was clear they all knew that Weiss knew that they had done something.

Taking a bite, she was slightly surprised about how spicy it was. Not too bad but the menu hasn't mentioned it. Oh well, back to the matter at hand-

"That's it?" Nora said. "You didn't even react."

"React to what?" Weiss asked, slightly thrown the prank had gone off and she hadn't noticed. "What did you do?"

"I put spicy sauce on your food."

Weiss just sighed, already feeling her Nora vessel ready to burst. It was called the Nora vessel because Nora seemed to have direct path to causing her anger. Of course, Weiss would never tell her this or that she named a blood vessel after her. It would probably make her angrier than she already was.

"You are a child," she said, rubbing her temple. "Why would you do that?"

"It was meant to be funny but you ruined it." Nora did not have the right to play the victim here. "I knew I should have used the super-hot sauce, Yang."

Yang just shrugged.

"I thought the medium would be enough. Didn't want her to melt." Yang grinned. "You know because-"

"Because I'm the ice queen, I understood. Explaining it doesn't help."

"If anything it makes it funnier," Yang grinned. "Seriously though. Props Weiss, I figured you wouldn't be able to take any heat."

Nora's eyes widened and Weiss suddenly remember the last time she had hung out with Yang and Nora alone, she had ended up with a tattoo. Dammit, she had promised herself to always have a buffer after that incident.

"You could try The Sauce."

"Let's not go crazy Nora," Yang said. "Big difference between medium sauce and The Sauce."

"I already regret asking, but, what is the sauce?"

"The Sauce," Nora corrected.

"That's what I said."

"No, you said the sauce, not The Sauce. Big difference."

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Fine, what is The Sauce?"

Nora pushed her plate aside, as though her explanation required table space. Yang just went back to her food, as Weiss listened to Nora's explanation.

"The Sauce is the hottest hot sauce here. Legends say the owner killed a demon and this sauce was the only way to safely dispose of the body. If you aren't strong enough to handle it, your mouth will burn and your stomach will dissolve. You will sweat and you will want to die by the end of the bowl. It's not for the faint-hearted."

Weiss just looked towards Yang, who paused a chip halfway to her mouth..

"Hot sauce challenge they do here. If you can do it you get your picture on the wall and half off drinks."

Finishing off her chips, Yang pointed to the wall above their booth and Weiss looked up to photos of Yang, Nora and oddly Blake. Each one of their photos showed them smiling but only barely, like they had each ran a marathon in the desert. The most ridiculous part was the names underneath.

Thor

Dragon

Shroud

"In our defense," Yang said. "We didn't pick the names... though we did approve them."

"So it's really just a stupid eating challenge?"

Nora gasped.

"Stupid eating- There is no such thing."

"All eating challenges are stupid."

"Spoken like someone who couldn't do it," Yang said. "It's okay Weiss, medium is still good."

At this point, a small voice in the back of her mind was telling her to stop. It was accompanied by the soft prickling on the back of her shoulder on the shape of a snowflake.

Unfortunately, that voice just wasn't quite loud enough.

"I could do it," Weiss said. "I just don't want to."

"Sure."

"It's juvenile."

"Yup."

"Not worth my time."

"Absolutely."

That voice was getting louder now and the snowflake was starting to feel stabby."

But Yang had a shit eating grin on her face and Weiss had her Schnee pride within her blood. She was not going to back down now and she stared at Yang with a fire in her eyes.

"However," Weiss said. "If I were to try. I would be able to do it faster than you."

Nora started to giggle, excitedly clasping her hands together as she let out an ooooh noise at Weiss's challenge. But both girls ignored her now. This was between them.

"You sure you want to ride this train again Weiss?" Yang said. "I was nice last time. Who knows what could happen this time?"

The voice of her better judgement was screaming at Weiss now. Her snowflake tattoo was burning a warning on her back.

"Well that's up to you," Weiss said coolly. "You've had this coming for a while so it's only fair that you pick your punishment."

"How generous," Yang said, tapping her chin. "Hmm, what to pick? Another tattoo seems kinda boring. Maybe a piercing. You would look great with a nose ring." She sighed and Weiss watched, trying to maintain her poker face, as Yang leaned back in her seat. "Can't make you eat anything since anything is good after the Sauce. I don't know. Thoughts, Nora?"

Yang smirked at Weiss, appearing smooth, confident and in control right up until the moment Nora replied, and both their worlds were rocked.

"Hair style."

Yang choked, almost falling off her seat, as she her head whipped round to stare at Nora.

"What?"

It was that moment that Weiss remembered that Nora had also lost a bet to Yang before and was also suffering a tattoo herself. She had encouraged Yang's last bet with Weiss and at the time, Weiss had figured that Nora thought it would be funny either way.

But she now saw the mad genius that was Nora Valkyrie. By encouraging bets with Yang, she had the opportunity to get her payback, but with none of the danger herself. Why should she stand on the firing line when there was a patsy willing to take the fall?

"Simple," Nora said with a grin. "You both get a bowl of The Sauce. Whoever can finish the six wings the fastest wins and takes the losers to the hair salon for a little trim."

Weiss felt herself gulp. A little trim seemed unlikely and she suddenly had a vision of herself, sitting in a chair with all her beautiful white hair scattered on the floor while Yang held the scissors.

And despite her surprise at Nora's suggestion, Yang was still smiling cockily at her. Considering how much Yang cared for her hair, the blonde must be very confident she could win.

"That sounds great Nora," Yang said. "What do ya say Weiss?"

Or maybe Yang was bluffing. Maybe she was gambling on Weiss backing out. After all, Weiss had already lost one bet to her and to Weiss's knowledge despite all her bets, Yang had yet to lose anyone. She would be stupid to accept this bet. They both knew that so Yang must think she was safe.

"Fine," she said as Nora squealed in excitement. Yang just grinned as Weiss tried to maintain her composure, even as her mind screamed at her.

What the hell had she just done?

Ren - "What are you doing?"

Nora - "I'm having lunch with Weiss and Yang."

Nora - "Why?"

Ren - "I had a horrible feeling you just did something."

Nora - "What? No. That's silly, you're silly."

Ren - "What did you do?"

Nora - "...nothing"

Ren - "Nora"

Ren - "Nora"

Ren - "Nora answer me"