A/N: Sorry the note might be long. So i just got into RWBY even though I've been telling myself to watch it since 2015 to talk to my friends about it. Finally did and I'm only 5 years late but I'm glad I did because I love it. I regret not watching it then because I could have been a part of this all these years. I love bumbleby so much? And BMBLB? Don't even get me started on that. I've been listening to it on repeat since Jan 14th when I found out about it.

This is my first hiatus and I'm already seeing SO many memes and jokes about waiting and "everyone going crazy already so let's [insert things here]" etc. There's also something called a yorse? Idk but i'm here now, waiting for vol. 8, filling in the void like everyone else with fics. Hope you guys enjoy. Will hopefully be updating regularly.

Yang's job had her smiling a lot. It's not that she absolutely loved her job, she just happened to be the face of the restaurant on the days she worked. The host or hostess was the first person customers would see when they walked in. If Yang had a scowl on her face or greeted people less enthusiastically, they might get a bad first impression of the place. That definitely wouldn't help with keeping said job, especially with the family that owned the place. She could relax a bit, though, when no one was up front.

She leaned against the cabinet located across from the register on the front desk. Yang had just arrived at her shift, checked all she needed to check, and was currently zoned out in the small host "box". Her arms hung lazily at her sides as she watched the door through a reflection that came from a fake window in the waiting room. The restaurant itself had no actual windows, just mirrors in place of where glass should be. Her eyes wandered over the dining area to see if any customers needed their plates picked up. As she looked around, the boss's son walked over.

"Xiao Long. You're gonna have Tuesday afternoons on your schedule starting next week."

"What? Why?" she asked, her brows furrowing at the unexpected announcement from Cardin.

"Jaune got into a car accident earlier today," he laughed. "He won't be able to work for some time so my dad's giving one of his shifts to each host 'til he comes back. He remembers you saying you couldn't work Tuesday nights so he scheduled you for the afternoon shift, lucky you."

Yang's eyes grew wide, focused more on Jaune's accident rather than her new shift. Then she frowned. "Wait, but he doesn't have a car."

"That's the funniest part. He was lucky his bicycle took most of the impact."

"His bike? Jeez, is he gonna be ok?"

"I guess. Though knowing how much of a wimp he is, it might be a long time." He laughed again. "Maybe a couple of weeks. While that happens, everyone else needs to pick up the slack. If you got a problem with that, you know who to talk to," Cardin smirked before walking to the server area in the back.

Yang leaned her elbows on the front desk, not exactly thrilled about having one of her only free afternoons gone. She also didn't like how enthusiastic Cardin was about Jaune getting hit by a car but knew she shouldn't be surprised. He had such a mean streak even in high school where, unsurprisingly, his favorite target to terrorize was - you guessed it - Jaune. Yang's thoughts drifted back to her new shift and she frowned. She didn't have long to mope around as she noticed activity near the restaurant's entrance. Removing her arms from the desk, she put on a big smile on her face as two elderly customers walked past the waiting room to the front desk.

"Hello there, party for two?"

They smiled and nodded.

"Would you prefer a table or a booth?"

"Booth please."

Yang grabbed two menus from behind her and led them over to Cardin's section, placing them on the table. She grabbed two napkins filled with silverware from a small cabinet at the end of the dining area and set them down on their table.

"Your server will be right with you." She gave them another warm smile before walking back to the front desk to ring up the couple that had just gotten up from their seats to pay.

"Thank you, have a nice night!" she grinned and waved as the last of the customers walked out. Yang locked the front door then walked over to the last dirty table to finish wiping it down. Once she made sure it was squeaky clean, she walked back to the credit card machine, entered the remaining tips, cashed out Cardin and Russel, then proceeded to count the register while they counted the money to tip her out for the night.

"Wonder how long I'll have to wait this time," Yang muttered under her breath, knowing she was too far for them to hear. She looked towards the back of the dining area where she knew Cardin and Russel were just chatting away.

Wednesdays weren't really her favorite days to work. She had to seat people, bus tables, and ring them up, though doing all of that wasn't really the problem. The problem was not getting paid enough for it. Cardin and Russel were supposed to give her ten percent of their total tips for helping them out by bussing but rarely did. Being the manager's son, Cardin was able to get away with a lot of things and since Russel was a close friend of his, he was able to as well. Yang couldn't complain too much. Money was money, after all. Even if they paid her a little below the ten percent, that was still enough for an extra shift without actually having to work it. That was the cool thing about tips, anyway.

She finished up the register and walked to the server area, hoping they'd notice her right away. She didn't want to wait longer than she had to to head home. Cardin's back was to her but Russel was definitely facing in her direction. She stuck her hand out once he noticed her. His expression soured as he walked up and begrudgingly dropped a few dollars into her hand. He shrugged then walked back over to Cardin, who still hadn't turned around. Probably on purpose. Yang's shoulders sagged and she rolled her eyes. She placed Russel's money into her pocket before holding out her hand once more.

"Come on Cardin, let's just get this over with so I can go home."

Finally deciding to take an interest in her, he counted some dollar bills then proceeded to drop those into her open hand as well.

She took a quick look at what he had given her, unamused. "Gee, thanks so much."

"Whatever."

She gave him the widest smile she could before walking to the back and clocking out. Grabbing her jacket and helmet from the employee lockers in the breakroom, she exited the restaurant through the backdoor, the cool night air hitting her skin as soon as she did. Yang undid her ponytail and let her wild hair roam free. Donning her gear, she got on her trusty motorcycle and headed home.

Yang's keys jingled as she opened the door to her small apartment. She flipped the lights on, placed her helmet on a nearby table, then walked over to the small couch and plopped down.

Tonight had been kinda busy. Not busy enough to stress while at work but busy enough to warrant more than fourteen dollars from both her coworkers. While cleaning the tables that had left cash tips, she might have sneaked a peek at how much some customers had left. Both Cardin and Russel had made about a hundred bucks, give or take, based on her calculations, but each had only given her seven dollars each. Definitely not ten percent. But that was the thing with Cardin and his friends. None of them were really bound by the rules.

Why does he have to be the boss's son?

Yang sighed. She didn't want to keep complaining. It was just that tonight's shift had been very close to kicking her ass. If there had been any takeout orders, she would have definitely been screwed. Knowing her mood would sour if she continued to think about the tips, Yang got up and dropped the cash inside of a large pickle jar hidden behind her flatscreen.

It was actually starting to fill up halfway, especially thanks to this couple that ordered the same three meals every two weeks. The husband always left a nice tip. She smiled. Guess her mood did lighten after all.

She suddenly remembered what Cardin had said about Jaune and decided to message her good friend, Pyrrha, unaware if she had already heard the news.

YXL: hey did u hear abt jaune?

A few minutes passed before her phone buzzed in response.

PN: No, what happened? He didn't get fired, did he?

YXL: no buuut he might have gotten hit by a car. winchester's giving his shifts to other hosts while he gets better.

PN: D: that's horrible news!

YXL: yeah cardin said he's doing ok but u know what would make him feel better in no time? a surprise visit from u ;)

PN: Yang!

YXL: u know he'd appreciate that. i know u would too lmao don't deny

There was silence for a minute as Pyrrha didn't respond. Yang laughed as she imagined how red Pyrrha's face might have gotten after she sent that last text. Probably as red as her hair. She turned off the living room lights and walked to her room.

YXL: c'mon pyrrha, it'd help him, u, and me. u know how much work i had to put into getting this schedule for my last semester :(

PN: I'll visit him tomorrow but that means I'll be skipping our gym workout.

YXL: fine with me :) he needs u more than me. srsly. maybe he'll even get better sooner lol

PN: I doubt it. Thanks for letting me know, Yang. I appreciate it :)

YXL: no prob. tonight was kinda tough so i'm going to sleep early. good luck with tomorrow ;)

PN: Yang!

YXL: ;)

Yang laughed as she grabbed her pajamas from her drawer before heading to the bathroom to get ready for bed. She brushed her teeth, turned off all the lights and cautiously walked back, jumping into her bed with a soft thud. She clicked her smaller tv on in her room but then decided she really was too tired to watch any of those cheesy romance movies before bed. Turning it off, Yang immediately drifted off to sleep.

Yang had only been working at Winchester's for about six months. In that time she had learned a lot about the inner workings of restaurants. Maybe not those big fancy chain restaurants but definitely small, family-owned restaurants. And maybe just restaurants in general after having worked mainly retail and cashier jobs in other places. The idea that the food and drinks weren't already magically prepared was shattered when she saw her coworkers pouring the drinks themselves on her first day. Still, working at the steakhouse made for some pretty interesting situations sometimes. It also gave her something else to list under "experience" on any future job applications.

Yang continued to stare up at her ceiling, still lost in her thoughts. She had just woken up and wanted to stay in bed. She grabbed her phone from her nightstand and checked her emails to see if any classes had been cancelled. Nope. Yang sighed.

It was Thursday morning - well, technically afternoon now - and she had class later that evening. It was pretty rare when professors cancelled but she would rather see the announcement from her bed before walking into an empty classroom. Today and Tuesday were one of the only times she was free to do homework, go to the gym, or study before class. If she had to go to work right before her class started, that would definitely cut into her school time during her last semester. Her busiest semester.

She sat up on her bed for a few more minutes before changing into her workout clothes and heading to the gym, aware that without Pyrrha there she probably wouldn't get as much work in. They usually egged each other on during their workouts, making them work twice as hard.

About an hour later, she returned to her apartment and showered. She grabbed her laptop and began working on her assignments. Yang always felt more energized after working out and managed to channel that energy into her homework. Her phone buzzed about two hours later, just as she wrapped up an assignment. It was a text from Pyrrha.

PN: Jaune's ok. He's got a broken leg and wrist but he's doing fine. He was actually really happy I came to visit :)

YXL: what'd i tell u?

PN: Shut up.

YXL: u know u love me ;)

PN: I do but it doesn't make you less insufferable sometimes

YXL: wow the truth comes out :O

PN: The truth has been out :P

Yang laughed at her phone, taking a much needed break. She got up from the couch and stretched her muscles before heading to the small kitchen to make lunch. She still had a few hours before her first class started. Knowing her time was going to be limited starting next week, she made a quick sandwich and began to willingly study the next few chapters instead of turning on her gaming console.

A/N: another note sorry lol. I'll be cross-posting on ao3 too. Also, let me know how you guys feel about the restaurant scenes involving customers. I'm not sure if there's too much dialogue or too little. That way I can just summarize the interactions if needed. Or add more descriptions to them/people in them. I hope I manage to get the characters right since this is my first rwby fic. First time using ao3 sorry for formatting mistakes too. I'm really excited to start this restaurant AU and hope you guys like it as well :)

Ps if you play ffxiv, i have a blake alt on the crystal data center! (also a non-rwby character on primal as well if u just wanna hang)

pps also i wrote that intro note before RT posted that AC x RWBY fanart so now i have a vague idea of yorse...

pps hope you guys are staying safe with all this covid19 stuff.