AN: This the chapter that will end the first arc. I had the time so I wrote it now.
For Jaune Arc, the place hadn't changed at all since he was here, at least on the outside. Inside it was entirely different as the atmosphere was notably different.
After Alec let them in with Jaune letting the other guys unload the food as his uncle gave him instructions to focus on the customers. He felt a little bad leaving them to do the hard work as some of the packages looked quite heavy. The worries went away as soon they lifted one of them as if they were filled with air, one that he remembers weighing almost half as much as he.
It's not like the guy was ripped with muscles either, but that didn't stop him from carrying the package inside. He was so distracted by the sight of it that he barely noticed that Alec was inviting him further in.
After making sure to remember to ask the guy later about how to become that strong, he followed Alec towards the same room as last time. When they sat down he could see him relax and wince shortly after. The two actions so shortly after made him curious enough to question why.
"I got injured on a job three days ago, working last night might have aggravated it. The injury doesn't bother me as much as before but it still hurts when I'm not careful." He was visibly nervous as he answered for some reason.
Jaune was worried for him and had his sympathies. The way he said 'a job' and not 'the job' means that he has multiple jobs and he still lives in a place that looked as old as this place does even with income from more than one job.
Jaune doesn't really know how tiring it could be to have multiple jobs but he had to do two chores at the same time once. One of his sisters promised him that she would buy a new comic for him if he did her chores for a week.
He wouldn't want to do them injured as Alec says he has done.
"You shouldn't be aggravating your injuries like that, being reckless like that will only make them worse." He feels like a hypocrite considering he's been told the same before but that doesn't mean that he can't point it out.
When Alec started on a what sounded like a protest Jaune continued.
"Your injuries could lead to you messing up a job and I don't want that to happen to you. I might not have known you for long but I already think of you as a friend." He felt some embarrassment after saying that as he doesn't have that many friends in the first place.
When he doesn't hear a rejection to what was said, he forges ahead with his question.
"Would you mind if I looked at it? I have some first aid training." Jaune didn't know what Alec was feeling when he finished speaking as his expression was a weird mixture of emotions he couldn't place.
Alec nodded eventually and raised his shirt to let him see.
He had a lot of first aid training both as the one giving it and receiving it. One learned a lot when their sister wanted to become a paediatrician and had a little brother at just the right age to practice on. He still has nightmares from some of the more horrifying diseases and traumas she described.
He didn't need to know how much force it would take to crack a skull open.
But those experiences made him competent enough to know that the injury isn't too serious, and would just require some days to recover.
"Would you like a massage?" He asked after examining the injury.
"A... massage?"
"You look like you need it. I wasn't sure before, but you look quite tense now that I look closely." He's been praised by his entire family for his skills though when he offers it to other people they just look at him weirdly.
When Alec agrees to one, he immediately gets to work and start massaging him. He can really feel the tension now that he's touching him and it goes for a few minutes in pure silence as he focuses mostly on his back.
When he moves towards his neck, he has relaxed to the point that he looks like an entirely different person with a content smile on his face.
"Where are the other people I met last time? I haven't seen any of them since I got here." Jaune asks after he gets rid of a particularly hard knot.
He doesn't understand what exactly causes it, but all his hard work was instantly destroyed as Alec's body regains all the tension he just got rid off. He starts over again but asks questions that aren't as touchy as that one apparently was.
After he's done, they talk some more before they move on to business.
He gives him the form that says how much money he owes with Alec taking out the appropriate amount of lien and puts in on the table. While Jaune counts the money, he could feel someone staring intensely at him, looking up it turns out to be Alec. He wonders why, but Alec averts his eyes before he can ask.
He wonders what could make him stare at him like that and assume that he's worried about it not being enough lien. He did order a lot of food with the price easily going up to 835 lien.
When he's done with counting, he smiles and gives him the second form. The second form was the one that needs to be signed for it to count as a successful delivery.
When Alec just stares at it with his hands not moving from where they are laying at the table. He's confused at the action and was about to question why until Alec speaks.
"You aren't taking any more than that?"
The question made him double-check that the amount written on the form matched with what he had counted. Both of his actions resulted in 835 lien being the answer.
He shook his head. "We have all the money we're supposed to have. You don't have to give us any more than you already did."
He stared at me for a long time before he grabbed a pen and signed the form.
After that, there wasn't much to do as the other guys had taken all of the packages in already. He said his farewell to Alec before going back to the truck.
The guys inside made sure that the forms and lien were correct before they started driving since his track record wasn't exactly amazing, it wasn't a big deal.
Once everything was checked, they drove back to the warehouse to pick up more.
His mood has improved from that delivery, and the smile on his face didn't slip all the way back.
Alec Meadows polite smile didn't slip until he saw that their truck rounded the corner.
It was only then that he let out a breath he didn't know he held and gave the signal. The signal was just a series of knocks on the wall, one that would tell them that everything was safe.
The signal was easily heard and everyone soon came out of their hiding places and to the living room each one holding a weapon. The weapons weren't much, not even mecha-shift, but they would have been enough as a distraction so that they could run.
They were so sure something would go wrong, that they might anger them and would end up with all of them dead.
Instead, he was met with concern and a massage that was better than any lovemaking he's done before.
If it means that his sex life was just that bad or that Jaune was just that good he can think about later.
They even got to keep practically all of the money that they stole.
He won't be complaining if this was how it will be like working for them.
Jaune Arcs vacation was over and he now held the train ticket that would take him back home. The last three days were especially exciting for him.
Alec ordered more food after that, though not at much as last time, asking for Jaune to come with every time. Every time he would ask him for advice on how to proceed on their game.
His advice was for them to use the money they got to upgrade the gear they already had, one can't go for anything bigger than Dust shops without better gear.
Alec looked excited when he said that, which was a nice change from the strange looks he would get when he would suggest it back home.
Maybe its because he usually plays the villain when he says that?
Anyway, it was on the last day before he was going to leave that he gave Alec his scroll number. Their conversations were fun and he considered him a friend that he didn't want to lose contact with.
He said he would call him before the next 'job' started, another way of saying 'session' most likely. Jaune was eagerly waiting for that call as it felt good for some of his plans to come to use again and hoped that Alec would invite him to an actual session next time.
He would have a place to stay to as his uncle had said he was welcome anytime.
Eventually, it was time for the train to depart. Jaune boarded the train and found a good seat near the back of the train. As they left the station he felt like it wouldn't be long until the next time he came here.