Ruby jolted upright on her bunk. Sweating, panting, and pumped up on adrenaline. It took her a moment to control her breathing and another long minute to gather her bearings.
"Damn it," she croaked, her face buried in her hands.
Another nightmare. Another twisted avenue of the past. Pyrrha. Yang. Weiss. Blake. Coming back to Beacon was beginning to really bite her back. She envied Jaune. And Cardin. And even General Winter to some extent. They didn't seem to be suffering this psychological onslaught, delayed as it was. Why was she getting these now? They had been here for six weeks! Perhaps it was because they both had responsibilities. And people with responsibilities often had to brush aside their demons—taunting as they were—to focus on the tasks at hand.
"How're you feeling?"
Reflex called for her hand to reach out and grab Crescent Rose. Before the scythe could be fully deployed, Jaune flipped on the light switch.
"How long have you been out there," Lieutenant Rose demanded.
"Five minutes," Captain Arc replied, sipping on his coffee. "You were making noise."
Her gaze was downcast immediately. "Huh. I guess I was."
Jaune sipped again before occupying the only metal folding chair in the room, directly across from her cot. "Another one?"
She nodded. Crescent Rose was sheathed and tucked atop her worktable. The Lieutenant was fully awake to fall back asleep again. Still damp from sweat, she pulled herself to sit on her cot, twiddling with the edges of her blanket, strands of her hair pasted over her moist skin.
"Care to talk about it?"
"I'm fine, sir."
A pause. "As long as it won't interfere in your work."
Ruby felt the breeze wafting through the open door to her quarters. "What time is it?"
"Oh-two-three-seven."
She raised a concerned brow at him. "Have you even slept?"
"Eh. Power nap."
"Don't push yourself, Jaune."
"I will if you promise to take help while it's still there," the Captain replied.
Ruby frowned. "I'm fine. You need the help more than I would."
He angled his head at her, mimicking her expression. "We both need help."
She huffed. "The General can wait for your report later in the day. You need to rest and unwind."
To her surprise, he chuckled. What he said next startled her. "The engineers refurbished a part of the cafeteria. Turned the lunch line into a bar. The troops love it."
"You...allowed this to happen?"
"With the General's blessing. It's for the best. People need to rest and unwind, Ruby. What better way than to provide a bit of intoxicating comfort to those who really need it," he answered with a wry grin.
The Lieutenant tried to retort but found no words to fully rebut that. After all the hell that they've been through—retaking Beacon, conducting clearing operations, taking in the losses—perhaps it was good for morale to have a few drunken soldiers lounging about, pouring their hearts (and pains) out. Assuming that they took the necessary precautions for that. Besides, that last major operation in downtown Vale had been very bloody despite their best efforts.
"You know, I just found out that we have a very talented bartender. He can whip up some damn good cocktails. Maybe even a Strawberry Sunrise." Jaune shrugged. "I didn't ask."
"... Have you been drinking?"
"A few."
She narrowed her gaze. "A few what?"
The Captain focused onto his near-empty cup. "Sips."
Ruby got off her cot to stand in front of him. Sure enough, there was that faint smell of alcohol. "How much have you been drinking?"
"I told you. A few," he replied tersely.
"Jaune, you know your limit. Please, don't...don't lose it."
"Hey, Cardin's a regular. Good drinking buddy. I trust him to tell me when to stop."
She sighed. "I guess that makes sense." For all she knew, the mercenary was a heavy drinker with a tolerance for alcohol rivaling that of her Uncle Qrow. Huh, Uncle Qrow. Not the right time to go down that road. "Remember that you're an officer, Jaune. You're in command of an entire company operating in this AO. Said company is among the best-equipped, most disciplined, and most experienced in the RDF. Their leader should be no less."
The Captain stopped by the doorway to her bunk on his way out. "Ruby, I had to tell seventeen families about their dead sons and brothers. Let me have this, would you?"
The Lieutenant felt her face contort with sadness. Of course. Who could forget that responsibility of a commanding officer? She resisted from reaching over to so much as tap his shoulder. "... Alright."
"If you want, I can get you a Strawberry Sunrise on the way."
She made to decline. Instead, what came out of her mouth was, "Sure. Thanks."
The moment Ruby crossed the threshold of the ruined cafeteria, the entire bar fell silent. Even the loud ones who were so deep in the bottle were coherent enough to tone down their voices, seemingly shocked back into sobriety by her very presence. She could easily read their minds: what in the living hell was she, out of all people, doing here?
She made her way to a stool, met the bartender in the eyes and said, "Strawberry Sunrise, please."
"Coming right up, ma'am," he said with nary an ounce of fear. Or any visible fear.
The din of conversation slowly eased back into the air, the whispers and mumbles of the RDF clientele bouncing off some of the still-standing walls of the cafeteria. Good thing the engineers raised awnings over the bar. It would do no good to have the wet season ruin the mood given the total absence of a roof. Those grey clouds overhead were ominous; forecast says a downpour in an hour or two.
"Fancy seeing you here," Cardin greeted across from her.
Ruby raised an irritated brow at him. "You're a regular?"
He downed his glass and poured himself another shot in a singular swift motion. Of course, unimpressive to Lieutenant Red. "You should've seen the Captain last night. He was close to going overboard."
"He can hold himself."
"He was lucky I was there. At least I didn't have to haul his drunk ass back to the barracks."
She glared at him. "And I take it your alcohol tolerance is worth commending?"
Cardin grinned. "I'm amazing, I know."
Ruby rolled her eyes and accepted her drink. The taste was...refreshing. Just what she needed.
"Something on your mind?" the mercenary asked.
"This Strawberry Sunrise is good," she deflected, ignoring his knowing smirk.
"You don't drink. Often. Or in public, for that matter," he stated bluntly. "This here is a rare sight. The great Red Reaper, drinking her sorrows away at some rundown watering hole in a bombed out ruin. Allow me to bask in it."
The Lieutenant glared at him fiercely. Even the bartender and some of the nearby patrons edged away, feeling the air of hostility radiating from the RDF's resident demoness. "Shouldn't you be elsewhere?"
"Shouldn't you be with the Captain?"
"He's busy."
A scoff. "Huh, of course, he is."
"Let me have mine. I'm letting you have yours," Ruby negotiated coolly despite her gritted teeth. She hated to have to lose her enjoyment at having a Strawberry Sunrise after so long.
"Fair enough," Cardin whistled. By then, the bottle was empty and he left a few lien cards on the countertop with a nod to the bartender. "You know, regulars like me are always around. This is the only place in the entire of Vale outside of work where we'd let you talk our ears off. Goodness knows you clearly need it."
Ruby waited until the clicking off his boots faded away, drowned out by the noise of the bar, before allowing a faint, "Thanks, Cardin."
Of course, the bartender heard all of this but for the sake of keeping his hide, he gladly kept his mouth shut.
ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: March 29, 2018
LAST EDITED: May 8, 2018
INITIALLY UPLOADED: March 29, 2018
NOTE: A part of this was inspired by Tending to the Soul by potNpaN which is about Jaune being a bartender instead of a Huntsman-in-training. It's very insightful and weaves the premise into a good story. Check it out. :)
Again, let me know what you think of these connected one-shots so far. I mean, I don't really have much of an underlying plot or anything major behind this. More of a creative break and an excuse to write random Ruby-Jaune stuff in my own little Future AU.