The servers went around their tables, seeing if their guests needed anything else. One by one, the guests said no, and service came to a close.
Everyone began scrubbing down their stations. Dusk helped Ruby take her proteins to the walk in, showed her where the sauces and such were supposed to go.
Weiss surveyed the line. Then, she went to her office, sat in the chair, pulled a bottle of Crooked Gin, and took a swig straight from the neck. She slammed the bottle on the desk, sighing.
She couldn't comprehend it. Her best sous, fired, only to be replaced by someone. . . Better. Better than Neptune. Better than any cook she had in the kitchen.
Better than her.
Just who the fuck was Ruby Rose?
Weiss stayed in her office, taking a few more swigs, replaying the night over and over in her head. The moves, the moves this woman had. Weiss had shifted to get a better view of Ruby during service. She realized that, when Ruby had moved with such agonizing slowness, she wasn't doing it to piss Weiss off. Ruby had been calibrating. Learning where to place her feet, how far the oven could swing, how deep the coolers were, how much room she had to spin. She was learning the line so she could dance.
And her organization - holy fuck her organization - it was like a computer program. An assembly line. Plates opposite food, tickets lined to match. When one dish left a new plate was slid in, a new skillet was dropped.
All the while, her station remained immaculate. Not a drop remained spilled, and any salt that fell to her counter went straight to Ruby's hand, to the trash.
Weiss pulled her off-center bun free, letting her hair fall over her shoulders. She ran her fingers through her hair, pulling at a few knots. She sighed, staring at the ceiling.
"What the fuck." Weiss whispered.
A knock at the door. Then, it opened.
"Hey Weiss." Sun whispered. "The crew is coming out for drinks and karaoke at the Cane. Neptune'll be there. Wanna come?" He asked quietly.
"Oh. Um." No. No no no more tonight. No more Ruby. She could only handle so much at once. "No. I'll see you and Neptune later."
"Sure thing." Sun said, gently closing the door. Bless him, he knew her well.
Weiss waited until the rest of the staff had cleared the restaurant. She pulled herself from the swivel chair and, after grabbing her knife bag, shuffled to her locker. She tossed her bag, hat, and implements into the locker. She went to shut it, but paused.
A piece of paper, stuck to the side of her locker. Weiss pulled it out and began reading it. The further down the page, the more her fingers wrinkled the paper.
"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Weiss screamed. She folded and stuffed the paper inside her pocket, grabbed her keys and jacket, and ran outside to the parking lot. She got into the car, and turned it on.
Then, she paused, got out, ran to the bushes, and grabbed the. Black red. Lighter. From the dirt.
She slammed her car door shut, and peeled out of the parking lot. First, to her apartment. Then to the bar.
She was going to get some fucking answers.
~0~
Ruby stopped just outside the Carousing Cane, taking in the wooden sign swinging above the door. It depicted a long, thin cane embraced by musical notes, leaning against a barrel overflowing with beer. Ruby smiled. This looked like her kinda place. She pushed the heavy door open.
One step inside, and Ruby felt instantly at home. The shelves of liquor had books propped between them. Some of them from her childhood, like "The Nook of Nevermore" and "Little Red Hunting Hood".
The lights in the bar were a comforting orange. Some flickered gently, as if they held fire in their wire. These bulbs hung from naked cords that ran into the bare rafters of the ceiling. The rafters were stuffed with multi-colored lights and memorabilia. A bar glass glued sideways, a painting of hops hung from string, a stuffed cat stapled by its tail to the corner.
Ruby breathed in deep. The bar was suffused with freshly baked bread and the heady scent of hops. Her ears picked up a fryer in the back, sizzling with a fresh drop. The ring of spatulas and kitchen chatter wafted her way, though she could hardly make out the words.
"Hey Red!" Sun yelled. He waved from a swivel barstool.
Next to Sun, standing at the bar, a blue haired man with an unbuttoned red blazer. He caught Ruby's eye and lifted his glass, silently nodding.
"You find the spot well enough?" Sun asked.
"I did." Ruby answered, pulling her red coat from her shoulders.
"You can hang it there." Sun pointed at a line of coat hangers to the right of the door.
Ruby nodded, and hung up her coat, rubbing the sleeve with her fingers gently before letting it fall. She made her way to Sun, waving at the blue haired man. "Hey. I'm Ruby."
"Neptune." He held his hand out. "Former sous at the Gele."
"Ah." Ruby bowed her head. "I've heard of you."
"Nothing good, I imagine." Neptune grinned into his glass.
"Well, there was some talk about bras and oranges."
"Ha!" Neptune laughed. "I remember that!"
"But they spoke well of you." Ruby said.
"Really." Neptune deadpanned.
"Sun, did you tell him what happened?" Ruby asked.
"No." Sun shook his head. "His ego is big enough."
"What happened?" Neptune asked, perking up.
"Half the staff was gonna walk out just because you were fired." Ruby answered.
"Really!?" Neptune's eyes went wide. Then, his chest puffed and he smoothed down his blazer. "I mean, of course they did." Neptune frowned. "Shit, Weiss must've had a horrible day."
"No? Well, yes, but not as bad as it could've been." Ruby said, shaking her head.
"But if half the staff left-" Neptune started, cocking his head in confusion.
"They didn't." Sun cut in. "Ruby here convinced them to stay for the night."
"Huh," Neptune nodded in appreciation. "How'd you do it?"
"It wasn't anything special." Ruby chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Sure. Nothing special." Neptune glanced at Sun.
Sun nodded at Neptune. Smiling, as if to say 'I'll tell you later.'
"So," Ruby started, changing the topic. "What are you having?"
"Valian Mead, '98." Sun answered, lifting his glass to the light. It shimmered like liquid sunset.
"One hundred proof, bites like a good fuck." Neptune sighed, taking another sip.
"One hundred?" Ruby's eyes shot up. "I wanna see the bottle."
"Sure." Sun leaned against the bar. "Hey Oz! When ya got a sec, come meet my new sous!"
A man at the end of the bar, in olive green vest and black tie, with stark white hair and small, round spectacles on his nose. He regarded the pair, polishing several glasses. He held one to the light, set it down, and walked over.
"Good evening." He greeted.
"Hi." Ruby said, offering a small wave. "How goes?"
"Bittersweet. Yours?" The man asked.
"Actually," Ruby chuckled, rubbing the back of her head. "That sums up mine too."
"Then that makes us allies." He said, smiling. He folded his hands behind his back, standing straight. "I am Ozpin. You are the new sous at the Gele?"
"Yup! Ruby Rose! Nice to meet ya." Ruby replied.
"Good to meet you too." Ozpin bowed his head. "May I-"
"Oh!" Ruby fished around in her pocket, producing her ID. "Here ya go!" She said, offering it to Ozpin.
"Thank you." Ozpin smiled. He scanned it. "Twenty-three. You are indeed old enough to drink and. . ." He hummed. "You have silver eyes."
"Yeah. Kinda runs in the family." Ruby chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck.
"It says you're five foot eleven. Does that run in the family?" Ozpin asked.
"On my dad's side." Ruby answered. She put one hand on her hip. "You should see my sister. She's three inches taller than me."
"Three inches?" Sun said quietly.
"I see." Ozpin handed the card back. "I imagine she can hold her drink."
"Yeah, she can." Ruby chuckled.
"Does that also run in the family?" Ozpin asked, one brow raised.
"Maybe. Depends."
"On what?" Ozpin asked.
"On how well you pour them." Ruby smirked.
"Hm." Ozpin smiled back. "I assure you, you get what you pay for at the Cane." He gestured to his long shelf. "What will you have?"
"I'd like to see the bottle of mead Sun's drinking."
"Would you like a taste too?" Ozpin asked.
"Maybe, if I'm curious. Really what I want is. . ." Ruby tapped her chin. "Can you make a Mistrali Trainwreck?"
Ozpin's brow shot up.
"What's that?" Sun asked, setting his empty glass before him.
"You've never had one?" Ruby asked, aghast.
"No." Sun and Neptune deadpanned.
"Oh, it's great!" Ruby clapped her hands together, stars in her eyes. "First, you start with a looooot of vodka, and mix it with cinnamon, cardamom, allspice and sugar syrup. It gets blended up and you pour it into a wide and deep stout glass, about halfway full. Then you take hot heavy cream and vanilla paste, or vanilla extract if you're cheap, and pour it into a four ounce tumbler. Bomb that into the vodka and you chug it down!" Ruby looked up wistfully. "It tastes like snickerdoodle and bad decisions~"
"Holy fuck." Sun whispered.
"Why?" Neptune echoed.
"So, can you make it?" Ruby asked Ozpin.
"Miss Rose," Ozpin sighed, pushing his glasses up his nose. "I have made more mistakes than any man, woman, or child in Remnant. Half of them began with a Mistrali Trainwreck." He answered, voice hollow.
"Great!" Ruby exclaimed, taking a seat.
"You're not seriously making that, are you?" Sun asked Ozpin, leaning over the bar.
"I have to go to the back." Ozpin said, shoulders sagging. "I need to heat up the cream."
Sun watched Ozpin go. He looked at Ruby, humming in her chair, hand cupping her cheek, elbow on the bar.
"I've never seen Ozpin look like that." Sun said. He put a finger to his lips, frowning. "No, wait. He's looked like that once."
"Once?" Ruby asked, brushing her hair back.
"Weiss went on a bender a few months back. Passed out in the alley. We had to drag her in. Sprayed her off in the dish pit." Neptune chuckled, then his lips pressed into a thin line. "Ozpin said he'd ban her ass if she did that again."
"Damn." Ruby sat up, paying full attention. "What happened?"
"Mmmmmm." Neptune wagged his hand back and forth. "Weiss is. . ."
"High strung?" Sun suggested.
"Constantly." Neptune nodded. "Like a bad violin. If something doesn't work out the way she imagined, well-"
"Let's not get into it." Sun cut in. "It's Weiss' business, and not our place to share."
"But," Neptune said, holding up a hand. "If she could find something to relieve that stress-"
"Neptune." Sun scolded.
Ruby eyed them suspiciously, then shrugged. None of her business.
"One Mistrali Trainwreck." Ozpin declared, setting two glasses before Ruby. One, a tall stout glass half full of vodka and sugar syrup. The other, a whiskey tumbler filled almost to the brim with warm cream.
"Thank you!" Ruby said gleefully. She popped the tumbler into the stout glass, it just barely fitting inside. The tumbler splashed into the vodka, slipping to the bottom. She tipped the glass to her mouth and started gulping, draining the glass in twenty seconds. She slapped it on the bar and let out a long, loud burp.
Sun, Neptune and Ozpin stared in shades of impressed, surprised, and horrified.
"Excuse me." Ruby giggled. She waggled the glass. "Can I have another one?"
"Let's wait and see." Ozpin said. He turned and pulled a bottle from the shelf. "You may have some Valian Mead to tide you over, as it is a sipping drink." Ozpin emphasized.
"Fiiiiine." Ruby pouted. She held out her hand. The bottle was passed to her and she turned it over, examining the label. It was green and white, with bright gold lettering. The label sheathed dark glass, almost purple in the bar light.
"Damn. This is seriously hundred-proof mead." Ruby said, slight awe in her voice.
"Smooth as river stones." Ozpin sighed.
"I'll take a glass then." Ruby handed the bottle back. "But that might be it for me. Can't imagine it's cheap."
"I'll cover your tab."
Ruby whirled. At the entrance of the bar, hanging up her coat, was Weiss. She looked different without her chef's coat, wearing instead a simple blouse and knee-length skirt, with lacy heels and bracelets jangling at her wrists, a small purse looped around one thumb. She brushed her hair back, no longer in a tight bun, but instead a long, off-center ponytail that brushed her waist.
Wow.
"Weiss!" Sun yelled out. "You came!"
"Hello Sun." Weiss waved softly. Her smile grew. "Neptune. Good to see you."
"Good to see you Weiss." Neptune strode up, sweeping Weiss into a hug. "Is the Ice Queen gracing us with her presence tonight?"
"I wasn't planning on it." Weiss said sheepishly. She pulled back. "Actually, I need to talk to Ruby." She said, voice growing harder. "Alone."
"Well," Neptune's eyes shot up. He gestured to Ruby. "By all means. I need to get the karaoke machine set up anyway."
"Thank you." Weiss walked up to the bar, next to Ruby. "Hello Ozpin."
"Hello Weiss." Ozpin nodded.
"I'd like my usual please." Weiss asked.
"Coming right up." Ozpin said, tumbler in hand. He put fresh blueberries into the glass and mulled them into a juicy paste, before pouring in three fingers of Crooked Gin and one finger of tonic. He slid that onto the bar, along with a glass of mead. "Will you be covering Ruby's entire tab?" Ozpin asked.
"I will." Weiss answered cooly, taking a sip of her gin.
"Very well."
Weiss took her glass, caught Ruby's eye, and gestured to an empty table far from the bar.
Ruby followed.
Weiss pulled out her chair and sat, crossing one leg over the other. She gestured to the chair opposite, and Ruby obliged, scraping the legs against the floor as she sat. Weiss winced.
"H-hey Chef." Ruby said, staring at her mead, holding it with both hands. She couldn't look at Weiss right now, not without tripping over her own tongue.
"You can call me Weiss outside of the kitchen." Weiss grumbled. She set her purse on the table and unzipped it. "But first, I need you to explain something to me."
Weiss slid a piece of folded, slightly crumpled paper to Ruby. Ruby looked at it, then picked it up and unfolded it.
"This is my resume." Ruby said. Was Weiss mad? "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to leave it in your locker."
"I don't care about that. I care about this." Weiss said, leaning forward on her elbows, finger jabbing at the resume.
"What about it?" Ruby's head shot up, meeting icy blue eyes.
"Why didn't you tell me you worked at the Summer's Set?"