Sometimes running a bakery, especially one as slow as mine, was more trouble than it was worth.

"Stupid…fucking…oven!" I grunted as I scrubbed at the metal walls, occasionally reaching back and dipping my sponge in the soapy water bucket.

I was currently waist deep in one of the many ovens in my bakery's kitchen, scrubbing at the walls and edges in an attempt to clean all the caked on soot.

This was something I had to do twice a month or so to make sure everything stayed sanitary. It took hours and was a huge pain in the ass. Not to mention that I couldn't use the oven for around an hour after I finished cleaning. The cleaning solution I used needed to dry before I baked again to prevent food contamination. Trying to dry it faster by turning the oven on wouldn't allow the chemicals to properly set, I had to wait.

I sighed, extricating myself from the bowels of the oven and sitting back on my knees, "Even with all the money in the world, some things stay the same huh?" I wiped my face free of sweat, grimacing as I caught sight of my reflection in the now shiny oven. I had accidentally left a streak of soot on my face where I wiped my forehead. Great.

I stood and made my way to the sink, turning on the tap and splashing myself in the face. As I cleaned myself, my mind wandered to Gerard and his offer.

Around a week had passed since that fateful encounter, and I still hadn't given the man an answer. It had been a week full of intense deliberation as I tried to decide what exactly I should do.

I had done some research on Gerard as I deliberated, and what I had found was both intriguing, and extremely confusing.

From what my research turned up, Gerard Grull, twelfth of his name, was an extremely rich man and head of the Grull Estate. He mostly kept to himself and was rarely, if ever, seen in public. He stayed in his manor nearly twenty-four seven, and sent his servants out to get anything he needed.

In fact, the most recent sighting of him in public was the night I met him, someone having apparently snapped a pic of him as he left the warehouse. Luckily, nothing indicated they had seen me as well.

And…that was it. That was all I could find on him. Any other information about him wasn't available to the public or simply just didn't exist. It was strange.

Most people would see that and assume he was simply an introverted man content to live on the wealth his family had accrued, but I had actually met him. And just from that single meeting I could tell he was much more than just an eccentric rich man.

Everything about Gerard exuded restrained intelligence. The change in his demeanor when I mentioned what I had felt from the vail, the look in his eyes when he had given me that offer had been nothing but pure resolve, staring intently through me towards some unseen goal known only to him.

Yes, Gerard was a man of mysteries, and they didn't seem to get any clearer the more I looked into him.

His offer was extremely tempting, probably the most tempting thing I'd ever experienced in my life. And yet I couldn't be sure that there were no strings attached, he was pretty cagey with the details.

I sighed, this was all so complicated and I couldn't help but wish things could go back to the simplicity of a few days ago.

I was interrupted from my thoughts by the slightly muffled sound of my scroll ringing in my pocket. I turned off the tap with one hand while pulling the device out with the other. I was careful not to get it wet as I placed the scroll to my ear, holding it there with my shoulder as I dried my hands with a towel, "Hello?"

"REEIIII!"

"OW!" I jerked my head away from the sudden blast of noise, sending my scroll clattering to the floor. The ears on top of my head twitched in pain at what they had just experienced and I brought my hand up to my head, rubbing the furry appendages to alleviate the pain.

"What the hell was that?" I questioned aloud as I bent down to pick up my scroll, looking at the caller ID.

Ruby Rose

Well, that explained it.

I picked the scroll back up, this time placing it to my face much more slowly, "Ruby?" I said hesitantly.

"Rei, I'm so sorry! I forgot how sensitive your hearing is!" Ruby apologized.

I laughed lightly as I began making my way from the back and into the bakery proper, "It's alright Ruby. I know how excited you can get, no harm done."

"So what's up? Why'd you call, not that I'm at all unhappy to hear your voice. Probably the best part of my day so far really." I teased her.

She sputtered incoherently and I laughed, already feeling better, "Reeeiiii." She whined.

"I'll stop, I'll stop." I surrendered. Ruby Let out a relieved sigh on the other end of the line, "So what are you calling about?"

"You made me promise to tell you about Beacon the first time I got a break, remember?"

I did not, in fact, remember that, but I certainly wasn't going to say no to a conversation with my favorite person, "All right, lay it on me Ruby."

As Ruby told her story, I became more and more glad I had decided not to become a huntress, while at the same time beginning to worry for the younger girl's health and mental state.

Simply put, these people were fucking nuts!

Getting literally launched into a grimm infested forest and told to find chess pieces?! riding on the back of a giant Nevermore in search of said pieces?!

Running up a giant cliff while being propelled by a slingshot made from a teammate's weapon and powered by gravity glyphs to decapitate the giant bird after it got rightfully angry?! All while another team caught and killed a scorpion grimm the size of a bus?! What were these people on?!

I shook myself. All that had happened and Ruby wasn't hurt in the slightest, she'd be able to deal with whatever they threw at her next.

This girl was going to give me a heart attack.

"So who all is on your team? Anybody you know?" I asked, trying desperately to change the topic in an attempt to keep my heart rate under control.

"Well, Yang's on my team. Despite her best efforts." She muttered that last part angrily.

I stifled a laugh, Yang had always been trying to get Ruby to branch out and socialize more. The redhead was adamant she was fine because she had me, but Yang had always pushed for her to have more friends.

Oh, Yang didn't dislike me or anything, in fact, we were pretty good friends, but she felt that it would massively help Ruby if she had friends who were in the same line of work.

Honestly, I agreed, it would be much less stressful if I knew Ruby would always have someone watching her back on those dangerous missions she would no doubt take as a huntress.

Hopefully her and the rest of her team would become fast friends.

"And there's also Weiss, she's a Schnee. Real prim and proper type." Ruby continued.

I knew the name, the heiress of the Schnee dust company, and also a really fantastic singer. I actually owned a few of her albums. Odd that she was attending Beacon instead of Atlas but I suppose the longer she spent away from her family, the better.

"I've heard of her. She is a really good singer." I said.

"Wait, she sings?" Ruby asked, astonished.

I laughed lightly, "Ruby, she's the one who sang Mirror Mirror. You know, my favorite song?"

I had always been a fan of the vocal aspects of songs. Nothing beat a good baseline backed by an even better voice, and few voices were as radiant as Weiss Schnee's.

"Wow…" Ruby was in awe, "I never would have guessed. She sounds so much different when she's yelling at me."

I frowned, "Why is she yelling at you?" Did I need to go over there and smack a bitch?

Ruby's tone was sheepish, "I-uh. I kind of exploded on her…"

What.

"You, exploded on her?" I enunciated carefully.

"She was the one waving that thing in my face! It wasn't my fault! And she gave me a pamphlet to be safe after we got into the auditorium! I know how to be safe!" Ruby cried.

That was…ok then.

"What about your last teammate?" I asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Oh, she's Yang's partner, her name is Blake Belladonna. She's like a ninja or something, wearing all black and grey. And her weapon is a Kusarigama! Do you know how many people can use one of those without hitting people around them?! She's really good with it too!"

Belladonna? Wasn't that…? No, it must just be a coincidence, there's no way one of those Belladonnas would ever willingly room with a Schnee. Someone's throat would be torn out on the first night alone.

I walked to the front of my shop, taking in the empty storefront with a small sigh. Slow as always.

Oh well, not like money was an issue at the moment.

"So have you met some new people?" I asked as I leaned on the counter, "Other than your team I mean."

"Yeah! There's Jaune, he's pretty cool I guess, kinda awkward. And there's Nora and Ren, I think they're together, Nora keeps saying they're not 'together together' but anytime a girl get's close to Ren she gets all defensive and stuff so I'm not really sure what to think."

I laughed silently, sounded to me like Nora should stake her claim on her man before somebody else snatches him up…

"Oh! And get this, Pyrrha's on their team too! You know, the Mistral tournament champion?"

"Yes I know of her Ruby." I giggled, "Really, I don't know anybody over the age of four who doesn't, her face is everywhere these days. I even saw her on a cereal box the other day."

"That pumpkin cereal right? I saw that on the shelves back in patch but never actually tried it. Pumpkin flavored cereal? Yuck!"

"It's not bad. Definitely not good, but not bad. Way too sugary for me."

Ruby hummed, "Maybe I'd like it then. I love sweet things!"

I smirked, "That's true. Your cookie addiction has practically kept my bakery afloat all by itself."

Ruby sputtered, "It's not an addiction!"

"Sure, sure, whatever you say Ruby." I laughed, "Just remember to attend your weekly cookieholics anonymous meetings ok? You can't keep skipping out on them."

"Reeiii!"

I laughed loudly, " Ok, ok I'll stop. You've got so many new friends Ruby, you aren't planning to replace me are you?" I asked coyly, masking the actual pang of worry I felt.

Ruby was an extremely nice girl and the only reason she didn't already have loads of friends was because she was about as shy around new people as they come. Being introduced to a new environment with only her sister as familiar company would force her to branch out and show people what they were missing.

And while I knew it was stupid, I couldn't help but worry slightly that she would get all the attention she doubtlessly deserved and forget about me.

Luckily, she quickly reassured me of my worries. I could practically hear Ruby wave her arms in denial, "N-no way! You're my best friend Rei, nobody could replace you!" she said earnestly.

I giggled, masking my relief, "Well that's good to hear. Now, tell me about your classes, they must be interesting, yeah? Do you have a least favorite professor yet?"

She groaned, "Oh my Oum, Rei. There's this guy named Professor Port, and he is the most boring teacher I've ever had. Just yesterday he-"

As Ruby spoke about her upcoming studies and classes, my mind wandered to Gerard's offer and I wondered if I should ask Ruby for her input..

On the one hand, if I told her, she would no doubt do whatever she could to help me make the right decision. She was helpful like that.

"Rei…is something wrong?"

I was startled at the sudden question, "No, nothing's wrong. Why would you think that?"

"You're not acting like you usually do, you're quieter. You're teasing me, but…not as much as normal. You didn't even say anything about me exploding. That was like the perfect time to make one of your jokes…" she explained quietly.

I was stunned. She was right that hearing about her 'exploding' on another girl would have absolutely been the perfect time to tease her, and it wasn't an opportunity I would usually have missed. I just let the opportunity pass without even acknowledging it…

'I guess this whole situation with Gerard has messed with my head more than I thought…' I thought to myself. I ignored the rather large part of me that was happy that she knew me well enough to know that by now.

"Rei?"

"Yeah Ruby?"

"What's wrong?" She asked firmly, and I could instantly tell she wasn't going to let this go.

I debated on what to do. I could just tell her about the offer Gerard gave me and what it entailed, but that would also mean exposing my life as a thief to the girl who had been by my side since day one.

I bit my lip, my enlarged canines biting into the flesh and grounding me with a small amount of pain. I knew Ruby, me being a thief wouldn't stop her from being my friend, but it would definitely cause her unneeded worry. And if she knew about the increased danger of the heists I would be pulling under Gerard…

No, Ruby had more than enough stuff to worry about with Beacon, no need to add my minor issues to the mix. I'd just keep it vague.

"I recently got a job offer." I began hesitantly, "It pays really well. Well enough that I'd never have to worry about money again…"

"Rei, that's great!" Ruby cheered.

"Ruby! I'm trying to study!" A voice came from the background, and a smile appeared on my face as Ruby whispered an apology to who I assumed was her teammate. Probably Weiss, given the tone of the voice.

"But wait," Ruby said in confusion, "If it's such a great offer, what's the problem?"

"It's not the offer so much as what it entails." I sighed, "If I accepted, practically all my time would be taken up by it. I wouldn't be able to run the bakery full time, I would probably have to move…"

"Wow, that sounds like a big commitment." Ruby said quietly.

"Yeah." I said, just as quietly.

"Would…" Ruby hesitated, "Would we still be able to hang out?"

"Of course we would Ruby." I said immediately, "You're the person I treasure most. All the lien in Vale wouldn't be able to stop me from spending time with you."

Only after I said it did I realize just how that sounded. I meant every word of it, but I had never been so overt with my feelings towards her before. It was too late now though, I would just have to deal with her reaction as it came.

"R-Rei…" She sounded shocked and very slightly pleased, which was…good? Definitely not bad at least. I might have a chance.

There was a moment of silence before, "You should do it." Ruby said simply.

"Really? Just like that?" I asked, stunned.

"You said it yourself, I'm the one keeping your money rolling in. If this job will help you not have to worry about money anymore, I say go for it."

There was a small pause, "And if we can still spend time together, then what's the harm?" She finished quietly.

I sat there stunned for a moment. Just like that, Ruby had helped me make a decision I had spent a week agonizing over, just came up with a solution in moments.

Once again, I was reminded exactly why I felt what I felt for her. Now if only I could actually do something about it.

'Come on Rei!' I thought angrily to myself, 'Just ask her, the worst she can say is no!'

There were actually much worse things she could say, but something told me Ruby wasn't the type to insult my mother's genes so I probably didn't have anything to worry about there.

I just had to buck up and ask. What's the worst that can happen?

Why did I think that?

I took a deep breath to stop my thoughts from spiraling, "Hey, Ruby…" I began slowly, practically forcing the words out of my mouth, "Would you like to-I mean, whenever we're both free. Would you wanna-"

"Ruby, get off your scroll! You need to study! Professor Port said we have an exam on Monday!"

"Come on Weiss, I'm talking to my best friend!" Ruby whined and I sighed at the lost opportunity. It was probably for the best, I should wait until I got all this stuff with Gerard figured out before I tried to start anything with Ruby.

For now, I had found a great opportunity for teasing, all thanks to Ruby's more responsible teammate.

My voice took on a mock scolding tone, "Now Ruby, you know how important your studies are. You need to get good grades to be a good huntress, young lady." I pretended to chide her.

"H-hey! Don't take her side, Rei!" she whined again.

"See! Your friend knows the importance of studying, you should follow her example."

"But Weiss-"

"No buts! I'll not have my leader be a dumb brute who can't tell the difference between a Beringal and a Beowolf!"

"Those two are completely different!"

"Wait, they are?" And there was Yang's voice, clearly playing up the dumb blonde stereotype in an attempt to get on her teammate's nerves.

"Yes, you blonde buffoon!" And it worked.

I laughed loudly, a hand coming down to clutch at my stomach as I listened to the byplay between the teammates.

It took me a long moment to calm down, during which Yang had gotten Weiss more and more riled up until there was a large crash and a scream of rage as the heiress presumably threw something at the blonde. That just set me off again, and I couldn't help but notice that my mood has improved massively.

"R-Ruby," My speech was interspersed with giggles as I tried to stop laughing, "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Go study before Weiss decides to throw Yang out of the window or something."

"Are you sure? I thought you were going to ask me something." She said uncertainly.

I nodded even though she couldn't see me, "I'm sure Ruby, go study. You've already helped me more than enough." There would be enough time to gather my courage again in the future.

"Alright Rei. If you're sure…" she sounded slightly disappointed, "I'll try to visit next Saturday. If you're not busy with your new job I mean." She added on.

"I'll clear my schedule. We can hang out all day." I said happily, "For now go ahead and get to studying before Weiss explodes on your sister or something. Though I have a feeling Yang wouldn't mind that much."

"What?!"

"Huh?"

"Reeiii!"

"Bye Ruby! Good luck with your studies!" I hung up as I heard the outraged yells of Weiss in the background.

I smirked as I imagined the amount of chaos I had wrought with a single comment. That should more than make up for my little lapse in teasing earlier.

Now there was just one last thing to attend to…

I brought up the number Gerard had put into my scroll, hesitated with my finger above the call button, before I strengthened my resolve and pressed down, putting the scroll up to my face as it began to call.

The dial tone rang in my ear, once, twice, and then a female voice appeared on the line.

"You've reached Grull Estate, this is Eira, how may I assist you today." It obviously wasn't Gerard, most likely a secretary or something.

"Um yes, this is Rei Lynx. I am calling about an offer Gerard recently made to me."

"Ah, Mrs Lynx. Yes, he said to keep an ear out for you, I will transfer you to him. Please hold..."

There was a click and then the type of music you would hear in an elevator started playing softly. It was classy, much more classy than those holding songs that were just bad pop music.

I smiled lightly as I imagined some high class CEO being forced to listen to the latest hit pop music going around the kingdoms. They'd probably have a coronary.

I was brought out of my amused musings as the music stopped with the click of a phone being picked up, "This is Gerard Grull, head of the Grull estate. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?" The older man sounded just as refined over the scroll as he did in person.

I cleared my throat lightly, "Um, yes this is Rei Lynx. We spoke the other day?."

"Ah, Mrs Lynx! It is a pleasure to hear from you again." He actually did sound happy to hear from her, his voice lifting from its business-like tone to something much more warm and friendly, "I assume you are contacting me in regards to my offer?"

"I am." I said simply.

"And your decision?"

I took a deep breath. I doubted there would be any going back after this decision, I hoped I wouldn't come to regret it, "I accept, though I have some conditions."

I could hear Gerard's wide smile as he spoke, "I am ecstatic to hear of your decision Mrs Lynx, and I am more than willing to hear of your conditions. Although, I would prefer if we could discuss said conditions in person, if that is alright with you. There are certain things that are best not spoken of over the scroll."

I hummed, the man had been straight with me so far, and there was no reason not to meet in person given he knew much more about me than I did about him. If he had wanted to do something to me, he knew where I lived and would have done so by now, "Alright, did you have a place in mind?"

My scroll beeped in my ear and I pulled it back to find that somebody, likely Gerard or someone working for him, had sent me a message. Opening it, I was met with a link, directions to a location on the edge of Vale.

"I just sent you a link with directions to my estate." Gerard explained as I put the scroll back to my ear, "Come by this weekend and we can discuss the conditions of your employment in person. I look forward to seeing you once more."

"Oh and Rei," He said as I went to hang up, "I am truly glad you gave my offer the proper consideration. You will not regret your decision, I assure you."

As the line went silent and I brought my scroll from my ear, I really hoped he wasn't wrong.

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