Chapter 46 – Not Long for this World

Team Job reaps the benefits of their last job before finding a new one on their doorstep.

When Blake came out of the shower, Jaune and Velvet were cleaning the dishes together. They were smiling and chatting, with Jaune drying the cleaned dishes that Velvet handed to them before sorting them into the cupboards.

It was a cute enough scene, but knowing what Blake knew…

They really didn't use my bed; I checked. So that means that Velvet slept elsewhere.

"How was last night?" Blake probed. She wasn't expecting them to happily announce hand-in-hand that they'd screwed one another, but there certainly were signs.

"Velvet at all of our pickles," Jaune said.

Oh my fucking gods, please don't let that be a euphemism for something.

"Oh, and thanks for letting me use your toothbrush," Velvet said. "Mighty kind o' you, Blake."

Use my…

"You bitch!" Blake instinctively reached for Gambol Shroud, only to realize it wasn't at her hip. "I'll end you!"

"I actually offered," Jaune admitted, putting away a ceramic mixing bowl. "You said nothing in your room, but it was in the bathroom."

Blake genuinely considered taking one of the dirty forks Velvet had yet to clean off and stabbing it directly into Jaune's amygdala, but the memory of accidentally shooting him and actually landing the hit stayed her hand. Jackanape or not, she didn't want to hurt him or anything.

Instead, Blake swiped one of the wet towels he'd soaked to completion when drying and whipped him in the ass with it.

"Yeech! Sahahahrry!" His laughter made it sound like he wasn't very sorry at all.

It was when Velvet laughed that Blake reminded herself to not be distracted by their playful antics. At times, Team Job felt like her baby, and she was the others' mother; that meant she needed to know how things were between them.

"So how's everyone feeling…after the Callows job, that is?" Blake asked, rolling up and throwing her towel-whip into the clothesbasket like a basketball.

"I'm recovered," Velvet said without hesitation.

"And I don't think I was ever truly impaired," Jaune admitted. "Hey, now that everyone's back up and the dishes are all done, I think we're just about ready to head into the office for work. The website doesn't have any new job requests listed as of yesterday evening, but we might have a client waiting there in person when it opens in an hour."

"I agree," Blake said. "But…just checking in real quick. Is everyone…good?"

Blake made sure to look Jaune in the eyes as she spoke. He'd been mopey on the walk back from the hospital with such blatantness that she'd assumed it a cry for help, but whatever it was had concluded while she finished her shower…when he was alone with Velvet.

At least she can't get double pregnant.

O-Or can she? Do rabbit Faunus…uh…?

"I think we're all good," Jaune said, winking at Velvet right in front of Blake. "Right, Vel?"

At least Velvet herself had the decency to not wink so transparently. She just nodded at Blake and then started putting on her shoes.

"Okay." Blake held up her hands. "Guys, I'm trying to be nice about it, but did you two…"

Blake didn't finish. She wasn't entirely sure what she was asking, and she had a feeling she would get a straighter answer if she left the two potential lovebirds to fill in the blanks on their own.

"No," Jaune said, not taking long to respond. "We talked it over, and the answer is no."

Well. Blake supposed that was that.

So...both still on the market.

Oh, fuck you, intrusive thoughts.

Velvet didn't look to beat up about it – she was actually quite chipper overall, as much as usual – so Blake decided to leave it at Jaune's admission and move on.

"Alright. Back to work it is, then."

When they got into the office, there was a gift basket on the countertop and a small, yellow piece of paper.

Blake's first instinct, one deeply ingrained from her time in the White Fang, was to hold back and shoot it all from afar, but Jaune went over and picked up both items before she could even unholster her gun. Unsurprisingly, it didn't violently explode upon contact.

This sucks. This sucks, being so distrustful and scared of my own shadow. Am I ever going to be normal? Will I ever be able to shake off the weight of the albatross Faunus the White Fang has slung around my neck?

"It's from…Tyrian?" Jaune said. "Here, Imma read it aloud. 'Dear denizens of Team Job Security, I offer you my hearty congratulation. Please accept this pouch of mischief as a token of my appreciation. Your successful defiance was a most diverting event. I do hope the gifts I offer shall aid in your concealment. Yours, Tyrian Callows.' That's the en– no, wait, there's more. 'P.S. Regarding my home, I've spoken to the police; you need not fear lawful capture and release.'"

Jaune set down the note.

"Huh."

Velvet was already digging through the plastic foil that sealed the gift basket and opening it up before he'd even finished reading the note. "It's full of stuff, you guys!"

"What kind of stuff?" Blake asked with concern. In this case, she was probably right to be paranoid, given Tyrian's proclivity for the eerie.

Great. Now he's got me rhyming in my own head.

"Uhhhh…" Velvet pulled a fake mustache out of the basket, then a police badge and folded set of clothes. "I don't even know. Surplus from a porno set?"

"Is it cosplay stuff?" Jaune asked.

"What's cosplay?" Blake asked.

Both of her partners turned and looked at her in amazement.

"I…what? What did I say?"

"Moving on," Velvet said. She finished peeling the wrapper around the basket off and was now free to take things out of the bag freely. "It's not just a police disguise. There's…There's tons of clothes and accessories in here. This is an Atlesian military uniform. I recognize it – and it's genuine!"

Blake also recognized it, though she was wise enough to hold her tongue.

Jaune reached his own hands into the goodies and began to take stuff out in addition to Velvet. "A yellow hard hat, a neon vest, a Vacuoan Ranger's outfit…"

"…a trench coat, too many sports jerseys to count," Velvet added, rummaging through half the basket as Jaune claimed the other. "An SDC get-up, a Beacon school uniform – wait, what the hell? And are these…oh my fuck, there're literal White Fang masks at the bottom!"

Blake flinched at the mention of her former organization, as did Jaune, but Velvet was so distracted by the numerous costumes, uniforms, and disguises that Tyrian had sent them.

How did he get all these?

The memory of his stinger piercing her shadow clone's skull and shattering the parking lot pavement rose to the top of her brain.

Actually, I think I don't want to know.

"It's a bit of a weird gift," Velvet said, folding all of the outfits and trying to fit them back into the basket with little to no success. "But I guess it's pretty on brand for Mr. Callows. Hmmm…Jaune, you could probably make use of these."

"Huh? Me?" Jaune looked baffled at Velvet's insinuation that he needed costumes. "Why me?"

"Well, you're our conman dude, right?" she asked. "You convince clients to buy into whatever we need."

"I wasn't really expecting to become a full-on fraud when we made this company," Jaune complained.

Velvet reached for the basket, but Jaune grabbed it by the handle before she could lay a finger on it.

"…I didn't say I was gonna turn down free stuff, though."

The kids played dress up for a while, putting on some of the costumes in the back room and then coming out like a runway model for the others to critique and/or compliment. Blake learned two things that day: one, Jaune could really strut his stuff, and two, Velvet wasn't handsome enough to pull off a fake mustache in plumber's overalls.

It felt like a distraction at first, but Blake started to actually enjoy herself after a while and eventually joined in. She'd feared becoming a sourpuss of a person, so what was the harm in partaking in a little childish fun every now and again, especially when it was amusing? No more than one of them wore any of the full body costumes that required changing at any given time in case a client came in and needed service, and Blake kept her eyes on the door, just in case.

It was an unspoken thing that none of the three of them wore the White Fang masks. Velvet knew not of Blake's past, but she wasn't the type of person to make light of an active terrorist group that regularly took lives in Atlas and Mistral. As for everything else, no holds were barred.

"Private Belladonna, reporting for duty!" Blake said, throwing up a mock salute with such overexaggerated swagger that she nearly knocked off the gaudy Atlas hat she'd put on. "Is the general anywhere nearby? My asskissing quota is dangerously low, and I fear I'll be dishonorably discharged if I cannot properly smooch his distinguished metallic posterior soon."

Jaune had on a slick, red wig that made him look like he was either a male prostitute or the finest disco dancer the world had ever seen, and Velvet was currently dressed in a firefighter uniform that looked so authentic that Blake genuinely had to wonder if Tyrian had –

Nope. Nope nope nope. I'm having fun, not being a worrywart.

"Let's see if the hard hat will fit on top of Jaune's stupid wig next," Velvet said, thrusting it into his hands.

Jaune eagerly took the head covering and placed it into the vibrant wig he was wearing. "It's so much fake hair that I'm not sure it's gonna go on…c'mon."

Blake began to clap rhythmically as Jaune tried his best to press the hard hat down, and Velvet joined her in tune. Jaune himself began to bounce the hat down, going further each time.

"Let's go!" Blake giggled. "You can…uh oh, customer."

He paused for a second and turned around to see someone off the street walking towards their door. Jaune quickly took off the wig and hard hat, handing them to Velvet. She accepted both coverings as well as Blake's Atlas hat before disappearing to the back of the room in order to hide herself and the disguises from the prospective client's view.

It was an old man who walked into their tiny little corner of Vale. He was probably among the oldest people Blake had ever encountered, and the lethargic speed of his walking reflected that. Every step he took seemed like a conscious choice. There was no cane, but he looked like he could probably use one.

Jaune rushed to open the door for the elderly man when he reached for it, earning the official leader of Team Job a thankful nod. In stepped the man, who looked like he might crumble to dust at any moment. She didn't wish to sound mean, but his skin was practically about to flop off from how loose it was, and brown liver spots speckled his hairless face.

To be polite, Blake slid the customer's chair towards him, thus also saving both herself and Jaune a good thirty second that it would've taken him to cross the distance. Team Job didn't actually need to sit behind their desk, so there was nothing to stop them from conducting their business right in the doorway.

"Mmmmthank ye, young…huuh, young lady." The man's bony hand wobbled the whole way down as he lowered himself into the chair, and the weakness in his voice struck her like a crate of bricks. Just those four words were enough to leave him struggling for breath, and he hadn't even completed two of them without gasping in.

Good gods, everything about him is frail. What could this man use a security team for? There's no way in hell he's from outside the kingdoms – flying in an airship would rattle him into a not so early grave.

"How can we help you, sir?" Blake asked.

"Would you like me to get you some water?" Jaune said.

"Mmmmmno. No, but thank ye kindly. You three…y-you two…you two are the…the hunters, rrrrigh?"

It made Blake want to drop a shadow clone and sprint away from this room as fast as she could. Telling this geezer that they weren't what he was looking for, after the struggle he'd had to even get into the door, would break her heart.

Thankfully, Jaune beat her to it. Blake could've kissed him for handling it with his own gentle tact. "We're not hunters, sir. I'm so very sorry, but we're security consultant."

"Mmmmmthat's what I…haaaah, what I meant…mmmmhunters who aren't…aren't hunters. You folks, Team…hah…Team Job. You aren't Beacon, but you…you hunt…you hunt, you three…where's the…you hunt?"

"We…We…."

Jaune was the one who spoke and trailed off, but Blake had a feeling she would need to be the one to clear this up. Her understanding of the legal loophole through which they played hunters was better than his.

"We're not real hunters," Blake said, cutting a silent Jaune off before he could finish. "We have no huntsman or huntress credentials. Therefore, we aren't huntsmen or huntresses."

"Mmmmgood. Good. I…was told, huh, there would be, huh, three?"

As if summoned by his words, Velvet came back out from the back room, clad in her typical armor and clothing. "Hey guys, I…oh. Nice to meet you, sir."

"Mmmmyes." The man's smile was frail, but confirmation that this was the real Team Job clearly left him pleased. "Good. I need your help. I want to hire you."

"Excellent." Jaune lifted himself up and half-sat, half-leaned against the desk. "We just so happen to have completed our most recent job and would be happy to enter you employ, sir. Would you please tell us about your job?"

"Mmmmmmy wife…someone killed her."

Blake's eyes widened, and so did her teammates. The old man's smile was now long gone, and his drooping cheeks curved into a look of agony. It took some effort, but he swallowed in his throat and continued on.

"Mmmmher body was lying…huhuuhh…kitchen when I woke up. Doors locked, windows shut…huuuh. Fifth floor."

In spite of her shock at the sudden seriousness of the situation, Blake felt compelled to interject here. "Sir, this sounds like a job for the police, not us."

In the greatest display of vivacity she'd seen from the old man, he bolted forward in his seat and began to shake.

"I did! I did! And…hhhngghhh…and they….hhgnnnh…"

"It's okay," Jaune said quickly, leaning down and placing a hand on the man's leg. He briefly turned around. "Velvet, could you get him some water? Please? Thanks."

Their third member disappeared back into the back room.

"Mmmmmwent to the, haaahhhh, police. They came and looked around. Then, a woman came with them. I knew her. I know her. Glynda…haahh…Goodwitch. Beacon. She told me that it, huuungh, an accident. Then, natural causes. Changed it, hhhhhhh, in front'r me." The old man patted his hands into his knees and tried to squeeze them, grunting with exertion as he did. "I know I'm old. I know…Theo was old. Neither of us were long for this world. But her neck was cut. I saw it, before they…huhhhhh…took the body. I don't want to leave it like…like…don't want to leave it."

Blake exchanged a quick glance at Jaune. He didn't look like he liked where this was going either.

Tangling with Beacon isn't my favorite thing to do, but what other choice do we have? Turning this guy away? Ignoring him like Beacon did?

Velvet came back with the water, and the old man paused his story to take slow, long sips of it. He finished about a tenth of the cup and set it down, his raspy voice somewhat replenished.

"Mmmmmthey called a, huhhh, huntress in, so I figured it needed hunters. But the hunters, their mission boards, they wouldn't…take it. I couldn't even, huh, post the details, so no hunters came. But my grandnephew, the boy lives in Jkonna. I…I heard of hunters who weren't hunters. But, hhhh, good as." He looked up at them, eyes watery. "Please. Please, help me."

Coming Soon: Don't Feel Bad

All Blake can do is try her best…right?

Author's Notes

You could sort of call this chapter the beginning of a more contiguous plot. Well, that's not quiiiite right - let me explain.

This was an original idea and always was, so I'm not saying it's 'based on anything.' However, as with all of my writing, I try to see what other writers do that I dislike and avoid those same pitfalls in my own work. Among those others is another fic with a similar story structure of individual missions and cases. It's a little known thing called Arc Corp - you probably haven't heard of it. It posts on some random day in relation to Job Security, I have no idea when. Anyways, in that fanfic, the biggest problem I saw was that most missions could be plucked out of the story entirely and nothing would change. Jaune/Blake is still just as will-they-won't-they as before, and the plot of Arc Corp being an evil shadow government is just happening in the background regardless of whatever anomaly the gang fights today. It sometimes feels like each arc is a slow buildup to nothing, and the main story will happen no matter how the problem of the week is solved. It's not 'bad,' and maybe I'm describing this too negatively, but it's just something I see and want to avoid if I can.

For Job Security, every mission has some relevant contribution to characters or their relationships. They fight a lake Grimm in the Squid Chapter; Blake puts Jaune in danger. They steal a mission from Team LTUC of Beacon in the Snake Chapter; Ozpin comes to visit them, forcing Jaune to stand up for himself, and then they have work for the SDC. Jaune and Blake work for the SDC and stop a thieving magpie Nevermore in the SDC Chapter; Blake realizes she needs to treat Jaune better - see Squid Chapter - and Jaune realizes he's not doing much to fight racism (leading up to Team Job's Juniors). They beat up bandits; Jaune realizes he's the missing link between huntresses and civilians and there's a disconnect between him and the girls. They save Oztin; they get an airship and are loaded, so things can be more relaxed on missions.

That's why we have the end of mission reports on their progress - so that each success' tangible impacts can be felt. That's what I want from this fic above all else: you can't just pluck out any chapter and keep moving. Every story arc is essential. Maybe it's working, maybe it isn't, but that's what I'm TRYING to do at the very least.

However, there's been no overarching objective for Jaune, Blake, and Velvet so far aside from get money/fuck bitches (respectively), nor are there themes or overarching narratives. This will be the early introduction of all of those, which just coincidentally start (or are greatly furthered) at this chapter. It'll still be missions, so nothing changes in that regard, but now they will have a concerted objective or two to strive for specifically. I guess it's not a plot beginning here as much as it is a goal.

As for this particular story arc itself:

This'll be a multichapter mission, one of the long ones (long being defined as 3+ chapters). Now that they have an office in Vale, you can clearly see that more of their missions are within the city, but they will still use their airship plenty. As promised, this chapter and the next are both Blake POV to keep it balanced. After that, it's back to 1-1 alternating.

Happy rats, and don't do crimes!