Looking was fine – but touching? No way. Still, with no proof to her name, Yang was forced to grit her teeth and move on. "Here you go," she said, placing the tray down and quickly unloading two mugs before the respective people.
"Thank you, missy," the gruff man replied.
"No problem. Enjoy your drinks." She rushed on to the next, checking her notepad to figure out what went where. The doorbell rang again and another three businessmen came in, deep in conversation. Even with the place mostly being Huntsmen, the lunch rush was still the lunch rush, and everyone suddenly on their breaks and needing coffee couldn't afford to be picky. "If you'd like to find a table-"
She went ignored, the three walking by.
"Or ignore me. That's fine." The rude ones annoyed her more than anything, but she wasn't being paid to get annoyed (or being paid at all). Instead, she smiled and moved on, swallowing her exhaustion as she tried to keep up with ever-increasing numbers.
Even Jaune had been forced to step in, taking over from Blake at the till so that she could go out and support Ruby and Yang on the floor. It was only the fact it wasn't too dangerous taking money that let them accept him working at all, though an exhausted part of her said she'd have maybe stayed quiet either way.
How did he ever manage all of this on his own? It just didn't seem humanly possible. They were Huntresses – at least two, if not three times fitter than a civilian like him yet it was they who were fighting back exhaustion. It was her who kept hiding yawns in her sleeve, or wanted nothing more than to sit down because her legs were turning to jelly. Jaune had promised them they could take a quick break after the rush, not all at once obviously, but thirty minutes each, taken one after the other.
She couldn't wait, even if an annoying part of her mind pointed out that he never seemed to take any breaks when they were here. That's not the same. We're no way near as annoying as some of these people are. At least she hoped they weren't.
A sudden crash behind startled the entire café into complete silence, followed by a low hum of whispers and the scraping of chairs as people backed away from what had to have been a dropped tray. Yang's heart sank as she turned, but to her surprise it wasn't her sister at all. It was Blake. She was on her knees above a pile of broken white porcelain.
"Are you okay?" Yang asked worriedly. "I'll get a pan and brush. Wait there."
Jaune had one already prepared when she reached the counter, and she rushed back to help her partner.
"What happened?" she asked. "Did you trip?"
Blake shook her head minutely, taking the apparatus from her and quickly sweeping up as much as she could. Yang helped with some paper towels, drying the spillage as best she could. "I didn't trip," Blake whispered. "I… someone pinched me."
Yang's eyes flashed dangerously. "That table of teenagers?"
"I think so…" Blake sighed and poured the shattered ware into a bucket. "It wasn't too bad, just on the back of my hip, but I wasn't expecting it and I flinched. I caught the tray but lost a mug and saucer." Blake seemed more annoyed at that than anything else. "Look at me, a huntress unable to even catch a mug."
"I think it's about time I showed those idiots who they're messing with," Yang growled, about to rise. Blake's hand caught her wrist before she could.
"Don't."
"What? Why not? They totally deserve it." "Whether they do or don't doesn't matter. It will just cause more trouble." Blake's eyes flicked in Jaune's direction, and Yang's fury fizzled in the air.
Blake was right. Damn it. As much as she wanted to go over and kick them out of the shop, it would startle everyone else, maybe making people leave. If that happened, they'd earn less money and Jaune would be even further out of pocket. It could be worse too, since if those idiots tried to fight back it might start a panic that had people leave without paying, or even damage things on the way out.
Even assuming none of that, there was a fair chance the assholes would come back after closing and smash the windows as payback for her humiliating them. There were literally no good options. Or at least no good options that both satisfied her temper and didn't screw Jaune over. "Just leave them be," Blake suggested, standing once she'd collected the last of the shards. "They can't stay forever and once they're gone we can forget they ever existed. Just don't let Ruby take any of their orders." Yang nodded and followed Blake to the counter.
"What happened?" Jaune asked.
Yang watched Blake warily, wondering if she would tell the truth. From his angle behind the till, he'd almost surely failed to catch it, and if she knew anything about him, he'd be righteously angry if he found out. Seeing him storm over and yell at those idiots would make her feel better, but it might get him into trouble. Sometimes, the satisfying choice wasn't always the best one.
"I tripped," Blake lied. "I'm sorry for breaking this." "Don't worry about it. The crockery isn't expensive at all. I have fifty or more to spare. You weren't hurt, were you?"
She shook her head, and took another tray that Weiss provided. Yang waited for one of her own and followed after. To her surprise, the boys had departed. She looked around for them and caught them leaving the café. More importantly, she saw them being guided out by a man in a black suit. He turned at the last, and Yang caught a flash of crimson glasses and an annoyed frown, before the door closed and the teens were pushed away.
That was the uniform from the goons at Junior's club. Did they notice the disturbance and get rid of those guys? She wasn't sure, and didn't even know if Jaune had noticed in the first place. The man with the glasses gave her a quick nod through the glass window, however. Jaune had friends in high places, it seemed. She wasn't sure if she should feel worried about that or not. At least it meant someone was looking out for him.
A hand rose into the air. "Excuse me, miss?"
And there went her little chance to daydream. Yang plastered a wide smile on her face and tried to keep her teeth from grating together.
Did it ever stop?
/-/
"It's not adding up."
"What isn't?" Yang looked over Weiss' shoulder as the smaller girl poured over the till and a little ledger beside it. The lunch rush had ended and the café was now all but empty, just a table or two in use, which gave them a much-needed chance to rest. "Did we undercharge someone?"
"No, not that. Everything is in order with the till." She sighed and placed the booklet down, pointing to what seemed to be several columns. "This is Jaune's records of his earnings day by day. The diner has earned less this morning than it ever has since it opened."
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