White Rose Tea (RWBY: Ruby/Weiss)

Part One

"Dammit!"

Weiss cursed under her breath as she cycled up the road towards The White Stag. I've blown it. I've completely blown it. I've made the worst possible first impression. My second week into this job and I'm 20 minutes late; on a Saturday of all days! They're busiest day of the week, besides Thursdays. Blake's probably already there, serving customers I should be handling-

She skidded to a halt outside the small coffee shop. It was strangely deserted. She frowned, then walked over to the sign showing the opening hours. Surely....

She blinked. They opened at 8:00 on a Saturday, not 7:30, which was what she had assumed. She didn't need to be there until 7:50. She was ten minutes early.

She propped her bike against he wall and let out a sigh of relief, then grabbed the keys to the back door from the pocket of her shirt, which was, of course, strictly within the dress code, and let herself in. She took the chairs off the tables, arranged the boxes of tea and baked goods by the counter, checked the fridge that kept the jugs of water cool was on, keeping herself busy until Blake arrived.

Blake was the only other person who worked on Saturdays. Weiss hadn't quite figured her out yet. She was quiet, mysterious, and always seemed to have a book somewhere nearby. But she was good at making coffee. Weiss was better at taking orders, so they worked well as a team.

When Blake did come in, they opened almost immediately, as per her advice. Blake had been working at The White Stag for much longer, and had a lot more experience, so she was able to guess that most customers would come earlier rather than later.

The White Stag had been open for a while now. The fashionable, almost boutique coffee shop, like all coffee shops, had its regular customers. The ones that grabbed something quickly on the way to work. The ones that came daily during their lunch break. There was even a writer who sat for hours in the back corner by the window, typing away on a laptop, meeting with publishers and editors as if it was her office.

But none of these regulars were quite like Ruby Rose.

Weiss had already served a couple of people when Ruby first came in, on that Saturday morning. The first thing that struck the barista about her was her bright red cloak, which didn't fit in anywhere within a kilometre radius of the place.

A voice came from outside, and while the door was open, a motorcycle engine could be heard. "Don't take too long!"

"Okay, Yang!" the customer called back, throwing back the hood, revealing a bright, childish face and silver eyes gleaming with mischief. She let go of the door, letting it swing shut, then approached the counter, looking up at the menu displayed on the back wall. As she was walking, she managed to knock over a chair while looking up at the menu above the counter, not watching where she was going. The girl quickly dashed over, standing the chair back up, looking anxious and awkward and adorable all at the same time. She glanced around to see if anyone had seen, remaining oblivious to Weiss's critical glare as she watched from the cash register. The girl finally caught her eye and smiled grimly, apologetically. Weiss rolled her eyes as the customer stepped up to the counter.

"Could I have..." she trailed off, looking up at the menu again. "Gosh, you have a lot of options for a coffee shop of this size. Ooh, and you have tea! Do you have any herbal teas?"

"We have the largest variety of teas in the area," Weiss said proudly, slightly amused by the girl's excitement over such a trivial matter.

"Wow..." she breathed, looking at the assortment of loose leaf teas on the counter. "Do you have rose tea?"

"Yes."

"Okay..." she paused, looking up at the menu gain. "Do you think I could get strong rose tea, with milk in it?"