Honkers 001

Yang peered carefully into her reflection as she positioned the eyelash curler to clamp her lashes. She slowly brought the prongs together before rolling her wrist gently, never clamping them too hard nor too soft. She followed the process with her other eye before grabbing her mascara, running the brush in the opposite direction and giving the tiny hairs a generous, full coating. Purple shadow was already dusted across the lids and around the outer curve of her eye, and her eyeliner was sharp, giving her eyes a narrower appearance. Blinking several times, she fluttered her lids and nodded, satisfied.

She looked hot. Not that she didn’t always look drop dead gorgeous to begin with but putting in a little effort to attain perfection was always a worthwhile endeavor. Dressed in a small yellow tank top and a pair of tight black jeans with matching boots, she was quite the catch. Her long blonde tresses were a halo of gold, tumbling across her bare shoulders.

No, she wasn’t just hot. She was straight fire.

A fist pounded against the bathroom door.

“Yang,” Ruby called out, sounding thoroughly annoyed. “Hurry up, I want to shower!”

“Just a minute,” she called back, grabbing her perfume. It wasn’t anything expensive, just a cheap scent you could find at most stores but she was a fan of it, and plenty of guys had complimented it in the past. Don’t change what isn’t broken, wasn’t that the old saying?

She applied some around her neck, on the insides of her wrists, and even a sneaky one down her top between her breasts.

Ruby pounded against the door harder. “Hurry up! You’ve been in there for an hour!”

Yang rolled her eyes. “You can’t rush perfection, sis.”

By the time she was finished, Ruby was almost about to kick the door in.

“Finally,” her younger sister huffed, glaring. She was clutching a towel to her chest, alongside her pajamas.

“You could just go use the communal showers if you’re in such a hurry,” Yang said, brushing by her and plucking the leather jacket off her bed.

“Or you could just not take forever,” Ruby complained, slamming the door behind her. Yang snickered, grabbing the small duffle bag off the floor and throwing it over her shoulder.

“Going out again, I see,” Weiss commented from their shared desk, her hand pausing halfway through a paragraph. Ice blue eyes considered her. “Don’t you think you’re overdoing it a little bit?”

“That’s a little rich, coming from you,” Yang quipped.

“She isn’t wrong,” Blake said from her bunk, lowering her book. But she wasn’t backing up Yang. “Going out every weekend is fine, though I find it a little excessive. But Thursday and Friday, as well? Yang, even you have to admit that it’s a little much.”

“What can I say? I like to party,” Yang shrugged, uncaring. “Life is all about having a bit of fun.”

Weiss hummed, unimpressive. “Don’t start crying if your grades start to slip.”

“Psh~! My grades are fine, so don’t worry your little head over it.”

That wasn’t entirely true. Her History grade was a little weak but she more than made up for it with her Combat Class scores. Being in the top three best fighters earned you a little bit of a leeway.

“Will you be back tonight?” Blake asked.

Yang shrugged. “Probably not. I’ll see you guys in the morning.”

Weiss waved her hand in dismissal and Yang laughed, making for the door. Blake returned to her book but not before mirroring Yang’s nod, her bow the last thing the blonde saw as she shut the door firmly behind her.

For a moment, she just stood in the hallway, listening. The doors were pretty thin here at Beacon, as were the walls. More than once, Yang had overheard conversations happening in some of the other bedrooms without meaning to, and they hadn’t even been talking that loudly. But when she heard nothing coming from her room, she nodded, satisfied.

Yang had a secret. A secret that no one else knew.

She wasn’t going out to party like her friends thought.

She had a job.

Perhaps it was silly to keep such a thing a secret. She had a job, so what? Plenty of people had jobs! But the type of job she had was a little bit embarrassing, and the longer she could keep it hidden from her teammates – and her sister – the better.

She didn’t need any of them turning up and seeing her… like that. She wasn’t ashamed, it was just that she was trying to become a Huntress. Yang wanted to be taken seriously, and she knew that certain jobs tended to skew the perceptions of people when they discovered it.

Perceptions like ‘of course she is using her body’ and ‘classic bimbo behavior’ or ‘if she acts like a slut, and quacks like a slut, then she is obviously a…’ just to name a few. Yang wasn’t afraid to use what she had but that didn’t mean such opinions didn’t annoy her, or that they were wanted.

That isn’t how she wanted her team to see her. That isn’t how she wanted her sister to view her. But she needed the money. Because she’d fucked up, big time.

Bumblebee was her pride and joy, her little black and yellow bundle of 1000cc crotch rocket power. Most people took the hourly airships down to Vale but Yang wasn’t most people, and Beacon had garage space to spare for anyone wanting to pay for it. Swiping her scroll over the lock, the door shuttered as it rose, revealing her bike.

Storing her duffle bag in the small compartment on the back, Yang grabbed her helmet and carefully arranged her luscious hair so it wouldn’t be ruined, pulling it on over her head. Swinging her leg over and straddling it, she started the engine and disengaged the kickstand. Revving the engine, Yang felt the power between her thighs course through her body, and then she was off, speeding into the night.

Trashing Junior’s club had seemed like a good idea at the time, and damn it, it had felt good. Junior was a criminal, after all, and wasn’t it the job of a Huntress to take out criminals? Yang didn’t think anything of it at the time other than taking out the trash, and any consequences that eventuated from her actions, she’d been willing to meet them head on. If those twin bitches wanted to try her, so be it.

She’d kick their asses all over again.

What she hadn’t expected was for Junior to go the legal route. He might have been a criminal but he was a connected criminal, a man with his finger in many different pies. He was an information broker, the best – and that meant blackmail.

And in the end, she had trashed his nightclub. He had proof. Not just the dozen or more eye witness accounts but those nifty high definition cameras had caught the whole thing in 4k.

It didn’t take long until Yang recognized the error of her ways, but it was much too late. When police showed up at her home on Patch, the only saving grace was that her sister hadn’t been home to witness it.

Explaining it to her father was bad enough.

Luckily for her, Junior wasn’t the only one with connections. Her father and uncle pulled some strings, and all of a sudden, she had Headmaster Ozpin making a few calls.

Yang knew that Ozpin was a big deal beyond just being the Headmaster of Beacon. He had the ear of every councilman, and wielded unfathomable political power. If he had wanted to get her off completely, he could have – because as sly as Junior was, Yang didn’t think he had anything he could use to threaten Ozpin with. And pissing off the Headmaster of Beacon Academy, and thus the entire Beacon faculty and her students… well, that just wasn’t a very good idea for anyone.

But her father was irate, and he thought Yang needed to learn a hard lesson. Her foolish actions couldn’t go unpunished. Ozpin had agreed because of course he did. The damage she had caused, she was to pay for it. Not all of it, Junior’s insurance covered the full amount, and Yang just didn’t have that type of money – but she was to pay a percentage, weekly, until Ozpin and her dad were satisfied.

Junior was more than happy with the arrangement.

Hence the need for a job.

It wasn’t easy to find something on such short notice. Especially something flexible that wouldn’t conflict with her school hours. Something that paid decently, if not upfront, then in tips.

There were a few things that fit the bill but most of them were things she would never do. Not ever. She wasn’t a prostitute. She wasn’t a stripper. She wasn’t a camgirl.

...but if she had to work at Honkers, then so be it.

In the end, it was just waitressing. Sure, she had to wear a certain uniform and prance around like a brain dead bimbo, flaunting her body for guys to drool over, but that was the extent of it. She liked flaunting her body and teasing guys, so that wasn’t the problem. Taking orders was easy.

The stigma that came along with it, though. That’s what she disliked. She didn’t need people at Beacon finding out about it.

That’s why she picked a store on the other side of the city, a place where they were unlikely to venture because there were stores closer to the airship terminals. The ride down from Beacon wasn’t too long. The longest part was the winding rural roads that took her down into the city proper but once she was there, she got onto the highway and made her way downtown. There was heavy traffic but it was flowing, so she typically made good time and this evening was no different.

Just a little over forty minutes later, she was pulling up behind her workplace, giving her engine one final rev before switching it off. She was just taking off her helmet and shaking out her hair when the back door opened and a familiar girl greeted her with a wave, hauling a massive black bag filled with trash.

Her name was Crystal and she was one of the nicer girls, and the only one Yang had made friends with. The other girls were in a constant state of competition with each other, and someone like Yang was only a threat to them. Tips weren’t divided up here, so whatever you earned, you kept. Friday and Saturday were big earning nights, and Yang had quickly become a favorite. It wasn’t unusual for a table of guys to request her specifically, even though she’d only been there a couple of months.

Being a favorite meant more tips for her, and less for anyone else.

Crystal didn’t care.

There were few girls as attractive as Yang was, and those few girls were at Beacon. Crystal was one such girl that wasn’t. Gifted with a pair of beautiful emerald green eyes and jet black hair, she had the narrower, slanted eyes of those native to the area around Mistral, giving her an exotic look. She wasn’t as busty as Yang but she was slimmer, her waist tight, and it made her bust line appear much larger than it was.

Yang preferred guys over girls, but Crystal was hot property. Doubly so because she wasn’t insecure and a bitch like the rest of them.

She also had a brain. She was studying at Vale University to become an engineer, majoring in mecha-shift technology.

Ruby would love her. That type of stuff was right up her alley.

“Heya,” she greeted, heaving the trash bag into the dumpster. “Right on time. Place is busier than a rabbit in heat, girl. I hope you are ready for it.”

Yang grinned. “I’m always ready.”

She grabbed her duffle bag and followed Crystal inside, making her way to the changing room. Stripping down quickly, she pulled out her uniform that consisted of a pair of tiny lime green shorts, a small white tank top with the name ‘Honkers’ emblazoned across the chest, white knee socks and white shoes. Putting everything on, she grabbed one of the serving belts and looped it around her waist, a notepad, calculator and pen ready for her.

She was set.

Crystal wasn’t kidding. As soon as Yang clocked in and stepped into the restaurant proper, she saw that every table was taken with more people still sitting at the bar. The sound of chatting people hit her in a wave and she took a second to absorb it all, allowing her ears to grow accustomed to the sound before she approached her supervisor.

She was an older woman but still pretty, her brown hair curly, skin lightly tanned. She was their boss most nights, unless the manager was in, and tended to stay close to the bar, serving drinks when things got busy like they were now.

Her name was Sepia.

“Any tables need attending to?” Yang asked.

Sepia pointed to the corner where several guys were talking loudly. “They just came in. Jasmine handed them some menus, you can work them in her place. She isn’t feeling well.”

“Gotcha,” Yang applied her best smile and strutted across the room, making sure to give her hips a little extra snap. It was worth the effort, feeling a number of eyes following her stride.

“What can I get you fellas?” she asked, notepad in hand. When their eyes fell on her, she saw that familiar look of surprise followed by desire, their gaze raking across her body. Most of them settled on her impressive tits but a few went lower, more interested in her legs or ass. “Have you decided?”

They were moderately handsome and in shape, though nothing like a Huntsman. If she had to guess their ages, they were a little older than her. Twenty-two, twenty-three – somewhere around there. They dressed neatly but casually, and from the looks of their hands, they did hard work. Some type of manual labor; construction, most likely. They didn’t look like farmers.

She wasn’t as good as Blake or Weiss was at picking out details at a glance but she wasn’t a slouch either. Her Stealth and Security grade wasn’t that good, but it was more because of the stealth, not the security.

“Hey,” one of them greeted, giving her what he thought was an appealing smile. She’d give an A for effort. He did have decent teeth, and he wasn’t ugly. “What do you recommend?”

She really hated that question, though.

“The buffalo shrimp, if you like seafood,” she said, picking at random. She wasn’t a seafood girl but she’d heard customers compliment that item quite a bit. “And you look like a burger group. The bacon, avocado and aioli is good. The BBQ stacker is better, if you want more meat.”

She did know burgers, though.

She laughed at their jokes because it was expected of her, giving them a show when she reached for the menus after they gave her their orders. Arching her back and straining the material of her tank top, she made sure they all got a good look at her assets before prancing back towards the kitchen.

“Table fifteen, in the corner,” she said, writing it down on the order before sticking it up for the chefs to see. She then made her way to the bar to fulfil their drinks order, a half dozen pints of beer. She effortlessly carried them back out to their table, even when someone pushed their chair out suddenly.

“Sorry,” the man apologized, startled. Yang smiled, all teeth. Everyone was forgotten as he gaped at her.

“No problem,” she waved him off, continuing on without missing a step. The beers were delivered successfully, and she even added a little bounce to show off just how big and perky her chest really was.

She had them eating out of the palm of her hand after that.

The next few hours were spent going from table to table, delivering food and beverages, taking orders, cleaning tables and seating new customers. Plentiful tips were to be had, and Yang had to stifle her grin as she rapidly pocketed more money than she’d earn just through her wages for an entire week. They were particularly generous this evening, and it put her in a good mood.

Even the disgruntled, snide comments from her co-workers did nothing to dampen her spirits. Normally it would be annoying to hear, even if she didn’t give a shit about their opinions but tonight, it only filled her with amusement.

“I bet she puts out for some of the regulars,” one of them muttered as she passed by.

“They’re just hooked on her because she’s the new girl. She isn’t that good, they’ll forget about her soon enough,” another said, resting bitch face in full force.

“She’s definitely had work done,” that one almost made her laugh. She was all natural, baby. “A nose job for sure, and some filler. Those tits aren’t real, either.”

They were a real positive bunch, weren’t they?

Crystal was doing quite well for herself, as well. Yang spotted a few younger patrons, likely fresh out of high school, following her with their eyes as she moved around the restaurant like a pair of lost puppies. Her pouch was bulging with lien.

She met her eyes and winked, and Crystal smiled brilliantly.

When it was time for her break, Yang decided to spend it outside the back of the store. Crystal joined her, sharing a basket of fries between them.

“Mm,” Yang hummed happily, enjoying the crunch as she devoured handful after handful. “Pretty good night, huh?”

“There must have been an event nearby, some of the guys were talking about it,” Crystal popped a fry into her mouth. “Some gamer thing. You know anything about it?”

Now that she mentioned it, she remembered Ruby talking about it. She’d wanted to go but her social anxiety got the best of her, so she missed out on securing tickets.

“My lil sister was talking about it. I think they showcase new games or something, and they sell merch. I guess that’s why it’s so busy tonight.”

Friday’s were always pretty hectic but the place had been full ever since she arrived, and it was showing no signs of slowing down. Not that they were complaining, it made the shift go faster and it meant more money, but it had been surprising.

“Some of them have been pretty cute tonight,” Crystal shot her a sly look. “See any you like?”

Yang rolled her eyes. “You always ask me that. I’m not looking for a boyfriend.”

“Who said anything about a boyfriend? Some no-strings attached fun is allowed.”

She grimaced. “Not really my thing. I have nothing against it but the last few guys I tried that with, things just got too messy.”

“They catch feelings?”

“You know it,” Yang sighed.

She hadn’t gone all the way with them. Just a bunch of kissing and some foreplay, but it wasn’t long until they were declaring their love and wanted to make it official. It wasn’t that she didn’t like them or anything, it was just that she didn’t see a relationship lasting very long. It had been a purely physical thing on Yang’s end.

Crystal giggled. “Aw, you broke their hearts.”

“I didn’t mean to but I wasn’t looking for something serious. I’d rather not have to deal with anything like that again, and trying with a civvie – well, guys aren’t really thrilled when their girl can kick their ass without even trying, ya know?” She’d heard enough stories from girls at Signal about trying to date non-Huntsmen-in-training and the disasters that followed. “It bruises their ego too much. They can’t handle it.”

Yang didn’t hold it against them. The level of strength between a regular person and someone with their aura unlocked was massive. It created a power imbalance that was difficult to surmount.

Unfortunately, those with aura lived in an entirely different world.

“I suppose you’re right,” Crystal patted her on the shoulder. “Maybe a nice Huntsman will come in and sweep you off your feet.”

Yang doubted it but never say never, right?

“You know, if you told those other girls that you attend Beacon, they wouldn’t dare run their mouths,” Crystal said. “They’d be too scared you’ll beat them up.”

Yang laughed dryly. “That’s exactly why I haven’t told them. I don’t think it would be good for business if all the other waitresses walked on eggshells whenever I’m nearby.”

She scoffed. “They shouldn’t talk shit, then.”

“Yeah, well – fair point. The boss appreciates it, though.”

Sepia knew, as did the store manager – but the only other person who knew was Crystal because Yang trusted her to keep it to herself, and she wasn’t going to shit her pants because she wasn’t being a cunt to her.

When their break was over, they rejoined the chaos. The hours ticked by, and Yang was just cleaning up a recently vacated table when she spotted someone in the corner of her eye. She wasn’t sure why as there were plenty of other people around but something about them was familiar. Looking up, she quickly realized why.

Yang froze.

Jaune Arc casually approached the bar and slipped onto one of the barstools, tapping away on his scroll. Yang stared, transfixed as Sepia walked over to take his order.

What the hell was Jaune Arc doing here?

Before she could try and hide, retreat to some corner of the room until he was gone, he swung around on his stool, eyes searching for the television playing the Friday night game – but instead, they paused on her.

Blue met lilac, and Yang felt her heart leap into her throat. Jaune stared at her uncomprehendingly for a moment, as if he didn’t even recognize her, and then without even a nod of acknowledgment, he looked away, focusing on the game.

...did he just…?

She stood there dumbly for several long seconds before her body moved without thought, scurrying out the back to hide. She almost ran over one of her co-workers, hugging the door frame as she peered out into the restaurant.

It was Jaune, right? It was really Jaune Arc, wasn’t it!?

Of course it was. There was no mistaking that blond hair and tall build, broad shoulders and that awkward air he carried around with him wherever he went. He was dressed a little different than normal in a pair of black pants and nice shoes, and even wore a nice button up shirt that matched his eyes, but that was definitely Jaune Arc!

And yet he’d looked at her as if he didn’t recognize her, as if Yang Xiao Long wasn’t right in front of him in a Honkers uniform, cleaning and waiting tables.

Did he really not realize it was her?

That would be the best case scenario but would she ever be so lucky? She watched him carefully as he continued to watch the game on TV, completely oblivious to the turmoil he was causing. One of her co-workers approached him to make sure he was taken care of, and he barely looked her way as he waved her off.

He was completely absorbed by the football game.

“What are you looking at?”

Yang nearly screamed.

“Crystal,” she grabbed at her chest. “Don’t sneak up on people!”

Crystal arched an eyebrow. “I didn’t think I could sneak up on you. What has you in such a tizzy?”

Crystal leaned out and took a peek.

“So who are you hiding from?”

“I’m not hiding!”

“Sure looks like hiding to me. Is it that big guy in the corner?” Crystal tilted her head. “He does look pretty scary but you could turn him into a pretzel. Maybe that old dude that likes to make lewd comments? You know Sepia will throw his ass out if he says anything dirty.”

Yang frowned. “You know it isn’t that.”

“Then what is it?”

She sighed. “That guy at the bar. Blond, tall, see him?”

Crystal nodded.

“He goes to Beacon.”

Understanding dawned on Crystal’s face. “Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh!”

“Did he see you?”

“Yes,” Yang hissed. “He looked right at me – but he acted like he didn’t recognize me at all!”

“Maybe he didn’t?”

Yang shot her an unimpressed look. “You think he wouldn’t recognize this?” she waved at her face and body. “I’m not that damn lucky.”

“Are you guys friends?”

Were they friends? I mean, yeah – they were. It was true that at first, he’d only been an acquaintance through Ruby but it was hard not to become friends with someone that had shared such intense situations with you. Initiation had bonded their teams in a way that years at Signal had failed to do with Yang and her classmates there, and while at first he only really came by to hang with her sister, that had quickly turned into more.

They didn’t know each other that well, but yeah – they were friends.

Yang nodded.

“Then go talk to him and ask him to keep it a secret. He’d understand, right?”

He would.

Yang nodded again. “Yeah. Okay. You’re right.”

She could do this.

But no sooner had she decided to go out and confront him, his food order arrived. It was to go, and Yang watched as he accepted the bag gratefully, nodded and left.

All without a backwards glance.