The Crimson Crusader (Ruby Rose x Vigilante Male Reader)

Undercover

Ruby's PoV

After last night, I was reluctant to return to work. However, I knew that if I were to skip work, Yang would suspect something was up.

The Drunken Huntress is a rather popular restaurant, so workers are always needed.

Even though I am the co-owner, I mainly work in whatever position needs to be filled because Yang deals with the finances.

Today was a slow day; with it being a Wednesday, nobody came in during lunch hours. When that happens, we typically allow walk-ins—customers without reservations.

Currently, I am working as a hostess because our usual hostess, Weiss, is running late. Weiss is a rich girl, so she doesn't need this job. She chooses to work anyway because she hates her father and wants to find a career and make enough money to detach herself from him.

As I was lost in my thoughts, a man approached the podium, so I quickly put on my game face and greeted him.

"Hi! Welcome to The Drunken Huntress! Do you have a reservation for a table with us?" I said, nearly wincing at how obviously fake my enthusiasm was. There was too much on my mind for my normal, happy self to be prominent.

"No, ma'am, I'm afraid not." the man said. I swear, I've heard his voice before.

"Okay, that's fine. We're having a slow day today, so we're allowing walk-ins. For future reference, it's better to have a reservation; it just makes it easier on the staff." I replied, giving my usual speech to walk-ins.

The man nodded and followed me to an open table, where I seated him.

"Can I start you off with anything to drink?" I asked, as is standard procedure.

"Just water, please," the man said in that voice that I can't help but recognize, even though I've never seen this man in my life.

I nodded and went back into the kitchen. While I was getting the man his water, I realized where I thought I recognized his voice. He sounds incredibly similar to the man who saved me last night.

Unfortunately, I can't bring it up to him because that would sound absolutely insane. "Hey! Quick question: Did you happen to beat a man to death in an alleyway and carry me back to my apartment last night?"

Insane, as I said. Just serve the man his food and get back to your day!

"Ruby?" a voice said, shaking me from my stupor. I turned and saw Yang, who was looking at me with concern.

"Ruby, are you alright? Is someone out in the dining room harassing you? I swear I'll kill 'em!" Yang said, immediately jumping to conclusions as she always did.

"What, no! I'm just a little tired; I didn't get much sleep last night after what you called me about." I lied through my teeth, hoping she didn't notice.

"Alright, I'm just making sure you're alright. How many tables do you have left?" asked Yang, her concern still evident in her voice.

"Just one, but I need to get back out to the podium after I bring this guest his water," I replied, realizing just how long I'd been in the kitchen.

"It's alright; Weiss showed up a few minutes ago. Why don't you serve this table and call it an early day?" said Yang.

"Are you sure? I'm alright. Really." I quickly lied again, but Yang saw through it this time.

"Yes, I'm sure. Jaune and Blake can handle the floor. You look like you need a nap." Yang said, her voice portraying that she was not taking no for an answer in this matter.

I sighed and nodded. "Alright, fine, you win." I relented as I finally poured the glass of water.

"I always do!" Yang yelled after me as I left the kitchen.

I shook my head as I approached my table, which was looking at the menu, patiently awaiting my return.

"Hi, I'm sorry for the wait; here's your water. Have you had enough time to look at the menu?" I asked.

"Yes, ma'am, I have." The man said politely. This man is easily the most polite customer I've ever served.

"Great, what can I get for you?" I asked, pulling out my ticket pad and pen.

"Let me get the ribeye, medium rare, please," the man answered.

"You get two sides with that; what would you like?" I inquired as I finished writing.

"Oh, sure, I'll have the creamy mushroom pasta and classic steak frites," the man answered quickly.

This man is the perfect customer. He knows exactly what he wants without needing to ask a bunch of questions.

"Okay, perfect! I'll get that going right away for you." I said, flashing the man a smile as I turned back toward the kitchen.

I entered the kitchen, ready for business again.

"Order up! One rib-eye medium rare, a side of creamy mushroom pasta, and classic frites!" I said just loud enough for the chefs to hear.

"Heard, Ruby!" replied Ren, our head chef, as he began work on the frites. He immediately yelled out to the other cooks. "Pyrrha, fire one ribeye, medium rare. Nora, one creamy mushroom!" he said, his normally calm voice demanding authority the moment he stepped into a kitchen.

"Yes, chef!" the cooks replied at once.

I nodded and exited, going just a few feet away to the bar. I'm not old enough to drink, but it couldn't hurt to have a seat for a second.

"Tough night, huh?" said Coco, our bartender. "Yeah, like you wouldn't believe," I replied, placing my head in my hands.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Coco asked as she finished drying a whiskey glass.

"There's not much to say, really. They found a body in the alleyway by my apartment. I'm sure it was all over the news this morning." I said, looking up at Coco, who was already mixing my go-to drink. A virgin pina colada.

Coco slid the drink over to me and began work on more cleaning. "You know that you're more than welcome to stay with Vel and me if you don't feel safe, right?" Coco said with sincerity.

"It's not that I don't feel safe; it's just hard to sleep after knowing that, y'know?" I asked as I took a long swig of the drink Coco had made me.

"No, I hear that. The offer still stands, though; whenever you like, you're welcome in our home." Coco said with a smile.

I was about to respond when I heard Nora call from the kitchen, "Service, please, table 25!"

"Duty calls, huh?" Coco asked.

"Unfortunately," I replied as I stood up, entered the kitchen, and grabbed the plate.

I returned to the table and placed the food in front of the customer.

"Enjoy your food, sir!" I said and returned to the bar.

It wasn't long before the man was finished with his food and requested the check.

When I went over to collect the check, I noticed two things.

One, the man had left an incredibly generous tip—70 percent, to be exact.

And tucked into the crease of the checkbook was a beautiful, red rose.

A/n: Hey, so this kind of ended up being a Ruby chapter, which wasn't my original intent. Though I'm sure you are well aware of who "The Man" in this chapter is supposed to be. I just couldn't figure out how to get a Reader PoV to make sense in this chapter. We shall return to crime fighting in the next chapter. I do plan on updating this story more, now that I know at least one person is looking forward to it.

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