The Leftovers

Cinder double checked her outfit, and the slight amount of makeup she had on in the small mirror in the office she shared with Ruby. 

Yep, she was still drop dead gorgeous and ready to ensnare one Winter Schnee even further in her web. 

That sounded way worse than she thought. 

She wasn’t trying to kill her or anything nefarious. She was trying to get a date with her though which might eventually lead to her spending the night...and then every night thereafter.

All she had to do was turn on the Fall charm and sit back and let Winter melt just from being near her. 

And make sure Mercenary Meow was with her. The cat and his likeness to a penguin could tip the scales in her favor. She’d have Penny on standby with the little guy just in case. 

And keep most of the wait staff from bothering her at least until she was more acclimated to the place. Pyrrha and Penny were fine, and Ruby would be unavoidable but managable, and she’d already met Maria so really it’s not like it could get any worse unless Maria started hitting on Weiss. 

She needed to send Jaune home early. Like right now early. She grabbed her phone and sent a message to have Maria take care of it. 

She would take absolutely no shit and make sure he was gone inside of five minutes. He was a nice enough kid but tried entirely too hard and hit on everyone to try and get a date. Cinder also had the worst habit of forgetting he worked there most of the time. 

It wasn't out of malice and she didn’t mean to but he was just so…bland? Forgettable? He was a good cook though or at least good enough to be Maria’s back-up which was no mean feat considering her high standards and low tolerance for idiocy, which was strange given how attached she was to Ruby, but hey Ruby had plenty of good qualities if Cinder had to be honest.

Of course watching Jaune try to hit on Ruby once had been hilarious because Maria had taken him into the backroom to explain very carefully to him certain facts of life once Ruby wasn't around. 

Cinder wished she knew what was said but to his credit he hadn’t been dumb enough to try and hit on Ruby again. Almost everyone else yes, Ruby no. 

She cast a final glance at her appearance and took a deep breath. Showtime. 

She walked past a slumbering Ilia and caught Penny’s eye and flicked them toward the cat. 

Penny being the clever sort she smiled, nodded and held up her phone and Cinder nodded in return. 

She walked past Maria physically carrying Jaune out of the diner and barely withheld the urge to cackle. 

She turned a corner and steadied herself. There was Winter Schnee looking as prim, proper, and stunning as ever. She couldn’t see over the counter but she knew Atlas’s finest attribute was in full, proper form once again. 

With a careful steady breath she caught Pyrrha’s eye and nodded indicating she’d be taking over as Pyrrha took the order Winter had likely already placed to the kitchen. 

She walked over slowly and without seeming like she had a care in the world, and certainly not like she wanted the woman across the counter from her. 

“Winter. I see you’ve once again decided to grace my…what was it you called it?” Cinder asked as she pretended to think about it. “Oh that’s right it was a disgrace to all-” 

Cinder was cut off as Winter had clapped a hand over her mouth. “Yes I remember quite clearly thank you!” Winter whispered harshly as she looked around to make sure they were alone although when Cinder raised an eyebrow at her she removed her hand from her mouth as though scalded. 

“I do apologize for my…unfounded opinions although my opinion on some of your staff remains unchanged,” Winter said as Cinder shrugged. 

“Yeah that’s fair. You don’t have to like everyone,” Cinder agreed with a shrug. 

Winter countered with her own raised eyebrow. 

“Really. I don’t care if you like them or not. They do their job and do it well or Ruby and I wouldn’t hire them,” Cinder said simply as she pretended to buff her nails. “Or are you gonna tell me Maria didn’t make you the finest chicken salad you’d ever eaten last week?” 

“Her cooking is fine, but her personality leaves much to be desired,” Winter concluded with a frown. 

“Meh you just gotta get used to her. She opens up to the right people,” Cinder said as she looked out of the corner of her eye and smirked. “You might have to sooner than most,” Cinder teased. 

“What do you…mean?” Winter asked as she trailed off and paled seeing Maria at the table quite closely with Miss Rose and Weiss. 

She was of a mind to go over there and remove her from their presence this instant until she felt Cinder’s hand on her arm so she forced herself to sit down and wait for an explanation. 

“It’s already too late. I could hear her rolling her r’s. She’s well and truly lost if your sister's flush is any indication.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Winter demanded as she contemplated if she could run and pry Maria away from Weiss. 

“She only does that when she likes the person. Like, really likes them. In fact, the only other person she ever does it for is Ruby. If I’m reading it right…looks like you might be getting two new family members!” Cinder said cheerfully as Winter paled. 

“It is far too late. Weiss is already blushing up a storm. Grats on the new relatives,” Cinder said cheerfully as Winter slammed her face into the counter, or would have if Cinder hadn’t anticipated that and interposed her hand to catch Winter’s face. 

“Hey that's pretty smooth. What cream do you use?” Cinder asked as Winter rubbed her forehead and cast a glance over the table where Weiss was eating some sort of sandwich. 

God damn it, how was she going to live being related to Maria of all people?

“I just moisturize,” Winter replied distractedly. Wait! If she ordered more food or something Maria would have to go cook it and that would get her away from Weiss! Anyone could make her a salad but something more complicated would require the head chef!

“Now are you really gonna clam jam your little sister?” Cinder asked with a smirk as she put a finger on the menu to push it down out of Winter's hands.

Winter managed to grow even paler and turn green at her turn of phrase. 

“I might have a way to get your mind off your sister’s potential love life if you’re interested,” Cinder offered and tried not to take too much pride in the hope on Winter’s face. 

“I suspect if you’ll allow me to take you out to get your mind off things you’ll find you won’t be able to focus on whatever they may or may not get up to,” Cinder said, making sure to lean over the counter so the top of her shirt opened up. 

Like clockwork Winter’s eyes darted to her open top before she flushed and looked away and tried to pretend she hadn’t looked. 

Cinder felt her smile widen as she leaned in just the tiniest bit more. 

“You’d have to be a very good distraction to keep my mind off the misadventures Weiss will likely be up to,” Winter countered, not giving in just yet. 

“Oh well, I was thinking we could start with mini golf, and ice cream,” Cinder said as she leaned even closer into Winter’s personal space and took it as a win when she didn’t tell her off. 

“And then what?” Winter asked breathlessly as her face turned red. 

Cinder drew a circle on the counter with her finger as she smirked and held up a pair of tickets in her other hand. “You let slip how much you liked penguins and I thought what better than two tickets to the zoo. We’ll be there a bit early I’m sure, but the penguins will be out later while we’re still there. I hear these fancy tickets come with a special perk if you’re interested,” Cinder said coyly. 

Winter tried to keep the curiosity and desperation off her face with only marginal success. She took a drink from the glass Pyrrha had given her to wet her throat which had become dry the closer Miss Fall, or Cinder rather leaned toward her. 

She should really tell her to back up, but she found that she very much didn’t want her to. 

“What’s the perk?” Winter asked in a voice barely above a whisper as Cinder smirked and leaned forward so only a few inches were separating them. 

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Penny with the kitten and used her free hand to wave her off for now before she refocused on the prize. 

“A meet and greet with the penguins where you. Get. To. Feed. Them. By hand,” Cinder said as seductively as she could manage. Fortunately her target was enamored with penguins and merely whimpered so Cinder leaned in just a smidge more so only an inch separated their lips. 

“Do let me know what you decide soon if you could. The tickets are for tonight,” Cinder said under her breath, her voice just barely audible even to Winter who was struggling to not close the distance toward the very inviting lips on display. 

When Cinder leaned back to a more normal distance it was all she could do not to whimper at the sudden loss she felt. 

“I mean if you don’t wanna go, that's fine. No hard feelings and enjoy your meal,” Cinder said with a shrug as she took a pen and scribbled something on a napkin trying very hard to maintain her aloof and cool disposition like what she'd done hadn't affected her the same as Winter. 

“If you do decide you want to go give this number a call or text, and I’ll meet you here at closing so we can go,” Cinder offered with a wink as she slid the napkin over to Winter and sauntered off with a swing to her hips as she rounded the corner, made it to the nearby employee break room and threw herself down onto the couch and began taking deep breaths. 

“Holy shit! I did it,” Cinder said as she got her breathing under control and happily slapped the couch cushions in triumph. 

“You asked out a girl. Grats,” Ilia said sarcastically although she was hiding a small smile behind her hand as she ribbed her boss. 

“At least I didn’t turn invisible every time she looked my way the first month I was here,” Cinder ribbed back as Ilia pinked at the reminder. 

“I was…performing reconnaissance?” Ilia tried to state confidently even though it sounded like a question. 

“Oh I thought you were merely embarrassed,” Penny said as she came back into the room with Mercenary Meow who she handed to Ilia. 

Ilia took the kitten automatically as she processed what her girlfriend had just said. “You knew?” 

Penny seemed unaffected by her girlfriend’s voice going up several octaves as she asked her question. 

“Of course. I thought it was cute and once I was sure you were unattached I proceeded to make you mine! Did I do something wrong?” Penny asked as Ilia buried her face into one of the couch cushions to scream in embarrassment. 

“Nah she’s just coming to terms with the fact that she’s not as sneaky as she thought,” Cinder said with a smirk as she kept glancing at her phone waiting for a call or text.

“Hey you’re a math nerd right?” Cinder asked Penny without waiting for a response as she continued. “What’s like, the mathematical chances Winter accepts my date request?” 

Penny put a finger to her lips and pursed them as she thought about everything she knew about each of them. “Do you want the hopeful estimate or the likely one?” 

“Both. Neither. Hopeful? Likely?” Cinder cycled through every answer she could think of. 

“Based on what I know of each of you and the conversations we’ve had recently when she came in the last time I can confidently say your chances of gaining a date with Miss Schnee are approximately one hundred percent!” Penny declared to a hopefully looking Cinder whose phone buzzed at that exact moment causing her to shriek in joy until she frowned as she read the message. 

“Did we forget to pay Jaune again?” Cinder mumbled honestly not sure. She sent off a text to Ruby telling her to double check and pay him if they hadn’t. 

“How did he get this number?” Cinder wondered until she got a text saying they accepted the outing and she cheered in the break room. “Hell yes!” Cinder declared with both arms outstretched over her head in triumph. 

“The Fall charm is too powerful and the Pride of Atlas is all mine,” Cinder cackled as she changed the number to that name once she confirmed it was Winter. 

“Wait, what am I gonna wear? Shit, what do you wear to mini golf and penguin feeding?” Cinder asked as Ilia shrugged before she smirked and changed colors to display she never worried about it. 

“Oh you can go right to hell!” Cinder snarked as she bit her nails in thought and turned towards Penny hopefully. 

“I regret to inform you I am a math nerd, and not a clothing nerd,” Penny said with a chipper smile as she left to go back on shift, stopping only to kiss Ilia on the cheek prompting a happy sigh from the girl.

“Oh well, who can I talk to about this? Ugh. Wait a minute. I’m Cinder Fall. I can knock her off her socks myself. I mean I just got a date right? Hell yeah I did. I can do this,” Cinder said psyching herself up as she punched a fist into her palm. 

Ilia watched on with Mercenary Meow from the side as the kitten looked up at Ilia. 

“Yeah I don’t get it either,” Ilia admitted to the kitten. 

“You say something?” Cinder asked. 

“Uh,” Ilia stalled as she tried to think of a way to get out of this. “How about asking her younger sister, and I guess Maria and Ruby since they’re out there?”

“That’s…not the worst idea. Her sister would know and I could get in good with the family and give her some tips for dealing with the other two, and Maria would help if only to mess with Winter. Yeah, that could work. Great work Ilia you can have Jaune’s tips,” Cinder praised her employee as she left the break room to go bother the trio at the table. 

“JAUNE NEVER GETS ANY TIPS!” Ilia screamed at the departing woman who cackled at her. 

“I know.”