A/N: Some weeks ago one of my friends told me she was going to write about sulmates, and since I was already toying with this bunny I thought "Why not?"
A warning: I bashed on Jaune a little. Not that much, but if you love him, you probably won't like this story.
A big thank you to Phoenixnext (check her works, she's great) for betareading this for me and for the help with a part that didn't want to be written
-o-o-o-
Sprawled on the floor where Cardin Winchester threw him, Jaune was too busy pitying himself to acknowledge who was walking up to him. But their soft and a little concerned "Need a hand?" roused him out of his self loathing.
He sighed and looked at the girl who was standing next to him, waiting for Jaune with an arm stretched out. "Thank you, Ruby."
"Don't worry, Jaune. That's what friends are for, right?"
He gave her a rueful smile and grabbed her hand, climbing back on his feet "I guess you're…"
He choked on his own words. Their auras flared up painting the hallways in red and white, flashing at their hands with the sound of countless ringing bells. There was no mistake, no way to misunderstand the signs. Jaune Arc had found his soulmate: Ruby Rose.
Finally their auras subsided and the ringing ceased, leaving the entire hallway in an astonished silence for a moment. Then, it was like the world was exploding in a kaleidoscope of different emotions.
Everyone around them started to cheer loudly, with clapping hands, whistles, teasing and congratulations. Ruby was blushing, clearly embarrassed by being put in the spotlight, Jaune was looking at her with eyes wide as saucers, jaw slacked for the surprise.
But one person couldn't find it in herself to take part in the cheerful mood. Standing on the side, Weiss' heart was breaking. Ruby Rose, her partner, her girlfriend had just met her soulmate. All their projects, their dreams, their plans for the future… they were for naught, blown away like dust in the wind.
A hand raised as if to reach for her lover, opening her mouth to say something, anything. But was there something she could say? 'Congratulations'? 'Please, don't leave me'? Meaningless. She wasn't able to be happy for them, nor she could beg for Ruby to stay by her side. There was nothing to say. There was nothing for her anymore.
Her hand fell listless at her side, her mouth closed, while a tear fell and more would follow soon. She turned away from that painful happy event, staggering back to their room.
Oblivious to Weiss' pain, Jaune smiled softly at Ruby slowly stepping in front of her. He closed his eyes and leant forward, ready to meet her lips.
"Wawawawawa!" She jerked her hand free stepping back from the boy. "W-what do you think you're doing!"
Jaune blinked, surprised by her reaction. But he recovered quickly. " Right, I'm so dumb. She's young, I have to be more considerate. "
"Well," he said "You saw our auras, right?."
"Hu-huh"
"That means we're soulmates."
"Hu-huh"
"Aannnd… you know the drill!. Find your soulmate, share a kiss, happily ever after!" he finished cheerfully, spreading his arms wide.
Ruby looked at him without saying anything for a long moment. Then "I'll pass, thank you."
Weiss whipped her head back so quickly she almost hurt her neck while all the students around them fell silent, no more cheers, no more clapping. And Jaune…
Jaune looked at her like she was an alien "You-you can't be serious!" he couldn't believe it, there had to be a rational explanation. There was no way Ruby would reject her soulmate, right?
"I'm sorry Jaune, but I've always thought there's something... sketchy in this soulmate thing!"
"Ske… Ruby, come on! You're just.. I don't know, scared? Embarrassed? But… soulmates! It's the best thing ever! You don't have to worry about anything, just kiss me and we'll be in love! Forever!"
Ruby was starting to be really annoyed. "So, let me get it straight. If I kiss you, I fall head over heels for you? Whatever I may think or want that can go against it, puff, goodbye! No more!"
"C'mon, you're being overly dramatic, now. I'm sure that…"
"Holy cookie, Jaune, you can't be that dumb!" she yelled "I can make a LIST of things that don't sit well with me, but be as it may, my gorgeous girlfriend here" she gestured to Weiss who blushed gracefully "is already enough!"
He looked at her blinking once. Twice. "Beg your pardon?"
"I'm fudging GAY! Always been and always be!" she screamed "And now you're telling me that I have to change? And that I should be happy with it? That's not love " she air-quoted with both hands "That's… That's... brainwashing!"
Everything about Jaune drooped. Arms, shoulders, face. "But… but… you saw our auras and… you know I'm the one who could make you really happy." he whined in a last attempt to win her over.
Ruby pinched the bridge of her nose "Yeah, sure, our auras flared. So? I'm not my aura Jaune. I'm… me. And don't make me start with the 'happy' thing." She looked at Weiss once more, and smiled at her. Then, facing Jaune again "I'm already happy Jaune. Weiss makes me happy. Do you think you can do better? And how can you measure 'happiness'? Is there a-a scale? Dunno, like happy, happier, happiest? That's just dumb."
She paused for a moment, her frown deeping even more. "But you know what? Even if I wasn't gay, even if I hadn't already found Weiss, I would have rejected you."
"WHAT?!" he squeaked.
"You don't love me Jaune. You don't even like-like me. You only want to be with me because of a.. a little show of light and jingles. It has nothing to do with me being me. For you, anyone would have been fine."
Ruby sighed, she had enough, she was tired, the only thing she needed at the moment was cuddling with her girlfriend. "I choose to be with Weiss, and I worked my bum hard to make it happen. No shortcuts, no weird 'magic'. And I know for her it's the same. We're together because we WANT to be together and for me this is what really counts, not some… weird special effect thingy. So don't mention it ever again, please."
Just like that, she turned her back to him, her mind now focusing on Weiss and Weiss only. Ruby walked up to her girlfriend, she could see how much distressed she was, some tears still streaking her face. She smiled at Weiss and held her in a soft hug.
Weiss finally relaxed, hiding her face on Ruby's shoulder. She couldn't believe it, Ruby hadn't left her, she turned down her soulmate to be with her. "You.. you really know how to make a girl swoon, you know?"
Ruby giggled. "Did you really think I would leave you?"
Weiss bit her lip, unsure how to answer. "I… was scared, yes. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry, princess." She gave Weiss a soft kiss. "Shall we go? I don't know about you, but I need a lot of cuddling right now."
"I'd like that." She said before kissing Ruby back.
For Jaune, that was definitely the worst day of his life, forced to see his best - if not only - chance at happiness flirting with someone else. Was it some kind of sick joke? Crushing his most important dream like that? Everytime something bad happened to him, thinking that somewhere out there was someone waiting for him was enough to cheer him up. Everytime his seven sisters left the worst chores for him to do, he thought about the girl who one day would make his burdens lighter. When he had to work odd jobs to earn the money he needed to cheat his way into beacon, he fantasized about the look of admiration she would give him. Even putting up with Cardin and his gang of bullies was easier with the idea of his girl soothing his wounded pride.
And now he lost even that spark of hope.
That was unfair. That wasn't right. He wouldn't accept it.
Ruby was his and if she couldn't see it, then he was going to show her. His mind set, he sprinted toward the girl.
Ruby was still lost in her Weiss moment when she suddenly felt being jerked around. Taken by surprise, when she realized what was about to happen it was already too late to react. Jaune's face was only a couple of inches away from hers, not enough time to push him away or activate her semblance. With a look of horror, she knew her life, herself were going to be rewritten.
Then she heard it, the soft ringing of a glyph forming right beside her head. A gust of air ruffled her hair as a large, shimmering fist shot out of it, punching Jaune right in his face and sending him tumbling and crashing against the wall, before disappearing in a cloud of sparkling lights. Weiss' summons never ceased to amaze her.
"Wei-" She turned around to her saviour, but her breath hitched in her throat the moment she saw her.
Weiss stood there like a frozen crystalline statue, all sharp edges, cold as ice and hard as a diamond. The thin blade of her rapier shook lightly in her white knuckle grip, a foolish person would think it was shock or fear that had her standing so still. That is until they saw her eyes, then they'd see a subzero chill that could shatter bone, a blizzard of hatred that was akin to the breathe of death.
Ruby felt like she lost the gift of speech, her mouth forgot half opened. She was terrifying, Beautiful.
Majestic.
Weiss let out a quiet exhale, then walked towards Jaune with measured strides, each step leaving a track of frost on the floor. The students that were still lingering around them quickly shuffled away, afraid to get caught in the fallout.
Still a little dazed, Jaune had barely the time to stand up then Weiss was on him, the tip of Myrtenaster pointing right under his chin, forcing him to crane his neck uncomfortably.
" Arc, " she growled "It seems you are well acquainted with the soulmates lore. Alas, you left out an important part, so I think it's my duty to… educate you, if you don't mind."
He gulped, not daring to say anything.
"Soulmates love burns fiercely, indeed, but there's a drawback. The bond is so strong, that one cannot live without the other, to the point that when one would meet his final demise, the other would follow soon. Tragic, isn't it?"
"W-Weiss…" he tried, only to feel the rapier nipping at his skin.
"But!" she continued, ignoring him completely "It is said that the same... mysterious circumstances that actually create the bond, also offers a way out. Because the moment one of them dies, all the love, the affection, the burning passion the two shared fades away, like it was never there!"
She leaned in a little more, making sure he was looking right in her eyes "And now heed my words, Arc. Should you ever steal a kiss from MY Ruby, I swear on my name that you will be dead before getting a second one. Did I make myself clear?"
"Y-Yes. Crystal clear!" he choked.
With a devious smirk, she patted his cheek "Good boy." Then, with an elegant flourish, her weapon found its place back at her side, letting him finally crumple down in a quivering mess.
She barely made two steps back to Ruby when a red-caped rocket launched at her, hugging her tightly.
"Are you ok, Ruby?" She asked softly, hugging her back with one arm, the other hand gently stroking her hair.
"I-I don't know." she mumbled from her place in the crook of Weiss' neck. "I was scared, then angry, then whoa! And with you going all Weiss in shining armor on me?" She lowered her voice to a whisper "A little horny too."
To Weiss' credit, her voice staggered only a little, although there was nothing she could do to the rush of blood raising to her face. "W-well, then." In a single, graceful motion she swooped Ruby in her arms - something that warranted her a cute 'eep!' from her girlfriend - and started to walk to their room.
"Weiss?!"
"If as you said I am your knight, that means you are my princess. And it's a knight's duty to carry the princess to safety." She mentally cringed at her own cheesy line, but she knew Ruby would appreciate it.
And as on cue, Ruby let out a merry giggle. She draped her arms around Weiss' neck, resting her head near her shoulder. Then in a husky voice she whispered "Then take me to my room, so I can reward you properly, my hero."
That day Weiss discovered that she could run almost as fast as Ruby.
-o-o-o-
[OMAKE]
As soon as the flashes of light and ringing of bells subsided, Cardin Winchester looked at the girl who was standing in front of him. Weiss Schnee.
It is said that when someone steps on the plot of land that will be your grave, you can feel a shiver run down your spine. Judging by what he was feeling, that someone wasn't just stepping on it. They were utterly desecrating it, making sure that the soul of whoever would be put down there will suffer for eternity. Oddly enough, his mind was suddenly filled with images of an ominous scythe and a cape red like blood. More probably red by his blood.
But Cardin Winchester was a real man through and through, so he flashed her a cocky grin and scoffed. "Well, Schnee, what can I say? Sucks to be you! You're all hot and bothered that The Cardin is your soulmate, aren't you? Too bad I'm asexual, aromantic and i've decided to live the rest of my life in a monastery, hu? Now move along, I have better things to do than waste my time with the hottest girl in Beacon."
"... I can feel my poor heart breaking." she deadpanned in the most bored, monotone voice ever heard.
He shrugged with a grunt, but as he started to walk away, Weiss cleared her throat.
"Excuse me, venerable monk, I think you'd better go change." she said gesturing to a suspicious puddle of liquid on the floor where he stood just a moment before. "I think you pissed your holy pants."
-o-o-o-
Now, I've been told that Jaune is a little OOC, but I think he is and he is not at the same time. True, Jaune grows a little during season 1, but at first he's weak, selfish, stubborn and quite dumb too. That's where this Jaune come from.
That, and the fact I can't stand him, ofc.
*UPDATE*
I added a rant on why I don't like Jaune and so on, but I realized I was making a mistake. Whether I like him or not, it doesn't matter, because it's not the point of this story. I didn't write it to make fun of Jaune, but to make fun of the 'soulmates' trope. Jaune is just 'collateral damage', although I don't deny I kicked him a little.
And come on, I only made him take a rushed decision in a moment of stress, I didn't treat him THAT bad.
