I don't have time to write a full story regarding these two, so I thought I'd share a bunch of one-shots exploring Jaune and Neo's relationship in this little AU of mine. Please enjoy.
Cover art: Seshirukun
Chapter 1 - The List
"Jaune! I need to talk to you!"
Jaune turned around to see Ruby standing behind him. She didn't look happy. Actually, she looked furious. Not exactly an intimidating sight, but he was ninety percent sure he didn't deserve the anger she was sending his way.
"You alright, Ruby? What's got you down?" he asked.
"It's Neo!"
Jaune sighed. Here we go again. Ruby starting an argument with 'It's Neo' was as common as reading 'Once upon a time' in a fairy tale lately. "Fighting again? She's been with us for a while now. You know, you could at least try to get on with her."
"Don't act like this is somehow my fault!" Ruby snapped. "She's the one who keeps taking things too far! I've been really supportive of this weird, kinda messed up relationship you two have, but this is the last straw!"
"She's on our side now, Ruby."
"Is she? Look what I found on the floor! It's in her handwriting!"
She handed him a small piece of paper with a bunch of words scribbled on it. Two seconds in and it already had Jaune's full attention. Yeah, this was Neo's handwriting alright. She was the only one he knew who wrote in pink ink too. It was a list of some kind. That was strange. Neo didn't write lists, not even shopping ones. She didn't need to - she just took whatever she fancied off the shelf, something he was working on stopping.
At the top of the paper was the title 'Should I Kill Ruby?'. The rest of it was split into two categories, one for Yes and the other for No. The Yes category was an encyclopaedia of arguments. There were so many that they nearly reached the bottom. Her writing gradually got smaller as she struggled to fit so many in.
The No category, however, was dominated by only a single argument, yet it carried more weight to it than any of the Yes arguments. Circled, underlined and written in capitals was 'JAUNE WOULD BE SAD!', complete with a tiny scribble of himself with big tears flowing from his eyes, as well another drawing of a guilty-looking Neo.
Jaune's face reflected the doodle on the page. A wave of emotions overwhelmed him. He covered his trembling lips with his hand. "I don't believe it," he began to sob. "I didn't think Neo would do this."
"This is what I've been telling you for ages now," Ruby sighed. "I know it hurts, but you really should've seen this coming. I mean this is Neo we're talking about-"
"I'm so happy for her!" Jaune cried, showering the list with tears of joy.
"Huh?"
"Look how much progress she's making!" Jaune hugged the list tight to him. He could barely contain his happiness. "The old Neo would've never taken the time to do this. And look! She's even taking my feelings into account. She's so thoughtful."
"What are you talking about?"
"I've been trying to get her to express her anger through different ways besides violence. We've tried meditation, painting, cooking without knives. None of it worked, so I recommended writing her feelings on paper to get them out of her system. Maybe she could turn her anger into poetry or something. It was a long shot, but it seems to be working. She hasn't even tried stabbing holes in the paper with her pen. I knew she could do it!"
This was amazing. Now all he had to do was work on her thieving habits. That was gonna be a tough one. Maybe he could get her a job in insurance? At least then she could steal from people legally.
Ruby grabbed the list off him. "This isn't about Neo!" she shouted. "Well, actually it is, but you're missing the point! This list means she wants to kill me!"
"No, no, you've got it all wrong, Ruby," Jaune said. "This list means she's only considering killing you. She's hesitating. She's weighing up her options. That's a huuuuge difference."
"What? That doesn't make me feel any safer! She still wants me dead!"
Jaune rolled his eyes. "Come on, Ruby, we're hunters. Everything wants us dead. Criminals wanna kill us. Grimm wanna kill us. I got stung by a bee the other day that I'm pretty sure was out for my blood. It's gotten to the point where I get offended when someone isn't shooting at me every five seconds. My point is, this isn't anything new. It's not like you can't protect yourself."
"Yeah, well I don't usually live under the same roof with the people who want me dead! Do I need to start sleeping with Crescent Rose next to me now?"
"I thought you did that anyway."
"It's not like she hasn't tried to kill me already! Remember Beacon? She tried knocking me off the airship!"
"And since then, she hasn't done it since," Jaune said. "Besides, don't pretend like you don't have a landing strategy. Hell, you can practically fly with your semblance. Pushing you off an airship is like trying to drown a fish."
"I told you we couldn't trust her!"
Jaune shook his head. "I don't believe this," he tutted. "Neo's making so much progress, and you wanna tear that down and make this all about you? I gotta be honest, I'm a little disappointed."
Ruby's face went red as her fragile ego threatened to blow her up. "You're disappointed? You're dissapoi- no! No, no, no, no! You did not just say that while looking at your girlfriend's kill list!"
"Decision list," he calmly corrected.
"Listen to me, you little-"
"Oi, oi, oi, what's going on here then?" Yang said, walking in with Weiss in tow. "I'm hearing a lot of shouting and a lot of talk about killing. Anything you wanna share that can't be resolved with a friendly game of tag?"
"I'll tell you what's going on!" Ruby said. "Yang, you're on over-protective big sis duty starting from now! I just found Neo's list talking about all the reasons she wants me dead!"
Yang's eyes widened. "Seriously? Jaune, learn to control your freaking girlfriend!"
Jaune shrugged. "I still say it's too early to assume anything."
"And I say we need to tell her to pack her things and hit the road!"
"Let me see that list," Weiss said.
"Why?" Ruby said. "It's definitely Neo's. Jaune confirmed it."
"I want to read it. Five seconds, please."
Ruby looked like she wanted to argue further, but handed the list over. Weiss looked over it in silence, her eyes carefully analysing every detail. A brief scratch of her chin was her first reaction, followed by a nod and a hum. Eventually, she spoke again.
"I see," Weiss said. "That's a relief. For a moment I was worried this would be completely unreasonable."
"Unreasonable?" Ruby snapped. "She wants to kill me! How much more unreasonable can you get? You're supposed to be my partner!"
"And as your partner, it's my job to share some honest criticism about you when necessary." Weiss held the list out for all to see. She pointed to one of the arguments in the Yes category. "Neo makes some valid points here. Look at this one. 'Her semblance always leaves a mess.' Seriously, is it so hard to clean up all those rose petals you leave behind?"
"Neo wants to kill me, and you're telling me to bring a vacuum with me into every fight?" Ruby said.
"Lemme see that," Yang said, looking over the list. "Oooh, this is a good one. 'Her voice is too squeaky.' Can confirm. We used to buy Zwei special earmuffs so that she wouldn't pop his eardrums when she called for him."
"Hey, this is the voice of a leader! Respect its authority!" Ruby said.
Jaune cringed and rubbed his ears. "It's powerful, I'll give you that."
"What's going on here?" Ruby said, snatching the list back. "I'm the one with her life on the line, and you're making me sound like the bad guy! Don't you have any sympathy for your beloved leader who will totally save us all and stuff?"
"Oh please, this is little more than a petty grudge," Weiss said. "I'm on a first-name basis with most of my would-be assassins from the White Fang. I still sometimes catch Blake glaring at me and muttering 'Schnee' under her breath. Just stop annoying her and you'll be fine."
"I tried to tell her," Jaune said. "You're a leader, Ruby. You're supposed to see the good in people, not the bad."
"That's kinda hard to do when the bad is literally written out for you!" Ruby said. "Yang, you nearly got killed by Neo too! Back me up here!"
Yang scoffed. "Me? Pfft, dunno what you're talking about, Rubes. I whooped Neo's butt back at Mt Glenn."
Ruby groaned. "Not this again. You lost."
"If beating her up with one hand behind my back counts as losing, then yeah. I lost big time."
"How are you still in denial for over a year? You lost! Admit that you lost!"
"Haven't needed a reason to yet."
"Well, I say an important lesson has been learned here," Jaune said. "I hope you'll be able to reflect on this, Ruby, and try to act a little more humble next time."
"I suppose it's my fault," Weiss said. "I spend too much time away from her, and her manners begin to slip. Fear not. I will have her disciplined again in no time."
Ruby was pulling her hair out from the overwhelming truth eating away at her guilty conscience. "Alright, fine! Have it your way! But when you find my body floating in a lake somewhere, and then she starts coming after you, don't come crying to me! I'll just say I told you so! Except I won't! Because I'll be dead!"
The sound of heels clacked down the hallway. Someone was coming. Everyone turned to see Neo angrily walking up to Ruby. She yoinked the list out of her hand, took out a pen and added a new entry to the Yes category.
'Takes people's stuff without their permission.'
"Are you kidding me?" Ruby exploded. "You're the thief here!"
Neo smiled sweetly up at Jaune before leaving. Jaune was swelling with pride as he watched her walk away. "There she goes, off to make more progress," he said.
"It is rather inspiring," Weiss agreed.
"I gotta apologise for absolutely destroying her back at Mt Glenn," Yang said.
Ruby looked absolutely done with the world around her. "Yeah, yeah, just keep her away from my funeral. She's not invited."
