So, I thought I'd try my hand at a Soulmate AU. I decided to go classic with the old concept of the red string that supposedly connects two soulmates, but with a twist. Since I hate love at first sight and don't like the idea of people knowing their soulmate before, well, knowing their soulmate, I tweaked it so that the string only appears when they fall in love. It saves the trouble of a romantic confession and still keeps the soulmate concept. I hope you like it!

Jaune had been positive that Weiss was his soulmate. The near-instant attraction he had felt toward her, combined with how quickly his feelings escalated, clearly meant that they were meant to be!

At least, that's what he had hoped.

After the first few rejections, he thought that getting the red string to appear between them would take some extra work. After the dance, he became positive that it wouldn't appear at all. Just another stupid crush, he thought dejectedly as he resigned himself once again to his single life.

It wasn't necessarily that he was desperate for love. He just couldn't shake the fear that he'd never see that red string appear on his pinky, would never feel the pull that would lead him to the person who would be by his side forever.

Everyone said that the string wouldn't appear until after two soulmates have met and have each fallen in love with the other. In Jaune's mind, that meant there were a million things that could go wrong. What if he fell in love with the right person, but they never fell in love with him? What if he fell in love with the wrong person and missed his chance with the right one? What if he never met the right one?

Maybe that was why he had been so persistent in his pursuit of Weiss. Maybe a part of him just wanted the string to appear so that he wouldn't have to worry anymore.

Weeks later, when he became aware of the first stirrings of emotion toward his partner, he tried desperately to suppress them. This had to be a rebound crush. There was no way something real could arise so soon after he gave up on his former infatuation, and he didn't want to put his friendship with Pyrrha on the line.

His attempts to repress his new feelings turned out to be as ineffective as his previous attempts to sway Weiss.

It started at the dance, though he didn't consciously realize it at the time. Despite his recent heartbreak, he found himself able to smile when he started dancing with Pyrrha. Later on, when he confided in her that he was giving up on Weiss, she had hugged him and assured him that he would find the right person eventually.

Something about her tone made him actually believe her.

It wasn't until the Grimm invasion of Vale that he was finally able to get over his denial. Still beaming after the surprisingly-successful fight, Jaune was stunned when Pyrrha rushed over to him, throwing her arms around his shoulders.

"Jaune, that was amazing!" She hugged him tightly, squeezing all of the air from his lungs.

"Hnngh!" Jaune groaned. "Thanks." He grinned despite his sudden lack of oxygen. "It's all thanks to you, you know."

Pyrrha shook her head and pulled back, allowing her partner to take a breath. "I trained you, but you killed those Grimm on your own." She ruffled his hair gently, causing a pleasant warmth to travel down his spine from his suddenly-pounding chest.

"I still couldn't have done it without you," he insisted before pulling her into a second, less rib-crushing hug. She returned the embrace, and Jaune felt his smile widen at the feeling of her lean, muscular frame nestled against him. He managed to resist the urge to kiss her cheek or nuzzle the side of her neck, but the hug definitely lasted for a long time.

The night after that battle, he sat on the roof with his feet dangling over the edge. He had long ago lost any fear of falling. After fighting Pyrrha and being pushed near the rim multiple times, he was immune to the dizzying heights. He stared up at the shattered moon, lost in thought.

His entire body felt strange, as if charged with electricity, as if an invisible Nora was feeding her Aura into his somehow. Yet, at the same time, his mind was oddly calm. In fact, he couldn't remember ever thinking so clearly before.

Once he admitted to himself that these thoughts needed to be acknowledged and needed to sort themselves out, it was surprisingly easy to open up the part of his brain he had been suppressing. It was simple to go over how he felt about his partner.

She had been there for him since the beginning, putting so much time into making him a better fighter. Yet, she never complained. Heck, she legitimately enjoyed taking time out of her day to help him. Those nights on the roof were just as filled with conversation and laughter as they were with the clanging of weapons. Jaune loved feeling his body becoming stronger, feeling his reflexes getting better, before slumping against a wall and catching his breath while talking with Pyrrha about their days.

It was so simple, yet so wonderful. He knew that he didn't enjoy talking with his other friends this much. He loved Ren like a brother, but there was only so much they could talk about before falling into an awkward silence. Nora, while awesome, was exhausting to be around after an hour or two. Even Ruby, his sister in social awkwardness, could only talk for so long before they would both mutually retire from interacting.

With Pyrrha, however, Jaune felt like he could either talk or listen forever. Even when they ran out of things to say, they would sometimes sit together for a little while longer, thinking their own thoughts while taking silent comfort from each other's presence. He had never been able to do that with anyone before.

During the Grimm invasion, he had been scared. It hadn't been a fear of his own death, however. After killing that first Ursa, he had been relatively confident about his chances of survival. He had been afraid for Pyrrha, even though that made no sense.

There had been a few moments when, despite what he knew about her abilities, he wondered if a Grimm would somehow get a lucky shot in. This wasn't like anything they had dealt with before. What if something happened that would suddenly take Pyrrha away forever?

When the fight ended and Pyrrha ran into his arms, everything had been right with the world. He had, of course, felt relief when the rest of his friends were okay. However, none of the other hugs or pats on the shoulder he received had felt quite the same.

Jaune let out a long sigh as he recalled her bright, emerald eyes and that amazing smile. He lay back on the roof, still letting his feet dangle in front of him. Great, he thought. I'm in love with my partner. I'm in love with Pyrrha.

He voiced the phrase in his head, fully expecting to feel another surge of hopelessness, similar to what he had felt with Weiss. He was ready for the disappointment, ready to resign himself to getting over something that went so much deeper than a simple crush.

Instead, he felt a weird sensation in his chest, as if a weight was being lifted off of his ribcage. He took a breath and smiled. Despite his fear, he felt a certain rightness. No matter how many times he thought "I love Pyrrha," it didn't feel the least bit strange or wrong.

That light sensation traveled through his body, making it easier to breathe than before. The electric feeling in his blood turned to fire as the lightness mixed with it and he felt a sharp shock going from his left shoulder, to his hand, to his…

Jaune stared openmouthed at his left hand. Wrapped around his pinky was a glowing, red strand. It was like Aura, but more concentrated. Blinking rapidly, he touched it with his right hand, feeling a slight rise in temperature. The string was soft, but not quite solid, like the air above a static-charged piece of cloth. It trailed from his pinky, across the roof, and toward the closed door, where it disappeared under the crack.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha was in Team JNPR's dorm room, staring at one of her textbooks without really reading it. Her head was still buzzing from that battle. One second, she was remembering with a certain measure of pride how good of a fighter Jaune had become. The next, she was wondering just what else they could expect from the White Fang. The next, she was just feeling grateful that no one had died. She was paying some attention to Nora's exaggerated retelling of the battle on her scroll to some of hers and Ren's friends from their village.

Just as her thoughts went back to Jaune and she started to wonder when he would be coming back, she felt a sharp pang in her chest. She sat up straight as the sensation didn't go away, but went to her arm, blazing a trail to her hand.

Slowly, hardly daring to believe it, she moved her left hand in front of her face. Thin, red, and beautiful, a glowing string was tied around her pinky and leading under the door. She felt a tug on the other side and immediately stood up.

She was faintly aware of Nora letting out a gasp followed by an excited squeak, but didn't bother turning to look. She'd fill the others in later. Right now, she needed to get to the roof.

Jaune stood and was halfway across the roof before he stopped. He looked at the thread and saw that it was glowing brighter. Somehow, he knew that Pyrrha was coming closer. He decided to wait for her. It would be better to have this meeting privately, rather than in a hallway.

His entire body was tense. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. He stared at the door, his fingers twitching as he felt his soulmate's presence drawing closer and closer.

Finally, the door flew open and a near-breathless Pyrrha was staring at him. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were shining with unshed tears, and the most beautiful smile in the world was on her face. Jaune wasted no time in closing the distance between them and hugging her tightly.

Pyrrha sighed happily, wrapping her arms around Jaune while nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck. "I knew it," she murmured once she was able to speak again, sniffing quietly as tears streamed down her cheeks. "I knew it was you."

Jaune felt a lump in his throat and realized that his eyes were also watering. "Sorry you had to wait so long," he whispered, brushing his lips against her ear.

"It doesn't matter," Pyrrha said, touching a soft kiss to his neck. "We're here now."

This was even better than she had imagined. She had heard stories about what it was like to find one's soulmate, but nothing could have prepared her for this. She felt safe, but also strong, as if she could easily fight a thousand Ursai at once. She was warm, happy, and more content than she could ever remember being. She could feel the connection between her and Jaune, could sense the love between them and around them in the form of the red string. She knew that, as long as they were together, she could handle whatever else happened.

Jaune drew back a little to look at her face, gently wiping a few stray tears with his thumb as he gazed into the emerald depths of her eyes. One of her hands went up to touch his moist cheek and he leaned his face into her palm.

There was no sudden spark or surge of emotion when their lips touched. All of their feelings were already out in the open. This was just a confirmation of what they knew.

Pyrrha's knees trembled as Jaune's soft lips moved slowly against hers. Her hand went from his cheek to the back of his head. Slipping her fingers through his blond hair, she tugged playfully while pressing him closer. His left hand was on her cheek, and she could feel the warmth of the string against her skin. An idea occurred to her and she broke away from the kiss to touch her lips to it.

Both teens gasped as the string glowed brighter, sending a pulse of pure, electric warmth through their bodies.

Jaune trembled at the overwhelming sensation and noticed Pyrrha's shaky knees for the first time. "W-Wanna go sit against the wall?" he asked.

"Please!"

Once they were seated, Jaune pulled Pyrrha close so that she was snuggled against his side with her head on his shoulder. It felt so natural, as if they had been doing this for years. He lifted her left hand to his lips and kissed the string, causing that shocking feeling to go through them again.

Pyrrha sighed, slipping her fingers through Jaune's. "I love you," she murmured. She couldn't believe she was finally saying it out loud! Part of her wondered if she had gotten knocked out during the battle and this was an elaborate fever dream. The rest of her mind knew that this was real. This feeling was far, far beyond what a simple dream could bring.

Jaune kissed the top of her head. "I love you too." He gently squeezed her hand as a soft breeze ruffled his hair.

Despite the lingering fear from that day's battle, there was a sense of peace between the two as they sat together. One way or another, everything would be okay. They were as sure of that as they were of the red string, which continued to twist and glow around them, keeping them connected from then until eternity.

I was going to wait to post this, but the fandom is likely going to need some fluff. I will be watching episode 7 when it airs, and also saw RT's little post concerning the mature turn the show will be taking. I know what that means! "Mature turn" is just writer-talk for "We're going to do horrible things to the characters you love and shred your heart to ribbons." I should know. I grew up with Harry Potter, after all.

Well, we'll see what happens. I sense that I will be heavily inspired to make a villain-centric fic soon. Peace out!