I wanted to try something a little new, so here's my take on a red string of fate AU

This oneshot was requested by

Enjoy.

"That's not how it works, Black." a raven haired boy sighed, pushing up his glasses that were a little to large for his small face, "You know that don't you? Your mom told you right?"

Black ignored his friend and kept at it, following the small red string.

Of course his mom had told him, everyone was born with a magic string, even her and dad. She said that the string led to the person you were supposed to live with for the rest of your life, and Black was determined to follow the string and find them.

"I'm gonna find the person I'm destinied to be with!" he shouted happily, running after the line of string that was appearing. The magic string usually vanished a few feet from the owner whenever they weren't paying it any mind, but a lot of people had tried to follow theirs, in which case it materialized further.

Black was excited though, he couldn't wait to meet the person on the other end, he was sure that they would be best friends, like his mom and dad were.

"It's destined, not destinied." the boy pushed up his glasses again.

"It does sound pretty nice though, Cheren." a small blond girl's eyes sparkled as she looked at her own red string.

"I guess so, Bianca." Cheren looked questioningly at his own.

It was getting late, as Black realized, and he began to rub his eyes. He hadn't gotten anywhere today, the string just seemed to lead him in circles.

Black walked home with Cheren and Bianca, yawning loudly and stretching his arms.

"You can't follow your string every day, Black, you'll get tired." Cheren said, out of concern for his friend more than anything. They were elementary kids, they didn't need to worry about their red string yet anyway.

"I just can't wait to see whoever is on the other end! We're connected but I can't even see them yet." he said, looking off dreamily like he always did. Cheren said that he had a lot more to learn, but what more was there to learn about a string that led you to a new friend?

Black waved bye as he walked into his house, his mother there to pull off his jacket and hang it up on the rack that he wasn't quite tall enough to reach yet. She ruffled his hair, chuckling as he rubbed his eyes.

"How was the park? Did you and the others have fun?" she asked, leading him by the hand to his room. Black nodded absentmindedly, letting his mom take off his shoes and slide on his pajamas.

"When will I meet my red string buddy?" he asked, twirling the string on his pinky, you couldn't feel it, but it seemingly followed your movements. His mother laughed a little, pulling the blanket over him.

He didn't know why she was laughing, he wanted a new friend. What was so wrong with that? When him and his red string buddy got 'married' they would be best friends forever right? That sounded amazing.

"You don't need to worry about that. If you just wait, they'll find their way to you." she kissed his forehead and turned out the lights. He didn't know exactly what she meant, but he wouldn't stop looking for them. How could he wait if they might be waiting for him?

...

By age eleven, Black had realized that there was a little more to getting married than he had originally thought. As always he was a little behind when it came to piecing things together. It didn't do much to dissuade him though as he wandered around following the little red string.

He had learned that marriage was much more than just being friends, and he was starting to try to figure out the concept of love, which in and of itself was a weird thing. He knew that it was the same thing he felt for his parents, but supposedly a little different too. Some movies that he watched had characters that fell in love, and he was sort of starting to understand.

If anything, it made him want to find the end of the string even more. The thought of sharing an experience with someone that he had never felt before sounded cool. It was like friendship, but better from what he could tell.

He was starting a new year at his middle school, familiar faces popped up in his classroom as well as a few new ones. There were a couple interesting people that he took note of, a boy with long green hair and a girl with brown hair like his that was tied up in a high ponytail.

He felt a small tug on his pinky, the red string pulled a little, but quickly quieted down, much to Black's dismay. He tried to urge it to continue, but it just fell limp again. It had never done that before, and he wondered what it could mean. Hopefully it meant he would meet the other soon.

Black took his seat, it was the seat next to the brown haired girl. She looked over at him, and then averted her gaze, Black took that as a sign to talk first.

"So what's your name? I'm Black." he smiled, leaning forward on his own desk so that he could catch her eye.

"I'm White, nice to meet you!" she smiled back, her face a little red, Black wondered why, but didn't dwell in it for long. She seemed nice, and he hoped that they could be friends.

He was sort of a bright figure who could make friends with just about anyone. He glanced over at her hand, looking at the wispy thread that extended from her pinky finger. He wondered what kind of person was at the end of hers, then glanced at his own wondering the same for himself.

Her string was acting a little weird though, it almost flitted about as if the wind was tugging on it. His own rested blissfully silent on his desk.

He wasn't sure what it was, but he wanted to talk to her more. Learn more about her.

"Hey, you're new here right? Wanna hang out with me and my friends at the park later?" he asked, realizing it might sound weird a little too late, then realizing that he didn't really care.

"Uhh, sure. When?" she asked awkwardly, he couldn't blame her though, she was new after all.

"How about after school today?" he beamed when she nodded, he couldn't explain this feeling, but he liked it. He wanted it to continue too.

He walked home with Cheren, Bianca, and White, detour in to the park as he introduced his friends. They played and laughed like most eleven year olds' would, but when it started getting late, Black stood up from his seat on the swing.

"I'm gonna make my rounds guys." he said, heading off, trying to follow his string. He could hear Cheren explaining his antics to White as he walked off, bidding them farewell.

He couldn't help but notice a strange look on White's face, but his mind was pulled from it when his string tugged at him again in a new direction.

...

Black and White became friends almost instantaneously, after all, that was just the kind of person he was. Now at the age of seventeen, he was starting to get a fresher perspective of things, yet again a little later than everyone else.

White had become a close friend in his life. A little different than Cheren and Bianca. She had started going with him on his ventures to find the end of his string. He had noticed that her own string pulled even more frantically every year, and he was starting to get concerned.

One thing he did know was that you're never supposed to question people about their strings. He learned that the hard way when he had asked a man why his string was dark and limp. The man in a fit of sorrow ran off, leaving a confused and guilty feeling Black behind.

He couldn't shake that weird vibe he was getting from hers though, he had seen Bianca's string do something similar, though he didn't question her about it. His own had never done anything like that.

He decided he would ask her, though he would try with every bit of his curious being to be polite about it.

They were walking together after school again, White laughing and talking about something Cheren had said today, Black listening with a content smile as he followed his string.

He decided to just act casual, "So White, can I ask you a question about your string? If you don't want me to that's fine, I know it's a touchy subject for some people." he scratched the back of his head, inwardly frowning at his lame attempt to ask her.

He saw her string flit again, and she paused before answering, "Sure, what's on your mind?"

He tried to put it into words in his head, but then threw that idea out the window and decided to just roll with whatever, "Sometimes your string gets all frantic and stuff, what's that mean? It hasn't happened to mine yet." he said looking at his own as it trailed off in front of him.

He saw her expression shift into a saddened one, then sort of the same face he saw all those years ago at the playground, before shifting back again to a smile. Something was off about the smile though and he couldn't place it.

"I'm not sure!" she laughed, but it was bittersweet, that he could tell. Something tugged at his chest, and then at his string. It was a terrible feeling, one that he didn't like at all, but he decided that since his string was tugging, he would follow. It was pointing past White, so he turned and she turned with him.

They passed the park, and White looked wistfully at the swings. She was acting weird. They hung out all the time, so it wasn't often that Black saw a side he had never seen before, and this was it. She stopped for a second, and when Black realized she wasn't following he stopped too.

"I think I'm going to hang out here for a while. You can keep going, I'll see you tomorrow." White said, walking over to the swings, sitting down, her head hanging low.

He couldn't place it, but obviously she wanted to be alone. He felt awkward, but it was probably best to leave her be.

"Okay, see you later." he waved, walking away. He was concerned, he didn't like seeing White like this, he wanted her smile. His string flicked a little. Suddenly his mind was on other things, he didn't like to admit it, but he was kind of an airhead when it came to keeping his attention on a topic for long.

The only thing he could ever keep his focus on for extended periods of time, was his dream of following his string. That was about it.

He followed it around sidewalks and bends, until he heard voices around the next corner.

It was Cheren and Bianca's voices, and he was about to come around the corner and say hi when he heard Bianca speak in a serious tone that he hadn't heard her use before.

"I think that I, you know..." she cut off awkwardly and Black watched from around the corner, silently curious about their conversation. The morality of his actions was far in the back of him mind at the moment.

He saw their strings fluttering just as White's had always done, and how his had just moments ago. Things were starting to shift in his head as he looked on.

"I think I know what you mean, Bianca." Cheren said, his face red.

"I think you're, th-the end of my string..." she said, her eyes dazzling as she looked at him.

He hugged her to him and Black had to turn away. Everything suddenly clicked into place for him. It wasn't about finding the end of his string, it was about letting his emotions show through his string to guide him. The flitting of the strings made sense now, it was corresponding to the fluttering of their heart.

Black's blood ran cold as he remembered the look White had given him earlier. Her string was responding to him, and he shot her down. Like, painfully shot her down.

He regretted everything he had said, it was all untrue. His heart had jumped a couple times, but his didn't quite react like hers. He silently cursed at himself for being so dense.

He imagined what it would be like to have White as the other side of his string. He indulged in thoughts of holding her, laughing with her, and he realized.

"I'm in love..." he whispered, his heart racing, his string now jerking frantically.

It pulled at him almost painfully now, and he knew what he had to do. He didn't have to follow his string. He had to follow his heart.

He took off running back in the direction of the park. He knew that White was probably in pain because of him. Hopefully it wasn't too late. He rounded several corners until the park came into view.

He saw White still sitting on the swing, her hands covering her eyes. Every now and then her shoulders would quiver and the whole scene made Black's gut twist in an uncomfortable way.

"White!" he yelled as he got closer, he could feel his own emotion welling up as his string tugged harder and harder. Her head jerked up and she stood at the mention of her name, "Black?" she inquired, but before she had a chance to say anything else, Black had slammed into her, picking her up off of the ground to spin her in his arms.

He slowed his spinning before they got dizzy and set her back on the ground in favor of a tight hug. She slowly wrapped her arms around him, still dazed, but she managed to let out a content sigh.

"I'm sorry it had to be someone as dense as me." he whispered, holding her tighter. He didn't know why he couldn't see it before, she was always right here in front of him. She had been ever since that first day.

"What do you mean?" she asked shakily. Black leaned back, interlocking his hand with hers before raising it between them, his string fluttering to and fro. He felt his face starting to heat up when White's eyes started to shine, but he didn't care. This is what he had always dreamed of.

White had probably dreamed too, he had kept her waiting though, just like he had promised not to do.

"I love you, White." he said leaning his forehead on hers, this new feeling was amazing, something Black had never experienced before, and he couldn't wait to experience even more of it with the one he loved.

She choked a sob and leaned forward, pressing her lips on his, their intertwined hands falling to their side. Their strings, tying together, before fading away.

Never again would he chase that little red string.

Fin.