What Are Common Plot Conflicts In Jaune X Neo Fanfiction Narratives?

Honestly, a lot of it boils down to trust, or the brutal lack thereof. She's a known liar and he's notoriously gullible, so every plot starts with that knife's edge. Does he trust her not to stab him the second his back is turned? Does she trust him not to try and 'fix' her into some bland, moral version of herself? I've seen fics where the entire conflict is just Neo testing Jaune's limits, waiting for him to flinch or show fear, and him stubbornly refusing to do so. It gets repetitive if the writer isn't careful, but when it's done well, that slow erosion of her cynicism is pretty satisfying to watch. The fight scenes are usually just a backdrop for that psychological dance.

Neo's muteness versus Jaune's verbal clumsiness creates a communication conflict that's so much more interesting than just 'will they won't they.' Writers have to navigate entire scenes without dialogue, which forces them into character actions and internal monologues in a way that most other pairings don't require. The plot often hinges on Jaune misinterpreting her smirks or Neo reading his body language wrong, and that tension drives the story forward without needing a big external villain. I've read a few where the central conflict is literally just them being stuck in a room together and having to figure out how to express basic needs, and it ends up being strangely intense.

Another common one is the inherent imbalance in their combat styles and reputations. Jaune is this upfront, honorable knight-type, while Neo is a deceptive, theatrical assassin. Stories love to pit those moral codes against each other, especially if they're forced to work together. Does Jaune compromise his values to understand her world, or does Neo slowly start to feel guilt over her past actions when she sees them through his eyes? That clash of ideologies is a goldmine for slow-burn resentment that eventually turns into respect, and maybe something more. It's less about good redeeming evil and more about two contrasting philosophies being ground together until they fit.

There's also the whole 'memory' angle, given Neo's connection to Roman Torchwick. A lot of fics use Jaune's survivor guilt from Beacon or Pyrrha's death as a parallel to Neo's loss, creating a conflict built on shared grief but expressed in wildly different ways. He might want to talk it out and heal, while she wants to burn the world down in revenge. That creates a push-pull where they're the only ones who can truly understand each other's pain, but their methods of coping are violently incompatible. The resolution often isn't neat, which I appreciate; sometimes they just agree to be messed up together, and that's the whole story.