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Day Five Prompt - Heart to Heart
“Please”
Warning: Suggestive Theme
Ruby stood at the entrance to their bedroom, staring at the door. She silently contemplated to herself, unsure how to start this conversation. It was something she had been putting off for a while now and knew it had to be addressed for the sake of her marriage.
She frowned as she thought of all the good times Jaune and her shared throughout the years leading to this lifetime together, and although they had been married only a year now, some things had changed. It was to be expected at some point. No matter how compatible you might be with someone like your spouse, there were always going to be days with disagreements. She knew today would be one of those days, or rather, tonight.
She had taken her time to get ready for bed. Usually, she would be ready to jump into the sheets with Jaune for some well-earned rest, and would often be the first one there as if it were a race. Tonight though, she allowed him to be the first so she could rack her brain on how to start this dialogue.
The innards of her stomach were in knots as she took one last breath, and gracefully opened the door. As expected, Jaune was in bed, but not asleep. He remained upward, back resting against the headboard of their bed, his waist covered by their shared blanket. He seemed preoccupied by their bedroom television as Ruby overheard the loud commercials.
After a moment, he did notice her as she closed the door behind her.
“Hey stranger,” he commented. “I thought you may have gotten lost. I was about to deploy the search team.”
He chuckled at his own joke; something she offered a weak smile of her own at as she approached their bed.
Okay girl, it’s now or never.
“Hey Jaune, can we talk for a moment?” She started.
Jaune immediately picked up on the tone of Ruby’s voice. “Yeah Rubes, what’s up?” He asked, muting the television and sitting up further.
She was nervous now. More nervous than she was before entering. The parasympathetic pulsing in her chest weighed on her as if she was being crushed beneath a boulder.
She stumbled over her tongue at first, something that caused Jaune to react hesitantly on his own. Even before she had spoken a word, he knew something was up. It was going to be a conversation neither were going to enjoy.
“Ruby… just say what you need to say.”
Ruby closed her eyes as she took a long, strident breath, hoping it would help her.
“Do you love me?” She asked him.
“What?” He questioned almost dumbfounded, putting emphasis on the word.
“Let me phrase it differently. Do you still love me?”
Again, Jaune had to take a moment to compute this nerve-racking inquiry. Did he still love her? What kind of question was that? Where was this coming from?
Of all the things she could have asked him across a lifetime of different possibilities, he never imagined she would ask that to him. He felt the same about her as the day he realized his feelings. The day he confessed his love to her. The day they were married. They were all one in the same!
“Ruby… of course I love you! I love you more than anything in this world! Where… where is this coming from?”
Ruby could feel the emotion she was trying to hold within, steadily failing to remain trapped. Her face felt flush, and her eyes were becoming blurry as the water crept in from her half lids.
She sniffled as she approached their bed, not answering at first. She pulled their blanket up as she could no longer restrain herself. “Then please— please Jaune, stop doing this to us… to our marriage!”
Jaune watched as Ruby remained stonewalled, pointing at him. He almost felt shame as his wife was well aware of what he had been doing. It wasn’t as though he had tried to hide it from her, but he had to remain calm.
“I see… so you already knew?”
“Yes Jaune, I’m not dumb! I’ve noticed every night!”
The man rubbed the bridge of his nose as he tried to hide a sigh. He knew this day would come, but he was blindsided by it happening tonight. It didn’t matter, he had to stay firm in the commitment now.
“I never said you were dumb.”
“Please,” she begged once more. “I just want my husband back. I don’t know if I can take this much longer.”
“Ruby, I—“ he tried.
“You can’t choose to wear crocs to bed! They’re so weird! They’re not shoes but they’re not slippers! Jaune, please, I’ll do anything! Just get rid of the crocs, please!”
Oh Ruby, if it were only that simple.
He had acquired a taste for the luxury footwear when they last traveled to Mistral, taking note of their comfortability. To a man wearing boots all the time, these felt like heaven. It was one of the few things that he enjoyed. Did he take it overboard? Maybe. But the comfort could not be denied.
“I recognize how you feel, Ruby. You’re my wife and I love you, but the crocs remain on in bed. I’m sorry. I’m not trying to hurt you.”
Ruby held her tongue, unwilling to retort back at this time. She instead decided to grab her pillow and dramatically slump down into bed with a thud before turning over, away from him.
He sighed again at her behavior. Didn’t she care about his feet? His tarsals were experiencing nirvana within the solace of his crocs, cradled gently in the footwear. His feet were warm, but could breathe.
“No sex.”
“Wh-what?”
Unfortunately for the blonde, Ruby had learned of a dark art. An evil so demented that it had plagued men like himself for generations on Remnant by their partners. The ones that claimed to love their husbands.
She had been informed by Weiss not long before this conversation that if all went south there was one trump card she had that would deal a critical blow to any argument that he offered, valid or not.
The power to withhold .
“No sex for forever.” She commented. “Or at least until you stop wearing those things to bed!”
For Jaune, the weight of such a repercussion was staggering. So staggering, that a decision was made within seconds.
Ruby felt a smile creep onto her face as she heard the articles crash to the carpet at their bedside with a ‘thump’. Their marriage has been saved.
The swag had stopped.
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