Stoking the flame again

...

Jaune Arc sighed heavily, chin propped across his forearms on the breakfast island. He looked at his golden Wedding band, picking it up between finger and thumb and spinning it on the table for the fifth time in the last twenty minutes. He watched it spin and huffed, sitting up straight and grabbing it before it could stop spinning, sliding it over his thick knuckle.

Jaune was just about to hit his late forties. His blonde hair was cropped much shorter nowadays, with the back and sides now almost fully silver. His beard and mustache was kept neatly trimmed, with a patch of grey that extended down from under his bottom lip into the yellow mass. His face adorned with laughter lines, crinkles and wrinkles, but he'd aged pretty well. Sure he had a bit of a Dad bod, but it was kept in relative check. His wife loved his extra chonk anyways.

He smiled rubbing thumb and finger around his wedding band, burnished and smoothed with age. Oh his wife.

Jaune and Pyrrha had been together since Beacon, high school sweethearts many referred to them as. They'd been through so much, conflict, war, saving the world, ups and downs, relationship hurdles, and the whole way they'd been unwavering in their support and dedication to one another.

So why was Jaune now worrying about the spark? That fire that kindled in their hearts possibly... dying out?

Surely it was his age, eclipsing over the mid life crisis - he handled that as well as you could imagine. Jaune took up Golf, broke his clubs, got back into cooking, that went well for his and her waistline, and he even bought a sports car that quickly got returned.

But now it was elapsing over into what he worried about the most. Losing that spark between them. He sighed and shook his head, fingers curling around the handle of his mug of now lukewarm coffee. He necked the dregs with a grimace and pushed his stool out to go top it up.

"Hiya againnn!" His twenty one year old Daughter sang as she padded into the kitchen, her messy red and gold hair tied up in a loose bun. She had her Dad's old pumpkin Pete's hoodie on - seriously, that cheaply made piece of corporate merchandise was made to LAST - and some baggy red shorts. "Got some of that coffee goin spare?"

Jaune smiled softly and filled her mug, leaning his head on her shoulder - she was as tall as her Mom nowadays. Ori blinked at her Dad's quiet and close reaction.

"Hey, you okay?" She turned to face him. "What's up?"

Jaune shrugged with a sigh, slapping on a smile. "Oh, i-it's nothing. You've got enough going on with your studies, don't worry about your old man."

"Well now I'm worried about my old man." She set her mug on the side and leaned against the counter. "Talk to me, Dad."

Jaune's eyes crinkled with his soft loving smile. Oh this beautiful girl he and his wife had made. Oriana was his legacy, his gift to the world. Jaune's grandfather was more worried about his sword, shield and armor being his legacy than his children, vessels to carry the weight and brandish the Arc name.

Jaune couldn't give a shit about that. Ori didn't want to be a swordsman? Fine. Crocea mors can go in a cabinet or something. He just wanted his daughter to be truly happy, and to be herself.

"Dad, you're worrying me, talk to me." Ori held his cardigan covered shoulders, blinking him back to reality. He sniffed and gestured to the breakfast island, pulling up a stool with a groan as his spry daughter was already straddling one backwards with her arms crossed over the back of it. She leaned her chin on her arms, blue eyes blinking at her Dad.

"I..." He pursed his lips. "I'm getting old."

"Yes, yes you are."

Jaune snorted, shoving her gently and playfully.

"But that's a good thing. Some people don't get to turn old." Ori said wisely, Jaune smiling softly as he sipped his hot coffee. "So there's more to this than that isn't there?"

"There is." He nodded, tapping a rhythm into the sides of his "Best Dad." Mug. "When you get older, relationships can become... too easy. You stop trying. Or finding the time to be together. I suppose I'm just worried that... what if-"

"You think Mom's losing interest in you? Or is bored?" Ori tilted her head, incredulous in her voice. Jaune shrugged. "Why'd you think that?"

"We haven't seen much of each other lately, kisses are just pecks on the cheek before she's off to work, we used to flirt and dance in the kitchen and lately it's..." He sighed, shaking his head and looking off to nowhere in particular. "I'm scared I'm losing your Mother."

Ori smiled softly, squeaks in succession as she slid the stool over closer to him. Her hand landed on his much larger one, thumb moving over a liver spot.

"Dad, Mom loves you, kay?" She wet her lips to continue. "She's been busy with professor-ing, sure, but I don't think it's a case of the flame going out, more like ummm..." She huffed, before getting up and grabbing some things noisily behind him.

"Jaune knitted his brows. "W-What're you-" He yelped as she slammed some stuff down.

"Example!" Ori grinned, striking a match and lighting a candle. "This is you two, kay? You were teens who fell in love, went through some bad stuff, lovey dovey relationship is still new. With me so far?"

Jaune chuckled, leaning on his palm to watch. "I am."

"... Then you got married, then had me - best part just sayin - and the flame stayed nice and bright cos everything was new and exciting and whoaaa."

"Right..." Jaune listened, swigging his coffee. Ori held up a glass, before putting it over the top of the flame.

"This glass is life, kay? It's meetings, missions, injuries, expenses, all the crap that comes with life." She slowly put the glass fully over the candle and saw the dancing flame start to ebb. "All you have to do is..." She pulled the glass off and the flame grew big and bright with the rush of oxygen again. "Make time for yourselves amongst it. Go on some dates, tell her how much you miss her, and I guarantee she'll do the same back. Right now you two are just kinda... plateauing into later life."

"How the heck are you still single, kiddo?" Jaune chuckled, Ori snorting.

"Single people always give the best relationship advice." She blushed, looping some hair behind her ear. "B-But you get me? nothing has gone out, it just needs a little O2 pumped into it."

"Right." Jaune nodded, genuinely feeling better about things. He slapped a determined grin on. "You're absolutely right."

"I often am." Ori grinned, blowing the candle out and picking up the candle, gasping and dropping it. "Holy shit that gets hot quick?"

"Still my daughter though sadly." Jaune grinned with a chuckle, grabbing her and pulling her into his side, kissing her head. "I am so proud of the woman you're becoming, Ori."

She wrapped her arms around him. "Thanks Dad."

...

Pyrrha got back late that night, sighing as she pushed the front door shut and massaging the bridge of her nose under her glasses. "Urgh, what a day."

"Hey hun!" Jaune called from the kitchen. "You have a good day?"

"It was... busy." She murmured, trotting tiredly into her office and setting her papers down neatly on the desk. "We had the new students do their first combat class today and would any of them listen to advice? Nope, all young stupid bravado." She was saying everything out loud, not particularly loud enough for Jaune to hear everything.

She took her glasses off and let them dangle against her chest on their chains, running her hands up and down her face.

"So yes, quite the day and I can't wait to get into my Pyjamas and get some... sleep?" She blinked at Jaune as he stood in the doorway. He had a bouquet of Lilly's in his hands and he was wearing a really nice suit. A simple black number with a yellow handkerchief tucked in his breast pocket. He swallowed and looked up nervously.

"I um... got you these." He cleared his throat with a blush. Pyrrha smiled softly, accepting them and stepping closer to him with confusion knitted eyebrows.

"Oh Jaune, w-what's brought all this on?" She asked, taking a deep inhale. "Oh these will go beautifully in my Mother's vase, thank you sweetheart." She smiled softly, pressing a kiss to his lips softly. "Are you okay?"

Jaune huffed shakily. "I um..."

"Mmm?" She tilted her head.

"I've been... worried?" He blinked hotly, wiping an eye. "T-That the spark between us was going out. That you were... maybe losing interest in me, or or we'd just gotten so used to how life is we didn't feel a need to try anymore and-"

Pyrrha's smile slowly turned a sad expression as she watched her dear husband express himself.

"... I don't... I can't lose you." He sniffed. Pyrrha cupped his face with her free hand and softly pushed her lips against his. Jaune whimpered and he wrapped his big hands around her back, pulling his wife against him. She peeled their lips apart, their first proper kiss in a while.

"Oh Jaune, I'm so sorry you've been feeling like that." She thumbed a stray tear off of his cheek. "Sweetheart, you never ever have to worry I'm losing interest in you, I'm still just as in love with you as when we first got married, in fact, even more so now." She sighed. "It's just been such a busy few months. I suppose you do fall into a routine. Suspect everything is fine as is. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, I just..." He rested his forehead against the cold metal of her circlet. "I love you so much."

"And I love you with all my heart and soul." She smiled, kissing his nose. They stood and held one another for a while in the doorway to her office, when Jaune snapped his head up.

"What smells so good?" She asked lazily.

"My Coq!" He yelled, running to the kitchen, leaving Pyrrha blushing and spluttering.

"Y-Your what?!"

"My Coq au vin!" She followed him to the kitchen as he pulled the chicken out of the oven. "My Mom used to make it, it means chicken with wine!"

"Ohhh." Pyrrha giggled, setting her flowers on the side and leaning against it with a smile. "You made all this for me?"

"Yeah I um, I thought you wouldn't want to go out what with having a long day, so I figured we'd have a romantic meal here..." He chuckled, setting the bubbling dish on the side. "I know you want to get in your PJs though, so-"

"I'm sure I can delay the comfy clothes a little longer for a romantic dinner with my husband." She sidled up to him, hugging him around the tummy and resting her chin on his shoulder, inhaling his cologne. "Thank you for this."

"Always." His hand fell over the top of hers. "Besides, we owe a lot of this to our daughter."

"Oh? Where is Ori?" Pyrrha looked around.

"Oh she's staying at Daff's tonight, she wanted us to have the place to ourselves. In her words, nothing ruins romance more than your daughter walking down at 1am for ice cream." He chuckled.

"Note to self, hide the ice cream after dark." Pyrrha smirked, giving Jaune a squeeze before stepping back. "Alright, well I'll go and get dressed and be right back."

"Sounds good! Dinner's gonna be another..." he ummed and awwed for a second. "Ten minutes?"

"Oooh, even more time to pick out my loveliest underwear." She winked, before sauntering out the room. "Pick your jaw up, Jaune.🎵" She sung from the staircase. He closed his mouth and tried to stem his red cheeks.

Jaune blushed and grinned to himself, humming a happy tune. He had the greatest wife on all of Remnant.

...

Eventually he was plating up, the delicious meal placed onto the red table cloth and two candles lit romantically between them. He set out two glasses of wine and when he turned back to the table with the cutlery he blushed darkly at his Wife in the dimly lit doorway.

Her motherly curvaceous figure was wrapped in a tight cocktail dress, a deep maroon red with a slit up the thigh and a glittery golden pattern woven up and over her chest, She'd done her make up freshly with some eye shadow, green eyeliner and red lipstick. Her red hair was tied up in a beautiful bun. Her laughter lines and crinkles creased as she smirked.

Jaune gulped and blushed hotly.

"W-Wow."

"Do you like what you see?"

"Oh me likey a lot." Jaune chuckled as she sauntered over. He pulled her chair out for her, letting her sit softly. "You look beautiful, hun."

"Thank you." She smiled, pressing her forehead to his for a moment. "Oh, dinner looks grand Jaune!"

"Thanks! Yeah I got Mom to send over the recipe, damn near had to pry the secret ingredient out of her hands." He rolled his eyes with a chuckle, sitting opposite her.

"What was it?" Pyrrha set her napkin over her lap.

"Paprika."

"Of course." Pyrrha snorted, lifting her wine glass. "Well... here is to you, my husband. The man of my dreams, and who I couldn't imagine being without."

"And to you, my beautiful wife and mother of our child. You complete me in... s-so many ways." Jaune's lip wobbly as he teared up. Pyrrha pouted at him, before clinking their glasses together. The married couple soon tucked into their meal, Pyrrha moaning as she chewed the soft chicken.

"Oh goodness, Jaune you'll have to make this again sometimes, it's incredible!"

"Ah that'll be the paprika." He grinned as Pyrrha giggled behind her palm. The two rekindled as they talked over their meal, swapping some old stories to reminisce, and some from work."

"So it's been a bit hectic at the Academy?" Jaune looked up as he chewed. Pyrrha swallowed her bite and nodded.

"Mmm, all the new students think they're the gods gift to the world. But there's one who I noticed, He reminds me of you."

"Oh? Good thing I hope." Jaune chuckled. "We're talking school here."

"No no, all good." She chuckled. "He's modest and clumsy, but show's great promise. I think we'll make a fine huntsmen out of him. If he applies himself."

"Mmm, well he's gonna need his own Pyrrha to kick his butt into gear." Jaune shrugged, scraping up some of the sauce with his spoon.

"Oh I think he may. I noticed this little black haired girl who clings to him like lint." She chuckled, shaking her head. "All I'll say is I hope I wasn't that obvious."

"And I hope he isn't as dense as I was." Jaune snorted, shaking his head. The pair giggled easily, as dinner was finished.

Pyrrha laced her fingers together and rested her chin on them, a lazy easy smile on her lips.

"That was wonderful, Jaune." She purred.

"Mmm, yeah it wasn't bad." He nodded, wiping the sauce off his mustache and lips. "Company was better." He winked at her. Pyrrha flushed and leaned over to cup his hand, thumb smoothing over his knuckles.

"You charmer."

"Do you... want some dessert?" Jaune shrugged. Pyrrha bit her lip and shrugged cheekily.

"You know, I figured... since our Daughter is out of the house... how about we skip dessert, and I give you something even sweeter?" She smirked with heavy lidded eyes.

Jaune blinked dumbly. "Did you bring candy back from school or something?"

Pyrrha huffed, rolling her eyes. Jaune chuckled, before standing and quickly scooping Pyrrha up in his arms with a surprised yelp.

"Don't worry, I'm dense, not stupid." Jaune grinned, pushing his lips to hers as he carried his wife up the staircase in a fit of giggles and kisses.

"Wait, shouldn't we clean up the kitchen first?"

"Pyr, babe It'll be fine for two minutes."

She snort laughed.