Love Springs Eternal - Part 2

“Don’t you think this girl’s day out is a wonderful idea, Ranma?” Akane asked. The bright smile on her face told Ranma that she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “It’s been so long since everyone’s gone out together… And it’s such a beautiful day for a picnic, too.”

“Uh-huh,” Ranma muttered, sulkily. “If it’s a girl’s day out then why am I coming?”

“Well, it wasn’t originally intended to be one,” Akane admitted. “But Ryoga’s with Akari at a pig wrestling competition, and our father’s got roped into one of Happosai’s hair-brained schemes. I’m not sure what he’s doing, but it’s big enough that Cologn got involved. And she dragged poor Mousse into it, too. Plus, I think Pantyhose Taro went with them… Before I knew it, it was just us girls.”

“You mean you girls,” Ranma corrected, scowling. “I’m a man, remember?”

“Not at the moment,” Akane pointed out, pointedly poking one of Ranma’s bare breasts. “Now get dressed.”

“No way,” Ranma refused, shaking her head. “I’m not putting that pink thing you picked out.”

“Why not?” Akane questioned, putting her hands on her hips. “You’ve worn dresses before. Pink ones, too.”

“Yeah, when I was in disguise as a girl! This is just supposed to be a hangout with friends!”

“No,” Akane retorted, “it’s a girl’s day out. So why don’t you be a good girl and try on your dress?”

“Why do I even have to come?” Ranma retorted, changing tactics. “Just because we’re married doesn’t mean we have to do everything together. Most wives don’t drag their husbands along on their ‘girl’s day out,’ you know!”

“You want to leave me alone on our anniversary!?” Akane demanded, pointing her hands on her hips. Ranma couldn’t help but notice that Akane’s fingers had curled into fists. It didn’t take two years of marriage for Ranma to know she’d be in trouble if she kept pushing. But all the same, was she really going to be one of those husbands who just gave in to everything their wives said!?

“...Fine,” she capitulated, looking away from Akane. “I’ll be a girl for today, or whatever.”

“That’s great,” Akane replied, grinning from ear to ear as she leaned forward to press a kiss on Ranma’s cheek. “And tonight, I’ll draw you a hot bath and we can have a most-definitely-not-a-girl’s night. You’ll love it, I promise.”

“Yeah?” A smile tugged at the corner of Ranma’s own lips. “Just the two of us?”

“Well, it is our anniversary,” Akane reminded her. “So what about that pink dress?”

“Don’t push your luck,” Ranma muttered, looking away.

“And here I was going to wear that little black number you like, tonight…” Akane let out a theatrical sigh, eyes dropping down to the floor.

Ranma stared at Akane for a moment, her cheeks flushed ever so faintly red as she imagined her wife in skimpy black lingerie. Without saying a word, she snatched up the pink dress and pulled it over her head. Of course, she was still wearing nothing but a pair of boxers underneath.

“Happy?”

“It’ll do,” Akane responded. Her grin looked so smug that Ranma almost wanted to tear the dress to pieces, but she swallowed the urge and reached out for her wife’s hand. 

“Come on. The others are gonna eat all the food before we even get there, at this rate.”

“Not a worry,” Akane promised, grabbing hold of the offered hand only to tug Ranma away from the door, toward the kitchen. “We’re the ones bringing the food.”

“Wait. You did the cooking? When’d you have time for that?” 

“While you were sleeping all day,” Akane informed her husband, rolling her eyes. “Come on, it’s just sitting on the counter. Thankfully our fathers are busy, or I wouldn’t have been able to leave it alone…”

“You got that right,” Ranma agreed. In the past, Akane’s cooking had been so bad that Ranma would have let their parents have it with her blessings - though they’d have quickly discovered it to be a curse. But Akane had improved over their two years of marriage, and could now produce simple dishes without much issue. 

She must have made a lot of food, too, judging by the size of the picnic basket which looked to be about a quarter of Akane’s own size. Though it likely weighed half a ton, Akane lifted it up as if it were nothing. 

“Wow. That gorilla strength of yours really is something,” Ranma muttered.

“Excuse me!?” Akane demanded, swinging the picnic basket to smash into the side of her husband’s head. The impact caused Ranma to tumble backward, slamming into a wall. Akane stared down at her, then let out a small “hmph,” and turned toward the door.

“Come on,” she said. “We don’t want to keep everyone waiting, do we?”

“Yeah,” Ranma agreed, running fingers through her red hair to rub the bump on her head. “Wouldn’t want to rob anyone of your cooking.”

She dodged the next swing of the picnic basket and ran out of the house, Akane hot on her heels.

***

Casually dodging the umpteenth swing of Akane’s basket, Ranma hopped off the fence she’d been striding along and stepped onto the grassy field.

“You’re getting slower with age,” Ranma teased, bending over backwards to avoid the next swing.

“Ranma!” called a voice.

Ranma turned to see Ukyo raising her spatula in greeting. Besides her were Akane’s sisters, Kasumi and Nabiki, as well as Shampoo and Konatsu. Ranma’s own mother was there, too, though Ranma almost missed her. She was sitting politely behind the other women, a small smile on her lips. Ranma was glad to see she hadn’t brought her sword; it wasn’t that long ago she’d been insistent on Ranma proving herself a real man, or else.

“Yo!” Ranma called out to the crowd, casually ducking down to avoid another swing, and then straightening up to wave back before turning to face Akane again.

She turned just in time to see Akane twisting about in midair, using the momentum of the picnic basket to twist her body about. Her foot slammed into the side of Ranma’s head, sending the redhead flying across the grass.

“Getting slow with old age, huh?” she growled. “Then what does that make you?”

“Married to a monster?” Ranma suggested, gingerly touching her swollen cheek.

Akane lifted a fist threateningly, and Ranma held out her hands in an attempt at placation. “Okay, okay, you’re cute and I’m wrong. Now can we hurry up and eat?”

Akane maintained her glare for a moment, then gave it up with a sigh. “Why couldn’t I have fallen for a nice girl?” she complained, turning her back on Ranma. “Come on. We’re keeping everyone waiting.”

“Right…” Ranma hopped back onto her feet, lifting her hand to wave at the crowd. “Hey everyone! We brought food!”

“About time,” Ukyo complained. “I was getting close to frying up some okonomiyaki.”

“Not too late,” Shampoo suggested. “Your cooking better than Akane’s.”

“Hey!” Akane protested. “I’ve gotten better!”

“Yes,” Shampoo admitted willingly. The smile on her face was almost sweet; a sign that she’d been getting along better with Akane. “But Ukyo still better.” “Better” than before still didn’t mean much, though.

“I can still cook if you want,” Ukyo promised. “I’ll even cut you a special deal - three hundred yen apiece.”

“I’d rather eat Akane’s cooking,” Nabiki remarked, scowling at the thought of paying for her picnic.

“And what’s that supposed to mean!?” Akane demanded, glaring at her sister.

“Now, now girls,” Nodoka murmured. “Let’s all behave, shall we?” Her words were gentle, but there was steel behind them as if she were daring anyone to protest.

“Yeah, Akane’s food isn’t that bad,” Ranma agreed, shooting a smile at her wife.

“Keep talking like that and you won’t get any,” Akane warned, plopping the picnic basket down in front of everyone. Opening the lid, she withdrew a red and white blanket which she quickly spread across the grass. That was followed by plates of hard-boiled egg, salad - potato and regular - a roast chicken, various sandwiches, and an apple pie. Ranma immediately reached for the latter, only to have her hand swatted away by Akane. 

“Pie is for desert,” she warned, putting a hand on her hip and narrowing her eyes at Ranma. She was serious.

“Alright, alright,” Ranma conceded, grabbing a tuna sandwich instead. The more complicated the dish the higher the chance she’d mess it up, but her simple dishes usually came out alright. And indeed, the sandwich tasted halfway decent when she put it in her mouth.

Most of the others were being picky, as well. They hid it well enough, grabbing their food eagerly, but nobody was touching the potato salad or the roast chicken. Nobody but Konatsu, anyway. There was little that poor girl wouldn’t eat, though.

“So what’s up with everyone?” Ranma asked. “Been a while since we all met up.”

“Not much,” Ukyo admitted, shaking her head. “I always thought I’d be married by now, but I can’t even find a boyfriend…”

“You’ll always have me, Mistress Ukyo,” Konatsu replied, pausing to swallow the potato salad she’d been stuffing her face with.

“You don’t count,” Ukyo replied, rolling her eyes. Still, there was a slight smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She was honestly grateful for her employee’s continued presence. And not just because Konatsu worked cheap.

“Akane steal only good man,” Shampoo complained, biting into a chicken salad sandwich. Since the poultry in it came from a can it was a lot safer than the fresh chicken Akane had made.

“Is she even a man?” Nabiki questioned, eyeing Ranma. “She sure doesn’t look like one.”

“Of course she is,” Nodoka insisted. “She’s the manliest man to ever exist, just like her father promised she’d be.”

“That would be a lot more convincing if you didn’t keep referring to her as she,” Akane pointed out. She was grinning though.

“You all…” Ranma scowled and stuffed another sandwich into her mouth.

“These sandwiches really are good, though,” Kasumi declared. She was no doubt trying to change the subject, but getting a compliment from the family cook still made Akane’s cheeks turn red.

“Not that good,” Shampoo countered. “Shouldn’t wife know how to cook better?” Despite her words, she was already reaching for a second sandwich, this time tuna.

“I’m sorry, did the unmarried cat lady have something to say?” Akane retorted, grabbing hold of a drumstick.

“Not cat anymore,” Shampoo informed Akane, smugly. “Got rid of curse.”

“Wait, really? And you didn’t take me with you?” Ranma asked. She’d grown to accept her girly half, by and large, but there were still times she wondered what it would be like to take a cold bath without turning into a girl.

“You leave Akane for me, I take you,” Shampoo replied instantly, smiling brightly.

“Why you…!” 

Akane looked as if she was going to throw a punch, so Ranma quickly grabbed hold of the other drumstick and brought it up to her mouth. “Hmmm! This is actually pretty tasty!”

“...You aren’t actually eating it,” Akane pointed out, redirecting her anger back toward her spouse.

“...” Ranma, who had been hoping to get away with faking, stared at the drumstick for a moment before forcing herself to actually put some in her mouth. When her teeth tore through the bird, she found the skin crispy and well seasoned. Unfortunately, the flesh was incredibly dry.

“Water,” she choked out, looking about for a water fountain, or even a lake.

“Oh, come on, stop exaggerating,” Akane complained, taking a bite of her own. A moment later, her eyes shot open wide and she lifted a hand to her own throat. “Water!”

Watching this farce, the others could only laugh.

~~~

Author's Notes

Many thanks to JW for commissioning this~! Part 3 tomorrow! (Part 4 is where we get to stuff I've actually written this year, for the record. I'm hoping to get to part 5 soon after.)