Chapter 8: If I'd Known You Were Coming
Ryoga had ended up wandering for longer than he'd hoped. Somehow he kept ending up in back alleyways, unable to find his way to a convenience store or a coffee shop. He even ended up on a roof at one point. When he did manage to find a restaurant or two, they were closed for the night. It was later than he'd thought, apparently.
Hunger had him struggling to think straight, but... if the restaurants weren't open, then the metro system wouldn't be either. It was probably dangerous for him to try to navigate the complexities of the Tokyo subway in this mood and this hungry, anyway.
Finally, as the sun was beginning to rise again, he found an open restaurant, drenched in the golden light of early morning. Thrilled, he stumbled inside, finding the place nearly deserted. There was only one waitress present at the moment, the young woman trying to wake up a sleeping patron. A short haired and solidly built woman in her mid 50s, if Ryoga had to guess.
Ryoga made his way to the counter, sitting down as the patron finally woke up. The waitress managed to convince the woman she had to leave, somehow managing to hold out a cheery disposition the whole time. Once that was done the waitress, who Ryoga was noticing was rather cute with her short brown hair, came over his way. Suddenly he felt even more self conscious about his dishelved state and debated retreating.
"You look like you've had a rough night," the waitress said.
"Rough couple of days," Ryoga replied softly.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Ryoga let out a sigh. "It's a lost cause. He hates me. I just need to man up and face him by going home. I don't want to hear him actually say it, but... I can't keep wandering the city aimlessly like this."
The waitress nodded a couple of times, a compassionate smile on her face. "Well, if he hasn't said it, maybe he doesn't actually hate you?"
"Heh. I wish. Trust me, I've known him since middle school. He definitely hates me now. We had an argument, and then he left. He didn't come back the next day," Ryoga muttered. "There's no way he doesn't hate me..."
"Fights happen. Especially between people who've known each other for a long time. That doesn't mean things are over or that he hates you, unless he's said it. I-I learned the hard way that you shouldn't assume someone's feelings about you either way... no matter how much you know them," the waitress said, eyes growing a little distant. Then she shook her head and gave a smile. "In your case there's still a chance it can work out. Especially if you show up looking like that. I don't think anyone could keep from feeling at least a little sorry for you, between those scrapes and bruises and those sad eyes of yours."
"You... you really thing there's a chance?" Ryoga asked.
The waitress nodded. "Mhm!"
"I... maybe you're right," Ryoga muttered.
"Come on, we'll get some food in you and I'm sure you'll feel better then."
Ryoga nodded. "What do you recommend?"
The waitress blushed a little. "Well, I'm not the best at cooking, and the cook doesn't get in for another hour or so for the breakfast rush, so... probably one of the sandwiches? I'm reasonably good at those."
"Sandwiches sound good. Whatever the biggest one is."
"Excellent!" the woman said with a bright smile.
She set off to work, humming away at the cutting board. After a few minutes, and an 'oops, that's a little too much' or two, Ryoga had two double decker club sandwiches in front of him. There was indeed a bit too much mustard and mayo on both, but he was hungry enough not to be bothered. It still tasted quite excellent to his empty stomach.
"Now I just need to find my way to the nearest subway station, I guess," Ryoga said as he was paying up. "And... try not to get lost while I'm down there..."
"You seem rather intimidated by it?" the waitress said.
"My family are... well, we're exceptionally bad at directions. And the Tokyo subway system is majorly intimidating," Ryoga admitted, not wanting to maintain eye contact after that.
"How about I call you a cab, then?"
Ryoga blinked. Cabs. He... "How did I forget about cabs? Yes please! I can stay put until they show up! Thank you!"
"N-no problem," the waitress replied.
Ryoga sat down near the door, digging through his wallet to find a piece of ID with his address on it. He found it only shortly before the cab arrived. He gave his thanks again to the waitress and headed out. The taxi driver took a little bit to place Ryoga's house, but they were on their way soon enough. The ride out to Koto ward took about half an hour, long enough for Ryoga to doze off a little as they went.
The ride ended too soon for Ryoga's rest levels, but he got out of the taxi when they arrived all the same. Walking towards his front door, he struggled to take each step. It was silly. Ranma probably wasn't home.
As much as he hated an empty home, it was better than seeing disgust in Ranma's eyes again.
Nodding to himself, steeling his resolve, he opened the door. He got a few steps in before a familiar redhead poked their head out from the kitchen. Ranma's eyes filled with emotion, but, to Ryoga's confusion, it was not anger, but rather... happiness?
Before Ryoga could process that, Ranma had crossed the three or four metres from the kitchen door to the genkan and flung themself onto Ryoga, latching on with an enthusiasm that felt rather Shampoo-like. He'd nearly fallen over from the impact.
"Uh... what's going on?" Ryoga asked.
Ranma pulled back just enough that they were face to face again. "'What's going on'? I was worried about you, ya dolt! I came back home and you weren't here. There weren't any notes. No phone calls. Nothing. I didn't know when you'd be back!"
"You were... worried? About me? After that fight we had?"
Ranma stared at him like they were trying to decipher a message written in a foreign language. "Yes? I... Ryo-chan, you're not as tough as you used to be. Look at all these scrapes!"
Ryoga felt his eye twitch. Ranma was acting like they hadn't had a fight. "The scrapes aren't the issue!"
"What do you mean? Some of those look like they were pretty rough," Ranma replied, sliding into a deeply feminine tone as they hopped down from him to examine his cuts and bruises.
Ryoga glared at the redhead. "I can't take it any more. You're trying to drive me insane, aren't you?"
"Trying to... Ryo-chan, what are you talking about?" Ranma asked, big blue eyes looking up at him.
"This whole... the act—I..."
Finding himself at a loss for words, Ryoga decided for direct action. He scooped Ranma up, a hand under each of the short woman's underarms, and carried them off to the bathroom. Ranma squirmed and demanded to be put down, but seemed more confused than anything.
At least until they got to the furo. He didn't understand it, but the life seemed to fade from their eyes, a look of sad dejection filling Ranma's face.
"Am I really that terrible, Ryoga?" Ranma asked, as he put them down. "I'm tryin' to make this as easy on you as possible?"
"What?" Ryoga replied, his hand on the show tap.
"I know ya like this side of me. Is it really so bad that I have another one?" Ranma asked. "Why can't you acknowledge that I'm in love with ya?"
Ryoga felt his heart and stomach both do a somersault at that last statement. "I-you... then why would... If you actually meant it you'd tell me with your real face!"
He turned the shower on, spraying Ranma (and, to a lesser extent, himself) with hot water. Ranma's feminine clothing didn't get their male form as well, though Ryoga had to admit the tight and wet clothing was making focusing rather difficult.
He tried to ignore that, marching over to poke Ranma's (rather muscular) chest. "I'm in love with you, and that means the real you. Understand, Ranma?"
The taller man blushed, stammering for words for a moment. "W-what? If you—then... wait, the 'real' me? They're both the real me!"
"What?" Ryoga asked, staring at Ranma. "You—it's a curse?"
Ranma stared at him, eyes looking as confused as Ryoga felt. "There's a reason I didn't get my curse 'fixed'. I like that side of me. She's been me for almost half my life now. It took me the better part of ten years to admit it, but it's true, alright? I'm a girl as much as a guy, so both sides of me are the 'real' me."
"I... why were you so upset about the idea I was checking you out in girl mode, then?" Ryoga asked, not sure where any landmarks in the argument were now.
"Because you were only lookin'! Ya went on a big rant about needing someone soft around, and you find me attractive and we've been best friends for years, and... and ya just looked. No matter what I did. And then you said you'd only ever see me as a friend... because you couldn't forget I was a guy?"
"I didn't say I could only see you as a friend because you were a guy! I said I would never forget you were a guy because you're my best friend! I thought you were trying to repay me for taking your in or some other messed up thing... you were crying that night," Ryoga replied, struggling to keep eye contact with Ranma as he remembered that moment.
"Well, I was upset that it sounded like ya weren't ready to love all of me yet, but I figured I'd half win you over first, and then fully win ya over later," Ranma replied. "Your big rant was pretty darn heterosexual."
"I was trying to convince myself to focus on women, so I'd stop chasing after you! You're way out of my league!" Ryoga countered.
"That..." Ranma started, before pausing. "Wait. Why are we still arguing? If you're attracted to both sides of me and in love with me, and I'm attracted to you and in love with you... is everything sorted?"
"Uh... I guess? I mean, I'm still annoyed you thought I wouldn't get spooked by you flirting with me in girl mode when that always used to mean you were scheming something, but..." Ryoga began, before he decided to just cut to the chase and do what he wanted.
Meaning, of course, that he pulled Ranma in for a kiss. It was a hungry kiss, years of loneliness on Ryoga's part needing an answer. And both of them desperate to push through the weeks of confusion that had led to this point. Part way in, Ryoga felt cold water blast against him, and Ranma shrank, but he had more kissing to do before he addressed that. His body's need for oxygen, however, would not wait.
After a few gasps, he looked down at the redhead. "Why did you change?"
Ranma blushed. "I... well... the kiss was goin' on pretty long, so I realised I could have our first real kiss be with both sides a' me, and... it seemed fittin'?"
Ryoga glanced over that delicate and beautiful face. He let himself enjoy their beauty for once, knowing now that he wasn't making Ranma uncomfortable by doing so. Both versions of Ranma were stunning.
"Both of your sides are so out of my league," he muttered.
Ranma smiled. "You're cuter than you give yourself credit for, Ryo-chan."
He felt his cheeks grow hot. "Can I, uh... can I go back to your male side, though? It's been a bit since we spent time with you that way."
Ranma nodded, flicking the shower back on. Ryoga gave a smile, before leaning in to simply hug Ranma. Ranma returned it, and Ryoga felt himself melting into the other man's arms. It reminded him, on some half forgotten level, of how much he'd liked being hugged as P-chan. Someone taller and more muscular hugging him gave him a sense of safety and 'home' that Akari never quite filled when he was human. It wasn't an essential in a relationship, but... it was very nice to have.
Ryoga awoke to the smell of something sweet. Blinking a few times, he realised he must have fallen asleep in Ranma's arms. He just wasn't up for all nighters as much as he'd once been. And Ranma's embrace had been so comfortable.
Stumbling down stairs, following the divine scent, he vaguely noticed he'd been bandaged up. He really didn't deserve Ranma's love... he couldn't deny his heart skipping a beat when he saw them in the kitchen again.
"Oh!" Ranma said, smiling away in male form as they checked whatever was in the oven. "I was wondering if I'd have to go wake you."
"The smell was too good to resist. What is it?" Ryoga asked, taking a seat at the kitchen table. (He was more sore than he'd expected.)
"My modified version a' Kasumi's double caramel chocolate lava cake," Ranma said, reaching down and pulling a cake tin from the oven. "I wanted to have something nice for you when you got home, and, well... there's literally nothing better than this cake. Plus, ya can eat it fresh out of the oven."
Ryoga gave a glance at the outfit Ranma was wearing. They'd not changed out of the track pants and t-shirt sized for their girl side, and, complimented by the apron they were wearing the emphasized those broad shoulders... "I mean, I think I might know something better."
"Have you had this cake before, Ryo-chan?" Ranma asked, eyes totally serious.
"Uh, well, no..."
"That's what I thought. Trust me, it's amazing," they said, flipping the small cakes out onto plates.
Ryoga had to admit, he was rather hungry. Chocolate cake might not be the best thing to fill him right now, but he could worry about vitamins and whatnot later. Saying a quick 'bon appetit' with Ranma, once the plate was in front of him, Ryoga gave it a shot. The cake was, simply, perfect. The sponge was perfectly moist, the warmth of the cake filling his body. The liquid 'lava' portion was a rich and gooey mixture of sweet caramel and bitter dark chocolate. He was sure his hunger was making it better, but it really was an amazing cake.
"Say 'ah'," Ranma said, causing Ryoga to look up.
"Wh-?" Ryoga began, until he saw Ranma's spoon mere centimetres from his face. He opened his mouth wider, cheeks going hot as he struggled for words.
Only to have his mouth filled with a spoonful of cake. Ranma's cake. Ranma had just willingly given him some of their food? He was too surprised to remember to eat for a moment.
"W-was that too feminine of a thing ta do?" Ranma asked, blushing a little as they pulled their (now empty) spoon away.
Ryoga swallowed the cake, shaking his head. "It just surprised me. And, uh... well, it seemed more like a 'teenager' thing to do than a 'feminine' thing? N-not that I disliked it or anything."
It took a moment, but then Ranma turned to him with a small smile. "There's a bunch a' things I never did when I was younger 'cause I was bein' forced into a situation I didn't want. Everyone talkin' about marriage when I hadn't even kissed anybody on purpose yet... I... is it okay if we do some more silly 'teenager' romantic type stuff?"
Ryoga nodded. "It's... it's very okay. I'd like that, even."
Ranma lit up. "Good to hear, Ryo! How about you gimme a little bit a' your cake too, then?"
"I should have known you'd keep the food score even," Ryoga muttered, though he found himself laughing a moment later. Ranma's mischievous grin was too cute.
He scooped up a bit of cake from his own plate and held it out for Ranma, who quickly at it up.
As they finished their cakes, which remained exceptional the whole way through, Ryoga was left wondering about the 'teenager' things Ranma might want to do. More specifically, about how the gender dynamics might work. Teenaged ideas about romance tended to be pretty cliche... was he going to find himself in the 'girl' role for some stuff?
He supposed that didn't matter nearly as much as seeing Ranma happy. And he'd always been a bit on the sensitive side anyhow.