[Chapter 2]
Again, the sun happily poked its head through the clouds, shining rays of pure heaven upon the needy earth. Birds chirped happily, signaling another day. And again, Ranma was slumped over the toilet, experiencing the joy of her pregnancy.
"Akane.... Ugh... We need to go talk to the doctor about this..." Ranma moaned, washing herself off and returning to bed, red robe pulled tightly around her otherwise bare, save undergarments, form.
The struggling-to-stay-in-bed mass of Ranma's wife tossed around a bit in bed, mumbling something vaguely comprehensible, probably a note of agreement. She then simply turned over and closed her eyes again.
Slipping back under the sheets, Ranma scooted closer to her wife, wrapping her arms around the drowsy form. "Akane, really, we need to see about this. Being sick every morning is really going to get old. I have so much to do today. I'll have to call the school, tell them I'm pregnant. I think my mom wanted to do something today too."
At this, Akane woke somewhat. "Mmm, Ranma, I wanted to talk to you about that. Your mom, I don't know how useful her advice is going to be, hon. She didn't really raise you, and if you even mention asking Genma, I'm going to knock you out. Plus, your mom does have some weird ideas... What if she wants our son, if we have one, to be 'manly' like she wanted you to be?" She said.
Ranma looked at her with a somewhat pained expression. "Are you saying my mother was just saying things just to be saying them, Akane? My mother may not have raised me... but she's still a very wise woman." Ranma sighed rather heavily, then laid her head on Akane's shoulder, uncomfortably, and unintentionally, pressing Ranma's rather well endowed chest into Akane's back.
"I'm not saying that, Ranma." Akane said, shifting around somewhat, giggling. "Get your boobs out of my back, dear, that feels really weird." Although she couldn't see it, she knew Ranma was blushing as she moved out of the way, while Akane finished talking. "I just think that your mom's advice... might not be completely reliable."
Sighing fairly deeply again, Ranma spoke up. "Akane... you might be right. I don't want to do something to hurt my mom though. Yesterday, when she wanted to get me dressed and take me out to lunch, I almost felt like we had some bond. I know I've been getting closer to her; but still, there are some things that I can't afford to screw up. The first time away from her was enough."
Akane flopped over uncomfortably, and sighed. "Ranma, I just think that maybe you should be a little bit more critical of her advice than... another mother's." Akane then gave up and swung her feet out of bed, plopping them into a waiting pair of old blue house shoes.
"Alright." Ranma said, also swinging out of bed, although her feet only hit carpet. "Well, Akane," Ranma grinned, starting to walk to the closet, "What should your stunningly gorgeous wife wear today, hmm?"
Akane giggled a bit, putting her hand over her mouth, before removing it to talk. "How about a nice dress, dear, or maybe a long skirt and a nice blouse? Oh, I know just the thing. This flowered dress, and this yellow hat!" Ranma grinned and laughed in response, before heading to the shower, leaving her robe, bra, and undergarments leading in an unintentional trail.
"I'm going to take a shower, hon. I'll be out in a little, ok?" Ranma said, closing the door soundly, then she turned on the water and stepped in.
Meanwhile, Akane picked up the small trail of clothes, and thought to herself, "Just like a guy." She laughed faintly, before she picked out her clothes for the day, a nice pair of blue pants and a lighter blue blouse. Smirking, she laid a pink dress on the bed, figuring that Ranma would see it and become bothered, and then she'd storm into the living room with that cute annoyed expression. Akane then walked out into the living room and began picking up some things.
Several minutes later, Ranma emerged from the bathroom, in a rather large towel, eyes falling directly upon the pink garment in front of her. "It's a little... Pink." She said to herself, putting her hand to her chin. "Although, I am going to be like this for a while, what would be wrong with wearing a dress, huh?" Ranma went to the dresser, and put on some clean underclothing, before taking the dress from the bed and slowly slipping it on. She smiled lightly, saying, "Hey, this feels kind of nice." She then glanced over to the mirror, only to see her reflection blushing. "Oh, stop that." She said to the girl in the mirror, "It's just fabric, and you look good. Didn't you get over this already? You're going to be a girl for a while. I know it's not pleasant, but do it for Akane, huh? Plus, how're you going to look to your daughter, if you have one, if her mom can't handle being affected like this. What if your child has this... curse?" Ranma saw herself frown, but she thought that she'd deal with that when, and if, it happened, but for now, she was wearing the dress.
Akane had to struggle to contain her giggles as she saw Ranma walk out of the bedroom in the pink garment. "Ranma, Dear... What in the world are you wearing that dress for?" Akane forced out between fits of giggling.
Blushing slightly, Ranma responded. "Well, It's a little different color than I'd pick, but it feels nice. I am a woman for now... I want to wear it, ok? I do get to pick out my own clothes, don't I?"
Stunned, Akane nodded her head, and hopped up, hugging Ranma closely, kissing her and whispering in her ear, "You're a very beautiful woman, Ranma Saotome... I'm so happy you're mine."
Crimson blush exploded across Ranma's whole face, as he struggled to whisper something back to Akane. "You're really pretty too, Akane. I love you more than I even know how to say."
"Oh, Stop, you.... charmer." Akane said, hitting Ranma in the chest playfully, giggling as she felt a soft cushion of female chest, where she had gotten used to feeling a hard, muscular, male one. This only served to brighten Ranma's blush, and make a strange uncomfortable look come over her face.
"T...That felt really weird, Akane. Don't hit my... me there... Please?" Ranma said, looking down at her currently bare feet. Wishing to change the subject quickly, Ranma commented. "Hey, you have some shoes that go with this dress?" She almost giggled, catching herself in time, however.
Akane was not so lucky. She burst into laughter, saying in between fits, "Sure... You want me to get you the pink hose too?"
Ranma just smiled back, saying sarcastically, "You don't have any pink hose, dear. I've looked." She pulled her wife into her arms again, and hugged her, delicately kissing her nose. "Thanks for thinking of me though, Akane. You're a sweetie." Ranma added with a little grin.
Akane laid her head on Ranma's shoulder, and sighed, "It was a little shock to see you in a dress again... Last time was after our wedding, remember?" A cute little laugh escaped Akane's lips as she recalled, "It was right after our honeymoon, when we moved. Right before I packed my wedding dress, I kept bugging you to put it on, and you did. The funny thing was that you probably looked better in it than I had."
Lifting Akane's head, and looking into her eyes, Ranma said, with complete sincerity, "Akane, you were, and you are, the most beautiful girl I've seen. That wedding gown made you look absolutely angelic. Don't say that a silly cursed guy looked better, because it's not true." Ranma smirked, and continued, "I'm sure I looked pretty great though, I'm hot, right?" She posed with her hands on her hips, actually giggling this time.
"Oh, Sure, Ranma, you're one stunning woman." Akane said, chuckling.
Ranma smiled, and kissed Akane lightly on her lips. "You're too sweet, Akane." Ranma said. "Ah, but now I have to call the school and tell them... about myself. I'd hoped I wouldn't have to deal with this again.", she sighed. Ranma picked up the phone, and a conversation soon ensued, "I'm... well... Pregnant. No, this isn't a joke, see..." And Ranma proceeded to tell the school administration about her curse, and that she was actually carrying a child. Unfortunately, Ranma had neglected this small part when he applied for the gym teacher position, so it was a bit hard to convince them that she wasn't just playing a joke. "You have to believe me. Call our doctor... Yes, Dr. Tofu, he runs a small hospital. I'll be in tomorrow to tell the kids. Yeah, I know they'll wonder why their teacher's a girl now, I'll have to explain to them too... Oh... You're telling me I have to stay home the entire time? You can't have the children exposed to such things! I'm... You're damn right I'm angry! Goodbye!" Ranma's voice was breaking, and soon she did as well, collapsing into sobs on Akane's shoulder. "They... said I shouldn't come back until I was ready to take my job seriously. If I even have one anymore." She blubbered.
Akane just held her crying, currently female, husband, whispering small words of comfort to her occasionally. "Ranma, they'll call Dr. Tofu, and at the very least you'll just have to stay home during your pregnancy. It'll be ok, I promise. We're in this together, remember?" Ranma nodded, then sat her head back on Akane's shoulder, saying something about how this whole thing kept turning her more and more into a woman, and she didn't like how it felt. The dress was nice though, she said, forcing a mostly fake laugh out. Akane giggled lightly, and this brought a sweet smile back to the delicate face of the one being cradled. "Ranma," Akane asked, "Would you want... Would you want me to brush out your hair, maybe put a little makeup on you? I know it's sort of silly, but we could talk a more about your... situation. This body handles a little differently than the one you're used to, and Tofu just doesn't have the same perspective to tell you, as I do. I know you've learned a lot, but... Well, would you?"
Ranma looked up nervously, and cracked a very small smile. "Well... I don't suppose it would hurt to let my wife pamper me. After you put all that stuff on me though, you're going to have to let me do something for you." She giggled lightly, kissing Akane somewhat passionately. "I'm cooking tonight, dear."
Blushing, and smiling, Akane nodded. "It's been a long time since you cooked for me, Ranma. What've you been waiting for, huh? What kind of husband doesn't cook for his wife? You're terrible..." All this was said as the smile turned to a smirk.
As Ranma placed her slender fingers over her wife's mouth, she spoke up. "The pregnant, female kind, dear... Now, what'd you say you were going to do to me again? Makeup? I thought we did *that* on our honeymoon."
"Ranma, darling." Akane said, blushing rather brightly, "We did *everything* on our honeymoon." She led Ranma back to the bedroom to indulge her little idea of treating Ranma to something that a so-called normal girl would enjoy.
"Just remember, I'm cooking tonight, dear." Ranma said. "And the food might be so unbelievably good that we can't bear to do anything else but eat."
"I suppose I can let you eat for a while, after all you need to start eating more anyways, for the baby. I hate to imagine what your cravings will be." Akane said.
Many hours later, after first doing two loads of laundry, and shopping, the couple entered and later emerged from the bedroom. Akane was dressed in a sharp looking black tuxedo; the only visible abnormality was her chest pushing the front of the shirt out. Ranma was dressed in a rather gorgeous red formal gown that cascaded down her exquisite form, as if it had been tailored especially for that purpose. "I feel ridiculous, Akane." Ranma said, glancing over to her, "Then again, you look about as ridiculous as I feel, so I suppose we'll just have to call it even, hmm?"
Akane took the vision of pure loveliness that was her husband, into her arms, and kissed her deeply, passionately, speaking in a low, sultry voice, "Ranma Saotome, shut up and kiss your bride." With a small little grin, she added, "But not too long, we still have dinner."
Ranma, floored by the overwhelming affection, spoke up slowly. "Did I say I would cook tonight? I meant I was taking you out... Hey, we're already dressed, aren't we?"
Looking down at her clothes, Akane giggled. "So I suppose tonight I'm the husband, hmm?"
Surveying Akane's clothes as well, Ranma remarked. "Well, You're in the tux, dear. I never said you had to be the husband though... Although one of us does have to be... Let's see... Who's pregnant again?" A light laugh slipped past Ranma's ruby painted lips.
"Oh, that's cheap, Ranma. You don't get to use that again for a whole month." Akane said sarcastically, pulling a purse off the hook on the wall, and handing it to Ranma. "Your purse, *Mrs.* Saotome."
"Thank you, *Mr.* Saotome..." said Ranma, laughing a bit at the absurdity of it all. They headed out, and wouldn't return for quite a while. It would be several hours before they'd return, Akane would be carrying Ranma, and they'd make their way back to the bedroom, spend wonderful minutes talking about what a silly day it had been, remove their clothes, and settle down again for another night of closely holding each other, and peaceful dreaming.
Morning seemed to come earlier and earlier to Ranma these days. She was awakened by a becoming familiar queasiness, and she rushed to the bathroom, getting very sick into the toilet. "Ugh... Man, this is terrible." She proceeded to wash off her face, but then decided to take a complete shower. Delicate undergarments fell in a pile as the rather endowed female stepped into the shower, and turned on the hot water faucet, sighing with relief as the droplets raced down her body.
Akane meanwhile was having the strangest dream of a waterfall in the Amazon. She was wandering through a thick jungle, with that sound in the background as she was pushing through the vines and brush. Deeper and deeper, she cut into the forest without the sight of any source of water to be making such a noise. After what seemed like an eternity of walking, she broke out into a clearing only to have the waterfall dry up before her very eyes. It was at that precise moment, coincidentally, that the shower shut off, the clank of the knobs returning to the off position startling Akane out of her peaceful, if a bit strange, dream. Moments later, Ranma emerged from the shower, clad in a bright red robe, pulling a brush through her hair of the same color.
"Man, Akane, I can see why you cut yours so short, this is a pain in the ass..." Ranma said, as she brushed the long, damp strands of her fiery mane.
"Here." Akane mumbled, "Sit down, and let me help you." Ranma did as she was told, taking a seat beside the newly awakened Akane. "I had the strangest dream, Ranma. I was cutting through some deep jungle looking for a waterfall, and when I finally found it, it disappeared. Right as you came out of the shower." Akane brushed through Ranma's hair much more skillfully than the possessor of said hair had, getting the tangles out in mere moments. "I guess it was just my mind playing around with me while you were showering. You didn't leave your clothes in the floor again, did you Ranma?"
Ranma smiled faintly, although with her back to Akane, it wasn't seen. "Yeah, Sorry, I'll get them. Sounds like a neat dream you had. Much better than me... I don't even remember having any dreams last night. Although I do remember a pair of soft arms being around me..." A warm blush exploded over Ranma's very soft feminine countenance, after all these years, Akane's affection still managed to bring out this warm and rosy effect upon the target of those affections.
"Of course... I'm not going to let you go, silly." Akane said, glancing over at the clock. "Oh... OH!" she exclaimed, "I'm going to be late for work... I'm so sorry I have to run off like this, Ranma." Akane rushed around frantically, showering and dressing in an athletic looking outfit, before kissing Ranma squarely on the lips once, then again longer. "Bye Ranma... I'll see you tonight after my classes. We'll get this worked out better, but for now, why don't you just hang around the house... or go shopping or something today." Akane said, as she was rushing out the door.
"Great. Just great." Ranma said, "I'm a housewife." Ranma plopped onto the couch in the living room, with a sigh, her robe puffing up around her. "What do housewives do, anyways?" Ranma thought, resting her chin on her folded hands. This would be somewhat hard to answer, being as Ranma never had a real good idea of women in general, not to mention housewives. He knew the stereotypes, and they always had to be right, right? Of course they did. So that's what she'd do today. She'd be the stereotypical housewife. "I'm kind of tired still though." She said, out loud, to no one in particular. Acting on this feeling, she wandered back into the bedroom, pulled off the robe, slipped on some clean pajamas and underclothing, not necessarily in that order, and got into bed. She exclaimed "Aaaaaaaah..." as she stretched out her entire body across the large bed. The fluffy pillow was then snuggled close to a much softer than normal head and face, and Ranma soon fell back asleep. She had a fairly peaceful dream, by Ranma standards, only one of the former fiancée's came by to torment her.
"Ranma, what in the world did you do to yourself?" Dream-Ukyou said. "I can't believe you actually got yourself pregnant, Ranma... Who was it? If you say Ryouga, so help me, I'll kill you both."
Dream-Ranma proceeded to tell the whole messy story, and her and Ukyou hugged, and chatted, before going their separate ways. In a sudden, but very dreamlike, flash, it was ten years later. Ranma was standing in the kitchen, seemingly watching her future life. The representation of her was clad in an apron and big blue dress, much like Kasumi could frequently have been seen in years past. Several children of various ages were around the house, doing various things, reading, playing games, things of that sort. It was then that a door opening interrupted all of that activity, and a slightly worn looking Akane came in, even less femininity showing than her normal tomboyish manner allowed. At this, the Ranma who wasn't in the apron blinked, watching the overly female representation of Ranma embrace and kiss the overly masculine Akane. "This is weird." thought Ranma, marveling in the fact that she could think in a dream. She began to see things in her bedroom back at home, through the landscape of the dream, in that weird time where you're half awake and half asleep, but, as it always does, awake won eventually, and Ranma's eyes fluttered open. A long yawn escaped her nearly pursed lips, as she got out of bed, tripping over Akane's fuzzy slippers before smiling and putting them on.
After Ranma slipped on the obviously appropriately named slippers, she proceeded to where her robe was bundled on the floor, putting it back on, and tying the belt tightly, although not *that* tightly. "Well, what is it that housewives do.... I have to do something today." She looked down at her stomach, rubbing it gently. "Nothing too stressful. I have to be careful." This is where those stereotypes came in. "Housewives sit around and watch TV, or clean while they watch TV, don't they?", Ranma thought. "I could handle that." She said. Moving into the living room, she flipped on the TV, coming to a strange scene of two people arguing. Yup, it was a soap opera that Ranma found herself unknowingly watching, perhaps one of the only things that compared to Ranma's actual life in terms of complexity and outright weirdness. It became clear that, after some time watching this particular program, nothing would get done. And she was getting a headache too. Who knew that Christy was in love with John, who was really in love with Christy's identical twin. What John didn't know is that he'd mixed up the twins one night, and now Christy was pregnant with John's baby. "Wow." Ranma said. "Well, at least he only has two to deal with... I had four! Ha! Got you beat!"
Feeling somewhat a sense of accomplishment, and also seeing that this show was her life, only more confusing, Ranma started to clean up around the house. "Hey, it'll make Akane happy at least... She's always after me about how messy things are." Ranma thought. As she finished with the living room, she came across a bottle of Akane's nail polish. Bright red. "Man, Akane." Ranma laughed mockingly, "You're always leaving things all over this house! How am I supposed to keep it clean?"
Reaching to get the bottle, Ranma's currently unadorned nails caught a bit of light, and reflected it back in her eyes. This brought Ranma to a slow debate. Should she paint her nails?
In situations like this, most people would visualize an angel, and a devil, giving them the positives and negatives. However, Ranma visualized a beautiful redheaded girl on one shoulder, and a conversely handsome man on the other.
The male figure said, "Ranma! Don't put that stuff on your nails! What are you, a sissy?"
To which, the female figure retorted, "No, *She's* a girl. If *she* wants to, then it's *her* choice."
The male figure was obviously annoyed. "Quit referring to him as a girl, come on, he's just doing a favor for his wife, what man wouldn't?"
Thinking quickly, the female figure answered back. "Come on, Ranma. You've got the chance. I know you're curious. The curiosity was there the day we met at jusenkyo. It's ok. You're a girl. No one's going to think any less of you either way."
The male figure was getting increasingly frustrated by the moment. "You put that stuff on, and you're admitting that you don't mind being like this! You're admitting that you don't even mind acting like you don't mind it!", he exasperatedly sighed.
The female figure sighed as well, and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Ranma, hon. Go ahead, I'll shut him up for you. Besides, red is *really* you, girl." she said.
Ranma sighed along with the two of them, and began reading the instructions on the nail polish bottle. 'Pull out brush.' "Well, that's *obvious*", Ranma said, opening the bottle, sitting down on the couch once more. 'Carefully apply to the nails' surfaces, let dry, and apply second coat.' "Alright. I can do that." Ranma said, doing exactly that, starting with her toes, before moving to her fingers. "Now, to let them dry..." Ranma waited at this for, oh, about ten seconds. "Man, isn't there some way to speed this up? Oh! I know!" Ranma began to blow upon her fingernails in an attempt to dry them more rapidly.
"This is going to be so great! Ranma will be so surprised." Akane thought, walking to the door of their place. She unlocked the door and walked in. "Ranma, I came home for..." Akane stopped mid-sentence, catching Ranma in mid-breath.
"Hi... Honey." Ranma said. Her hands, with their ruby-painted nails, were fully exposed in the direction of the door. "I just thought... I'd... um... Paint my nails."
Akane was, as a vast understatement, shocked. She did, however, manage to squeak out a little. "You're just full of surprises, huh."
Again, the sun happily poked its head through the clouds, shining rays of pure heaven upon the needy earth. Birds chirped happily, signaling another day. And again, Ranma was slumped over the toilet, experiencing the joy of her pregnancy.
"Akane.... Ugh... We need to go talk to the doctor about this..." Ranma moaned, washing herself off and returning to bed, red robe pulled tightly around her otherwise bare, save undergarments, form.
The struggling-to-stay-in-bed mass of Ranma's wife tossed around a bit in bed, mumbling something vaguely comprehensible, probably a note of agreement. She then simply turned over and closed her eyes again.
Slipping back under the sheets, Ranma scooted closer to her wife, wrapping her arms around the drowsy form. "Akane, really, we need to see about this. Being sick every morning is really going to get old. I have so much to do today. I'll have to call the school, tell them I'm pregnant. I think my mom wanted to do something today too."
At this, Akane woke somewhat. "Mmm, Ranma, I wanted to talk to you about that. Your mom, I don't know how useful her advice is going to be, hon. She didn't really raise you, and if you even mention asking Genma, I'm going to knock you out. Plus, your mom does have some weird ideas... What if she wants our son, if we have one, to be 'manly' like she wanted you to be?" She said.
Ranma looked at her with a somewhat pained expression. "Are you saying my mother was just saying things just to be saying them, Akane? My mother may not have raised me... but she's still a very wise woman." Ranma sighed rather heavily, then laid her head on Akane's shoulder, uncomfortably, and unintentionally, pressing Ranma's rather well endowed chest into Akane's back.
"I'm not saying that, Ranma." Akane said, shifting around somewhat, giggling. "Get your boobs out of my back, dear, that feels really weird." Although she couldn't see it, she knew Ranma was blushing as she moved out of the way, while Akane finished talking. "I just think that your mom's advice... might not be completely reliable."
Sighing fairly deeply again, Ranma spoke up. "Akane... you might be right. I don't want to do something to hurt my mom though. Yesterday, when she wanted to get me dressed and take me out to lunch, I almost felt like we had some bond. I know I've been getting closer to her; but still, there are some things that I can't afford to screw up. The first time away from her was enough."
Akane flopped over uncomfortably, and sighed. "Ranma, I just think that maybe you should be a little bit more critical of her advice than... another mother's." Akane then gave up and swung her feet out of bed, plopping them into a waiting pair of old blue house shoes.
"Alright." Ranma said, also swinging out of bed, although her feet only hit carpet. "Well, Akane," Ranma grinned, starting to walk to the closet, "What should your stunningly gorgeous wife wear today, hmm?"
Akane giggled a bit, putting her hand over her mouth, before removing it to talk. "How about a nice dress, dear, or maybe a long skirt and a nice blouse? Oh, I know just the thing. This flowered dress, and this yellow hat!" Ranma grinned and laughed in response, before heading to the shower, leaving her robe, bra, and undergarments leading in an unintentional trail.
"I'm going to take a shower, hon. I'll be out in a little, ok?" Ranma said, closing the door soundly, then she turned on the water and stepped in.
Meanwhile, Akane picked up the small trail of clothes, and thought to herself, "Just like a guy." She laughed faintly, before she picked out her clothes for the day, a nice pair of blue pants and a lighter blue blouse. Smirking, she laid a pink dress on the bed, figuring that Ranma would see it and become bothered, and then she'd storm into the living room with that cute annoyed expression. Akane then walked out into the living room and began picking up some things.
Several minutes later, Ranma emerged from the bathroom, in a rather large towel, eyes falling directly upon the pink garment in front of her. "It's a little... Pink." She said to herself, putting her hand to her chin. "Although, I am going to be like this for a while, what would be wrong with wearing a dress, huh?" Ranma went to the dresser, and put on some clean underclothing, before taking the dress from the bed and slowly slipping it on. She smiled lightly, saying, "Hey, this feels kind of nice." She then glanced over to the mirror, only to see her reflection blushing. "Oh, stop that." She said to the girl in the mirror, "It's just fabric, and you look good. Didn't you get over this already? You're going to be a girl for a while. I know it's not pleasant, but do it for Akane, huh? Plus, how're you going to look to your daughter, if you have one, if her mom can't handle being affected like this. What if your child has this... curse?" Ranma saw herself frown, but she thought that she'd deal with that when, and if, it happened, but for now, she was wearing the dress.
Akane had to struggle to contain her giggles as she saw Ranma walk out of the bedroom in the pink garment. "Ranma, Dear... What in the world are you wearing that dress for?" Akane forced out between fits of giggling.
Blushing slightly, Ranma responded. "Well, It's a little different color than I'd pick, but it feels nice. I am a woman for now... I want to wear it, ok? I do get to pick out my own clothes, don't I?"
Stunned, Akane nodded her head, and hopped up, hugging Ranma closely, kissing her and whispering in her ear, "You're a very beautiful woman, Ranma Saotome... I'm so happy you're mine."
Crimson blush exploded across Ranma's whole face, as he struggled to whisper something back to Akane. "You're really pretty too, Akane. I love you more than I even know how to say."
"Oh, Stop, you.... charmer." Akane said, hitting Ranma in the chest playfully, giggling as she felt a soft cushion of female chest, where she had gotten used to feeling a hard, muscular, male one. This only served to brighten Ranma's blush, and make a strange uncomfortable look come over her face.
"T...That felt really weird, Akane. Don't hit my... me there... Please?" Ranma said, looking down at her currently bare feet. Wishing to change the subject quickly, Ranma commented. "Hey, you have some shoes that go with this dress?" She almost giggled, catching herself in time, however.
Akane was not so lucky. She burst into laughter, saying in between fits, "Sure... You want me to get you the pink hose too?"
Ranma just smiled back, saying sarcastically, "You don't have any pink hose, dear. I've looked." She pulled her wife into her arms again, and hugged her, delicately kissing her nose. "Thanks for thinking of me though, Akane. You're a sweetie." Ranma added with a little grin.
Akane laid her head on Ranma's shoulder, and sighed, "It was a little shock to see you in a dress again... Last time was after our wedding, remember?" A cute little laugh escaped Akane's lips as she recalled, "It was right after our honeymoon, when we moved. Right before I packed my wedding dress, I kept bugging you to put it on, and you did. The funny thing was that you probably looked better in it than I had."
Lifting Akane's head, and looking into her eyes, Ranma said, with complete sincerity, "Akane, you were, and you are, the most beautiful girl I've seen. That wedding gown made you look absolutely angelic. Don't say that a silly cursed guy looked better, because it's not true." Ranma smirked, and continued, "I'm sure I looked pretty great though, I'm hot, right?" She posed with her hands on her hips, actually giggling this time.
"Oh, Sure, Ranma, you're one stunning woman." Akane said, chuckling.
Ranma smiled, and kissed Akane lightly on her lips. "You're too sweet, Akane." Ranma said. "Ah, but now I have to call the school and tell them... about myself. I'd hoped I wouldn't have to deal with this again.", she sighed. Ranma picked up the phone, and a conversation soon ensued, "I'm... well... Pregnant. No, this isn't a joke, see..." And Ranma proceeded to tell the school administration about her curse, and that she was actually carrying a child. Unfortunately, Ranma had neglected this small part when he applied for the gym teacher position, so it was a bit hard to convince them that she wasn't just playing a joke. "You have to believe me. Call our doctor... Yes, Dr. Tofu, he runs a small hospital. I'll be in tomorrow to tell the kids. Yeah, I know they'll wonder why their teacher's a girl now, I'll have to explain to them too... Oh... You're telling me I have to stay home the entire time? You can't have the children exposed to such things! I'm... You're damn right I'm angry! Goodbye!" Ranma's voice was breaking, and soon she did as well, collapsing into sobs on Akane's shoulder. "They... said I shouldn't come back until I was ready to take my job seriously. If I even have one anymore." She blubbered.
Akane just held her crying, currently female, husband, whispering small words of comfort to her occasionally. "Ranma, they'll call Dr. Tofu, and at the very least you'll just have to stay home during your pregnancy. It'll be ok, I promise. We're in this together, remember?" Ranma nodded, then sat her head back on Akane's shoulder, saying something about how this whole thing kept turning her more and more into a woman, and she didn't like how it felt. The dress was nice though, she said, forcing a mostly fake laugh out. Akane giggled lightly, and this brought a sweet smile back to the delicate face of the one being cradled. "Ranma," Akane asked, "Would you want... Would you want me to brush out your hair, maybe put a little makeup on you? I know it's sort of silly, but we could talk a more about your... situation. This body handles a little differently than the one you're used to, and Tofu just doesn't have the same perspective to tell you, as I do. I know you've learned a lot, but... Well, would you?"
Ranma looked up nervously, and cracked a very small smile. "Well... I don't suppose it would hurt to let my wife pamper me. After you put all that stuff on me though, you're going to have to let me do something for you." She giggled lightly, kissing Akane somewhat passionately. "I'm cooking tonight, dear."
Blushing, and smiling, Akane nodded. "It's been a long time since you cooked for me, Ranma. What've you been waiting for, huh? What kind of husband doesn't cook for his wife? You're terrible..." All this was said as the smile turned to a smirk.
As Ranma placed her slender fingers over her wife's mouth, she spoke up. "The pregnant, female kind, dear... Now, what'd you say you were going to do to me again? Makeup? I thought we did *that* on our honeymoon."
"Ranma, darling." Akane said, blushing rather brightly, "We did *everything* on our honeymoon." She led Ranma back to the bedroom to indulge her little idea of treating Ranma to something that a so-called normal girl would enjoy.
"Just remember, I'm cooking tonight, dear." Ranma said. "And the food might be so unbelievably good that we can't bear to do anything else but eat."
"I suppose I can let you eat for a while, after all you need to start eating more anyways, for the baby. I hate to imagine what your cravings will be." Akane said.
Many hours later, after first doing two loads of laundry, and shopping, the couple entered and later emerged from the bedroom. Akane was dressed in a sharp looking black tuxedo; the only visible abnormality was her chest pushing the front of the shirt out. Ranma was dressed in a rather gorgeous red formal gown that cascaded down her exquisite form, as if it had been tailored especially for that purpose. "I feel ridiculous, Akane." Ranma said, glancing over to her, "Then again, you look about as ridiculous as I feel, so I suppose we'll just have to call it even, hmm?"
Akane took the vision of pure loveliness that was her husband, into her arms, and kissed her deeply, passionately, speaking in a low, sultry voice, "Ranma Saotome, shut up and kiss your bride." With a small little grin, she added, "But not too long, we still have dinner."
Ranma, floored by the overwhelming affection, spoke up slowly. "Did I say I would cook tonight? I meant I was taking you out... Hey, we're already dressed, aren't we?"
Looking down at her clothes, Akane giggled. "So I suppose tonight I'm the husband, hmm?"
Surveying Akane's clothes as well, Ranma remarked. "Well, You're in the tux, dear. I never said you had to be the husband though... Although one of us does have to be... Let's see... Who's pregnant again?" A light laugh slipped past Ranma's ruby painted lips.
"Oh, that's cheap, Ranma. You don't get to use that again for a whole month." Akane said sarcastically, pulling a purse off the hook on the wall, and handing it to Ranma. "Your purse, *Mrs.* Saotome."
"Thank you, *Mr.* Saotome..." said Ranma, laughing a bit at the absurdity of it all. They headed out, and wouldn't return for quite a while. It would be several hours before they'd return, Akane would be carrying Ranma, and they'd make their way back to the bedroom, spend wonderful minutes talking about what a silly day it had been, remove their clothes, and settle down again for another night of closely holding each other, and peaceful dreaming.
Morning seemed to come earlier and earlier to Ranma these days. She was awakened by a becoming familiar queasiness, and she rushed to the bathroom, getting very sick into the toilet. "Ugh... Man, this is terrible." She proceeded to wash off her face, but then decided to take a complete shower. Delicate undergarments fell in a pile as the rather endowed female stepped into the shower, and turned on the hot water faucet, sighing with relief as the droplets raced down her body.
Akane meanwhile was having the strangest dream of a waterfall in the Amazon. She was wandering through a thick jungle, with that sound in the background as she was pushing through the vines and brush. Deeper and deeper, she cut into the forest without the sight of any source of water to be making such a noise. After what seemed like an eternity of walking, she broke out into a clearing only to have the waterfall dry up before her very eyes. It was at that precise moment, coincidentally, that the shower shut off, the clank of the knobs returning to the off position startling Akane out of her peaceful, if a bit strange, dream. Moments later, Ranma emerged from the shower, clad in a bright red robe, pulling a brush through her hair of the same color.
"Man, Akane, I can see why you cut yours so short, this is a pain in the ass..." Ranma said, as she brushed the long, damp strands of her fiery mane.
"Here." Akane mumbled, "Sit down, and let me help you." Ranma did as she was told, taking a seat beside the newly awakened Akane. "I had the strangest dream, Ranma. I was cutting through some deep jungle looking for a waterfall, and when I finally found it, it disappeared. Right as you came out of the shower." Akane brushed through Ranma's hair much more skillfully than the possessor of said hair had, getting the tangles out in mere moments. "I guess it was just my mind playing around with me while you were showering. You didn't leave your clothes in the floor again, did you Ranma?"
Ranma smiled faintly, although with her back to Akane, it wasn't seen. "Yeah, Sorry, I'll get them. Sounds like a neat dream you had. Much better than me... I don't even remember having any dreams last night. Although I do remember a pair of soft arms being around me..." A warm blush exploded over Ranma's very soft feminine countenance, after all these years, Akane's affection still managed to bring out this warm and rosy effect upon the target of those affections.
"Of course... I'm not going to let you go, silly." Akane said, glancing over at the clock. "Oh... OH!" she exclaimed, "I'm going to be late for work... I'm so sorry I have to run off like this, Ranma." Akane rushed around frantically, showering and dressing in an athletic looking outfit, before kissing Ranma squarely on the lips once, then again longer. "Bye Ranma... I'll see you tonight after my classes. We'll get this worked out better, but for now, why don't you just hang around the house... or go shopping or something today." Akane said, as she was rushing out the door.
"Great. Just great." Ranma said, "I'm a housewife." Ranma plopped onto the couch in the living room, with a sigh, her robe puffing up around her. "What do housewives do, anyways?" Ranma thought, resting her chin on her folded hands. This would be somewhat hard to answer, being as Ranma never had a real good idea of women in general, not to mention housewives. He knew the stereotypes, and they always had to be right, right? Of course they did. So that's what she'd do today. She'd be the stereotypical housewife. "I'm kind of tired still though." She said, out loud, to no one in particular. Acting on this feeling, she wandered back into the bedroom, pulled off the robe, slipped on some clean pajamas and underclothing, not necessarily in that order, and got into bed. She exclaimed "Aaaaaaaah..." as she stretched out her entire body across the large bed. The fluffy pillow was then snuggled close to a much softer than normal head and face, and Ranma soon fell back asleep. She had a fairly peaceful dream, by Ranma standards, only one of the former fiancée's came by to torment her.
"Ranma, what in the world did you do to yourself?" Dream-Ukyou said. "I can't believe you actually got yourself pregnant, Ranma... Who was it? If you say Ryouga, so help me, I'll kill you both."
Dream-Ranma proceeded to tell the whole messy story, and her and Ukyou hugged, and chatted, before going their separate ways. In a sudden, but very dreamlike, flash, it was ten years later. Ranma was standing in the kitchen, seemingly watching her future life. The representation of her was clad in an apron and big blue dress, much like Kasumi could frequently have been seen in years past. Several children of various ages were around the house, doing various things, reading, playing games, things of that sort. It was then that a door opening interrupted all of that activity, and a slightly worn looking Akane came in, even less femininity showing than her normal tomboyish manner allowed. At this, the Ranma who wasn't in the apron blinked, watching the overly female representation of Ranma embrace and kiss the overly masculine Akane. "This is weird." thought Ranma, marveling in the fact that she could think in a dream. She began to see things in her bedroom back at home, through the landscape of the dream, in that weird time where you're half awake and half asleep, but, as it always does, awake won eventually, and Ranma's eyes fluttered open. A long yawn escaped her nearly pursed lips, as she got out of bed, tripping over Akane's fuzzy slippers before smiling and putting them on.
After Ranma slipped on the obviously appropriately named slippers, she proceeded to where her robe was bundled on the floor, putting it back on, and tying the belt tightly, although not *that* tightly. "Well, what is it that housewives do.... I have to do something today." She looked down at her stomach, rubbing it gently. "Nothing too stressful. I have to be careful." This is where those stereotypes came in. "Housewives sit around and watch TV, or clean while they watch TV, don't they?", Ranma thought. "I could handle that." She said. Moving into the living room, she flipped on the TV, coming to a strange scene of two people arguing. Yup, it was a soap opera that Ranma found herself unknowingly watching, perhaps one of the only things that compared to Ranma's actual life in terms of complexity and outright weirdness. It became clear that, after some time watching this particular program, nothing would get done. And she was getting a headache too. Who knew that Christy was in love with John, who was really in love with Christy's identical twin. What John didn't know is that he'd mixed up the twins one night, and now Christy was pregnant with John's baby. "Wow." Ranma said. "Well, at least he only has two to deal with... I had four! Ha! Got you beat!"
Feeling somewhat a sense of accomplishment, and also seeing that this show was her life, only more confusing, Ranma started to clean up around the house. "Hey, it'll make Akane happy at least... She's always after me about how messy things are." Ranma thought. As she finished with the living room, she came across a bottle of Akane's nail polish. Bright red. "Man, Akane." Ranma laughed mockingly, "You're always leaving things all over this house! How am I supposed to keep it clean?"
Reaching to get the bottle, Ranma's currently unadorned nails caught a bit of light, and reflected it back in her eyes. This brought Ranma to a slow debate. Should she paint her nails?
In situations like this, most people would visualize an angel, and a devil, giving them the positives and negatives. However, Ranma visualized a beautiful redheaded girl on one shoulder, and a conversely handsome man on the other.
The male figure said, "Ranma! Don't put that stuff on your nails! What are you, a sissy?"
To which, the female figure retorted, "No, *She's* a girl. If *she* wants to, then it's *her* choice."
The male figure was obviously annoyed. "Quit referring to him as a girl, come on, he's just doing a favor for his wife, what man wouldn't?"
Thinking quickly, the female figure answered back. "Come on, Ranma. You've got the chance. I know you're curious. The curiosity was there the day we met at jusenkyo. It's ok. You're a girl. No one's going to think any less of you either way."
The male figure was getting increasingly frustrated by the moment. "You put that stuff on, and you're admitting that you don't mind being like this! You're admitting that you don't even mind acting like you don't mind it!", he exasperatedly sighed.
The female figure sighed as well, and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Ranma, hon. Go ahead, I'll shut him up for you. Besides, red is *really* you, girl." she said.
Ranma sighed along with the two of them, and began reading the instructions on the nail polish bottle. 'Pull out brush.' "Well, that's *obvious*", Ranma said, opening the bottle, sitting down on the couch once more. 'Carefully apply to the nails' surfaces, let dry, and apply second coat.' "Alright. I can do that." Ranma said, doing exactly that, starting with her toes, before moving to her fingers. "Now, to let them dry..." Ranma waited at this for, oh, about ten seconds. "Man, isn't there some way to speed this up? Oh! I know!" Ranma began to blow upon her fingernails in an attempt to dry them more rapidly.
"This is going to be so great! Ranma will be so surprised." Akane thought, walking to the door of their place. She unlocked the door and walked in. "Ranma, I came home for..." Akane stopped mid-sentence, catching Ranma in mid-breath.
"Hi... Honey." Ranma said. Her hands, with their ruby-painted nails, were fully exposed in the direction of the door. "I just thought... I'd... um... Paint my nails."
Akane was, as a vast understatement, shocked. She did, however, manage to squeak out a little. "You're just full of surprises, huh."
