---Winning someone's heart is not the end of the story; because once you've won it you have to work just as hard to keep it--
THERE IS NO HAPPILY EVER AFTER….
By Dan Stickney
Based on characters and situations created by Rumiko Takahashi and used without permission.
*****
At long last, the master of the Saotome Ryu of Masabetsu Kakuto thought as the purposeful chaos of last minute wedding preparations swirled through well-worn halls of the Tendo Dojo. Today the schools will finally be joined, and all of my efforts will finally bear fruit. Saotome looked around, seeking an eddy in the maelstrom. All I have to do now is stay out of the way and let it happen. The children's instructions had been quite explicit on that point: Dress up, Show up, Shut up: additional parental meddling would be neither welcomed nor tolerated. Saotome was for once more than happy to oblige. After all the heartache those two went through discovering their love for each other? There's no *way* I'm going to screw this up now.
Fortunately, hiding was something the Saotomes had always been good at. Now, where to go? Ah…perfect. No one else will want to go *there*. Saotome slipped into the downstairs guestroom, Happousai's old lair. The room seemed almost forlorn, now that the old man was finally gone. He'd raided Nyuuchezu once too often, and a younger, tougher generation of Joketsukozu warriors had finally taken him down. Saotome wasn't entirely sure that it hadn't been deliberate. After all, wasn't that exactly how the old letch would have wanted to go? By his perverted standards, getting stomped to death by a bevy of beautiful Amazons was probably a pretty fair approximation of the proverbial 'blaze of glory'.
Surprisingly, someone else was already there waiting - someone who, no doubt, was heeding the same warning about staying out of the way. Saotome smiled. Somehow, in the midst of all the hustle and bustle that accompanied their children's wedding, two old friends had managed to find a quiet moment alone.
"You know, I never have quite gotten used to formal kimono. I don't think I've worn one since my own wedding."
"No. Me neither."
"So… It's finally happening after all. Did you ever really expect we'd live to see this day?"
"To tell you the truth, I've had my doubts. I'll be happy when it's over."
The two friends contemplated each other in silence for a while. Finally, one sighed and looked at the floor.
"It's hard just sitting here doing nothing like this. What if the boy gets cold feet at the last minute?"
"WHAT?" came the heated response. "Don't even joke about that! If your son even thinks about abandoning my daughter at the altar, I'll kill him!"
That brought an ironic snort. "As if you could. The boy has far surpassed both of us, my friend. Besides, you'd have to wait in line behind me, first."
"Really?"
"Really. I've grown rather fond of the girl. I almost feel as if she were my own daughter." A slow smile dawned. "You know, it just sunk home that by the end of this day, she will be."
That earned a slightly pensive look. "Huh, I never thought of it that way. Somehow, I can't quite get used to the idea that I'm going to be sharing one of my children - even with you."
"Don't worry, it's not like it's going to be an equal share. No matter how close she might get to me, she'll always be *your* little girl." The other smiled and nodded. "Grandchildren, on the other hand, are share and share alike."
"Somehow, I have a hard time imagining myself with grandchildren. Shouldn't grandparents be older, somehow?
"Hah! You're one to talk. You gave your parents grandchildren before they reached the age that you are now."
"I suppose." There was a brief pause. "You know, somehow, despite the engagement and all, I never really expected *her* to be the first one of my girls to get married. I always thought it would be one of her older sisters."
"Scared of losing your favorite?"
"I do not play favorites!" The other made no reply beyond a raised eyebrow and a sardonic twist of the lips. "It's just… I… She's just so young! My baby is getting married, and she hasn't even finished high school yet!"
"Now who's getting cold feet?"
"Spare me! You know what I mean. They're still children and you know it!"
"Well…" there was a long contemplative pause. "They may still be children now, but they are going to grow up. It's inevitable. We have to believe that they're going to grow together and not apart."
"We have to?"
"Yes we have to. Otherwise, we might as well stop this wedding right now. And we both know that we don't want to do that."
"Well *I'm* still worried."
"Well, we're just going to have make plans to keep them together. After all, our plans to get them together worked perfectly, didn't they?"
The two old friends looked at each other for long moment before they broke up in helpless laughter. Finally, they both sobered, wiping their eyes.
"Thanks, I really needed that."
"Anytime."
"Do you think he really loves her?"
"Yes. Otherwise, I would have never let my son agree to this, family honor or not."
"Excuse me? Do you honestly expect me to believe that?"
"Well, it's not like this was the only possible pairing, you know. Besides, I find it really hard to believe that he wouldn't have fallen in love with at least *one* of your daughters. Heck, if anything, I was worried that he wouldn't be able to choose among them."
There was a long moment of contemplative silence before the other responded, softly…
"Do you think she really loves him?"
"Oh yes, more than anything."
"But they fight all the time!"
"You mean you haven't seen through that yet? She yells at him because she's worried about him. She pounds on him because she's afraid of losing him. You couldn't pry the two of them apart with a crowbar. She'll literally follow him to the very ends of the earth; all the while loudly proclaiming that she doesn't care. You know what?"
"What?"
"She's exactly like her mother."
"Well…
"What? Are you going to tell me that I don't know?"
"And just what is that supposed to mean?"
"You do know that I was in love with her mother, don't you?"
"I've always suspected it, but…
"But what?"
"You never told me!"
"Spare me. You knew it, and don't deny it. I did love her mother. I loved her very much. But I blew it. I was so afraid, so insecure, so worried about my foolish pride, that I lost her, and she married…a good friend of mine." The other just shrugged, unwilling to contradict the assessment.
"But do you want to know something? Maybe that was a lesson that I needed to learn. I never truly knew how precious love could be until I lost it. The next time love came along you better believe I grabbed it with both hands, and I never let go. So no, I didn't marry her mother, but so what? Today her daughter is marrying my son, and I wouldn't go back and change anything, even if I could."
There was a long thoughtful pause. "So they love each other. Do you think their love will last?"
The other shrugged. "Who knows for sure? I'll tell you the one thing I do know. There is no 'happily ever after.' Love doesn't just happen, or keep happening. Love is something that you have to work on, every single day. You know that, and I know that, and I know that we both tried to teach our children that. But in the end, it's a lesson that they can only truly learn from each other." There was a long pause. "Just pray that they don't teach each other the hard way."
Suddenly the shoji slid open, framing Kasumi in the hallway. "Oh! There you are… Are you ready?" Soun and Genma appeared behind her, looking nervous, followed by a red-haired girl and a dark-haired boy, looking expectant. "Mom?" they both asked simultaneously.
Akane smiled radiantly and got to her feet, extending her hand assist the pregnant redhead beside her. "Come on Ranma. Let's go get our children married."
******
Author's notes:
So who did you think it was, huh?
Hey, what did you expect from the guy who wrote the notorious "Cheaper by the Dozen?" Yes, this is a sequel. (CBTD 3)
This story proved to be much more difficult to write than I anticipated. Try writing a four-page conversation without giving away the participants' names or sexes sometime. You'll find that it isn't easy.
One more thing: The premise might be twisted, but the sentiment expressed is not. Love is something you have to work to maintain. Exactly like a garden. The metaphor is trite because it's true. The technical term for people who believe all of that 'true love never dies' nonsense is divorced.
Oh, and for those of you who like to include irrelevant questions in your reviews, the bride's name is Mitsuko, and she's Ranma's 12th daughter. Yes, the number is significant. I might write her story someday.