Author's Note: There is a bit of a lime scene in this chapter.
Chapter 37 Weddings and Other Things
Just before they entered the building, Ranma turned and looked at his beautiful fiancée. "Nervous, Acchan?" he asked gently.
"Hai, just a little, Ranchan," Akane said with a sigh, "I know I want to do this, it's just a big step." Then she squared her shoulders as a smile lit her face. "I'm ready now. Let's go in and meet our parents," Akane said.
Ranma smiled again as he followed her through the door and down the hall to the town clerk where Nodoka and Soun were waiting patiently for them.
"Finally, the schools will be joined," Soun cried as Akane shook her head in dismay.
"Father, stop that. You're embarrassing us," Akane hissed at her father. Soun stopped crying as he saw the angry look his daughter was giving him. Nodoka just shook her head at the emotional outburst from both of the Tendos.
They turned to the town clerk who had been patiently waiting with a bemused look on her face. She handed over the appropriate forms that needed to be signed by the four people there. Ranma hesitated long enough to look at Akane and then quickly signed the forms where it needed the groom's signature. Akane smiled a slightly possessive smile, and also signed. Their parents signed both as witnesses and as parents giving permission for their underage children to wed.
"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Saotome. You're now husband and wife," the town clerk said as she notarized the forms.
Ranma grinned toothily and said, "Not quite yet." He pulled a box from his pocket and opened it, showing two wedding bands. Taking the smaller of the bands from the box, he placed it on Akane's ring finger, saying, "I love you, Acchan."
Akane removed the other ring and placed it on Ranma's ring finger as well, and said, "Ranchan, I love you." Then they kissed each other. Once they broke apart, Akane smirked and said, "Now, I feel like I'm married."
Nodoka hugged both of them, wiping tears from her eyes. "I'm so happy for the both of you. I'm glad this day finally came," she said with a teary smile.
Akane said softly, "Thanks, Mom," as she hugged Nodoka back.
"Well, son, take good care of my little girl," Soun cried, "She's you're responsibility now." He hugged his daughter and then held out his hand for Ranma to shake.
Ranma just smiled at him and said, "Akane and I are partners. We'll take care of each other." He ignored the outstretched hand and surprised Soun by hugging him. Ranma smirked and said, "Just don't start crying, Father, I don't want to change. You got your wish though, the schools are finally joined." He stepped back just in time as to avoid a soaking from the Tendo Waterworks Company.
"We'll meet you at home," Soun said, sniffling, "There's a small reception waiting for you with the rest of the family. We'll see you there." With that Soun and Nodoka walked off.
Ranma looked at Akane and said, "Well, wife, shall we race them there or let them get there first?"
Akane looked at her husband and giggled, "Well, we could stop under the bridge for a few minutes. I feel the need to kiss my husband some more."
Ranma's smile widened, and said, "I like the way you think, Acchan." Ranma bowed to the clerk who was openly laughing now. The two newlyweds walked off together, hand-in-hand. And of course, they stopped under the bridge for some serious kissing.
Ranma and Akane walked slowly from the town hall toward the Tendo home to pack for their first weekend as a married couple. Ranma couldn't believe they had actually gotten married, just filling out a few forms and signing a couple of lines didn't seem to say they were married. The kiss they had shared in the town hall had felt different, somehow, though. As they reached the door of the Tendo home, Ranma opened the door and then swept his wife up in his arms and carried her across the threshold.
"Ranchan, please put me down," Akane said, giggling at him.
"Hush, Acchan. This is just some weird Western custom I read about. It's supposed to be romantic," Ranma said gaily as he lightly put his wife down. He bent down and kissed his wife hungrily. She pressed her body up against him, trembling slightly. Then they broke apart laughing as their stomachs grumbled in unison. "You ready to face them?" Ranma asked quietly.
Akane laughed happily, saying, "Of course. They've been waiting for us to do this for a while. We owe them this party." Hand-in-hand, they walked into the dining area to see their family waiting with a huge banner, saying 'Congratulations, Akane and Ranma!'
As Ranma entered the dining area, his eyes began to glaze over looking at the number of people in there waiting for them, as well as the feast that was spread out on the table. 'If this is a small reception, I wonder what Mr. Tendo thinks a large reception looks like,' Ranma thought with a mental snicker, 'I'm glad everyone is here but it is a bit overwhelming.'
Everyone was there, the Tendo family and his mother, of course, Shampoo, Cologne, Mousse, Ukyo and Ryoga. He smiled briefly to see Ryoga there as a girl, but then shrugged as he remembered what he had told her the other day about getting used to that shape. The only person conspicuous by her absence was his Pop.
The crowd of people gathered around, each of them offering some form of congratulations. Kasumi was the first to reach him; she hugged him and then kissed him. With a wary eye on Akane, he accepted kisses from Shampoo, Ukyo and finally, Nabiki. As Nabiki kissed him, he teased her by saying; "I see you brought your business partner to the party." She colored prettily as she backed away. When Ryoga approached, she pretended to offer Ranma a kiss. Ranma growled warningly, and a cute pout appeared on Ryoga's face. Then she held out her hand; Ranma just shook his head and then pulled Ryoga into a hug, shocking them both. Akane accepted hugs and kisses from everyone, her face flushed with excitement. Finally, they were able to sit done and everyone got a chance to eat.
Kasumi had outdone herself. Somehow, her usual excellent food had become something better, as if she had poured out all of her happiness into the cooking she had done. The items that Shampoo and Ukyo had provided likewise were exquisite. The three of them beamed with happiness at the newly wedded couple. Ranma, of course, sat next to his wife. He ate mechanically, never taking his eyes off of the beautiful woman he had married. Akane's cheeks grew rosy as she welcomed the scrutiny of the man she had wed.
Kasumi could barely keep herself from giggling as she watched Ranma and Akane. Every time Akane would sneak a peak at her husband, she would blush and look quickly back down at the table, and then scoot closer to Ranma. Soon they were sitting shoulder to shoulder. Ranma stopped eating at that moment, his chopsticks halted in midair. Finally, he set the chopsticks down and just put his arm around his wife, holding her close. Akane nestled comfortably against his shoulder and listened to her friends and family talk. Eventually, everyone stopped eating and Soun rose and asked for everyone's attention as Kasumi brought out flutes filled with champagne. After the glasses were passed out, Soun raised his glass and said, "To the happy couple. May you have all the happiness you can. Congratulations, Son and Daughter.' After they had all clinked glasses, they sipped the champagne.
Akane whispered to Ranma, "I want to talk to Kasumi and then I think it is time for us to go." Ranma nodded and went upstairs while Akane followed Kasumi back into the kitchen.
Kasumi looked at her sister, and saw that she was trembling. "Don't be scared, Akane. This is what you've been wanting for a long time," she said kindly.
Akane smiled shyly and replied, "I am a bit nervous, Sis. I guess I thought I would have more time before all this happened. I want to be married to him. I need to be married to him, I couldn't be happier now that it finally has happened, but I don't know that I can make him happy."
Kasumi hugged her sister and said, "You two love each other so much you two almost glow. You can't help but make him happy." She kissed Akane gently on the cheek.
Akane whispered gratefully, "Thanks, Sis." Then she said in a stronger voice, "Thank you for everything you've done for me, Kasumi. You've been a great sister and friend. Now, though, I'd better go find my husband."
As Ranma walked up the stairs, he realized that his mother was following him. As he reached the top of the stairs, he waited at the landing for her to join him. She saw him standing there waiting for her, but she could tell that he was scared. "Ranma, what's wrong?" Nodoka asked as she followed him into Akane's bedroom.
"I'm just a little nervous. After all, I've never been married before and I don't want to mess this up. We're still so young after all. We're both months away from being eighteen and we have over a year left just to finish high school," Ranma said with a slight quaver in his voice.
Nodoka chuckled and said, "Ranma, every married couple feels that way. You two love each other. Just remember that and everything will be fine. You two will have your share of arguments, don't worry about that. You're both young, that's true, as well as proud and a bit headstrong, but just tell her that you love her often and you'll be surprised at how much that helps."
Ranma swallowed his fears and replied, "Thanks, Mom. She means so much to me, I don't want to disappoint her." He hugged her and then said, "I'd better get these bags downstairs, I don't think that I want to keep Akane waiting."
A brief smile flashed across Nodoka's face and then she said, "Excellent start, Ranma. A gentleman never keeps a beautiful woman waiting."
Ranma laughed as he carried the two suitcases downstairs. As he got to the bottom, Akane came out of the kitchen and joined him, taking the lighter of the two. Ranma took a deep breath and asked, "Are you ready?"
Akane laughed and said, "Yes. Father said to sneak out when we are ready." They shared a brief kiss and then left the house, headed over to Nodoka's house where they would spend the weekend alone.
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Ranma waited nervously in their bedroom, sitting up in their bed, waiting for his wife to join him. His heart was pounding, the palms of his hands felt damp. 'Sure,' he thought to himself, 'we've shared a bed together before but we've never slept together. Damn, pull yourself together, man.' His mind whirled, thoughts racing through his head faster than he could acknowledge them; much less make sense of them.
Finally, the door to the room opened and Akane walked in. She was dressed in a yellow nightie that left little to the imagination. The aureole around her nipples, the darker area where her legs joined, all caught his attention through the thin material it was made of. He groaned at the sight, the pent-up need that he had suppressed for so long making its presence felt. He breathed the word "Kawaii." Akane's eyes lit up as she heard her husband.
Akane walked over to the bed and joined her husband under the covers. They held each other, Ranma gazing still in wonder at Akane, still not completely believing that they were finally married. Then Akane kissed him, her tongue probing his mouth, and her arms pulling him closer to her. He lost himself in her kiss, and then, began to caress her back through the thin material. Finally, he slid his hands under the nightie and began caressing her back directly. The feel of his hands on her bare flesh was sending little sparks throughout Akane's body.
Akane pulled away slightly and began to slowly undo the laces holding her nightie together. As she did, the cloth slid down from her shoulders, baring her breasts. Akane moaned in pleasure as Ranma began to kiss her neck, and slowly made his way down her breast. Then using one hand, he began to slowly caress her other breast, causing her to body to arch, pressing herself harder into him. Finally, she could stand it no more and removed her nightie completely. Then she lay on her back and pulled her husband over her.
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As Ranma entered through the gates into the school grounds the next Monday, he began to sense something was wrong. The few students in sight were talking quietly to one another, but suddenly stopped talking as soon as they had appeared and looked nervously toward a tree on the grounds. "Be careful, Acchan," he murmured, "Someone is watching us from behind that tree."
As they neared the center of the yard, a figure dressed in samurai garb carrying a bokken, stepped out from behind the tree. Akane cursed under her breath as she recognized Tatewaki Kuno. "What do you want now, Kuno? Wasn't the broken arm and cracked ribs enough of a message to show you how utterly I despise you?" Akane growled angrily, "Why the hell did you get out of jail?"
"Ah, the beauteous Akane Tendo. Still under that sorcerer's spell, I see. Well, never fear, I, Tatewaki Kuno, the –erk" Kuno began. He was cut off by Akane's fist in his mouth.
"Kuno, I'm afraid that you have it all wrong," Ranma said, with a smirk, "She's not under my spell, I'm under hers. Why couldn't you have stayed away?" Ranma touched a couple of pressure points on Kuno's back, paralyzing him instantly. His weapon fell from his nerveless hands.
Akane said, "Get it through your thick skull, Kuno. I don't want to date you, I don't want to marry you, and I don't love you. In fact, I don't even like you. You made my life hell until Ranma came and chased all of those other perverts that followed you away. You were just too stupid to figure it out. Your very presence here disgusts me. I married Ranma last Friday, so stop trying to come between a man and his wife. That certainly isn't honorable."
Kuno couldn't believe what he was hearing, the fair Akane Tendo wed to that vile creature. "How could this be possible? Why would you deny me your love?" he asked in anguish.
"Didn't you listen, moron? I love Ranchan, he is the only man I ever loved," Akane spat, "Because of you, I almost became afraid of men. If it hadn't been for Ranma, I would have gotten ever more violent trying to prevent you and your pervert friends from attacking me. I could have seriously hurt someone just because of your delusions."
An angry looking Nabiki came storming out of the school. As she neared them, she looked in disgust at Kuno. "Did you forget about the restraining order, Kuno? The only reason you were out of jail is because of the bail money you paid. Guess what baka, you just violated the terms of your release as well as the restraining order. Ranma, Akane, I have this covered. Just go in, the police will be here shortly to take this moron away," she said, her eyes flashing, "I mean it, get you two. By the way, as a wedding present, no one knows yet. You owe me stories for that." They traded wicked grins.
Ranma and Akane reached their respective seats just before the final bell rang. The sensei walked in and sat down at her desk. She began to go through the drudgery of taking roll. As she said the name 'Saotome' she was pulled out of her apathy by the fact that two voices answered, 'Hai.' One obviously was female and the other male. Her head snapped up as she realized who the female voice had been. Akane was sitting there with an innocent expression on her face, her hands demurely sitting in her lap. Everyone was staring at her in amazement.
Akane said, "I'm sorry, sensei. I thought Nabiki had informed the office of my name change and got the records adjusted in the office last Saturday. Ranchan and I were married Friday," as she brought her left hand out from under the desk and displayed her ring. The silence in the room was absolute as everyone's jaw dropped. Then pandemonium erupted as all of the girls squealed in excitement and turned and looked at the couple. The boys all whistled their approval.
The sensei, being the wise person that she was, let the noise continue for a while, knowing that it would be hopeless to try to calm them down, slightly less possible than King Canute of Britain commanding the tides to stop coming in. Finally, after the din had dwindled to a dull roar, she rapped her desk and said, "That's enough, class. We do have a lesson to through today. IF there are no other surprises, then lets finish the roll call." The class settled down, though both Ranma and Akane knew that it was just the eye of the hurricane. Lunch was going to be a circus.
Ranma was correct. Lunch was a circus. He had tried to escape with his wife, but he had been cut off by several of Akane's girlfriends. She had smiled at him, and then reluctantly followed her friends outside. The displeasure showing on his face was enough to allow him to plow through the horde allowing him to sit near Akane, but he couldn't reach her through the crowd of girlfriends sitting around her. From the occasional snatch of conversation, and the rosy hue on Akane's cheeks, Ranma decided that maybe he didn't want to sit too close and hear what they were talking about. He was sure he would rather not know after he stopped to consider it. He moved away a few feet to where he couldn't overhear the conversation. Unfortunately, that allowed many of the boys to surround him and ask questions that he really didn't want to answer.
Finally, one less than bright senior got up enough courage to ask, "I bet she's good in bed. How about it, Ranma, huh?"
Ranma's face lost all expression as he swiveled his head to stare at the unfortunate boy. In an ice cold voice, he replied, "I hope I didn't hear what I thought I heard, because if I did, I might need to take offense at what I thought I heard." He cracked his knuckles to emphasize the word 'offense.' His stare pierced the fool who had uttered those words.
The victim opened his mouth and tried to speak, but nothing came out. Finally, he said, "I didn't say anything, honest!" Suddenly there was silence as the rest of the boys realized that the things that they wanted to ask about were not questions that Ranma was willing to answer, and in fact, could be hazardous to even ask.
Finally, the afternoon classes were over and Ranma and Akane could head on over to the Tendo home. As soon as they got there, Akane was ambushed by her sisters and dragged away to Nabiki's room to talk about the weekend. Ranma found Soun staring at his shogi board, sighing. Soun looked up, startled to see Ranma there. "Hello son, how was school today?" Soun asked.
Ranma smiled and said, "Aside from running into Kuno, and then the perverts at school asking questions that I wouldn't answer, it was about what I expected. How was your day?"
"After taking care of the town council meeting, I came back here. I found myself staring at this board, missing your father, and thinking," Soun replied, "You know that I gave this house and the dojo to you and Akane as a wedding gift. I filed those papers today while I was down there, as well. I made your mother and myself the trustees until you turn twenty-one, I hope that meets with your approval."
Ranma said quietly, "I know that was always your plan. I hope you know that I would have married Akane without that. The dojo means a great deal to her. So long as I can teach martial arts, it doesn't really matter to me where I am, but to her, it is a place of many memories. I care for it, of course, since it is the only real home that I have ever known. Thank you from both of us."
Soun smiled at the young man he was proud to call his son, even if it was only by marriage. "Well, I'll try not to run it into the ground while you two are away at college. I've come to enjoy the classes that I have been teaching. I'm glad you encouraged me to start teaching again," Soun said.
Ranma grinned, and replied, "You mean twisted your arm, doncha? I'm glad you're enjoying yourself though. You're a good instructor, I've learned a few things from you myself about teaching,"
"I will miss Saotome. Did he really have to leave?" Soun asked.
Ranma sighed, and said, "I'm afraid he did. He wasn't a really good person, you know. He did several things that I found out about later that weren't very honorable, the multiple fiancées being the least of those. We're better off with him gone for now. I'll miss him myself, though."
Author's Note: Again, thanks for all of the comments and reviews. All reviews are appreciated. More chapters to come.