White. That would be the word Ranma would use to describe his wedding day. Everywhere he looked, there was white flowers, white tables, white paper covering the ground, and more. It was almost painful to look at and if it wasn't for the smatterings of colour introduced by the guest' clothing and the more natural hues of the grass and trees around them he might have believed he was dead. As it was, this day was still heaven for the pigtailed teen-turned-man. He was delightfully reminded of this fact as gentle music began flowing across the area and everybody's attention, including his own, turned towards the rear of the congregation.
There was a communal gasp of shock and awe as Kasumi emerged from the house, flanked by her father. For his daughter's wedding day he was holding himself together remarkably well. Not a single tear leaked from his eyes although both of his other daughters were on stand-by if it were to happen. He was dressed formally in a crisp kimono and managed to look almost regal as he proudly walked down the aisle with his daughter's arm laced in his own.
Of course Ranma's eyes barely glanced at the older man. His eyes were firmly fixed on the vision of beauty that accompanied him. In the five years since their relationship began in full and to a lesser extent the two years before that, Ranma had known she was more beautiful than anybody else he had known. However even that didn't prepare him for the angel that now gracefully glided down the parting between the guests.
She was wearing the traditional Japanese wedding kimono with the flawless white garments covering most of her body yet they managed to accent it in a way that only brought up memories for Ranma; good ones. Even with her face covered by the hood Ranma could pick out the gleaming smile the graced her lips as well as the matching shine in her eyes. The edges of her hair just peaked out from under the same hood and it flowed about her like a stream of living bronze.
He broke his gaze from her visage to look around him one last time. To his left was Ukyo, rather ironically his best man. For a long time Ranma had believed it might be Ryoga to fill that role but in the last few years the two men had only drifted apart. Anyway Ranma felt far safer and in better hands with his best and oldest friend standing stoically by his side. There had been a few nervous moments before the actual wedding but luckily Ukyo wasn't forced to fulfill the best man's obligation of 'keeping the groom from running away'.
She was wearing a western style suit of her own choosing despite Ranma assuring her a dress would be adequate. In the last few years she had mostly overcome her problems with her identity as a woman yet breaking the habit of her clothing preference was another issue entirely. Getting Ukyo to wear a dress willingly was like trying to make a snake fit into trousers, the two just didn't go together. Even so in her very male clothing Ukyo was still a beautiful young woman and she now knew this.
He looked to the other side of the altar where Akane, Nabiki, and Shampoo were all standing with equally jealous and happy faces at the still-approaching bride. They all had their most beautiful dresses on as Kasumi was appalled at the idea of the bridesmaids wearing dresses purposefully made to make them less attractive then the bride. It wasn't like it mattered to Ranma; nothing anybody could have done would convince him Kasumi wasn't the most beautiful woman in the world.
That wasn't to say Shampoo didn't make a good attempt at it. Far from the normal Japanese formal wear Shampoo was clothed in an elegant and form-fitting red and gold Chinese dress with a long slit in the leg. Her hair was tied up in an inordinately complicated style that made Ranma dizzy trying to follow it. In the seven years he had known the buxom Amazon she had undergone drastic changes, both physically and mentally. Instead of the cute teenager who could melt a man's heart and soul with a smile of a wink she had developed into a mature and beautiful woman.
That wasn't the only change that had occurred, seven years also did wonders for her vocabulary and Ranma almost had difficulty remembering her old broken speech patterns. Her mastery of the Japanese language was remarkable and she spoke as fluently, without accent, as a native. Her personality had also moulded from its old one-track mind of 'obstacle is for killing' into something much more compassionate and accommodating. That wasn't to say she lost that ruthless and mischievous streak that identified her and made her unique.
His gaze drifted over to Akane. Shampoo wasn't the only one to have changed over the time and one look at his former fiancée was enough to tell anybody that. Her old puppy-fat was gone leaving a remarkably lithe and tall young woman with long hair, yet one could still see the tonnage and definition bred from her extensive martial arts training that gave her an innocent, yet powerful presence. Like everybody here Ranma could only be glad that they had managed to remain friends in all of this time and she would continue to be somebody dear to him.
Nabiki on the other hand, Ranma chuckled silently in his head. Nabiki hadn't changed one bit. She had warmed up to him considerably in the time they spent together which, admittedly, was limited thanks to her hectic work life. However she still maintained that calculating and penetrating demeanour that had earned her a reputation to be feared and respected in the business world. She had at first been very protective of her older sister when it came to relationships but all Ranma needed to break that was time and evidence of his real feelings towards Kasumi.
Speaking of whom, his fiancée had finally made it up to the altar with him and with a great deal of reluctance Soun left the pair, finally on the verge of tears as his younger daughters looked on in worry. However he maintained himself long enough to sit in his seat beside Genma and Nodoka, the latter helping him by offering a handkerchief which was promptly soaked as the flood gates were opened. Thankfully he kept the wails to a minimum as the priest began his speech; it was on the virtues of youth and love but Ranma tuned it out, instead opting to simply gaze in awe at his beautiful fiancée, who shyly smiled back, unused to having this much attention on her.
Suddenly Ranma found everybody's eyes on him and he looked about curiously until he saw Ukyo offering him the ring. He took it with a sheepish grin and placed it carefully on Kasumi's delicate left ring finger. For her part she stared at the small golden band as if it were made of solid diamond and her face lit up in kind. She proceeded to place Ranma's ring on his own left ring finger and was met with a similar gaze of wonder and incredulity.
He managed to gather his wits long enough to proudly and confidently announce his 'I do' and allowed Kasumi to do the same. He took one last lingering moment to look at his fiancée for the last time because as he reached in to passionately kiss her he realised with ill-contained mirth that he would never be able to call her that again. He leant back out again to a round of cheers from the spectators and guests, most of whom he could call a close friend. He opened his eyes and for the very first time he looked at his wife.
The celebrations were in full swing at the Tendo household. Despite Ranma's kind-hearted protests on the matter Soun had insisted the ceremony and reception were held there. Now he was glad that it was; the wedding was beautiful and the reception was entertaining. Of course Ranma was consistently miffed that at any point he wanted to speak to his new wife he would be immediately turned around and forced to converse with somebody knew about 'how excited he was' or 'that he didn't know what he had gotten into'.
All in all it meant he had seen very little of Kasumi since the two of them had been rushed inside after the ceremony. From what he had seen from his limited sightings of her she was receiving the exact same treatment. However she had her sisters to help her fend off the worst of it; that didn't mean they weren't partially to blame. Akane was especially bad, constantly and excitedly asking her sister a never-ending stream of questions.
As Ranma was attempting another break for his love he was once again cordoned off by somebody insistent on speaking to the new husband. He briefly wondered if he was being punished for briefly catching a glimpse of Kasumi before the wedding. He turned with a barely contained sigh to find that the hand that had restrained him by the shoulder belonged to one wrinkled and elderly Amazon.
"Congratulations Ranma, I suppose I can officially stop calling you son-in-law." He smiled, ever since he and Shampoo became friends and nothing more his relationship with Cologne had turned into more of a student-teacher situation. Even so, he respected and admired the woman now that she wasn't trying every hare-brained scheme to fix him up with her kin. "You know it's not too late. Polygamy isn't entirely looked down upon in our village."
He chuckled and she did the same, this was mostly what their conversations consisted of, light-natured banter and occasional one-upsmanship. He feigned a thoughtful look for a moment as if he were honestly considering it but shrugged nonchalantly.
"Even I don't have that much stamina," He winked and playfully added in "Old Ghoul." If anything else the name had become a term of endearment and the older woman just chuckled.
"Yes well, can't blame an old gal for trying." He smiled, enjoying this slice of normality on such a hectic and life-changing day. "Anyway I shan't keep you much longer, I'm sure you're..." She looked over at Kasumi, still locked in a hopeless attempt at breaking away from her sisters and various female friends "...itching to spend some time with your wife." The casual way she said it made Ranma smile, hearing Kasumi being called his wife as if they had been so for many years made it seem so natural and he shot the old woman a look of thanks which she returned with a curt nod before hopped off to see what trouble Happosai was getting up to.
Of course similar attempts to finally talk with his wife were blocked in much the same way until before he knew it, hours had passed and it was beginning to get dark. People were starting to trickle home, more than a few of them tipsy or drunk. With a smile he saw Akari lead Ryoga away for their home, which she would have been doing anyway but Ryoga didn't exactly look steady on his feet. Briefly Ranma wondered what exactly it took to get Ryoga drunk, he hardy screamed 'lightweight' with his well-built physique that had only increased with time.
Finally the last of the guests trickled out the door muttering warm goodbyes or waving merrily, some sloppily, at the newlyweds and their families. Soun closed the door on the last of them, Shampoo and her Great-Grandmother, before turning and slid down exhausted to the floor. It was a tiring day for everybody, not just the freshly reinforced couple and it showed. Even so, Akane looked about ready to drag Kasumi off for more excited talking before Nodoka placed a restraining but gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Now now Akane; this is Ranma and Kasumi's day. You can't hold them apart all night, nor should you." The younger girl smiled sheepishly before nodding and bidding the rest of her family a good night. The years had done wonders with Akane's personality, as well as more than a few trips to Yuhi. The result was a far more calm and collected Akane that wasn't quite as willing to fly of the handle at a moment's notice. Her cooking had also improved with the attitude adjustment. Ranma just smiled gratefully at his mother who in turn giving him a knowing and cheeky wink which made him more nervous than he cared to admit.
Before absolutely anything else could go wrong or interrupt the pair Ranma lifted Kasumi into his arms bridal style, now much more appropriate, and carried her off with speed few could even follow with their eyes. He ran straight out of the house and up to their favourite spot on the roof. Even after they had gotten their own apartment, then house, this roof always brought back good memories for the pair. It was where they had spent the majority of their early relationship, talking, sharing and... other things.
She had already shucked the weighty and constricting ceremonial robes for a more lightweight dress. It was white and like their first date so long ago now it flowed around her as it the wind itself was just trying to get closer to her. He smiled and she smiled back, both genuine and loving and both very much free of their past troubles. It had taken a long time and a lot of effort but Kasumi had managed to leave her family to finally venture out and live her own life.
In their relationship few words needed to be said as a thousand words could be spoken with a single glance between them, that wasn't to say they didn't enjoy their long talks out on their roof or in their bedroom or on one of their many, many dates that Ranma refused to stop. They both enjoyed each other's company and no matter what they were talking about they could find meaning and pleasure in it. Now it was just official; Ranma looked at the small, innocent enough ring on his finger, such a simple object that held such meaning and power.
He looked up smiling and took the hand she had her ring on in his own, they clinked together and Ranma immediately knew he would never get tired of hearing that sound and his gentle smile increased. They spent a good deal of time up there, thinking, planning and most of all just enjoying each other's company. That was until Kasumi gave her new husband a mischievous glance that told him all he needed to know about what his wedding night was going to really be like.
For once Ranma decided to re-evaluate his assessment of something; he decided to change the one word to describe his wedding day; perfect.
Well, thanks for reading my story, I hoped you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. :)
On a side note I'm looking for a beta for my next story which will be a Naruto/Anko pairing with smatterings of FemKyuubi. So PM me if you're interested.