A Christmas to Remember

Akane smiled warmly from her place on Hana's loveseat, watching Ranko's newfound family interact with each other. They'd finished exchanging gifts almost an hour ago, and everyone had gone off to their own conversations. Yui, Aya and Kage were standing over by the dining table, talking about something having to do with motorcycles. Izumi and Kaito stood over the little mechanical swing in the corner, emptying cartridge after cartridge of Polaroid film as they watched their newborn daughter sleep in the creaky little contraption Hana had given them. Mei and Hana were collaborating in the kitchen, preparing to bring out another round of desserts. Ranko sat cross-legged on the floor with Hoshi in the white floral dress Akane picked for her the first day they spent together in her new life, getting a very thorough lesson in superhero lore as Hoshi's new action figures did battle in the shadow of the Christmas tree.In a way, she was sad too; it was her first Christmas away from her own family. Sure, she could have gone home to see her sisters, but as long as her father wouldn't accept Ranko for who she was, she refused to do so. She would not abandon Ranko, not even for a day, because of her father's short-sightedness. Plus, she'd never ask Ranko to stomach a Christmas dinner across the table from her own father as she was.She'd never have imagined, two years ago, that it could be the last Christmas they all would spend together. She remembered that her father had partaken of a little too much holiday cheer, and was asking for some music. Akane, being ever the dutiful daughter, took it upon herself to throw a glass of water at the sullen boy sitting in the corner of the dining room by himself, grab the feminine form he changed into by her pigtail and drag her into her bedroom, where she stuffed the poor girl into a red dress to match the one Akane wore. The girl she'd known then as Ranma sang with her and her sisters that night, and while there was no doubt she had an incredible voice, she hated every second of it, and it showed. It was almost impossible to believe now that she'd chosen that once-dour person over her own father, and how thoroughly that angry redheaded girl had since embraced her new form and her vocal art. And yet, despite how everything felt completely upside-down, it also had never felt so right.Even though she wasn't interacting with anyone, though, she didn't feel left out. She watched as the lights on the tree slowly twinkled in and out, lost in her thoughts. This must have been what it had felt like for Ranko, once, when she first met her new family and decided to leave her old life behind. When she decided that this place, with these people, was where she belonged, and decided to trust that even though she felt a little like an outsider in their midst, it wouldn't last forever. That, in time, she would be as much a part of them as they were to each other.She and Ranko had been through so much these past few months, and there had been some touch-and-go times, but every time, they'd found a way to work through it, to get stronger together, and solve whatever their problems were as a team. They'd supported each other, loved each other, and kept each other honest, and it felt good. It felt warm, and safe, and right.It was time.Exhaling nervously, Akane stood and strode the few steps to the front of the tree, stepping carefully around the box containing the small television Hana had bought the pair for their apartment. The half-meter-long white stuffed unicorn Mei had given Ranko – and that Ranko had yet to name, to Akane's great consternation – rested atop it, its neck limply cocked to the side as if it were staring at the redheaded girl on the floor in disappointment for neglecting her sacred duty. She peered over to where Ranko sat on the floor with Hoshi. "Ran-chan? Could you c'mere a second?"Blushing, Ranko stood from her seat on the floor, dusting off her backside and taking the two steps to approach her. "Sure, Akane. What's up?" Ranko leaned into her, giving her a little peck on the cheek.Akane blushed. "I, um… I have something for you. Ya know, for Christmas."Ranko tittered a bit. "You know we finished presents already, right? Were you still asleep over there?" She poked Akane's nose gently. After Ranko's gift of song, they had gone home and had a long night indeed, though Akane suspected Ranko was by far the more exhausted of the pair."No, I just…" Akane sighed. I wasn't sure I was gonna go through with it. "Ranko, I… it's like this, I…"The redhead slipped her left hand into Akane's right with a little giggle. "Hey. Relax. Why do you look so nervous? Is everything okay?"Hana reached over, taking Mei's hand with her left hand and Ayako's with her right. Maybe Ranko couldn't put it all together yet, but the elder women in the room were no fools. Izumi watched over her shoulder, catching the swing with her hand to silence its movement but rocking the device manually with her arm to keep Mioko quiet and not disrupt the pair. Hoshi looked up from the floor curiously, seeming to lose a little interest in the exploits of Spider-man for the moment.Akane could not find words as she reached into her pocket with her left hand, pulling something small out of it. Her right hand turned Ranko's wrist until her palm was upturned, and she gently placed a small, unwrapped, four-centimeter-cubed blue velvet box into her hand.Ranko blinked. It looked familiar. Too familiar. "Akane? What's…"Ranko pulled the box closer to herself and opened the hinged lid with a little creak. Inside, she found a silver ring with a thin coiled line etched around it, an infinitesimal sapphire mounted at its center flanked by four diamond chips."You… you found it." Ranko frowned a little.Akane nodded. "The night of Sneak."Ranko cringed. That hadn't exactly been the best night of their relationship. She'd never known just how close they came to splitting up that night, and how effectively the little box she'd hidden in the back of her underwear drawer had made Akane a promise that, at the time, Ranko herself could not find the words to say. It had saved them."You've known all this time?"Akane just nodded, blushing a bit."But… I bought this for you. Why are you… Akane, I don't understand. You're scaring me." Ranko looked desperately worried. Was Akane giving her back the gift she'd never been given? Did finding it upset her? Did the fact that she hadn't ever found the courage to give it to Akane hurt her too much? Was she breaking up with her? Now? On Christmas?!"No you didn't." Akane smiled, reaching into the other pocket of her forest-green jeans and pulling out another blue velvet box, popping it open with one hand to reveal an identical ring. "You bought this one."Ranko blinked. "Akane, I don't understand. What is…"Akane reached out, tucking a stray tuft of holly-red hair behind Ranko's ear with a loving gaze. "Gods, I'm sorry. I'm so clumsy at this."Her face very nearly matched Ranko's hair, especially as she began to feel the eyes of Ranko's entire family falling upon her. "Ranko, I…" She sighed quietly. "I'm gonna love you forever, you know that? I've never felt safer or more at home than I do in your arms, and I don't ever want to leave them again. I don't know what we're supposed to call it, and I don't know what happens next, given everything, but… I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you, if you'll let me."Ranko stood dumbfounded in front of the Christmas tree, limply holding the jewelry box in her hand. She was relatively certain words were being said. She might have even had some to respond with, once. But here? Now? She could only stand in silence for a moment and wait for the pieces of her shattered world to reorganize themselves into a new and more beautiful configuration.Gently plucking the box from Ranko's hand, Akane withdrew the tiny silver ring. It matched perfectly with the silver dragon coiled around Ranko's left wrist, all the way down to the sapphire. Ranko hadn't been conscious of it when she'd chosen the original ring; she just had very limited experience with jewelry. Plus, it had been all she could afford at the time.The redhead watched in slow motion as Akane took her left hand, gently sliding the ring onto Ranko's third finger. Akane mouthed a silent prayer of thanks to the gods that it fit her properly; getting an accurate ring size on a girl who didn't wear jewelry, and doing it as a surprise, was a pretty challenging affair. In the end, Akane had brought the purple gloves from Ranko's Halloween costume to the jewelry store for an approximation.Ranko finally found words. They weren't the ones she wanted, but they were something. "Akane? A... are you asking me what I think…"Hana wiped a tear from her eye. This was everything she'd ever hoped for her youngest daughter.Akane nodded, smiling. A tear ran down her cheek, too, but she had no free hand to wipe it away, as she now held both of Ranko's hands in her own."Yeah, silly girl. I guess I am. What do you say? You wanna be my wife?"She giggled nervously at the absurdity of what she'd just said and who she'd just said it to, and yet, although it was crazy and impossible and wrong by most standards, it was also the most sane and solid and right thing she'd ever felt in her life.Ranko sighed, her shoulders sagging. "More than anything, Akane. But you know we can't." She hadn't thought about the ring she'd bought for almost two months. She'd bought it as a way to soften the blow when she asked Akane to reveal their relationship, and once that happened, common sense had gotten the better of her. She knew there was no practical way to do what she would have asked Akane to do, and she'd spent the last few months feeling foolish for having ever pretended it was possible.Unable to sit idly by as Ranko's fears derailed the moment, Yui scoffed, setting down her plate and taking a few steps out of the corner by the dining table. "Says who?"The redhead turned to her older sister, frowning sadly. "The government of Japan, for one?"Izumi smiled sweetly, still bouncing her newborn daughter in her swing gently. "Ranko, honey, consider something. When Kaito and I got married, we signed a piece of paper and mailed it off to the government office. That took about two minutes. And sure, that made our marriage legally binding. But it was everything else - the vows, the rings, and the feelings, that made it a true commitment. And nobody can stop you from having any of that.""Besides," Yui said, sitting on the spot on the loveseat Akane vacated. "Where's the legal document that says you and me are sisters? There isn't one, anywhere. But gods help anybody who tries to tell me we're not. Family is about what you decide it is, kiddo."Putting his arm around his wife's waist with a grin, Ayako's husband Kage smiled warmly. "Exactly. A marriage isn't a paper. It's a promise."Her face a shade redder than her hair, Ranko turned her eyes back up to Akane's. "Well, that, I think I could do."Blinking, Akane squeezed Ranko's hands. "Baby, are you saying…"For a second, Ranko hesitated. She thought about the meaning of the word she was about to say. What it meant for her, and for Akane. Would Akane use the same word for herself or something different? Would this hurt them later? Would Akane's family tolerate it? What if Ranko's biological parents ever found out? Did either of them even care anymore?Most importantly, could she do this? Could the man among men that was once Ranma Saotome find a way to be… a blushing bride? No. He could not. Not ever. He couldn't even consider it.Luckily for Ranko and Akane both, Ranma Saotome was long dead.Ranko leaned forward, pulling Akane's hands out of the way with her own before wrapping her arms around the taller girl's neck and interrupting her sentence with a kiss on the lips."Akane, I'm saying I would love to be your wife."