We Are the Champions

"'Cause the love shack is a little old place where we can get togethe-ee-ee-er!"Ranko chuckled, shaking her head and watching Shiori and Kotone leaning into one of the dynamic microphones together on the Phoenix stage. The two girls were barely upright, they were laughing so hard through their karaoke performance.Ranko herself, meanwhile, danced in place atop a wooden bar stool on the left of the stage, another microphone in her hand. She wore the mint green dress from her birthday party. Akane had planned to take her shopping for a new outfit for tonight's victory party, but they'd decided to postpone their shopping trip until Ranko was no longer using crutches for her sprained ankle."Huggin' and a-kissin', dancin' and a-lovin'! Wearin' next to nothin', cause it's hot as an oven!""Woooooooooooo!!" Somehow, nine cheerleaders managed to make the bar seem louder than it did with a full Saturday night crowd.Akane bopped down the aisle between two rows of tables in a pink sweater and Ranko's black knee-length pleated skirt, dropping a pizza off in front of Mizuki and Etsuko. "There ya go, guys!"Tamiko swayed with the music in Yori's lap, the couple giggling together.Aoi and Tanda laughed heartily, squeezing in together around another microphone at the far corner of the stage. "Bang! Bang! Bang on the door, baby!"Ranko thumped the microphone twice on her hand. "Knock a little louder, sugar!"Hana swayed with the music, watching her youngest daughter with a satisfied smile. Gods, it was so good to see her so happy. She'd won something, and done so in such impressive fashion, but beyond that, she could see that Ranko was proud of herself. Not only had she performed the impossible stunt, but she'd also led the squad in all but name, and earned their trust and respect along the way.The old barkeep couldn't have been prouder of her.The song ended, and Ranko stood, grabbing her crutch from where it leaned on the wall behind her. With her ankle wrapped in an elastic bandage and wearing sensible tennis shoes, she didn't really need it anymore, but Hana had insisted she keep it at hand just in case her ankle started getting sore.Shiori walked slowly with her to the VIP table, as it was closest to the stage steps, staying alongside her co-captain until she was seated before joining her and Kotone at the table. Within moments, a round of sodas and a pizza was delivered by the Phoenix' newest hire, who flashed a soft, knowing smile at the redhead in the green dress. Shiori blinked, looking up just as Akane set the pizza down on the table. She could have sworn she saw something familiar.A celebratory shout rose from the back corner, by the VIP table, as Momoe and Moriko watched Kou score a bullseye on one of the two dart boards on the wall.Kotone hopped to her feet with the familiar thump of a bass riff, whooping and motioning to Ayame and Tanda. "C'mon!" She ran back up the stairs onto the stage, and the three girls began performing the dance associated with Thriller in unison as Chinatsu began to sing it.Shiori, finding herself alone at the table with Ranko, scooted closer to her. The music was loud enough that, if she spoke quietly, no one else would hear her."Hey, Ran-chan… can I, um… can I ask you something? You don't have to answer if you don't want to."Ranko nodded, still chewing a bite of pizza. "Mm-hmm."How do I approach this… Maybe I shouldn't ask, but… I've gotta know."So, you and Saburo, you aren't really…"Shaking her head vigorously as she swallowed, Ranko groaned. "Not a chance. What a creep! Speaking of which… if you don't have plans Friday night, you might want to come by. Got a little surprise planned."With a smirk, Shiori leaned in closer still. "Man, your love life sucks lately, between Saburo saying all that stuff, and… I mean, it must have been a bummer, having Eiji move on to another girl like that! And so soon!"Ranko's eyes bulged. "Whoawhoawhoa… I told you, we can't talk about him here. I'll get in trouble with my mom! But… what do you mean?"Shiori grinned. Your mother doesn't let you date, but you wrote Sneak… sure, Ranko. "Well, it seems like he's been making moves on our waitress… since she's wearing the same exact ring he gave you, and all…"Ranko coughed, sputtering soda through her nose. Ohhhhh, shit! I didn't think to tell her to take it off… what am I gonna…"Unless, of course…" Shiori gave her co-captain a knowing wink. "... he never gave it to you in the first place."Ranko flushed instantly, and Shiori had all the confirmation she needed. "I knew it! So, all that with Eiji…"The redhead nodded. "It was all a cover. Me and Akane are getting married in July. Please don't tell anyone. We've decided to keep it quiet – my record label thinks it'll be bad for sales if word gets out that I'm… not into boys.""So, Sneak was… about her?"Again, Ranko nodded. "Yeah. I really wanted to come out, have her tell her family and stuff, but once we tried, it caused all manners of hell for both of us - but especially her - and I've been trying to put the genie back in the bottle ever since. And it all would have been fine, except my dumb ass forgot to take the ring off when we came back from Christmas."Shiori giggled, shaking her head. "Goofball. And I presume she doesn't know about Eiji?"Ranko blushed, covering her face with her hands. "No, and I will positively die of embarrassment if she finds out, especially the whole thing where everybody thought I was… y'know… "Shaking her head with a laugh, Shiori swallowed a bite of pizza. "Yeah, I suppose if you'd managed to get pregnant with a girl, that'd be a neat trick. You'd certainly be famous for more than the quadruple twist!"Ranko flushed even further. Just the sound of that word was enough to make her uncomfortable. "Shiori, you're gonna get me killed…" She sighed quietly. How to say this without telling more lies to my friends?"I was talking with Eiji one day, and he said he really hated the way that girls chased him all over school. He really didn't want to deal with it anymore, and he mentioned he wished he could pretend he had a girlfriend so people would leave him alone. Well, turns out I had a great reason to pretend I had a boyfriend, so we decided we could help each other. I'm really sorry for not letting you girls in on it all, I just… I was embarrassed, ya know?"Shiori nodded, sipping at her soda. "But you didn't let Akane or your family in on it either? Why not?"Ranko turned her eyes away in embarrassment from where her lover was carrying a basket of onion rings to Ayame and Etsuko at one of the other tables. "I… I felt stupid for doing it. I felt like I was doing something wrong and I was ashamed. I don't think Akane would have like, thought I was two-timing or anything, 'cause she knows I really don't dig boys. But, I felt kind of gross about the whole thing. And then, once all the rumors started after Christmas, I could barely look anybody in the face about it. The things they said about me… I'll never unhear some of that shit."Shiori put her arm around Ranko's shoulder. "Hey. It's cool. I'm kind of bummed you didn't feel safe telling me before now, but… it's all good. Your secret's safe with me as long as you want it to be, not that the other girls would mind. You aren't the first girl on our squad to swing that way and I doubt you'll be the last. They're cool with Aoi and Ishii, and nobody's outed Tami and Yori in more than a year that they've been together." The cheerleader blushed a bit. "And… I mean, I'm all for boys and all, but, get a couple drinks in me and put me in a hot tub with a cute girl, and… stranger things have happened."Ranko blushed. Oh, I promise, Shiori, if you got me in a hot tub, you would be pretty freaking weirded out by what happened…She looked around the room at her squad. Her friends. Shiori's right. They trusted me. I should trust them. She raised her hand, waving in the direction of the bar.With a sweet smile, Akane approached the VIP table as Thriller ended. This is so ass backwards from how it normally works in here, Ranko, but I'll take it. "Hey, Ranko! Can I get you anything?"Ranko looked up at Tamiko, who was laughing cutely after kissing Yori on the nose. The smaller girl was still in Tami's lap with her arms wrapped around her neck. Saying nothing, the redhead lifted her eyes to her lover with a hopeful, questioning expression on her face.With a gentle grin, Akane gave a little nod. Go ahead, baby. If you trust them, I do.Ranko simpered softly, leaning her weight on the table and standing up. "You can get me one of these." She wrapped her arms around her lover's neck and pulled her into a kiss, to a chorus of shocked whoops from her squadmates."Hey, girls?" Ranko turned to the room, taking Akane's hand. "I want you all to meet my fiancee."