บท 25: 2.01: The Morning After
Akane groaned, sitting up in the narrow bed with a yawn and a huge stretch. She leaned back, resting her shoulders against the cold white metal of the headboard. She glanced around at her surroundings, finding herself in a largely unfamiliar little studio apartment. Sunlight streamed through the lone window just beyond the small white nightstand to her right. Her eyes fell to the purple down duvet cover her legs were still under, and then to the borrowed lime green nightshirt she was wearing.
Oh. Right. I spent the night at the bar, with…
She turned her eyes down to the floor on her right, the side closest to the kitchenette, spying Ranko's old bedroll laid flat on the floor. A lavender bed sheet lay crumpled on the floor off to one side of it, and one of the pillows from the bed rested atop it in a matching cotton pillowcase.
Akane couldn't help but shake her head and smile. After the pair had sat up talking for the better part of two hours the night before, catching up on Ranko's escapades in the bar business, Ranko had insisted that Akane take the bed, even though it was technically her apartment. We're both girls; it would probably have been fine to share, Akane thought as she stretched her legs a bit under the covers. I wonder if she was just trying to be polite to a guest, or… She blushed, able to think of only one other reason for such a gesture. I mean, it couldn't be something like…
Akane's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a flushing toilet, and she turned to her left to identify the source of the noise. The bathroom door crammed into the corner of the little apartment opened, and Akane's former betrothed came through it into the main room of the apartment in a pale yellow nightdress with ruffles along the edges of the sleeves and hem. It was almost indecently short on the redhead's legs, owing to it having once belonged to the much-shorter Mei.
"Oh, hey, Akane! Morning! Sorry! I didn't wake you, did I?" Ranko blushed, lightly brushing the matted curtain of red hair out of her eyes with her fingers. "Not used to sharing a room with anybody anymore, I guess."
Akane smiled, crinkling her nose and shaking her head. "You're fine. What time is it?"
Ranko grinned in return, smoothing out her nightdress. "About ten thirty. It's pretty easy to sleep in when you live on bar hours." She bent down, picking up her sheet and pillow. As she did, her emerald green hipster panties came into full view under the poorly-fitting nightgown.
Wow, Akane thought, blushing and turning away. Girls' underwear? She really is serious about this, I guess. She hid her face behind her hand, cringing a little at the time. "I should… probably be getting home."
Ranko dropped the pillow on the bed at Akane's feet, balling up the sheet and jamming it down into the yellow plastic laundry hamper. "Sure, if you want, I guess. But it was already pretty late when you called your dad and told him you'd be staying the night, so he's probably not expecting you home super early anyway. If you wanna hang out a while longer, that is." She knelt on the floor, beginning to roll her sleeping mat.
Biting her lip slightly, Akane nodded, trying not to notice her cheeks warming as the room's other occupant bent over the bedroll on her hands and knees. "I probably shouldn't stay too late, if that's okay. I have a lot of homework and stuff to do this weekend."
The redhead nodded in her disappointment as she buckled the last of the straps around her bedroll, rocking up from her knees to her bare feet. She opened the narrow closet door next to the bathroom door, tossing the cushion on the top shelf. "You hungry?"
Akane was surprised to see the number of dresses that hung in the closet. Apparently last night's outfit wasn't a one-time thing, either. Who even are you anymore? She blushed a little more, nodding as Ranko closed the closet door and turned to face her. "What did you have in mind? Anything good around here?"
Before Akane finished her sentence, Ranko had crossed the small room and her head was buried in her little refrigerator. She emerged momentarily with a handful of eggs, setting them gently on the counter of her little kitchenette and watching them for a moment to ensure they didn't roll off.
"Wait, you…" Akane gestured to the ingredients being assembled on the counter. Since when does she know how to cook? Did she actually pay attention to that ridiculous training Kasumi put her through?
Ranko looked over her shoulder with a grin, her cheeks flushing a bit as well. "Yeah, yeah. I know. It's new. Don't get too excited; I'm not very good at it." She filled a small rice cooker with a few scoops of dry rice and water, closing it and turning it on. The little device had been a lifesaver, as getting too close to boiling water given the Full-Body Cat Tongue - and the potential of a masculine body bursting out of her hand-me-down nightdress at the slightest splash - was not especially her favorite thing of late.
She poured a small quantity of sesame oil into a small skillet, turning the burner on and taking a step back while it heated. Normally, she would have opened the window to help keep the radiant heat from the small gas cooktop at bay, but she could feel the chill of the early December morning just walking past the double-paned glass, and she didn't want to make Akane uncomfortable. "You sleep okay?"
Akane nodded, though Ranko didn't see it while facing the cooking surface. "Yeah. This is a really cute little apartment. I kinda like it." She motioned to a cheap canvas featuring a still life print of a pale pink vase full of orchids that hung in a white wooden frame over the headboard. "I'm guessing you didn't do the decor."
Bobbing her head in reply, Ranko shrunk back a bit shyly as her cheeks reddened even further. Stop that, face! Sheesh! "Yeah, it's been great. Hana invited me to stay here after my first shift at the bar. It's kinda been weird living alone, though. Before I left your place, I hadn't slept a night in ten years without havin' to listen to Pop snore."
Akane frowned a bit, not expecting to like the answer to her next question. "Where were you staying… before that?"
Ranko cracked an egg carefully into the skillet, the sizzle of the oil masking the sound of her sigh. Her shoulders slumped over the handle of the frying pan. "Oh, ya know. Here and there. Wherever I felt like crashing. Having all your stuff in one backpack does have its advantages."
The redhead may have hoped it would sound like an adventure, but Akane knew it was far more likely to have been a prolonged nightmare for her once-intended. The poor thing, all alone, and… it's been so cold. She didn't even have a blanket. How did…
"Ran…" Akane sighed and self-corrected before she could make a mistake. Her new name is going to take some getting used to, she reminded herself. But I have to try. "I'm… sorry you had to go through that for so long."
Ranko shook her head dismissively, nudging the egg in the skillet with a red plastic spatula to see if it was close to being ready. Seeing that it was not, she turned to face Akane. "Ahh, you don't need to be sorry for nothin', Akane. It was my choice to leave. I'm the dummy who ran off without a plan in the middle of the night. Yeah, it wasn't easy, but I'm glad I ended up where I am, even if I had to take the long way to get here." The rice cooker played a few cheerful digitized chimes as she finished her sentence, and she turned back to the counter.
"Can I help with anything?" Akane threw the duvet cover off of her legs, shivering a little as she swung her legs off of the bed. Gods, with the Cat's Tongue, she must be freezing wearing that.
A nervous chuckle came from the smaller girl as she darted around the tiny cookspace. "I, uh… I think I got it. Thanks, though!"
Nodding, the raven-haired girl stood from the bed, pulling the duvet cover back up and straightening the pillows against the headboard. I guess she wants to wash the sheet. "Have you thought about what comes next for you?"
Ranko cocked her head as she scooped half the rice from the rice cooker into a yellow plastic bowl and splashed it with soy sauce. "Whaddya mean?"
Turning her back to Ranko, Akane pulled the borrowed nightshirt off over her head and placed it in the hamper. She opened the closet, reaching for the hanger bearing the white shirt of her school uniform. It was nice of her to hang this up after I fell asleep, Akane thought with a soft smile over the sound of chopping on a wooden cutting board. She must've remembered how easily it wrinkles. "I mean, you can't be a waitress in a bar forever, can you? All of your plans have changed. Do you know what you want long-term?" She pulled her shirt from the hanger and slipped it on over her head, reaching for her teal pinafore.
Ranko added a small pat of butter to the bowl and then carefully lifted the fried egg from the skillet with the spatula, placing it atop the butter to help it melt. She chuckled as she used the side of the knife she'd chopped the scallions with to scoop them from the cutting board on the counter into the bowl. She wished she had some nori to add, but she hadn't been shopping since tagging along with Mei almost a week prior. I guess she can't be too upset. It's not like I was expecting company, least of all… "I'm still trying to figure out what I want tomorrow. All of this is still so new to me." Ranko picked up the bowl and laid a pair of red lacquered chopsticks over it, placing it on the little dinette table.
Akane finished dressing, made her way over to the small wooden table, and sat down in one of the two white pine chairs.
As she did, Ranko cracked another egg into the skillet, closing the rice cooker to keep its contents warm. "I'm honestly pretty shocked by the way all of this feels. I never thought I could be okay like this, and… I mean, it's still hard, every day. It still feels weird. Like, almost like a dream, but like, one of those super vivid ones you have, like, when you have a fever or something. But… I think it helps that Hana and the girls don't know about… ya know, everything." She gestured to her body. "So, they don't treat me like a guy in a girl's body, they just treat me normal, and I think it's helping me get used to it, too."
Akane nodded as Ranko filled the ceramic tea kettle with water and turned the burner under it on, waiting to pick up her chopsticks until her hostess could join her at the table. "Are you ever going to tell them? About Jusenkyo, I mean?"
Ranko turned, looking a little saddened by the thought. "I don't know. Part of me wants to, and part of me doesn't. I feel like I'm being dishonest by not telling them everything, but it feels so good to not be the weirdo for a change. And I…" She sighed heavily, letting her words trail off because she wasn't entirely sure how she wanted the sentence to end.
Her houseguest nodded in understanding. "You're afraid they'll think less of you if they find out, aren't you?"
Ranko nodded slowly. She turned to check her egg, and as she nudged it in the skillet, she heard the scrape of a wooden chair on the floor, followed by the feel of Akane's hand on her shoulder.
"Hey. It's going to be okay. You should have heard the way Izumi was talking about you. They seem to really care about you." Akane rubbed the redhead's back gently through the thin cotton nightdress.
Ranko gave another gentle sigh, shivering a little at Akane's soft touch on her ever-sensitive skin. Her whole body froze for a moment, and she stopped moving the spatula in her hand. That feels so…
"I… I hope so. I'm starting to feel like I'm a part of something here, and I'd pretty much given up hope of ever feeling like that. So, if it falls through now…" She turned her head, forcing her lips to smile between her neon red cheeks. "C'mon, your breakfast's gonna get cold."
Akane smiled brightly, catching the hint. "Right! It smells great!" She returned to her seat as Ranko finished composing her own bowl and carried her breakfast and the whistling tea kettle to the table. She felt a momentarily twinge of jealousy with the first bite of her breakfast. How dare she, having basically never cooked before, be so much better at it than me?! Akane did her best to swallow the feelings and the food at the same time, putting on a bright smile. "It's really good! Thanks!"
Ranko blushed. "I'm glad, because I'm pretty sure almost made chickens go extinct with all the eggs I burned before I got it right." She lifted a bit of rice and a sliver of egg white to her lips with her chopsticks.
The elder girl giggled, pouring the hot water from the white ceramic kettle into the waiting black teapot. Somehow, I'm guessing she'd prefer not to handle boiling water these days. "When do you start work?"
Ranko rolled her chopsticks in the air in a just a second gesture as she finished chewing, swallowing her food before speaking. "Noon, usually, but I let the girls know I might be down a little later today since you're here."
So much about her is different. She doesn't talk with her mouth full. She doesn't eat like she thinks somebody's gonna take her bowl away. She… smiles. She's like a whole new person. Akane shook her head, looking away as her cheeks flushed. "Oh, don't be late because of me. I don't wanna get you in trouble. I can find my way to the train station on my own."
Ranko nodded and swallowed her last bite of egg, a gentle smile crossing her lips at the sight of Akane's reddening cheeks. "If you're sure." She had to admit, there was a part of her that wished Akane would stay, but she knew that every moment her old and new worlds continued to intersect had tremendous potential for disaster. Still, is this what it's like, being a couple? Waking up, making breakfast, talking about your plans for the day? Nobody fighting over the last rice ball? Nobody getting tossed in the pond? Nobody getting cracked over the head with the dining table? It feels… normal. It feels nice. Realizing she was allowing herself to think of herself and Akane as a couple, Ranko blushed furiously as well. Don't be stupid, Ranko. It could never happen. Not now. Not anymore.
Akane stood, picking up both empty bowls and teacups and flashing a warm smile at the seated redhead. "Thanks again for breakfast, Ranko."
Her hostess rocketed to her feet, almost knocking her chair over to the floor in her hurry. "I can get that, Akane! You're a guest."
Akane waved the redhead off as she set the items in the sink and turned the faucet on. "Oh, come on. You cooked; I can do this. Besides, you still gotta get dressed."
Ranko looked down at herself, blushing further still. She'd almost forgotten what she was wearing. She was getting used to dressing more femininely, but around Akane, she felt some of her old embarrassment creeping into her mind. Is it because I don't want her seeing me as a girl, or because I…
"Yeah, you're right, I guess. Thanks." The redhead walked to her closet, opening it and searching in vain for one of her more androgynous outfits. I gotta stop waiting until the last minute to do laundry, she thought with a sigh.
Akane glanced over her companion's shoulder as she placed a teacup in the white plastic rack suspended over the sink to dry. "I like the white one."
Shit, Ranko thought, leaning on the white-painted wooden frame of the closet door. I'm getting dizzy from all of my blood being in my freakin' face at the same time. She glanced up at the floral lace dress she had worn on her birthday, when Izumi took her shopping. That's… not exactly what I had in mind. Her voice crept up an octave as she squeaked out a quiet "Yeah?"
Akane nodded, dropping the newly-cleaned spatula in the dish draining rack. "Yeah! It's super cute!"
Ranko pulled the lace dress she'd worn on her birthday out of the closet tentatively. "If you think so." Not sure if Akane's just issuing a challenge to see if I'm willing to wear stuff like that in front of her, or if she really does like it, she mused. Either way, the decision was made. She turned her back to the kitchenette, pulling her nightdress over her head and tossing it into the hamper atop the lavender bed sheet and the nightshirt Akane had borrowed. She reached up to the single wooden shelf at the top of the closet, past her bedroll, for her black bra. Before she pulled it out, though, she paused and reconsidered her decision. Izumi said dark colors look bad when ya wear 'em under light-colored outfits. I swear, it's gotta be easier to fly a space shuttle than dress like a girl. She pulled out her white bra instead, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.
Akane turned to say something, but stopped mid-inhale once she saw Ranko was changing. She snapped her head back to the sink, her cheeks aflame. I didn't mean to peek! Crap! Since she had in fact peeked nonetheless, she couldn't stop herself from feeling a little surprised at the fact that Ranko was wearing bras of her own volition.
Ranko slipped the dress on, pulling the zipper up. "There, how's that?"
Akane put the last bowl in the dish drainer, turning slowly. She still felt a bit lightheaded. Her eyes and smile both widened at the sight of the redhead. "Wow… that… really is pretty on you."
The redhead's face instantly warmed enough to boil another kettle of water. She didn't know if Akane calling her pretty made her want to smile with pride, or hide under the bed. Maybe a little of both. "Thanks," Ranko squeaked nervously.
It was still so weird to her how much people paid attention to what girls wore. As a guy, she'd worn the same shirt and pants almost every day and no one seemed to care, but when she dressed like a girl, she felt like she was always on a judging stand to be rated by everybody. She couldn't deny that she was starting to enjoy the compliments when she got them, but the whole practice felt a little invasive to her. Still, getting any sort of affirmation from Akane was a treat, and she appreciated it.
Akane beamed at the young redhead in white. Gods, she really is… cute. Back at home, whenever Ranma had dressed up as a girl, it always used to infuriate Akane. In her mind, Ranma was making a mockery of their engagement – and of her – and the constant reminders that Ranma's feminine form was better built than Akane's didn't help matters much. Until the night before, Akane had never given her once-betrothed the satisfaction of admitting that she agreed with the redhead's assessment that she was the prettier girl. But now, the sight of the beaming redhead in the white lace dress pocked with embroidered roses brought a legitimate smile to her lips. For a split second, she imagined what it would be like to see Ranko in a wedding dress, before the blood flow to her face flooded the thought from her mind as quickly as it had come.
Finishing brushing her hair in the bathroom mirror, Ranko scooped her loose tresses back over her ear. She fastened the white bow clip Izumi had given her on her birthday into her hair to keep it out of her eyes, beaming at herself in the mirror. Izumi had given her a small makeup kit, too, but she hadn't yet felt brave enough to even try and dig into it, and she certainly wasn't feeling brave enough to take it for its maiden voyage in front of Akane. "There. Presentable enough, I guess," she called through the open bathroom door.
Akane laughed loudly. "I'll say."
Gods, she is so pretty. It's not even fair…
"You, uh, about ready to head downstairs?" Akane looked around at the room for the thermostat; she hadn't seen Ranko adjust it, but it definitely felt warmer in the apartment than it had a few moments ago.
Ranko nodded with a smile and reached for the little purse hanging from the closet door knob. "Do you need cash for the bus or anything?"
The elder girl shook her head. "I'm fine, but thanks."
Ranko slipped on her black flats and opened the door, beginning to make her way down the steps with Akane following close behind. The pair emerged into the hallway joining the bar to the kitchen, and Ranko turned left, leading Akane into the main bar area.
There, they found Yui already slicing oranges for the night's service. "Oi! Morning, Ranko! Akane, good to see you." She wore an absolutely devious grin that made both of the younger girls blush again.
"Hey, Yui," Ranko replied flatly as she held the blue wooden door open for Akane. "Wipe that smirk off your face. I know what you're thinking."
Akane could only wave, almost facefaulting at the implied insinuation. Does she think that we actually…
Ranko led Akane to the glass double doors at the front of the bar, resting her hand on its brass bar handle. "It really was good to see you, Akane. Thank you for coming. And, you know, not killing me."
Her guest chuckled, shaking her head. "You're welcome. It was nice to see you, too. Really nice. I'll come back again soon?"
The redhead nodded with a bright smile. She seemed to grow three centimeters as her posture straightened in excitement and hope, her eyes sparkling like a puppy that had just been promised a treat. "I'd really like that!"
"Sounds good. See you soon, Ranko! Bye, Yui!" Akane waved, wiggling her fingers as she pushed through the door into the street.
Ranko turned toward the interior of the bar, resting the back of her head on the glass door with a happy sigh and a smile that outshone the nearly noonday sun on the sidewalk beyond.
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