Akane opens her mouth, so sure that she's going to say 'a dress' but what comes out instead is, "Is there any way to have both? Not--like a women's business suit," she says. "But. I don't know. I had this outfit back home that was a lot like a man's suit on top, but the bottom half was a miniskirt and I-- I kinda think I looked really good that way?" (Even Ranma had thought she looked good. Well, 'almost halfway cute for a tomboy' which was high praise from Ranma when it came to her.)
"One of my friends went to her wedding dressed in something like that, so it should be perfectly fine. I can already tell you're going to absolutely rock that outfit."
Granted, Ruby and Sapphire had been wearing a dress and a tux respectively before Garnet fused, but, y'know. Same diff.
Akane's face heats up even more. She knows that some people think she's pretty. That was part of why she'd had to fight so many boys every morning, after all. But it feels different when Connie says it.
"I'm glad I'm going with you," she says. "I really am."
"Me too." Connie reaches under the table to hold Akane's hand, but hesitates at the last moment. Is that too personal? Is she getting too close? None of her weeb knowledge is helping her here! "I haven't felt this close with... anybody in a long time. Even my family here, they- well. It's different when you're with somebody your own age." Despite being separated by four decades.
"So thanks for being m-" No. Friend wasn't the right word, not quite. Maybe? "Thanks for being here, with me. Having somebody like you in my corner after so long... it means a lot. Really."
Words are normally Connie's strong suit, but not today.
The nice thing about them both being girls is that it's okay to hold hands. It doesnt mean what it would if Connie were a boy. After a moment, when she realizes that Connie's not going to take her hand, Akane takes Connie's instead.
"It does," Akane says, softly. "I've got friends at school, but they don't really understand a lot of the most important things in my life. So they just-- can't always be there for me like this. Before I found out about Ranma being a boy, I'd wanted him to be that person, but." She shakes her head. "And I might be friendly sometimes with his other fiancees, but we can't be real friends, not with him between us."
Akane. You do remember you haven't told Connie about your engagement, right?
The look on Connie's face right now is... even Connie can't describe the emotions she's feeling. But there sure are a lot of them, and they include a hefty amount of surprise.
"I mean, you talked about them, but you never even told me you were engaged to Ranma!"
"I mean, it wasn't our idea!" Akane says, feeling the old panic rise up in her again. "Our fathers decided on it! So they could combine the schools! And Ranma could get the dojo! Because I guess I couldn't inherit it on my own or something," she adds bitterly.
Connie opens her mouth to say... something. Probably another question, or an exclamation of indignation and/or disbelief. She doesn't even know, and her thoughts (curse her stupid smart brain) switch tracks before she gets a chance to articulate them.
Everything Akane's said about Ranma, all the rambling anecdotes about the more mundane aspects of their relationship, the secret fondness in her voice and eyes whenever she talked about him- it all makes sense now.
Connie's hand falls away. "But you love him anyways, right?"
Akane just... stares at Connie. For the longest time. Her mouth opens. Closes. Opens again. Closes just as silently.
"Why would I love that stupid, perverted jerk?" she says, finally, looking away from Connie. "All he ever does is make fun of me and refuse to take me seriously... and spends his time with me, more than he does anyone else. And tries to cheer me up when I'm sad and helps me when I'm hurt and saves my life. All the time. Just-- just before I came here. He saved my life. And-- and they were finally going to have the wedding. Right before second year started. We got back from China and I'd agreed to go through with it... and then Shampoo and Ukyo showed up and started throwing-- I think they were bombs they'd made out of food-- and everything went to hell. And after, they said we weren't going to be married until all the other engagements were sorted out. So we went to school together... and I woke up here. Without him. At the fake mother's house."
Connie appraises Akane for a few moments, expression unreadable.
Then she smiles.
How genuine it is is up for debate. Even Connie doesn't know.
"I'm happy for you, then. Your relationship sounds... really weird, even by my standards," Connie laughs airily, "but it sounds like you two are good for one another." Beat. "I- I don't mean to rub salt in the wound! I just... well, that makes it all the more urgent to find a way to get us all back home, right?"
Why is she disappointed? She shouldn't be disappointed. What on Earth is wrong with her?
"I miss him a lot," Akane admits, "but-- sometimes I don't? I miss having him around, but I don't miss... all the chaos that follows in his wake. And how he always has to be the best at everything, even when it's stupid. And I don't miss... I don't miss how I was just 'Ranma's fiance' after a while? I mean, it felt like it didn't matter what I could do as a martial artist. I mattered more as-- someone attached to him. I couldn't even really be friends with Ukyo because Mr Saotome arranged a marriage for Ranma with her too as a way to steal her father's okonomiyaki cart--and I wanted to be friends with her! She was a fighter too and she was cute and nice--but she was Ranma's 'cute fiancee' and childhood friend and I was just-- The uncute tomboy." She makes a little 'heh' sound. "Never mind that Ukyo spent half her life pretending to be a guy because of how the Saotomes dishonored her. I'm still the tomboy."
Part of Connie's brain wonders who in their right mind would call Akane a tomboy, but comforting her very good, dear, amazing, pretty, best friend takes precedence over that.
(Another, slightly larger part of her still can't get over how comically awful Ranma's life is, but again. Akane first.)
"That's... that's horrible, Akane. I'm so sorry." Connie sighs, looking down at the table. "You know, when I met Universe, I was really excited at first. The world he brought me into was amazing, full of magic and monsters and aliens... I lived an unbearably boring life before then, which," Connie snorts, "I imagine almost sounds appealing to you, but I was just a kid back then."
You're almost sixteen right now, Connie. You're still a kid.
"And then I almost died the first time, and I realized that it wasn't all fun and games. I wasn't some invincible- god, I'm rambling about myself again, I'm sorry. It's just... I wouldn't trade my days with Universe for everything, but I understand what it's like. Cherishing someone but not everything they bring with them."
"Was Steven Universe your boyfriend?" Akane asks softly. Connie doesn't exactly talk about Steven Universe the way she talks about Ranma, a mix of exasperation, ruefulness, and fondness... but she doesn't not talk about him that way either? And she said she cherished him. Which was the kind of thing you wouldn't say about a boy unless you were dating.
(You could say that about a girl more easily, Akane thinks. After all, she cherishes her time with Connie. But things were different with girls. You could be close with girls and not have to worry they were going to take advantage of it to pull something funny.)
"Yeah," Akane says softly. "I understand that." She glances down at her hands and back up to Connie. "I guess if he never finds this world and I don't go home, he'll end up with Ukyo. He liked her best of the other two and they were childhood friends. Not that he and I weren't friends by the end? We were, really important friends for each other, even if... we never really said it. Just like he never said anything about how he felt about me until I almost died. But I don't know. Childhood friends are probably different. And-- it would be good if one of Mr Saotome's broken promises got made right. But-- I don't know."
She bites her lip.
"Is it awful that I don't want to go home anytime soon? It's just-- easier here. Less trouble."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the outfit is from the doco 2nd album cover, ranma's commentary is something i made up
"So. You know. If I can do that?"
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Granted, Ruby and Sapphire had been wearing a dress and a tux respectively before Garnet fused, but, y'know. Same diff.
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SOMETIMES I REALLY HATE THESE TWO, YOU KNOW.
Re: SOMETIMES I REALLY HATE THESE TWO, YOU KNOW.
"I'm glad I'm going with you," she says. "I really am."
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"So thanks for being m-" No. Friend wasn't the right word, not quite. Maybe? "Thanks for being here, with me. Having somebody like you in my corner after so long... it means a lot. Really."
Words are normally Connie's strong suit, but not today.
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"It does," Akane says, softly. "I've got friends at school, but they don't really understand a lot of the most important things in my life. So they just-- can't always be there for me like this. Before I found out about Ranma being a boy, I'd wanted him to be that person, but." She shakes her head. "And I might be friendly sometimes with his other fiancees, but we can't be real friends, not with him between us."
Akane. You do remember you haven't told Connie about your engagement, right?
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"I mean, you talked about them, but you never even told me you were engaged to Ranma!"
Her hand slips free of Akane's.
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Everything Akane's said about Ranma, all the rambling anecdotes about the more mundane aspects of their relationship, the secret fondness in her voice and eyes whenever she talked about him- it all makes sense now.
Connie's hand falls away. "But you love him anyways, right?"
FINAL MANGA VOLUME SPOILERS
"Why would I love that stupid, perverted jerk?" she says, finally, looking away from Connie. "All he ever does is make fun of me and refuse to take me seriously... and spends his time with me, more than he does anyone else. And tries to cheer me up when I'm sad and helps me when I'm hurt and saves my life. All the time. Just-- just before I came here. He saved my life. And-- and they were finally going to have the wedding. Right before second year started. We got back from China and I'd agreed to go through with it... and then Shampoo and Ukyo showed up and started throwing-- I think they were bombs they'd made out of food-- and everything went to hell. And after, they said we weren't going to be married until all the other engagements were sorted out. So we went to school together... and I woke up here. Without him. At the fake mother's house."
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Then she smiles.
How genuine it is is up for debate. Even Connie doesn't know."I'm happy for you, then. Your relationship sounds... really weird, even by my standards," Connie laughs airily, "but it sounds like you two are good for one another." Beat. "I- I don't mean to rub salt in the wound! I just... well, that makes it all the more urgent to find a way to get us all back home, right?"
Why is she disappointed? She shouldn't be disappointed. What on Earth is wrong with her?
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(Another, slightly larger part of her still can't get over how comically awful Ranma's life is, but again. Akane first.)
"That's... that's horrible, Akane. I'm so sorry." Connie sighs, looking down at the table. "You know, when I met Universe, I was really excited at first. The world he brought me into was amazing, full of magic and monsters and aliens... I lived an unbearably boring life before then, which," Connie snorts, "I imagine almost sounds appealing to you, but I was just a kid back then."
You're almost sixteen right now, Connie. You're still a kid.
"And then I almost died the first time, and I realized that it wasn't all fun and games. I wasn't some invincible- god, I'm rambling about myself again, I'm sorry. It's just... I wouldn't trade my days with Universe for everything, but I understand what it's like. Cherishing someone but not everything they bring with them."
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(You could say that about a girl more easily, Akane thinks. After all, she cherishes her time with Connie. But things were different with girls. You could be close with girls and not have to worry they were going to take advantage of it to pull something funny.)
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"We... were. It's complicated. He went back home before I got the chance to talk things out and- I don't know. Like I said, it's complicated."
sound familiar, akane,
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She bites her lip.
"Is it awful that I don't want to go home anytime soon? It's just-- easier here. Less trouble."
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"No, it isn't. Awful, I mean. I kinda feel the same way too, to be honest."
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"It's a good thing we're here, then. And we've got each other.
wrap?
"Yeah. Yeah we do."
...
"We should probably order ice cream soon, huh?"
wrap~
And if she might imagine from time to time that there's a pigtailed girl sitting at the table with them... well. Nobody has to know.