Chapter Text
It had not been hard to carry Ranma up to the bathroom, and once Akane was sure Ranma wouldn't pass out by the time she finished undressing, she started back towards her bedroom to get the pair's pyjamas to change into, only to stop at the door back out into the hall.
"Do you know what you want to sleep in tonight, or do you need me to pick?" Akane feels like she's pushing an already overtaxed Ranma, but it's better if Ranma knows what she wants. It's a long few seconds before she hears Ranma's response.
"The pink ones?" Ranma still sounds exhausted, but at least that choice wasn't too much?
"With the narutomaki patterns?"
"Mhm."
"Alright. I'll be right back."
Akane closed the door behind her and started walking again, only to hear the door to the changing area slide open again.
"Um, 'Kane, could you get the soap too?"
Akane turned back to see her tired girlfriend leaning out the door, tits out and (Akane suspected) completely unaware that's what she was doing. Still, Akane blushed rather red, despite the fact that they were about to bathe together. There was something about contexts for such things totally slipping her mind right now, but at least she was not responding to the fact that she found Ranma hot with violence anymore. She'd managed to make progress there at least.
"Right, got it, I'll be right back!" The words came out a little faster and more intense than she had intended, and she swears she could hear Ranma blink as she dashed for her bedroom.
Akane took thirty seconds to breathe and recover before grabbing the pyjamas, then rummaging through Ranma's pile of clothes on the floor for the waterproof soap. It wasn't the first time she'd forgotten it when in a rush to get to enjoying their weekend, and that was one of the reasons Kasumi was entrusted with the stash.
The fact that not even Nabiki or Happosai would enter Kasumi's bedroom without permission helped protect it from Mr Saotome. She just wished she knew how Kasumi managed it. A mystery for another time.
When she got back to the antechamber that separated the bathroom from everything else, it was already empty. Taking another few moments to change and put her dirty clothes in the hamper, Akane stepped into the bathroom to see Ranma already rinsing herself with cold water.
"Found the soap," Akane said, using it as a casual announcement that she was there in case Ranma was too out of it to notice. Based on the way she saw Ranma tense up, she hadn't. Not a surprise. "I'll get your back for you, okay?"
"Thanks, 'Kane."
There had been days where bathing together was more of a pretense for fooling around, or attempts at quiet, uninterrupted intimacy. This was not one of those times. Akane applied the waterproof soap to Ranma's back gently but efficiently. Ranma was anxious about physical shows of affection at the best of times, and Akane found it hard to blame her. Even for Akane there had been so much pressure and nonsense around their romance that when they finally kissed properly for the first time it was a short, chaste thing that still left Ranma blushing. It would probably take a long time before they got much further than light touching.
More and more Akane wished that they didn't have all the hangups that got in the way of basic intimacy. Hangups they'd both reinforced in each other so much that it was a wonder they ever got this far.
"Hey, uh, could you hand me the soap? I've still gotta do my front."
Ranma's voice jolts her out of her ruminations. "Oh, sorry! Here!"
While Ranma finished applying the waterproof soap, Akane took the opportunity to rinse herself off and prepare herself for the bath. The bathtime rituals were simple enough, and Akane found herself eager to just sit and soak for a while.
Still, one task remained before they could do that. "Are you ready for your hair?" Akane asked, turning to Ranma, and Ranma turned back to her to give Akane a nod.
Akane wet down Ranma's hair with warm water, that in and of itself a test to make sure the soap was working. Given the gorgeous head of red hair in front of her, it was. She poured a healthy amount of shampoo into her hand from their shared bottle- this was one of the few times where Ranma could indulge in femininity and Mr Saotome would unknowingly support it. After all, he deeply understood the value of hair and the value of not paying for expensive products of your own.
Akane took the opportunity to massage Ranma's scalp, and she felt the girl lean into her hands, a barely noticeable purring like rumble coming up from Ranma's throat that Akane was always careful not to mention.
Not long after that, she had to stop and rinse it out, before applying conditioner. While she left it to work, her hands moved down to Ranma's shoulders, and she could feel the tension. She started to rub Ranma's shoulders, warming them up before starting to massage them.
In this, she was not particularly gentle, but that was in part because she needed to apply a fair bit of pressure to get any response, and Ranma just leaned a bit more into her hands in response. Neither of them were physically fragile, and while Ranma was more durable, Akane had more raw strength. Sometimes, this came in handy, like now as she managed to release Ranma's shoulders muscles a little. Hopefully the soak would help with the rest.
She picked up the showerhead, and rinsed the conditioner out of Ranma's hair, Ranma tilting her head back without any words being spoken between them. It was nice, being in sync in these little ways. Akane stood, offering Ranma a hand up, and Ranma took it and kept her hand in Akane's until they had both lowered into the pleasant heat of the house's large bath.
She felt Ranma settling next to her, the redhead snuggling into Akane's side, her head slipping comfortably into the crook of Akane's neck. They just sat like that for a while, letting the warmth permeate their bodies. It was deeply pleasant, and Akane was suddenly aware that she'd have to make sure neither of them fell asleep in the bath. Despite that new minor problem, Akane was enjoying just sitting there, letting the heat ease the tension in her body.
She wasn't sure how long she was enjoying it when Ranma's voice broke the silence, quiet and tired. "It was weird, right?"
Akane blinked, and she glanced down at Ranma, who was staring at the opposite wall. "What do you mean?"
Ranma didn't move. "Tryin' to be all... housewifey."
"It kinda was. It seemed like you weren't enjoying yourself as much." Akane said. "You want to talk about it?"
Ranma shook her head against Akane's shoulder, and Akane expected that to be that but Ranma kept talking.
"I just... I dunno. The clothes weren't bad, and maybe I'd try the skirt again, but..." Ranma seemed to pause, mulling over what she wanted to say. Akane didn't jump in, as much as she wanted to. She needed to give Ranma time to gather her thoughts, as uncomfortable as the silence was. That didn't mean she couldn't do anything, wrapping an arm around Ranma's shoulder, and giving her a little squeeze of support.
Eventually, Ranma spoke up again. "I thought... Maybe, if I could be a girl like Kasumi, like Ma wanted Ranko to be, maybe..." Her voice trailed off, but Akane could understand the rest.
"Dummy." There was no venom in Akane's voice as she hugged Ranma tighter. She understood the pain too well. Trying to be someone you aren't for someone to love you. And she knew too well the ache for the love of a mother. Unfortunately... Auntie Saotome really was the sort of woman who would marry Genma Saotome. It was honestly a wonder Ranma was as good a person as she was, given those two.
Akane could feel Ranma practically shrink into her arms. The whole situation sucked. Honestly, Akane wanted to solve this whole thing with a letter of challenge, but Ranma really didn't want to risk her mom getting hurt.
"She'll come around." Akane said, resting her head on Ranma's. "She loved you when you were Ranko, she'll love her daughter as much when you're ready to tell her."
She knew Ranma wasn't as hopeful, she could feel it in the way Ranma tensed up. Akane wasn't confident herself, if she was honest. After all, Mrs Saotome was still carrying that katana around, even though she had said the contract was fulfilled.
They couldn't ruminate on this. If they did. Ranma could probably master the Shishi Hokodan tonight.
"You wanna get out of the bath yet?" Akane asked, the attempted change in topic about as subtle as trying to drive a semi truck across the tracks of Ranma's train of thought.
Ranma nodded again into Akane's shoulder. Akane stood first, and led Ranma out of the bath, handing her a towel to dry off before doing the same for herself. Before long, they had changed into their pyjamas- Akane's comfy yellow ones, and Ranma into her slightly too big pink set. The sleeves extended over her hands a little, and the shirt was too long, making Ranma look even smaller than she already was.
"You look adorable, you know that?"
That comment got a little grin out of Ranma, along with a blush. "Well, cuteness is justice and all."
Akane shook her head. The fact that Azusa Shiratori's school council president bid at Kolhotz had breached containment and somehow become an interschool martial arts debating competition that ballooned into Furinkan, St Hebereke and Kolhotz all suffering severe structural damage and Principal Kuno's hair clippers being taken and renamed 'Rosencrantz'. Ranma and Akane had managed to stay on the periphery of that mess, but Nabiki still insisted they keep her apprised so she could make a killing taking bets
"You're only saying that because she didn't catch you, 'Rosalie'."
Ranma sticks out her tongue and for a moment it looks like the weight of everything has decided to ease off for a bit, and she's back to her old self.
But it doesn't last, and Akane can see the exhaustion set back in. "Ah crap. I still gotta clean up from dinner, and-" Enough is enough. It's time for Akane to intervene. Akane moves with a sudden and unexpected speed, sweeping Ranma into a princess carry again. "H-hey! Lemme down!"
"Nope. You left decision making to me, and my decision is you need to stop working and call it a night." Akane started back toward their room, and Ranma gave a little pout, but Akane could feel Ranma settling into a comfortable position in her arms.
"Kasumi's gonna be upset if we get ants," came Ranma's halfhearted response, even as she was reaching to open the bedroom door as Akane approached it.
"I'll deal with them after we've gotten you comfortable. I can manage that much."
"Fiiiine."
Akane lowered Ranma onto the bed, and moved to go and deal with the aftermath of dinner, only to feel a hand grabbing hers, and Ranma looking up at her with puppy dog eyes.
"You said after I'm comfy, right?"
Akane let out a sigh and slipped into the bed alongside Ranma, the redhead pulling the covers over the both of them, shifting around to find the perfect position. After a few moments, she settled again, resting her head on Akane's chest, draping one arm lazily over Akane's stomach.
"Comfy yet?" Akane asked, once Ranma stopped fidgeting.
"Not yet." Ranma mumbled. "Missing something."
Akane moved her arm up, and Ranma lifted herself up just enough to let Akane slip it under her and turn it into a hug. After a few more moments, Ranma finally settled.
"How about now?" Akane asked.
Her response was silence, and Akane blinked.
"Ranma?"
A snoring noise rose from around Akane's chest, and Akane sighed again.
"Well. That's gonna make cleaning up harder..."
Still. It didn't have to be dealt with now. When Ranma moved, Akane would slip out, clean up and come back to bed.
So she could just...
Stay like this.
Just for a... little longer...
There was no one else there to notice Akane pull Ranma even closer in her sleep.