Hey, remember me?

         Oh, it's WAFF.  It's so totally WAFF.  Or as WAFF as I get, 
anyways.

*****

         Shampoo cursed softly to herself as Kasumi carried a basket of 
laundry to her room, humming cheerfully as she went.  She liked the 
eldest Tendo girl, she really did.  But someone desperately needed to 
tell her that normal people did not do housework at half past midnight! 
  Especially not when someone was clinging to the ceiling of the hallway 
above her.  The chinese girl whimpered softly as the brunette stopped 
directly below her, one finger tapping her lips.

         "Now, what was it I forgot?  I know I turned off the lights...."

         It was times like this that Shampoo honestly regretted not 
having the old-fashioned attitude that some of ther other sisters 
displayed.  It would be so much easier if she could just drug Kasumi 
into sleep, club Airen over his overly-thick head, drag him back to 
China by the cute little pigtail, and make lots of fat, happy babies for 
the tribe.  But nooooo!  She had to have a mother who wanted her raised 
with 'modern values'.  Fat lot of good it did her on this barbaric, 
backwards island.

         Finally, Kasumi came back upstairs, carrying a thin book in her 
hand that was placed on top of the laundry basket.  Shampoo peered at 
the book's cover.  "Love's Passionate Em-oh, my.  She never would have 
imagined the staid-seeming girl to read something with that kind of a 
picture on the front of it.  Her teeth gritted as the girl stopped 
AGAIN, this time just before entering her room.

         "Oh, my.  Maybe I should sweep the hallway before I go to bed. 
  It's awfully dirty...."

         The wood under Shampoo's fingers splintered.

         "No, I might wake Father when I get the broom.  First thing 
tomorrow, then."

         The Amazon nearly wept in happiness as the door to Kasumi's 
room finally swung shut, leaving her alone in the darkened hallway.  She 
slowly lowered herself to the floor, carefully avoiding the squeaky 
floorboard next to the wall and studiously ignoring the multitude of 
handprints pressed into the wooden beam she was clinging to.  Every 
night!  Every single night that girl managed to decide to do some late 
night cleaning, just as as Shampoo was sneaking in.  It was like she had 
some sort of radar.  Ping!  Time to wander through the house aimlessly 
for a while, making sure to prevent anyone from being able to move about 
without getting seen!  She was seriously beginning to wonder if the girl 
didn't need some kind of sleeping aid.

         Her feet were whisper soft as they slid down the hallway, 
avoiding noisy floorboards with the ease of long practice.  She paused 
before Ranma's door, holding her breath for a long moment as she 
strained to hear through the thin paper of the door.  Slowly, she slid 
the door open on its runners, slipping through with no more noise than a 
ghost and easing the door shut behind her.  It was the work of a few 
seconds to slip over to Airen's father and ensure that the sake-aided 
sleep he was already in became just that much deeper.  Seconds, and the 
small leather sap her mother gave her as soon as she was old enough to 
date, that is.  She was certain she'd never tire of hearing the sound of 
it meeting the fat fool's skull.  It was her own small way of making him 
pay for all the things Ranma had to put up thanks to him.

         With the only major threat in the room taken care of, Shampoo's 
steps were far lighter as she moved over to her Airen's bed, shedding 
clothing as she went.  She neatly folded up her clothing and tucked it 
away on a rafter.  If nothing happened, she would retrieve it like 
normal in the morning.  If something unexpected happened...well, Kasumi 
was used to finding random bits of clothing all over the house, thanks 
to all the Jusekyo-cursed individuals wandering though it.  She hummed 
softly as she fished the canteen she kept there out of its hiding spot, 
using it to fill the small glass she'd picked up going through the 
kitchen.  There.  Now she had an escape route if someone came in.  Small 
splash of water and...no more Shampoo!  Sure, she was recognizable in 
her cursed form, but...  There were many hiding spots in the room, to 
someone who was fast and knew where they were.

         She knew that sneaking into his bed every night she could get 
away with it was far from the best way to handle things.  If Mousse ever 
figured out what she was doing, for example, there'd be hell to pay. 
Not to mention the pure hell that would result if the Tendos or Ukyo 
stumbled upon her.  As it were, there'd been far too many close calls 
before she started keeping the water next to the bed.

         Oddly, her great-grandmother hadn't said a word about it, even 
though she had to know.  Shampoo suspected that she was inclined to let 
sleeping dogs lie, just as long as they didn't wake up and bite the hand 
that fed them.  Besides, Cologne was on her side.  And she understood 
why Shampoo needed to do this.

         Really, it was simple.  Ranma had beaten her.  Multiple times 
by this point, if she were honest with herself.  By the laws, that made 
him her husband.  But it was her heart that made him her Airen on top of 
that.  He was her husband.  She was his wife.  And wives slept with 
their husbands.  Even if all she could do was hold him while he slept 
and listen to the steady thud of his heart, the rumble of his breath.... 
  It was enough to make her happy.

         Lucky for her he was such a sound sleeper, or else she wouldn't 
even have that much.

         And with those thoughts buzzing in her head, and a small, 
thoroughly happy smile on her lips, Shampoo slipped under the covers 
with a soft, happy sigh and into her Airen's strong arms.  She leaned up 
and pressed a feather-soft kiss to the side of Ranma's jaw, voice gentle 
as she whispered.  "Good night, Airen.  I love you."

         And with her face pressed into her husband's warm chest, 
breathing in the uniquely warm scent that was him, she could finally 
sleep.  For now, she was content.  For now, she was where she belonged. 
  And later would take care of itself.

Fin.
*****

So, you can basically blame Brian Randall for this one.  He's the one 
who I trade fanfic ideas with at incredibly odd hours of the night.  And 
he said he needed Shampoo WAFF.  Thusly....

And I need to make sure people knew I was still alive, or something.

For those who care....  Started at 2:21am, finished at 4:12am, or close 
enough to pay no mind.  Go me.



Oh, I almost forgot....
*****

         Shampoo couldn't help the soft, sad sigh that broke from her 
throat as she pulled herself from her Airen's embrace, slipping out into 
the cold air of the pre-dawn light.  As much as she was enjoying holding 
herself against his warmth, she knew from experience that Kasumi would 
be waking up soon, which meant she had to be on her way.  Her heart 
panged at how lonely he seemed every time she left, even though she knew 
it was nothing but a trick of her own longing.

         She swiftly dressed, taking care to avoid the cup of water next 
to the bed as she knelt next to it.  She spent a few long moments 
studying her husband's sleeping face, brushing a bit of hair from his 
eyes before leaning down and pressing her lips to his for a few eternal 
seconds.  Her voice was husky, as it always was at this point, with what 
she refused to acknowledge as tears.

         "Good morning, Airen.  I love you."

         And with that, she fled out of the Dojo, to another day of 
pretending everything was perfect.

         Long moments passed before a hand emerged from under the 
covers, picking up the glass next to the bed and moving it farther away. 
  Stormy grey eyes opened slightly, as a voice murmured softly.

         "Good morning, Shampoo."

         And with that, Ranma rolled back over, into the warmth left 
behind by Shampoo and slipped back into his dreams.



Really Fin, This Time
*****

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