[Shortfic][R.5]Dandelion Wine

this shortfic owes it's existence to Anand Rao's _Mothers and Sons: Ranma_ 
fic. I use his plotline with permission, but it's still his, understand? 
so be good, or I'll have to..  uhm.. break down and cry..  yeah, that 
works..

also, the whole fraggin' universe is Rumiko Takahashi-sama's..  any
attempt to makeprofit off of any aspect of her creation will be met
with legal action, censure, and major bad juju.

<what has come before (or, what you need to know, not to be confused)>
uhm..  I dunno? this is R.5 universe, at least loosely. Nodoka's with
Ranma and Genma, and she knows everything. Genma's still alive, 
unfortunately.

<fic>
"You -really- are a jerk, Ranma!" Akane yelled, kicking the fence again,
harder.  "When are you going to grow up and realize-  Oh never mind!" Akane
said, kicking the fence once more for good measure then stalking off
towards the Dojo.  

"Stupid tomboy!  What's eatin' her?" Ranma muttered aloud, hanging onto the
fence by his arms and legs.    

"She's just too good for you Ranma," an amused voice said from behind.  

"What do -you- want, Ryoga?" Ranma asked irritably as he righted himself
then jumped off the fence. 

"Actually, I have a favor to ask you," Ryoga said levelly.

"What do you want?" Ranma repeated wearily.

"Having a bad day, Ranma?" Ryoga asked mildly.

"What's up?  You're acting kinda funny," Ranma observed.

"Ranma, Ranma, Ranma," Ryoga said as he walked up to the pig-tailed martial
artist.  "You'd be acting funny too if you were getting married," Ryoga
continued, grinning broadly.

"M-m-married?  To who?" Ranma asked lamely.

"To Akari, you idiot!"  Ryoga scowled, smacking Ranma on the side of his head.

"Ouch, jeez, right, right.  Sorry, it's kinda a shock, that's all," Ranma
explained.

"I guess it would be, to you.  But I've been thinking about it for a while
now, every since you and Akane almost got married last year," Ryoga said
seriously.

"So you're completely over Akane?" Ranma asked skeptically.

"Have you seen P-Chan around lately?" Ryoga asked back.

"No. No, I haven't," Ranma admitted grudgingly. 

"Right. And you're not going to, at least, not if I can help it," Ryoga
replied.

"So what's this favor you want?  Need help getting' to the church on time
or something?" Ranma asked, smirking slightly.

"Actually, a little more than that," Ryoga replied.  

"Oh? What do ya need?" Ranma asked seriously. 

"Ranma, I- I don't really have too many friends," Ryoga said, turning
slightly away from Ranma.  "Who am kidding?  I don't have -any- friends.  I
just don't stay in one place long enough, you know?"  Ranma just nodded, he
understood Ryoga's feelings completely.   "I haven't even scene any of my
family in years, they're all lost too," Ryoga continued.  

"Do you want me to help you look for them? I mean, school just ended today.
 We can spend all summer looking for them, if ya want," Ranma suggested.

"Thanks, but no.  It would be too hard to keep us all together even if you
did find them all.  That's not why I'm here.  Ranma, I want you to be my
best man," Ryoga said.

"Me?  But you- I mean-" 

"Ranma, the thing with the bread feud, and even the Jusenkyo curse became
meaningless when I fell in love with Akane.  I fought you because you were
my rival.  I hated you because you took for granted what I so desperately
wanted.  Now, well, I don't love Akane anymore, and I can't find a reason
to hate you.  Believe me, I've tried!  You are and idiot and a jerk!  And I
-still- think Akane deserves better than you, but I just can't hate you,"
Ryoga explained.

"I'll be honored to be your best man," Ranma replied, formally bowing to
Ryoga.  

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Ryoga replied, bowing back.

"I never really hated ya Ryoga.  I just got mad 'cause you were always
getting' in the way; also sleeping in Akane's bed, and then -I'd- get
blamed for it!  You're always callin' me dishonorable and a pervert, but
-you- were worse!" Ranma said heatedly.

"So we both have our faults," Ryoga agreed. "But at least I've learned from
mine!  I've moved on in my life Ranma, what about you?" He asked.

"What are you talking about?" Ranma asked defensively.

"You -know- what I'm talking about!  Akane loves you, and you love her.
You all but admitted it when she nearly died, remember?  You can deny it
all you want, but I was there!  Now, you're pushing her away again.  It's
always the same thing with you.  What's it going to take Ranma?  Having her
-really- die?" Ryoga asked vehemently.

"Shut up!  Our relationship is none of your damn business!" Ranma spat out.

"You just don't get it, do you?  You have no idea what its like to love
someone and -know- that they love you.  It's wonderful.  Heh, I haven't
been able to perform the Shi Shi Hokudan in months, ever since Akari agreed
to marry me.  I just -can't- get depressed.  Looks like I'm going to have
to learn your way of do it," Ryoga said, smiling a bit ruefully.  He wasn't
used to being happy for days on end.  It was like a dream and he was scared
that he would wake up soon.  

"I'll teach it to ya.  It'll be my wedding gift," Ranma said dryly.  Ryoga
smiled in reply, shaking his head in resignation and after a few moments he
began to laugh.  Ranma, in spite of himself, joined in.    


			***********************************************

"I'm home!" Ranma called as he entered the Tendo house.  

"What took you so long, Ranma?  We're about to eat dinner," Akane said from
the dining table.  Ranma sat down next to Akane and quickly filled his bowl
with rice. 

"Sorry, I was talkin' to Ryoga," Ranma explained, giving Akane a small smile.

"Ryoga-kun?  I haven't seen him in awhile.  You two weren't fighting, were
you?" Akane asked suspiciously.  The rest of the family subtly edged away
from the dinner table.  It was getting easy to predict the fights that
ensued between the engaged pair.  

"No, we didn't fight.  Actually, I don't think we'll being fighting
anymore; ever," Ranma replied, smiling thoughtfully.  Nodoka looked up at
her son in surprise.  

"Did the two of you settle your differences, then?" She asked.

"Sorta.  The main thing is, he asked Akari to marry him.  I think he's too
happy to be mad at me," Ranma replied.

"They're getting married?  When?  Where are they having the ceremony?"
Akane asked excitedly.

"Hey!  I don't know all the details!  He just said that he proposed and
that she accepted.  Oh, he also asked me to be his best man," Ranma said.

"He asked -you- to be his best man?" Nabiki asked flatly.

"Yeah. What's wrong with that?" Ranma challenged, forgetting his own shock
at Ryoga's request. 

"The guy's been trying to -kill- you since he got here.  You have to it
admit, it's pretty strange that he wants you to be his best man," Nabiki
pointed out.

"Oh Nabiki, Ryoga-kun isn't like that all!  Ranma just kept picking on him!
 That's the only reason he fought him.  Ryoga-kun is a really nice guy,"
Akane protested.

"Yeah right," Ranma muttered as he started shoveling food into his mouth.    

"Did you say something, Ranma?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, I did." Ranma said, looking up from his meal. "Ryouga's always 
been the antagonist of our little duels..  it's the only way he has of
expressing emotion..  I suppose it is kinda weird, but I'm his best
friend, I guess."

"...." Akane said, staring at Ranma with a stunned expression on her face.

"Heh..  I was talking to him earlier today, and he's happier than he's 
ever been. Him 'n Akari are gonna do great together. Especially with the 
pig thing..  hehheh." Ranma trailed off as he returned to his food, 
looking up nervously every now and then at the astonished stares of his
family.

"Ranma..  are you..  okay?" Akane asked, a concerned look on her face.  

"Yeah.  I was just thinking that I'm glad Ryoga's gonna be getting'
off my back now.  This is the -first- one of my problems that managed to
get fixed!" Ranma said happily.  "Well, maybe the second problem," he
amended, glancing at his mother.

"So, when -are- they getting married?" Soun asked.

"I dunno.  It's at least a couple of months away.  It'll take Ryoga that
long to invite everyone," Ranma replied.

"I see, perhaps you and Akane could-"

"I think we may want to hold off of -that- idea for awhile, wouldn't you
agree, Tendo-san?" Ranma quickly interrupted.  Soun glanced at Nodoka then
looked at Akane and Ranma.  A small blush had grown on Akane's cheeks and
she was staring intently into her rice bowl.  In contrast, Ranma was 
addressing him with a rock solid gaze, his eyes unwavering.

"I suppose you're right," Soun replied, letting out a frustrated sigh.
(When are those two going to stop this nonsense?) He wondered as Ranma and
Akane visibly relaxed.  They glanced at each other simultaneously and
blushed.  Soun shook his head ruefully.  (Well, at least they're not
yelling or destroying the house.  Perhaps there's hope for them yet,) he
thought.  

"Ranma?  How were your finals?" Nodoka asked, trying to ease past the
tension. 

"Huh?  Oh, they were okay, I guess.  I think I passed," he replied.

"You're lucky that Akane was there to help you boy," Genma observed.  Ranma
was about to protest, but glanced at Akane and opted for simply nodding his
head.

"Yeah, I guess I am," he admitted.  Akane looked at him, her eyes searching
his face for any sign of insult or sarcasm; she found none.  

"Good.  In that case you'll be able to enjoy your summer vacation," Nodoka
said warmly.

"Yeah," Ranma replied noncommittally as he started wolfing down his dinner
once again.

"Ranma-chan?  Know that you're out of school, I was wondering, do you have
any plans for the next few days?" Nodoka asked hopefully.  

"Yeah." Ramna replied slowly. "I thought me and Akane would go on a 
training trip together." He finished, gazing calmly at Akane's downturned, 
blushing face while Soun and Genma cheered.

"H-hai" Akane said shakily, still blushing.. 

And the rest, dear reader, is history. Who's history? Not mine..  but theirs.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Toast! I offer a toast to the infinite Ranma's, Akane's, Tenchi's, Rei's, 
Usagi's, Ifurita's, Mamoro's, Endymion's, Lena's, Linna's, Nene's, Sylia's..

in short, I offer a toast to all the anime characters, in all the intricate,
rumpled tapestry that is Anime, and that is Fanfiction..  

Salut!
my address is my soul is my life
<betrayal@matnet.com>