Archive of Our Own ^beta

“That jerk!” Akane slammed the door to her bedroom, tossing her book bag angrily onto her bed. “Where does he get off talking to me like that?” she growled with her fists clenched, standing in the middle of her room. 

Ranma had badgered her all the way home, telling her she should just give up trying to cook food after she’d accidentally set the home ec room on fire today. It wasn’t her fault that someone put lighter fluid where the cooking oil should go!

The final straw had been him saying that he’d make a better wife than her. She’d smacked him into the river and raced home at that point. He was always lording over how much better of a girl he was than her, just because cold water turned him into a cute beautiful sexy dumb girl. 

Sighing, she sat at her desk and turned on her computer. Times like these called for one thing: girl talk. 

For the past few months, a little after Ranma showed up, she’d been using Instant Messenger to talk to another girl who lived in Tokyo. She was dealing with a lot of the same things Akane was: arranged marriage to a jerk, people criticizing how she went about being a woman, unwanted suitors causing all sorts of headaches. They could talk for hours about their lives, and very often did. Akane loved their talks, and if she didn't know better she'd almost think she was falling for her. But that would be ridiculous.

Akane opened up the chat window and checked if her new bestie was online.

She waited for a bit, pulling open her school book to get a head start on homework before she heard the ping of a response, turning back to her computer.

Akane sighed, if there was one thing that could be counted on it was both of them having problems with their fiancés. She began typing back.

Akane pursed her lips in anger. She hated how much Red’s fiancé hit her, she told her many times she shouldn’t put up with it but all Red had said was that she could take it, as if that mattered.

Akane left out the part about Ranma being a better wife than her, explaining all that would be too difficult and might make her friend think she was crazy, and she definitely didn't want Red to think any less of her. It seemed like she was the only friend Red really had to talk to about all her problems, like her jerk of a fiancé hitting her just for saying something stupid. Another ding brought her attention back to the chat box.

Akane's heart skipped a beat at that, and she smiled like an idiot. She felt heat in her cheeks as she typed out her response.

After she hit send the blood rushed right out of her face. "What the hell am I saying? She's a girl! She's gonna think I'm so weird!” She frantically typed out a follow up, hoping that she could fix this before it was too late.

~~~~

Ranma stared at the message for a moment, not quite able to breathe.

Was this a sign? Did that mean Madder was actually reciprocating the feelings Ranma had been developing for her lately? They'd been talking almost daily for months now, and the currently-redheaded teen had slowly but surely found herself falling for the girl at the other end of the internet.

She sat in front of the ancient desktop computer Nabiki had pulled out of the attic for her after one too many requests to use the middle sister's own computer for school stuff, saying a silent prayer to the Kami that this wasn't crossed wires, that she actually had a shot. Then another ping came from the scratchy speakers.

And just like that, her hopes were dashed. "Right..." she muttered. "Guys..." She sighed and leaned back in her chair. She was a girl, so of course that meant being with guys. Never mind the fact the thought of being with a man in any way repulsed her. Either she be with a man, or...

Or she wasn't a real girl.

Nabiki had told her when they were setting up her messenger account that she could be anyone online, and so she'd chosen to be the redhead, to be a girl. It had been wonderful to escape into a world where no one thought she wasn't just another normal teenage girl. Finding Madder had been a godsend and their nightly talks had been something to look forward to the past few months. She'd even admitted to the other girl that she wasn't born that way, and Madder's response of 'if u wanna b a girl, ur a girl 2 me' had been the thing that finally caused her to realize it wasn't just online, she wanted to be a girl in real life too. But being a real girl meant a lot of things that she didn't want, like dating boys, or finding a husband. So she'd just have to settle for the internet.

Another ping brought her back to reality.

Ranma shook herself out of her funk and typed back. She couldn't let Madder know about how she felt about the other girl. If she caught on that Ranma was weird like that, it could mean she loses the one person she can talk to.

Ranma shuddered as she typed that. Her mind betrayed her and instantly brought to mind dating Kuno for real and she almost retched. No, there was simply no way she could ever date a boy. Red would have to stay in the computer. Ranma, Man Amongst Men, would have to be what faced the outside world. She was pulled out of her thoughts by Kasumi calling from the downstairs, summoning the family to dinner.

~~~~

Nabiki sat at the table, eating Kasumi's typically excellent food. She glanced around at the other occupants. Her father was reading the paper, again. She swears she saw him read the same page of it at least 5 separate times that day. Kasumi was sitting serenely as usual. The Panda was, for once, in the shape of a man and keeping his chopsticks on his own plate instead of his child's. The interesting thing was what the other two were up to.

Ranma looked almost laughably depressed, not even the usual joy she exhibited while in her girl form was present. She was, for her own standards, barely eating, having only gotten through one helping of food.

Akane, on the other hand, looked anxious. Her knee was bouncing and she seemed to be rushing to finish her meal. 

“What's got you in such a hurry, lil sis?” Nabiki asked with a smirk. She had a hunch but didn’t want to overplay her hand, it was way too fun letting this play out from the sidelines.

Akane blushed furiously and nearly choked on the mouthful of rice she was currently inhaling. “N-nothing! Just…homework to finish! Gotta do it by tomorrow!” She nervously scratched at the back of her head, her most obvious tell of a lie. Ranma, as much accustomed to Akane's ticks as her sister, perked up a little bit.

"Didn't you tell me on our way to school this morning that you already did tomorrow's homework?" the redhead prodded. Akane snapped her head over and growled at the smaller girl. 

“We got more homework from English today, dummy! Or did you forget?”

”Yeah, but that’s not due til Friday, tomboy.”

Akane slammed her hands on the table in frustration. “Oh, would you just mind your own business already?”

Ranma scoffed. “Like what?”

Akane glared at her. “Like why are you still a girl? We’ve been home for hours but you haven’t changed back. You’re not being perverted, are you?”

Nabiki could see a quick, almost imperceptible flash of pain across Ranma’s face around the same time an equally hard to spot pang of guilt passed her sister’s face, before both girls boiled over with anger.

”Why do you always think I’m doing pervert stuff, huh?” Ranma yelled as she stood from the table.

”Because you always do!” Akane screamed back, standing to face her. “Peeping on me in the bath, sleeping with Shampoo, sneaking into my room at night-“

”Those were all accidents!” Ranma threw her hands up in frustration. “Why don’t you ever believe me? My friend online says it’s not fair to me and I agree!”

Akane crossed her arms. “Yeah? Well my online friend says that you’re a jerk and I shouldn’t have to put up with you!”

Ranma scoffed. “You have an online friend? How did an uncute tomboy like you manage that?”

Akane growled at the shorter girl. “She thinks I shouldn’t have to put up with you insulting me and I agree!”

”Yeah? Well my friend thinks you shouldn’t be hitting me and I agree!”

”My friend appreciates me for who I am!”

”So does mine!”

“Then maybe you should be engaged to them!” both girls yelled in unison, before screaming in frustration and leaving the dining room, Akane heading for the stairs and slamming her door and Ranma jumping into her window from the garden.

Kasumi sighed and deflated, turning to Nabiki. “You have to tell them, I can’t take much more of this.”

Nabiki grinned while taking a bite of mackerel. “But where’s the fun in that, sis?”

~~~~

Both girls angrily sat down at their respective computers and quickly reopened the chatroom they unknowingly shared with each other.

Ranma couldn't help but chuckle at the familiar saying. "I guess that's a common opinion for Tokyo girls,” she muttered to herself. She couldn't exactly blame either Akane or Madder for their opinions, it's not like her experience with men was any better.

Akane huffed angrily as she replied, replaying the dinnertime argument in her mind. Sure, Ranma hadn't said exactly those words, but what else was she supposed to think when he called her 'uncute tomboy' all the time? The ping of the chat brought her back to her current conversation.

Ranma quickly erased a reply that she'd almost sent calling Madder cute. While comforting her friend was good, crossing the line into flirting might just make the other girl uncomfortable. She had still not told Madder that her fiancée was, in fact, a girl for that exact reason.

On the other side of the Tendo home, Akane found herself blushing and furiously tamping down wishes that Red would call her cute. There was no reason for Red to find another girl cute, that wasn't normal. Sure, Red's path to womanhood was a bit unconventional, but she'd said nothing about being attracted to the fairer sex outside of some one-off comments that never failed to make Akane's heart race.

Akane's face felt like it was on fire and felt butterflies in her stomach. Red always knew exactly what to say to make her feel special. "Why can't we be engaged..." she sighed to herself, before catching what she said and slapping a hand over her mouth.

At the same time a few rooms over, Ranma groaned and covered her eyes. "What am I doing?" She was trying to be a normal girl but she couldn't stop seeing the subtext that she knew wasn't there. "Reel it in, Ranma," she said to herself.

Akane gasped. She knew Red had problems with people in her home accepting her as a woman, but to have the person who was supposed to be her biggest supporter say that...

Ranma's eyebrow quirked a bit at that. Madder likes a man? Her face went ashen, was her crush even more doomed than expected?

Akane groaned a bit. "Great..." Now she had to explain her crush on Doctor Tofu. It was super embarrassing even if she'd somewhat moved past it.

Ranma chuckled to herself. "I guess that's a rite of passage for Tokyo girls, huh?" She paused and thought about it, finding something concerning.

Ranma grit her teeth. "This is Tofu all over again!" She wished she could figure out how Akane got over her own crush so she could pass that on to Madder, but she could at least try to point out the problems instead.

Akane took a deep breath. She could explain her feelings fully and maybe have Red understand her, but it could also screw everything up and lose her someone she'd come to really care for in the past few months. She shook her head. Red trusted her with her secret, the least she could do was try to do the same.

Ranma's breath caught in her throat. "Kiss...girl..." Her heart raced as she tried to figure out the best way to approach this. She could not fumble this.

It took a long time for Red to reply, plenty of time for Akane to catastrophize. She was convinced that Red was laughing at her, would log off and never talk to her again, or worse make fun of her. When the replies from Red finally rolled in, though, it took her breath away.

Ranma's leg was pounding a hole in the guest room floor with anxious energy. Madder had indicated she liked girls just as much as Red but that didn't mean she'd be quick to accept that out of another girl. She counted the minutes it was taking for Madder to say anything in reply, trying not to spiral.

Meanwhile, in her room, Akane was panicking for a different reason. She was rifling through her closet, trying to find something cute to wear. All she could think about was finding Red and finally planting the kiss on the lips she'd been dreaming about for weeks. She finally threw on a yellow sundress with a white cardigan and was halfway out her door when she realized she had absolutely no idea where she was going. She heard several pings coming from her computer and rushed back.

The size of Ranma's smile was not something measurable by conventional means. She did it! She had found someone who cared for her, accepted her, and she was going to meet her and maybe even get to kiss her! At lightning speed she typed out her reply

Akane gave a happy gasp. She was fully prepared for a multi-hour train trip to some far-off ward to see her crush but not only was Red in the same area of Tokyo as her, if she was using the dojo as a landmark she was close! Really close!

Ranma almost jumped out of her chair with excitement. Madder lived close to the dojo? She could be meeting her new love within minutes! She'd have to sneak out of the house to keep everyone else in the dark about it, but otherwise her luck was looking up!

Akane stared at the screen in front of her, blinking. "There's no way..."

Ranma nervously waited for Madder to tell her where to meet, say she was on the way, literally anything. It was driving her crazy.

Suddenly, her heart froze and she made a terrifying realization. Someone who lived in Nerima, who was her age, and knew about the dojo... Madder could be a classmate! They could know who Ranma was and was busy messaging Nabiki or Akane or calling the dojo to ruin Ranma's life! Her anxiety spiked and she quickly tried to tamp it down.

Ranma's heart dropped. She felt tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. Everything was going so wonderful and just like that it was snuffed out. Before she could start crying in earnest, she heard what could only be Akane slam her bedroom door open and stomp towards her room. She had just enough time to scramble out of her chair and stand in front of the screen before her door slid open to reveal her unwilling fiancée, who had apparently changed into a sundress that even Ranma had to admit was very flattering on her. She was panting and her face was beet red.

Ranma connected dots that, in reality, didn’t quite line up: whoever Madder was must have reached out to Akane, and now Ranma was in for a huge beating. She waved her hands in front of her to try to ward off the incoming blows. "Waitwaitwait! Akane, it's not how it looks!"

Akane just stood there, not really being able to believe what she was now all but certain was the case. Really, thinking back, she was a complete moron for not seeing it sooner. I mean who else in Tokyo is a girl who was born a boy and has red hair? Still, though, she had to be sure.

"...Red?"

Ranma's hands dropped to her side, and her eyes bugged out. All of the sudden, everything clicked into place and she realized she was an absolute idiot.

"MADDER?!?"

The two girls stared at each other for a moment, absolutely gobsmacked. Then at lightning speed they crashed together, lips meeting in the middle, hands tangling into hair and grabbing at clothes. Their bodies pressed against each other as they lost themselves to the emotions of finding their love was much closer than they thought. They finally separated, panting for breath, and their thoughts returned to them in time to connect even more dots.

Akane gasped. "Oh god, Ranma! I'm so sorry for calling you being a girl perverted!"

At the same time, Ranma's face paled. "Akane, I'm such a jerk! You're absolutely not uncute!"

The two girls kept apologizing for everything they'd done wrong the past few months, which they'd unknowingly condemned via their internet counterpart. Ranma said sorry for disparaging her femininity, Akane begged forgiveness for hitting her, it went on and on. Finally out of things to feel remorse over, the two stood, holding each other's hands, panting slightly.

"God, we were both morons, huh?" Akane asked with a laugh.

Ranma chuckled. "Yeah, we really were. I don't know how I didn't make the connection sooner, your name is literally Madder!"

They both giggled and smiled into each other's eyes. Akane moved her hand up and stroked Ranma's cheek. "Ranma... have you meant what you said these past few months? Are you really a girl?"

Ranma blushed fiercely and pushed her fingers together. "...Yeah. You actually helped me to figure that out, 'Kane." She grinned up at the taller girl. "So, thanks for that." She looked away again and almost seemed to whisper. "...What about you? Do you really..."

"...Like girls?" Akane finished the question, blushing on her own now. "Yeah. Yeah I do. I've tried to deny it but..."

Ranma stood up on her toes and gave Akane a small but meaningful kiss. "It's hard to keep up denials when what you really want is staring you in the face, right?" She grinned slightly. "I know the feeling."

Akane smiled back, the sweet look slowly morphing into something slightly more devious, more charged. "What about what you said earlier today? Before I hit you into the river?"

Ranma's eyes went wide and her skin paled slightly. "I-I'm really sorry for that, I didn't mean-"

Akane laughed. "It's ok, Ranma. I happen to agree with you." Her grin was downright Nabiki-esque now, and she slowly backed Ranma up to the wall, pressing her against it. Ranma's heart was beating incredibly fast and her face felt like it was going to melt off with how hot it was getting. She gulped as Akane traced her fingers over the collar of the sleeveless red tang shirt she was still wearing.

Akane, meanwhile, felt like her heart was going to explode. Where this side of her came from she had no idea but it made her feel incredible, so she just went with her instincts and leaned over her fiancée-turned-maybe-girlfriend. "After all, I meant it when I said you'd make a great wife." 

Ranma's pupils dilated and she nodded while panting slightly. "Y-yeah. I meant it t-too." she stammered out. 

Akane smiled down at her. "Then maybe we can see where this all goes? After all, we're already engaged." She laughed at Ranma's enthusiastic agreement before leaning down and reclaiming the lips of her wife-to-be, reveling in the moaning coming from the redhead. She could certainly get used to this.

~~~~

Nabiki hummed in satisfaction as she removed the glass she was listening through from the wall outside of the guest bedroom. She had been right to let those two figure things out on their own, it had been obvious where their relationship was headed within a week of Ranma's arrival. They'd just needed a little push in the right direction, and Nabiki setting up Ranma's IM account was the exact thing for it. Letting the rest play out meant she got to watch the fun from the outside, and it meant she could reap the spoils of the chaos that followed them. Speaking of reaping spoils...

She reentered her room and turned on her shiny new desktop computer, double clicking the chatroom icon and sending an update to her cohorts.