The Phoenix Saga

Akane sighed, rubbing her temples. She sat back in her chair, forcing herself to blink. Staring at this thing for so long is giving me a headache. Closing her eyes, she bowed her head toward the keyboard of her personal computer. Almost done, though. She had been working on the essay, covering the recent advances in magnetic resonance imaging technology, for the past week. 

What time is it, anyway? I should think about heating up some leftovers for dinner. Given the recent demands of her class schedule, she was working fewer nights at the Phoenix, which meant there were nights that she was left to fend for her own evening meal when Ranko had late classes and had to rush right to work. Still, her wife never failed to plan ahead and ensure there was something to heat up, usually by cooking extra the night before to set aside for Akane the following night. She takes such good care of me, Akane thought with a grateful smile. How did I get so lucky?

Still, Akane could tell that Ranko had been struggling. Even after clearing the air about Ranko's experiences in Thailand, there was still a heavy sadness about her, especially in public, that broke Akane's heart to see. She guessed it was due to the increased pressure Ranko felt to keep their relationship secret. Around her sisters and Hana, Ranko hid her melancholy better. She probably just doesn't want them to feel bad. After all, Ranko all but sold her soul to save the bar for them. She didn't even get the chance to enjoy her tour money like the rest of the band did. They still had a little money left over from the lump-sum tour payment, but only enough to cover a few months' budget in their little apartment - certainly not the windfall that had netted Hitomi and Emi new wardrobes, Jacob and Zoe a new condo in the Chiyoda district, and Shinji a high-end sports car.

Still, a part of her worried that there was something else Ranko wasn't telling her. Wouldn't be the first time she bit her tongue to protect me, Akane thought with a fretful sigh. As she inhaled, though, she noticed something lingering in the air - an enticing aroma. What the… 

She slipped her headphones off of her head, reaching for the computer mouse and clicking stop on the CD player program on the bottom right of her screen. Her wife's voice immediately ceased leaking from the speakers that had been around her ears, but yet, she could have sworn she still heard it. Okay, this is weird.

"Ranko?" Receiving no answer, Akane shook her head, chuckling at herself. She can't be here, dummy. She's at work. Fuck, I need to get some sleep tonight. She stood and stretched her back, reaching high toward the ceiling with a high-pitched squeak.

Okay, she thought. Dinner time. Akane pulled the door open, walking out into her living room. The smell of cooking food was stronger, and sure enough, she did hear Ranko's singing voice coming from the kitchen.

"When all else fails and you long to be something better than you are today, I know a place where you can get away…"

"Ranko, what are you doing here, baby? You were supposed to be at work an hour ago!" Receiving no answer, Akane grinned, creeping carefully toward the little alley kitchen. She rounded the corner, finding Ranko in her favorite white lace dress and her pink princess apron, singing into a wooden spatula in her fist as she bopped in front of the stove. Her hair was up in a high, bouncy ponytail secured with a large white bow on a banana clip, and her headphones were positioned over both of her ears. 

"Come on, vogue! Let your body move to the music, hey, hey, AGHH!" 

Ranko yelped, jumping back in surprise as she turned to find Akane watching her. She pulled the headphones down and draped them around her neck, speaking loudly over Madonna's voice. "Akane! You scared the shit outta me!"

"Look who's talking!" Akane said, stepping into the kitchen and wrapping her hands around Ranko's waist. "You're supposed to be at the bar, silly girl! What are you doing?"

Ranko turned in Akane's arms, stirring the contents of the large pot on the stove with her spatula. Both girls could still hear the song from Ranko's Discman, and the redhead danced along with it, grinding her backside against the front of Akane's jeans as she did. 

Akane shivered quietly. The pair had still not been intimate since Ranko had returned from the second leg of her tour, and Akane missed it something terribly. She could only imagine how bad the ache for physical affection probably was for the ever-sensitive girl she had married, but Ranko was still struggling with any sort of intimacy. When she's ready, Akane thought. But gods, I hope she's ready soon. Fred, I'm gonna need you to work a miracle, buddy.

"I wanted to surprise you," Ranko said hopefully. "I told Yui I couldn't come in today because I had to spoil the most amazing girl in the universe. I was gonna bring it in to you, but you came out just a few minutes too early. It's almost done."

Akane squeezed her wife tight from behind, resting her chin on the shorter girl's shoulder. "Whatever you're making, it smells amazing." 

"It's called kare kare," Ranko said, beaming. "Something I tried in Manila. It's an oxtail stew. I thought you might like it." 

Akane sighed happily, tightening her grip around Ranko's waist. "Do you have any idea how much I love you, girl?"

I hope so, Ranko thought, glad Akane could not see the nerves in her eyes from behind. "I love you too. Hey, why don't you go sit down, and I'll bring you your dinner in just a minute?"

Akane smiled, reaffirming her grip on Ranko's torso. "I may not be where I'm going, but I'm right where I wanna be."

"Hey! No fair! That's my song!" Ranko protested through her giggling. "Seriously, I gotta be able to move around to finish this, and I can't have you hanging on my butt! Get outta my kitchen! Shoo!"

Akane put up her hands, laughing. "Alright, alright! Yes, ma'am! I can't really be blamed though…" Ranko jumped forward a bit as Akane reached under the redhead's dress and gave her backside a firm squeeze through her pastel pink panties. Akane laughed loudly as Ranko yelped. "It is, in fact, an awfully cute butt."

The redhead blushed deeply as Akane made her way to the dining room table. "Well, I'm glad you like it. After dinner, I'm going to get that cucumber lotion I brought back from Malaysia, and I'm gonna give you the most amazing massage you've ever had in your life. And, after that, if you're not too worn out, maybe I'll let you play with it some more." If I don't slip into another panic attack at the first touch, anyway.

Akane grinned wolfishly. Sorry, Professor Hirato, but your essay just got bumped way the fuck down the priority list. She sat up in her seat, watching her lover's every move. "Well, aren't I just getting spoiled? Dinner, a massage, and… wait a minute!" Akane chuckled. "You want something, don't you?"

Shit. Ranko bit her lip, ladling some of the stew into a red earthenware bowl and bringing it to her wife along with a ceramic soup spoon. "Just you, lover."

Ranko's wife eyed her skeptically, ignoring the bowl of stew that had been placed before her on the table. "Nice try, princess! I saw the way you slumped when I said that. You do want something! I knew it!"

"Can't I just do nice things for you because I love you?" Ranko stammered, starting to back away. "Why's it gotta be all transactional?"

Akane reached out with lightning-quick reflexes, grabbing the pink ribbon securing the apron around Ranko's back and using it to pull her back into arm's reach. She wrapped her arms around Ranko's waist, lifting her and depositing the smaller girl into her lap. "Of course you can, and you often do. But right now, you're not fooling anybody, silly girl. What is it? A new dress? A date?"

Akane frowned as she saw the mirth melt from Ranko's cheeks almost instantly. Oh, shit. What did I hit? What…

Ranko leaned into her wife's chest, rubbing her cheek against Akane's gray Minato Athletics tee shirt. She didn't mind at all that some of her foundation rubbed off on it. "Akane… I need your help." There was a quiet shame in her voice.

"Ranko, baby, you don't have to butter me up if you need something. You know that. Just talk to me. What's going on, love?" Akane rubbed her wife's back firmly, holding her tight and rocking her slightly on her lap.

Ranko swallowed hard. "Well, I, um… You know Nabiki and I went to the Yokai office today, about the new album."

Akane gritted her teeth, trying to hide it behind her smile. Oh, no. What did those bigoted fucks do now?! "Yeah…" 

"Akane…" Ranko sat up on her wife's lap, looking down at her with a serious countenance. "Amaya knows. About us."

The raven-haired girl's eyes bulged, and she sat up as straight as she could with fifty-some kilograms of pop star in her lap. "She what?! How?! We were so careful! What are they gonna do?!"

"Apparently, she's always known, all the way since the Sneak video. She's on our side. Has been this whole time." Ranko sighed quietly. "It's her bosses that are the jerks. Amaya's been covering for us. But, she's worried they're catching on, and she wants to throw them off the scent."

Akane frowned, rubbing Ranko's back comfortingly. "What does she want to do, and how can I help?"

The redhead blushed shyly, hiding her face against Akane's breasts. "Well, I… um…"

"Hey. C'mon, spit it out." Akane bounced her on her knee gently. 

"Your dinner's getting cold." Ranko whined quietly, and Akane could feel the heat from her wife's cheeks even through her shirt.

Akane lowered her head, kissing Ranko gently on the top of her head and wrapping her arms around the smaller girl's shoulders. "Well, if you don't want all your hard work getting ruined, I guess you'd better hurry up and tell me, because I'm not touching that bowl until you spill. Now, what's the plan?"

"Well…" Ranko swallowed hard, curling up tighter in Akane's arms. "Amaya thinks we can get Kondo off our backs if we can prove to him I'm with a boy somehow. So, I was thinking, maybe we can show him some more pictures of me and Aki together?"

Akane chuckled, squeezing her tight. "I think that might be arranged. What are you thinking, dinner date?" 

"Actually… I was thinking we could…" Ranko shook her head. "No, I can't. It's too much."

"Hey." Akane lifted Ranko by the shoulders, tilting her partner's chin up with her hand to force eye contact. "What is?"

Ranko blushed deeper still, trying to hide her face in Akane's hand coyly. "Don't make me say it."

With a playful laugh intended to disarm her bride, Akane shook her head. "Oh, hell no. You're being way too cute and shy about this, princess. Now I have to know!" 

"Noooo…. don't make m… hey!" Ranko tried to hide her face again, but her words devolved into a fit of giggles as Akane tickled her ribs through her lace dress. 

"I'm not gonna stop until you tell me, silly girl," Akane said, only resting her fingers once Ranko nodded in capitulation. 

"So…" Ranko dove forward, hiding her face against Akane's chest. "... they think I'm married to Aki. So, if we rented you a tux for a day, and I put on my dress…"

Akane burst out into a loud cackle. "Aww, honey, you want wedding photos with your husband? Well, why didn't you just say so?!"

Ranko whimpered shyly. "You ain't gotta laugh at me! I already said it was stupid."

"Oh, no, I think it's a great idea!" Akane grinned, lifting Ranko's chin with her fingers and pulling her into a soft kiss. "I'd love to do it!"

"You… would?" Ranko's voice was quiet, but hopeful. 

Akane nodded, a wide grin on her cheeks. "Of course! I just have one condition."

Ranko sat up on Akane's lap. "It would mean so much to me, if you'll help me get them off my back. I know it's not the most comfortable thing for you to do, and I hate to ask. I'll do whatever you want!" The redhead swallowed audibly at the devious smirk forming on her lover's face. "Why do I have a feeling I'm gonna regret saying that?"

"Well," Akane said, locking her fingers behind Ranko's back to prevent her escape. "I think it makes total sense. After all, if I remember correctly, Aki did ask you to marry him. And you very clearly said yes."

Ranko flushed further still, almost lightheaded from it. "But we did get married." She held up her left hand, showing off her ring as proof.

Akane giggled. "Sure, you and Akane got married. But poor Aki got left at the altar." She reached out, poking her lover on the nose. "I'm sure Aki would be happy to take wedding pictures with you, but I'm not dressing up just for the pictures. If you want photos of you marrying a man, Miss Tendo, you're just going to have to marry one."

"What?! Akane, what are you…" Ranko's eyes were positively frantic.

"We are going to throw a whole wedding. You and Aki. We'll dress the girls up again, get new flowers, the whole thing. And you are gonna squirm through the whole thing, and I'm gonna love every second of it." Akane tittered brightly, watching Ranko search the room for a means of escape. 

"Akane, I can't do th… everyone will…"

"Oh, hush. Yes we can. The band knows. The girls know. Our friends know. They're all in on it. But this way, we can do it convincingly, with the whole wedding party and everything. And this time, we have a little extra money to work with, so you're getting the full celebrity bride treatment." Akane bounced her playfully on her knee.

"Akane…" Ranko buried her face in her hands. "You wouldn't make me… marry… a boy…"

*Of course I wouldn't." Akane laughed, squeezing her tight around her waist. "Just a girl who looks like one. And you're gonna get done up all pretty for me, and you're gonna dance with me… it'll be fun. You're gonna get to be the princess again. And you won't even have to share the bride spotlight with me this time. Hey, this time Dad can walk you down the aisle, and with any luck, I won't even have to dismember anybody."

Ranko looked down. "But… Yui and the girls will tease me."

Akane nodded. "Oh, mercilessly. They're your big sisters. That's their job. But you'll be fine. C'mon. Let's have some fun with this! You've had to hide being with me so much lately. Don't pretend like it hasn't been tearing you apart. Let's have a big old party and make out all night and rub the pictures right in their fucking smug faces."

Ranko bit her lip, only starting to perk up. "Do… do I get another honeymoon?"

Akane tittered joyfully, pulling her close. "You bet you do, princess. And, more importantly…" She ran her fingers gently down her beautiful bride's neck, her laughter growing with every quiver from the sensitive girl in her lap. "You get another wedding night."

Ranko blushed, biting her lip and looking away, but Akane again took her chin in her hand and turned her head to face her.

"Ranko Tendo, will you marry me? Again?"

She thought for a moment, but Ranko finally nodded, the shy smile forming on her lips giving way to a broader one of excitement. "Yeah. I guess I will."