Author's Note: I figured to myself, I wouldn't be able to live if I didn't write one of those cliché marriage fics... Hopefully it's not too mushy gushy, but if it is, I apologize.

Disclaimer: Regrettably... I own nothing.

The Best Man

Ranma paced anxiously in the guest room of the Tendo household, yanking on his pigtail for perhaps the twelfth time in the last fifteen minutes. He looked over to his friend Ryoga, who was straightening his tie and the front of his tuxedo in a mirror on the opposite wall.

"You know... if you pull your hair one more time, I'll rip it off." Ryoga almost laughed as his friend regarded him in disbelief. "Are you sure you're all right? It's my wedding day, but you look as though you're about to die."

"Really? I had no idea," Ranma replied sarcastically and promptly stopped his pacing to give his friend a solid glare.

Ryoga looked exasperated. "Ranma, get a grip. You're supposed to be my best man, but I can't have a nervous wreck out there with me." He paused to stare again as the Saotome boy seemed to get bored and take up his pacing again. "Unless..." A lightbulb went on above his head. "You're not even worried about my wedding are you?"

Ranma blinked calmly, but Ryoga noticed that his pacing began to speed up nervously. "I just... I can't get over the idea that my two best friends are getting... married." He said the last word as if they were dangerous to his health.

Ryoga didn't seem convinced. "After Ukyo and I tie the knot, you and Akane will be the only ones left," he said, briefly alluding to the marriage that had taken place between Shampoo and Mousse just last summer. "Did you hear from Cologne that Shampoo's already four months pregnant? We'll be uncles soon!" He positively clasped his hands together with glee before returning to the mirror and beginning to comb his unruly hair.

All Ranma managed was a weak smile. Unconsciously, his hand found its way into the pocket of his silk Chinese pants, and he fingered the velvet box that had been sitting ominously within his reach for the last two days. It seemed like just yesterday Akane had smiled at him for the first time... "I can't do it, Ryoga."

The lost boy frowned and turned back to his friend, who had taken up residence on the futon on the floor, looking positively dejected. "Why not? You couldn't ask for a better time; you're no longer half-girl, I no longer turn into P-Chan, and after today, all your rivals will have been married off!"

"I never thought of you as a rival... seriously!" Ranma added as Ryoga snorted in disbelief. "I always saw you as my friend. You were the one who said that I was your rival."

"Well, that's beside the point," the fanged boy said rather pompously, though Ranma didn't miss the grin that had found it's way onto Ryoga's face. "The point is, you've been engaged to Akane for eight years – "

"Only three of which have been in our consent!"

"Don't you think it's time you just... got it over with?" Ryoga finished as though he hadn't been interrupted.

"I can't just get it 'over with' with Akane! She's too – "

"Special?" Ryoga agreed, finishing Ranma's sentence exactly. "I felt the same way about Ukyo after I fell out of love with Akane. But it's so funny, isn't it? Everyone always assumed that you and Akane would be the first ones, but ironically, you're last! So much for that 'Saotome winning streak!'" He guffawed heartily, and Ranma had to resist the urge to rip off his tie and make him struggle with it all over again.

There was silence in the room for the next few minutes as the groom-to-be went back to managing his appearance in the mirror.

Ranma strode over to the window in his room and glanced down at the wedding preparations in the Tendo's backyard. He could see Nabiki lining up chairs in a very attractive pattern from the second floor, and he could see Kasumi and his mother walking out in the yard carrying vase upon vase of gorgeous rose bouquets and setting them on circle tables covered with elegant white tablecloths. Dwelling on what Ryoga had said, he realized that he secretly felt the same way; even if it was subconsciously, he'd always pictured himself, obviously as the manliest of all (in his eyes anyway), and getting married first to Akane.

"How'd you do it?" Even to himself, Ranma's voice sounded strange and foreign; his embarrassment had turned him into a stuttering wreck.

"Do what?"

"How'd you, you know... pop the question?"

"I took Ukyo out to eat on the anniversary of our engagement, got down on one knee, and asked her something along the lines of 'Will you marry me?'"

When Ranma gaped at him, Ryoga only scoffed. "You act as if it's supposed to be some big elaborate thing!"

Ranma, puzzled, gave his friend a disbelieving stare. "You mean it's not?"

The lost boy removed his bandana, muttering to himself that it made his hair look better. "Well, it's up to you really. You were thinking of proposing today, weren't you?" Before Ranma had a chance to deny anything, Ryoga cut him off. "I saw the ring in here yesterday." He spared a glace at Ranma's pocket, into which the pigtailed boy reflexively stuck his hand.

"Yeah, I was," Ranma answered reluctantly. "But I can't just... bring it up."

"You could always wait until Ukyo throws the bouquet."

"What?"

"In America, they say that whoever catches the bride's bouquet marries next."

"And how would you know what people think in America?" Ranma asked, a hint of a grin on his face, glad to finally put Ryoga in an embarrassing situation.

"I got lost there for several weeks a few years ago..." His friend muttered in reply, lightly pink in the face.

"Why am I not surprised?" The pigtailed boy relished his moment of fun, but then he recalled something relatively important. "Akane once told me she wanted to go to America."

"Oh yeah?" Ryoga replied, although with only half of his attention; he was digging vigorously in the closet for his dress shoes. "Why'd she do that?"

"She said she wanted to go to America... to get away from me – but that was before I even liked her." Ranma added quickly when his friend stopped his efforts in the closet to ask why he'd even remember that.

"Okay, the bouquet idea's shot..." But before the lost boy could offer his friend anymore helpful advice, Soun and Genma, both clad uncharacteristically in handsome tuxes, burst into the room and sent Ranma headfirst into the wall in their efforts to get their hands on Ryoga.

"Guests are arriving, boy! We need you downstairs!" And the two fathers, practically fathers of Ryoga himself, exited the room, leaving a flustered groom and his bedraggled best man behind.

"Okay... Ranma, this is it." His voice and his fingers trembled and he tied his shoes. "Why don't you just... go take a shower or something and get dressed. I'll see you out there." He left with a hasty wave, left the room, and turned in the opposite direction of the stairs.

Muttering to himself about Ryoga's horrible sense of direction, Ranma made his way to the bathroom, a towel hung over his shoulder and his tux in his arms. He pulled his shirt halfway over his head as he slid the door open, but his heart stopped when he heard a shriek and a splash from inside the tub. Ranma quickly pulled his shirt back on and promptly turned a brilliant shade of red; had he really been stupid enough to forget to knock?

He stood mutely, staring at Akane, who apparently had been climbing out of the bath just as Ranma walked in. She sat, shoulder-deep in the warm water of the tub and stared back at him before coming to her senses.

"Ranma! Get out!"

"Sorry!" He dropped his clothing on the tiled floor and bolted as fast as his legs could carry him, only just dodging a bar of soap that was hurled in his direction.

He stood outside the door to the bathroom with his arms crossed and a goofy smile on his boyish face. It only dropped when he saw Nabiki, wearing a sleeveless green dress, walking down the hallway in his direction. He let out a groan, but raised his hand casually in greeting. "Hey."

"Hi?" She raised an eyebrow at the blush that left an obvious on Ranma's face, and then she looked at the bathroom door. Putting two and two together, the clever girl grinned slyly. "Okay, Ranma, just don't get too out of hand. We do have a wedding in about an hour anyway." And before Ranma could retort, she had ditched him in the hallway and went into Akane's room to help Ukyo with her dress.

He made to go and bang his head on the door to the bathroom in embarrassment, but it swung open just as his face was inches from the glass panel. "Akane!" he cried, looking happy and relieved. That was until he noticed that she was clad only in a blue bathrobe and her hair was still damp, having only been towel-dried. He could feel the familiar warmth rising up the back of his neck as he took a moment or two to look her up and down.

"Ranma?" she asked. "Are you okay? You look really nervous." He swung his gaze away when he saw that the top of his fiancée's bathrobe was closed rather loosely.

"Fine!" he replied in an unnaturally high voice. He coughed twice. "Fine. I'm fine," he repeated.

"Okay... well could you move? I have to go change and help Ukyo with her make-up." She eyed his awkward position in front of her, blocking her from the rest of the hall. "Thanks," she said as he practically jumped out of her way, face still flaming.

"Akane, I'm sorry," he blurted before she got too far. He was amazed when he saw her laugh.

"It's not a big deal."

Ranma's height shortened a good three inches, as his shoulders slumped when he let out a sigh of relief. "Good, I mean, it's not like I saw anything I haven't seen before, right?" This apparently was not the right thing to say.

Akane's smile dropped just a notch. "No, it isn't. But this is not the right time or place to be talking about it... I need to go." And with a goodbye gesture, she made her way into her occupied bedroom. He heard her positively cry out in excitement when she saw Ukyo in her wedding dress.

This time, Ranma actually did bang his head against the door to the bathroom. He was so distracted that he didn't even notice that the ring in his pocket had fallen and landed softly on the floor. Eight years... it had been eight years, and he still acted like a hormonal teenager around her. There was no way he could ever ask her something as important as marrying him. He shuddered just from thinking about the word. He walked into the bathroom, steam still lingering in the air, and picked up his dropped clothing. It really wasn't all that long ago when martial arts had been his entire life... now all he could think about was Akane. Akane laughing, Akane speaking, Akane's body as she climbed out of the – He shook his head in disgusted amazement. Undressing, he turned on the shower and stepped inside.

"I told you to lock the door, Akane." Nabiki held out a hand to her younger sister for a bobby pin, forgetting she already had several in her mouth.

"I did!" Akane retorted, handing her sister several pins and going to the closet to fetch her bride's maids' dress. "I think you unlocked it again!"

"I'm hurt. Honestly, you both act like high schoolers still. "Nabiki pulled up a long tendril of Ukyo's auburn hair and curled it with a curling iron. She let it hang over the bride's left shoulder, emphasizing the curve of her neck. "Although it might not make much of a difference, what with the veil and everything." But Akane obviously disagreed, running over with a mirror in one arm and her dress in the other, absolutely beaming.

"Ukyo! You're gorgeous!"

"Thanks, Akane. Though, this really isn't my style..." Ukyo gingerly felt the top of her head where her hair was piled into a very elegant bun, courtesy of the middle Tendo daughter.

"Don't be silly. Ryoga's gonna have a nosebleed when he sees you."

"Let's hope not." Ukyo cringed when she imagined blood stains on her dress, but she laughed anyway. She twirled in the mirror several times to look at her Western-style wedding dress. "Akane, you'd better get dressed too; you're my maid of honor."

"On come on. I can change in two seconds, and my hair won't take nearly as long to fix." Nevertheless, she walked into her closet to don her attire just as Nabiki was putting the finishing touches on Ukyo's make-up.

The dress Ukyo had chosen for Akane really did suit her, and her friends voiced this when she finally stepped out of her closet with a smile. It was strapless, which was why it had taken some coercing to get her to agree to wear it, and it was a light blue. The bottom half of the knee-length dress belled out only slightly, but it spread out nicely when it was twirled; perfect for dancing. The only decoration other than a dark blue sash on the waist was the slim print of a flower on the left side of her torso. That way, the focus was on the wearer of the dress, rather than the dress itself. It was complemented by silver jewelry and matching sandals.

"Well, how's it look?" Akane gestured down at herself.

"Oh, Akane, that's so pretty!" Ukyo practically went up to hug the girl.

"This is your wedding, okay?" Akane laughed as Ukyo spun her around to look at the back of the dress. "So the focus should be all on you, okay?"

The two of them ogled each other for several minutes until Nabiki interrupted. "Looks like we've got a full house today." She motioned for the two girls to come with her to the window, and the three of them observed the scene below.

"It's beautiful..." Ukyo breathed, which had been just what Akane was thinking.

The grass could not have been greener, and the linen could not have been more chipper. Down past the buffet table stuffed with items from the Cat Café and the wedding cake that Kasumi had been cooking for the last three days, Akane spotted the guests. Her sister was right, it was crowded. She looked around and recognized so many familiar faces. In the front row was the Kuno family, calmed down over the years and no longer so eccentric; it was amazing how growing up could change a person. She noticed Shampoo and Mousse holding hands, Shampoo looking a little rounder than normal. Then, as she looked closer, the maid of honor could see so many more people she had not dreamt of ever meeting again. She saw Azusa Shiratori running around with a drum she had stolen from the band that was hired to play, she saw Shinnosuke and his grandfather sitting quietly at a table, and she even saw the old man from the mirror mansion that had helped Ranma get rid of a female copy of himself.

And then she saw him.

Ranma and Ryoga were standing at the altar, both looking more nervous than Akane had ever seen either of them. Ryoga kept messing with his tie, and Ranma had to constantly knock his friend's hand out of the way while shakily pulling on his own pigtail every couple seconds.

"Ukyo! Akane!" A voice rang up the stairs. It was Kasumi, and she soon appeared in the doorway of her youngest sister's room clad in a modest pink dress. "Ukyo, you look so wonderful!"

"Thanks, Kasumi." The two girls met in the middle of the bedroom and embraced, though with some difficulty because of the lace on the wedding dress.

"Both you and Akane should go and wait downstairs in the kitchen; the procession's about to start!" The two elder daughters hurried Ukyo out of the room, and Akane was left to fend for herself, though she didn't mind in the slightest. As she walked down the hall to the staircase, something caught her eye on the ground just outside of the bathroom door; it was a velvet box about two inches across. She shrugged and opened it –

"Akane, hurry up!"

The yell from downstairs caught Akane off-guard. She let go of the half-opened lid without seeing its contents, and it slammed mercilessly onto one of her fingers. "Ouch!" She put the box into her purse and her fingers into her mouth and flew down the stairs as quickly as her heeled shoes allowed her. With all the distractions of the wedding, Nabiki nagging about her hair and Kasumi nagging about her hands, it wasn't long before Akane completely forgot about the box that she had found upstairs.

"Ryoga, I'm warning you, if you don't quit messing with your tie – " But Ranma was cut off by the sudden hush that fell over the crowd. Glancing away from Ryoga, he noticed the procession coming up the lawn, Akane in the lead. It took all his power to keep his jaw from dropping as the two of them made eye contact. She smiled, and Ranma suddenly realized that he'd been staring at her blatantly. She stood opposite him and looked across the lawn expectantly.

Ranma, however, continued to admire Akane's garb until a look from Ryoga made him tear his gaze away. Just as he was afraid someone else in the crowd would notice his eyes popping, the sea of well-groomed heads turned as the Wedding March began playing from the stage that was set up for the band.

Ranma had to admit, his long-time friend looked... breath-taking. Although he didn't have much of a taste for Western wedding gowns, he figured it suited Ukyo. The only person he'd ever seen wearing one was Akane – Ranma mentally slapped himself. What was his problem? He glanced at his fiancée out of the corner of his eye, attempting to catch her attention, but she was too busy smiling at Ukyo as she walked arm-in-arm with Genma Saotome slowly down the sloping lawn to the alter.

Genma released Ukyo just in front of Ryoga and sidled in next to Ranma, who was still staring openly at Akane and the way her eyes shone as she grinned at the couple on the altar. Wow... she looked really nice when she smiled like that... Saotome senior gave his son a discreet kick behind the knees and pointed at Ryoga. After sending his father a glare and biting his lip, Ranma tore his eyes away from his fiancée reluctantly and focused back to the priest and the altar, where he saw his two best friends gazing longingly into each other's eyes as the old man babbled on behind them.

Ranma hated himself for feeling as though the event was eating away at his precious time, but he really wished the ceremony part of the wedding would end. He had resisted the urge to look at his watch a dozen times already. He didn't know what it was, but somehow the tedious event of a wedding gave him the nerve he needed to perhaps offer Akane a chance to stand with him at the alter the next time. He kept glancing from her glowing face to his friends, so very much in love, under the altar. He remained stoic when he saw Ryoga's overjoyed face, and he couldn't help but notice that Ukyo looked as though she was about to cry.

It really was funny how something as joyous as a wedding could put one's life in perspective. Ranma thought back several years previous and remembered all the childish squabbles he had shared with Akane, or Ryoga and his soon-to-be wife... it all seemed so distant. At the time Ranma hated Ryoga for being in love with Akane, and he would've given anything to have Ukyo and Shampoo disentangle themselves from his life… and yet, there they all were together. In high school, Ranma would've looked into the future and not pictured any of this. The only thing that remained constant throughout the majority of his life was his love for Akane. He looked at her yet again and saw the same girl he fell in love with years ago.

Finally, after many a long moment, during which Ranma suspected the audience had held its breath in anticipation...

"You may kiss the bride." The old priest, who Ranma had seen many times before when his father had tried to force him to marry Akane, snapped his book shut. Ryoga didn't hesitate to wrap up his new wife in his arms and kiss her.

Ranma and Akane started clapping simultaneously a fraction of a second before everyone else. She must have noticed this too, because she finally made eye contact with her fiancé. He wasn't surprised to see her smiling, tears welling up in her brown orbs. Ukyo and Ryoga positively ran down the patch of lawn, arm-in-arm. The crowd was turned around in their chairs, now cheering uncontrollably. Ranma even saw Happosai in the front row throw a couple of firecrackers into the air that exploded and sent confetti all over the yard. The bride's maids and their chaperones then disembarked behind the newlyweds, and with very little risk of being seen, Akane mouthed something to Ranma as she took his arm: "I love you."

As soon as the majority of the crowd had settled down at their tables, the band took up the stage and started off the reception with an old song: Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World." Ryoga led Ukyo onto the dance floor, and the pair opened it up with a slow dance. As soon as she had laid her head on her new husband's shoulder (her veil was abandoned at the high table), other excited pairs followed suit and began to slow dance. Among the first were Ranma's own mother and father, followed soon after by Shampoo and her husband.

Ranma himself was not much of a dancer, but he knew Akane loved it even though he'd only taken her out dancing once. So, he held out his hand. She took it, positively beaming with enthusiasm. Almost as soon as the pair started swaying to the slow melody, Akane rested her head on his chest and draped her arms over his shoulders. He responded by holding her close and just breathing her in; after his chaotic teenage years, he'd vowed to never take a quiet moment with her for granted. The light floral scent of her shampoo made his eyelids droop, and he found himself lost in an all-too-familiar world…

"Ranma, don't fall asleep." She laughed lightly and pulled back just far enough to see him shake his head and yawn at her.

"Huh? I'm sorry..."

"It's okay. I just don't want to have to drag you off of the dance floor later." She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him sweetly on the lips with her arms still on his shoulders. That seemed to wake him up considerably.

"No... I mean I'm sorry about this morning."

"It's okay," Akane said, blushing faintly. "I told you it's not a big deal." She paused. "Let's just pretend it didn't happen, okay?"

"All right... but I'm still sorry."

Akane sighed and changed the subject. "I can't believe how fast life goes. It feels like I was just in high school, and now our friends are already married and having kids..."

"Yeah," Ranma agreed, looking over to Ryoga and Ukyo dancing closely together as the song in the background repeated the chorus for the last time.

"Now it's only us left."

Secretly, Ranma had been hoping that she would forget about the two of them until he somehow dug up the nerve to bring it up himself, but he managed a nod in response. "Time really flies... it feels like just yesterday when I walked in on you for the first time in the ba – " But he cut himself off and looked away from his fiancée, red in the face.

She laughed softly and hit him playfully on the arm. "Pervert..."

"Ranma! Akane!" The pair looked past the crowd of dancing couples toward the voices. They were mildly surprised and glad to see Shampoo and Mousse pushing toward them. "Long time no see!" Shampoo gave Ranma and Akane each a friendly hug.

"Shampoo! Wow, congratulations on the baby!" Akane disentangled herself from Ranma's arms and eyed the bulge around the Amazon's abdomen happily. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Ranma! It's so nice to see you again!" Mousse cried pompously, proceeding to shake Akane's hand.

"Mousse as blind as ever," Shampoo said as her husband pulled out his glasses and peered at Akane. The four of them laughed. "Ryoga and Ukyo want us to go up to the table with them; cake's gonna be cut soon!"

Akane dragged Ranma by the hand to the table behind the Chinese couple. The pigtailed boy snatched a rose from a vase they passed and handed it to Akane once they had sat down. "What's this for?"

"Oh... I just thought you'd like it." He shrugged and plopped down next to Ryoga. He gave the lost boy a hearty pat on the back. "Congratulations, man! With Ukyo as your wife, maybe your kids will at least have a decent sense of direction!"

"Ranma, honestly!" Akane swatted him upside the head with the rose he had just given her. "You're as tactless as ever! Ryoga, don't listen to him. I actually cried today... I'm still shaking from the excitement... Wow, imagine how I'll act at my own wedding!" She laughed with Ukyo about her joke and Ranma saw the groom give him a look that clearly said Did you do it yet? To this the pigtailed boy shook his head vigorously; all the constant mention about his own potential wedding was making him nervous. On instinct, he reached into the pocket of his pants to feel for the ring he had gotten for Akane last week. When he felt nothing, he began to panic. He felt inside the other pocket and then jumped out of seat and started crawling around under the table, ignoring a cry of outrage from his fiancée.

"Ranma! What in the world are you doing?"

"Nothing, nothing!" But she was unconvinced when his hand shot up, knocked over a wine glass, and grabbed the scruff of Ryoga's shirt, pulling him underneath the table as well. He could hear Akane apologizing to Ukyo several feet above him.

"What are you – "

"I lost it!" Ranma said in utter panic, pulling yet again on his already abused pigtail.

"Lost what? Your sanity?"

"The ring! Akane's ring! I lost it!"

"I can't believe you!" But when Ranma continued to act irrationally, Ryoga hit him upside the head. "Calm down, will you? Go check the house or something. You probably left it in your room. Just tell everyone you need to use the toilet."

"Um... yeah, okay. That's sounds good..."

The two friends emerged from under the table and were met with several curious stares from their friends. "Ryoga, what was that all about?" Ukyo piped up as Ranma and her new husband resumed their seats, brushing off bits of grass from their sleeves. Both of them were glad the music was playing as loudly as it was; no one heard anything they had said under the table.

"Yeah... what's going on?"

"Oh, Ranma just started freaking out because he lost his ring – " Ranma stomped none to gently on his friend's foot under the table. "... tailed lemur," he finished lamely, tears threatening in his eyes.

Before anyone could question further, Ranma shot straight up out of his seat again. "I'm going to the bathroom!" he said loudly, getting a few stares from the next table over. Without hesitating, he bolted for the back door, bumping into a few disgruntled couples dancing on his trek toward the Tendo house.

He slid the backdoor closed and the sound of festivities from outside was muted considerably. Now where to look...?

Ranma eventually decided that Ryoga's hunch was the best and made his way to the stairs. Once on the landing, he made his way to the room he had shared with his father for years. After two days of vigilant watch on that stupid piece of jewelry, how could he be so careless? He upturned both futons and a bookshelf in his search, and he then proceeded to search the closet. It was only a matter of moments before the tatami mats on the floor were covered completely with unwashed laundry.

Groaning as he groped around inside his pillowcase, Ranma finally decided to leave the room. He walked down the hallway with much less enthusiasm and made his way to the bathroom. Being completely covered in flat tiles and devoid of nooks and crannies, it didn't take the pigtailed boy long to scour the room and leave it with a deepening frown on his face.

Where the heck was it?

As if on impulse, he dragged his feet to his fiancée's bedroom and fell face down onto her bed. In no time, the little elation he felt during the wedding ceremony was ebbing away completely until he just felt like sleeping. His eyes drooped, and in his mind's eye (at least he thought it was his mind's eye), he saw himself digging through the earth searching for the ring and eventually finding his way to China and falling once again into the Cursed Spring of Drowned Girl in Jusenkyo...

He sat bolt upright with a start.

"Ranma, are you... okay?"

Ranma turned to the speaker, who happened to be the owner of the bedroom, and opened his mouth wordlessly several times. "How'd you – "

"I followed you," Akane said, moving and sitting down next to her fiancé as he rubbed sleep from his eyes. "Ranma, what's going on? Ever since this morning at the bathroom," at this point her face turned slightly pink, "you've been a little... off."

He nodded vigorously to indicate that he was perfectly normal, once again inhaling the flowery scent that seemed to seep from Akane's body like some sort of pheromone. "How long was I out?"

"About ten minutes. Listen, they're probably beginning to worry about us outside. We should go." Akane was pulling Ranma's arm to drag him off the bed and out of the bedroom when he pulled a very childish stunt on her. He lurched forward onto the mattress, clutching her yellow pillow tightly and shaking his head several times. Akane, already somewhat off-balance because of her heeled sandals toppled over onto his back with a shriek. She rolled over onto her back next to him and shot him a glare that he missed, as his face was buried into the blanket. "What are you doing?"

He muttered something inaudible in reply.

"What?"

"I lost something," he repeated, raising his head and looking his fiancée in the eye. He couldn't help noticing how beautiful she looked, despite the utterly frustrated expression on her face.

"Are you going to tell me that that's why you practically destroyed your bedroom?" She sat up and turned her back on him. Ranma groaned as he noticed her becoming more outraged by the minute.

"I didn't destroy my bedroom. Don't you think you're overreacting a little bit?" He poked her in the back in mild amusement, watching her arch away from his touch.

"I know this is hard for you to understand sometimes, but not everything is about you. Ryoga and Ukyo just got married, and you're in here complaining. Quit being such a child!"

She said the one thing that caused him to completely lose his nerve about proposing to her; a child was surely not capable of spending a lifetime stuck in marriage. "I lost something," he stated again, not knowing what else to say.

Akane didn't seem capable of staying too mad at him. "Okay, I'll help you find it then. And we'll go outside in a few minutes." She stood up and seemed to think it wiser to refrain from pulling on her fiancé's arm again. Ranma saw her look down at him expectantly; he had a hard time deciding if her expression was angry or not, but it was obvious that she was speaking less loudly.

He got up reluctantly from Akane's bed and followed her into the hallway with a yawn.

"So, what are we looking for exactly?" Akane spoke with just a hint of hesitancy in her voice.

Ranma winced, only just coming to his senses. It would defeat the purpose of the ring if she were to find out about it first. "Um... a box," he managed intelligently.

"Be more specific." Akane led her fiancé past his room, not wanting to trouble herself anymore than she needed to. "How big is it?"

"Oh about..." Ranma held his fingers roughly three inches apart as the pair stopped walking, "And it's squarish..."

"Squarish..." Akane repeated, making the word sound more odd than it actually was. "I don't think I've seen anything like that anywhere..." As she contemplated the description, she began to raise her arms a few inches above her sides and then brought the down to tap them on her thighs. This went on for several moments before her arms finally nudged the purse hanging off her shoulder and the box inside it...

"What is it?" Ranma asked, noticing that her expression had suddenly changed from bored to bewildered.

She reached into the small bag hanging just below her waist and drew the box out with a smile, showing it to Ranma who had been looking on anxiously.

His jaw nearly hit the ground when he opened his mouth. "Where'd you find that?"

"I found it outside the bathroom door this morning, but I forgot about it until now. Is this what you were tearing up your room for?"

"Yes!" And before she had a chance to open it, the pigtailed boy snatched the velvet box out of his fiancée's grasp. Then, with a new spring in his step, he took Akane's hand and led her down the stairs. He proceeded to re-enter the party, suddenly loads happier than he was only minutes ago. Thank goodness she didn't ask –

"What's in it?"

Ranma, who had been a good five feet ahead of Akane in their journey to the back door, stopped dead in his tracks. "Nothing!" he replied automatically.

"No, really, what's in it?" He nearly jumped out of his skin when Akane suddenly appeared out of nowhere next to him, grinning in genuine curiosity.

"It's my... ring-tailed lemur," Ranma replied nervously, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Akane placed both hands on her hips and frowned at the pigtailed boy. "I wasn't born yesterday, you know." When he tried to run toward the door, the blue-haired girl picked up the closest object to her and threw it at his head.

The book bounced off Ranma's skull with a thud and lay with its spine up on the floor. He stopped only momentarily to rub the back of his head, but it was all Akane needed to catch up to him. "Ranma! Just tell me what it is!"

"No!" A large bump had appeared on the unfortunate boy's cranium.

"Just do it!"

"Akane – "

"Ranma!" Akane just pulled out her mallet when Ranma finally decided to relinquish. He knelt on the floor to avoid catching another heavy blow to the head and caught his fiancée's arms in the downswing, the mallet only a few inches from his face. With his free hand he reached into his pocket and ripped open the velvet box.

"It's a ring! Okay? Are you happy?"

The silence was deafening as the pair stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Akane's scowl gradually faded into and expression that looked positively shocked and delighted. She dropped her mallet to the floor with a clatter and covered her mouth with both hands to stifle a gasp. Ranma, not noticing the position he was in, placed a hand over his chest to slow down his heartbeat and let out a sigh of relief. When he looked back up at her, he suddenly became aware of his attitude on the floor: kneeling... ring... happy Akane... He glanced at the hand that was covering his heart and quickly dropped it before he was accused of looking like a complete fool.

"Um... you wanna marry me?"

The effect of those few words was incredible: Akane immediately launched herself at Ranma, who was still confused, and sent both of them sprawling across the floor. In a daze, the pigtailed boy sat up, his fiancée's arms still wrapped around his neck. She kissed his cheek just below his ear and looked at him, eyes once again shining with tears. "Is that your idea of a proposal?" It really was remarkable how fast her mood could change, but Ranma had to admit she was right; he had not imagined the moment to end up like it had.

"So... will you?" He couldn't help grinning like an idiot when he saw Akane's head nod up and down enthusiastically, her brown eyes actually overflowing with tears and emotion. She was positively giddy, crying and laughing at the same time. Ranma, usually as untactful as ever, managed to do the right thing by kissing her fingers to get her to calm down. She sat blinking at him, looking as though she'd never stop smiling, and he slipped the silver band onto her ring finger.

She hugged him again tightly. "I love you."

"Me too," Ranma whispered as he held her closely to him. "Wanna go outside now?" He felt his fiancée nod against his shoulder, and the two of them stood up. Akane took a couple of minutes to regain her composure, but it wasn't long before they walked out the backdoor hand in hand.

Met by the afternoon sun, Ranma shadowed his eyes and glanced around at the dance floor for a sight of his best friends. The music never sounded happier, and the pigtailed boy couldn't help but let out a contented sigh. As the pair approached the rest of the party and slipped in unnoticed by anyone else, Akane hurried off to get a few plates to try the wedding cake Kasumi had made. Ranma, however, scanned the yard again and met Ryoga's eyes; he and Ukyo were once again dancing closely together. The Saotome heir gave a thumbs-up and a grin to his friend's questioning stare and followed his fiancée to get silverware.

Well, nothing in Ranma's life had ever been perfect, but the Saotome charm had evidently made him the best man anyway.

Author's Note: There! Amazingly, this only took me a few hours to write... Usually it would take about a week because I'm so lazy. I know it was really cliché and extremely happy, but it was quite fun to write. :D

Hope you all enjoyed it! Review, please!