It would be an hour before the others woke for their day, so he'd have the bathroom to himself.
'Ah, the joys of working,' he mused to himself as he cleaned up for his day.
In just a few moments he had cleaned up, and gotten dressed for his morning workout, packed his police uniform and a change of clothes for this afternoon, and had started breakfast for the girls. Ami, while good at making sandwiches and soups, wasn't otherwise a terribly good cook. And Hotaru wasn't really up to cooking large meals yet. That left him and Makoto. Since he always woke up an hour or so before the others, he usually got saddled with cooking breakfast, while Makoto would prepare dinner.
Besides, he didn't mind cooking so much these days.
Ami, as was usual, was the next one up. She had a heavy course load that started early and ran late. After she got ready for her day, she was responsible for making sure Makoto and Hotaru were up.
Also as usual, she and he exchanged good mornings but otherwise didn't say much to each other. Ranma never quite understood why Ami always seemed to prefer ignoring him unless she had to deal with him directly or was part of a conversation with the others.
As breakfast neared completion, he started setting the small table they would eat at. Meanwhile, Hotaru and Makoto made their way to the bathroom.
A few scant minutes later, Ranma started dishing out breakfast, Ami sat down at the table, and Makoto and Hotaru came out of the bathroom with a synchronized "Good morning, sempai! Good morning, Ami!"
Ami groaned softly, though Ranma was the only one who heard it. That was not 'normal'; Ami usually didn't sound quite so depressed in the mornings. Maybe he should check if anything was wrong later today.
"Sempai," Hotaru asked as she sat down at the table, "did you remember to grab some cookies for Ms. Hamura?"
Ranma nodded. "Of course."
Breakfast continued as normal as the discussion turned to plans for the day and other small talk.
Ranma noticed the clock, and finished his meal quickly. He took his dishes to the sink, grabbed his bag, and headed out with a "See you ladies later." Miki would be waiting for him downstairs.
"Miki," came Ranma's dry response. He could tell she was in a playful mood, so he didn't want to give her an opening.
Not that it really mattered to his partner; she knew how to make her own. "And how's your harem doing?"
Ranma growled a bit as she pulled out into the road. The trip in to work wasn't too long, but those who had set him up in the apartment insisted that Miki drive him into work rather than have him roof-hop in. "I wish you wouldn't refer to them like that."
Miki smirked, not speaking. She knew Ranma well enough to know he wouldn't leave it like that. She took a sip of her morning coffee. She'd been introduced to the drink while in the States, and was now practically addicted to the stuff.
"Besides," Ranma continued, "you hang out with us almost often enough. With as many times as you call them my harem, it's surprising nobody's saying you're part of it."
Miki snorted, almost choking on her coffee. "Don't even suggest it. Eizo might not think we were just joking around."
Eizo Matokai was Miki's fiancé of nearly nine months now. It was actually an arranged marriage, formal omiai and everything. But unlike any of his arranged marriages, Miki and Eizo had agreed to the omiai, even if they hadn't met before that, and seemed happy together. Indeed, the two were practically married already, living in the same apartment and everything.
Ranma just smirked. Finally, some leverage he could use. "You agree to never refer to my roommates as my harem again?"
Miki pouted for a moment, but sighed, "Okay, okay. I get the message."
Ranma nodded and held out a small bag. "Good. Here."
Miki raised an eyebrow as she took the bag from him. When she stopped at the next light, she opened it to smell the chocolate goodies within. Closing the bag, she glanced back at Ranma.
Ranma explained, "Chocolate chocolate-chip cookies. Hotaru made 'em for you. She did a pretty good job actually."
"You already ate all the burnt one's, right?" Miki asked with a smile.
Ranma blushed a bit, but nodded.
Miki laughed.
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by Brian Drozd
(Posted Thu, 12 Jun 2003 05:39)
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