The First Date

"I hope you don't mind eating here, Kasumi made it" Akane said to Mousse. She'd been somewhat surprised when he showed up wearing a black suit and even in her melancholy mood couldn't help admiring how good looking he was.

"Of course not" he said handing her the roses that he had brought his bachelor auction buyer.

They proceeded to eat and make small talk, Mousse couldn't help noticing that Akane seemed sad, but was trying to pretend she wasn't. "I'm sorry you didn't have enough to buy Ranma" Mousse said softly.

"That pervert? Who cares, we're having fun right?" Akane said, forcing a cheerful smile.

"It's okay, I understand about not being with the person you like" he said calmly.

"It's that obvious?" she said hanging her head.

"I know that you only bought me out of sympathy and I thank you for that. It was kind of embarrassing to stand up there and listen to the crickets chirp" he said without humour. "It shows that you're a kind person"

"Mousse, I'm sorry I haven't been much company" Akane said. "I haven't really made an effort to talk to you" she said turning her full attention on Chinese martial artist.

"You don't have to pretend to like me, I'll leave after dinner" he offered.

"No screw Ranma, he's just some dork. Tell me about yourself. What's your favourite colour? Do you have brothers and sisters? That sort of thing" Akane said. She was confused because she had wanted her real first date to be with Ranma. She'd even saved up her allowance for a month and gotten a loan from Nabiki to win the date with him.

"Purple's my favourite; I'm sure you can guess why. I have a mother and three younger sisters back home" Mousse said. "Ranma likes you best" he blurted out.

"What?" Akane asked blushing.

"Ranma, he likes you the best of all the girls. You're the one he worries about when you're in trouble. You're the one he wants to marry" Mousse said, wanting Akane to stop looking so sad.

Akane blushed "how would you know?" she asked him.

"His happiness gets in the way of my own. I've been studying Ranma for a year now and have come to the conclusion that Ukyou's like a sister to him, Kodachi scares him and Shampoo annoys him. I may be blind but I'm not stupid. You two may fight, but it is the fight of two teenagers confused about their feelings. When you're both adults marriage won't seem to weird and scary and you two can make your own decision about whom you wish to marry" Mousse explained.

"You think so?" Akane said, surprised that she was revealing her deepest fear of losing Ranma to someone she barely knew personally.

"I know so" Mousse said. "My long unrequited love has made me an expert in spotting it in others" he said.

"Why do you bother? Surely there are other Amazon girls who like you?" Akane asked as she was curious.

Mousse blushed "I have my fair share" he said modestly "but you don't get to choose who you love and Shampoo's the woman who owns my heart"

"But she treats you so badly" Akane said. "She mocks you, she beats you. How could you love that?"

"It's only the public side of her that you get to see. At home at night we laugh about old times and I hold her when she'd depressed about Ranma. I'm not sure if I love or hate him, I've gotten more affection from her in the past year than I have my whole life" Mousse said in amusement.

"That's enough for you" she asked.

"For now it has to be" he said with a shrug. "Shampoo will be mine after Saotome announces that you're the one he wants and marries you. Shampoo will be crushed and shall turn to me, then she will be mine" he declared.

"Sounds like a long wait" Akane observed.

"You ready for it?" Mousse asked her ironically.

"I guess I am. But what if she finds another person after Ranma is gone?" Akane asked.

"I'll outwait him too, I have infinite patience and never give up" he said. "She shall be mine" he declared.

"What if she finds someone else in the meantime and gives up on Ranma?" Akane asked.

"You think that Ranma's her first boyfriend? She gets these silly infatuations all the time and then she becomes too aggressive and chases them away. She's not used to men who have an opinion and don't do her biding without question. I was trained to be with a strong woman, so I know to do that" Mousse said.

"Doesn't it bother you?" Akane asked.

"Not really, it's not like I blindly follow her orders. If I think something is stupid, I tell her that and she gets mad. She's cute when she's annoyed" Mousse said smiling fondly.

"She seems kind of violent" Akane said with a shiver.

"She's sweet in her way, you have to get to know her" Mousse said. "Ranma seems to perpetually insult you as I view it. Is he always like that?" Mousse challenged.

Akane couldn't helping smile at the comparison "no, I guess that people are different when they're alone" she concluded.

"That's right" Mousse said and stood up. "I think I should go. I've enjoyed dinner but know I'm not the one you want here" Mousse said.

"Wait, I'm enjoying talking with you" she said and gave him her famous smile "stay for dinner and we'll go see that movie you promised me."

"But I thought you didn't really like me?" Mousse asked confused.

"Actually I think that you're very nice and would like us to be friends. As an added bonus we could help each other out by making Shampoo and Ranma think we're interested in each other" she said wickedly.

Mousse thought about the implications of this and thought how nice it would be to have a friend to talk with. He couldn't help returning her evil grin when he imagined Ranma's and Shampoo's jealousy when he and Akane went for tea together, the movies or even long walks. "I like the way you think Tendo-san, I accept" he said.

Akane happily held onto his arm and cuddled close when they walked into the movie together. She saw many Furinkan High school students and heard their murmurs of confusion to see Akane with another male besides Ranma. She shared a look of amusement with Mousse as she took his hand and thought that the 500 yen she spent on him was her best investment ever.