Smells Like Family [Erica, Ranma]

Texture… hmh… his brain churned back to the old times of baking for no one. Those pancakes were often very tough on the mouth and teeth… so they were supposed to be softer! Maybe that’s what she meant by texture – and baking powder brought that out of the dough! Brilliant! He really had to go buy a cooking book one of these days…

…

I-I mean, it couldn’t be that hard, right? Why’d he need… a book… well… forget that, for now- wait, no, wait! It could mean more cooking times with Erica, trying out various, tasty dishes – and Ranma did function much better with a full stomach! She’d definitely appreciate that, you mouthy genius!

14th of February… ohhhhhh, that funny day, huh? What a coincidence – it wasn’t like you could control giving birth or something, so he’d say Erica’s mum hit the jackpot. Wait… that felt a bit weird-

SOoooooooooooooooo, uh, about his birthday… hmh… huh? When was his birthday? If it was similar to hers, then… the pancakes- wait, no, Auntie and Unckie were never told about his birthday from his parents, were they? Unless…

“I think… I think I know why she baked pancakes for me every- oh, here ya go!” Ranma interrupted himself by handing a tablespoon of sugar towards the sieve and pouring it down, “Sugar… in pancakes? But it looks like flat bread, though – or maybe it gives more taste… sweet bread cakes! So that’s why pancakes taste so good! No wonder mine tasted like horse cra- oh, about my birthday…”

Okay, he had to dial back to the topic at hand. “… Maybe that’s what Auntie was trying to tell me. About this whole pancake thing after we saw those stars – I don’t really know the date, but it’s… kinda my birthday? Like? Like my birthday? Sort of, like, my birthday? I hope it’s my birthday… I-I… I think… I don’t know…”

His face did sour a little bit. “Unckie once told m- I mean, Uncle once told me they took me in on a special night. Maybe it’s to celebrate that? I-I could’ve asked for more details, but… it’s too late now…”

…

"I'd like to think it's my birthday, but… the only people who'd know for sure aren't exactly worth our time, anyway. Y-You know, it's not that important - I just know that today's a special day, and that's why we're celebrating it with a hundred pancakes! Isn't that right, Snuggles?"

Snuggles, simply rolled on his back and stretched out in response, curious as to what Ranma was yapping about. It sounded off, as if he was actively pushing back the sour tone he had a moment ago in favor of a more upbeat, optimistic attitude. No need to go all grumpy when the most important woman in his life was right next to him.

”…” Erica would remember this day. It made him feel special to her… it warmed him. No, no, stop, don’t flow, don’t flow, you’re in the middle of something…

Okay, instead of his eyes, his mouth began watering a bit – strawberry banana choco-pancakes? If that was a thing, he almost wanted to make it right now! Buuuuuuuuuut they were probably already past the point of no return with the normal flavor – Ranma wasn’t too sure where that point was during their baking, but he wasn’t taking any chances with risk of ruining the product. Erica had put so much effort into helping him out, after all – he’d never forgive himself if he sabotaged her aid… but still…

“Chocolate pancakes…” he dreamed ahead, imagining dark-brown flat pastries with chips of chocolate bulging out like spines. The extra, faint crunches of that choco-ness would make his mouth explode…

Snuggles was a big fan of dairy products of all kinds – except cheese, it smelled too strong. But Erica was onto him, and he had to lower his gaze… but he’d get his moment.

“We… I bet we look like a newlywed couple right now,” Ranma randomly commented after a moment of silence. Yeah… newlyweds… he’d still not met Erica’s father, though. If what he’d learned in the 8th Division was of help, then blessings were important – it would display his dedication to her if he at least tried to request her father’s approval… but he’d not heard much about this elusive figure.

Then again, it was Erica’s father! He must’ve been a cool fella, just like her mother. “Wait, what was next? Was it the, uhh, eggs?”

… Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. He felt a painful urge to grab her waist and throw her on the table, shower her with all of his passion when her emerald, glowing eyes gazed at him like that. Do you have any idea how frustrating that felt – it was like his heart was suddenly wrung out by some hands, spraying its tender, dense love out like pushing water out of an overfilled sponge. Over the time they’d been together, a dating couple… more than that… sharing day-to-day life with her, under her roof… getting to know Erica, her bed hair, her evening habits, her being…

She was so… accepting. Accepting of him, of his… well, less-than-favorable habits and boons. Hell, she found pleasure in some of his antics – genuine smiles came from her at times, even. Who could resist that, huh? You expect him to just… stand still and just smile back? I mean… he kinda had to, they were in the midst of baking, but if that wasn’t the case, she’d be naked on the table right now.

Wait, Snuggles would have to leave the room, too… no peeping!

“*Ahem* A teaspoon of salt on the waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay-“ Ranma declared with the teaspoon of salt heading towards the bowl before turning it upside down. Salt… he could never taste salt in the pancakes before – actually, was that the salt which made it taste like shit? Did he put too much in it?

He probably did, didn’t he?

Snuggles had been observing the couple from the dinner table, getting more and more tempted to return to the kitchen desk and join the team, but an order was an order. He’d wait patiently for his pancake… but his sharp nose was catching many pleasant smells. "Woooooooooooo, I can already tell! These pancakes are gonna be special…"

Hmh… now was the time for milk. Erica had made some sort of ‘hole’ in the mixture, which baffled Ranma for a few seconds – it was going to be all mixed up in the end, anyway, so what exactly did this do? “Well? Wait, does that… change anything?” he asked with blinking, loud eyes, checking out the nice, wide den in the dough that she molded out. It must’ve been a bit difficult to keep it stable, what, with how dusty the dough was yet.

“… Oh well, you said it. Here’s a cup of milk for ya,” Ranma called back once he’d gotten his hands on a cup filled near the top with that fresh soul dew the Shinigamis called milk. Rich, thick, cold and fresh to the maw for any morning person – but viscous enough to be treated like a refreshing beverage for many living beings, both those in the Soul Society and those in the World of the Living- wait… was this milk from the World of the Living? Or from here?

Did it make a difference?

Ranma, at first, wanted the honors to pour it into the well, but… he kept backing out right before the liquid would pour in, as if too… doubting. “Mhm… nggh… nhhh… n-nah, wait, nah, I don’t think it’ll land there- h-here, maybe you should do it…” he beckoned his love, handing her the cup with a little shiver across his face, “I’ve ruined enough pancakes for today… t-there must be some sort of pan-curse on me, or something.”

Oh… okay, Erica showed it to be much easier than he anticipated. I mean, Ranma had missed out on a lot of steps in baking pancakes already – they weren’t bound to be ultra difficult… stop panicking so much, man!

Her helping hand did teach him how to gently pour it in, although his face was red as beetroot. It was almost like leading a child’s hand when they were painting something – he could’ve asked her to let go, since he got the gist already, but… hell no.

Never let go.

“Steady… steady… yeah, easy. It didn’t even fizz at all,” Ranma commented upon watching the milk run down the dough volcano. Why did he think that it’d fizz? Volcano, obviously – the mixture had been shaped like one, and his imagination just ran wild.

The scent of milk did attract Snuggles back to their feet as he was rubbing against them, which was just a tiny bit distracting! The little attention-puss was too impatient to wait for the whole meal, and a misstep could cause them both to topple and drop something important. “N-No no no no, Snuggles, wait a minute…!” Ranma panicked, only for the cat to just drop his entire, fluffy body on the floor in-between their feet, “Can’t you wait just 5 minutes?!”

Snuggles replied with a rough ‘mraw’ and stayed on their feet. Bruh.

“… Hadō #31: Very-little-miniature-Shakkahō…” Ranma whispered as deeply and quietly as possible, seeing within his closed eyes the faintest dot of red, a pixel more than an orb – a single particle of red, so utterly small that it wouldn’t hurt a fly… and then he launched it back as a small bouncy ball, grabbing Snuggles’ attention as the predatory instincts spiked up!

And with speed rivaling Shunpo users, Snuggles was now running towards the living room to catch the bouncing, small orb. “That should distract him for a bit… oh, uh, yeah, I got really good with Shakkahō lately. That one won’t hurt anyone, so you don’t have to worry about Snuggles… or your furniture.”