Good Day, everybody, I hope you are having a wonderful time!
Gosh! Is been so long since I came here. Been busy, and stuff, and, in reality, I am still busy but I remember how much I enjoy this anime (since it´s part of my childhood) and how much I like Mousse as a character so I decied to give it a shot (or a two shot, this is a two chapter story).
Before starting I would like to clarify what we all know, Ranma 1/2 is not mine nor I´m making money.
Another note could be that you´ll notice I used both their "Chinese" and "Japanese" names in the story, this would depend of the language they are using at the moment.
now, go ahead and enjoy
Unexpected
By CrackerTales
Amazon law is a strange and cruel one. Theirs was indeed a strange and fascinating culture, and its fame had travel to places far, far away. To many ears, and cultures, and men.
There were those who feel complete horror upon the word "amazon", they had heard stories of how they were, how they killed and fight, how they mistreated and abuse, how they considered high education unnecessary. This people have heard of their barbaric ways, but knew nothing of their wisdom and heritage.
There were also men who heard Amazons were dominated by woman and couldn´t bare the idea. These men often ventured into China, into the dangers of the problematic tribe with one purpose in mind: put all those women on the places they belong. Needless to say, many were brutally defeated and the red of their own blood was the last thing they ever saw.
Yet, amazons did not think little of men. They acknowledge them as strong and respected those who honorably come to them to fight and win. Those were to become husbands and fathers of the tribe and would be treated as that with all due respect. It was whinny, annoying men they disliked.
Men like him.
If there was one person in the world that could drive Shampoo crazy was Mousse. Childhood friend and foe of her personal interests. He wasn´t a bad person, she knew as much. He was probably a better human being that herself! Or so she had heard. Actually, she heard a lot of things about him; good things and bad, and she focused on the bad because it made her life easier and less guilty. He was too bubbly and spontaneous, too jealous and aggressive. He got into battle to quickly… He was too correct… too easy to please. Too selfish and arrogant and yet, too kind and innocent. He was too childish. And Shampoo used this excuse to reject all his advances.
"Shampoo needs a man, not a boy" and she would walk away leaving him with a sore heart, a painful sting on his chest; head and moral low, but determined as always. He never lost hope, not when she announced her spontaneous engagement, not when she did all to seduce Ranma, not when she was cruel and cold to him and crushed his soul and heart. This was his more admirable and annoying trait, his perseverance. And It was precisely that that got them both in trouble with Cologne. His stupid perseverance! His resistance against defeat.
As many other days, Ranma and Akane had come to the Neko Hanten to fetch food. This always made Shampoo smile for it meant she could see her beloved fiancé and show him she was a better cook and future wife than that insipid girl he hanged around with. In fact, she was better than her in everything and still he kept her by his side, not together but close, very close, and Shampoo could not understand that. This was why the amazon had to take advantage of every opportunity and established her dominion over the young martial artist. It could have been an easy task, for who wouldn't be afraid of such a terrible warrior? One that could cold blooded get rid of anything and anyone if she wanted! She was powerful, strong and beautiful! She should be able to get anything! Nothing should get on her way! And yet he did, along with some other things, but he was always the main problem.
The moment she was fast on her feet and threw herself into the arms of the man she loved, she should have known he was up to something. He always was. And this time he choose attack at the exact same time he was supposed to watch the stove.
Now it might be right to make clear that the boy is no cook at all, he can do a descent bowl of ramen, but not good enough to be sell at the café; besides, people didn´t come to the place for his food, they came for Shampoo´s. The task he had was simple and easy… and so was hers. As soon as she saw that poor excuse of a prospect she told him to watch over the pressure cooker, not the best thing to ask a guy who is hopelessly in love with you if you plan to flirt with another man right on his nose.
Soon, Saotome was soaking wet in a warm brown substance and ready to fight the man with the dark long hair, and the cooker was forgotten.
But it was not a long battle, Cologne returned just in time to give both young men a very deserved knock over the head for causing disturbance on her restaurant and sent them to fight outside but they never got pass the door. A loud, shattering , explosion-like-sound was heard in the kitchen. Both Shampoo and Mouse turned instinctively to look at each other, one mad, the other trying to hide his fear and worry. Cologne went quickly to source of the noise and soon after she was yelling at them. By this point Ranma and Akane had flee, afraid they would be taken as responsible for the little incident.
"How can you let this happen?!" yelled the old woman as she pointed the walls and ceiling covered with the disgusting remains of a meal
"Mousse should be more careful! This would be fine if he pay attention!" said the young lady crossing her arms upon her chest and slightly turning around to shake off all blame
"My girl" responded Cologne "If I recalled correctly I asked you to do this. You are as responsible as him"
The girl eyes went wide
"But, Great Grandmother! Airen came and…"
"You cannot keep using Ranma as an excuse, Shampoo, I know he is important, but your job is important too! It is preparing you to be a better person, the great woman you´ll be one day" The girl closed her mouth, but defiance still played on her features
"Yes, great-grandmother" she said at last swallowing down her anger and pride. Cologne nodded and walked past her
"As for you, boy" she said and he straighten up at her voice "Clearly you would not become a great woman, but you will become something and is necessary that you stay useful and focused!" and she hit him once again with her staff over the head, he released a childish wimp
"Why?"
"Stop complain! Both of you! And start scrubbing, I want this place spotless in the morning!"
"Great. Grandmother! This is…" but the old woman didn´t listen and left the kitchen saying she was too old and tired.
:::::
"This is gross" said Mousse as he took a piece of the failed meal out of the wall "What kind of meat is this anyway?"
"Duck" answered the girl with a stern face and no emotion on her voice. He threw the piece of meat away and climb down the box he used as step
"That´s disgusting" he commented looking at her, she just scuffed and turn her face around
"Shampoo bought duck alive at market, he wanted to run away, he as stubborn… must be a duck thing" He didn´t answered "later, I thought 'What if this is Mousse?' and I killed duck"
The nearly blind boy froze on his place for a moment
"If Mousse is no good help, maybe he is good meal"
Once again, he didn´t answered but stood, for a moment, stuck on his feet. Soon, after letting go a breath he was holding, he tried to walk away
"I… I think I´m gonna throw up" he said on his way out. He was stop by her voice
"Shampoo is only kidding" her voice sounded teasing on his ears "Shampoo never kill Mousse… on purpose"
He sighed and turned around to look at her, she was playing uninterested with the sponge on her hands
"Still is rude to eat duck around here, Shampoo, What would you said if I was to eat cat?"
"Cat is no for eating, dumb duck!"
"Oh, I bet I can make a mean cat stew?" he replied under his breath
She looked at him and twisted her mouth considering for a moment taking his words seriously. Soon, she decided he was just annoyed by her. That had never happened before
"Shampoo never wanted to, Client asked for Duck"
"It´s not in the menu…"
"You tell client that, client always right, no?"
He remained quiet as he returned to scrub the walls once again. At the corner of her eye, the girl saw with some admiration how well he could performed the task without passing out, Ducks were no longer mere animals for him anymore… or for anybody there.
"It´s sad that his little guy died for nothing"
Shampoo returned to work buffing "Stupid Mousse!" she said sharply
"What now?"
"This is Mousse´s fault" she said throwing the sponge at him "Shampoo was planning to go with Airen tonight!"
"Did you even listened what he said before? He told you he needed food for the road! They were going out town!"
"Shampoo would follow!" and she asked for her sponge by stretching out her hand. He shook his head and give it back. They worked in silence for the next couple of minutes
"You have to admit" he said quietly after "that he looked kinda funny soaking on that stock"
"Stock?" she asked turning around to see him
"Yes, one I left resting in the sun for a month" as soon as this words had leave his lips, he was hit with a soap bar on the back of his head. He complained, but soon after acknowledged it was worth it. Shampoo scrubbed the grease and meat out of the wall. She scrubbed and cleaned with annoyance and force while mumbling something under her breath, after a couple of minutes, she stopped suddenly and Mousse noticed she was giggling
"Is everything all right?" he asked confused and with his guard up, just in case
"Airen did looked funny" she said smiling "and violent girl was very upset"
After this, he allowed himself to chuckle "Thanks for not being mad" he said to her smiling
"Shampoo is mad" she replied losing her good mood. This sudden change made poor Mousse take a step back in caution. Seeing him like this, made her snort "Stupid Mousse!" she said smiling and he let his guard down
"I would say I am sorry, but why lying" he commented not wanting them to go into a uncomfortable silence "Saotome will smell like rotten stock for days…"
"violent girl will not get close!"
And they both laughed, for different reasons, but they laughed together and that was very, very rare for them.
Shampoo managed to stop her giggling all together, yet in her eyes still was playing a little sparkle and Mousse noticed it when she searched for his gaze
"I should tell you" she said in her native tongue "that dad says hello. He called this morning"
"oh… thanks" he exclaimed a little threw off "I appreciate that he remembers me"
"Stupid!" she cried slapping the back of his head "We are friends since we´re three!"
He saw her as she intended to go back to work, her hands caressing her hair as she tried to tied it up in a ponytail, she notice his confused gaze and clarify she didn't want to get duck on her hair. He snorted.
"What?"
"Is duck really that terrible? I read they are wonderful birds"
"For stew, maybe"
And he shook his head but said nothing, only sighed. They returned to work.
"So" he said suddenly texting the waters "Friends?"
"Don´t make a big deal about it, Duck boy!"
"I won´t… I´ll try! It´s just that…"
The girl threw her sponge to the bucked and turn around to look at him. Her eyes were cold as he always saw them and a chilling sensation travel all the way through his back
"Listen, You are incredibly annoying and stubborn, and I don´t want to marry you!" she said harshly "But it doesn´t mean I don´t appreciate you"
The boy tilted his head slightly to the right, very similar as he would do if he was on his cursed form. She smiled for she understood well what he wanted to say. When you have a curse such as theirs, you learn to communicate with your bare expressions
"Appreciate…." he whispered after a minute for himself
"Yes" answered the girl "why are you even surprised? We use to hang out a lot back in China! That was of course before you loved me"
"I…" he said confused "I have always loved you…"
"You weren´t this possessive jerk back home!"
"That was before you got a fiancé!" he snapped and let himself slip through the wall and into the floor "Man! I hate Amazon Law!"
"Watch your words!" she scolded remembering the pride she felt for her heritage and customs "You just said that because you are too weak to fight me"
She crossed her arms in front of her chest in a proud fashion and waited to his answer. When it never came, she picked up the sponge and returned to her wall. At this rate they will never finish the task.
"You know that´s not true" she froze at the sound of his voice. it was uncharacteristically low and sure "You know I CAN overpower you"
"Then do it!" she said standing up quickly as she slammed the sponge once again into the bucket. She faced him with defiance on her eyes and a growing anger inside her gut "Come on, fight me! Show me what you got! Knock me off! Break my bones if you dare!"
"What the hell do you want from me?" he asked in a barely audible voice
"That´s what I ask you!"
"I love you…"
"Then prove it!" she snapped "You always talk about this love but you have never done a thing about it! You are just a weak and annoying all-talk pest…"
This was his turn to snap at her
"WHAT? Do you want me to hurt you? and what for? So you can hate me for the rest of your life?" he could feel the tears forming on his eyes. He took his gaze away even if it was useless, he always have been the weak one between the two of them… and he knew it.
"Why do you do this, Mu Tsu?" she said out of frustration "we were having fun!"
"I am sorry…"
"I actually found your little prank funny even if it was extremely childish"
He chuckled at the statement but refused to face her just yet. Silence fell while she observed his figure noticing the broken spirit he was. She bit her lower lip and tried to decide if her next move was a good idea or the worst one so far
"Wanna know what I miss most from home?" she asked still hesitant and offering him a comforting smile he didn´t even looked
"What?"
"Mu Tsu"
This made him look up confused. She smiled out of pity at the sight of fresh shredded tears. He on his own behalf, was completely lost
"What?"
"Shampoo doesn´t like this you!" she explained returning to her broken Japanese " my friend was fun person!"
"He panicked" he answered lowly "and he is mostly desperate"
"Well, Shampoo doesn't like him like that!" she cried throwing a little tantrum "Tell Mousse to come back and behave."
"He could come back" he replied after considering the petition for a while "but for a price"
"Shampoo won´t marry him…"
"Is not that!" he was quick to clarify "All you need to do is stop being such a bitch"
And to be sincere, she had always been kind of a bitch, but she never was so aggressive. She did turned his advances down, she did called him dumb or annoying, but she never treated him like garbage or a lower life form. She even protected him once in a while, if necessary… when other kids will mock him for having bad eye sight. She understood back then it wasn´t fair because if wasn't his fault. What she never understood is why that stupid habit of never wear the freaking glasses.
So, yeah, she was a bitch, a selfish and childish one but he never verbalized it.
Then she slapped him. He had never insulted her
"How dare you?!" back to Chinese again
"You said you want your friend back, right? Well I want mine back too!"
Her hand curled on a fist. It sounded fair
"Fine!" she said throwing her arms "But we have to be subtle, if start treating you nice just like that, people may think I am up to something"
"Ok" he said standing up "Let´s do this: let´s keep being insufferable to each other when people is around for the sake of normalcy!"
"Sounds fine"
"But" he continued "If we were to be on our own let´s talk about things that have nothing to do with Ranma or the law or marriage"
The girl observed him studying his expressions and twisting her mouth as she considered it
"Just you and me talking about stupid things like movies?"
"Yes"
"And you promise not to tried to woo me?"
"I can´t stop loving you, but you have my word"
She bit her thumb never breaking eye contact with him, This was making him nervous
"All right, Duck Boy" she said after a short moment "We got a deal" and she shook his hand. He smiled at her and sighed relieved.
"So…" he tried to make conversation after, but changing subjects just like that was not as easy as he thought "What are you up to?"
"We have to clean this mess"
"Oh… right" he said mentally slapping himself
"We should clean the ceiling" suggested the girl ignoring his little moment of awkwardness
"We would need a ladder" he replied "The box is too small to help us reach it"
Shampoo thought about their options for a moment. It was past 2 in the morning and she was getting tired. All she wanted was to finish there and going to sleep
"Stand still and whatever happens don't lose balance!" she ordered and before he could ask why she started climbing him
"Ow, Xian Pu! Careful!" but she didn´t paid any attention to him till she was standing on his shoulders
"Give me your sponge" she ordered "I got this!"
:::::
After a month of that silly deal of theirs, things went more smoothly that both of them have expected. By day, nothing changed, she would go out to search Ranma and he would childishly try to followed her, sometimes with success. But at night, when the café was closed and the 'old mummy' was fast asleep, they would clean up together and they would talk about their past, or the weather, or stupid things like zombies
"I still don´t get why you like them so much" said the girl cleaning one of the tables
"They are cool"
"They are disgusting!"
"They are not supposed to be pretty, Xian Pu, they are meant to be fun" he stated sure of himself and nodded in self agreement. The beautiful girl rolled her eyes
"What´s fun about being chased by a brain eating monster?"
He shook his head and sighed. he knew she disliked monsters and monster movies, he knew beforehand she would never agree to watch a marathon on the horror channel with him.
"It would never happen anyway" he said defeated "People like it because is crazy"
Shampoo stopped scrubbing
"But we do face a lot of strange threats. Who says a zombie apocalypse could never happen here"
He remained silence for a minute. Her voice had been so steady and gloom he thought for a moment she was seriously concerned about it. He only smiled when she did.
"Well, if that ever happens" he said trying to sound cool "I have an emergency plan" and she tried to stifle a laugh. It was just ridiculous.
"Is all clean" he said enjoying the chuckles "we better go to sleep"
"Wait!" she said an he froze on his place "How long did you said this marathon is? Maybe I can sit through one movie"
And he mentally high fived himself.
::::::
They didn´t watch one movie, they keep watching until they decided it was too risky to stay awake till sun rise. Cologne would have be up soon and neither of them wanted to hear the same old traditions speech she gave them once in a while. Long ago, Mousse had joked once about the old rag brainwashing Shampoo on hating him and the girl got offended, but never discard the idea of being influenced by the old matriarch. This was the main reason they keep the whole "deal" secret even from her and it seemed that so far she did not suspected a thing.
True, she was sharp and perceptive for her age, but they were young and resourceful. They have learned to switch between moods as soon as they sense her (or any other presence) getting close. I wasn´t that hard actually, Mousse was still annoying and Shampoo still found herself being completely done with him. The difference now was that the girl´s scolding, and the boy´s overly dramatic tantrums, were more a game than an actual thing. And they had successfully kept this strange fallacy for almost a month.
But you should never underestimate the old rag. She suspect of something because she knew something was off. She couldn´t place her finger on it but she just knew. And so she observed the young un ones under her care. She watched them go and come, taking orders and delivering them. All seemed normal. A client would try to ask Shampoo on a date, Mousse would get mad, and the girl would yell at him for mistreating a client and sticking his nose on her life. All regular stuff. The old woman was about to return to work when she noticed her granddaughter walking silently to where he was cleaning the mess he himself had made. Curiosity got the best of the woman and being as sly and quiet as she could, she got to be close enough to them to listen to their conversation but far enough to stay hidden
"I´ve been thinking about it" she hear shampoo saying in Chinese, and she saw the expecting gaze of the boy… and she braced for whatever was coming next
"Kuno would be the first one to fall" she said with a stern face. He chuckled and nodded
"That would be a very narcissistic zombie" he replied and the girl slapped the back of his head before leaving. Cologne was left more confused than before.
:::::
"I really should clean the pans again…"
"Don´t be ridiculous! They are spotless"
"Well, yeah…but…"
"You just want an excuse not to watch this movie with me!"
"I´d love to watch grass growing with you, Xian Pu, but, a tragedy?"
"Come on! I just found it on a travelling market and had to buy it" she said trying to keep it down, great grandmother was fast asleep, but you´ll never know "I don´t want to watch this alone!"
Her eyes met his with a childish spark. He lowered his gaze so he won´t be too distracted by her eyes
"I´m not really into tragedy…"
Her face became stiff and grumpy. With a fast movement she grabbed the front of his shirt and drag him into the TV room
"If I sat through those zombie movies, you´re gonna watch my movie!"
"Xian Pu…"
"Stop being such a baby, Mu Tsu!"
"Don´t… don´t act like you didn´t like them" and he felt the ever familiar slap on his head
"Stupid Duck" she said and pressed play.
:::::
He did like the movie.
Better said, he loved the movie.
The next day, Shampoo noticed how less energetic he was and how uninterested he looked while taking orders from the clients. At one point, when he was coming back to the kitchen with empty bowls and cups, the girl met him at the door, and with an innocent look she whispered these words into his ear
"So sad when girl died"
And kept that playful smile when she saw the tears running free under his thick glasses.
::::::
"Ranma! You take Shampoo on a date, yes?" she said almost suffocating the boy who unsuspectingly had been eating on his home
"Shampoo… what are you doing here?"
"Ah?" she exclaimed surprised "you not miss Shampoo?" and she blinked twice
"Well…" and the boy could never finish the statement for he was attacked with chains and knives
"Hands off my Shampoo, idiot!"
This was just what Ranma needed, a little mindless sparing with the duck boy should be the perfect distraction to keep Shampoo of his body and Akane looking at him with murdering eyes. Too bad the matched ended before starting.
With a quick movement, the amazon girl took the chains on her hands and drag the boy to where they were
"Mousse!" she yelled "What you doing here?"
"I… I been looking for you"
"Well, you found Shampoo… now leave!"
The boy shoulders fell down
"Are you still mad at me?"
And her answer was to cross her arms and turn around
"I SWEAR IT WAS NOT MY FAULT!" he whined and screamed like spoiled child in a tantrum, but the girl remained unmoved " SHAMPOO! LISTEN TO ME!"
She didn´t listen, instead she punched the boy so hard she sent him straight to the pond. After all, it was easier to ignore his frenetic quacks than his words
"Told Mousse not to bother" she said more to herself than to him. The Tendo house remained silenced during the whole familiar scene they witnessed
"What are you doing here, Shampoo?" asked annoyed the younger Tendo sister unhappy to see the Chinese girl so late at her house
"TV is broken" said the amazon and went to hug Ranma once again.
::::::
They soon realized they could not depend on television. So they searched for another options to spare time after work
"why don´t we rise the bet?" asked Shampoo analyzing her cards. Her playmate was unreadable behind his glasses
"speak up"
"If I win" started the girl "Beside doing the dished for a month, you´ll have to give me whatever you got on that robe"
"We are getting personal, huh?" reply Mousse taking a new card and smirking a little
"I just thought the first offer was a little too lame" then, she took the card he dropped
"Ok, then, but I want something too if I win"
"What?"
"Can I asked for anything?"
"No date"
"it is not that" he said hiding behind the cards
"What then?"
He considered his options as she watched him impatiently expecting anything
"A hug"
"No" she answered quickly
"Come on!" he complained "I´m not asking for nothing romantic! Just a little friendly hug!"
"Stupid duck boy!" exclaimed the girl pouting. The only chuckled
"Why you do that?"
"what?"
"Why you use Japanese all of sudden"
"Shampoo felt like it!"
He shook his head but made no commentary. He knew she was avoiding him and his offer
"What do you say then?"
"I suppose it´s fair" said her back in Chinese. He smiled
"Ok, What you got?"
"Full house" replied her showing her game. He took a good look of it and then his eyes traveled to his own cards. He smile on his lips had left, and a frown was wrinkling his forehead
"You won" he said defeated as he dropped his cards into the table. The girl clapped childishly in celebration
"Don´t give me a thing!" she said when she saw him searching inside his large sleeves
"But I thought you wanted…"
"Yes" she cut him off "And they are all mine, but you will have them… for safe keeping"
And he smiled
::::::
"I told you, Ranma is cute but not the brightest"
"I thought we were not to talk about him"
"But I am making fun of him!"
The young man put the dried dishes away as he considered the reality of the situation. Those were words he never thought he would hear from his beloved. He turned to her and silently asked her to explain
"Didn´t you hear me?" she buffed annoyed "I said he is not bright"
"Well, I thought that was an understanding" said the boy handing her a wear-out piece of cloth. She put it away on a drawer and jumped to sit on the bar.
"Besides" he said leaning on the very same bar she was "I heard his name and stopped paying attention…"
"Stupid"
"Your 'fiancé' " said Mousse ironically "May be strong, and, I accept it, clever at times but is not the sharpest one"
"Oh?" answered the girl arching her pouting a little "And I suppose you are the sharpest around here?"
"Smarter than Saotome? Yes"
"You think too high of yourself, duck boy!" and she lightly slapped the back of his head "I you were so smart you would have win me over years ago"
These words made his little playful smile disappears. Shampoo frowned on confusion wondering why he suddenly got upset
"You know that is not a brains matter…"
"No…"
"It shouldn't be brawn´s either" he interrupted her and she rested in silence for a moment
"That´s not what I was going to say…"
"Then what?" and then she realized he was close, so close she was sure he could hear her breathing "Don´t tell me you like his charming personality and his loyalty to you"
She unlock her eyes from his and turned to where the stairs were for she thought her great grandmother was about to get in any minute
"I…" she said not looking at him or his clear questioning eyes "I don´t want to talk about him right now"
And he stepped back, sensing something was making her uncomfortable. The idea of being him, made his stomach twist.
"Who is it then?" she asked after realizing the old woman was not around "Who is the smartest person around?"
"Nabiki Tendo" he answered as he put the cups away
:::::::
"So, when is the mummified ghoul coming back?"
He felt a punch over the head shortly after
"Don´t speak about great grandmother like that" scolded the girl. He complained audibly but she ignored him "She should be back by Friday morning. She said she needed to do something…"
"And when is she leaving?"
"Tomorrow at sunrise"
"Should… should we be worried?"
She remained silent thinking on the question
"Why should we? We… are the same as always"
He didn´t said a thing, instead he stretched his arm to reach the bottle resting on the table. The girl twisted her mouth on a disapproving fashion
"You should stop drinking"
"I am fine" he said filling his glass "This is good" he said after drinking it all in one gulp
"It tastes horrible but feels good"
"Stupid duck" said the girl in a quiet voice and he chuckled
"What did I do now?"
"Mousse is getting drunk" she said switching to Japanese "He´ll be sick tomorrow and won´t help Shampoo"
"for a moment I thought you were worried about me… cheers" and he drank another. Shampoo stared at him in a mix of worry and disgust
"Why are you drinking anyway?" she asked in Chinese "Is it… is it because of me?"
"if I drank every time for your sake I would be an alcoholic" and this made her feel somehow terrible
"then…"
"client complained" he explained while pouring another glass "he said this was bad… and hell he was right… but I can stop"
The girl stood up without saying a word and walked quickly to the kitchen. After a moment, she came back to him with a streaming cup on her hands
"that´s enough" she said placing the cup in front of him and taking the bottle on her hands "drink this"
"What´s this"
"Coffee"
He shook his head
"Nah, I don't feel like it" and rested his head on the table "I am so tired"
"You are drunk!" and his childish giggles annoyed her.
"Mu Tsu, I am this close to drag you to an ice-cold bathtub if that would bring you back to your senses"
"You´ll have a drunk duck then"
"wanna bet?" She said reaching for him to take him up stairs in a not so gentle way
"Wait, wait… I can walk for myself" but the moment he tried taking one step, he felt face first on the restaurant´s polished floor "Ow"
"Stupid Duck"
He replied nothing. He turned around and lied down looking at the ceiling
"I broke my glasses…"
"Idiot"
"Has the ceiling always been this color?"
She sighed and sat down next to him
"Yes"
"I think we should do something with it... what about a *hic* drawing of a cat… there?"
"Where?"
"There!" he said pointing out again. She had to lie down with him to see better
"No" she said sharply "Ranma will never came back if we do…"
"That… that´s the idea"
She slapped his chest half annoyed, half amused. He started to chuckle
"Keep it down!" she order "You´ll wake her up!"
"Who cares?" he whispered facing her way, with a big smile on his lips
"You should! If great grandmother sees us like this…"
"You´ll blame me as always an that´s it…" he exclaimed rolling his eyes as it was a common thing
"We shouldn´t be awake this late…"
"But I am having fun!" he said gladly not taking his eyes form her. And she had to accept she was having fun too. Even if she didn´t told.
She felt this thrilling sensation inside of her, it made her anxious and uneasy. But also made her want to stay there risking it all. It was the excitement of the mere idea of getting caught, or barely escaping the punishment. She wonder what would it be. A month cleaning the greasy pots? A week without delivering to Ranma? A day in her cursed form?
She snorted at her own thoughts. There was no way the punishment would be so mild. Especially when she was lying on the floor so close to a drunk Mousse. How was she going to explain it? 'He fell and I an keeping company' it was ridiculous
"What´s so funny?"
she haven´t even realized she was giggling.
"Shhh" he scolded "we´ll get caught" he said stretching the last word I the lowest volume he could.
She turn to face him. His head was resting on his hand, his long dark hair fell messy on the floor and a strong smell of alcohol was surrounding him, and his eyes were fixed on her, with the same devotion and fire as always. She reached for his glasses and took them off his face
"This are not good anymore" she said putting then aside "They are ruined…"
"Doesn´t matter" he said shrugging "I have more".
She stood still. They both did. But she was more aware of everything. If the next morning she would have to explain it all, she would blame the thrill of having her great grandmother catching her and the surrealism of the situation, she would said it was the heath on that summer night, or how tired she was… she would said it was his fault. Yeah, she would said he started it all… she had it all figured…
She was conscious of her actions, too conscious. She had been fighting with these unwanted emotions for the past couple weeks, she knew, or better said, expected them to be momentary, unimportant and stupid… and yet she reached for him. He didn´t moved, nor he questioned why she was doing that. He just let her lead him as she brought him closer, and he let her kiss him, and he kissed her back. He didn´t even thought of her motives, he didn´t want to know.
The kiss, supposed to be just teasing and short, became longer, sweet and tender on both sides. when she pull back he felt the lack of her and reach down for her lips once more.
But she stopped him
"It… meant nothing" she said whispering "It was all the alcohol"
"You weren´t drinking" he replied sounding more sober than ever. She felt her face getting hot and red. And a knot on her gut.
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End of part one
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When I was younger, I never liked Shampoo that much, it was until later when I realized it was because I wanted her to look at the poor lovestruck duck boy who adored her. Good thing about fanfiction, whatever I want to happen, can happen.
Still I hope this was all in character and on point.
I would love to hear from you and remember to tell me if you notice any grammatical mistake (those typos are sneaky, and the "ed" at the end of some regular verbs in past tense often decide not to show up, shame on them).
Thank you for your attention. I really hope you enjoyed your visit