Christmas Eve
Ranma wrapped the last present and
tucked it behind the tree. This was the second Christmas he'd spent
with the Tendo's and it was turning into almost a social event. There
was going to be a dance and a huge celebration this year. He sighed,
a faint smile on his lips. *I hope she like's her present...*
He thought, closing his eyes.
Akane stood at the foot of the stairs
and walked towards the tree, her arms laden with wrapped presents.
"Ranma, could you give me a hand...?" She asked, carefully stepping
down to the next step.
He quickly jumped up and took several
packages, noting when she held onto one tighter than the others.
"Huh?"
"This one's yours, you can't hold
it till tomorrow..." She explained.
"Alright..." He smiled, quickly
going down the stairs. Akane's present was directly behind the tree,
wrapped in gold tissue and blue-striped celephane. It was built up
like a pyramid, totally disquising what it was. He was the only one
who knew.
He also knew that he was her secret
santa at the New Years party being thrown. He'd bought her a special
gift for that. He'd heard all of his fiancee's complaining about
how indecisive he was. He was about to make some serious decisions.
"What'd you get me?!" Akane
finally begged. "Can I see it?!"
He grinned. "Sure..."
He reached behind the tree and pulled out the pyramid. It was sturdy,
built of pine, but it was just the framework that was pine, the rest was
just covered by the celaphane.
Her expression was priceless.
"What...is it?!"
He grinned, sticking it behind the
tree again. With a sweet smile, he leaned over and whispered to her.
"You're going to have to wait to find out..." He said, then, kissed
her cheek on instinct before leaving her sit before the beautifully decked
tree.
That night, everyone was at the party,
Shampoo, Mousse, Ukyou, Ryoga...even the Kuno's. A bunch of their
school friends were there, too. He caught his fiancee looking over
at the tree and knew she wanted to open her present. A chuckle escaped
him. *I really hope she likes it...*
After half an hour, Kasumi called
everyone to sit around the tree. People who weren't either a Tendo
or a Saotome had to trade presents with them then. It didn't altogether
surprise anyone that Ranma wound up with the largest stack. A picture
of herself from Shampoo, and something similar from Kodachi, a special
christmas okonomiyaki from Ukyou, and various other presents from the other
guests. He sighed, feeling a certain emptiness in the pit of his
stomach. He couldn't wait till tomorrow. He wanted to see Akane's
face when she opened his gift.
Akane saw the brightly colored package
hiding behind the tree out of the corner of her eye and glanced towards
it. *I wonder what's inside...I've never felt this anxious before...perhaps
it's the mystery of it all...I didn't know Ranma was so creative...*
Ranma caught Akane's eye from across
the room as the dance part started up in the dojo. He gestured towards
the door and smiled. She felt her heart speed up as she started in
the direction he'd gestured.
He followed her out, and saw her staring
up at the sky. "You love Christmas, don't you..." He said,
resting his hand on her shoulder. A smile lit up his face.
"Yeah...part of it's the mystery,
I guess...Trying to figure out who got you what..." She noted the
low clouds on the horizon and smiled. "We may get snow...that would
make things perfect..." She sighed whistfully.
"Akane..." He said softly.
"I really hope you like your present tomorrow..." He felt her relax
and sighed, taking another step towards her back and putting his arms around
her neck in a gentle hug.
"If...if it came from the heart...I'll
probably like it, but I'll be able to tell..." She noticed he didn't
stiffen and leaned her head back, resting it against his shoulder, looking
up at him. "Ranma, what is it...please, tell me?!"
He rested his head against her's,
a soft sigh escaping him. "Just a while...just a bit longer, you'll
know tomorrow morning..." He tenderly kissed her cheek and hugged
her a bit tighter. "Alright?" He noticed hos stiff she was.
"Akane...?"
"Why wont you tell me?!" She
almost pulled away from him, but he was so warm.
He smiled, putting his lips to her
ear. "Because I don't want to take away the mystery..." He
whispered, before releasing her and walking back to the party. "Who's
secret santa are you?"
"Who's are you?!" She countered.
He smiled, shaking his head.
"If I told you...it wouldn't be a secret, now would it..." He disappeared
into the house.
Akane couldn't sleep. She tossed
and turned, trying to, but the mysterious blue and gold package always
crept into her mind, stirring her imagination. *What IS it...?*
Her eyes moved over to the clock. It was 2:30 in the morning.
A sigh escaped her and she sat, swinging her legs off the bed and sliding
them into her slippers.
Creaping from her room, she wandered
downstairs, going into the kitchen. There was a faint light shining
from the doorway. Cautiously, she crept farther in, and saw Ranma
sitting at the fridge.
He glanced over towards her and smiled.
"Want some hot chocolate?" He asked, setting the milk on the counter
and standing, grabbing himself a mug, then another, which Akane recognized
as her favorite.
She nodded tentatively.
He smiled again and scooped some of
the chocoa into the mugs. "It started snowing a little while ago..."
He said, while the milk was boiling. After the bubbles rose at a
faster rate, getting rather large, he pulled it off the heat and poured
some into the mugs, being extremely careful not to spill any.
Akane approached and lifted her mug,
dropping a spoon into it and stirring. She could practically feel
Ranma's eyes on her. "How much longer till we open presents?"
She glanced up at Ranma.
He smiled. "Till everyone's
up, I think. Don't worry, I'll get pops up nice and early."
He took her hand and pulled her to the window. "We got about an inch
right now...and I don't think it's stopping anytime soon, either..."
He pulled open the shade and let his arm rest around her shoulders, holding
her against his side.
Akane didn't know what to say or do.
She felt so nice like this, nestled against her handsome fiancee's side.
It gave her wonderfully warm and fuzzy feelings all through herself.
She leaned a bit closer to him. "Ranma..." She said softly,
looking up at him, her eyes soft.
Ranma's breath caught in his throat
as he met her eyes. He liked holding her like this. He wanted
to go on holding her like this, but he was almost afraid that someone would
come downstairs and find them. "Akane..." He whispered.
She swallowed hard as he began to
lean towards her and closed her eyes tightly. *Please, don't let
anyone interrupt this time...please, I beg of you...* Suddenly, she
felt a warmth against her mouth and sighed softly.
He was on air. Her lips were
so soft, and warm, tasting like hot chocolate, incredibly sweet.
*Oh, Akane...* He set his mug down and pulled her's from her grasp,
setting it down beside his. With both hands freed, they clung to
each other, Ranma's arms tight around her waist, Akane's hands tangled
in his hair.
They broke the kiss simultaneously,
and stared at the other, their eyes alight with love. "Ranma..."
"Akane..."
They spoke at the same time, trying
to express what they wanted to say. At the last minute, Ranma pulled
back slightly, his fingers tenderly caressing her face. "We better
drink our cocoa..." He said, lifting his mug and looking down into
the mixture.
She turned from him, her body trembling,
her eyes wide with shock. "How...how can you act like nothing happened
just now?!" She spun around to face him. "HOW?!"
He set the mug down and grabbed her
face, holding it against the wall as he kissed her again. Something
about the lights reflecting off the snow outside made this seem more magical
than it could have been if it had just happen earlier. He didn't
want to stop kissing her. He wanted to kiss her until they were breathless,
so neither of them could say something stupid.
Akane gasped as she was pinned to
the wall, her fiancee's lips covering her in a passionate kiss. His
lips slid sensually across hers, stirring deep feelings of love as she
returned the kiss tenfold. A soft pleased moan escaped her and she
wound her arms around his neck, not breaking the embrace.
Ranma broke the kiss and held her
tightly, his head resting against her shoulder. "Kawaii..."
He whispered. "Very cute...and very desireable..." He pulled
back and stared into her face, his eyes serious.
"Ranma..." She swallowed damply,
her eyes going misty.
He noted the tears and gently bussed
her cheeks with light kisses. "I can't wait till you open your present..."
He whispered, pulling back and staring down at her. "My kawaii iinazuke..."
He caressed her face gently and left the room, pausing only to glance at
her once more. Then, he was gone.
Akane sat in a chair to get off her
shaking legs. She reached for the mug and cupped it between her trembing
hands while staring out the doorway.
Christmas Day
Akane glanced up as someone entered
the room behind the rest of the family. She saw Ranma was hauling
his father downstairs. A faint blush swept across her cheeks and
she looked down into her rice.
Ranma plopped down beside her and
smiled his normal smile, not the one he'd been wearing last night.
Yet, after he'd sat, he reached his hand under the table and gave her's
a gentle squeeze. "When do we get to open presents?"
Soun beamed. "After breakfast!"
Ranma grinned. "I guess I better
eat quickly."
After everyone had finished their
miso soup and rice, they sat around the Christmas tree, Kasumi ready to
hand out the presents.
"Okay, first, to daddy..."
By the time half of the presents had
been opened, Akane was getting antsy. She'd opened several, but that
giant pyramid was still behind the tree. She saw Ranma's hand reaching
for it and tensed, but he only pulled it closer to his side. A sigh
escaped her's.
"Here's Ranma's from Akane..."
Ranma curiously tore at the paper
and opened the box inside. It was a silk chinese shirt, the same
blue as his eyes, with a dragon embroidered on it in a slightly darker
shade of blue. His breath caught in his throat. This was beautiful,
he'd never seen something that great. He looked over at her and smiled,
his eyes saying more than his mouth did. "Thanks, Akane..."
His smile turned into a grin, however, when the last present other than
his was opened. He sighed and lifted it, setting it down in Akane's
lap. "Have at it..."
Akane lifted her trembling hands and
carefully untied the bow on top. As the paper and celephane fell
from it, she saw an enormous teddy bear, with a silver locket around it's
neck and earings in it's ears. She couldn't breath. Her eyes
lifted to his. "Thank you..." She whispered.
He grinned again. "But I think
that jewelery would look better on you than on the bear..."
She blushed and took the earings from
the bears ears. They were butterfly's, the body made up of saphires
and it's silver winds adorned with saphires as well. She wanted to
cry. She saw Ranma holding the locket in his hands and he moved behind
her, clasping it behind her neck. Then, she did cry. Tears
slid down her face.
Ranma moved around to look at her
and saw tears rolling down her face, but a smile on it as well. Dismay
filled him. *Did I do the wrong thing?!* "Akane...?"
He asked softly, looking at her, concerned.
That's when she threw her arms around
him, hugging him for dear life.
That Night
Akane sat on the porch, staring out
into the night, wearing a pale blue nightgown, the locket still clasped
around her neck. It had a butterfly engraved into it, two tiny sapphires
embedded on it's antennae, and Ranma & Akane carved in the back.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked back, seeing Ranma there.
"Hey, ya feelin better?" He
asked, sitting beside her.
"Yes..." She smiled over at
him, her eyes happy. "Thank you for the beautiful gifts..."
She rested her head on his shoulder and felt his arm go around her shoulder.
"I like them alot..."
He tighted his grasp on her.
"I'm trying to make up for the failed wedding..." He whispered, his
eyes sad. "I feel really horrible about that..." His body sagged.
"I didn't want to hurt you..."
She looked up at him and read the
hurt in his eyes. "Then why did you deny saying you loved me?"
"Because...I...I wasn't sure if I
had...but..." He looked down, his eyes tortured. "Even if I
had...I thought you were marrying me becasue of the naniichuan...I...I
didn't want to marry you if that was the reason..." He hung his head,
letting his arm drop.
Akane shivered. "I...Ranma,
I don't know what you said, but I know what I heard..." She clasped
his hand in hers. "I know I heard you say it...and don't you dare
deny it...because I don't think I could handle such a wonderful day ending
badly...because...I...I love you, Ranma..." She finished, her voice
just above a whisper.
He swallowed hard, pulling her into
a tight embrace. "I'm sorry, Akane...I'm sorry I hurt you so much...so
often...I open my mouth and say things I don't mean...You're a tomboy,
but you're my tomboy...and I love you, too...My kawaii iinazuke..."
He whispered, his eyes gentle.
She trembled in shock. "Ranma..."
He smiled down at her and squeezed
her hand. "You shouldn't be out here without a coat on...you'll get
sick..."
She smiled up at him and snuggled
closer. "Maybe, but if you hold me close...I wont feel cold..."
He pulled her onto his lap, holding
her tightly. He felt her body relax totally in his arms and knew
she was asleep. He stood slowly, keeping his
arms around her, and trudged into the house
and up to her room, laying her against the bed. "Baka..." He
whispered, pulling the covers over her and tucking them around her.
"But you're my baka..." He tenderly kissed her and left her room.
*Looks like I have to visit another jewelery store before new years...I've
made my decision...and now I have to act on it...*
New Years Eve
Ranma glanced towards Akane from across
the room. She was wearing a fairly plain dress, but he'd remedy that,
soon enough. He smiled and walked towards her, taking long strides.
"Akane..." He said softly.
She looked up at him, startled.
"Ranma..." She felt a blush trying creep onto her face. "What
is it?"
He smiled. "It's almost time
for secret Santa." He said, taking her hands and pulling her to her
feet. When she didn't object, he tentatively held her hand as he
drew her to where the meeting list was.
A Girl's Wish Come True
By: DemonSaya