Disclaimer: Fic's mine, that's about it.

A/N: I've had this idea in my head for years. It's good to finally get the fricken thing out. XD

Regardless

They would put the blame on each other later, but really they were both at fault. Her for being too caught up in his movements to move out of the way in time, and his for not bothering to watch where he'd been going. He'd moved across the porch quickly, fists and feet flinging out in all directions as he fought invisible opponents to pass the time. It had been an oddly captivating sight to stumble upon, considering the grace of his movements and the darkening of the sky in the background, and she'd stopped at the far end of the wooden walkway, never tearing her eyes away from him. Then, before either knew what had happened, he was too close, and she was too slow, and they wound up tangled together on the woodwork.

Ranma stared at the splinters just inches away from him for a few seconds before he became completely aware of the warm body beneath his own. Very slowly, as to not antagonize her further, he hoisted himself up and quickly put on a scowl that matched hers perfectly.

"The heck were you doin' just standing there?!" he demanded, because, really, as a martial artist, she should have known better.

"I was – " catching herself, Akane shoved her fiance off and got onto her knees. "I wasn't just standing there!" she defended quickly.

"Sure ya weren't," Ranma said with a roll of his eyes as he, too, knelt on the porch. "Do you ever get tired of bein' in the way?" he sneered before she could get a word in edgewise.

Akane's eyes widened before the scowl resumed its rightful place on her face. "Do you ever get tired of being a jerk?" she retorted.

Somewhere in the house was the muttered chorus of "here we go again," a statement which, of course, only added fuel to the fire.

"How the heck am I bein' a jerk?" he snapped back, fisting his hands and leaning forward onto them. "You're the one who didn't move out of the way in time!"

"If you would have just watched where you were going – !"

"Look, I don't mean to interrupt one of your lovers' quarrels," Nabiki said from the doorway, "but you kids might wanna bring it inside. Looks like the sky's gonna open up any minute."

Ignoring the older girl, the two got to their feet, fists tightly clenched and trembling. "I had the right of way!"

Nabiki sighed and shrugged. "Don't say I didn't warn you," she said mostly to herself before retreating inside, closing the shoji screen behind her.

"This is my house!" Akane snapped, stepping closer to the fuming boy.

"Oh, sure, if you wanna get technical!" Ranma remarked.

"I do!"

"You would!"

She practically growled as she rose a fist and reeled it back, instinctively wanting to just hit him to shut him up, otherwise this argument would go on for hours. However, he easily dodged the punch that had been aimed at his head and caught her fist in his hand. She gaped, but only for a moment, before he let her hand go, squatted down and all too easily knocked her off her feet with a hand to the back of her knees. A move, she noted, he seemed to favor – and one she always seemed to fall for.

Now in his arms, inches from his glaring face, she had to stifle a gasp because this really shouldn't have surprised her anymore, but it did. It always surprised her, how easily he could sweep her off her feet.

"You're just too slow, Akane," he said, and the glare was slowly fading, a smirk finding its way onto his lips.

And suddenly she lost the will to fight back, opting for a simple "shut up" instead of some other intricate and well-thought out comeback. Sometimes, when they were this close – when she could feel his steady breath on her lips and neck, when the pounding in his chest was strong against her fingertips – the fighting just seemed so pointless.

"What's with you?" he asked, though he sensed where this was going. Lately, as they matured, most of their arguments dwindled down to this: quiet, awkward moments that left their hearts pounding and their faces flushed, and if anyone in the house knew, they never let on. A good thing, too, because if they were ever found out, it was very likely the walls they were letting down would just go right back up.

"Nothing," she said, and even though she was mumbling the fire was still there in her voice, daring him to challenge her.

"Yeah, right," he taunted with a chuckle, and neither seemed to hear the thunder rumbling in the distance, otherwise perhaps they would have made an effort to get inside sooner.

"I said it's nothing!" she snapped on que, and he rolled his eyes before he planted his lips on hers, effectively silencing her once and for all, because he was just as tired of arguing as she was.

When he pulled away, she was blushing and wide-eyed and he laughed at her surprise. "Now will you shut up?" he teased, quirking an eyebrow.

A lopsided smirk slowly found her lips, and she narrowed her eyes almost coyly up at her fiance. "Nope," she said defiantly.

He hadn't thought she would for an instant, and he was glad of that. Otherwise, he would have had to think up another excuse to kiss her.

"You never learn," he murmured before he pressed his lips to hers again. He let out a muffled gasp when her fingers locked behind his neck and she pulled him down with force enough to knock him off balance, sending them to the wooden flooring once again. However, this time neither made much effort to pull away.

There was a very good chance that one of Akane's sisters may have come out to check on them, or even Genma or Soun, considering the storm was fast approaching but that didn't seem to bother them at the moment, as they were too caught up in the heated kisses that moved from mouths to cheeks to necks. They were still clumsy when it came to intimacy as they didn't often engage in it in any sense or form, but they were learning, and it was considered a bold move when Ranma's hand found Akane's chest and squeezed willingly for the first time.

She broke from his mouth and gaped at him, flushed and breathless. "W-what are you – ?"

He shrugged as he awkwardly massaged one breast, "just goin' with it."

"Oh," was all she could muster, not at all used to being touched by hands that weren't her own. It was hard to enjoy it, to succumb to him, but she forced herself to remain as calm as possible under his touch.

"Relax," he mumbled, a blush forming on his cheeks as he bent to kiss the corner of her mouth again. "Enjoy it," he whispered, hoping he sounded far more confident than he felt at the moment.

She didn't need to reply, her body was reacting to his touch. Nipples perking beneath her bra, the taunt nubs of flesh able to be felt through the support if he applied enough pressure in the right places. Then there was the heat forming between her legs, pressed firmly to his knee. It was enough to encourage him to continue, and to cause his own arousal to become apparent through his pants.

Too caught up in their needy mouths and wandering hands, they barely noticed the rain beginning to fall. It fell slowly at first, then harder until it was coming down in cold sheets. The wind picked up, soon enough lashing at the Tendo house with the cold downpour, catching Ranma and Akane in the process.

The change was inevitable. His frame became slender and his chest swelled and the tent in his pants gave way to a sticky warmth between his thighs. He pulled away from Akane, gasping, flushed and very embarrassed, for himself and for her.

"Sorry," he mumbled, easing back and then up onto his knees. "The rain – and – " he looked down, now-red bangs falling into his eyes, the mood they had been building up to lost. "We should just go inside before we catch pneumonia or something."

But to his surprise, she sat herself up and scooted closer until she was straddling his lap. "Are you just saying that?" she asked, eyebrow raised as she brushed some of the damp bangs from his face.

He could have easily been honest and said yes, but he refused to give in that easily. "It's raining and we're wet," he pointed out stubbornly, because the last thing he wanted to do was admit he was embarrassed by his transformation at the moment.

"Yeah," she said as she leaned in and pressed her lips to his cheek, then her voice dropped to a whisper as she continued, "we are wet."

She wasn't talking about the rain.

Ranma felt his cheeks burning and quickly pushed Akane away, staring wide-eyed at his fiancee. "Am I the only one who sees a problem with this?"

She giggled and locked her hands behind his neck, idly fingering the red braid at the base of his skull. "I think so."

He furrowed his brow and cocked his head to the side. "We're both girls," he pointed out. "Not that I have a problem with girl-on-girl action, but... I mean, you – "

Because even if his outside was feminine, he was still very much a boy on the inside, but that didn't deter the fact that Akane was a girl through and through and this must have been strange for her – especially considering she was razor blade straight.

"You really think this matters?" she asked.

He was quiet for a moment, then repeated, "we're both girls," and maybe this time it would sink in.

"On the outside," she said with a shrug. "But you're still you on the inside."

He found himself smiling, breathing a soft sigh of relief as he slowly put his hands on hips that were not unlike his own at the time. "You're sure?" he asked, pressing his forehead to hers.

She shrugged. "As I'll ever be. I mean, yeah, it's gonna be weird, but I'll get over it. Because I – "

And whether it was impulse and inconvenience or quick thinking and the urge to silence her before she went and said something stupid, he kissed her again. She didn't fight it, melting into the motions easily as they fell back against the porch and let the cold rain beat down on them.

By the time they came back inside, the storm had passed and they were soaked to the bone, their clothes clinging to their bodies queerly, their hair mussed and severely out of place. No one in the house said a word as the two stumbled toward the bathroom.

Soun watched the two, then looked across the table to Genma, one eyebrow raised. "Do we want to know?" he inquired, and the panda shook his head.

"I didn't think so," he said, clearing his throat.

"I think it's lovely," Kasumi said from the kitchen's doorway, running a drying cloth over a recently washed plate.

"I beg your pardon?" Soun asked his daughter, whom was obviously more observant and open-minded than he.

"Ranma and Akane," she giggled, as though it should have been obvious. "She loves him," she paused when she heard the water running in the bathroom, quickly followed by Ranma shouting that it didn't have to be so hot, then Akane shouting back to just get into the bath and stop complaining. This, naturally, caused Soun and Genma to rise and rush toward the bathroom, both fathers realizing just then that their children were naked together before they were wed.

Kasumi smiled as she went back to her dishes, the no interlacing shouting matches an oddly welcomed disturbance.

"No matter what," she finished her prior statement, even if no one else was around to hear.

-End