Summary: A series of drabbles chronicling the evolution of Ranma and Akane's burgeoning relationship, starting near the conclusion of the manga
I. Bayankala
Later on, when the lamplight runs out and the others have fallen asleep, he turns on his side and reaches for her. Akane rolls over at his touch. Ranma strokes the curl of her ear, holding his breath.
"What is it?" she asks him. Back at the springs her whole body had felt cool in his arms, but now she radiated warmth even above the covers. Nothing frightened him more than the sight of her like that, limp and inanimate even as he clung so desperately to her. Ranma never had any practice at feeling helpless before, not for someone else's sake. Even thinking about it now made his stomach lurch in frustration.
"I don't know," he starts, then reconsiders his words. "I just wanted to look at you a little, I guess." Akane's face softens at that. Her eyes get all glassy and dreamlike and before Ranma can say anything else she's wiping her brow and sniffling into the sleeve of his shirt.
"Jeez, what'd I do?"
"Nothing!" she squeaks, swatting him away. "But you can't just say things like that and not expect a girl to react."
"Even a girl like you?" Ranma teases. Some nameless muscle pulses beneath his throat as he watches her through the darkness, love bursting from the pit of his gut.
"An uncute girl, you mean."
"Shut up," he laughs. Ranma pulls her to him again. Even ruddy and wet, her cheek still fits the mold of his palm perfectly. He rest his lips against Akane's forehead and exhales, relieved. "You're cute, tomboy."
AN: Takes place only a few days after the infamous events at Jusendo, before Ranma and Akane leave China.