Ranma was sat on the roof quietly gazing at the starlit sky. Her blue eyes with wonder as so many thoughts rushed through her mind. The roof was the only place she could get some head space. The only place she could go without anyone bothering her and understanding she needed time to cool off when mad or stressed out.
No matter where she went in the house, Ranma always had someone on her case about something. Be it her father in law about her courtship of Akane, her own father, berating her, Nabiki trying to scam her or the perverted old freak attacking her. She could never just get a break from any of them.
Somehow gazing at the stars by herself brought peace to her troubled heart. Allowing her to forget about all the troubles she had endured up until this point so far. Simply allowing herself to have peace of mind. The unwanted Fiancé's, the deadbeat father, the annoying rivals, the perverts, the stalkers, the never-ending enemies, the lack of a mother figure and pressures to be a man among men. None of it mattered up here.
She was so completely out of it she didn't even realize that she was being watched by someone. Nor did she even hear the sound of one of the household appliances being used from where she sat. They did so in such a quiet way she flinched a little when the person addressed her as she had not been expecting it.
Suddenly a window opened below and Akane stuck her head quietly from her bedroom window. While getting ready for bed she had spotted Ranma sitting on the roof in her usual attire. Though she could not completely see up onto the roof, she had spotted a silhouetted figure with a pigtail and knew who it would be. There was only one person who had claimed the roof as their sanctuary.
However, that somewhat troubled her. It was late winter early spring, so the nights were still pretty cold. So why was Ranma out there in her short sleeved Chinese shirt? "Ranma? What on earth are you doing up there? Aren't you cold in just that?" she asked worriedly. Surely it would have been wise to at least take a blanket, surely, she had some common sense.
She knew Ranma hated being told what to do, but she couldn't help but worry. I mean, seeing Ranma barely dressed the way she was worried Akane she may get sick. Sometimes, Ranma's stubborn nature was her own worst enemy. Getting her into more trouble than necessary, but that was just the way she was.
Ranma didn't look at her, still gazing at the sky above her. She hadn't even noticed the temperature at all. "It's ok, rather mild. But I like the view from up here" she confessed. She had come up here so often since living with the Tendou's that she never seemed to notice the temperature anymore. She had just come to adapt to it, building up a tolerance for it.
Akane gazed up at her curiously, her brown eyes filled with wonder. She had never heard Ranma sound so content before, it was rather surprising. She then hesitated as she considered her next move. Eventually she came to a conclusion and decided to make a move. This was her chance to get close to Ranma and understand her a little.
Ranma was always by herself up on the roof when she needed to think, be it in male form or female form. For once Akane wanted to see what was so fascinating about sitting up there alone. This way she would be able to maybe understand the thoughts that swirled through her fiance's mind a little better.
"Wait a sec ok" she asked quickly. She then slowly leaned out of her bedroom gripping onto the roof edge, being careful not to fall out onto the ground. Luckily, she was wearing her blue cardigan as well as her yellow and blue PJ's so she wouldn't be too cold.
She then eased out of the window quietly, being sure not to wake anyone else in the house. She then hoisted herself quietly onto the roof trying to get leverage onto the tiles. While her core strength was strong, the tree was a lot further away so she couldn't use to it climb. Her legs could only reach a certain extent so she couldn't raise her leg to climb up.
Ranma saw her trying to get onto the roof and moved to help her. She reached out her hand to her fiancé and helped the other girl onto the roof quietly. As Ranma pulled Akane raised her leg and was able to climb up to join her. There were a few grunts and sounds made as Akane straightened her body upon climbing up.
After climbing up Akane dusted herself off a little of any dirt. Because it hadn't rained lately the roof was a little dusty, but not so bad to leave her filthy. However, she didn't want any pebbles or leaves on her clothes. She was rather keen on her appearance remaining presentable and like she could look after herself.
She then sat beside the redhead quietly and made herself comfortable. She then saw the starry sky above them and her eyes widened, lighting up as bright as the stars themselves. "Woah" Akane gasped in amazement. The sky was just an inky blue ocean with the white twinkling lights of the stars above her. The moon gleaming like a giant white orb of pure light, so beautiful.
Away from all the lights of the city, you could truly appreciate it. To enjoy the night sky without interference or noise, just the quiet of crickets and the gentle rustle of the leaves. The natural state of the night, having no buzzing electric cords, no TV's on in the background and no cars or people around to make a sound. Just peaceful tranquility.
She could now understand why Ranma would come up here all by herself so often. It was so beautiful that she couldn't really think of anything else. Nothing else seemed to matter at all. She felt peaceful even, she couldn't remember the last time she had felt like this. No wonder Ranma came up here when she was troubled about something. It really was a breather.
"It really is a nice view" she said in agreement. She couldn't remember the last time she had truly stargazed like this, not since she was a child before her mother had passed away. Akane had forgotten how good it felt to simply breathe and admire the night sky, watching all the stars twinkle above you in the inky blue pool of space.
Ranma nodded in agreement. She then averted her gaze from Akane back up to the stars above her. It was amazing how something as simple as the night sky could make you feel so happy. To capture your attention and thoughts for so long to simply appreciate the sky above you. Bringing out dormant feelings in your heart that you locked away from the rest of the world.
"Yeah. It lets me think clearly for a while Y'know. Just forget about everything and just be me for a while" she confessed quietly. None of it mattered up here, none of the bullshit, she could just be herself. She could get a weight of her shoulders and just think clearly instead of her rage causing her to become irrational.
She could think clearly without having Genma on her case (not that he had the right to judge her). Not having Akane's dad rabbit on about their engagement or duties. She could forget about the stalkers and the unwanted fiancé's. About not being able to tell her mother about her curse, any of it.
She could forget about all of it and just breathe for a while. To just enjoy her own space and be able to allow her mind to wonder. To feel at peace and allow her sanity to return. She could feel like the kid she was, I mean she was 16 for crying out loud yet she had all these pressures on her to become "a man among men" and be a good fiance to Akane.
Akane gazed at her fiancé sympathetically. Though she or her family never addressed it, Ranma had it far from easy. Nobody ever thought about the kind of pressure's she was under. Now thinking on it, everyone did tend to give Ranma a hard time without thinking about any of her personal problems whatsoever.
A negligent poor excuse for a father who was the cause for her phobia of cats. No mother in her life and the pressures to be a man among men and not show emotions. A perverted old master who attacked her and didn't respect her at all, a horny teenage rival who attacked her female form and wanted to fight her male form.
Three obsessive women who wanted them as his husband who had to obey him. Not being allowed to say no or have an opinion, how anyone could be jealous of that she didn't know. The poor girl never seemed to be able to just have time to herself or not have a life that didn't have some form of chaos happening around her.
The only times Ranma ever showed emotions were as a girl (when it was seen as socially acceptable) or in Neko form. All her life she had been emotionally starved by her shitty father and constricted of showing her emotions. Nobody seemed to understand how pressuring that was on Ranma. To have so many problems and never be able to express her frustrations in any way apart from martial arts.
Akane then tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear shyly. She had to admit it was nice, to simply be able to sit here with Ranma and just allow herself to relax. To be able to think about her future and what would happen after high school clearly. To be able to just allow herself to not feel pressured by everyone else and think for herself.
She and Ranma never got any head space and were constantly forced to act as a couple. They could never just be comfortable around each other and allow their relationship to grow on its own. While they had come a long way since their days when they first met, they still got frustrated with each other (mainly due to his unwanted fiance's, rivals and their parents).
She hesitated shyly and then spoke up "I… I was wondering. I… I mean if its ok with you. Could… could I join you up here more often?" she asked hopefully. Akane knew this was Ranma's special place to come as a form of stress relief. But she had to admit, simply sitting and enjoying Ranma's company while watching the stars was rather nice.
She then laughed in amusement "It would be a nice escape from dad and Nabiki. Just to get them off my case Y'know" she joked While she loved her family, she hated how they babied or manipulated her. She was only 16, she didn't want to take bridal training yet. She didn't want to get married until she had gotten her education and made something of herself.
Marriage was still a long way off for her yet, she had graduation and college to worry about yet. She would have to start training a lot more to keep up her role as heir to the Dojo as well. She didn't have time to worry about marriage yet, besides it was clear that Ranma cared about her and had little interest in his other admirers.
Ranma blinked innocently and then laughed. It was odd how she and Akane had their similarities with pressures in their life. Maybe they were truly fated for each other in that sense. While they fought and bickered a lot, they were a good team and honestly cared about each other more than they let on.
"Sure. Just don't tell everyone about it or I won't have as much privacy anymore" she joked. If everyone knew about this, their parents would spy on them and her rivals would be chasing after her all the time. She would never have any peace and would have to find elsewhere to hide for peace of mind. God knows this place was the only sanctuary she seemed to have from the problems in her life.
Akane snorted in amusement at her comment. She could imagine the likes of Shampoo and Ukyo pestering Ranma while up here to go on a date. Despite the fact, he had no interest in dating either of them. She would have thought they would have got the hint by now and just backed off already. But no, they believed Ranma truly loved them.
"I promise" she laughed. If she was honest the idea of having anyone else up here seemed too crowded. Plus, it was like her and Ranma's little secret, their own little hideout of sorts. They would be able to come up here together when everyone else wasn't around and actually be able to bond.
The two sat on the roof quietly together, gazing the stars and began pointing out their favourite ones. Admiring the twinkling constellations that looked like a sea of jewels in an inky blue pool. Just the two of them being able to appreciate the quiet and their own company. Not having to worry about anything and simply have each other and nothing more.
Akane began to climb back down to her bedroom quietly. It was now midnight and they needed to get their rest, granted it was a weekend tomorrow but still. Sleep was a necessary thing for all people. If not, they would be in a foul mood all day and they wouldn't feel good mentally or physically.
Ranma lingered on the roof quietly hesitating. She knew she too needed sleep, but the idea of going back to a snoring Genma made her cringe. But she had nowhere else to go. She had enjoyed such a pleasant evening of head space and simply relaxing. Now she had to go back to her drunkard, snoring father and hopefully get some sleep.
Akane saw Ranma standing on the roof lingering. She could tell her fiancé didn't want to return to the room she shared with her father. I mean who would? No doubt he would be drunk. She was surprised none of the neighbours complained about the racket their fathers made on a daily basis, unless they were just tolerant about it.
She hesitated then decided to repay Ranma for showing her something so amazing as the night sky. Just being able to have a secret to share with her fiancé, to have something of their own, felt so nice. I mean since she knew it was Ranma's private sanctuary and all, the place he went when he was mad at the rest of the world.
"Do you wanna join me?" Akane offered kindly. It wasn't that warm and Ranma would only wake someone if she sneaked through the house. It was the least she could do to say thanks. It was late at night and everyone else would be asleep. By sneaking into her room for the night via window, nobody else would wake up. Plus, if Happosai tried to attack they would have double fists.
Ranma stiffened and her cheeks heated with an intense blush. She and Akane were indeed engaged, but they were never really confident in showing physical affection. Any time they actually attempted to they were interrupted or their family started filming them which only made things awkward for them in the end.
"I… that is… are you sure its ok?" Ranma asked shyly. Usually Akane would get really awkward or violent about this sort of thing, now here she was making an offer for Ranma to share a bed with her. However, she had to admit since their early days they had come a long way in terms of courting each other.
Akane blushed lightly and nodded "Its cold out and everyone else is asleep. Besides…. Aren't you a girl right now? It doesn't matter, right?" she teased slightly. They pretty much had the same anatomy right now so it didn't really matter. Besides, it would only involve them spooning or sleeping away from each other.
Ranma was not the type of person to attack someone in their sleep. She was far too respectful of her boundaries to attempt such a thing in either form. So she could trust her to behave herself and not try anything funny. She often hated it how everyone expected her and Ranma to do nothing but be getting hot and heavy all the time.
Relationships were more than just about sex, she and Ranma were attracted to each other but weren't comfortable in physical intimacy just yet. Sure, one day they would but not yet. Besides, they were both virgins in that area so it was going to be awkward as hell when they finally got round to doing the do.
Ranma then blushed and followed her fiancé into her room. Since her time as being trapped mentally as a woman, she had never really been in her fiancé's room much at all. As she entered the room she was sure to close it behind her and make sure it was locked. God knows they didn't need the pervy old freak attacking them in the middle of the night.
"here, it's the biggest I have so…" Akane trailed off quietly as she handed Ranma a bed shirt. It was white and rather baggy, it would reach her thighs covering her somewhat at least. Since they were only sharing a bed for one night it wouldn't really matter. Besides she could just give it back to her afterwards when she changed right? No big deal.
"Thanks…" Ranma said gratefully. As she changed into the bedclothes, Akane politely turned her back to give her some privacy. I mean despite the fact they were both girls, staring would be rude. Though part of her did want to peek, it made her feel as gross as the likes of Kuno and Happosai which quickly changed her mind.
When she was done Ranma tapped her shoulder as a signal. Akane then switched off the light and made sure the door was secure. She then approached the bed to settle for the night. P-Chan had been missing for some time, so despite she was a little worried about him she knew that he would be ok. I mean he always came back unscathed.
Akane and Ranma then settled into the bed quietly trying to get comfortable. They lay in Akane's bed facing each other quietly for a while, simply staring into each other's eyes. Eventually their eyes grew heavy and sleep began to overcome them. They then fell into slumber, their bodies forming into a heart shape as they lost themselves to sleep.