Home for the Holidays

Chapter: 2

Title: The Sunshine of a Friendly Gaze

Disclaimer: There is absolutely zero chance that I could ever own Ranma ½ or any of the characters seeing as Rumiko Takahashi already owns them. Don't sue. I have no money.

Akane Tendo had a million thoughts running through her head. In fact, at this point, she wanted to pull her hair out and scream every profanity that she'd ever heard since she was three years old. Especially since it was three o'clock in the morning and her fiancé that she hadn't seen in two years was sleeping in the room next to her. "I think... I'm in shock." What other excuse was there for Akane Tendo as she lay awake in bed.

Here he was. Back again.

And here was she. Fretting over the possibilities of what would happen next. Would their fathers return to their avid attempts to marry them? Would a random fiancée or enemy of Ranma's return to wreak havoc? She knew what had happened after she'd left. Or rather, after Ranma had left.

Kasumi had kept her informed of the well being of not only her family but the fiancées as well. The first letter was probably the most startling. Apparently even though Shampoo would have waited forever to take Ranma home as her husband, the Amazon elders would not. Three months after Ranma had left for his trip, a letter had been sent recalling her back to the Amazon village, with or without Ranma. She wouldn't go home without a fight, of course, but luckily Mouse managed to temporarily poison her in a hopeless attempt to make an ancient Amazon love potion. Akane had been sure Shampoo would be up and at it again once she had retrieved the antidote...

Ukyo had stuck around a while longer, but after the first year passed with no letters from Ranma, her reasons for staying dwelled only in her restaurant. Akane had not understood why Ranma hadn't kept in contact with anyone including herself. Later, she learned from Kasumi that he had. He had written postcard after postcard to Kasumi but had asked her to keep everything a secret from the others, including herself. It had infuriated her to no end during the first few months of college. She had been so jealous, so angry that he would talk to Kasumi and not her. Sure, she understood Ranma wanting to keep his whereabouts a secret from the others… but why couldn't it be her secret? Kasumi was always trying to tell her that change was a good thing. In fact, she was always trying to tell herself that. But the truth was… she was heartbroken. She was homesick and friendless and missing a part of her life so much she almost couldn't breathe.

And Ranma didn't even want to speak to her.

She felt the sting of tears even now as she laid awake. She had promised herself when her mother had died. Never again. Never again would she hurt as she had that day and so many days after. No one would get close enough. No one would be able to... but somehow, he had. Even after all the fights, name-calling, malleting, Jusenkyo, and the failed wedding, she had still cared. She had let him get close enough to hurt her, and inevitably, he had.

And now he was back. No matter how many times she resolved to, she just couldn't hate him. No matter how bad he hurt her or how long he was gone, the moment he returned she was just a sixteen-year-old girl again. Why did she fall apart when he was around? Torn between hating him and loving him, beating him and hugging him. She just couldn't make sense of it. She had always prided herself on being independent and capable of taking care of herself, but ever since Ranma and his father had stepped out of the rain that fateful day, her world had been turned upside down. And then he had stepped back out again. Just as simply as he had come, he was gone. And he never looked back.

And now the whole dreadful cycle would be starting all over again. She let out an exasperated sigh, turning over to check the time on her alarm clock. Akane closed her eyes once more. Maybe if she actually got some sleep all of this useless anxiety would go away.

Some things never change.

The delightful smell of Kasumi's cooking drifted through the glistening sunshine that poured into the room. Ranma Saotome was instantly awake at the slightest scent of good food (which he had been deprived of for quite a while.) He laid there, cotton sheets chaotic and strewn across his futon, the sound of the Tendo family waking up all around him.

He was home. It was a strange notion, but it was not the first time he had thought it. Home was here with these people he had met some four years ago. They had given him a place to stay, a place that he could return to every night, and most of all, a place where he could feel welcome . . like he actually belonged somewhere. And yet he had left them again for the same life that he had known before: traveling and training and forever being on the road. Although... it had been different this time. He actually had a reason for leaving.

He heard Kasumi's sweet voice calling that breakfast was ready.

Sitting up, he threw on a shirt and a pair of pants. On his way to the bathroom, he noticed Akane was still asleep. Well, tomboys need to eat, too. Figuring she wouldn't want to miss Kasumi's cooking the first day back, he chose a course of action that would probably lead to his sudden and abrupt demise: he was going to wake Akane up for breakfast. And this included entering her room without permission.

Silently sliding open the door, he poked his head inside. Best be cautious.."Akane?" No reply. Stepping inside forbidden territory, he questioned whether or not he really needed to do this. "Akane, Kasumi's got breakfast ready." Gah. Since when did Akane Tendo sleep like the dead?

And yet he was sure she was sleeping. He could tell by the slight rise and fall of her chest underneath the folds of her shirt and the peaceful expression that was lit on her face by the early morning sun. Her hair was cutely disheveled, and her covers had somehow managed to form a tangled mess on the floor next to her bed. He snorted softly. She was still violent in her sleep.

He was next to her bed now. "Hellooo...? You awake?" He poked her right arm- and barely avoided the punch from her left. She was awake instantly, sitting up, eyes wide and filled with confusion for half a second. "Geez, 'kane. It's just me." He saw the dawning of recognition cross her face.

She was much faster than he remembered. Had he imagined that speed? That accuracy? He heard her smother a good-natured laugh at his stunned expression. So maybe he looked a little caught off guard. He would have been less surprised if he were currently flying over the rooftops of Nerima. Where had her trusty mallet vanished to? And more importantly... were those tiny shorts really what she wore to sleep every night? He fixed his eyes on her face.

"uh, " He was drawing a blank. ".breakfast." He wanted to roll his eyes. Great, Saotome. So smooth. He remained standing, mentally cursing his complete inability to even form words properly.

"Um... Ranma."

He focused his attention back on her. "yeah... ?"

"Can you leave so I can change?" She smirked playfully. He found himself caught on the opposite end of a situation similar to last night's.

"Oh- Uh. Yeah." He made a prompt exit, remembering to close the door behind him.

"Well, Ranma. I wonder what on earth you could be doing in my darling sister's bedroom so early in the morning." Shit. Turning, he found exactly what he expected: Nabiki Tendo wearing a smug grin.

"Nice to see you again, too." He knew this was going to cost him. "How much?"

"Now, now, brother dearest. " Her choice of words were amazingly simple, and yet, so effective. She enjoyed making Ranma squirm. "No need to bribe me with your generous offers."

This was new. Nabiki Tendo not excepting money? Or perhaps it was just another one of her schemes. Yeah. That sounded more like her. "Consider it your welcome home gift," she added as she brushed past him down the stairs. He just knew he would end up paying her sooner or later.

Some things never change.

Breakfast was interesting but rather normal in its own abnormal way, of course. Genma rejoiced at his son's return by nagging that Ranma was slacking off and how his old man would have to whip him back into shape. Three and a half seconds after Genma issued his challenge, he himself lay "whipped" on the dining room floor.

Akane was subdued during breakfast, perhaps due to her own thoughts (none of which were anything like the ones that had plagued her last night.) She watched the scene in front of her unravel. He'd been home only a few hours and already it seemed like everything had remained as it was two years ago.

"Now that you're both home..." she heard her father begin to say. Oh dear God. Wasn't it early for them to start this again? She didn't even wait for them to cheer about how the schools would finally be joined. She stood abruptly upon finishing her meal, fully intent on sneaking back upstairs to change into some workout clothes. The dojo sounded like an excellent alternative.

"Oh, Akane." She stopped at the sound of Kasumi's voice. "Could you and Ranma pick up some things from the market? I need to finish cleaning up." She suppressed the temptation to heave an exasperated sigh. How could she (or anyone for that matter) refuse a request from Kasumi? She glanced over in Ranma's general direction.

With him?

Her first instinct was to wrinkle her nose. "No, Akane, " she reprimanded herself mentally. "You are not 16 anymore. Ranma is just another boy." After all, she had learned to get along with boys in college. Sure, it was true that the majority were perverts and jerks, but she couldn't afford to be choosey about gender when it came to finding good friends. "Just a high school friend," she rationalized with herself.

In spite of everything, they were actually friends. She considered it for a moment. Even with all the arguments, the least she could give him credit for was saving her life (multiple times). And wouldn't you be friends with someone who saved your life? Yes, this sounded reasonable enough.

She smiled cheerfully at Kasumi. "Of course!"

They were just friends.

The Nerima marketplace was starting to fizzle out as the afternoon sun lowered in the sky. The bustle and noise had calmed... almost.

"Gah, 'kane! How come I gotta carry all this stuff?" Ranma was juggling about twelve bags full of various items on Kasumi's list.

"Don't be such a baby!" She furrowed her brow but couldn't feign annoyance for very long. A smile slipped onto her lips. "I don't recall the great Ranma Saotome ever having a problem with a few shopping bags." From the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of him rolling his eyes.

"A few?" he asked incredulously. "You call this a few, Tomboy!" She swatted him in the arm. It's funny how his name-calling really didn't bug her anymore. The way he said it had changed. It wasn't harsh or condescending anymore. Then again... maybe he had always said it that way, and she'd just never noticed.

"It's really your own fault anyway." She had carried some of the bags at first. Actually, she had insisted that she carry them all on her own. The only problem with this particular idea was that the bags piled up so high that she couldn't see where she was walking… Needless to say, she had stepped in dog poop.

This was the point at which she had shoved (gently of course) all the shopping bags into Ranma's face. He had laughed so hard till he was as red as the pound of cherry tomatoes Kasumi had requested, gasping for oxygen by the florist shop. Akane had been furiously embarrassed, but the contagious laughter had soon caught her as well. Ever since Ranma had come home, all these horrible, crazy things had started happening again. They made a dramatic exit out of the bakery at the sight of the shop owner's kitten; Ranma sat on some of the blueberries at the fruit stand… and yet, she wouldn't trade it for anything in the world: Ranma being here.

With her.

They trudged through the feathery snow with little conversation between them. As they rounded the corner, Akane halted her steps. So abruptly, in fact, that Ranma almost ran into her.

"'kane...?" She looked so dazed. "Akane..." He tried to follow her gaze.

The lights. He remembered lights like these only one other time.

Before she had left.

Twinkling white lights and sparkling bouquets of color shining in the fading light of the afternoon sun.

Ironically, they had been on an errand for Kasumi, much like the one they were running today. It wasn't winter at the time so the lights had not been in celebration of the holidays. Instead, they had been decoration for a little boy's birthday party. His mom had set out the obviously store-bought, batman cake with all seven candles and a batman figurine on top. His father had been so proud, camera in one hand, and his wife's hand in the other. His antsy friends were hastily deciding which piece they would claim while the newly seven-year-old hesitated with his lips pursed, contemplating what to wish for.

He had been so jealous of that boy. Never in his life had he gotten a batman cake (not that he wanted one now). Never had he been surrounded by friends (antsy or not), all waiting to celebrate his birthday. Never in his life had he been part of a picture perfect family like that one.

He felt a tug at his heart. But did he want to be? He couldn't imagine his life ever being that perfect. What was this? Ranma Saotome longing for normalness? Absurd. But still his heart remained wistful at the thought of having a piece of that picture. It was wishful thinking indeed. He heard his name being called. "Ranma... Ranma Saotome!" An impatient Akane waved her hand in front of his face.

"What is it, Akane?" he asked indignantly, having his day dream interrupted.

"Nothing... " she quieted, looking like a scolded child. "You just.. looked.. like..." Her eyes innocently searched his face for the words. He gave her a dumb look, waiting expectantly. A giggle escaped her lips as a smile slid into place. "You're such an idiot." She turned briskly to continue down the sidewalk. A calloused hand grabbed her wrist to stop her and the sensation of ice-cold snow met the skin on her back.

"AIEEEE! Coldcoldcoldcold!" Akane could not help hopping around like a frenzied chicken.

Fortunately, the ice quickly melted into the warmth of her sweater. She glowered. "RAN-MA," she gritted out. She could see him smirking.

"Geez, 'kane. I didn't know you could squeal like –" his words were quickly cut off by the handful of snow that filled his mouth. He sputtered and spat out the un-melted remainder. She was gonna pay for that one. "That wasn't a very smart move, Tomboy," he warned as he bent down to scoop up some snow.

She stuck out her tongue. "We'll see about that!" she retorted and spun away down the snowy sidewalk.

For a moment, they both seemed to forget that they were twenty-years-old. Chasing each other around the neighborhood and frozen streets, they were like kids again.

Man. Akane had definitely gotten quicker. She was almost as fast as him. Almost. "Ha! Where ya gonna go now?" A triumphant smirk was plastered on his face. He had her cornered between the neighbor's fence and the woods next to their property. He took a step closer. She was gonna get it.

He noticed the way she managed to keep a calm expression on her face even though inside he knew she was going insane trying to find a way out. Impressive. He'd never seen her keep her cool so well (except for maybe that morning.) By now, he was right up in her face, snowball in hand. He grinned. It was all over now.

Suddenly, he felt the warmth of her palm against his cheek. Soft skin against his, and for short moment, steel blue could not resist the intoxicating caramel of her eyes. He felt himself close the waning gap between them.

"Ranma..."

A rush of cold met his scalp as a pile of snow was dumped on his head. As expected, Akane soon stealthily slipped out from under his grasp with the help of her newfound distraction, and skipped off, well pleased with her small victory. "You really shouldn't let your guard down, Ranma!" he heard her call over her shoulder as she disappeared into the trees. Not even bothering to brush the snow out of his hair, he turned in the direction of the woods.

Oh, it was ON now.

Well that was fun :)

-SP