Anything Goes Fluff
by
Jeremy Harper
Disclaimer – Ranma ½ is the creation of Rumiko Takahashi and is used without permission.
III
"I try to compliment you and-" Ranma sputtered indignantly. "Who says you're cute?"
"No one," Akane said simply as she walked away. "I'm not cute."
"I just meant I like your hair better. I mean... That is... Not that my taste makes any difference..." Ranma trailed off. Akane looked over her shoulder and saw him perched on the canal fence, facing the water and nervously twiddling his fingers.
Ranma hunched his shoulders, silently cursing himself for being an idiot when he heard Akane call his name. He turned on the fence to find her smiling gently at him. His throat went a little dry and his heart beat a little harder. "Thank you," she said. "That's nice to hear. Even if you don't mean it, it's nice."
Even as his heart sped up from her warm, beaming gaze, a part of Ranma felt stung and nettled by Akane's words. He scowled and looked away to keep from being captured by her eyes. "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it. Your hair does look nice. You looked good with long hair, but short hair suits you better somehow." He gestured vaguely with his hands. "Can't really explain why. It just does!"
Akane said nothing for a moment, simply looking at Ranma seriously and intensely, her head tilted slightly, mouth quirked in a puzzled frown. "Ranma, may I ask you a question? And will you answer it honestly?" He looked up at her, his eyes widening a trifle, for in the short time he had known her he had never heard or seen her so earnest. He nodded his agreement. Akane took a breath and plunged forward. "Cute or uncute, Ranma. Which one am I?"
Ranma blinked. "You're both," he blurted out.
Akane glowered. "That's not an answer."
"It is! It's the truth. You're cute when you're smiling or happy, and you're not cute when you're angry or calling me a pervert." He frowned. "Which I'm not, by the way."
"You are!" she answered automatically. "You saw me naked!"
"Because you walked in on me!" He snapped his mouth shut and seemed to withdraw into himself. Akane blinked, startled by the brief flash of pain that had radiated from him. He stood on the fence and turned his back to her, folding his arms across his chest. "I don't want to fight with you. Not now. You wanted the truth – I told you it. You're cute and uncute." Ranma took a deep breath, seemingly steeling himself. "And you're always pretty, no matter how you act." He said that in a quick, low rush.
Akane's eyes became round as saucers. She was not certain if she heard correctly. "Pretty?" she whispered. "Do... do you mean that?" Ranma nodded silently, not turning around. He held himself with stiff, nervous tension. Akane ducked her head shyly, a blush warming her cheeks. "Thank you, Ranma."
Ranma shrugged dismissively. "You don't have to thank me. I'm telling the truth."
"Thank you anyway." Akane smiled. "You know, you're a pretty nice guy when you're not acting like a jerk."
"Feh." He hopped down next to her. "What are you talking about? I'm never a jerk." Akane was about to retort when she noticed the sardonic twinkle in his eyes. She brought a hand to her mouth and giggled.
They walked home together, the silence between them surprisingly comfortable and companionable. The Tendo estate just came into sight when Akane stopped and spoke. "Ranma?"
"Yeah, Akane?"
"If... I try not to be angry with you, will you try not to be a jerk to me?"
"I... I'll try." He tugged his pig-tail. "I got a mouth, though. It goes faster than I think, sometimes."
"I've noticed," Akane said dryly. "And I have a temper. But as long as we try, maybe things will be all right."
Ranma thought over what she said and nodded. "Okay. Does that mean... you wanna be friends?"
Akane smiled at him. "Yeah, I do." Ranma's heart started beating faster again, and he found himself grinning like a goof back at her. "Oh, one more thing."
"What?"
Akane reched up and tapped him on the brow with her forefinger. It did not hurt, but she used enough force and he was sufficiently off guard that he fell back on his rump. "Blew it," she said sweetly and skipped away.
Ranma stared after her in disbelief. "That was uncute!" he shouted, trying for outrage, though the humor in his voice ruined the effect. When Akane blew a raspberry over her shoulder he could not help but laugh.
Author's Note – In my opinion the magna is full of what I call 'tipping points', where the relationship between Ranma and Akane could have become much more romantic, if Takahashi had wanted to tell such a story. The earliest such one was probably when Ranma first told Akane that she was cute when she smiled. If I write many more of these fluff pieces, a good portion of them will probably be examinations of these tipping points. Hopefully it won't get too repetitive.
Cheers.