A/N: 好きだな I like you (effectively "I love you")

大好き I like you a lot

ほんと "Really?"

愛してるぜ "I love you" (very intense and uncommon way to say it)

うん "yes" in casual conversation

Day 9: Golden Week What Confidence does to a Man

It was 7:15; two hours earlier Kasumi and Nabiki left with all of their baggage and got on the train to meet Soun and Genma. Akane had been training since they left and Ranma sat in his room looking at the bottle of "Chinese Courage pills" that Miroku had given him days before. Ranma tried to read the label but most of it was in Chinese, all he could make out was courage and still he wondered what exactly he needed courage for.

"I guess it can't hurt…" Ranma said with a shrug and popped open the bottle swallowing them all. He figured he would take a bath in a little while to relax and then try to impress Akane again. The more he tried the more embarrassed and discouraged him became. He had always secretly hoped that Akane liked him and that if he showed and interest she would just be with him. The silly boy couldn't remember that it had already happened that way and worried about being rejected again, although he would never in his life admit it.

Akane paused in training for a moment and felt the cold air and her sweat combine to freeze her. She had been trying not to think about Ranma anymore, the more he tried to impress her, the angrier she became, and Akane didn't feel like being toyed with again. She is not a very forgiving person.

"Stupid pervert," She said with a little sigh. She could never admit that she just wanted him to love her back and at this point it didn't seem like she would let him. Akane sulked quietly as she left the dojo, P-Chan sitting forgotten by the weights, and headed upstairs to take a long well earned bath.

As Ranma lay on the floor of his room staring blankly at the ceiling he decided it was time. But first he headed up to take a bath. He walked up the stairs quietly, hoping to avoid Akane until he had worked up the guts to deal with her. It was strange, but having taken the 'courage pills' he felt a little more at ease, he would also have a stomach ache later (you're never supposed to take the whole bottle of anything, not even vitamins). He undressed quickly before opening the sliding door to find Akane sitting on the edge of the bath tub. They looked at each other for a long moment, Akane expecting him to back up and close the door and Ranma expecting Akane to slap him silly. It was a weird moment.

Ranma absorbed the image of Akane sitting on the edge of the bath tub, the shape of her breasts, the smooth curves of her legs, the way her hair clung to her neck when it was wet and he remembered holding her for a moment and the incredible warmth around them as they moved together. Ranma opened his mouth and then closed it again like a fish, his cheeks turning bright red; Akane was blushing as well growing angrier as the awkward moment stretched out toward infinity.

"Why do you keep staring at me you pervert?" She said her voice less convincing than she had hoped. Akane stood up hoping to be more threatening. "Well?"

"I… you're beautiful Akane," he said softly as he walked toward the bath tub.

"WH-what are you doing?" She said, her legs seemingly frozen in place, if Ranma had looked he would have noticed that they were trembling. "Get out of here you pervert!" She shouted as he stepped into the bath tub with her.

"Akane…" He said softly as he touched her hand, he remembered saying the words but he couldn't tell quite when, "I love you."

Akane's hand trembled in his and now he noticed that she was shaking all over, her eyes shimmering and her body shaking as she tried to ward him off with her words.

"You're just a pervert. Leave me alone… go play with your other fiancé's, because I'm not… I don't… I hate you!" She shouted as he brushed the tears from her cheek sweetly. "Don't… don't touch me, you can't just decide that you want to and then pretend to… Ranma, why are you doing this to me?" she said more tears streaming down her cheeks, he had never seen her looking more beautiful or vulnerable.

"I don't know… you just looked so beautiful… and 好きだな。" He said softly, wrapping his arms around her. He buried his nose in her hair and held her until she stopped shaking. Akane bit her lip shyly as she looked up at him, her eyes warm and scared and he leaned in to kiss her for the first time he could remember.

"ほんと?" she said after a long moment, Ranma just smiled shyly and kissed her again. "ほんと?" Akane said again and he kissed her again, this time she leaned into him as his hands slid down her back.

"Now that's the money shot!" Nabiki said taking a picture from out the window, "I knew they were up to something."

"Did you hear something?" Ranma said letting go of her for a second, long enough for her to pull away. "Akane?"

"I… uh I was done in here anyways, she said running out before he could catch her." Ranma just stood looking after her having no clue where he had gone wrong, and trying desperately to calm his body. He didn't know what to do, so he sat back in the bath for a long moment and then headed straight to Akane's room, not even considering that he might want a towel.

"Akane, why don't you want to be with me?" He said with a little frown, Akane sat at her desk and looked back at him with the same mixture of fear and warmth she had shown before.

"You're naked…" she said trying to change the subject. Ranma blushed and covered himself a bit, but pressed on more than she had expected.

"Akane… if you don't want to be my fiancé then I'll just leave, okay?" She didn't say anything and after a few minutes he let out a heavy sigh. "Oh… okay…" he said turning around and heading toward the stairs.

"Ranma, wait…" she said hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"I… will you put some clothes on please?" Ranma ran down stairs and threw on his pants and then was back at her door in only a second.

"So…" he said stepping through the door with feigned comfort.

"Ranma…が大好き," she said staring at her hands.

"Really?" he said beaming for a long moment before coming back to reality. "Then why are you so difficult all the time?"

"Oh, I'm difficult am I?" Akane said jumping out of her chair.

"This is exactly what I'm talking about, I mean here I tell you that I love you and I kiss you and all you want to do is fight with me." He said with a frown.

"Fine, what do you want to do then?" she said putting her hands on her hips indignantly.

"Kiss you more…" he said scratching his nose shyly. "I mean… only if you want to…"

"Ok…" she said breathily.

"Really?" Ranma said closing the door and walking over to her.

"うん" she said blushing even more. Ranma leaned in and kissed her, he was shier than the first time but soon he was holding her again and she was melting into him. Ranma and Akane kissed for a long time, both shy and giddy and itching for more. It was the longest amount of time they had spent together in weeks with out arguing.

"…you love me?" Ranma said in between kisses.

"愛してるぜ," she said blushing so much he thought she might faint.

"Good," He said with a big grin.

"Um... Ranma… since…. I mean everyone is gone and it must be cold down there… so I mean if you want you can sleep up here…"

"What?"

"No, never mind…"

"You really want me to…" His stomach tightened in a pleasant way and he smiled at her oddly, wolfishness and shyness fighting to rule his expression. She nodded, hoping that he wouldn't make her regret it.