AN: A little bit of nothing.


WWGD

There were a lot of things you could say about Ranma Saotome.

That he wasn't very smart.

You grow up with a father that moved you from place to place with little to no formal schooling and see how well you do. He knew what others thought of him and didn't really care, especially since it worked in his favor most of the time; his opponents underestimating him was a benefit. Besides, he was a martial arts genius and that's what mattered.

That he was a jerk.

He admitted it. His mouth was quicker than his brain and he often said things before thinking of the consequences and he had the lumps – both literal and figurative - to prove it.

That he was he was loud and crude and mannerless.

Also true. He knew it. But looking at his primary role model, it was hardly a surprise. But he was old enough to know the difference now and was trying to change it. It was just that old habits were hard to break.

One thing you could not call him was a cheat.

Oh, no, that was one thing you would never call Ranma Saotome.

It was something that was drilled into him throughout the years. And not in the way it would normally be taught to a child. Most children had parents who taught them right and wrong and enforced that behavior by being a good role model. But who did he have?

Genma Saotome.

In this one situation, Genma was a great teacher. He had become something of a litmus test for Ranma. Some people ask themselves, what would Jesus do? Ranma asked himself what would Genma do?... and then did the opposite. Ranma had lived through and bore the brunt of most of Genma's schemes and bad decisions. Hell, he was still living with a bunch of consequences he had no control over. He swore to himself he would not be like his old man.

That's why, when Akane had accused him of cheating on her, he was livid. That righteous anger lasted a few hours.

How dare she question his honor? How dare she question HIM?

But the anger eventually burned away and what was left was hurt.

How could she question him? Didn't she know how much she meant to him?

And there was the problem; maybe she didn't. Maybe after all this time, she didn't trust him because she didn't understand how much he l..lo…cared for her. How could he blame her when it was still hard for him to admit it even to himself?

Couldn't she see how he tried to protect her? How he put her safety above his own? He killed a demi-god for her!

But maybe that wasn't enough. Maybe the old adage that actions spoke louder than words was wrong. Maybe his stupid words and the things he said overrode all that. Maybe he needed to finally declare himself. To tell her how he felt.

Even just thinking about it had him sweating in a way that facing Pantyhose Taro, Herb, and Saffron couldn't do.

Sighing, Ranma threw himself on the ground and brooded.

There were a lot of things you could say about Ranma Saotome and when it came to Akane Tendo, you could call him a coward.


AN: For those who are wondering, Ranma didn't do anything, he just got caught in another compromising situation.

I found this unfinished drabble and actually forgot where I was going with it. I decided to try to finish the story and this is what I came up with. It felt really good to write again and I hope you guys like it.