*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
Hi guys! Thanks for all the reviews and thanks to dogbertcarroll who really made me laugh with his review and convinced me to give a second thought on continuing this story. I didn't mean to. I mean, it wasn't meant to be one of those solving-all-problems stories, I just had this waffy moment between Ranma and Akane in mind. Well, I changed my mind, so there you have it. Hope you like it, and please review!
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
"Of Loose Gi's and Lost Focuses"
Chapter 5
The Tendo household was not easy to deceive, though.
Nabiki hadn't been spying on them, but exiting her room to go to dinner, she happened to hear them laughing in Akane's room after she had heard Akane storm into her room and yell something at a sheepish Ranma in front of her door. Laughing didn't really fit in the picture, so she got curious.
So when they came downstairs she noticed a few things: first, they both were blushing a little and had funny expressions of almost-guilt on their faces.
Second, Akane was still in her gi. She always changed before dinner.
Third, Ranma was wearing a very silly grin beside the flush, although he was trying hard to hide it. She knew his acting skills were non-existent. She was more and more curious. And what did Nabiki do when she wanted to get information? She asked, of course.
"So, you two, has anything happened that you want to share with us?"
Akane and Ranma looked at each other, blushed even more and then quickly looked away.
"Nothing happened," Akane improvised. Thank good for those acting classes, she thought, hoping she'd be able to convince her older sister. "We had a… fight… and then this jerk came to apologise. I've forgiven him."
With that she sat. Ranma sat too, looking at her strangely.
Nabiki noticed that and targeted him.
"Ranma, you don't seem to agree with your fiancée. What really happened?" she suggested.
Ranma, who hadn't liked the way Akane had explained it at first, afraid that she might mean in, had calmed down when Akane had squeezed his hand under the table. He thought quickly and for once managed to get the right words out of his somewhat independent mouth.
"No, it's… I just didn't know she'd forgiven me." He looked at Akane, faking a sheepish smile. Akane smirked, congratulating him and herself inwardly.
"Yeah, right," Nabiki said, not too convinced, but unwilling to press the matter forward since Kasumi had just brought the food and she was quite hungry.
Mr Tendo and Genma weren't really paying attention at the conversation, they were just glad that for once the young couple's fight didn't result in another hole in a wall. Thoughts of their children getting along better and of houses being joined chanted randomly in their heads, but not more than usually.
Akane had to release Ranma's hand under the table when the food was passed around and she kind of regretted it. So did he, apparently, since he looked at her with a funny expression and then brushed his hand to his cheek as if to feel the warmth left there by her hand. Akane hung her head, trying to hide her blushing face with her hair.
This was going to be more difficult than she thought.
After dinner, Akane was feeling restless. She was afraid that either Ranma or herself would do something that would set the family thinking and make them figure out something had happened. She knew it was not considered normal for them to sit and watch TV together, or do anything together, for that matter, with the exception of sparring and fighting. She didn't want to spar (she blushed at the thought) and much less she wanted to fight with Ranma. An idea came to her mind.
"I'm going for a run, I need to relax before going to bed," she said raising, feeling Ranma's gaze on her. He didn't understand why she wanted to go out all of a sudden. Didn't she want to be…
But while Akane went to her room to change, Mr Tendo urged Ranma to follow his daughter, claiming as always that he had to protect her and to look after her and so on. A bulb went on in Ranma's head. But he had to act his usual self, not to get them suspicious. 'Akane, you're a genius', he thought.
"But she said she wanted to relax and besides who would ever want to attack a macho tomboy like her?" he protested, using his usual insults, hoping that Akane wouldn't get mad if she heard him.
"You have to go, son. She is your fiancée and you have to watch over her at all times", his father went on.
"It is dark outside and she cannot go alone", Tendo added. Ranma argued some more that as he usually did but stopped when he heard Akane's footsteps on the stairs. When he saw her face, he got scared. She looked furious.
"I said I wanted to go for a run. Alone," she stated and stormed out of the house, without looking back. She was a good actress, but she had her limits. Her fake anger could be kept on her face for only a limited time. She had heard Ranma call her names as usual, but she hadn't got mad because she knew he caught up on her idea and would follow her shortly, although he would pretend that their parents had pressed. At least she hoped so.
"Hey, tomboy", a voice startled her from right behind her. How did he do that? Sneak up on her like that, without her sensing him at all? Without stopping her run, she turned for a moment and saw his smiling face. She relaxed a bit and smiled back.
"Wait up", he said, speeding up to catch her. When he got to her, he scooped her up and started running much faster.
"Hey, what are you doing?" she shouted, grasping his shoulders to keep her balance.
"What do you think?" he said grinning.
Akane didn't know what to think of this, but she decided that she was curious and so she held on to him and waited. She noticed he was heading for the park.
She could not refrain from taunting him a little, though.
"Hey, I said I wanted to go for a *run* and I said I wanted to go *alone*!" she yelled at him in mock anger.
He looked at her surprised. "But… but I thought… it was just… for the show…" he stuttered.
She kept her angry expression for another moment, then smiled at him.
"Gotcha!"
"Oooohhh! You… tomboy!" he protested, making an angry face and holding her closer at the same time.
In the mean time – thanks to Ranma's speed – they reached the park. It was deserted and quiet, none of the usual strollers or children at play were there at such a late hour. Akane forced herself to look away from Ranma's face and took in her surroundings.
"How beautiful!" she exclaimed. Under a very bright almost full moon everything was covered in a silvery shine, every leaf of every tree sparkled in the chilly evening air and the peace was so unbelievably comfortable that Akane couldn't stop sighing.
Ranma just smiled. He agreed with a "Mmmhmmm", taking a quick glance around, more to make sure there wasn't anyone around than to admire the nature surrounding him, but returning his gaze to the girl in his arms.
He was still holding her, carrying her. He wondered idly how come she hadn't protested yet.
She motioned him to put her down and he obliged but didn't let her too far from his own body. Though he found her quite exciting in her T-shirt and shorts, he found himself very relaxed in the quiet moonlight and just wanted to be close to her.
Akane didn't mind. She turned around in his embrace, leaning her back on his chest, keeping his arms around her and putting her hands on his. She noticed the contrast between her tiny, pale fingers and his somewhat darker skin. It made her shiver.
"You cold?" he asked, concern in his voice.
"No, I'm fine", she said with a smile, although he couldn't see her.
They just stood there, in silence, enjoying the evening and each other's presence, for a while.
Eventually Akane moved, kept one of his hands in hers and started walking along a path dragging him along. He caught up, still looking at her. How could he had ever called her kawaiikune? He asked himself. She was more than beautiful, in the pale light of the moon, her hair moving softly with the breeze, her skin caressed by the silvery rays, her smiling lips dark and inviting. How could he resist?
He stopped, turned her around, while she looked at him questioningly. He pulled her closer, sliding his arms around her, and kissed her softly.
Akane, startled at first, gladly kissed back holding his broad shoulders. The kiss deepened and they soon forgot everything around them.
A tiny corner of Ranma's mind was wondering why they hadn't done this before, just walk and talk and kiss… He raised his head and gazed lovingly in his fiancée's eyes.
"RRRRRRRRiiinnnnngggg"
In the split of a second Akane and Ranma were five feet apart, blushing furiously, expecting the hated bicycle and it's purple haired proprietor to appear any moment.
And it did, of course. For once, landing near Ranma not on him.
"Hi, airen, what you doing in the park so late? Waiting for Shampoo?", the Amazon cooed in Ranma's ear, having long plastered herself on him as usually.
Akane was fuming. Her fists clenched, she stared at her rival, wondering how on earth had she managed to be at this place at the worst possible moment. What had she seen of the events between her and Ranma?
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*
A/N Am I being naughty leaving you like this? Please forgive me! The chapter was getting too long and a little suspense won't hurt, will it? So, do review and let me know what you think, even if you think it sucks (I promise I won't cry too hard). See you soon and if you have time to spare, check out my other stories – but only if you like waffy and fluffy stuff. (I know you don't care but here it is: I'm alone right now and in need of comfort - since no-one is here to do it, I resorted to writing… huh… ) Have a nice day!
