Jingle Bells

Chapter 3: Ukyo tries to enlighten a great baka martial artist

By: Kenka

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½

A/N: I'm really sorry for not updating for so long! After my exams, I bumped into a really big writer's block and I'm not sure if this chapter reaches your expectations. And thanks for those who reviewed.

Just a little note: I know Ranma and Akane already had Christmas together, but just pretend it's their first, all right, and I also know that Ranma doesn't change into a girl when touched by snow, but pretend also, because it is FANFICTION.

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Ukyo smiled at a customer who was hungrily eating her pancakes. The guy looked at Ukyo with her men's clothes and giant spatula stuck to her back, and he thought that she was a he and a look of disgust appeared on his face. Was this guy hitting on him? What did he look like, gay?! Ukyo saw the expression on his face and correctly interpreted it and she smirked.

Flipping the pancakes on the grill with easy skill, Ukyo's mind began to drift away. Ranma's face popped into her head immediately and she smiled to herself, feeling suddenly giddy and girlish. Ranma was just so…cute. With his blue-black eyes that was always sparkling with energy, his tightly braided hair and that muscular, lithe body that hummed with contained strength, Ranma was one fine specimen.

"Ucchan! Hey! Ucchan! You all right?" Ranma asked worriedly as Ukyo jumped back in surprise, nearly dropping her mini-spatula. She hadn't noticed that Ranma had arrived since she was so lost in her musings about him.

She looked at him, saw his adorable, worried expression and a foreign blush heated her cheeks. Ukyo had the insane urge to loosen her hair and brush it back neatly.

"Huh? Oh, hey, Ranchan, I didn't notice you come in" she said brightly, a genuine smile on her flushed face. Ranma leaned forward, careful as not to touch the heated stove with the frying pancakes, until their faces were inches apart. He placed a hand against her forehead and more color filled her face. "You look a little red, Ucchan, you have a fever?"

She shook her head in respond and felt disappointed and relieved at the same time when Ranma pulled back to a safety distance. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and she tried to calm herself down.

**Don't act like a silly schoolgirl with a crush! Ranchan doesn't like girls like those!** Ukyo scolded herself sternly as she flipped a few pancakes. Ranma was took a seat in front of her and it took a lot of control for Ukyo not to run her hands through her messy hair. **But…his eyes are so…beautiful…**

"So, what would it be, Ranma?" she thanked the Gods her voice was steady and calm, a contrast to what she was feeling inside. Yes, Ranma made her feel light-headed but never this much. She was in deep. "The usual?" Ukyo added with a grin.

Ranma grinned. "Sure, Ucchan, the usual."

Beside him, the guy looked at Ranma with a funny look on his face. Ranma noticed this and was puzzled. "What?" he asked a little defensively. The guy pushed back his chair and stood up to leave but Ranma heard the word he mumbled under his breath and his confusion escalated.

"Gay? Me, gay? But I'm not happy today!" Ranma exclaimed loudly so that Ukyo nearly sent the pancake she was placing on a plate flipping to the ceiling. She set the plate in front of Ranma, amusement and apprehension on her face. He turned to face her. "Hey, Ucchan, why did that guy say I was gay? I am not happy with my life!" Ranma asked, piercing a piece of pancake with his fork.

Ukyo coughed behind her hand. "Um…Ranchan…I think that guy didn't mean 'gay' as in 'happy'…" her voice trailed, unwilling to continue, knowing how touchy her fiancé was about his curse.

But unfortunately for her, Ranma didn't seem to understand her lame explanation. "Can 'gay' be used as another word? What d'you mean, Ucchan?"

She sighed. "Ranchan, I think that guy thought you were gay aka homosexual aka interested in the same sex because he thought I was a guy!"

It took a moment for Ranma to understand and his face turned red with indignation. "NANI?! HE thought what?!" The other customers looked at Ranma fearfully, wondering if they should leave since it was common knowledge that if Saotome Ranma got angry, the surroundings around him tended to get annihilated.

Ukyo lifted her hands in a placating gesture as Ranma half-stood up in his anger, prepared to run after the guy who had insulted him. "Calm down, Ranchan, you don't want to ruin my restaurant by scaring away my customers!"

Ranma sat back down, grumbling and irritation still in his blue-black eyes. He pierced his pancake angrily and brought it to his mouth then ate it whole. "Stupid guy, thinking I was gay and Ucchan a guy! Baka."

Ukyo blinked.

**Did…Ranchan get angry because someone insulted my femininity, or what's left of it?** at that thought, Ukyo's heart accelerated again and she fought the oncoming blush.

Her smile turned much brighter. "Do you want another pancake Ranchan, it's on the house."

Ranma's ire cooled down and he looked like a kid who received a giant lollipop all of a sudden. "I never turn down free food, Ucchan, 'specially when it taste delicious."

At the out-of-the-blue compliment, another blush colored Ukyo's cheeks nicely and she hastily walked into a kitchen to get some ingredients so that Ranma wouldn't see it. Oh how embarrassing! She's counted three flushes just in one day, a record for her since she only blushed, even around Ranma, only once.

Ukyo took a longer time than she would normally have to return because she was notably nervous and it took about five minutes to calm herself down. But Ranma didn't seem to notice. He seemed deep in thought when she walked out of the kitchen, a perplexed look on his striking face.

After mixing all the ingredients, Ukyo poured the dough into the grill and she looked expectantly at Ranma. She could see in his eyes that something was truly bothering him.

That Akane probably did something horrible to Ranma again and he was brooding about it. In her opinion, Ranma should just cancel his and Akane's engagement and dump Shampoo and be with her, because no one understands Ranma more than his 'Ucchan' and she'll never hurt him.

"You look a little preoccupied, Ranchan, anything I can do to help?" she asked casually, waving goodbye at one of her customers who just left. It was just now her and Ranma left in the restaurant and for the first time that day, Ukyo heard clearly the jingles and songs coming from the streets that cheered for Christmas.

Ranma snapped out of his ruminations as he heard his name being called. "Nothing really, Ucchan, something Akane said just bothered me" he shrugged it off as he sniffed the delicious aroma Ukyo's grill was producing.

A small frown furrowed her eyebrows at the mention of Akane. She knew it. Akane was always the reason for Ranchan's heartaches. If Ukyo didn't know the fact that Ranma hated that tomboy, she would have been jealous that he seemed to think of her all the time.

"Akane-san? Did she do something wrong again, Ranchan?" her voice had gone protective as if she was a lioness protecting one of her beloved cubs.

He shook his head. "Nope, she didn't bash me with her mallet this time, but she did say something that puzzled me."

"Oh? What did she say?" **I swear, if Akane called Ranchan 'hentai' or 'baka' or 'sex-changing monkey' again I'll kill her.**

"She kept on saying how great Christmas was. I just don't see how snow, cold weather and stupid songs can be great."

"Christmas? You're fretting about Christmas?" Ukyo could have laughed at Ranma's bizarre worry if he didn't look genuinely mystified. "But, Ranchan, why on Kami-sama's name are you troubled about Christmas?" 

"I dunno, maybe because I turn into a girl if snow touches me or because every Christmas that I had involved training with pops" Ranma explained grudgingly, remembering all those strenuous exercises he did with his father.

Ukyo's expression softened and she understood him. Since Saotome Genma was a great martial artist who lacked human values, it was obvious that he hadn't taught Ranma about the important things in life that didn't revolve around martial arts. Poor Ranchan.

"Ranchan, Christmas isn't about just songs or snow or the cold weather, it isn't even about the gifts, it's about the time we should be at peace with one another and spend time with those we love."

Ranma sighed. "That is what Akane said!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "I just don't get it!"

"Just remember Ranma, that even if you have never had a real Christmas, it doesn't mean you can't have one" Ukyo said to him and he quieted down, looking down at his hands.

After a moment, he spoke up. "Lemme get this straight, so you're saying that Christmas is like…martial arts?"

"Huh? I don't get it, Ranchan." She placed a cooked pancake on Ranma's plate and placed it in front of her.

Ranma immediately attacked his food and he chewed contemplatively. "Well, martial arts requires patience, peace of mind, and practice, right? So we should practice Christmas until we master it, then we love it and choosing the right gift to give is also like looking for the right style or technique for you."

There was a second silence before Ukyo burst out laughing. "Oh Ranchan, you're so funny!" she wiped tears of hilarity out of her eyes and saw Ranma's expression. "Christmas isn't something you need to practice, you just…naturally feel and acquire the spirit of it. It's like…falling in love." She looked pointedly at him but he didn't seem to get the hint.

Ranma scratched behind his ear, an action that stated he didn't understand at all.

"You see, Ranchan, falling in love comes as a surprise, right and you feel whole with it. When Christmas happens, you also feel a bit surprised because all of a sudden, you're making peace with your enemies and just enjoy yourself. You also feel that heartwarming feeling of being contented being around the people who treasure you" Ukyo softly explained, not looking at Ranma but at the grill as she tried to remove some dough that had stuck to the top of it.

"So…you don't need to practice to death to feel the spirit of Christmas?" Ranma asked, stuffing the last bit of pancake into his mouth.

"No, you just feel it" Ukyo repeated.

They were silent for a long time then Ranma stood up. Ukyo looked at him. "You're going, Ranchan?"

"Yup, I'm sure Akane's wondering where I am now and I don't want her to think I was with Shampoo coz she'll mallet me to next week," Ranma told her as he dug into his black pants to get some money to pay for the food.

Ukyo shook her head and smiled.

"Don't worry about it, Ranchan, both of the pancakes will be on me."

A wide grin broke out on Ranma's features. "Um, thanks, Ucchan, and it's lucky since I kinda don't have money." He made a face and turned around to leave. He lifted a hand and waved goodbye to Ukyo and she waved back, a fond look on her face.

"Hey, Ranchan!" she abruptly called out and Ranma stopped and looked at her over his shoulder. "Don't forget, you're around people who truly care for you now!"

For an instant, Ranma looked surprised then he boyishly grinned. "You're around people who care for you too, Ucchan!"

Then he went out into the snow-covered streets, his mind a confused jumble filled with all the data he just learned and his brain trying to slowly process it all.

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There. Was that long enough? I hope so, I spent hours on that and I hope it was satisfying. Well, if it sucked, then, that's my problem and you can flame me if you wanna, just delete all the bad words when you do flame and please don't stomp on me too much.