"He who hesitates is a damned fool."
Mae West (1892-1980)
"That's the town name." Ranma explained, as he pointed to a sign welcoming them to Lost Love. He did so as patronizingly as possible.Akane smiled weakly and searched for a reason for why she was acting so ditzy, why Ranma would want to stay in a town like this. She had seen an inn about ten minutes ago, but it wasn't in Lost Love. Could Ranma have chosen to stay in this town because he wanted to stir up some feelings? She had to admit that being here right now didn't seem so bad; in fact, it was becoming increasingly easy to be around Ranma. She was even getting used to the little things like the smell of his hair, or the depth of his eyes, the way he smiled when something was the least bit funny, or the way he brightened up a room with his enthusiasm for life. She knew she had to forget these things because, after he left again, it would just hurt more.
"Let's go in, okay?" Akane asked, trying to regain her composure, "Do we have enough for separate rooms, or do we just get one with two beds?"
Akane would never admit this out loud, but she was hoping that they would only have to be in one room; for expense reasons of course, she was just trying to be smart.
Ranma grinned like he always grinned: cheekily, "One room. Don't worry; I hear they're real big." "The rooms?" Akane asked politely. "The bed-s," He told her, waiting a beat and then saying the "s". Akane got worried; why had he hesitated? She got the feeling she was about to find out. They walked intoa lobby with a small man at the front desk. Ranma stopped Akane and told her to wait in a chair. She refused, and smacked him upside the head. Noticing he was trying to get angry, but couldn't take the genuine grin off his face, she pondered how to reply. Then, unexpectatnly, she let a laugh out, then another. They stood like this, waiting for the person in front of them to finish. What was she doing? She couldn't be laughing with Ranma, he was too mean, and ruthless, and she wanted him to hold her. She started to think about her dream, and instead of interrupting herself, Ranma nudged her in the shoulder, motioning toward the front desk."Well hello there folks, can I get ya a room?" The older man at the counter asked.
His grin was slightly crooked, and Akane smiled. Imperfections were beautiful to her.
"Yes, we'd like one with two beds, please," Akane said politely, relaxing a bit. The man gazed back, confused, "Sorry Miss, but we don't have those here." "What?" Akane asked, her shoulders tensing up again. Akane's mind raced; this couldn't be happening. She tried thinking rationally; they probably had a room with a real bed and a couch bed. "Besides, if you're coming to this kinda inn, then why want more than one bed," he smirked and winked at her. "What kinda inn?" Ranma inquired, looking genuinely surprised. "Why this is an inn strictly for honeymooners. Only inn in town," he said matter-of-factually. He handed her a key and took the money in Ranma's open palm. Ranma looked to Akane and grinned toothily, "Sorry 'bout this."He ran to the door, and got just outside, when a firm grip clasped the back of his shirt. Akane pulled away quickly, Ranma had become additionally muscular, if that was possible. He had a red shirt and black pants on; it reminded Akane of what he used to wear. He always wore plain clothes because he brought life into them. She stared at the man she was about to hit and put him down, walked past him into their room, as he stood outside, speechless.
"What's that?" Ranma asked, pointing to a picture she had brought, and rolled his eyes when he saw it was of Suru."It's a picture," Akane explained, clutching it close to her chest. Ranma scoffed, "Why bring a picture of your soon-to-be husband?" "If I forget," Akane explained, placing the picture on top of her suitcase. Ranma looked on confused, "Forget what?" She picked it up again, and walked towards Ranma, placing the cool frame in his hands, "My soon to be husband."
"Now, why would you want that?" He asked, just a tad fragile.
Akane smiled up at Ranma. She had gone back to unpacking and looked at the room. They had decided Ranma would get the couch and Akane the bed, and had turned on the radio, letting it fill the silence. The lyrics to a certain song caught Akane's attention.
The song was about loss, about love, and about how someone would wake up the next morning and not find the other person there. Akane cringed at the likeness to her own life.
Akane wondered how a song she had never heard before, could stir up so much inside of her. She thought of the lyrics, deciding they were exactly what Akane thought was going through Ranma's head, at certain times she could remember. "Good song," Akane commented, setting her gaze on Ranma."Huh, I didn't notice," Ranma said nonchalantly.
Akane noticed the difference in his tone; she hated when he lied to her.
"Liar," Akane prodded, folding one arm over the other. "Go back to your fiancé." Ranma muttered faintly. Akane was shocked at the level of hostility in his voice. She cautiously spat back the only response she could think of, "Sorry, but when people need me, I stay. Why look, it's a Thursday, shouldn't you be breaking some poor girl's heart?" Ranma turned to her ready for a fight; the only difference from their other fightswere the stakes were higher now. "You don't think I'm sorry about that?" Ranma accused, his eyes wavering. "Then say it!" Akane exclaimed, reading herself for excuses. "What?" Ranma asked, trying to be as patronizing as he could. Akane clarified, "Say sorry," she had been waiting for this, thinking it would never occur. "SORRY! How many times do I have to say it? Why do you hurt me like this?" He asked, waiting for an explanation. This rattled Akane: him asking her for an explanation? Impossible! "HURT YOU? WHAT ABOUT ME? You honestly don't know how much you damaged me, do you?" Akane sat down on top of her suitcase and stared at the broken figure in front of her. "Akane I'm rea-" Ranma began. "No! You made me crazy. Every time I think, it's of you, every time I act, it's in a fashion I think you'd like. Then, when I finally get over you, you have the indecency to come back and try to break up the only stable relationship I had since . . . YOU!" Akane screamed, regretting it as the words poured out. She looked at him and breathed heavily in exhaustion. "Liste-" Ranma started. "And I wouldn't even call what we had then stable, but at least it was something! Look what you've done to me: I can't help but notice things like the smell of your hair, or the deepness of your eyes, the way you smile when something is the least bit funny, or the way you brighten up a room with the pure enjoyment of living. And it scares me because if I don't stop thinking about you, then it will just hit me harder when you leave me again!" Ranma stood back in slight shock, staring at her. She couldn't look away, even if she had wanted to. "I love you."". . .WHAT?"
A/N: Can't believe he said it? Maybe a little ooc but they were in the heat of the moment. Like the ending? What do you think is going to happen next? Review or I might forget to write the next chapter. Next chapter hopefully up soon!