Patience Brings Love

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma....

A/N: This is just a short, one-shot fic that I thought of while reading the Ranma mangas and fics... Written in a short amount of time, so forgive my mistakes. RanmaAkane pairing, sorta fluffy. Akane may act OOC sometimes, but I have my reasons, k?

Chapter 1: Thoughts, Fears, and Hope

Ranma looked across the table at Akane, yet again stealing another glance at his 'uncute and macho' fiancée, who was at the moment feeding her 'P-chan', who was actually Ryoga enjoying his pig form as Akane's pet, while eating nothing herself. Ranma was furious, furious because of Akane's extreme stupidity and ignorance of Ryoga's curse, and the way Ryoga was using his pig form to get close to Akane.

"Ranma? Do you want more rice?" came the voice of Kasumi, oldest sister of Akane. Ranma's eyes lit up at the mention of more food, and passed his bowl to Kasumi for more rice as he waved his chopsticks impatiently. His father was in his panda form and waving around merrily a sign saying, "I need more food, please!" Mr. Tendo was eating serenely, as usual, his eyes never leaving his food. Nabiki was chewing on a piece of steamed fish, a specialty of Kasumi's. The moment Kasumi passed his bowl back, he grabbed and began to shovel the food down his throat as if there were no tomorrow. He heard an impatient and disgusted noise and he had only to look up to see Akane's eyes glaring at him and her face reflecting disgust.

"You eat like a pig," she said. Ryoga was oinking happily as if laughing at Ranma. He could think of what Ryoga was thinking right now. Probably 'You disgust Akane!' Ranma made a face at her and resumed his eating. Within minutes, he finished the rice and passed it to Kasumi with a smile and a bright "You're food is great!" Ranma stood up and began to walk out of the house after informing the parental. His father just waved a sign saying, 'Whatever!' while eating as fast as he can without choking and Akane's father just waved, showing that he heard.

Akane made a face at him as he left, and he stuck his tongue at her. She turned her back on him haughtily and continued feeding 'P-chan'. Ranma wanted to just go up to Akane and snatched P-chan out of her arms and splash hot water on him. Ha. He would really like to do that, as long as Ryoga would keep his hands off Akane.

Wait....

Hands off Akane?

Since when had he been protective of her? Perhaps it was since the run-in with Mikado and Azusa, the 'golden pair in martial skating'? To be honest, they haven't seen those two ever since the competition that would determine the ownership of P-chan/Charlotte. Ranma sighed, and did a startling combination of midair combative moves. He did the same thing over and over, again and again; until he was panting heavily, sweat dripping off his body onto the rock pavement.

Wiping the sweat off his face, he turned around and walked back into the house, where his father and Mr. Tendo were nowhere to be seen, Kasumi's sweet humming floated around the house as she did the dishes, and Nabiki was still at the dinner table, reading a magazine. "Oh hey, Ranma. What's up?" Nabiki asked as she looked up from the magazine to see Ranma walking in with his clothes soaked. "Did you get splashed again?" Nabiki asked. Ranma shook his head. "Just exercising," he replied before walking off.

He went into the room he shared with his father, two futons on the floor, both unmade and messy, took off his shirt, grabbed his favorite blue towel along with a change of clothes and walked off towards the bathroom. Once he reached the bathroom, he took off his shorts and walked to the tub. He had only to open the door and step into the small and confined space to see Akane in there, drying herself from a bath. He stopped there in shock.

Akane had her back to him, which means he can escape quietly. He started to take a step to the door and nearly reached it before Akane spotted him. "RANMA!!!! YOU PERVERT!!!!!" she screamed tiredly as she hurriedly tried to cover herself and kicked Ranma out of the bathroom. Ranma's face was extremely red, as he had walked in on Akane again. He ran out of the bathroom after putting on his shorts, and ran out to the backyard of the Tendo training hall. He sat next to the pond, and tried not to think of what had happened, but his mind kept wandering back to Akane.

Although this was similar to other times, there was something different about the incident this time. Although he was pretty familiar with girls' anatomy, it was pretty awkward seeing other girls naked. He finally pinpointed what was wrong this time: he saw more of Akane's body than other times, and he liked it. He liked what he saw.

Ranma sat there, and finally realized that Akane had kicked him once, but it was a soft enough kick to not hurt but still kick him out. She was pretty gentle with him. In fact, she seemed like that was actually the most she could do. Upon deeper thinking, Ranma realized that Akane had grown paler, too pale for comfort. Her actions weren't as sure as usual... and she didn't have her usual upbeat attitude.

She seemed quite... tired, tired and sick. How long had this gone on? Ranma scanned back, and realized that Akane had been like that ever since Shampoo's last visit, which was the most disastrous by far. He was in a very interesting position with Shampoo when caught by Akane. He had tried explaining that Shampoo had tugged him, trying to pull him, but he tripped over his own feet and landed that way, but she refused to hear him out. Instead of the usual beatings, and forgive and forget, she became distant.

Akane slipped on her clothes, her mind still in shock. She had seen Ranma naked, just as he had seen her. She was shocked. But then, she can appreciate how well toned Ranma's body was, after all the training he had done. But she wasn't angry. She wasn't pissed. Nor upset, for that matter. She didn't really mind Ranma looking at her, though it was pure, natural instincts that made her kick him out. But the fact remained with her that they were both just eighteen, not married, and just engaged, against their will in the beginning. But they both had calmed down, she argued with herself.

I had accepted the fact that we we're going to marry no matter what. It's just Ranma's feelings for this... In fact, we are getting along much, much better!

If you call it better by ignoring him, the voice in her head said indifferently. Deep down, Akane knew that it was true. She fought back the tears that brimmed around her eyes.

It had been a long time since she knew she had fallen in love with Ranma. It was just that she refused to act like those lovesick idiots who stalk the object of their affections. Like Shampoo, for instance. She wasn't going to show her true feelings until Ranma either falls in love with her, or tells her that he doesn't feel that way. She was going to act like she always does with him.

If he falls in love with her, well then, set up the fireworks. If not, she's just going to get over it, like she did with Dr. Tofu. But somewhere in her heart, she knew dimly that her feelings for Dr. Tofu was nothing compared to what she felt Ranma right now. She knew that it was a schoolgirl crush on the doctor. It was the love for keeps that she felt for Ranma.

It's just that, whenever they were actually getting along, he would always mess it up, whether intentionally or not. And it's always with one of his other 'fiancées.'

She sighed, and started to shuffle to her room. As she neared it, she can see the form of Ranma leaning against her door. Her heartbeat quickened, almost thumping painfully fast. Ranma standing like that makes him look... almost hot. She knew he had always looked good, just never this good.

"Ranma?" Akane called softly. She saw Ranma's head jerk up as he heard her voice. The moment their eyes locked together, Ranma looked away and covered his head instinctively, which was where Akane had liked to hit Ranma the most. She felt a pang in her heart, and she reassured him that she wasn't going to attack.

"Don't worry... Just forget about it," said Akane. Ranma looked at her in disbelief, not taking in what she was saying.

"Are you alright?" Ranma asked. Akane just shook her head, and scooped up P-chan into her arms, which had just appeared at her feet. She dimly wondered how her pet had got there all of a sudden, but she couldn't work up the energy to figure it out. Most of her mind was on Ranma right now. I love you, I love you, kept repeating itself in Akane's head, and she willed it to stop. But it wouldn't. It just kept repeating itself over and over,

Akane saw Ranma approaching her tentatively. For once, the jerk wasn't insulting her. "Akane?" he asked again. Akane was aware of her eyelids drooping, she was aware of what was happening; yet she was grateful for it. The last thing she saw was of Ranma running to her and catching her as she fell. The last thing she heard was Ranma asking her not to scare him. The last thing she felt was Ranma's closeness and his warmth.

"Kasumi! Nabiki!" Ranma shouted, as he ran towards Akane's falling body, still graceful even under the circumstances. He saw Akane's eyes flicker once more before closing completely this time. He was dimly aware of a slamming door and heavy steps running towards him. He threw P-chan away from Akane.

"What's the matter?" asked Nabiki, her face reflecting concern, closely followed by his father in his panda form, Kasumi, and Akane's father himself. "Akane's... not well," said Ranma lamely as he held up Akane, and got to his feet. Akane was surprisingly light. Upon closer examination, Akane's skin color was close to white, and her lips were extremely dry. Kasumi felt her forehead and exclaimed, "She's running a high fever, call Dr. Tofu right now!" Akane's father ran down the hall to the nearest phone, and dialed the number. His panic can be heard through his words as he informed their doctor.

"Kasumi, you better get out of Dr. Tofu's sight," warned Nabiki as soon as her father returned from the phone call. Kasumi nodded, showing that she understood. Then she walked off to her room, wanting to stay with her sister, but not wanting to jeopardize her sister's current state. She knew how Dr. Tofu would react if he saw her there.

"Akane is not in a critical condition, she just needs rest and food. She's also dehydrated, so make sure she gets plenty of liquid. Not that much at first, just about an eighth of a cup. I will send over some herbal tea and medication later. Make sure she doesn't get too warm or cold, and that she doesn't fall asleep too deep. Try to wake her as soon as possible, and as quietly as possible. Don't let her fall into a coma. She is almost close to pneumonia," Dr. Tofu finished, his expression somber.

"After the first time, if you wake her up successfully, there would be no more risks of coma. Then you should give her the medication. Which means you should make them while she's asleep. The directions for making them will be sent along with them. I will be back to check on Akane later. Oh, and remember to call me as soon as Akane wake up."

Ranma sat on the edge of the bed, staring at Akane's white face, and lifeless body. Her chest was barely heaving, taking slow breaths. Ranma cursed himself for not seeing this sooner. She had been off-color for a long time, and he never bothered to check. But then again, she acted like she usually does, calling him bad names and fighting with him.

Ranma's father was still in panda form, and his now-cold cup of tea was sitting on Akane's desk untouched. He was concerned about his future daughter-in-law, as he should be. After all these years of living here, he had to be concerned.

Akane's father was standing there like stone. He hasn't moved an inch even when their doctor said the news. It was as if he thought he could heal his daughter by sending her telepathic messages, by concentrating on her and her only.

Even Ryoga in his piggy form was silent. He wasn't oinking or squealing. He was just there, like a stuffed animal that sat next to Akane on her bed.

Nabiki wasn't focused on Akane; she was looking at Akane's and Ranma's intertwined hands. An idea started to form in her head, and she tried hard not to smile at her cleverness.

Ranma, meanwhile, was rubbing Akane's hands over and over, unconsciously, it seems. His eyes were staring hard at Akane's pale face. Don't die on me, there are so much I haven't told you yet, he thought. There are just so many things in life that you haven't experienced yet. So much you haven't seen, so much... so much everything! Come on, wake up, Akane!! Wake up already!!

"Wake up, Akane. Wake up, Akane. Wake up, Akane," Ranma chanted over and over, deliberately making his voice sound soothing and warm.

Ranma felt so much different things at this moment. He wanted Akane to wake up, he wanted to know how she felt about him, he wanted to tell Akane how he felt about her before it was too late, he wanted to keep her by his side. He cannot imagine life without her—it would be much too boring without her fighting with him every few minutes, without someone to tease. Ranma started.

He thought that he saw Akane's eyelids flicker.

Where am I?

What am I doing here?

What is that voice?

I feel faint... like extremely tired.

I... I think... I think I am sleeping, but how could I be? If I'm sleeping, how can I be conscious?

This is so dark... Sort of scary...

I want to be closer to that voice... It sounds so comforting, comforting and warm...

It's so difficult to breath...

I can't move...

I have to move, I have to in order to survive. It's always been like that, with my enemies, Kuno, Shampoo... Azusa and Mikado, it's always been like that...

I need to move...

"Akane, c'mon, MOVE! Damn it, MOVE, Akane!! Akane, wake UP!! Listen to me!!" Ranma shook Akane, trying to get a reaction out of her. "Damn it, MOVE!!"

Nabiki, Soun Tendo, Genma, and Kasumi all watched him silently. They were all dumbfounded, except Nabiki, at the urgency in Ranma's voice. They didn't know that Ranma actually liked Akane, or cared for her, this much.

"Wake up," Ranma whispered, abruptly changing from his frustrated tone to an upset one. His eyes reflected his worry and sadness. "Wake up," he whispered again.

Someone is calling my name. I have to wake up. Now. I have to.

Who's is that voice?

It sounds so sad all of a sudden, like a little toddler being told that they can't have any more candy.

It sounds so familiar... Who is it?

It sounds like a boy... but it's not otou-san, I know that... It's not Genma-sama...

Who else is a boy in my house? Who... Ranma!!

That voice must be Ranma's!! But... why does he sound so sad all of a sudden? Is it because of me?

I must wake up... but I can't... I want to though... Let me try... to move my hands...

One of Akane's hands suddenly jerked. Ranma stopped his chanting, his face full of surprise. Akane, wake up, he thought. "Wake up, Akane," he said.

Normally, I would have charged Ranma 2000 yen to help him. But this situation is serious, my little sister is sick...

Suddenly Nabiki walked to the couple, and joined Ranma in trying to wake Akane up.

"Wake up, Akane, little sister," Nabiki whispered.

That's Nabiki! Now I must wake up. Yes, I can do it now! I can move!

Akane's legs suddenly shifted. As Ranma looked at her legs in surprise, Akane suddenly groaned. Her eyes opened slowly. "R-Ranma, Nabiki, w-where am I?"

Kasumi and the two fathers smiled in relief. Nabiki grinned like an idiot. P-chan emitted a squeal of victory. Ranma just looked shocked. "Y-you woke up..." he muttered, his blue eyes widening. Then he looked at their joined hands and let go of Akane's quickly as his face turned a brilliant shade of pink.

"Sorry." was all he said before Akane regained some of her energy and hugged him lightly, wrapping one of her arms around his shoulders.

"Thank you," she said simply. If possible, his face turned pinker.

How did you like that? Was it good? I'm so nervous... I tried my hardest to keep them in character, but Ranma was still OOC, wasn't he? I'm so scared, I'm so nervous... please review and tell me how it is!!