Disclaimer: These characters don't belong to me. And unless you're Rumiko
Takahashi they don't belong to you either. And if you ARE Takahashi, you
need to write a better ending to this series pronto so the rest of us don't
feel compelled to.
I warn you, there is some citrus-y stuff in here. This is the result of a frustrating day, please don't kill me for it.
Chapter 2
"Honestly, Hibiro!" Akane sighed, looking in dismay at the most recent white spot on her dress. Hibiro, for his part, simply gurgled happily and clapped his pudgy little hands. A dribble of drool rolled down his chin. Akane, with a sigh of resignation, wiped the dribble away with a corner of her long, yellow skirt. It had been yellow once, anyway. It was probably ruined now. . .
"I ought to have warned you about that one," Amara grinned, gesturing towards the baby on Akane's lap. "He's a spitter. Got a horrible stomach, that one," she said, with an evil glint in her eye. Akane glared at her coworker and then at the child in question. He'd looked harmless enough. ::I guess I just haven't been working here long enough to know which kids have which bad habits,:: she thought to herself. Normally, working at the nursery was much more fun than working in a restaurant could have been. The kids were genuinely cute and it made her feel she was doing something worthwhile. On the other hand, there were the days when she walked home smelling like diapers and vomit. . . that wasn't terribly pleasant.
And then there were the other women working there. A few were young women like herself, but most were mothers with grown children. And all they ever talked about was birthing and sex. Akane figured she knew more about pregnancy than she'd ever wanted to know. Amara was the worst. She was probably more perverted than Happosai, but then she actually had a husband to exercise her perversion with, instead of taking it out on the world.
"Vomiting little brats need love too," Akane cooed, tickling Hibiro's feet. He giggled and squirmed.
"Ugh, I thought that Jumonji would NEVER go to sleep!" Subaru sighed, laying the baby in question down in a small cradle by the wall. She regarded the floor around her with a raised eyebrow, watching the ten of twelve infants in the room roll around her. She clucked her tongue at one of them, removing a torn piece of paper from his hand. Then she turned her dark eyes toward Akane, a maliciously gleaming.
"You'd better get used to it, Akane. That husband of yours is so ornery, I bet he was a spitter. And it's genetic," she smiled evilly. Akane laughed nervously. Just two weeks before, she and Subaru graduated from Furinkan High School. Subaru was the one who'd suggested the Omitawa Nursery as a summer job. Some days. . . she wasn't sure Subaru had done her any favors.
Her ex-classmate was viewing her trim waistline appraisingly. Akane gulped. She could just feel one of those conversations coming.
"I don't think it will be long before Akane's cursed with a little bundle of joy," she said, considering. Akane groaned out loud, which only encouraged them.
"Not too long. Young healthy kids like that? I'm surprised you aren't pregnant yet, dear. Don't tell me your Ranma is shy? A handsome, strong man like that? It would be a waste!" Amara winked at Akane. At the growing blush on the young woman's cheeks, she chuckled. "Don't worry, little lass. Once he's grown a spine and a few balls, he'll be just fine. I bet once you get going, you never stop," she smiled encouragingly. Akane blinked at her.
"Come on, can't we talk about anything else?" Akane asked, putting Hibiro down on the floor. He scooted away from her on his belly, gasping and pulling with all his feeble might. Subaru and Amara looked at each other and grinned.
"Did I tell you what happened to my dog?" Amara asked. Akane shook her head. :: Animals are safe,:: she thought. She thought wrong.
"Well, the poor thing nearly choked to death! It seems Kano and I left one of his cock rings lying around, and you know how elastic those things are. Poor Inu-chan just gulped it right down. I hope it passes, I'd really hate to explain that to the vet!" Amara said, laughing. Akane blinked at her, confusion passing over her face.
"Wh. . . what's a cock ring?" she asked, not quite sure she wanted the answer.
_________________----------------------________________
"Come on in!" Ukyou yelled as she heard the door opening. She flipped out three more okonomiyaki to the customers waiting around her grill. She looked up with a smile to greet the newcomer, but her smile wilted almost instantaneously.
"Heya, Ucchan. You, ah, couldn't use a new waitress, could you?" Ranko asked, toying with her red pigtail. She'd really outdone herself today, she'd even borrowed one of Akane's dresses.
One of her wife's dresses.
"I don't want a waitress," Ukyou said through gritted teeth. "Get out of my shop."
"Ucchan. . ." Ranko whispered, sadly. "I'm sorry, I just. . ."
"DON'T call me that," Ukyou said firmly, her hands shaking. "You made your choice." Ranko took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry, Ukyou. I really am. I never wanted to lose your friendship," she said quietly. "Akane and I just. . ."
"Shut up, will you?" Ukyou hissed. She raised her eyes to meet Ranko's, and the redhead gulped. She'd never seen such. . . pain in Ukyou's eyes before. With a sinking heart, Ranko realized she was the cause of that pain. But there wasn't anything else she could do, unless she wanted to marry Ukyou, and she didn't.
"Goodbye, Ukyou. Sorry," she said softly. With a small wave, she ran out of the shop. And thankfully, it didn't rain. To be changed into a girl while dressed as a boy is one thing. To change into a boy while wearing a dress. . .that was a whole different story. She ran along the sidewalk, eyeing the sky nervously.
::Yet another day, yet another fruitless job search. I guess I'm not all that much more appealing as a girl after all. I can't believe no one wanted to hire me, I'm a little cutie,:: she thought. ::I hope Akane isn't mad. Maybe today will be one of the days she actually LIKES the babies. We'll talk on the way home, I guess.::
________________________---------------------__________________
"Akane! Someone's here to see you!" Amara yelled. Akane swept the baby she'd been playing with on to her hip as she stood. She strode out to the entryway, and was shocked to see Ranko . . . in her dress, no less.
"Hey, you ready to go home?" Ranko smiled, tickling the feet of the baby on Akane's hip. The little child cowered away, hiding her face in Akane's shoulder. Ranko frowned at the babe. "What's with her?"
"Little Hana here is just shy," Akane said, smiling. "She's our last baby, everybody else is gone." She stroked the hair on Hana's head absently, a maternal smile on her face. Ranko felt a tightening in her chest, and her lower regions. That was the cool part about being a girl sometimes, women couldn't always tell his reaction to them. Akane smiling down at Hana made him think about. . .
"You head on home to that big strong man of yours," Amara said sternly, taking Hana from Akane. The little girl whimpered as she exchanged caretakers. "You get started on that plan we talked about."
"Plan?" Ranko asked, somewhat suspicious. Amara laughed.
"Oh, to be sure, a plan. A plan to get that shy husband of hers to give her a little pooping machine," Amara grinned. "You know how men can be, when they've never been with a woman. Shy little ducklings who are just SO unsure of themselves. . . Little Akane here has a real problem with hers. Don't you, dearie?"
"I. . . ah, I. . . think it's time to go home," Akane stammered, turning red. Ranko cocked an eyebrow in her direction, then turned back to Amara.
"This plan of yours sounds like it would be interesting," Ranko said, fighting to keep from reacting too violently. She wasn't sure whether to laugh or go all twitchy.
"Oh, yes. The first thing has to be getting him alone, of course, and comfortable. And then you let things follow their natural course, you know, but a nervous lad would need a bit of help. You know, the hand or maybe the mouth, but Akane here is fairly shy herself so I think that. . ."
"Thank you Amara! I'll see you tomorrow!" Akane shouted, grabbing Ranko by the hand and dragging her outside. She dragged Ranko, at a run, halfway back to the Tendo Dojo.
"You have a PLAN?" Ranko asked, unable to keep her voice down, when they stopped. Akane gave her a pained look.
"It wasn't my idea, okay? Subaru and Amara kept shoving advice on me," she said, still blushing. Ranko looked at her in mild astonishment.
"You people talk about stuff like that with all those kids around?" she asked, her tone incredulous. Akane nodded.
"Well, yeah. I mean, you get any group of women together and they'll either discuss sex or childbirth, most of the time. Especially if they're all surrounded by infants," she informed her so-called husband. "The rooms with toddlers, where most of the older women work, are even worse."
"Glad I'm a guy," Ranko said absently, fidgeting with the skirt of her dress. "Guys don't talk about that stuff."
"Well, maybe that's why women feel the need to share their knowledge, to make up for ignorant men," Akane said bitingly, watching Ranko out of the corner of her eye.
::So they're tellin' her how to seduce me? And this is NORMAL?:: Ranko thought, blinking at Akane.
"I'd take ignorance over perversion any day," Ranko said primly. ::Of course, it might be interesting to see Akane try. She'd probably die of embarrassment before she got anywhere. Hell, I might die of embarrassment.:: An image flashed through her mind of Akane moaning into his neck, her fingers digging into his back as he ran his mouth along her collarbone. . .::Maybe I wouldn't die of embarrassment after all.::
___________________________---------------------- ___________________________
"You're getting faster," Ranma observed, sweat beading on his forehead as he dodged Akane's kicks. She snarled at him and lashed out with her fist, actually catching him on his chest. Her skin made a thick whump against his bare chest. He was showing off, sure, but she'd disappeared into the bathroom as soon as they got home and he loved the look on her face when she saw him training, half-nude, unexpectedly. It was glorious to make her blush. That was probably the reason her coworkers teased her.
"Good thing, too," Akane huffed. He rushed her suddenly, aiming light, soft punches at her head and shoulders. She dodged most of them, but one caught her on the edge of the chin, kocking her head back. She pulled her feet up, falling into a back roll. As she fell, she brought her feet up to strike at his stomach. He stepped to the side, fast as grandma's knitting needles, and back away from the reach of her feet. She rolled back up to her feet with a small grin.
"Bet you'd like to know what Amara said I should do to you," she murmured. Ranma turned bright red, and his eyes grew wide. Seeing the opening, Akane ran toward him and began a whole new attack. Two punches, two good solid punches landed on his arm and stomach before he came completely back to himself.
"That was cheating!" he said hotly. Then he grabbed her wrists, pulling her close to him. "So just what did she say? What are your plans for me, Akane?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous. Akane gasped and began blushing furiously.
"I. . . .I, well, I ahem. . ." she stammered. He leaned in close as if to kiss her, coming near enough to feel her breath, warm on his lips. He smiled at the look in her eyes, at the fine trembling around her lips and in her wrists, which felt so very fragile in his hands. Akane, fragile. Riiiiiiight. He stepped backward nonchalantly, releasing her. She stumbled a little, off balance.
When she raised her eyes again, she wasn't trembling anymore. In fact, she looked really, really pissed. She flew at him, her anger harnessed and more deadly than most registered weapons. The fight had begun in earnest.
After almost three hours of hard fighting, Akane fell back into the wall, sweating and huffing. She glared up at Ranma, who was also sweating and huffing, but managing to do it with a modicum of grace.
"I think it's time to call it a night," Ranma said. She nodded.
"I call the bathroom first," she said firmly. He sighed elaborately.
"But you just took a bath earlier today!" he complained. She made a scornful noise deep in her throat.
"YOU weren't covered in baby puke," she pointed out. "In fact, you haven't done much all day. It's not like you have a job yet."
"Hey, job hunting is really, really hard! I went all over Nerima!" he protested.
"Well, since it is your grudge we're going to China to settle, you'd better get a job. Fast. Soon. One that pays well," she ordered, stalking out of the dojo. Ranma glared at her as she left. It wasn't as if he wasn't trying. . .
_________________--------------------------________________
"Sometimes I wish we could go back to the way we were. It was simpler, just fighting and making up, without all this nice mushy stuff," Ranma muttered, sitting on the roof. He stared up at the cloudy summer sky, lost in contemplation.
::I mean, I do love her. I have for a long time. And I'm sure she feels the same way. But it's all just so frustrating! I hate fighting like this. . . wait, no I don't. This kind of fighting is nothing. This is just between us, she hasn't accused me of two-timing or anything like that since this whole fake elopement started. At least now we listen to each other when we fight.::
::I guess the fighting isn't what's frustrating. I think Akane herself is frustrating. I mean, she's always made me feel . . . squirmy in a good way. She's always made my blood rush places its got no business going, well not always. . . for a while now. And she has this effect on me without me having this effect on her. She can't hardly stand for me to see her in her underwear, which isn't fair considering how many times she's seen me . . . and it ain't like I don't know what she looks like. Honestly.::
::Maybe she's afraid of me.:: he thought. He sighed and leaned back, frowning at the thought. Could she be afraid of him? Could she be afraid that he was going to . . . he'd never do such a thing! She TERRIFIED him! And not just the mallets either. Every time they rolled to face each other in the middle of the night, unable to sleep, needing to alleviate the tension with kisses and caresses. . . he felt like his heart was going to burst. She really couldn't be afraid of him, could she?
_______________-----------------------______________
"Akane?" Ranma asked, stepping into the darkened bedroom. He heard a rusling on her bed, and shut the door behind him. Gingerly, he strode over and turned on the lamp on her desk. She was lying on her side, watching him. He took a deep breath and walked over to kneel by the side of her bed. She followed him with big brown eyes.
"You aren't afraid of me, are you?" he asked quietly. He heard a sharp intake of breath from the nondescript lump on the bed.
"Of course I'm not!" she said softly, a hand sliding from under the covers to caress his cheek. Her hand lingered on his smooth, warm skin, sliding back to bury itself in his dark hair. His eyes searched her face, half-hidden in the shadows.
"You act like you think I'm gonna suddenly become some sort of lecherous wolf," he pointed out. She grew very still for a moment.
"I'm sorry, I just. . ." she trailed off. How could she tell him she wasn't afraid of him, but herself? Since the moment they'd met, she'd been afraid that he might turn her into a wild thing, like himself. If she could only show him she wasn't. . .
"Come into bed," she said softly. His head jerked back, and he lost his balance for a moment. "Come into bed!" she said, more insistently. Slowly, he climbed into her bed and lay looking at her, stiffly. She ran a hand through his hair, still damp and loose from his bath, cold. Hesitantly, she moved to join her lips to his. In the moment that they touched, it was as if Ranma were an iceberg consumed in a fire. He melted against her, making small noises at the back of his throat. She pulled him to her, and they rolled together, arms circling each other.
She broke away from his searching mouth, and bit his chin, gently at first but harder and harder as she moved down his neck. She felt his hands gripping her hips, his flesh warm and damp against hers. . . wait. His hands were on her hips? Her bare hips? With a flash of panic she realized that her nightgown was hiked up around her waist. His shorts were all that lay between them.
"Ranma!" she said, a note of urgency in her voice. He pulled her closer to him, and she could feel the hairs of his thigh scraping against hers. . .Except his thighs were inside hers, his mouth traveling across her collar bone as he made little encouraging sounds. . .
"Stop! Ranma!" she said, her voice coming out in a panic. A little longer and she would lose control of herself. . .
He pulled back abruptly, scrabbling off the bed. His eyes were wide in fear as he searched Akane's face.
"Oh, gods, Akane I am so sorry!" he said, his voice breaking. She had every right to be afraid of him. How could he let himself go like that. . .
"Ranma, please," she said, her own voice breaking a bit. She wasn't entirely sure what she was asking until it came out. "Please, I can't do this anymore. I'm so afraid of losing myself when you and I. . ."
"I'll leave," he offered, rising to his feet. She slid off the bed, pulling her nightgown down hastily.
"You don't. . . you don't have to," she said softly. "I meant. . . I meant that I can't stand this anymore. Everyone already thinks we're married, we've already decided to actually get married some day. . . why not now? Then it'll be okay to lose ourselves. . ." she trailed off, cursing herself for her lack of eloquence. Ranma was very still for a moment, then her burst out laughing.
"That's it? That's why you keep jerking away from me?" he asked. She looked at the floor, embarrassed.
"Ummm well, that's a big part of it," she said quietly. He sat down on the floor abruptly, chuckling softly.
"Sheesh, Akane, you could have said something earlier instead of making me feel like such an ass. When do you want to go down to the courthouse?" he asked.
I warn you, there is some citrus-y stuff in here. This is the result of a frustrating day, please don't kill me for it.
Chapter 2
"Honestly, Hibiro!" Akane sighed, looking in dismay at the most recent white spot on her dress. Hibiro, for his part, simply gurgled happily and clapped his pudgy little hands. A dribble of drool rolled down his chin. Akane, with a sigh of resignation, wiped the dribble away with a corner of her long, yellow skirt. It had been yellow once, anyway. It was probably ruined now. . .
"I ought to have warned you about that one," Amara grinned, gesturing towards the baby on Akane's lap. "He's a spitter. Got a horrible stomach, that one," she said, with an evil glint in her eye. Akane glared at her coworker and then at the child in question. He'd looked harmless enough. ::I guess I just haven't been working here long enough to know which kids have which bad habits,:: she thought to herself. Normally, working at the nursery was much more fun than working in a restaurant could have been. The kids were genuinely cute and it made her feel she was doing something worthwhile. On the other hand, there were the days when she walked home smelling like diapers and vomit. . . that wasn't terribly pleasant.
And then there were the other women working there. A few were young women like herself, but most were mothers with grown children. And all they ever talked about was birthing and sex. Akane figured she knew more about pregnancy than she'd ever wanted to know. Amara was the worst. She was probably more perverted than Happosai, but then she actually had a husband to exercise her perversion with, instead of taking it out on the world.
"Vomiting little brats need love too," Akane cooed, tickling Hibiro's feet. He giggled and squirmed.
"Ugh, I thought that Jumonji would NEVER go to sleep!" Subaru sighed, laying the baby in question down in a small cradle by the wall. She regarded the floor around her with a raised eyebrow, watching the ten of twelve infants in the room roll around her. She clucked her tongue at one of them, removing a torn piece of paper from his hand. Then she turned her dark eyes toward Akane, a maliciously gleaming.
"You'd better get used to it, Akane. That husband of yours is so ornery, I bet he was a spitter. And it's genetic," she smiled evilly. Akane laughed nervously. Just two weeks before, she and Subaru graduated from Furinkan High School. Subaru was the one who'd suggested the Omitawa Nursery as a summer job. Some days. . . she wasn't sure Subaru had done her any favors.
Her ex-classmate was viewing her trim waistline appraisingly. Akane gulped. She could just feel one of those conversations coming.
"I don't think it will be long before Akane's cursed with a little bundle of joy," she said, considering. Akane groaned out loud, which only encouraged them.
"Not too long. Young healthy kids like that? I'm surprised you aren't pregnant yet, dear. Don't tell me your Ranma is shy? A handsome, strong man like that? It would be a waste!" Amara winked at Akane. At the growing blush on the young woman's cheeks, she chuckled. "Don't worry, little lass. Once he's grown a spine and a few balls, he'll be just fine. I bet once you get going, you never stop," she smiled encouragingly. Akane blinked at her.
"Come on, can't we talk about anything else?" Akane asked, putting Hibiro down on the floor. He scooted away from her on his belly, gasping and pulling with all his feeble might. Subaru and Amara looked at each other and grinned.
"Did I tell you what happened to my dog?" Amara asked. Akane shook her head. :: Animals are safe,:: she thought. She thought wrong.
"Well, the poor thing nearly choked to death! It seems Kano and I left one of his cock rings lying around, and you know how elastic those things are. Poor Inu-chan just gulped it right down. I hope it passes, I'd really hate to explain that to the vet!" Amara said, laughing. Akane blinked at her, confusion passing over her face.
"Wh. . . what's a cock ring?" she asked, not quite sure she wanted the answer.
_________________----------------------________________
"Come on in!" Ukyou yelled as she heard the door opening. She flipped out three more okonomiyaki to the customers waiting around her grill. She looked up with a smile to greet the newcomer, but her smile wilted almost instantaneously.
"Heya, Ucchan. You, ah, couldn't use a new waitress, could you?" Ranko asked, toying with her red pigtail. She'd really outdone herself today, she'd even borrowed one of Akane's dresses.
One of her wife's dresses.
"I don't want a waitress," Ukyou said through gritted teeth. "Get out of my shop."
"Ucchan. . ." Ranko whispered, sadly. "I'm sorry, I just. . ."
"DON'T call me that," Ukyou said firmly, her hands shaking. "You made your choice." Ranko took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry, Ukyou. I really am. I never wanted to lose your friendship," she said quietly. "Akane and I just. . ."
"Shut up, will you?" Ukyou hissed. She raised her eyes to meet Ranko's, and the redhead gulped. She'd never seen such. . . pain in Ukyou's eyes before. With a sinking heart, Ranko realized she was the cause of that pain. But there wasn't anything else she could do, unless she wanted to marry Ukyou, and she didn't.
"Goodbye, Ukyou. Sorry," she said softly. With a small wave, she ran out of the shop. And thankfully, it didn't rain. To be changed into a girl while dressed as a boy is one thing. To change into a boy while wearing a dress. . .that was a whole different story. She ran along the sidewalk, eyeing the sky nervously.
::Yet another day, yet another fruitless job search. I guess I'm not all that much more appealing as a girl after all. I can't believe no one wanted to hire me, I'm a little cutie,:: she thought. ::I hope Akane isn't mad. Maybe today will be one of the days she actually LIKES the babies. We'll talk on the way home, I guess.::
________________________---------------------__________________
"Akane! Someone's here to see you!" Amara yelled. Akane swept the baby she'd been playing with on to her hip as she stood. She strode out to the entryway, and was shocked to see Ranko . . . in her dress, no less.
"Hey, you ready to go home?" Ranko smiled, tickling the feet of the baby on Akane's hip. The little child cowered away, hiding her face in Akane's shoulder. Ranko frowned at the babe. "What's with her?"
"Little Hana here is just shy," Akane said, smiling. "She's our last baby, everybody else is gone." She stroked the hair on Hana's head absently, a maternal smile on her face. Ranko felt a tightening in her chest, and her lower regions. That was the cool part about being a girl sometimes, women couldn't always tell his reaction to them. Akane smiling down at Hana made him think about. . .
"You head on home to that big strong man of yours," Amara said sternly, taking Hana from Akane. The little girl whimpered as she exchanged caretakers. "You get started on that plan we talked about."
"Plan?" Ranko asked, somewhat suspicious. Amara laughed.
"Oh, to be sure, a plan. A plan to get that shy husband of hers to give her a little pooping machine," Amara grinned. "You know how men can be, when they've never been with a woman. Shy little ducklings who are just SO unsure of themselves. . . Little Akane here has a real problem with hers. Don't you, dearie?"
"I. . . ah, I. . . think it's time to go home," Akane stammered, turning red. Ranko cocked an eyebrow in her direction, then turned back to Amara.
"This plan of yours sounds like it would be interesting," Ranko said, fighting to keep from reacting too violently. She wasn't sure whether to laugh or go all twitchy.
"Oh, yes. The first thing has to be getting him alone, of course, and comfortable. And then you let things follow their natural course, you know, but a nervous lad would need a bit of help. You know, the hand or maybe the mouth, but Akane here is fairly shy herself so I think that. . ."
"Thank you Amara! I'll see you tomorrow!" Akane shouted, grabbing Ranko by the hand and dragging her outside. She dragged Ranko, at a run, halfway back to the Tendo Dojo.
"You have a PLAN?" Ranko asked, unable to keep her voice down, when they stopped. Akane gave her a pained look.
"It wasn't my idea, okay? Subaru and Amara kept shoving advice on me," she said, still blushing. Ranko looked at her in mild astonishment.
"You people talk about stuff like that with all those kids around?" she asked, her tone incredulous. Akane nodded.
"Well, yeah. I mean, you get any group of women together and they'll either discuss sex or childbirth, most of the time. Especially if they're all surrounded by infants," she informed her so-called husband. "The rooms with toddlers, where most of the older women work, are even worse."
"Glad I'm a guy," Ranko said absently, fidgeting with the skirt of her dress. "Guys don't talk about that stuff."
"Well, maybe that's why women feel the need to share their knowledge, to make up for ignorant men," Akane said bitingly, watching Ranko out of the corner of her eye.
::So they're tellin' her how to seduce me? And this is NORMAL?:: Ranko thought, blinking at Akane.
"I'd take ignorance over perversion any day," Ranko said primly. ::Of course, it might be interesting to see Akane try. She'd probably die of embarrassment before she got anywhere. Hell, I might die of embarrassment.:: An image flashed through her mind of Akane moaning into his neck, her fingers digging into his back as he ran his mouth along her collarbone. . .::Maybe I wouldn't die of embarrassment after all.::
___________________________---------------------- ___________________________
"You're getting faster," Ranma observed, sweat beading on his forehead as he dodged Akane's kicks. She snarled at him and lashed out with her fist, actually catching him on his chest. Her skin made a thick whump against his bare chest. He was showing off, sure, but she'd disappeared into the bathroom as soon as they got home and he loved the look on her face when she saw him training, half-nude, unexpectedly. It was glorious to make her blush. That was probably the reason her coworkers teased her.
"Good thing, too," Akane huffed. He rushed her suddenly, aiming light, soft punches at her head and shoulders. She dodged most of them, but one caught her on the edge of the chin, kocking her head back. She pulled her feet up, falling into a back roll. As she fell, she brought her feet up to strike at his stomach. He stepped to the side, fast as grandma's knitting needles, and back away from the reach of her feet. She rolled back up to her feet with a small grin.
"Bet you'd like to know what Amara said I should do to you," she murmured. Ranma turned bright red, and his eyes grew wide. Seeing the opening, Akane ran toward him and began a whole new attack. Two punches, two good solid punches landed on his arm and stomach before he came completely back to himself.
"That was cheating!" he said hotly. Then he grabbed her wrists, pulling her close to him. "So just what did she say? What are your plans for me, Akane?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous. Akane gasped and began blushing furiously.
"I. . . .I, well, I ahem. . ." she stammered. He leaned in close as if to kiss her, coming near enough to feel her breath, warm on his lips. He smiled at the look in her eyes, at the fine trembling around her lips and in her wrists, which felt so very fragile in his hands. Akane, fragile. Riiiiiiight. He stepped backward nonchalantly, releasing her. She stumbled a little, off balance.
When she raised her eyes again, she wasn't trembling anymore. In fact, she looked really, really pissed. She flew at him, her anger harnessed and more deadly than most registered weapons. The fight had begun in earnest.
After almost three hours of hard fighting, Akane fell back into the wall, sweating and huffing. She glared up at Ranma, who was also sweating and huffing, but managing to do it with a modicum of grace.
"I think it's time to call it a night," Ranma said. She nodded.
"I call the bathroom first," she said firmly. He sighed elaborately.
"But you just took a bath earlier today!" he complained. She made a scornful noise deep in her throat.
"YOU weren't covered in baby puke," she pointed out. "In fact, you haven't done much all day. It's not like you have a job yet."
"Hey, job hunting is really, really hard! I went all over Nerima!" he protested.
"Well, since it is your grudge we're going to China to settle, you'd better get a job. Fast. Soon. One that pays well," she ordered, stalking out of the dojo. Ranma glared at her as she left. It wasn't as if he wasn't trying. . .
_________________--------------------------________________
"Sometimes I wish we could go back to the way we were. It was simpler, just fighting and making up, without all this nice mushy stuff," Ranma muttered, sitting on the roof. He stared up at the cloudy summer sky, lost in contemplation.
::I mean, I do love her. I have for a long time. And I'm sure she feels the same way. But it's all just so frustrating! I hate fighting like this. . . wait, no I don't. This kind of fighting is nothing. This is just between us, she hasn't accused me of two-timing or anything like that since this whole fake elopement started. At least now we listen to each other when we fight.::
::I guess the fighting isn't what's frustrating. I think Akane herself is frustrating. I mean, she's always made me feel . . . squirmy in a good way. She's always made my blood rush places its got no business going, well not always. . . for a while now. And she has this effect on me without me having this effect on her. She can't hardly stand for me to see her in her underwear, which isn't fair considering how many times she's seen me . . . and it ain't like I don't know what she looks like. Honestly.::
::Maybe she's afraid of me.:: he thought. He sighed and leaned back, frowning at the thought. Could she be afraid of him? Could she be afraid that he was going to . . . he'd never do such a thing! She TERRIFIED him! And not just the mallets either. Every time they rolled to face each other in the middle of the night, unable to sleep, needing to alleviate the tension with kisses and caresses. . . he felt like his heart was going to burst. She really couldn't be afraid of him, could she?
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"Akane?" Ranma asked, stepping into the darkened bedroom. He heard a rusling on her bed, and shut the door behind him. Gingerly, he strode over and turned on the lamp on her desk. She was lying on her side, watching him. He took a deep breath and walked over to kneel by the side of her bed. She followed him with big brown eyes.
"You aren't afraid of me, are you?" he asked quietly. He heard a sharp intake of breath from the nondescript lump on the bed.
"Of course I'm not!" she said softly, a hand sliding from under the covers to caress his cheek. Her hand lingered on his smooth, warm skin, sliding back to bury itself in his dark hair. His eyes searched her face, half-hidden in the shadows.
"You act like you think I'm gonna suddenly become some sort of lecherous wolf," he pointed out. She grew very still for a moment.
"I'm sorry, I just. . ." she trailed off. How could she tell him she wasn't afraid of him, but herself? Since the moment they'd met, she'd been afraid that he might turn her into a wild thing, like himself. If she could only show him she wasn't. . .
"Come into bed," she said softly. His head jerked back, and he lost his balance for a moment. "Come into bed!" she said, more insistently. Slowly, he climbed into her bed and lay looking at her, stiffly. She ran a hand through his hair, still damp and loose from his bath, cold. Hesitantly, she moved to join her lips to his. In the moment that they touched, it was as if Ranma were an iceberg consumed in a fire. He melted against her, making small noises at the back of his throat. She pulled him to her, and they rolled together, arms circling each other.
She broke away from his searching mouth, and bit his chin, gently at first but harder and harder as she moved down his neck. She felt his hands gripping her hips, his flesh warm and damp against hers. . . wait. His hands were on her hips? Her bare hips? With a flash of panic she realized that her nightgown was hiked up around her waist. His shorts were all that lay between them.
"Ranma!" she said, a note of urgency in her voice. He pulled her closer to him, and she could feel the hairs of his thigh scraping against hers. . .Except his thighs were inside hers, his mouth traveling across her collar bone as he made little encouraging sounds. . .
"Stop! Ranma!" she said, her voice coming out in a panic. A little longer and she would lose control of herself. . .
He pulled back abruptly, scrabbling off the bed. His eyes were wide in fear as he searched Akane's face.
"Oh, gods, Akane I am so sorry!" he said, his voice breaking. She had every right to be afraid of him. How could he let himself go like that. . .
"Ranma, please," she said, her own voice breaking a bit. She wasn't entirely sure what she was asking until it came out. "Please, I can't do this anymore. I'm so afraid of losing myself when you and I. . ."
"I'll leave," he offered, rising to his feet. She slid off the bed, pulling her nightgown down hastily.
"You don't. . . you don't have to," she said softly. "I meant. . . I meant that I can't stand this anymore. Everyone already thinks we're married, we've already decided to actually get married some day. . . why not now? Then it'll be okay to lose ourselves. . ." she trailed off, cursing herself for her lack of eloquence. Ranma was very still for a moment, then her burst out laughing.
"That's it? That's why you keep jerking away from me?" he asked. She looked at the floor, embarrassed.
"Ummm well, that's a big part of it," she said quietly. He sat down on the floor abruptly, chuckling softly.
"Sheesh, Akane, you could have said something earlier instead of making me feel like such an ass. When do you want to go down to the courthouse?" he asked.