Author's Note: For Judah's remark, I'm going by the Anime, not the manga. I don't own all the manga and therefore am going off the anime since I own most of that ;). Since I am going this direction, the Dragon Whisker happened in season 5 while the Secret Sauce happened in 6. : )
"…and you better make in convincing!" Nabiki whispered harshly as she slammed the door to Ranma and Akane's room. The couple winced, knowing that when it came to money the middle Tendo always meant business.
Ranma looked at Akane, Akane glared back. "I can't belive this!" She huffed, stomping her foot and turning towards the bed. Ranma could only sigh at her explosion.
"It ain't like I'm thrilled about this either ya know." He grumbled, it was really too late to be fighting. His pop had dragged him all over Nermia carrying a boulder while being chased by the old man who armed himself with a cat. Which is why he had several scrapes that were being attended to by the 'tomboy' when Nabiki had stormed in and started to bark of demands.
"Let's get this over with then."
"Fine by me." Ranma tried to be nonchalant about the whole mess; after all it was his idea to start sharing a bed in order to trick Ukyo. But it was everyone else that was taking it further then he ever planned it to go. And now, thanks to a few high marked yen, Nabiki was going to allow Ukyo to spy on them while they were in the room!
The lights went out, and in his mind the pigtailed boy silently prayed that he would live long enough to see daylight.
"Stop fidgeting." Ranma scolded her in a hushed voice. "You're suppose to be asleep."
Akane stifled another noise, "I---can't help it! Stop making me jump!"
"How am I doing THAT?"
"shhh! Do you want Ukyo to know we are still awake?" The couple got silent again and felt awkward as ever in the way they were laying. "And stop it!"
"Stop what?" Ranma asked, shifting his body into a more comfortable position.
This time the noise the girl had been trying to hide leaked out, and her short laugh made Ranma's eyebrow rise in the darkness. "Don't tell me your ticklish?"
"I never said that!" Akane protested, squirming against his now carefully exploring hands as the danced under her rib cage. "S-Stop it!" she tried to hide her laughter, but it was getting hard to do.
"Stop what?" Ranma suddenly became innocence in the flesh as his fingers continued to dance erratically across her ribs.
Akane had to bit her lip from letting her laughter get any louder. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to pinch and kick the boy at once, but no matter what kind of injury she tried to inflict upon him it didn't work.
"What's wrong 'kane?" Ranma teased. The girl, desperate, started to return his type of attack, digging her fingers into his ribs.
Apparently, the boy was even more sensitive about that area than the girl. Ranma, for his defense, grabbed the girl's wrists in his hand and pinned them above her head as his free hand continued his attack.
Akane screamed, laughed and wriggled around from her position, never really noticing that their positions had changed drastically.
"Oh. My. God."
Nothing could have frozen the two faster. The couple turned their head, mentally punching themselves for not realizing the door had opened. Ukyo stood, wide-eyed and mouth slightly opened.
It was only then that the couple realized there compromising position. Ranma lay half on Akane, his hands wrapped around her wrists holding her hands securely above her head, and the other hand dangerously close to her heaving chest. It looked bad, the panting breaths from the female beneath him was from laughing too hard, but most likely from embarrassment at this moment.
It took two more seconds before Ukyo quietly shut the door.
Ranma and Akane looked at each other, their faces scant inches away from each other. It took them only a fraction of the second to jump apart. Ranma scooting to the edge of the foot of the bed, Akane at the head of the bed.
All they could do was blush and avoid each other's eyes.
"I heard you gave Ukyo much more of a show than anticipated." Nabiki remarked with her smirk. "I hadn't thought the two of you had become that---comfortable."
"Now see here son!" Soun started, "what is the meaning of this!"
"Yes, boy, why didn't you tell us the two of you had gotten this far?" Genma's eyebrows arched up.
Ranma stammered in defense, "I-it's not like that! We were just---just---" no matter what word he used to describe what they had been doing, playing, it would sounded bad.
"But you two shouldn't be engaging in that type of activity until after the ceremony!"
Akane stiffened, they shouldn't be engaging in that type of activity until a ceremony that wasn't a complete lie was done. "Where's Ukyo?" The youngest girl finally inquired, figuring it was better to skip the topic of last night rather than having to put up with her Father and Uncle Genma picking out baby names and crying for celebration.
The room fell silent. "Haven't seen her all today. I think she went on an errand."
"Hopefully back to her shop, wouldn't that be great, 'kane?" Ranma perked up and looked over at his faux wife. "Wouldn't that be great? We wouldn't have to---"
"Have to what, Ranma-Honey?" Ukyo asked in an unaffectionate tone. "I would never dream about missing your wedding. After all, I am the maid of honor."
"Maid of horror is more like it," Akane muttered to her rice.
Ranma was the only one to hear this, but he was far from the only one who started to sweat at the heavy tension in the room.
Akane closed her eyes tightly, trying to ignore the burning sensation as she did so. She tried to count pandas but always only got to one who ate everything then slept. She'd tried to think of boring math equations but ended up frustrated. The young Tendo girl couldn't help it.
Sleep was just playing with her.
Sighing in defeat, she turned onto her back to stare at the blue shaded ceiling. Tomorrow she was going to have to go through with a fake Western wedding with Ranma, the boy who was sleeping soundly next to her. Checking the digital clock on her desk, Akane scowled, scratch that, the wedding was today. It was already three in the morning.
Akane wanted to talk, wanted to read, wanted to do something other than just laying in bed wishing about wanting to do something other than lay in her bed. Great, now she was thinking in confusion.
"Geez, 'kane, you'll look horrible tomorrow if you don't get some sleep." She bristled, annoyed that he'd insulted her, but happy to have something to do besides count the ridges in the ceiling.
"Thanks." She replied sharply. "But I don't have a real reason to look great today."
"Sure you do," Ranma answered, not turning over. "After all, it might be the only time you can show Ukyo on the looks department in front of everyone."
Her eyebrow twitched, "You know there is still enough time for her to be the bride."
Ranma decided to turn over on his other side in order to look at his dejected bed partner. Huffing out a breath, "what's that suppose to mean?"
"It means that you don't even have to fake marry me." Akane felt her throat tighten around the last two words.
Studying her, the boy then flipped his eyes, "If I wanted to marry her, I already would've, don'tcha think?" He was all sarcasm. "I mean, they literally throw themselves at me constantly, it's no fun."
An eyebrow hiked up to dark blue hair, "I thought boys liked 'fun' in that category."
Ranma gave a snort, "no challenge. Nothing to have-" he paused to yawn, "to fight for and have to fight to keep. It's no fun, it's too easy." He was slowly sleeping into dreams. "That's probably why you never went out with the guys who fought you every morning, no challenge, no thrill, too easy."
He was right, the young woman admitted to herself. Akane, knowing that a sleep filled mind was always a great place to get answers, bit her lip and slyly asked, "am I a challenge, Ranma?"
Normally the pig tailed boy would have stated a firm no, but he was tired and not thinking with his mind quite as well as he would have liked to. "Yeah," his voice becoming light. "A stubborn, tom-boyish, tactless in the kitchen challenge, but a challenge."
She felt her temper flare in annoyance. Even half asleep he was still programmed to insult her whenever possible.
Ranma was almost completely in the dream world, "I love challenges."
Akane's emotions did more than a slight turn, it was more of a slam on the breaks and take a U turn back to the way one was going before. She smiled as he started to snore softly. He'd never remember this conversation, or if he did, Ranma would probably say he thought it was a nightmare.
But who cared? For right now, he was (half-way) admitting to liking her.
That was enough to send the girl after him in the dream lands.