How long do you wait before letting go?
It was a good day, she decided. Tendo Akane took a deep breath and enjoyed the rare moment of silence, knowing that it was precious and fleeting.
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR, OLD MAN!"
Expelling her breath in a gusty sigh, she moved to close the window, rolling her eyes at the red haired girl wrestling with a panda in the koi pond. Strange, she mused, how things like that could become so routine in her life. Well, at least no one could call it boring.
A smile lit her face, put a sparkle into her golden brown gaze. It was a smile that brought boys to their knees. Or in some special cases, it could cause boys to go home and dig various weapons out from their closets, or practice their kata for hours in order to challenge her. It was certainly not a smile that could be brushed aside. Not even a certain pigtailed martial artist was immune to it. On the contrary, he was probably the one most affected.
But she did not know that.
Walking to her vanity table, she pulled out a brush and began to run it through her dark locks, scrutinizing her reflection in the cool mirror. Her hair was still short, the black locks falling softly around her ears. She had wanted to grow it out again, she remembered, the brush pausing in mid stroke. But Ranma had insisted in his own way, complete with blushes and stammers and insults, that he liked it better short.
"Akane! Breakfast!" Kasumi's voice jolted Akane out of her fantasies. Her smile was quieter now as she tucked a strand of hair out of her eyes. Laughing a bit for her daydreams, she made her way down the stairs.
"It's mine, ya old freak!" Ranma's voice was raised above the quiet chatter around the table. Happosai's heated response was lost as Nabiki reached in between the young fighter and the old master and snatched the piece of meat with her own chopsticks.
"If you two would stop glaring, you might eat a little bit more," she advised, speaking around a mouth full of rice. "Morons," she added for good measure.
Laughing brightly at the two's horrified expressions, Akane settled into her usual spot next to Ranma and picked at her food. After listening to the musical tones of arguments, she rose again and went to get her jacket from the closet.
"Akane, if you're going down to the studio, can you pick up some sweets for me?" Kasumi was more perceptive than most people gave her credit for.
"Sure, Kasumi! I'll be back around dinner."
Ranma's dark head shot up as he watched his fiancée shrug into a coat. His scowl did nothing to take away from his handsome face, no matter how dark. "I don't get why she has to spend all of her time at some stupid studio. She's never home anymore."
Nabiki merely lifted a shoulder and shared a secret smile with her older sister as the door slammed. Yes, Kasumi was definitely brighter than people expected.
Choosing her words carefully, the oldest Tendo granted Ranma with one of her gentle smiles. "Akane needs a…hobby. Something to spend her time on."
"She does not. She has…" Ranma trailed off, horrified that he almost blurted, "she has me" to the whole living room. "She has…friends," he finished lamely.
Nabiki rolled her eyes and stood to clear her plate. "Idiot."
Kasumi moved swiftly to smooth over Nabiki's insult. "Ranma, Akane has been wanting to work with this artist for months. I think that you should be happy for her, that she has this new opportunity."
Ranma gave a deceptively careless shrug and scowled even more darkly. "She won't even tell me why she's spending all hours of the day over at some studio."
And that, he admitted, that had hurt the worst.
Kasumi looked at him with searching eyes. Pleased with what she saw, she also stood to clear her plate and the remaining dishes. "All in due time, I suppose."
On her way to the kitchen, Kasumi spied Akane's school bag propped accusingly against the door. "Ranma, will you please bring Akane's bag to her room?"
With a grunt, Ranma threw the heavy bag- man, how could she have so much homework when he was in all of her classes- over his shoulder and leapt up to her room.
It was quiet without her presence, he noted, and still smelled faintly of her perfume. It irked him that he had the urge to just sit at her desk, on her bed, wherever, and do nothing. He was a martial artist, he reminded himself. Idleness was a waste.
Dropping her bag on the desk, he turned to leave when a scrap of paper caught his eye. Curious, and not a bit guilty, he reached and pulled it out of her school bag.
Carlson and Bloom Modeling Inc.
Professional photographer, Henry Bloom
Where all your dreams can come true!
Flipping it over, he found a short, messy scrawl.
Akane, baby, you're just what I've been looking for! The clothes will be at the studio. All you need to bring is that luscious body and that gorgeous face! Trust me, darling, we won't be able to keep the men off of you!
Ciao,
Henry
Ranma stared at the card some more, blood rushing to his face. …Keep the men off of you… luscious body… that gorgeous face… men off of you…men on Akane.
"The hell they are." Without a second thought, he leapt out of the window.
"Akane, baby!" Henry Bloom's cheery face beamed at her from behind the imposing lens. His blue eyes winked at her from behind designer frames as he showed off dazzling white teeth in a huge grin. "The camera loves you! You're a photographer's dream come true!"
Akane couldn't help but giggle as the clicking of the camera filled the room, a harmony to the rock music blasting out of the speakers. Henry had been lovely to her, and even though she had been wary at first of the handsome man who had approached her in the market, she now admitted to herself that taking that card was one of the best decisions of her life. Even, she admitted, if he did manage to turn every one of his statements into an exclamation.
"That's it! Keep that giggle!"
She showed off her smile as the lights dazzled her. She was in her own little slice of heaven. And if she still felt a little pebble of guilt that she hadn't told her fiancé, the music blared it away. Besides, she thought, I wanted something that did not have to do with Ranma, right? So here it is.
Goodness knows that her pigtailed knight in slightly shining armor would probably blow his top if he knew that she was working with all these male models.
One of said male models looked up and blew her a kiss. Akane blushed.
Make that gorgeous male models. Half naked gorgeous male models.
"Okay! Devon, get in there!"
The gaijin that had blown her a kiss was positioned around her. Her blush was genuine as his strong arms wrapped around her slim waist, and his chin rested in the crook of her shoulder. Even the makeup artist's twitters and concerns did not register as her face flamed.
"Akane, honey! I need to see passion, not panic!" Henry admonished gently, positioning the camera and changing the lights. "This is your one and only, baby! Your fiancé! The man who you're going to marry! Devon, you want to lock her away and make passionate love to her for the rest of your life! Come on, people, work with me here! And someone change the music, for God's sake!"
The rock music died abruptly, before being replaced by a throbbing bluesy number that sang of heartbreak and rebirth.
"I want to lock you up and make passionate love to you for the rest of my life," Devon whispered into her ear, making her laugh. His Japanese was passable, for a gaijin. She was impressed. And his eyes were a rather nice shade of green, she thought. He had also succeeded in relaxing her. The click of the camera faded out of her mind.
"Alright! Closer! I want to see the moment before everything happens, people!"
Akane's smile froze in place. He doesn't mean…
"Come on, Akane! I want to see passion, passion, passion!" Henry's voice softened, smoothened as his finger pressed the shutter. "This is the man who you are going to spend the rest of your life with. A man who you love beyond all reason, no matter what."
She looked up into Devon's face timidly, flushing beyond human capability.
"Hey, don't worry," he tried to calm her. "Think of someone else, if it makes you feel better. Think of a boyfriend or something. Its like acting."
"O-okay," she smiled tentatively. Devon leaned in, and his arms tightened around her waist ever so slightly. Her heart throbbed a little stronger; her breath came a little faster. Her eyes fell half shut, and she looked at him through a heavy lidded gaze. Henry's orders and commands fell on deaf ears.
Devon's face melted away. It wasn't green eyes she saw, but blue gray ones. Not short, stylishly messy black hair, but long ebony locks gathered in a pigtail. It wasn't a gorgeous international model she saw, but Ranma.
It was Ranma, choosing her out of everyone else. It was Ranma, holding her in his arms, finally confessing his love for her. It was Ranma, whose lips were a mere breath away. She turned in his arms, lifting her face, laying her slim hands on his chest.
The pounding of her heart drowned the clicking of the shutters out. She could feel his warm breath on her face. He was so close. So close. It was everything that she had wanted for three years.
The mood shattered, and the image broke into pieces as the door slammed open.
Startled by that and the ensuing chaos; still a little flushed, Akane turned in Devon's arms. Oh, God.
A boy stood in the center of the doorway, face positively livid as he looked around. Their eyes met.
Ranma…
His eyes widened, showing hurt to whoever chose to look, before narrowing. His fiancée was in the arms of another guy. A guy, who was, he might add, not even fully dressed. He was faintly surprised that steam hadn't erupted out of his ears. His Akane, his Akane, was no better. She was in an excuse for a dress, lacy and not leaving the deal of curves to a man's imagination, and showing off a great deal of slim, well muscled leg.
The cameraman's furious shouting, the crew's confused questions didn't register. He did not even see them.
"AKANE!"
She jumped slightly, her wide eyes getting even wider as he stalked forward.
She had stuff on, he noted in disgust. Magic woman things to deepen her eyes and moisten her lips. And sparkly things at her ears and a necklace that dropped down into the deep neck of the scrap of silk she had on.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!"
The jerk that had his arms on his fiancée stepped up, a frown marring his features. "Hey. I don't know who you are, but I think you had better leave."
Akane let out a slight gasp as stormy eyes widened in near bloodlust. "Get your hands off of her. NOW."
Devon backed away, his hands in the air. "Hey, man. I think you need to calm down. This is a photo shoot."
Ranma's gaze whipped to his, and he nearly shivered. The boy grabbed Akane's hand, pulling her with him as he stomped to the fallen door. She was too shocked to say a word in protest or pain. She had never seen him like this before.
"Akane, we are going home. Now."
His words, low and intense in timbre, snapped her out of it. She began to struggle, and finally succeeded in freeing her hand. Ranma turned to her, his face baffled.
"No."
"What!"
"Ranma, I'm not done with the shoot. I can't go home."
"Akane, do not be stupid. We are going home!"
He reached for her hand, and she yanked it away. His bewildered and slightly hurt gaze met hers. The studio was silent as her eyes welled with tears.
"Akane…"
"No." She cut him off, and looked away. "Ranma…"
"Akane, what…?"
She lifted her eyes and stared at him, tears running down her cheeks freely. She struggled with her next words, opening and shutting her mouth a few times before taking a deep breath. His face darkened with annoyance, and he reached for her hand again.
"Akane, you're being an idiot. I'm taking you home!"
She yanked her hand away from his questing one once more and squared her shoulders.
"Ranma..." her voice broke slightly. "Ranma, I'm letting you go."
And his world fell apart.
If I let you go, will I be all right in the end? Or will a part of me be let go as well?