Want you

Eighteen year old Ranma Saotome didn't even think about the question before answering. "Yeah I thought it was going to be hard too."

"You thought?" Asked Akane trying to keep up the conversation.

The top of Mount Fuji was their destination and they still had plenty of way left ahead of them. They had started the trip with one of their little quarrels. As usual they fought and insulted each other but soon stopped after realizing that this might be their last training trip together. They remained quiet after that. A couple of hours passed before Akane got tired of the constant silence and tried to make conversation.

The task proved to be a difficult one. Not because lack of Ranma's cooperation but because she didn't know what to talk about. The last couple of days had been difficult. With them being over eighteen now, adults as some would say, solving the problem with Ranma's multiple engagements was a must that couldn't be put off anymore.

Surprisingly there had been a compromise between the three girls and their families. After a "civilized" discussion they all had agreed that it had to be Ranma's choice. They gave Ranma a two-month deadline that was coming to an end to decide which girl he was to be married.

Each one of the girls had a chance to be alone with him for a long enough period of time. And this was Akane's chance. A short trip, just a week before the end of Ranma's deadline.

Of course she was nervous. Of course she didn't really know what to do or say. She only knew she wanted the trip to be nice and for that they needed to at least talk. So without anything better to say Akane commented something that had been on her mind lately. "It must be difficult… you know… have to pick?"

And that brings us back to the moment when I started this story.

"Yeah… I realized it doesn't have to be that hard." Ranma said matter-of-factly.

"What do you mean?" Asked Akane feeling curios as to what was going through his fiancé's mind.

"Well… There's really not much honor left to save. So now It's pretty much just a matter of what I want."

"Oh."

"And I know I want you." He declared not once looking at her and without stopping his pace.

Akane stopped dead in her tracks. What did he say? "What?" She stuttered, eyes wide, not quite believing she had heard right.

"I want you." Ranma repeated glancing at her without stooping. He simply said it as if it weren't the first time he did. He said it as it if were nothing out of the ordinary. Akane felt the sentence came packed on a shrug.

The raven-haired girl frowned in suspicion before slowly starting to walk again following her fiancé… 'He wants me?' She thought. Was it a joke? With him, there always laid that possibility. And to say something so life-changing just like that… as if it weren't that important.

A declaration of that kind wasn't something that happened like that. There was supposed to be some magical moment, a silence, a meaningful stare. No it definitely couldn't mean what she thought it meant. But then… what did he mean by it?

"How?" The girl asked now walking by his side.

Ranma glanced at her. "What?" He asked in return a little bit amused at the way she was looking at him.

"HOW do you want me?"

That made him stop and finally look at her the way she wanted. "What do you mean how do I want you?"

"I mean…" she started eyes wide. "You can want me in a lot of ways."

He smiled a little, loving that weird feeling he had every time she became a puzzle to him. "No… I can only want you in one way." He said slowly.

"No… you see…" she said nervously getting closer to him. "You can want me as far away as possible… or maybe a little bit near."

He just looked at her not believing what she was saying.

"And you can want me in a perverted way." She flushed. "Or you can want me to be like a sister, or want me to be a friend. You can even want me to be around to annoy you. I mean you could be a masochist for all I know." She said with a little more conviction. "Or maybe…" She looked down. "you can want me here and now… with you."

Ranma smiled at her but she didn't see it so she just kept on ranting. "Or who knows, maybe you want me in therapy… you know for the violent tomboy thing. Or you could even want me in the kitchen." He chuckled. "Though, I pretty much doubt that." She finished in a small voice and looked down again.

Ranma stared and took a couple of steps eating away the small distance left between them. "I just want you." He shrugged.

"But…" She looked up and stare into his eyes. "HOW?" She was surprised at hearing her quiet voice filled with hope and fright.

"How you are." Ranma said very close to her. "For me." He whispered before leaning in a kiss.

THE END

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