Here comes my baby
Draggin' my heart behind
He's drivin' me crazy
Who says love is blind
He's got a wanderin' eye and a travelin' mind
Big ideas and a little behind
Out with a different woman every night
But I remember when he was mine
Why'd Ya Come In Here Lookin' Like That?" by Dolly Parton
I'll admit I really wanted to get his attention when I took off my favourite black coat. It was big and felt French, like I was an heiress out for a little romp with the peasants. A minute out of my body was nice for a second.
When I returned from putting my coat on a naked rack, he had already seated himself at a two seated table by the window. It was night time, dark out, and the candle in the middle of the table lit up his face. He had an excellent profile, and everything else was good too.
He led with his chin. How proud.
Something got a little queasy in my stomach but I fluttered forward, ignoring it.
In a second I was back, sitting across from him, and so many emotions filled my eyes. I had to bite back the tears. This wasn't right. I didn't have to deal with this anymore; if I kept distant nothing would hurt me.
He interrupted my deep thoughts with a very Ranma-like question.
"So, what's the best food here?" Ranma asked.
I've noticed people revert to four base things when they have nothing to say: the weather, work, sports, and food. Although very important, I wasn't about to let him slither out of telling me what had happened that night again.
"Oh, I don't know . . . anything. Besides, I thought we were only having coffee?"
He stared across the table and raised an eyebrow in shock. "Drinking and then leaving without eating? Why Akane, I thought you were an upstandin' lady, now."
I snorted. "Not now, not ever."
He "tsk"ed and I could feel him relax into our one-two-punches and sarcasm.
"I remember a time when you were a refutable little lady." He pointed out.
No. Please don't bring up the past. I had spent enough time forgetting about that. How could he say that? He didn't even know me anymore. He didn't know what the fuck I had been through for the past ten years. The past decade there had been highs and lows, ups and downs, and he hadn't been there for a goddamn second of it!
C'mon Akane, it's time you told him! That's what my body told me, what my mind told me, what my heart told me, and I couldn't stop the words quick enough.
"Obviously." I seethed. "You weren't present when I grew up."
He smirked, either trying to not notice or being blind to the fact that I was on the brink of tear-filled rage.
"Didn't miss much development, did I?" He stared up at me with a sultry look that stalled when he actually saw me.
He looked slightly mortified. The only things that really riled Ranma Saotome were two things: cats and girls crying.
I was pretty sure cats weren't spewing from my eyes.
I felt my eyes just in case. It turns out I hadn't stopped the tears from trickling down just a little bit.
"Fuck." I said under my breath, wiping away the tears and getting up.
I promised I wouldn't cry for him.
He stood when I did, reaching out for my hand before I pulled it away.
"Akane, don't over react." He tried, staring from side to side at the onset audience we had attained.
What? Oh, he had to be kidding.
I took a step forward, pushed him back and pointed a finger in his startled face. "Don't move a muscle, Saotome."
I stormed over to the coat rack, wrenched my coat from it, swung it over each shoulder whilst storming back, and got back to the table in less than thirty seconds.
He stood up, behind his side of the table a little defensively, and looked a little put out.
Everyone has a breaking point. I had been wrecked, left, and now returned to. In between there was a whole lot of unrelated normal crap, but Ranma Saotome certainly took the cake for worst relationship ever. And I had gone out with a glass eater. He would only eat glass and broke up with me when I refused to eat a special dinner of IKEA products he had made. He had tried to throw the pie in my face, it had been made of glass remember, and stabbed me in the ear.
Yet, Ranma topped that.
"Now listen here. You've been gone for the past ten years to who knows where, for who knows why, and have decided to return for a cheap party with people who have basically just swelled. You don't know a damn thing about me anymore. I'm not that little girl you can make swoon anymore; no, I am strong, and independent, and . . . and hot!"
Boy I needed this.
I slammed my fist on the table and his lips tightened.
"Oh and don't give me that glare. Am I embarrassing you? Good! Try waiting on your doorstep for two hours, being coaxed into going to your prom alone and being whispered about the whole night, not to mention ruining your fifty thousand yen dress with tear stains."
All emotion drained from his face. He was cold.
I continued. "They said that mascara was water proof Ranma, and it really fucking wasn't!"
I rested a second and he began to speak. I threw out my hand. "Oh I am not done yet. Now listen up, you think just because you can smile that smile and strut with the best of them that you can have me? DO you think that now that you've had time to "grow as a person" or whatever the hell else you were thinking when you left, that I am just gonna crawl back to you? I am, believe or not, my own person now. I have friends, and memories, and good times, and bad times, and relationships, and fuckwits. I am glad I've had a long history because I like who I am now, I'm my own person. I'm not a daughter, or a sister, or somebody's friend anymore." I reached over and poked him hard in the shoulder. "And I am definitely not just somebody's fiancée."
He stared back deadpanned.
I waited for him to say something. Say just about anything to solve this just a little bit.
"Well?" I asked. "What do you have to say?"
He paused for a second, staring down at the rolls on the table, and then back up at me, looking up into my eyes.
Damned if he didn't have the most gorgeous peepers.
"You done?"
I gaped. What in the hell did he mean by that? Was I done? Like he had been waiting for this, like I was predictable!
I wiped my eyes, put a stern look on my broken face, and faced him stone-faced.
"Ranma-" I just couldn't finish. I had used all my energy blasting. Him.
I sighed, defeated, I turned and walked away. He just stood there, arms folded across his chest. I was the bigger person here, I had no resulted to hitting him, or anything. That me was gone, I was mature now.
Aw screw it.
I briskly paced back, grabbed my water goblet and splashed him in the face.
He made a manly gruff, but didn't flinch. I turned to leave and stopped. He hadn't turned female.
I looked back and he smirked.
I laughed dejectedly.
"Found the cure to your curse then? Congratulations. Tell me where I can find the cure to mine."
And then I walked out. That had wiped the smirk clear off his face.
I was definitely too tired to go out more tonight and I had only had one drink so I was still good to drive. I climbed into my car, slammed the door, and turned on the ignition, keys out lightening fast. I paused as the lights flickered on. Something was on my windshield.
Probably a flyer. I rolled down my window, reached for it, and thrust it into my pocket…
I flew right out of that restaurant parking lot.
When I had parked and turned the key in my lock I had cried three more times. All in the car though, so my face had stopped being horribly red and puffy. I readied myself for my apartment and sleep, and went in.
I turned and shut the door loudly, threw my purse and coat on the floor, and, with closed and lightly burning eyes, started to unzip the back of my dress. I walked over my hard wood floor, past my tiny kitchen and was at the door to my bedroom when someone coughed.
It was the kind of cough you do to get someone's attention, not release an M&M from your throat.
I swirled around to see a smirking Hiroshi. He was lounging on my couch, pizza in one hand and a beer in the other.
"I come bearing gifts." He said melodramatically.
I was dry crying with a smile on my face. "No, I'm tired. I was sleep."
He stared back at me concerned. "Wow, you really must be tired if you're willing to give up pizza and beer."
No, I was too tired to care about the fact that he was in my apartmen and I hadn't let him in.
It was pizza and beer though. . .
"Is it light beer?" I asked, suspicious.
He scoffed. "Light beer's for wusses."
I trotted over and jumped onto my couch. It was normal couch material that got warm fast and didn't make you feel like a slimy slug in the summer like leather.
He stared at the dress, a strap fell off my shoulder unbeknowest to me. As I waited for him o pass me my pizza and beer, he reached over and touched my arm, causing me to jump and stare him in the eyes.
What was he gonna do? I had had a pretty bad night, but felt so relieved after getting all that anger off my chest. I wouldn't mind a victory kiss right about now . . . or a little bit more.
He stared me in the eyes, a serisou look that was neither his cop nor his angry face sent chills up me. These were good chills though. I think.
Without losing eye contact he pulled the strap up over my shoulder again.
You should probably zip that up." He said.
I shrugged. "I'm not worried about it falling off. I can handle it."
"I know." He eyed me with the hungriest eyes ever, which was odd due to the bulk of the pizza already eaten. "I don't know if I can though."
I paused for a second. "Well then you're gonna have to suck it up. Aren't you gonna ask how my date went? And pass me some pizza!"
Hunger overtook desires at this point.
He smirked and handed me the pizza I so craved. I bit into it and it was gone to the lady of my stomach in a few more seconds.
"Akane, you just scarfed that thing down faster than the Flash." Hiroshi said.
He sighed and rested back on the side of the couch.
"So how'd your date go?"
I mumbled between bites because, really, any conversation couldn't be as good as this pizza.
" . . . didn't show up . . . Rnama was there . . . got stood up too . . . had dinner with him."
Hiroshi stared into his pizza. Ooh, some-body's jealous. Considering the night we had had I wouldn't know why he would be, but I really didn't want to relay the events to him.
He coughed. "Right, well . . . " He stopped and then started again. "Did he kiss you?"
Yeah right, I wasn't that desperate.
"uh no. Why would he?" I asked with as much disgust as I could muster.
Hiroshi stared back at me as I was stupid.
"What?"
"Akane."
"Yes?"
"Nobody comes back to town after ten years for a party."
That was true. That was exactly what I had been thinking too. If it wasn't just that, though, then what? It couldn't be me, he had been going out on a date with a girl tonight, not even in town three days!
"The guys from Animal House would." I mumbled.
He grinned and a devilish expression came over his face. "True, but for anyone else it would have to be a pretty good party."
I smiled. "With free drinks and enough orgys to count on two hands."
He smirked and moved closer, almost on top of me now. I gulped.
Did I really want this? Did I want the man that used all the girls for one thing and then left without flinching to come into my life again? And even though I blew up at Ranma tonight I knew if he told me he loved me today I wouldn't reject . . . I don't think.
Well, I don't know what I'd do.
"Aren't you gonna finish your pizza?" I sqeeked.
I could feel his hips on mine, his hot breath on my neck. Oh gee.
I could feel his smile. "So he didn't kiss you?"
I shook me head and almost forgot to breath.
He reached in quickly and pulled me into a fervent, deep kiss. My eyes popped out a bit and I was glad he couldn't see them. I lifted a hand and pulled him by the back of the head closer, sinking into the couch and pillows a bit. His hand searched my body and finally returned to my face.
When he finally broke off the kiss, which really shouldn't have just been labelled a kiss, I panted a bit. He stared back at me and stroked away a loose hair that had clouded his clear view of my eyes. He tucked it behind my ear and he swallowed hard.
"What would you say if I told you I wanna be an honest man?" He asked, looking so vulnerable and serious.
He really wanted an answer.
I gulped., feeling his weight still over me. "I'd ask you who you were and what you'd done with Hiroshi Miyako, the boy on all the girls' bathroom walls."
His lips curved into a smile and I could still taste them. "Good answer."
He was off me in a second, standing up and putting the pizza box on the coffee table safely. "I came over to talk about the break in, but I tell you tomorrow. I've gotta go now. Nice dress."
I wasa little stunned at the kiss he stole. That bastard!
"Can you pass me my coat, I'm cold." I asked, sigh a little bit.
He turned, grabbed it, and passed it to me.
"I didn't steal the kiss. You wanted it just as bad." He told me.
How readable was I? Crap, I had to work on my poker face. I should get tips from Nabiki.
"No way, that makes up for the tree incident, now we're square." I told him.
I doubted he would take that.
"No way. The tree incident, which we are now calling an "incident" for some reason, is worth a lot more than that."
He stalled as he noticed something had dropped from the coat, the flyer, and was grabbing it. "And besides, I just brought you your coat."
I laughed. "oh and that was so useful."
He grinned back as he held the blue piece of paper out to read. His smile dropped from his face.
He had his cop-face on now.
I squinted. "What is it?"
He was curt and swallowed hard. "Sweets, where did this come from?"
What did he want to know that for?
"The restaurant. It was on my car window, why?"
He stared hard at it, closed his eyes for a second, and then gave me the paper to read.
As I read it my blood ran cold.
Akane Tendo.
By your ten year reunion you will be dead. Say goodbye to old friends now. You've pissed off the wrong people. You should have quit when you had the chance.
Goodbye, dear.
Oh my god.
A/N: So? And don't worry, if you think the coupling is set now. Read a Janet Evanovich book and learn that you can have two men in your life, kissing you on the same day, and still not have a damn clue who you want to end up with.
Motokonobaka: Thanks so much!
Bubbly Minx: Oh my, I can't believe I missed that. Seriously, I burst out laughing when I found out. I fixed it and thought I had added that, but it must have been ridiculously confusing. Hank you so much to still read after a major mess up like that! Yup, Jin's gay and that might have something to do with how he met Ranma . . .
Ikerana: Thanks so much. I try.
Icy: I'm still going to do other points-of-view, but I think it's mre fun as Akane. She's just as confused as everyone else. I think it also gives a little mystery to the men in her life.
EmpressKona: Oh believe me, if Ranma were ever to get Akane back, as shown in this chapter, he'd have to do a whole lot more than sweep her.
Angela Jewell: Yeah I really didn't know how I'd do the date, but I knew what I wanted to happen. You guys are ahead of me though, but I know I'll surprise you at some point!
WhiteTigress666: What can I say, I love writing about stories that have happened in the past that the reader doesn't get to find out too much about because they're nice things to think about and imagine yourself.
A Night Walker: Did I clear everything up? Sorry if it is a bit confusing, tell me what is and I'll fix it up nice and quick!
Thanks for reviewing!
Now, go and do it again!