Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma 1/2, nor profit from this fanfiction.

Slip of the Tongue

by MalletGirlAkane

Three

Ranma and Akane stared at each other awkwardly. In fact, they had been staring at each other awkwardly and in resounding silence for a good fifteen minutes. Both of them wondered vaguely whether their blushes had been permanently burned onto their faces by this point but every time they started to fade a flashback from the past hour would rear up and they would begin to glow again.

At last Ranma broke the silence. "Well now I'm just confused," he said.

Akane broke the staring match, suddenly finding her shoes very interesting.

"I mean," he continued, "First ya start actin' all nice on me. Then I... uh... you know..." Oddly enough, Ranma discovered that his shoes were worthy of some observation as well. Clearing his throat nervously, but not raising his head, he continued, "Then ya hit me-"

"I said I was sorry!" Akane interrupted, raising her eyes to him.

"Then... ya kissed me?" He raised his eyes to meet hers. A pair of blue-gray eyes locked onto a pair of light brown. Each searched for answers but came up only finding questions. "Didja not want me ta kiss ya?" Ranma asked in a hurt tone.

He had to strain to hear her soft response, "I wanted you to."

"Well then why-?" A look of terror washed over Ranma's face, leaving him pale and wide-eyed. "Was it... I mean, did I do it... wrong?"

Akane almost smiled at the look on his face. "Actually," she admitted, "I kind of... freaked out... before I really had a chance to tell. Not that I would have anything to compare it to."

Twelve minutes of awkward staring and resounding silence later Akane growled, "That was an invitation, Baka."

Ranma did not need to be told twice, once yes- but not twice.

Hesitantly, he reached to her and cupped her cheek in his hand. He would have marveled at how small she seemed, how fragile and lovely, how she stared at him with longing in her eyes. He would have marveled at all of this had not his brain been frozen in abject terror.

He was going to kiss Akane. She wanted him to kiss her. He had to do this right! It was not fair, he had never done this before! Ok, so he had done it once but that had ended... painfully. How would he know if he was doing it right? How would he know if she was enjoying it? Oh man, what if he broke her or something? She was just so delicate...

It was his stubborn pride that saved him. Damn it, Ranma thought to himself, if I don't do this now I'll never hear the end of it!

Resolutely he tilted her face up and leaned in to her. Slowly. So slowly.

What the heck is taking him so long! Akane muttered mentally.

Deciding that he really was hopeless after all, she took matters into her own hands and leaned in to him as well. Slowly. So slowly.

After about six minutes of inching their faces together, Ranma peeked open one eye to check on their progress. Almost there! Bracing himself, Ranma leapt the last mighty chasm of perhaps 5 millimeters. With a soft insistency their lips at last met...

Somewhere nearby a bicycle chimed.

Two startled people jumped, knocking their heads together painfully. Hearts beating a mile a minute, Ranma and Akane shoved away from each other. Each ignored the throbbing in their skulls and the raging frustration just about everywhere else in their bodies. Both tensed, eyes darting anxiously towards the entrance to the abandoned lot. Ranma moved minutely to block Akane. The bell chimed again.

A moment later a child of perhaps four or five pedaled by on a tricycle, merrily chiming his bell.

When the couple finally managed to pick themselves up off of the hard dirt ground, Ranma moaned, "Oh man, that was just wrong!"

Akane nodded her agreement, internally raging that Shampoo could ruin her time with Ranma without even being there. A small pout formed on her lips. She glanced over at her betrothed, wondering what her chances were of going for a third (or was it fourth?) kiss in one day. She was surprised to see him staring at her with a serious expression on his face which made her heart flutter against her ribcage.

"Akane," he said, "We can't... I mean... we shouldn't do this. Not until I've figured out some way ta get rid of the others. If they thought... well, they can be downright scary- ya know?"

"Does this..." Akane paused, hardly daring to ask the question, "Does this mean you've chosen me?"

Ranma snorted and looked away from her, his cheeks reddening once again. "You've always been the only choice, ya know that."

"I have?"

"Well sure, you don't think I'd actually marry Shampoo do ya?" He crossed his arms and shot a grouchy look in the direction of the fading bell.

A delighted thrill ran up her spine, but she had to press on, "What about Ukyo?"

Ranma shook his head, "I like Ukyo, but I could never marry her. It'd be like marryin' my sister!" He considered a moment, "No, it'd be more like marryin' my brother! I mean, most of the time I knew her I thought she was a guy."

Akane could not hide her smile. Giddily she asked, "And Kodachi?"

The look on Ranma's face was all the answer she needed.

Akane closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself, reveling in what he had just told her. It was a long way from a proclamation of his undying love, but it was a heck of a lot nicer than being insulted again. He had chosen her. She was his one, true fiancée. She looked over at him to find him staring at her, an anxious expression on his face.

For once, Akane knew exactly what Ranma was thinking. With a reassuring smile she shyly reached out and touched his hand. "I'm glad," she whispered.