Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ nor profit from this fanfiction.
Slip of the Tongue
by MalletGirlAkane
Six
Ranma's mind scrabbled around and around Akane's statement, searching for some semblance of meaning. Ranma, I can't marry you. The words were clear enough and yet they made no sense. Surely she could not mean what it sounded like. They had finally begun to work things out, they could not fall apart this soon.
Plaintively he repeated, "Can't marry me?"
The grin remained on Ranma's face but now it appeared strained and out of place. Not that Akane noticed, as she was still unable to meet his eye. The girl hunched her shoulders and crossed her arms, withdrawing in on herself. Her insecurity and feelings of inadequacy displayed themselves in her body language as she tried to make herself appear as small as possible. She opened her mouth to answer, but choked on the words and settled for a minute nod of the head, barely visible in the pale light of the moon.
Ranma watched his fiancee, searching for some explanation. His eyes lit up as inspiration struck. "Akane, you didn't eat anything funny since we... uh... talked, didja?"
Akane's head snapped up, though she did not turn to face him. Obviously perplexed, she asked, "What?"
Congratulating himself on recognizing the problem so quickly for once, Ranma replied, "Ya know... Ramen, okanomiyaki, anything served with a black rose as a garnish?"
Her shoulders shook in little spurts, whether from laughter or tears he could not decide. Brushing her hair from her face she answered, "Ranma, I have not eaten anything since dinner. I haven't seen anyone since Kasumi came home." Her voice faltered for a moment but she pressed on, "I'm flattered that you choose me above the others but I, Akane Tendo, with no influence from anyone else, am telling you that it cannot be."
Crushing pain gripped Ranma's heart, far more than he would have ever imagined possible at her words. Unable to deal with the feelings he resorted to one he was much more familiar with. Leaping to his feet he angrily shouted at her, "I thought ya said you were glad!"
Akane winced and whispered, "Ranma, please. Your father may be able to sleep through anything but there are other people in this household who do not. Nabiki? My father?"
Slicing his hand through the air in a violent gesture of dismissal he replied, "It don't matter anymore, does it? Don't change the subject, Akane. Why'd ya lie to me?"
She was slightly taken aback at the vehemence in his voice and the accusation caused her ire prickle as well. Restraining herself she replied in a soft, even voice, "I didn't lie... I was glad."
"So what? I ain't good enough for an uncute tomboy?"
The insult stung now more than ever and Akane spun to face him, angry tears forming, "You really are an idiot, Ranma! Do you really think, even for a second, that I could feel that way? After all, you're the great Saotome Ranma and I'm just an ugly, clumsy, violent, worthless tomboy! I can't marry you because I know you hate me!" By the end of her tirade the words were coming in gasping sobs.
"I'm an idiot? I'm an idiot! Who's the idiot when ya can't even see that I-!" Ranma froze, the words dying on his mouth. He stared at her, half in wide-eyed shock and half in suspicion that she had tricked him into his near-confession. From the matching look of wide-eyed shock on her face he was grudgingly forced to rule out feminine cunning.
"You what, Ranma?"
"I... I, uh... I don't hate ya, Dummy."
For the first time that night, Akane looked Ranma in the eyes. He never knew what she saw there, whether she grasped then the entirety of his feelings for her or whether she found only the contradiction to her fears. Perhaps they were the same thing. Whatever it was, it was enough.
Her smile, his weakness, bubbled to the surface. Breaking through the clouds like the sun after a rainstorm. Stepping close to her he tenderly reached over ran his fingers through her hair. Unable to help herself, Akane leaned her head into his warm touch.
Ranma's eyes widened and he chuckled. Akane's eyes reflected puzzlement until he slowly moved his hand from her hair to just before her eyes. Clasped between his fingers was a single, white feather. With an affectionate grin, one he was sure she saw this time, he said, "Kawaiikune."
To which she replied, "Baka."
Like two pieces of one whole, they found themselves drawn irresistibly together. His arms wrapped around her waist, her around his neck. They paused, faces mere inches apart, satisfied to simply breath each other's air. When at last he could not take the tension for another moment, Ranma darted forward, intent on stealing her lips.
Before he had the chance a window crashed open below them and the cranky voice of the middle Tendo daughter shouted, "Akane? Did you kill him yet or are you two going to deny me more beauty sleep?"
Author's Note:
Obviously TheFinal Goodbye has left a deeper impression on me than I had thought. The angst, the angst! I promise the next chapter will be fluffier.