Keeping You Safe
Ranma and Akane faced each other in the Tendo dojo. Ranma had been fidgeting since he had brought Akane in, the way that she had come to associate with his wanting to talk about something, but being uneasy about the topic.
"Ranma, what is it?" Akane asked, more then a little impatient.
Ranma still didn't answer for a few moments. "…Do…Do you know…Do you know why I've never seriously trained you?"
"Yeah 'cause you're a sexist jerk." The jab came out of habit. The hurt look on Ranma's face made her want to take it back.
"…I'm being serious Akane. Do you know why I've never seriously trained you?"
Realizing that Ranma wasn't going to get into their normal name calling competition, she kept her tone as serious as his. "…No…No, I don't."
Ranma paused again before answering, "It…It's because I wanted to keep you safe."
Akane's shock quickly turned to anger. "What do you mean "Keep me safe"?" Yelling now "What? You think I can't take care of myself!"
Again, Ranma did not fall into their normal pattern. He didn't call her names, and he didn't raise his voice. In the same calm, concerned tone he had been using he said "That's just it. You can't."
Her anger diffused by Ranma's change in behavior, disbelief filling her voice she asked, "…What?"
Ranma waited again before answering, it was clear now that he was not uncomfortable with what he was saying, but that he wanted to make sure he said it right. "I didn't want you to get involved in fights that could hurt you. I know you can handle Kuno and Kodachi and people like them. I'm talking about the others. Ryouga and Shampoo, Happosai and Taro. And what about Herb? Or Saffron?" He stopped to sort his thoughts again. "Ever since Ryouga first arrived the fights around here have gotten more intense. And it's happened so quickly that I could barely keep up. You saw how long it took before I could hold my own against Cologne…I never wanted you to get hurt. I wanted you to stay safe. Instead you kept getting used as bait, or as a hostage. Somehow you always were in the middle of the fight no matter what I did…I'm sorry."
Akane couldn't believe what she was hearing. And Ranma looked so torn up, as if he blamed himself for all those times. Realizing that he probably did, and that his sense of honor was the root of his anguish, she waited. After knowing him for so long, despite their quarrels, she knew he would get to what he wanted to say.
Ranma approached her, when he was standing right in front of her he said, "I'm sorry. And if you'll let me, I'd like to train you. I'd like to make it so that you can take care of yourself. You deserve that. After all that's happened you deserve to feel safe again."
"Ranma, I…I always felt safe. I always knew you'd come for me."
"And I always will. But I can't live with the thought that there might be that one time that I'm too late. I won't live with the fear that I might be too late to save the woman I love…That I might be too late to save my wife."
Akane couldn't speak, she couldn't breathe. "Ranma…Are, are you saying what I think you are?"
Ranma knelt down on one knee and took Akane's hand. "Akane, will you marry me?"
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Hope everyone liked this, I wrote it to help get past the creative block I was having with "Living the Martial Way". Now that my creative juices are flowing again I'll be getting back to my main story.