CRASH!!*

"TAICHI!!!"

Taichi paused his task of throwing glass flower pots on the floor when he heard his mother's concern filled tone. He glared at his mother as he tells her harshly,

"JUST GO AWAY! DON'T COME HERE!"

"But Taichi! Why are you acting this way?" His mom asked him in a panicky state.

"WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME THAT, MOM!? DON'T ASK WHEN YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT!! GO AWAY!!"

"Taichi, please calm down son! JOSH! Come here quickly and help me please…"

"Yes! Yes, I am coming honey!" Josh ran to his wife's side and looked at his son's messy room with astonished eyes as he asked him in a surprised tone,

"Son! What's the matter with you!!? At least tell us what you want?"

Taichi stopped and glared at both of them,

"You guys are USELESS..!!! This time you can't give me what I WANT! SO GET LOST!!!"

He roared furiously and threw a bottle on his big wall size mirror, which instantly cracked and broke into pieces.. He became francktic after that as he desperately began to search for something else to break, but before he could take another thing to smash, a sudden voice came from his doorstep, making him pause with shock,

"Do you really think the same way about your grandmother, son?! You know, if no one can, only your granny can get whatever you wish to have, son!"

Taichi's stunned expression instantly changed into a relieved one. He hastily turned to face his grandmother, when he saw her standing proudly at his doorstep as she opens her arms for him for a hug, he didn't waste any time and ran to her to give her a hug..

"Grandmother!! I am so glad!! I am really glad that you are here!!"

She laid her hand over his board shoulder and made him look at her in the eye. Seeing the mesary and desperation in her precious grandson's eyes, she became anxious as she asked him in a serious tone,

"Now tell me the reason for all this… Tell me what you want, my son.."

He looked at his grandmother with hopefull eyes as he whispers to her desperately ,

"Akane…."*

"Akane!!!!! Why are you taking so much time!!? Come out now or we will start without you!! Ranma is already here! Come out!!!" Nabiki called Akane urgently.

"Cominggg!!!" Akane singsonged and sighed as she looked at herself in the her room's wall size mirror.. She began to feel silly for even taking so much time and effort to look good infront of Ranma.. He is the least person she should be worrying about what he might think about her appearance..!

For God's sake, they have been living with each other for the last four years..!! And in these past years, she never ever tried to look good in front of him. At first it was due to the plan which she made with her aunt Su to make him see how she is unworthy to be his fiancé.. That time, she stopped wearing makeups or wearing fancy dresses only because she wanted to make him believe that she is not beautiful as his other fiancés. That's why despite Ryoga accidentally cutted her hair, she got used to it only because it was helping her to prove to him how tomboyish she is..

At that time, she thought that he would finally notice that she is not girly enough for him and he would choose his other fiances.. But to her surprise, that was the first time he called her 'cute' since they have meet.. And for some unknown reason, that became the only reason why she never grew her hair back.. Because , that's the only time she heard him praising her…

At first, it was due to their plan that she never tried to dress up or work on her looks, in front of him.. But later, she became so comfortable around him that she never had to try to work on her looks in front of him..

She giggled thinking about that as she sighed happily.. She started to blush as she thought..

'Oh honestly!! Come to think of it, I always used to be myself in front of him.. I never had to try anything!! He saw me mostly with my messy hairs, my crumbled dresses, and my most tired-looking faces!! But he never ever complained! Yes, he does call me a tomboy! But now if I think about it, did I leave him with any other choice? I never tried to come out of my tomboy exterior and he never wanted to see me differently.. And mostly, I never tried to change because.. somehow.. he became a part of my family.. Like I never had to worry about what my sisters or father would think about my appearance, unconsciously he managed to make that secure place in my heart where I began to feel the same way with him, to be myself and totally carefree...'

" 'Kane…!!! Don't whine later that I didn't leave any food for ya!!"

She smiled warmly hearing him calling her like that.. She still can't believe the things that are happening right now! She never thought that things would turn out this understandable for her and Ranma this easily! Her mother surprisingly became pleased with Ranma!! She never once complained, not only that, she was the one who told her to call Ranma to join them for tonight!

Tonight they have planned to have a family pyjama party before Kasumi's wedding as Dr Tofu was enjoying a bachelorette party with his friends..! Only the family was the idea, but when aunt Suki invited Nodoka and Ranma to join them, it made this night even more delightful for all of them. Akio went with Dr Tofu at the party, but Ranma had choosed to come and join the Tendo's at their homestyle party..

'Honestly, I was so scared when Akio and Dr Tofu forced Ranma to go with them..! But, thankfully that baka didn't go with them.. And that's... really sweet of him..!!!"

Akane thought as she giggled when she remembered the disappointed look that Akio gave Ranma before leaving with Tofu.. She shook her head and checked herself up and down for the last time, to make sure she was ready for the day.. She was wearing a red butterfly sleeve top with a black shorts to match with it.. She pulled her bangs a little up to the side with a red stoned clip. She wanted to put some make-up on, but at the last moment she decided not to do it.. Because It's a house party after all and everyone got ready as simply as they could.. Despite knowing that, she couldn't help but to wear something special for Ranma tonight.. She sighs sadly and thought to herself,

'It's not like he is going to notice it or anything!! He is such a baka! He won't even appreciate that I did this for him...'

She pouted at herself looking at the mirror. She shrugged her shoulders and only puts a small amount of lip balm over her lips.. She sighs nervously as she finally decides to leave the room..

She peeked from her door and saw that all her family members were waiting for her, with cards ready in their hands.. She giggled excitedly and ran to go towards them..

"Aka.. Oh my! Here you are!!" Kasumi said giggling..

"What took ya so long, Ya uncute tomboy!!"

Suki looked at him with the corner of her eyes.She is not used to hear anyone call someone like that. She became surprised to hear that as she cleared her throat in her discomfort .

Akane noticed her mother's reaction as she face-palmed herself . She sighs and shook her head and goes straight to Ranma's side to sit beside him.

Ranma gave her a funny look as he asked her in a low tone,

"What are ya looking at!?"

Akane shook her head in disbelief as she looked down at the floor and took the card in her hands, which was neatly laid on the floor upside down for her. She pretended to look at it hard as she said in a low tone,

"Will you please restrain yourself from calling me uncute tomboy in front of my mother!!"

Ranma dumbfoundedly looked at her as he suddenly realized his slip of tongue.. He sheepishly smiled at her and whispered in a low tone,

"Oops!! Sorry, I forgot that I have to act normal around her.."

"Jerk!!" Akane whispers back heatedly, but she couldn't stop smiling at his childlike behaviour.. She sighs sadly as she couldn't shrug of the disappointment her heart was feeling.. As she thought, he didn't realize that she had dressed up for him. He didn't even realize the extra effort she gave to fix her hair! It's like, she completely wasted her time by putting extra effort on herself..! She should have known him better! She should have understood that however she dressed up or whatever she does, she would always be a uncute tomboy for him and he would never notice her, like she wants him to notice her…

" 'Kane..!? 'Kane!!"

Akane turned to face Ranma with a grim expression on her face… He raised his one eyebrow as he asked her,

"Ya are ready ta play, or what?!"

Akane sighed and arrogantly looked at him and said confidently,

"I am always ready! Now you prepare yourself to lose, Mr overgrown muscle!"

Ranma snickers as he looked at his cards with a satisfied attitude as he said,

" Huh!!! Only if ya knew what I have got on my hands!!! Bring it on, tomboy! Be ready to loose!!"

And… as obvious …. He lost!! Not only one time, for the last five games, he had repeatedly lost all the games!!! And surprisingly, not only him, Suki was losing every game alongside with him. It was as if she was accompanying him to share his defeat one by one..

Nabiki and Akane laughed loudly when they defeated both of them again in a easy game..! Nabiki held onto her belly as she asked them in between her laughter,

"Seriously guys!! Haha! Are you guys competing with each other to see who is the dumbest player!!"

"Oh honestly!!" Akane also began to say as she laughed her heart out, "You guys are hopeless!!"

Kasumi and Nodoka giggled silently as they watched Ranma and Suki giving them a dumbfounded expression as they both pouted like a heartbroken child..

"Oh my! Nabiki, Akane, don't laugh like that! So what, that they have lost six games!! There is always a next time!"

"And we have the whole night to play!!"

Nodoka intervenes as Kasumi and she gives them an encouraging look.

"Nah!! I ain't gonna play anymore!" Ranma grumbled moodily..

"Me neither!!" Suki said as she gave a defeated sigh.

"Oh accept it, you guys are just complete losers..!!"

Nabiki said cheerfully as she and Akane shared a high five.

"Hey!! Take that back!!"

Ranma growled in annoyance as Suki giggled at their childish bickering.

"Oh honestly, Ranma! You are such a baka! You can't even make a proper poker face to save the winning game! It's a shame that you also got so many good cards in your hands too, dummy! You could have won two times so easily! I am sure a baby could have won that game in no time!! You know what, you are so hopeless, baka!" Akane said in a silly amused tone.

Ranma grumbled and said moodily, "Anyways, I ain't gonna waste my time playing this childish game anymore!"

" Nah Nah! Grapes are sour, isn't it Ranma!"

" Stop picking on him, Nabiki!!" Kasumi said while giggling..

Ranma stood up suddenly and declared,

"You guys play this dumb game as much as ya want.. I am going to enjoy some soda!"

Declaring that excitedly, he began to leave that room, but stopped when he heard his mother calling him,

"Son!?"

"Yes, mom!"

"Bring some tea for me and Suki, please.." Nodoka said smiling..

Ranma looked at her dumbfoundedly as he nodded his head at her,

"And one soda for me!" Nabiki said and chuckled , when she saw Ranma growling at her.

"Oh my! I don't wish to bother you Ranma, but can you make some tea for me too..?" Kasumi asked while giving him a sweet smile.

"Of course, why not, Kasumi!" Ranma said with his greeted teeth, forcefully smiling at their direction. He turned his annoyed iris towards Akane and saw her humming to herself as she was busy shuffling the cards for their next game. Upon realizing his stare, she looked at him with a confused expression on her face as she asked him,

"What do you want?!"

"Your order, Mam.. What do you want to drink? C'mon don't be shy, miss uncute tomboy!!" He asked her in a silly tone.

"Oh! For me? Umm.. I would love to have some ice cream, you insensitive jerk.." She said smiling as she again busied herself on shuffling the cards.

Ranma murmured incoherent things to himself as he went to bring them their drinks..

"You guys!! I just can't believe you ordered him like that!" Suki said unbelievably.

"Don't sweat it, aunt Su! He never minds!" Nabiki said chuckling, happy to receive good cards this time as well…

Suki sighs as she shakes her head in defeat,

"I am going to go and help him.. You guys carry on playing!"

The four of them became so occupied in their games that they didn't even reply to Suki.. She left them and went to where Ranma was.

She found him at the dining area, happily making all his drinks as he hummed to himself. Suki smiled fondly as she saw him putting some water into the electric kettle for the tea as he began to play with the three cups just like a professional. She waited for him to put the cups down on the table, because she didn't want to scare him by her presence. When she saw him gracefully lining the cups and putting tea bags onto them, at that exact moment she cleared her voice to reveal to him of her presence. As she thought he would be, his whole body jerked with panic when he heard her voice. His body became stiff as his cool features took off from the window. He gulped hard and slowly turned to face her..

Suki smiled at him and slowly came towards him as she said politely,

"Hello, Ranma.. I have come here to help you.."

Ranma nervously smiled back at her as he said,

"Umm.. Uhh.. I'm fine! I mean.. I can handle it no problem.."

"Still… I insist.." She said, smiling at him ..

He realised a sigh and slowly nodded his head.They silently began to prepare the drinks, mostly Ranma was preparing the drinks as Suki looked at him from the corner of her eyes. She nudged her lips as she said suddenly,

"Ranma..Thank you for bringing my daughter back to me last night.."

Ranma was taken aback when he heard her telling this to him suddenly. He sighs as he looked at her, then he said to her in a genuine tone,

"I will always bring her home, no matter what! Don't worry about it, aunt Suki.."

Suki was genuinely touched by his reply as she fully turned to face him and nodded her head. Then she said apologetically,

"And I am really sorry for their behaviour, dear.. I mean, I can't believe how my girls could cause you so much trouble! And the way Akane called you names, I am really sorry for her misbehaviour, Ranma!"

Ranma was not expecting to hear that from her, he burst out laughing hard as he shook his head. Suki was also surprised by his reaction as she asked him,

"Ranma! Why are you laughing, dear?"

Ranma controlled his laughter as he chuckled and said while grinning,

"Please don't be sorry 'bout anything, aunt! I mean me and Kane, we both call each other names all the time! It's normal for us!"

"But doesn't it bother you at all!"

He smirked and shook his head.. Then he said in a serious manner,.

"Aunt Suki, if I'm being honest with ya, if Akane suddenly stopped calling me names, that would bother me the most! But can ya blame us for that.. I mean, we both got engaged at a very young age! At the age of our learning and exploring the world, our parents forced us to be romantically close ta each other. But thankfully, because of Akane, I always managed to show her my true intentions fearlessly. At first we used to call each other names, when we were angry or fighting with each other. But now, it's more like, we are used to it.. Me calling her an uncute tomboy or her calling me a perverted jerk, is nothing but old habits for us which is hard to drop.. And trust me aunt Suki, it doesn't bother us at all!"

Suki blinked her eyes to suppress her emotions as she whispers to him,

"Does this engagement bothers you now, Ranma? Tell me truthfully, please.."

Ranma sighs as a small smile formed on his lips,

"This engagement never bothered me, aunt Suki.. In fact, I always assumed that it's the first thing that my Pop did right for me! The only one draw back for this engagement was that, we both were too young to except it.. But the good thing is, we are growing up together! We are learning together! I know we both could be clumsy in these types of situations, but if Kane is by my side, I will gladly learn everything with her.. No matter what the consequences we have to face in the future, if she believes in me and stands by my side, I know we can achieve anything.."

"But Ranma, think about it! You guys are martial artists! And now, Akane doesn't have any dojo to offer you anymore!".

" Aunt Suki, do ya think I am engaged with 'Kane because of the dojo?" He asked her in a pained voice.

Suki bit her lips and looked down, suddenly feeling ashamed..

Ranma sighs and said seriously,

" Aunt Suki, I have trained my whole life under the open sky.. With no home, no family, no foods! Just recently, after meeting the Tendos, I started valuing all of this…living in a proper house, with family, with delicious foods and security... But.. when the Tendo house broke down, I realized, I never cared for that house or that dojo! All I ever cared about was the family that I made in that house! And when I saw them safe and sound, it's all that mattered for me! Not the Tendo house or that Dojo! I didn't even look back to see what happened to that house or Dojo! The Tendos living with me safely is the only thing that matters for me. Honestly, It's only the Tendos that I want in my life, nothing else.."

Suki couldn't control as a single tear slid down her cheek. She wiped it hurriedly and decided to tell Ranma about what she heard Genma saying about the dojo. She looked at him with determination as she began saying,

"Ranma.."

ring… ring.. ring..*

Suki sighs annoyingly as she angrily pulls the phone out from her pocket. She scrunched her brows together when she saw who was calling her at that moment,

'Why is Josh's mother calling me now?!'.

A/N: I hope you guys are doing fine! I appreciate all the love and reviews you guys are giving to this fic! For limitations of time, I am not able to properly thank you all, but trust me, I am really really really thankful to all of you who are spending their precious time reviewing this fic! It really means a lot!!