At home, he shoves his palm harder into his jaw, his fingers drumming on the table. Even cross-legged, he's bouncing in place, only seeing the images flashing across the screen without any focus.

It's dark already. Where the hell is she?

"I'm gonna stay after school today," she said. "Just go on home. And make sure you stay the hell out of my way."

Okay, she didn't say that but she may as well have, with how cold and distant she sounded. And at first he was confused, because it was so out of nowhere.

And then it ticked him right off.

He was muttering under his breath the whole way home, and even now, he's just barely resisting the urge to break something. She's always sending him into a whirl, flip-flopping between moods like a goddamn light switch.

The thing with her is that he can always tell right away when something changed in her. It can just be a sparkle or a dimming light in her eyes. A twitch or a split second of hesitation. He can see how she's feeling, but almost never why, and it drives him fucking nuts.

He hears the chatter behind him, but ignores it. He's so lost in his thoughts that he forgot he wasn't alone.

"I'll wait for you in school. Or do you really have to stay? It's gonna be dark soon. And the cold's gonna get worse," he said.

She shook her head, a nauseatingly fake smile on her face. "I won't be long, Ranma. It's alright. I'll see you later, okay?"

"But—" he started, only to be cut off by her walking off with a wave.

He scoffs at the memory. That girl is unbelievable.

"Are you alright, Ranma?" Soun says.

"Ah, you know how he gets. Just leave him be," his father says, the sound of shifting pieces grating to his ears.

"Hmm… I wonder where Akane is? It's getting awfully cold…" Nabiki says, like she knows exactly what's going on. He has to force himself to relax to not give too much away, but he's sure she caught it. He can feel her evil smirk burning into his back.

"Dinner's almost ready!" Kasumi calls.

Great. And still no sign of that moron.

"Boy, are you worried about Akane?" Soun asks, a sudden stillness in the air. "Why don't you go check for her, then?"

He growls before tearing his gaze away from the tv. "She doesn't want me to."

Nabiki whistles. "Ooo… haven't seen this in awhile, Ranma baby."

He rolls his eyes. "Oh, please, Nabiki, don't start."

She raises her brows and turns her attention back to the magazine in her hands. "Whatever you say."

He huffs and turns back around, arms crossed tightly across his chest. His thoughts trail back to the day. She'd been… herself. Like, the good parts of herself. That only people who deserve it see.

So what made him stop deserving it, then?! She was happy with him, wasn't she?

Maybe… it started… in gym?

She was fine until the end of the period. When she stopped paying attention. Why did that make him so sad? It was like she was his good luck charm, making him play even better than usual, and that's saying something. So he was really happy about it, especially when she started looking at him again. Like, really happy, all over and everywhere.

So it just kinda came over him. And yeah, he kinda sorta winked at her.

And then after that, he couldn't stop looking at her.

He doesn't understand how someone can make surprise look so pretty. She froze, but somehow, he knew she was hot all over, just like he was. He just did it, and it felt right too.

So what if she just… took it the wrong way?

What's the right way, anyway?

He pouts. Did she think he was just playing with her? Teasing her in a bad way?

Before he can dive deeper into his personal dissection of that oversensitive brute of a girl, he hears footsteps approaching outside. He's at the front door before he even realizes he's moved.

A gust of frigid wind hits him square in the face, but he stays still. Arms crossed. And pissed.

Her eyes go wide for a second before she chuckles lightly. "You scared me, Ranma. Sorry I took so long."

She bends down to take her boots off. He doesn't even blink as she removes her coat. Just continues to stare.

She's shivering. Of course she is. Because she just had to not go home with him. Alright.

Was she… limping?

"Could you let me pass, Ranma?" she says softly, and if he wasn't starting to fucking fume, he would ease up.

He flares his nostrils as his eyes rake down her legs, finding one of them to be slightly bent, like she can't put pressure on it.

He drops down to his knees and grabs the back of hers, tugging her forward.

"Ah, Ranma, what're you doing?!" she cries, stumbling forward, but he steadies her right quick.

He lifts her leg slightly to get a closer look. Her tights are torn at the knee, a nasty scrape having broken the skin. The blood is half dried already from the cold. And there's a lot of it.

He looks up at her, grip tight on her calf. "Are you kidding me?"

She tears herself away and hmphs. "So what? I fell. It's not a big deal."

"Well maybe if you weren't so damn stubborn and clumsy…"

"Do you think I wanted it to happen? That my goal for today was to hurt myself? Please, Ranma, spare me. I'm tired." She turns her nose in the air in that arrogant way of hers and begins to walk off, but he only trails after her.

"Of course you're tired. You wouldn't be so freaking tired if you acted like a normal person and come home at a reasonable time."

He feels the stares of everyone in the living room. He thinks their fathers might be crying tears of joy. For what? Scolding her? She should already know how to act by now!

"You're not my father! Even he doesn't complain this much! I had to do some important work, and it ended up taking longer than I thought! I'm sooo sorry!" she bites back, turning to face everyone. "I'm gonna take a bath!"

"O-okay, Akane, I'll leave your dinner on the side, alright?" Kasumi says, trying to break the tension, but it does absolutely nothing.

"And clean that wound while you're at it! See if I care!" he calls after her as she hobbles up the stairs, not even turning to stick out her tongue.

So she's gonna ignore him now, huh?

No. He's not having that.

He runs after her, skipping steps and barging into her room, where she immediately rolls her eyes at the sight of him.

She's so fucking strange! Now she can't stand me again! I don't get it!

"What's with the sudden attitude change? Huh?" he barks, trying to close the distance between them only for her to back away.

"Me?! What about you?!" she yells. "Why are you so upset? I've done this plenty of times before!"

He grinds his teeth together, fists clenching on either side.

What's he… how can he… what can he say?

Why is he upset, exactly?

Except he actually knows. He just can't seem to tell her. He thinks he'd rather die.

He scoffs. There's no point in dragging this. He turns back and grabs the doorknob. "Whatever, 'kane. Enjoy your bath."

He waits for a bit, just to see if she'll stop him. But she doesn't. He leaves.


Stupid Ranma. Always acting like a freaking jerk.

She rubs at her eyes. No, she will not cry. There is no reason to cry over this.

Or maybe she's just getting her period. And everything is just too much right now.

Especially him.

Especially. Ranma.

Getting in her face. Touching her like that. And scolding her like he has any right to.

Ergh! The worst part is… she liked it! Like some twisted individual! Seeing him so worried about her, it… it… whew.

Okay. Maybe I really am getting my period. How can I be this emotional over something so dumb?

She hugs her knees to her chest and sighs, inspecting her wound. It looks a lot worse than it feels.

Okay, she's lying. But only because he had to go on and talk about how clumsy she is… it's not her fault the ground was uneven! And that she happened to hit it with her foot and fall! She gently rinses it and hisses at the sting. This one is going to be a nasty scab.

Once she gets overheated, she decides to wash off properly, doing her absolute best to ignore how sensitive her body feels. It's like she's vibrating with the strange energy from the inside out, and it's begging to be interacted with. But it feels like something she can't come back from. Something she's not ready to admit. Really, she might never be.

She carefully dries herself off and puts her underwear on, something white with a little red rose. She'll dress her wound once it fully dries. She'd left her pajamas to warm on the radiator, and she can't wait to just eat and go to bed and sleep the next morning away. School and the weather and whatever is happening between her and Ranma has left her exhausted in more ways than one. That's what I get for caring, I guess.

She tightly wraps a towel around her and opens the door a crack, checking the hallway for anyone. Thankfully Happosai wasn't here to make her even more paranoid. She quietly pads across the wooden floor, leaving tiny imprints of her toes along the way. Her wet hair drips down her back. The heat she'd felt is fading fast, now.

She opens her bedroom door, soaking in the sight of the moonlight pouring prettily over her floor. It soothes her.

Gently, she walks inside, finally relaxing again.

Until she hears a bang and then an oof.

She spins to the direction of the sound, gripping her pounding heart. "Who's there?" she calls as she searches for a weapon.

Then there's a presence at her back — she whips around, bat in hand, ready to strike only to be caught by the wrist, forcing her to let go.

They're both breathing heavily. She doesn't understand why. He's so close, his nose nearly touching hers as his eyes bore into her soul.

"Ran-ma," she whispers, voice cracking in the middle.

He blinks, like he doesn't even know why he's here. It's not like she knows, either. "My bad, 'kane. I wasn't trying to scare ya."

His grip loosens, but he doesn't let go. So she makes him. She steps back, holding the towel close to her chest. "Why are you here?"

"W-well, I, I, uhh…"

Her anger bursts. How can he always push her to the edge like this? "Were you trying to spy on me again?"

"No! I swear, I didn't even know you weren't… dressed…" he trails off, looking more and more nervous.

And here he goes again, never giving her a straight answer. All he ever does is confuse her!

She squeezes her eyes shut and stands tall, trying to stifle the incoming onslaught of emotions. Is it always gonna be like this with him? Some vicious cycle of misunderstandings, of unspoken feelings, of pride winning over intimacy?

What am I thinking of, now? What is this feeling?

She tries her best. She really does. But the tears still come, trying to drop down like shards of ice in the unbearable heat between them.

How much longer can I take this? He can never just tell me what it is he's feeling… about me. For me.

And it's still doing so many things to her body. Making it crave things she can't even name.

She scrunches her face, feeling it get red. Oh, no.

"'kane, what's wrong?! Please, I wasn't trying to do anything weird, I swear!" he says, drawing closer but she pulls herself away almost violently.

"So what were you trying to do, huh? Yell at me some more? Start another fight? You make no sense, Ranma!"

"How don't I make sense? Hey, tell me why you're crying!"

He grabs her wrists and forces her to look at him, but she is not having it. She lifts one leg and shoves her foot into his side, pushing him off. "Don't touch me."

"Why not?" he seethes, giving into his own anger. "You're my fiancée, aren't you? I'm not hurting you, Akane!"

She laughs bitterly. "How exactly am I yours, Ranma?" And how aren't you hurting me?

He growls and she gasps as he wraps his large hands around her wrists again, his hold even firmer than before. "Do I really need to tell you?"

He's looking at her the same way he did this morning. But it's… more. It's more, and it's so much, too much, and it's like swallowing fire. Her skin is crackling with the heat of it. Her heart is ablaze. The syrup coats the lining of her insides, filling her like fuel so she can keep on burning.

Her name sounds like smoke when it comes off his tongue. She can almost see it in the air between them, but his eyes are still crystal clear beyond it, heavy with emotions she's never learned about.

She reacts.

Outside of her own volition. She saw him lean in, just slightly, and immediately, she had to run.

She escapes his hold and shoves him back hard by the chest towards the door, and scrambles towards her bed. "Ranma, leave."

He shakes his head, nostrils flaring. "No," he sneers, approaching her, and it thrills her.

What the hell is the matter with me?!

She scrambles away from him, wondering if she wants to get away or get caught.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he says, the tiniest bit of hurt slipping through his teeth and it stuns her for a second. Long enough for him to swoop in and grab her by her upper arms. "Enough of this."

But she pulls her arms back and slams her forearms against his chest. She takes the opening and heads for the door, but before she can even touch the knob, he grabs her by the waist and throws her onto the bed.

She's kicking and punching, only hitting air half the time, but it doesn't matter — he's stronger than her and she hates it. She looks up at him with as much venom as she can muster, chin dropped to her chest, and he takes the chance to slide his hands up underneath her arms. He stops right before her elbows and pushes down once, like he's securing her in place.

He returns her stare. "Stop."

But it only makes her go again.

She manages to drive her heel into his back. He grunts and she smirks.

"Oh, yeah?" he seethes.

She's not ready for it.

He hooks one leg over her hip, trapping her bad leg under his. She can feel the bottom of his thigh against the top of her own.

With her free leg, she tries to land another blow, but somehow he pulls it straight against his torso, her ankle over his shoulder. But she can't give up — she squirms against him, tossing her foot to the side of his head until his teeth sink into her calf.

And he bites. Hard.

Hard enough for her to cry out and still. She already feels the bruise forming. She writhes, hands slipping under her pillow and gripping it as she waits for the pain to ebb away.

"You… bit me!" she cries, tears in the corners of her eyes. "Ow!"

That's… enough. No more of this. She's not some wild animal that needs to be tamed!

So she musters all of her strength. Ready to break free.

Until.

His hands are hot on hips.

When had her towel ridden up?

"Ra—"

It's all she manages to say before he presses his thumbs down into her stomach and pushes the air out of her lungs.

She's left stunned. Stupid. Gaping at him in disbelief. The guilt in his eyes does nothing to bring her back.

But his gentle touch skimming over her skin does.

He cups her hips into his palms, squeezing gently. Then he runs his fingertips over them, across the low part of her belly, igniting, igniting, igniting…

"'kane," he breathes, the harshness of it flowing over her stomach.

When had he gotten there?

"R-relax…" he says, unsure, and she can do anything but.

She's frozen. Paralyzed by overwhelm.

By how good it all feels.

But… why? Why can't she… why does it frighten her? How badly she wants it?

And just as his lips brush over her tummy, she jolts back to life, grabbing the collar of his shirt and searching him with panicked eyes.

"Ranma," she says, voice shaking. "What. Are. You. Doing?"

Instantly, he's horrified. Ashamed.

No. How does she erase it?

"Ranma," she breathes, smiling shakily. "No, it's okay."

He tilts his head, like a guilty, confused puppy. "Huh?"

She nods, rolling her lips together, trying to breathe properly. She lets go of his shirt, bringing her knees to her chest.

Does he… regret it?

She shuts her eyes. Chokes back the fresh tears. "Yeah," she says quietly. "Good night, Ranma."

For once, he takes the cue and leaves, but she doesn't watch him this time.

How can she be so happy and sad at the same time? So elated, yet hopeless?

How can she make this ache go away?

She shivers alone in her room, her only companion the winter moon.


It's looking like another sleepless night.

While his father snored away beside him, flat on his back as a panda, he blinks his burning eyes at the ceiling.

Each flash of the memory of her shocks him to the core, turning his stomach over and over in a way that he wishes wasn't so pleasant.

How she fought with him. It's turned him on before, but never that much.

How creamy and smooth her skin was. He can still feel the ghost of her full hips in his palms.

How she looked at him. The way she's been looking at him lately, and all day today. Like she likes it, too.

A little too much.

There's no way she's not feeling what I am.

But then he thinks back to the tears in her eyes, and the doubt slaps him right in the face. He lifts his hands up and stares at them. She knows I'd never really hurt her. Doesn't she?

The guilt has been sitting in his gut like a brick underwater. He doesn't want to feel it. He's not really sure if he should, but he does, and it keeps holding him back.

Holding him back from what, exactly? Giving into what his body craves?

Why does my body crave you, Akane?

And at just the thought of her name, he bites his lip as the heat of it shoots down.

Oh, 'kane, baby.

He squeezes his eyes shut and shifts his hips, like he'll find the friction he needs there.

I can't do that to you when I'm not sure if my heart craves you, too.

Maybe it's all excuses. Maybe he's getting desperate again. Trying to avoid the best solution to his problems because it requires him being weak.

Every part of him begs for rest. But his mind is cruel to him, playing over the prettiest things about her nonstop. Her tiny waist and the flare of her hips. The shape of her legs. How it tasted when he bit down.

God, he wants to bite her everywhere.

What does that say about him?

He just wants to do things to her that he's not sure other human beings do. Does that make him the grossest pervert out there?

At this rate, probably.

His lips twist into a frown. He slides his hand onto his stomach, remembering how hers felt. Definitely a lot softer than his.

The little pocket of fat, right below her cute little belly button. He doesn't have that. He's noticed that on girls. He always thought it looked nice. But on her, it looked…

He doesn't know. He doesn't even know. He just wants to touch it, bite it, kiss—

Kiss.

A blush rises to his cheeks.

He was about to kiss her.

How much of a dumbass can I be?

Why is she making him lose control? What exactly is she doing to him?

He can't escape her anywhere. She's always around. They're always gravitating towards each other, no matter what. Maybe he should've savored it when she was gone!

But even then, she was still in his head.

And now he hasn't been able to sleep for days because all he dreams about is her.

Doing what must be illegal things to him.

He exhales harshly, embarrassed at how sensitive he's become to everything about her.

His brain conjures up the dirtiest things. Things he never once admitted to himself he wanted to do to her. And he pays the price for it every time he wakes in a sweat, his dick throbbing and begging for her.

He groans and slips his hand down over his boxers, squeezing himself fully. If only it were her touching him. If only.

Her underwear… was so cute.

He groans again and rubs himself once, twice, so hard and he keeps the pressure, trying to even his breath.

No. No, I can't do it… like this…

Not when he wasn't sure how she felt.

Fuck.

He scrubs his face harshly, cursing his own existence. Can't he catch a fucking break?!

Maybe he's just meant to suffer.

And it's all her fault.

But that's a lie. A dirty, filthy, obvious lie. He exhales. She'll be haunting his dreams tonight, anyway.