Little Shack

By

VICCOLOVE

A/N: WOW finally an update. Iam so sorry it took so long but here it is, a new chapter.

RanmaAndAkane4Love: YES Ranma is still a girl but he will change back in this chapter.

Thank you everyone for your reviews.

Chapter 9

The cottage was small and it felt cozy. It was dark and it seemed there was no electricity.

Ranma had spotted a fireplace and while Akane was changing, he decided to start it.

He went to the kitchen and found what he was looking for, with the matches in his hand he made his way in front of the fireplace, he heated some water and was able to turn back into a boy. Just as he was finishing he heard the door of the bathroom open.

Ranma's POV

I hear the door open behind me and I turned around slowly and . The sight in front of me is the image of an angel. She is standing in front of me, shy, blushing. And did I mention that she is only wearing a cover around her. She is looking at her feet. She looks up at me and she has the cutest pout that I have ever seen. She's probably furious at me but my eyes seem to be busy at the moment. I am staring at her like an idiot! I look up and down, admiring, memorizing, tattooing her in my mind. I feel like I'm blushing so I try to look away, I'm afraid she's going to kill me for being so perverted.

"Why don't you sit next to me, that way you can get warm" he said patting a cushion on the floor next to him. He sure hoped his voice sounded normal but in reality all he felt inside him was a turmoil of emotions clashing with each other.

Akane's POV

I was so mad at him, of all places, why here with him and worst of all, alone. I don't even want to look at him. I am feeling too embarrassed being almost naked in front of him. He asked a question but as soon as I look up I notice that he is not wearing his shirt and my eyes are greeted with the most spectacular sight, his rock-hard muscles. And oh Kami he is built like a God. I find myself worshiping every bit of skin with my eyes. I find my eyes concentrating on his six-pack, going up to his muscled chest and those glorious arms of his. I suppose my favorite part of him, those arms that make me feel so safe and protected.

With that last thought, she finally seemed to get out of her stupor and said with a much higher pitch in her voice than she intended. "You took your shirt off?"

"Yep" he jumped to his feet and put his arms up, flexing his muscles on his arms. "Like what you see?" he joked wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

"Your are such an idiot, that is not funny" she said walking passed him and placing the discarded pieces of clothing on one of the couches.

"Sorry" he said sarcastically and suddenly realized that he had been apologizing an awful lot lately " Does it bother you that I took off my shirt. You've seen me like this before so what's your problem?"

"No that's not my problem. My problem is that everyone is probably having a good time at the dance while we're stuck here" she tried to think of something else that might take HIM out of her mind.

"Well, suddenly it doesn't seem like such a bad idea to be here with you. Were together and that's what really matters, right?" it surprised even himself to hear the truth in voice. The only thing that mattered to him was to be close to her.

Akane looked up at him in surprise and found his eyes; those blue eyes that could make her melt.

Ukyo was more than mad. She was ready to kill someone. Ranma had never shown up and she had been so hurt, but she was determined to find him.

She hurried her way to the school dance. When she got there, she could see that everyone was already there and obviously having a good time. This only made her more mad.

She walked around the gym looking for him. She ran into Yuka, Sayuri, Haroshi and Daisuke who were going to get a drink.

Ukyo seemed upset and it only made Yuka way too happy.

"Hey Ukyo, what are you doing here? Yuka asked with an evil grin.

"Yeah, didn't you have some sort of hot date or something?" questioned Daisuke

"It's the weirdest thing Ukyo, you know, I haven't seen Ranma or Akane, all night" finished Yuka.

With a final grunt of anger Ukyo ran away from there, feeling completely embarrassed and exposed.

Why did Ranma do this to me? This question repeated in her mind over and over.

She ran through the rain, she just wanted to get home and hide from everything and everyone.

But she suddenly heard a rustling in a bush near by, in her devastated state she got scared and jumped into a fighting stance.

She waited for whatever was in the bush to come out, all she could see were two big eyes staring at her. She could see something moving in them but she really couldn't tell who or what it was.

Slowly and frightened, a little black pig, wearing a bandana came out of the bush.

"Ryoga, you jackass, you scared the heck out of me" she exclaimed.

"You idiot got lost again, didn't you?" all Ukyo got for an answer was a "bwee"

She really felt sorry for the poor guy some times, he was completely clueless.

She picked him up and took him home.

Ranma and Akane were sitting next to each other in front of the fireplace, there was silence for the longest moment.

"Who would have thought that we would end up staying in an empty cottage and in front of a fireplace" thinking back on the "date" with Ukyo he remembered what she had told him "You know, Ukyo promised a romantic night, after all, I guess I still got it" he teased.

"Romanic night…keep dreaming Ranma. I am not like Ukyo or any of your fiancées" she sounded somewhere in between angry and sad. Angry for him to even dare compare her to those crazy girls but then sad because they possessed some of the qualities she most desired.

"Even if you wanted, I know you would never be like them" Ranma realized that what he had just said was mentally kicked himself when he saw her expression.

"I know, I'm not cute, I'm built like a brick, my thighs are too big, I don't know how to cook and yada, yada. Don't worry I know my fault by memory, thanks to you" she snapped back.

"No Akane, you are PERFECT the way you are" Ranma was very serious and tried to emphasize the word perfect. Ranma thought about it for a while, that once long ago, he would have been mortified in being so honest about his feelings but he has come a long way. He was afraid that she wouldn't feel the same, but at the moment it just felt right. And he couldn't thank Daisuke and Hiroshi enough. They were finally alone, no meddling parents, no crazy fiancés, no stalkers (Shampoo and Ryoga). It was just the two of them. He was still blushing like crazy and was having difficulty meeting her gaze but as soon as he had said it, it was as if a gigantic weight was lifted from his shoulders.

Akane brought him out of his reverie "What, am I supposed to be laughing or what?" she asked sarcastically.

"No Akane, I'm being very serious, this is no joke. Don't you get it, I…You want to know the truth. Well, I... I like you just the way you are. If it wasn't for this stupid dance and all those guys trying to get close to you, I don't think I would have admitted it sooner" He was looking into her eyes. Pleading for understanding, he wanted her to know how much he cared for her. He wanted to show her how much he l…loved her. She looked down, he placed his hand under her chin and forced her to look back at him.

Akane saw his intention, he was moving closer and closer. She didn't know what to do, how could this be happening? Why now?

Ranma felt Akane back away, she stood up and walked away from him.

"Akane wait…"

"No Ranma, don't worry I understand"

"Akane everything I just said is true. You…please don't tell me your thinking that I wanted to take advantage of the situation"

"I know you Ranma. I know you would never try something like that, especially with me. It's just that how can you be thinking about kissing me when you clearly like Ukyo, isn't that the reason that you asked her to the dance. Even if we don't get along, I do respect her and I don't think is fair to her. That is dishonorable."

"You don't get it. You're the one I like. The only one that I want to be with!" he was so close to her that it made her shiver.

"Maybe your feelings are confuse right now. Sometimes people can confuse friendship with love…" before she could continue he cut her off.

"I am not confused. We have been friends all this time but that has nothing to do with the way I feel about you" what the hell are you doing his mind kept screaming at him. It's obvious that she doesn't want to be with you, just give it a rest.

"Well right now you have Ukyo and she's the only one you should be thinking about ok."

"But Ukyo is just a friend. You're the one I want to be with. Don't you get it. I love it when you smile at me. No one in the world knows how to call me "baka" they way you do. I love it when you hit me when I screw up" he took her had and lightly hit his forehead with it. This made Akane smile, which was a sign that he was finally getting through to her. "In my messed up life, you're the only thing I have ever been thankful for" he said as quick as lighting

"No, the truth is that you are with Ukyo and the only thing that I can offer you is my friendship so just drop it" she picked up her clothes that were already dry and walked to the bathroom to change.

Ranma sat there he just couldn't believe how stubborn Akane was being. What did he have to do to convince her that he didn't care about any other girl, that he only cared about her.

Akane came out of the bathroom in that beautiful dress that she was wearing before. It was now that he really looked at her, and all his mind scream was WOW. His next thoughts were along the lines of: she looks beautiful, the dress shows off her curves perfectly…shut up, shut up, shut up. What the hell is wrong with you! You are acting like a complete pervert!

His eyes were roaming her form, he started at her feet, how many times have those tiny feet hit me before. The thought made him smile, it reminded him how many times he had messed up.

He slowly moved his gaze up, to those perfect legs that were hidden under that dress. He stared at them, trying to mold them with his eyes through the fabric. His eyes moved yet again to her mid section, those perfect hips. Her tiny waist, and her toned stomach. He wondered how it would feel under his hand. Her chest, the perfect size. Her mouth, it seemed to tempt him, seemed so inviting. Her tiny, little nose it fit her face perfectly. Her eyes, so full of love, tenderness and passion. Her passion of love for martial arts, for life. Her hair, those silk strands that were a treat to his nose.

Akane was feeling uncomfortable, she felt Ranma practically making wholes with his gaze.

"Stop it you pervert, what are you even looking at?"

"Nothing, just thinking"

"About what?"

"About the day we met"

"God you really are a pervert!"

"No, no, not that" he objected "It's just that, remember the first thing that you ever said to me?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked in an irritated tone.

"Well, you know, about us being friends" there was a sad smile on his face

"You mean before I knew you were a liar AND a pervert" she snapped back almost loosing control at his boldness.

"You have no idea how much that meant to me because I really did want to be your friend" there was sadness in his eyes and it really made Akane feel guilty at the way she treated him after she had found out about his curse.

"Did I hurt you that much?" her question was unexpected and surprising to him.

"Yes and no. I realize that I wasn't completely honest with you since the beginning and I can only imagine what you felt when you saw me, the real me, and on top of everything, I was naked. Considering you history with guys, I guess I sort of understand your reaction…you know, sort of"

"So I hurt you, but you hurt me too" she stated in a matter-of-factly way.

"Yes, but that's it. I insulted you because I felt threatened. You challenged me and I felt threatened so I acted the way I was taught, I put you down. I know its stupid but that's just the way my tiny little brain works. When something scares me, I try to block it away"

"I scared you?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes, it scared me how straightforward you were with me, I had never met anyone like you before. You challenged me. You don't let anyone step on you, you don't let anyone tell you what to do. "

"So that's it. Am I just someone you want to break in, I'm not a hoarse you know! " she put her hands on her hips which meant that she was getting upset.

"No, No, No!" he said in a panic putting his hands in front of him, defensively. "You're like me"

"What do you mean?"

"We never do what we're told. we don't just sit there and take it, we try to do something about it. We are always misunderstood. We are stubborn to the end. We're completely independent, that's why we became martial artist. We're not like anyone else. That's why you're my best friend because you're the only one that understand me. You don't expect anything from me and you're there for me, no matter what. I think that means something, don't you?"

There you go!

Hope you liked it and was worth the wait.

I wans't really planning on it but should I make a Ryoga/Ukyo paring?

Let me know what you think

Later. :)