Your Touch
by
Jeremy Harper
Disclaimer – Ranma ½ is the creation of Rumiko Takahashi and is used without permission
Note - This chapter is set some months after Not All Tears Are Evil. See the Author's Note for further details (kudos Luna12).
Chapter (X) – Comfort In You
What a miserable day, thought Ranma-chan as she changed into dry clothes. Almost anything that could possibly go wrong had. It started with the Old Man managing to steal almost her entire breakfast and rolled down-hill from there. Getting glomped on the way to school by Shampoo. Getting splashed by the little old ladle lady. Getting glomped by Kuno before getting a chance to change back to masculine form. Getting stuck in the hall holding buckets because the aforementioned glompings had made him late. Ukyo being all passive-aggressive. Principal Kuno hatching another stupid scheme to harass the students. Mousse picking a fight after school because Ranma had the nerve to shout at Shampoo. Getting splashed by the ladle lady again on the way home. Just one indignity after another.
I wonder why I even bother getting up in the morning, Ranma thought sourly as she pulled on a clean muscle-shirt. Oh, that's right – if I don't get up early enough the Old Man chucks me into the koi pond. Bleah. She hopped into a pair of tai-chi pants and left the guest room. She thought for a moment about going to the kitchen for a snack and a cup of hot water but decided it was not worth the effort. Instead she went to Akane's room. She found the door open and Akane not there – she was probably still talking with Kasumi. Ranma walked in and threw herself on the bed, curling up on her side.
A few minutes later Ranma heard footsteps. She looked up and saw Akane standing just inside the doorway, an eyebrow arched and the corners of her mouth twitching in amusement. "And what are you doing?" she asked.
"Sulking," Ranma said. Akane chuckled at the curt answer.
"Isn't that rather childish?" she said as she closed the bedroom door.
"I'm feeling childish right now, so it's appropriate."
"Aw, poor little baby having a bad day?" Akane mock-cooed. Ranma snorted and pointedly looked away. Akane laughed at her petulance. "I want to change, Ranma." Ranma lay still for a moment before rolling onto her back. She pulled a pillow from beneath the bed covers and firmly clamped it over her eyes. She heard Akane snort, and then smiled at the click of the door lock.
Ranma kept the pillow firmly over her eyes as she listened to Akane change clothes. The temption to peek was strong, but Ranma knew her fiancee was facing the bed as she dressed and would catch her. Also, while Ranma enjoyed teasing Akane she was very much against truly upsetting her. Besides, unlike her father, Ranma was capable of passing up instant gratification if something better could be had by waiting. The bed creaked and the pillow was tugged away. Akane was sitting next to her, dressed in light blue sweats. Her smile was gentle as she ran her fingers through Ranma's silky red hair. Ranma sighed softly as she felt something inside her unclench.
"Hey," said Akane.
"Hey," said Ranma, returning her smile. She rolled on her side, back to Akane. Akane settled down next to her, her arms lacing around Ranma's stomach. Ranma sighed again and snuggled back against her fiancee appreciatively. The contact soothed Ranma's frayed nerves, the stress accumulated throughout the day starting to drain away. Her awareness soon contracted into a warm, pleasant haze in which the only things that existed in the universe were herself, Akane and the bed they spooned on.
After a while Akane nuzzled the back of Ranma's head. Ranma murmured happily. "You feeling better?" Akane asked.
"Much," Ranma answered sleepily.
"Good, because it's time to get up. We've been dozing for an hour now, and I want to get my homework done before dinner."
"No," said Ranma. She turned in Akane's embrace, throwing her arms around her fiancee's shoulders and pressing her face into the crook of Akane's neck. "I don't want to. I wanna stay like this forever."
Akane giggled with fond exasperation. "Ranma..."
"Oh, all right. Don't blame me for trying. Just a second." She tightened her hug for a moment, then pulled away and touched her forehead to Akane's. "Thank you."
Akane beamed happily at her, stroking her hair and giving her pig-tail a playful tug. "You're welcome. Will you get me a cookie from the kitchen, please? Kasumi baked a fresh batch today." Ranma nodded and hopped off the bed, whistling as she headed downstairs, her mood much improved.
Author's Note
This chapter is out of sequence with what has occurred previously in Your Touch. As things stand with the last chapter, neither Ranma or Akane, while obviously closer to each other, are ready for such casual intimacy. Yet this vignette popped into my head while I was trying to brainstorm the next chapter of The Burning of Their Blood and refused to leave until I wrote it. I toyed with posting it as an independent story, but ultimately felt it fit best here. I'll eventually move this chapter to its proper place in this series if I ever get so far.
Take care.