Clumsy at Love
Chapter 26: Terrified
Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½
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Ranma scanned the ground, hoping to find his runaway wife.
He had expected her to escape but did not expect it sooner.
He wanted her to stay beside him the whole night to chase these annoying girls away from him. And show her off a bit to his colleagues.
But as soon as he took his eyes off her, she fled. He groaned, looking around once more, somehow hoping to find her.
Kasumi chuckled. "We only have two options where to find her. It's either in her garage or in her bedroom," she suggested.
"Oh, Akane escaped again." Commented Doctor Ono, chuckling as well.
"I'll help you find her." volunteered Nabiki, snaking her slender arm around his masculine one.
"Uh ~ " He was about to object and remove Nabiki's arm, but Kasumi exclaimed, grabbing their attention.
"There she is! And there's father, too!" Kasumi cried happily, glad to see Akane and their father walking side by side. She had waited so long for this moment to happen. It's like a dream come true for her. So, as they stood within her reach, she held out her hands and held theirs. "Papa, it's time for you to blow your cake," she said. "Akane, come with us," she added, directing them towards the mini stage. "Come on, Nabiki."
As Akane was being swept by Kasumi, her eyes lingered on Ranma's arm, where Nabiki's arm had just vanished.
What's with that? When did they ever get so close?
She looked up and met Ranma's eyes, who smiled sweetly at her, but she turned her back on him as if she did not see him.
Seeing their linked arms had her confused... and then unnerve her.
Ugh! I'm crazy... Crazy for distrusting her sister and getting jealous over what's not hers.
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"We're going home now, father," said Ranma.
"Why don't you stay the night?" Their father suggested. "You look tired and both a little drunk."
"Right," Ranma said, agreeing at once. "We should stay the night," he added, looking at stunned Akane.
"We can't." She disagreed.
"But why my dear? Actually, I was hoping you could stay for the weekend."
"That's great!" Ranma agreed once more without stopping a beat. "We're staying till Sunday then."
"Oh! Thank you, Ranma. You're the best!" Kasumi said, clapping her hands in delight.
"B ~ but..." Akane faltered, afraid that she might offend her father and Kasumi if she insisted. "Alright, we'll stay," she mumbled in defeat.
"Well, off you go two and rest well," Kasumi said, pushing them inside the house. "Good night!"
Akane's mouth hung open while looking back at her drunken sister. But Ranma hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her inside.
"What do you think you're doing?" she snarled. "You should have insisted on going home."
"But your father is right. We are both tired and drunk."
"B~but what about the notion that we're staying for the weekend?"
"It's your father's birthday request, Akane. Why don't you just give in?"
"B ~ but..." She stammered, then groaned, realizing she lost again.
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Akane opened her bedroom door and let Ranma in. She knew it! The guest rooms would all be occupied. She grumbled yet again.
"What's wrong? It's not like this is the first time we will be sleeping in the same room," he remarked, seeing her agitated.
"There is only one bed in this room in case you haven't noticed yet." she retorted.
He snorted. "It's not like we haven't slept in the same bed as well," She blushed, remembering the instance.
"My bed is smaller than yours, can't you see?!" she snapped back.
"The size of the bed doesn't matter, dummy." He told her, chuckling. "What mattered is the intentions of those who'll sleep on it," He then removed his coat and plunged himself on the bed, dismissing her.
He is right. She thought. Being in the same room with her does not affect him one bit. Being in the same bed with her will be no different either. Well, at least for him. And it's pretty obvious why. He does not see her as a woman worst, maybe not even as a girl. Her worries are rather silly now that she figured it out. She sighed dejectedly.
Scowling, she turned her back on him and walked to the closet to get a fresh set of clothes before stepping into the bathroom.
As she shuts the door, Ranma's eyes flew open and then sighed. He knew that this arrangement was tough for her... sleeping in the same bed with the enemy, sleeping next to him. But his selfish self wanted this.
Akane walked out of the bathroom, sat on the unoccupied side of the bed, and glanced at Ranma.
He must be so tired to doze off with his party clothes still on.
Cautiously, she laid down beside him.
He is way too close. She frets. She could literally feel the warmth of his body and inhale his manly scent.
Oh, this is gonna be a long night for her. she cried to herself.
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Moments later, Akane's breathing slowed and steadied. Ranma then turned to his side and stared.
This is exactly what he wanted, just simply lying next to her, not high above her. He then reached out and put strands of hair astray away from her pretty face.
To his surprise, she moved closer and tucked her head underneath his armpit, mortifying him.
He couldn't believe this. He thought he knew himself inside and out. He knew exactly what his strengths and weaknesses were and when to use them to his advantage.
He esteemed himself as a man who is always in control no matter what the circumstances are. Even he's drunk. Not a single soul has ever succeeded in trying to seduce him and lure him to bed... At least, not without his permission.
That's exactly the reason why he's so confident in this predicament. He thought he could easily handle this, being next to Akane's sweet-smelling, warm and slender body. He gulped at the thought.
God, what did I get myself into? He groaned, realizing that this one was damn far from being easy.
You see, another wrong move from this lady will be the death of his famous self-control.
Staring at the ceiling and holding in his breath for a while somehow helps slow down his wild beating heart but not enough to calm his raging hormones.
Darn, it, Ranma… just hug her if you want to.
And so, he did.
And that somehow does the trick.
"Hey, Akane… are you really asleep?"
He waited. No response as expected and hoped it would be.
"I want to thank you for today. Thank you for the support and your presence alone. You look exceptionally beautiful tonight." He whispered, and Akane's eyes flew open upon hearing what he had to say.
"I'm sorry I wasn't able to tell you this when you're awake. I just couldn't ~ because you know that would sound sad and pathetic. Words like "like", "care" or "love" between us are rather odd and simply out of the question."
Sad and pathetic? Odd? Out of the question? Why? What's with those? She thought. He's confusing me.
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It's almost high noon now. And Akane is still sitting on her bed, although she's been wide awake for hours.
She doesn't want to walk out of her safe zone yet. She's still wasn't ready to face everyone and still digesting the events last night.
Her reconciliation with her father overwhelmed her.
Her doubts towards her sister Nabiki make her feel bad.
And Ranma's words and deed last night that don't coincide.
Suddenly the door opened, revealing his absurdly stunning husband even in her father's clothes. "You're finally awake." He said.
She looked away, trying to hide any feelings that her look might give out.
"Why? Does your head hurts?" He asked worriedly, walking in.
"No!" She snapped. "Go away!"
His expression staggered. "Right, I'm sorry." He told her. "Father had asked me to see if you're awake. Lunch is ready." He informed her and walked out.
Ugh! She groaned as the door slammed shut.
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After lunch, her father had brought her into a room she never knew had existed in their house. It's an old and abandoned storage room but full of wonders. It's where her father keeps all her mom's memories like journals, photos, and precious stuff. He showed them to her and told her all about it, making her stay super worth it.
"Oh, it's almost time for dinner. Let us go back now. Kasumi might have already looking for us." Her father said and then stood up. "Aww, my back is killing me."
"Do you mind if I stay a little longer?" She asked, looking around, and her father understood it.
"Don't stay too long." He said, then left.
Akane happily scanned the storage room once more before sitting in front of the pile of boxes and started opening another one.
This one's odd. She thought. Why it is so sealed and had no label, unlike the rest of the other boxes.
She opened the box and found unopened gifts and letters. Many of them. She picked up one envelope and found her name on it. She picked another one and still found her name on it. She picked one small box and found her name on it. She picked another box, the biggest one, and still found her name.
What's all of this? Is it from mom? For me?
She hurriedly opened one, and her heart started pounding hard and fast as she read.
Hey, Akane!
What's up? How are you doing? Did you receive my previous letter? Did you read them? How about the gift I sent for your birthday? I hope you didn't throw it away. You used to tell me that you really like that book and the author as well. I tried hard to search for that book when I heard that author's name would be our guest speaker. I didn't know that book was top-rated, huh? It was hard to find, and availing one was a battle. But anyway, I finally got hold of one on my hand and have it signed, then sent it to you right away. So, enjoy it!
Sincerely,
Ranma
It's from Ranma!
Akane rummaged through the box once more, searched for a package shaped like a book, and found one. She opened it and there it is... The Alchemist book with Paolo Coelho's signature on it!
"And here I thought he's ignoring me when I'm blabbering about books." She muttered.
She took another letter and read again.
Hey, Akane!
I've run out of things to say. So, I decided for this letter to be a confession letter. And, here I go.
You know, back then when I read the letter you gave I was so, so happy. Happy because it's you, it's from you, and that you like me too.
I like you as well... But the me, being young and stupid, could never easily admit that to you. Well, not in front of everyone. Because back then… I'm more afraid that my reputation of being the coolest guy on the campus would be tarnished.
I'm sorry for putting myself first though I like you.
A tear fell from Akane's eyes. "He liked me." She whimpered while holding the letter close to her heart.
She continued opening the rest of the boxes and found her favorite things in them. There were books, stuffed toys, and other things that were colored purple, which is her favorite color. There were also postcards with different "sorry" and "I miss you" arts.
Gosh, he had gone to this extreme, and she had no idea.
Has she even heard about this?
But still, seeing how he worked hard writing you letters and sending you gifts via airmail ~
Aunt Hinako had mentioned it once to her!
So, who received these things and kept them all inside here? Why has she never seen one or heard about this?
She picked up the whole box and took it with her, determined to find the answers to her questions.
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Odd. The entire house is quiet. She glanced at the wall clock and found that it was almost midnight.
She walked straight to Kasumi's room, but she was not in there. She also peeked inside her father's room and found him asleep.
She decided to leave the box she was carrying inside her room before going down to the kitchen.
She slowly opened her bedroom door and hoping not to catch Ranma's attention. But to her surprise, he's still not yet in. Well, that's good. She thought while walking in casually and hiding the box underneath her bed.
She then walked down the stairs and found Kasumi sleeping on the sofa with wine and snacks on the center table.
But where's Nabiki and Ranma?
She looked up, eyeing Nabiki's room. It's the only room she hadn't searched yet. She then ran up and paused in front of Nabiki's door, hesitating. Her heart started pounding hard and fast against her chest.
She's too scared to realize what's behind the closed door. Is she gonna find Ranma in there? Alone with Nabiki?
She shook her head and gathered all up the courage and will she could muster to open the damned closed door.