Clumsy at Love

Chapter 32: Clumsy at Love

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½

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Akane got up from her bed cautiously, scanned the room, and heaved a sigh of relief. And as expected, Ranma is nowhere to be found. She hardly slept last night because of him. She tried twisting the meaning of his earnest words and taking his sad expression the wrong way, but it was impossible. She'll be deceiving herself big time if she could. So, by dawn, she finally made peace with herself, accepting the fact that, maybe... he's for real.

The problem now is… she didn't know what to say, what to do or how to react. No one had ever confessed to her before. She didn't know how to face him either. She didn't know that being on the receiving end of that confession was also nerve-wracking. She sighed.

Then she heard her phone ring. She reached out and found Aunt Hinako's name flashing on the screen. She gladly answered it at once.

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An hour later, Akane and Aunt Hinako were sitting inside their favorite meeting place when they were planning her wedding.

"How are you, dear?"

"I'm doing great," she replied cheerfully. "How about you?"

The middle-aged lady shook her head and waved her hand. "Oh, nothing new… except for the fact that the stiffness of my shoulders and backaches is becoming more and more frequent. So, how's married life going?" She then asked, eyeing her with great interest.

Akane blushed with Ranma's intense stare flashing through her mind. And then she heard it again. "… I love you, and I mean it." And her heart skipped a beat again for the millionth time since last night.

Akane looked up, startled to meet Aunt Hinako's eyes, and then blushed again. There it is again, her famous knowing smile.

"Look at you, blushing… it's a pleasant sight to see! I never thought Ranma would have been able to keep his wife blushing." Aunt Hinako commented, teasing her.

"No, I didn't… I wasn't blushing, not at all." She stuttered her palms on her red, hot cheeks.

Aunt Hinako laughed even harder. "I'll take that your married life has been doing great as well." She concluded.

Her married life is far from doing great, but it wasn't bad either. Ranma has been treating her fairly and kindly. Actually, he's doing a lot more than that. He had offered her opportunities. He gave her hope, strength, and the push she needed to come out of her shell and be the better version of herself. He often protected her from others and even saved her from herself. He's been warm, and gentle, and caring. Though she mostly hurt him in return instead. And she, always, always… doubted his intentions no matter how hard he tried. A tear fell from her eyes. And another one. She wiped it instantly with the back of her hand. "I'm in love with my husband." She confessed and could tell that Aunt Hinako was a little surprised.

"Of course, you are." She replied, smiling warmly.

"But I don't know how to show him." She told her in a small voice. It's true. She finds it difficult to show how she really feels in any relationship ever since she lost her mother. So, she got to admit to herself that she's clumsy at love and that she needs help and somebody's advice.

When she looked up, she found it again... Aunt Hinako's knowing smile. And knew in her heart that it would all be fine.

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Make sure to have quality time together. She recited in her head. It's the very first thing to do from Aunt Hinako's list to show affection to someone.

Ranma arrived later that Saturday evening with his fishing gear. So, he spent his entire day fishing. She thought as she watched him roam around their bedroom, preparing to take a bath, she presumes. While she sat on the couch by the window, pretending to read a book. When their eyes met, she was caught off guard and couldn't say a word. But he nodded. Thankfully, she managed to nod in return.

This is harder than she thought it would. It was sort of… terrifying. But she'll try again.

When Ranma reentered the room, all showered and refreshed… and her pesky untamed heart did a backflip. Seriously, his gorgeousness is not helping. She groaned.

He then sat down on his office chair and started tapping on his laptop. That's when she decided to put down her props, tuck some wild strands of her hair behind her ear and then get down to business. "Hey, have you eaten?" She asked, holding out her breath while she waited for his response.

He stopped striking the keyboard at once and sat there frozen for a moment before replying. "I already did."

Gosh, that was scary!

"Ah," Now, what?

"I'm hungry, but there's nothing on the fridge or the cupboard that I like. I was thinking maybe you could accompany me to… uh, eat out." There. I said it. She breathes.

Ranma finally lifted his stare from his monitor, glancing at her. "Actually, I brought you dinner."

"Oh," She uttered, chewing her lower lip. "Do you want to eat it with me?" she asked daringly. She could literally hear and feel her heart thumping on her chest.

Ranma blinked once. And then blinked again.

"Uh, never mind… if you're still full." She reverted, looking away, got up, about to run away.

"I think I should eat again." He then said, getting up as well. "I'm a bit hungry now, maybe because of the long drive home." He explained, finally meeting her startled eyes.

She wasn't expecting him to say yes, but that was actually her aim!

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"Do you want to watch a movie together after I wash the dishes?" She tried again after an awful, awkward silence over dinner.

He chuckled. "We both knew you hate watching movies."

"I did?" She asked, taken aback. She thought of the movies she had watched before. And a smug smile graces her lips as a lot has come to her mind. And then her smile eventually fades, recalling she started watching a lot but doesn't remember ever finishing one.

Ranma grinned. "It's either you dozed while watching the movies you had in mind, or you overly criticized it and walked out in the midst of it.

She blushed. He's right. How come he knew me so well?

"But we could try." She heard him say, and warmth spread across her heart. "That was a long time ago." He added. He's always like this, making her feel good inside and consistently trying to take her negativity away.

"Thank you…" Her words came out in a whisper.

Give him words of affirmation. She heard Aunt Hinako's words in her ears.

"You are the best!" She added, giving him a stiff thumbs up and an awkward smile.

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Quality time, check.

Words of affirmation, check.

Acts of service, check.

Giving of gifts, check.

Physical touch… She felt the sudden rush of heat on her face. How the hell am I going to do that?

She stole a glance at Ranma, who was busy reading the newspaper on a bright Sunday morning. They just finished eating breakfast. She made the table with coffee, toasted bread, jam for the toasts, and some apple slices. He seemed surprised by the gesture but didn't comment. He just thanked her after, and now he's reading the newspaper while she cleaned up the kitchen that she wrecked.

Ranma then chuckled as his gaze fell on her. Oh no, not again! Realizing, he noticed her stealing glances at him all along. Baffled as hell, the plate she was holding slipped from her hand and shattered into pieces. She immediately bent down and started picking up the large pieces.

"Don't do that… stopped it at once." Ranma bellowed, crossing the room really quick with his long strides. He then stole the broken pieces from her hands, put them aside, and picked her up in a rush.

She was about to struggle from his hold for him to put her down at once, but then she recalled… Physical touch. And through her wild beating heart, she leaned her body close to him, put her face into the crooked of his neck, and absentmindedly inhaling his scent. God, he smells wonderful.

She didn't realize Ranma had stopped walking at once and stood there, frozen.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked coldly when he recovered his senses.