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Maybe she should have just gotten something off the rack or improvised with whatever she already had in her closet, not that she had much. Who cares that she had bills to pay, and that she had already been late on rent twice, although the apartments' landlord was such a kind family, they had been generous enough to offer a gratitude of five days with an understanding that her deposit hadn't been immediately available due to bank issues. Whether that was the truth, or a simple white lie she offered to get out of the possibility of getting evicted, was another story. Pushing all that aside, she figured she could spare some cash for a dress she probably wouldn't wear again and sacrifice some groceries just this once.

Yet, the young woman was now sitting across from her older sister, twiddling her thumbs together as she allowed herself to get lectured on things such as why she needed a better job than the nine-to-two clerical work offering enough pay to help her get through college and keep a roof over her head. Nabiki of all people, whose simple solutions consist of "just find a better job" as though it were that easy, didn't quite know about her struggles. Then again, it wasn't like she'd be sharing such things with her.

Nabiki had always been ambitious, and strong-willed, characteristics she liked to believe they shared. And she found talking to Nabiki did help gain some clarity at times. Sometimes, in her own casual way, she was the cheerleader Akane was desperately in need of. Of course, rather than patting her back and pepping her on, the older woman opened a bottle of wine. Even if she didn't usually tell her everything, not about the possibility of getting evicted, or how she'd sometimes shrink her meal proportions in the sense of making leftovers last a few more days. She instead insisted on boy-talk, or how Nabiki managed to balance work with her personal life. Other times she talked about her college career, and how desperate she was to graduate, quite regretful about all the major changes she'd made throughout the years. Some could call it therapeutic, or a session with someone smacking the harsh truth in your face, considering Nabiki wasn't too gentle with her way of saying things.

Although tonight she was not quite in the mood to hear her offer her an assistant position again (no matter how tempting of an offer), and instead of talking about irrelevant things, she tried to steer the topic onto something she could control by blurting out, "Ranma was being unusual." She almost went with telling her that Ranma had kissed her, but no, not really, really, kissed her. More of like a peck, and she was finding herself obsessing over it, which only frustrated her further because he seemed so nonchalant about it. Almost like he wanted to see what it was like to kiss her, and he wasn't even tickled by it. It would have hurt less if he reached for her heart and squeezed until pronounced dead.

"You still hang around that weird guy?"

Akane almost burst into laughter because to Nabiki's standards, Ranma would be weird. "Surprisingly, yes," she found herself saying, amused.

Nabiki had known Ranma for almost just as long, just not in the same way, and Akane considered her a wise mind when it came to these sorts of things. When Akane expressed her concern, wondering as to what had bothered her about Ranma, mindful to include some details (such as his unexplainable dislike towards Shinnosuke), Nabiki found herself insisting that he was just being territorial. Which Akane found laughable, ludicrous, pushing that preposterous idea away.

Having Ranma spend the night for those two nights had drained her in a way she hadn't thought imaginable, considering most times they'd spent far more time together. But this time it felt...different. She just couldn't place her finger on why that was. He had been acting fairly strange, but not absurdly, just enough to make her wonder aloud.

"Maybe it was all on your mind," Akane glanced at Nabiki say in her quiet-like voice, calm and collected, feeling like complete opposite of, occasionally restless and sometimes agitated because of incompetence, usually due to Ranma.

"What do you mean?" Akane inquired, hoping she'd elaborate, enlighten her somewhat.

"You need to get laid, baby sis."

Akane frowned, easily annoyed at the way her older sister made this known to her, as if there was no other explanation as to why she was tired and frustrated and annoyed with work, and everything else, really. Completely invalidating everything she'd express relating to Ranma, as if someone's dick would somehow help simplify and illuminate fundamental understanding of her mere frustration.

To Nabiki's philosophy, it seemed, she just needed some unexplainable, raw, rough sex. "I think you're with him a lot, and you're in need of getting touched, and it frustrates you. Maybe you two should fuck." Akane disagreed. Mainly because she already knew how Ranma felt about that.

She rolled her eyes, primarily at her older sister, "Why is everyone such a sex-maniac? Sex isn't always the answer," she insisted, and with that she let herself fall back and get swallowed onto the rest of Nabiki's bed. Her bed had always been luxurious; moderately large, with silky duvet covers engulfed in the strong odor of her softener, making her feel fresh all around. She could close her eyes and continue laying on them all day, fall asleep and dismiss all her problems for the day. Just like she'd hear upper management say, "Clear the rest of my day, hold my calls and rearrange my conferences." She groaned inwardly, if only it were that easy.

"But," Nabiki grinned mischievously, all knowing, like she had the answer to the universe right inside her makeup bag and all someone had to do was ask for it, but no one ever did and so miracles would go unresolved just because no one had considered seeking Nabiki. She could feel the way her older sister watched her, her brown eyes piercing into her skin with her rouge allure l'extrait lipstick tube in hand just as she had finished applying a coat, saying all knowing, "sometimes it is." And that was her cue to head on out.

All she needed was to borrow that cocktail dress she had come over for to begin with, not some lecture about sex. And so, she found herself asking, quite directly as she cut her off, "Nabiki, stop. I actually need to head out soon, anyways. Could I borrow the dress?"

"And here I thought you paid a visit in the sense that you missed me."

"I do miss you," Akane smiled sheepishly, feeling quite guilty at the way she expressed herself so forward. She prompted herself to sit upright, marveling at the way her older sister carefully admired herself in the mirror to fix anything she might have missed. Nabiki had a work event tonight, and Akane arrived just as she had finished blow-drying her short bob. She had always been a classy woman, even when they were young, there was something about Nabiki that made Akane respect her ways, or schemes.

"What do you need a party dress for again?" Nabiki pried on knowing, turning back to glance at the younger woman shrug her shoulders innocently at her.

She didn't want to say much, and hoped Nabiki would settle for the simple, "I have a thing with a friend."

"Uh-huh. A thing."

"Yeah," Akane smiled small, picking herself up to walk over to where Nabiki was, reaching for one of the many makeup compacts laying upon her large vanity to inspect without any actual interest, "a friend's taking me out."

"A friend?" Nabiki's eyebrow perked high, with a small smirk and all Akane could do was laugh quietly as she shook her head.

"Yes. A girl friend. Meaning, a friend who's a girl, and we're going out as friends."

Nabiki lost interest just as easily. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh would be correct."

"Well, help yourself to whatever you'd like. Just, please return it as, otherwise I will be charging retail."

Akane's toothy grin only widened as she nodded eagerly, "Wouldn't expect less."

Akane felt pretty. She overviewed herself one last time in the half body mirror of her bathroom, appreciating herself with a cheeky grin before walking out. She reached for her small shoulder bag; just enough room for keys, wallet and phone and her lip-gloss tube in case reapplication were to be necessary. Within seconds she was out of her apartment heading down.

The dark shimmering dress itself wasn't revealing of any sort from the front, covering shoulder to shoulder with long sleeves; she just couldn't say the same about her back, considering it was backless. Its length was just above the knee, making her feel somewhat conscious about showing too much leg, but Nabiki insisted there was no such thing as "too much leg". She wanted to believe her.

"Ukyo," Akane called as both young women walked towards the nightclub, each crossing their arms over their chest in a sense to protect themselves against the breezy winds coming at them in the late evening, "thanks for inviting me."

"Darling," her friend beamed brightly, stealing a glimpse at woman she'd only met earlier in the year, "I'm telling ya', you're gonna like this fella!"

Akane couldn't help but blush, somehow embarrassed in finding herself on such sort of affair. She hadn't known Ukyo for that long, becoming friends when they were partnered for a project in their business class at university. They were both seniors, and would be graduating together, it seemed. They didn't talk much outside of class, but then one morning she invited her for coffee and asked if she'd be interested in going on a double date with her. Ukyo shared that she met a man in her daytime job that had very confidently asked her out. And although she found him cute, he also offered a wonky sort of character. Essentially, she didn't want to go alone, and unfortunately didn't have any single friends to invite. Akane wanted to find offense in Ukyo's assumptions that she was single, but Ukyo expressed that she only hoped Akane was single and willing. No hard feelings.

"Is he nice?" That was all Akane really wanted to know.

"Well," Ukyo chuckled nervously, "I'm hoping. I don't know him, but this guy I'm seeing said he needed someone that could help rattle him into shape. And I don't know, sugar, you seem like the type of gal for that job."

Akane was somehow baffled, not quite as confident about meeting the man, but before she had a chance to walk away, they were getting carded and walking into the very loud establishment.

She wasn't much for clubbing, if she was being honest; too loud, and every time she wanted to order something to drink, she didn't know what she was ordering. The names were confusing within themselves, but she also didn't know what type of alcohol was being poured into the drink. She always opted for something in a can, such a hard seltzer, or just water.

The lighting wasn't as annoying, and she understood that that was the point of a club, but she just couldn't find the attraction of it all. And she just wanted to make sure she didn't get lost or lose her friends. Why she agreed to the ordeal itself, she didn't know anymore. She just felt like she needed a change of pace, to meet someone. Get out of comfort zone, maybe? And when Ukyo asked her, it seemed like the obvious answer at that time.

The young women stood next to each other, a drink in hand, moving their bodies cautiously it seemed. Akane didn't know Ukyo that well, but she also wasn't familiar with the nightclub, and it never hurt to keep an extra eye out. After some time, it felt like Ukyo was never going to receive that text message, letting them know they had arrived. Or maybe she just wanted the night to be over with. No, no. She would be having a marvelous night, a splendid time, one with no regrets – hopefully.

Akane was nervous. Why was she nervous? Quite frankly, she didn't actually care about the guy she'd be meeting. If this guy turned out to be an asshole, she was walking out – it was that easy. Still, she exhaled a deep breath and followed her friend through the creeks within the sea of people once Ukyo did receive the message. It felt ambiguous, almost cryptic, even if they were meeting in public. It felt like they were on a mission to deliver some illegal substance, and they weren't allowed to do much until receiving the signal to get the plan in motion, and it was up to them two to complete the assigned operation. She chuckled inwardly.

"Akane?"

Akane knew that voice more than she knew if she was actually content with her major or just stuck with it because it'd delay graduation and all she wanted to do was finish and get an official adult job. She knew that voice more than if she actually liked fried pickles, or tolerated them due to being Kasumi's favorite, and she didn't want to speak against her eldest sister's delights. She could feel the slow motion of her entire body tensing as she recognized the all-too-familiar voice of none other than Ranma Saotome crashing the nightclub she was intending to have a fun time in. Still, she couldn't withhold her teeth from showing within her wide smirk, not surprised to see him here, offering a smug look of his own.

"Well, if it isn't Tweedledee and Tweedledum." Of course, she was referencing Ryoga along with Ranma, and her comment was meant to be very lighthearted, with no malice in it whatsoever, hoping her sly grin helped express such.

"See the alias I get for hanging out with you?" Ryoga remarked, jokingly smacking his friend's shoulder, offering her a friendly smile of his own before reaching over to give the young woman a welcoming and enduring hug.

Ranma scoffed a face at her, his own smirk quickly overtaking his face as he glanced around, "What are ya' doing here? At a club? Such a rare sighting."

"Uh," Akane cleared her throat, obvious she didn't have anything to pass down, and with one last glance at Ranma she decided on, "I'm meeting some friends." It wasn't a complete lie, or rather not a lie at all. She would be making some friends tonight, hopefully.

"Oh. So are we," Ranma smiled, "maybe we can group together." He hadn't known why he said what he said, unsure if that would be the appropriate thing to do. Somehow, not catching, or ignoring, the way Ryoga gave him a look (merging groups would definitely not be happening) and took a glimpse around the room to see that the people they were meeting had arrived yet. "Do you have time to hang until?"

"Well, um..." Akane shrugged her shoulders, unsure.

"Akane," Ukyo called, having to come back, quickly hooking her arm around her friend with a gentle tug, "they're here, they're, um, waiting for us."

"Just a second," Akane smiled sheepishly, looking back and forth between her friends for a quick introduction, "this is Ranma and Ryoga. Guys, this is my friend Ukyo." The greeting was quickly exchanged, and before she could say anything else, both women were walking away as she offered one last wave at them.

It was painfully obvious that Ranma had no interest in getting to know Ryoga's date or her friend. Something Ryoga wished he could smack him for, as Ranma wasn't even remotely trying. The young man seemed very out of focus, distracted as he would take brief glances around the area in hopes that he'd see her, even if it was just momentarily (and Ryoga was very aware of this). But nothing helped; the room was dark, with far too many people, the music far too loud, and a nagging friend begging for his attention.

Who was Akane meeting, anyways? She seemed relatively dressed up. Her hair was styled with wispy ends, and she wore a glossy lip; and she was wearing a dress – a tight one at that. He was used to seeing her in dresses occasionally, or skirts (or skorts), but tight, fitted dresses were a whole special-occasion situation. Was this one of those special-occasion situations? Was it a girl's night out? That's what she meant by friends, right? But with which girls? Who was this Ukyo? He shook his head, trying to bring himself back to reality, but his mind just fogged back to her.

He could admit he was acting like a jerk, and would have to make it up to Ryoga, but he was fighting the urge of needing to go look for her. Yet, once he found her, what then? What would he say? Would he crash her friend group? Pull her away? Yeah – if he wanted to get an earful.

He blinked a few times, and he was back, except Ryoga was pulling on his arm and dragging him away from the women they had come to meet. Was the night over? Did they say their goodbyes? Was he free to go look for Akane?

"We'll be back ladies, we'll get you those drinks, don't you worry." Ryoga's voice quivered, along with the throbbing eyebrow and a glaring stare that would have had him deceased on the floor were looks able to kill. His face was distorted with fury.

Once they reached the bar and Ryoga placed his order, a very unfriendly smack to Ranma's arm brough his attention back him as he winced at the way his friend's voice shrieked, "What are you doing?"

Ranma looked away, rubbing the spot that had just been hit, "I don't know what you're talking about, man."

He heard him sigh heavily, and when he glanced back at him, he was running his hands through his hair as he shook his head a few times, "I told you to call her."

"Call who? Akane?" Ranma rolled his eyes, "Pfft! Pshh! No, no."

"Look, I might have a real shot with this chick," of course, that might was spoken very lightly and in low hopes, "and you're ruining that for me!"

Ranma stayed quiet for a moment longer, knowing he was ruining his night. He was supposed to be his wingman, his support, but...

"It's okay to be in love with your best friend, you know."

At this point, Ryoga's arm had stretched over to him, pressing his palm against his shoulder before squeezing gently, and all Ranma could do was snort quietly as he asked, "Are ya' confessing yourself to me, pig-boy?"

Ryoga groaned, taking his hand back, a tad annoyed at how his intentions to be an emotional support was easily dismissed, "You say once that you might want to adopt a baby pig, and you're stuck with the nickname."

"Look," Ranma decided on, standing tall with one last glance around the area before settling back on his friend, "it ain't that I'm in love with tomboy, ya' know? It's just," it was his turn to mess up his shabby fridge as he combed his fingers through, thinking of the right words to say when it came to Akane, "I just wanna make sure she's okay. She still a woman," he smirked, as if this fact was forgotten information that needed to be relayed back just in case, "some weirdo could try and hit on her."

"And what if a weirdo does hit on her?"

"What do you mean?'

"Maybe she wants a weirdo to hit on her."

Ranma laughed momentarily, and he couldn't wait to tell her just that. But then he thought about it, and what if she did? That wouldn't be the worst-case scenario, would it? Why else would she come to the nightclub? Dressed like a woman? He could feel the neckline to his top tighten up suddenly, and he had a need to tug at it to help him breath just a tad.

Akane wasn't having a horrible time. She found the man to be rather...quiet. He didn't talk much, and after asking about him, she felt as though she was interrogating the man, and it irked her the wrong way. He wasn't showing the same interest, it seemed, and that was enough to end her night. Except, Ukyo seemed to be having a good time. She was laughing, and doing the hair-twirl thing, quite forgetting that she had come with a friend.

Would she be a bad friend if she left?

She tried not to be obvious, but curiosity got the best of her, and she couldn't help herself but take a quick glimpse around the room. Ranma had probably found a cute girl to pass the time with and was having a grand time. Whatever. Or maybe he hadn't, and she could probably sneak over to him and catch a ride with him, if Ukyo would be wanting to stay longer. It wouldn't hurt to ask, right? Of course, assuming he'd be leaving soon.

"Are you looking for someone?"

Akane snapped her neck back to look at the man, offering a jittery smile as she chuckled nervously, as though she had been caught red-handed when there was nothing to hide. So, she was looking for Ranma, what was the shame in that?

"Uh, no! No," she smiled more confidently this time, "I was just thinking about getting a drink. Would you like to come?"

She was expecting him to say no, and she could use that time to look around, but surprisingly he agreed and waited for her to lead the way. Great, now she was stuck away from her friend with some guy. Inhaling a wary breath, she was more than willing to let him follow her.

When they made it to the bar, she was able to see him more clearly and realized just how beautiful he was. His brunette hair fluffed perfectly above his eyes, with a wavy strand against each temple. His eyelashes were fairly long, and dark, and she couldn't make out the color of his eyes but even those looked beautiful.

"So, Taro," Akane asked, folding her arms atop the counter as she leaned against it, waiting to get noticed by the bar tender, wishing she had an actual question, but she had asked them all already.

"Yes, Akane?"

She glanced back at him and felt herself become flustered at how close he suddenly was. He was tall, she noticed. And maybe she shouldn't have gotten as excited as she was, but he was now caressing her chin with his thumb, very softly as he smirked quite deviously, it seemed. It almost appeared to be sinister, and that should have made her want to pull away, but she liked the way he was looking at her. It felt nice, the way he fixed his gaze just on her, it seemed.

He leaned down gradually, slow enough to stop him had she wanted to, but she decided that she didn't. Instead, she welcomed it by lowering her eyelids and stretching her chin up, able to see when he was just centimeters away until he was kissing her. And it felt okay. He pushed gently towards her, and she did the same, adjusting herself momentarily for better comfort as he widened his mouth to try and pull her in. And she gave in, pushing further into his kiss, and oh God, he was such a good kisser. That, or she just hadn't had someone kiss her in such a long time. Hsi mouth felt hot against hers, and so soft. He nipped at her upper lip for just a split second, she almost allowed such a vulgar sound to escape her throat, which would have been so embarrassing. Either way, she felt her knees wobble, and the pit of her stomach tugged at way his lips caressed hers. It was a great kiss, until it wasn't.

Like being shaken awake, Taro pulled away harshly forcing her eyes to open utterly confused, a tad dazed if she were honest. Sure, there was no chemistry, but it wasn't a bad kiss at all. She wasn't a bad kisser – right? And then she saw him. What was he doing?

Ranma had apparently pulled Taro away, interrupting their kiss completely, with no disregard whatsoever. She wanted to melt away, disappear into the abyss within the corners of the nightclub. Claim memory loss and insist she didn't know him, even if not even ten minutes ago she was searching in hopes of being rescued from the man that she was now smacking lips with. Taro's reaction was quick to grasp Ranma's wrist tightly just when Ranma gripped Taro's shirt. It was a matter of seconds before anything escalated and they were all kicked out of the establishment.

"Ranma," Akane hissed, at the same time hearing herself almost plead, thinking it'd probably be easier for her to run away, but that wouldn't be fair to Taro considering how well-trained Ranma was in martial arts, she didn't know if Taro could hold his own, and so she tried to deescalate the matter in hand by asking, "what are you doing?"

"He seemed to be, uh," he took in a deep breath and released through his nostrils, now highly aware that he'd interfered, "...was he bothering you?"

"Is this your boyfriend?" Taro inquired, upset, it seemed by the low growl he offered.

"No," Akane sighed, her hand reaching to pull Ranma's arm, "he's, um, my brother."

"B-brother?" Ranma protested, bemused by her chosen word as he released the man that had not been harassing Akane.

"Makes sense, I guess," Taro tried to stay composed, and Akane took that opportunity to excuse herself for the night before he bid her farewell. Goodbye to kissing a beautiful man, she guessed. She was tired and needed a hot shower with some nighttime television. Alone. Ukyo would be staying, enjoying herself and possibly getting lucky. She'd be getting sexed up. Akane, not quite.

She walked out, knowing perfectly well that Ranma was right behind her, not walking as fast but just enough for others to know they were together. Her chunky low heel clanked clearly against the sidewalk, and God, how she wished she was in her slippers. The night should have been more fun, and she wasn't having an awful time. Taro seemed...nice, or rather, decent enough. Either way, that was her decision to make, whether she wanted to kiss the man or do anything else for that matter.

Akane hadn't noticed how cold the evening was until Ranma draped his jacket over her shoulders. She had been walking with her arms crossed, her shoulder bag still pressed against her side, and the breezes were just as fierce as earlier, but she knew he had probably been staring at her uncovered back.

It should have been a quiet walk home, the ambience offered such, but she couldn't hold it any longer. And just as they were reaching the stairs that would take them down to the subway station, she spun around to face the pigtail wearing man who was looking at anything but her. And she ripped off the band aid, asking furiously, "What the fuck was that, Saotome?"

"I really thought –"

"You just pulled him away, didn't even wait to see if – if, I don't know, I was kissing him back. You've kissed millions of girls, Ranma, I'm sure you're aware what that looked like."

"Millions is an exaggeration, 'Kane."

She scoffed, "Fucking hell, you know what I mean," she grunted, not amused by his need of wanting to joke at this time, when she was so upset and bothered.

"Look," he groaned, "I didn't know." Ranma tried to defend himself, and that basic line was usually enough to get him out of trouble. Especially with her.

"Didn't know what, you dope?"

"Hey! You said you were meeting with friends, not boys!"

Akane scoffed again, laughing almost mockingly as she began adjusting Ranma's jacket through her arms, "Do you hear yourself? Are you saying I'm not allowed to meet boys?"

"That's not what I'm saying."

She zipped up the large jacket, huffing through her nostrils wanting to be furious, to be enraged and scream at him because he was confusing her beyond comprehension, but she just couldn't. He wasn't looking at her, possibly just as embarrassed as she had been; okay, maybe not as much, but close enough. She pushed any strand of hair near her face away to tuck behind her ears. They shared another silent moment, and she crossed her arms as best she could with the jacket on, looking around the silent street. She knew he was walking her all the way home, up the stairs and all, whether she talked to him or decided to ignore him completely.

"Well, then," Akane's mouth felt dry, and her legs were beginning to numb against the cold, "what are you saying?"

This time Ranma turned to face her, his arms deep in his pockets as he contemplated what to tell her, feeling empty handed. "I didn't know you were on a date."

"It wasn't a date," Akane said, her voice low and tired as she looked down at her strappy heels, wanting to take them off knowing the floor would be cold. "Well, not exactly." Talking about boys with Ranma shouldn't be this weird. Just weeks ago, he was making fun of her because she hadn't had sex in a long while and it was funny then, what was different now? What happened within that time, because as she looked at him, he seemed flustered and shy and like he didn't want to talk about her personal affairs. Not in the fashion in which he used to poke fun at, in a manner that didn't bother her.

He eventually apologized, and really that's all she wanted from him. If there was anything Akane knew better than anyone in this world, it would have to be that Ranma's insensitivity wasn't on purpose. And it wasn't that she wanted to justify the fool, she just felt that she had a better judgment when it came to pinpointing all his flaws, especially the ones that made him a jerk. Or maybe that was what she told herself.

When they arrived at her apartment, he tried to leave. He excused himself, and asked for his jacket back, but Akane didn't allow him to leave so quickly. "Are you sure you don't want some coffee before heading out? Don't want ya' falling asleep on the train and missing your stop," she teased lightly, flashing him a small smile as she began stripping his jacket off her. And he'd almost forgotten how attractive she was in that dress. Almost. A dress he had never seen her in before – had she purchased it for tonight?

Akane laughed nervously, pulling the side of the dress down as she noticed the way Ranma eyed her momentarily, becoming conscious of what exactly she was wearing. "Was this dress too much?" Her question easily snapped him back, and he cleared his throat as he looked back up at her face, aware of just how dressed up she was.

"No," he said sincerely, "I just didn't know you had that dress."

"Oh," Akane smirked sheepishly, "I actually borrowed it from Nabiki."

"It looks...you look good in it."

"Yeah, I finally look like a girl," She teased, rolling her eyes endearingly as he followed her into the kitchen, his eyes obsessed at the way her hips moved from side to side each time she took a step. And he noticed her stance, how the hem of the dress lifted less than a centimeter when she opened the cabinet and reached for the packet of instant coffee, tiptoeing to gain height. He admired the way her dainty hands reached for the kettle to fill with water, and mug, and spoon as she talked about nothing, or so he felt it was nothing because he couldn't seem to concentrate on what she was saying. Until she said...

"He wasn't a good kisser, anyways," she joked, chuckling with a shake at her head, "I didn't enjoy the kiss that much." Of course, she was lying to herself, mainly to make herself feel better that the kiss had been cut short.

"So, you enjoyed it some?" Ranma inquired, intrigued at the way she worded her statement, and she shrugged her shoulders with a pondering stare as she thought about what to say to that.

"I mean," Akane furrowed her eyebrows together, "I guess I just miss being kissed." She shouldn't be blushing or allow herself to get as flustered as she was, but she couldn't help her cheeks from burning. God, who says that?

"Oh." Ranma replied, and Akane groaned quite embarrassed.

"That's not what...what I mean is..."

"It's been a while, huh?" He found himself teasing so easily, it was almost unbearable. His laughter was more of a low chuckle, and she could feel his eyes scanning her face, searching for something, and she wanted to give it to him, wrap it with a fancy bow if you will, she just didn't know what he needed from her.

"Yeah, well, what's it to ya', anyways?" Her self-defense was weak, she could admit, but he wasn't wrong. And maybe Nabiki was also right – she was probably in need of some body contact. Maybe she was craving sex, or something relatively close, and the nonstop wet dreams she'd been having about her best friend rooted from just how horny she was and just couldn't find it in her to admit it. Oh, God, what was she thinking?

"I ain't saying nothing," Ranma banter also felt defenseless, and she found herself getting wrapped up at the way he was smiling at her. It was a more of a grin, small and crooked, the strong features of his nose and eyebrow creases softening, becoming gentle as he looked at her. She decided it would be better to look away and ignore the way it made her heart swell. It didn't help that she had been left riled up by Taro, and he wasn't there to help her exhaust herself in a healthy way.

"Well," she huffed, looking at all the tools she'd pulled out for coffee, "good."

The upcoming chapter might be getting a little smutty, not too graphic, but it's all for the plot! *sweats profoundly*

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Thank you so much for taking the time to read!