Akane glanced over at Ranma who's eyes were staring at the other side of the room - he looked lost in thought.

She couldn't quite place her feelings. A lot had happened in a short amount of time. She knew Ranma's actions were crappy to say the least, but she found herself feeling touched at his efforts to stop his father from forcing them to consummate the marriage.

Akane had given this a lot of thought before she'd actually come to Wallka and she knew losing her virginity to the prince was likely a sacrifice she would have to make - since the main reason for the marriage was to make an heir. She had expected that her future husband would probably be a lot more forceful than Prince Ranma had been. Even when Akane had said they probably should just consummate the marriage after getting summoned by King Genma - Ranma was adamant he didn't want to have sex with her if she didn't want to.

Maybe he just thought she was unattractive? That thought made her heart twist in a knot. Guess she still hadn't forgotten that her first love liked her older, much more feminine, sister over her.

Ranma was a good looking guy. It made Akane feel insecure at the mere idea of them sleeping together. He said it himself after all that she was a 'muscle bound macho chick.'

And yet, despite what Ranma had said in the past, Akane's thoughts deviated to how she felt seeing Ranma acting…jealous. Her stomach had filled with, dare she let herself think, butterflies when Ranma said that she was his wife or when he kissed her. She didn't want to admit it, but it felt good. He smelled good and everything about how he behaved made her feel distinctly like a girl…

Akane was always the strongest. She never got to feel like a girl.

She couldn't reconcile how she could feel upset that he had kissed her without permission to throw off Happosai, insulted her, and just behaved like the pain in the ass that he was - but, she also liked the way he carried himself at the same time. It made no sense to her. Ranma was feisty, especially for a prince and Akane liked that about him. She was a feisty girl herself after all.

Akane sighed, "I'm not sorry for punching you for kissing me, but I appreciate you trying to get your father out of our hair."

Ranma eyed Akane carefully, "I…am sorry for that. It was a spur of the moment decision. I should have thought it through more."

"We're probably going to have to consummate this marriage eventually. As much as I wish it could have been with someone I was in love with - I know it's not likely. Maybe we should just try to spend some time together…getting comfortable. Not going…the whole way, but just ease into it."

Akane's face was red and she was uncomfortable, but the idea of King Genma ordering that people train them and be in the room to witness the consummation sounded like hell.

Ranma was staring at her with wide shocked eyes. She watched as a pinkness grew on his cheeks. It was a surprisingly endearing sight.

Ranma coughed to regain his composure, "How do you want to start 'easing into it' then?"

"I was thinking maybe we could just ask each other questions. Get to know each other on a personal level. Just as a start. We're not going to fall in love with each other, but maybe we could grow some fondness…to make the consummation easier."

That wasn't what Ranma had in mind when Akane first brought up this idea, but he couldn't deny that he was curious about Akane's life before she came to Wallka.

Akane beat him to the punch though, "Have you had sex before?"

Ranma was startled that she asked. He thought she'd know the answer. Did her kingdom not have courtesans for the royal men? "Yes, but only with one courtesan."

To Ranma's surprise, she looked almost disappointed with that answer. Most royal men have slept with many courtesans. He was pretty inexperienced compared to most royals. The customs of Shirya must've been vastly different for her to be dissatisfied.

Akane again beat him to it and asked, "Have you ever been in love?"

Ranma felt slightly embarrassed by Akane asking that question, "No, I haven't. Have you? Been in love or had sex before?"

"I've been in love, but I've never slept with anyone."

Ranma's chest tightened. She had been in love? Was she possibly still in love with that other person? He couldn't help thinking how lucky that man was - to have someone genuinely love you for who you are and not for your position. Ranma could just never be truly sure how anyone around him really felt about him.

"Who were you in love with? Do you still love him?"

Akane chuckled, "No, I'm not still in love with him. He was my doctor. He was in love with my sister."

Ranma felt confusion rush through his mind, "Your sister? I thought you were an only child?"

The look of horror that crossed Akane's face made Ranma's blood run ice cold. Her eyes stared at him with panic swimming through them. Her body was subconsciously leaning towards the door like she was going to bolt. Ranma couldn't grasp why she looked like that. Did she have a secret sister? Maybe the sister was a bastard child or something. It was usually a shame on royal families and they would hide it, but it was also a known phenomenon. Certainly not something that Princess Akane needed to keep a secret from him.

"Is ya sister a bastard? I know Kings like to keep those a secret, but it's notta big deal. You don't need to be so alarmed, you know? You really think I'd care about something like that?"

Relief flooded Akane's face. Ranma found himself thinking that that must've been it. Maybe bastard children were even more frowned upon in Shirya.

"Well, anyway, don't keep secrets from me from now on. I won't judge you. We're both just pawns in a big royal game against our wills. We both resent it. If anything, we should have each other's back more than anyone else because we know what it's like to grow up in this life."

Akane looked at him with pensive eyes, "Maybe in time I will. I'm not ready to spill my guts to you just yet."

Ranma laughed, "Sooo…tell me about this first love of yours?"

"You really want to know?"

"Well, I've never had a first love. It's hard when ya feel like everyone just wants things out of ya because of the role I've been born into. I'm sure the courtesan I frequent tries to woo me so that I take her more often. Maybe so she can get pregnant and increase her status. Even if it's a bastard, it would afford her and the child lots of privileges. The other princesses I've met I could just never be sure about how they felt because everything is a big chess game. We may all follow the Goddess and her rules of peace, but everything is still about hierarchy, land ownership, and wealth behind closed doors."

"You will never have to worry about that with me. I was basically taught to suck up to you once our marriage was arranged and I really thought I could do it, but now I know that's impossible for me. I'm not a good actress. If I was smart I'd have done a better job at playing the dutiful wife to you."

Ranma felt his heart beating erratically, but he didn't know why. She was right. Here she was married to the prince of the most powerful nation in Alganon and yet, she regularly made herself the center of gossip. She fought back on every little thing. Even going so far as to have hit him twice.

Ranma found himself laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. Princess Akane was nothing like he expected, "You sure do got that right! Acting smart ain't your forte."

Akane's voice bristled, "Excuse me?! There you go, belittling me again. How am I supposed to get myself to like you enough to sleep with you when you can't even have a conversation with me without insulting me? No wonder you're insecure about people not genuinely liking you. They probably don't."

"And there YOU go again taking my words way too hard and dishing insults back that are far worse! I wasn't tryin' to insult you. I LIKE that about you, that you're honest to a fault and you don't hide your feelings. You're not playing the royal game smart, but that sure as hell don't mean I think you're dumb!"

Akane paused with a bashful look on her face, "oh…"

"Yeah, 'oh' is right," Ranma mockingly retorted.

Ranma, feeling vindicated by her backing off her initial attitude, came and sat right next to her on the bed and locked eyes with her. He wanted to change the awkward atmosphere and a goofy mood had struck him, "Hmmm, I know you want to be in love with the person you sleep with. So, I think the challenge is to make me your second love!" He wiggled his eyebrows playfully and stuck out his tongue.

Akane thought to herself, 'it's like this is all one big joke to him.'

"Oh, come on Ranma, be serious!"

"Ohoho, I am! I heard what you said to Prince Tōma about me. You think that I'm an 'honorable man.' Better yet, I think you're secretly pining for me like all the other girls of the castle, but you're too prideful to admit it!

"As if! I'm pretty sure you're the one projecting that you secretly want me given how you acted with Prince Tōma tonight. Jealous much?"

Ranma's thoughts flitted back and forth between seriousness and playfulness.

Despite Ranma's joking attitude, his mind veered toward if the people King Gosunkugi was holding over Akane's head were her bastard-child sisters, Nabiki and Kasumi, that he overheard Akane discussing with Prince Tōma. He wanted to ask her about them, but something about Akane's reaction to her accidentally revealing she had a sister at all made him know he shouldn't pry further. At least not until their relationship was closer.

But, at the same time, playful feelings roamed his soul. Akane was so easy to rile up and there was something fun about that, even though they both often went too far.

Then his thoughts wandered back to what he'd asked Akane. Unexpectedly, a feeling of unease swept through him. He really was wondering what it must've been like for Princess Akane's doctor to have had her in love with him. What special looks and behaviors were reserved just for him that Ranma would probably never get to see. He envied that man. But why?

'Man, Ranma thought, maybe I am jealous of her first love and maybe...Prince Toma too.'

Ranma chased those thoughts away. Maybe just a little jealous of people having genuine connections, not being hindered by hierarchy, but there was nothing else to it!

"There's no way I would EVER be jealous of a royal physician or a prince of a hermit kingdom! But anywaayy, answer my question. You asked two in a row and now you're dodging mine!"

"I am not dodging your question, Ranma. I was distracted because I thought you were insulting me! Jeez. My first love, Doctor Tofu, was always treating my injuries. I just grew a fondness for him because of that. He was a kind and compassionate man."

Ranma wondered why she always had injuries, but he was afraid to waste a question on that. He wasn't sure how much longer this 'easing into each other' would last. He hoped that the injuries weren't at the hands of King Gosunkugi.

Ranma was feeling a twisting in his guts hearing her talk about this "Doctor Tofu." Instead, Ranma wanted to know more about how she felt about him. If he hadn't overheard her discussion with Prince Toma, he would have never known she had a single positive thought about him. Ranma hesitantly asked, "What were your first thoughts when you saw me when we were getting married?"

"About you? I think my first thought was that I was impressed that you swallowed that gross drink without wincing. My second thought was that I thought you…were handsome. I thought you would be thin and unathletic. You didn't look as pampered as I expected. What about you, what were your first thoughts when you saw me?"

Ranma was silent for a moment, digesting what Akane had just said. He felt like a bolt of lighting had struck him when Akane casually said she had thought he was handsome. He didn't understand exactly why, but it felt really good to hear her say that.

The way Akane was looking at him though was making him feel on edge. She had a suspicious look in her eyes. That's when it hit Ranma…he had been talking about how plain she was to his guards on the way to the party after the ceremony. She was waiting to see what his first impression of her was and expecting them to be hurtful in comparison to what she had said. Ranma was impressed that she shared her honest thoughts despite clearly expecting to be insulted by Ranma's answer.

Should he reward Akane's honesty with equal honesty or keep the part where he thought she was plain to himself?

"The first thing I noticed about you was your short hair. It was a surprise. The second thing I noticed about you was your strong aura. I thought you wanted to punch me in the face. I was determined to not look like a pushover or a weakling."

Akane started snickering, "I didn't want to punch you in the face. I was trying to not throw up from that nasty drink!"

Ranma was glad he kept his first impression of her looks to himself. Especially because the sound of her laughter was music to his ears. Looking at her chuckling made him wonder how he had ever thought she was plain.

"That drink is pretty strong tasting. I was used to it because they serve it at most royal and noble weddings. Any weddings I have attended over the years that beverage was a staple."

"That is NOT a common drink in Shirya, I assure you", Akane laughed. There was this nervousness swirling through her guts. She really wanted to loosen up. It was incredibly difficult for Akane to be vulnerable, but in this moment she really wanted to be. Just for a moment to forget the weight on her shoulders and feel like a young woman in front of a handsome man. "Do you have any wine or alcohol, maybe? It might make this process of getting closer to each other easier."

Ranma was still reeling with giddiness over seeing Akane laugh so comfortably with him. You wouldn't have guessed that not even an hour ago she had punched him into the ceiling. Akane asking for alcohol was just one more thing that she had done that had surprised him tonight.

"Yeah, there is some wine in this room since the staff likely prepared it for the wedding night. Ever drank before?"

Again, Ranma heard Akane's hearty laugh, "Ohh yes, especially with my father's soldiers that I sparred with. We usually drank harder stuff than wine."

Ranma winced, she drank with her father's soldiers?

"Wow, you were allowed to drink with your father's soldiers? Shirya must be very different from here."

Akane had a pensive look in her eye, "Yes, our two countries are very different."

Ranma stood up to grab the wine and glasses out of an opulent cabinet. He poured out the luscious red wine into each of their beautiful gold rimmed flared glasses. This situation was wholly unique to Ranma. He had never had fancy drinks with any woman alone before and certainly not in an intimate situation like this. His rendezvous with the courtesan was strictly business for him, but this was starkly different. Just the mere action of pouring the wine was lighting his skin aflame with delicious nervousness. The kind of nerves that run in tandem with excitement. The feeling was alien, but it felt divine to Ranma. What power did Akane have over him to make him feel this way?

Ranma handed over a glass to Akane and sat next to her on the bed. Could she feel the atmosphere of this situation?

"I guess it's my turn to ask a question. Hmm, what kinds of things did you do with the courtesan? I don't really know anything about…sex." Akane's voice got quieter as she finished her question. Her cheeks were pink and eyes deeply focused on the rim of her glass.

Ranma mulled over her question as he watched Akane bring the dark red liquid to her light pink lips.

He found himself in a bashful state over trying to answer her question.

"I..uhh…what exactly do you want to know? Positions we've done or…something else?" His voice came out shaky.

"Yy..eah," Akane answered.

"She's a professional courtesan, so she usually takes the lead. We've done it with her on top, me on top, or y'know all the usual ones…" Ranma's voice trailed off.

Akane looked like she wanted to ask him another question, but instead she said, "okay, your turn."

Ranma felt his mind go blank. Would it be weird if he asked her a question that was more casual, like what her favorite color was? Or should he follow Akane's lead on more intimate questions.

"Hmm, how intimate have you gotten with someone?"

"You should know the answer to that since you stole my first kiss," She answered plainly.

Ranma chuckled while awkwardly scratching the back of his head, "Oh right, I already forgot about that!"

Akane was shooting daggers at him with her eyes.

He knew how she would probably take it that he forgot something that was important to her. That him kissing her was meaningless to him, but that wasn't why.

"Akane! It's not what you think! It's..y'know…I just forgot because I'm nervous right now."

"You're nervous!?" Akane's face could not contain her shock.

Why was that shocking to her? Ranma thought.

"Why wouldn't I be? This is the first time I've had a relationship like this. A courtesan is different. It's a business transaction. I'm inexperienced in my own ways too. This is…quite personal for me."

Akane smiled, "That's nice to know."

"I guess it's my turn now. What did you think about having to be married to a Princess from Shirya?"

"I won't lie, I wasn't happy about it. Like you, I was hoping that I would get a say in who I married. My marriage options were originally between Princess Shampoo and Princess Ukyo. Their countries are pretty equal in power. I thought I would get a choice, but when your father offered your hand in marriage, my father's mind was made up. Your country is unique and untouched and my father believes that this way our kingdom may someday have a claim on your nation. After getting over that I didn't have a choice, I thought, maybe it would be a good thing - that you would be someone I hadn't known throughout my life. A person who was new to me and I found that to be exciting."

"And now? Now that you have met me, would you still choose me? Let's just say, hypothetically, you could go back in time and get a say on which of the three princesses you would marry. Would you marry me?"

Akane couldn't believe she asked such a question. It didn't feel like her at all. Maybe the wine she was drinking was stronger than she thought. Did…she like Ranma? If she did, why ask something like that. It was as though she was trying to hurt her own feelings. She should stomp on any budding feelings. She wasn't actually a princess, she was a pawn in an evil king's game. In reality, she was Ranma's enemy…

The question was basically self-sabotage.

"Hey now, I'm pretty sure it wasn't your turn to ask a question," Ranma smiled, "But yeah, I'm not sure if I would pick you again."

Akane's heart sank, but she knew that feeling was for the best.

Ranma saw Akane's facial expression falter slightly, "Now let me finish before you go takin' my words the wrong way. If I thought that you wanted to come marry me, I would y'know…choose you." Ranma fumbled with the tip of his ponytail, "But, you seem like you hate having been married off to me. If me not choosing you would be better for you - then I wouldn't."

Ranma then downed his entire glass in one gulp and then started pouring more.

Akane watched him clumsily pour himself more to drink as the weight of Ranma's words hit her. Her heart was beating so hard in her chest she was sure that Ranma would hear it.

Akane leaned against the headboard and brought her knees to her chest and rested her chin on top of them. She looked down at her toes to give herself a moment to compose herself.

Ranma sat back down and noticed his shaky hand was making little ripples in the wine. Akane was quiet for a little longer than Ranma liked. It gave him too much time to think about what he had said. He felt like he sounded like a fool. What had he even been trying to say? When he glanced over at Akane she was looking right at him with sad eyes.

Had he said something wrong?

"What's wrong?" Ranma asked.

Akane lightly smiled, "No, it was thoughtful and sweet."

"Ah…well..my turn," Ranma coughed, "knowing me now - would you choose to have your marriage arranged to me or would you choose to have stayed in Shirya?"

Akane stared at him like she was looking into his soul and it made his skin litter with goosebumps.

"That question is a complicated one", Akane closed her eyes for a moment and sighed, "I'll say that I would prefer we met as regular civilians and…I think I could find happiness as your wife."

Ranma's skin was on fire from heightened emotions thumping in his chest. Akane's face didn't show that she said anything differently than he had said, but in his mind, she did. To him, she was saying she would rather choose him as a regular man outside of hierarchy, power, and prestige. As though, those things meant nothing to her. It was something Ranma had always wanted to hear.

Before he knew it, his eyes were focused on her lips and the softness he'd felt when he had kissed them earlier. Ranma's instincts were leading his body as he leaned forward and slid his finger along Akane's chin. She moved her head upwards in surprise and confusion, but Ranma was lost in his yearning for her. He kissed her with a passion well beyond her experience level.

At first, Akane pulled away in shock, but Ranma wasn't deterred.

"You're…beautiful Akane."

Ranma's desire for her was eating him alive. He had his whole palm against her face as he tentatively approached her again. He gently kissed her and this time, she kissed him back. It was featherly light and shy.

"You're…going too fast, Ranma," Akane spoke shyly.

Ranma laid down beside her and pulled Akane toward him. Hugging her against his chest. She could hear his heartbeat thundering beneath her ear as she laid against him.

Why had he kissed her like that? She couldn't believe the warmth and passion behind it. If the circumstances were different, she would think he was madly in love with her. But, she also knew she was naive and inexperienced.

"Why did you do that? I thought we were at the 'getting to know each other' stage tonight" Akane jokingly said as she lifted her head up to look at Ranma.

Ranma glanced at her teasing, but blushy red face and covered his eyes with his forearm. Ranma then chuckled, "Just completing Step 1 of getting used to intimacy with each other."