Chapter Text
The sun is beating down, aspahlt sizzling, and cicadas screaming outside the Tendo dojo. Occasional thumps, crashes and battle cries from inside mingle with the constant buzz outside.
Ranma is pulling his punches.
”Stop pulling your punches”, Akane says in between a series of swift kicks. She’s not angry or offended like she would’ve been before – just tells Ranma to take this practice seriously.
Ranma huffs and blocks Akane’s punch and consecutive kick. He retaliates with a set of strikes and punches which force Akane to fall back and get off his face. She smirks, eyebrows creased in concentration, as she readies to counterattack.
She knows she wouldn’t be able to beat Ranma in a fair fight. And she’s okay with that, though it stings a bit still. Ranma has learned not to rub it to her face, which helps greatly. That is one of the subtle changes in their lives after Jusenkyo.
They’re more considerate of each other. Almost losing Akane changed something in Ranma. And Ranma baring his concealed thoughts and feelings in that moment of grief made it easier for Akane to understand him.
Partly they did fall back to their old habits. They do needle and tease each other, that’s a given. They grow irritated and angry at each other and have many great miscommunications. But there’s no low-blows, and if lines are crossed, they’re able to talk about it rather than fume separately and draw wrong conclusions.
And there’s still Shampoo and the Kunos, and their families and friends, and Ranma’s curse, and the usual day-to-day absurdities of their lives.
Ranma has Akane nearly cornered dodging and blocking his blows one after the other. She drops and twists behind Ranma to dodge a punch, swipes a kick to his shin to waver his balance, and hops backwards to keep him at arms length. Ranma finds his balance with an eloquent move which also turns him again face to face with Akane. He’s smiling excitedly, and she returns the smile.
”Come on”, she goads him, and he launches forward, left hand piercing the air like a hawk diving for its prey. It’s just a distraction though, so his right hand can get in a more powerful blow.
She knows she wouldn’t be able to beat Ranma in a fair fight. The next few steps of action come to her naturally in this moment.
Akane blocks Ranma’s left hand with her left hand, grasping Ranma’s wrist and holding on. Her right hand snakes up to his neck to pull him down. She presses her lips to his, stunning him momentarily so his right hand halts in its tracks. She pulls back and flicks Ranma on the forehead with her index finger. Ranma stumbles down in a heap of uncoordinated limbs like she’d just hit him square in the chest with all her might and then some.
”Gotcha!” Akane giggles.
”You, you- what- I- ”, Ranma stutters, his face beet red.
Akane’s laughing. ”You okay?”
”I- I don’t know.”
”Want me to kiss it better?” she says, cocky and daring.
”Ranma’s rendered speechless again. She can almost see his brain turning up blank, trying to compute what just happened. And she’s laughing again, light and bubbly.
”Ye- yeah. Yes, please.”
So she gets down to her knees between his legs, cradles his face with both hands, and kisses him again. She takes her time this time around, waits for Ranma to get out of his head and get his footing. His hands move to her hips, jerky and unsure movements. She really can’t tell what gave her the confidence and courage to finally jump over this hurdle in their path, but now that it’s behind them, kissing Ranma feels like the easiest thing in the world.
+++
She kisses him again that night, a kiss good night. Then she lays in her bed buzzing with excitement and blushing. She doesn’t notice P-chan sniffling and climbing out her open window into the night.
Ranma lays on his futon blushing and in awe. He gently touches his fingertips to his lips.
+++
The first time Akane’s on the receiving end of a kiss initiated by Ranma, the next day, she also is rendered speechless and momentarily loses proper control of her limbs.
They’re walking to school, Ranma balancing on the fence as per usual. The morning sun is warm and bright and promises a stiflingly hot day. Akane’s been trying to hold a casual conversation with little success as Ranma is somewhere in his head again. She can feel herself grow frustrated at his one-word answers, uncertain and disappointed. She sighs and decides to rather let it go. They can walk in silence just as well.
Just before turning the last corner to Furinkan High Ranma hops down and lands softly in front of Akane. He stares at her for two or three heartbeats.
”Can I kiss you?”
For a moment she can’t get a word out, all air knocked out of her lungs. ”Yeah.”
Even with the permission – which he didn’t really need – Ranma hesitates a moment, and Akane’s heart grows so very fond of him. Then he pulls her to him with a hand on the small of her back, the other cupping her jaw very delicately. Ranma kisses her softly but surprisingly surely. She lays her hand on his arm, the other holding her school bag by her side.
He pulls back but holds her close still. Akane feels her skin buzz and a blush rise to her cheeks, and she can’t really feel her toes.
”You’re cute, you know”, Ranma says, or more like blurts out. He’s blushing too, but there’s an undertone of determination in his eyes and stature. Akane presses her forehead to his chest and holds onto him tighter.
”Let’s go, before we’re late”, she says when she finally finds her tongue. ”And you don’t need to ask, you know.”
+++
It’s raining. The morning was humid and heavy, so they should’ve known it would start pouring in the afternoon. They should’ve known, but still they forgot their umbrellas at home. Ranma hands Akane his jacket at the shelter of the main entrance to Furinkan High. She takes the jacket and drapes it over her head and school bag but says, ”You didn’t need to.”
”I know.”
He changes the second they step out into the rain. Sighing, he steps out of his shoes, too big now, and picks them up.
”You’ll be cold by the time we get home”, Akane worries.
”It’s okay. I need to take a warm bath anyway.”
”I’m sorry.”
”It’s not your fault Akane, don’t be stupid.”
”I know.”
The rain dies down to a drizzle when they’re half way home. Akane drapes the soaking wet jacket on her shoulders now. With her hand free she reaches for Ranma’s – much more delicate now. The sudden thought that they haven’t kissed like this comes to her out of the blue.
She mulls it over for the next block, glancing at Ranma’s side profile. Then she tugs at Ranma’s hand to get his attention, and when she has it, surges for a haste but purposeful kiss. She misses her mark just a little. Ranma’s lips are softer, smaller, like almost everything is in this form.
Ranma stops in his tracks. He stares at Akane, baffled. ”It doesn’t bother you?”
”That’s what I was checking”, she says.
”And?”
”And no, it doesn’t.”
When Ranma doesn’t continue walking, Akane asks, ”Does it bother you? To kiss me the way you are?” Ranma is quiet for a moment. ”I won’t do it if it bothers you.”
”It was weird, but I think I’d get used to it”, Ranma says at last.
Akane smiles and squeezes his hand. ”Okay.”
When they’re one block from home Ranma pipes up again. ”You don’t like me better like this, though?”
”What!” Akane would laugh, but there’s genuine worry in Ranma’s voice, ”No, I like you. I think it really doesn’t matter to me, but since it matters to you… I want what you want. This is not something I can decide, or really have any opinion on.”
”Okay.”
”We’ll reverse this thing some day, I know it”, she assures Ranma.
”Okay.” He sounds slightly less worried.
+++
”Do you want to get married?” Ranma asks one evening when they’re stargazing on the roof.
Akane turns to look at him but Ranma is staring at the sky above. ”You don’t need to propose. I thought I already was your fiancée.”
”I guess you are, but do you want to be? That’s what I’m asking, I think.”
”Yes, I want to be”, Akane says, sure in her answer. ”Do you want to get married?”
For a while Ranma is quiet. Akane has learned not to lose her temper right away but to give Ranma the time he needs. She counts the stars. ”I don’t know if I’ll be any good at it”, Ranma says.
”Well, me neither. Should we call it off then?”
”No!” Ranma says quickly. ”I mean, do you think we should?”
Akane sighs. ”No, I don’t think so. We’ve got time.”
”We’ve got time.”