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“You really are pathetic, did you really have to hit him 518 times to win?”
Ranma glared at Akane beside him, but didn’t respond as he applied another bandage to his arm. Akane did a double take. Ranma usually liked arguing with her, sending teasing remarks back and forth that tended to lighten his mood, and hers if she was being honest. For as much as they bickered, Akane thought it was mostly good fun. She never actually meant any of it, mostly. But something was off with Ranma. She hadn’t known the boy (sometimes girl) for very long, so she’d never seen this expression on his face before, but it surprised her to find out that Ranma had emotions she hadn’t seen on his face before.
“Well someone's in a bad mood, what’d you do to him, Akane?” Nabiki leaned over with a smirk directed towards her little sister. “Didn’t cook for him I hope.”
“Shut up, Nabiki. And no, we just got into a fight with some creep.”
Kasumi walked in behind Akane and sat at the table, “Oh goodness, what happened to you?”
Ranma kept his head down and, for a second Akane couldn’t believe it, he blushed. He was embarrassed.
“Really, I can’t bear to watch you, Ranma.” Akane turned to see the voice in the doorway. “Ryouga?”
“I would’ve never let something that ridiculous happen to me. I mean, you call yourself a man amongst men?” Ryouga was rubbing it in, and Akane frowned at that.
Ranma could have, would usually, fire back with some insult at his rival and maybe kick him out the window for good measure, but he just kinda curled in on himself, like he couldn’t face looking up. Akane felt like someone had to stand up for her poor fiance, at least a little. “That’s not really fair, if Ranma wasn’t wearing skates, he wouldn’t have-”
“Wouldn’t have been kissed?” Ryouga taunted.
The smile on Nabiki’s face grew two sizes and Kasumi gasped, “Oh, really? So someone kissed Ranma?” “You have to tell me who!”
“Well at least it was a good-looking boy, aye Ranma?” Ryouga said while patting the boy on the back. But Ranma barely reacted. If anything, he looked like he might be sick. He was still hunched over, face flushed, and his eyes were trained on the floor like if he looked up he might die.
“Boy?” Nabiki asked, she wasn’t smiling anymore, more curious, like she was waiting for Ranma to say something.
“Oh, that's nothing to get worked up about. Accidents happen!” Kasumi said with a smile, though Akane thought it sounded kinda lame, especially because it wasn’t an accident, Mikado kissed Ranma before he could do anything to stop him. All of this was starting to feel very wrong in Akane’s mind, especially because Ranma still hadn't said a word since leaving the ice rink. And it didn't help when Nabiki pushed a little further.
“Though, it’d be a shame if it was your first kiss.” She said, with a smile that told Akane that Nabiki knew it was, and knew that Ranma would react.
Before anyone could say more, Ranma stood up and dashed out of the room. Everyone just sat there in silence, trying to comprehend that Ranma had just run away instead of fighting or getting angry.
It kinda frustrated Akane to know that she still couldn’t quite understand Ranma’s skill and speed, but more pressingly, she was kinda starting to think that the kiss that was stolen from him might have actually hurt him more than any punch or kick that had flown on that rink. Ranma needed someone to talk to, and it made Akane sad to realize that he didn’t really have anyone. He couldn’t talk to any of his friends from school about this, or any of the Tendou sisters, or god forbid his father, without being made fun of. So Akane did what she figured any good fiance would do, what a good friend might do, picked up the med kit, and set off towards the dojo, leaving Kasumi, Nabiki, and Ryouga behind with a deafening silence.
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Ranma was right where she thought he'd be, in the dojo, but what surprised her was Ranma himself. He was curled in on himself, hugging his knees to his chest and burying his head so tightly like he believed that if he didn't, he might fall apart. Some part of Akane's heart hurt for her fiance on the floor. She was really starting to care about the idiot, she realized with a blush. Akane mentally filled those feelings away for later, Right now it was pretty clear that Ranma needed her, and she couldn't help him and blush like an idiot whenever she met his eyes.
If she could meet his eyes. Despite her loudly walking towards him, The pigtailed boy still wouldn't look up. So Akane figured she’d get his attention.
SLAP
“You left your back unguarded. You’re wide open.” Akane said with a grin, as Ranma rubbed the back of his head. Ranma mumbled something under his breath.
“What was that?”
“Come to make fun of me more?” Ranma’s voice was quiet, and he sounded genuinely angry, but more than that, there was a hint of sadness in the way his voice wobbled, in a way that was so unlike Ranma. Akane paused before speaking.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Ranma looked surprised for a second, and just stared off more, weighing his options, before slipping back a little.
“Not with someone so un-cute, like you.”
Akane sighed, but still pushed on.
"At least let me bandage you up. You’re still covered in bruises.” She said, waving the first-aid kit.
Ranma, again, looked surprised, but this time relented, silently loosening up a little and blushing, but still without meeting Akane’s eyes.
The two sat in silence while She worked, Ranma fidgeting and and occasionally flinching as Akane applied bandages and cream to some of the more banged up parts of Ranma’s face and arms. As she worked, Akane studied him. Something was clearly bothering him, no doubt the kiss if she had to guess. But why wouldn’t he just say it? She even offered to talk about it. Unless he was afraid of getting made fun of, which, fair, she supposed. Though she liked to think she had earned some trust back by now. It was time to push a little further.
“So, what happened when he kissed you?”
Ranma froze, his entire body still as Akane pressed another bandage on.
“I mean, how could you let your guard down like that? To be kissed so easily?” Akane said before frowning. She hadn’t meant for it to sound so… judgemental. Like she was blaming him for being kissed. She looked up to apologize when she saw it.
A tear running down Ranma’s face.
He still wouldn’t look up, Akane wasn’t sure if he could even move his neck. His entire body looked like it was desperately trying not to move despite Ranma clearly needing to, which caused him to shake, almost violently. There were multiple tears now, and the dam had clearly broken because there was no sign of them stopping.
Without thinking Akane lunged forward and wrapped Ranma in a hug, only to find him a few inches shorter than she remembered. Her head turned to find red hair and the next cries coming out were distinctly more feminine.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that, I don’t know what I was thinking.” Akane pleaded as she held the shivering girl in her arms. Ranma was almost sobbing now, it was just too much for her, all of it, and Akane was determined to hold her together as she fell apart.
“And I’m sorry he kissed you. It wasn’t your fault. I’m sorry if I ever made you feel like it was.”
Ranma finally lifted her arms and wrapped them around Akane, leaning in and burying her head in the short haired girl's shoulder. The crying got quieter as the red head collected herself. Akane almost didn’t hear it, but Ranma spoke softly into her shoulder, a barely audible whisper.
“Thank you.”
Akane smiled and hugged her fiancee tighter.
“Of course.”