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It was silly, maybe, but there was some sort of comfort in the way Akane engulfed herself in Ranma’s worn-out mandarin top. He had accidentally left it behind the afternoon he had gone away for one of his training trips. She hadn’t known why she had taken it into her bedroom instead of Auntie’s Saotome’s, or even the laundry basket.
The shirt had first landed lazily in the corner of her bed, as she had simply tossed it aside. When it was time for bed, the young woman folded it neatly and placed it atop of her desk, deciding she’d put it away tomorrow. Essentially, she did not.
She sat on her desk’s chair the following day, trying to concentrate on something else, yet her wondering eyes couldn’t help but land on the button up. And she wondered about him, knowing very well that he was fine, it was only training with Ryoga after all. Nonetheless, she wished him a safe trip even though he wasn’t going far.
As she looked at the strained clothing, the vibrant color seemingly quite lost, she began to wonder about the appeal Ranma found in it. Her hand very timidly, almost hesitantly, reached to feel one of the gold frog buttons. The tip of her fingers played with it, noticing they were loose and probably didn’t hold as firmly as they should have to keep the top secured when wearing it. The rest of the cloth was soft, and as if noticing for the first time, she came to realize what good quality fabric it was made from. Which made sense, considering how many years it had lasted him; the poor shirt had gone through so much.
Continuing with her lack of confidence, not sure why she found herself wanting to know, Akane took the shirt in her hands and pulled it towards her face. She was expecting it to smell like the fabric softener, surprised to find how overpowering his scent was. Glancing a few times around the room, and once making sure no one was around, she quickly slipped it on. The broad length of the shoulders draped onto her forearms, and the sleeves made it past her wrists. Although embarrassed, Akane allowed herself a moment, relishing the way his clothing felt on her.
And so, sometimes in the evening, although usually late at night, Akane would put on his shirt when she found herself thinking about him. Realizing how much more she actually missed him – along with all the wacky antics he always seemed to be involved in – she wondered if he missed her.
When Akane snapped her eyes open, Ranma was silently sliding the window to her bedroom open. She had apparently fallen asleep, and dawn was seemingly emerging upon them. He pressed his index finger against his shushing lips, weary whether she’d make a fuzz, but she sat up quietly and waited for him to hop in.
“Morning,” he smirked, his voice hoarse and quiet, the sun’s glow beginning to blend into what used to be the night’s sky.
“You’re back,” she replied, her smile wider now. He was now slowly getting on her bed, and she easily welcomed it, adjusting herself so he’d be comfortable next to her.
Akane rubbed her eyes and tried fixing her hair, “When did you get home?”
“Just now. My backpack’s still outside, actually.”
“And I’m hoping you dropped Ryoga home?” She grinned, a knowing eyebrow poking at him, both well aware of his lacking sense of direction.
“I did my best,” he joked, and she just rolled her eyes.
They shared a moment of silence, but she found herself unable to stop staring at him. It had been weeks since she last seen him and although his appearance didn’t change, she found herself appreciating his features as best as she could in the limited lighting. His ruffled hair was still quite adorable, even now with all the frizziness. And his soft gaze was still very mesmerizing.
“So,” his taunting tone pulled her out of thought, “you missed me?”
Her rosy cheeks only reddened, but she couldn’t deny such a thing. Especially nowadays when his absence was beginning to dawn on her. She settled for not saying anything right away, pouting with a puff through her nostrils.
“You’re the one sneaking into my room at these hours,” she tried to retaliate, feeling confident through her cocky smirk.
Ranma huffed, resting his back against her wall, quite nonchalant as he replied, “Yeah, but you’re the one wearing my shirt.”
Shit. She had completely forgotten that she was, in fact, wearing his stupid, wonderfully scented shirt. She groaned mildly, trying to hide her face within her hands. God, why was she wearing his shirt? She sneaked a peek at him through her fingers, and he was now laughing softly, leaning his face towards her.
“I thought I had lost it,” he said, and she brought her hands back down as his eyes bounced about her face, “but it seems you stole it before I left.” She groaned louder now, a throbbing eyebrow daring to pound him.
“That’s not – I didn’t –”
“’s okay, ‘Kane,” he interjected, his face still centimeters away that she could feel his breathing skim over her lips, “you can keep it if you like it that much.”
The pit of her stomach churned, and she felt so embarrassed she wanted to melt away – disintegrate into dust so she didn’t have to look at the goofy grin his stupid face was making at her. Although, she did like the idea of keeping his shirt.
He laughed again, his index finger poking her cheek and she wanted to wince at the way his touch flared a shiver down her spine, “C’mon, just admit that you missed me.”
“Geez, Ranma,” she said, feeling out of breath for some reason, but tried her best to maintain her composure, “stop being annoying.”
“Tsk,” he replied, finding herself hating that he had suddenly pulled away, “and here I thought all this time you were thinking of me.”
Akane rolled her eyes, her large irises landing on him, “This goes both ways, you know.”
His eyebrows furrowed, not quite aware of his strained expression. “You don’t think I missed ya’?” She continued looking at him, her face now scrunching in thought, understanding what he was saying. And she couldn’t stop herself from getting flustered, hoping her flushed cheeks weren’t noticeable. But also, she couldn’t stop her lips from lifting into a timid, small smile.
“So, you did miss me?” she asked shyly, slightly inclining herself towards him, hopeful.
“I asked first,” he challenged.
“Well,” she hummed teasingly, squinting her eyes at him and she laughed softly at the way he eyed her with a dubious stare. “I did.”
And she tried to bite down her widening smile, her teeth taking in her lower lip when she noticed his brightened-up expression.
“I can tell,” he replied, his blue eyes once again scanning her body, and all she could do was stick her tongue out at him like a child. How was she supposed to react when he was acting so childish?
“You were gone over two weeks, you know,” she said suddenly, leaning herself against the wall as she looked over at Ranma staring at her curiously. “Of course I missed that dopey face of yours.” She grinned at the way his face soured, taking a deep breath through her nose as she remembered the feeling of missing him. She didn’t like it, somehow finding it quite lonesome. “Sometimes I missed you a little too much,” she teased, crinkling her nose at how vulnerable she suddenly felt.
Without a warning, or any hesitation on his part, Ranma had angled himself to face her. He searched her face as she held in her breath, not understanding what he was looking for. She sat still, frozen, watching him watch her with pure intensity. And he was closer now, his dazed eyes staring at the way she unconsciously parted her lips, as if waiting for something.
“’Kane,” he whispered, and she felt so out of it, her vision suddenly foggy. Still, she waited for him to continue talking as he said, “I thought about you the whole time I was away.” His voice was low and alluring, effortlessly grasping her full attention. And she felt her stomach flip a few times, jumbling her insides into knots as she tried to remember how to breathe. He was closer now, feeling the way his lips slightly skimmed her cheek, and she couldn’t do much but shut her eyes.
“The-the whole time?” She stammered.
The tip of his nose was now dragging itself down her jaw, involuntarily gasping at the way he was now nuzzling at the crook of her neck. His searing breath almost blistered her skin as she felt her mouth parch, her entire body tensing. And then she felt his arms embrace her body completely, squeezing gently as he adjusted himself on the bed with her. He was hugging her now, pulling her towards him, and she easily complied. She could feel his face press against her collarbone, his soft breathing tickling her gently as she slowly rested her chin at the top of his head.
Akane’s arms wrapped around him, lazily laying atop his scruffy hair as his hands seemingly took loose parts of the top she was wearing into fists. “Keep the shirt,” he said. And she smiled fondly, nodding although he couldn’t see her.