Subject: [Ranma] STARLIGHT
From: Claire
Date: 6/3/1997, 2:37 AM
To: fanfic@fanfic.com

"Up here, it was as if nothing and no one else existed but the two of them –
and the stars."


STARLIGHT 
a Ranma ½ fanfic by CBear

All characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, etc... I just write
this stuff for fun and because I love Ranma ½ so much. Hope you enjoy it!
Oh... and watch out for the cheese – this one gets rather sticky. C&C are
gladly welcomed. 

*	*	*	*
STARLIGHT 

The pale glow of Akane's desk lamp bathed her room in an eerie yellow light,
casting long shadows on the wall. Several books were spread open on the
desk; a couple of her notebooks, many sheets of paper as well. It had an air
of pleasant clutter about it.

Akane herself was lying on her bed, hugging one of her stuffed toys to her
chest, staring at the shadows on the wall. She was tired from studying since
after dinner, but at the moment she was too wound up to sleep. Funny, it
seemed that she could study much better when Ranma was stretched out on her
bed doodling in his notebooks, pretending to be doing his homework. But of
course Ranma, being Ranma, refused to study on a Friday night.

She loved this room; it was her sanctuary. It was the one place where she
could run to and cry out her troubles like to an old friend. Tonight,
though, it felt as if something was missing from it. 

Akane closed her eyes and let the familiar sounds of the night wash over
her. From below her she could hear Father and Uncle Saotome loudly playing
shogi and sharing sake – something they did every night. Kasumi's gentle
humming was barely audible as she tidied up the kitchen for the day, and
Akane felt rather than actually heard her sweet, cheerful melody.  From
Nabiki's room, the clacking sound of an abacus and the occasional merry
jingle of coins broke the silence. 

Akane smiled, comforted by the sounds of home. Seemed that everyone was
accounted for except...

A soft knock on her door intruded into her thoughts. "Akane, may I come in?"

"Sure, Kasumi, the door is open," Akane said, sitting up and giving her
eldest sister a welcoming smile. Kasumi came in carrying a few of Akane's
school uniforms and clothes in her arms. Akane reached for them and placed
them on her bed.

"Thanks for the laundry, Oneechan," Akane said picking up her stuffed toy
once more. 

Kasumi sat down on the bed beside her and brushed Akane's hair off her
forehead. "Studying so hard on a Friday night, Akane?" Kasumi asked.

Akane shrugged. "Nothing better to do," she said, glancing at the framed
photograph Ranma had given her for Christmas sitting on her desk, almost
covered by the pile of books on it. She sighed softly and leaned her head on
Kasumi’s shoulder, feeling tired and rather lonely. 

 "Have you heard, there's going to be a meteor shower tonight?" Kasumi
asked, putting her head on top of  Akane's. "They said so on the news this
evening… just before eleven. Perfect night for gazing, they said, no clouds
in the sky and there's a new moon, too. Are you sleepy?  It's only an hour
from now, you might want to stay awake and wait for it."

Akane nodded. "I think I will – thanks for telling me," she replied. Akane
would not miss it for anything. Well... almost anything. She loved looking
at the stars. When she was stargazing, it felt like she was staring into
forever. "Are you going to stay awake for it, too, Kasumi?"

Kasumi gently eased off Akane's head from her shoulder and gave her forehead
a final affectionate brush. "I think not," she said, smiling as she stood
up. "I'll be waking up early tomorrow morning, so I guess I should turn in
early, too."
  
"Good night, Oneechan," Akane said, standing up herself as Kasumi opened the
door. "I think I'll wait for the meteor shower outside... I don't want to
waste a good night for stargazing!"  

"Have fun, Akane-chan!" Kasumi said, pausing at the door, her brow lined
thoughtfully. "And don't forget to wear your jacket out... it's quite cool
up there on the roof. I also left some hot water on the stove in case you
might want some tea or hot chocolate later tonight."

"On the roof?" Akane asked, a frown of puzzlement crossing her face. 

"The view is best up there." Kasumi smiled. "Good night, Akane-chan." With
that she eased out of the room and closed the door.

Akane walked to the window and stuck her head out. The sky was indeed a
clear midnight blue, lit only by thousands and thousands of stars. On their
own, they cast a silver light on the garden and the koi pond below. It
wasn’t too nippy... she could do without a coat.

Silently, she made her way to the laundry porch, passing her sisters' rooms
and Ranma's room on the way. There were lights shining under each of them,
even Ranma's. Since Uncle Saotome was still downstairs with her father, then
Ranma was probably inside. She paused outside his door for a moment
hesitating – then, thinking better of it, went onto the laundry porch. 

Even from there, the view of the sky was magnificent.  But something was
calling her up to the roof. She bit her lip, considering; after a moment she
began to carefully work her way onto the roof.

The climb was worth it, she realized, looking up at the sky. From here she
could pretend that she was floating in space and nothing existed but the
stars and herself and…

"Akane."

She felt his presence before she saw him or heard him say her name. She
turned and found him looking at her curiously, sitting at his favorite spot
on the roof, long legs stretched out before him.

"Ranma," she said with a smile, walking over to him. "Do you mind?" she
asked, already sensing that he didn't.

"'Course not," Ranma answered, scooting over and gesturing to a spot beside
him. He slipped a hand under her elbow and gently supported her as she took
a seat beside him. He smiled at her absently. "Why are you here anyway?" he
asked – then flushed visibly. "Uh… what I meant was… what… uh…" 

Akane laughed, the magic of the stars above them helping her hold her
temper. "It's a good night for looking at the stars," she said after a short
pause, deciding to put him out of his misery. "Kasumi said there’s going to
be a meteor shower later tonight."

"Really? I thought it was tomorrow... oh, well, never mind," Ranma said,
scratching his head and frowning thoughtfully. Then he shrugged, lay back
and looked at the stars. 

The two of them sat in companionable silence for a long time, Akane hugging
her knees to her chest, Ranma lying down with his head pillowed on his arms,
both not wanting to shatter the serenity of the night. From below them, they
could hear their fathers' loud laughter as it rang through the house. But
above that, they could hear the faint rustle of the leaves as the night
breeze danced through the trees, whispering, almost singing.

"Now I know why you like it up here so much," she finally said, her voice
ringing with wonder. "Up here, it's like nothing else exists but you and the
stars." She paused, glancing back at him with a bemused smile. "It's so
beautiful."

Her face, bathed by the stars' silver light, was... "Yeah, beautiful," he
replied. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh... it... it sorta reminds me
of the days when Pop and I were still on the road," he told her. "On clear
nights like this, I would lie in a spot that had a full view of the sky and
stay awake nearly all night just watching the stars. I could pretend that
the sky was my roof and the walls were the trees and..." he broke off,
blushing. "Stop me when I get too weird."

Akane's eyes were wide, fascinated.  "No, no – please go on. It's... it's
not weird at all," she said, carefully turning so that she could see his
face. Under the embarrassed flush, she could see his face was relaxed, at
peace – open. "I've always wondered it was like for you, wandering from
place to place... did your father watch the stars with you, too?"

Ranma snorted with suppressed laughter. "Pop? Are you kidding? As far as he
was concerned, mealtimes were for eating, night time was for sleeping, and
everything else in between was time for training. That guy has no
appreciation for the finer things in life."

Akane laughed at this. "As if you do!" she said, between chuckles. 

Ranma was oddly silent. 

Akane opened her eyes and trailed off at the hurt expression she saw in
Ranma's eyes. "I – I'm sorry, Ranma... that was really thoughtless of me...
that's something that you would say... eeeep!" she babbled, placing a hand
over her mouth while flushing with embarrassment. So this was how Ranma felt
when he put his foot in his mouth. "I – I'm so sorry."

"'S okay, I guess I deserved that one," he replied, biting his lip
thoughtfully then nervously tugging at his braid. " Do you really – uh...
what I mean is... uh... am I as... am I that..."

Akane put a comforting hand on his arm and shook her head. "No... no, of
course not! I – I was just kidding," she said, looking straight into his
eyes. He looked uncertain. "You're not like your father, Ranma." She paused
thoughtfully. "At least, not in that way."

Akane wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw a flicker of relief in his eyes.
He nodded almost imperceptibly and gave her another small smile. "Thanks,
Akane."

They sat in silence once more, this time noticing that their fathers weren't
making any noise from down below. Now all they could hear were the
comforting sounds of the night, the humming of the wind, the rustling of the
leaves. From the distance, they could even hear the sounds of downtown Tokyo
drifting over to them over the breeze.  

"Do – do you miss it?" Akane asked hesitantly, not quite understanding but
knowing that the answer would be important to her.

"Miss what?"

"Having the whole world as your house," she said lightly, forcing a laugh.
Coming from a life like that, he probably felt confined in a house enclosed
by all these walls. Mentally holding her breath, she waited for his answer.

Ranma hesitated. Did he miss his old life? Wandering from place to place,
not staying long enough to make any good friends growing up, almost always
short of food... having no roots. "It was fun..." he began.

Akane felt her stomach take a dip. 

"...but I like it better now," he finished. He looked at her. "It... it
feels good to have a... a real family now. A... a real... home. Here. With
you... uh... with your family." 

She gave him a bright smile. "I'm glad," she said softly, turning and
looking back up at the stars. Akane suddenly shivered. "Kasumi was right...
I should have taken my jacket."

All of a sudden, she felt a wall of warmth behind her and two strong hands
upon her shoulders, urging her backwards. "'S okay, Akane, lean against me
if you’re cold," Ranma said, his warm breath just above her ear. Startled,
she looked up at him and saw him staring straight ahead and blushing. 

She looked down, blushing as well, but touched that he had offered. She
leaned back against him and looked back up at the sky. Even tipping her head
back, she fit right under his chin; she felt the beating of his heart right
behind her. 

At that moment, the meteor shower began. 

"Look, Ranma!" She pointed at the first few meteors streaking through the
sky, sounding like an eager little girl. She felt him look up and heard him
gasp in awe. 

For long moments the sky was ablaze with the light of thousands of tiny
meteorites falling to the earth in a magical shower. Ranma and Akane watched
the spectacle in reverent, wonder-filled silence, waiting but hoping for it
to never end. 

She turned her head, secretly hoping to see the shooting stars reflected in
his blue-gray eyes – only to find him looking down at her, trying to catch a
glimpse of her eyes. Their faces were just a few inches away, and the moment
just felt... right. 

Up there, it was as if nothing and no one else existed but the two of them –
and the stars.

The stars lit the world around them as they moved their lips closer to each
other, feeling each other's sweet breath fan their faces, eyes slowly
drifting closed...

Then Akane yawned.

They broke apart, blinking rapidly, hearts beating just as fast. Akane felt
her face flushing, and she could feel Ranma tense behind her. "Baka! Baka!
Baka!" she thought to herself, leaning back and breathing deeply to calm
herself. "He was about to kiss me!" Involuntarily, she yawned again.

"Sleepy?" he asked, also breathing deeply, finally relaxing enough to place
his chin of top of her head. 

"A bit," she answered. Stars were still streaking across the midnight blue
sky, and she didn't want to break the spell by going inside the house before
the shower was over. "But I want..." she trailed off awkwardly, yawning again.

Ranma seemed to read her mind and eased her closer so she could lean back
fully on his chest.  "Don't worry about it, I'll just... uh... I'll wake you
up in case you... uh... I mean... yeah," he said, also trailing off. 

She could feel her eyelids drifting closed. "It's beautiful, isn't it,
Ranma?" she said softly, smiling. In a few more moments she was asleep.

Ranma held her long minutes after the meteor shower had ceased, reluctant to
wake her up. He smiled down at her, watching her sleep. Her thick long
lashes brushed her cheeks, the silver light of the stars causing them to
cast shadows on her face.  Her cute little-girl nose flared almost
imperceptibly with each breath she took, and she was smiling softly in her
sleep. 

He could feel her breathing evenly against him, the rhythm of her sweet
breath causing his silk shirt to rustle softly. He smiled to himself,
feeling it safe to admit that he rather liked the weight of her head
pillowed on his chest and the feel of her against him. Then he felt her
tremble. Hmmm... it WAS getting rather chilly.

He gently shifted her weight in his arms, picked her up, and slowly stood
up. She stirred and murmured in her sleep but she didn't wake up. Holding
her close to his chest, he carefully made his way off the roof and onto the
laundry porch once more. There he stopped, taking one last look at the
stars. They winked back at him solemnly. 

He padded silently into the house, pausing when he noticed some objects on
the floor. With Akane in his arms, he could not stoop down to see what they
were, so he strode over them and decided to check out what they were after
he had tucked her in. 

Ranma didn't turn on the light as he entered Akane's bedroom. The desk lamp
was on, casting a pale glow all around them. He laid her on the bed then
gently took off her shoes and laid them on the floor. Then he slowly pulled
up her covers and tucked them around her. She stirred a little, murmuring,
then settled down with a contented sigh.

He turned off the desk lamp and the pale glow of its light was replaced by
the silver starlight that streamed through Akane's open window. He walked
back to her bed and looked down at her, smiling. 

"Yes, Akane, it's beautiful," he whispered, hunching down beside her as she
slept. He hesitated, looking around guiltily, then brushed a whisper of a
kiss upon her forehead.

Akane smiled in her sleep.

Ranma tenderly smiled back at her then left, quietly shutting the door
behind him.

*	*	*	*

Returning to the laundry porch before he turned in for the night, Ranma
stooped down to see what the objects on the floor were. 

So that was why no one had bothered them all night...

On the darkened floor of the laundry floor, glinting in the starlight, were
the Tendo family katana and an empty teacup. 

Beside the katana was Kasumi's hair ribbon.

"Thanks, Kasumi," he thought, laughing softly, taking the teacup to his own
room.

The wind in the trees blew a bit stronger and the leaves rustled louder –
and for a moment Ranma thought that maybe tonight the stars were laughing
with him. 


- fin -


Notes from the author:

I hope none of you tripped over any of the cheese... but I just HAD TO write
this story. Actually it just wrote itself out! Again, Kasumi plays an
important cameo (is that possible, to be an important cameo?) in getting
Ranma and Akane closer together. I just couldn't bear cluttering up their
magical starry night with Soun and Genma-panda falling off the roof and
Nabiki taking pictures of the two of them together. I guess Kasumi couldn't
bear it either. 

Anyway, I hope you people enjoy this one... my third offering in – hmmm... 4
days?  I’m trying to get as much writing as I can while I'm still on summer
vacation. Come next week when school starts, well... 

Thanks for the C&C you've given me on SPRING SHOWERS and SANDCASTLES...
they've really helped. I hope I hear from you about this one, too.

Smile and have a nice day!