PERSEID
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic by Jan Story
All characters � by Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, etc.

NOTE:  the cap sort of came off the lemon-scent bottle when I was writing
this.  I don't think I spilled any, though...


Ranma stared at the ceiling, or where the ceiling would be if he could see
it in the dark.  The still air seemed to press down on him, as stifling as
guilt.  /*What�s the matter with me tonight?  We always argue... how come I
feel so lousy?*/  Beside him, the huge furred bulk of his father snored
loudly.  /*Why can�t I be like Oyaji and sleep no matter what?  Conscience
never bothers him... heat never bothers him... noise never bothers him.*/
His eyes burned with the need for sleep, but the gnawing remorse in his gut
made it impossible... let alone all the other discomforts: the oppressively
unmoving air, the damp heat of his skin against the futon, the unpleasant
way his boxers clung to him, that buzz-saw snoring... suddenly he couldn�t
stand it any more.  He slipped out the window, and in a single smooth leap
was on the roof.

It was slightly cooler up here, and there was a faint breeze, coming from
the opposite side of the house.  He stretched out on the cool tiles, hands
behind his head, and gazed up at the stars.  They weren�t as clear or as
close here as they were other places: up north, or in backcountry China,
away from cities, but he still loved their beauty and peace, the still calm
that grew in his soul when he looked at them.  A meteor streaked across the
sky, and then another.

He still felt bad about the argument with Akane.  /*Guess I should
apologize.*/

/*Man, if I go in there she�ll pound me for a pervert.*/

/*Gotta do it anyway.  If she pounds me she pounds me.*/  He swung himself
over the edge of the roof and in through Akane�s window.

It was just as stifling in her room as it had been in his.  She had kicked
off her covers and lay curled in a little ball, hugging that stupid stuffed
pig.  /*At least P-chan ain�t here.  Yarou musta got lost again.*/  It was
hard to tell in the moonlight... were there tear-streaks on her face?  As he
gazed down at her, she whimpered and muttered in her sleep.  �No, don�t... I
didn�t mean it... please...�

He shook her gently.  �Akane?  C�mon, Akane, wake up.�

�No... nani?  Ranma?�  She sat up, tensing for an attack.

He gripped her wrists before she could mallet him.  �I didn�t come in here
to do nothin� perverted!� he hissed.  �I � I just wanted to tell ya... I
shouldn�ta said the stuff I did.  I�m sorry.�

The angry tension drained out of her.  �I... I guess I shouldn�t have hit
you so hard.�

There was an awkward silence.  Out the window, he saw another meteor fall.
�Somethin� I wanna show ya.  C�mon.�

�Ranma...�

He waved his hands in protest.  �I ain�t gonna...�  He stopped himself
before he insulted her again.  /*Tomboy got nothin� I wanna see.*/  For some
reason that felt wrong tonight, and not just because it would get him
another malleting, but...  �Come on.  You�ll like it.  Please?�

�All right, but... if this is something perverted you�ll regret it.�

He scooped her up.  �Close your eyes and hang on tight.�  In a single bound
he was out the window; in another he was on the roof.

�Kyaa!�  She buried her face in his shoulder and wrapped her arms tightly
around his neck.  He had carried her before, of course, but seldom so fast;
the speed of his leap seemed to leave her stomach behind.  /*It�s one thing
to see how strong he is, but it�s something else to feel...*/ he was setting
her down on a slanted surface, hard and ridged...

�Okay, you can look now.�  Just as she had thought, they were on the roof.
It was cooler up here, with a slight breeze.  �Look up.�

It was a perfectly clear night, the stars stretching up endlessly.  A streak
of light crossed the heavens, then another, and another... the whole sky was
a dance of falling stars... �So beautiful,� she breathed.

Ranma lay down on the roof next to her, his hands behind his head, carefully
not touching her.  �Like it?�

�It�s so beautiful...�  She turned toward him, smiling, and stretched out
her hand.  �Thank you, Ranma.�

He extended his own hand, barely touching hers.  Watching her was even
better than watching the meteor shower.  Delight radiated from her like
sunshine, he could feel it even with his eyes closed.  Especially with his
eyes closed...

/*Ranma�s never done anything this nice before,*/ Akane thought, gazing up
at the falling stars.  It was so quiet up here, late at night, only the
chirp of a cricket in the garden, the faint sounds of occasional cars on the
main road... a cat yowling, somewhere in the direction of the shrine.  She
glanced quickly at Ranma to see if the sound had bothered him, but he was
sound asleep.  The stars almost seemed to be singing... if she closed her
eyes she could almost hear it...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Something was tickling his nose.  He twitched, but it didn�t go away.  There
was a bright light glaring in his eyes too; he tried opening them, but it
was so bright he couldn�t see anything, and shut them again.  That bug or
whatever was still tickling his nose too.  He raised a hand to brush it
away... and encountered... hair!?  And there was something on top of him
besides a quilt, too, something warm and soft and...

/*There�s a girl draped all over me.  Oh man, that hentai bimbo Shampoo
musta snuck into my bed again... Akane�s gonna KILL me...*/ He tried opening
his eyes again, just a crack; this time he saw enough to notice that the
hair tickling his nose wasn�t long and purple at all.  It was short and
black.  /*A-Akane?  That�s right, I brought her up to watch the meteors... I
guess we both fell asleep... Oh no, I hafta get her back to her room before
our dads or Nabiki find out we�re up here...*/  Slowly he began edging out
from under her.

�Ranma,� she murmured in her sleep, and her arms tightened around him.

/*She really feels kinda nice.  Soft.*/  In spite of what he always said, he
didn�t really find her sexless.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  He could feel
every soft curve of her body through the thin cotton of her pajamas... gods,
she felt so... for all the protection his boxers afforded, he might as well
have been naked...  /*Aww man... all I need now is for her to wake up... or
Shampoo or Kodachi to come by... I�m dead.  I�m worse than dead...
kawaiikunee, irokeganee...*/ his body obstinately refused to believe the
insults...

Akane wasn�t in her bed... she was on something hard and yielding at once...
She opened her eyes; she was looking down a flat expanse of bare skin...
yellow silk boxers, trimmed with blue... and... /*I�m up on the roof?  With
Ranma?  And he�s... he�s...*/ She sat up, sprang to her feet, her aura
flaring to life.

His brain, already overloaded by the conflict between what he was feeling
and what he knew was going to happen, shut down.  He scrambled backwards,
away from her, hands raised in a warding gesture, babbling frantically.
�Akane... wait... it�s not what you think... don�t... please...�

�Ranma... you... PERVERT!!�  Her foot connected solidly, and he went flying
off the roof into the garden.  He tucked, spun, tried to control his
landing, but that never did any good where Akane was concerned, he was going
to land right in the...

*splash*

Ranma stood up, water streaming from her pigtail and nose and chin, a strand
of green weed decorating her fire-red hair.  �You are so UNCUTE!� she yelled
at the now-empty roof, and stomped into the house in search of hot water and
dry clothes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTES, EXPLANATIONS ETC.

In the immortal words of Shinji Ikari:  "I can't help it.  It's morning."

I almost didn't write this.  It was one of the first fic ideas I ever had --
Ranma and Akane fall asleep on the roof and he has to get her back to her
room before anybody finds out.  That was before I found out that sooner or
later almost everybody does an on-the-roof fic.  Well, not everybody, but
most people who write WAFF, at least it seemed that way to me at the time.
Then I read yet another on-the-roof fic (I think it might have been one of
Kiwi Noriega's) and decided to go ahead with mine.  I didn't really expect
the turn it took... but then that's part of the fun of writing these things.

Does anybody know if there is a Japanese name for the Perseid meteor shower?
The Japanese Star Lore website doesn't list one, and I don't know anywhere
else to look.  I'd really like to retitle this.