"Something to Talk About" 
A Ranma fanfic by MmeFleiss . 
All characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. 
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People are talking, talking 'bout people,
I hear them whisper, you won't believe it
They think we're lovers, kept under covers
I just ignore it, but they keep saying

We laugh just a little too loud 
We stand just a little too close 
We stare just a little too long
Maybe they're seeing, something we don't darlin'

			- "Something to Talk About" (Bonnie Raitt)
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Red rose petals lazily flutters down the nearly empty Nerima street,
only to be lifted up from the oppressive summer heat by a cool gust 
of wind which leads them to dance around a nearby lamppost before 
whipping out of sight.

In the distance, a high-pitched voice of a little girl can be heard 
chanting, "He loves me, he love me not, he loves me. . ."

"Oh yuck! I hope this don't mean I have to kiss ya," a boy
interrupted, voice dripping with disgust.

"But you promised that you'd play house with me today, Kenji-chan. 
Mommies and daddies kiss all the time!"

Akane stifles a grin as she passes the two kids sitting in the 
playground. The young girl, wearing a dirty pink jumper that matches 
the ribbon on her hair, is looking up at her friend with brown eyes 
seemingly on the verge of tears. In response the little boy named 
Kenji awkwardly pats her shoulder with his right hand while 
inconspicuously trying to pick his nose with his left.

"Aw. . . c'mon, Miyuki-chan," he answers, eyeing his friend 
nervously as he desperately looks around for someone to somehow 
blame for this mess. "That's not fair. Ya know I would if I could 
stand girls."

There is a pregnant pause as his companion absorbs this piece of 
information. "Baka! What do you think I am?"

This time Akane can't hold her mirth and lets her laughter escape 
her lips, her whole body shaking as she grabs the fence for support.

"H-Hey! W-Watch it, will you?" yelps Ranma as his arms whirl around 
in a futile attempt to keep his balance on the suddenly vibrating 
fence. 

". . . Sorry. . ." Akane manages to utter in between giggles, her 
eyes twinkling as she offers her hand to help him get back up.

He pointedly ignores it and stands up on his own, dusting the newly 
accumulated dirt off his favorite red, Chinese shirt as his mouth 
opens in preparation for his incoming tirade on uncute tomboys with 
no sense of balance. Too bad for him his intended listener is already 
halfway down the block.

"Ooh, pork buns! I'm starving."

"H-Hey! I'm trying to talk to you!" Ranma tries to yell, but he 
decides to give up for the moment once he realizes she's too far away
to hear him. He lets out a martyred sigh and runs after his fiancée, 
only to stop short as she offers him the most perfect pork bun he has 
ever seen.

Even from a distance he can feel the warmth emanating from it; the
piquant aroma of the sauce seductively drifting up to his nose. His 
mouth  goes dry as he thinks of the sweet white dough yielding to
his touch, revealing an even sweeter filling more exquisite than any
candy can ever hope to be.

Ranma quickly grabs it, trying to thank Akane and stuff the whole 
thing in his mouth at the same time. Somehow, she seem to understand 
him anyway and smiles cutely while holding up a bag full of them.

He gives her a grateful look and grabs two more from the bag (After 
all, one never knows when his father might show up and eat it all. 
It's best that he get his fill as soon as possible). It is only when 
he is halfway through his second bun that he remembers his reason for 
running after Akane in the first place.

"There's something you should know. . . ." 

"Hmm?" She asks, the picture of innocence as she looks up at him with
her amber-colored eyes, the pork bun in her mouth leaving a trail of 
crumbs on her pale yellow sundress.

"Er . . ." Replies a suddenly blushing Ranma, tirade forgotten yet 
again. "Y-You have stuff all over your top."

Akane looks down and quickly brushes them off, dropping the pork bun 
clamped between her teeth in the process. "Oh, darn it!"

"Ya wanna split my last one with me?" 

"Thanks," she answers as she grabs the proffered pork bun with a 
grateful smile.

Ranma notices her expression turning to one of confusion and realizes 
-- much to his embarrassment -- that hee has yet to let go of his 
offering. He quickly does so and places his hand at the back of his 
neck while laughing nervously. 

Akane laughs as they resume walking back towards the heart of the 
market district and says in a teasing tone, "I'm not sure which one 
of us needed that pork bun more." A mischievous smile suddenly 
appears on her face, making Ranma a bit nervous since that look 
usually meant trouble for him. "You know... I'd bet Kasumi gave us 
more than enough money to do the food shopping; so tell you what, 
after we buy everything in her list, how about we go buy some 
yakitori from one of the stalls?"

"All right!" Ranma exclaims as he races ahead, eager to get the 
shopping done.

"Oh, sure. NOW he's excited to go shopping," says Akane, shaking her
head as she runs after her fiancé's quickly receding form.

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