Lost In You.

Dreaming

By: Crystal_V_Princess

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Ranma *gets mental picture of Ranma and smiles dreamily* but I don't, oh well. I also don't have goose-egg rights to any of the characters or storylines of Ranma ½, I'm simply using it as a medium to infiltrate your minds and take over the world!!!!!!!!! Hahahahaha!!!!! Um,--yeah. Anyhoo, let's get on with it-heh, heh, sorry.

Dedications: This story goes out to all of you reading this story, especially, Fireblaze "My one and only" (Duh! My first consistent reviewer and the best in the world!!!!! No offence to any other reviewers.), Lana Panther, Juniper Winner, Lian Leviathan, Luckyducky, and Caramia Shallear Cessiyyess. Oh! And of COURSE Furaidochikin, my Neko-chan!!!! Love ya', my friend! Mwah!!! Heehee! Thank you for all your encouragement and reviews! You guys rule to the highest power! *sobs emotionally* Thankies! Luv ya' much! XXXOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Note: I was listening to "Kiss Me Now" by Lila McCann when writing this so I was U.T.I.O.L. (Under The Influence Of Lila). I like rewound the sound a hundred times over again. Also "Have You Ever" by Brandy (which I additionally played a gazillion times). And I was in a very strange and mushy mood What can I say, I need mood music!!!! *smiles innocently*

Ranma Saotome rolled over on his futon; his characteristically bright eyes a dull, weary slate blue. Sleep evaded him still and it was three thirty in the morning. Exactly.

Funny thing was, he'd had a fairly boring day, and nothing he was unaccustomed to had happened. Except for ONE thing. Something ultimately out of the ordinary.

He remembered Akane's soft lips pressed to his vividly, and his heart did a back-flip, double-twist in his chest at the thought. For a short kiss, it obviously had enough kick to affect him in ways he was uncomfortable with.

The pig-tailed boy blushed in the dark of his bedroom and rolled over once more. This was going to be a long night.

On the floor above his was Akane's bedroom, and she was having just as much trouble sleeping as her fiancé. The theories she had about the repercussions of that brief kiss she'd shared with him in the dojo were flashing through her head in Technicolor hues.

Images of Ranma seizing her by the arm and crushing his lisp to hers violently danced through her horrified brain. Along with others like him telling her she had no idea how to kiss a boy the right way, she had drooled on him, or worst of all, he hated her and the engagement was off.

This thought was the most terrifying of all and Akane fought back tears just pondering it. "Please, she begged quietly, 'Please, don't let it be." Her slender fingers gripped the colourfullly decorated quilt on her bed and she squeezed her eyes shut, praying desperately for sleep. The gods were not merciful that night, and she lay awake and miserable, feeling suddenly cold beneath her blankets.



'Akane,' Ranma's mind shouted at him every time he tried to coax himself into slumber, 'Akane! Akane! Akane!' He covered his head with his pillow, struggling to block out the irate voices in his head. 'Akane! Akane! Akane! Tell her stupid! Tell Akane! Tell her you get lost in her too!'

"No! Shut-up!" He cried aloud, throwing the cushion across the room and sitting up straight in bed, relieved to see his father was still dormant despite the outburst. Ranma buried his face in his hands, fingertips digging cruelly into the skin of his forehead and temples. He ran a hand through his bangs and sighed, feeling despondent. "No." He whispered, his brow creasing despairingly, "I can't tell. What if she thinks I'm an idiot?" Another breath slipped from his open lips and he fell backwards onto the bedding, shutting his eyes firmly, laying there without any hope of sleep. "No."



Akane bit her lip, even after the hours that had passed since the kiss, she could still taste him, and it was unnerving. "Stop thinking about it!" She said resolutely, slamming her fist down next to her hip angrily on the bed. "Stop and you'll be able to sleep, stupid!" Easier said than done though.

The shorthaired girl rose up on her elbows, frustrated with herself, velvety brown eyes blazing. She slipped out from under the covers and paced nervously on the floor of her bedroom, the boards cold and unforgiving against her bare feet. Suddenly, she stopped her movements, staring out into the black sky as if searching for a lone star. "Ranma." She murmured; the word was a pleasant hum on her tongue and she found herself once again reliving the kiss for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. "Speak to me." A sound down below her window caught her attention and she pressed her fingers to the glass, gazing down into the garden.

A shadowy form was standing in front of the koi pond: Ranma. A soft gasp escaped her throat and she slid down the wall to the floor, pulling her knees up to her chest. It was strange and compelling to have him so close to her, even if it was below her window, and she was tempted to join him. 'You didn't listen to me last time, Akane,' her sense hollered at her, 'Now look at you! A mess! Don't go down there! Pay attention to me for once!' The silent words were like fingernails on a chalkboard in the girl's mind, harshly honest. "So what if I'm a mess." Akane stated to her conscious and stood up.

Inaudibly, she made her way down the steps, and slid open the door to the backyard, striding out into the cool night air. The scent of flowers and dew filled her nose and she stood motionless for a moment, taking it all in.

Her naked feet tread into the wet grass, her small toes digging comfortably into the softness of the lawn, damp and cold. The material of her pajamas swished gently in the slight breeze and Ranma turned abruptly, staring at her with surprised azure eyes.

"Akane?" His voice was low and husky, almost hoarse with raw emotion. Akane. Her name. It was only one word, but it seemed like it spoke everything they were both feeling. "Akane?" He repeated with trepidation, questioning her silence.

The girl remained hushed against his address. Her eyes reached for his and they locked. "Am I dreaming again?" He asked, blankly this time, as if it were a credible possibility. She almost giggled at the thought, and then considered his words.



Again? Did this mean that he frequently dreamed about her? Moreover, what circumstances were they that he was dreaming of? She held back a rush of bashfulness and took another step towards him. "Yes." It was a short answer, but Akane was intrigued to know what his response would be.

"Really?" She was nearly enticed to break the peace of the situation and yell at him for asking that. Her hands reached out to him instead.

"I love you, Ranma." The words were almost incomprehensible her voice was so diffused, but those were words that he would have heard if a bomb were exploding right beside him.

"I am dreaming." He hummed into the wind, and moved into Akane's outstretched arms, circling his own around her petite waist. "This is so real." His speech was muffled against her lavender-scented hair and she strained her ears as he pushed his nose deeper into the silky tresses.

"Then forget it's a dream and lose yourself." She whispered, burying her face in his chest and inhaling deeply of his scent.

"That's just it." Came the tender reply, "I am lost. I'm lost in you everyday. And I don't know how to tell you." His hands delicately turned her face up to look at his, the calloused fingers carefully holding her chin. "Tell me now." She felt her own hands move to the back of his neck, pulling him closer. He was so close, so close she could see the bits of silver light that shone in his eyes from the moon.

"You're not really Akane, and this is a dream." He moved to pull away, but she held him tightly.

"Tell me anyway." The girl looked at him, seeing every line in his dark face, the intense blue of his eyes, and held them with her own, locked in an unrelenting demand of reaction. He gulped and tried to look away, but she tipped his head back down to face her. "Tell me." The words were exacting but fond, and they were all he needed.

"I love you. I love Akane." She could feel his pulse quicken and softened her hold on him. His gaze traveled back to her in response.

"Kiss me." Akane was shocked at the brazenness of her own words and averted her eyes hurriedly, but her face was quickly caught between his hands. His mouth came down on hers and kissed her with a hard, desperate passion that he'd never acknowledged existed in him.

Her heart was thundering in her ears and she felt as if she couldn't breathe; she was drowning, falling, but without the pain. The kiss was a sort of reassurance at first, then it grew with rising ardor and Akane felt herself moving backward until her back pressed solidly against the wall of the house. She became aware of her knees starting to give way, but his arms held there until he pulled back, breathing in fast, short little gasps.

"'Akane, is this a dream?" The look on his face was frantic with ambiguity and passion. "Tell me." He echoed her previous words, his hands on either side of her shoulders, leaning against the house.

"In a manner of speaking." She sighed, her eyes still closed from the kiss. They opened to gaze into his. "Kiss me again. Please, Ranma."

He did, shyly and shortly, moving back from her hungry lips to look at her. "So you love me?" The query was diffident and soft.

A gentle smile played on her lips. "Yes." He mirrored her grin happily and moved to press his lips to hers once more. Finally lost in the way he wanted to be.

Author's Note: Wow! That was the biggest sequence of kisses I have ever written into one of my published stories (I emphasise "published")! Hoped you liked it! I did! Teeheehee! I got inquiries whether or not I was going to make a finale to the other two chappies and I decided since I got such a great response that I would! Now that my back is aching from leaning over a keyboard for like a hundred hours, I'm going to finish by explaining one more thing. A few people have asked why I spell things certain way, such as "colour" instead of the traditional American spelling "color", or favour", etc. You get the picture. Well, it's because I spell it the European way, or more commonly, the British/U.K. way. I am not actually from the U.K., but a LOT of my heritage is European and I was taught things in a European way before I started grade school where they taught it differently. When I learned that I could spell English words in the way I was taught to when I was little and still have them classified as proper grammar there was rejoicing and now I spell it this way once again! Sometimes I write things like "emphasise" with a "Z" instead of an "S", but only because it's easier for some people to understand (I'm totally serious). Thanks for your patience on this subject!!!! If you want to read any of my other stories, please click on my name and read the listing of my works. Then click on the one(s) you would like to view. Also, if you were one of the people I dedicated this chapter to and would like never to be mentioned by me again, please send me an e-mail to say so!!! On the other hand, if you liked this, don't send me an e-mail about being taken off, just send me an e-mail. This is NOT a requirement; I would just like to now your genders so I'm not all like "Yeah! This goes out to so and so! Thanks to her! " And you turn out to be a boy. This would be embarrassing for both of us I'm sure. Alrighty! That's about it! Thankies for all your reviews and comments! I love you guys! God bless!

-Crystal_V_Princess ;P