Ranma 1/2: Ranma/Kasumi
Title: Show of Faith
Author: forgottenlover
Rating: R
Warnings: No real warnings, unfortunately.
Word count: 1679
Summary: Blindfold - it’s all about trust.
Of everyone in the house, Kasumi was the one that never tried to hurt him. She was calm, sweet, and just tried her best to make sure that he got fed even when the stupid panda tried to do just the opposite. When his clothes ended up torn because of the constant fighting, she stitched them back together.
When he ended up bruised up because of the same, she was the only one that asked him if he was alright. The answer to that was usually no. No, he wasn't alright.
Really, the only thing that was right about his life was Kasumi. The sister of hers he was engaged to was a bully. The other was out to scalp him of every bit of money she could get. His best friends, both male and female, went weird between seeing them once and the next time, so the boy was out to kill him over the bully, and the girl had gone lovesick insane like most of the other women he knew.
It didn't seem fair. He hadn't asked for any of that, and he had no time to relax, ever. Kasumi must have seen, noticed in some way, that his answers to her inquiries always seemed more upset, more bleak, more frustrated, because she took him aside and asked him what she could do.
He was a she at the time, not his fault, it practically never was, and she'd given him water hot enough to help, but not so hot it burned. She was the only one thoughtful enough to not try to scald his skin off in this stupid place. But, when she asked, he'd just held the water in his hands and found himself talking. Talking so much his throat ran dry, telling her what he didn't like, the ways that people had changed. Only when he was finished did he realize the water had cooled while he spoke.
She wasn't angry that he'd let it go to waste, instead just taking it from his hands and beckoning for him to follow her to the kitchen. She was the only one who did that too, that didn't get angry over his little mistakes and his unintentional lacks of appreciation. No, instead she just heated water and added some of the old so that it wouldn't scald, then spooned it over his head to return him to his rightful gender.
"Is that better Ranma?" She set the water down before getting him a towel, offering it to him as she gave him a look that was, if it could be judged, even more concerned than it had been over an hour before.
"Yeah." His curt nod was enough to get her to smile, and she got him water, in a cup this time, so that he could help his throat. He found himself just staring down into it after, thinking over all he'd said just a while ago, knowing that if the panda found out he'd never live it down.
The silence drew out, but he wasn't tempted to fill it. When he was with Kasumi, being quiet was okay. He didn't have to be boastful, didn't have to be careful, because he knew she wouldn't tell anyone that he'd messed up. She was practically the only one.
Still, it was startling when she rested her hand on his shoulder, not in a way that could have been an attack though, it was gentler than that. It was… nice. "I'm glad you trust me. It means a lot that you do." When he stiffened, she just squeezed his shoulder a little, her smile turning a bit sad. "It's okay. I won't use it against you, but I think you know that."
There was quiet again, and when he set down the cup, she moved it away, allowing him to finally look at her without risking meeting her eyes again. He wasn't sure what to say about her knowing that he did trust her. So he didn't say anything, getting to his feet to leave the room, to give her her space back.
Still, even that didn't work out quite how he planned, since she moved back towards him, offering him her hand as she barred his path. He could have gone past her, if he'd really wanted to, and he figured she would have moved if he'd asked, but he was a little dumbstruck by the fact that she'd done it in the first place.
It must have shown on his face, because she gave him that almost sad smile again, leaning to take his hand in a gentle hold before tugging him to follow as she started to walk. "It's alright Ranma, if I do anything that bothers you, you just have to tell me and I'll quit, okay? Even this." She squeezed his hand to indicate.
Realizing that she really meant that, he squeezed in turn, just in case she was planning on taking her hand back just because he was startled. He didn't want that. He just, he wasn't used to people being so nice to him. Especially not someone like her, who had her own admirers and wasn't trying to own him like half the population was. It was a relief in a way, and he shook his head quickly, drawing a deep breath. "I don't mind."
All she did was nod, her quiet steps taking them to her room, which he'd never braved going into before. She only released him then, gently nudging him fully inside before as closed her door behind them and turned on the light. The room suited her. It wasn't loud, or quiet, it was just… her.
"Ranma. Breathe." The tone was gentle, but amused, and when she came around in front of him, he realized he hadn't been. So, he followed her instructions and gave her a sheepish smile.
"Right. Um. Why are we in here?" He knew there was a better way he could have put that, but he didn't know what it was, though thankfully she didn't get mad about his suddenness.
In fact, she just smiled and gestured him to sit. "Well, I know this is odd, but I've been thinking about it, and you need to relax. I know that your suitors and competitors won't come in here, so there's really no better place than here to do it. Remember, anything I do that makes you uncomfortable, just say."
The way she kept repeating that almost had him worried. Almost. "What're you going to do?"
"I'm going to help you relax. First though, you need to sit down. I know you're not a giant, but this will work better if you're comfortable."
Another eyeing followed that little unhelpful comment, but he decided to see. She'd only ever been good to him, and he could hope that it would stay that way. Thus, he sat where she wanted him to and waited, knowing he was tense, but he couldn’t really help that. Even if he did trust her, it wasn't like he'd been in this position before with any good results.
She didn't chide him for it. Instead, she just moved across the room, digging in a drawer and collecting a strip of soft looking purple material. The only thing he could think of was that it had to be some kind of scarf. Puzzled, he just watched her move back to him, studying it and trying to figure out what it was for.
That, at least, became readily obvious when she slowly tied it over his eyes, mindful of his tension, and the way she was doing it seemed to imply that he could tell her to back off… but he didn't. He was, for once, curious what someone of her gender would do instead of petrified that the results would be horrible.
Holding perfectly still, he listened hard, following her movements as she made the bed dip, the rustle of her dress quiet, but loud in the fact that it was the only noise. She didn't take her hand off his shoulder, where she'd rested it after she'd finished tying the blindfold, but it didn't entirely quell his urge to take off the cloth and look where she'd gone, even if he could feel and hear her right there.
He didn't admit that he was a bit scared of what she might do.
"Remember, anytime it bothers you, just tell me." It was a murmur from right behind him, and her other hand rested against his back, starting to knead carefully at the tightly tensed muscles. He'd gotten a massage before, so he knew what she was doing, now at least, but it was still hard to relax and let her when his muscles only wanted to protest at being touched.
Slowly though, as he managed to make places relax, he leaned over his legs, resting his chest on them as more of the tension, massive amounts of it, eased under her hands. It was the most work anyone had put into him, but it didn't seem she was finished, gentle hands nudging him to stretch out on her bed, the darkness of the blindfold leaving him to either just trust in that or to rebel. He chose to trust, remembering intently who this was, and let her continue.
Soothing touches moved over his arms, legs, over his back again, his neck and scalp. After that she had him roll over, through touch, once more without speaking, and she moved her fingers over his feet and hands, then slowly started down along his chest. By the time her hands reached his belly, he was almost asleep, more relaxed than he could ever remember being.
He liked it. He didn't think it would happen again, but he really liked it.
And when kisses were added to the touches…
He didn't tense.
Instead, he just let her show him, because this once, it was okay.
But only this once, because this was Kasumi, and only Kasumi knew him.
Or really even cared to.
Author: forgottenlover
Rating: R
Warnings: No real warnings, unfortunately.
Word count: 1679
Summary: Blindfold - it’s all about trust.
Of everyone in the house, Kasumi was the one that never tried to hurt him. She was calm, sweet, and just tried her best to make sure that he got fed even when the stupid panda tried to do just the opposite. When his clothes ended up torn because of the constant fighting, she stitched them back together.
When he ended up bruised up because of the same, she was the only one that asked him if he was alright. The answer to that was usually no. No, he wasn't alright.
Really, the only thing that was right about his life was Kasumi. The sister of hers he was engaged to was a bully. The other was out to scalp him of every bit of money she could get. His best friends, both male and female, went weird between seeing them once and the next time, so the boy was out to kill him over the bully, and the girl had gone lovesick insane like most of the other women he knew.
It didn't seem fair. He hadn't asked for any of that, and he had no time to relax, ever. Kasumi must have seen, noticed in some way, that his answers to her inquiries always seemed more upset, more bleak, more frustrated, because she took him aside and asked him what she could do.
He was a she at the time, not his fault, it practically never was, and she'd given him water hot enough to help, but not so hot it burned. She was the only one thoughtful enough to not try to scald his skin off in this stupid place. But, when she asked, he'd just held the water in his hands and found himself talking. Talking so much his throat ran dry, telling her what he didn't like, the ways that people had changed. Only when he was finished did he realize the water had cooled while he spoke.
She wasn't angry that he'd let it go to waste, instead just taking it from his hands and beckoning for him to follow her to the kitchen. She was the only one who did that too, that didn't get angry over his little mistakes and his unintentional lacks of appreciation. No, instead she just heated water and added some of the old so that it wouldn't scald, then spooned it over his head to return him to his rightful gender.
"Is that better Ranma?" She set the water down before getting him a towel, offering it to him as she gave him a look that was, if it could be judged, even more concerned than it had been over an hour before.
"Yeah." His curt nod was enough to get her to smile, and she got him water, in a cup this time, so that he could help his throat. He found himself just staring down into it after, thinking over all he'd said just a while ago, knowing that if the panda found out he'd never live it down.
The silence drew out, but he wasn't tempted to fill it. When he was with Kasumi, being quiet was okay. He didn't have to be boastful, didn't have to be careful, because he knew she wouldn't tell anyone that he'd messed up. She was practically the only one.
Still, it was startling when she rested her hand on his shoulder, not in a way that could have been an attack though, it was gentler than that. It was… nice. "I'm glad you trust me. It means a lot that you do." When he stiffened, she just squeezed his shoulder a little, her smile turning a bit sad. "It's okay. I won't use it against you, but I think you know that."
There was quiet again, and when he set down the cup, she moved it away, allowing him to finally look at her without risking meeting her eyes again. He wasn't sure what to say about her knowing that he did trust her. So he didn't say anything, getting to his feet to leave the room, to give her her space back.
Still, even that didn't work out quite how he planned, since she moved back towards him, offering him her hand as she barred his path. He could have gone past her, if he'd really wanted to, and he figured she would have moved if he'd asked, but he was a little dumbstruck by the fact that she'd done it in the first place.
It must have shown on his face, because she gave him that almost sad smile again, leaning to take his hand in a gentle hold before tugging him to follow as she started to walk. "It's alright Ranma, if I do anything that bothers you, you just have to tell me and I'll quit, okay? Even this." She squeezed his hand to indicate.
Realizing that she really meant that, he squeezed in turn, just in case she was planning on taking her hand back just because he was startled. He didn't want that. He just, he wasn't used to people being so nice to him. Especially not someone like her, who had her own admirers and wasn't trying to own him like half the population was. It was a relief in a way, and he shook his head quickly, drawing a deep breath. "I don't mind."
All she did was nod, her quiet steps taking them to her room, which he'd never braved going into before. She only released him then, gently nudging him fully inside before as closed her door behind them and turned on the light. The room suited her. It wasn't loud, or quiet, it was just… her.
"Ranma. Breathe." The tone was gentle, but amused, and when she came around in front of him, he realized he hadn't been. So, he followed her instructions and gave her a sheepish smile.
"Right. Um. Why are we in here?" He knew there was a better way he could have put that, but he didn't know what it was, though thankfully she didn't get mad about his suddenness.
In fact, she just smiled and gestured him to sit. "Well, I know this is odd, but I've been thinking about it, and you need to relax. I know that your suitors and competitors won't come in here, so there's really no better place than here to do it. Remember, anything I do that makes you uncomfortable, just say."
The way she kept repeating that almost had him worried. Almost. "What're you going to do?"
"I'm going to help you relax. First though, you need to sit down. I know you're not a giant, but this will work better if you're comfortable."
Another eyeing followed that little unhelpful comment, but he decided to see. She'd only ever been good to him, and he could hope that it would stay that way. Thus, he sat where she wanted him to and waited, knowing he was tense, but he couldn’t really help that. Even if he did trust her, it wasn't like he'd been in this position before with any good results.
She didn't chide him for it. Instead, she just moved across the room, digging in a drawer and collecting a strip of soft looking purple material. The only thing he could think of was that it had to be some kind of scarf. Puzzled, he just watched her move back to him, studying it and trying to figure out what it was for.
That, at least, became readily obvious when she slowly tied it over his eyes, mindful of his tension, and the way she was doing it seemed to imply that he could tell her to back off… but he didn't. He was, for once, curious what someone of her gender would do instead of petrified that the results would be horrible.
Holding perfectly still, he listened hard, following her movements as she made the bed dip, the rustle of her dress quiet, but loud in the fact that it was the only noise. She didn't take her hand off his shoulder, where she'd rested it after she'd finished tying the blindfold, but it didn't entirely quell his urge to take off the cloth and look where she'd gone, even if he could feel and hear her right there.
He didn't admit that he was a bit scared of what she might do.
"Remember, anytime it bothers you, just tell me." It was a murmur from right behind him, and her other hand rested against his back, starting to knead carefully at the tightly tensed muscles. He'd gotten a massage before, so he knew what she was doing, now at least, but it was still hard to relax and let her when his muscles only wanted to protest at being touched.
Slowly though, as he managed to make places relax, he leaned over his legs, resting his chest on them as more of the tension, massive amounts of it, eased under her hands. It was the most work anyone had put into him, but it didn't seem she was finished, gentle hands nudging him to stretch out on her bed, the darkness of the blindfold leaving him to either just trust in that or to rebel. He chose to trust, remembering intently who this was, and let her continue.
Soothing touches moved over his arms, legs, over his back again, his neck and scalp. After that she had him roll over, through touch, once more without speaking, and she moved her fingers over his feet and hands, then slowly started down along his chest. By the time her hands reached his belly, he was almost asleep, more relaxed than he could ever remember being.
He liked it. He didn't think it would happen again, but he really liked it.
And when kisses were added to the touches…
He didn't tense.
Instead, he just let her show him, because this once, it was okay.
But only this once, because this was Kasumi, and only Kasumi knew him.
Or really even cared to.