Blood & Fire

If a pedestrian had been walking in the region of the old bridge that afternoon, they might have thought that the sun was trying to rise from beneath it. The glow that came from below pulsed, resembling a strobe light -- and then the blasts began to hit.

Ryouga growled fiercely, his shishi houkodan missing Ranma by inches as it exploded near his feet, knocking Ranma back against one of the bridge supports. "Get back here, Saotome!! Because of you, I'VE SEEN HELL!!!" With that battle cry, Ryouga moved forward in a rush with his fist pulled back and gave a hard punch.

Ranma jerked his head to the side, feeling the wind of Ryouga's movement flying past his face as he gave several hundred of his own. "Katchu tenshin amiguriken!!!" he cried aloud, slamming both fists repeatedly into Ryouga's gut before he jumped and rolled to stand on a nearby culvert, left beneath the bridge by a lazy construction crew.

Ryouga grunted and rubbed his stomach for a rare second and then turned, fury lighting behind his eyes. "I've followed you for months!! For *YEARS*, now, through country after country, through Jusenkyo....." Ryouga growled even more loudly. "EVERYTHING THAT'S WRONG WITH MY LIFE IS YOUR FAULT, RANMA!!! " With that, he came rushing towards Ranma's precarious position atop the concrete divider.

Ranma had heard it all before, many times. It seemed to be Ryouga's favorite battle cry, and he did it so *well*, too. Unfortunately for Ryouga, Ranma had recently been reminded of a part of his past that he had managed to keep buried for years. Today was *not* a good day to accuse Ranma of making anyone's life "hell".

"RRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGAAAAAAA!!!!!!" Ranma shouted furiously before pulling back and, out of the blue, delivering a barroom roundhouse that knocked Ryouga flat on his back, holding his jaw and looking up at Ranma in astonishment.

"Whhaa...?"

Ranma's blue eyes shimmered with anger and restrained tears, his hands trembling violently as he balled them into fists. "*I* made *your* life hell, Ryouga? Who showed up four days late, huh? Who was it that's so damned "directionally challenged" that he couldn't make a fifteen minute walk in three days? Didja ever think maybe I didn't have any CHOICE about leavin'!?!" Ranma swerved around, his back to Ryouga, arms tensed. "Who keeps sayin' it wasn't nothin' but a duel over BREAD? Hmmmm?"

Ryouga had the good grace as to look slightly shame-faced as he stood, tilting his head to the side and looking at Ranma's back, the line of his waist and hips and thighs with a nervous swallow. "Well, that's all it was, right? Some little game, some experiment?"

Ranma reacted violently, turning and moving so quickly Ryouga almost missed him until Ranma had him by his shirt, pulling him forward tightly. "A GAME!?! You call what we were A GAME!?! Do you.. have any..." Ranma stopped, breathing quickly and looking so wild that Ryouga's instincts were screaming at him to run, get away, DO something about this ferocious madman that had hold of him. Ranma loosened his grip and stepped back, his voice raw and grating as if it was all he could do to continue, "Ryouga, do ya know what you left me to? Huh?" His eyes filled with unshed tears again as he thrust a hand through his bangs roughly, growling in anguish as the memories flooded him. "Oyaji SAW us, Ryouga. That day in the park when we were playin' around, y'know, and you reached for my hand while I was walkin' you home." Ranma lifted his chin and his eyes, glacial now as he recounted the old story. "It wasn't just a beatin' that time, Ryouga."

Ryouga put a hand to his stomach, feeling nauseous as he paled, turning ghost white. His fingers trembled as he reached out to touch Ranma's shoulder, moth wing soft and trembling. "You don't mean... I mean, he didn't..."

Ranma jerked his shoulder away savagely and hissed, "Don't touch me! Just don't fuckin' touch me!" With that, he jumped up the side of the ditch, propelled himself to the rooftops and ran.

Ryouga slumped to the ground, buried his face in his hands...

...and cried.

Ranma shut the window after him as he crawled in from the rooftop, laying down on his futon with an exhausted sigh. His entire body seemed to ache from holding everything in so tightly, his hands were trembling and his stomach was tied in knots.

He could hear Akane and Nabiki outside, sunbathing next to the pond and singing along with the radio. A slight smile spread over his face as he thought about Akane. He really _did_ think that he might love her. If she would show the slightest sign of accepting him and really mean it, he'd jump in a minute, or so he sometimes thought.

She could be so cute sometimes. When she smiled, it was like water to a man dying of thirst, like the sun coming out from an embankment of clouds. Just remembering the way she had looked at him not a week ago, the way he had almost been fooled before the tape went over his mouth and she kissed _it_ instead of him....his knees went weak thinking about it. If she had really kissed him, he'd probably have turned into a limp puddle of flesh and fainted dead away from the shock of it, he thought ruefully. {Yeah,} he thought, {guess I really do l..l.. have feelings for that tomboy iinazuke of mine.} He gave a little smile that quickly faded when he thought of Ryouga.

What had happened three years ago was something that they had never really talked about. Ranma had accepted it at face value and made assumptions about Ryouga's own feelings. That was a mistake that he obviously shouldn't make again. Ranma bit his lip and thought once again of that lost afternoon in Ryouga's arms, the grass in that unknown field weaving magic as Ryouga bit gently with those little fangs that Ranma had always been slightly envious of for some reason. The feelings that he had for Ryouga and Akane were so similar that he didn't know what he should do about them.

Genma popped his head in the door and raised an eyebrow at Ranma. "You're lazy, boy. You should be practicing! Martial arts isn't just something for weekends, you know..."

Ranma threw a convenient glass of water towards the doorway, hearing it shut rapidly -- but not quickly enough. He could hear Oyaji shuffling off in panda form after a heaving sort of panda sigh. {Poor Pop,} Ranma thought dryly. He rolled his eyes before turning on his stomach and pressing his face into his pillow to silence the semi-silent catches of breath that finally lulled him into sleep.

He was slow to wake, slower to actually function. He could feel the tracks of tears on his face and was disgusted with himself for crying in this form. His hands brushed his cheeks to get rid of the feeling as he looked out into evening. The sun had gone hours before and the only thing that he could hear from downstairs were snores from Soun and Genma. {They've prob'ly been hittin' the sake tonight,} Ranma thought with a shrug. Didn't really matter to him -- he could protect himself from drunken assaults these days.

Ranma shoved open the sash and settled the window wide open, stepping out onto the rooftop with careful tread. He moved away from his own window a bit and settled somewhere nearer to Nabiki's before he noticed Ryouga standing nearby.

The moonlight was strong, silver motes of fairydust on the wind as it settled against Ranma's skin and made him look like polished marble to Ryouga, strong but brittle all at the same time. With careful tread, he settled down near Ranma's spot and joined him in staring out over the pellucid waters of the koi pond, dropping his backpack nearby. He felt Ranma jump as he placed his hand lightly on Ranma's bare arm, his voice whisper soft as he murmured, "I didn't know."

Ranma shrugged, "You couldn't've."

Ryouga frowned. Ranma could make things a lot harder than they had to be and he was *still* angry over being dumped into that damned drowned piglet spring; all the same, Ryouga could feel the need that seemed to seep out of Ranma's pores tonight, the need for love and comfort and tenderness that came out in him sometimes when he dropped the macho facade that he kept up in front of his father and anyone who might question his "manliness".

Ryouga leaned to the side and hesitantly put his arm around Ranma's shoulders, fingers lightly stroking in his nervousness. He could feel Ranma glance at him from the corner of those beautiful prussian eyes and he shuddered. It had been years and Ryouga wasn't sure that he could do what he needed to do tonight, not just needed, but wanted, yearned to do. Steeling his spine and setting his jaw, Ryouga twisted at the waist and, with firm hands, tugged Ranma forward against his own chest.

Their noses bumped lightly but it didn't matter. All that mattered now was this sudden hunger, the song in their veins that seemed to ask for more, that made their bodies hum with an excitement neither had felt in longer than they cared to discuss.

Ryouga's hands were roaming wild over Ranma's chest as he tenderly bit into the silk of Ranma's trembling lower lip and pushed him back against the rooftop to come over him and stare down into the starlit face that had so entranced him before, eyes that could still convey a thousand different feelings and emotions and make Ryouga tremble. The passion was so close to anger for him, both emotions exquisite, ethereal and quick to come and go. His fingers fumbled at the wooden buttons, unable to pull them open fast enough as he grasped Ranma's pigtail in his fist and pulled just enough to open his throat to him.

Ranma moaned, his heart beating faster and faster as Ryouga moved over him, lifted his jaw to the insistent tug and shuddered as Ryouga found a cluster of nerve endings near his jugular. Ryouga's nibbling teeth made him rock upwards, pressing his growing erection tightly against Ryouga's belly as he brought a hand into the lost boy's hair, fingers shoving against the bandanna and sliding away as he cupped the nape of his neck with a low moan.

Ryouga could feel Ranma pressed against him, his own excitement making him breathless as he managed to get Ranma's shirt off, finally. The heat rising from the breadth of his chest seemed to burn Ryouga's fingertips as he pressed his fingers in quick, dancing motions up and over Ranma's navel and along his diaphragm, hands caressing around ribs even as he bit and sucked his way down to Ranma's collar bone. There was impatience in Ranma's every motion as he began to work on tugging Ryouga's shirt up and over as well, parting long enough to tear it off, finally, rolling so that Ryouga was underneath him and he could see the velvet brown of Ryouga's eyes gleaming starlight at him and then he bit just underneath the arm, teeth nipping and tongue lashing out in quick apology when the gasp of pain-pleasure came.

The kisses were fast and hard, the hands roaming freely over the heated iron of muscle. Both were shaking with the boundless fire that seemed to be eating them alive, making soft moans sound like cries of pleasure, groans of exquisite agony as pants and underwear and shirts fluttered and tumbled in the cool evening breeze to fly away and into the pond. Neither noticed as the wind picked up and blew across sweat-dewed skin.

Ranma moved to the side, left arm halfway beneath Ryouga as he pulled him close and pressed his cock tightly against Ryouga's, the friction of velvet soft skin and tissue rubbing together bringing audible moans from both of them. Ryouga could feel the excitement welling up inside of him, so fast that it seemed only moments ago they'd begun touching and he wanted more, he wanted it now, he wanted it five minutes ago. Looking into Ranma's own fervent eyes, he shuddered. Ryouga could see Ranma's reaction as he reached down with a slightly rough hand to grasp Ranma's penis and stroke, slow and tight with his hand before he moved down and down and down, trails of hot kisses buried across Ranma's skin there in the moonlight, across his chest and down his belly to the pulsing shaft in his hand. It took mere seconds for him to truly consider the matter before leaning down and kissing the delicate tissue.

Ranma's response shook his entire body as Ryouga wrapped his tongue around the flared corona, tongue tickling across the tiny opening and dipping to taste the salty fluid that trembled there, Ryouga's lips opening and, with an almost audible *popping* noise, suckling the head in tightly. Ranma gave a wild little cry and balled his hands into fists, rolling over onto his back and somehow carrying Ryouga with him, his lower lip bitten tightly between pearlescent teeth as his brow knit. Ryouga's hand slid up and down the shaft behind his mouth as his teeth ever so lightly pressed against it, shoulders coming between Ranma's thighs as a hand reached to cup his ass, lifting Ranma to him with titanic strength and then stroking all the way to the root, almost choking as his throat protested the action. Pulling back up, Ryouga established a rhythm, several short strokes followed by a deep one, little noises of appreciation coming from the back of his throat, his own penis rubbing against the tiles of the roof with abandon.

Ranma could feel it, he was so close, almost there, and then Ryouga pulled away, leaving him to shiver as the wind blew across saliva wet flesh and to moan in bereavement. Ryouga's hands were trembling violently as he heard that noise of protest, so much so that he could barely begin to unzip the compartments of his backpack from where it lay nearby and, once he did, he couldn't make his shaking fingers hold onto anything.

Ranma eyed Ryouga with surprise as he pulled out a tiny foil package and a small bottle of something that looked...well...wet. His pout was semi-serious as he asked in a husky voice, "You always carry that kinda thing around, Ryouga?"

Ryouga grinned as he settled the package on Ranma's stomach and replied, "Hibiki Family Rule #17: Be prepared for all contingencies." He winked in a shockingly flirtatious manner as he opened the small bottle and slid back down.

At the same moment Ranma felt that tight, hot mouth encase his organ again, he felt Ryouga's fingers probing delicately, opening him and sliding just inside of him, gently at first and then pressing deeper to rub against some part of him that made him gasp. Tremors of pain and pleasure ran down his spine as his mouth opened in a soundless noise of unexplainable origins and his back arched up off of the roof, fingers knotting in Ryouga's hair as Ryouga's hands soothed him, made him hot and left him a quivering wreck.

Ryouga could feel it now, Ranma's ki so high pitched that it sang in tune with his own and he pulled back reluctantly, kissing the hard shaft one last time, nose rubbing against the tender skin of Ranma's belly as he withdrew his hands and reached for the package, ripping it open with shaking fingers and smoothing on the soft latex sheath.

Ranma looked on in awe, biting his lip and swallowing with sudden nervous tension. He wanted release so very badly now that he wouldn't hesitate to do anything that Ryouga asked of him and so he closed his eyes and heaved a soft sigh of acceptance as Ryouga slid between his legs, lifted one of Ranma's knees up and over his shoulder and carefully positioned himself with one hand. Ranma opened his eyes as he sensed Ryouga's hesitation and "Hmm?" 'ed softly, looking up at him.

Ryouga leaned down, glad for Ranma's flexibility as his lips touched the trembling mouth of his lover beneath him. At the moment that Ryouga's tongue took Ranma's mouth, he pushed forward, slow and gentle, one hand on Ranma's left hip and the other moving from his own shaft to Ranma's. He could feel the uncontrollable shaking that seemed to run through Ranma as he pressed deeper, pushing until he was seated completely against Ranma's hips. Both boys became a tableau in moondrenched marble, the larger Ryouga brushing Ranma's face tenderly, listening to the more slender young man's low whimpers and brushing his mouth every so often against the gasping one beneath him. With a simple movement, Ryouga moved Ranma's leg away from his shoulder and wrapped it around his waist, pulling the other to join it.

Ranma felt his very heart trembling in his chest, sweat trickling down the back of his neck as he reached up and grabbed Ryouga's shoulders, looking deep into Ryouga's eyes and whispering, "Now..." as he pulled himself tightly against Ryouga, pressing his face against the hollow of Ryouga's throat and beginning to kiss and bite lightly.

Ryouga gasped, beginning to thrust now. His movements were timid, gentle, slow as he felt Ranma's body clamping down tightly around him, his hand holding Ranma's shaft lightly as it bobbed in his hand, betraying the pure bliss that Ranma was feeling. His fingers began to stroke Ranma involuntarily, perhaps in response to the rhythm his own body was beginning to establish inside of him, and he could feel something building, deep. Each stroke of Ryouga's hand was rhapsody, each thrust seemed to come harder, deeper, further, invading Ranma's inner soul and releasing a tension that he had never realized was there. Both were trembling, shaking with the force of emotions and the feel of hyper-sensitive skin brushing one against the other. Ranma could feel it again, surpassing the plateau that he had reached earlier while buried inside of Ryouga's mouth. Ryouga felt it as well, his arms wrapping tightly around Ranma's shoulders, holding him closely as his thrusts became harder, ragged, rapid, Ranma's cock brushing Ryouga's stomach in time with Ryouga's motions.

Ranma came to fulfillment first, with a sharp gasp and a sudden stillness of his body as he could do no more than tremble under Ryouga's continuing motions, tightening around Ryouga in pulses, his eyes shut tightly as tears began to stream, running down the bridge of his nose and tickling his earlobe as they dripped off, crystalline shards of salty water. Ranma's release seemed to trigger Ryouga's own -- he gasped sharply and thrust deep one final time, wrapping his arms even more tightly about Ranma as he practically fell atop him, gasping for breath and shivering with release.

Several moments passed before either moved. Ryouga was the first to do so, reaching behind him and carefully unhooking Ranma's ankles, settling his feet down flat against the roof as he withdrew slowly, hearing the soft hiss of breath that Ranma gave. He glanced down at Ranma's stomach and his own, and suddenly laughed.

Ranma roused himself enough to look irate and ask, "Ermm... what?"

Ryouga leaned down and carefully ran his tongue over a strand of the salty ejaculate, making a little face at the taste before he leaned up to kiss Ranma with a tender stroke of tongue and mouth. Ranma wrinkled his nose, as well, but opened his mouth all the same, quite willing for the ravagement of Ryouga's tongue.

Ryouga moved to lay beside Ranma, his hand searching and finding Ranma's as the frogs croaked and the crickets sang. It was quiet for several moments before either of them spoke, as if it would take that time to disentangle all of the confusing emotions that had been brought back into play after so long.

"What about Akane?" Ryouga whispered, breaking the silence with his soft, thrumming voice.

A shiver ran through Ranma's frame as he sat up, looking around for his clothing and (upon glancing towards the pond) seeing it floating on the surface of the koi pond. With a soft sigh, he shook his head. "I..I dunno, Ryouga. I'm so confused..." He reached up and rubbed the bridge of his nose in a nervous motion, propping one forearm on his knee as he reached to cup the back of his skull. He sighed softly and looked out over the back yard, rubbing his neck contemplatively. "It ain't just Akane, neither. We've gotta worry 'bout Ucchan and Shampoo and," here, he shuddered, "Kodachi. I mean.. I don't feel nothin' for any of THEM, but...still...they ain't gonna like it if we just take off."

"So you're saying you feel something for Akane, but not the others?"

"I didn't say that!" Ranma backpedalled furiously. "I didn't say nothin' like that. Just..." He bit his lip and looked miserable. "Just I'm...confused. Gimme some time, Ryouga....A little time."

Ryouga drew himself up icily and stood, making a face as he pulled away the remains of the condom and tossed it and the ripped up package into a small paper bag from his backpack. He began to pull on clothes with jerky motions of his hands as Ranma watched helplessly, his eyebrows knitting in a worried sort of pain. "Just a little time, Ryouga. That's all. Surely that ain't so much to ask..." Ranma half pleaded.

Ryouga turned to Ranma as he pulled a yellow shirt over his head and knelt down to tie the laces tightly around his pant's legs. "All right, Ranma. You've got your time. From now 'til the next time I find the dojo again," he said softly. "I'll expect an answer then."

With that pronouncement, Ryouga lifted his backpack, found his umbrella and leapt down from the house to walk into the night, leaving Ranma naked and alone to search his soul for what he hoped would be the right answer.