"Well. I don't want to gently kiss you beneath the moonlight, so there's that."
(Later, those words would bite Connie in the ass.)
Connie finally turns to face Akane. She's smiling through her tearstained face, albeit lopsidedly. "There comes a moment when you're looking at someone, someone you love and trust with all your heart, and then it'll just... click that you love them that way too."
"I don't-- I don't think that's ever happened to me," Akane says, sniffling. "I don't. There's nobody I do trust that much back home besides my sister Kasumi and P-chan. Maybe Dr Tofu. I can't even trust Ranma that much, not about everything. It was just-- I started wanting him around instead of wanting him to go away."
She opens her eyes again. Looks up to see Connie smiling at her. Maybe she didn't destroy this completely somehow.
"Do you promise that your friends aren't-- hurting people?" she asks, biting her lip.
"Okay," she says. "Okay. I still— I don't really get it. But. I'm going to try to accept it. And I do... I do trust you, Connie. More than anybody. So if you say they're okay, I'm going to believe you."
Connie just stands there for a moment, frozen. In what, exactly? Even she can't tell.
Then Chandrahas floats away to give her space, and that breaks the spell. She runs up towards Akane and hugs her closely, Japanese cultural norms be damned. "ThankYouIDon'tThinkI'dBeAbleToTakeItIfILostYouWe'veOnlyBeenFriendsForAFewWeeksButIFeelCloserToYouThanAnyone"
Akane's stiff for the first moment or two--it's not Connie's fault, it's just that she doesn't completely have good associations for being hugged out of nowhere--and then she relaxes into the hug, squeezing Connie tightly enough that it might partially knock the air out of her lungs.
"I really am sorry," she whispers. "I know-- I know it's important to you that I get this stuff and I just-- It's so confusing. And stupid. Your friend Carly tried to explain stuff to me and even your uncle said I should think about if it matters if people are perverts if they're not hurting anyone and they both said I should apologize to you. And I know-- I know I was the awful one. I never really thought you were a pervert, not after you said you didn't want to do that stuff, but I just-- None of this makes sense, you know? But I don't want to drive you away. I can't lose you, Connie. Not just because you're my only friend, but you're the best friend I've ever had."
She sniffles a bit. "I wish Mr Saotome had brought you home with him. Except not, because then he'd have been your dad and I don't think he takes training girls as seriously as he does boys."
Considering what Genma Saotome considers to be appropriate training, this is probably a good thing.
how many "are you gay" quizzes is akane gonna take after prom
It's been a good, long while since Connie has had a proper bearhug; so if anything, she welcomes getting the air squeezed out of her lungs. She gives as good as she gets, at least—while Connie isn't nearly as strong as Akane, she's still a damn good hugger. Learned from the best, after all.
(It's also been a good, long while since a hug has felt this nice, but she's never going to dwell on that.)
"I... I feel the same way. About you, I mean. I just... gah." It's hard, learning how other people tick when you can't cheat your way through it with fusion, but... it's worth it, somehow. "I got so angry at myself for pushing you away that I cut down a bunch of trees." She sniffs. "We should probably go to the prom before somebody finds us and gets mad."
"I told the Ubird person to come back," Akane says, not letting go yet. "They came after you left. They said we have to pay twice. Sorry about that."
She leans her cheek against Connie's shoulder. "If it had been me," she says, "I'd have probably punched holes in all of them. You're not nearly as destructive as Ryoga is when he gets depressed, even before he learned the Breaking Point. Trust me."
Another squeeze, before she lets go.
"I'm sorry," she says one more time. "And-- I'll be thinking a lot about the stuff that Carly talked to me about? She's... she's really nice. Even if you hadn't promised me about your friends, I'd know she wasn't a pervert. Or--" she says hesitantly, trying a new word on for size, "an assaulter?"
"...oh my stars, you actually used the correct term, Carly must've really gotten through to you."
Connie smiles at Akane. She could go on a long diatribe about how she feels so close to Akane despite and/or because of her flaws, but none of that matters. She just loves her so damn much.
(Later, she would look upon this moment and despair at her own stupidity.)
"We should probably head back. Don't want to keep everyone waiting, neh?"
Akane giggles. Connie still says ne with such a funny accent—but on her it's cute.
"I meant it that I'm going to have to think a lot about the stuff she said. It... might take a while. But I promise I'm going to think hard about it. And I'll keep trusting you."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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(Later, those words would bite Connie in the ass.)
Connie finally turns to face Akane. She's smiling through her tearstained face, albeit lopsidedly. "There comes a moment when you're looking at someone, someone you love and trust with all your heart, and then it'll just... click that you love them that way too."
(She would also regret those words.)
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She opens her eyes again. Looks up to see Connie smiling at her. Maybe she didn't destroy this completely somehow.
"Do you promise that your friends aren't-- hurting people?" she asks, biting her lip.
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And then Akane asks her question, and it's a good thing Connie has an excellent poker face because she's internally screaming.
The mental math she runs before her next statement is some seriously graduate-level stuff.
"Not in that way, I can guarantee you."
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"Okay," she says. "Okay. I still— I don't really get it. But. I'm going to try to accept it. And I do... I do trust you, Connie. More than anybody. So if you say they're okay, I'm going to believe you."
no subject
Then Chandrahas floats away to give her space, and that breaks the spell. She runs up towards Akane and hugs her closely, Japanese cultural norms be damned. "ThankYouIDon'tThinkI'dBeAbleToTakeItIfILostYouWe'veOnlyBeenFriendsForAFewWeeksButIFeelCloserToYouThanAnyone"
no subject
"I really am sorry," she whispers. "I know-- I know it's important to you that I get this stuff and I just-- It's so confusing. And stupid. Your friend Carly tried to explain stuff to me and even your uncle said I should think about if it matters if people are perverts if they're not hurting anyone and they both said I should apologize to you. And I know-- I know I was the awful one. I never really thought you were a pervert, not after you said you didn't want to do that stuff, but I just-- None of this makes sense, you know? But I don't want to drive you away. I can't lose you, Connie. Not just because you're my only friend, but you're the best friend I've ever had."
She sniffles a bit. "I wish Mr Saotome had brought you home with him. Except not, because then he'd have been your dad and I don't think he takes training girls as seriously as he does boys."
Considering what Genma Saotome considers to be appropriate training, this is probably a good thing.
how many "are you gay" quizzes is akane gonna take after prom
(It's also been a good, long while since a hug has felt this nice, but she's never going to dwell on that.)
"I... I feel the same way. About you, I mean. I just... gah." It's hard, learning how other people tick when you can't cheat your way through it with fusion, but... it's worth it, somehow. "I got so angry at myself for pushing you away that I cut down a bunch of trees." She sniffs. "We should probably go to the prom before somebody finds us and gets mad."
ALL OF THEM
She leans her cheek against Connie's shoulder. "If it had been me," she says, "I'd have probably punched holes in all of them. You're not nearly as destructive as Ryoga is when he gets depressed, even before he learned the Breaking Point. Trust me."
Another squeeze, before she lets go.
"I'm sorry," she says one more time. "And-- I'll be thinking a lot about the stuff that Carly talked to me about? She's... she's really nice. Even if you hadn't promised me about your friends, I'd know she wasn't a pervert. Or--" she says hesitantly, trying a new word on for size, "an assaulter?"
wrap?
Connie smiles at Akane. She could go on a long diatribe about how she feels so close to Akane despite and/or because of her flaws, but none of that matters. She just loves her so damn much.
(Later, she would look upon this moment and despair at her own stupidity.)
"We should probably head back. Don't want to keep everyone waiting, neh?"
Re: wrap?
"I meant it that I'm going to have to think a lot about the stuff she said. It... might take a while. But I promise I'm going to think hard about it. And I'll keep trusting you."
She smiles. "Let's go back."