The Shape of Your Face

Sorry, I have no idea why the chapters are coming out so chopped up. But at least I can post. If I figure out why this is happening, I'll fix them.

6


“I want to help.” Mousse gazed at him, solemn.

“With what?”

“I want to help you earn the money you need for your surgery. That’s why you left, isn’t it?”
Ranma didn’t mind that he was being blunt. He knew Mousse well enough to know that the
other boy wouldn’t appreciate him taking the subtle approach. Mousse frowned.

“How do you know about that?”

“Dr. Tofu.”

“He *told* you?!”

“Not exactly...” Ranma had the grace to blush. “I sort of... read your file.” He watched while
several different emotions crossed Mousse’s expressive face. Surprise, irritation - a little fear.

“Who else knows?” Mousse wasn’t happy that anyone knew, but he had learned that Ranma
didn’t lie about serious stuff. If he said he wanted to help, then he really wanted to help. Why
was another question, but he’d get to that later.

“Just Akane and Ryoga. They won’t tell anyone that you don’t want to know. Neither will I.”

“I didn’t want *you* to know.”

“Why?”

“I...” Mousse hesitated for a long moment. “I don’t want your pity. I never cared - before -
when I was just being a moron chasing Shampoo and everyone made fun of me. I deserved it for
being that stupid. For being that sort of blind. I - things are different now. *I’m* different. And
I don’t want pity for this sort of blindness.” He touched the outside corner of one eye gently.

“I don’t pity you, Mousse. I just want to help - no one should have to do something like this on
their own.” He wasn’t sure if Mousse believed him, so he plowed on. “I mean - we’re sort of
friends, aren’t we? If it hadn’t been for... er... Shampoo, we would have really been friends?”
Mousse sat still for a long moment, thinking about that one. Strangely enough, he felt Ranma
was right. All the times they’d fought, it had been because Mousse had done what was expected
of a good Amazon warrior male, and challenged the man his Beloved was hanging onto.

“Maybe.” He said, and saw Ranma’s face brighten.

“Yeah. So friends help each other, right? Not pity each other, but help. I want to help you.”

“So do we.” Said a voice behind them, and both turned quickly to see Akane and Ryoga standing
there, hand in hand. Mousse quirked an eyebrow at that, but didn’t comment. Ryoga grinned
sheepishly and Akane blushed, but plowed on. “We’re *going* to help you. We won’t take ‘no’
for an answer. So get used to it.”

“You haven’t changed much.” Mousse said dryly, and Ranma snickered. Ryoga even grinned,
getting a glare from his sweetheart. “How do you intend to help? You both have school.”

“I don’t.” Ryoga interrupted. “I earn more than enough money on my trips to take care of me.
How long... um, how long before you *have* to have the surgery?”

“About seven months.” Dr. Tofu had told him for the best results he needed to have the surgery
within that time limit. After that, the chances of it being successful weren’t as good - a year from
now they would be non-existent. He’d started with eight months, but one was already gone. The
others were gazing at him solemnly. He narrowed his eyes, looking for signs of pity. He didn’t
see any. Yet.

“How much do you have to earn?” Ryoga was still doing the talking.

“Seven thousand.” Now all three eyes were huge. That was a *lot* of money for teenagers to
come up with.

“How much do you have?” Ryoga sounded a little strangled.

“I’ve got a savings account with six hundred in it. I earned five hundred extra this month,
beyond expenses. I’m looking for a second job.” The other three had gaped for a second, but
were recovering. Akane was shaking her head.

“No, you’ll get too tired. That can’t be good for your eyes.” Akane had a mothering streak a
mile wide. She usually kept a firm hold on it, but this situation was making it break free.
Mousse scowled at her.

“It’ll be worse, if I don’t.” She and Ryoga moved to sit on the grass next to the bench. The sun
had already dried the dew.

“You’re forgetting that we’ll be helping now. How much extra do you earn a month, Ryoga?”

“Maybe two hundred. But that’s right now - I don’t usually go out of my way to look for extra.”

“I really don’t like you just giving me money you should be saving. Especially if...” Mousse
trailed off, looking at their still-entwined hands.

“Oh, you can pay us back.” Akane replied airily. “Afterwards, you know? Consider it a loan, if
you want to.” Mousse was still uncertain, but that made him feel a little better. He nodded.
Akane smiled at him and kept going. “Ranma and I will have to get part-time jobs, so we won’t
be able to contribute as much. Quit frowning, Ranma! You know our families will kill us if we
drop out or skip school!”

“I know it.” Ranma growled. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.” He wanted to be able to run out
and earn the money Mousse needed in one day - he didn’t want the other boy to have to wait one
second longer for the medical treatment he needed. That was impossible for now - wasn’t it? - so
he had to do something he didn’t normally do - be serious. He sighed... but Mousse was worth it.
His brain shied away from thinking *why.* “What kind of jobs can we get? What are you doing,
Mousse?”

“Bartender. It’s a lot like working at the Nekohanten. There aren’t a lot of jobs around here.”
The last was said warningly - he’d been incredibly lucky finding his job.

“So we have seven months and we need to earn 6,500 dollars.” Akane was thoughtful. “That’s
what... about $900 a month? Maybe a little more...” Math wasn’t her strong point.

“$928.” Ryoga, on the other hand, was pretty good at it. “If Mousse is earning five, and I can
probably get two-fifty... you guys need to come up with about $180. Ninety bucks apiece. What
kind of part-time job pays that?”

“Waitress.” The boys blinked at Akane. “Really - they had to hire two for the Nekohanten after
Mousse left, you know.” She grinned at the astonished boy. “They never knew how good they
had it when you were there. The girls keep quitting on them - Cologne’s offered me the job three
times already. She’ll pay me seventy plus tips to work three hours a day, after school. So I
should get my half, easy.”

“Yeah, but you’d have to work for Shampoo.” Mousse pointed out, surprising them. They had
no idea of the epiphany he’d had concerning his former love.

“I can handle her.” Akane replied airily, getting over her surprise quickly. She waved a casual
hand. “All I have to do is complement her clothes or her hair and not mention that my family
thinks I’m engaged to Ranma, too. She loves me.” All three boys laughed.

“Well,” Ryoga chortled, getting over his laughing fit, “That just leaves Ranma. What are you
going to do?”

“Skip school.” At Akane’s horrified look he quickly added, “Just for today, Akane! I’m going to
look around for a job here, where no one knows me. That way they won’t ask any weird
questions. Mousse doesn’t want anyone to know, remember?”

“Oh... right. Well, I’ll think of a good excuse for taking the Nekohanten job. And I guess
skipping one day is all right. I’ll tell your teachers you’re not feeling well. You do look kinda
pale.”

“That’s because I got drug out of bed before dawn.” Ranma grumbled, teasing her. She grinned.
He turned to Mousse. “So where’s a good place to look?” Mousse shrugged.

“I don’t know. I’ve tried the other bars, no one’s hiring there. The restaurants usually want
waitresses, not waiters.” He yawned and glanced at his watch.

“Do you need to be somewhere?” Akane asked.

“The place I’m staying includes breakfast in the rent. I don’t want to miss it.” He liked to get
there early, when you got your pick of the good food. A lot of the drunks and addicts staying at
the run-down boarding house staggered down when it was cold and the few working tenants had
picked everything over. They didn’t care. They would eat and go back to bed. He didn’t add
that he usually took enough to make lunch and dinner, as well. He didn’t eat a lot anyway and it
cut down on his expenses. Ranma brightened a little at the thought of food.

“Hmm, I could eat. What’s a good place around here?”

“I don’t eat out much - I think there’s a nice little café just over on the other side of the park,
though.”

“We’ll get a bite, Ranma, but Mousse has the right idea. We need to bring food from home -
except you can still get free dinners for ‘Beloved Airen’ at the Cat Café, can’t you?” Ranma
turned red and glanced at Mousse, who just laughed. Ranma was relieved - although he didn’t
quite know why. Because Mousse wasn’t pining over Shampoo anymore? Or because he wasn’t
mad at him? He didn’t know and refused to think about it. When Mousse got up to leave, he
also refused to let him out of his sight.

“You guys can get breakfast - I’ll find something closer to your place, Mousse. I want to see
where you live, okay? Then I’ll start looking for work. Meet you guys tomorrow at school?” He
asked Akane.

“All right.” She said slowly, giving him a funny look. “Bye for now, Mousse.” She and Ryoga
walked off toward the café, glancing back once or twice. Mousse looked at the lake for a long
moment, memorizing the way the sun glinted off the water, then turned away. Ranma fell into
step beside him.

“You... you can go up to my room, if you want. I’ll bring you some food.” Mousse offered,
almost shyly. He’d never had a visitor before - never had a place of his own for someone to
come and visit.

“All right!” Ranma didn’t bother with how eager he sounded, and Mousse assumed it was over
the idea of getting fed. He led the way through the ugly streets to the uglier boardinghouse.
Ranma gave it an odd look but didn’t comment. Mousse motioned for him to be quiet and led
him up the stairs, unlocking a door and pushing him inside.

“I’ll be right back. Lock the door, ok?” He vanished. Ranma shut the door and turned the lock,
surveying the room. It was better than the little cubbyhole in the Nekohanten - not like that was
saying much. The walls here were painted white and could used a good scrub, but the rest of the
room was clean. The bed looked comfortable enough, not like the other one - that one had
looked like it would gladly stab the sleeper with a spring at the slightest provocation. There was
a bureau with a cracked mirror over it and a small nightstand with an alarm clock, one on either
side of the bed. An open door showed a tiny bathroom beyond.

“Not too bad, I guess.” He muttered, walking over to the bed and dropping down on it. It was
rather comfortable - and had the soft scent of peaches and cinnamon... like Mousse. He had his
nose buried in the pillow, breathing deeply, before he realized what he was doing. Even then, he
couldn’t bring himself to pull away. He only moved when he heard the key in the lock again.

Mousse carried a tray in one hand, two paper bags in the other. He sat the bags on the bureau and
offered the tray to Ranma. “Take whatever you want.” He lifted a fat peach off of it for himself
and sat down on the bed. “Sorry there’s nowhere else to sit.”

Ranma shrugged and plopped down beside him, secretly pleased. “S’okay.” He watched for a
moment while Mousse bit into the peach, then swallowed and turned to the tray. There was a
plate of eggs and bacon and a nice assortment of fruits, and several glasses of milk and orange
juice. Mousse finished the peach and reached for some juice. Ranma started on the eggs.
“Don’t you want some of these?”

“No. I don’t like bacon much and I’ve eaten so many eggs I’m sick of them. Lately all I want is
fruit and veggies.”

“Not good for you.”

“So says the man who lives on ramen.” Mousse replied, and Ranma scowled at him. “What, it’s
true!”

“I do not! I just - have it a lot, that’s all. You need other stuff.”

“I drink the milk, too. Sometimes the cook makes sausage or pancakes. My diet’s balanced
enough.”

“Then why have you lost weight?”

Mousse stared at him, but didn’t try to deny it. “I just - I haven’t been very hungry.”

Ranma scowled again. “You have to eat. But don’t worry, Akane’ll be watching you now. Just
wait.”

Mousse groaned and rolled his eyes. He set down the empty juice glass and ate a few grapes,
then stretched out on the bed behind Ranma.

“I’m beat. When are you going to look for a job? I’m not running you out...”

“I know. Do you - can I...” Ranma swallowed, keeping his face away from the other boy. He
wanted - really *really* wanted - to go to sleep beside of Mousse. Nothing else... just to stretch
out and close his eyes and listen to him breathe. “Do you care if I take a little nap? I’d like to
be... rested. You know?”

“Okay.” Mousse yawned again. “Just, would you set the glasses and the plate outside the door?
The cleaning lady picks them up. Keep the fruit and anything you didn’t drink.”

“All right. What’s in the bags?”

“Carrot sticks for lunch, fruit for dinner.” Mousse was nearly asleep. By the time Ranma came
back from disposing of the dishes, he *was* asleep, curled up on his side with his back to the
other boy. Ranma watched him for a moment, then set the clock for two hours and carefully lay
down beside him, moving as close as he dared. He forced himself not to wonder what on earth
he was doing, and soon fell into a relatively peaceful sleep.


*


The alarm startled both of them awake and Ranma quickly slapped it off. “Sorry!” He muttered
to Mousse, who nodded and cuddled back down into his pillow.

“Set it for five, would you?” He watched while Ranma obeyed and while he proceeded to eat
one of the leftover apples. “Take some with you. You won’t have to worry about lunch.
When... are you going to come back soon?”

“I’ll be back about five-thirty. What time do you have to go to work?” He ignored the other’s
surprise at his returning so soon.

“Not until ten.”

“What are you going to do this evening?”

“Find a sunset.”

“Huh?” Ranma had no idea what Mousse meant.

“Find a sunset. I found a sunrise this morning. I - I’m trying to memorize things. Beautiful
things and ordinary things. Just in case... you know...” Ranma swallowed hard, his stomach
suddenly queasy.

“Yeah.” He said hoarsely, hoping Mousse wouldn’t mistake sorrow for pity. “Yeah, I
understand. I’ll help you find one, okay?”

“Good.” Mousse muttered, closing his eyes. “I haven’t found a good one on my own yet.”
Ranma watched until the other boy was asleep, then leaned over him carefully, studying the calm
face. Without his glasses, Mousse looked like a sleeping angel. So innocent - so beautiful.
Ranma sighed, not concerned this time that he cared how Mousse looked. Before he could think
about it he leaned down and brushed a quick, light kiss across the white forehead.

“I’ll find myself a job.” He whispered, turning toward the door. As he went out, he paused to look back one more time.

“And I’ll find you a sunset.”

He locked the door behind him.