Time Marches On

by kgs-wy

Five years on from the Lorwardian Invasion Event, Team Possible is still fighting the good fight, their ranks bolstered by the former villainess and now close friend Shego and their old friend Monique. Join them as they fight, love and live through life's changes, even though sometimes, change is as unexpected as it is inevitable…

1. Too short to cry, long enough to try

Author's Foreword

And here's a story I'm using to help with a touch of writer's block I'm sufferin' about halfway through C13 of Vacation from the Norm, Book II, and also as an apology for getting C12 out late. Yes, that means that C12 is done, but I'm awaiting Neo having time to beta it; I'm still hoping that it'll be this week, but her work and university schedules are pretty hectic, so it might not be 'til next week. Anyway, this fic will be updated, but likely only sporadically, as it's a distinct secondary fic. I've also got a couple side-stories for Vacation in progress, so hopefully it's all good.

A couple quick side notes: first, the rating is 'T' for now, but may go up to 'M' in the future. I'll try to avoid it, but as this story is writing itself from within my mixed up head, it may happen no matter how much I wish it otherwise.

Second point is, I know there's some debate as to Kim and Ron's graduation year, some say 2006 since Kim Possible started in 2003, some say 2007 since that was when Graduation was aired. I'm fine with both, and in this instance, I'm using 2007 because it allows me a bit of freedom in mixing some real life influences in with the KPverse. Yes, I'm one of those authors that use a mix of fake names for some things and real names for others.

At any rate, I do hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer

Please see my profile for my Kim Possible disclaimer.

Chapter - I

Too short to cry, long enough to try...

RGKM-RGKM-RGKM-RGKM

Ron Stoppable was awoken from a dead sleep by a loud, almost foundation shaking knock at the front door. He glanced around himself in confusion for a moment, before remembering he wasn't in his Go City home; he was in his old room since he was house sitting for his parents. With their typical lack of warning, they'd called him up and essentially demanded that he come over and watch the house while they took Hana to Japan to visit with Hirotaka - who he'd found out a month earlier was her father - and Sensei, who was her great-granduncle. The reason for the visit was so she could visit home on her fifth birthday, and get to know her birth father, who she'd already considered her '…best friend next to her big brother, or her Aunts Kimmie, Shegsy, Yori and Mo-Mo, and just above her uncles Wadey, Felix and Ed-Ed…'.

When the third, or fourth, he wasn't sure exactly, set of loud, ringing knocks coming from his parent's front door once again drew his attention, he levered himself up with a groan. The knocks would have surprised most, but they didn't surprise Ron in the least. Neither did the sound of a woman screaming out his name angrily… After all, the woman was nothing if not temperamental, especially when it came to friends. As he got closer, he heard his name far more clearly, as well as some of the rest of what she was saying. This could end up hurting… he thought with a sigh, A lot!

As he came finally crested the top of the stairs, he glanced at the door and winced. The knocks were literally shaking the door in its place, making it bow slightly in the middle. A door made of laminated, Lorwardian derived memory steel with thick oak veneer… It was designed to turn not just the door, but the house in general into a veritable fortress, much like the rest of the house - and those of anyone particularly close to Team Possible, thanks to a few up and coming supervillains that had broken various villainous by-laws - had been post invasion. It had been designed as much to protect the Stoppables from supervillains as much as to keep a certain super ninja baby from going outside whenever she pleased, at least until she was old enough to know better.

Which, thankfully, had come when she'd turned two and a half. He started thinking back to that day when the loudest knocks yet struck the door; he winced at the force, then paled slightly at the newest threat issued by the woman outside, "Stoppable, I know you're home, so open this godforsaken door or I'll blow it off its hinges and rips your nuts off for general purposes!"

Ron grumbled and walked up to the door, using his thumbprint and voice scan to open the door. As soon as it was cracked, it flew wide enough that it caught on his carelessly removed shoes, staying wide open, and he was yanked forward by his shirt. He'd barely gotten his balance back when he was shoved, quite unceremoniously, back into the house, the person shoving him back following right behind. "I might still rip them off if I don't like what you have to say!"

Ron sighed as he looked at the pale green fist twined in his old jersey's front, then up the arm to a muscular but svelte shoulder, to the almost boyishly short, raven black hair with incredibly deep green highlights, to the beautiful face. A face that was twisted in a snarl of absolute indignation, a face that he had expected to see angry sooner, considering that their sparring matches had been getting more and more serious. For what reason, he had no clue, but they had been, almost as if she was trying to push him - or possibly herself - away. Nonetheless, she was his friend, and a valued one, so he kept his voice light as he asked, "Elaina, what do I owe the pleas-…" His comment would've finished, and his attention would've stayed riveted on her face, but he noticed a flash of pink to her left, and the scowling countenance of his best buddy, Rufus, staring at him. With a brief, almost betrayed sounding grunt, he asked, "What the hell, Rufus?"

"Today it's Shego, Doofus," Elaina 'Shego' Litvinov growled, shoving him roughly into his parents living room loveseat, "and I'm asking the questions, got it?" Ron could barely nod with a resigned sigh before she was leaning down, bracketing his head between her outstretched arms, "What the hell were you thinking pulling what you pulled last night and then skating out like this, huh?"

"Hnk, yeah!" Rufus agreed, his little paws balled into fists and held just below his face. It would have been cute except for the fulminating anger he saw in his buddy's eyes… Which probably wasn't helping calm Shego, since his buddy had declared Elain-… Er, Shego, his 'Second Human' next to Ron. Which meant, if he was this mad, the situation had shoved Ron into second place with Shego taking the top spot.

This is going to be a long morning… the blond thought as he glanced at the wall clock, seeing that it was barely 7:25 a.m., which meant that Shego'd been up since about 3 a.m. if she drove… And he'd seen her motorcycle outside, so that was quite likely. Oh, man, she's pissed!

The thought brought him precious little comfort, but it did give him a slight advantage. It meant - with the missions she'd taken on the side to give them all some down time - that she was also incredibly tired, and while she was likely under-caffeinated, it would mean she would be more easily distracted. Of course, there was Rufus, but he could use that to his advantage… If he could find out what, exactly, had Shego so up in arms, and if he could talk Rufus over to his side…

And knowing Rufus, Ron thought with a mental wince, It'll have to be the whole truth and nothing but… And he'd actually been trying to do the right thing. Too bad his parents had other ideas, unwitting or otherwise! Not that he could truly blame them… They were worried about the house, and since the only family member available was his cousin Sean, that was a no-go. At least he'd finally been vindicated; too bad it'd taken the nearly fatal fiasco at his Aunt Bertie's wedding, where his cousin Sean had finally shown everyone, including his mother, just how evil he'd become, to do it… At least Aunt Bertie had been delivered to the hospital before the E. coli could do more than make her a bit ill.

A bit of a shake of his shirt brought his mind back on track, and he turned his attention back to Shego. With a frown, he snapped, "If you're talking about me getting dragged here by my paren-…"

"They couldn't have let the Tweebs come over and house sit?" Shego blurted, raising an eyebrow, "They trust them with babysitting Hana, why coul-…"

"Because the last time they gave mom's stove an 'upgra'-…" Ron's snapping tone and the use of air quotes made Shego jump as if she were about to attack him. His immediate drawing back of his hands, palms outermost, stopped her instinctive response, but only just. After a tense moment, Ron continued in a calmer voice, "Look, they're being paranoid, I know, and they did invite KP… But I called, left a message, and she didn't answer or call back, so considering tha-…"

"Yeah, considering you broke up with her just before getting called to run off home?" Shego scoffed, standing and walking a few paces away before rounding on him. She held a fist halfway up, palm upmost, a finger pointed at his face as she continued, "Do you have any idea how scre-…"

"For one, if we're broken up, then it was mutual between us, and I left the actual decision for that up to KP!" Ron finally snapped, standing and thrusting his arms out to his side. The act of interrupting her, and claiming, rightly, that it was mutual, and left to her to choose, made Shego gape at him long enough to get most of his next point across, "For two, you can ask Mo about the call from the 'rents, I was talking to her at the bar you two were at last night! Hell, I didn't even get a chance to tell her about Kim and I-…"

"Mutual?" Shego hollered after her brain finally kicked into gear, "That's not how Kimmie's looking at it!" She took a half step towards him, leaning forward, turning her hand over and jabbing her finger in the air towards him, "And what's this if crap, huh?"

"Oh for the love of…" Ron trailed off and shook his head in frustration, dropping his hands to his side and growling at his second best female friend… And three and a half year member of Team Possible. A member he hadn't had anywhere close to this heated of an argument with for over a year and a half, "Are you shitting me, Elaina?"

"I told you, Stoppable, it's Shego rig-…" Shego started, but Ron's snapping voice made her pause as he again interrupted her.

"And I don't care right now, Elaina!" Ron snapped stepping forward and forcing Shego to draw her hand back, "Did KP tell you one goddamned thing I said, or just her interpretation of what I said?" Shego's face screwed up indignantly, echoed by the indignant squeak from his left. Ron turned his attention briefly to Rufus, who had jumped onto the coffee table, raising his voice even more, "You stay out of this for now, Rufus! We'll talk late-…"

"Watch it, Stoppable," Shego grated, poking him twice in the chest with a folded index finger, using enough force that it would leave a bruise. She left her knuckle there, grinding it slightly and staring at him as if daring him to talk back to her, before continuing with a dire sounding hiss, "and don't yell at The Ruf about your decision!" Ron almost sighed in relief as he heard the nickname she'd long since given Rufus. It meant that, as he'd noted earlier, pissed, but wasn't truly enraged.

He knew because, for one, she'd used words and that folded knuckle to attack him, raised her voice and called Rufus by his nickname. Had she been any more irate, she'd have used Rufus' proper name, a deadly quiet voice and the diamond hard, glass fine edged of her claw would have poked into his chest. And not just a little into the surface muscle, with the force she was using! Still, this was a good thing, because it that meant she wasn't quite past the ability to be reasoned with, which meant she wouldn't have to be exhausted to just talk. Unfortunately, Ron also knew he'd have to get her just a tad angrier, to force her just beyond thinking straight enough to keep her formidable mental defenses up. Which, in turn, would allow him to, at the very least, slip a few hints as to what was going on for her mind to chew on while she chewed him out. Maybe even allow him to stop her altogether and get it straightened out with plain conversation. Of course, that could end up with them dragging a full blown, knock down, drag out fight to the front or back lawn, which was what he was trying to avoid in the first place!

His thoughts passed through his head in a veritable instant, as he finally muttered, "Me watch it? How about, um, no…" He stared at her, one last thought lancing through his mind, I'm throwing some of the Tweebs rocket fuel on an inferno… He allowed some of the anger he felt from the last few weeks, even months, show on his face, all of it an act to feed into his distractive ploy. And that meant everything, from the whole situation from Kim, and her recent… Realizations… To the owner of the restaurant he worked at trying to claim he wasn't that Ron Stoppable and thus shouldn't need special permission for missions… Then then claiming he was just joking when GJ came calling to ask why their freelance agent - who was supposed to be afforded the same courtesies of National Guardsmen - was being harassed by his employer… To his eye opening conversation with Monique a few days prior… And finally, to his parents pulling, yet again, and despite a promise not to do it again, another 'This is our way of telling you…' on him. Taking a full breath, he leaned forward to the point that they were almost nose to nose and roared, "How about you watch it, Momma Bear!"

The comment made Shego flinch like he'd slapped her, and Rufus squeaked in both protest and sudden worry. After all, Ron hadn't said something like that since Tara's ex had tried to attack her when she'd started dating Alex! Rufus' reaction, which Ron caught out of the corner of his eye, was almost comical as Shego took three steps back. Then, her eyes widened, leaving the whites clearly visible around her pupils. She dropped into a forward hunch, her hands becoming like claws as she glared at him. "What did you call me, boy?" she half screamed as searingly bright plasma wreathed her hands, barely below the level that would have caused it to drop onto the floor, most likely igniting the carpet, "What the hell did you just call me, you monkey powered asshole?"

Rufus called out in alarm, his anger clearly fading as his Human and Second Human looked about ready to fight. Then he paled when Ron, shaking his head in a mocking manner and cocking his ear as if listening to something only faintly heard, said words that made the naked mole rat wail in fear for their health, "I'm sorry, but… Did I stutter… Green Bean?"

Ron forced himself to show her a poker face of anger, although the pain he saw in her eyes made him want to apologize for taking things that far. She was still sensitive to some of the teasing she'd received all the way in junior high and high school, as was evidenced by her reaction to his words. With an inarticulate howl of protest, Shego threw her hands back and leapt forward, driving her hands forward towards his face… Only for those hands to be met by Ron's, wreathed in the pale turquoise of the Mystical Monkey Power.

With a quick spin and a laughably basic judo move, he upset her balance. He then spun around, twisting them fast enough that they moved with blurring speed. Somehow, Shego's feet barely missed the furnishings as he got her up to speed, before letting her go despite her sudden, startled protests. Shego flew through the screen door feet first, the toss taking her mostly to the sidewalk where she landed with her right foot first… Only to have that foot slide out from under her as her as the morning paper rolled out from underneath her. The loss of balance must have startled her as much as it did Ron, as she doused her plasma based flames and tried to perform a breakfall. Unfortunately, the morning dew on the grass conspired to make her palms slide instead of impact solidly, which in turn, made her upper body whip back, sending her 'ass over teakettle', as Kim's uncle Slim was known to say.

Even with his surprise at her tumble, Ron was out the door in an instant, with Rufus, now glowing a pale blue as well, a few steps behind. The clothing challenged rat was only delayed by the need to shut the door, at least partially. The connection between the two allowed Ron to realize that Rufus intended to try and get between them and stop the impending fight, but it was, unfortunately, something that had been brewing. He glanced back and snapped, "Stay outta this, Rufus!"

Rufus shook his head negatively, but not because he was planning to ignore his Human's words. Ron knew he just didn't want them fighting, but, well… Shego seemed to need this, in some ways, and he was sure that Kim had, however unintentionally, misunderstood him… And made their decision for them. Now, all he had to do was get Shego to release enough tension that he could actually talk to her. If she didn't knock herself out with that fall…

That seemed to be nearly the truth as the pale beauty moaned, pushing herself to her hands and knees, before reaching her right hand up to gingerly feel the back of her head. While the hand was clean of blood, it was obvious she was going to have one hell of a goose egg. Ron let himself wince this time, especially when he saw that the cement of the sidewalk had a few hairline cracks where her head had first struck. Thank God she's so damn tough… he thought, before forcing his mouth into motion, "Two things, Elaina," Ron sighed, "First, are you gonna be okay, and second, are you ready to actually listen to me?"

"I'm fine!" Shego growled, glaring at him, adding almost as an afterthought, "No thanks to the damn paperboy…" With a sigh, she levered herself up, still glaring at the blond, "And you have two minutes to tell me wha-…" She probably didn't understand why Ron had blushed at that point, but obviously didn't care; she was still mad, but calm enough to actually talk, thanks to the pain lancing from the back of her head.

"I think you should give me five," Ron murmured, glancing back at the front door to his parents' house, which lay not five feet behind him, "And we should really talk about this inside…" He glanced meaningfully at Kim's parents' home, which was only separated from his parents' house by a still empty lot where an empty house had once stood... Up until the Lorwardian Invasion Event.

"Right…" Shego rolled her eyes, her hands still occasionally flaring with the cosmic energies contained within her body, "Don't want Poppa Possible to he-…"

"Actually," Ron flushed deeper, taking his shirt off and tossing it at her, "Um, your top kinda split when you landed… So I'm more worried about the Tweebs."

"Wha-…" Shego started as she caught the article of clothing, then glanced down at her bared chest, her breasts only covered by the frilly, lacy, deep purple bra she preferred when not in her catsuit. The expensive, designer blouse's buttons had popped open, half of them ripping through the cloth. Compounding that, the high tech, zipper replacement seal of her 'leathers' had somehow ripped to either side of the seal proper, ruining the article's ability to close. "Dammit!" she howled, quickly donning Ron's shirt, forcing herself not to light up despite her anger flaring intensely, lest she ignite Ron's shirt as well.

Ron glanced back at the front door and listened, hoping that the pair of sirens he heard weren't meant for them, "Probably better call the police and tell them it was a sparring match gone wrong…" Shego grumbled in agreement and followed Ron into the house, opening her mouth to speak as Ron shut the door behind her. She didn't have a chance to, however; Ron immediately turned her, grasped her shoulders firmly, but not painfully, and swung her around. As soon as he let go, she backed up at the sudden action, bumping into the door, and was cut off from further comment when Ron's arms snapped out, his palms landing to either side of her head on the door. When he was sure he had her attention, he leaned in close enough that their lips were almost brushing together, staring deeply into her eyes while growling in a startlingly commanding tone, "No! You stay quiet this time, let me call the cops and clear this mess up, and then you'll let me speak! Understand?"

When Shego nodded, Ron pulled back and turned away quickly, marching towards the stairs and his bedroom to grab his Kimmunicator. Because he was no longer in the room, he didn't see Shego blush faintly, turning a chagrined, almost ashamed and forlorn gaze after him. A moment later, she swallowed and whispered, "O-okay, Ronnie…"

Rufus, however, was still in the room, and slapped his little forehead as he realized just what he'd seen. "Oh, no…" he muttered as several pieces of the puzzle he'd been trying to understand for the last two and a half months fell into place, not just between his two Humans, not just between Monique his Human's Lady, but between his Human and his Human's Lady…

RGKM-RGKM-RGKM-RGKM

"Oh, lovely…" Monique McCoy sighed as she noticed that Elaina's bike was gone, which, with Ron in Middleton, left her to her own devices for hangover recovery… And while she could cook serviceably, quite well in a few cases, she wasn't nearly to Ron or the former thief's level in cooking overall. She still wished she knew what Ron had been asking her to do the night before, but at least he'd been able to ask her not to get too drunk, and all but begged her not to be out on the prowl that night. While she'd been contemplating it, what with it being almost two months since she'd last had any sexual contact with anyone, the itch wasn't too bad, so she'd readily agreed. And then he'd been called by his parents, and had been forced to arrange a ride from Wade so he was at his parents' home before they left.

Assholes, Monique thought bitterly, They could have waited for him to finish his conversation instead of pulling out the 'Don't you care about your family?' card on him. At least Tara and Alex kept me from doing anything too stupi-… She grimaced and let out a small whine, the thought cut off as the rising sun lanced bright rays from the Sloth's rear window straight into her eyes. Quickly covering her eyes, she made her way to the shade of the east facing front door to the house.

Using a palmprint and voice scan, she let herself in the four bedroom, three and a half bath house she shared with Ron, Kim and Elaina. The exact style of house she'd once told her parents she'd live in when she hit it big, but… It hadn't been purchased by her with her own money. Not that it mattered, since the person who had bought the house had no only helped make her one of the 'most promising up and coming names' in fashion, but was their friend and fellow teammate, Elaina.

It still boggled her mind that she'd ended up becoming a part of Team Possible. It'd started with her fascination with both interpersonal as well as over the air and telecommunications, which had led her to being all she'd been at first, Team Possible's dedicated communications member. She'd love it, since it allowed her to help, and her presence allowed Wade to concentrate on strategizing with Kim and hacking. She'd communicate with local air traffic towers, police, governmental agencies or whoever they were helping, which was where her self taught diplomatic and interpersonal skills had been a boon.

She'd moved up to a full field member after busting out a set of wrestling moves when Professor Dementor had tried to steal the Sloth while escaping… With her in it! Which had led to her being trained intensively by three martial artists of incredible caliber. But at least it had seemed to open up her last growth spurt, allowing her to shoot up to slot in between Ron's five-foot-eight and Elaina's six-foot of height. And the body she'd developed!

She'd always had more hip than Kim, but while she was a bit narrower in the hip than Shego, her rear was more rounded. With the training, her natural booty had tightened up and become, in her eyes, dimpled perfection! Firm, muscular, but with that perfect amount of bodyfat that let it jiggle just so when she put a bit of sway into her hips. Her legs, something that had driven her to place third in the Colorado state high school decathlon their senior year, were even stronger, though thanks to her growth, long and lean. Her arms were solid, athletic yet feminine, and she no longer needed shoulderpads to fill out any dresses!

She couldn't complain in the long run over the training, but it hadn't been nearly as fun as Kim made it out to be… At first, anyway. Eventually, though, with the tendency of the now very fit Ron to spar in just his boxers, and both Kim and Elaina's tendency to spar in tight fitting yoga pants and sports bras, it had become very enjoyable. And not just for the eye candy, though that had helped at first…

Shaking off the woolgathering - and the images of a sweaty Kim, Ron and Elaina - she headed to the kitchen, hoping it wasn't a disaster area considering the size of last night's meal. She sighed in relief upon seeing that all the dishes that'd been left in the very modern kitchen were all clean and put away, and smiled, deciding to make breakfast. She walked over to the pantry and opened it, smirking as she saw there was a half empty bag of Texas toast. While she might not be as good at cooking as Ron or Elaina, she was far from a slouch, and she wanted something sweet and decadent. Fridge… she thought, grabbing the toast, some sugar and a can of sweetened condensed milk, walking over to the counter and setting them below the spice rack as she opened the fridge. Cream cheese, berries, eggs and cream…

She quickly went about gathering the rest of the tools, bowls and pans she'd need. She was almost as good at making syrups as Elaina, who was a tad better at that than Ron was, so she started some water and sugar to boiling first, placing the cream cheese close to it to soften a bit. She turned the oven on to the perfect temp and set a timer, then she mixed the eggs and cream with a bit of nutmeg, cinnamon and a touch of salt. As soon as she had it to the proper consistency, she began layering some of the Texas toast into a nine by thirteen by two inch baking pan, pouring some of the egg mix on top. She ended up with three layers of the toast and spiced egg wash, just as the water began boiling. She dumped the mix of blackberries, blueberries and diced strawberries into the water and washed her hands before putting the cream - the only perishable that wouldn't be needed - back in the fridge and standing back, doing the one thing she hated most about cooking: waiting.

The oven's alarm beeped and she placed the toast and egg mix into the oven on the middle rack, then turned down the boiling sugar water and berry mix down to low after giving it a quick stir. Smiling to herself, she reset the timer on the oven, washed her hands again, all before pulling the blender, followed by the can opener, from the cupboard, setting both up and grabbing herself a glass of water. She had just finished the water when something drew her attention from the kitchen. Taking a quick glance at everything, she moved the now softened cream cheese next to one of the bowls. She opened them before making her way towards the stairs, where she'd… Heard something.

"Kim?" Monique asked she began to make her way up the stairs. The startled, shuddering intake of breath was all it took to tell Monique that something was definitely wrong. She knew it wasn't just Ron taking off like he had at his parent's demand. She quickly thought over the past couple months, and winced as the pieces fell into place. Oh, great, she sighed, hurrying up the stairs leading to the room Kim shared with Ron. What the hell happened last night? she sighed as she thought about last night, shaking her head, His parents calling him off didn't help, I'm sure…

"Kim, GF, you okay?" she asked as she topped the stairs, knowing that she wasn't, but having to start the inevitable conversation somehow.

"No…" Kim moaned, the tears obvious in her voice, "Ron… He…"

"What'd Potential Boy do now, Kim?" Monique asked as she stepped into the room, feeling her heart clench as she looked upon the scene before her. Kim was surrounded by photo albums and a few digital picture frames, and was playing some punk rock on her stereo. Fighting the urge to smile and nod her head with the fast, driving music, she awaited Kim's answer, realizing in that moment it was a new album that their friend, Alex Eressos, had allowed Kim to rip, Well, it can't be that bad if she's listening to punk, and not that death metal Shego got Ron listening to…

The latter was something Kim only listened to when she was feeling particularly down, which hadn't happened since she and Ron had started drifting almost six months ago… Or when she was truly angry, which was, thankfully, rare. Finally, Kim looked up at her, tears welling up in her red-rimmed green eyes before whispering in a defeated tone, "Ron broke up with me 'cause…" She glanced over at their entertainment center, where a forty-two inch HD flatscreen sat, murmuring, "It's stupid…"

"WSS, GF?" Monique asked, earning a suddenly annoyed, but half-hearted glare from her best friend. She raised her hands palm out, waving them in a soft, placating manner, "Er, okay, dropping Monique-speak for now. What's. So. Stupid?"

"It's…" Kim sighed and looked down at the picture frame in her hand, "It doesn't matter… He…"

"Kim…" Monique said, carefully moving two of the photo albums out of the way and taking a seat by her best friend, trying to keep her voice completely neutral, "Ron talked to me the other day, y'know…" Kim glanced over at her with a mix of grief, fear and, Monique wasn't surprised to see, an weird mix of betrayal and confused anger, "He told me what's been goin' on between you two and asked for some advice. And I gave it to him, but I very much doubt, if he followed it, that he broke up with you…"

"But…" Kim's face, which had become somewhat livid, fell back into a look of grief, "That's what he said."

"Kim…" Monique sighed, reaching out and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, "What did he say, exactly…"

"I…" Kim started, her face screwing up in confusion, "What… Mo, I…" She sighed and stared down at her most recent picture with Ron. "I'm pretty sure it's over, Mo…"

It was from Kim's last birthday; the red-head was seated next to the blond, and while her gaze as she stared at Ron was loving, her eyes were shining in the way only a drunk persons can, while her arms around Ron's neck were… Not desperate, but overly clingy, as if she knew something that she had yet to share with anyone. Monique and Elaina were leaning in from behind and to either side, Monique behind Kim and Elaina behind Ron, all of them holding up a mug of beer. The one thing that Monique noticed, considering her discussion with Ron four days prior, and their conclusion only two days prior, and various other discussions she'd had… The hand she had on Kim's shoulder was distinctly possessive. I hope Kim doesn't realize that little fact…

"Bullshit." Monique finally declared, as bluntly as a sledgehammer to the face, "You're going to remember what he said, Kim, or I'm going to tell you what he and I worked out that he should say!"

"But…" Kim started, then stared at her friend. Monique's eyes were hooded, hiding almost all of her emotions, except for something she couldn't quite understand. She blinked, then sighed, looking away from her beautiful, chocolate skinned friend, whispering, "Did he tell you about… Um…" She gestured helplessly, shrugging in embarrassment.

"That you've started to show interest the vag as much, if not more, than you do in him?" Monique asked, drawing a strangled squeak of agreement from Kim, who still looked away. "Yes. He also mentioned that you've been getting into romantic lesbian things, like TV shows, movies or novels, and that it's been going on for almost six months…" She paused and when Kim said nothing, she added, "Not to mention, your sex life has actually gotten better since then, as long as you get some exposure, either at the club watching and dancing with chicks or watching porn!"

"That's not-…" Kim started, her voice rising indignantly as she spun her head around towards Monique, but stopped in shock as she caught the very, very Shego-like smirk Monique had allowed to spread on her face. For some reason, Kim blinked, then swallowed as if against a dry throat.

"Don't BS me, girl!" Monique snapped, shaking her head in fond, if frustrated, annoyance, "I've seen you looking… At Tara, at Alex, at Bonnie when she visited Tara and Alex, at Elaina… Hell, even some random hotties around the campus and in the clubs, even around town!" Monique let out a sigh and reached an arm easily around the red-head's shoulders, and couldn't help but note how… Comfortable the position was. She was glad Kim was looking away, as her friend didn't see the worried grimace cross her features, before murmuring, "There's nothing wrong with liking boys and girls, you know… I mean, look at Tara and Alex, or even Elaina, right?" Kim glanced back at her, just in time to see the pout that Monique had dragged out, a pout almost as devastating as the Possible puppy dog pout, "Never caught you lookin' at me, though, I'm almost jealous."

"What, you want a wannabe lesbian staring at you?" Kim harshed slightly, the words directed mostly at herself, before sighing and murmuring, "Okay, okay, you have a point… And sorry for harshing, it's just…" Kim reached up and rubbed at her eyes, then turned her face half away from Monique's. The black woman followed her gaze only to see her concentrating on a picture from their senior prom. After a moment, the red-head sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly, "Maybe I've… Been thinking about things… But I love Ron, I do…" Even with her face looking somewhat away, Monique could see the frown marring Kim's beautiful features, "But our sex life wasn't bad before… I mean, we're healt-…"

"Umm-hmm, right…" the black woman interrupted in a drawn out fashion before chuckling, "I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale, and De Nile isn't just a river in Egypt…" Monique let her arm drop to the red-head's waist, and while she stiffened slightly, she almost immediately relaxed far more than she had been. Monique kept note of it for later, but just let her arm rest there, her hand on Kim's hip in a friendly manner. She then reached up to make her friend look her in the eye with gentle fingers on her chin, "Kim, Elaina and I went from hearing the occasional moaning and heavy breathing - not to mention incredibly rare bouts of PDA - to wishing you two could soundproof your room and wondering if you could be arrested for indecency for the PDA, y'know?."

"Monique!" Kim screeched, turning back towards Monique and clasping her hands over her mouth, which drew a laugh from Monique. A moment later, after seeming to calm down some, Kim dropped her hands and hissed, "That's not true! I'm not a screa-…"

"You weren't a screamer, Kim, at least not during the time I've lived here." Monique sniggered, "Now, though?" She shrugged, then giggled as her best friend blushed the same color as her hair, the blush crawling quickly below her neckline, I wonder how far dow-… She barely resisted the urge to slap herself, Calm down, girl! After a moment to make sure her voice was steady, she cocked her head, "So you like girls, really?" Kim nodded, then started to shake her head… Before shrugging helplessly, "Ron said he was okay with it, y'know… Even if it meant you eventually broke up over it. And that brings me back to what I said a few minutes ago."

"Mo…" Kim started, but two gentle fingers on her lips stopped her… And Monique wasn't sure if the tremble she felt was Kim's lips or her own fingers.

"Nu-uh, GF. This whole sitch, as you call 'em, is beyond FUBAR. So you'll listen, and you'll think… And realize that, if anyone broke up, it was you with Ron…" Kim's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to protest, but Monique took a page from Elaina's book and interrupted her, "Uh, bup, bup, bup, bup, bup, no talky, just listen, 'kay, GF?"

Kim scowled and reached up and pulled Monique's hand away from her, unconsciously twining her left hand with Monique's right. With a huff, she bit out, "Fine, fine, I'll listen!" The pout that overtook her scowling face bordered on the Possible puppy dog pout, but didn't quite go all the way, for which Monqiue was thankful.

"And you keep that friggin' thing on lockdown!" Monqiue warned her sternly, squeezing Kim's hand gently, "You trust me, right, Kim?" Kim was too surprised by the question to do more than nod numbly. Monique sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, thinking on what she and Ron had worked out together so she didn't screw it up. "Okay, Kim… Ron and I worked out that, well… First off, that he needed to do a few experiments and get back to me." Kim frowned, opening her mouth only to earn a frown from Monique. Kim rolled her eyes, but stayed silent, to which Monique smirked, "Good girl, now… I had him… Test a couple things with you. You noticed, on Friday, that after the mission, we just came home? You and he were a bit… Frisky, but we were too tired to go out, and we just watched that old Willis movie…"

"Die Hard." Kim supplied, shaking her head in mild annoyance as she remembered. Monique knew that Kim thought the movie was merely okay, despite Ron, Elaina and Monique loving it it, "At least it wasn't Bricks of Fury IV…"

"I hear that." Monique agreed, knowing that Elaina and Ron loved it, but she and Kim shared opinions on it wholeheartedly, "Anyway… Ron also made sure not to watch any porn, or mention any other women, before you two got… Busy. And from what Elaina and I could tell, you were enjoying yourself, but not as much as you have been, right?" Kim nodded, obviously remembering that the night had been one of there merely 'alright' nights having sex. "Now, the next night, we all went clubbing… With Tara and Alex… Elaina and I wore that new clubwear I'm working on, and we all danced together, you and Ron getting a load of Elaina and I, and you getting a full load of Sweetness and Sexy-Lexi."

Kim flushed deeply, looking around the room at anything other than Monique, drawing a soft snicker from the taller woman, who gestured at Kim's chest. "Uh, huh, you're already getting revved up, girl…" Kim squeaked and slouched her shoulders, almost covering herself but restraining her instinctive reaction. "Then we got home, you dragged Ron into the bedroom, where he said he popped in some lez porn…"

"Yeah…" Kim nodded and, much to Monique's surprise, seemed to be breathing heavier, "It… Wasn't the stuff made for men, but actually by women for women, so… I like watching it…" She swallowed, her blush, which had begun to fade, coming back as an aroused flushing of the skin.

Oh, God, Monique swallowed at that point, feeling a bit flush herself, That's so sexy… She was saved by whatever was on her mind as she smelled the cooking syrup's aroma wafting into the bedroom, and glanced at Kim, "Hey, I got breakfast cooking… Come down with me and continue this there?"

"I…" Kim started, glancing down at all the photos. Her face crumpled slightly, before Monique squeezed her slightly, reassuringly. A moment later, Kim nodded and sighed, "Sure…"

"Good deal." Monique said, letting go and pushing herself up, before reaching down to offer Kim a hand up. The red-head winced and groaned as her joints popped, "How long have you been up here, Kim?"

"Um, since I talked to She-…" She blushed, knowing that their friend preferred her real name, but still having trouble with it whenever she was stressed, despite almost a year and a half getting used to it, "Er, since a little before Elaina left… Around 2:45?"

"She said she'd crash out when she got home," Monique muttered, "We ran into a couple people she knew in high school and didn't want to deal with their shit. Among other things she's been stressed about the last few weeks!"

"Um, but… She, uhm, she said she was just going to go driving… I…" Monique stopped at the halfway point, seeing Kim halted at the top of the stairs, "I may have said Ron broke up with me… And, um…" Monique's quickly descending frown made Kim wince, "I… Might have implied Ron used his parents needing a house sitter as an excuse to take off on me?"

"If you love Ron so much," Monique exclaimed in a suddenly heated manner, "What in the hell were you thinking telling her that? Even without the last few days she's had or running into those asshats last night?"

"Few days she's had?" Kim parroted in sudden worry, "Wha-…"

"Um, Kim…" Monique growled, "Look, it was supposed to be a surprise, but she got called in by Betty last week for some advice on a couple up and coming villains… Then, somewhere during the discussion, she made a deal to get GJ some extra agents by helping their ops to get us some time off this coming week. She finished off a few ops in Africa, and a couple in the Koreas this week… And the asshats from last night? An ex-boyfriend that broke up with her 'cause of her high school's food chain and his wife, her high school's version of Bonnie!"

"But why would she-… Oh, shit…" Kim muttered, her eyes going wide when she realized the importance of the following week, and what it would mean for Elaina. Monique's anger stopped cold at Kim's exceedingly rare curse, "I… Think I'd better call her an-…"

"She took her bike, Kim," Monique sighed, hanging her head for a moment, "Better call Ron's place, first, 'cause it's a damn good bet she's already there!" With that, Monique turned away and stalked down the steps and towards the kitchen, to make sure her syrup hadn't burned, "And you better ask him to tell you exactly what he said last night!"

"Just great…" Kim sighed, turning around and going to her bedroom to call Ron.

Monique ignored the worried tone in Kim's voice, too angry at her friend for being so unthinking about everything. She knew the red-head was… Sensitive… About dating, but to completely misunderstand what Ron meant when they had their talk? That's presuming the doofus followed through and said what we talked about… Monique sighed as she heard the slightly raised voice of Kim denying something, presumably from Ron's end of the conversation. A moment later, there was another denial, this time angry and screeching, followed by a heated, but thankfully quieter discussion. Okay, I'm guessing he did, and Kim jus-…

"Fine, whatever, Ron!" Kim screamed clearly, making Monique wince as she stirred her syrup, which was just about perfect in consistency. She poured all of the syrup and half of the berries it into the blender she'd set up earlier, before placing the lid and turning it to max speed for fifteen seconds.

Sighing in frustration at the situation, she shut the burner off and dropped the rest of the berries into a convenient bowl, and the saucepan in the sink. She turned back and stopped the blender just in time to hear Kim hollering once again. She let the thick, pulpy syrup sit in the blender for a few moments as she opened the can of sweetened condensed milk and poured it into the bowl next to the cream cheese. She scooped all of it out with a spatula, before placing two bricks of cream cheese and whisking them together until they were smooth. A moment later, she heard a fearful Kim, who had made it to the top of the stairs, all but begging as she made her way down, "No… Ron, please, let's discuss it when you and She-… Elaina are back. Yes, we will, goddammit! What do you mea-… Dammit, Ron don't hang u-…"

Kim let out an intense screech of rage, throwing her wrist Kimmunicator across the kitchen, where it slammed into the bulletproof armor glass of the French doors leading to the surprisingly large back yard. "You stubborn sonuvabitch!"

"Sounds like he told you what he said last night before he came to the club lookin' for Elaina and I?" Monique said mildly, earning a growl and a scathing glare from Kim.

"He said he…" Kim started, then narrowed her eyes, "How about you tell me what you think he said, and I'll tell you what he told me he said?"

"Fine by me, Screamer." Monique quipped, tapping the cream cheese off of the whisk and smirking at the wordless snarl Kim directed her way. Elaina's right, teasing her when she's pissed is fun! Carefully schooling her features into neutrality before glancing at Kim, she shrugged and added, "Hey, if Elaina can make nicknames, so can I."

"Whatever," Kim snapped as she slumped down into one of the breakfast bar's seats, tears once again welling up in her eyes, "Just get on with it."

"Fine," Monique agreed before turning back to the cream cheese and pouring the blended syrup into the mix, followed by the berries, before folding them together with the spatula, "What Ron and I came up with was that he should leave it all up to you. We didn't exactly write up a speech, but essentially, he was supposed to tell you how it's become obvious you're more interested in women, sexually and romantically, than him. We also thought that you should really think about what, and who, you really want. That he'd stay with you if he truly made you happy, but if you wanted to try women out, that you could take a break. And, if that wouldn't work, that you'd have to decide if you'd prefer women or Ron, and if you prefer women, that you should break up."

"Okay, that's exactly what he said." Kim sniffled as the import of Monique's words settled into her mind, "So… What? You two're saying that my interpreting Ron's actions as a break up means I want to break up with him?" Monique cocked an eyebrow, as to her mind the red-head had asked the most bvious question in the world, with the most obvious answer, "That's bull! I love him!"

"So do I!" Monique chuckled, shaking her head, "So does Elaina, Tara, Alex, his parents, your parents, your brothers, li'l Hana…" Monique raised a finger before Kim could respond, again with the obvious, "But, Kim… We talk to each other, right? Confide nearly everything?"

"Well…" Kim looked away and squirmed a bit, "Mostly, things we can… Y'know…" Monique let a small sound of dissatisfaction emanate from her throat as she finished with her spread, and Kim blushed, "Mo, don't be like that… I… I was worried about, y'know… Saying I might like looking at…" Monique's other eyebrow raised to join the first and she cocked her head to the side, her eyes demanding that Kim finish. Kim let out a little squeak of worry, before adding quickly, "Women and stuff… I'm scared…"

"Kim," Monique sighed and walked over to lay her hands on the red-head's shoulders, "We're not in high school, so you don't have to worry about small minded idiots badmouthing you… Your parents are fine with Tara and Alex being your friends; hell, I remember your mom teasing you about it when Tara mentioned she used to have a crush on Ron! And your dad is the one that experimented with bisexuality in college, remember that conversation?" Kim groaned in embarrassment, indeed remembering the conversation a little over a year earlier. "And, yeah, there's bigoted assholes out there, but c'mon, when was the last time that bothered you?" Monique let herself smile so the sting of her next comments didn't hurt Kim, "Well, other than pissing you off when someone complained about you having a green freak, a kike and a nigger as part of Team Pos-…"

"Don't even bring that up, Mo!" Kim snapped, bringing her hands up and brushing Monique's off of her shoulders, before crossing her arms under her petite bosom and huffing, "This isn't about how people will react to me… I know my parents would be fine if they knew, I'm just…"

"Yes?" Monique asked in a drawn out fashion.

"I'm just…" Kim sighed, slumping forward slightly, tears yet again welling up and this time falling from her eyes, "I'm scared, Mo… I've been with Ron since '06! I've…" Kim choked up and turned away, her shoulders shaking with barely withheld grief. "That's almost six and a half years! And I do love him, as my best friend, romantically…" She glanced back, swallowing nervously, "Even sexually…"

"Then why are you so convinced that he's broken up with you, Kim?" Monique asked, reaching up daringly to cup her friend's face, staring into her beautiful green eyes.

"Because!" Kim cried desperately, "If… If I can't keep a relationship with a man I love? What's that mean for me? How stupid am I that I can't figure out how to stay in love with someone that loves me like he doe-…"

"Shush, Kimmie…" Monique murmured, borrowing a nickname from Elaina that almost always calmed the red-head down. A moment later it seemed to have worked as Kim's breathing slowed and her tense muscles relaxed a bit. It was only then that Monique continued, "He never said you are broken up, just that it's your choice. He even said that you two could take a break if it'd help you decide what you want… So I gotta ask: is it really hard to believe that you might just prefer women over men, possibly even romantically?" Kim's eyes had continued to widened as Monique spoke. When the fashionista's question finally filtered through whatever was going through the red-head's mind, her beautiful face began to crumple in a mix of confusion and worry, "Yes, you love Ron. And let's face it, GF… It took you and Ron how long to get past second base? And then you only did it after you had that little freak out session with me back on Christmas '08?"

"I… I didn't want to go too fas-…" Kim started, and Monique reached up to tweak her nose gently with her free hand.

"Again, that's not what you said then, and considering how much that boy loves you, and how much you love him, that shouldn't have been an issue." The gentle admonishment drew an annoyed huff from Kim, but Monique saw that her best friend was thinking. Reaching up and cupping the red-head's other cheek with her free hand, she said softly, "You told me you were waiting on Ron, and getting rather impatient with how dense he was being about the clues you'd been dropp-…"

"And it was all 'cause he actually believed Dad's bull about the black hole." Kim sighed, looking away with her eyes, since Monique still held her cheeks steadily.

"And yet, from what Ron told me, his hesitation was all because of yours, every time you two got close! You even admitted as much to him, and said that his junk made you feel good, it freaked you out too… Yet you still had a solid sex life after you forced yourself past the issues, right?" Kim nodded, and Monique smiled softly as Kim managed a watery, but honest giggle, "But it started to change, didn't it? That anxiety came back until you could picture yourself with women?"

Kim sucked in a startled breath, her eyes flitting around in an attempt not to look at Monique, "I… How did… I didn't even tell Ron that last part!"

"I know." Monique murmured mysteriously, "You just told him about being intimidated or afraid of his mini-Ron. So, let me guess… Now you're looking at girls a whole new way, wondering if maybe you wouldn't lose that excitement with another woman, like you have with every boy you've been with? Even Ron?"

"I…" Kim shrugged uncomfortably, but did glance back at Monique, "I don't know, Mo… Maybe… I just… I don't know. I don't want to hurt Ron by breaking up, nor myself. I love him, like I keep saying…"

"You remember my advice after your little freakout before you and Ron finally took the plunge?" Monique sighed out, dropping her hands with a fond shake of her head.

"Yeah," Kim grumbled, her blush rushing back with a vengeance, "Talk to my mother." Kim shook her head in consternation, glancing away from Monique and chewing on her lips, "But I… I don't want to disappoint them breaking up with Ron like that… Dad really likes him, and he's really come to accept him as a potential son-in-law… I'd have to start that all over with a wo-…" Her breath hitched a bit, and stopped what she was saying by shrugging, "Plus, Mom and Dad were hoping I'd be able to have kids someday…"

"Kim, listen to what you just said." Monique prodded gently, all but praying that her soft smile didn't betray the hope she felt stirring in her chest, "And think about this: lesbians can have kids, you know… As for working things out with your dad, he's started to accept that you're his young woman, not his little girl, and you never know," she paused, hoping she wasn't making a huge mistake by continuing, "you might find a woman that your family knows, and likes, enough that he'd be okay with things!"

Kim blinked as Monique folded her arms across her belly, seeing the red-head running her excuses, especially that last one, through her own mind. She turned away, afraid that she would show too much in her expression, and checked the timer on her breakfast casserole. Just a couple minutes, perfect! She let her hands drop and walked over to the stove, and that's when Kim gasped, drawing the beautiful fashion designer's attention back to her. Kim was staring at her, a hand over her mouth and her eyes wide. "No… No way, I didn't mean… I… I…"

"You? You?" Monique turned a full blown smirk on Kim, hoping the Shego-like expression would hide the fact that it was completely plastic.

"I… Didn't mean it like that!" Kim half-hissed, half-shouted at Monique, her tone suggesting she was trying to convince herself more than the gently smirking woman in front of her.

"Kim, GF, BFGFFL." the use of her old text speech, especially the phrase, 'Best friend Girlfriend for life', snapped Kim out of whatever panicky loop she'd driven herself into, "Your mom, if you remember, is supposed to have the weekend off. So call her. After breakfast. Then call Ron." Kim opened her mouth to speak, but Monique cut her off, "Girl, Elaina's been awake for nearly four days! If she hasn't called back to bitch you out, then she's out like a light! So chill, and get ready to eat some of Momma Mo's amazing French Toast Casserole, and think about what you'll say to your mom, dad and boyfriend… Or potential ex, however you want to do this!"

"Er…" Kim managed to squeeze out dully, then sighed and hung her head in defeat, "Fine, fine…" A moment later, she took a deep sniff, her eyes widening in shock. She wasn't quite back to herself, but her subdued tone held most of her 'Essential Kimness', as Ron called it, "Mo, that smells amazing!"

"I know, right?" Monique sniggered, grabbing a couple of potholders and opening the oven. The aroma of perfectly done french toast quickly wafted through the kitchen, making them both salivate. "Something my dad taught me how to make years ago…"

"Well, what're you waiting for?" Kim murmured, smile mostly devoid of worry, but still strained, "Let's dig in!" Before Monique could move to do more than nod, she found herself enveloped in a pair of strong arms, with a fall of beautiful red hair nestled under her chin, "Thanks… For listening, but not… Y'know… Letting me be stupid…"

Kim sighed as Monique leaned down slightly to kiss the crown of her head, murmuring softly, "Sure thing, Kim…" Monique gently pushed Kim away and smiled down at her, before turning, grabbing a knife and slicing their breakfast into roughly three inch squares, "Sure thing… It's what best friends are for, right?" In her mind, Monique allowed herself to add something she was truly terrified to say aloud, I'll always be your best friend, Kim, because I love you more than I may ever be able to say…

Had Kim been fully herself, she'd have seen that Monique's gaze was just a bit more intense than normal, and that the rich, milk chocolate of her brown eyes were a bit more watery than she'd ever seen them…

Author's Notes

Well, there's chapter one! Hope you enjoyed, and that it didn't ramble on too much. This work, as I'm sure you can tell, is written without a beta other than myself. So, unfortunately, there will be times where it gets lost in the details, and there will probably be inconsistencies and continuity issues… But I hope those'll be small and tolerable! Anyway, on with my thoughts…

As to what's going on, well… It seems that Shego's very protective of her own, and that Ron's descriptive nickname, "Momma Bear", while obviously frustrating, is quite apropos! It also seems that she doesn't react well to sleep deprivation… The reason for which will be explained next chapter! And, at least Ron seems to know her well enough to calm her down when necessary. And Rufus, of course! Though the little guy didn't exactly show his best colors this chapter, he seemed to realize that there was more going on than he realized. But then, Ron seems to have kept him in the dark, which seems rather unusual for the best buds, non?

Then there's Kim. Sometimes, people like her tend to get lost in their own fears, as evidenced in the chapter. Unfortunately, some of her fears seem to have been quite accurate, once she admitted at least a couple of them. Will she admit to more, later? Will she accept her own changing views, or try and force the issue down her own, fear driven path? Even I, as the author, don't know for sure! But, eventually, things will work out, one way or the other… And finally Monique… Poor girl, obviously stuck between a rock and a hard place, emotionally. But what, exactly, is the rock, and what, exactly is the hard place? Time will tell, time will tell.

A quick side note, I fixed the chapter title with one more apropos to my thoughts with the fic title... And a few errors, flow issues and outright screw ups I thought I'd fixed before uploading. Sorry for not catching that whoops to begin with! ^_^'

And that's that! Remember, everyone: there's lots of fics out there so keep up the reading, and if ya like a fic, have some advice or etc., give the author a review!