The warehouse was enormous, nearly a half-a-mile long and a quarter-mile wide, almost three and a half million square feet. The pallets, ranging in size from that of a box of tissues to standard cargo containers, made the building an enormous maze. A series of offices, work areas, and other rooms were connected by catwalks throughout the three uppermost floors of the seven story building. Somewhere in all the vastness there was access to a sub level that contained a revolutionary portable electromagnetic pulse weapon the size of a large handgun. Though it was not terribly powerful and had minimal range, in Drakken's hands it could prove to be incredibly dangerous.
Kim and Ron crept stealthily through the stacks, making their way towards the center of the facility where access to the sub-level was most likely to be found. They approached each corner carefully, aware that they could run into Drakken or Shego at any moment. Turning left at an intersection, Ron sensed movement to their right. He grasped Kim's elbow and she regarded him with eyebrows raised in an unspoken question. He leaned close and whispered in her ear, pointing.
"I thought I saw something move. Over there. Might have been just a shadow, though, I'm not sure."
She nodded and inclined her head in that direction, motioning for Ron to take the left side of the aisle while she took the right. As they moved around the corner Kim noticed an area of darkness that seemed inkier than the surrounding shadows and about the right size to be a door or entrance. She gestured to Ron and approached cautiously. It was indeed a door, beyond which lay total darkness. Exploring with their hands, it appeared that it was a hidden entrance, the door designed to blend in seamlessly with the wall. It had been noticeable only because someone left it open, though it was a door that was not likely ever to be left open.
"This smells like day old salmon, KP," Ron said, sotto voce.
"Totally fishy," she agreed.
"Gotta check it out though, don't we."
"No doubt."
Kim led the way into the pitch blackness and almost fell down the invisible stairs, but Ron grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away from the brink at the penultimate moment. He held her briefly, her back to his chest and she reached up and patted his left hand with her right.
"Thanks, babe," she whispered.
"Any time," he responded, brushing a kiss across her right temple.
They proceeded down into the gloom, eyes straining to see in the unrelieved darkness. The stairway was only about three feet wide and they could feel the closeness of the walls and the low ceiling despite not being able to see them. After descending ten or fifteen feet, they heard a nearly inaudible hiss followed by a soft click. It stopped them cold but after a few moments of silence they started down once again and shortly came to a landing. Again exploring with their hands, they determined that the only ways off the landing were either back the way they came or through a very solid and locked door. It had no hardware and was likely controlled electronically somehow, just like the door at the top of the stair.
"I've got a bad feeling about this, Kim."
"You and me both. Let's go back up."
They reached the top of the stairs only to discover that door now locked as well.
"We've been had, Ron," Kim said, not bothering to whisper since their presence had obviously been detected.
"Looks like it. How do we get out?"
"A little super-genius help." She activated her Kimmunicator, or rather tried to. The device would not turn on.
"Let me try mine," Ron offered. His unit was just as dead.
"Something's not right here," Kim said suspiciously. "We'll have to risk some light."
She pulled out her flashlight and thumbed the switch. Nothing.
"Kim, the EMP. If Drakken's fired it at us…."
"Then nothing we have will work."
"Wait, I've got a glow stick."
He dug it out of his pack and shook it, exciting the bioluminescent bacteria inside. The soft green glow was only enough to light their faces. They systematically tried every electronic device they had, but none of them worked.
"Let's try the door."
As they passed the glow stick around the frame of the door, Drakken's voice erupted from the darkness.
"I trust by now, Kim Possible, you have discovered the predicament you're in."
The voice was tinny, as though from a small speaker. In a few moments they traced it to a cheap walkie talkie unit in a corner of the landing. Given the low grade quality of the unit, Drakken must've been standing just on the other side of the door.
"But I doubt," Drakken continued, "That you truly grasp how dire your circumstances really are."
Kim keyed the transmit button, not sure if Drakken would pause in his rant but hoping he would.
"You know, Drakken, one of these days, you just might succeed in scaring me. But not today."
"Well how's this for scary? Using the EMP, I have disabled all your electronic gadgets, as well as the controls for the doors at both ends of the stairwell. The doors, I might add, are hydraulic and pressure loaded in the closed position. Then we move to the fact that the everyday workers at this warehouse are unaware of the secret chamber I have sealed you in, nor will they hear your pleas for help because the door is soundproof. And since the labs below are not currently in use, they are only checked once a week." He lowered his voice menacingly. "They were checked this morning. So unless you've packed a week's worth of food and water, mine will be the last voice you ever hear, and I will never hear your voice again. So fare well Kim Possible. You thought you were all that, but I've proven my superiority at last!"
There was a hiss of static then nothing. In the darkness, they found each other's hands. A minute of silence stretched out.
"Kim, he may actually have us this time."
"We may still have options."
"Like what? We could go seven days without food, but without water? Four days tops."
"Enough with the quitter talk. There may still be a way out. And step one is getting some light in here. Give that glow stick a shake."
In the rejuvenated glow, Kim disassembled her flashlight. Using the butt of her grappler, she smashed the control panel for the door and cannibalized some wire, using it to bypass the electronic switch and wire the batteries directly to the bulb. The beam blossomed, lancing away the darkness.
"Way to go, KP! Or would you prefer to be called Les-lie Stroud?"
"Yeah, wish I'd seen the episode where he survived in a staircase for seven days."
"It would be helpful."
With the flashlight, they more precisely defined the limits of their trap. It was solid concrete, the stairs being a little less than four feet wide with a six foot ceiling. Each landing was approximately six feet square with ceilings ten feet high. The doors were polished steel. Each one blended smoothly with its frame, utterly featureless with perhaps a quarter inch between the door and the jamb. They seemed to be in no better position now that they could see their prison. They stood on the upper landing, for the moment at a loss.
"Wait," Ron said. "What's that?"
"What?"
"Lemme see the light."
Kim handed him the light and he played it up near the ceiling above the door. It blended with the wall almost perfectly, but it appeared to be a panel of some sort.
"Good eye, Ron. Give me a boost."
He stooped down and Kim sat on his shoulders. He raised her up and handed her the light.
"It's definitely a panel of some sort. I don't see any screws or anything. Hand me your knife."
He dug in his pocket, retrieving his switchblade. He sprung the blade then reversed his grip and extended it handle first toward Kim. She traded the light for the knife and began to pry around the edges of the panel. At first she seemed to make no progress, but she was finally able to work the blade under one edge and a few moments later it was free. A moment later, Kim laughed.
"Ron, you'll never believe what's up here."
"I'd believe it was an animated garden gnome as long as he had a key to this door."
"Almost as good. They're the hydraulic lines that feed the door."
"So if we cut the lines, we might have a shot at getting the doors open even though Drakken zapped the controls."
'Right."
"So have at it."
Kim applied the knife to the hoses and the well-honed blade sliced cleanly through them. Hydraulic fluid began spurting in copious amounts from the severed lines, like blood from a severed artery. Ron let her down and they began pushing on the door. It wouldn't budge. They positioned their hands every way they could think of, but there was simply no way to gain purchase enough to force the door open.
"Give it a few minutes," Kim said. "There may still be enough pressure in the system to hold it shut."
After ten minutes, they checked to be sure fluid was no longer coming from the lines, then tried pushing on the door again with no luck. Ron kicked it in frustration, which resulted in a stubbed toe and little else.
"Calm down, Ron. Getting upset isn't going to help us any."
"Yeah, well, I don't see anything that will."
"Here, let's take stock."
They spread the contents of their packs out around them, trying to come up with something they could use. Kim turned the light out to conserve battery power and they sat in that perfect blackness, racking their brains for any scrap of an idea. They tossed around transparently farfetched ideas, ludicrous schemes, wild theories. They succeeded only in occupying their minds, passing the hours.
It was like being trapped in a well full of India ink. There was zero light, no sound but what they made themselves. The closeness of the walls made the air feel thick, heavy. The concrete sucked heat from the stairway, from their bodies. As fatigue overcame them, they sat in a corner, holding each other. Though she would not have thought it possible to sleep here, Kim felt her eyelids drooping. Just as she was teetering on the edge, she heard Ron's voice.
"Kim."
"Mmm?"
"I love you. So much."
"Oh, I love you too, baby. I love you too."
She slept.
She awoke alone, to a strange sound, almost like running water. After a few seconds, it tapered off, then stopped. It was followed a moment later by footsteps ascending the concrete steps and realization dawned. Ron flopped back down beside her.
"In the end," he grumbled, "robbed even of my dignity. What little I had to start out with anyway."
"Surely Wade's sent out search parties by now. They could find us."
"If the door's as hidden as it's supposed to be, I don't see how."
Kim had no response, aware that he likely was right. With nothing else to do, she gave the glow stick a shake and went over their equipment again, though she had looked through it enough that she had committed every item to memory. She thought if she actually looked at the items again she might be inspired. She was not. She paced a few minutes before the pressure in her finally reached critical and she realized the inevitability of her own loss of dignity. She went to the bottom of the stairs to widen the puddle Ron had started.
After returning to the top of the stairs she sat beside Ron and he wrapped his arm around her. They tried to make small talk, though neither of them was in the mood. But the darkness, the silence, was maddening so it had to be filled with something. They reminisced about high school, swapped college stories they had already traded, then made a game out of trying to guess which villain they had battled by hinting at certain aspects of past missions. They batted around more unrealistic escape ideas, then imagined fantastically fictional rescue storylines. In time, they slept again.
Kim woke with a start, propelled out of slumber by something darker than the stairs. She felt Ron's arm tighten around her in response.
"How long was I out?"
"Don't know. Slept a while myself. Besides, you can't measure time in here, anyway."
"If I listened to my stomach, I'd say we've been in here at least a month."
"I sure could go for a grande-sized Naco combo right now. I'd die for a glass of water, though." He was silent for a moment. "Guess that's…probably not the best way to put that, huh?"
"Probably not."
"We're really not gonna make it this time, are we?"
She held him closer, unable to answer right away. When she did reply, she spoke softly. "It's not looking good."
"It's hard to imagine. I mean, I'm sitting here, trying to come to grips with the fact that…." His voice trailed off.
"Ron?"
"Grip."
"Huh?"
"Grip! That's it! Kim, where's the grappler?"
"The grappler?"
Ron was scrabbling around, grasping in the dark and scattering their already scattered equipment even further. He gave a shout of triumph as Kim dug the glow stick from her pocket. She shook it up and the green ambiance allowed her to see Ron slam the grappler into the ground once, twice, then a third time. With a loud snap, the grappling claw released.
Wade recently updated the grappler's design to accept interchangeable claw styles. The style they were using at the moment had three tines and looked somewhat like a larger cousin of the claw used in game parlors to attempt to snatch stuffed animals piled in a booth. Each individual tine was slightly boomerang shaped and roughly eight inches in overall length, joined together with a spring loaded device that opened and closed the claw.
"Ron, what is it?"
"The grappler, Kim! Look, the tines are made of hardened titanium, quarter inch thick. We take them apart, then put them together end to end…."
"And all of a sudden we've got a two foot long pry bar. Ron, you're a genius!"
He chuckled. "Wow, never been called that before. Oh, wait. Yeah I have."
"Except this time, you're not faking." She hugged him and kissed his cheek. Let's get to work."
Kim lit the flashlight, which was like a supernova after so long in such pitch dark. It took a couple of hours of work with only a knife and a multi-tool to work with, but it was productive work. A task with purpose and it was a wonderful thing to have. Finally they finished. The "pry bar" just barely fit in the gap between door and jamb, but fit it did. They pulled with all their might and felt the door move ever so slightly. They turned around and pushed on the bar, throwing their combined weight and strength against it. The door opened. A half inch, an inch, two, three. The bar was no longer useful and they grabbed the edge of the door and pulled, heaved. Finally, the door opened enough for them to squeeze through and they escaped their tomb with much laughing, hugging, and kissing. The warehouse was dark and deserted, but they didn't care. They were alive, and they were going to stay that way.
They had been trapped in the stairway for nearly two days. They found the closest eatery they could and while waiting on their food to cook called home to relieve panicked families. They ate with gusto and every dish tasted better than any they had ever eaten. By the time they were done, bellies full and thirst slaked, Wade's ride was waiting on them and they were home in short order.
Now they sat on the sofa in Ron's apartment, watching TV, but not really watching. They were reveling in their freedom, and despite their forced prolonged togetherness, after they visited with their families they felt a desperate need to be with each other. They went to the movies, to the mall, drove aimlessly around town just because they could, and finally made their way back here, where they sat, cuddled up, happy to be together and alive.
Kim could sense that Ron had been brooding for some time, and finally, the dam broke.
"Aw, hell," he muttered, and turned towards her. "Kim, that was some super-ultra-mega harshness."
"Sure was."
"I mean, that was easily as close as we've ever come to punching out, and there aren't a whole lot of worse ways to go."
"A few, but not many."
"And I've been thinking, you know, that could happen at any time. And not just on a mission. I mean, you or me, or both of us could be gone just like that and we'd never know if…whether we could've, or…or should've, you know gotten the chance-."
"Ron."
"Huh?"
"You're babbling. Spit it out."
"Will you marry me?"
Kim was stunned, not by the question itself, but by the abruptness, the typical Ron Stoppable maladroitness in which it was thrown out there. For a moment, she couldn't speak. She had known for some time that it was likely their relationship would culminate in marriage some time down the line. It had been serious enough for that for a couple of years now. She also knew what Ron was getting at: If not now, maybe not ever. After composing her thoughts, amused at Ron's hanging on by just a finger expression, she did the only thing she could do.
She activated her Kimmunicator.
"What's up, Kim?"
"Wade, I need rides. ASAP. Lots of them. You, families, friends, everyone. We're going to Vegas."
"Vegas? What's going on?"
"Ron and I are getting married." She held up her hand to stave off Ron's shocked outburst. Wade was only slightly less surprised.
"Wade, can you do it?"
He shook off the surprise. "Uh, rides, Vegas. Yeah. Uh, congratulations."
"It needs to happen fast. Fast as you can get it. Ron and I will call the fam, can you get everyone else on board?"
"Sure."
"Thanks, Wade. As usual, you rock." She signed off.
"Kim, what the hell!?"
"Just wait, Ron. Stay with me for a minute. Now that's not the first time you've ever thought about proposing, is it?"
"Well, no…the time just never…."
"Seemed right?"
"Well…yeah."
"And despite the fact that you still didn't feel the time was right, our recent ordeal has you worried that if we don't do it soon, something could happen to one or both of us and we'd lose the opportunity altogether."
"Right."
"Which is why you've been brooding all night, and finally decided to ask in your decidedly unromantic, but totally Ronnish way."
"I wanted it to be romantic, I did-."
She put her hand on his gently. "It's okay, Ron. It was sweet. Now I have to admit, it's been some time since I would have needed to give it any serious thought if you had asked sooner. It was practically a foregone conclusion that we'd end up here. So we agree on the following things. We have to get married. We have to get married soon, preferably before our next mission. Our next mission is sooo Drakken. A traditional wedding would take at least a week to set up. And that there is absolutely no way we're waiting more than a week to get even with Drakken. Agreed?"
"For sure."
"So that means…."
Ron sprang from the couch, arm raised and hipshot, lip curled á la the King, and did a not entirely bad impression of Elvis' voice.
"Uh…Viva Las Vegas, baby. Uh huh."
Kim jumped up and hugged him tightly.
"I hate to bring this up, but just so you're warned..."
"Your dad?"
"Not that he would object or anything but-"
"Don't worry, Kim. I asked him this morning."
"You did?"
"Of course."
"Ron...I..."
"One thing, though," Ron said.
"What's that?"
"There is no way you're going to be Kim Stoppable. Talk about a major mojo mash. But I would be honored to be Ron Possible."
It took a Herculean effort to suppress the tears trying to well up in her eyes at that simple yet profound statement of his love for her. She held his face in her hands.
"Oh, Ron. I…I don't know what to say."
"Say 'Thank you, Mr. Possible'."
"Thank you, Mr. Possible."
"You're welcome, Mrs. Possible."
They kissed, long and slow, then picked up the phone. Without exception, no one they called were surprised at their news. Kim's mom thought Vegas was a great idea, both because she loved the city and agreed with their reasons for making haste. She also pointed out that a traditional wedding would draw international media attention, and quite possibly one or more of Kim and Ron's less welcome acquaintances. They admitted they hadn't thought of that. Kim's mother immediately ordered Kim home, leaving Ron with the understanding that he would not see her again before the ceremony.
As it turned out, once word spread to the various hotel and casino owners that the world renowned Possible/Stoppable crime fighting duo were getting married in their city, they virtually fell over one another offering VIP packages to ensure that the nuptials would take place in their establishment. Wade was able to ensure that all the guests were well taken care of and that Kim and Ron were treated like royalty. He secured for them a room at the Bellagio according to Ron's instructions, which would take a minor miracle to accomplish in such a short time.
Through Bernice, Wade was able to get everyone, with a few unavoidable exceptions, to Las Vegas in less than 48 hours. Bernice herself flew the bridal party to maintain the separation. And so it was, less than two days after his hasty proposal, that Ron found himself standing at the altar of an exquisite chapel in the Bellagio, his father at his side, waiting for Kim. The opening bars of the wedding march sounded and all assembled rose, turning towards the narthex where Kim appeared.
Ron's heart caught in his throat and he was momentarily unable to breathe. Despite the veil that obscured her face, no movie star or supermodel had ever looked as beautiful as Kim did now. Seeing her in the wedding gown also made the whole thing, which until now had seemed like a kind of dreamy fairy tale, suddenly very real. As she began to walk down the aisle towards him, he comprehended all at once what an enormous thing he was about to do, and how it would forever change their lives. His eyes watered but he was able to just hold back the tears and compose himself before Kim reached him.
As her father passed Kim's hand to him, he leaned in close to Ron.
"Remember, Ronald, happiness or black hole."
"Come on, Mr. Dr. P., you wouldn't really put your new son-in-law and the love of your daughter's life on a deep space probe, would you?"
His face grew stern and he lowered his voice a little more. "Happiness, Ronald."
Ron gulped nervously as Kim's dad took his appropriate place.
Kim turned to him and as the last note of the march rang out, he lifted her veil and put his lips to her ear.
"Helen of Troy would look like peasant if she stood next to you now."
Kim was already slightly embarrassed by all the attention. They were forced to clear a path through the hallway to get to the chapel, and just before leaving the room she learned that the wedding was being broadcast via the hotel's closed circuit camera system to the room of any guests who cared to tune in, and to several public TV's throughout the hotel. She flushed even brighter at Ron's comment. They turned to face the clergyman, a tall, solidly built, and imposing figure who did not work for the casino. He was hired by Kim and Ron to develop a unique ceremony that would honor both of their traditions. He raised a hand and a hushed, pregnant silence fell over the room. He paused for several seconds, letting the gravity of the moment exert its influence on all who were watching. Then he began. His voice was deep, musical. He spoke with a cadence reminiscent of Carl Sagan, but the effect was not lecturing, it was hypnotic.
"Twenty-one years ago, at an obscure preschool in the small town of Middleton, Kansas, two young children were introduced. At the time, no one could possibly have imagined what a momentous occurrence had just transpired. They soon became fast friends, inseparable. And then, in a twist of fate, Kim would move out of the ranks of pre-teen babysitters, and earn the title of heroine. Indeed she decided that she could save the world with her extraordinary talents. But not without the help of her… extra…ordinary friend.
"For some reason, this unlikely twosome proved to be unstoppable as long as they were together. Separate them and neither could do by themselves what seemed so easy together. And as their friendship deepened, so did their feelings for each other. By their senior year in high school, they were dating. And now, through college and setting out, as always together, on careers of fighting evil around the world, they have chosen to bind themselves together in the bonds of matrimony.
"If ever a marriage were blessed by God, this one most certainly is. For in it we can see His hand in placing these two together from the very start of life to do His work in the world. And through them, we can also see a message to ourselves. Together, Kim and Ron can do anything, as we, when joined with God, can also do anything. So let us now finish the knot that God began tying so long ago.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of God, in the presence of family and friends, and surrounded by the goodwill of hundreds more with us here, and the goodwill of hundreds of thousands more around the world to join Ron Stoppable and Kim Possible in the bonds of Holy Matrimony. And what God has put together, let no man take apart. Jim, Tim: may we have the rings, please?"
They stepped forward, each with a gold band on a small white pillow and the pastor took one in each hand and held them above his head.
" 'And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead therof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, this is now bones of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, for she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh'." He handed the pillows back to the twins. He then turned and picked up one of two glasses of wine, which he then held over his head as he had the pillows.
"Barukh atah Adonay eloheynu melekh haolam asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al ha'arari'ot v'asar lanu et ha'arusot v'hitir lanu et han'suot lanu al y'dey khupah v'kidushin. Barukh atah Adonay m'kadesh Yisrael."
He held out the glass of wine to Ron, then to Kim, who both drank from it, then returned it to the table.
"Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable, Mr. and Mrs. Possible, please step forward. This union between Kim and Ron unites their families, and creates a new one. Do you who represent these families, give your blessing, promise your support, rejoice in their union, and pray God's blessing upon them?"
"We do," they answered in unison.
"Ron, take Kim's hand and face her please."
He did so.
"Do you, Ronald Stoppable, here solemnly vow to take Kim to be your lawfully wedded wife, forsaking all others, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, as long as you both shall live?"
"I do."
"And do you, Kimberly Possible, here solemnly vow to take Ron to be your lawfully wedded husband, forsaking all others, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, as long as you both shall live?"
Kim's whispered "I do" was not audible past the altar.
"Ron, take the ring, place it on Kim's finger, and say 'with this ring, I thee wed'."
He plucked the ring from the pillow as Jim held it out and held Kim's left hand as though it were an ancient Ming vase. "With this ring, I thee wed."
"Kim, take the ring, place it on Ron's finger, and say 'with this ring, I thee wed'."
Her voice had regained some volume, but at the expense of a tremor. "With this ring, I thee wed."
The clergy took their left hands in his right, and as he spoke, placed them against each other and folded them together.
"Let us pray. God of all peoples, You are the true light illumining everyone. You show us the way, the truth, and the life. You love us even when we are disobedient. You sustain us with Your Holy Spirit. We rejoice in Your life in the midst of our lives. We praise You for Your presence with us, and especially in this act of solemn covenant. Send therefore Your blessing upon Kim and Ron, that they may surely keep their marriage covenant, and so grow in love and godliness together that their home may be a haven of blessing and peace. In Your Name. Amen.
"And now, by the power vested in me by the state of Nevada and by Almighty God, I pronounce you Husband and Wife. Ron, you may kiss the bride."
The chapel erupted in a cacophony of cheers, hoots, shouts, whistles, and cat calls. After a moment the pastor raised his hands again. When the crowd calmed, he turned and reached for the second glass of wine, handing it to Ron. He and Kim drank from the goblet after each blessing was given.
"Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha‑olam, bo'rei p'ri ha-gafen. Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha‑olam shehakol bara lichvodo.
"Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha‑olam, yotzer ha-adam.
"Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha‑olam, asher yatzar et ha-adam b'tzalmo, b'tzelem d'mut tavnito, v'hitkin lo mimenu binyan adei ad. Baruch atah Adonai, yotzeir ha-adam.
"Sos tasis v'tageil ha-akara b'kibutz baneha l'tocha b'simcha. Baruch atah Adonai, m'sameach Tzion b'vaneha.
"Sameiach tesamach reiim ha-ahuvim k'sameichacha y'tzircha b'gan eden mikedem. Baruch ata Adonai, m'sameiach chatan v'chalah.
"Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher bara sason v'simcha chatan v'kallah, gilah rinah ditzah v'chedvah, ahavah v'achavah v'shalom v'reut. M'hera Adonai Eloheinu yishammah b'arei Yhudah uv-chutzot Y'rushalayim kol sason v'kol simcha, kol chatan v'kol kalah, kol mitzhalot chatanim meichupatam u-n'arim mimishte n'ginatam. Baruch ata Adonai, m'sameiach chatan im hakalah."
Ron's father placed the linen wrapped champagne flute at his son's feet, and Ron stomped on it with gusto.
"Mazeltov!" came the shout, and the cheers and catcalls rose up again. His father leaned in close to be heard over the cacophony.
"Ron, that's the last time you'll put your foot down in your relationship."
The organist launched into the recessional and they shrugged through the mob towards the exit. Monique, serving as Maid of Honor, gave Kim a playful elbow in the side as they began to walk out.
"Now you go get busy, girl," she said.
They were showered with rice as they strode out, and at the end of the aisle Kim stopped, faced the chapel, held her bouquet in the air, then turned again and tossed it behind her. It sailed directly towards Monique, and she quickly got out of the way.
"I don't think so," she muttered.
Again it was necessary to clear a path through the guests, who cheered them on all the way to the elevators. They finally pushed through the throng and the elevator doors closed, shutting out the noise. Ron pressed the button for the 14th floor.
"Ron, our suite's on seven."
"No, that's just where you think our suite's at. The Stoppable-san had had one more trick up his sleeve before he went the way of the dinosaur." Ron sniffed and wiped away an imaginary tear. "Ah, the Stoppable-san. We'll miss ye."
"Yeah, well, the Stoppable-san would never get this."
Kim pressed him hard into the wall of the elevator, wrapped one leg around his waist and kissed him like she had never kissed him before. There was something in it, a passion, a need that had long been locked away, struggling to be free and had now been set loose.
"Stoppable-san?" Ron said. "Never heard of him. Who's he?" The elevator chimed. "Ah, here we are."
With a sudden flourish, Ron swept Kim off her feet and into his arms as the doors parted and the scent of roses filled the air. Kim gasped as they stepped off the elevator. The lights were off but two dozen valets lined the corridor holding large candelabras. Between each pair of valets was an enormous arrangement of roses in every color. Kim stared in wonder as Ron carried her down the hall towards an open set of double doors from which poured rich colored light. As Ron carried her across the threshold, the source of light proved to be a floor to ceiling, wall to wall window offering a panoramic view of the famous Bellagio fountains and Las Vegas at night. Ron carried her all the way to the window.
"It's beautiful," Kim gasped.
"Not near as beautiful as you, Wife."
She kissed him again, then asked to be set down.
"Let me show you the rest."
He led her first to a bucket of ice and a freshly corked bottle of Dom Perignon. He poured for both of them and raised his glass.
"To the power of Possible squared."
"P to the second power."
They clinked glasses and sipped the icy champagne. Ron led her around the suite, which was vast. Distributed throughout were various trinkets, mementos from their life together and Kim marveled at each as Ron showed it to her and explained why he'd chosen it. Every room, even the bathroom with its large hot tub, was lit only by candles. Finally was the bedroom and Ron's last surprise. Kim stopped short at the threshold, momentarily unable to move.
There must have been a hundred candles, and the room was softly but brightly lit. Everywhere she looked were pictures. By the hundreds were pictures of Kim and Ron, together, alone, with family, friends, and above the bed a life size picture of them at their junior prom, frozen in their first kiss.
"Ron," Kim said breathlessly, "How did you ever…."
"Hey, I'm Ron Possible. I can do anything." He let out a bark of a laugh. "Ha! Man, did that sound good!"
Kim turned to him and put her arms around him, laying her head on his chest and relishing the sound of her new husband's heart. After a long moment, she looked up at him.
"Ron…"
He broke the embrace just enough to meet her eyes, but keeping her close against him. There was an unfamiliar tone in her voice.
"What is it?"
"I…this is the happiest day of my life. I always thought I wouldn't be affected the way I am. I mean, I know what a huge step this is. And I know I love you in a way I could never really describe. But I always thought the emotions wouldn't overwhelm me. That I was too good for that. Too experienced. But…that's not true at all. I'm overwhelmed. I don't know what to feel, what to think. But the thing is…the thing that really surprises me is…I'm scared."
"Scared? Scared of what?"
She put her head back on his chest, her ear back over his heart. "I'm scared I might lose you. Suddenly all that nonsense about the actuarial tables our senior year makes a lot more sense. And I find myself thinking…maybe…maybe the whole thing with these missions…maybe we should stop."
He kissed her forehead. "Well, other than the fact that that's just crazy talk, I think perhaps you weren't completely paying attention a few minutes ago. But I was. I've never really stepped back and looked at the big picture before. But it's so obvious that God, or Fate, or whatever you want to call it, put us together for a specific reason. Think about how different the world would be if we'd never met." He lowered his voice. "And how different it would be if we quit now. So maybe something will happen to us on a mission. But something could just as easily happen walking through the mall." He took her chin between thumb and forefinger and lifted her eyes to his. "But whatever happens, we'll face it together."
He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her tenderly.
The kiss drew out, and Kim slid the coat from Ron's shoulders. Time suddenly seemed to cease its linear flow. It became distorted. Physical sensation, emotion, action, light, darkness, sound, silence all blended together. They found themselves on the bed, clothes cast away into a fog of memory, thousands of dollars of fabric forgotten.
Ron gasped at her beauty, the soft tones and contours of her body beyond the exquisite. He positioned himself above her, terrified of his clumsiness, terrified of his performance, terrified of everything in a way he hadn't been in years. Terrified of hurting her, knowing there was no way to avoid it. He found himself frozen in indecision. But Kim, in her intimate understanding of her new husband guided him to her.
"It's okay," she whispered to him. "I'm ready."
But she wasn't. Sensations passed through her body that words could only vaguely describe. Pain. Pleasure. Elation. An unbelievable feeling of togetherness. The feelings built in intensity until they were consumed by them, overwhelmed by them. Their movements became quick and frenzied, almost animalistic in pace, and then they were suddenly encompassed by an incomprehensibly intense wave of sensation that left them breathless, clinging to each other desperately.
They lay there for a long time after, saying nothing, catching their breath. Finally:
"Kim."
"Yeah."
"That was…."
"Yeah."
"Totally…."
"Yeah."
"Absolutely…."
"Uh-huh."
"Incredible," they said together.
After another moment Ron said, "I never thought it could be like that."
"You know, it can be better."
"It can?"
She kissed him deeply and rolled atop him.
This time there was none of the frenzy, none of the fire. The fierce animal need had been satisfied, the years of sexual tension that had built between them relieved. The first time was a physical act. The second was an emotional one. This time it was slow, smooth. Full of soft whispers of suggestion, of encouragement, both of them having only the desire to please the other. Attempting to use their feelings and actions to paint a picture of what never could be described with words. They changed positions often and their motions were always flawless, never clumsy, each thrust and counter-thrust in perfect synchronicity. Time dropped away and there was only the two of them; gently, tenderly exploring one another, their bodies seemingly becoming one. When Ron, well into the second hour, finally came within her, his essence seemed to be a glue that bonded their souls permanently into a single life force. For that brief moment, there was no Ron and no Kim, only a single organism unaware of the outside world. And as they receded from that state of perfect unity, a void was created in each of them that could be filled only with the presence of the other.
They lay together, curled tightly around each other, trying to hold onto that feeling of oneness, afraid to speak for fear that the spell might be broken. Finally, after a long while Ron kissed Kim's forehead as tenderly as he had ever kissed her, stroked her hair and looked in her eyes.
"Kim…I…-"
"Shhh. I know."
"Every time I've ever told you I love you, it always seemed so empty, so inadequate. Fake even. But that…whatever it was that we just shared…it's what I've meant every time. And words will never be able to express that. But at least now I can say that when I say I love you, that thing is what I mean."
Kim touched his face. "Oh, baby, I know. I've always known."
They kissed again, long and slow.
They slept.
So this story has been in the dustbin a while because, although complete in itself, it is meant to be a part of a larger arc of stories that would expound on both the front and back ends. I just haven't time to write them. Having been so long since I've posted anything I figured I would go ahead and let it stand on its own. Hope you enjoy.
O.S.