I really don't know what got into me; this isn't my usual genre. Anyhoo, thanks to campy for beta- and proofreading. And for my regular readers, fear not. My other stories remain on schedule.
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If you saw it on KP, it belongs to Disney.
She was Kim Possible. She could do anything.
Everyone knew that. She saved the world on a regular basis. Her fame had spread around the globe. Evil genius on the loose? Kim Possible will bring him in. President taken hostage? Call Kim Possible. Hoover Dam about to give way? Kim Possible will find a solution.
She was a role model to millions of young women in every corner of the Earth, an icon of service to others, a glamorous figure whose image graced the covers of magazines, whose presence was sought at state dinners and Hollywood premières.
She was Kim Possible. She could do anything.
She nodded as she took the bulletin from the usher, and then followed him to her seat. Monique was already there, sitting with Kim's parents and brothers. The striking African-American woman looked up to see her best girlfriend, who'd just jetted in from Dubai. As Kim sat down, Monique reached out and put a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder. She had known Kim for years, and knew that while her friend would be putting on a front, she was hurting inside. Monique knew that Kim had never thought this would actually happen.
But it had. And so Kim would put on a brave face.
She was Kim Possible. She could do anything.
Mr. and Mrs. Dr. Possible both shot their daughter a concerned look. Kim was famous, successful, and rich. She lived a life of glamour and excitement. But they knew this was tearing her up inside. Though they wished there was something they could do to ease their daughter's inner pain, they knew the matter was beyond their control.
Much to Kim's surprise, it had proven beyond her control, too. Once she'd been the master of this situation; then, suddenly she was not. And as a result, she would have to live with this new reality.
She was Kim Possible. She could do anything.
She looked around the sanctuary, at the gathered family and friends. She wondered how many of them, whether any of them, knew him, really knew him, the way she did.
She had, after all, known Ron Stoppable since she was four years old.
They had gone through a lot together. They'd traveled the world, defeated the bad guys. They'd spent countless hours in Bueno Nacho. They'd shared pizza and watched Agony County and gone to the Middleton Fair. They'd been to outer space. They'd switched bodies. They'd shared a magical kiss at the Junior Prom and the wonder of first love.
Kim looked up as Rabbi Katz appeared at the front of the sanctuary.
She took a deep breath, then closed her eyes. She wished this wasn't happening. She wished things had been different. She'd had her chance. She could have changed history. But she was blind. She was foolish. If only she'd had more experience, more wisdom to know how to deal with the situation.
But she didn't.
And now she was here, watching, when she wished she were doing.
She'd get through this. She knew she could. She had no choice.
She was Kim Possible. She could do anything.
She watched as Ron and Felix and Hirotaka and Ned filed to the front of the sanctuary.
Ron had dressed for the occasion; he definitely was not wearing his father's powder blue tux this day. He looks so handsome, she thought.
Kim listened as the music began to fill the sanctuary. Like everyone else, she turned to look at the rear of the synagogue. She's beautiful, Kim admitted to herself as she admired Ron's bride-to-be.
Yori stood at the rear of the room, dressed in a gorgeous white kimono, wearing a traditional Japanese bridal headdress, with Sensei by her side.
That could have been me. That could have been Dad. But I was so ferociously stupid and shallow, Kim thought as she watched Yori, escorted by her teacher and mentor, glide down the center aisle, accompanied by the strains of traditional Japanese music, preceded by Rufus, who carried two gold rings on a small pillow. I had him. He loved me! And I threw it away. Because he wasn't smart enough, driven enough. Because I wanted a real hottie. Because I was Kim Possible and I had to have the best. And I decided he wasn't good enough for me. But he was good enough. He was the best, and he still is, and always will be. I haven't met anyone like him since and know I never will. I wanted the perfect guy but didn't realize that what I'd needed – and had already found – was the perfect guy for me. If only I'd realized sooner what I had, that would be me walking down the aisle.
Monique saw her friend tense up and close her eyes. She and Kim's parents were the only ones who knew the depth of Kim's feelings for her one-time boyfriend. They had thought she was making the biggest mistake of her life when she broke things off with Ron, but Kim hadn't listened. She said she had to be with someone she could spend the rest of her life with.
She was Kim Possible. She could do anything.
Even make the mistake of a lifetime.
Kim listened as Rabbi Katz proceeded to read the Jewish wedding ceremony as Ron and Yori stood beneath the wedding canopy. She resisted the urge to stand up and declare that it was she and not Yori who should be at Ron's side when the clergyman asked if anyone had any reason to object to the union of Ron and Yori.
She knew she'd forfeited that right. And that Yori, who loved and respected Ron for who he was from the moment she had met him, had earned the right to be Mrs. Ronald Stoppable, the name that Kim so desperately, though futilely, wished could be hers.
Kim felt Monique pat her hand as Rabbi Katz declared Ron and Yori man and wife. She summoned all her strength to join in declaring "mazel tov" to the new couple after Ron, following tradition, stepped on a glass. Then she forced herself to smile as the new husband and wife kissed and she clapped with the others as Ron and Yori made their way down the center aisle back out the sanctuary.
The guests began to file out and Kim got up and joined the crowd. She approached the newlyweds, ready to offer them her best wishes for a long and happy life together. A life she wished was hers.
She'd had her chance. But she'd thrown it away.
Because she was Kim Possible. And she could do anything.
She reached Ron and Yori. Kim congratulated Yori and kissed her on the cheek, knowing Yori thought she was the most stupid woman on the planet for the choice she had made; Kim had agreed with that sentiment for some time now.
Then Kim came to Ron. She smiled for him. She owed him this. To be happy for Ron on the biggest day of his life, for the one-time boyfriend she'd once hurt so much by breaking things off, for the man who had found it in his heart to forgive her and remain her friend.
Ron flashed Kim his goofy grin. "Thanks for coming, KP! I know things have been busy in the world saving biz lately."
"I wouldn't have missed it for the world, Ron," she replied as she kissed him on the cheek, resisting forbidden temptation, wanting to move her lips to his, to feel his lips against hers once again. She looked at the newly-married man. "The black silk kimono suits you."
"Thanks. You'd be proud. It isn't even from Smarty Mart!" he joked. Kim smiled affectionately, then moved along, allowing other guests to greet the new couple.
She turned and looked back at Ron and Yori, imagining herself standing by his side, daydreaming about Ron in his tux – not the blue one, but the black spy tux with the red tie that Canadian Joe had given him long ago – with her by his side, dressed in an elegant yet simple white taffeta gown. It could have been her. She'd had her chance. Lost in her thoughts, she walked to her rental car to drive off to the Middleton Lodge for the wedding reception.
When she was sure she was away and no-one would see her, Kim Possible pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road and began to cry over what might have been, over the life that could have been hers, over how she realized only too late that she loved Ron Stoppable.
She was Kim Possible. She could do anything.