"Hey! Mr. Possible!"

Ron sighed and Rufus groaned as Felix gave a sympathetic look from across the table.

Ron had hoped that he'd get away from this sort of thing when he'd graduated from Middleton High, but the frat boys at Upperton U were as bad as the D-hall bullies had ever been.

One hulking, Abercrombie & Fitch-clad Junior dropped into the seat beside him, and two of his grinning frat brothers took seats at the table.

"Hi, Jake," Ron greeted him evenly, not turning his attention away from his lunch.

"Listen, Possible," Jake said, throwing an arm around Ron's shoulders. "Me, Rob, and ol' Family Jules here were all wondering something, and we were hoping you could give us an answer."

"What's that?" Ron asked, poker face in place. Rob and Jules were already snickering.

"What does the most whipped man on Earth do for Valentine's day?"

Rob and Jules cracked up. Rufus growled. Felix scowled. Ron just kept chewing thoughtfully.

He started to answer, but Jake chose that moment to bull ahead: "And what about her? What does she do for you? Is that the day she lets you wear your special collar?"

Rob and Jules howled.

"Hi, guys."

All three frat brothers froze as Kim Possible came sauntering out of the dining hall crowd.

"Hey, KP!" Ron greeted her, showing enthusiasm for the first time. The other people at the table also made their greetings: Felix's warm, Rufus's chittered, the frat boys' mumbled.

Kim bent to give her BFBF a quick peck, but didn't sit. "I knew I'd find you here," she said. "I can't stay, but I wanted to give you these before I went to class." She pulled two tickets out of her pocket and handed them to him. "They're your Valentine's Day gift. I thought I'd give it to you early so you could plan around it."

Ron glanced curiously at the tickets, and his face lit up. "Badical! Thanks, KP!"

"You like it?"

"It hurricane rocks! Thank you!"

She beamed, bent for another kiss, and then she was gone.

"Plan around it," Jake sing-songed, getting his courage back now that Kim had left. "Whipped and leashed! What are they, tickets to the ballet?"

"Nope," Ron said, tucking the tickets into his pocket. "Broadway show."

"Broadway show?" Jake and Rob were nonplussed. Most guys weren't so open about admitting their wimp status.

'Family' Jules had a stronger reaction: "She's taking you to New York for Valentine's Day?" He gasped.

His friends glared at him, and he shut up. Abruptly.

"Of course she is," Jake said sullenly after he was sure that his "brother's" mouth was going to stay shut. "He follows her all over the world like a puppy. Why should Valentine's Day be any different?"

"You asked me a question earlier," Ron said calmly. "Want the answer?"

"Sure," Jake grinned. This should be good.

"See, the first year we were together, KP and I were all about the whole 'I love you' 'I love you more' 'no, I love you more' thing, what with the extravagant gifts and the trying to impress each other. Then we figured it out: it's not about impressing each other, it's about getting something that the other person really wants. That's not always easier, although KP and I have a thirteen-year head start on it, but it just works out better in the end, and it can be learned. Like…for example…here…Felix, what are you and Monique doing for V-day?"

"Well, she's going shopping for some new outfits – "

Jake snorted.

"…at Madame Xanadu's Exotica. That's my gift. She gets the the latest 'GWA Grand Slam' video game."

The frat brothers just stared. Then they turned back to Ron.

"So you're saying that going to New York to see friggin' Cats is what you really want?"

Ron pulled the tickets out of his pocket and held them out.

----

Jake, Rob, and 'Family' Jules watched Ron and Felix leave, their jaws still hanging in amazement.

"Evil Dead: The Musical?"

"Daaaammmn."

"I wonder if I could find a chick like that somewhere."

"Shut up, Family Jules."

----

Ron grinned to himself as he walked away. Sorry, losers, there's only one KP. And she picked me.

Then he dismissed them from his mind as he thought about more important things.

So. New York. Cool. That made did make things simpler for his Valentine's Day plans. No need to get his gift delivered now. He could pick it up at the shop.

Funny that Jake had mentioned the good collar…

Author's Note: "Evil Dead: The Musical" really does exist, although it's actually Off-Broadway. And my wife is, in fact, taking me for Valentine's day. For her own part, she's asked me to get her the rule books for two role-playing games based on "Firefly".

All of you other geeks out there (Mi gente!) may begin to weep with jealousy now.