A/N: This is just a little something that came to me over the last week or two, so I thought I'd bang it out and see what it looked like. Overall, I'm fairly satisfied that it's worthy of posting, so here it is; a little story that takes place the Christmas following The Adult Years, my main story.
CHRISTMAS CONUNDRUM
Ron Stoppable felt like he was on top of the world as he patrolled the pet department of the Upperton Smarty Mart. He'd transferred to the store from Middleton when he and his girlfriend, Kim Possible, had moved into an apartment in town and started attending Upperton University that fall. Now, on Christmas Eve, he was looking forward to celebrating a combined Christmas and Hanukkah with his extended family that evening, followed by a more private celebration Christmas night once they were back in the confines of their own home.
He'd just finished helping a young married couple select an appropriate puppy for them to take home—a joint Christmas gift to each other—when the telephone extension next to him rang. "Pet Department; Ron here," he said, answering on the second ring.
"Ron, could you come to my office for a minute when you're not busy?" Barry McIntosh, the store manager, said on the other end of the line.
"Sure thing, Mr. McIntosh; I'll be right up."
Five minutes later, Ron was knocking on the door to McIntosh's office. "Come in!" the man beckoned in his usual jovial manner. With a hint of trepidation, the young man turned the doorknob and stepped inside the utilitarian office.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" he asked once he'd shut the door behind him.
"Yes, I did, Ron; have a seat," McIntosh replied, motioning to one of the two chairs in front of his desk. He waited for the teen to sit before speaking again, this time with a hint of regret in his voice. "Look, I don't want to be the one to give you this news this close to Christmas…" he began.
Of course, anybody that knows anything about Ron Stoppable would realize almost instantly what would happen under the circumstances and the Tai Xing Pe'Kwar master didn't disappoint. "Aw, man!" he cried melodramatically, slapping his forehead with his open palm. "The day before Christmas and I'm getting canned? That's sick and wrong!"
"You're not getting fired, Ron," the middle-aged man said patiently. He was well aware of Ron's eccentricities and wasn't surprised by the teen's outburst; if anything, he inwardly chided himself for how he'd phrased what he said.
"Oh, I'm not?" Ron said, visibly relieved.
"Not at all; I would be stupid to let one of my best employees go," McIntosh replied seriously. "No, your job's safe, but I do have some bad news." He paused to take a deep breath before he spoke again, this time with a look of disdain on his face. "A corporate decision was made last week to keep all Smarty Mart locations open over Christmas, since the population is more diverse now and more and more people don't celebrate it."
"Okay… that's dumb," the towheaded teen said with a raised eyebrow.
"Just between you, me and the gatepost, I agree," the manager said, "but I can't go against corporate policy."
"So you're looking for volunteers to work on Christmas Day, is that it?"
"That's it exactly, Ron," McIntosh said with a sad nod. "I know you had plans to go to your girlfriend's parents' place for Christmas, but it would be a huge help for me if you would agree to work."
Ron sighed in resignation. He knew Kim would be upset if he had to work over Christmas, but he also knew that, being Jewish, he had no solid reason to not work on Christmas Day. It didn't matter that Kim was Catholic; where they weren't married, the argument wouldn't have a leg to stand on. "Okay, Mr. McIntosh; I'll be in, but I want a morning shift," he finally said.
"I can do that," McIntosh said with a nod. "We're gonna be open, but with restricted hours; you'll work from ten AM till six PM."
"What are the store hours that day?"
"Ten till six."
"Of course," the teen seethed, his anger growing. He knew, however, there was next to nothing he could do about it; especially after already having agreed to the manager's request and having his conditions met. The fact that McIntosh had pulled an end run on him didn't matter at this point.
"Ron, I know this isn't how you wanted to spend your holidays," McIntosh said sympathetically. "I honestly don't want to be having this conversation at all, either; but the fact remains I have to stick to company policy and still try to be fair to the employees. Since you're Jewish, it seemed only fair to ask you to come in; especially since you were willing to work over Hanukkah."
"Right," Ron said, rising from his seat. "Is that everything? I really need to get back to my department and make sure everything's done before I clock out."
McIntosh nodded. He knew Ron was upset and couldn't blame him, but he did still have to manage a retail store as efficiently and fairly as possible; deep down, he felt that Ron understood… at least, he hoped he did. "I really am sorry, Ron; hopefully this idea will bomb so bad Corporate will change their minds on it." Ron nodded, but said nothing more as he turned and walked out of McIntosh's office, not even bothering to acknowledge the "Merry Christmas" that the manager had offered him.
He was still in a rotten mood as he parked his Mustang in his reserved parking spot at the apartment complex. Noticing the presence of a magenta-colored, highly-modified Roth SL Coupe (otherwise known as a Sloth) in the space beside his, he realized that, once again, his girlfriend had beaten him home. He understood the logic McIntosh had presented him and, deep down, agreed that it was the fairest option he had, but he wasn't happy about it in the least. He could only imagine how Kim would react when he told her.
Kim, meanwhile, was sitting in a lotus position on the couch in their apartment, putting the last touches on wrapping her mother's Christmas gift. She'd gotten home from her shift at Club Banana about an hour previous and decided to use the time alone to wrap gifts before she and Ron headed for Middleton later that evening, the one for her mother the last one she had to wrap.
Just as she leaned over to place the gift on the coffee table with the rest of them, the apartment door opened and Ron strode through, his shoulders slumped and head hanging. "Hey baby," she said cheerfully, "how was your day?"
"Started out great, but went to crap in a heartbeat," he replied listlessly as he kicked his shoes off and hung his jacket in the closet.
"What's wrong?" she asked as she patted the couch for him to sit beside her.
Ron slumped onto the couch with a sigh before answering. "Apparently Smarty Mart made a corporate decision to stay open on Christmas and Mr. McIntosh asked me if I would work," he replied, "and being the moron that I am, I said yes."
Kim had leaned over to hug her boyfriend, but stopped when he spoke. Sitting back, she looked at him with a disgusted and angry look on her face. "What do you mean you said yes?" she said, her tone dangerously low.
"Kim, I'm Jewish; it's not fair for me to refuse to work on Christmas and make somebody of the Christian faith work," he said, trying to defend his decision. When Kim didn't immediately respond, he chanced looking at her. "KP?" he said tentatively when he saw her expression; a mix of disappointment, anger and hurt.
"Don't 'KP' me, buster," she snapped, getting off the couch and picking up the wrapped gifts from the coffee table. "You know we had plans over Christmas and, oh, by the way… I'm not Jewish!"
"I never said you were!" he retorted, glaring at her as she stormed into the bedroom. "Since we're not married I can't use that as an excuse!"
"You could've just said you were going away and wouldn't be around!"
"And if I did that, I take away somebody else's opportunity to share Christmas with their kids and go to church!"
"You were going to do that with us!" Kim roared as she breezed back through the living room, the wrapped gifts in a bag.
"And I still want to, but I can't!"
"Whatever," Kim growled as she zipped up her boots. "I'm going to Mom and Dad's for Christmas; with or without you." She punctuated the last statement by slamming the door so hard the pictures on the wall shook.
Ron sighed heavily as he stared at the closed door. Great job, Stoppable; might want to rethink your plan for tomorrow night, he thought morosely as he lay down on the couch and closed his eyes.
Half an hour later, Kim parked her car in her parents' driveway and got out, slamming the driver's door so hard the entire car rocked on its suspension. Stomping up the walk to the front door, she pushed through and had just enough presence of mind to not slam it, as well. "Stupid Ron," she muttered as she took her boots off, dropping them on the mat beside the door.
Anne Possible entered from the kitchen at that moment with a concerned look on her face. She knew Kim and Ron were supposed to both be coming to have Christmas dinner with them—Ron's parents were already there, along with his adopted sister, Hana—and was deeply concerned to see only her daughter had arrived. Coupled with the intensity of the car door slamming and the muttering the younger redhead was doing, she realized there had been a disagreement between her two oldest children (she considered Ron every bit as much a son to her as Jim or Tim). "Kim… where's Ron?" she asked tentatively. "Did you two have a fight?"
"You could say that," Kim sighed as she stiffly accepted the hug her mother gave her. "He just doesn't care about my family traditions is all."
Anne blinked in surprise at the statement. "What do you mean, he doesn't care? You know as well as I do Ron's always loved spending Christmas with us; he's been here every year since he was six."
"Well, looks like the streak's over today; he's home and probably in bed right now."
Jean Stoppable had overheard the exchange between her son's girlfriend and her mother and finally broke in. "Is he sick or something? This has been all he's been able to talk about since Thanksgiving."
"No; apparently Mister Dedication has decided that going to work tomorrow is more important than family tradition," Kim seethed.
"Oh, yes, that's right," Anne nodded, "Smarty Mart's decided to stay open because of the increasing non-Christian population; I remember seeing that on the news a couple of days ago."
"So Ron decided to work on Christmas Day?" Jean asked with a hint of a smile on her face.
Kim nodded. "Yeah, he said it was only fair if he did."
"He's right, you know," Anne said, "after all, he's not Christian; he's Jewish."
"I know that, but he still could've gotten out of it."
"Which meant some mother or father wouldn't get to see their kids open presents tomorrow morning or go to midnight mass… Kimmie, what would you say has always been Ron's greatest attribute and flaw at the same time?"
"His ears," she replied without hesitation.
"Not the answer I was expecting," Jean giggled.
"I didn't mean physically," Anne sighed, looking her daughter in the eye. "Kim, Ron is one of the most selfless people on the face of this planet; he's always putting other people ahead of himself and he did it again today."
"How do you figure? All he did was accept an extra day's work and ruin my Christmas," Kim retorted, still scowling.
"Kimberly Anne, could you please pull your head out of your ass for ten seconds?" Nana Possible said, having chosen that moment to appear.
"Nana…?" Kim stammered, not expecting to see her grandmother or hear that kind of language from the diminutive woman.
"If your mother's not getting through to you, maybe I can," the elderly woman said, an annoyed expression on her face. "I've listened to enough of this conversation to know exactly what's going on and, quite frankly, I'm disappointed in my granddaughter. You're upset because Ronald can't be here with you for Christmas, is that right?"
"Yeah, but…"
"No 'buts,' young lady; you'll listen to what I have to say first," Nana interjected, wagging her finger in front of the young woman before her. "Now, I understand that you're upset and I do sympathize, but you have to keep in mind the reason that young man of yours is doing what he's doing; in his mind it's no different than the time he and that Drakken fellow ended up in the North Pole, do you remember that?"
"All too well," Kim admitted with a downcast expression. She'd told Ron she'd never been more scared than when he'd been shot that summer—which was true—but there had been one other occasion when she'd been every bit as scared. For a moment in the Amazon jungle, when the last escape pod from Drakken's DrakForce One turned out empty, Kim was scared out of her mind that she would never see her best friend again.
"Do you remember why he did it?" Nana prodded.
Again, Kim nodded ashamedly. "He did it so I wouldn't have to leave in the middle of Christmas festivities with the family," she said in a voice barely above a whisper, "and now he's doing it so other families can be together for Christmas."
"Precisely," the white-haired and wise woman said with a nod and a smile.
"I've really been a Grinch about this whole thing, haven't I?" the teen heroine sighed as her grandmother drew her into an embrace, a solitary tear rolling down the younger woman's cheek.
"Perhaps a little bit," Nana replied, "but only because you didn't think about how many people are benefiting from what Ronald's doing. Besides… most of the Possible Christmas festivities are happening tonight and he could be here right now."
"After the reaming I gave him, I wouldn't blame him if he stayed home," Kim said morosely. "I mean, I really blasted him when he told me he had to work on Christmas Day."
As if on cue, Anne returned to where her daughter and mother-in-law stood with a cordless telephone in her hand. "Something tells me if you called him he'd be here in no time," she suggested with a wink.
"Thanks, Mom," Kim said with a grateful smile as she dialed the number.
Back in Upperton, Ron hadn't moved from his spot on the couch, gazing forlornly at an object in his hands when the telephone rang. His first thought was to just let it go to voicemail, but after the second ring he decided it would be better if he answered. Retrieving the cordless handset on the end table beside the couch, he didn't even look at the caller ID as he picked up. "Hello?" he said listlessly.
"I'm sorry, baby," Kim's voice said on the other end, genuine regret in her voice. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."
"Don't you think I should be the one apologizing?" Ron said, his spirits beginning to lift at the prospect of Kim's willingness to speak to him again. "I mean, I did ruin our Christmas plans, after all."
"Yeah, but you did it for all the right reasons," she replied, sniffling slightly. "I had no right to get on your case because you wanted to help make somebody else's Christmas that much better… forgive?"
"Forgotten," Ron replied, his usual lopsided grin on his face, even though she couldn't see it. He couldn't see her, either, but he could tell she had a broad smile on her face, too.
"Good," she said, "now, get over here; your parents and mine are making us hold dinner until you get here."
"On my way," he replied jovially, "and, KP?"
"Yeah, Ron?"
"I love you."
"I love you, too, baby," she whispered, "see you soon."
"Count on it," he said as he hung up the phone. "C'mon, Rufus; Christmas dinner at Casa de Possible awaits!"
"Yippee!" the naked mole rat exulted as he ran from his perch atop the back of the couch and climbed Ron's leg, slipping into the leg pocket of the towheaded young man's cargo pants. Within two minutes they were out the door and climbing into Ron's car to head for Middleton.
"Hey Rufus," Ron said once they were on the highway, "do you think tonight's the night, or should I wait until it's just her and me tomorrow night?" The hairless rodent chittered a response, to which Ron nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right, buddy," he said with a smile as he shifted gears.
It had started snowing by the time Ron's Mustang pulled into the Possible driveway; the large, fluffy flakes falling gently to the ground, slowly adding to the blanket of white that already covered the landscape. As he climbed out of his car, the first thing he noticed was his girlfriend standing on the front steps, her arms wrapped around her torso, as if to shield herself from the cold; the second thing he noticed was the snowflakes in her hair and the fact she wore only her woolen sweater and jeans—apparently she'd foregone her jacket when she went outside. "Hey, KP," he said, stopping halfway between his car and the front walk.
"Hey baby," she replied, almost too low for him to hear over the heels of her boots as they clicked along the walk, stopping only when she was directly in front of him and wrapping her arms around the back of his neck. "I'm so sorry; I can be so selfish sometimes," she whispered in his ear.
"It's okay," he said just as softly, wrapping his own arms around her slim waist and embracing her tightly. "I know how much Christmas means to you."
"It's not just Christmas," she said, her embrace never slacking, "it's the fact that this is our first real Christmas together. Sure, we were dating last year, too, but it's different this year… we're not just dating anymore."
"I know what you mean, Kim," he whispered, "but if we don't go inside, it might end up being your last; you're shaking like a leaf."
"It is a little chilly out here," she agreed sheepishly as she finally relinquished her grasp on him, taking his hand in hers as they went into the house together. As soon as Ron had his shoes off, however, he gave her a peck on the cheek and darted from her side. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" she asked, a little put out.
"I'll be right back," he replied cryptically, stepping into the kitchen. On the way by, he leaned down to Nana and whispered briefly in her ear. The elderly woman's eyes shone behind her glasses with glee as she nodded and proceeded to coax her eldest granddaughter towards the living room, leaving Ron in the kitchen with the four parents.
"Hello, Ronald," James said brightly as he honed the carving knife, "so glad you could join us."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world, James," Ron said with a grin. "Listen, Nana's got Kim occupied in the living room, so I've gotta make this fast…"
About an hour later, everybody was seated around the kitchen table; every one of them beyond stuffed from the feast the two families had brought together. For the first time in recent memory, even Ron managed to decline Nana Possible's lemon squares as the pan was passed around; the confection inside miraculously remaining untouched as it returned to its starting point.
"I daresay that has to be one of the most wonderful meals I've had in a long time," Dean Stoppable said with a satisfied groan as he leaned back in his chair.
"I think a lot of it has to do with the time of year and the company you keep," James commented with a grin.
"To that, I couldn't agree more," Dean nodded as Anne placed a cup of coffee in front of him.
Conversation at that point had lapsed until after the elder redhead had finished serving the coffee to the six adults at the table and returned to her seat with one for herself, when Ron stood and lightly tapped his water glass with his fork. "I'd like to say something if I could," he began glancing around the table quickly. When he saw he had everybody's attention, he continued. "As you all know, Kim and I have been together pretty well our whole lives; for most of that just as best friends until we finally recognized what everybody else already saw."
Before continuing, he turned to look at his girlfriend seated beside him, an admiring and loving gaze meeting his own. "Kim, every time I think back to all of the best moments of my life, you've been right there with me. Meeting you, being best friends with you and falling in love with you are easily the top three defining moments of my life."
By now Kim's eyes were shimmering with unshed tears as the suspicion of what he was leading up to invaded her mind. When he dropped to one knee and withdrew his left hand from his pocket, revealing the velvet box that contained a half-carat solitaire diamond set in a simple gold band, her hands flew to her mouth as she gasped. "Please tell me this is defining moment number four," he whispered, his own voice cracking.
"Oh, my God," she breathed as the tears started rolling down her cheeks. "Oh, my God, baby, yes!" she finally cried out as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him fiercely, oblivious to the cheers and applause that surrounded them. Laughing and crying all at the same time, she watched as the young man slipped the ring on her finger before standing up and pulling her to her feet with him, embracing him again.
"I love you, KP," he whispered against her lips as they kissed again.
"I love you too, Ronnie," she replied, tears still streaming down her face.
Both Anne Possible and Jean Stoppable were dabbing at their eyes with their napkins as they watched their two oldest offspring commit themselves to each other. They had been in the kitchen when Ron went in to talk to James, which was exactly the way he wanted it.
"…so I've gotta make this fast," Ron said, looking around to make sure both Kim's parents and his own were in the room. "Mister Doctor P, Mrs. Dr. P; I love your daughter more than anything this world has or could possibly offer and I would like to ask both of you for her hand in marriage."
Anne barely suppressed the excited squeal that threatened to give everything away, but she was able to muffle it in the back of the oven mitt she held. Dean and Jean merely hugged and smiled fondly at their son as he stood ramrod-straight and stared at James Possible; heedless of the fact the man stood with a twelve-inch carving knife in his hand.
For several long, agonizing moments, the rocket scientist stood immobilized, the knife still poised over the honing steel. Finally, however, he put both implements down and smiled broadly. "For the love of God, man; what took you so long?" he asked jovially, waving the younger man over, shaking his hand and hugging him once he was within reach. "I would say welcome to the family, but you've been as much a part of this family as your own for a long time now."
"Thanks, James," Ron said, smiling broadly as both his and Kim's mothers hugged him, his father clapping him on the back.
"There'll be no more of that when it's official," Anne lightly scolded. "You had better start getting used to calling us 'Mom' and 'Dad'."
"The same goes for Kim and us," Jean added as she hugged her husband.
"I'll be sure to pass that along," Ron laughed, looking around the kitchen. "Now, let's get this party started!"
Later that evening, Kim and Ron were sitting in the living room of their apartment, cuddling together on the couch after attending midnight mass at St. Jude's with Kim's parents. On the television, A Christmas Carol with Alastair Sim was playing with the volume turned low; the appliance the only light source in the room. It was well past midnight, but it had always been a tradition for the redheaded heroine to watch the classic film on Christmas Eve before going to bed and Ron had no qualms about staying up late to accommodate his bride-to-be; especially when it meant quality time just curled up on the couch with her.
"Baby, you didn't need to stay up with me," she'd said not long after the movie ended. "You have to go to work tomorrow; you should be in bed."
Ron waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it, KP; I've only got to be there for ten. Besides, losing a bit of sleep is worth it if it means extra 'us' time," he added, kissing her forehead as she nuzzled into him.
"Just do me a favor and don't stop surprising me with the super-romantic stuff," she giggled, raising her head just long enough to kiss him softly on the lips, her voice taking on a sultry tone as she continued. "Now, I have an early Christmas present for you, too… unless, of course, you just want to go to bed."
Recognizing the look in the emerald eyes he loved so much and the tone in her voice, Ron knew it would be in his best interest if he held out a little longer. "I don't think a few more minutes will hurt," he said nonchalantly, but with a twinkle in his eye.
"That's what I thought," she whispered, rising from the couch and heading for the bedroom. "You wait right here; I'll be out in a minute."
Ron watched over the back of the couch as Kim made her way to the bedroom with an extra sashay in her hips. She knew the Levi's she wore complimented her figure well and could almost feel her fiancé's eyes on her backside, bringing a satisfied smile to her lips as she closed the door behind her.
Less than two minutes later, she opened it again and leaned against the doorframe with her right arm stretched above her, her left hand on her hip and a smoldering look in her eyes. "Like what you see, big boy?" she asked huskily, cocking her hip for emphasis.
"Booyah," Ron murmured with a slack jaw as he took in the sight before him. Kim had changed out of her jeans and sweater in favor of an emerald green corset-style bodice and matching thong and red garters that held black thigh-high stockings on her legs. On the spaghetti straps of the bodice and between the cups of the bra portion were decorative red ribbons and a holly sprig was embroidered into the front of the thong, giving what material there was a slightly festive feel.
Kim could barely hide the amused—and aroused—smile that threatened to creep over her face. It always turned her on to know she could turn Ron on. "Are you just going to sit there and stare or are you going to come unwrap your present?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
Slowly rising from the couch, Ron walked over to the scantily-clad heroine and stopped just within arm's reach, where he proceeded to look her over from head to toe again; taking in the beauty of the woman he loved. Kim let him stare for a moment—silently thrilled that she had that effect on him—before taking him gently by the hand and leading him into their bedroom. Stopping beside the bed, she turned around and looked into his chocolate-brown eyes, running her hands through his hair as she leaned towards him. "Merry Christmas, Ron," she whispered as she claimed his mouth with hers.
Almost an hour later found the two young lovers lying together; Ron on his back with Kim curled up against his left side, her head resting on his shoulder. Her left hand rested on his bare chest, the engagement ring on her finger sparkling in the faint glow of moonlight filtering through the bedroom window. She could tell he'd already fallen asleep, judging by the steady breathing and the occasional grunt that escaped, making her giggle. How cliché is that, she thought, we make love and five minutes later he's fast asleep… typical man. Truth be told, falling asleep immediately following was a rarity for the young man; he was as much a fan of basking in the afterglow as she was. Considering he had to be to work in the morning, though, she decided she could forgive him this time.
Kissing the slumbering young man on the cheek, she snuggled a bit tighter into his side, savoring the contact of his bare skin on hers, like a whole-body caress. She smiled as, even asleep, Ron's arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders, drawing her even closer to him; in response, she slipped her left leg between his, twining them that much closer together.
Feeling sleep rapidly starting to overtake her, the lithe redhead placed one last kiss on her fiancé's left pectoral muscle—just over his heart—before settling in one last time. One final thought crossed her mind as she drifted into slumber with a content smile on her face…
This has been the best Christmas ever.
FIN
A/N: I know it's a couple of days late, but 'tis still the season, after all. Thanks to everybody who stopped by to read; I hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget, if you leave a review, you'll get a response (eventually lol).
Thanks again for stopping by and a Merry Christmas (or whichever holiday of the season you observe) and best wishes to all for a safe and happy 2010!
Cheers,
Deuce