Okay so this was a damn piece of work, and I'm still not sure how I feel about it, but it's finally done. Let me know what you think.
I scrambled over a song for this piece for a while, and then it hit me, Duh! the all time anthem of people who consider someone they love a hero: Wind Beneath My Wings. Obviously, Temporary Insanity, for someone who more music than God, you should have known this from the start.
This one in particular is interpreted by Bette Midler, but I'm pretty sure there are other versions of it out there.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. It's sort of really emotional, not as light as it's companion, Brave is. This sort of picks up where Brave leaves off, more or less (Post-graduation, etc.). it has some of the same memories from a slightly different view, and it has some other memories, including one about one Walter Nelson rofl (smh, the things that happen to KP... is it even possible to get your braces tangled with someone else's? Not that it matters; She's a Possible, so it's possible).
In any case, I hope you enjoy the fic more than my rambling xP ladies, gentlemen, lentlemen, I present to you, The Wind Beneath My Wings.
The sun is rising. Last night was their graduation party, and after they drove away, they decided to take the Sloth into the mountains and sleep under the stars. Not that it makes a difference, his house has no power and her house... well...
He's asleep still, and she's watching the dull gray turn bright orange. The tops of the trees behind them are starting to reflect the dull light in the drops of moisture they have collected. The sky is beautiful as the sun sets it on fire. But he... he is breath taking.
Tomorrow night, they will have dinner with the President of the United States, and he will receive a medal. A hero medal. From the President. The President thinks he's a hero. Shego and Drakken still call him the Buffoon. It's more affectionate now (if Shego can be affectionate) than it is insulting. However, for some unknown reason, it stings her every time she hears that word.
She watches him rest, his arm squeezing her closer to him as he shivers. He's cold. She leans into him, briefly staring into his peacefully resting face before laying her head on his chest. In the brief moment she was above him, the orange glow from the sun rise was missing from his face; her shadow darkened his features, and he shivered again.
She squeezes her eyes shut as Mother Nature tells her in her own special way that she is nothing without the boy whose arms are wrapped tightly around her.
It must have been cold there, in my shadow
to never have sunlight on your face.
He is special. She knows that now. And he must have had the patience of the saints to deal with what he'd dubbed her Kimness for the past fourteen years. But not only did he deal with it, he bore it as if it were as easy as breathing. He's that kind of guy... he's happy go lucky, easily accepting of himself and the people around him. He makes friends easily when he thinks that they are genuine. And oddly, as aloof as he always seems, he's very observant and extremely accurate when judging people, especially her. He always knew when she was jealous... of his new friends, of his sudden ability to cook like he's fuckin' Emeril or something... he knows it makes her mad when she's not on top. So, he lets himself be average, unnoticed... clumsy, disorganized... everything she's not. He is happy to live in her shadow as long as he can still be with her.
You were content to let me shine... that's your way.
You always walked a step behind.
His blonde eyelashes flutter. He must be dreaming. He mumbles her name, and his eyebrows wrinkle a little bit. "I love you," he mumbles, his voice barely above a whisper. Then he is calm again.
She blinks back tears. She's said that to him a thousand times, but hearing him say it makes her heart constrict every time.
"I love you, Ronnie," she remembers telling him when she was just six years old. It was the first day of first grade, and she was in a separate class than Ron. They were both anxious about being away from each other all day. Luckily, they had the same recess and lunch periods, and that first day, when they saw each other on the playground, they had virtually tackled one-another, landing in an ungraceful heap in the grass. They were both reprimanded by the principal when they refused to let go of each other when recess was over. Their parents had sternly punished them, telling them that they were not allowed to play together at his house that afternoon. They had cried and pouted, but at the end they were forced to say their goodbyes with tear-filled eyes and trembling lips.
"I love you, Ronnie," she said to him the day his parents drove him to summer camp. They were nine. She and her family were going on vacation, and Ron was going to summer camp. She went to his house and helped him pack the last of his belongings before helping him load them in the car. They squeezed each other hard, each acknowledging that the next six weeks were going to be hell because they would be without each other. She had tears in her eyes when she said those words. He smiled through his own tears and patted her cheek, before releasing her and dragging himself dully into his mother's vehicle. His shoulders hunched as they drove away, and her's felt heavy in response.
"I love you, Ronnie," she said to him later that year when he all but died when a squirrel darted past him and into a tree. "You're my best friend. I won't ever let anyone hurt you, I won't ever let anything get you. I promise." When he protested, asking if she didn't prefer a normal best friend, she shook her head. "I want a friend like Ron," she'd responded before wrapping him in a hug. He smiled and released a shaky sigh of relief.
"I love you, KP," he'd grinned when his mom dropped her off. They spent the whole afternoon at the orthodontist: Ron in an uncontrollable fit of laughter, and Kim and Wally in a perpetual state of humiliation. Wally, also known as Walter Nelson, was the most recent guy that Kim started doodling about in all her notes. They tried to kiss after school that day. Except, Wally had braces. Kim... well she'd only gotten hers put on a few months before, and she hadn't calculated the likelihood that they would end up... stuck. So he, being the dutiful best friend, called his mom and begged her to come pick them up so that she wouldn't get in trouble with her parents. Then he sat for the next hour, laughing his ass off as he watched them, both red-faced and extremely uncomfortable, have their braces fixed. Afterward, he'd grinned and said those words to her, half-way apologizing for laughing at her humiliating plight; she'd stuck her tongue out at him, smacking his gut in response.
"I love you, KP," he whispered shakily into her hair when they arrived at her front door. They were thirteen. It was their second 'spy mission' ever. She'd been captured by some lunatic, and he, like the damn idiot he was, went and did the exact opposite of what she'd told him to do if she got caught. He'd jumped on the mad man's back, knocking him to the ground. She'd told him to run away but he'd run into the danger instead, without a thought for his own safety. Then he threatened to bleach her Pandaroo if she ever got caught by a villain again. Ha, she chuckled internally, grinning at the irony. When don't villains catch her? In any case, he'd been terrified of the whole situation, but when he saw the light in her eyes, heard the excitement in her voice about the idea of saving people, he'd simply wrapped her up tight in his arms and whispered, "I love you, KP." With a smile plastered on his face, he made his way down the side walk. His hands trembled.
So I was the one with all the glory...
you were the one with all the strength.
The sun is losing its orange glow a little bit, and the light on his face looks sort of yellow. It makes his hair look like threads of gold. She watches him dream. Sometimes his dreams seem rather turbulent, and she wonders if she should wake him. "Not a buffoon," he mutters angrily, turning restlessly to his side. His body instinctively seeks her out, and his arms clutch her closer to him. He sighs. "KP," he mumbles, and a smile lights his sleeping face.
beautiful face without a name for so long...
beautiful smile to hide the pain
She snuggles into him. Even up here, the heat will be unbearable, and their skin will become sticky and gross, and she will have to push him away to maintain her sanity. She'd better enjoy the scent of his skin, his arms wrapped around her... she better soak it all in while it lasts, because soon they will head home, and their mission will be 'Clean Up Middleton.' Wade had said that, thankfully, his home was unharmed, but his father's place of business was destroyed, rendering him effectively jobless. It made her angry. Here, her home town and planet for that matter were being utterly destroyed, and she was happily being held captive by extra-terrestrials in space! Damn her for being so weak.
But he'd somehow convinced her father and the government to let him go with Shego of all people, in a multi-million dollar piece of equipment so that he could rescue her. Although she had a feeling that nothing short of a tactical nuclear missile would have been able to stop him from finding that space craft.
And she thinks she can do anything...
His eyes flutter open briefly, and he hums in contentment. "Best morning ever," he mumbles, pressing his lips into her hair. "Mornin' KP."
"Hi Ronnie," she whispers into his chest, unwilling to let him go just yet.
He squeezes her briefly before untangling their limbs and sitting up. "What's for breakfast?" he asks with a yawn.
She smirks. "What if I didn't bring breakfast?"
He looks really depressed for a moment then he looks hopeful. "How fast can we get to the closest Bueno Nacho?"
She laughs. "Ron, you know me. Do I ever go anywhere unprepared? There's food in the trunk—"
With an enthusiastic grin, he scrambles to the purple Sloth SL Coupe that her brothers rebuilt, popping the trunk and practically burying himself in it in an effort to find something to eat. She watches him, still chuckling. It's so easy for him to be happy. It makes her happy too. He calls it 'Ronshine.'
He coined that term when they started volunteering with the Sunshine Spreaders... he was assigned to an old dude that continuously sent all the volunteers home humiliated and in tears. Of course, Ron got through to him and even bought into his Fearless Ferret delusion, using the older man's props to foil a stinky skunky funky guy's plan to make all of Tri-city reek. For once, he was the hero, albeit a ferret-y one. She was the sidekick.
Yes, she thinks to herself with a chuckle as he victoriously brandishes the results of his hunt before bringing it over along with napkins. Her Ronshine is definitely a hero. A better hero than she or anyone else ever dreamed about...
Did you ever know that you're my hero?
You're everything I would like to be.
I can fly higher than an eagle
You are the wind beneath my wings.
He's running his hand through his hair again. It pushes his light yellow locks away from his face, mussing the cute cowlick on the back of his head before rubbing at his neck as his hair falls back into his face unceremoniously. He does that a lot, he gets it from his dad. He studies himself in the mirror again, messing with his tie.
"Ron, relax," she murmurs into his ear, straightening his tie again and taming his hair with her fingers. His honey eyes are tense. "You're going to be great."
"KP, it's the President!" He hisses back anxiously. "He runs this entire country!" he releases a shaky breath. "I can't do this... what am I supposed to say?"
"Snap out of it, Ron," she orders him. "We've met people that run other countries too, you know. We've met all sorts of politicians."
That relaxes him a little bit.
"See? And most of those times, you didn't even lose your trousers."
He rolls his eyes. "You are fantastic at cheering people up, KP," he says sarcastically, "Thanks for your kind words."
She bites back a smile, and she sees his lips twitch. He smirks; she stifles a giggle. In moments they are both doubled over laughing.
Their parents arrive to find them helpless in mirth. "What are you laughing about?" Mr. Stoppable wonders, confused.
"N-Nothing," Kim squeaks between giggles.
Ron, who was trying to stop laughing, dissolves into helpless mirth again when he hears her voice.
The elegantly dressed Mrs. Possible just grins. Dr. Possible looks amused but doesn't say anything. Mrs. Stoppable, also elegantly dressed, looks just as confused as her husband.
"KP stop," Ron laughs, collapsing into a chair and holding his stomach. "My face hurts."
"It's your fault," she giggles in response. "You're the one that... I can't believe you... parachuted... into the UN without... your pants..."
They both double over laughing again.
Their parents crack amused smirks. One by one, they, too, succumb to laughter.
When they all calm down, Ron wraps his arms around her and kisses her hair. "Thank you," he says softly. His hands skim the small of her back, and she shivers.
"Let's go get your medal, hero," she says with a smile.
He looks... triumphant. "What's that look?"
He smiles down at her, his eyes still holding a surge of triumph. "Nothing," he murmurs, bending a little bit to reach her lips.
He lets go of her and saunters out of the room with a smirk. She tries to catch her breath.
He pulls out her chair for her and helps her get seated comfortably before sitting down himself. His parents are to his left, her parents are seated across from them. The president and his wife, and a few other people he doesn't recognize take the remaining seats.
She watches Ron work to keep himself under control as the food comes out. She's proud of him. He makes conversation with everyone as easily as if it were lunch in the cafeteria at Middleton High. She can tell that they are impressed with his knowledge of whatever topic is being discussed. Another surprise... she didn't think Ron paid much attention to things like economy and politics... he seems much too happy and aloof for that. Those things even stress her out, so she thought it would be a given that he paid them no mind, seeing as how he absolutely refuses to stress himself out over anything other than Bueno Nacho or dominating some villain or another. Wrong again. She seems to underestimate him at every turn.
There's dessert and champagne now... well, for her and Ron, it's more like sparkling cider. She clears her throat, speaking up for the first time. "I have something I need to say," she says quietly. Then she turns and looks into his eyes. They are warm and excited, and full of love towards her.
She looks down. "You've been my best friend my whole life," she says quietly. "We've been a crime-fighting team for more or less six years, and in all that time... even when we mess up, or when you..." she chuckles. "When you seem to make a total fool of yourself—"
"Like losing my pants in the UN?"
She grins and nods. "You have never ever let me down... not ever. When I'm in trouble, you come get me. When I'm captured you pull out all the stops to rescue me. I... I'm sorry," she whispers, tears filling her eyes. "I'm so hard on you all the time, I know that sometimes I hurt you and make you doubt yourself. You don't deserve it. I..."
"Shh," he says softly, brushing her tears away with his thumb. "I know KP," he murmurs. "It's okay."
She shake her head, removing his hand from her face and squeezing it. "No," she protests, "It's not okay. I just—I can't tell you how much I need you. I can't begin to explain to you how many times you've saved me! From rescuing me from detention to rescuing me from a one-way ticket to some obscure corner of the universe, you have always, always always been ready to help me. I've always seen in you what the world is coming to find out now, Ron, you have to know that! I'm only hard on you because I love you and... I knew you had it in you," she breathed.
It might have appeared to go unnoticed
But I've got it all here in my heart
"I feel like... just this once, instead of berating you for being stupid and willingly boarding a spacecraft with Shego, of all the people in the world, just to save me... I need to thank you. I... need you to know that I couldn't do this thing we do... I couldn't do it without you."
I want you to know I know the truth...
of course I know that
I would be nothing without you.
He kisses her forehead and all the adults watch in silence. "KP—"
"Once again I was trapped, in a damn alien spaceship for crying out loud, and you pulled through. You rescued me and you saved the world and..."
"KP, The world is... stupid. The Lorwardians could have come and taken over and enslaved humanity, and I would have only felt like I failed if I couldn't rescue you. You're the world, don't you get it?"
She smiles. "No, I don't. Because... there are billions of other people on this planet, and yet you went after me. They all could have people that love them as much as I love you. They all matter, too. You will always be a hero to them, and they won't remember you as 'The guy that rescued Kim Possible'... they're going to know you as the guy that saved the world."
He ponders that for a moment, then he speaks. "That's... really humbling," he says finally. "But I didn't do it for the fame or whatever."
She smiles. "I know."
"Can I... ask you something?"
"Anything," she breathes.
"They... are all going to see me as the guy that saved them from the aliens or whatever, and that's fine. But what do you see me as, KP?"
She smiles wider, shaking her head. Then she smirks. "I saw the sequel to Potential Boy," she says slyly.
He raises an eyebrow. "Did you?"
"Yeah," she says, pressing his hand to her chest, right over her heart. "It's called My Hero."
Did I ever tell you you're my hero?
You're everything I wish I could be.
I can fly higher than an eagle...
You are the wind beneath my wings.
He swallows, and she watches his Adam's apple bob slightly. Then he launches himself at her wrapping her in his arms and squeezing as hard as he can and not caring that they are currently seated at the dinnertable with the President. "Thank you," he mumbles into her hair. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
Dr. Possible raises her glass. "To young young heroes, and young love."
There is glass clanking and voices murmuring, but neither of them pay attention to it. They are still wrapped in each other's arms.
"Do you mean it?" he asks in a daze, still disbelieving.
She kisses his lips, smiling a little as she notices that her lipgloss is still on his lips. She looks him in the eye deliberately, framing his face with her hands. "Ron," she says somberly. "Today you're getting a medal from someone very important, and that medal states something I have known for a very, very long time. You, Ronald Stoppable, are a hero." She presses her lips to his again. "You're my hero," she mumbles against his lips.
"I love you, KP," He says, wrapping her in a hug again.
"I love you, Ronnie."
Thank you... Thank you... Thank God for you,
The Wind Beneath My Wings.