Disclaimer: The Walt Disney Company owns all rights to the characters and situations associated with Kim Possible. I borrow Kim, her family and friends for no monetary gain. I do this only to appease my need for expressing myself.

Author's Notes: This is a continuation of another AU story of mine called THE CLOSET which started at the conclusion of the first production episode of the show (CRUSH) and took a look at what may have happened at the end of that episode. I'm continuing here with that storyline and will fiddle with the different missions Kim and Ron go on to drive this story. In other words, the basic mission will remain the same but the outcome, as Ron and Kim's relationship blossoms, will vary. If you haven't done so already you should read THE CLOSET first before starting in on this one. Oh, I'll also try to straighten out a few of the misconceptions and myths, in my mind at least, from the show.

This story is rated M for a reason. There will be a few scene dealing with adult situations. They won't be too intense, but they are there. You have been warned.

The Closet II

Chapter 1

New Beginnings

Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable arrived at the Possible house shortly after midnight, quietly made their way up to her bedroom and sat cross-legged on her bed facing one-another. They talked for the rest of the night about everything and nothing, just like they had done dozens if not hundreds of times over the years. The topic of the janitor's closet, where Ron had spent the previous eight hours locked away, and his subsequent nightmare never entered the conversation after he told Kim about the experience and his weird dream on the walk home.

By dawn Kim began to really savor the close friendship she and Ron had developed over the years and wondered if she was making a mistake chasing after Josh, or any other boy for that matter, the way she did. Kim also briefly wondered if Ron or Wade really could create a subliminal, hypnotic program for them to take over the world with so she and Ron could become a couple and get married right away. Considering the unethical ramifications of such a plot, and being as they were only freshman in high school and fourteen years old, she quickly dismissed those thoughts. But they did linger in the back of her mind.

As Ron expounded on the pros and cons of Colby cheese, his random thought of the moment, her eyes distractedly drifted down Ron's way less than Adonis-like body taking in every aspect of it and settled on the slight bulge in his baggy cargo pants. Kim had already had The Talk with her mother so she knew what was lurking down there and realized she would have to try and keep an eye on that certain thing that was still growing. Judging by the somewhat considerable size of the bulge now, it may develop into something she'd really enjoy in the years to come.

By the time Dr. Ann Possible called up that breakfast was ready Kim had come to a few decisions. She dearly loved Ron's never be normal style and she found him adorable in so many ways. No, he wasn't prime, boyfriend material like Josh or any of the other boys she'd fantasized about going out with before, but she would never find a better friend to live her entire life with. She decided that she and Ron would be a couple for the rest of their lives but that she needed to hone his physique and agility with martial arts training; Preferably with enough intensity to slim him down more and make his pants fall down more often so she could keep an eye on that thing concealed beneath his loose fitting pants. Maybe they could even spar in only their swimsuits or just their bathrobes with nothing else on underneath when their parents weren't around. That way she could maybe get an occasional peek of things to come. Kim successfully fought down the blush that arose from those thoughts.

As they left the bedroom Kim let Ron lead the way and she thoroughly enjoyed the new sexy image of her lifelong friend she was now envisioning. She took a brief moment to glance over at her closet and saw her sleeping bag rolled up on the floor. Kim decided she needed to unroll the bag to let it air out some and maybe the closet could become their new secret hideout, taking the place of their old tree house, when the family wasn't around.

Ron, of course, was happily oblivious to Kim's thoughts and was thinking about the Saturday morning spread Mrs. Dr. Possible always laid out for her family and him.

As the two teens sat down at the table in the kitchen, Kim warmly smiled as she lustily eyed her man. Oblivious as always, Ron didn't know what to make of the look Kim was giving him so he plain out asked. "Ah, KP? What'cha grinning at?"

"Oh nothing," Kim quickly denied and turned away to hide the slight blush that arose from being caught so quickly.

"Ron, did you enjoy the dance as much as Kimmie did?" Mrs. Dr. Possible asked as she placed the usual Saturday morning fare of Belgium Waffles with a side plate of pork link sausage in front of him and Kim. "She told me all about the marvelous date she had with Josh before we called it a night and went to bed."

"I didn't make it to the dance," Ron off-handedly stated as he concentrated on slowly pouring an exact amount of syrup on his waffles, carefully filling every little dimple in the always light and fluffy piece of cake… then he added a quarter of the bottle more. "I spent eight hours locked in the janitor's closet at school before Kim and I came here."

"Why were you in the…" Ann Possible begged in astonishment before her daughter cut in and explained.

"I accidentally kicked the door closed on Ron when Josh and I walked away yesterday afternoon," Kim quickly explained to her mother. "I didn't realize the door couldn't be opened from the inside until after I got to my bedroom last night. That's when I turned the Kimmunicator back on and Wade called and told me."

"That's why you rushed out of the house late last night," Dr. Possible said in realization with a nod of her head to her daughter. "I thought you had a mission or something similar, the way you tore out of here just before midnight." Ann took off her apron, donned her long white lab coat and grabbed the set of car keys off the counter. "Well, your father and brothers have a soccer match this morning and I need to go in to the hospital for a few hours to finish up some paperwork. What are your plans for today?"

"I have a, project, I want to start on with my new boyfriend," Kim slyly stated as she glanced over to her lifelong friend, then winced as she watched Ron stuff one whole, plate-sized waffle into his mouth. Syrup dribbled down his chin.

"Have fun kids," Mrs. Dr. Possible sang as she grabbed her purse and headed out the door to the garage.

"Bye Mrs. Dr. P," Ron said through a mouthful of what was now mush.

"Bye mom," Kim chimed with a wave. "Love ya."

Ron swallowed the gooey lump of food in his mouth and turned to Kim. "What kinda project are you working on and when's Josh suppose to get here?" He was about to cram another whole waffle into his mouth when Kim's hand stopped his fork mid way to his mouth.

"It's a renovation and beautification project," Kim slyly smirked as she firmly pushed his hand down to place his food back onto the plate. "And I never said Josh was going to help me with it."

"But you just said your new boyfriend was gonna help," Ron replied as he tried to raise his fork to his mouth again. His hand wouldn't budge as Kim had it pinned to the table and she had always been the stronger one between them.

"I did say that," Kim smiled brightly at Ron as she gently patted his hand and kept it there to prevent him from continuing his morning meal, "but I didn't mean Josh. I want you to be my new boyfriend."

Ron looked down at his just started plate of waffles. As much as he wanted to eat he now knew Kim wanted to talk and he wouldn't get another bite until she'd had her say. "Okay KP," he sighed, set his fork down on the table and sat back in his chair. It suddenly struck him as to what she'd just announced. "Wait a tick, you want me to be your boyfriend? What about Monkey Boy?" Ron saw the stern look on Kim's face and defended himself. "Well, his last name is one letter away from monkey."

"Yes it is," Kim giggled and sat back in her seat. "But, while I had fun with Josh last night at the dance I've decided to not go out with him anymore."

"KP, that not fair," Ron said as he ruefully eyed his waffles again before he sighed and looked back up at her. "If you had fun at the dance with Josh then you should at least give him a chance and go out with him again. Maybe you two will hit it off and become a couple."

"Maybe you're right," Kim sighed and slumped in her seat. As much as she wanted to deny it, she did have a great time with Josh and he was a hottie. Maybe her brief little morning fantasy of living the rest of her life in the arms of her best friend was just that, a fantasy. Maybe she should go out with Josh on another date or two just to see if they really clicked. Kim was definitely unsure over her feelings for Josh but those thoughts could be put on hold for now. She still had her long-ranged 'Improve Ron' mission to start.

Kim sat up decisively and picked up her knife and fork. "I'll think about the boyfriend sitch later," she announced as she sliced off a small bit of her sausage link and jabbed it with the fork. She held the fork aloft with her pinky finger daintily extended away from the utensil, "but for now I'll work on my project and you're it. We start today, Ron. You can finish your breakfast but I want you to use proper table manners."

Ron snatched up his fork at the first part of Kim's last sentence but came to a complete halt as he was about to stab another waffle when the second part of her last sentence struck him. "A-Wha?"

"Table manners, Ron," Kim pronounced before she put the small bite of sausage in her mouth, chewed then swallowed. "I know you know them," she stated as she sliced off a small portion of her waffle. "I want you to use proper table manners from now on. You've gotten into the habit of devouring your food like a slobbering hound dog and I think it's not very gentlemanly." Kim daintily placed the morsel of waffle in her mouth and chewed.

"I'm not no gentleman," Ron huffed low, but picked up his knife and sawed into his stack of waffles anyway. His fork came away with a quarter of one of the plate-sized waffles and he jabbed it into his mouth. He mumbled while he chewed, "Why are you trying to improve me?"

"Ron, we're in high school now so we should start acting more like adults," Kim stated before she forked another small portion of her breakfast into her mouth. She smiled at him as she swallowed the small bite, then wiped her mouth with a napkin. "If anything, improving your manners may move you part way up the Food Chain at school and you'd be surprised how full you get after eating only a little bit at a time. The brain doesn't register that the stomach is full for ten or fifteen minutes after it already is."

"Is that why I usually feel bloated and sleepy after I eat?" Ron questioned as he slowed down in his eating and sat back to really chew his food.

"That right," Kim brightened as she watched Ron slow down and really savor his food. "Plus you get the added benefit of really tasting your food and it'll help your digestion if you chew your food properly. Didn't your mother teach you all of this a long time ago?"

"I guess mom did say something like that when I was little," Ron ceded as he held up and peered at a whole pork sausage link on his fork for a moment. He put the link back on his plate, cut it in half and sopped up a bit of the maple syrup on his plate with it before popping it in his mouth. Ron's face lit up and he smiled as he chewed on the morsel of pork. "Hey, it does taste better!" Ron saw Kim's chin hit her chest before she slowly shook her head. He suddenly realized he had been committing another etiquette faux pas during the conversation and covered his mouth with his hand. "Oh, sorry KP. No talking with food in my mouth."

"Thank you Ron," Kim sighed and sat back in her chair as she eyed the plates on the table. She had one sausage link left of the two she'd started with and barely made it through half of her one Belgium Waffle while Ron had one whole waffle left on his plate out of the four he began with. "Would you like to finish off mine?"

"You know what?" Ron asked as he stretched out in his seat and patted his distended stomach in satisfaction, "right now I don't think I can eat another bite."

"Really?" Kim marveled as she sat up and, again, looked over the two plates on the table. Normally by this time both plates would've been emptied and licked clean by Ron and she would be stacking them in the dishwasher. Instead, there was one very healthy portion of Belgium Waffles and a single pork link left between the two of them. "Mom will never believe it when she sees the leftovers in the fridge. She'll think something is physically wrong with us. Well, at least she'll think something is wrong with you and your appetite."

"You're right KP but I know how to get rid of the evidence," Ron slyly chuckled as he scooped Kim's remaining portion onto his plate. He softly lilted, "Ru-fus. It's time for break-fast."

"Breakfast!" the pink naked mole rat squealed in delight as he popped out of Ron's cargo pant pocket, jumped up on the table and eagerly wagged his tail. "Um-Um, Waffles!"

"Hold on there buddy," Ron warned as he caught the rodent in mid flight as it leapt toward the plate.

"Huh?" Rufus squawked as he shot a questioning glance between the food and his human friend.

"We're in high school now so we're old enough to use proper table manners," Ron forcefully stated with a somewhat playful wag of the finger as he sat Rufus down on the table next to the plate. "We're not animals you know so if I have to use my manners then so do you."

The mole rat thought hard for a moment before he perked up and held one arm out with what appeared to be a pinky finger of the extended paw. "Okay," he squeaked and turned once again for the food. With Herculean effort the small naked mole rat hefted up Ron's fork, stabbed Kim's half a waffle and tried to bring it to his mouth. No matter how he positioned the fork he couldn't hold it and still get the huge piece of waffle near his mouth.

"I think we can forgo Rufus' table manners until we get him a proper set of mole rat-sized silverware," Kim laughed at the sight and reached over with her knife and fork to cut the waffles and single sausage into rodent-sized bites.

"Thanks," Rufus sighed, set down the fork that was longer than him and wiped his forehead on his arm before he sat down at the edge of the plate of food and picked up a piece of waffle. He daintily placed the piece in his mouth and chewed before he gave a thumbs up gesture to his two human friends.

"Okay," Ron chuckled to Kim as he watched his little buddy continue to eat in a proper manner. "Now that we got that out of the way what do you wanna do now? Go to the mall and take in a movie or window shop?"

"No Ron," Kim stated as she stood up and moved around the table to stand in front of him. "Table manners are just a small part of the overall project. I'll tell you all about it but first I want to ask you one simple question." Kim placed both of her hands on his shoulders and stared directly into his milk chocolately brown eyes. "Right now, at this time in your life, are you satisfied with simply being the distraction on our missions?"

"You know I want to do more, especially if I'm gonna have your back on the missions," Ron whined and hung his head in shame. "But you're the better fighter and I sometimes get scared out of my wits on them and I have'ta run for my life."

"I know you want to help out more on the missions," Kim confirmed as she gently massaged his shoulders. "So, how can we improve your game? What do you suggest?"

"I need to have more self confidence," Ron said as he threw a couple of lackluster jabs with his fists. "But first I guess I need to learn more kung fu moves so I can take on the henchmen better. That way you won't need to worry about me and you can focus on taking out the doomsday device or derail the take over the world scheme."

"That's right," Kim affirmed again as she stood up and placed her arms akimbo. "As you get better with your martial arts skills your self confidence will improve also and your fears should eventually disappear. Now, how can you learn the kung fu moves you need to get your game to the level that you want it to be?"

"Well," Ron pondered as he stroked his chin in thought, a bit unsure of how to go about getting what he needed. "I suppose I could take a few more kung fu classes. But you know I took all of the same classes as you did and the teachers said that I was clumsy and unteachable and my money's tight right now and it would take years, if not decades, to get to that level."

"No Ron," Kim exhaustedly moaned as she rubbed her temples with her fingertips in mild frustration before she firmly grabbed Ron's shoulders and tried again. "Who do you know that has mastered sixteen styles of martial arts?"

"Besides you?" Ron queried, still slightly perplexed as to where she was going with this line of questions, "no one."

"But I do know sixteen styles," Kim said with conviction. "And who knows you better than anyone else in the world?" She quickly qualified her question as Ron glanced over at the naked mole rat who was licking off the breakfast plates. "I mean besides Rufus?"

"Aaaaah, you KP?" Ron tentatively answered.

"Right again," Kim confirmed with a firm nod of the head. "So, who would be best suited to teach you the moves you need to become a better fighter for our missions?"

"That'd be you KP!" Ron yelled as he finally got it. "Does that mean you want to teach me?"

"I do Ron," Kim stated with another firm nod of her head as she stood up and again put her fists on her hips in heroic fashion. "But the training I'm going to be putting you through will be extremely tough and physically challenging. Do you feel you're up to it?"

"Kim," Ron said, sounding very serious while he warily peered at his largish hand in his lap, "you know I'd do anything for you. We've been best friends for practically our whole lives and, while I'm not the most graceful or smartest guy in the world, I'd follow you to the ends of the earth to have your back." Ron's moist, earnest eyes looked up into Kim's stern face. "And I wouldn't mind it if my dream from the closet actually happened; I mean us hooking up and getting married in eight or ten years after college." His face fell in despair as his eyes lowered to look at his hands again. "I know that'll never happen until I stop being a Buffoon and step up my game so… When do you wanna start teaching me?"

"We start immediately," Kim sternly said. She knew it wasn't going to be easy teaching Ron and getting him into the shape he needed to be in to become a first class hero like she was. Though there were a few other issues she needed to bring up before they began. "But first we're going to have to lay down a few basic ground rules. Rule one: You will follow all of my instructions to the letter."

"Absatively, posilutely," Ron affirmed with a double portmanteau as he boldly stood and looked Kim in the eye.

"Rule number two: No more Bueno Nacho unless I say so. We'll only go there for special occasions."

"What!" Ron yelled in shock as he fell back in his chair. "But Kim…"

"No buts Ron," Kim firmly said and held out her hand to stop his protests. "BN food is high in fat and cholesterol so it isn't the most nutritious food to eat. I know you love it so it will be a reward for when you do well in training."

Ron was about to refuse the second rule but saw Kim's stern face. He knew when Kim had that particular look that she was deadly serious and no amount of persuasion could move her. Ron also knew that Kim's word was her bond. She would never go back on it, so if he did do well in his training they would visit BN and Ron could get his cheesy fix of Tex-Mex goodness. Then it suddenly hit him that if Kim and Josh did became a couple he would suddenly become a third wheel so he'd have some extra free time to sneak off to his favorite restaurant without Kim knowing about it. Either way Ron would make sure he would get to go to Bueno Nacho.

"Okay KP. Rule number two is acceptable."

Kim was taken aback by Ron's out-of-character acceptance of rule number two. She thought for sure he'd fight tooth and nail to not have BN taken away from him. She suspiciously asked, "Why?"

"Because…" Ron might not be the sharpest tool in the shed but he knew from past experience that when Kim asked 'Why,' it was a loaded question, and this one was as loaded as the German cannons that shelled Paris before the Nazi's marched into the French Capitol at the start of WWII. If he told her about his plans to sneak off when Josh and she were on a date she might have Wade monitor him. "…You're giving me a great incentive to do well. That's positive motivation." He so wanted to look away and scratch his nose, but he held firm. He also knew he was breathing a little heavily. It wasn't a total lie but he was leaving enough of the whole truth unsaid that his left eye involuntarily twitched once, then twice more.

Kim caught the eye twitches and heavy breathing. She knew what Ron said wasn't a total lie but it wasn't the total truth either.

"And…"

Damn his twitchy eye. Ron knew he had to think fast. "Well, it also means I wouldn't be spending all my allowance at BN. I could save up for a real motorcycle instead of that hunk of junk I'm getting from my cousin, Cy." Ron thought the scooter he was getting for free from his cousin was the hottest thing on two wheels but he couldn't let Kim see through the lie this time so he concentrated hard and kept his poker face.

Kim knew Ron oh so well. She could sense that he was still holding back on the real reason he accepted rule number two but she could always get it out of him later. She was growing impatient and wanted to get on with the training. Kim turned on her heels, headed for the kitchen door that led to the rest of the house and lightly lilted, "You're getting a motorcycle from your cousin? You know you can't ride it on the streets until you get your driver's license next year."

"Oh it's not that big KP," Ron laughed in relief as he followed Kim out of the kitchen and up the stairs toward her loft bedroom. "Actually it's just a scooter and you don't need a special license to ride it."

"That great, Ron," Kim said as she mounted the stairs and changed the topic back to the training. "But first we should change into our mission clothes. We might as well train in the clothing that we'll be fighting the villains in."

"Right KP," Ron enthused as he quickly passed her on the stairwell. "I'll get my spare gear and change in the bathroom while you change in your room."

Kim swiftly raced up to her bedroom and called to tell Wade about finding Ron still in the janitor's closet last night. She also told her genius friend everything about Ron's dream of taking over the world, leaving out some of the nightmarish details and all of the sexual parts of the admittedly disturbing vision.

Kim asked Wade to look in to whether some kind of hypnotic subliminal plot was feasible, how hard it would be to devise, how effective it would be and so on, stating she was concerned that one of their villainous foes might employ such a diabolical scheme in the future. She told Wade the research wasn't that important and that it could be a long ranged project for, you know, just in case, before she terminated the call and got dressed in her mission clothes.