Ron Stoppable sat straight up in bed, eyes wide open. He had been dreaming about...something, though just what, he couldn't quite recall. Given the way his heart was pounding in his chest, it had probably been something unpleasant, but for some reason Ron didn't think so.
"At least it's not the middle of the night," he mused, stretching. Sunlight was visible behind the curtains of his room's single window, and the clock on the stand beside his bed showed it was well after eight a.m.
Ron had just swung his feet to the floor, in preparation for making his way downstairs to see if breakfast was ready, when he remembered.
"Whoa!" he stammered, as a warm tingling sensation rushed over him and his blood quickened. "Kim and I, we... we..."
"Kissed!" a second voice, high pitched and squeaking, teased. Ron turned to see his pet naked mole rat, Rufus, standing in his own bed, laughing at him. "Kissie-kissie, smootchie-smootchie," Rufus giggled.
Ron's cheeks heated. In an effort of salve his dignity Ron said, mock seriously, "Yes, I remember that part, thank you, Rufus. Now make yourself useful and go see what Mom is making for breakfast, okay?"
Rufus immediately forgot about teasing his human friend. Coming to attention he saluted. "Hnk-ha!" he chirped, then scampered out of the room.
"Wow!" Ron breathed when Rufus had gone. Yesterday had started out as the worst day of his life. First he was losing his best friend (and, he could now admit, even to himself, the one person in the whole world that he really cared about) to a too-good-to-be-true pretty boy; and second, he couldn't get anyone to believe his story about Drakken's 'Lil Diablo plot.
Well, almost no one. Kim had believed him...sort of. No, Ron frowned, that wasn't quite fair. She had her doubts, that had been plain enough, and he knew she had good reason to be doubtful. He had, after all, come up with some really hair-brained notions over the years. But doubts or no, she had finally decided to trust him, even over the objections of the pretty boy.
Of course, it turned out that pretty boy was nothing more than syntho-goo and clever programming, set on an insidious mission to toy with Kim's emotions and crush her spirit.
"And it nearly worked, too..." Ron muttered, dull embers of anger at Drakken flaring briefly in the dark recesses of his soul. It had been a sight Ron had never expected to see: a captured and beaten Kim Possible ready to give up and quit. But the cynical old adage that "it's always darkest right before it goes completely black" had turned out to not be true.
In the grips of her despair, Kim had wondered, plaintively, if there was a guy for her out there somewhere. Ron assured her there was a guy for her "out there...in here..." Adding those last two words had taken most of his courage, but he'd said them.
And he would never forget, if he lived to be a hundred, the shy smile Kim had sent his way as the meaning behind those words sank in.
Pleasant as that memory was, better ones followed. Beating Drakken and Shego had been an 'eh' kind of memory...been there, done that. Scaring Drakken into remembering his name had been better, but still...eh.
Walking into the Prom and having Bonnie Rockwaller's mocking of his and Kim's new...relationship result in a cheer from the rest of the students...that had been amazing. Ron had never known, never even guessed that so many people actually, well, liked him. In the short time they'd been there, more than one guy had found time to shoot him a grin, or a thumbs up, or even a flat out "Way to go, Stoppable". That had been nice, very nice.
But taking Kim in arms, holding her close while they danced, feeling the softness of her curves as she snuggled against him, enjoying the scent of her hair and skin and perfume, looking into her gorgeous green eyes, touching her lips with his...
"Whoa!" Ron repeated, exhaling forcefully. "Got a little worked up there," he said, fanning himself with one hand. Of course, he'd gotten "worked up" last night, too, after he and Kim had left the prom in search of a little privacy. He was pretty sure Kim had noticed, but she hadn't said a word, or drawn back. The implications of that were...
"Gh-nee," Ron gasped. "Gotta calm down. Better take a shower and..."
His mother's voice interrupted his train of thought.
"Ronald," she called, "are you coming down for breakfast? I made French toast."
"Boo-yah!" Ron exclaimed, pulling on a pair of sweat pants and practically flying down the stairs.
Ron turned his scooter onto the Possible's street. In a suit bag on the cargo rack behind him, per Kim's request, was the tux he had worn to the prom last night. The phone call from Kim asking him to bring it when he came over had been a little odd. Not that she'd called him on a Saturday morning: that had happened hundred's of times before. Nor was the request that he bring his tux. He'd been surprised to realize that he'd been half expecting it, and was pretty sure he knew why she wanted him to bring it over: to make some new memories, and pictures to go with them.
No, the odd bit had been her other request.
"Ron, this may sound strange," Kim had cautioned, "but when you get here, don't let on about...us." She'd said the last word with a relish that made Ron's blood heat.
"Okay, I guess," Ron had pledged, a bit puzzled. "But why?"
"I want it to be a surprise to a certain over-protective someone, if you take my meaning," she'd said slyly.
Ron had twigged right away. "This someone wouldn't be obsessed with space probes and black holes, would he?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Kim denied innocently.
"No prob, K.P." Ron agreed with a chuckle. "I owe him for that little...talk...we had during the moodulator incident."
Kim giggled. "That's the spirit," she encouraged. "Now, hurry over, Ron." Then, softly, "I can't wait to see you again." The words were followed by a smacking sound that Ron knew immediately was meant to be a kiss. Finally, "I love you, Ronnie."
Ron had thought his heart was going to burst when he heard those words, but somehow it had survived the shock, pleasant as it was.
"Love you too, K.P."
"She loves me," Ron grinned to himself as he approached the Possible home. It was a great feeling, knowing that the prettiest girl in all of Middleton, heck, the prettiest girl in the whole world, loved him. And it was just as great a feeling to know that he loved her. That was a bit of a surprise. Not the loving part, mind. Now that it had been put in those terms, Ron realized he'd loved Kim for years. The surprise was how great loving her made him feel.
Pulling into the Possible's driveway, Ron put such thoughts as far out of his mind as he could. "Gotta put my game face on," he resolved gravely.
As was his custom, Ron entered Kim's home through the kitchen door, unheralded by knock or doorbell.
"Good morning, Ron," Kim's mother greeted, favoring him with the same warm smile she always welcomed him with.
"'Morning, Mrs. Dr. P." Ron returned, grinning back at her.
Kim's father was sitting at the kitchen table reading the morning newspaper. He flicked the upper half down to look at Ron.
"Morning, Ronald," James said, a trifle sternly, but not too much. The paper flicked back up after Ron returned the greeting. "Nice of you to take Kimmie back to the prom after what happened yesterday," James added, in an afterthought-y kind of way. The paper flicked back down.
"That's what friends do for each other, Mr. Dr. P." Ron responded, far more calmly than he felt as he James' gaze.
Kim's Dad studied Ron silently for a moment, then the paper flicked up again. "Good for you, Ronald."
A new sound reached Ron's ears, light but familiar footfalls, then Kim was leaning into the kitchen.
"Ron!" she greeted brightly. "I thought I heard your voice."
"Hey, K.P." Ron returned, desperately trying to sound casual, though he wanted nothing more than to take Kim in his arms and kiss her right there, her parents' presence be damned. He thought he could tell from the look on her face that she felt the exact same way, but she, like he, restrained herself.
"You brought it, good," Kim went on, changing the subject, pointing at the suit bag Ron was carrying. "You can change in the downstairs bath," Kim suggested, turning to head back upstairs. "I'll be ready in few minutes," she promised, "And when we're done we can go hang out at the mall or something."
It ended up taking Kim a bit longer than "a few minutes" but Ron didn't mind. No doubt Kim was fretting about looking "just right" for him. He could live with that, so he waited patiently, smiling all the while, while Mrs. Dr. Possible checked her camera for the twentieth time and Mr. Dr. Possible paced back and forth.
Suddenly, Ron's eyes went wide. Without a word, he turned and bolted for the front door, pausing only to grab something from the telephone stand in the hallway. When he returned a moment later Anne saw what Ron had taken: a pair of scissors, which he had used to cut a single red rose from one of her prized rose bushes out front.
Ordinarily Anne would have been very cross with him, but she only smiled.
"I'm ready," Kim announced at last. Anne noticed Ron swallow nervously, and then Kim appeared at the top of the stairs. Raising her camera, Anne began to snap away.
Kim's dress was still torn and scorched from the events of the previous day, but neither she nor Ron seemed to care at all. The smile on Kim's face as she looked down at Ron was truly dazzling.
"Wow, K.P." Ron breathed as she reached the foot of the stairs, "You look...amazing!"
"Thanks, Ron" she smiled gently.
He held out the rose. "It's not much of a corsage," he apologized, "but..."
"It's beautiful, Ron," Kim assured him, carefully taking the blossom and sniffing at it.
Anne paused in her picture taking. "I'll put that in some water for you, Kimmie," she said, taking the rose from her daughter. Ducking into the kitchen, she returned a moment later with the rose in a tall, slender vase.
"Thanks, Mom," Kim said gratefully.
Fifteen minutes later Kim and Ron were back in regular clothes, headed out the kitchen door on their way to the mall. James and Anne watched as the two donned helmets and climbed on to Ron's scooter, Kim settling in behind Ron, her hands on his hips. She was giggling at something Ron had said, and looked happier than James had seen her in a while, even when she was seeing "Eric". A slight frown crossed James' face. Drew Lipsky was lucky he was behind bars, for "Eric" was almost enough to make James want to have a little talk with his old college "friend".
"Something the matter, dear?" Anne asked, gesturing after Kim and Ron. Apparently she had seen his expression and thought he was frowning at the kids.
"No, no, nothing's the matter, Andie," he assured his wife. He stared after his baby girl and her best friend as they sped away. "Though it does sort of seem like something is...different."