Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine, not even a little bit. All characters in this story are property of Disney and borrowed for entertainment purposes only.

Many thanks to Slipgate for beta reading, humor help, and questions that make me stop and think. If you haven't already, I highly recommend you check out his latest story, "Losses" (and then bug him to continue it).

Chapter Two: Starry-Eyed

"So," Kim said, leaning against Ron's shoulder again, "what do you want to do for the rest of the day?"

"Oh man!" Ron said, sitting up dejectedly.

"What?" Kim asked.

"Aw, Kim, I had this big romantic 'welcome home' dinner planned—"

Kim's eyes lit up with pleased surprise.

"But I thought you weren't getting back until tomorrow," Ron continued, shoulders slumping, "and there's no way I can get them to change the reservation to tonight on this short of a notice."

Kim smiled and took his hand. "Actually, Ron, after two months of meat cakes and lamb and cabbage stew—" Ron shuddered involuntarily, though he wasn't quite sure why—"I could really go for some good old Bueno Nacho."

Ron's face lit up. "Booyah!" he cried, giving her a hug. "I knew there was a reason I loved you."

"I hope that's not the only reason," she said, narrowing her eyes at him playfully.

Ron just grinned back. "Not by far."

Ron slid into his side of "their" booth at Bueno Nacho, and Kim sat down beside him, enjoying the pleased little smile he always gave her when she chose to squeeze in next to him instead of sitting on the other side of the booth.

"So, Norwegian food couldn't have been all bad, right?" he said. "What about those yummy meatballs?"

Kim gave him a look. "You mean Swedish meatballs?"

"Oh. Well, what about those pastries with the fruit filling?"

"Danishes?"

Ron shrugged. "Sorry, it's all Scandinavian to me." Kim snorted, and he continued. "I still don't get why out of all of the places in the world you could have gone, you chose Norway."

Kim shrugged. "Oslo is one of the oldest and most prestigious schools in the world, it's popular with exchange students, so I knew I would get to meet lots of people from all sorts of different places, and it's got a great college of education. Plus, it's one of the few places in the world that you and I have never even visited on our missions."

Ron gave her a quizzical look. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, of course. Why?"

Ron shook his head as if trying to dislodge a memory. "I don't know. I just have this weird feeling that I've been there before—but if it wasn't with you, why would I have ever gone to a place like Norway?"

Kim shook her head. "You got me," she said. "Anyway, enough about Norway. What about your summer? Must have been pretty quiet mission-wise, huh?"

"Are you kidding?" Ron said. "It seemed like every villain and his mother was up to something this summer. And I mean that literally; Dementor's mother actually got in on the action. And here's the best part—she looks almost exactly like Dementor did that time he wore that dress. She talks just like him, too—guess that's where he got that whole TALKING INAPPROPRIATELY LOUDLY habit from. Oh man, you have to get Wade to show you the video—"

Kim finally cut off his babbling with a hand against his mouth. "Wait a minute," she said. "So you've been doing missions all summer?"

With her fingers still on his lips, Ron just nodded yes.

"But I never heard anything about any missions. Why didn't you or Wade ever call me about them?"

"Well, KP, you were all the way over in Norway," Ron said. "There was no way you could have made it to any of the missions in time, so we just figured we wouldn't bother you. Besides," he added, sitting back with his arm stretched out across the top of the booth, "your man the Monkey Master had things under control."

"Oh..." Kim said quietly, looking somehow... disappointed. It was not at all the response Ron had expected to get from her when he announced that he'd taken care of the mission work on his own all summer so she could enjoy her trip without distractions.

"Oh, I know what you're thinking, KP," he said suddenly.

"You do?" she asked, looking up worriedly.

"Yes, and don't worry. I always made sure to take the Tweebs or Wade with me as backup on every mission. Not that I needed it," he said with a cocky grin, "but safety first, right?"

"Oh, yeah, right," Kim said, offering him a weak smile. "That's good. I'm glad you were careful."

Ron scooted a little closer to her. "You know, it did cross my mind a few times to have Wade call in a favor so I could visit you."

"Ron," Kim chided, "you know favors are only supposed to be used for missions."

"Well, I didn't do it, did I?" he said, then grinned. "Besides, looks who's talking—the girl who got Global Justice to give her a ride home so she could get here a whole day early."

"That's different," Kim said.

"How so?" Ron challenged.

"It was an emergency!"

"Oh, really?"

"Yes," she said, pouting. "My Ronshine levels were getting dangerously low."

"Oh, that is serious," Ron said, nodding gravely. "But I think I might be able to help."

Kim leaned forward, smiling. "I was hoping you'd say that."

Ron moved to close the distance between them, his eyes drifting shut as he felt Kim's soft, warm breath caress his lips. Just half an inch further—

A tray full of food clattered down onto the table in front of them, startling them apart. "Order number 60," Ned said, his nasally voice grating on Ron's nerves more than it ever had before.

"Gee, thanks, Ned," Ron growled.

"Uh, Ned," Kim said, as she placed a calming hand on Ron's knee, "since when do you bring food to the tables? Don't you usually just call out the number and let the customers pick it up themselves?"

"I have been calling your number," Ned replied, with a hint of annoyance. "For the last three minutes."

Kim and Ron both blushed.

"I finally decided I'd better bring your food over myself before it got cold."

Ron's grin turned from sheepish to genuine. "'Nough said, Ned, my man. Nothing worse than a cold Naco."

Ned smiled back, happy to have his customer service appreciated for once. "No problemo, amigos. Have a muy bueno day."

As Ned walked away, Ron turned excitedly to the tray of food in front of them, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Sorry, KP, guess the Ronshine'll have to wait a little while lon—"

His words were cut short as Kim grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down into a kiss.

Ron very quickly decided that cold Nacos might not be so bad after all.

When they finally pulled apart, they just stared dreamily at each other for a minute before Kim, still running one finger lightly along the inside of Ron's collar, spoke up. "Ron, why don't we ask Ned for a to-go box and find somewhere more private?"

Ron's eyebrows rose. "What did you have in mind, KP?"

She smiled as she took his hand and pulled him up from the booth. "Our special spot?"

"Booyah."

Stargazing had been a favorite activity for the young couple ever since the night of their first big fight—and first reconciliation, of course. It was a way to connect, to just be in each other's presence and quietly enjoy the beauty around and above them.

After the Lorwardian invasion, though, they had both feared that the joy and peace they had once taken from stargazing might now be lost. Now that they knew that those stars held other worlds, worlds filled with beings who could bring such terrible destruction and pain to their home, would they still be able to find beauty in them?

But when they flew out to this isolated ledge on the western face of Mount Middleton after leaving the graduation party, they were pleasantly surprised by the answer they found. It wasn't the beauty of the stars that mattered; it was being with each other, simply being, that gave them peace, and lent beauty to the stars even still.

The Nacos were most definitely cold by the time the Sloth arrived at their "special spot" once more, but Ron made no complaint. After Kim landed the car, he grabbed a thick blanket from the trunk and spread it out on the ground. They both sat down to eat, legs dangling over the end of the ledge as they watched the sun go down over the sea of trees to the west.

Afterwards, just as they had done three years ago, they lay back on the blanket and stared up at the darkening sky. It was a perfect night for stargazing. There were thunderheads gathering on the distant horizon, but the sky overhead was perfectly clear, and the stars shone brilliantly out here where city lights were too far away to dim their glow.

The heat of the day could still be felt in the air, but there was a slight breeze from the north. When Kim shivered a little and snuggled up against Ron's side, he wrapped his arm around her and sighed contentedly. Occasionally they spoke, but they said nothing of consequence and couldn't have repeated their wandering conversation the next day had anyone asked. What mattered was that they were together. What mattered was the feeling of her hair cascading down his shoulder, the feeling of his warm breath caressing her forehead, the rhythm of their hearts beating side by side, and the stars twinkling silently above...

Ron opened his eyes and looked around languidly for a moment, slowly remembering where he was. As he turned his head to the left, he saw Kim gazing back at him sleepily. "Hey," she said, smiling and stretching.

"Hey," he replied, stretching himself. "Guess we fell asleep, huh?"

She nodded. "Uh huh. I'm jetlagged. What's your excuse?"

Ron grinned. "Oh, you know me, KP. I can fall asleep anywhere as long as I've got a beautiful redhead on my shoulder."

She pursed her lips. "I hope you haven't tested that out with any other beautiful redheads."

"There's more than one?"

Kim giggled and punched his arm lightly. "Ooh, you're good."

"Hey, I've had all summer to hone my flirting skills. And before you ask," he added when he saw the look on her face, "I only tested them out on Rufus. I'm pretty sure that's why he's so happy that you're back. You know, that and the cheese."

Kim laughed again, burying her face in his shoulder. Ron rubbed his cheek against the top of her head, his heart constricting. Who knew that you could be overwhelmed with contentment?

As it had often done over the last two months, Ron's right hand wandered down to his pocket and wrapped itself around the small velvet box that rested there. He let it linger there as he gazed down at Kim, who was snuggling sleepily against his side again. He had tomorrow night all planned out—had had it planned out for weeks now—but... the moment felt so perfect. Should he toss his plans out the window and ask her now?

"I wonder what woke us up?" Kim murmured against his chest, interrupting his thoughts.

Ron opened his mouth to reply, but he was stopped short by a loud thunderclap. Both he and Kim looked upward to see that the stars they'd been watching earlier were now completely obscured by clouds. As Ron stared up at them, a drop of water fell down and splashed onto the end of his nose. He turned to look at Kim. "KP, maybe we should—"

Before he could complete the thought, the heavens opened up and the rain came pouring down on them.

"Get to the car!" Kim finished for him, helping him scramble to his feet.

Giggling like kids as the rain poured down over them in sheets, they gathered up the blanket and dashed back to the car, jumping inside and slamming the doors shut against the storm. Of course, all of their hurrying had done little good; they were both soaked to the skin. They continued to laugh as they sat there in the car together, staring at each other as cold beads of rain dripped from their disheveled hair. Then their laughter ceased, and as suddenly as the rain had started, they were in each other's arms, mouths meeting in a passionate dance as hands explored chilled and rain-soaked skin.

When they finally drew apart, Ron wasn't surprised to see that all of the windows of the Sloth had fogged up, wrapping them in a cocoon of misty glass. He grinned as Kim nestled her head under his chin, rubbing her ice-cold nose against his neck.

"Mmm, have I mentioned yet that I missed you?" she murmured.

Ron chuckled breathlessly. "Not in so many words, but I got the message."

She sat back and stared up at him with a playful gleam in her eyes. "Oh, so you're finally getting better at understanding girls, huh?"

"Nah," Ron said, wrapping his arms around her, "just the one that matters."

Kim grinned and leaned in toward his face again. "Good answer," she whispered against his lips before gracing them with a feather-soft kiss.

But then she sat back and sighed. "We should probably try to get back home before the rain starts up again."

"Huh?" Ron asked, before realization set in. In his Kim-induced haze, he hadn't even noticed that the sound of the rain pounding against the car had ceased. "Oh," he said, sitting back in his seat as well. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Your parents will probably be worried."

Kim gave him a conciliatory smile as she started the car's engine and turned on the Sloth's turbo defogger, making a small joke about not wanting to know how the Tweebs had guessed that that would be an important feature to include when they designed her car.

Ron sighed and strapped himself in. Kim started to buckle her own seat belt, but then paused and suddenly launched herself across the seat at her now captive boyfriend. The surprise kiss was somewhere between the passion of the first and the sweetness of the second. It left Ron grinning giddily long after she put on her belt, shifted the car into F (for "fly," of course,) and drove the car off the mountain and toward home.

As Kim set the car down on an empty section of highway and shifted it into drive, Ron just sat quietly and watched her, sleepy and content. He stuck his hand back into his pocket and turned the little velvet box over in his fingers a few times...

But the moment had passed. Better that he stick with his original plan anyway. He had one more thing he really meant to do before he asked her. And with her here early, he was going to have to call in a little help if he was going to get a chance to do it...

"Hello," Kim said loudly, waving a hand in front of his face. "Earth to Ron. Come in, Ron."

He blinked at his girlfriend, then gazed past her to see that they were now parked in front of his house. Wondering just how long they'd been sitting there, he let his eyes drift back to her and offered her a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry about that, KP. Guess I kind of spaced out for a while, huh?"

"No kidding," she said. "You looked like you were a million miles away."

Nah, he thought, just about twenty-four hours into the future.

Perhaps he had looked a little distant again for a moment, because there was a trace of concern in her voice as she asked, "What were you thinking about?"

"Huh? Oh, uh... nothin' big, KP."

She frowned a little. "Ron..."

"Really, Kim," he said, taking her hand and giving her a reassuring smile. "Just the ol' noggin wandering aimlessly." He knocked on the side of his head. "I'd think you'd be used to that by now."

She allowed a small smile at that, and he quickly leaned over and planted a soft kiss on her slightly upturned lips. "Love you."

Her smile grew. "Love you, too. See you tomorrow."

"Right," he replied, as he climbed out of the car. "See you tomorrow."

Up in his room, Ron shucked his wet clothes, put on some dry pajamas and toweled his hair off. Then he climbed into bed, picked up his phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Hey, Monique? Sorry, I know it's late, but I need to ask you for a favor..."

To be continued...