Special thanks to bigherb81, Kwebs, thegreymage, BlueEyedBrigadier, CajunBear73, MrDrP, Isamu, panda0031698, Beastybex, qtpie235, RonHeartbreaker, screamingphoenix for their great reviews!
Once again, I am in debt to flakeflippingsnowgypsy for her mad fu editorial skills.
Kim, Ron and the Amazonian Aurora orchid are the properties of Disney. Karin Maaka, Kenta Usui, and Julian belong to Yuna Kagesaki.
I.
Kim tried unsuccessfully to break the unceasing chain of apologies that emanated from the waitress as she watched the girl scurry about on her hands and knees frantically collecting the menus. As awkweird as the situation was, she couldn't help but be reminded of a similar incident from her early childhood. Armed with this memory, Kim believed she could good-humoredly handle anything that might follow. Because this night was boding to be something less than the relaxing evening she had originally planned.
When the waitress finally got to her feet, her face was an alarming shade of crimson. Offering Kim a pair of menus from the cluttered stack, she struggled to keep the rest balanced in her left arm. Her voice, however, was surprisingly stable or, at least, stable-esque. "So sorry."
"No big," Kim said kindly, showing the menus she already held. "I caught these two." She paused; the girl was refusing to look her in the eye. "I'm Kim," she said extending her right hand. "Kim Possible."
The girl almost dropped all the menus, recovered herself, but then stared at Kim's hand in bewilderment.
"Oh, I apologize," Kim said, taking back her hand and bowing.
The girl returned the bow, managing to only drop one menu.
"Sometimes I still forget myself," Kim explained as they both stood. "Are you Maaka-san?"
Karin Maaka's eyes flashed up at Kim, darted toward Ron and then plummeted to the floor. "Yes. I am."
"Pleased to meet you."
"Y-yes, a pleasure."
Kim looked at Usui-san. He was looking intently in Ron's direction, but his expression was hard to read.
"Ron?" Kim said, passing over a menu to her BFBF. After a brief yelp and a moment's hesitation, he took it.
"P-please follow me?" Maaka-san asked, still looking in the general area of Kim and Ron's feet.
"Sure," Kim nodded, taking her boyfriend's quivering hand. As she and Ron followed Maaka-san to the dining area, she shot another look to Usui-san. His eyes looked concerned, confused, but not overly troubled. When they met hers, he managed a very weak smile.
As they took their seats, Kim noticed that practically all the hair on the back of Ron's head was standing straight up. The mystery behind this bizarre sight was solved a second later as Kim noticed him nervously rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand that was still firmly clutching the menu she had given him. Apparently, its plastic coating was causing static electricity issues with his 'do. It was difficult, but she pretended not to notice.
Once they were seated, the waitress asked--the nervousness in her voice only slightly obvious--if they would like some water before ordering.
"Please and thank you," Kim replied opening her menu. She looked up quickly to make eye contact once more, but Maaka-san had already disappeared to fetch their glasses.
"So," Kim began as she looked over the list of appetizers, "what's good here?"
"Uh, uh," Ron replied and then paused. A full minute passed without him adding anything more.
"You have been here before, right?" she asked, amicably perusing her menu.
He released a sigh so heavy that it fluttered her hair. "Yes," he breathed finally.
"Well," she continued in an even, pleasant tone, "what do you recommend?"
The sound of clattering ice chunks against glass announced the return of Maaka-san with their waters. "Here is your water," she said in a strained voice as she brought the wobbly tray with two tottering full glasses to rest on the table top.
As Maaka-san placed the glass in front of her, Kim flashed a brief smile to her. Although the girl's face wasn't as seriously flushed as before, Kim could tell she was still dreadfully uncomfortable; she was nervously biting her bottom lip. Strangely, it wasn't her front teeth, Kim noted, but a canine that was doing the chewing.
Maaka-san placed the second water glass in front of Ron and withdrew the tray. As she was turning to go, Ron reached out clumsily for his glass; it began to tip.
In slow motion, Kim watched Maaka-san and Ron grab for it at the same time. Although they managed to steady it, the instant their fingers touched, the girl jerked her hand away so sharply that she knocked Kim's glass over. Water and ice sprayed all across Kim's side of the table, and into her seat, and onto her lap.
"Oh no!" the girl cried, struggling desperately with the napkin dispenser at the rear of the table. "I'm so sorry, Possible-san!"
The shock of ice water spilling into her lap weakened Kim's good humor; still, she was able to maintain her smile--however thin and strained it was. Her anger was blunted when the scene literally exploded about her in a flurry of napkins that soon covered her, Ron, and the table.
"No, no," Kim replied finally as she brushed the paper from her hair and shoulders, "it's fine, Maaka-san." Then, as the damp chill spread, she admitted, through gritted teeth, "A little cold, but I'm fine." She began furiously patting her soaking pants' legs down with handfuls of napkins.
For his part, Ron was utilizing his fistfuls of napkins to prevent more water and ice from flowing off the side of the table and drenching her. Unfortunately, this resulted in knocking over his own water glass. Because of a slant in the table, this water, too, began flowing quickly in Kim's direction.
Swiftly, Kim scooched to the far right of the booth, the drier side. All the while, she kept as calm a demeanor as could possible.
"Rice balls!" the frantic girl exclaimed suddenly.
"Excuse me?" Kim asked, looking up as she continued to blot the water from her pants.
"Free of charge!" Maaka-san yelled and was gone.
Kim looked across the table. Ron was out of breath and looked incredibly miserable, but he seemed to have finally gotten the deluge under control.
"Honey?" she asked without unclenching her teeth.
"Yeah, Kim?" he said looking at her in helpless dismay.
She gave him the full blast of her most severe smile and sweetly demanded, in words whose irony she suspected would be appreciated by both of them, "Spill."
II.
"Maaka!" Kenta Usui called sternly as his girlfriend burst into the kitchen. "What is wrong?"
The single cook at the rear of the large room didn't even raise his head. Everyone at Julian was accustomed to the melodrama that occasionally erupted between the two.
"I just spilled water all over Possible-san!" she cried. "I need to get them rice balls!"
"You did what--rice balls?" He shook his head. "No, no. I mean, what's going on with you and Stoppable-san? Why did you scream?"
"I-I was startled." she explained, frantically gathering together an appetizer plate.
"But I told you that they were coming," he said, putting his hand gently on her shoulder. She was getting quite hysteric. He knew the signs and wondered how close she was to reaching the edge.
"No," she said, vigorously shaking her head. "You only said that your classmate Possible-san and her boyfriend were coming. You didn't say it was THE Possible-san!"
"Maaka," Kenta said slowly, rolling his eyes, "what other Possible-san could I have meant?"
"I don't know," she said, arranging the rice balls, "'Possible-san' is a pretty common last name, isn't it?"
He sighed. "You still haven't answered my question. What is going on with you and Stoppable-san--you both screamed."
Maaka stood perfectly still. As she tried to control her breathing, she absently wiped a tear from her cheek. "Something terrible," she said finally. "And it's all my fault."
Knowing his girlfriend as he did, Kenta was now sure of two things. One, the situation was more than likely not her fault. And, two, whatever it was was unequivocally and most assuredly as terrible as she thought it was ... if not worse.
"What happened?" he whispered with trepidation.
"I can't say," she whispered back. She looked quickly in the direction of the cook. "Not now." She picked up the tray and turned around.
He could see that she was in trouble. Her face was extremely red.
"Maaka, sit down." He held her shoulder firmly.
"No, I have to get these out to them."
"Don't push yourself. You don't want to have"--and here he dipped his voice--"an accident, do you?"
"No." Finally, she brought her eyes to meet his.
"Should I?" he asked, gesturing to the top button of his shirt.
"Oh, no," she said, holding up he hand. "Not that bad. I'm fine, really."
The phone on the wall rang.
"Stay right there," he said, letting her go. "Hello, thanking you for calling Julian … Watanabe-kun? … Hey … What? … But the manager and my mother are already not going to be here, can't you? … No, no, I understand … bye."
"What's going on?" Maaka asked.
"It looks like it's just you and me tonight. I just hope it doesn't get too busy."
"Saturdays usually are."
"Yeah," he replied glumly. Then he smiled, "You sound like you feel a little better." She didn't look quite as flushed, either. Perhaps the worst has passed. "Are you going to be okay?"
"I think so," she nodded.
"You should probably still sit down."
"I will; let me just get them this appetizer and take their order. I'll rest then."
She looked a lot less frazzled, but Kenta was still worried. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'll be fine, Usui-kun," she said in an easy voice. "Besides, my food always makes people feel happier."
He nodded as she exited the kitchen with her tray. Five seconds later, the meaning behind her last words hit him.
Wait. Was Possible-san or Stopple-san unhappy?
"Maaka! Stop!"
III.
Ron looked completely, utterly miserable. So much so that Kim couldn't bring herself to grill him any longer. It was obvious something was tearing him up inside. She needed to let him off the hook.
"Ron," she said softly, "it's okay. I think I know what's going on."
"Y-you do?" Instantly, Ron turned deathly pale. However, his color ebbed back to normal and his momentary expression of fear returned to one of his more common expressions, one of utter confusion.
"You do?" he repeated.
"Yes, I do," she said. Suddenly, she put her head in her hands. "I am such an idiot."
"What do you mean, KP?" he asked in a voice that sounded equal parts relief and concern.
"Well, something's been bothering you for the past two weeks, Ron, and I just realize now--doy!--that you called me about this place two weeks ago, too. Why didn't I see that connection before?"
Ron began to say something, but stopped.
"Look," she said taking one of his reluctant hands into hers, "you know I trust you. I know you didn't do anything. I'm upset only because you didn't come to me about it. Well, okay, maybe that is a little unrealistic, but, still, when I asked you what was bothering you--and there most definitely has been something bothering you, Ron--why couldn't you tell me then? I told you, didn't I?"
"Uh," Ron said, his eyes starting to fog over, "you did? What did you tell me, KP?"
"When that jerk was hitting on me in Anthropology at the beginning of the year, Ron."
"Oh, yeah. You stopped me from going all monkey-style on him. But … I still don't know what that has to do …"
Kim looked to make sure no one was walking toward their table and whispered, "Maaka-san."
"Wh-what about her?"
Kim sighed and then with, what little patience she had left, explained in a low voice, "Obviously, she has a crush on you, Ron. Look, I don't care what happened--it so doesn't matter. I know you love me, and I trust you. I just wish you would feel secure enough to tell me these things."
The look Ron gave her was utterly blank.
"I'm sure it was something innocent, Ron. She might not have even known you had a girlfriend."
His expression did not change.
"Look, even if she tried to steal a kiss or something," Kim said in exasperation, her voice rising, "I don't care. Just be honest with me!"
"Whoa! Hold on, KP," Ron said as the wheels finally clicked into place. "You think Karin ... made a pass at me?!" His voice was incredulous, upset, and far too loud all at the same time. "You think Karin's got the hots for me?!"
The deafening crash of the platter drew Kim's attention away from her boyfriend.
Maaka-san's face was so red that it looked like she was going to explode. Standing right behind her, his face only slightly less flushed, was Usui-san.
If Kim had still been under the effects of the Amazon Aurora orchid, she would have vanished from existence immediately. Her first impulse--to bury her face in her folded arms on the table, was overruled, however, when she realized that Maaka-san was actually in distress.
The girl was bent double and seemed like she was having trouble catching her breath. Her knees buckled, and she started to sway.
Kim jumped from the booth to steady her, but the girl recoiled from her touch and, with renewed energy, sprinted out of the dining room, barely avoiding a collision with Usui-san.
"Usui--" Kim began.
"It's okay! It's okay," he called over his shoulder as he chased after his girlfriend's fleeing form.
Kim collapsed back into her seat. She tried to avoid the looks of the handful of customers that were all staring at their table, at them. She then looked at Ron. Although his head was hidden in his folded arms on the table, she could tell by the deep pink hue on the tops of his ears that he was almost as embarrassed as she was.
She followed his example.
After a few moments of silence, she asked in a barely-audible mumble, "That's not what this sitch is about, is it?"
She heard and then deciphered his mumbled response as "Nope. Not even close, KP."
IV.
"I cannot believe your grandmother," Kenta Usui said as he wrung out the mop in the cramped employee bathroom. "You would think she would know to stay away from the restaurant."
"Yeah, I know," Karin Maaka said. "But she couldn't help it. She honed right in on him."
Kenta suppressed a shudder. There were some things about Karin's family he just didn't want to know about.
"What I don't understand," he continued, "is why she just didn't wipe him."
"She did," she replied helplessly. "But it didn't work."
"It didn't work?" he asked, stopping in mid-mop.
"No, she tried it twice."
"Has it ever not worked before?" he asked, starting to mop again.
"No. It's always worked," she sighed.
"That's strange."
"Uh, huh" she nodded. "I never thought I was going to ever see him again. At least not this soon."
After finishing the corner, Kenta gave his girlfriend a long look of concern. "How are you doing?"
"Better," she sniffled. "Not too weak. It really wasn't too bad this time."
"All things considered," he agreed as he looked at the wall, "you have definitely done worse."
"Here," she said easing off the edge of the sink, "let me help you."
"Are you sure? You should rest, Maaka."
"No, no. I'm really okay. I knew he was sad when I gave them their waters. I just never expected him to be that upset only a few minutes later."
"Yeah, you should probably steer clear of him for the rest of the night." He turned on the faucet and tossed a sponge into the sink to soak up the steaming hot water. "If they're even still here," he added.
Karin placed two small stacks of paper towels on the floor and then knelt upon them. She took the sponge from Kenta and began scrubbing the wall. After a few moments, she paused and asked, "What do we do if they are still here?"
"I don't know," Kenta said as he poured the dirty water from the bucket into the toilet. "Do you think he'll tell her the truth?"
"He can't."
"And I can't either, right?"
She nodded and sighed.
"Then I don't know what we'll do." He flushed.
Within a few moments, the wall was clean. As Karin stood up, Kenta noticed that a spot he had somehow missed had soaked through the paper towels she had been kneeling upon. He snatched up the stacks of wet towels and stuffed them into the wastebasket along with the numerous other soiled towels that Karin had been using to futilely clean up the mess before he had arrived with the mop.
"Wait," he said as she reached for the door. "I think there's some on your knees." He wet a few of the remaining towels with warm water and gently cleaned off her legs.
"Thanks."
"No problem," he sighed. "We've cleaned up worse right?"
"What are we going to do about Possible-san?" she asked sadly.
"I don't know," he sighed. "No matter what, we can't let her find out." He then added, "for her own sake at least."
To be continued ...
