Ron and Kim sat quietly around their dinner table in their shared apartment. The moment he had gotten home, he had told Kim the news, even though he hadn't wanted to. She had scattered their various bills and papers out on the table in an effort to puzzle out where they could save on costs, but other than the apartment, which they had already lost their damage deposit on, thanks to Walter's goons, there was nothing.
"I could apply at Buenos Nachos again." Ron said, his voice barely squeaking out.
"Unless you manage to get another Naco Royalties check, it won't be enough." Kim replied, mentally wincing at her words. She wasn't blaming Ron for their situation. In fact, he had been the only one keeping them afloat and if he hadn't left work that day he lost his department manager position, the world would have been plunged into darkness. But still, if he had been more responsible with his windfall in High School, they wouldn't be in this problem either.
"I'm sorry, Ron." she said with a reluctant smile, reaching out to hold his hand. "I just wish Mr. Smarty had given you a reason. I really don't see how we can keep the apartment. Either we find some available dorms or find some extra funds."
"We could always ask..."
"Ron, do you really think either of our parents are going to pay for us to live together?" she asked.
Ron shrugged. "Whatever happened to Anything is possible for a Possible?"
Kim had found it difficult enough to face her parents when they first discovered that they were living together and she knew what they were going to say. Despite the continuous house repairs that her parents were often saddled with, she knew they did have money and wouldn't hesitate to help if they knew she needed it.
But the lesson learned by her first job at Buenos Nachos when her parents made her earn that green leather jacket herself had settled in well. She wanted this. She wanted to live with Ron, she wanted to go to University, and she wanted to continue cheerleading and saving the world. She took a breath and sighed. "Okay, then. You ask your parents and I'll ask mine."
"My parents?" Ron asked, surprised. "My parents don't..." An accusing glare from Kim interrupted him. "Yeah, sure. Okay."
"Kimmie!" Mrs. Dr. Possible nearly shouted as she answered the door. Kim stood facing her mother, feeling moderately like a failure for having to come to them for something that seemed so mundane, but also a little ashamed for why she was asking. While she knew her mother's point of view on her and Ron's living arrangements, she also knew her father's.
"Hi, mom. Is dad home?" it was barely after noon on a Sunday now, and she knew that her father would be getting ready to go golfing with Dr. Ramesh. She was only half hoping that he hadn't left yet.
"Of course, Kimmie. What's wrong?" her mother asked, her surprised expression turning to one of worry. "You're not..."
Kim caught the sight of her mother's gaze on her midsection. "No." she answered in mild irritation. "I'm not pregnant." she added with a whisper.
"Who's there, honey?" Mr. Dr. Possible asked, coming into the entryway in a blue golf shirt and shorts. "Kimmie-Cub!" he said, sweeping Kim up in a hug that pulled her off of her feet. He set her down again and held her at arm's length, wearing an awkward smile.
"We've missed you, Kimmie." Mrs. Dr. Possible said, joining her husband and daughter in a family hug. "Now come on and tell us what's wrong."
"What?" Mr. Dr. Possible asked. "Something's wrong? Where's Ronald?" Kim's father had taken surprisingly well to the news that Ron would be becoming a son in law, especially concerning their altercation last Christmas.
Kim's parents followed her into the living room and sat across from her on one of the couches, concern filling their faces. "Kim? Is Ron okay?" her mother asked.
"Yes. No. Well, kinda. I mean, physically he's..."
"Let's just hold it right there, Kimmie-Cub." her father said. He'd might as well be plugging his ear and singing 'La-La-La'.
"Healthy." Kim finished, resulting in her mother slapping Mr. Dr. Possible on the arm. "We had a mission in Africa a few weeks ago. Rufus... Stayed behind."
"What?" Mrs. Dr. Possible gasped. "Why?"
"We found a colony of naked mole rats that had been evolved by Chester Yapsby's Roflax, and now Ron's taking it hard, and he lost his job, and now we can't afford our apartment or even our tuition!" Kim blurted out, burying her face in her hands and breathing deeply.
"But I thought you had enough scholarships to pay for your tuition." Mr. Dr. Possible said, though his tone betrayed that he knew what she was going to say.
"Some had certain requirements." Kim admitted reluctantly. "Like staying in the dorms."
"Kim, those requirements are placed on those scholarships for a reason." her mother said.
"I know. It's to help out the housing shortage brought on by the Lorwardian Invasion." Kim sighed. "But I love him."
Mr. Dr. Possible let out a quiet 'hrumph' as he seemed to stew over his daughter's words. Kim had mulled over the decision herself after the Canadian Spy Team had threatened to take Ron away for good and even despite all the drawbacks, it still felt like the right thing to do.
"I'll get our check book." her mother said quietly, rising from her seat.
"What?" Kim asked, looking up at her parents in surprise. She really hadn't expected their help, or at the very least that it would be so easy.
"We will pay for the scholarships you lost when you made your decision until the end of the year." her father said. "Beyond that will be up to you. The apartment, the car; everything else, you will be paying for."
"But don't you have to even talk about this first?" Kim asked. "Wait... You knew already!"
"The Dean called a few weeks ago, honey." Mrs. Dr. Possible said, returning to the couch with her check book and a pen. "Apparently your professors are concerned about you too."
Kim's thoughts exploded. This was typical parenting in her family, certainly. Give you everything you need to catch the dangling carrot, but it's up to you to reach for it. It would allow her to stay in Diverse City University, and Ron's football scholarship paid for his community college tuition. That just left the apartment and living expenses that had been dragging them down. "Thanks, guys. You're truly the best. And I swear that I will pay you back as soon as I can. For everything."
The family stood and embraced again for a moment before Mrs. Dr. Possible asked, "So where is Ron?"
"He's next door, asking his parents the same thing."
"Why didn't you tell us you were having trouble, Ronald?"
"Actually, my way of telling you was going to be just moving back into the attic but Kim vetoed that idea." Ron replied to his father, squirming uncomfortably in his seat. They were sitting across from each other in the living room with Hana playing on the floor between them. Family talks were never a big past time between him and his parents like they were in Kim's household. Mind you, that could be attributed to him being over at Kim's house ninety percent of the time.
"I just don't understand how this could be possible." his mother said, though she certainly still wasn't receptive to Ron living with Kim.
"Mom, you're a banker. How can you not understand?"
"Ronald, haven't you been getting any phone calls?" Mr. Stoppable asked.
"Honestly? Only wrong numbers and telemarketers. Oh, and you would not believe the amount of texts I was getting until I changed my cell number!" he replied. "But what does that have to do with anything?"
Mr. Stoppable looked over at his wife with his usual unreadable expression. "You'd better show him."
"Show me what?" Ron asked, suddenly suspicious. He wasn't sure he could handle anymore surprises.
As his mother left the room, presumably to find some papers, his father turned back to him with a serious look. "Ronald, three years ago when you recieved your Buenos Nachos royalties check, you purchased a highly successful aeronautics facility."
"I did?" Ron asked in surprise, thinking back.
A sixteen year old Ron Stoppable strutted into the Nelson Aeronautics Factory in Middleton, surrounded by his posse and covered in gold and diamond encrusted jewelry. "Yo, what's up Homies? The Ron has a commission to make!"
Thomas Nelson looked up from the designs for the Kepler that Dr. Possible had sent him from the Space Center. Striding over to the window of his office, he looked down at a large group of what appeared to be high school students lead by a young blond man in a green jersey and wearing far too shiny gold jewelry. The blond boy was talking to his workers and a few of his fellow share holders were approaching him as he unrolled a large piece of paper.
"This, my friends, is the Kim-Jet! It's gonna have a robot pilot, dispensible peanuts, and I want it for tomorrow." Ron said.
"Can't be done." Thomas said, descending the stairs into the expansive factory. "We have several multi million dollar contracts on the go, including one from the government that was just issued."
"Well then put them on hold." Ron shot back.
"For what?" Thomas asked, growing annoyed. This boy was beginning to seem just as spoiled as his own son.
"For this!" Ron exclaimed, holding up a doodle. It looked like a cross between a C-130 Hercules cargo plane and a Harrier VSTOL fighter jet; only drawn by a four year old with the initials KP scribbled on the side.
"No." Thomas said flatly, turning his back on Ron to face his workers. "Everyone back to work! Security, escort these people out."
"Hey, I'm a paying customer here!" Ron said, lowering his diamond studded, gold sunglasses.
Thomas turned back to him, ready to throw Ron out himself. "No, you're not."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah." Thomas replied, glaring darkly down at Ron.
Ron dug into his vastly inflated pockets and pulled out two large wads of cash. "Show of hands, people! Who wants to retire early?"
Thomas turned slowly to find that his fellow shareholders all had their hands raised, frowning slightly and shrugging.
"Now if you would be so kind as to remove yourself from my property..." Ron told Thomas with a grin.
"You can't do this! I built this company!" Thomas yelled. Ron snapped his fingers without saying another word and the security guards that Thomas had summoned began escorting their former employer out of the building. "I have a wife! A son that needs extensive dental work! No!"
The memory faded as quickly as it came and Ron shook his head. "Okay, but what does this mean?" he asked, severely confused all of a sudden. His father was about to answer when his mother returned with a stack of papers that were organized into folders.
"Did you mention the Buenos Nachos stocks?" she asked. "Or the patents? Tell him about the patents, dear." she said, putting the papers down on the coffee table and taking a seat next to her husband again.
"Stocks? Patents?"
"When you were managing the Buenos Nachos restaurant here in Middleton, you were given a small percentage of company stock as a benefit." Mr. Stoppable explained.
"Yes, and when that Dr. Drakken fellow took control of the franchise, your stocks were all that he didn't take control of. When he was arrested, you became the sole owner." his mother continued.
"Plus, being Rufus's owner, you became the beneficiary of all of his patents like his Cold Fusion Generator."
"What does this mean, though?" Ron shouted, startling Hana.
"Ronald, you are the Chief Executive Officer of a major aeronautics factory with government and military contracts; one of the largest fast food franchises in the world; and are considered a leader in energy distribution." Mr. Stoppable explained.
"It also means that all the pay you've earned from them has been sitting untouched in your savings account that I set up for you at the bank."
"I have a savings account?"
"You literally have unlimited funds, Ronald."
