Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible; that's all Disney.
Author's Note: I would have been done with this sooner, but I got a little blocked on the last part, which made for slow going.
Picnics, Pets, Prison, and Pep
Ron found a parking spot and made his way painfully to the Diagonal, where the picnic was set up. He was going to need to run through a kata or something soon if he didn't want to stiffen up completely.
The lunch was already winding down. He was late enough that most people appeared to be finished and were either sitting and chatting with their families or moving around to meet and greet others. Fortunately, the Ronster could eat very quickly. He spotted two heads of red hair and oriented on them.
As soon as she caught sight of him, Kim leapt up and began waving furiously. He grinned and waved back while he picked his way through the crowd. Narrowing her eyes, she saw that he was moving somewhat gingerly above the waist. Therefore, her hug when he arrived was very gentle.
"Sorry I'm late," he apologized, leading Kim to roll her eyes.
"I'd say you have about the best excuse ever," she reminded him. "I want to hear everything!"
"You first, KP," insisted Ron as he sat down. "You've already got the essentials. Besides, I'm starved."
"We saved three box lunches for you," said Mrs. Dr. P. "We know how your appetite is, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's even bigger after what you've been through." She handed him the three cardboard boxes. Each one contained a wrapped sandwich, chips, a pickle, and a cookie.
"Rufus can really put it away, too," Kim added.
"Yeah, about that…" Ron extracted not one, but two naked mole rats from the large pockets of his cargo pants.
"Two of them?" exclaimed Kim, astonished.
"Yeah, I found a mate for Rufus while we were at Smarty Mart," he explained, unwrapping a ham and cheese sandwich for his animal companions. "She's a little shy but really smart." He then dove into his own lunch, devouring one sandwich in three bites.
"Hello, there," Kim greeted the newcomer. "Want to be a new member of Team Possible?" The female chittered and slid back behind Rufus. The pair had a brief, incomprehensible exchange before digging into their meal. Kim turned to Ron, who was washing down his first course with a soda. "Does she have a name?"
"I couldn't come up with anything," he admitted. "I sort of thought you might like to name her."
"Me?"
"Well, sure. I mean, I'm hoping you'll help to take care of her." Ron looked a little embarrassed. "I…uh…might want to keep them apart at…certain times of the year."
Kim was momentarily confused by her BFBF's oblique language, but her face cleared as she got it. Almost immediately, however, her brow furrowed in confusion again.
"I thought you said she was supposed to be his mate," she pointed out. "Doesn't that sort of imply…?"
"Within reason, KP! I mean, Rufus is a totally badical pal, and he should pass that badical-ness on to another generation, but naked mole rats can have 17 babies at a time, and gestation is only a couple of months!"
Kim blinked at him for a few seconds.
"Did you just use the word 'gestation' in a sentence?" she asked, dumbfounded.
"Hey, pets are my thing, and it's a pretty common word when you're talking about animals."
"Uh-huh. So, how often do naked mole rats mate?"
"Twice a year in the wild. In captivity, it can be more."
"Hmm." Kim thought it over. "Yeah, I guess I can see how that could be overwhelming."
"What do you plan to do with the offspring they do have?" interjected Kim's mother.
"Give 'em away to kids with allergies, maybe," Ron suggested. "We could probably even sell some of them back to Smarty Mart." At this point, Rufus perked up, ran up Ron's arm, and perched on his shoulder, where he squeaked quite adamantly. Ron looked somewhat chastised, but also resolute.
"Look, buddy, I'm all about you being a family man," the blond young man assured the rodent. "But cut me some slack, here. Even if it was only twice a year, there'd be over 30 of you in a year. How would I feed all of you?"
"Heh? Oh," sighed Rufus.
"We'll find good homes for them," Ron promised. "Only when they're off mother's milk. And we'll keep a few, okay?"
"Yah, okay," Rufus agreed, however reluctantly.
"Good," said Ron, obviously relieved. "I mean, why not make other kids as happy as I was the day I got you?"
Rufus did not answer directly but briefly nuzzled Ron's cheek as a sign of affection before scampering back down to his lunch. It was not clear how much of the conversation the female understood. She was daintily nibbling on a piece of cheese while all this was going on. Kim realized that she really needed to give her a name so that she wouldn't keep thinking of her as "the female." The young woman regarded the little creature carefully, trying to choose something that would suit her.
"Tina," she said at last. "Let's call her Tina." She didn't know why, but the name had just jumped into her head and felt right.
"Rufus and Tina, huh?" said Ron. "Works for me. Rufus?" The mole rat gave a thumbs-up. Kim bent down to bring her face closer to Tina's level.
"Do you like it?" she inquired carefully. "Can I call you Tina?" The small, black eyes scrutinized Kim intently for a moment before the rodent returned to her meal. Kim took that for assent and straightened up. Eventually, she hoped Tina would learn to communicate with them much as Rufus had.
"So, you wanted to hear about my morning," she addressed her boyfriend. "It wasn't nearly as exciting as yours. I took a couple of exams to see where I should place for my first classes. I might even be able to get a few credits. I'm supposed to get the results before I leave the picnic. They split the students and parents into groups and did a little introduction thing, and we got to tour the Ford School of Public Policy."
"I have to admit, it's a nice facility," Ann put in at this point. She smiled teasingly. "Of course, it's no Upperton."
"We've been over this, Mom."
"I know, honey. It is nice to know that, if you change your mind about studying medicine, there's a good medical school right here."
"Mom!" Kim protested, rolling her eyes. She turned back to Ron, who was polishing off his second sandwich. "So, anyway, we'll be doing some group activities for an hour or so, and the cheerleader tryouts are at 3:00. After that, I'll register for my classes." At this point, she had to go and receive her test results, which were quite good and would enable her to skip some of the entry-level classes. She then reminded Ron, as they were cleaning up from their meal, that it was his turn to recount his morning. She smiled expectantly, and Ron launched into a more detailed account of his run-in with Lucre and DNAmy than he'd given her earlier.
"Wow!" she exclaimed when the tale wound down. She was being summoned to her group, but she wanted to wait until she heard the whole thing. "So he just gave Tina to you?"
"Yep. He even said he'd make me an assistant manager after my transfer in August. Isn't that badical?"
"So badical," Kim agreed, giving him another hug. "I so wish I didn't have to go right now."
"Hey, it's all right," Ron assured her, unconcerned. "I can wander around and get my bearings while you're busy. I'll catch up with you for the cheerleading."
"Okay." She gave directions to the tryouts, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and headed off to continue her packed day.
"So what do you think DNAmy wanted with the animals?" Ann asked her daughter while they joined their group, which was gradually coalescing in a corner of the Diagonal. Kim shrugged.
"It's hard to tell with her. She might have just needed some fresh DNA samples for her experiments. Most of her stuff has been confiscated." Kim paused then, looking a little uncomfortable. "Mom, is it totally gorchy that a part of me is glad that Ron can't do everything on his own?"
"Not at all, Kim," Ann replied honestly. "I think all women, deep down, want to have someone to depend on them. Why else would most of us want to have children?" She ruffled Kim's hair slightly as she said this.
"Mom, I'm being serious!"
"So am I. Kim, you're used to being the capable one, the girl who can 'do anything.' I'm sure it's an adjustment for you to see Ron stepping up and being more reliable."
"He's always been reliable," Kim protested. "He's always had my back."
"Well, responsible, then," Ann amended. "Regardless, you'll learn to appreciate that eventually, and you'll start to depend on him for some things. But don't worry; he'll always need you plenty."
"I guess you're right. Thanks, Mom." And with a mother-daughter hug, the conversation was ended.
Frugal Lucre was finally processed and allowed to make his one phone call. He waited impatiently as the line on the other end rang. He had to be home, didn't he? At last, a familiar voice answered.
"Hello?"
"Dr. Drakken, I'm so glad I caught you!" Lucre exclaimed.
"Lucre? Why are you calling me? And how did you get this number?" Drakken was sounding decidedly grumpy, but Lucre ignored his questions.
"See, I agreed to work with DNAmy."
"Well, that was your first mistake."
"The point is, I need bail money."
"From me? Why would I do that?"
"I don't know; old time's sake?" Lucre knew he was grasping at straws here, but whom else could he call? Mother? Not a pleasant thought.
"Nice try," Drakken replied, and his tone had a definite note of finality in it.
"Wait, please!" Lucre pleaded, trying to prevent the hang-up he sensed was coming. "Is there a favor I can do for you? I'll do anything! Just don't make me stay here!"
"I don't…wait a minute. Did you say you were working with DNAmy?"
"Yes. Why?" His question was not answered immediately, but a whispered conversation was clearly going on at the other end. Lucre started to sweat, glancing at the clock. His time had to be almost up.
"Here's the deal," Drakken said when he came back. "You tell me how to contact DNAmy, and I'll get you the money."
"Yeah, sure." Lucre had no idea what Drakken would want with DNAmy, especially given his earlier reaction, but that wasn't his problem. "I'll call you as soon as I'm out of here."
"Will you at least stick around for your trial so I get my money back?" Drakken demanded.
"Sure, sure, anything you say!" Lucre agreed. "Hey, would you be willing to help me out as a character witness?"
"Don't press your luck."
"Of course. Forget I said it."
"Very well. I'll make some arrangements, and you should be out of there by five. And Lucre?"
"Yes."
"You'd better not stiff me. I may be retiring from villainy, but I still have contacts in the business, if you know what I mean." The blue-skinned scientist's voice sounded ominous, and Lucre gulped. Shego alone would be enough of a threat, but if there was someone closer who could get at him….
"Absolutely. You won't lose a dime, I promise!"
"I'd better not." They exchanged some details, and Lucre hung up, feeling much better. Information didn't really cost him anything, so he was getting out of this cheap – just the way he liked it.
Ron took the two naked mole rats to an unoccupied part of the campus before doing any real exploring. He let the two rodents romp through the grass and shrubs while he calmed his mind and ran through a series of stretches and light exercises designed to keep him loose. Wrestling a giant pandaroo had been pretty taxing, even for his young body, and he wanted to avoid experiencing any more pain than necessary.
After the trio had had their exercise, Rufus and Tina jumped back into Ron's pockets for a walk around. It was a pretty interesting area, with some nice, little sandwich and coffee shops and an art museum lying close to the university. Trying to make mental notes of the area while not getting himself completely turned around, he headed back to campus.
Actually, "campus" was a misleading term, as the university consisted of three separate campuses (campii?), each section more or less devoted to a particular area of study. Eventually, Ron found himself ascending the stairs of the Big House, the university's football stadium. It was impressively large, as its name implied, and he wondered what it would be like to play on that field. From high up in the stands, the 100-yard gridiron appeared tiny, dwarfed by the more than 100,000 seats that rose above it. For a wonder, it was not under construction this summer. Other schools kept adding seats to fit more fans into their stadiums, spurring U of M to add to theirs in order to maintain the title of the largest college football stadium in the country.
Whether he ever got to catch a football down there or not, he would be able to watch Kim do her cheerleading thing. He had no doubts that she would make it onto the squad. After all, this was his KP he was talking about, the girl whose mad cheerleading skills had saved the world over and over. Fleetingly, he wondered if they could use a mascot. What was it again? Oh right, a wolverine. He wasn't quite sure what wolverine looked like, but it sounded fierce. They probably didn't foam at the mouth, though. Shame.
Checking the time, Ron decided it was time to go to a nearby fieldhouse for the cheerleading tryouts. It was pretty easy to find the right place – he only had to look for a crowd of good-looking young women who appeared nervous. The surprise was that there were also quite a few men. Apparently, cheerleading at U of M wasn't just a girl thing. Ron wondered if that changed the group dynamics at all. Maybe there was less "queen bee" syndrome? That would be a pleasant change.
Mrs. Dr. P waved from the seats, and Ron managed to take the seat next to her shortly before things got started. This worked a little differently from the high school tryouts. Kim had just spent half an hour with the other hopefuls, being taught two routines. They would then perform these in groups, and the coaches would judge them. This would not even approach showing them what KP was capable of, of course, but they just had to see how fantastic she was. Ron wished he'd been able to see her beforehand, but at least she would know he was there, supporting her.
Before the tryouts, the existing cheerleaders performed a sample, and Ron saw almost immediately why men were necessary for the team; there were a lot more lifts and catches involved than the Middleton squad had ever dreamed of. One of the first things the cheer team demonstrated was lifting one of the girls onto the shoulders of two of the men. After doing a brief cheer, the woman fell down into the waiting arms below and was set back on her feet. Some other techniques were even more impressive, with women standing on the raised hands of their teammates and balancing on one foot.
That takes a lot of trust, Ron thought. I really hope they're not planning to have KP do anything like that today. These people don't really know each other yet.
As the first two groups ran through their assigned routine, Ron got a feel for what to look for. There were a few lifts, but the women were fortunately not expected to fall blindly at this stage. Besides, there weren't enough men auditioning to provide bases for all of the tricks that would eventually be expected of the team. Kim was in the third group, and she performed the flips, splits, and dance moves perfectly.
"Boo-yah!" Ron yelled when she was done, standing up and applauding enthusiastically. However, he quickly noticed that people were staring at him, and he sheepishly sat back down again. When KP sent him an air kiss, though, the embarrassment was worth it. Ron and .P sought out Kim when the whole thing was over.
"You were great, KP!" her boyfriend enthused, giving her a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Very good, dear," Mrs. Dr. P added.
"No big, but there are 40 of us trying to fill the spots that are left, and they didn't even tell us how many that is," Kim replied, sounding nervous. "I know they have 20 women and 20 men on the regular team, plus a couple of alternates."
"You will most def be cheering on the Wolverines in the fall," said Ron confidently. "And I'll be there watching at every home game. When do they tell you?"
"We'll get a letter some time in July. Practices start August 18. Oh, I really want to do this!"
"You will," Ron repeated. He leaned in to whisper in his girlfriend's ear. "There was definitely no one out there who looked better than you." Kim giggled and blushed faintly.
"I think I'll keep you around," she murmured back.
"I just hope I'll be able to play on that field myself in a year or two," Ron sighed.
"You're my Potential Boy," Kim reminded him, being encouraging in her turn. "If you put your mind to it, you'll be here with me in no time."
"Well, leaving the future to the future for the present, what's next on the agenda?" Ron asked, and Kim was forced to review his words to figure out what he meant before she responded.
"Next, I register for my classes. You can come with, if you want."
"Sure thing. What are you taking?" he inquired as all three began walking.
"Oh, the basics," she replied. "Calculus, Public Policy, Economics, and French."
"French? Why French?"
"It's the second official language of the UN," Kim shrugged. "It seemed like a good thing to start with. I'd like to learn several languages while I'm here. Did you get all of the classes you wanted?"
"Yep. English, Geology, History, Algebra, and Ballroom Dancing."
"Ballroom Dancing?"
"Hey, don't knock it, KP. You never know when it might come in handy."
"Oookay then." It occurred to Kim that maybe she shouldn't be hard on him for taking a dance class. After all, she was considering a swimming class to help her grade point average and keep her in shape. He never did like to be normal, and she wouldn't have him any other way.
Author's Note: Well, some of that was kind of random, but I hope you all enjoyed it and that it was worth the wait. The next chapter might not be up until mid-August because I have a vacation coming up.
Review Responses:
screaming phoenix: As I said, I enjoy Drakken and Shego as a couple very much. They're so quirky that their relationship just has to be a little odd, and it's fun to be writing an adult romance for a change. Anyway, I'm back to Kim and Ron, so…is that better?
waveform: I am glad that you found the story and are enjoying it! I do like writing Shego, and a lot of her dialogue just jumps right into my head. I really don't think she'd stop being snarky just because she's in love. Anyway, most married people I know tease each other a lot.
Katsumara: It should be an interesting wedding, to say the least. As for Ron's sensitivity…maybe it's another aspect of unlocking the Mystic Monkey Power. There is more in that to be explored.
Eddy13: What past? Drakken already knows that Shego tutored Junior , and I assume he also knows that she later briefly worked with Junior again. In my universe, he definitely does because they discussed it in Alien Consequences. I also don't recall an ocean near Go City. Granted, Drakken's robot appeared to be flying over an ocean at the end of Go Team Go, but we don't know how long they'd been traveling at that point.
Ember Darla: Wow! With all the competition out there, that's high praise indeed!
Boris Yeltsin: That's okay. Thanks anyway!
CajunBear73: Suffice it to say that Drakken will not really enjoy his night out, but I won't torture him too much. As for whether Kim and Ron will be there, you'll find out soon enough. Glad you appreciate Shego's choice of bridesmaid.
savingkp: Glad to hear it. Here's a little more Kim/Ron. Sorry it's not too fluffy right now, but I'll get back to that eventually.
snarky Beth: Oh yes, there will be nothing ordinary about this wedding! I think Kim and Ron's will be tame by comparison. Bonnie just seemed like a logical choice for maid of honor, and it gave me a great excuse to include her in the story.
