Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible; that's all Disney.
Author's Note: Apparently, a lot of readers have forgotten the reasons that Drakken and Shego wanted to consult DNAmy, which were discussed back in Chapter 2. In a nutshell, Drakken wants to find out whether his mutation could develop unpleasant side effects, and they wish to know if they can produce children. Sorry this chapter's short, but it seemed like a logical place to end it.
Living Arrangements
When the registration was complete, there was some free time before dinner, so Kim gave Ron a little more detail on the layout of the campus and showed him the dorm she'd most likely be living in. Sensing that the two young people could use some time to themselves, Ann Possible declared that she was going to rest in their room and meet them later for the meal.
"They'll send out room assignments later," Kim explained as they left the dormitory. "Sometimes, I wish Monique had decided to come here, too. Then we could room together. I really hope I like my roommate. I hope she likes me!"
"Don't sweat it, KP," Ron did his best to reassure her. "Everybody likes you."
"Not everybody," she replied darkly.
"Okay, so everybody except crazy supervillains and Bonnie Rockwaller," he amended. "Is that really such a bad thing?"
"Well, when you put it that way…" Kim couldn't help but smile at his perspective.
"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, I did get a tour of my campus this morning," said Ron suddenly. "It's nowhere near as impressive as this, but it's pretty nice. There's a lot of stuff around it, too. That reminds me, I need to make a couple of calls." He pulled out his phone.
"What for?"
"I want to see if I can look at some of the apartments for rent before we leave. I'd like to get that all set so I know I'll have a place to move into in August."
Kim tilted her head, gazing at her boyfriend with a tender yet wistful expression. Catching her gaze, Ron frowned at her.
"What?" he demanded.
"It's just…look at you," she sighed. "You're growing up: becoming an assistant manager, doing solo missions, renting an apartment. Things are changing."
"In a good way, I hope."
"I think so." They locked eyes for a few moments, until Ron shook himself and began to call the numbers he'd written down earlier.
"Well, rent here is more expensive than I'd expected, but I think I can find something in my budget," he told her when he'd finished. "I'll look at two of them after dinner. I'm hoping I won't have to go outside of town to find a place."
"Probably cheaper, but not as convenient?"
"Yeah, and that brings up another problem. What am I going to do for a ride? My scooter's trashed, and it wouldn't have worked on the highways anyway, but I can't afford a car. I'll need to get to work and to come visit you."
"Actually, I've been looking for the right time to tell you this," said Kim hesitantly.
"Tell me what?"
"I'm not allowed to have a car on campus as a freshman, so I was going to let you drive the Sloth," she offered, peering at him to check his reaction.
"Really?" he asked incredulously. "You'd trust me with the Sloth?"
"Duh, Ron! You're probably the safest driver I know. Besides, you're my boyfriend and partner. Anyway, we'll be driving up here together, right?"
"That was the plan." They estimated that driving the distance would take them about 8 hours, including breaks for meals and rest stops. A bit long for a weekend trip, but perfectly acceptable for a longer stay. Besides, the Sloth was cheaper than airline tickets, held more than checked baggage, and would provide local transportation once they got there.
"So, we'll take turns driving, and you can drop me off at school and keep the car. Everything I need will be in walking distance, anyway." Kim's face and voice softened as she reached out her hands to cup his jaw and bring him closer. "Everything except you, of course."
"A-booyah," Ron murmured, sliding one hand into her hair and leaning in for a kiss.
Drakken hung up the phone, holding up a sheet of notepaper and regarding it thoughtfully.
"Well, we know how to contact DNAmy now," he announced. "The question is, how soon do we want to do that?" At the back of his mind, he'd sort of had the idea that they would wait until after the wedding and honeymoon, but this sudden fortune seemed likely to move up the timetable a bit.
"It should probably be soon," Shego replied. "Considering she had a run-in with Team Possible this morning, she's probably going to be on the move in a day or so."
"Possibly. Then again, she didn't get caught. She might just try to lay low for a while."
"I'll be honest with you; I don't really want to do it today," Shego admitted. Drakken was taking her out for dinner later to celebrate their engagement, and that was about all the social interaction she was up for. Before Drakken could even answer, her cell phone rang.
"Hello?" she said into it.
"Hey, Shego. It's Bonnie," said the voice of her new maid of honor. "I just got back from the beach, and it occurred to me that we hadn't talked about having a bridal shower for you. Do you want me to do one?"
Shego sat there and held the phone for a moment, speechless. That hadn't even occurred to her. Did people even do showers for weddings that were being planned on such short notice? They wouldn't for an elopement but she and Drakken weren't, strictly speaking, eloping.
"Well, I'm not sure there will even be enough women invited to this thing to make that worthwhile," she replied. Normally, she wouldn't turn down free loot, but they didn't have anyplace to store it, and they didn't really need anything.
"Oh, a lot of people are doing couples' showers now. Still, since this is going to be small and everything, how about something more like a bachelorette party? Junior is willing to invite us to his dad's island for the weekend before the wedding. I'll have just got done with summer school, so it's kind of a congrats and vacation for me, and I think it would be so fab to have a pre-wedding party at the same time! So what do you think?"
"Junior?" asked Shego, latching onto one word of the rapidly-delivered speech. "You don't mean Senor Senior, Junior?"
"Yeah, we're a thing. He said you knew each other."
"We've crossed paths a couple of times," Shego conceded. "Listen, can you give me a minute?"
"Sure."
Covering the device's microphone, Shego turned to Drakken, who was looking quizzically at her.
"It's Bonnie. You might get your wish about me having a bachelorette party. It seems she's dating Junior, who wants to invite her and me to Senior Island the weekend before the wedding."
Drakken frowned, not particularly happy with the idea of Shego spending two days and nights in an idyllic setting with a rich stud half Drakken's age. Even if he did, apparently, have a girlfriend.
"I'm certainly not going away with Eddie for an entire weekend," he declared emphatically. "Besides, I was really looking forward to coming home to you after whatever entertainment he has planned."
Shego thought that over. She didn't really want to be away from him that long, either, especially right when things were likely to get chaotic with last-minute wedding plans.
"How about this," she suggested. "You do your thing with Eddie on Friday night, and I'll go to Senior Island. You can join us on Saturday and stay for the rest of the weekend."
"I can live with that," he acknowledged, and Shego confirmed with Bonnie that the Seniors would not object. There was still planning to do, but it seemed that things were already falling nicely into place. It felt like a good omen.
The first apartment had been a big disappointment to Ron. Although it did have a bedroom separate from the living area, the carpet was stained, the paint was peeling, and the curtains were threadbare. Even worse, as far as he was concerned, the kitchen was tiny, and he wasn't confident that the oven actually worked. Apparently, single guys didn't generally expect much from an apartment. While that was interesting on a certain level, Ron very much liked to cook and wanted a decent space in which to do it. Furthermore, he was hoping to bring Kim to his place occasionally through the school year, when their schedules allowed, and he definitely couldn't entertain her in a dump like that.
It was therefore with some trepidation and considerably reduced expectations that Ron approached the second location. He was met at the door by the building manager, a young man who appeared to be not much older than Ron himself.
"Hi," said the stranger. "You must be Ron. I'm Ken, Ken Ruger." He held out his hand and Ron shook it. The young man had dark brown hair reaching almost to his shoulders, tanned skin, and brown eyes. His grip was firm without being painful.
"No offense, but aren't you a little young to be a building manager?" Ron asked, and Ken laughed.
"I get that a lot," he admitted. "I'm 23, working my way through my master's in social work. Acting as the manager here cuts my rent, and all I have to do is show new prospects around and repair things once in a while. It helps stretch my grad assistant income, you know?"
Ron didn't know, not really, but he nodded like he understood completely.
"Well, you didn't come here to learn my life history," Ken said affably. "Let's see the place, shall we?" He led the way to the second floor and produced a key to open the door. "It's just a studio, but it's not bad for a first pad of your own."
Ron stepped inside to find himself in a short hallway. A full bathroom lay to his right, and he took a cursory glance at it, noting that it was clean and had yellow tiling. On his left was the kitchen, and he took some time to inspect that. It was surprisingly spacious, with a reasonable amount of counter space and cupboards that appeared adequate. He opened a few of them to check the depth and partitioning. The refrigerator and oven actually looked new.
"The oven and fridge were replaced last year," Ken explained, following Ron into the room and confirming his evaluation. "The old ones were from the seventies and definitely needed an update."
"Nice," Ron commented, completing his tour of the kitchen and moving toward the living space. Being a studio apartment, it wasn't much – just a big open room with some closets and a couple of windows. However, there was a sort of alcove behind the bathroom that he could put a bed in, and Ron thought he might be able to come up with some kind of screen to keep that area separated from the living/dining area. It looked like that section was meant to be the bedroom because the closets were arranged along one wall, and there was a window with blinds on another wall.
At the far end of the living room portion, a set of sliding doors gave out onto a small balcony. Ron was pleased with the entire setup. He could envision how furniture might fit into the space, and the whole apartment was clean and well maintained. It even looked like the walls and ceiling had been recently painted.
"How much was the rent again?" he asked when he returned from his inspection of the balcony.
"500 a month," answered Ken, and Ron involuntarily winced. "That includes your gas and water; you'll have to pay for phone and electricity yourself." Ron nodded absently. He was planning to just use the cellular phone that his father had finally broken down and bought for him, so that wasn't a problem. He would have to arrange for the electricity, though. Cable? No, he could live without that. He just needed something to play movies on.
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. His assistant manager salary, when added to the room and board allowance his parents were so generously providing him, ought to allow him to live here pretty comfortably.
"Pets are allowed, right?" he wanted to confirm.
"No dogs, and declawed cats only."
"How about hairless rodents?"
"Not a problem."
"I'll take it," Ron decided.
"Great! You'll need to sign a 12-month lease and pay a $500 deposit plus the first month's rent."
"Deposit?"
"It's standard," Ken assured him. "It's to cover the owner's costs to fix anything when you leave. As long as everything's in good shape when you move out, you'll get it all back."
"Sounds reasonable," Ron agreed. He signed the appropriate forms and got out his disused checkbook, writing his driver's license number on the check because the account was from a different state. He supposed he would have to get used to writing checks for things, unless he wanted to set everything up to be paid electronically. He'd have to give that some thought.
Ron wasn't thrilled about the 12-month lease, considering that he only expected to need the place for about nine months. Still, setting it up to begin on July 1 gave him the freedom to start moving in whenever he wanted. Maybe he could sublet it in the spring and get some of his money back.
He got the keys to the apartment and the laundry room and went back to his hotel for some much-needed rest. First, however, he felt the need to call his girlfriend and tell her the good news. After giving Rufus and Tina the run of the place, he dialed her number.
"Hey, KP," he greeted when she answered. "Guess who's got himself a pad?" She congratulated him, and he described the place to her as well as he could.
"Now I just need some furniture and dishes and stuff," he sighed, thinking of how much that would cost. At least he'd received some money for his graduation from various relatives. He did perk up when he considered the fact that he could use his Smarty Mart discount for most of the things he would need.
"I'd be happy to help you shop," Kim offered. "I need to get some things for my dorm room, too. I won't have as much space to fill as you, but I'd like to personalize it a little. And I literally have almost nothing."
"You're willing to be seen at Smarty Mart?" Ron inquired cautiously, deciding not to dwell on the reference to the destruction of her house.
"For you, yes," she replied, and he could almost hear her rolling her eyes.
"I can bring my computer, desk, and chair from my room at home," he mused thoughtfully. "That'll probably turn into Hana's new playroom anyway."
"What about your bed?"
"It's kind of big for the space I have, and I don't even want to think about hauling it all the way up here. Maybe I'll just get a futon."
"Get two. Then you can use the second one for a couch," Kim suggested.
"That is one bon-diggety idea, KP!" Ron enthused. "Then it can be a bed if you want to sleep over."
There was a lengthy, awkward silence, and Ron could feel himself blushing. He hadn't really meant that to be suggestive, but it occurred to him that it kind of came out that way, even if he was implying separate beds.
"Um, I mean, if I wanted to host anyone," he began babbling. "And, you know, if you came over some evening, and it got late, and you just wanted to…uh…crash…." He was running out of words, but KP still wasn't saying anything. "I didn't mean…um…."
"I know what you meant," she said quietly. "You didn't say anything wrong. It's…well, it just hit me that we're really doing this. I mean, we'll be basically out on our own in less than two months. No curfews, no hovering parents."
"Yeah, I guess." Ron was still uncomfortable but working to get past it. "We've had a lot of freedom on our missions, though."
"That was different. There was always something important to be done, and it was only occasionally that we'd be gone for more than a day. This will be every day, with us deciding what to do and when. It's…liberating."
"You're not going to go all crazy on me, are you, KP?" Ron asked, getting genuinely concerned. He'd heard about people going off to college and letting the new sense of freedom go to their heads. Considering the amount of independence the Drs. Possible had allowed their daughter, KP was just about the last person he would have imagined going that route, but something in her tone was worrying him.
"What? No, of course not!" She laughed on the other end. "So not the drama! I'm just realizing new possibilities, that's all. Well, good night."
"Good night, KP." Ron frowned at the phone after hanging up. Rufus, perhaps sensing his friend's mood, jumped up onto the bed in front of him. Ron sighed and stretched, getting ready to go through his evening routine. "Why don't I feel reassured?"
Author's Note: Who'd have guessed that Ron would turn out to be the responsible one at this juncture? Maybe he can have a steadying influence on Kim. Incidentally, kudos to the people who caught the Phineas & Ferb reference.
Sorry about the long delay. I just got back from Disney World a few days ago, where we did a Kim Possible mission in France! Good times.
Review Responses:
screaming phoenix: Yeah, I actually did look up naked mole rats to provide some accurate information.
Katsumara: Oh, I'm sure there are some ships out there I wouldn't write well, but that's why I don't write them! I put a little more Kim and Ron into this one, and I thought Ron handled the apartment rental situation quite well.
Boris Yeltsin: Did I ever respond to your message? If not, sorry, but I did receive it. SWAC ideas would be okay, especially oneshot ideas. I really only have the one I'm currently working on.
CajunBear73: I used this chapter to tease about some things that might happen eventually. I expect Tina will warm up to Kim over time – and maybe help keep her out of trouble!
savingkp: Yeah, working on it.
snarky Beth: You mean, you can't think of a reason Ron would want to learn ballroom dancing? Ah well, all shall be revealed in time. Besides, he's got the added agility of the Monkey Master now.:)
Ron Hakubi: I've only recently entered the world of Kim Possible fanfiction, and this story is really my first foray into Kim/Ron stories (the rest being Drakken/Shego). I did some online research about Middleton and decided to be different, although I do have logistical reasons for its more easterly location.