The two girls watched the two guys walk out to face each other with several yards between them. With a slight nod from each other, they stepped into fighting stances. To the redhead, it seemed like an unfair fight. The man was a good head and shoulders taller than her friend and almost twice as wide at the shoulders. She knew Ron had become a better fighter, but this was still Ron. "Do they spar like this often?" the teen hero worried.

"Every once in a while. It helps Ron to get used to fighting in life or death situations. He's trying to get over the whole run away thing," Bonnie said, nonchalantly.

Kim watched as the two men slowly circled each, looking for the right opening. It was kind of weird seeing her partner like this. It wasn't often she saw the look of fierce determination in his eyes or such grace in his movements. He was only like this when her life was in danger on missions.

Suddenly, the larger man leapt forward with a quick jab. Spinning as the punch came, the blonde boy spun into a heel kick. Jonathon grabbed Ron's ankle and kicked the boy's other leg out from under him. Falling, the boy rolled back over his shoulder and immediately flipped into a side roll over the incoming low roundhouse kick.

Before Jonathon can regain his stance, Ron snapped out a sweep kick forcing the large man to fall into the shoulder roll and twist around in a standing position. Suddenly, the blonde jumped on the man, placing one foot on the forward knee and the other in the crook of his elbow, holding the man's wrist for support to throw a right cross to the man's face. Deflecting the punch, Jonathon flexed to throw the young man to the ground.

Standing over the prone boy, the man went to stomp on his chest. Shifting quickly. Ron latched onto the man's leg and wrapped his leg around the man's thigh. Using his free foot, the boy kicked the back of Jonathon's other knee and used his leverage to take him down. As the large man falls, he used his momentum to send Ron flying with a kick of his leg. The young teen twisted in the air and slides a few feet, his fingers and toes leaving furrows in the dirt. Looking up, he saw Jonathon somersault through the air to strike with an axe kick. No time to dodge, Ron set his feet as best he could and crossed his arms in an x-block to catch the kick. Buckling some under the attack, dust kicked up to show there was more than physical force behind it. Holding the leg above him, the boy kicked his opponent in the back of the leg of his standing knee. Jonathon rolls back over his shoulder and hand springs to a standing position.

The large man attacked with a flurry of punches that Ron bent at the waist to dodge until ducking and rolling to stand behind Jonathon. Spinning for a backfist, the man watches the blonde duck backwards and grab his arm as it swings past him. Using the momentum of the attack, Ron sprung up for a roundhouse kick to the man's head. Catching the kick, he throws the boy to roll across the ground until he hit a tree. Dazed, the young boy used the tree to help stand only to see his opponent coming in fast with a punch.

Barely able to duck under the punch and roll away to safety, he heard the thick tree crack and splinter from the hit as it fell. Thinking fast, Ron flipped into the air for a kick that breaks the tree in half and lands in the space between the two sections. Slowly looking around, the blonde tried to sense where Jonathon was hiding for the next attack. Walking out to try to get a clearer area for a better position, he didn't see the attack until it was too late. Sliding in from the side, the man grabbed the back of Ron's neck and twisted his body to slam him to the ground as he put one foot to the boy's ankle and the other behind his knee. Keeping his grip on the blonde's neck, Jonathon planted his knee on the boy's lower back to further pin him. Unable to move, Ron slapped the ground three times to signal his acceptance of defeat.

Kim could only stare in disbelief as she watched the two guys laughing as they panted from the exertion. She couldn't hear what was being said, but her friend looked happy. Glancing over to the brunette beside her, she saw a look of open admiration but no sign of surprise at the skills shown. The redhead just sat in stunned silence as she watched Ron walk over to them and Jonathon walked off. Probably to get cleaned up.

The blonde plopped down next to Bonnie. "How about a kiss to reward your hero?" he asked.

Bonnie frowned at him. "No win, no kiss."

"Aw, I almost won. Can't I get one for trying really hard?" he pleaded, leaning in close.

The brunette giggled and put a hand to his chest to keep him at bay. "No, you're all dirty and sweaty. Make yourself presentable, and we'll see." She smiled as she watched him run off, a wide grin on his face.

The two girls silently petted the wolf in their laps for several minutes, neither sure what to say. "So, how long have you and Ron been dating?" Kim finally asked stiffly.

"We're not dating," the brunette demurred. "I know he would feel like he was taking advantage of a bad situation."

"But what about all the kissing and flirting?" the redhead girl asked, not hiding her surprise and confusion.

Bonnie blushed and answered meekly. "I sort of tricked him. Since he was helping me to learn self-defense, I would help him get used to being around other girls." Then she shyly added, "He's a great kisser, too."

"He hasn't figured out you like him, huh?" Kim asked, noticing the wistful tone to the other girl's words.

The brunette girl scowled, "No, he hasn't. Being friends with benefits isn't too bad. I can handle the situation for a while, though. How do you deal with it?"

Surprised, Kim stammered, "I have no idea what you mean. Ron and I are just friends. No benefits."

The tanned girl giggled. "I've seen the way you look at him sometimes. You're always quick to defend him. If there's something you can't handle, you go to Ron. He really appreciates that, too."

The redhead smiled, "I was afraid he resented me getting all the attention. I didn't know how to tell him he was always the distraction because he was so much better at it."

"He knows. It's the same reason he let's you lead. He watched you go into all these situations, and you immediately know what to do. In the end, all that matters to him is that you're ok."

"Is all your pillow talk about me?" Kim joked.

"We haven't been together like that. Ron feels it should be about the love two people share. He prefers my first time be with someone that can love me with all his heart."

"Your first?" Kim asked, surprised. "I thought you and Brikk had at least."

Bonnie smiled a little maliciously. "Boys just want one thing. If a girl knows what she's doing, she can control them without giving up anything. Ron's one of the exceptions. If I had had a friend like him my entire life, there's no doubt I would be a different person."

The redhead gave the other girl a small hug. "I find myself remembering how lucky I am to have him sometimes. Most people think it's the missions that keep me from getting serious with a guy. That's just an excuse. I keep comparing them to Ron. Some of them are cuter, or smarter, or more suave; but I never feel like they would do some of the things he's done. How do you respond when a guy says he would risk his life because he loves you, and all you can think is that Ron did it last week?" she said sadly. "And he was confused why it was such a big deal when it's what friends do," she said, exasperated.

"Is that how you figured out you like him?"

"It was one of the stretches where I wasn't dating anyone. I wondered about why it didn't really bother me. I read through my diary and saw the way I wrote about Ron."

"Why don't you ask him out?"

"He deserves someone better," she chuckled, half-heartedly. "I feel like I'm always abusing our friendship. I'm afraid the only reason he doesn't complain is because he feels friends forgive each other."
"Ron always talks about how wonderful you are," Bonnie consoled. "He's never said it outright, but I think he'd say yes."

"I'll have to think about it. Ron not sharing my feelings is one thing; I don't know what I'd do if I lost his friendship over it." Looking down at the wolf, "Does this guy ever get tired of belly rubs?"

"Nope. He'll pout when we have to leave and mope for a while after that."

Kim laughed when she heard the animal harrumph in indignation.

A/N

I'm quite surprised my chapters are considered short. But I can see how they can be seen that way. My goal is always to exceed one thousand words per chapter. It's a number that makes me feel like I've given something worthwhile. It's good to see speculations are forming as to what's going on. Hopefully, you all won't be disappointed as everything comes to a close in the next two chapters. The fight scene in this one was difficult because I can see the action in my mind, but I had difficulty describing it without being too wordy. If I could put it into a visual media, it would look awesome and probably only last a five minutes or so. Depiction of time is one of my weak points. Several months have passed since the first chapter, and the fight here is really spurts of action for the most part. As an added bonus, the second half inspired me to write a bit of a one-shot to explain some how Bonnie and Ron started their relationship. It should be up within a day, and it will be called Rainstorm Beginnings.