I don't own a thing, Disney does.
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The Twists and Turns of Love – Chapter 3
When they got to Bueno Nacho, Ron began to calm down, but he still wouldn't tell her what he and her dad had talked about. Instead, they just sat across from each other, an uncomfortable silence lingering between them, the only sound was Rufus munching happily on his nachos. It was Kim who finally broke the silence.
"Ron, something other than the talk with my dad is bothering you, isn't it?"
Ron just looked up, and she could see the troubled look on his face. "It's nothing KP."
Kim just took his hand in hers, smiling. "Come on Ron, you can tell me anything, you know that!"
"I know, but it's just going to sound really stupid." When he saw she wasn't going to give up, he sighed, resigned to the fact he would have to tell her. "It's just, I thought so much about this, you and me, especially after the moodulators, and now that it's happened, I'm not even sure if it's real. I mean, is this another modulator thing, or mind control, or even that your just rebounding, and I…"
Kim placed a finger on his lips, silencing him. She stood up, and moved to sit down beside him, Ron watching her the whole time. She kept one hand in his the whole time, and when she looked him back in the eyes, he thought he could see what she was feeling.
"Ron, this isn't any of those things. I've had the same feelings for a while now too, but I was too scared to say anything. If you hadn't said anything, I probably still would be denying to myself how I felt. I choose you!" And with that, she kissed him. It was just a light one at first, and when they broke, they looked into each other's eyes again.
Ron couldn't help but shake a little bit, relief flooding through him. He knew he was being stupid, but he couldn't help those nagging doubts that crept in. He smiled, that goofy grin that he knew Kim liked so much. "I think I might need just a little more convincing!"
Kim just laughed. "Oh really?"
They kissed again, their lips twined together. Neither heard the tell tale beep of the Kimmunicator.
"Hey guys, I was just…"
Wade's eyes went wide, but he was no where near as shocked as he was the last time. He instantly went into mission mode.
"Hold on guys, I'm scanning to see what's going on here. I'm not reading any energy signatures, so there are no devices. Body chemistry seems fine, though pulse and respiration are slightly elevated. Did Drakken hit you with any kind of ray beams?"
The two teens were looking at the young boy as scan after scan shot out from the device. They both realized at the same time that there was someone they had neglected to tell.
"Wade, its all right. There is nothing wrong."
"Kim, there is something wrong. You two are not displaying normal behavior here!"
Ron just laughed. "Wade, chill, it's all normal. KP and me just decided… you know… to start dating."
Wade just looked at them incredulously. "When did this happen?"
"Um… last night, just before we went back to the prom. Sorry we didn't tell you, I kinda figured you would have figured it out."
Kim just smiled. "Well, at least someone didn't think we'd be getting together for the past year." Ron and Wade just turned to look at her, confused expressions lit on their faces. "I was talking to Monique this morning, and apparently, the whole school had been figuring this would happen months ago. And then my mom said the same thing last night."
Wade just shook his head. "OK, this is going to take some getting used to, I guess. Anyways, the reason I called is because the press is really hitting the sight hard. Interview requests, talk shows, articles, that sort of thing."
"Yeah, I saw them parked on the front lawn. Can't we just do a standard press release, like we always do?"
"I tried that, they still want more. I've had to start screening the hits, just to make sure we don't miss a real trouble request."
"All right. I guess we'll have to give them something. Thanks Wade! Anything else?"
"Yeah, just wanted to check and see how that holographic wall was doing that I gave to your parents?"
"Oh, it's doing fine, at least until the Tweebs got a hold of it."
Wade just laughed. "Yeah, I saw that on the morning news. It's a good thing you're a morning person!"
"WADE!"
"Oops, gotta run!"
The screen went dark as Kim grabbed the Kimmunicator and Ron just laughed.
"It's not that funny, Ron!"
"Actually KP, I think it is!"
She gave him a playful swat, before tucking the Kimmunicator back in her pocket and standing up. "Come on. I guess we should take care of the press now, and get it out of the way."
Ron just smiled. "Good idea. That way, they don't interrupt what I have planned for us tonight!"
Kim's eyes lit up at that. "So you do have something planned. Tell me?"
"Nope, you'll have to find out when we get there."
"Aww… come on, just a little hint?"
"Nope. You're not breaking the Stoppable defenses on this one!"
"Pwease Ronnie?"
Ron quickly averted his gaze before Kim was able to unleash her most dreaded weapon, the puppy dog pout. He knew if he saw that, there would be no way he could resist telling her, and he had waited for this night for so long, he didn't want to spoil it now.
"Nope, not going to work, KP.
She kept it up for a full minute before she realized he wasn't going to crack. Taking his hand in hers, she relented "Fine, you win."
Ron just grinned at her. "I sure did, the minute I told you how I felt."
Kim just shook her head and laughed.
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"Andy, I swear, all I did was scare the boy!"
Andrea stood with her arms crossed over her chest, not exactly looking very happy with her husband. "I saw him when he left here. Ron was terrified! You will apologize to him when they get back here, or you will find things to be very… quiet… for the next few weeks!"
His jaw dropped when he realized what she meant. There was only one answer he could give.
"All right, I'll apologize."
She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. "Thank you hon!"
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"And that's what happened. Any questions?"
Kim and Ron stood at the front of her house, a small podium erected to make answering questions easier, reporters crowding in from all sides. Ron looked very uncomfortable, especially when Kim pulled him over to stand beside her, holding his hand, as she related the entire diablo incident to them.
A multitude of questions came poring at them, but it was one in the front that she wanted to answer.
"There are rumours that you and you're partner (she liked this person right off for not saying sidekick) have started a relationship. Is that true?"
Kim just smiled and looked over at Ron. He was looking at her expectantly, not really sure what she would say. With a quick move, she wrapped her free arm around his neck, and before he could react, pulled him in for a quick kiss. When they parted, he looked stunned.
"Booyah!"
The reporters just laughed at this, as Kim turned back to face them. "Yes, it is true. Now, we have to get ready for our date tonight, so any further questions, please direct them to Rufus."
Kim took Ron's arm, as he still seemed a little stunned, and walked through the hologram into the house. Rufus now stood on the podium, lowering the mike. When he was ready he just looked over at them. "Yes?"
The reporters just looked at each other, clearly quite confused, not sure how to react. One finally got up the courage, obviously from a tabloid. "What does synthodrone taste like?"
"Blechh. Next!"
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"I can't believe you did that!"
Kim just laughed as she held his hand. "I can't either. That was fun!"
Ron leaned in to kiss her, and they enjoyed themselves in that moment.
"Ronald, can I speak with you?"
Kim found herself on the floor as she watched Ron literally jump three feet into the air, coming down on the other side of the couch, ducking for cover. She looked over to see her father, standing there, a slightly worried look on his face. Her mom came rushing in when she heard Ron, and moved over to him.
"Ronald… I… just want to talk with you."
"Dad, don't you think you've scared him enough?"
"Kimmie-cub, I…"
"Don't Kimmie-cub me Dad, I've never seen Ron this scared before! I…"
"Kimmie." Kim paused when she heard her mother's voice behind her. "Your father just wants to talk to Ron. It will be fine."
Kim looked between her parents, seeing the look of concern on both their faces, and decided to trust her mom.
James's voice was full of regret when he spoke again. "Ronald, can we talk briefly?"
Ron was visibly shaking. "Umm… sure Mr. Dr. P."
"Come on Kimmie, let's leave these two alone."
"But mom, I…" She saw the look on her face, and decided to follow her mother out.
James watched them leave and then sat down on the couch. Ron sat on the far end, and seemed to be trying to keep as far away as possible. When he saw how Ron was acting, he instantly regretted everything he had done. He had wanted to scare him, not terrify him with his very presence. He almost felt sick at the thought that he could have done this to someone he thought of almost as a son.
"Ronald, I… wanted to apologize for the way I acted earlier. I shouldn't have gone so far with things. I just wanted so much to protect Kimmie, and I should have known you would never do anything to hurt her, that you've been there protecting her as well. I'm sorry!"
"It… it's no big sir!"
"No, it is! I shouldn't have done that!" James turned to the young man. There was no longer the fear in his eyes that he had first seen there, and for that he was glad. "You've been like a son to us for so long, and I shouldn't have done that to you." He placed a comforting hand on Ron's shoulder, and was glad when the young man didn't flinch. "I'm just glad the two of you have realized your feelings for each other, for real this time."
Ron just smiled. "Thanks Mr. Dr. P."
James smiled as well. "Let's see how they're doing in the kitchen, shall we?"
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"He did what?"
"Your father is really sorry about it Kimmie. That's why he's apologizing to Ron right now. I don't think he expected it to be as bad as it did. Try not to be too mad with him."
Their conversation paused as they watched Ron and James enter the kitchen, his hand gently on Ron's shoulder.
"Is everything OK, Ron?"
Ron just smiled. "No big! But I should get going if I want to get everything ready for tonight!" The smile that lit Kim's face made all his concerns disappear. With a quick look to her father, who just nodded, he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll see you tonight! Oh, and this definitely won't be casual!"
Kim could only stare after him as he took off, scooping up Rufus who had just come in. She sighed lightly, as her parents shared a knowing smile between them.
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Author's Notes – I'll be alternating between this and "Life Changes", the Shego story (no longer a one-shot when I realized what fun I could have with it) for a little bit, so after this I'll be putting together a few chapters of that. Which mean, I'll probably be a couple days before updating this (for my regulars, that is a long time), and the sequel to "Redemption" will probably be a couple weeks, as I get all these story ideas out of my head. As it is, I already have story ideas for after that, which I can't pull off until then. I have months of work ahead of me here, but I'm loving it!
I'd like to thank the following for their reviews;
Charizardag – Glad you enjoyed. Nice to see a non-regular reviewing!
Campy – I've been scared to do Monique, she's the one person I don't have someone in my life to relate to, which makes her a challenge. Most of my characters, they are just modified versions of people I know. Like the Tweebs, I just think of my own two brothers. They're not twins, but they might as well have been. As for James, he definitely wasn't exactly on the good side of the women in the family.
MrDrP – You have to love the Tweebs, so much fun… provided you didn't live with your own set
Mobius97 and mattb3671 – And its so easy to picture, isn't it!
Redemption feedback
Worker72 – Oh, I agree. Being messed in the head definitely helps!