Disclaimer: Don't own KP

A Note from the Authoress: Okay, I'm slowly but surely catching up to where I should be in my word count. I'm only one day behind as of the end of this chapter. Stayed up last night to finish this . . . I think you'll be a bit surprised at how I chose to approach this chapter, and the lack of detail it goes into . . . but whatever. Just another chapter of NaNo drivel.

Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter Three

The Mankeys lived in a relatively large house on the outskirts of Middleton, Colorado. It wasn't as big as his own by any means, and from what he knew of Mrs. Mankey's work, and how much he paid Josh, they could certainly afford more. But it was that kind of house: the sort that says 'we can afford more than this'. It was well maintained, with a little flower garden in the front yard.

He'd always thought it rather odd that Josh had no children, or at least he assumed he didn't have any. He'd never mentioned anything of the sort, and now, looking at the house, saw no tree house or toys littering the yard. The only thing even close was the little swing hanging from a tree in the front yard. There were no children.

He could just imagine Josh pushing his wife on that swing, long hours of summer romance, free of the pressures of work and worries of what others think. He envied Josh for that, for being able to live like that, without fear and loneliness; to be loved.

He made his way up the steps, hands in his pockets. He was nervous, though he wasn't entirely sure why. After all, it was just Josh . . . and his wife. His wife; his high school sweetheart. That was something he'd never had, something in his life he'd missed, and he'd never be able to regain.

He rang the doorbell.

There was a little scuffling from inside, and then the door opened.

The woman on the other side smiled at him, tucking a lock of red hair behind her ear. Her eyes were green and youthful, although he assumed she was the same age as Josh, and thus, himself as well. "Hi," she greeted, offering her hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Hi," he grinned, shaking her hand, a bit awestruck. "It'sa pleasureto meet you, too, Mrs. Mankey."

She blushed. "Actually, it's Ms. Possible."

He gave her a confused look, still holding onto her hand. She didn't seem to be complaining.

"I . . . errr . . . I kept my maiden name. Professional reasons." She tightened her grip on his hand. "You can call me Kim, though, if you'd like."

His goofy grin narrowed as he remembered that this woman was off limits, an untouchable. She was his best friend's wife. "Call me Ron," he said softly, offering a genuine, friendly smile.

"Ron," she repeated, as if testing the word on her tongue.

Josh appeared behind her and Ron instantly released her hand. "Hey, man," he said, a little disappointed at losing the contact. But then even that took second place to the fact that Josh was wearing a pink frilly apron. He snickered. After all, even he didn't wear that when he cooked. "Nice apron, Josh. Or is it a pinafore?"

Josh responded by prodding him with the handle of a wooden spoon, before shaking his hand and patting his back in that common best friend manner. They quickly made their way inside and Kim took his jacket before leading him into the dining room.

"Just putting on some finishing touches!" Josh called from the kitchen.

Ron politely pulled out a chair for Kim, nudging it in for her after she was seated. "Thank you," she said quietly.

He simply smiled and took the seat next to her. He stole a few glances at her, simultaneously wondering what was taking Josh so long, and hoping he'd never return. "So," he began, attempting to break the uncomfortable silence that was quickly falling on them. "Josh tells me you're quite accomplished. What exactly do you do?"

She seemed to almost consider the question for a moment. "A little of this, a little of that." She grinned.

He smiled back at her. "You're weird."

"So are you," she countered, then lowered her voice to a bare whisper. "But I like you."

They began laughing quietly. She blushed.

Josh entered, backing his way through the kitchen door, several dishes balanced in his arms. He set them down on the table, took his seat, and the long awaited dinner finally began.

Ron was trying his best to mind his manners throughout dinner, but occasionally Josh caught him with a big glob of cheese hanging off the side of his mouth. He'd sheepishly dab at it with his napkin, and Kim would simply laugh or make some lighthearted comment on males and their eating habits, among other stereotypes that one of the two men in her presence managed to fit.

He learned in time about their families. Josh was an only child, and his parents and Kim's family still lived in their hometown. Josh's parents had retired early; Ron didn't catch what from. He then learned that both of Kim's parents had PhDs, her father in astrophysics and her mom in neurology. Her twin brothers were designing weaponry for the military; something they were apparently skilled at (which Josh assured was true, as he had been their test subject many a time in their youth) and enjoyed doing (again, torturing any boy that came near their sister).

They seemed like good, interesting people. He wanted to meet them one day, Ron thought.

Ron had thought that because he got along all right with Josh, that he could instantly be considered his best friend. But now he was realizing that this was not the case. He and Josh were different, there was no denying it. Ron had what were in high school considered 'dorky' interests without the natural intelligence to balance them out, and a habit of making a fool of himself, while Josh was cool, calm, collected . . . everything he wasn't. Not that Mrs. Mankey – Kim – was much different from her husband in that respect, but she seemed to have a kindness about her that Josh didn't.

Not that Josh wasn't kind, of course, but he showed it in a different way. He had a feeling that Josh wouldn't have gotten within ten feet of him before he'd managed to climb the ladder to success, meanwhile Kim seemed the type who was genuinely charmed by his lack of wit, that compatibility that would have drawn them together and that friendliness that would have held them.

Not that there would have ever been any romantic relations between them; it was not that sort of compatibility. As Josh had said, she'd been at the top of what he referred to as 'the food chain', and he belonged to the bottom of that same food chain. The two ends were never to meet, as it was against what he called 'the rules'. But, he imagined, should they have met before the rules or the food chain came into effect (in other words, some time before puberty), they would have been the best of friends, inseparable at the least.

He imagined he'd seen it in her eyes, too, when she'd laugh over her glass of wine and look at him, when she listened intently to his stories of the major issues going on in the Bueno Nacho world. He felt this undeniable urge to know her, to be her friend, if only to have another in his greedy quest for some semblance of a social life.

But he could not deny his attraction to her, the way he wondered, what would it be like to kiss her? To just reach over and take her hand as Josh did so often? To touch her hair? To take her to bed with him? No, it wasn't some perverted desire to sleep with his best friend's wife, but a personal attraction to this woman whom he'd only just met, but felt he'd known forever.

Presently, Josh reached over and clasped his hand with his wife's, bending toward her to whisper something in her ear before planting a gentle kiss on it. Ron smiled sadly at them, wondering how lovers know when and what to do to please one another. He felt his ineptitude like a barrier between him and the happiness the Mankeys shared. He'd never find love like that; he couldn't see himself with anyone like that.

"So, Ron," Kim asked with a smile. "Do you travel much? I'm sure your career must take you to lots of exciting places."

"Sometimes. But I don't get to enjoy it much," he admitted.

"You never get to enjoy anything," quipped Josh.

"Umm, excuse me," Ron began in mock offense. "I'm enjoying this wonderful meal right now, with you wonderful people."

They all laughed.

"Then what's your favorite place to visit?" asked a curious Kim.

"Japan," Ron replied instantly.

"Really?" Josh said while pouring his wife another glass of wine. "You've never mentioned going there."

"I don't get to a lot," Ron admitted, a morose quality overcoming his previously chipper demeanor. "But I first went there when I was in high school, and I loved it."

"Family vacation?" Kim supplied.

Ron shook his head, downing his wine. "Foreign exchange student."

"Ooh, fun," Kim cooed.

The rest of the night was filled with conversation and laughter, and with every passing moment, Ron became more attached to the woman known as Kim Possible. She was beautiful, true, but more than that, he respected her for her intelligence and personality. When he'd said she was weird, he wasn't entirely wrong, but he realized it was a good thing; she was an amazing person.

Around ten, the phone rang, and Josh had to take it (one of his underlings was treading the line of being fired, if only he'd known the CEO was just a few feet away!). When the call lasted longer than expected, Kim showed Ron to the door. "I apologize for my husband," she said.

"Oh, it's no big deal," Ron replied.

Kim smiled, then said softly, "It was very nice meeting you."

"The pleasure was all mine," he responded, nervously scratching the back of his neck.

"We should . . . talk some more sometime," she suggested.

He smiled. "I'd like that." He shook her hand and began heading down the steps.

"Goodnight, Ron," she called out to him.

"Goodnight, Kim."

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