A/N Ok I reworked the end of this chapter. I'd left something out that I intened to add later but it just worked better now. Again thanks to WesUAH for his review and all of you who have taken the time to read this story.

Morning came quicker then he had hoped. His body ached all over and more sleep was all he wanted, that or a hot shower. Looking over he found a reason to smile, lying curled up next to him was a special red headed girl. They had gotten in late and had been completely exhausted after there fight with the two vigilantes. Collapsing on the first thing they found, which thankfully was the couch, they had fallen asleep immediately.

Carefully he disengaged and after pulling the blanket back up to cover her he moved towards his room. After closing the door he stripped off his mission clothes and pulled on a pair of shorts. Making his way to the bathroom he turned the water on and waited for it to get hot. As he waited he looked at his reflection in the mirror, another black eye stared back at him. Sighing he walked back over to the shower and climbed in; the water was hot and went to work on his muscles. He stayed in just long enough to feel like a well done lobster. Drying off he wrapped the towel around him and went through his after shower routine. Still wrapped in a towel he grabbed his shorts and headed back into his room to grab a clean set of clothes. He wasn't paying much attention as he shut the door and dropped the towel and shorts to the floor. Opening the top drawer of his dresser he heard a noise behind him. Slowly he turned his head and caught a glimpse of red disappearing under the covers of his bed.

"KIM what are you doing in here?" His face was several shades of red in a matter of seconds. Quickly he grabbed the pair of shorts he'd had on earlier.

"Sorry Ron the couch is comfortable and all but it doesn't match up with a bed." The reply was muffled. "You decent yet or do I have to keep under the covers." The comments came out between giggles.

"Yeah yeah, real funny. You can come out now." As she came out he threw his wet towel at her. "Next time give a guy some warning." His face was still very red.

"I'll make sure to remember and do that." Her voice dropped to an almost mumble. "Maybe." Ron turned to glare at her but found the smile on her face to infectious. Sitting on the bed he leaned across her.

"So, do you want me to cook some breakfast or do you want to go back to sleep?" She stuck both arms over her head and stretched the covers pulled back slightly exposing her shoulders. Ron realized that she was no longer wearing her shirt, the blush returned to his face. "Uh Kim did you, um, lose something on the way in here." A seductive smile crept onto her face. She reached out and teasingly ran a finger along his ear.

"I didn't lose anything, I just don't have it with me any longer." She sat up wrapping the sheet around her. "I wasn't going to climb into a bed with my dirty mission clothes on. As for your first question I think breakfast sounds really good." Leaning over she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Unless you really want to get more sleep." He smiled at her warmly.

"As nice as that would be I'm already up, besides…" He paused to wipe a smudge from her cheek. "You could stand a shower yourself." He jumped up quickly to dodge the pillow that came at him. "Got to be faster then that KP." He stood grinning at her, the second pillow didn't miss. "Now that we've established that you are up there is a fresh towel in the bottom drawer. I'll have breakfast done shortly so don't take to long in there." Grabbing a shirt off the back of the chair he headed into the kitchen closing the door behind him.

Getting up Kim went to the dresser and grabbed the towel out of the drawer. Next she went to the closet, she always kept a few things in there. As she dug around she came across a shirt and her eyes lit up, grabbing it she headed quickly to the bathroom. The water felt great but she kept her time short remembering that Ron had said breakfast wouldn't take long. She dried off and put on the shirt she had gotten out of Ron's closet. Smiling she left the bathroom.

Ron heard the door open and looked at the clock. Smiling at least she didn't take to long he thought. He was just finishing up with the Belgium waffles, pulling the last one off the iron. Looking up he saw Kim coming into the room. At first he didn't notice but something he stuck in his mind, then he realized what it was. She was wearing one of his jerseys and then a second realization hit him, she didn't look like she had anything else on. Although the jersey hung to her knees he couldn't stop himself from staring at her.

"I believe that is one of mine." She looked down at herself, then back up at him.

"Yep, but I think it looks better on me." She did a small turn. "So is breakfast ready smells like it is."

"Oh yeah it is, hope your hungry for waffles." He grabbed the two plates and set them on the table, he then pulled out the chair for Kim. She smiled and took her seat. As Ron was about to sit they heard something from the hall.

"What was that, sounded like shouting."

"I'll take a look." He moved towards the door but didn't go very far before it became apparent that it was an argument they were hearing. "A little early for that kind of fight, especially in the hall." The shouting continued there were only two voices, one male the other female.

"We really shouldn't be listening to this."

"And how can we not, they're being so loud I don't think the stereo would drowned them out." Scratching the back of his neck he shrugged. Turning to head back to his chair he jumped as the hall door was flung open.

"I don't want to talk about it so this discussion is over." The heat rolled from Steve's voice.

"Don't give me that "only my opinion matters" crap. You're going to get yourself killed." Gwen was hot on his heals as he headed for his room. He quickly spun and jammed his face into hers.

"When it concerns me and only me then only my opinion MATTERS." Neither of the two noticed the four eyes watching them.

"FINE, go ahead and behave like a brain dead jock."

"Better then a washed out has been acting like a slacker." The words slammed into to her like a truck. She visibly shrank at the comment tears moistening her eyes. Steve held his anger for a moment longer until he realized what he'd just said. His face fell as he tried in vain to find a way to take back his comment. "I…didn't…I mean I." Covering her mouth Gwen bolted from the room tears streaming down her face.

Both Kim and Ron stood there in shocked silence. There wasn't anything to say, not at the moment. All of the color was lost from Steve as he turned and staggered towards his room gently shutting the door.

"What in the heck is going on out here?" Cam asked rubbing his face. "Sounds like the start of world war 3." Looking up he stared at Kim and Ron. "You two aren't having a fight are you?"

"Not us dude. It was Steve and Gwen, why they were so mad at each other I haven't a clue."

"Where did they go?" Cam was looking around the room.

"Steve went to his room and Gwen ran out of here."

"We should go talk to them find out what is going on." Kim started back towards Ron's room. She only made it a few steps before Ron grabbed her shoulder.

"Hold up KP, I don't think charging after them is such a good idea."

"He's right, now is not the best time." Kim looked between the two of them with shock on her face. "We need to give them a chance to collect there own thoughts before we try to dig them out. Pushing the issue right now will only make them bury it deeper." Kim stood there for a moment letting what Cam had said sink in.

"Ok we'll wait, for now." Her eyes flashed for a moment. "But we will talk to them tonight."

"That really isn't…" Ron was behind Kim who was staring at Cam viciously shaking his head. "Going to be a problem I'll be here." He pasted a smile on his face and decided to change the subject. "So what are you two going to be doing today? It looks like you must have had fun last night." His smile turned into a smirk as he raised an eyebrow. Both Kim and Ron responded to the comment with a confused look.

"We were out last night but I wouldn't call it having fun." She was about to continue when fabric rubbed against her leg, looking down she was struck with the fact that she was wearing one of Ron's shirts. "Uh this isn't really what it looks like." Her face matched her hair as she attempted to move past Cam. "I think I'll change into something more group appropriate." She ran into the room and shut the door.

"I'm sorry but that was funny." Cam managed before busting up. He caught his breath a moment later. "I hope I didn't ruin anything romantic. You know the great breakfast after the great night." His eyebrows wagged up and down on his face.

"Not like that Cam. We got in late last night and she crashed here." Red was evident on his face but his tone was serious. "We decided pretty early on that we wouldn't take it to that point for a while."

"Hey you don't need to explain anything to me I was just playing. Whether you are or not is not mine or anybody else's business." Rubbing his chin he thought for a moment. "You two have a great thing and I'm glad to see you aren't rushing into anything." The door reopened and Kim stepped back into the room. "Good to see you in more group friendly attire, not saying that the other outfit wasn't good." The look he received should have killed him.

"Keep talking and we'll have to see if you can stay in such a good mood with a broken jaw." Ice was warmer then the comment but the twinkle in her eyes told that she wasn't taking the jest to heart.

"I guess we should eat before it gets any colder."

"OH what are we having?" Two pairs of eyes burned holes into the older man.

The day dragged on as Kim had tried to come up with a way to talk to Gwen without causing her to shut down. Everything she came up with involved her marching up to Gwen and basically forcing her to talk. This is going to be harder then I thought. She was so deep in thought she didn't hear the person in the room with her until they sat down next to her. Looking over quickly it was Kari who had sat down.

"You look like you could use some help."

"For the girl who can do anything I sure can't come up with a tactful way to approach this." Kim rubbed her forehead. "I take it Cam told you what's up." Kari nodded. "I don't even know where to begin. I mean why the heck were they so mad at each other and why did Gwen take his comment so badly. It wasn't nice by any means but still." Kari just sat there with a smile on her face. "What?"

"Think about it for a second, you'll get it." Kim sat there for a moment but still didn't know where Kari was going. "Not just today but all year."

Kim thought back over the many weeks of school. This wasn't the first oddity that had occurred between the two. Gwen always seemed to take a special interest in Steve, always seemed to know what he had been up to. Steve seemed protective of Gwen as well as supportive of any choice she made. She thought for a moment longer before speaking.

"They seem very close almost as if they were…" Her eyes pushed into the bulging stage as she looked to Kari.

"I see you figured it out, I knew you would."

"They can't be dating, I mean why wouldn't they tell anybody, this doesn't make any sense."

"Since when did relationships make any sense." Kari raised an eyebrow with a smirk on her lips.

"How did you know? Did they tell you?"

"Not at all, I just saw everything that was going on and put 2 and 2 together. Wasn't really all that hard."

"If it wasn't so hard why didn't I see it?" Kim asked sternly. She didn't like missing something that should have been obvious.

"That is another thing about relationships, they require a lot of attention. You were busy with your own and not looking at what everybody else was doing."

"Well at least now I know what the problem is, the real challenge now is what do I do about it?"

"You want my advice?"

"At this point I think you're the only one who won't make things worse."

"Just talk to her. Don't push her and I mean that." Kim shot her an innocent look. "Yeah you know what I'm talking about. Be there to listen."

"How do you know so much?"

"I'm just good." Kari replied. "I've got to run, just remember what I told you." With that she got up and headed for the door. "One more thing, sometimes things are not as clear as you've been lead to believe and sometimes they aren't as bad."

"I hope Ron will know what he is doing." She said to herself.

She had some how managed to find a spot where she could be alone and not likely to be found. The tears had stopped long ago but the hurt still lingered. Deep down she knew he hadn't meant what he said but she just couldn't shake it.

"Nice place you have here mind if I sit down?"

"How did you find me?"

"The girl who can do anything, remember." Kim sat across from her. "Besides not that many places to go in this building." She waited for an opening to continue talking but one wasn't forth coming, so she waited. After several minutes Gwen sighed and looked up at her.

"Why did he have to say that? I know he was mad and everything but that was so cold." Her eyes were beginning to moisten.

"I don't know, in fact I don't really know what's going on. Want to tell me about it?" She cringed at the last comment hoping that she hadn't pushed too much.

"Well I guess you've probably figured by now that we aren't just friends." Kim nodded even though she hadn't figured it herself. "He's such a great guy but sometimes he just doesn't think before he leaps, always trying to live life to its fullest. I think it has something to do with his dad."

"Why do you say that?"

"Long story, better told by Steve." Her eyes grew dark for a moment.

"Ok. So why did he call you a washed up has been?" The look she got was one of regret. "Uh if you don't mind me asking."

"No it's ok. I was a gymnast growing up, I was good, really good. My parents pushed me to hard though and I just got burned out. So one day in high school I decided I'd only do what I wanted to do and if I wanted to do nothing then so be it." She gave a weak smile. "The 'rents didn't take it so well. The only person that really understood was Steve and he helped me through it."

"How did he help you through it didn't you just say this happened back in high school." Gwen nodded. "You mean…"

"Yep known each other since middle school." Steve was sitting on the top floor of the parking garage, his legs hanging over the edge. "Good friends to. After awhile we became closer."

"Why the secret? If you two have been together this long why hide it?"

"Mostly to keep her parents from finding out. They think I was the one who convinced her to give up gymnastics." He picked up a pebble and absentmindedly tossed it off the edge. "Out here though I guess we really didn't have to but it was kind of a routine for us."

"Now I know what the meaning of the comment is, which by the way was not the smoothest thing to say, but what were you to arguing about?"

"Remember when I told you that my dad got hurt?"

"Yeah." Ron's eyes narrowed.

"Well, it wasn't an accident, I mean it was but it shouldn't have happened. He stopped at a gas station one night to grab something. There was this kid who thought robbing the place was a good idea. When he saw my dad walking towards the door he panicked and the gun went off. The bullet lodged near my dad's spine." He stopped for a moment and took a breath. "After everything settled down I realized that in life you have to do what you want."

"That still didn't answer my question."

"Well I was doing something she didn't think I should be doing and she tried to tell me to stop." He gave a lopsided grin. "Woman, always looking out for us regardless if we want them to or not."

"You said it. Mind if I ask what you were doing?"

"I don't mind at all, I'm just not going to tell you."

"Uh." Ron wasn't prepared for that response in the least. "Why not?"

"Don't worry about it, isn't really that big of a thing." Ron was getting the feeling that it was more then no big thing. "Anyway thanks for the talk man, I guess I should go talk to Gwen now."

"I'd hold up on that until you're sure Kim isn't still with her." Steve paled at the thought. "Yeah, scary thought. Take it easy dude." Ron watched as Steve walked away. For a moment he thought he saw what looked to be bandages sticking out from his collar.

"So he's been going out and doing something that is both dangerous and could get him into trouble." Gwen nodded. "And you don't want to say what it is because of that reason." She nodded again. "And you were fighting because he did get hurt and you wanted him to stop." Another nod. Kim took a deep breath before continuing. "Ok as much as I want to I'm not going to push this but you should think about telling someone if you can't get him to stop."

"I will, I'm just worried how he'll react if I do. I guess I should be lucky that he lets me go with him."

"That's something I suppose. It's starting to get late you want to get something to eat?"

"No I still need some time to think. You go on and thanks for talking to me." Gwen waved as she walked away she still looked tired but not as upset.