KP – One Oh One: Part XLI – Alone Together
Sleeping with Kim was getting to be a very pleasant distraction, considering it happened more and more often. Of course, there had always been the opportunities during missions, but most of the time he was relegated to sleeping in a completely different room. Of course, that was still okay, since that was his lot in life, but when he did have the chance he relished it. There were all sorts of interesting places on her where he could rest his heat, plus she smelled nice, especially her hair. He could curl in close proximity to it and just breath it in. Even after she switched from that lavender shampoo to one that was supposed to be mangos and mandarin oranges, he still loved to just lay there and take it all in.
Of course, all too often he got not only kicked out of the bed, but out of the room as well by an irate male, much to his consternation. Oh, he didn't show his disappointment, except for a very brief scowl, but it was always a very temporary thing. Very soon everyone would be asleep and he would sneak back in so he could curl up in her feminine warmth. He was actually starting to wonder exactly why he was always being kicked out. Kim seemed to want him there and it always appeared to him that if Kim wants it, Kim gets it.
Rufus was sometimes confused by 'his humans.' In his mind, they had become mates some time ago, at that dance in late spring. Another spring was rapidly approaching, marking two years since they had been together, yet in all that time, with all the chances they had, they hadn't actually mated. Even though they often sent him elsewhere when they wanted to be alone, he could somehow tell that hadn't quite happened yet, though they danced all around it.
Still, even to his surprisingly perceptive mind, their hesitation was really nothing more than a source of confusion. The way they felt about each other was as clear to him as the difference between night and day, and that was far more important to him as to whether they took steps to ensure their genes were passed down to another generation. He long ago came to the realization that they were only just reaching true adulthood and 'mating' would come soon enough.
Relegating things that confused him to the back of his mind, he concentrated more fully on the here and now. Specifically, that he once again had the opportunity to sleep in close proximity to Kim. In fact, considering it was still pretty much winter, he was quite happy to be comfortably curled up between them in the bed, snuggled right above the stuffed animal that was usually the only thing that separated them.
A belly full of chocolates was plenty to take his mind off the confusion surrounding the mid-winter mating festival that had just taken place. In the past, the angst in the air surrounding the annual event was almost so thick he could cut it with his tiny gray claws. This year it turned out significantly different. The people in the new school his humans were attending didn't seem to put as much stock in the event as they had in their previous one. To that end, neither of them seemed as tense as they had in the past either. There were smiles, kisses, hugs, great food (which, of course, was of paramount importance to him) and a night spent in a strange room curiously close to their homes where they still didn't got through with mating.
Oh well, that didn't seem to affect their happiness in the least. Plus, they sat there in the bed after the kissing and fed him some of the candy that came in the specially shaped box that was associated with the mating festival. Once they had been concerned there might be something in the chocolate that was harmful to him, but that had turned out completely untrue. The only thing chocolate did to him was to fill his stomach and make his mouth happy. It was one of his favorite things to eat, right after cheese. Then, when they cuddled up together they didn't kick him out of the bed. Maybe it was the fact it was the middle of the week and they still had to go to their school the next day. Perhaps it was because they were called on a mission and were tired. Then again they could have been doing exactly what they wanted to do that night and didn't mind his company. That meant they had no intention of fulfilling that day's real fundamental intent, but in the end that was okay. There was a light snow falling outside, the room had a magic fireplace that was fed by gas instead of having to fool with logs and his humans were happy. For those few hours the world was perfect for the little naked mole rat.
When he woke up later, he was alone. It only took a couple seconds to realize what was going on. The sun wasn't even up yet, but aside from the pleasant interlude at the hotel oddly called Middleton Motor Court, they did have a full day ahead of them and had to get up at their usual time, though they apparently were busy engaging in another one of their near-mating recreational activities. He laid his head back down on Kim's stuffed animal and relaxed. That was yet another thing he was usually left out of, especially considering they both liked the water a little too hot for his liking. It was one thing to sit in a hot volcanic spring and relax in the almost scalding water, it was quite another to stand in a shower that way with needles of hot water pounding. He did wish they had the time to spend soaking in the rooms private hot-tub. Unfortunately, they had gotten into their room late and as he had noted, had risen early so that was out of the question.
He was re-awakened from his incredibly comfortable slumber by an all-too-familiar sound. His little head popped up, trying to decide where it was coming from. It rang a second time, meaning neither of his humans had probably heard it yet. The continued sound of the shower and the occasional feminine giggle seemed to reinforce that fact. That left it to him, as the third member of Team Possible's field operatives to answer it.
The first order of business was to find it. Kim had switched back to her hand-held as Wade was upgrading her wrist mounted unit. Using more deductive reasoning than a naked mole rat was supposed to possess, he figured it would be in her pants, or at the very least near them. He was a little put out by her switching to olive colored 'tights' for missions. He liked riding in her pocket just as much as he did Ron's. Ron may have been his primary bond-animal but he could perceive the deeper connection between the two. They were two bodies with one soul from his perspective, so he enjoyed being with either of them equally.
The ringing Kimmunicator was still clipped to her tool belt. Using his paw, he pushed the accept button. Wade popped up immediately and was obviously shocked at who was actually answering.
"Hey, Rufus. Where's Kim?"
He gibbered for a moment, but that was just about useless. It seemed only Ron and, to a lesser degree Kim, could understand his squeaks, even though from his point of view he was speaking extremely clearly. Instead he pantomimed somebody washing. Wade seemed to get that.
"Okay, how about Ron?"
Rufus gave him an expression that seemed to say 'Where do you think,' but went through the pantomime one more time.
Wade's eyes bugged out. Rufus wasn't quite sure why two mate-chosen humans cleaning each other was so upsetting to the younger male. About that moment Kim came out of the bathroom wrapped in a large white towel.
"I thought I heard that going off. What's up, Wade?"
"I just got a hit on the site from you-know-who."
Kim scowled at him as best she could while holding the Kimmunicator with one hand, the towel with the other. "There are at least five people I could think of right off-hand as being you-know-who and I would much rather be drying my hair and getting dressed for class right about now Wade."
"Oh, sorry. It's a call from Global Justice. They said they were a little short-handed and needed your help with a series of high-tech break-ins on the East Coast. They think it might be related to Dementor's scheme."
Rufus had to scowl himself. The last time they tangled with Dementor turned into a wild goose chase. The diminutive mad scientist had rebuilt his Transportulator, only this time adapting it for use with cell-phones, freeing it from 'land-lines.' They managed to keep him from stealing the Nuclear Reaction Damping Module, but he got away, along with his expensive Henchmen (© Henchco.) Needless to say, Kim was rather tweaked about the whole ordeal. It wounded her pride that, of all the times she had personally gone up against Professor Dementor, she had only captured him once. (She so did not count the time Team Impossible brought him in.)
"Okay, give us a chance to get ready. What's the ride sitch? The flyer up and running yet?" That was another problem with that mission. Wade had a new remote controlled vehicle for them to ride in, only it was really a long way from being ready. He was still getting the bugs out of the advanced drive, so he had to substitute ordinary jet engines for the time being, severely limiting its range and they could hardly hear themselves think, let alone carry on the conversation they intended to during the flight. That talk had to wait until the mission was completely over, adding yet another layer to her tweak. Something had been bothering her then and she wanted to resolve it with her lover. In the end they did, though Rufus could tell both of them seemed oddly worried for almost a week.
"I've got the Ion engines installed in the flyer, but I want to test them a little more before we send it on anything further than the greater Middleton area. I'd sure hate for the engines to fail, especially if you end up over water or an uninhabited area."
"No kidding. So, what's the deal?" Kim hitched up her towel again, trying to impress how uncomfortable she was at the moment.
"As soon as you're ready, just go outside to the sidewalk and you can take a transport tube down to GJ headquarters. They'll provide your transportation. I've already sent word to your professors and they're going to be sending your assignments along."
"Thanks Wade." She signed off and grabbed both of their overnight bags before heading back into the bathroom.
Rufus sighed. He was looking forward to a little breakfast. He checked the heart shaped box, but between the three of them they had pretty much decimated it the night before. There wasn't anything left but dark brown wrappers and a few chocolate crumbs, which he made short work of. Knowing the two of them, they were likely to have hit Bueno Nacho for breakfast since Ron wouldn't have to pay for anything there. He especially lamented the loss of digging through a breakfast Naco.
"Aw man." Ron griped as he emerged from the bathroom in a pair of "Freedom Leaders" boxers Kim had given him for the holiday. "The one time we didn't think to bring along fresh mission clothes."
Kim was already slipping into her turtleneck and zipping the snug pants. "We could always wear the other clothes we have with us." She said as she pulled her black sweater on over the outfit.
Ron laughed slightly. "Not sure how they would take it with us showing up 'out of uniform.'" He slipped his boots on and patted the open cargo pocket on the side of his gray slacks. "Come on, Rufus, duty calls."
He hopped into the proffered pocket, sticking his head out so he could enjoy the ride. He had plenty of sleep by that point and would certainly get lots more if there was a long ride to and from the mission, but he wanted to be awake for the ride down to the headquarters complex. Unlike Ron he loved the fast, gut dropping ride in the pneumatic tubes, plus Doctor Director normally had doughnuts out in the morning when she called them in.
They barely got out onto the sidewalk when a hole opened up under them, sucking them down into the capsule. As usual, Ron screamed even though he must have been expecting it. The sensation was just too much like falling for him and he didn't have a rip cord to pull to arrest that fall.
He was greatly put out by the fact they weren't led to the main control center, instead being shown by an unfamiliar agent directly to the hanger where they climbed onto a waiting hoverjet. Rufus couldn't even pick up the smells of any kind of food along the way, and they were moving too quickly for him to jump out of the pocket and find something. The moment they were onboard he could tell the ship was taking off. That temporarily took his mind off food since it was obvious this was an important mission. Then again, he wasn't a human, he was a naked mole rat possessed of a huge appetite.
Kim must have been reading his mind. She reached into her pack and produced a pair of energy bars. Past experience had taught her to be prepared for just this sort of thing, so she always had something like that. Granted, he would have preferred a pack of chips or nuts to the dry, chewy bars, but any port in a storm. She handed one to Ron and broke off a large chunk of hers to give to him. Happily he munched away at it, wondering if there was any way he could sneak a bite of Ron's as well.
"Not exactly the romantic getaway we had planned, was it, Ronnie?" Kim asked as she worked on the remainder of her bar.
"I don't see why not." Ron handed the last bit of his to Rufus before taking Kim's hand. "It's not like we didn't get to have some good clean fun before we got the call."
She smiled warmly at him, leaning over onto his shoulder once they were at cruising altitude and could get out of her harness. "I was so getting into that backrub you were giving me. When we get our own place, we have got to get one of those shower wand things."
"Yeah. That thing was badical. Just wish you had a chance to scrub my back too."
She gave his hand a good squeeze. "Spring break isn't too far off. Plus, I think I'll spend the night at your place Saturday night and I can give you a nice, long back rub. You too, Rufus." She gave his head a quick scratch, making him purr almost like a cat and setting his back leg to twitching in pleasure.
Sensing they were indeed settling in for a fairly long flight and that they would likely want a little relative privacy, he curled up in Ron's pocket, pulling the flap closed behind him. A large part of his life had been spent just like that. Of course, if they got a little carried away there was always the chance he could get slightly squished, but a quick squeak would warn them if that happened. He settled into a nice dream of an endless sea of cheese sauce drenched nachos while he waited out the ride.
He was rudely awakened to the sounds of shouting. He popped his head out of the pocket and immediately wished he hadn't. Everything was tumbling around in confusion. The inside of the hoverjet was dark except for the too-orange light coming from the rear of the craft. The smell of smoke was pervasive and he could tell they were no longer cruising at thirty-thousand feet, but falling rapidly from the sky. It reminded him of the time Kim's siblings had been along for a mission and had done something to disable their aircraft. Only this time it was smoke and fire he smelled, not spewing hydraulic fluid. Something far worse had happened.
Moments later they were no longer in the aircraft, but tumbling outside in the cold air. He caught a glimpse of Kim sailing through the air nearby, almost colliding with Ron. She wrapped an arm tightly around him and pulled the ripcord on her chute. That's when Rufus realized that his human wasn't wearing his. They were all three yanked upwards as the synthetic silk caught the air.
"Ron, wake up, please." Kim pleaded as she fought with the guidelines with one hand. "Ron!"
That was the last thing he heard when everything went black.
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