Authors Note: Contained within this note is the secret to eternal happiness in life. Whoops. Too late. You just missed it. Now it's gone.
Authors other note: Special thanks to Whisper from the Shadows for his appreciation of my difficult situation!
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The city of Berlin was an absolute marvel for any tourist to behold. The Brandenburg gate beckoned to any and all as must see on the check list of things to do in the city. The sight of the sun setting over the river Spree in the summer was the romantic dream come true of any pair, and the upcoming Love Parade to be celebrated tomorrow evening was simply too much to pass up for anyone in the city, tourist or otherwise.
Anyone that is, except for Ron and Kim.
The pair seemed in little mood for festivities or sight seeing as they checked into their hotel. A very simple and humble building, but still incredibly popular among tourists for its affordable prices and its immense German breakfasts that it offered to its guests, it seemed like the ideal choice for a young pair backpacking their way through.
Ron continued to chase after Kim as she hurried her way inside and up to the front desk. Ron's cries for her to wait up seemed to fall on deaf ears. Panting exhaustively, Ron wiped the sweat from his forehead as he tried to make it in through the front door behind her.
Kim could hear a loud thud behind her as the door slammed into Ron, creating a brief spark of guilt within her, but this spark was quickly smothered by rage.
The door slowly opened as Ron collapsed against it, his weight pressing it in until he finally lay on the ground, his motionless form holding it open.
"Come on Ron."
Her voice was cold and unsympathetic. It was the most Kim had said to him since the rainforest.
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Yori tasted sweet, her scent like that of jasmine. Ron could feel his weary muscles simply melt as her fingers seemed to move sensually over them. He could feel the shapely ninja fall into his grasp, the fabric of her suit suddenly seeming very frail and thin.
'No, wrong. Wrong. Very wrong. Diablos level wrong.' A voice inside Ron warned, yet with each passing microsecond of this moment stretched out to eternity, this voice seemed to become more and more faint.
Then it hit.
A flash of fiery red appeared before Ron's closed eyes, taking form. Crimson hair swirled till it revealed a face, complete with emerald irises and perfect full lips. Jasmine was replaced by strawberries, the ninja suit replaced by a time worn mission shirt and pants and Yori completely faded from all existence only to be replaced by…
"Kim!"
The words didn't come from his mouth, but as the realization hit him, the world came back into sharp, clear, painful focus. Yori fell to the ground as Ron lost hold on her, even as he turned embarrassingly towards Kim Possible standing at the entrance to the room.
For a moment, the sight blew right through Ron, leaving a gaping hole in his center as he saw it. Pain. It was an almost unfamiliar sight within Kim's perfect green eyes, but it was there, and it tore through Ron's innards with righteous furry, before being chased away by a growing rage that caused Ron's shredded remains to shrivel in terror.
"Umm… hi KP."
Ron thought he heard Rufus mutter something in the background, but he never knew what it was. Instead, he was held in place, captured like a guilty fugitive by Kim's burning gaze.
Though the two stood a good twenty feet apart, Kim held Ron's beating heart in her hand. If she so desired, she could easily have crushed it, torn it pieces and thrown it back on the ground.
Instead, she said nothing. She merely turned about and stormed out, slamming the steel door behind her with a loud thud that seemed to shake the foundations of the entire lair.
Ron found himself almost wishing she had just torn it to pieces and thrown in on the ground instead.
"I… I have behaved dishonorably." Yori's voice startled Ron further. In the mere moments that Kim had stared at him, he had completely forgotten all about her. He turned to see her rising up from the ground in front of the pedestal.
"What… no, no. This is my fault… I should have…" The total sum of Ron's guilt came over him like a tidal wave. The fact that Yori had initiated the kiss without Ron's consent was meaningless. He could have stopped her, somehow. Told her what had changed between him and Kim. Regardless of Yori's actions and feelings, Ron knew that this should never have happened, and the blame for the fact that it had rested entirely on his shoulders.
"No Stoppable-san." Yori's use of her original name for him made Ron cringe all the more. It would have eaten away at his innards if there were any left to be devoured. "The dishonor is mine. I must bear it."
With that, Yori silently took the chalice in her hands, and walked out the room. Ron could only remember trying to call out to her as she left, yet the entire time, not one word escaped his mouth
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"Umm, checking in?" Ron informed/asked, uneasily. He had tried to study his German/English phrase book, but so far, all he knew how to say in German was that he had lost his keys in the library.
"Well thanks for telling me. For a minute, I was worried you were the health inspector." The young woman behind the desk smiled as she humbled Ron's concerns. She placed her book in hand down to the side, waving her blond hair from the sides of her face as she moved over to where the reservations were listed. "Name?"
"Hey, you're American!"
"Born and raised." She said simply. "But don't tell anyone, you'll totally blow my cover. I'm actually with the CIA, and I'm just posing as an American student because I love hearing what a great American accent I have for a German." She whispered loudly for all the world to hear.
"Oh." Ron smiled. "Well, here's a free tip then. Spies aren't supposed to tell anyone they're spies. For one, it ruins their mystique."
"Ohhhh, so that's what I've been doing wrong all these months. God, no wonder none of the bad guys would tell me any of their secrets for world conquest."
The pair's laughter was interrupted by a fearsome sigh and a scowl from Kim that froze the mood in the room and shattered it all at once.
Ron looked back uneasily and apologetically at the young lady.
"Checking in?" She asked uneasily.
"Yeah." Ron added with the same unease. "Ron Stoppable and Kim Possible."
After quickly confirming their reservation, the young lady handed Ron the key to the room, only to back away as Kim snatched it swiftly from her grasp.
Ron shot an apologetic look and then chased after Kim up the stairs and straight to their door.
Kim keyed into the room, finding it be much smaller than she had expected. A small table big enough for two was off to the side and two cots lay on the floor, each decorated only with a pillow and some folded blankets. The restroom was off in the corner.
Kim quickly moved into the room and dropped her pack to the floor. She was too tired to note the moderate accommodations. She instead immediately turned about before Ron had a chance to set one foot inside.
"I'm tired. I'm taking a nap."
With that, Kim simply slammed the door shut in Ron's face, setting the lock, trapping him outside.
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Ron wanted to occupy his time seeing the sights, but his body, it seemed, would have none of that. His footsteps were so heavy that it took all of his strength just to make it down the stairs and back to the lobby.
"Trouble in paradise?" A friendly voice asked from the side.
Ron turned to see the young blonde from earlier.
"That obvious, huh?" Ron asked dejectedly as he plopped himself down on a chair in the lobby.
"I've only been here for less than two months and believe me, I've seen it all." She assured him as she moved over to where he sitting. "I'm Sarah." She offered her hand.
"Ron." He took her hand, shaking it rather pathetically.
"So, I didn't want to say anything earlier, but you are actually him right? You really are the Ron Stoppable." She twitched and fiddled with her fingers anxiously as she looked at him.
Ron looked up in surprise. As far as he could remember, he had never been the Ron Stoppable to anyone.
"You are!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Oh my gosh, this is so cool. I've always wanted to meet you; I'm like your biggest fan!"
Ron just had to laugh at the thought. That would just figure for him that his biggest fan happened to be on the other side of the world. Still, he tried to maintain his modesty as he explained, "Actually, there's a little girl I know in Montana who's got you beat for that, but thanks."
"Oh my god, this is so amazing. Wait till I tell the girls at the next fan club meeting."
"Wait, I have a fan club?" The revelation momentarily drew Ron from his sunken low.
"Hell yeah. Pretty much all across Germany, and throughout a lot else in Europe too. Especially in Spain."
Ron sighed again. That figured too. Ron had insisted that he and Kim cut short their time in Spain after their encounter with Senor Senior Senior out of fear that some other super villain was going to show up.
"You know, I used to have this wicked huge crush on you." Sarah admitted somewhat awkwardly as she began twirling her blonde hair with her fingers.
Ron shot up.
"Whoa, whoa, look I'm flattered, really, but I'm with…"
"Kim Possible." Sarah cut Ron off. "Well yeah, I know. I mean, haven't you two always been together?"
Ron sighed once more. Boy, as if that wasn't the truth. "Oh yeah, me and Kim, till death do us part." The words burned their way out of Ron's mouth, leaving a sick aftertaste.
At this, Sarah's expression softened. "Hey, relax. Look, I know she looked pretty steamed at you when you two came in, but she'll come around. You two will be fine."
Sarah's words were remarkably assured and confident as they seeped in Ron's ears, fanning that spark of hope still inside him. "You think so?"
"Girl thing." Sarah said simply. "Trust me."
A small smile struggled as it crept across Ron's face. Suddenly, the spark inside Ron lit up like a torch.
"Hey, can you do me a favor?" Ron asked with renewed interest as he began rummaging through his bag.
"Yeah, sure." Sarah replied excitedly as she looked on with confusion as Ron continued to probe the depths of his pack. "What are you looking for?"
"Ahh. This." Ron exclaimed as he pulled out a special envelope from within one of many pockets in the pack. "I need to do some grocery shopping.
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"I finally have the two of you where I want you. Kim Possible helpless… and now, the pretender and his vermin… gone forever from my life."
The words seemed to echo and echo over and over. She could feel the weight of the orantutangs pressing her down, the foul stench of their breath (she didn't even want to contemplate what else besides bananas these things ate) as she watched Monkey Fist lift a helpless Ron Stoppable up into the air.
She could feel the sticky webbing of the spider monkeys begin to envelope her, wrapping tightly around her and paralyzing her, but her focus never once left Ron. The more she struggled, the more it seemed her enemies grew stronger and stronger while her own strength simultaneously faded.
She could see the distance between her and Monkey Fist and Ron growing further and further apart as the monkey ninja continued to howl incessantly. She could see the look of terror in his eyes as he looked to her, pleading, begging for help. Help that she couldn't give.
And then he fell.
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Kim snapped back into the conscious world, her hair drenched in her sweat. She shot upright immediately, panting heavily as though she had just run a marathon.
Kim felt the room around her begin to spin, making it difficult for her to gain a grasp on the waking world. With all her strength of will, she forced her breathing down to a more relaxed pace, keeping herself from hyperventilating back into another nightmare.
Kim nervously wiped the sweat from her forehead as she looked around the room.
Ron was gone.
Of course he was gone. She kicked him out.
The events of the last few hours, as well as their chronological order, slowly reorganized themselves within Kim's memory. For a moment, Kim expected to work herself back into another anger, but instead, she felt tired all over again.
Refusing to risk another nightmare, Kim opted instead for a shower. By the time she was done, she slowly found herself feeling better. As she dried and combed her hair, she found herself thinking that she could really go for some…
"Room service!"
The voice from the other side of her door startled Kim. She immediately recognized the voice of the girl from the front desk, but found it incredibly hard to believe that this hotel even offered room service. It wasn't like they piled on all the other luxuries.
Kim reluctantly moved to open the door, and then had to reclaim her breath all over again at the sight.
On the other side of the door, Sarah stood helping hold a large plate of sizzling chicken, dressed in an array of herbs and seasonings that Kim didn't entirely recognize. Holding the brunt of the weight of the plate, as well as two smaller plates with twin knives and forks, as well as an unlabeled bottle of something or other was Ron, wearing his trademark grin.
"Diner is served. Your favorite even, Chicken Kimberly."
Ron had braced himself for any number of different reactions from Kim. An excited acceptance, another door slammed in his face, and everything else in between. Well, almost everything else.
Ron held his smile in front of a wave of anxiousness as Kim smiled lightly, almost shyly even, before saying, in a soft voice. "Come in."
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Diner was an absolute disaster.
Well, actually, that wasn't true. Diner was absolutely delicious. Kim found her appetite seizing control of her with ravenous fury as she hungrily devoured every morsel on her plate.
It was the conversation that went wrong.
There wasn't any.
Ron had prepared a long drawn out apology, placing himself at Kim's mercy and begging for her forgiveness. He was prepared to get down on his hands and knees at her feet if that was what it took. Anything. Nothing would be too high a price of his dignity to win her back. Absolutely nothing.
But every time he began to speak, she merely silenced him in one way or another. A casual "shhh" or even a simple finger over her lips. However she did it, it was pure torture for him each and every time.
Ron's stomach couldn't allow him to touch one drop of the meal that he had worked so hard on until he talked to her, until he knew that everything was alright. And so his food remained untouched, all while he watched in silent agony as Kim continued to eat.
Finally, she finished. Ron's tensed position on the edge of his seat throughout the entire meal would not hold any longer. "Kim, please talk to…"
Kim quickly moved her right hand across the small table, placing it delicately on his arm. Just the slightest touch from her sent goose bumps across his skin.
"I'm sorry."
Kim's words shot Ron's eyes wide open even as she looked squarely at him, her face still unreadable.
"You're sorry? KP, what do you…?"
Before Ron could finish, Kim's face contorted as tears began to pour down her face. Kim's left hand moved over her face in a vain attempt to conceal them even as her right tensed and grabbed Ron's hand for strength.
"Kim…" Ron's voice was gentle as he got up and moved around the small table, all the while maintaining his hold on her hand as he knelt down beside her.
"I'm so sorry Ron." Kim repeated through her tears as her hands wrapped tightly around Ron's shoulders, pulling his shoulders close to her as she buried her face and her tears in it. "I'm so sorry because I saw you fall… and I couldn't catch you."
Ron let out a sigh as he wrapped his arms around her, his left hand stroking her hair gently. "Kim, you didn't…"
"I watched you fall." Kim words were garbled by the bile in her mouth and Ron's shirt in her face, but they would not stop. "And I couldn't save you, and I spent so much time being angry at myself and then at Monkey Fist, and then even at you and Yori, and I never got the chance to tell you how sorry I was."
Kim found that after all this time, what she had been longing for so badly was to just let herself go in Ron's arms. Now that it was happening, all her barriers had failed, all her walls had collapsed, and she could do nothing to keep what was inside from coming out.
"And when I thought I lost you… I…" Kim could barely find the words. Her face was soaked in her own tears, even as they soaked through to Ron's shirt. "I didn't know what I would do."
"KP, you did everything you could. And I'm ok. I'm here; we're here, you and me, together." Ron's words were whispered directly into her hair as he pulled her ever tighter to him, into him. He never wanted to let go of her again. If he could hold them both in this moment for the rest of their lives, he would know what a lifetime of uninterrupted bliss felt like.
"Ron… I'm so sorry." Kim could feel her breath slowly returning to her, even as she maintained her hold on him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Kim whispered.
"It's ok." Ron whispered back. "It wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault."
"I'm sorry."
"It wasn't your fault."
It was another few minutes before either of them said another word. Instead, they just sat their, in each other's embrace, silent as a grave. Kim's sniffles eventually subsided before Ron finally spoke.
"KP, about what happened with me and…"
Kim silenced him with a finger over his lips as she looked up directly into his eyes. "Just promise me that I'll never see that again." Kim's demand was a plea from her soul, and Ron was touched at his core by it.
"Never again." He swore.
The sun set outside, and the room grew darker and darker all around them, yet neither of the two made any effort to turn on any lights. They just sat there together on the floor, held tight in each other's embrace.
Finally, Kim had to ask.
"How did you cook dinner here anyway?"
"Turns out that this hotel has one spankin' home style kitchen. I just traded the recipe for the use of the facilities for a while."
"I don't suppose you made dessert?" Kim asked hopefully.
"Sorry KP. But I did have an after dinner treat planned."
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"Oh god, Ron. Harder. Harder." Kim commanded as her facial muscles tensed.
"Any harder Kim and you won't be able to walk straight for weeks." Ron grunted as he renewed his efforts, hovering over her on top of one of the cots.
"Oh, it'll be worth it though." Kim let out a deep breath as she lay her head back down into her pillow, her hands grasping it tightly.
"You know, I could swear we did this already back in Switzerland." Ron added as his hands pressed back into the folds of Kim's backside, redoubling his efforts to undue the knot discovered in her back muscles.
"Oh… a lot can happen to a girl in that time, like running through the jungle fighting, oh that's it, right there, right there!" Kim directed, finally settling down as Ron's fingers worked their magic. "Oh god Ron, where did you learn how do this?" Kim asked in spite of her face having dug into her pillow. Right now, she found herself cursing her own skeletal structure for preventing her from just melting right there on the spot.
"It's all about pressure KP." Ron replied simply as he moved to work other areas of Kim's back through her lime green tank top. "The right pressure on the right parts of the body can disable an opponent, increase blood circulation, or even work out years of built up tension in the back muscles of world saving cheer leaders."
"Tell me about it." Kim asked soothingly.
A subtle knock from the door briefly interrupted their moment, albeit slightly.
"If it's a super villain, tell them to take over the world next week." Kim groaned.
"Relax KP; it's probably just the hotel wanting their dishes back. Don't get up, I'll be right back."
Kim looked over as Ron opened the door and handed the dishes to a voice on the other side. As Kim looked up at Ron a devious grin cross her face. Rising up ever so slightly from her cot, Kim grabbed the bottom edge of her tank top and pulled it up over her head.
Ron thanked the person on the other side of the door and closed it, turning around just in time to see Kim reach around behind her, grasping at and unhooking clasps on the back of her bra before removing the item, exposing her bare backside to him.
"KP… w…ww…wha…what" Ron was less than eloquent. Fortunately Kim saved him the trouble.
"It's a massage Ron. I want to make sure I'm comfortable." She answered with a grin as she lay back down on the cot.
For a moment, Ron just stood there, jaw dropped, wide eyed, at the whole series of events. Fortunately, a voice inside him spoke up.
"Dude, there's a half naked girl on your bed. MOVE!"
Ron didn't have to be told twice. He hurried over, resuming his position over Kim as his hands returned to work.
Kim moaned in contentment as Ron savored the entire experience. Kim's skin was remarkably smooth and clear. It was underneath the skin that the real story of her life was told.
Bruises healed over and muscles tested and strained beyond imagining over years of saving the world and leading the Mad Dog Cheer Squad to the Nationals. If Ron hadn't been there every step of the way, he would have never believed it.
But he had been there, and he had cherished every moment.
Bending over, Ron aimed his lips for the base of Kim's spine, and there planted a gentle kiss.
Kim moaned slightly in appreciation and Ron continued his work. His hands seemed to abandon their duties as his lips continued to work their up Kim's bare back.
"I th-thought you used your hah-hands." Kim managed to gasp as every touch of his lips reverberated across Kim's body, sending small waves of pleasure out across her body.
"I'm trying something new." Ron answered between kisses. "No complaints I hope."
"Nuh-none what-soh-everh." Kim managed to gasp as Ron worked his way up her back and up along her right shoulder. His hands continued to rub smoothly across her backside as his lips worked their way up to her lower neck.
Kim could feel herself sweating and panting as Ron moved up the side of her neck, before finally reaching her lips.
Beep-beep-beepbeep.
The chime of the Kimmunicator might as well have been the bell of Notre Dame. Instantly, the couple froze in their spot, hoping, praying, pleading, begging that it was just their imagination.
Beep-beep-beepbeep.
The Kimmunicator's merciless tone taunted them again.
"If we can't hear it, it doesn't make a sound." Ron whispered, as if the Kimmunicator might be aware of him.
Kim merely sighed. "You'd better answer that, Ron."
"What, oh are you kidding, I mean come on!"
"Well, unless you expect me to explain to Wade or whoever else that is why I don't have my shirt on, you're answering it!"
"Oh, wha… well I actually, I meant…uhh, never mind. Yeah, I'll answer it." Ron assured hurriedly, turning about as Kim redressed herself while he moved to activate the image screen on the Kimmunicator.
"Wade, this is so a bad time!" Ron fumed at the image before him.
"Ron, I'm sorry, but…" He never had a chance.
"Have I mentioned we're on vacation?" Ron's voice grew and grew with each passing moment.
"Listen, I know this is a bad time…" Wade struggled for a word edgewise but was denied.
"As in to vacate! Meaning to leave, and go someplace else and relax! Jumping back and forth fighting super villains is not consistent with the traditional vacation!" Ron glared angrily.
"Is Kim there?" Wade asked desperately.
"Amp down the drama Ron." Kim added before snatching the Kimmunicator and turning her attention to Wade herself.
Her gaze could have melted steel.
"Wade, so help me, if this is anything other than the four horsemen themselves riding over downtown Middleton, I swear…" Kim's threat came through gritted teeth.
"Amp down the drama, huh KP?" Ron asked.
"Look guys, you're going to have to kill me some other time." Wade held up his hands in surrender. "We've got a hit on the site. Dementor is stealing some hi-tech top secret stuff. I paged GJ but they're swapped. I've got a ride on the way as we speak."
Kim and Ron rolled their eyes at each other before turning back to the image on the screen.
"Fine Wade." Kim said finally. "Where are we headed?"
"Norway."
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Authors Note: As you've probably noticed, I like writing these notes way more than I should.
Hope everyone enjoyed this latest chapter. I don't mind saying that I'm just the tiniest bit proud of it.Don't anyone get too used to the two chapters a day update though, I just wanted to make Zaratan look bad! lol
All that aside, I am turning you back over to him again for one more chapter, and then... and then... booyahahahahahahahahaha!