Where You Hang Your Hat: Part XIII
The clatter of pots and pans didn't wake Kim up, but the smells sure did. She slowly emerged from under the covers, pushing a huge lock of her sleep-frazzled hair away from here eyes. As she could have guessed, considering the whole apartment smelled like frying bacon, Ron was already up. She snuggled back down on the pillow, closing her eyes, not yet willing to yield the cozy bed. A little pout formed on her lips, a fraction of the power that was her PDP, since she would have like a 'little wake-up call' on her special day.
At least Rufus was happy. He was snoring softly, curled up in a little ball on the upper reaches of her pillow pile. He took her invitation to return to their bed later at night to heart, though she wasn't quite sure how he would take the fact that she, like him, was currently naked under the covers. Her purple satin nightie was lying in a pile with a pair of silk boxers. It would be one thing if they had a cat or a dog to watch her get up like that, but Rufus wasn't a pet. He was family, and he was also intelligent and emotional. Kim really wasn't prone to sleeping like that, or at least she hadn't been. She was just so relaxed and sleepy the night before she quickly drifted off, sleeping soundly until the wonderful aromas awakened her.
The distinctive smell of hazelnut coffee was mixing in, making her mouth water even more. Not only that, but she had come to associate coffee with something else, and it had been over nine hours. She had to get up. Hopefully she could jump out of bed and slip back into her night clothes before the sleepy little rodent could wake up.
The solution to the dilemma came to her as another wave of breakfasty smells assailed her nostrils. "Rufus. Wake up, sleepyhead. I bet Ronnie's cooking with cheese. Why don't you go tell him I said you could have some."
She didn't have to say it twice. He stretched once and bounded out of the room. Kim sat up in the bed, keeping the covers over her front and stretched. Instead of putting on the skimpy negligee, she pulled a teal colored t-shirt out of her drawer and slipped it over her head. A double-extra-large, it hung on her like a pup tent, but it was comfortable, and, oddly enough, had much the same effect on Ron as the camisole. Maybe it was the fact he knew what she normally had on under that particular shirt, which wasn't much.
He had his back to her as she padded to the bathroom, then scurried back to bed. She suspected something, and wanted to maintain the illusion, except for the fact she kept the old "Save the Manatees" shirt on.
With Ron gone for the entire morning and the better part of the afternoon the day before, Kim was left with either walking someplace, calling a cab or even calling Wade to send the Blue Fox Flyer over. One drawback that was rapidly becoming apparent with their location was the lack of useful places in walking distance. The funky, 'arts' neighborhood near the campus was nearby, but most of that really didn't start up until later in the afternoon. There wasn't any place she needed to go that would require a wingless flying car with twenty-fifth century ion engines, and she didn't want to have to actually park that at the mall anyway, so she ended up deciding to go out for a walk simply for its own sake. It was one of the times she wished they had more than one car between them, but most of the time they did stuff together, making a second vehicle wasteful.
Before she went out, she had to take care of something else first. After a quick shower she pulled out her cell-phone to call her father. Her short, sharp discussion with Joss was bothering her. She didn't want to go behind her younger cousin's back, but she also wanted to give her Dad a heads up on what the seventeen year old might be up to. Unfortunately, it turned out he was in an important meeting over at the Space Center.
That left her with either leaving things alone and letting them sort themselves out without butting in, or doing what she felt was in everyone's best interests. She really did consider Joss to be like a sister and a very good friend, but there was always the danger she would do something stupid like hopping on a bus for Montana, or worse, for someplace unknown. Joss was tough as nails, but she simply did not have the worldly experience Kim had, nor was she was well trained. Even more than that, given her reasoning, she might make some rather unwise decisions that would cause nothing but heartache throughout the family.
Trying to straddle the line, she called to check on her. It was her mother's day off and she was home getting the boy's room ready for their return from camp. Her mind was put at rest when her Mom told her Joss had stormed into the house, put on her grey and black trainee's uniform and headed for the tube-way out front. She was going to be hell on wheels with her instructors, but at least they knew how to keep her in line. The military-like discipline would do her some good.
What remained was to try and patch things up with her. They were close enough in age that maybe a double date wouldn't be out of the question. That way they could see firsthand what her latest suitor was like, and either put her Dad's mind at ease, or find a way to tell her he was after nothing more than getting in her wranglers. Somehow she figured the truth was somewhere in the middle.
She almost dozed back off when Ron stepped through the gap in the screens, bearing a makeshift 'breakfast in bed' tray. "Wake up, sleepyhead. Got on the computer when I got up this morning, and guess what the headlines in the Internet News Networks were?"
"Let me guess, this time they've spotted me in Paris with Leonardo?"
"Nah, at least that wasn't the big headline. Uh, since when were you into Ninja Turtles?"
"Leonardo Dicaprio, bonehead." She motioned with her hands for him to continue.
"No, the big headline read, Kim Possible – Finally Legal! Happy birthday, KP."
"Thanks baby." She gave him a quick kiss as he sat down on the bed beside her.
He glanced behind her, realizing for the first time she had her old manatee shirt on. "Hey, when did you put that on? I thought you were in your birthday suit, in honor of today."
"Got cold." She poured a healthy dollop of syrup on her French toast. In the past she didn't like it, but Ron found out the trick was baking them briefly after browning them in a pan, to keep the insides from being soggy. That cured the one complaint she had about them and in the process found out she loved them (as long as there was plenty of strawberry syrup and butter for them.)
In keeping with always doing thing together, Ron had his own plate, replete with enough bacon to keep him from ever being properly kosher. He drizzled maple syrup on his, including the bacon and dug in. Even Rufus had a plate, though he only nibbled on his 'Rufus' chow, staring at their fare from time to time.
"So, what does the birthday girl want to do today? The mall? The beach? Head for Roadhouse Grill and get seriously tanked on Guinness?" For the most part, Kim didn't like beer, but she had tasted the dark brew at a party, finding, like black, unsweetened coffee, she rather enjoyed it. Maybe it was her Irish heritage. Still, she knew from a couple bad experiences she didn't handle alcohol all that well and had gained a great deal of respect for it.
She set down her fork and tickled his knee. "I was thinking you'd have given me a little wake-up call. I could doze back off, if Rufus wouldn't mind." She ran her hand up his leg, slightly up under his tan cargo shorts. "After all, I'm 'legal' now."
"Not quite yet. You really won't be twenty-one until nine seventeen tonight."
She took the tray off her knees, carefully balancing it on the nightstand and scooted closer to him. "I was legally twenty-one as of midnight this morning. I thought you had this fantasy of being with an older woman."
"I thought I was. You're a week older than me all year long."
"Phooey. For seven days I'm a whole year older than you. Come here, big boy. I wanna play with my boy-toy."
"Ah, aren't you going to finish your breakfast while it's still hot? I figured you'd be hungry."
"Oh, I'm hungry, alright." She took his plate and set it down on the tray, half crawling half rolling back toward him. He tasted like maple syrup as she kissed him, knowing she had a good bit of strawberry syrup on her own mouth. Ron's hair was still a mess, or, more accurately, more of a mess than usual. Bed-head and cowlicks didn't exactly go together. He also still had a good, strong 'Ron-scent' to him, which meant they could still share the shower. All the much better. She pulled his yellow tank top over his head and pushed him down onto the pillows, nibbling on his earlobe while stroking the outer edge of his large ear with her hand.
Rufus was almost buried under the teal t-shirt as he scampered from the bedroom. He wasn't upset, especially since he knew Ron left some extra French toast out on the counter.
Kim's wrist Kimmunicator chimed on in the canvas bag that sat nearby. It wasn't the harsh four not tone that signaled an emergency, but a soft musical note set as a reminder. Moving as few muscles as possible, she rolled onto her belly, carefully unknotting the red, yellow and black striped bikini top so her tan could even out. She hadn't had a tan that deep since she was fifteen, having spent a week of her summer down in the swamps of Florida helping out with the same people who provided her with her long T-shirt. Only then the tan only extended as far as her bare midriff and her forearms. This summer had finally afforded her the opportunity to slowly, carefully build her base up to a golden hue.
The splashing nearby was most likely Ron. He had learned from plenty of experience his fair skin simply did not tan. He burned. Kim made him strip down and covered every inch of him with sunblock spray before they even left the apartment, then put another coat on him when they arrived, just in case. They both got a rather severe burn several years earlier when both their families took a trip down to Florida, leaving Kim with tan lines that took a full year to completely fade. Even with her tan, she had put on a less powerful sunscreen herself, but would call Ron over to spray the stronger stuff on once the Kimmunicator chimed again. That was pain she would not soon forget, as well as the marks her dangerously skimpy suit left on her then.
Her new suit was still quite small, but a great deal more conservative than that one had been. The beach at Lake Middleton was quite popular with families, so they were surrounded by kids ranging from diapers to college students like themselves, as well as assorted parents and older couples enjoying the brilliant, late July day. That particular suit was quickly relegated to more private swimming opportunities, considering it was white and had a particular habit of becoming very slightly transparent when wet and if the light hit it just right. Ron had taken to calling it her hot tub suit.
She tilted her head slightly so her sunglasses wouldn't dig into her temples quite so much. Looking up the beach, she noticed another family just walking from the parking lot. It was like someone had taken the two of them and added ten to fifteen years to them. In those intervening years, two small children had come along. They were both little girls, with long auburn hair just a shade darker than hers. One of them looked about the age she had been when she first met Ron, with her hair pulled into pigtails. The vision was complete, right down to the purple suit she had on.
Their parents looked just like them, save their hair color was reversed. The little girls looked like they were about to make a break for the water, but their mother stopped them, slathering them with what must have been half the bottle of sunscreen. Well oiled, the girls looked distinctly less happy than they had been moments earlier, but it really was for the best. They would learn a whole new level of unhappiness if their skin tried to do an impression of their hair.
One thing struck her as she watched them. The two parents seemed to be as devoted to their children as she was to Ron. That was one thing that bothered her about the prospect of raising a family with him. She was truly happy with her life the way it was. It may have seemed selfish, but she wanted to spend a good, long time just the way she was with him before she had to share her heart with a child. There was little doubt that both of them would be much the same way when it finally actually happened, but for the moment, she just wanted her Ron. She was only twenty-one, or would be in about six hours. That could come along in five to ten years, preferably the latter. By then she would be finished with her doctorate and established in a career, and Ron would be a famous chef in the finest restaurant in Middleton, or wherever they lived by that point if they ever decided to leave.
As the tots ran past her, she started thinking about just that. She never really had considered leaving town. There just wasn't much reason to. Some kids left because they felt a need to severe their ties to the past, or, like Monique, simply settled down where they went to school. Others still left to pursue careers they could not do so at home. None of those pressures existed for them, at least for the moment. They went to school at home, and even though they were only two semesters from graduating, they still didn't have a firm idea of what they were going to be doing afterwards. It was amazing how much pressure having a nest-egg like Ron's could take off of them. Then too, there was no particular reason for her to break away from her family. They might live under a new roof now, but both families remained tight. Besides, she still routinely got a chance to practice her future parenting skills with Ron's little sister, who would be turning three at the end of summer, and even, on occasion, baby sat Amethyst Argus, the two year-old daughter of the woman who was once known as Shego. That was oddly appropriate, since she had seen the little girl born in the very room her cousin Joss was now living in.
Her bracelet chimed once more, so she carefully re-tied her top before sitting up. Ron was a good hundred feet out on the lake, lazily floating on his back. Instead of bothering him, she got the spray out and put it on herself. If she missed a spot with the supposedly waterproof stuff, she would know about it later. It was time to cool off. Clicking her bracelet back on, just in case, she started toward the water, headed straight in Ron's direction.
With two years under her belt on the Middleton High School swim team and the diving squad, Kim not only swam well, but fast. She was strong enough to swim submerged even with a life jacket on. She waded out into about three feet of water and dove in head first, hugging the slightly silted bottom where the manmade beach ended. The water was a bit on the murky side, especially with so many kids stirring up the bottom, but she had a good sense of distance and direction submerged. Kicking off the bottom, she spotted her target; a man-shaped object wearing knee-length red board shorts.
Slowing, just below the surface, she cupped her hands just so and gradually kicked upwards. Ron's eyes were closed and his hands were stretched out to the sides, stabilizing him as he floated, so he didn't see the clasped hands rise from the water. That is, until they shot a stream of water that had been cupped inside. His chest was up, out of the water and relatively dry since he had been marinating there for a bit. The relatively cold water shocked him fully awake.
The thrashed around in the water for a moment, until he felt a pair of strong, slender arms wrap around him. They both bobbed to the surface, brushing water-slicked hair out of their faces.
"What we have here…is a failure to hydrate. If a splash war is what she wants, a splash war is what she gets." Ron laughed, horribly mangling the quote from Cool Hand Luke.
Kim chose a pre-emptive strike, sending a wave of water washing over his head while diving under once more. Ron was a strong swimmer himself, but relied on swim-fins and goggles when their missions required aquatics. His eyesight wasn't as strong as hers, so she had a distinct advantage.
He popped back to the surface, sputtering. Kim wasn't so far behind.
"Oh no, you didn't. Not here!"
"Uh huh." She held his trunks up out of the water, waving them like a flag.
"KP! Come on! You know you don't wear anything under those. Give em back!"
"You gonna make me? It's my birthday, I want me a pair of red shorts."
He looked around nervously. The vast majority of other swimmers were much younger than them and were considerably closer to shore. Still, his pale features were slowly becoming as red as the trunks, and it wasn't from sunburn.
"Kim, it's bad enough to lose them on my own. You're the one who says time and place, and THIS AIN'T NEITHER!"
"Thought you liked it when I pulled off your pants, loverboy?" She laughed, treading a little further from him, holding his swimwear just under the water.
"That's…in private. Okay, you win, what do you want?"
"Well, I have already unwrapped my birthday present once today."
"KP, this is embarrassing. I don't like being unwrapped here. Besides, the water's cold. There's likely…shrinkage."
"Okay, here." She tossed the pants to him, hitting his head with a wet 'fwap.' He quickly struggled back into them.
Kim dipped back underwater for a moment, slicking her hair back as she came back up. That's when she head the unwanted, four-note chime coming from her bracelet. The electronic 'do no disturb' sign was up on the system, and that worried her. Wade would only beep in with an emergency if it were truly dire. He tech guru was also one of the staunchest defenders of their special days, and her birthday was paramount among them.
Fighting back a surge of serious tweak, she touched the accept button. "Go, Wade."
"You guys decent?"
"We're in the lake, but we've got our suits on. At least I think we do." She shot Ron a look.
"Hey, I'm not the one pantzing her fiancé here, but I'm fine."
The inch-wide screen winked to life. "You better get back here, Kim. Somethings up, sounds bad."
"What, Dementor popping back up. GJ letting Gemini escape again."
"No, Kim. It's your apartment, there's something wrong. Like I said, you'd better get back, they're having an emergency tenants meeting in an hour."
"We're on our way." With a jerk of her head, she told Ron to come on.
They jumped in their care without bothering to dry off, Kim taking the driver's seat since she was the better high-speed driver.
She set a new record getting back to the city limits. They had done too much work, spent too much money for something to happen to their new home.
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