It Finally Happened: Part XXX

"So, Ron, what's the big plan?" Felix asked, taking a sip from his soda.

"Felix, I got nuttin." He slumped down on the table, picking at his nachos. Nearby Rufus lay in an empty tray, casually licking the cheese glop of his tiny claws, giving Ron's tray the eyeball. The dinner crowd had long since dispersed, leaving the two boys almost alone in the Middleton Bueno nacho. The place hadn't changed much since re-opening. New graphics had been applied to the tables and the fake hanging plants that had been there since Drakken and Shego ripped the roof off had been replaced with real ones. It still looked about the same, save for a poster in the window featuring Ron wearing a sombrero and a fake mustache, holding a grande sized Naco.

The discussion had now been going on for a couple days, ever since Kim and Ron had come back from the big family vacation. The couple seemed to be closer than ever when they were together, but that didn't seem to be happening as often, leaving Ron deep in the dumps when he wasn't with her. That itself wasn't his major issue tonight, though. "You've got to do something, Stoppable. Ball's in your court this time, gotta step up to the plate."

"Felix, it's bad enough without you mixing sports metaphors, especially one's that cliché." He played with the straw in his drink, making a horrible squeaking sound with the top. Even the reappearance of the all-important bendy-straw couldn't break his funk.

"Look at it this way, she's going to be seventeen. It's not like it's the biggest birthday of her teens. Bet you got a free-ride at her sweet sixteen party."

"Yeah, but she was technically dating Monkey then. I was just 'the old friend,' even if Mankey had to be out of town for some art showing. Anyway, sweet-sixteen's more of a fam thing. This time it's the first birthday with us together. I just can't play it off that she can go to R rated movies now, not that she'd go to them anyway and not that I can yet either."

"Ron-man, she's a week older than you. That's a statistical non-issue."

"I guess. I'm just running out of ideas."

"More like you're running out of cash."

"No kidding. I think I've got about a hundred dollars to my name. The money started rolling in but so far Dad's only letting me have fifty bucks a week. At this rate I'd starve if free meals wasn't part of the deal with BN…almost seventeen and I'm still relying on an allowance." He finished, muttering.

"Maybe all it takes is just some simple one-on-one time. You ever think of that?"

"Been there, done that Felix. Kim's gotten this idea in her head we were going overboard with all that 'one-on-one' stuff."

"Now where would she get that idea?" his friend said, smiling at him semi-wickedly. "It's not like you've been going at it so much I had to pry you apart with my chair's cybernetics."

"Hey, we weren't that bad!"

"Ron, there was a pool going on when the two of you were going to be caught going all the way. The two of you were so attached at the face it's a wonder you could even breath. If kissing really did cause cooties the two of you would have created an epidemic."

"Well, that's all over." Ron grumped. "She even got this notion reading some stuff online that we should only have real dates once a week."

"Reading online? That doesn't sound like her."

"Oh, it's something she just got into. Some guy named Jason Something-or-other writes these romantic little stories and in one the big-time couple decided they would hang out on weeknights and date only on Friday or Saturday. So she comes to me and says it's a 'ferociously' good idea."

"Well, if you don't like it, just tell her."

"Felix, haven't you noticed who wears the pants in this relationship?"

Leaning over, Felix made a show of checking exactly what his friend had on at the moment. "Ron-man, I think you're wearing pants too."

"Oh, I tried to tell her that. She just said she was better at keeping pants on than me."

"I know what you mean, but, man, that sounds so wrong."

"What…oh, yeah it does, doesn't it?"

"You can level with me, Ron. You know how to get those pants off her, don't you?"

"Yeah I…whoa! Felix, we're not like that!"

His friend was laughing so hard he was in real danger of falling out of his chair. "Oh, man, I'm just playing you. The look on your face."

"Yeah, well, we were almost like that, but not yet."

"I hear ya, man. If that came from anyone else I'd have to call BS on it, but I hear ya."

They were interrupted by a familiar voice, "Hey Stoppable, how's it hangin?" A large, blonde haired man walked up to them, holding a heavily laden tray of tex-mex junk food.

"Hi Brick. We're doin' 'kay." Ron answered. "Thought you'd be at Carolina by now getting ready for training."

"Oh, I've already been there a week. Just flew back this morning to see the family before the real work gets started. Sucks being second string and everything."

"Gotta start somewhere Brick. I bet it's nothing like High School."

"You can say that again. It's worse than when I was a freshman."

"Uh Brick," Felix said, "you are a freshman."

"Oh, yeah, right. So I guess it's supposed to be that way huh?"

Ron and Felix looked at each other. Still the same old Brick.

Without really being asked, Brick sat down in the booth across from Ron and started in on his food. "Either of you seen Bonnie?"

Felix shrugged. Ron did as well. "Haven't seen her since school let out. Seemed like she high-tailed it out of town somewhere. You two still on the outs?"

"Yeah. I pretty much broke it off after the prom. That was pretty mean what she did to you. You're still hangin with Possible, right?"

"Yeah, Kim and me are pretty tight." At least he hoped so, wishing it was Kim sitting at the table with him and not his MBF and a former high-school quarterback.

"So, what're you going to do for her Birthday?"

"You know when Kim's birthday is?" He seemed a little taken aback by that notion. Even though Brick had bamboozled Kim into a near-date once, he had never been terribly close to her, especially considering Brick was dating Bonnie most of the time anyway.

"Oh yeah. Last year Bonnie got real tweaked about not being invited to her sweet-sixteen party so she took it out on me for a whole week. I don't know the exact date."

"Whoa, waitaminute!" Ron said. "What do you mean she wasn't invited? I remember Kim going on an on about how her mother made her invite the whole squad, Bonnie included and then she had the nerve to snub the invite."

"Huh. Maybe she was just playing it up for drama. I don't know, haven't seen her since graduation." Brick leaned in close, whispering to the younger man. "So, what was the deal with those…you know?"

"I know what?" Ron said, looking confused. Felix just raised an eyebrow.

"Last spring, you know, what Mankey, Nelson and me caught you holding that caused her to storm out of the school? I mean, I know the two of you had been tight for a while, but I didn't see you getting in her pants that quick."

Ron turned almost as red as his old jersey (which had now been permanently snatched by Kim to sleep in.) He had almost completely forgotten the incident with the panties. "Uh, somebody kinda stuffed those in Kim's bag and I accidentally snagged them on the Kimmunicator. That's when you guys found me with them. Kim was so embarrassed she just took off and all."

"Too bad. I bet she's a really sweet ride."

Ron's hand shot out so fast neither of the other two could see it. Brick suddenly yelped in pain as Ron's hand gripped his wrist so hard the bones crackled against each other.

"Brick, I am willing to let that go this once because that's just the way you are, but if I ever hear you talking about my Kim that way again the Tar heels are going to have to do without their second string quarterback for the whole season, got it?"

"Sure man, it's cool, I'm sorry. Meant to say Kim's a really sweet girl and all, just came out wrong."

"That's what I thought." Ron said, calming slightly, suddenly aware that he just threatened a man easily twice his size…

…with the confidence he would be able to back that threat up.

The rest of his food forgotten, Brick quickly excused himself and, looking actually a bit embarrassed, left as fast as he could get out the door and into his car.

"Wow, Stoppable, didn't know you had that in you."

"I didn't either." He was starting to shake slightly, though he couldn't quite put his finger on why. It could have been the fact he just said that to a man who could quite easily pound him into the floor or it could have been that he somehow felt that wouldn't happen and either notion scared him slightly.

"So, when exactly is Kim's birthday?" Felix asked, eager to get the subject back where it had been before.

"Friday."

"Okay, we've got a whole four days to think of something. Buck up there, camper. It's Friday, so that's an official date night."

"I guess you're right. Just wish I had more claude."

"Ron-man, Possible knows the score. Just give it your all, that's all that counts."

"I just wish I had a better idea what to do. I've known her almost thirteen years now and I don't have the foggiest notion what I'm going to buy her."

"What do you give the girl who has everything?" Felix asked, leaning over the table toward his friend, smiling conspiratorially.

"Okay, girlfriend…TTS." Monique said, sitting across the table from Kim at the Middleton Mall food court.

"TTS?" Kim asked, leaning on her fists, staring off into space.

"Time To Spill. What's the deal with you and Ron. Ever since you got back from that vacation of yours you've been moping around. Girl, you didn't even get amped over the fall stuff we just got in at Club Banana. You two not doing so hot?"

"It's not that, Monique. We're doing pretty hot. It's just, I don't know, maybe I'm just worried where all this is going."

"Going? Okay, where is the real Kim. Two weeks ago you were ready to march down the aisle with him carrying his twin children. Don't tell me you're having second thoughts, cause if you are I know somebody who would really like a shot at that freckled hotness."

"Mon, I think I said some things to him that I'm regretting now."

"Oh, so now you think you've been moving too fast."

"Well, that's what I thought when I talked to him about it, now I'm not so sure."

"Wait, I'm confused. The two of you go from love-sick fools to old-marrieds almost overnight, then you finally think it's too fast, now you don't?"

"That sounds about right. I told him we were getting in over our heads with all the PDAs and such, so I kind of put the brakes on it."

"Oooooh, now I get it."

"You do?"

"Yep. Okay, here goes. You suddenly find out that all this couple's stuff you do with him is a good thing, so you jump in with both feet. Then you get a notion in your head that something's wrong with that, so you jump right back out. Now you're sitting here finding your needs aren't being met."

"You sound almost like I'm an addict trying to go cold turkey."

"Well, if the shoe fits…"

"I'm not, it's just…we were…too much…we almost…"

Monique's eyebrow shot up. "You almost what?"

Kim blushed, the red glow highlighting her still visible freckles. "Nothing."

Her friend fixed her with a glare that said I'm not letting you up from this table until you spill! "Did Dude-boy try anything you weren't ready for?"

"No, it was nothing like that. Ron would never do that to me. It was something we both decided on, then we decided not to." With a sigh, she quickly gave Monique an abridged version of all the romance down in Florida.

"Wow…I mean wow!"

"I still can't believe I was naked in a bed with him like that and all we did was hold hands." Kim said, thinking back to that moment, remembering how scared she actually was.

"Actually, I'm liking that make-out session in the sleeping bag the best. I don't know if I could keep my pants on in a situation like that. Did he know what happened to you?"

"I think it was pretty obvious. The look on his face was priceless."

"Damn, girl. I'm going to have to remember that when I get a real boyfriend." She looked upwards, thinking wistfully again about finding a guy like Ron. "So, what's he doing for your birthday?"

"I don't know. I'm hoping maybe it'll be a simple date. Mom and Dad aren't holding the fam thing until Saturday night, I guess they figure Ron'll want me to himself on my actual birthday."

"And what about his birthday next week? A camping trip?"

"Monique! I'm treating him to a nice quiet dinner alone."

"You're not going to try and cook, are you?"

"No, it's going to be take-out, but his parents are going out of town for the weekend so we'll have some quality time alone."

"And you'll break out the sleeping bag?"

"You are so fixated on that. Maybe I'll stuff the two of you into one so it'll shut you up about it."

"Works for me."

Kim stuck her tongue out at her.

"So, what are you going to get him?"

That stopped Kim cold. "Wow, thirteen years together and suddenly I don't have a single idea."

"Well, I do, and I think it will be good for the both of you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, simple. You go find him after we leave and rock his world, within reason. If all that making out was so good for you, don't stop until you get enough. I can't stand all this moping around. Let things go back the way you were and when it's time you'll slow down, but when it comes naturally, it'll feel right."

"I hope so." Kim looked off into space again, this time wishing she had Ron's arms wrapped around her.

She still had no idea what to get him though.

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