Where Did the Time Go? Chapter 48: Part XLVIII, a kim possible fanfic

Where Did the Time Go? : Part XLVIII

Ron was the first to wake up the next morning. It took a moment for his brain to kick its way through the disorientation of being in a strange bed, one that was literally three times larger than the one he was used to. For once his feet weren't cold from sticking out at the foot of the bed. In fact, despite the air conditioning being on all night, he was quite warm.

Considering Kim was spooned against his back, that was to be expected.

Slowly and carefully he extracted himself from her arms. He didn't want to do that but other needs were forcing his hand. She sighed deeply in her sleep, rolling onto her back. There was enough light spilling around the blinds to see her clearly. Ron almost couldn't take his eyes off of her, distracting pressure in his bladder or no.

After spending a little bit dancing to Could It Be they made their way up to the room. Ron was just a tad worried Kim was feeling too romantic, especially since he had come to a very important personal decision. It turned out she was feeling that way but was firmly in control. They quickly took separate showers and climbed into bed, clean, refreshed yet utterly exhausted.

Ron almost threw his decision out the window when Kim came out of the bathroom wearing something shiny, silky and short. It was completely opaque but gave the impression of being transparent. He almost felt silly lying there in his white t-shirt and the paisley boxers she had given him on his birthday.

She was still sound asleep when he came back from the bathroom. It was only eight o'clock and checkout would not be until twelve, so he was in no hurry to wake her. They had only been asleep for four hours and considering what they had just been through, any rest was golden. He sat down on the floor for a moment and just looked at her. She didn't have a bit of makeup on and her hair was a slept on mess. The silk camisole was bunched up above her naval. He recalled having his hand on her bare waist during a brief make-out before they fell asleep. Ron also remembered Kim mentioning something about it being good it was nice and dark in there, considering the underwear she had on beneath the nighty.

It was perhaps good for his resolve she had the covers pulled up over her lower half.

He just sat there for a while looking at her. Like this she was every bit as beautiful as she had been the night before when he picked her up. It was indeed a shame their Prom clothes had been destroyed but at least they had their memories of it. In a couple days the pictures would arrive, immortalizing that moment. There would also be pictures of the Queen's dance and their subsequent kiss. It was very likely that picture would join the one from their Junior Prom.

He started thinking about the future and his decision. It would be so easy to climb back into that bed right now and whisper in Kim's ear. There was no doubt in his mind that she would agree and a year of waiting would come to an end. The kidnapping and fight in Mexico aside, this was their Senior Prom and it was one of those special moments where the "Time Was Right."

Only, it wasn't right enough for him.

For all the intensity of their feelings for each other, all the opportunities they had, a year had passed and they were still virgins. It was a weird feeling knowing that if either of them said the words they would very likely make love, yet they still held back. It wasn't out of fear of what may come of it any more. It wasn't a lack of love or lack of desire. In fact, that desire was burning in him right then and there, testing his will.

Like any normal guy, Ron had many fantasies about the first time with Kim. Several of them even bore a striking resemblance to their current situation, though they did involve both of them being in a big soft bed and a little less clothing than each had on. One featured a large Jacuzzi tub like the one in the spacious bathroom of the suite.

All of those fantasies were pushed aside by his favorite one of all. It was the one where he carried her across the threshold wearing a blindingly white dress and laid her down on a bed much like this one. He wasn't sure if that day would come as soon as they were adults or a few years later, but he knew it would come and he was now willing to wait for that day, making that first time the most perfect it could possibly be.

That's how much he loved Kim.

It took him a moment to realize two emeralds were shining at him from the pillow. Kim smiled softly at him, patting the spot on the bed beside her. He quickly crawled up into it and into her arms. Neither of them cared one little bit that they needed to brush their teeth as they spent a few minutes just kissing.

"Sorry I fell asleep on you, Baby." She draped an arm over his shoulder, playing with his pillow matted hair.

"I'm not. We both needed the rest. I think we could both use a couple more hours."

"You sure that's how you'd like to spend the morning?" She smiled softly, putting her forehead against his.

Ron kissed her again, pulling her body tight against his. "This is exactly what I want to be doing at this moment." He said.

She gave him a little semi-pout. "Is that all?"

"Well, I do want to hit the breakfast buffet after a while." He looked into her eyes. "This is what's right, right now."

"Okay, Baby." She closed her eyes and buried her face in his shoulder. Moments later he could tell she had drifted off to sleep once more.

He considered his situation for a moment. Here he was in a private hotel room with the woman he loved, a woman who would be happy whether he spent the rest of the morning holding her like he was or making love to him. They were alone in a comfortable bed, she had one leg hooked up over his and her slender body was snuggled against his.

Was he absolutely nuts to pass up an opportunity like this?

His wedding night fantasy played in his head again, reminding him he absolutely was not.

"So." The red haired young woman said as she sat at the kitchen table.

"So." The blonde haired young woman replied from the other side of that table.

Kim drummed her fingers on the table. "I guess I need to thank you for risking your life for Ron and me."

"Uh, yeah. Sorry I wasn't that much help."

"Really, Danika, you were. You tipped the battle in our favor, if you hadn't been there it would have only been a matter of time before one of them got a lucky shot in. It's just…I know I didn't let GJ take you in, but I just can't get past the fact you went through my stuff and stole the suit. Dan, there was some really private stuff in there."

"I know. If Mom and Dad found mine they would just plain freak." She stopped and looked Kim right in the eye. "But I only know about it because Bonnie told me. I didn't go through your bags on the ski trip. I may have been playing at being a stuck up super-bitch cheerleader like Rockwaller, but I like you too much, I look up to you too much to do something like that."

"But you stole my suit." Kim said, holding up her index finger.

"Not really. I said that time you tried to catch me at that warehouse, it kind of fell into my lap. Well, that's actually the God's honest truth."

"Dan, come on. Combat suit's worth over six million dollars on the open market just don't fall into your lap."

"I'm telling you the truth, Kim. It was hard telling exactly what was going on that night. It was so dark out, once Barkin ordered the lights on the bus off, we couldn't see anything. All we could do is sit there and listen while all that snapping and crunching and moaning went on. I was sitting there scared as everyone else, afraid I was going to pee my pants if whatever was making all that noise came after us.

"The principal didn't turn on the bus lights until we were back on the main highway, headed back to Middleton but I didn't bother looking in my stuff until the next morning. I was getting highly pissed that they said all the stuff we brought with us was destroyed but I eventually decided to put away the stuff in my daypack. That's when I found out the suit was stuffed in there. Somebody had put it there, though I have no idea why."

Kim looked away, thinking for a few minutes. "Actually, it's still stealing since you kept it. That just means the only thing you didn't do was go through my stuff."

"I guess you're right, but I thought I'd never have another opportunity like that. I knew how everything in it worked and I figured I could do a lot of the same things you do and I really, really wanted to do stuff like that. For the longest time, I wanted to be you."

Kim started to say it wasn't that easy but stopped herself. Without any kind of outside help, without any specific training, Danika had managed to pull off a great deal of what she was capable of. Still, it all came back to the suit. "You know, GJ is still ticked off at you…and they're not all that happy with me at the moment since I wouldn't let them take you in."

"Yeah, I guess I've got to lay low and take it easy for a little while."

Kim's eyes narrowed. "Hey, whoa, wait a sec. It's not like Wade's going to just issue you another suit to take the place of the one that got toasted when it transmitted the kill signal. I was just about to say, all this just isn't that easy."

"I thought…"

"Look, Dan. I don't know if anyone can ever duplicate what I've done. I work in the open and I've got lots of help. I've got friends who do their part. I've got a family who is behind me every step of the way. Since people know what I do, I get a lot of support at every turn. You took a whole different tack. You went with a secret identity, you went it alone. I don't know if I would have succeeded if all I did was skulk around like the Fearless Ferret."

"Who?" Danika's eyebrows shot up in confusion.

"Never mind, long story…and don't ask Ron about it either unless you have a couple days to listen to it. What I'm saying is, if you're going to make a go at this hero business you've got to know from the beginning what you're getting into. You may have been doing pretty good against the petty criminals, but you were making a few mistakes. Sooner or later somebody's going to figure them out and that will just make things all that much more dangerous."

"I think I understand." She hung her head slightly. "Maybe I'm better off just trying to take your place on the squad next fall."

"There you go. That at least won't get you killed." Kim looked at her watch. "Hey, I gotta go, Ron and I have to prowl the mall for new graduation clothes."

"Kim, about you and Ron. I know that stuff Bonnie told me about is real personal and everything but, you know, a deaf and blind man in a cave on the other side of the planet know the two of you are in love and stuff, so…have you?"

She slung her purse over her shoulder. "No. Not even on Prom Night. Bonnie really did have it completely backwards. I started those because I had a little acne and some months I'd go six weeks, some three and then there was the cramping and other stuff. Killed two birds with one stone there and the only reason I don't take the newer ones that are specifically for skin problems is because I'm allergic to one of the ingredients, that's all.

"I'll let you in on a little secret, Dan. Despite how much I love Ron, despite what everybody else has assumed, despite a whole year and a week together…Ronnie hasn't gotten to second base yet."

Danika's mouth dropped in open shock.

"Before we got together, the most I'd ever done with a guy were little, relatively innocent kisses. When Ron and I started dating, I suddenly found myself doing that and more and I thought everything was just going to happen over night. We caught ourselves before that and it really turns out, if you think about it, we've slowed stuff way down and it'll come when it's right and natural. Sure, we've spent the night together several times, but that's because physically being together is real important to us."

The blonde looked a little sheepish. "Chad and I…well, you know."

Kim shrugged. "If that's what was right for you two, hey, who am I to say anything. Listen, see you in school Monday?"

"Sure." Danika got up and followed Kim to the kitchen door. Ron's car was idling outside in the driveway. She watched as the two exchanged a quick but warm kiss before driving off.

Kim really was a lot different than she had been led to believe.

She polished off the pop she had been sipping and put the glass in the sink. Then she went upstairs to her room and opened her closet. Shoving her clothes to one side, she pressed a hidden latch.

Danika didn't have a vault in the rear of her closet like Kim did, but there was a false back. Hanging inside was a solid black outfit. It didn't have the power bands like the original, nor did it have a lot of the same capabilities but it did have the self-repairing fabric and could enhance her speed and strength. That was the best she could do at the moment, given the current state of her skills.

The debut of her new suit would have to wait. Her father was being transferred to the east coast over the summer and she would wait until then before the Vigilante Ninja returned to active duty. By then Kim and Global Justice would have gone on to other things and they would take no notice of a new costumed hero working far from their home turf of Middleton.

I can do this.

I can kick a bio-something-or-other animated totem pole's biscuit!

I can single-handedly destroy a Diablo bot!

I can do this.

Ron stared into this dresser mirror, trying to understand what he was doing wrong. All he had to do was nod at his little buddy Rufus and the naked mole rat would be on his shoulder helping him. He simply didn't want to do that. One more time, he wanted to accomplish this on his own.

Letting out a sigh he unbuttoned the tips of his collar and turned them up. The neck button was already done. He still hated wearing shirts this way, feeling like he was being choked to death even though the neck was the correct size. Just who in the world decided that for men to look nice they had to have buttoned up collars? Why couldn't high fashion also be highly comfortable?

Flip and twist and fold and pull. He looked in the mirror at his handiwork. Well, it looked a lot more like a knot, though more of one you'd find on a sailing ship than with a dark gray dress shirt. He was going for a Half-Windsor but he would have settled for a square knot. No, this just wouldn't do. Not only was the knot completely ugly, the back was far longer than the front and that was only down to the middle of his chest. Growling slightly he undid his tie once more.

Rufus sat on the edge of his dresser, looking up at his human proudly. This day was the culmination of so much. Twelve years finally complete, finally he was ready to take his first steps into true manhood. He may have been considered a man in his faith and had been for almost five years but the rest of society saw this as the true beginning of adulthood.

In his case it was actually quite a big accomplishment. There were times when it was very likely this day would either never come or would be put off one, two even three years. There had been a real scare at the end of his eleventh year that he would not be allowed to begin the twelfth. It took everything he had to pull up his grades at the last moment and get promoted.

The little Naked Mole Rat sat there, knowing Ron had to do this himself. He understood that. It was fine when he climbed up there and helped him get ready for Temple once he decided he had outgrown clip-ons, but this was different. Completely different.

"I can go this, little buddy." He said, wrapping his tie around the back of his neck again. Rufus just held up a claw in an approximation of a thumbs-up sign.

Would I be weird if I pointed it out that Naked Mole Rats are not supposed to have opposable digits? He thought with a slight chuckle.

The laughs came easily. Despite the dangerous situations he had been through recently, the last months had left him with a deep feeling of contentment. Sure there was a lot of work ahead of him, but he knew he didn't have to go it alone. He'd never be alone again. He sighed again and made another go at the knot. This time the knot came out looking right, though the length was even worse than before. The tail of the tie was hanging way down past his belt.

He looked down and noticed Rufus was just shaking his head. He shrugged at his small friend and started over once more.

This was supposed to be easy. Easier than tying a bow-tie.

Hmmm. That was a thought. Tradition said he had to wear a tie today, but didn't really specify which kind. He pulled the Jerry Garcia tie from around his neck and opened a drawer on his dresser. The tie he pulled out was old and slightly tattered, especially after what it went through down in Mexico, but if he was able to get it tied right it would look just fine, plus it would be a bit more visible in his robe and everyone who saw it would know precisely what it was.

Try as he might, though, he just couldn't get this part done right, even with instructions open right in front of him. His knot looked, well, deflicted was the word he would have once used for it. To him it just plain looked corrupt. He did this on Prom night, what was the problem now? With grim determination he started again.

This time, though, strong feminine fingers reached around his neck and started guiding his hands. In a few deft moves the tie finally came together with a nice solid knot and the length just right. Those slender fingers pulled the bow taught and smoothed the sides against his collar. Then she went over to his bed and pulled something dark blue, almost purple from the tissue paper lined box, holding it up to the light streaming in through his bedroom window. She took something else from the box, inspecting the perfectly square object, made of matching dark blue material with a tassel of blood red and goldenrod.

Pulling off her glasses for a moment, she wiped her eyes.

"My little boy, all grown up into such a fine man now. Where did the time go?" His mother said, looking at him from head to toe. Ron was never going to be a very tall man in any respect, still sitting a couple inches shy of six feet tall. He was, in every regard, nicely average in height and build. Intensive exercise over the last year plus a final growth spurt had filled him out a little better. There was no way anyone could call him bird-chested any more. In fact, he had to replace a good portion of his wardrobe. Only his remaining two red jerseys would still fit him.

He smiled broadly, realizing where the other two were.

"To think you did this all on your own. Not the top of your class, but this is still impressive and going to school right here at Middleton College. I can't tell you how proud I am of you."

"You just did, Mom. You just did."

She wrapped her arms around his shoulder again. "I love you so much, Son, I hope you know that."

"I do, Mom. I do." He said, leaning his head over to touch hers.

She looked over at his closet, ad the tattered jacket hanging right beside the powder blue tux. "I just hated to see that happen to you. It wasn't fair."

Ron broke free from her. "Mom, I don't want to talk about that, not today, Okay. It was just clothing. Mister Horowitz can always make me another one when it's time. Maybe this time with tails and a white cummerbund, one that matches my white yarmulke?"

"All I'm saying, Ronnie, is that I tried to tell you that was going to happen. It was inevitable. It's just the way things seem to happen to the two of you." She said, cocking her head slightly to the side. "Poor old Solomon, he was almost heartbroken when he found out what had happened."

"Mom, don't talk about it like that. It was just a tux…"

"Just what, Ronnie? Being a tailor is his life and his livelihood. Just you remember when it does come time who your other friends are. One of these days good people like old Mister Horowitz are going to be gone and the world is going to be the poorer for it."

"Mom, I know. I'll remember. Heaven knows we all should remember that sort of thing. Trust me."

"Trust you? Of course I trust you. Just like I trust Kim now. Such good kids." She leaned in close to her son and whispered. "Just you remember, Catherine Jean needs some nieces and nephews close to her age to play with." She patted her expanding tummy.

"Mom! It's not like we're running to the alter the moment I turn eighteen. I know it seems like the two of us are already an old married couple sometimes, but good lord, give us a chance to be kids for a little while yet. Besides." He laid his hand over his mother's stomach. "You're going to need Kim to baby sit for a while before she's taking care of our own kid."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be trying to rush the two of you to the front of the Temple today Ronnie." She picked up the robe and held it to his chest, still marveling she had to hold it up. Ron had grown into the tallest Stoppable ever, standing a few inches taller than either of his parents.

She left him to finish getting ready for graduation. Graduation. He was finally going to put what he once considered that hated Middleton High School behind him. The last year had changed that opinion. That was fine with him, thought it also meant putting that part of his life with her behind him as well, and that was a little sad. It was a good thing Middleton College accepted him. That way the past would blend into the future and it would never be completely lost. He was accepted for the Johnson and Wales program at MC and he was already stoked to get started, even though he was looking forward a summer free from most of his former responsibilities.

Some time over the summer they would take off on a vacation together, for the first time deliberately heading off on an extended trip without any kind of chaperone.. The only thing still holding him back was the seemingly interminable wait for his eighteenth birthday. He didn't have to worry about money. His father had increased the allowance he could draw off his Bueno Nacho trust fund and there would be plenty left over after college expenses and books to use for such a trip if he was careful.

He glanced around his room. Most of the old toys were gone. Before he had access to his own money he found that a lot of them were actually quite valuable. That worked out well at the time, since he needed the money to buy her a nice birthday gift. To him it was never wasted money, especially since she wore them almost constantly now. The emerald earrings themselves cost more than a thousand dollars. That would be chump-change when he turned twenty-one and could draw on his whole trust fund, but even now that was a lot of money.

It was still an hour before they would pile into his father's Camry and head for the ceremony. The graduation itself was really more than two hours away, but he always insisted on being early for everything. Ron had an assigned seat based on where his name fell in the alphabet, so he wasn't worried about getting a prime spot, but it didn't matter, his father had to be early and that was it.

Ron lay back on his bed, propping his hands behind his head. He really wished she was with him this morning. He missed her terribly even though they had been out late the evening before. He closed his eyes tightly and wished she was right there with him.

His eyes snapped open and he sit bolt upright in his bed.

He was still in his room, still dressed and ready for graduation. He had not fallen asleep.

Yet he knew with absolute certainty this was the dream he had on several occasions. This was that particular day.

Leaning back on the bed he let out a huge breath. Maybe the dream had been a warning after all. He wasn't quite sure what had been the true turning point to make the reality happy where the dream had been so utterly sad but he had done it. In a couple hours he would no longer be a Senior, he would be a graduate. In a couple more months he would call Kim his fiancé and not just his girlfriend and maybe a couple years past that, he would call her wife. If that was the only thing he had to look forward to in life, that would make him the happiest man on Earth.

He felt a slight squirming against his back and heard a very faint squeak that sounded like "Help me." Sitting up quickly, he scooped up Rufus, who had been smooshed under him on the bed. The little guy was none-the-worse for the wear, though he was rubbing his head and shaking a tiny fist at his human.

"Sorry there Rufus, that was my fault."

My fault.

Ron narrowly missed Rufus when he fell back on the bed, laughing almost hysterically at himself.

Never the end

a/n

I'd like to thank all the folks who have offered the support for this story. All those who've sent me reviews and private messages along the way. This story alone has turned into the longest piece I've ever written and just like I said above, it's far from over.

Coming soon: The story continues in KP – Countdown – a fluffy little romance from their second summer of love, leading up to Motor Court Blues and Soulmates of the Fury. The saga is also continuing in Heart of the Fury and the upcoming college Freshman fic, KP - One Oh One.