There's Still Fireworks: Part XI
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The clock was reading just past three in the morning, or at least it was the last time Kim looked at it. Her eyes remained open, not wanting to shut no matter how little sleep she had the last couple days. They remained fixed on the ceiling, though they weren't actually focused on the heavy wood beam just over their heads.
She should have been able to sleep. How many times had the two of them fallen into a deep slumber in that position in the past? At least Ron was able to sleep, though he was probably going to be paying for it in the morning. His head was resting on her shoulder, his arm draped around her stomach. What was so different, save for the fact they were once again connected at the hip?
Kim thought she would be enjoying the chance to spend the night curled up with him. It seemed so natural to wish for it to happen. She certainly enjoyed his touch, something she was coming to realize she had always known, but somehow blocked out.
Part of her problem was that she was dwelling on her decisions the day before. Being the child of a scientist and a doctor, she neither believed in luck or karma, yet it seemed she had gotten a heaping helping of the latter for going against her usual nature, first suggesting that Ron actually cut a class, then pretty much making out with him at school. She knew both were wrong the moment they happened, but her mind just wasn't working that way when it came to her boyfriend.
Was that what love did to a person? Did it make all common sense go right out the window? She kept thinking how she would have reacted if he had been the one to suggest skipping the last class of the day. There was a time when he would do so regularly, just to escape spending yet another hour with Mr. Barkin, or just head over to Bueno Nacho early, filling up on Nacos and other Tex-mex treats. Sometimes she would scold him for doing it, sometimes she would turn a blind eye. The latter came whenever she got the notion she was doing something to 'fix' him, bringing up the bad memories of when she'd tried doing so before.
That brought another question to her mind. The "L" word kept coming to her, unbidden whenever she thought of him. Did she love him? Unquestionably, the answer was yes, but what kind of love was it? For some reason, the thought of romantic love for him was…strange. That in itself led to even more confusion. Just as she liked his touch, she liked touching him – holding him close, kissing, sneaking a little, semi-innocent grope. All of that she liked and wanted to do more of, but was that just something she wanted to do with any male willing to do so, or was it something she only wanted to do with Ron?
Without a doubt, he was perhaps the best thing in her life. She didn't want to admit it to him at the time, but when he became so distraught about Kim spending time with Monique when they first met, she felt the same thing as well. The thought of them drifting apart as friends filled her with an almost unspeakable anguish.
But was that that kind of love?
It was almost as if there were two separate issues at work. She loved him, and wanted to be with him, but that all seemed more tied to friendship. Making matters worse, the only way to test the other aspect of their new relationship was to try with someone else…to play the field. That thought alone was scary enough to keep her awake that night. What if her newfound craving for physical affection applied to somebody else, say, someone who was considered better 'boyfriend material.' Somebody more handsome, taller, stronger. Maybe there was somebody out there with Ron's personality, yet more responsible, with Josh Mankey's looks?
Only, doing so would only hurt Ron, and in turn just thinking about that hurt her just as deeply.
Still, she mentally ticked off the list of the guys she considered 'hotties' at school. Sure, Josh Mankey was still just as 'golden' as he was when she first laid eyes on him, but their personalities never actually jelled. He was still a friend, but she had finally come to understand that he was just a pretty picture. In the final estimation, he was, well, boring.
Bobby Johnson wasn't half bad to look at either, but there was no denying that part of her desire for the tall senior was just as she had blurted out under the thrall of the truth ray. Bonnie liked him, and he seemed a lot more attracted to the brunette than he was her, so he was a sort of forbidden fruit. If it weren't for her widespread fame as a teen hero, she was sure he wouldn't even know she existed.
Every now and again she would spot Walter Nelson around town. At thirteen, Kim had been all-to-pleased to kiss him, though the resulting orthodontic emergency resulted in a rather uncomfortable relationship between the two of them. It also became clear that he was a rather self-absorbed pretty boy, and word did get back to her that he was bragging about kissing her, something she loathed. Kim was actually happy when she learned he would attend Eastside instead of Middleton High.
Brick Flagg was…okay to look at and a lot nicer than she would have expected for somebody who could actually date Bonnie. Only he was dumb as a post, and a 'loveable oaf' just wasn't something Kim was into.
Yet, strangely, that was one way to describe Ron. He was short for a guy his age, rather narrow chested, with big ears and freckles so dark she could see them in the half-light of the darkened room. Prying her eyes from the ceiling, she looked at him as he slept. No, he wasn't golden, and probably never would be 'ripped,' yet she couldn't help but think that, for some reason, he was beautiful. As peaceful as he looked, one of his best features wasn't even visible.
Ron had the most wonderful brown eyes.
With a sigh, Kim tried putting her mind at ease. Who cared what kind of love she felt for him? She was sixteen and they were 'dating.' They weren't engaged, hadn't exchanged friendship rings, or anything like that. At that point in their lives they were doing exactly what they should be doing, testing the waters, enjoying each other's company and learning if there was something beyond that. They had a lot of living to do before needing any kind of deeper commitment.
Yet, somehow, she could easily picture the two of them growing old together, spending virtually their whole lives as one. Was that just a pleasant thought, or something deep inside of her trying to tell her that he was 'the one?"
Ron shifted positions slightly, and Kim realized she actually had dozed off finally, though she was only on the edge of sleep and not in the deep restfulness her body and mind craved. To the unaware, they looked like they were snuggled close, Ron turned slightly toward her, nestling his head in the hollow of her shoulder. It was the one position they found where they both could be reasonably comfortable, at least given the circumstances.
Part of her restlessness she didn't blame on the two of them being connected, but on the fact she wasn't able to even sleep in her own bed. The shower had been bad enough, though, given Ron's rather fortuitous suggestion about the bathing suits, it wasn't much different than rinsing the sand off themselves with one of those public showers at the beach. Neither was as clean as they would have preferred, and Ron being Ron, they did manage to land on their backsides once during the ordeal, but they managed.
No, her Dad could take them having to shower. He even accepted the necessity of the much more difficult and troubling bathroom breaks. Those were things he couldn't come up with a solution to that would sooth his fatherly instincts. Things were different when it came to bed time. There was no getting around them…'sleeping together.' It didn't matter they had pretty much slept in each other's arms on missions, but that was before the 'dating' element was even considered. The thought of them both together, in her bed…it was just something James Possible couldn't tolerate, not while he had some say in the matter.
Kim pulled the covers a little higher over her, trying to get comfortable on the couch. If she'd been trying to watch TV or read a book, she would have likely nodded off long ago, but deliberately sleeping on the couch just so the couple were in a 'public' part of the house just wasn't working. The whole idea was that either parent could make their way through there, and if they got any ideas in their heads besides taking their rest, there was a much greater chance they would be caught.
That made no sense to her. It wasn't like her parents weren't constantly in her room anyway. When she needed a bit of privacy, like changing clothes, there was a latch on the door to her loft, but that only served to tell a visitor she wanted to be left alone. A hard twist of the knob and it would open right up. Not that she would dare even close her door with Ron in the room, not by then, anyway.
They got another momentary reprieve where her twin brothers were concerned. Earlier that afternoon, while they carefully walked to Bueno Nacho (neither of them wished to arrive at their 'date' in her parent's mini-van) Kim's Mom hastily arranged for the Tweebs to sleep over at a friend's house. There was only so much ridicule she could take from the two of them, and with Ron dragging her down, at least physically, she wouldn't be able to kick their cans.
Not that they could escape it completely. After some doing, they managed to get into one side of their usual booth and were ready to spend some time slowly picking at the large tray of food (they over-bought so they wouldn't have to get up and go to the counter repeatedly) and feeding each other. Kim hadn't so much as gotten a chip to her boyfriend's mouth before a rather curvaceous shadow crossed their table.
"Oh, aren't the two of you so cute together. News flash, K, you were already on thin ice just being this loser's friend. Sitting here pretending like the two of you actually have something going on is going to cost you."
"So not the drama, Bonnie." Kim nearly growled back at the smug girl standing at the end of their table with her arms crossed. "Ron and I are dating and I don't care what you or your 'posse' think about it." To illustrate her point, she leaned over and gave Ron a brief but intense kiss, tugging on his lower lip as they broke content.
"Oh please. The whole school knows about that kiss in the hall. I still say it's nothing but an act. So tell me, Kim, how's it like to have a beard?"
Kim started rising, her hands balling into fists, only to hear Ron yelp in mild pain as he leg smacked against the table.
Bonnie's smirk widened. "When they say 'joined at the hip', K, they don't mean literally. Later losers." She tossed her hair as she walked away, swinging her wide, rounded hips from side to side as she went, as if she were wishing to entice the same male she had just demeaned.
"Ooooooo, that Bonnie! What makes someone like that?" She snarled, her fists pounding the table top, momentarily distracting Rufus from his bath of hand-pumped cheese like substance.
"KP, chill-ax. Ain't nothin Bon-Bon can say that will harsh my mellow while I'm here with my most Bon-Diggity lady."
Smiling slightly, she relaxed, settling back down into the seat. She even attempted a slight hip-bump, but the effect was lost since their hips were joined under the table. He got the gist of what she was trying to do, and leaned on his elbow, grinning stupidly at her.
"What's with that look?" She asked, before biting down on a burrito.
"Just thinking how lucky we are."
Kim gave his thigh a little squeeze under the table. "That's so sweet, Ronnie."
"Yeah. Just imagine if we weren't stuck to each other, like, maybe if you'd gotten stuck to Bonnie if that thing had gone of earlier."
"Puh-lease. I'm eating here." Kim gulped down the huge bite she had taken and pointed at the flour wrapped snackage. "It's bad enough I have to put up with that…with Bonnie at school, I don't think I could take being stuck to her even as long as we've been glued together. I would so go off the deep end." A wicked grin formed on her lips, and she looked at Ron with slitted eyes. "Maybe you could have spent the day stuck to Barkin."
"Aw man, that is sick and wrong in the worst possible way. Did you hear where he was going after he dropped us off? Rugby! KP, I went out for the school rugby team, and it's nothing more than an excuse to play 'kill the man with the ball.' Not to mention, I'd probably have to sleep with him. Kim, I'd be sleeping with Barkin! He probably does something weird in his sleep too!"
"Weird? Ron, come on, Mr. Barkin may be a little…strange sometimes…"
"I bet he even sleeps with a stuffed animal!" He blurted out.
"Ron, I sleep with Pandaroo." Kim said flatly, glaring at him.
"That's so different, you're a…"
"A girl?" Icicles hung from her words.
"Well, yeah, and you're…smaller."
"Oy." Kim rolled her eyes, digging back into her burrito.
"What are we going to do tomorrow if this hasn't worn off?" He asked, playing a momentary tug-of-war with Rufus over a chip.
"I dunno. Maybe go shopping."
"Ugh, shopping." Ron stuck his considerable tongue out momentarily.
"Wait, you said earlier this week you wanted to go hang at the mall." She put one hand on her free hip, once again glaring at him.
"S'ha, hangin. So different from your 'shopping.' Just chill, play some video games, grab some gherkins at Pickle-on-a-Pike."
"Ron, they put the mall there so they could have those stores all under one roof. It's meant for shopping."
He shook his head. "Kim, Kim, Kim, I still have so much to teach you."
"Hey, if this is another lecture about marinating…"
Before either one of them could realize it, the sun had not only set, but the moon was up and the stars were out. They managed to spend their entire allotted date time doing nothing more than what they had done on Friday nights for years.
In retrospect, neither would have had it any other way. It was the first real sign that taking the next step in their relationship wasn't going to hurt what they already had.
Rather than risk breaking curfew, they called Kim's Mom to come pick them up since it would take nearly twice as long to walk home. She glanced at them occasionally in the rear view mirror, smiling as they spent the ride home, resting their foreheads against each others.
What she didn't realize was that the bonding agent connection had temporarily migrated there, and it took a little doing for them to get their heads back apart.
Kim was finding out something about her boyfriend and prospective future-whatever-they-turned-out to be. At first she worried that he would snore. Case in fact, he did, but it was only a slight sound that didn't bother her. No, Ron was a covers thief. Once again she was reminded that there would have been plenty for both of them under the big, thick comforter on her bed, but that wasn't to be. Maybe she would feign extreme tiredness if they were still stuck together the following night and beg her parents to let them sleep up there, under the extreme promise nothing but sleeping would happen. Heck, she probably wouldn't have to feign anything at the rate she was losing sleep.
Ron shifted against her one more time…
…doing something that made her eyes snap wide open, chasing away even the slightest hint that she was about to finally nod off.
His hand, which had been firmly planted on the exposed part of her waist for the better part of the night, suddenly shifted northwards. In doing so, it had slipped under the light camisole tank she always wore to sleep in and had come to rest in a certain place.
She lay there frozen for a bit, caught between the shock of what he was doing and the surprise that, given better circumstances, she would have enjoyed it quite a great deal. She quickly flipped between that thought, and the mild shame it brought her that she did like it in a way.
That's when she realized, Ron wasn't snoring any more.
"Ron!" She hissed as quietly as she could.
"Mmmmm Hmmmmm." He moaned, obviously grinning in the dim light.
"This is so not the time or place."
He cracked an eye at her, his smile widening. "We're under the covers. Sorry, just couldn't resist the urge to steal second."
The baseball term escaped her for a moment, but there was still too much danger of them being caught if one or both parents decided to come downstairs right then.
"Ron, we can go to second plate…"
"Base." He corrected.
"…Base when we've got some private time. This is so not private."
"Okay. Sorry, KP."
She tilted her head back, almost ready to tell him there wasn't anything to apologize for, that was, until. "Uh Ron. You can move your hand now."
"I can't, Kim. It's stuck!"
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