Legal Disclaimer and whatnot: Nope still don't own Kim Possible; Disney does.

Thanks to CajunBear73, spectre666, and RonHeartbreaker for reviewing.

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Second Mission, Second Thoughts

Chapter 3: Mission Gear and Ron Night

Currently, back in the plane…

"Kim," he said simply and then smiled brightly. With his fear put down for now, he settled in once again and thought, "Funny, who would have thought that helping Mr. Paisley would lead us here? I mean, what are the chances of him having a fellow Cuddle Buddy collector…hmm. Well that's probably pretty high. Okay, but still what about a lost calf? Well, Mr. Davis does own a ranch…"

Ron shook his head. "Okay, okay…then why couldn't Mr. Davis get someone like closer – like from his own ranch? And couldn't Mr. Paisley get us on a faster flight out there? I mean he probably has access to a private jet or two – he's got a mansion. By the time we get there, it's gonna be Monday…He must a spent his fundage on the Cuddle Buddies…"

Again, Ron looked about their current form of transport. Despite it being in perfect working order, it looked well worn. A mosaic of scratches, dents, and patches could easily been seen on the plane's walls. It had seen better days.

"Most deeeeefinitely fundage on the 'Buddies'."

Suddenly, his stomach growled. He rubbed his belly in an attempt to pacify his gastrointestinal emptiness. "Man, I'm in need of some major snackage. Why couldn't we have stopped by Bueno Nacho before we left? I'd have even settled for 'to go'. I mean, it's a Friday – Wait, Friday? Aww man: Bueno Nacho night…"

Ron's stomach growled louder in protest.

"I need Bueno Nacho," he whimpered.

Again, his stomach growled, as if in agreement.

--

After consuming a rather unappetizing energy bar, Ron leaned over to check on his best friend. Surprisingly, just as he started to lean, Kim walked right passed him, without so much as a "Hi". Miffed, the blonde stared incredulously at his red-haired friend as she walked towards the rear of the plane, wanting to say something, but the words wouldn't come out. He knew the face that Kim made; one of Kim deep in thought. Ron's attitude shifted from annoyance to curiosity.

--

"Wow! We're actually here," Kim Possible thought, "We're actually on a real mission. An honest, out-of-the-state, worth writing about in my diary, big time mission. And I can't believe we actually got to go it alone!"

Memories of the mornings flashed through her mind. "I can't believe Ron said all that this morning, but where did that all come from? I've never seen Ron do or say something like that. He really stepped up."

Kim was in awe at her best friend. Recently in his life, many people saw Ron Stoppable simply as a slacker, the guy who would be the least successful, that quirky blonde outcast, or the weird kid that was somehow Kim Possible's best friend. But Kim knew better, much better – better that anyone else. Although Ron could be lazy, and several times was, he came through when she needed it.

"It's strange. Ron is afraid of a lot of things, but he came along without complaining. Well, I'm glad he came along with me, because I really don't think I could go it alone…at least without him. It just makes sense, really. We've been best friends since Pre-K and we've been through a lot…So why not this?"

She soon realized that she had come to the rear of the plane. "Since I'm here, I might as well check up on our stuff."

At first glance, it appeared to be gear for a hiking trip; three days of trail rations, a change of clothes, and a light bedroll. But that was to one side of the plane, their specialty gear was another matter. In addition to the Kimmunicator (kept in her hip pocket), they packed two sets of climbing equipment and two sets of skydiving gear (which included helmets with heads up displays and linked communication lines).

Looking at the specialty equipment, Kim was amazed how an eight year old, computer/engineering genius could craft these devices just in time for this mission. The fact that these items were given to them at no cost other than being part of the team was just as amazing.

"You are one lucky girl, Possible. You got Ron and Wade."

She thought of Wade Load fondly, remembering their first meeting. Kim received a hit on the site from Wade, who had offered his services. Wade had revealed that he had watched their exploits ever since Kim had tumbled her way through the McHenry laser grid system. It was one of the best systems that money could buy and to have someone technically defeat the system without any sort of gear merited his attention – after all, he wanted to get one as well. He offered to revamp and maintain the website in exchange for being part of the team. The African-American computer genius would be their source of information and would even supply them with gear that they would need for missions – the very first piece of equipment was the Kimmunicator. Soon after, a friendship was forged.

--

Seeing that all was in order, Kim grinned. She then looked at her mission outfit. "I hope this looks professional – I really want to make a good first impression…"

For the first time, Kim and Ron sported what would become their signature gear. The teen redhead wore a snug, black crop top; loose, olive cargo pants with a leather equipment belt; dark gray gloves and black, sneaker-like boots. Ron was similarly dressed except his shirt was more like a regular t-shirt and his cargos were dark gray. Also, his ensemble was from Smarty Mart and Kim's was from Club Banana. Ron wanted something more like the outfits worn by superheroes, like Team Go but Kim dismissed the idea, saying that they were just helping people and not a costumed superhero team. She was in favor of something more functional.

Despite her outfit being very much in order, Kim fixed what she saw, smoothing out small, insignificant wrinkles, refolding the lip of her glove and readjusting her belt. After her spot check, Kim walked past Ron, who simply watched. The red-haired teen sat down in her "seat" and proceeded to fix her ponytail. Ron peered out from his couch to see her fix herself up when she really didn't need to. After fixing her hair, Kim went beck to adjusting her mission outfit. A pattern started to form.

To Ron, watching her repeat this pattern of re-checking, re-straightening, and re-smoothing several times was getting more disturbing by the minute. Ron had noticed this behavior soon after grade school. Although it was important, sometimes his best friend became overly concerned about her appearance, like now.

"What? Not again," he thought, "She has got to stop doing that."

"Uh, KP?" the blonde voiced loud enough to be heard over the engines. The eye-patched dog heard Ron and lifted his head in response; Kim did not.

"KIM!" he implored, standing up; still nothing from his redheaded companion.

"KIMBERLY ANN!" Ron practically screamed as he marched close to the redhead.

"What? What?" she answered, snapping out of her reverie and finding herself very close to her tow-headed companion.

He drew a quick but deep breath and continued, in a much softer tone, "Kim, you look fine – bon-diggety even. No need for you to make yourself prettier, 'cause, umm y-y-you…um uh already are…" he gulped, cheeks slightly flushed.

Kim blushed lightly in response and bowing her head slightly, she replied "Really?"

"Uh…yeah. Yeah, you are."

Kim smiled warmly and Ron returned hers with his goofy grin. Unfortunately, both smiles soon melted away, as a wave of awkwardness washed over them and both took a step back.

"So…" Ron said looking anywhere but at his best friend.

"So…" came Kim's response, glancing at the ground.

"So….we're going to rescue a lost calf and the odds are we'll probably get dirty – very dirty. It's not like it's a fashion show or a press conference…" he blurted. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "It's another pet rescue – we're not fighting crime, saving the world, or something like that. The biggest thing we've done was for Mr. Paisley. So, you don't need to check the appearance, KP…Besides, all that moving around is giving me the…uh…belly flips." Ron rubbed his belly to emphasize the point.

Kim raised an eyebrow. "Belly flips?"

"Yeah," he replied flatly, "We missed Bueno Nacho today – it's Friday, ya'know, we're on a strange plane, and I'm kind of hungry…"

"Oh," Kim remarked. Suddenly it dawned upon her, "Oh! It's 'Ron night,' isn't it?"

"'Ron night'?" he asked, "Not that I'm dissin' the name or anything like that but 'Ron night'?"

"Yeah, 'Ron night'. You're the one who came up with the idea to hang out and do stuff on Fridays. So it's 'Ron night'. Ya'know going to the fair, catching a movie, eating at Bueno Nacho…stuff like that," Kim smiled, flashing her braces.

"Oh…Okay…Yeah…Got it."

"It's not like it's a 'date night' or anything. Just two friends, hanging out, right?"

"Friends, right," he agreed – well, except for that part way deep down.

The blonde haired teen opened his mouth to say more but a man dressed in a tan, collared shirt with matching pants, a leather bomber jacket, and a pilot's cap, stepped in from the flight deck. His uniform strangely reminded Ron of a World War II bomber pilot.

"Ms. Possible?" he asked.

"Yes?" she smiled.

"We'll be flying closest to the ranch in a few minutes. Are you sure you don't want to wait?" he asked, "You can always catch a ride from the airport after we land. You really don't have to jump."

"Thanks Mr. Cutter. We'll be fine. We've skydived before. Plus, it'll be quicker this way."

"Skydived?" Ron squeaked.

"Suit yourself. I just do what Mr. Paisley asks. Just let me know when you and your friend, uh…"

"Ron." Kim added.

"Right…You and Don let us know when you're both ready to go. We'll open the door for you."

"Thanks again Mr. Cutter."

"Um excuse me? It's Ron as Ro––" Ron cut himself off as Mr. Cutter and his dog disappeared into the flight deck without stopping.

"Huh," Ron huffed, "Must have been the engine noise."

--

"'K. Let's get the packs and the chutes on."

"Um, chutes?" Ron asked meekly.

"That's what I said," she said plainly.

"Like, as in, 'parachutes'" Ron questioned, using air quotes.

"Ron!"

"What? Wouldn't it, like, be better if we like ride into the airport and take it from there? I'm all for the easier way down."

"Come on Ron, I just told Mr. Cutter that we're getting off here. Weren't you listening?" asked Kim as she had finished putting on her gear.

"Umm…heh-heh…Yeah, but I'm not too keen on jumping out of a perfectly safe plane." Ron said while making a quick check to make sure Rufus was secure.

"Not too keen?"

"Yeah, I've only skydived like twice, and both times it was with an instructor, and he pulled the cord," Ron replied hefting the parachute pack over his shoulders.

"I know: I was there. You'll be fine. Besides, you got us this far…" she said, putting on her helmet.

"Eh …I did, didn't I?" he gulped as he finished strapping the suit and donning his headgear.

"Yep," she smiled her silver smile. Kim turned to the door leading to the cockpit and knocked on the door. The pilot's face appeared in the small window. Kim gave the thumbs up. Mr. Cutter acknowledged her and then left the window.

"Isn't it too late to jump?" Ron questioned, looking out the window at the late afternoon sky. "It's getting kinda dark."

"Sunset is, like, in two hours, Ron. There's still plenty of sunlight."

A minute later, the lights in the cargo hold turned red and the rear door started to descend. Ron almost froze where he stood but Kim walked proudly towards the portal leading to the open sky. Smiling warmly, she gestured for Ron to step forward.

"We'll jump together okay? Just to remember to pull the cord when I do!" she yelled to him and extended her gloved hand. He stepped forward cautiously. Once close enough, Ron gripped her hand tightly as they stood at the edge of the cargo door. The blonde turned ghostly white as soon as he saw the earth far, far below them.

"On three," Kim hollered, holding up one finger.

"This is not how I see us spending a 'Ron night'!" he complained.

Kim held up two fingers. 'What?' she mouthed.

"I said this is not something we should be doing on a––"

Kim held up three fingers and within an instant, two figures jumped off the platform, one voluntarily, the other not so much. They fell to the earth below, with one of them screaming at the top of his lungs.

To be continued…

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Chapter End Notes: Since Ron had the spotlight in the first chapter; it's Kim's turn. I did like how the skydiving prep scene worked out. Now let's see how Ron handles his Ron night jumping out of a plane.

If you're detecting a little K/R fluff well I've done my job. I'm taking this from So the Drama: "Something's different now. There's something between us. Who am I kidding? That's not different. Something's been there a long time. I think there's something there…." And Homecoming Upset "It took you twelve stinkin' years for you to kiss me!" I figure that Kim and Ron were starting to think about each other in that way but might not have said anything nor acted on it...yet.