Hello everyone. Second verse, same as the first. Pretty embarrassing to have the only story on the first page of the archive to not have a single review for the first couple of days, but I suppose that's my fault, what with the flaw of indecision. Whelp, I can only hope Chapter 2 gets at little more love. It won't feel like such a bloody waste of time if some at least lets me know they appreciate it. As always, read, review, love it, or hate it. Your reviews are the driving force just as much as me writing.
Driven-to-excel Kim Possible is no stranger to rising to a challenge. But what happens when the challenger rises to do the same?
Chapter 2: Personalizing 101
Today was a bright and sunny Sunday morning.
Without the shadow of school looming over the weekend, there was little need for the alarm clock as it lay by Kim's bedside, unplugged. This allowed for a couple of extra hours sleep, pushing Kim's waking time from six to eight. With a loud, satisfying yawn and a nice long stretch, Kim Possible woke up that morning. Not much went through her drowsy mind save for the morning routine of getting up and freshening up. By then, the oil would be nicely flowing.
Moving to the edge of the bed, Kim stepped into her bunny slippers and stood up, giving her back a nice stretch and twist before wordlessly exiting her room on her way to the bathroom.
Usually, Kim and her mother would be the only ones up this early, having at least a few more hours before the males crawl out from their caves. After emerging from the bathroom with a cleaned teeth and a freshened up face, her mind wandered to Adrian. She didn't bother asking him his sleeping schedule, so she took it upon herself to check on him. But upon quietly opening the door, she found that he wasn't anywhere to be seen. "The bed's made and his backpack and mission outfit are hung in the closet, so he should be downstairs..." Kim figured to herself before closing the door and heading downstairs into the kitchen.
Kim caught sight of her mother preparing a cup of coffee, but still no Adrian. "Hey Mom. Where's Adrian?" Kim asked, leaning against the frame of the corridor.
"Morning, Kimmy. He's in the living room." Anne replied as she took a seat at the kitchen table, gently sipping her freshly-made coffee.
Following what her mother said, Kim went into the living room, and sure enough, Adrian was there, quietly typing away at his laptop on the coffee table in an uncomfortable-looking wooden chair, rather than the couch. He was dressed in his spare outfit of grey cargo shorts and a white tank top. Even relaxed, the definition in his arms were quite something to stare at. He didn't change until after Kim showed him to the guest room, and so the redhead got her first look at him out of his full-body suit. "Adrian, I was led to believe you lived a sheltered life. You exercise often?" Kim asked in effort to start up conversation as she laid down across the sofa.
"Good morning, Kim Possible. And yes, I do." his reply was blunt and forthright to the point Kim thought she might've disturbed the boy.
"Ouch." she muttered.
"Forgive me." Adrian urged, his expression softening as he looked up to her from his laptop. "I did not mean to offend."
"No no, it's okay!" Kim assured, throwing her hands up in a like manner. "You just seemed so... blunt."
Adrian nodded in acknowledgement, looking back to his laptop. "I am a straightforward person."
"No kidding. Were you taught that way, or did you just grow into it?" Kim wondered, curious.
"I grew into it." came another simple reply.
Kim sighed at that. "You know, Adrian, you don't have to be so uptight. Not around me or the family, at least. I mean, if you're gonna be learning from me, would it kill you to open up a little? Maybe relax a bit more?"
"I... will try."
Kim nodded with a smile. "Good. So just to be clear, what's the whole sitch about you learning from me?" she asked curiously.
"I know many skills useful to whomever may require an operative, mercenary, soldier, or agent. But some of them, I cannot do well. Given your success rate as well as your friendship with Doctor Director, you were her first choice in a capable instructor for me to achieve my goal." Adrian explained, closing his laptop.
"And what's that?" the teen heroine asked, raising a brow.
"Become the best."
"That's kind of a longshot if you ask me. No offense!" she threw in quickly to assure she meant no harm. But in truth, to become the best, there'll be a lot standing in the way of that, herself included.
"None taken. But it was what I was designed for." the boy informed.
"Care to elaborate on being designed?" Kim asked, thinking of it as strict teachings.
"I am tank-bred." another blunt and forthright reply of such astronomical proportions caused Kim to jerk back against the couch as if she had been struck physically by surprise.
"Wait wait wait..." she said, gathering the bearings to sit back up, still reeling and digesting. "You're... tank bred? As in, grown in a test tube?" A million questions surged through her brain like water through a fire hose. How is he so okay with this? Does he ever wish for parents? Does he ever feel lonely? Who was it that -and she felt uncomfortable thinking this- made him?
"Yes." he replied without missing a beat.
"So... just how old are you?" she asked, raising a finger to him.
"I age normally. Six minths since I was released. Seventeen years since the fetal stage." came his answer. "But Global Justice did not create me." he explained after reading Kim's mixed emotions of confusion, sympathy, and anger. Common morals regarding life took hold, he noticed.
"Then who did!?" Kim spparently demanded, leaning in, her gaze still hardened.
"I do not know. My tank was found while it was abandoned."
"Have you ever even, even wondered?" Kim asked after calming down a bit. She was confident that of Global Justice knew anything important, they'd tell him.
"No. I prefer not to."
Kim was far from ready to drop the subject, but given Adrian's willingness to, she'd take her mind off of it. For now, at least. Leaning back down on the sofa, she sighed again. "Well, I suppose as long as you're okay with it, I'll let it slide." Kim muttered before another thought crossed her mind. "Say, you have any living arrangements figured out?"
Adrian shook his head. "Nothing that helps the situation. I am not of legal age to live in a house on my own and I have yet to befriend anyone in the local area who may be of help. I do not wish to overstay my welcome here, so until a permanent opportunity presents itself, I will stay with Global Justice." Adrian informed.
"You can stay as long as you need, Hon." came the voice of Miss Possible as she stepped into the living room, carrying two hefty breakfast plates, setting them down on the coffee table. "Advantageous if Kim's your teacher, right?"
Adrian looked up in mild surprise while Kim grew nervous. "Uh, Mom? How much of that did you hear?" she asked, sitting back up on the couch.
"Oh, just the part about living arrangements." Anne replied nonchalantly, apparently having no suspicion before turning to head back out. "I'll go wake the boys." she informed before heading back out of the living room, making her way upstairs.
Alone again, Kim looked back to her charge. "So would you be willing to stay here if my dad agrees?"
"I would need to sample a day to respond to that."
Kim rested back on the couch, crossing her arms. "Fair enough. I suppose we should get ready?" Kim suggested, again sitting back up, picking up the fork on her plate. Adrian responded with a nod, grabbing his own fork.
XXXXX
A few minutes later, Kim and Adrian were eating their breakfasts in silence, just listening to the occasional sounds of the fork clinking against the plate as food was delivered to waiting mouths.
It was peaceful up until a small avalanche was heard rumbling down the steps in the form of two young boys. That broke Kim's eating rhythm as she groaned in aggravated annoyance before swallowing her food.
The Tweebes seemed to have lock-on capabilities as they came straight for the living room. Two brown-haired boys, clad in red and green pajamas, stopped at the corridor. "Hey, are you that Adrian guy?" either Jim or Tim asked. Adrian was not informed enough to actually identify them.
He did, however, look up to answer the question. "Yes." he said after chewing his mouthful of food. Immediately, they moved in for the kill, bombarding him with questions, more or less about things one wouldn't expect from children.
"You ever fired a rocket?"
"If you tape two rockets together, how do you keep their engine output the same?"
"Are lithium power cells more effective, or are Ionic?"
Adrian, approaching his situation strategically, just decided to not say a word until they stopped. "Are you finished?" he asked, looking expectantly between them. Sharing a glance, they both nodded. "Hello. I am Adrian. You two must be James and Timothy Possible." he introduced.
"Just Jim and Tim is fine." one of them, the one in red, assured, waving him off.
Adrian nodded. "Forgive my ignorance, but who is who?"
"Jim." the one in green said, thrusting a thumb into his chest.
"Tim." the red one said in kind, doing the same.
"Noted." Adrian informed, looking them over briefly before returning to his breakfast, Jim and Tim taking their leave into the kitchen for theirs.
It wasn't too long after when Kim and Adrian were greeted by James, who just stepped in with his plate of food. "I take it student and teacher are getting to know each other?" he spoke up in a positive manner.
"Just getting to know the guy. No big." Kim dismissed, rolling her eyes with somewhat of a smirk. "I mean, he said it himself; he's not the romantic type."
"Which is why I like him, Kimmie-cub." James replied, casting Adrian a smile. "So what's on your agenda this fine Sunday, Kim?"
The teen just shrugged. "Without any missions going on, I just thought I'd either hang out with Monique or show Adrian the ropes. He could definitely individualize, if you ask me." Kim reasoned.
"Well, I'll leave you to it. Good luck, Kimmie." James said before retreating back into the kitchen with his breakfast.
"I say we hurry up and eat before the Tweebes blow something up." Kim suggested, returning to her food. Adrian was already finished by the time Kim was a third of the way through.
Kim agreed to go and introduce Adrian to Monique at Club Banana, so after breakfast, they went on to change.
Kim changed into her usual green tank and long shorts whole Adrian dressed in a solid grey v-neck, navy blue cargo jeans, and his mission boots.
"Going casual?" Kim asked, meeting a ready Adrian in the living room. "You don't look half bad."
"More of a concern with practicality." Adrian replied, rising from his chair. "And thank you."
Kim have a friendly smile. "Anytime." she said before grabbing her keys from the coat rack. "Mom, we're headed out to meet Monique!" the teen heroine called over her shoulder, opening the door, Adrian right behind her.
"Have fun, you two!"
XXXXX
Over the quick drive to the Mall in Kim's car, she and him took the up the short time to converse.
"So Adrian, you have any cash on you?" Kim asked seemingly out of the blue.
"Yes."
"How much?" she asked.
"Two thousand dollars."
Kim raised a brow at that. "Wow. GJ sets you up pretty well, don't they?"
"I only spend on necessities."
"Care to spend some of it on yourself for a change? You know, personalize a little? You might even learn a thing or two. Not to mention I've got a friend who likes to shop." Kim reasoned as the Middleton Mall came within sight.
"Very well." Adrian agreed. The very reason Doctor Director urged him to take the money in the first place was to spend it on himself. Of course, being all about necessity, he didn't spend a cent of it.
"Good. Here we are now." Kim said as they rolled on into the parking lot. After finding a decent parking space, Kim and Adrian made their way to the shopping center, quickly finding Club Banana.
Upon arriving, Kim stepped in with Adrian right behind. Monique was behind the front counter, having just helped a customer. Upon noticing her best friend walk in, the ebony girl walked out from around the counter to greet her, growing a nice grin.
"Hey Monique." Kim greeted as she approached her girl friend, exchanging a friendly hug.
"Hey gurl. Who's the hunk?" the dark-skinned girl whispered in her friend's ear, pointing a subtle finger at the tall, pale boy that followed her in.
"I was just about to get to that." Kim whispered back before turning to face Adrian. "Monique, this is Adrian; my new trainee." Kim introduced, motioning to the boy, who gave a respectful nod in greeting. "Adrian, this is Monique." Kim said, motioning to her friend.
"Hello." he greeted, brief, but humble.
"Not much of a talker, are ya, Hon?" Monique asked, raising a brow, resting her hands on her wide hips.
"I'm currently trying to help him with that. Figured that a little shopping might help him... express himself a little more." Kim explained. "Up for some shopping?" she asked with a smirk.
Monique shared the look "Gurl, you came to the right place."
XXXXX
"So whatcha lookin' for, Hon?" Monique asked as she and Adrian stood at the front of the store, looking in. Kim stepped off to the side to let Monique do her thing. She knew her friend wasn't subtle when it came to fashion.
"Strong, yet reserved. Comfortable, but authoritative. Something that does not try hard to prove a point." Monique nodded as he went along, letting it all digest.
In a few moments, Monique drew her conclusion. 'Ya wanna look tough, but not try hard ta get it. Boy's got some style.' she thought as she started forming ideas. "I think I know just what you're lookin' for. Nobody knows fashion like Monique." and with that, she grabbed her charge's wrist and pulled him along into the men's section.
The next few hours were spent trying on and buying Adrian clothes. After finding an outfit for the pale boy to wear, she'd practically drag him to the changing room to try it on. Adrian took it all in stride and was always quick to change, and whenever he left the changing room to meet a pacing Monique, she'd look him over and grade his outfit. Any good ones were put back on the racks. The great ones, however, were quickly added to the list.
Kim was taken aback somewhat at the beginning by just how much her friend was into this, but knowing Monique as long as she has, she was more than confident the girl knew what she was doing. Whenever the boy came back out to present, ten times out of ten, he'd get a lot of positives from the other shoppers, mostly girls from Middleton. But it was the hoots and hollers that Monique was after.
An afternoon later, Kim, Adrian, and Monique stepped out of Club Banana. Adrian was left carrying his wares, which amounted around a few hundred dollars, which wasn't a problem. The load was a lot lighter than Kim had thought, what with all the moving around Monique and Adrian had done, but as Monique had put it, the fun part was the search, not as much the find.
"So how ya feel, Sugar?" the ebony teen asked, looking to Adrian with a confident smirk.
"I feel... uplifted... free." Adrian admitted with subdued, but definite energy in his voice. He felt like he had just explored a new part of himself, of whom, he thought was the complete opposite. Sure, he had picked out his wardrobe from comfort and necessity, like he'd do in his in-born mind-set, but also out of self-interest, with Monique's help of course. For once, he felt he had an open mind rather than a statistical one.
Monique's smirk grew to a cheek-to-cheek grin. "That's the magic o' shoppin', Hon. The person's style reflects the person." Many would take the saying as a simple phrase, but Adrian took those words as sagely advice, etching it into his memory.
"Clothing aside, there's more than one way to help Adrian open up." Kim said, walking up to them. "GJ tells me that Adrian is supposed to enroll into Middleton. I'm down with integrating our friend if you are."
"Kim, you already know my answer." Monique stated before looking to the boy in question. "But before we focus on that, is it alright if I ask why one like you would need help with that?"
Fearing for how blunt Adrian is with answers, as she learned first-hand that morning, Kim rested a hand on his shoulder before he could reply. "Adrian can be a... little blunt when it comes to answers. I'll explain on the way to Ron's house. Won't hurt to check on him. And he might like another boy on Team Possible." Kim reasoned.
"Fair enough. It's around time for my break anyway."