#cotsots

[xyzcekaden]

🍔 chains on the swings of the set 🍔

by airauralintensity (aka me, xyzcekaden!)

His name is Norman Midable. “But you can call me Nor.” A subversion of the guy-at-college-vies-for-Kim’s-attentions plot.

fandom: kim possible (cartoon) characters: kim possible, ron stoppable, OC (technically), wade monique and rufus in supporting roles ship: kim/ron, kim/oc genre: romance, angst, friendship themes: college au, major original character, cheating, one-sided romance, canon endgame, working through relationship problems, kim has a type word count: 6.8k chapter: 1/2 rating: T

read it below, on ffnet, or on ao3!

A/N (11.3.2021): A common KP college!au centers on Kim potentially leaving Ron for a smart jock type (a smock, if you will), but I’ve always taken such issue with that because it undermines Kim’s growth in the show. So, what if she met someone just like Ron instead? Enter Norman Midable: a very mediocre conspiracy theorist with a dry sense of humour. I kinda meshed his personality based on one of my IRL friends, Felix, and Ron from yvj's 'a lot like love.’ (If you haven’t read that yet, please do. It’s unfinished but will still be one of the best character-centric pieces I’ve ever read.)

Title from Tightrope by Walk the Moon. Inspired by early Ron Stoppable concept art. If you recognise it, it doesn’t belong to me. I actually plotted this out back in 2019, then proceeded to forget about it for years haha. I’ve never created an “original” character before (‘original’ in quotes because he’s basically Ron lol), so let me know what you think!

~~~

The Kimmunicator rings just as Kim finishes making her bed in her new college dorm, and she lets herself have a split second of wonder. Even the day before orientation, the world needs saving.

"What's the sitch, Wade?"

"My badical best-friend/girlfriend moved into college today, and I miss her," an unexpected voice replies.

"Ron!" She flops backwards onto her bed in delight, and it's almost like she's still back in Middleton.

"KP," he says on an exhale. She can hear everything he's feeling in that one breath, or maybe she's just feeling those same things herself.

She flicks her eyes between her screen where she can see the way Ron is looking fondly at her and the approximate area where she knows the front-facing camera to be so that Ron has something to look at. "How long have you been back?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Dr. P dropped me off a bit ago. I just finished dinner with the 'rents before I called you."

"Ah, a Ron on a full stomach, my favourite," she teases. "It means there's one less thing that I need to compete with for your attention span."

"Not tonight, KP. You've been the only thing I could think about since yesterday."

She looks down at the screen then, ascertaining his seriousness. "Wanna try that again? I know for a fact that you were up late last night playing Zombie Mayhem."

Ron scratches the back of his neck and chuckles. "Nah, I just said that 'cause if I said the real reason I was late this morning, the tweebs would have heckled us all day. I really just couldn't sleep last night. I was… well, I was worried about you, honestly."

Kim smiles appreciatively. "That's sweet, Ron, but you of all people know I can take care of myself. There's nothing I can't handle."

"Can you handle yourself around the Hirotakas and Josh Mankeys of college, though?"

Kim's heart and smile drop like anchors. "... What?"

She watches as Ron scrunches his face up in the universal sign of knowing you just said the wrong thing, and she can't even laugh at the sight. "I… didn't mean to say that. I didn't mean to say it that way. Please forget it," Ron begs.

She can't, of course. "You think I'm still like that?"

There's the sound of rustling as Ron rubs a hand down the front of his face. "No, I don't," he answers eventually, and she believes him. She wants that to be enough, except… "But I haven't seen you not like that, either, you know?"

She is ready to defend herself—the instinct to act-first-think-later is deeply ingrained in her at this point, and it's saved her life more times than she could count—but she stops herself just in time, and she reviews.

No potential romantic interests ever surfaced since the two of them began dating; no one in Middleton would dare try. There would never have been a chance for her to demonstrate her loyalty to Ron. As hurt as she is by the knowledge that Ron still harbours an insecurity over that, she is in no position to blame him.

She swallows down her offense and looks back at the screen. Ron has his head in his hands, roughly rubbing at his temples in self-flagellation.

No, she doesn't blame him at all.

"Hey, stop that," she calls out. Her best-friend/boyfriend's attention jumps back to the screen, and she gives him a small smile. It's no big, afterall.

"Let's make a promise to each other right now. Okay?" Ron nods. "Do you promise to trust me?"

"With my life and with my heart, too."

They're still young. She knows that… but sometimes Ron is just so genuine, so transparent about his feelings for her that she's ready to be older, to actualise the dream she can hear in his words.

"Then I promise you: I have no interest in 'golden hotties'. My guy has a heart of gold and a pocket full of hot sauce; what could be better than that?"

Rufus pops up from wherever he was hiding. "Cheese!"

~~~

Her first class of the first day is the one Kim's been looking forward to the most. Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies sounds like the exact sort of thing people go to college to learn, and even the classroom is a quintessential lecture hall like she's seen in movies. It's as good of a start as any to help her figure out what she should major in. She has some ideas, of course, but it helps to keep her options open.

She slides into a seat in the second row an easy seven minutes before class starts, and she takes the time to set up the new digital notebook Wade made her as a graduation present. She likes it—at least, she likes the idea of it; supposedly it'll automatically upload her notes onto her laptop back in her dorm room—but writing on a screen instead of paper will take some getting used to.

The professor enters, welcomes everyone to college, introduces her class; and just like that, they're off. It's rather anticlimactic. That's another thing she'll have to get used to, too.

After fifteen minutes of going through the syllabus, some voices gradually getting louder distract everyone's attention to the back of the class. There's some guy trying to force his way to an empty seat in the middle of the last row, and the students already seated are having none of it.

"Young man, if you're going to be late on the first day, you'd do well to avoid causing a commotion at the same time," the professor admonishes. "There is plenty of space here at the front."

The guy swivels his head between his desired seat and the professor before slumping over in begrudging defeat. He walks down the steps knowing everyone in the class is watching him, and he takes the first empty seat on the edge.

Second row, right next to Kim.

"Man, this casks," he says under his breath as he settles in.

"Well, if you got to class on time, you'd have your first pick of seats," Kim retorts without thinking. Her eyes widen cartoonishly. "Oh my god; I'm so sorry. That was so ferociously rude! I don't know what came over me!"

Her seatmate has his eyebrows raised in mild interest at the blunt girl before him, then he shrugs. "Nah, you got a point, though."

Determined to salvage her first impression, Kim sticks her hand out confidently. "I'm Kim, Kim Possible. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Over the years, she's become used to the effect her name has on people: shock, awe, fear, (derision if you're Bonnie Rockwaller). To her surprise, the guy doesn't react at all like she expects. Besides the fact that he doesn't seem to even recognise her name, he just holds his hands up in the universal signal for don't-come-any-closer. "Woah, woah, woah. 'Acquaintances'? Take a guy out to dinner first before you go putting labels on anything."

She doesn't sputter, but it's a close thing.

Thankfully, the other person lowers his arms and smirks. "I'm just teasin' ya. You can call me—"

The sound of a throat clearing stops him from introducing himself, and the two look to the front to see the professor looking straight at them. They sheepishly face forward.

The professor keeps their unimpressed gaze on them for a moment longer before continuing. "As I was saying, the final project is a semester-long research paper that you will submit to me in both papercopy and digitally no later than the first day of finals week. People may partner up if they so choose, but no more than three to a team. The topic is up to you, but your arguments must utilise…"

Suitably chastised, Kim takes diligent notes to make up for her poor lack of concentration. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see her classmate constantly looking over at her.

The professor dismisses them for a mid-lecture break, and Kim says something before he can. "Why do I have the feeling you want to ask if we can partner up for the project because you're afraid you can't make the grade on your own, and you think that I'll pick up your slack?"

The other student blinks at her. "That's not the only reason," he feebly argues.

Kim takes a deep breath and puts on a placating smile. "Sorry, but that's not gonna happen. Besides, I'm honestly not the best project partner. I have a really... erratic and time-intensive extracurricular that I do. It's better for both of us if I work alone."

She's not ashamed of the fact that she saves the world on a weekly basis. She really isn't. It's just that she doesn't know how much this guy knows, if he's even heard of her, and it's kind of much to explain with only a few minutes left in the break.

Luckily, the student doesn't push her. He just turns to his laptop, and Kim takes that as a sign that the message has been received. The professor comes back into the lecture hall, and the second half of the class goes without incident.

That is, until her Kimmunicator goes off.

"Ah yes, I was wondering when I'd have to make this announcement. No cellphones in class; no exceptions!"

Kim hops out of her seat and over her seatmate with practised ease. "Sorry, professor! I have to take this."

The professor seems to realise something as soon as they get a good look at Kim's face. After referring to some papers in their briefcase, they nod. "Very well, Ms. Possible. Join us again whenever you're ready."

Kim waves appreciatively as she bounds out of the nearest exit. "What's the sitch, Wade?" she asks as soon as the door closes behind her.

On the small screen, the image is split between Wade on one side and Ron and Rufus on the other. "You just got a really weird hit on the side, Kim, and it's for you specifically."

"Aw man, no one ever remembers me!" Ron laments. Rufus agrees, "Uh-huh, uh-huh."

"What's going on?"

"Someone just asked you for help with his, uh, 'WGSS' project? I tried doing some research, but my usual sources aren't being very helpful. The only results that pop up for that acronym are Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies courses at colleges. I sent a clarification email in response, but I'll keep looking until we hear back."

So he did recognise her. Kim rolls her eyes. "Don't bother, Wade. Some classmate of mine thinks if we partner up for the semester project, he won't have to do any of the work."

Wade pulls at the collar of his shirt uneasily. "He wrote here, and I quote, 'I promise I'll do the work. I just need some help, is all.' Close quote."

"That's what you do, right?" a voice from behind calls out. Kim whirls around to find the guy from class only a few steps away from her. "Help people?"

Other students are spilling out of the lecture hall behind him. Class must have ended while she was out.

Kim is used to making quick decisions with barely any information to go on. It's a habit that's saved her life more times than she can count. Between his earnestness, his unique way of going about asking her, and something else she really can't just put her finger on, she decides to trust him.

After one last glance to the student's hopeful expression, she looks down to her team on the screen. "Tell him I'm in."

She hears cheers behind her, and she can't help but smile.

"Who is this guy?" Ron cuts in, trying to peer closer to the screen as if that will help him see the newcomer behind Kim.

"The form says 'Norman Midable'," Wade responds.

The other student steps closer to Kim, eyeing her device with interest, and she tilts the Kimmunicator over so that they both can be seen by the camera.

He gives a jaunty little salute. "But you can call me Nor."

~~~

It really is more a matter of when than a matter of if.

"Excuse me, hi," someone interrupts Kim where she's sitting out on a picnic table in the quad doing her assigned reading. She looks up confusedly at the young girl, probably a freshman like she is, looking nervous and embarrassed.

"Hi," Kim answers, wary but kind. "Can I help you?"

That's what you do right? Help people?

The words of that guy from her WGSS class flit through her head, unbidden and annoying. She forces it out of her mind as quickly as it came in.

"Yes! Well, no. Uh…" the student trails off. Kim surreptitiously looks around, wondering if Ron's routine emails to Prank'd finally resulted in her appearance on the show.

Finally, the girl musters up the courage to say what she wants to say. "Are you Kim Possible?" she blurts out.

Oh. Kim can't help the embarrassed twist to her smile. "Yeah, that's me."

The girl plops down in the seat opposite from her in relief. "Oh my gosh, hi! I heard you were going to attend this school, but I thought it was just a rumour!"

Kim gives a strained smile. As nice as they always are, she's still not used to people recognising her while she's doing basic, average girl things.

"Well, clearly not a rumour," she jokes awkwardly. "I really go here."

"That's so cool. You know, you came to my hometown once! Yeah, there was a boat stuck in the canal, and you were able to clear it out with, like, wine and a spyglass, or something. If the canal were blocked for any longer, my uncle wouldn't have been able to bring his shipment downstream and would have lost out on a major contract. Literally, he was up a creek without a paddle."

Kim's awkwardness melts into genuine pride, and she chuckles freely at the other's joke. "I'm glad to hear that I helped your family out, even if it's indirectly. That was down in Mississippi, right? I remember that."

The two of them happily converse about each other's hometowns and some of Kim's most memorable missions. Her reading can wait. She's just happy to find someone who didn't treat her like she was too cool to talk to them or who clearly just wanted to be able to say that they met Kim Possible once.

It's nice while it lasts.

"Howdy, ladies," someone greets as he smoothly slides into the seat next to hers at the picnic table.

The other girl shoots Kim a quick, weirded out look, and Kim nods concedingly to show the situation is still under control. "This is Norman," she says as she gestures to the intruder with an eye roll. "I met him in WGSS, and I thought he would know better than to butt into people's conversations uninvited." She directs the second half of her statement to Nor with a pointed look.

Nor simply shrugs. "The more the merrier, right?" He leans across the table with an outstretched hand. "Hiya. No need to be so formal; you can call me Nor."

The girl warily reaches out to accept his handshake. "Hi, I'm—"

"—Not obligated to divulge your identity if you're genuinely uncomfortable," Kim interjects with a stink eye still directed towards Nor.

"Who's uncomfortable? Not me." Nor laces his fingers behind his head and leans back in affected nonchalance. Since there isn't anything to actually support him, he's just suspending himself at an unnatural angle in the air.

Kim darts her hand out to topple him over, but Nor's spasm to avoid her touch results in his backwards fall anyway. Nor yelps, and Kim is still laughing at him even when she leans over to help him upright again.

"Are we still meeting up later?" Kim asks through a giggle as she sweeps some grass off Nor's hair and the back of his shirt.

"Yeah, why?" Nor asks, roughly mimicking the same sweeping motion on Kim for the sole purpose of annoying her.

He succeeds; she swats his arms away. "Then why are you bothering me now if you know you'll see me later?"

"Uh, is there a maximum on how often I can see you in one day? Come on, Kim."

She doesn't respond, instead trying to force the bookbag he took off back into his hands while trying to tug the zipper closed. "I'll see you later then," Kim underscores.

"Alright, alright. I can tell when I'm not wanted." Nor finally takes the bag into his own grasp and heaves himself out of his seat. He bids goodbye to the other girl, "I hope I get to meet you again without Kim Jong-un over here dictating when and where I go."

Kim gasps in offense, and Nor winks. "Laters."

Needing to have the last word, Kim calls out after him, "Yes! I will see you 'later'!"

She stares after him until she's sure he won't turn around and bother them again. Her squinted eyes smooth into something much friendlier when she finally turns her attention back to her new friend and her amused look. "I'm so sorry about that," Kim effuses.

"No problem," the girl brushes off easily. "Was that your boyfriend?"

Kim chokes on air. "W-what?" she coughs out.

The other student offers her water bottle, but Kim waves her off. "No, no. He's not my boyfriend," she eventually gets out. "I do have one, but he's working back home."

"Ah," the girl intones. "Well, you better watch out for that one"—she points in the direction where Nor had walked away—"'cause I think he likes you."

Kim twists her face into an are-you-sure-about-that expression, and the girl shrugs like hey-you-never-know.

"So, what's your boyfriend like?" she redirects. "Can I see a picture?"

Kim is more than happy to oblige.

~~~

Between instances like that one, the events her Resident Assistant puts on, and small talk with her classmates, Kim slowly gets to know more and more people. It helps make the big campus feel a little smaller, and it definitely soothes the homesickness for Middleton that lances through her every now and then.

She'd even call some of those people friends, but she hasn't been able to find anyone she gels with that well. At least, no one except—

"Nor! This isn't research!"

The two of them are in the library, supposedly doing independent research in order to pick a topic for their WGSS paper. Kim presumed the frantic and intermittent typing on Nor's end was the creation of an annotated bibliography while she thumbed through books, but a chance glance on his screen reveals an active forum of some sorts instead.

"Uh, ch'yeah it is, Kim," Nor retorts like it should have been obvious. "There are bozos on the internet who think Truman Capote was the real author of To Kill a Mockingbird just because they can't handle it when a woman is successful. That sounds like prime WGSS material to me! How can I be expected to properly defend my stance without fully understanding the opposing narrative's standpoint?"

Kim faceplms. "We're writing a term paper, Nor, not a blog post for your latest conspiracy-theory-of-the-week fixation!"

Nor patronisingly shakes his head. "Kim, Kim, Kim… Wait, what's that short for, by the way? 'Kimothy'?"

"Nor!"

"Is there a problem here, Ms. Audible?" a gruff voice snarks from behind her.

Kim and Nor wince in their seats before turning around to face the school's librarian.

"No problem at all, Professor Snarkin," Kim says in that tone people use when they know nothing they say is going to be good enough for the other person to hear.

"Is that so? Well, there shouldn't be any problems then when I kick you out of the library for disturbing the peace."

Nor checks his watch. "Could you kick us out in about 30 to 40 minutes? If I wait any longer than that, I'll be late for my next class."

"You'll be later than that if I end up burying you under the Archaeology tomes for the juniors to find during their labs! Out, now!"

Kim and Nor quickly scramble to collect their things and hightail it out of the library. As soon as the door swings closed behind them, they're greeted by a blur of white tackling Nor in the gut and making him spill the contents of his never-fully-closed bookbag.

"Igor! How are ya, buddy?" Nor exclaims with no heed paid to his other belongings.

Kim shakes her head at the scene. "An albino gopher. Nor, you ever think about circumventing the college's no-pet rules with something more normal?"

"Like what?" Nor asks obliviously as he ruffles Igor's fur.

"Like something not albino!"

"Kimothy, Kimothy, Kimothy—"

"—That's not my name."

"Oh, it isn't? … Well, anyway—"

"We need to pick a WGSS topic today, Nor," Kim interrupts before Nor could launch into a long winded and almost-impressive-in-its-meaninglessness tirade on something or another. "Come on, we'll try to find spots in the student union instead."

Igor follows along happily as the two students make their way through campus in companionable silence. The late September weather is still warm, but something in the air tells them autumn will make its appearance any day now.

"You know, when I first signed up for WGSS, I thought it was gonna involve a lot more women and sex than it does."

Kim snorts. That much is obvious.

Nor continues, "I should have known on the first day that something was up when there weren't nearly as many dudes in the hall as I expected."

"It's not too late to drop," Kim teases.

"And leave you all alone to write a paper about Truman Capote?"

"If you intended for him to be the topic of the paper instead of Harper Lee herself, maybe you actually should drop."

She cuts a sideway glance at Nor just in time to catch a smirk on his face that must mirror her own. He draws her into a quick one-armed side hug before ruffling her hair as he pushes her back to her side of the sidewalk.

"If you think that's all it takes to get rid of me, Possible, think again."

Kim fights a lot of things; but even she can't fight the smile on her face as she makes a show out of complaining and fixing her hair.

~~~

"... And get this: he eats his cheeseburgers with fries, chips, and mashed potatoes on it! 'I call it the 'potager'. Wanna bite?'" Kim pitches her voice low and nasally to imitate Nor before bursting into giggles. "Gorchy!"

As Kim wraps up her tale of when she and Nor hung out a few days ago while working on their final project, Ron gets a funny feeling in his chest.

"Oh, oh, and one time he even brought one to class! The professor had to dismiss him because he sounds like a freaking food processor when he chews. There's technically no food ban in the syllabus, but I think they'll include one this semester just for Nor."

It takes a second, but Ron recognises it as jealousy. Before he knows it, he's abruptly changing the subject. "How tall is this guy?"

Kim takes in stride, however, and tries to imagine Nor for a second. "Uh, about your height? He gels his hair up; it's hard to say."

"What was his class rank in high school?" he continues determinedly. Kim snorts. "His high school didn't do class ranks. He says that's half the reason he was even able to get into this university."

"Does he play any sports?"

"I don't even think he plays sports video games."

"What's his BMI?"

"And how exactly am I supposed to know that?"

"Hnnnngh, fine. Bueno Nacho or Cow 'n' Chow?"

"Ha. Cow 'n' Chow."

"Has he ever saved the world or done any freak fighting?"

"Definitely not; we'd have heard of him if he did."

Ron sits back in his seat, satisfied with the information he's gathered. "Wow, this guy is even more mediocre than I am!"

"Ron!"

"What?" he defends. "Can you blame me for trying to learn a little more about the guy that you're spending all your time with now?"

"I think your motive is just a tad more ulterior than that," Kim admonishes.

"Ahhh. School word, KP."

Kim rolls her eyes, but she can't help how her mouth quirks at the corners. The older she gets, the more she realises how hard it is to admit something you don't know; but Ron rarely ever has that problem.

"Why don't you tell me what's really going on?" she asks with a conceding tone. When Ron struggles with what to say to her, she senses that this is a bigger deal than she originally ascertained.

She watches him as much as she can through the screen while she waits. She hasn't spent this long this far apart from him in forever, and moments like this one hit her with how much she's taken his proximity for granted. This conversation would be a lot easier sitting on the couch in her den side by side, his hands in hers.

"It's like I said, Kim. You spend a lot of time with this guy now, is all," Ron eventually gets out. "You didn't even come home for the long weekend."

Kim doesn't like where her mind went next, but it's worth it to voice and seek clarification on your understanding of a situation. It's a habit that's saved her life more times than she can count.

"Do," she starts, then stops, then starts again, "Do you think I would leave you for some guy I just met?"

Ron lets out an audible sigh, and Kim bites her lips at the admission. How long has she been making him feel this way?

"Maybe not leave me, but…"

"Ron." She's pleading, though she couldn't pinpoint what exactly it is she's asking for. "I honestly can't imagine myself ever leaving you, for Nor or for anyone! You're not just my boyfriend; you're my best friend. Remember my promise at the beginning of the semester? I'm not gonna break it six weeks in."

Cursed with an audiographic memory of anything Kim Possible has ever said, Ron cannot help how his brain remembers the exact phrasing of her promise, phrasing that does not cover the situation in which they've found themselves.

And yet, he understands that Kim invoked the memory of the promise for what she really means it to mean, so he resolves to let it go.

"You're my best friend too, KP," he says with a small smile.

Kim mirrors it with a palpable sense of relief; and Ron reminds himself that it was she who was waiting for him the whole time, not the other way around. Now it's his turn.

Ron would be the first to admit he was anxious about Kim going off to college. He had nightmares of Kim attending fancy seminars or college parties, meeting people who could talk intelligently about the things she cares about, getting bored of him and the kinds of experiences being with him entails. What could a high school boyfriend—who takes cooking classes at night,and daylights at Smarty Mart, and stays behind in their hometown—give her that college couldn't?

to: Kim <3 hola kp, think u got time 4 a chatty chat 2nite?

from: Kim <3 sorry Ron :( the school's community haunted house is in desperate need of volunteers

Luckily for him, college didn't transform Kim overnight. Even with her advisor's recommendation to hold off on extracurriculars for a semester, she still has the same extreme aversion to staying still that she did in high school; the only difference is that he can't be along for the ride. He told himself he could handle that, and he can. Really.

But only to an extent.

from: Kim <3 and Nor's acting like he's too busy to help me help them, so I have to deal with him too :P

from: Kim <3 I think I'll have time on Tuesday!

After reading the latest messages from Kim, Ron throws his Ronnunicator over his shoulder in frustration and plops face down on his bed.

He almost wishes Kim would attend fancy seminars and college parties, just to do something that isn't hanging out with Nor for once.

Ron sneers at the name even as he says it in his mind.

The two of them study together; they explore the collegetown, or go to the movies, or walk around the park; he introduces her to frankly genius fast food concoctions…

Ron's seen this movie before.

He's 100% sure that this Nor character already likes or is in love with Kim, and Ron can't even blame him. Thanks to Bonnie's active efforts, Kim is completely unaware of the kind of magnetic pull she has on people: she's a one-two punch to the heart with her looks and her personality, and she soothes the wound with a smile. Nor would have to lack both eyes and ears to be immune against the full force of Kim's charms for the extended periods of time that he's been spending with her.

What's worse? Kim likes him back. She likes him back, and she doesn't even know it.

Sure, she may not be a crushing sheep around Nor—though, Ron almost wishes she were; that's a Kim he knows how to handle—but she regards him with affection and familiarity. There's an ease and a comfort to the way Kim talks about the guy that Ron hasn't seen from her since… well, since him.

Despite what she says or what she intends, there is a very real chance that she develops genuine feelings for her classmate. What then? What happens then, and what is he willing to do about it?

Rufus scurries over to the Ronnunicator to read the message log still open on screen. "Kim, Kim!" he chitters.

Ron forces himself back into an upright position and picks up the device to see what Rufus was talking about: a new message came in while he was dwelling.

from: Kim <3 my morning class lets out at noon, let's call over lunch?

to: Kim <3 i do miss my kp lunch dates. alrite, c u then! good luck with the haunted house

to: Kim <3 as long as u tell the truth all night long, maybe u'll actually enjoy urself this time

from: Kim <3 ha ha ha. thanks :P

from: Kim <3 talk to you later, i love you!

to: Kim <3 rite back at ya kp :*

Ron lightly scratches Rufus' back as he scurries up the sleeve to Ron's shoulder. "We haven't lost her yet, buddy."

~~~

One Saturday afternoon, Nor texts her asking if she wants to go to the mall then to Cow 'n' Chow on the way back, and she jumps on the offer immediately. She hasn't gone shopping in forever! Besides, with the November chill finally settling in, she'll need some layers to tide her over until she can switch out her wardrobe for winter clothes during Thanksgiving break.

She asks him when he wants her to pick him up, and he says it's no big, he'll drive.

Strangely, his response causes a sense of impending to strike through her chest. It's a familiar feeling that has saved her life more times than she can count; but without any noticeable threats in her physical environment, she pushes the feeling down. It's just a trip to the mall with her best friend—her best college friend, she amends in her mind. If she happens upon any trouble while she's out, she can handle it like she always does. She's Kim Possible.

She texts back that she'll be ready in fifteen, and Nor arrives in thirty. Kim opens up the passenger seat and greets him with a glare.

"You think this happens by accident?" he defends, gesturing to his casual outfit and gelled hair with a raised eyebrow and his tongue literally in his cheek.

"I think you're an accident," she shoots back as she clicks her seatbelt. "Come on. The mall closes in four, and it'll take the better part of an hour to get there."

Nor hollers with laughter as he peels out of the parking lot of Kim's dormitory. "Is that how Planet Earth's Sweetheart Kim Possible should be speaking to the populace she's meant to protect?"

Kim groans good-naturedly. "Oh my god, don't call me that. It's so embarrassing."

"What's so embarrassing? In fact, I think you should be outraged. It's not good enough! You shouldn't rest until you're the Sweetheart of the entire solar system!"

Nor's so ridiculous. "Seriously, please stop talking."

"I'd tell you to shoot for the stars, but the title of Galaxy's Sweetheart is already taken by the winner of last season's Lowardia's Next Top Model, Wardrangea."

Kim can't even respond with how hard she's laughing, and Nor finally lets up on his joke so he can join her. The comforting blur of the scenery whizzing by, the happy and relaxed feeling in her shoulders, the sound of Nor's laughter trickling down into giggles… She likes that she can focus on those entirely from her spot in the passenger's seat. It's nice to be driven for a change.

When they reach the mall, they stop at a directory since it's both of their first times there. Nor's in the market for a new pair of sneakers, but he's in no rush. They pick a store clear on the opposite side of the mall so that they can stop and explore in a gradual meandering towards their destination.

As they walk, Kim points out storefronts whose contents she wants to check out, Nor explains his theory that shopping over the Internet is going to become so popular that it'll render the brick-and-mortar shopping experience obsolete within the next ten years, and they both share a laugh at how ridiculous that sounds.

Relaxation settles over her like a physical thing. This is the first time all semester she's done something just for herself, where there's no expectation of her and she can be a basic, average girl—and what's more basic and average than a trip to the mall with your best college friend?

By the end of the day, Kim gains a few new sweaters from Old Maroon and a cute jacket from Club Banana, and Nor is proudly rocking his new kicks, his old pair carried in his bag. On the way back to the car, she doesn't think about it too hard when she offers to drive them back. "CNC is, like, right next to the school; you'd basically be driving us the whole way back. It's only fair that I take the return trip."

"We're hanging out at a local mall, not roadtripping to South Dakota," Nor deadpans. "We don't need to take turns."

She's embarrassed that she asked, but she refuses to show it. "I was just offering. What's in South Dakota?" she redirects as she and Nor load the backseat with their things. "I was there once on a search and rescue mission for a little kid who got lost in a corn field, but I didn't get a chance to look around."

"The Six Grandfathers, Kimothy! A.K.A. the greatest cover-up job in American history!"

With a wry smile, she settles into the passenger car seat as she buckles herself in for another of Nor's conspiracy theories. "Do tell."

"You've heard of Mount Rushmore, surely. Well, that mountain is known to the local tribes as the Six Grandfathers, and…"

Nor excitedly babbles about the long-held belief that there is a secret room carved into the mountain behind Abraham Lincoln which houses national secrets while he drives, and Kim just sits back and lets his voice fill the space.

Throughout the whole mall excursion, the impending never fully went away. She refused to let it spoil her good time; but now, with the feeling growing the further along they go, it is begging to be acknowledged.

In line at Cow 'n' Chow, she thinks about mentioning it to Nor when they sit down, but he starts a conversation before she can bring it up.

"What does the word 'transaction' mean to you?" Nor asks before taking a sip of his soda. He is leaned back slightly and turned on his side to face her, adjoined countertop seats being the only ones available when they arrived.

Completely taken aback by the random question, Kim has to take a second before answering him. "Isn't that just, like, an exchange? I go to Club Banana, give the cashier money, and get to walk out with a new jacket."

Nor nods as he assembles his potager. "Yes, yes. Exactly that. Has anyone ever told you that you seem to have a transactions-centric approach to your relationships?"

She makes a face. "What does that even mean?"

"Like… Look at your whole business model. You don't exchange cash; you just ask the people you've helped for favours when it's convenient—favours, I will point out, which they're already capable of providing. This makes the transactions more personal and therefore more valuable or memorable to you, and you've been operating that way since middle school. That's bound to have long-term effects on your perception of the world. Why else would shopping be your favourite hobby?"

He adds the last part as a joke, but Kim has stopped staring at him like she was humouring him and has since started paying rapt attention. He's startled enough at the sight to lose his train of thought, and he continues with less assuredness. "Right, uh. So… Couple that with the fact you're just a genuinely nice person, and I bet it ends up being net-negative for you. I've only known you for a few months, but it seems like your whole existence is so rooted in what you can do for others that when things are done for you unprompted—like today with the car ride—it straight up triggers a recalibration."

Kim still hasn't said anything, so Nor finally bites into his meal, giving her time to think.

And think she does. She completely ignores her own meal as her mind conjures up memory after memory: times she went out of her way to express appreciation for someone after a favour as small as sharing a pencil sharpener in class; tantrums of But I was good! in her youth when she didn't yet understand that behaving well wasn't praised with extra cookies the way behaving poorly resulted in no cookies at all.

"I… think you're onto something," she admits slowly, hesitantly.

Nor raises his eyebrows at her. "What's with the tone?"

"Well, what am I supposed to do with that? How do I fix it?"

He's waving his hands in the air before she even finishes her question. "No! No no no no no. There's nothing to fix! You're clearly happy and fulfilled. I was just… I had a suspicion and wanted to see if I was right. I thought you might have noticed or known this about yourself already. It wasn't meant to mean anything."

"But this isn't normal, right?" she argues.

Nor registers the note of self-criticism sneaking its way into her voice and realises he's messed up. He quickly pulls her into a side hug, hardly a feat with how close the countertop seats are positioned. "Aw, Kimothy. You can't let yourself think like that. 'Always be abnormal,' that's what I always say! Here, have a fry. That'll make you feel better."

The chatter and clatter of a busy restaurant fade into silence as he waves a fry in front of her face, slow motion. The press of his hand on her shoulder and his arm around her back is grounding. Despite the discontent from the previous conversation, she feels comforted here. This place, this ambience, this feeling… it's all so familiar.

There is no more impending.

"... Kim?"

She opens her eyes, and Nor's face is way closer than she remembers it being. The sounds come rushing into her consciousness like a CD on fast forward, and her hand is on Nor's cheek.

"Kim, what was that?"

What has she done.

She stands up abruptly, balance honed from years of cheerleading and freak-fighting being the only thing stopping her from stumbling onto the ground.

"I gotta go," she says, but she is already out the door.

#kim possible #kim possible fanfiction #ron stoppable #kim x ron #k/r #xyzc* #cotsots

[xyzcekaden]

🍔 chains on the swings of the set 🍔

by airauralintensity (aka me, xyzcekaden!)

His name is Norman Midable. “But you can call me Nor.” A subversion of the guy-at-college-vies-for-Kim’s-attentions plot.

fandom: kim possible (cartoon) characters: kim possible, ron stoppable, OC (technically), wade monique and rufus in supporting roles ship: kim/ron, kim/oc genre: romance, angst, friendship themes: college au, major original character, cheating, one-sided romance, canon endgame, working through relationship problems, kim has a type word count: 6.9k chapter: 2/2 rating: T

read it below, on ffnet, or on ao3!

A/N (11.11.2021): Final part, folks! Many thanks to Molly, Joyce, and Dez for their feedback. I didn't end up incorporating most of it due to my own laziness 😅 BUT if I do, I'll just upload it in a part 3. It will involve some mild retconning, but that never hurt nobody. There are also some deleted scenes I could include as well; I'll think about it.

Also, do we feel like the story needs time stamps? Nothing major, just a more obvious indication of time passing and what month each scene takes place in. Joyce thought it might be helpful, but I'll let y'all decide.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

~~~

Kim walks into WGSS on Monday morning with a forced calmness.

She and Nor haven't spoken since CNC on Saturday night, and why would they? They didn't have a project meeting scheduled, so why would they? Nothing of note happened on Saturday, right? So why would they?

That's been the monologue running through her brain the past two days, and it unfortunately becomes less and less convincing the more she thinks about it. (She thinks about it a lot.)

That is why when Nor comes down to sit next to her, as he always does, she is surprised.

She feels like she should say something, but why would she? Class is about to start.

Except it isn't. The professor comes in and announces today's lecture is cancelled; instead they want the students to use the class time to discuss their final projects or ask the professor any questions.

Kim and Nor, however, sit in silence. She doesn't even boot up her digitised notebook out of unwillingness for what her movement will spark next. Knowing when and where to keep still has saved her life more times than she can count.

"We're pretty far along on the project, don't you think so?"

"What?" Kim snaps her head to look at Nor, but he resolutely stares forward.

"Yeah. Thanks to you constantly on the case, I think we have a lot of research already done. Some of these guys don't even sound like they've picked a topic yet, much more got together outside of class to discuss or do work."

Kim nods, but she couldn't say. She honestly has not been paying attention to a single conversation happening around her.

Nor nods, too, but more to himself. "Right, well. Do you mind talking to the prof about it? I'm gonna head back to the dorms. I, uh, I think I need some more sleep."

He grabs his backpack and makes to leave, and Kim almost does something stupid like reaching out for him to stay. She transforms the aborted hand movement into turning on Wade's notebook.

"No big," she forces herself to say.

"Text you later," Nor bids with a wave, and Kim's eyes follow him up the stairs and out the door.

She stares at the door for a long time.

~~~

There's only one person she can talk to about this.

"Well, well, well. Look who finally made time to call her B.F.F.L."

"Monique." Kim's throat is thick with the need to cry. She rushed back to her dorm so she could have this conversation, and she is grateful for the privacy.

Monique drops her faux-affronted attitude immediately. "Oh my god, Kim? What's wrong?" Kim wishes she could see her. She should ask Wade to make a Moniq-ommunicatior.

"Monique, I messed up."

She unleashes onto her friend about Nor, about how they met and how he's weird and even how he met Igor. Mixed in there is some stuff about how she's doing fine at college but still deeply misses home. She carefully avoids mentioning Ron's name, and then she mentions last Saturday.

"Girl, you did what?!" Monique seethes into the phone.

She deserves this, she does, but she still maintains, "It was an accident! I didn't mean to do it! It doesn't mean anything! I don't even know how it happened; it was such a blur. I got out of there as soon as possible. We haven't even talked about it. Today in class, Nor, just…"

"Kim?" Monique asked when Kim was silent for too long.

She knows Monique isn't going to be happy to hear this, but she needs to talk about it anyway. "He was so different. No jokes, no nonsense. We had a one-minute conversation about the final project, and that's it. He didn't even look at me."

"Did you want him to look at you?"

"I don't know!" Kim flops backfirst onto her bed. "All I know is I don't know what to do."

"Did you tell Ron yet?"

She sits up abruptly. "No! No, I can't. Why should I? There isn't even anything between Nor and me; it'll never happen again; I—"

"Kim." The tone of Monique's voice is the exact thing Kim was dreading. "Kim, you know I would do anything for you. Heck, I've even followed you on your missions because I will always got your back. You're my girl… But Ron is my boy. I gotta do right by him, too. If there really wasn't anything between you and this Nor guy, then you wouldn't have kissed him. Your friendship wouldn't be so off right now because you'd both know how little it mattered."

Kim hates how much sense Monique is making, and she says as much.

"You have to tell Ron," Monique says, firm yet sympathetic.

Kim scrunches her eyes shut. She has to tell Ron.

~~~

"Last Saturday?! As in four days ago? Why did you wait so long to tell me!?" Ron exclaims into the Ronnunicator.

He's pacing back and forth in his bedroom, yet even then it is oddly too silent. There should be a mission command set up here with red lights and klaxons blaring. Some military man should be shouting frantically at his subordinates, demanding things like How could you have let this happen?! The pure panic in his heart demands nothing less than chaos.

On screen, Kim shrinks in the way people do when they're chastised for something that was absolutely their fault. "I was thinking! Yeah, you're my best friend/boyfriend, but why would I tell you something that will hurt you if I know that it'll never happen again?"

Ron rolls his eyes. "You think you know," he mutters to himself.

"What was that?" Kim leans forward on screen as if to hear him better, and he waves his hand in the air to dispel the thought."

"You know what tanks the most?" he says instead. "I totally knew this was gonna happen, too."

"But Ron, I'm not leaving you," Kim tries to argue, her tone begging him to understand.

"Yeah, but KP, you did cheat on me. You kissed another guy even after I told you this is something I was worried about."

"It was an accident! Seriously, Nor is just a friend; I don't even think about him like that, and—well, it doesn't matter. The point is: I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Ron. I made a mistake, I broke your trust, and I want to do whatever it takes to make this right again."

Ron carries his head in the hand that isn't holding his Ronnunicator. He's very tired. He's heartbroken. He's inclined to say something he can't take back.

He forces himself to count to ten before responding. "Listen, KP," he says resignedly. "I would never tell you who you can and can't be friends with—I respect you too much for that—but this isn't like my nightmares after prom about you becoming a synthodrone. Nor has become a real, actual threat to our relationship."

He sighs, struggling to get the next words out. "I love you, Kim, and I want you to be happy. Preferably with me, but I don't get to make that decision. You let me know what you want, and I'll respect it."

Ron watches her struggle to understand something in silence. Then, in the quietest voice he's ever heard from her, she says, "Are you breaking up with me?"

He tilts his head back for a second, trying to keep the tears her question caused at bay. He looks back down after a moment and can find no comfort in the heartbreak on Kim's face.

For her benefit, and maybe a little for his own too, he gives a wan half-smile. "That's up to you."

~~~

He says they aren't broken up, but it sure feels like it to Kim. She was up all night, lachrymose and inconsolable and self-condemning. It felt a lot like being tied to a gigantic cactus in Bueno Nachos headquarters after your prom date who just dumped you turned out to be the son of your biggest nemesis and also a synthodrone—but much, much worse.

She skips WGSS the next day.

She doesn't attend any of her classes that morning, in fact. She wouldn't have left her room at all if it weren't for her growling stomach demanding to be satiated.

She should have ignored her stomach.

"Kimothy," Nor greets with a scandalised tone as he slides into the chair in front of her at the student union cafe. "Since when were you an academic deviant?"

The single statement causes a rush of emotion through her. Relief and guilt are prominent, but most of all it makes her angry. Why is he acting like nothing has changed now? Why couldn't he have done that Monday morning when she needed him most to do it? In more ways than one, she wouldn't be in this situation at all if it weren't for the stupid boy in front of her.

"Not in the mood, Nor," Kim brushes off with a frown as she hastily packs up her things. She hasn't finished her meal yet, but that's what to-go containers are for.

"Woah, woah, woah. What's going on? Where are you going?" Nor hastily follows her lead, clearly intending on following her, and she picks up the pace. She turns on her heel and accelerates from zero to fifteen in one step, and Nor abandons his food and his stuff in order to catch up to her before she escapes the student union entirely.

"Kimothy, is everything okay?" he demands as he grabs her shoulder, but she shrugs off the touch immediately.

"That's not my name!"

He holds his hands up, very reminiscent of their first meeting, and the anger in Kim's heart switches to guilty affection. The need to cry that has waxed and waned throughout the night surfaces with a vengeance, and she steadfastly looks away so Nor can't see.

"Kim." He emphasises the single syllable. "Is everything okay?"

Kim shakes her head adamantly. "I just… I made a mistake, is all."

Nor looks at her uncertainly. "Is that what this is about? Geez, you really had me worried there. Don't worry, I actually paid attention in class for once. I don't have a fancy digital notebook made by genius preteens; but if you give me a day, I can make you a copy of my notes. They're probably no good, but it's gotta be better than nothing."

Without her wanting them to, incredulous laughter spills out of Kim, as do her tears.

"Kim?!" Nor exclaims. He frantically looks around, trying to remember where the nearest bathroom is so he can get her some tissues, but he quickly abandons that idea in favour of moving them both to a nearby bench and gathering the desolate girl in his arms.

Kim wants to resist, she really does. Even as she tries in vain to stem the flow of tears, she wriggles in his hold; but Nor doesn't budge. She hates how much she's grateful for it.

This is why Ron can't trust me anymore. I can find comfort when another guy hugs me, she tries to chastise herself, but it doesn't work. She needs this right now.

After a few minutes like that, she almost feels like she could say something, but Nor beats her to it. "Was this about us?" he asks softly, but not hesitantly. It's a question, but he sounds like he already knows the answer.

With that, the arms around her transform from a blanket to a cage, and the tears dry up. Kim firmly pushes him away, and it's only her weakened emotional state that stops the action from completely compacting Nor's chest.

"There is no 'us,' Nor!" she yells. "I have a boyfriend. At least, I'm lucky if I still do! I love him, and he loves me, and he's waiting for me to pick him already!"

Nor's sympathetic face glosses over into something cold and impassive, and his voice follows suit. "Reality check, Kim. If you haven't picked him yet, that probably means there is an 'us.'"

He stalks off, leaving her on a bench and with the sudden realisation that several other students around her bore witness to their argument. She flushes with latent anger and embarrassment, and she finally escapes from the student union.

~~~

It's been a week since she's spoken to Nor. He's taken to sitting in the back of the lecture hall on the other side of the room now, and she hates how much she misses sitting next to him during class.

It's been even longer since she's heard from Ron. She leaves for Thanksgiving Break tomorrow, and she doesn't even know if Ron would want to see her at all when she goes back. As she haphazardly packs for the long weekend, she feels miserable.

A beep on her Kimmunicator is exactly what she needs right now, but she's thrown off by the knock on her door at the same time.

She answers the Kimmunicator as she gets up to answer the door, ready to ask the person outside to wait a sec, it could be a save-the-world thing. She is surprised when it's Ron on the line and Nor outside, a Bueno Nacho bag in hand.

Because Kim answered the door second, Ron gets to hear her surprised "Nor!"

"Nor is there?!" Ron exclaims exasperatedly. "That's it. I'm coming up!" He hangs up before Kim can really register what he said. She tries to redial, but he doesn't pick up.

Refusing to dwell on why something isn't working has saved her life more times than she can count; so with her first course of action summarily thwarted, Kim smoothly switches gears to deal with the secondary emergent situation. "What are you doing here?" she asks Nor, both of them still standing on their respective sides of the open door frame.

"I came bearing a peace offering," he says as he holds up the Bueno Nacho bag, "but I'm getting the sense that this branch doesn't have nearly enough olives on it for what's about to go down."

"Where did you even get that? The nearest Bueno Nacho is two towns over," Kim says in awe.

"Oh yeah, but can Bueno Nacho from the middle of nowhere compare to Bueno Nacho from your hometown kept warm in a lunchbox specially invented by our genius friend Wade so that the food is just as toasty as when Ned took it out of the fryolator, hand delivered by your boyfriend?" Ron's voice calls out with an edge, waving said lunchbox invention in the air.

Kim steps out into the hallway then, needing to verify the rapid change of events. "Ron?!"

He doesn't respond at first, instead taking the opportunity to size Nor up; and Nor does the same. Kim barely restrains an eye-roll at the typical display of machismo. "Ron, how did you get here?" she tries again.

Ron's derision melts into something tender when he faces her again, and she can't believe he's really here. "We hadn't talked in like a week, KP," he says as he reaches for her hand. "Fight or no fight, I can't spend that long without you. I called in a Favour, and I thought I'd surprise you, but it seems like you don't really need the company," he sneered, more in Nor's direction than hers.

Nor raises his hands in defeat. "Hey, I'm on your team here."

"The only people on Team Possible are Kim, Rufus, Wade, and me!" Ron interrupts jealously. "Uh-huh, uh-huh! Yeah!" Rufus pipes up from Ron's pants pocket.

Nor stares at Ron blankly. "I came by to tell Kim that I'm not tryna make her life harder than it already is. She already fights freaks every two weeks; she doesn't need to fight with her friend and boyfriend on top of that. So… here." He hands Kim the BN to-go bag and asks. "I'll see you in class?" At Ron's steely look still directed at him, he adds, "And only in class."

Without waiting for Kim's response, Nor brushes past Ron to escape the awkward atmosphere as quickly as he can.

Once he leaves the building, he stuffs his hands into his pockets. He decides to take the long route back to his dorm.

He doesn't get why Ron is so threatened. What does a nobody have on the guy who's won American Starmaker, created the Naco™, and—according to the forums—is apparently the master of some sort of monkey-based superpower which he used to save the world?

Kim wouldn't pick some scrub who is obsessed with conspiracy theories and got into college on a technicality over a guy like that. He was lucky he managed to become her friend and kiss her even once. She didn't even turn him down, not really. That's another win.

No net losses here, Midable. Quit while you're ahead.

Nor smiles self-deprecatingly to himself. Yeah, it's better this way.

~~~

They stare after Nor's retreating back in an awkward silence, and only Rufus' stomach growling brings their attention back to the situation at hand.

"Come in," Kim offers shyly.

She shuts the door behind him, and Ron can't help but compare the room he sees to the room he helped set up way back at the end of August. Aside from the open suitcase and haphazardly strewn clothes, her desk looks well-used and her walls are decorated with more school pride memorabilia that she's collected.

Kim motions to her bed, the room having a lack of suitable seating otherwise, and he hesitates. If it were two weeks ago, he'd just plop on like it were his own bed and let Kim force him to give her as much space as she needs; but it's now.

Luckily, Kim takes the lead, like she always does. It's a habit that's saved his life more times than he can count.

"We should eat before the food gets cold," she says as she sits at the edge of her bed somewhere near the middle. Ron follows her lead, like he always does.

Before she can get too far in unpacking the BN to-go bag that Nor brought, Ron deftly snatches it out of her grasp and places Wade's lunchbox invention in her newly freed hands. "Nuh-uh, Kim," he explains at her questioning look. "You get the special fryolator Middleton Bueno Nacho. I'll take one for the team and eat this imitation stuff delivered by guys that go around kissing taken girls."

Kim's face is stricken with guilt. "I'm the one who kissed him, Ron; not the other way around," she clarifies gently in defense of Nor.

As if he could ever forget.

He presses his mouth into an impassive line and looks back down at the paper bag. "Eat your nachos, Kim. We'll talk about that later."

Ron watches her unlatch the lunchbox, and she gasps. "My favourite," she comments with gratitude. She was never one for a full-on Naco, and he knows it.

He opens up the bag Nor bought and furrows his brows at what he finds inside. Anyone else would simply find chimichanga-stuffed burritos and several handfuls of free, plain nacho chips, but not Ron. He can recognise them for what they are: enough ingredients for two Nacos.

He frowns at the thought of what would have transpired if he had arrived tomorrow, had arrived just in time to bring Kim back home to Middleton like her parents originally planned. It would be Nor sitting here right now with Kim, sharing her favourite comfort food and on the brink of a heart-to-heart. The thought sits heavy in his stomach, so he passes the bag's contents to an eager Rufus, his appetite lost.

Kim notices, of course. She sets her food onto her desk and turns to face Ron, one foot tucked under her and the other dangling off the edge of the bed. "What are you thinking right now?" she asks him. She sets her hands in the space between them, close enough to his thigh to mean something but purposefully not touching just in case.

He snatches her hands into his and holds on tightly, and he's rewarded with a barely perceptible ease of her shoulders.

He doesn't know where to begin with his emotions, so instead he starts with a fact. "I'm scared of answering the phone."

Kim raises an eyebrow at the left-field response. "That's a new one," she remarks drily, intimately acquainted with the long and sundried list of Ron Stoppable's fears and phobias.

He just shakes his head, though. "I don't want to hear you on the other end. If I pick up the phone and you tell me that you've given up saving the world so that you have more time for college, or that you're leaving Middleton for good… or that you're breaking up with me—" He cuts himself off and swallows.

Kim squeezes his hand when the silence stretches just a little too long, and he raises his head to meet her green, earnest gaze. He squeezes back and forces out, "I'd have to live with the memory of your voice breaking my heart over and over again forever."

"Ron…" Kim doesn't know what to say, but Ron isn't done yet. "Kim, you cheated on me."

"Ron, I'm sorry."

"I've spent my entire life knowing you'd never let anything or anyone else hurt me, but it was you. You hurt me."

"It doesn't mean anything now, but you have to know: If I could take it back, I would. If I could go back and stop myself, I would!"

"How far back would you go?"

Kim is stunned. "What?"

He looks her in the eyes, trying to find some sort of admittance or even understanding. "Do you think the kiss is the only reason I'm upset?"

Ron's challenging tone offends her. "What else did I do?"

"Not you, but…" He leaves the implication hanging in the air, and Kim is quick on the uptake. "What's wrong with Nor?" she asks defensively.

Ron rolls his eyes. "What isn't wrong with Nor? What's he doing coming all the way here just to eat dinner with you?"

"Ron, he came here to apologise. You were there; he apologised to you, too!"

"I didn't hear the words 'I'm sorry,'" Ron harrumphs.

Kim picks up the empty Bueno Nacho bag, forcing Rufus to find a new hiding spot while his parents fight, and waves it in the air. "That's what this is!" she exclaims before frustratedly throwing it in the general direction of her trash bin.

Ron is unfazed by her dramatics. "I could tell there's been something going on since the two of you first met," he accuses.

"Why are you making it sound like I've been cheating on you behind your back for a whole semester? Nor has nothing to do with this! I am the one who messed up here."

"If you never met him, you wouldn't have kissed him! Unless—" Ron looks positively heartbroken at the thought that just struck him. "—Do you like-like him?"

Kim rolls her eyes. "Are we in middle school? No, I do not 'like-like' Nor."

"Then why are you always defending him, huh? What's so great about him that makes him worth arguing about with me?"

"He's here, Ron!"

Ron looks as surprised at her outburst as she feels for having said it, but she knows it to be true.

She takes Ron's hands again, trying to make him understand. "You and Monique are just a phone call away, and I know that, but you're a phone call away. When I hang up with you, I'm still here. Alone. Alone if not for Nor."

The inconsolable loneliness from the past week crashes back into her. She even feels out of breath, but she forces herself to continue. "After our phone call last week, I got into an argument with Nor, too. I wasn't talking to either of you, which meant I wasn't talking to anybody. I don't have other close friends here. Between saving the world and catching up on coursework, I don't have the chance to make other close friends. It's not like in high school where it's the same people I've been going to school with for my whole life, who knew me even before I became Kim Possible. It's harder here… and Nor felt easy."

She sniffs away the tears that threaten her composure. "In fact, it felt like being with you. Maybe that's why…"

She doesn't finish her sentence, but she doesn't have to. Ron gets it now. He gets all of it.

He barely has to tug for Kim to fall into his open arms. She may have found comfort in Nor's hug, but Ron's embrace means forgiveness. The familiarity and understanding and acceptance it conveys, those are far greater salves to her battered constitution. Its extended absence has caused her to forget how much she needs those.

With her head in Ron's shoulder and his warm hands clutching her body like a promise, she finally lets herself cry. The huge, heaving sobs have been begging for release ever since the stupid kiss; and from what she can feel and hear from Ron, he's in much the same state.

They lose themselves in their catharsis, and they only hold on to each other tighter as they come back into awareness and as their emotions abate.

Kim breaks the silence with a mumble into his shoulder. "I pick you, Ron."

"What?"

She lets herself out of their hold far enough to look into his eyes. They're the same shade of brown they've been since kindergarten, but the face around them has changed in ways for which puberty alone can't account. Everything about him—splotchy skin and drying tear tracks and dribble of snot from his left nostril included—is hers.

"You told me to let you know what I want, and I want you. I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you."

"For a while there, KP, I didn't think you would," Ron admits.

It's the first time he's called her that since they started talking, and she knows for sure they're in a good place again. Relief crosses her face even as she confesses, "I'm sorry for making you think that, too."

Ron gives her a gentle smile, a look that takes her back to prom night. Just like then, it makes her feel like she can stop waiting. He must feel it, too, because they meet in the middle for a kiss with far more assuredness than they did that first time.

The night turns into a different kind of first time.

~~~

Ron stays over for the night (with the RA none-the-wiser), and Kim drives them back to Middleton the next day. Throughout the excitement of spending time with her family again, preparing for Thanksgiving Day, and experiencing her hometown with the fresh eyes of someone who misses it, Ron never leaves her side. They make up for lost time with talking and kissing (and other stuff) and crying and hanging out. It's almost like they're back in high school.

By the time she leaves for school again on Sunday night, they feel a lot better and more committed to each other than they did the first time they separated four months ago; and on Monday morning, Nor even sits next to her in WGSS again. It's like everything is falling back into place.

Unfortunately, that feeling doesn't last past that first class.

Even with his reinstated place to her side, there's a noticeable change between them. It's not awkward, necessarily. Just unsure, hesitant, uncertain. Her opportunity to do something about it arrives in the professor's reminder about the final project right before they dismiss class.

"How do you feel about wrapping this up well before finals week? We can just submit it as soon as we can, be done with it, and focus the rest of our time on studying for actual exams," Kim asks as she faux-leisurely packs up her bag.

"Yep, sounds good," Nor agrees easily, and Kim is so relieved she wonders whether she was making up the weird air between them earlier.

"Great! Wanna grab a study room at the library tomorrow? We could even go to that cafe down the block for dinner afterwards."

Nor shifts in his seat, and Kim realises she spoke too soon. "Listen, Kim. I made a promise to you, and I made a promise to your boyfriend. I'm not tryna break up a good thing."

"It's just dinner," Kim can't help but defend.

Nor sighs. "It's not gonna be just dinner, though. Not for me, not anymore." He gets up and ready to leave. "But yeah, tomorrow in the lib. The usual time is good." He walks away.

Like that, Nor routinely dodges all of her attempts at conversation or extracurricular engagement unrelated to their final project, regardless of the relative innocuity of the prompt, and Kim is frustrated to say the least. With a mutual understanding both of the circumstances that lead to Kim's infidelity and that Kim can never do something like that again, she has Ron's permission to continue her friendship with Nor—a friendship he seems no longer willing to be a part of.

To add injury to insult, some of the loneliness that afflicted her before Thanksgiving break returns without the option of hanging out with Nor anymore. She's friendly with a few other people, but she didn't really invest in their friendships the way she did with Nor's. She regrets listening to her advisor about postponing participation in extracurriculars until next semester, but at least she remembers she's not completely alone.

"Ron, don't get jealous, but I really need a best friend right now, not a boyfriend," she says into the phone later that week. He listens patiently as she explains Nor's behaviour and how hurt she is that Nor doesn't think he can be friends with her anymore because his stupid feelings are in the way, and she has the presence of mind to be grateful he can let himself be here for her through this.

"We're meeting again tomorrow to work on the project, and just… It sucks that the one person on this campus that I'm close to, I can't even grab dinner with him after work without feeling like crap! I'm mad at him for putting this distance between us, I'm mad at myself for putting us in this situation to begin with, I'm—ugh!" Kim ends frustratedly.

There is silence on the other end, and she knows for sure it's because Ron is waiting to make sure she is completely done. "Ron, I miss you" slips out of her mouth without any conscious effort.

"I miss you, too, KP. I wish there were some way I could help." His earnestly regretful tone is a soothing balm to her grievances, and she feels better already.

"Trust me, the fact that you're not jealin' right now way helps. Being in a fight with both of you at the same time was so the drama," she says with levity, purposefully trying to change the mood.

Ron easily picks up what she was putting down. "I thought you were the girl that can do anything?" he teases.

"Ron, haven't you heard? I can only do it all when I have you by my side," she reminds in the same tone.

"Ah-booyah." Kim can easily imagine the self-satisfied shrug of his shoulders, and she smiles.

"Hey, tell me about anything fun that happened in Smarty Mart today," she prompts. A story about a customer getting caught using a deodorant stick and putting it back on the shelf is exactly the kind of distraction she needs right now.

~~~

Their paper is honestly basically done, but Kim is still dragging her feet on it. She's sitting in front of the computer, trying to find any paragraph that could use an extra citation, or a better way to organize the flow of their argument, or literally anything.

It's not that she wants to work necessarily; but after this she's just going to go back to her dorm alone, and she doesn't want that either. (She refuses to feel pathetic about this.)

Finally, Nor breaks the silence. "Is it just me, or are we… done?" he asks with hesitant excitement.

"It definitely looks like it," Kim gripes.

"Don't be like that, Kimothy. We did some good work today! You should be proud."

His nickname for her? All of a sudden? What's going on? "I'm proud," she refutes. "Are you?"

"For sure," he says, pronouncing the words so that they rhyme. "I know I joined this class for the wrong reasons, but I'm not mad about it. Actually, this stuff would be kinda cool if we weren't being graded on it."

This is unmistakably non-work related small talk. She hops on it immediately. "Yeah! Isn't it so flawed how much the school setting pressure sucks the fun out of learning new points of view? The world is full of so many interesting people and things, but a classroom is often the only way people get to experience them—but since it's a classroom, they wouldn't want to."

"Big Academia, Kimothy. I'm telling ya." And he has, more than once. Kim giggles a little, both at the reminder and at the distinct feeling of their stalled friendship reigniting.

Nor continues, "I'm actually kinda famished… I could really go for a potager right about now."

She wishes she could join him, but she's not going to push her luck. "You should get one!" Not all of the cheer in her voice is fabricated; between that and the progress she made today, they are more than enough for her.

Nor rolls his eyes. "Kim, do you want to come with me?" he drones with a smile.

.

(That morning, Nor got a call from an unknown number.)

.

Kim's smile is slow and disbelieving. "Seriously?" she asks with hesitant excitement. Nor nods, and she shouts an eager "Yes!" before he could change his mind.

The page on duty sends a shhh in their direction. They smirk at each other, both immediately reminded of that one incident with Professor Barkin, and pack up their stuff eagerly.

.

(To his surprise, it's a familiar face. To his double surprise, he could only say that because said face was taking up the small screen of his phone.

"Stoppable?" Nor questioned while bringing the device closer, double-checking what he was seeing. "How did you get into my phone?")

.

"Anyway, like I was saying: yes, I will totally join you," Kim repeats as they head out of the library.

"Neat-o," he replies with a grin.

.

("WWW: World Wired Wade, but nevermind that," Ron hastily explained. "We need to talk about Kim."

Nor groaned. "Nothing else happened between us, and nothing else is gonna happen between us. Like I told you guys, I'm not tryna get in between nothing.")

.

They push open the doors and are greeted by the barren field that is the quad. On a normal day, there would still be a lively level of activity from gathered students, but the winter chill is discouraging. Though the sun is still out, they can tell not for long.

"I, um, I didn't think I'd have plans after our work session. I need to run back to my dorm to drop some stuff off. It'll only be a minute. Can I just meet you there?" she proposes.

.

(Ron rolled his eyes, and Nor still can't get over the fact he can see the guy roll his eyes.

''Trust me, dude. If that were the problem, we'd be having this convo face to face. But that's not the point here. You need to stop ignoring Kim," Ron demands.)

.

Nor looks up at the orange sky. "Will you be okay getting to CNC by yourself?"

Kim smirks. "Check my name."

.

("Uh, status check: I'm not ignoring her. We still have that project for WGSS. In fact, we're working on it later today."

"Stop playing dumb with me because you think I'm gonna hurt you or something. I only hurt you if you hurt Kim. With the way you're treating her, you're already halfway there, so stop it.")

.

He chuckles. "How could I forget?" he asks with a sarcastic smile. "Yeah, go ahead. I'll save us a seat."

They make their way down the front steps.

"Great! Get us a booth this time. Those window seats are way too close together."

.

("Listen, man—"

"—No you listen, 'man.' I know you're in love with her. Don't even bother trying to deny it," Ron cuts off as Nor prepares to object. "Don't you want to see her happy?")

.

Kim freezes where she stands, and he looks over to see a complicated flutter of emotions cross her face. She said it without thinking, and now both of them are so obviously remembering the same thing.

Nor fights to keep his face impassive. If it weren't for the way the setting sun is casting unpredictable shadows and a wistful orange hue onto the world, he's sure a blush would be visible as well.

.

(He considered lying, but he's had enough of that lately: lying to himself that he didn't want to hang out with Kim Possible anyway, that this was for the better. The truth can't hurt any worse.

"Yeah, I do," he eventually conceded with a sigh. On the surface he's replying to Ron's question, but underneath he's affirming Ron's assessment. He figured the other could tell.)

.

Regardless of what it did to them, he can't fully regret what happened that night. He doesn't think he ever will, but that isn't the case for Kim. If he has to recognise remorse on her face one more time, it might be enough to break the truce he set with himself just to give them the chance at friendship again.

He forces a smirk onto his face. "A booth it is," he eventually concedes. "Any other requests?"

.

("First rule to loving Kim Possible, dude: we don't get to decide what makes her happy. If I did, she would have cut your friendship off long before all this, but I don't. You make her happy, and I'm man enough to admit it. But I promise you, the second you hurt her, I'll be the last thing you ever see."

Nor peered curiously at the screen. "What's with you? You know I love her, you probably hate me, and yet you threaten me to hang out with her anyway?")

.

There is a brief moment when she is stunned, processing that her blunder didn't completely undo their minimal progress. Then, relief melts the stress from her shoulders and a smile stretches her face. It's not the brightest he's seen from her, but it's genuine and directed at him. "Just get me a soda."

He sucks in through closed teeth. "Actually, I was just kidding. The girl who can do anything can surely order her own food. No soda for you."

.

(Ron shook his head with a condescending yet self-deprecating smile. "Rule two to loving Kim Possible: Know she deserves anything she wants and that she usually gets it. What she can't get for herself, you give.

"You give her your heart, you give her your life, and you give her everything left after that, too. Me? I give her someone she can count on in college since I'm not there, even at the cost of my jealousness and insecurities, because Kim works best knowing someone's in her corner.")

.

She punches him in the shoulder, and he's sure it'll bruise. "And to think I was considering buying your meal."

"Wait, there was free food on the table?" he gawks.

"Not anymore," she quips. "See you in a bit!" She turns to walk down the path towards residential campus with a noticeable pep in her step.

Cheerleaders.

.

("And you? You give her up without a fight. You give up on your personal feelings and give her the peace of mind of never feeling like she has to choose.")

.

He hears the tell-tale doot doot do-doot. He watches her lift her wrist Kimmunicator up to her face and her shadow trail long behind her. He can't tell what she's saying; but based on the crinkle in her eyes and the excited hand movements as she talks, he can guess who's on the other end.

"Yeah, see you."

.

(Nor doesn't understand why Ron is telling him all this, but the injustice of the situation wins over his confusion. "So that's it, then? I get a taste of what it's like to be in love with the most amazing girl on Planet Earth, then watch her be with another guy? That isn't such a raw deal," Nor remarked sarcastically.

Ron's steely look carried well over the screen. "Choose your own adventure, Cow 'n' Chow. Keep her as your friend, or take the gamble on Kim's love.")

.

As Nor stands there, the last of Ron's impromptu phone call that morning running through his head, he knows exactly what he chooses.

Kim finally walks out of his field of vision, and the scarlet sky starts turning blue.

#kim possible #kim possible fanfiction #ron stoppable #kim x ron #k/r #xyzc* #cotsots