Chapter 1 – Home Coming

Ron Stoppable stretched his gangly limbs in order to bring some life back into them. The plane ride from Japan was incredibly long and although he had done it many times since turning eighteen it never seemed to get easier. The only thing that made him willingly leap on the plane at Tokyo International Airport was the excitement he had at seeing his girlfriend of four years and best friend since pre-k, Kim Possible.

"Hopefully soon to be Kim Stoppable."

Ron stuck his hand in his jacket pocket and wrapped it around a soft velvet box that held the majority of his hopes and dreams. It had cost quite a sizable chunk of his Naco Trust Fund, but Kim was the best and to him she deserved the best. Besides he still had a very large fortune at his command – ever since he blew his original royalty check from Bueno Nacho his parents had been taking the money from his royalty checks and investing it for him in a trust. Now that he was twenty-one years old he was extremely thankful to his Mom and Dad. Unlike a lot of young men, Ron had the means to make sure that whatever life he embarked on with his bride was going to be done in style.

"I wonder where Kim is going to want to go on the honeymoon? We've been pretty much all over the world before we were eighteen. Well, everywhere but Pittsburgh… For some reason I don't think KP is going to be too keen on that idea."

Ron chuckled to himself. He might just suggest it to her anyway to get a laugh, he liked it best when Kim was laughing.

Picking his luggage up from the baggage carousel, Ron took a quick look at his Ronnunicator and checked to see if anyone had tried to contact him. He hadn't yet turned his tracking chip back on so hopefully no one knew that he had just arrived at Boulder Airport. He was supposed to come back two days from now, but he wanted to surprise Kim with an early return, a romantic dinner he'd cook himself and a marriage proposal.

"Maybe I should call Wade and check to see if Kim is out on a mission or not? Or I can just get back to the apartment and surprise her… if she's not there I can find out whats up and besides it'd give me time to cook a totally badical dinner!"

The display on the device was still, there were no flashing messages waiting for him, just as it had been for several days now. The last time he had talked to Kim was almost a week ago and it was very short, she was taken off the line by having to go on a mission. She had been having a lot of missions recently and Ron was worried about it. After all, even though she was Kim Possible, even super heroes needed a break every now and then.

As Ron stepped off a bus that had taken him to the long-term parking lot, he started to idly hum "their song" to himself while he looked for his deep blue Mustang GT. It was one of the many presents he had bought himself a year ago when he had finally matured into his Trust Fund. At first his parents weren't too thrilled with the purchase, but when Ron pointed out that he couldn't very well use his scooter to get to classes in the winter they had relented. His mom probably would have preferred that Ron had gotten a more sensible car like a Camery or a Civic, but secretly his dad was thrilled – Mr. Stoppable had always wanted a pony car himself so some part of himself was living vicariously through his son.

Sliding behind the wheel and turning over the engine, Ron revved the car a little. It had been sitting here for three months and still sounded perfect – he was very pleased. He put the car in gear and drove out of the parking lot towards the freeway. An hour later he was seeing the familiar sights of downtown Upperton. Sure it wasn't quite exactly home, but it had been his and Kim's home for the last three years since both of them began to attend Upperton University. Coasting to a stop at a light, he looked up to his left and saw his apartment – the lights were out.

"KP must not be home yet – that's perfect, gives me some time to hit up the gourmet grocery and then make a little love feast. "

Within a couple of minutes Ron stood in the parking lot of his second favorite store in the world. It was a little mom and pop shop, originally a local grocery store. However times had changed and most people choose to purchase their sundries from the huge chain stores that dotted the urban sprawl so the owner of this place had wisely started stocking more out of the way goods that the big box stores didn't carry. It was more or less a gourmet chef's dream and Ron paused for a moment after he entered the doors to take in the exotic scents that wafted through the air.

"Ah, now this definitely feels like home!"

Three months of eating nothing but Japanese food had taken a greater toll on Ronald Stoppable than he cared to admit. Not that he didn't like Japanese food. In fact it was quite delicious, it was just he had an elective palate that demanded variety in his meals. As far as he was concerned his greatest accomplishment of the last three months was making an authentic pollo con arro with molé sauce out of ingredients he found at the standard Japanese market. It was so good it even got a compliment out of Sensei who had probably never eaten a non-Japanese dish in his life.

Browsing up and down the aisles Ron decided he was going to go Italian tonight – it was Kim's favorite. He placed a few items in his basket and then proceeded to the front check-out where he found his first familiar face since he'd gotten back to the States.

"Ron! How're you doing?" greeted the older gentleman at the counter.

"Pretty good Joe, I just got back from Japan today and I had a hankering for something without tofu or seaweed in it!" he smiled back.

The older man took the basket from Ron's hands and then began to punch numbers into his ancient mechanical cash-register.

"So how's the girlfriend? Did you…" his voice trailed off.

"I haven't seen her yet, I literally just got off the plane. And… well let's just say that tonight is the night my good friend." The Ron-shine was in full effect as he beamed at the man.

"You know what Ron, this calls for something special. Hold on a minute."

The man left his position behind the register and walked over to a wine rack to his left. He studied it for a moment and then came back and presented Ron with a bottle of red wine.

"Take this Ron, on the house – and congratulations!"

Ron studied the bottle and smiled.

"Hey this is the good stuff Joe, thanks a lot!" he responded.

"Oh yeah, I figure the missus will like it. She comes in here every now and then and buys a bottle like that. It must be her favorite." The old man winked at Ron as he placed the last of the groceries in a plastic bag.

"Really…?" Ron was a little perplexed. Kim wasn't a really huge drinker so this came as a bit of a shock to him.

"Oh well, we're both over twenty-one now. Just as Kim would say, 'no big'."

Ron thanked the man again and left the store for his car. Tonight was shaping up to be one to remember. First he'd ply the beautiful Ms. Possible with great food and wine, then he'd smother her with kisses and ask her if she wouldn't mind being Mrs. Stoppable.

Ron fiddled with the dial on his radio a little bit while he drove home.

"Nothing but commercials, maybe I should buy satellite radio for the Ron-mobile."

Sighing a little bit, he drove up to his parking spot only to see that it was taken.

"Grr… what's the point of having parking passes if people just let their friends take any available spots?"

Looking to his left he noticed Kim's car parked in her spot. One of the reasons why Ron had rented this place was because it had two parking spots and both he and Kim needed cars if they were going to live off campus and still attend classes. Sure it had cost a little bit more than what was in Kim's budget but Ron didn't tell her that. Instead he covered the extra cost himself – he didn't want to worry Kim or make her feel guilty. Besides, he was a Naco Millionaire – what's a couple hundred bucks a month between lovers.

Ron brought his car around to the street and was able to find a spot just a half block down from his apartment. Gathering his luggage in one hand and his groceries in the other he made the short walk to his front door and struggled with his keys. Eventually, without placing either of his bags down, he managed to prop the front door open and he used his foot to close it behind him.

The apartment was dark and he could hear soft strains of music coming from the back room.

"Hmm… she didn't hear me come in. Bon diggity opportunity here Ronman."

Ron placed his luggage down in the hallway, not noticing the extra pair of shoes sitting next to Kim's and then walked over to the kitchen to set down his groceries. Grabbing the bottle of wine and two glasses he tried to stealthily creep down the hallway to surprise the love of his life.

He stood for a moment before their bedroom and placed his hand on the door that was slightly open. With a soft motion he pushed it in and witnessed the worst sight of his life.

Sitting on the bed, bolt upright, was his love – Kim. She had a bottle of wine in her hand, Ron noted clinically that it was the same kind he had received as a gift from his friend, and she was pouring the contents of the bottle down her naked chest. A man had her wrapped in his arms and his mouth was greedily moving across her pale skin, now stained with wine, licking and slurping up the alcohol.

There was a moment of sublime silence where everything hung in the air. It was like time had stopped for Ron as his brain took in the sight before him. Suddenly all three people in the dark room were brought to acute awareness by the sound of glasses and bottles hitting the floor.

Kim was the first one to move. Years of athleticism and a dangerous occupation having honed her reflexes to a razor sharp edge. She whipped her head around to face Ron, her hair blazing a crimson trail in the moonlight. Realization hit her face at what had just happened.

"Ron!" she shouted.

The man that was holding Kim practically pushed her to the side. The light from the window hit him on the face and Ron knew instantly who it was.

"Kim… and Mankey? No… this isn't happening. No…"

"Ron, wait!" screamed Kim as she ran after her "boyfriend'. She didn't even bother to grab a sheet or a towel to cover her nakedness. Ron was almost at the door by the time she caught up to him, wrapping her small hand around his wrist.

"Ron, we need to talk!" she said in a slightly more subdued tone. Her grip on his arm wasn't letting go.

"No. No we don't need to talk. I'm going." Ron turned his face away from Kim's nude form, he didn't want to see her this way. He didn't want to remember her naked in the arms of another man. Tears started to fall down his cheek.

"Look, don't you start crying on me! This is all your fault!" Kim had her back up. This was not what she had planned. All the thoughts she had of hurting Ron over the last month seemed to be washed aside by a huge wave of guilt that smothered her conscience. Her words didn't have a fraction of the anger that she had intended.

Ron on the other hand was livid. He had never been hurt so deeply in his life and a dark feeling of anger that he had never felt before welled up in his heart.

"My fault? MY FAULT? I'm not the one that was screwing monkey-boy in OUR bed!" he spat at Kim, spittle literally flying from the edges of his mouth.

"Whatever Ron, you don't need to pretend with me. I know all about your secret trips, I know why you wouldn't tell me where you were going, I know all about that slanty-eyed bitch you're banging!"

Kim's anger finally came to her rescue. She had been starting to feel like she couldn't go through with her revenge and a small part of her wanted nothing more than to throw herself at Ron's feet and apologize, begging for him to take her back. She hardened her heart with the knowledge that Ron's infidelity had begun long before her own.

"Slanty-eyed bitch? What the hell is she talking about…"

Realization began to dawn on Ron Stoppable. Did Kim think he was having an affair with Yori? Is that what she thought he was doing on his frequent trips to Japan?

"What the hell are you talking about Kim?" he asked, his voice quaking with anger.

Kim didn't respond immediately, instead she strode over to their entertainment center and retrieved a stack of papers. Turning around she threw them at Ron's head.

"That's what I'm talking about! You turned off your tracking chip but I had Wade put a satellite on you. Don't you dare lie to me Ronald Dean Stoppable, I know all about you and that slut!"

Kim was at the height of her anger. Weeks of worrying and indecision had brought her to this point. At first she didn't want to believe that Ron, her Ron, would cheat on her. As the days went by and the pictures came in she couldn't deny it anymore and instead of sadness her prodigious temper took hold of her. If Ron was going to cheat on her, then she was going to get back at him. After all, two can play at that game.

Ron grasped at the papers Kim had flung at him. He realized they were photographs. High quality photos done by a spy satellite that had been tracking him for the last three months. On the top of the stack was a picture of him and Yori on the beach in Bali during a break in their training. It had been a present from a wealthy businessman who was grateful that they had rescued his daughter from kidnappers. Flipping a page he saw the two of them again at a traditional Japanese festival, decked out in kimonos and chatting merrily. Another page and he saw the two of them sitting on a blanket with a bottle of sake before them taking in the Japanese celebration of Sakura viewing. The last page he saw was the one that he held onto the longest. In it was him and Yori, flitting from shop to shop looking for a wedding ring. Ron had foolishly asked for a womans opinion on what type of ring he should buy Kim.

"This…. This is what you mean KP? This is why you were screwing Mankey in our house?" Sadness was starting to replace the anger of a moment ago. It was a misunderstanding, a huge, colossal misunderstanding. He didn't know how, or even if, they would ever recover from this.

"Shut up Ron! I don't want to hear your lies. Just tell me one thing – when is the wedding huh? Are you going to introduce that whore to your parents? To my parents? You know they think of you as a son, I'm sure they'll be thrilled to hear you dumped their daughter for a Japanese side-dish!"

Ron didn't know what to say. Hell, he wasn't even sure if he wanted to say anything. The image of Mankey with his arms wrapped around Kim was burned into his mind and the fact that Kim was naked before him, purple stains from wine still on her breasts - it just drove him insane.

"This was for you KP. You should thank that slut for helping me pick it out."

Ron had dug into his coat pocket and threw a small dark object at Kim's feet. Quickly he grabbed his luggage from the floor and stormed out the door, not taking a second to look behind him.

Kim sat there stunned for a moment, digesting the words that Ron had just said to her. Slowly she kneeled down on the floor, her hand going out to touch the velvety smoothness of the box at her feet. She started to sob a little bit and it was with shaking hands that she lifted the box from the floor.

She looked at it for a moment. She didn't want to open it, she felt sure she knew what was inside anyway, but she couldn't stop her self. She had to know, had to know for sure. Quaking a little bit, she brought her other hand to the box and slowly bent back the lid. Inside was a beautiful diamond engagement ring, a ring that any woman would be happy to see on her finger, especially if it was given to her by the man she loved.

The sudden realization of what she had done was crushing her heart like a ton of bricks.

"This was for me? Was I wrong? Ron…"

"Ron… Ron… Ron… " she was chanting in between body wracking sobs. She was so overcome with guilt at what she had done that she didn't even hear Josh Mankey coming up besides her and asking her if she was ok.

Not that she would have responded in the affirmative anyway. She had just destroyed the heart of the one man she had ever truly loved. She idly wondered if there was ever any turning back from the terrible thing she had done.

-

A/N: My First KP fic! Sorry if it was a little angsty, but if you are going to break up Ron and Kim that's just the way it goes, right? I wanted to keep everyone in character so I went about creating a situation that capitalized on Kim's jealously and tendancy to jump to conclusions. Maybe she wouldn't sleep with Mankey for revenge if she thought Ron was cheating on her, but we don't know for sure do we? I think it's a possibility, after all, Kim is pretty competitive and to someone like that I think this sort of revenge would be pretty high on their list of ways to get back at a cheating lover.

I plan on continuing this story, so please keep waiting for another chapter. If you want, also read my Love Hina and Vandread fictions.

Thanks and please remember to review! I love reviews :)

QC