Author's Notes!

Well, It's good to be back here. It has been quite a while since I last updated anything here. The saved chapter for my other stories were deleted but it doesn't matter. At least I am back here to write my mind off the horde of plot bunnies I shepherd all this time. I want to say sorry for the looooooong hiatus. I will get back to work with my unfinished business but before that, I want to get this one off my mind first.

Anyways, this is the sequel for my one-shot "Unexpectedly". If you haven't read that, check that one first so you can appreciate the references I had here. This one is a multi-chapter story since you guys wanted it. :)

So, dust off the cobweb from your seat because Theater KMT is back in business! Whohooo! I am kmtdiccion and this is...

"A Badger And A Sloth"
by: kmtdiccion

Chapter 1

"It can't get any better than this, Rufus."

An old man took his cup full of hot chocolate and stared outside, watching as the sun slowly crowning its head from the Rockies. The air was cool and dewy. The grass covered with a thin film of water. Birds started to flutter their wings from the nests and started the morning soaring high above the horizon. A gentle cool breeze softly kissed his skin, making him shiver. He sat on his rocking chair situated in the front yard, under the shade of the tree, beside a small stone made in memorial of his friend naked mole rat. The man took a deep breath and continued to soak in the beautiful scene.

The man was near his seventies. Gone was the look of his youth when all of his blonde hair turned to silver and his bones weakened by age. His face is full of wrinkles and his sense of sight started to fail him. The only thing that he kept during his younger days is his patch of freckles. He placed the cup back on top of the saucer and gently ran his calloused fingers on his faded Fearless Ferret blanket. He brought the pillow closer to his frame and let out another sigh of contentment when he heard a familiar voice calling him.

"Daddy?"

His eyes slowly opened and saw a young woman in her late twenties. She had a lighter shade of blonde hair and a small spot of freckles on her cheek. But one distinguishing factor between the two are their eyes. His dark brown and her piercing green eyes made him thought that she got that from her mother. He smiled when he saw his pride and joy carrying her first newborn son. The green-eyed woman smiled and gave her father a peck on the cheek.

"Rosa!" The goofy grin he gave her made the woman chuckle.

"Dad, I brought little Freddie here so you two can have a baby-granddad bonding." She said while handing the young infant to him. After years of taking care of children, he expertly took hold of him and started to play with him. The baby gurgled happily as the man softly caresses him.

"Who's the cutest little thing? Oh, who's the cutest widdle thing..." The baby giggled when he saw the funny faces the man was making. Rosa put the bag containing the baby's necessities on top of the table inside the house. When she went back outside, the woman laughed when she saw her dad playing with her son, as if remembering the time he was practically doting her on everything she wanted. She then took out a bottle already prepared and went to them.

"That's right, you are. You are!" The baby laughed uncontrollably while the old man raised him up and down. He then took the bottle and started feeding him. The baby quieted down and started sucking on the bottle. While holding the baby close, he then asked.

"So, not that I minded having you two here, but why are you here?"

"W-Well..." The woman hesitantly looked through the window and saw the numerous pictures framed on the wall. But the one that got her attention is the wedding photograph of her parents, with her father grinning wildly while her mother smiling gracefully. Under them printed:

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable!

Her attention went back to her father, who was expecting her answer. She sighed and sat on the grass next to him. She puts her hand on his shoulder and said solemnly "D-Dad... It's just that... Uh... Do you think I am ready?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think I'm ready?" Ron continued to stare at her piercing green eyes and saw the hesitance and doubt clouding her judgement. He knew all too well the look his daughter is now giving him. He let out a big sigh and answered her question like he always does.

"No."

"What?"

"Rosa, dear," He said tenderly that her eyes were transfixed with his warm chocolate browns "Although you got most of my good looks, except for your dazzling mother's eyes," That earned him a giggle from his daughter. "You are always like her emotionally. Stop being such a worry wart. I mean, you did have a child with him. So, a wedding would be no big for you."

A small frown crossed her brows as she mumbled "B-But this is different."

"Different, you say?" He asked, baffled.

"Yeah, what you two have with mom... Your story's different. You two were made for each other." Her answer left the old man silent for a few seconds. Rosa thought she had made her point across his mind but that thought was shattered when she heard a soft chuckle escaping from his lips. Ron shifted his eyes to his grandkid and saw the sleepy eyes of the infant. So, he took out the empty feeding bottle and started to rock his chair back and forth.

"Hey buddy, you ready to hit the sack?" The baby stared his droopy eyes to him and gave a light laugh. Ron smiled and continued "Hmm, big guy, have you ever heard the story of a badger and a sloth?"

Rosa groaned when she heard that all-too-familiar title of the story while her son started to drool. The woman had heard the story too many times from him when she was young. She took out a towel and started wiping the drool off of his face. Ron chuckled and took it as an affirmative answer from the baby and said "Well, once upon a time there was a place called Middlewood. You see, Middlewood is a large forest full of wildlife. You can see different kinds of animals living there. There's tigers, Rawr!" His roar earned a giggle from his infant audience.

"And, there's possums grazing. But, there is one kind of animal in Middlewood that is different. And that is a Pink Sloth. You see, there is only one of them in the entire forest. The Pink Sloth is eternally lazy. He would always slack off and marinate all day long. He skipped classes on Middlewood High- and yes, they also go to school." Rosa chuckled to his father. It seems that his antics can still make her laugh, even if they find them childish. Ron lightly glared at her before continuing "Back to my story..."

The woman smiled as she remembered the stories her mother used to share to her about her and Ron.

FLASHBACK

"Hey, you know that Prom is a month away from now, right?"

"Mhmm..."

"So I was just wondering..."

"No."

"W-What?!"

"Didn't you said we aren't compatible? You're a Brown Iguana and-"

"B-But that Animology fad was so in the past, Sally!"

Everyone inside the newsroom laughed, including a particular brunette. It had been a long while since that fateful day and she hasn't got tired of her new lifestyle. She watch with mirth in her eyes her colleague who was desperate to get Sally as his date for the Prom. The two were notoriously at each other's throats for a long while until a few months ago when things started to mellow between them. She chuckled when he got another rejection from her.

"It's never boring with these guys." Amelia mused while editing her article.

Prom. Although that word is still in the back burner of Amelia's mind, the thought of her prospective dates still nags her for some reason. She still has her place in the Food Chain, as much as she wanted to destroy that. And because of that, there will always be lines of boys throwing themselves to her, trying to be her companion for the dance. If she was the Amelia of the past, she would've toyed with all of she didn't changed, she would take everything they give to her and give nothing back. She would savor their desperation. But she was not the same Amelia as before.

She politely refused their offers and some accepted it. But, there were others who were very persistent. She would be flattered by their stubbornness, if not for their rather 'colorful' attitude. The jocks who kept pursuing her were only brutes who wanted an arm candy for the Prom. They never cared on anyone's feelings but their own. And Matthew, the new Middleton basketball player, is one of them. The brunette let out a groan when she saw a piece of paper lying on top of her articles. She read:

Amelia.

Be my date for the Prom. I promise you will have the time of your life with me.

Matthew

"Oho, looks like Mister New Hot Shot takes his eyes on our resident Miss Popular" One of her colleagues teased, resulting the entire female population of the room squeal and went towards Amelia and her new found note. They gushed on how lucky she was on earning the eyes of the newest bad boy sensation that catapulted Middleton's basketball team to the regionals. Amelia let out a sigh and glared at the one who shouted, who just grinned at her in return.

"I'll get back to you." She muttered while being hounded by the girls for details.

"You actually got the attention of the Matthew Evans! I can't believe it, girl. How did you do it?"

"When's your first meet-up with him?"

"Can I get the scoop for your date?"

"Can I be your exclusive writer for the two of you?"

"C'mon, guys." She weakly said as the girls continued to bombard her with questions, to no avail. Amelia shot a dark look from the guys, who just smiled at the commotion, that says If you don't get your lazy butts here and help me, I swear you will all get it. And faster than they can say 'Yes ma'am', they scrambled to keep them at bay. When everything was back in order, Amelia sighed and began to answer their questions.

"I don't think Mat's the one I should go with to the Prom, to be quite honest." To say they are shocked would be an understatement. Not a second longer, they began to protest for an explanation but the brunette beat them to it. "I know who he is and I honestly think that I really don't want him to be my date this Prom. He's too much of a brute that thinks just because he's the school newest star, it means that he can get everything he wants." The group then noticed a faraway look Amelia gave after her tirade against Matthew "And besides... I think I have an idea on who to go with... Well, if he accepts it."

"Are you kidding? Anyone would kill just to be your date!" One boy incredulously asked, in which Amelia just lightly laughed.

"Yeah, but he's... different." She whispered, while in the back of her mind, she knew she was far different from the other boys in this school. "He's totally not Normal... And I like it. He's unique and that makes him stand out... aside from being adorably cute." Her mind instantly brought out the image of a blonde boy smiling warmly at her. She felt her spine tingle with ecstasy whenever he appears in her mind. She still maintains a strong friendship with him but ever since then, she starts to feel something different for him.

"Stop it, get your head in the game, Amelia!" Amelia's eyes snapped back to reality and saw the expecting faces of her colleagues. Flushing, she tried to wave them off and go back to her article when Sally, eyes full of mischief, innocently asked her "So... Who is the lucky guy that snagged your heart? Was it Brick?"

The mention of the football player made Amelia's brow to knit tighter. Sure, Brick is a pretty fly guy for the star quarterback, but he was too... bland for her taste. He's a cool guy to hang out with but there's nothing about him that makes him stand out aside from his prowess in the field. She sees him as the football star, out of reach from the audience, not as a boy who she could date. "What the hell, Sally? You know Brick is still into Bonnie. I'll bet they'll be back together before Prom."

"Was it Jason?"

This time, she felt her anger flaring inside her mind. She didn't want to reminisce those dark times of finding, and failing, someone to fill the widening void inside her. And, Jason was one of those who took advantage of her prone mind. The dark look escaped and was evident on her face for a second before she cleaned up and answered with a curt 'No'. The look didn't went by unnoticed by others and decided to stop pestering her any further. Thus, they went back to their tables and returned to what they were previously doing until the school bell rang.

"Well, see you later, KP!"

"See ya!"

One redhead teenager waved her hand before entering her next class. Ron took a deep breath and went out to find his locker to get his things. Rufus went out of his pocket and hopped to his shoulder. The blonde gave him a grin and said "Well, I guess its just you and me, Rufus... And hopefully no Barkin this time." He shuddered when he thought about the near-omnipresent principal. Rufus shivered in response and the duo started to walk.

"Sigh. Another day without KP." He didn't remember when this first started, but now he was sure that his lifelong friendship with the teen crime-fighter is on the rocks. Fifteen years of solid friendship and he doesn't have a clue why he felt he is walking on thin ice whenever she's around. Not that she was openly hostile against him, but he slowly saw the signs that Kim may have gotten tired of him. One case would be their Friday hang-outs, or as Kim would like to call in the past 'Ron Nights'. The usual bonding they have on that day started to decrease. At first, Kim would say she's busy and would skip a Friday off, but eventually his best friend would always say she was busy, in a myriad of reasons, thus ending their tradition.

Their calls are getting shorter, and the scarcity of things they talk about when walking, Ron can feel the death of their companionship nearing, and he can't help but watch because he doesn't even know the reason. Ron let out a deep sigh before reaching his locker. He took out his needed things before locking it. The blonde uttered three words to himself, trying to believe that everything's alright. But, as he take every step, his anxiety and doubt clouds his vision, telling him that the two were drifting apart.

"We're still friends. We're still friends. I know it."

Ron continued his path towards his room, his mind heavy from his thoughts.

"We're still friends."

A/N's: So... Yeah, here's the start. Did you guys enjoy it? Leave a review and don't forget to put this in your alerts if you wish to read more. Thank you for reading. Tune in for more updates!

'Til next time!
-kmtdiccion :)