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Mrs. Load was a very nice woman, when Kim first met her sometime after the incident with Team Impossible. She was calm, level-headed, and kind, along with being very down to earth when the situation calls for it. And since Kim had a similar personality, she immediately had a growing fondness for the teen heroine.
It was enough fondness to share her concerns about her little boy, once Kim and Ron met her officially. Wade was in his room, as usual, and the two teens decided to try to get along with his mom a little more since there were only a few mentions of her or a brief appearance. But when Kim had brought up the topic of why he doesn’t leave his room much, Mrs. Load didn’t hesitate to try to talk about it.
“Wade has never been out of his room since he was about 8. He was too busy either with completing his schoolwork or..doing what he usually does with you two now. He gets the computer skills from his father.” Mrs. Load chuckled at the memory of her husband and their son looking at a computer set Mr. Load was working on.
“But ever since John…disappeared, I was left to take care of him, and Wade..coped in his own way. The only times he came out of his room were when he needed to go to the bathroom or if he needed something to eat. But I guess he’s resolved all of that now with his machines.”
Since that talk with Mrs. Load that day, Kim and Ron were more vocal about their concerns when it came to Wade’s lack of sleep, or how he never left his room unless on occasion, or how he had less of a social life than them. While Wade did his best to brush it off, they still stuck to their guns. And they could tell he was a little nervous whenever they brought that stuff up to him.
Which is why Kim was now standing outside of Wade’s bedroom with a package of food she picked up on the way and a case of bottled water. She softly knocked on the door, and when she heard a faint “come in” from the other side, Kim slowly creaked the door open.
Inside, was Wade who was once again sitting at his desk with a bunch of computer monitors in front of him. She assumed he was maybe hacking, or possibly programming something for a new gadget for her. But new gadgets aren’t important right now - Wade’s health is.
“Surprise.” Kim mused, causing Wade to turn around in his chair and face her.
“Oh! Hey Kim! I didn’t know you were coming by today..” Wade said, scratching the back of his head. He noticed what she was carrying in her hands and looked at her skeptically.
“Uhhh..what’s that?” He asked, pointing to the things in her arms. Kim smiled, walking over to his desk and placing it in front of him.
“For you.” Kim said matter-of-factly, as she put the case of water down on the floor beside him.
“Wha-uh..why? I already have food..and water…and..” Wade then looked at her in suspicion. “..Did my mom put you up to this?”
Kim chuckled, knowing very well that he would go to that conclusion. But that was really not the case, whether he believed it or not.
“No, actually. I just thought I’d be one step ahead of you and help stock up.” Kim shrugged, as she closely studied how Wade reacted. His eyes flew wide, and he was trying to avoid eye contact with her, which was a sign of trying to avoid a specific conversation with her.
‘Yeah, like I would let him get out of it for that long.’ Kim thought, as she mentally rolled her eyes.
“Uh, that’s really nice of you Kim, but you didn’t have to do that! Really, I can handle that on my own!” Wade said, as panic laced his voice.
Kim crossed her arms over her chest and gave him the Disapproving Mom look she gave mostly to him or Ron, or whoever else dared to question her in this kind of situation. He gulped, offering her a nervous smile and slowly taking the food into his hands.
“Hehe I mean..thanks Kim.” He saved, hoping that she would leave him alone now, since she dropped off everything. But, oh how he was wrong…
“Wade…you know I love you, right?” Kim asked him, completely out of the blue, and Wade was visibly taken aback by that.
He knew Kim cared about him to a certain degree, as she knew that even if he was a super genius he was still only 11 years old. But he didn’t think he saw this much sincerity from Kim at all over the time he’s known her. Ron did mention one time that Kim does have a much softer side, and that she doesn’t frequently show it to the world, but it was there. However, Wade didn’t think he would be a person she would show it to.
“Yeah..?” Wade trailed, confused as to where this conversation was going now.
“Wade, if I’m being honest here, sometimes I just get very concerned for you.” Kim confessed, placing both hands on his shoulders.
“I know that you like helping Ron and I on missions, and also that you’re a super genius, but..you’re still a kid. Which means that when you’re not helping us on missions, you should be either sleeping or eating and not spending much of your nights staying up and hacking into some agency’s bank account.”
Wade frowned, not really sure how to respond to her when she put it like that. He always knew Kim had this..maternal aura to her, but he didn’t know she would turn into a second mom to him. One mom is already enough, he cannot handle two of them at once.
Abruptly, his mouth moved on its own, as he slowly formed a reply. “Kim, I appreciate the concern and all, but-“
“Wade.” Kim interrupted, using the stern voice she only used on Ron or maybe her brothers. “I know that you can take care of yourself, but in the end, you’re still only 11 years old. You’re still growing up. We all are.”
Kim paused for a second, deeply sighing when she saw that her reasoning was having trouble reaching Wade’s head. “I’m not saying this as your boss, I’m saying this as an older sister. Don’t push yourself so hard…that’s all I’m asking of you.”
Wade’s eyes widened when he heard her words. Time had frozen, as he dug deep inside of his own head and thought through what Kim had said..what it meant.
She was practically asking him to give up the only connection he ever had left with his father. The man was the reason why Wade became an inventor, a super genius, and Kim just..wanted him to throw that away? She wanted him to throw his memories with his own father away?!
“No.” He said coldly, earning a slightly taken back expression from Kim at how..icy he sounded. She wasn’t even completely aware he could be this cold to someone.
“Wade-“
“NO Kim! I am not throwing away those memories I have with him!” Wade snapped, waving his arms around frantically.
“Mom didn’t tell you about my father, didn’t she? About how he died when I was 6? She probably didn’t tell you he was an inventor too, one of the best out there! And..And as I grew older, dad would always show me how he built every invention he made at home. We used to do it together everyday when mom was at work. When I was 6…dad died. And..the only connection I have left with him is when I invent things! He’s the reason why I’m a super genius!
And..you want me to throw all of it away? Just like that?! You want me to throw away all those memories? The main reason why I’m even helping out Team Possible?!”
Wade’s anger only increased, as his hands folded into tight fists, and Kim watched as he slowly stood up from his chair, with his head facing the floor. Not even making eye contact with her, even if she was the one he was mad at.
“No. I am not letting him go. I am not going to give up inventing! My health is less important than my father! Or my job. I..I already lost him once..” Wade knew Kim couldn’t see it, and he was glad she couldn’t, but his eyes were beginning to well up with tears. The tears that expressed the feelings he was trying so hard to push down and avoid best to his ability.
“I’m not losing him again..never…! And even you and Ron can’t stop me!”
Kim only had less than a minute to process what Wade had said, but she couldn’t say that she didn’t take her time running it all through her head. Wade thought..that she was asking him to give up his career? But..that’s not what she asked at all.
She knew there was obviously a reason why he was an inventor, or why he wanted to be one, but she never did fathom that it would be because of his late father, who was only briefly mentioned by his mom a few times after the Team Impossible sitch, or maybe even before that.
But Wade..he was using his work as an inventor to keep his connection with his father going and he thought she was trying to disrupt that? He thought she was going to take away what makes him happy? What made him keep going? Just because she was only concerned for his health?
“Oh..Oh Wade.” Kim murmured. “Hey..can you look at me?” She asked softly, not expecting Wade to do as she asked. But, to her surprise, his head solemnly tilted up to face her. Wade..was in tears.
He was crying, and he obviously didn’t want her to see it. But she still saw it.
She offered him a sad smile, as she reached up and wiped his tears away, gently resting her hands onto his shoulders. This caused the boy to gasp, surprised at how she didn’t start up a screaming match with him like he had..partly expected.
“Wade…I’m sorry if I sounded like I wanted you to give up your career, or your job in general, but..that’s not what I was saying at all. I don’t want you to give up that connection you have with your dad. But…sometimes I think you forget that you’re not just a genius who graduated high school and college in 8 months. You’re a kid. I’m not asking you to give up what you do…” Kim sighed, as she formed her next sentence very carefully.
“I’m trying to tell you that while you’re a genius, and while you love to invent and experiment with things on your computers…you should also love being a kid too. Ron and I don’t want you to feel like you always have to push away your own life for ours.”
Kim tenderly wrapped her arms around Wade and pulled him closer to her, resting his head under her chin just near her collar. She honestly thought that Wade needed it..along with her. But Wade was the one who needed reassurance, not her.
That reassurance seemed to help him, since the only thing she could hear in the silence of his room was his heart-wrenching sobs escaping his throat, or the soft soothing noises she was trying to calm him down with. However, his stress levels seemed to be lower than before, so she can say it’s working.
When Wade had finally calmed down, he swiftly pulled away from her arms and smiled sheepishly at her, remembering how he did let the dam break onto her.
“Sorry, I-I don’t know what came over me-“
“Wade.” Kim shook her head. “Don’t be embarrassed, okay? Your feelings matter too, and…I’m sorry if Ron and I seemed like we didn’t care about that. We do, it’s just that sometimes it’s hard for us to show it when we’re busy with our personal lives.”
Kim gently rubbed his shoulder, pulling him into a side hug. “I meant it when I said I love you. You’re practically family to me.” Quite frankly, all of Team Possible was family to her, but Wade was still important nonetheless.
Wade managed to give her a smile, despite him still being in tears. “Yeah..you are too, Kim. You and Ron are the only real friends I have.”
Kim felt her heart sink when she heard that. She didn’t want Wade to not be able to socialize with other kids his age, besides maybe the Tweebs, and she felt bad that it was partially because of her.
Kim leaned down and kissed the crown of his head, before standing up and helping him to his feet. “Okay, now..eat something. Seriously, it took me 15 minutes to get this!” She said, gesturing to the take out on his desk.
Wade chuckled, reaching for the bag of food Kim brought with her. “Yes, Mom.”