Kim woke up to the now all-too-familiar sounds of crying. She let out a soft groan as she turned her head to look at the clock on the night stand. The number 3:45 cast it’s cheery red glow across her face, almost as if it was mocking her. It was a time she was use to by now though as it seemed like almost every night Shin woke up about now and wanted something. She loved her daughter very much, but it was times like these that she wondered if the girl was ever going to make it through a whole night without waking up. It was a stressful situation that would occasionally put her in a bad mood, but as her mom reminded her that was all just part of being a parent.
Of course her irritation of the situation could stem from the fact that for the past few weeks she was the one who had to get up every night and tend to the baby ever since Shego surprised her in the shower with a camera and threatened to post the pictures online. She glanced down at the woman who was currently sleeping halfway over her and as much as she wanted to be angry with her, she just couldn’t when she saw how peaceful she looked. Envious, yes, but angry? No. Though she could also add disgusted to the list when she noticed the tiny bit of drool trailing out of Shego’s mouth and leaking onto her shoulder.
OK that’s just gross, Kim thought as she pulled Shego’s arm off her and slowly rolled her the other way.
Shego let out a few grunts and a loud snort, but still didn’t wake from her slumber. Kim shook her head and again couldn’t help but feel a bit envious that her lover got the sleep while she had to do the dirty work.
Then again I guess it’s only fair, the redhead thought as she pulled herself up from the bed. She has been the one getting up in the middle of the night for a few months now. Looks like it’s finally my turn. I just wish she would have asked and instead of blackmailing me but I guess some bad habits die hard.
She gave a quick stretch to work out the kinks as she stood up then went about putting her night clothes back on before she exited the master bedroom. She walked the few steps down the hallway to Shin’s room and carefully opened the door. She flicked the lights on and instantly regretted the action caused her to shut her still sensitive eyes. She waited a few scenes until she was use to the brighter room before she walked over to the cradle on the for right of the room.
“Ssshhh. It’s alright baby. Mommy’s here, there’s no reason to…cry?”
Kim’s surprise came from the fact that when she looked into the cradle she found that Shin wasn’t crying at all. In fact she was still sleeping…well like a baby. She scratched her head in confusion as she tried to figure out where exactly the crying was coming from.
So if it’s not Shin and it’s not me and definitely not Shego then who…
The answer came to her before she could even finish asking the question.
“Bonnie!” she exclaimed quietly.
After checking on Shin again, Kim left her room soundlessly and went back into the hallway where she finally noticed that not only was the door to the guest room wide open, but the bathroom door was closed. Stopping to take in the scene more clearly, she was finally able to discern that the crying was in fact coming from the bathroom. Still moving quietly she made her way over to the bathroom door then gave it a gentle knock. The sound of a startled gasp interrupted the steady stream of crying.
“Bonnie? I know this is probably the stupidest thing to ask right now, but are you OK?” Kim asked, taking caution to be quiet enough not to wake anyone else up, but loud enough so that the girl on the other side of the door could hear her.
“No I’m not alright! Nothing’s alright!” Bonnie called back with a few sniffles.
“Well…do you want to come out here and talk about it?”
There was silence for several seconds before a bit of scurrying around could be heard, followed quickly by the flushing of the toilet and running water and then the door finally opening. Kim jumped back from having her ear pressed against the door and stared at Bonnie. Simply put, the girl was a mess. Her hair was frazzled and sticking up in places, her flannel pajamas rumbled and unbuttoned in places, and most striking of all her eyes were red and bloodshot from crying for God knows how long. It was a dramatic departure from the girl Kim knew in high school who put her looks above all else.
“Yes,” she whispered in a strained voice to answer Kim’s question. “Yes. I want…I need to talk about it.”
“Alright,” Kim said softly as she stepped around the brunette and placed her hands on her shoulders. “Let’s go to the kitchen and talk about it.
Bonnie nodded absently and allowed herself to be guided into the kitchen. Once Kim flipped the lights, she lead the girl to the table and carefully sat her down. Bonnie looked up at her and opened her mouth to say something but the redhead stopped her with a raised finger. She then walked over to the refrigerator and opened the freezer door.
“I feel a major heart-to-heart coming on here so we’re going to do it right,” she remarked as she turned around and held up to pint-sized Jin & Barry’s ice cream containers. “So what do you want? ‘Super Fudge Chunk’ or ‘Marshmallow Delight’?”
Bonnie blinked at first but then quickly gave her a small amused smile.
“‘Super Fudge Chunk’ sounds pretty good,” she replied.
Kim couldn’t hide her look of disappointment, but she reminded herself that not only was Bonnie her guest but the one in need so she’d have to forgo her favorite flavor for now. She walked over to the counter to pull out a pair of spoons then walked over to the table and set the container and a spoon down in front of the brown haired girl before taking the sit across from her. They let the ice cream sit for a moment to thaw out and just stared at each other an in awkward silence.
“OK, spill,” Kim demanded when she realized Bonnie wasn’t going to speak up without help.
The brunette took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to get a hold of her emotions. She then reached forward and grabbed the small container of ice cream then tore off the ring of plastic around the top. After a bit of struggling she finally peeled the top off and jabbed her spoon into the still hard desert. She was only able to break off about half a teaspoon, but it was enough at the moment. She slipped the spoon into her mouth and let out a pleased “Mmmm” at the sweet, and cold, taste of the ice cream as it rolled around her tongue.
“OK,” she finally said after it as all gone. “I guess I should start the beginning.”
“Usually the best place to start,” Kim remarked as she chipped away at her own container.
“I know, it’s just…really embarrassing to talk about.”
The redhead quirked an eyebrow at that comment.
“This isn’t going to be too personal is it, cause if it is I think we should wait til morning,” she advise.
“No it’s not that. It not even about me really it’s just…” Bonnie paused as she closed her eyes and took a moment to find her courage. Even when she opened her eyes again she refused to look at Kim and instead focused on her ice cream. “My dad’s in jail.”
Kim’s eye widened at the statement and initial shock caused the bit of ice cream she had in her mouth to go down the wrong pipe. She coughed for several seconds, beating her chest to help clear the passages, and when she finally felt got it under control she stared at Bonnie in disbelief.
“What?!” she shouted, though not loud enough to wake up either Shego or Shin.
Bonnie’s eyes darted around the room as she sank lower into the chair.
“Yeah,” she said softly. “He was arrested shortly after graduation.”
“What’d he do?”
“It’s more like what he didn’t do.”
“And that was…?”
“Pay taxes,” the brunette revealed. “Like…forever.”
“And when you say ‘forever’ you really mean…?” Kim ventured.
“I don’t know, a really long time!” Bonnie tried to clarify as she sat up right again and jabbed her spoon into the container. “At least as long as I’ve been alive. Probably even before my sisters too.”
“So then all those new clothes and shoes and make up and all that stuff you had during high school?”
She nodded. “Yeah. All bought with money that apparently should have gone to the government. And once they found out about it they had to take it all back. And not just my stuff, most of my sisters’ stuff, my mom’s stuff, all my dad’s stuff and the house. Even my car.”
Kim winced at the long list. “Ouch. Wait, wasn’t that car, like, brand new?”
“Yeah. A week off the line when I got it at the beginning of senior year. I only drove it a few times too. God I loved that car.”
“It was pretty spankin’,” the redhead agreed. “Still I think you’d be more worried about being homeless than not having a car.”
Bonnie glared at her for a second. “Way to make me feel worse than I already do.”
“Sorry.”
The other girl sighed and shook her head.
“It’s not your fault,” she said as she picked up another spoonful of ice cream. “You’re right, I should be more worried about not having a house than a car, but dammit I’d just like to have both again!”
“Well at least you have a home here for now,” Kim encouraged.
“That’s true. And like I said I appreciate it, but it’s just…kinda hard to believe. I mean, why should you even help me? I was a total bitch to you in high school.”
There was a long pause where Kim focused on getting as much of the marshmallow fluff from the ice cream on her spoon as she could. When her eyes finally lifted to her guest she found Bonnie giving her an expectant look.
“I hope you’re not expecting me to disagree with you,” she commented. “Because you were a total bitch to me in high school. And even in middle school!”
“I know,” Bonnie agreed. “That’s why I’m surprised at all this. You gave me a nice room, use of your house, and now you’re even staying up with me and talking rather than just letting me cry all night. Why?”
Kim gave her a friendly smile as she leaned back in the chair. “I already told you, it’s what I do. I help people. You obviously needed help so I put all that behind us and just saw you as a human being rather than the girl who tried to make my life miserable through most of school.”
“Well when you put it that way I sound even worse,” Bonnie muttered, staring into her spoon.
“Look I didn’t mean it to come off like that.”
“I know, I know. And honestly I think that’s why I was always so rude to you.”
“What do you mean?” Kim asked, titling her head a bit.
The brunette took another scoop of her ice cream before answering.
“I mean the fact that, like, everything came easy to you! Do you have any idea how hard I worked to get to the status I had? Not just being popular either, but actually doing well in school. All those late nights studying, talking to all the right people, trying to win the attention of the hottest guys, it was exhausting. And then here you come along all smiles and happiness and able just to coast right along become one of the most popular people in school. Worst of all you’re doing it all with some loser at your side and people still didn’t care! If I had a friend like Ron, I would have been laughed out of the popular circle years ago. But not you! Not little Miss I-Save-The-World-A-Daily-Basis! You could do whatever you want and people still loved you. But me? I say one slightly mean thing once and I’m marked as the class bitch forever.”
Kim’s jaw fell open as she sat there in stunned silence of the confession. Her hand was cold and she couldn’t tell if it was from the ice cream container or the general numbness she was feeling at the moment. She tried to say something, but the words just wouldn’t come. Finally after a few false start she was able to string one sentence together.
“I-I didn’t know,” she said softly. “I mean I really wasn’t trying to show you up like that. I was just being me.”
“Again, I know and that’s what made it so frustrating. Everything just come naturally to you.”
“Not everything.”
“Oh really?” Bonnie challenged, cocking her head to the left.
“Do you think coming to terms with your new sexuality while trying to get ready to have a baby is easy? Or how about the fact that the woman having your baby and that you’re slowly falling in love with is not only a wanted criminal, but one you’ve been fighting for what feels like your whole life. Then of course there’s the matter of actually raising the baby with the same woman who’s trying to reform but still gets some hassles just by walking down the street. Oh and don’t even get me started on the paparazzi trying to snap pictures of us everywhere we go. Then there’s trying to stop the latest wacko from unleashing his take over the world scheme,” Kim ended her rant with a slight huff. “So yeah, it’s not as easy at it looks.”
Now it was Bonnie’s turn to be amazed.
“OK so maybe it’s not all that easy,” she conceded.
“Thank you,” the redhead replied before scooping up another spoonful of ice cream.
“But you have to admit, from my point of view you made everything look easy.”
“OK, fine I admit it. And I’m sorry for it.”
“And I’m sorry for the way I acted.”
“So does this mean we can finally leave all that drama behind us?”
Bonnie seemed to think about it for a second. “If I say ‘No’ will you kick me out?”
“No I wouldn’t do that,” Kim reassured her before a devious smirk crossed her face. “Though I might go with Shego’s idea for how much rent you should be paying. And trust me, you really don’t want that.”
The brunette looked the other girl in the eyes to see if she was joking or not and when she didn’t find a trace of humor in the statement, her eyebrows quirked before she adopted a sheepish look.
“I think putting in the past is a great idea,” she replied with a nervous laugh.
“I thought you might say that,” the emerald eyed girl replied with a satisfied smirk.
The two then fell into another slump of silence and focused on the containers in their hands. When she was about half way through her ice cream, Kim looked up at Bonnie again with another uneasy question on her mind.
“So…what happened to the rest of your family?” she asked.
Despite the situation, Bonnie couldn’t help but smile as she thought back on two members of her family in particular.
“That’s actually one of the best things to come out of this whole fiasco,” she remarked. “At least as far as my sisters are concerned. Turns out, Dad paid for their tuition with the money he should have paid the government so when they took it all back, they were kicked out. Oh you should have seen the looks on their faces. It was priceless.”
Kim stared across the table at her in horror at how much pleasure she seemed to be taking from her own sisters’ misfortune. When Bonnie noticed this she sudden became very defensive.
“What?!” she snapped. “Don’t look at me like that, they deserve it! In fact I think if anyone needed a karma smack down it was those two. They made my life hell from the earliest I could remember. They even blamed me for this whole mess!”
“OK, OK, I get it your sisters weren’t saints,” Kim said, holding her hands out defensively. “But still it doesn’t seem right to be so happy about them being forced out of college. I mean, you didn’t like it when you thought I’d gloat about what happened to you, right?”
The brunette sighed as she glanced down at the table in shame. “I guess not. But I still think they got what they deserved.”
“So where are they now?”
“Living with my Mom at my Grandma’s house.”
“So your grandmother took everyone in?”
Bonnie nodded. “Offered to let me go too, but there was no way I was doing that. I mean, having to live with them in one house was bad enough but if I went there I’d have to share a room with them. Not to mention putting up with my Grandma and her weird habits. Just a few days of that and I probably would have killed myself.”
Again the redhead was shocked at how casually her guest threw around some very serious issues. Especially one this serious. She placed her spoon in the ice cream container and then without thinking, reached over and grabbed Bonnie’s hand around her own spoon. The action certainly surprised herself but surprised the brunette even more so.
“Kim…” she said uneasily, staring down at her still clasped hand.
“Bonnie,” Kim started, still not quite sure herself what she was doing. “I know things look bad right now, but I promise you they’ll pick up. You don’t need to think about doing…that.”
Bonnie was about to ask her what she meant, when it suddenly dawned on her what she had said earlier. She let out a small gasp as her eyes widened in surprise of herself.
“No! No, no, no!” she exclaimed with an enthusiastic shake of her head. “I didn’t mean that. I mean…not just now. I did…kinda…think about it at first when things were really looking bad.”
Kim’s hand squeezed tighter and despite herself, and the rather awkward position her hand was in, Bonnie squeezed back.
“I’ll trust that you’ve come to your senses by now, but if you ever need to talk about it, or anything else, just ask, OK? I’ll listen to whatever you have to say,” Kim said softly, her emerald eyes shining with sincerity.
“I know,” Bonnie replied in a soft tone as well. “And again, I appreciate it. Probably more than I can ever really tell you. But there’s just one thing I do want to ask right now.”
“What’s that?”
“Can you please let go of my hand?”
Kim blinked before she looked down her arm to see she was still in fact holding the other girl’s hand. She let out a slight embarrassed shriek then pulled back and quickly grabbed the handle of her spoon again.
“Well you didn’t have to act so offended by it,” Bonnie joked.
“Oh…uh…sorry I didn’t mean…”
“It’s OK. Just don’t make a habit out of it.”
The redhead nodded and went to get another scoop of ice cream when a light scratching sound assaulted her ears. She looked down to see that the carton was completely empty. She placed it down on the table with a sad, and slightly shameful, sigh.
“Well, looks like I’m out,” she declared.
Bonnie poked at her own carton a bit before laying it down as well.
“Me too,” she replied. “So what do we do now?”
“Well I’m feeling a bit of a sugar rush so I don’t think I’ll be able to get back to sleep anytime soon. TV?”
“Sounds like an idea.”
With the agreement reached, they each stood up then placed their spoons in the sink before dumping the empty containers in the trash can and walking out of the kitchen. When they reached the living room, Bonnie cast a predatory eye towards the remote. Right as she moved to grab it, Kim swept in underneath her arm and snatched the remote of the coffee table before practically rolling onto the couch. The brunette frowned as she plopped down next to her.
“Shouldn’t the guest get control of the remote?” she tried.
“Sorry, you may be the guest but this is still my house so I get to hold the remote and decide what we watch,” Kim replied with a wicked grin.
“Fine! Just as long as it’s nothing stupid.”
Kim’s smile increased a bit as Bonnie sulked next to her but she quickly pushed any thoughts of gloating aside and settled for just turning on the TV. Unfortunately, the only thing that seemed to be on so early in the morning were infommercials and really bad movies from before either of them was born. Right as Kim was about to give up, she happened to catch a scene from a movie she not only knew but really enjoyed.
“Is this ‘The Best It Gets’?” Bonnie asked, pointing to the screen.
“Yep. And don’t even think about asking me to change the channel.”
“Oh don’t worry, cause I wasn’t. I love this movie.”
“You do?” Kim asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“Yeah. So?”
“Nothing. Just kinda funny we seem to have something in common after all.”
“I guess so. Now, shush, this is one of the best parts.”
Kim like the “shush” go for now because she knew Bonnie was right, it was one of the best parts. It was also one of the parts near the beginning so thankfully they hadn’t missed much. They each settled in in their own ways in preparation for watching perhaps one of the best movies ever made for the next two hours or so. Unfortunately, they were only awake to watch about 30 minutes of it as their sugar highs quickly began to fade and the sleep their impromptu talk had interrupted was coming back on them. The last thing they remembered were the two main characters talking in a fancy restaurant before things went black for each of them.
Shego groaned as she groggily made her way into the living room. Being able to sleep a few extra hours as nice, but being awoken by Shin at 8:00 in the morning to change her diaper was still not the best way to wake up. Especially since Kim had so kindly agreed to take up those chores for the next few weeks. Of course she’d be a little more upset if she hadn’t woken up to an empty bed, thus explaining Kimmie’s little absence from her motherly duties. She assumed the lack of an extra body was due to a mission the younger woman received in the middle of the night, but that idea was debunked when she noticed the TV was currently playing an episode of “Cherub”. Not only did she remember turning the TV off last night, but the light from the screen perfectly illuminated the two figures fast asleep on the couch. It would actually be a kind of funny, and even cute, scene if it didn’t set off her jealousy meter so much.
For there on the couch, laying there without a care in the world, were Kim and Bonnie. The fact that they would sleep near each other to begin with would have made her twinge a bit in jealousy, but seeing Bonnie laying on top of Kim made her down right pissed. Especially since their new house guest had her head place perfect between the redhead’s perky little breasts, a spot usually reserved for her. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Kim actually had one arm wrapped around Bonnie’s waist and the other resting on the other girl’s right butt cheek. Perhaps worst of all, they were both smiling as if was the most comfortable thing in the world, knowing how still and soundlessly her Kimmie could sleep, it probably was.
Barely keeping her anger in check, Shego stomped over to the couch and glared down at the two for a moment before she clearing her throat in a loud, exaggerated manner.
“A-HEM!!” she faked coughed, barely covering her mouth.
The sudden noise was enough to jolt the two out of their sleep but not enough to fully wake them up. They both let out sleepy moans as they slowly began to come about. When they finally did there was a surreal moment where they stared at each other blankly as they slowly took in their positions. Once it finally did sink in, they each let out a loud scream and quickly pulled away from each other in almost disgusted manner.
“Kim, what the hell?!” Bonnie shouted, having jumped over to one of the recliners.
“Me?! You’re the one laying on to top of me!” Kim protested from her spot on the couch.
“Well you’re the one that had her hand on my butt!”
“Well you had your head-”
“Where mine usually goes,” Shego interrupted the two.
The color drained from Kim’s face until it almost matched the skin of her very angry looking lover. For the second time in the last few hours she experienced a moment where she tried to speak but her mouth just couldn’t form the words.
“Shego! This isn’t what it looks like!” she finally blurted out as she sprang to her feet.
“Well then, Princess, why don’t you tell me what it looks like,” Shego retorted irritably. “Cause to me it looks like this whole ‘lets save the girl who made fun of my in high school cause I’m just that damn nice’ idea was an excuse to get someone for you to cuddle with in the house.”
“That is sooo not what I wanted!”
“You and me both,” Bonnie scoffed.
Kim glared at her. “Do you mind?! Private moment here!”
“Fine, I’ll just go to my room.”
“Oh no, you’re not going anywhere ya little temptress!” Shego countered, holding a hand out.
“‘Temptress’?! Look, I am not trying to hit on Kim!”
“And how do I know that?”
“For two reasons. 1) I’m not gay and 2) if I were I’d like to think I could go better than her.”
“What’s that suppose to mean?!” Kim shouted indignantly.
“You don’t turn me on Kim! There I said it!”
“So you’re saying it’s not OK for you to settle for Kim but it’s OK for me to?” Shego growled.
“What do you mean ‘settle’?” Kim asked, glaring at the pale skinned woman.
“Look, you two obviously have your own issues to work out, I need to go get ready for work. So have fun,” Bonnie remarked before she made a hasty exit out of the living room.
The two women watched her leave before they turned back to each other, Shego crossing her arms over her chest and cocking a hip in her classic, ‘I’m pissed and need a good answer NOW!’ pose.
“Look, you have to know that this isn’t what I wanted when I asked her to move in with us,” Kim tried to defend herself.
“Oh I have to, do I?” Shego retorted sarcastically.
“Yes, you do. I know you’re upset right now-”
“Pissed is more like it.”
Kim sighed, and started over. “Fine pissed, whatever, but I know that you know deep down that I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.” She stepped and tried to take Shego’s hand, but the other woman simply stepped back. “You know there’s only one girl for me and that’s you.”
“So then what was all that?” Shego asked, gesturing to the couch.
“Sleep depravation, too much chocolate, and a lot of bad luck. But I promise you it won’t happen again.”
“Yeah? Well you can keep your promises until after I’ve had my morning coffee. Then maybe we’ll discuss the future of this whole arrangement.”
With that, Shego stuck her nose in the air as she turned and walked off towards the kitchen. Kim called out to her to try and bring her back to lesson to reason, but it seemed like she just didn’t want to do that right now.
Why does everything have to be so complicated?! she thought in annoyance.
To Be Continued…
Author’s Notes: Well folks, there ya have, the third chapter to this latest saga. I realize it was a lot of talking and I hope it kept you all entertained and interested. Surprisingly I really don’t have much to say here other than the fact that the next chapter might take a little longer to get out cause there are still some sequencing issues I’m working through in my head. In the meantime I’ll be writing more installments for the “Maternal Instinct: Spotlight” stories as well as a sequel for “Another Possibility”. So be on the lookout for those.
Also, as much as I would love to take credit for it, the “Cherub” joke is from an issues of Young Justice and therefore belongs to Peter David. Can’t remember exactly which issue though and I don’t feel like digging through my mound of comics to find out. Sorry. Hope you enjoyed it though as well as the other parody names, which do belong to me. I mean, as far as I know no one’s done them before.
So there’s all for now. Thanks for reading!