“Explain to me why we’re at the mall again Monique,” Kim whispered to the girl next to her as they stood inside of the Club Banana department store.
“Easy girl... Sara needs more clothes right? Well this is the perfect solution.”
Kim groaned inside. Monique was right, Sara needed some extra clothes. She watched as the pale woman darted from rack to rack, looking at one article of clothing, then another.
“I guess you’re right Monique.”
“Of course I am! When have I ever been wrong about fashion?”
Kim smirked, “When you were six. You wore a pair of chaps to school.”
Monique was mortified, “You promised not to talk about that!”
Kim put on her best innocent look, “I didn’t talk about it….just made a small comment is all.”
“You’re despicable Kim Possible.” Monique was tempted to pout, but something caught her eye. “Kim…why does Sara look like a happy version of Shego?”
“I’m not seeing it.” Oh no...she knows... Kim's heart skipped a beat.
Monique gave Kim a doubtful look, “Girl, they both have pale green skin, and a lot of gorgeous hair! You can not tell me they aren’t the same person.”
“Well…technically they aren’t.”
Monique’s jaw dropped, “Back-up and repeat that again.”
“They aren’t?” Kim offered weakly.
“Before that.”
Kim bit her lip and mentally bopped herself, “Technically...”
Monique looked at the woman almost dancing around a rack of turtlenecks in joy. “You’re telling me that she and Shego are the same person? That prude girl is Shego?”
“SHHHHH!” Kim clapped her hand over Monique’s mouth with a glare. “Drakken goofed up and made her think she’s her fifteen year old self… I’m just taking care of her for now in exchange for six months of peace from that blue dolt when this is over.”
The dark skinned girl nodded with wide-eyes. She spoke after Kim’s hand was pulled away, “Does she know?”
“And how would I be able to tell her that? It sounds crazy enough by itself. I can’t really prove it, so I think her living in the past is a good idea for now.”
Monique looked over to the woman hugging a sweater with a strange amount of joy, “Girl…this is beyond messed up.”
Kim watched Monique help Sara pick out clothes from a spot by the balcony railing outside the store.
She knew should tell Sara the truth, but it was so insane that she wasn’t sure she wanted to believe it herself.
Focus Kim…This is a week thing at most. Drakken will have his screw up fixed, and Sara can go back to being the arch-villain that the “Great Kim Possible” always fights…
She sighed unhappily.
And then no more Sara…Even if she is happier than Shego has ever been since I’ve met her. Even though she is…No...Bad Kim…Been over this. No crushing on her.
Even if she has a beautiful figure, a nice personality, and actually lets you cook.
She stopped and started to pound her head with her palm, ignoring the odd stares she received. Out damned thoughts, out!
“You okay Kim…?” It was Sara who was standing over her, bent down so her eyes were even with Kim’s.
“Yeah…I’m good…” Kim managed to stammer out. She’s got beautiful eyes too….what am I saying? Bad enough I find out AFTER having a particular sexuality since I hit puberty that it might have all been one big, fat lie. But Shego?
“Alright…just don’t pound your head in okay?” Sara spoke softly. Her eyes revealed her concern and she walked back into the store, pausing to look back over her shoulder.
After ushering Sara into the dressing room Monique went out to where Kim was standing, “Girl…you can’t seriously be crushing can you?”
“I –am- not crushing Monique. I’ve just had too much on my mind, no big.”
The girl put her hands on her hips dropping into a no nonsense stances, “Kim, girl, be honest. Are you trying to tell me you’re not crushing on the Amazonian Love Goddess that is in that dressing room?”
“Amazonian Love Goddess?” Kim was beyond confused. Her mind tried to make sense of where Monique was going with it all as she stared at the dark girl blankly.
Monique poke her best friend’s nose, “She is sexy enough to make me think of going gay. There is no way you are not crushing Ms. Possible. I know you too well.”
“Monique…..Sara is behind you…” Kim pointed weakly.
I’m not interrupting am I? I didn’t mean to interrupt…I mean…I didn’t know you were a couple…” Sara trailed off, confused and embarrassed, and walked back into the store, her bubbly mood popped.
“Did she just say we were a couple?”
Kim nodded weakly.
“That is way creepy.”
Kim nodded again.
“Girl…you need to let her know you and me have nothing going on…”
Kim shook her head this time. There was something different about her eyes than normal.
“You’re afraid…? The great Kim Possible is afraid of getting hurt?”
Kim shook her head. “I’m afraid of hurting her…”
Monique poked one finger firmly in between her friend’s collarbones. “Kim, she’s hurt. Now go fix it before I decide I want to date her.”
Kim tried several times to talk to Sara after that, but the girl avoided her with a vengeance.
Even while cooking, which the pale woman loved to show Kim how to do, they barely spoke.
It was obvious to each of them they were both hurting, but neither one knew how to approach it, or how to explain it.
They just knew that they wanted to curl up somewhere and cry.
But they were too strong for that.
Too stubborn.
Too blinded by how much pain they were in to know what to do was right there staring them in the face every time they saw each other.
Sara was sleeping in Kim’s bed while Kim sat on the couch holding a pillow. Even her favorite movie was failing to make her feel better. Instead its tear-jerking magic just made her more depressed.
A body sat down next to her on the couch. “Kim…sweetie…you okay?” Anne was worried about her daughter.
“Yeah…I’m fine Mom.”
Anne sighed. It was obvious her daughter was anything but fine. Forever stubborn. A Possible tradition it seems.
“Kim…we need to have a little talk.”
Kim flicked off the television and turned to her mother, still clutching the pillow, “About what?”
Anne tried to think of the best way to approach the problem as she saw it.
“You’ve heard that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree right?”
Red hair bounced a little as the younger Possible nodded.
“Well you see back when I was in college…I met someone…before your father mind you…And she was most possibly the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen before and since.”
Kim choked, “She?”
Anne nodded, a little embarrassed, “You are actually the result of her disappearance. She was a one night stand…but she was something I’ve dreamt about for years after wards…Strange thing is she looked just a pale, brown haired Sara. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are related either.”
The woman paused for a moment, “The thing is…I still hurt because Shannon got away. Granted I couldn’t stop her from disappearing into the night while sleeping…but you shouldn’t make that mistake.”
“Mom…”
“Sh… Just trust me on this, okay?” She gave her daughter a small kiss on her forehead before walking off to her bedroom.
“That…was creepy…”
A/N: Short Chapter compared to the first two. It’s intentional, because this is the best place to end this bit.