Shego had felt insulted when she had found out that she had been left behind. Anne’s logic was sound, and she had meant well, but Shego was still upset.
“I wanted to be there.”
“Look, stop acting so bratty. You’ve gotten less sleep than I have, and were going to collapse if you didn’t get at least some.”
Shego spread her arms, “So what? At least I’d pass out knowing something, instead of hearing about it after the fact.”
Anne was thankful she had left out the part of using Shego as a threat. “What do I need to do to get you to stop acting like a six year old?”
Shego crossed her arms and slumped in her seat, “I’m not acting like I’m six.”
“You are too.”
“Am not.”
“Are too. And I should know; I’ve raised three of them.”
Shego tried to come up with something snippy, witty, anything, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. The two sat in silence for a while as if the universe was on pause.
“I….I’m sorry.” Shego hung her head. She wasn’t sure why she was sorry, just that she was.
Anne tentatively reached around Shego and gave her a hug, “It’s okay dear.”
The two had spent the week prior working together, with the support of Anne’s job, and the Possible clan. Wade had kept working, almost as if he was teacher’s pet fishing for extra credit.
So far he found nothing.
It had been difficult for the two women to get used to being civil to each other. Shego preferred privacy, and could happily act as a hermit, as Anne needed emotional support whenever her mind wandered to the darker end of what could be happening with her daughter.
Shego had bent more towards Anne’s perspective and she found herself feeling more emotionally stable when she was comforting the older woman. Though she drew the line at hugs. No one got to braid her hair, no matter what kind of pout they used.
That had disappointed Anne to no end. Mindless braiding of hair was fun, and distracting. Not to mention Shego had a lot of hair that could be braided.
The phone rang, causing Anne to untangle herself as she dashed for it, praying it was Wade. She cursed and slammed the phone back into the cradle as a computerized telemarketer told her she could save hundreds on car insurance.
“Easy girl! Don’t break the phone.” Shego had literally jumped when the phone had hit the cradle.
Anne didn’t say anything and started to walk to the kitchen, her stomach proclaiming to her that it was lunchtime. She stopped as the phone started to ring again. Her hand picked it up on the third ring.
“Hello?”
“Dr. Possible?”
“Speaking.”
“It’s Wade. I’ve got good news.”
“You know where Kim is?”
“Yes and no. I found footage of Ron and Kim on a grocery store security camera thanks to a facial recognition program.”
“Where?”
“Toronto. The problem is that they could be anywhere. But I’ve narrowed it down to the province and am still searching. I just thought it’d be good to let you know what’s going on.”
“Thanks Wade.”
She hung up the phone softer this time and tried to avoid Shego’s eager look. “Wade has an idea where Kim is. Some security camera in Toronto picked spotted her in a grocery store. He didn’t say anything else though.”
Shego nodded, her eyes betraying the disappointment that dwelled in her soul.
“I’m sorry…”
“Why are you sorry?” Shego’s voice weighed heavy with her sorrow, “She’s your daughter. I…I’m just the woman who made her gay.”
Anne flinched at the words. They had cut deep.
“I had no right to blame you…Kim’s always been strong headed, and lives life by her own choices. You are about as guilty as I am for her falling in love. I…I just need to accept that I have no control over her emotions, and just deal with it. She’s her own person.” She paused, and sighed, “And….if she loves you….you have my okay to….love her as much as you can. I’m not going to stop you. I had no right to think I could anyways.”
The hug was just under the force of a tackle. Though the ground still made sure to announce that it was still there with a sting to Anne’s backside. A sobbing body had latched onto her with such fierceness that she was surprised she had avoided cracking her head on the kitchen floor behind her.
“T—Thank…you…” Shego nearly choked on the words. It was as if the permission had let her feel alright to love the woman’s daughter. As if it was alright to be a deviant to society in a way that had nothing to do with her looks or abilities.
It felt good.
Author’s Notes: Small bit of sap, story progression, and well…whatever else you want to classify this as. So how close are we to ending this thing? Not a dang clue! That’s right, I know how this story ends, but how we get there is made up along the way.
And I know there is probably going to be some complaints about the mind control shtick. Tough. XD Besides, it’s a –crippled- mind controlled device meaning Kim is letting it string her along for the ride. But how strong is the hold for real? No one will know, yet.
And yes, Shego was rather overly terrified of Kim’s mother, but seeing as she had been stripped while sleeping, and was generally hated by someone who she could end up seeing later in life, I think she was probably more afraid of upsetting Kim’s mother and being kept from Kim, or in the least, having to endure hell when family visits, holidays, and celebrations occurred.