No sooner had Shego exited her house, making sure her straight-leather gloves were fastened in place, than she whipped around with a low kick to sweep Kim’s legs out from under her.
The redhead was almost fast enough to leap out of the way, but the slightest twitch in the older woman’s leg raised her kick just enough to catch Kim across her rising ankles, unbalancing the ex-heroine just enough to make her land on her pride.
Sitting up from where she’d hit the deck of the wooden porch, Kim made a sour face. “Hey,” she groaned, “that was low, Shego.”
The black-and-green clad villain only grinned, “Oh, I can go much lower; just you wait and see.”
Without replying, Kim surged forward, sliding between Shego’s legs and off the porch to land on the villain’s grass lawn in an all-too-familiar defensive stance. “I know you can, but let’s see if you still know how to fight an honest fight.” She raised one eyebrow expectantly, challengingly.
Shego turned slowly, her grin unshaken, and stared down at Kim from her place five steps above her. “Now here’s something I’ve missed.” She launched herself into the air, plunging down on Kim with one blazing hand held out like a spear.
Kim swept the hand to one side, spinning away to avoid the rest of the villain. “You’ve slipped a little, Shego. That should have been harder to avoid.” She followed that with a swift kick to her opponent’s ribs, but the taller villainess caught her foot in one hand.
Before her gloved hands could melt through Kim’s boot sole, she flung it to one side, sending Kim spinning away. “And that kick should have come faster. What’s a matter, Princess – getting a little out of practice?”
Kim halted her spin and shook her head, pushing away her sudden dizziness. “Oh, you know how it is; hired thugs don’t really make the best training dummies, especially when they’re so beneath us.”
Shego grinned, eyes shining. “My, my Kimmie. That almost sounded like a compliment.” She felt a thrill of pleasure shoot through her body as the two of them fell into step in a dance they hadn’t shared for four years. And now that Shego had realized the truth of Kim’s involvement in her accident – or lack thereof –, she was able to simply relax and revel in the pleasant rush she’d always so steadfastly ignored in the past.
“Dream on,” Kim’s retort didn’t fool Shego. She knew the truth; Kim loved fighting the older martial artist. “You’re so low an insult would be a compliment.” The redhead threw a quick left-right combo, which Shego blocked quite easily, unknowingly opening her left side to the lightning fast spin-kick that sent her sprawling to the right, her hip screaming in protest.
Ignoring the familiar stab of pain, Shego climbed to her feet, still smirking. “Aw, thanks, Princess. I didn’t know you could be so sweet.”
Kim made an attempt at a scowl like she used to whenever Shego turned one of her quips into something else, but her face instead broke into the tiniest smile of pure enjoyment. Her excitement flooded the immediate area as it grew by leaps and bounds with every passing moment, almost causing Shego to drop her guard in favour of allowing herself o simply lose herself in the taste and smell of her new partner’s unique and…irresistible flavours. “You know,” she started casually, taking a slow step toward Shego. “I actually have missed this.”
Shego straightened up and took a split second to roll her left hip, checking it for anything beyond what would eventually be a fair bruise. “It’s too bad I didn’t hunt you down sooner than this, then.” She feinted with her right foot before exploding into a long series of punches and kicks that normally left Kim back-pedaling in an attempt to get away so she could turn the attack around.
This time, however, Kim only retreated for a moment before stopping and catching Shego’s arms by the wrist, all-too-aware of the danger posed by the villainess’ hands. “So,” the redhead flipped over Shego’s leg as the formerly night-haired woman tried to kick her off. “Just a quick question while we’re…” She grunted as she rolled back to throw Shego behind her. “Hanging out,” she finished.
“Go ahead.” Shego twisted in midair and landed in a crouch facing Kim, fingers curled like claws.
Kim went on the attack and advanced on Shego. “What will your neighbours think –,” she threw a punch, “if they see us –,” and another, “trying to kill each other?” She swung again.
“Is that what we’re doing?” Shego dodged Kim’s first punch, blocked her second, and caught the third in her glowing right hand, tossing Kim aside before her plasma burned through Kim’s skin.
Kim tripped over her own feet but sprang back up immediately, shaking out her stinging hand. Even that brief contact had given her a painful burn, but nothing too severe. The old Shego might have tried to hold on just a few seconds longer, so it definitely could have been worse. Satisfied that her darkened hand was posing no immediate threat, Kim dove back into it, sweeping her uninjured hand smoothly in a powerful blade swipe that was supposed to just glance off an opponent after dealing only light – but distracting – damage. Her swift slash grazed against Shego’s larynx, digging in just enough to temporarily throw off the villainess’ ability to breathe and speak. “Well, Shego?” Kim smirked as her rival dissolved into a fit of coughing. “What’ll your neighbours think?”
Caught up in her fruitless attempts to clear her own airway, Shego staggered back, pausing in her coughing to draw in the tiniest amount of air, reopening her windpipe enough to take in a second, larger lungful of air, and then a third…and a fourth.
For her part, Kim simply stood close by and waited, concentrating on the quickly subsiding pain of her burned hand. She glanced around distractedly as Shego finally recovered her voice.
“And you said I was low,” she muttered hoarsely, coughing one last time. “But you are learning to play dirty, so it evens out, I guess.” She shifted into an aggressive stance. “And don’t worry about the neighbours – they’ll just think I’m training for another film.” She surged forward, her negligible neck injury forgotten.
Kim avoided her lunch, swinging around to shove her opponent lightly, unbalancing her by adding to her momentum. “Film, eh? What kind of films do you make?” She couldn’t help the smile that came to her face.
Shego shrugged even as she whipped around to face the redhead. “Action Sci-Fi. It explains away the fighting, the skin, the glowing hands, wardrobe, and my peculiar hours.”
Kim couldn’t help but laugh at that one. “Action Sci-Fi, huh? Well, what movies have you been in?” She lunged forward in a primitive tackle move that Shego had never fallen for in their entire history together.
Shego snorted, mildly insulted by her partner’s assumption that she might actually fall for such a juvenile tactic. “You’ll never touch me with that one.” She moved to counter Kim’s tackle.
“Yeah, well – this one’s got a new twist.” Kim spun at the last instant, planting both hands in the short, well-kept grass and bending one leg back while keeping the other held straight out. Thus repositioned, Kim transformed her rather useless tackle into a powerful sweeping kick that was aimed high – very high.
Shego reacted like a snake, reaching up and deflecting the kick before the toe of Kim’s boot struck her cheek. Then, before the ex-heroine’s leg rebounded too far, Shego grabbed the upraised ankle and twisted violently, forcing Kim to choose between spinning with it and risking a twisted ankle. “Impressive, Kimmie.” She watched approvingly as the redhead made the split-second decision and follow the spin of her leg. “But just not fast enough.”
Kim vaulted back to her feet. “Give me a break,” She shook her foot out to try and get rid of the searing sensation caused by her rival’s hand. This burn was far worse than the one on her wrist – that much she could tell. “I just taught myself that one a couple weeks ago.”
“Sure,” Shego dove forward, fists flying. “But about my films.” She grunted as one of Kim’s blocks jarred her arm a little more than normal. “As far as these small-town hicks know, I’m part of an amateur Trekkie group that films episode parodies and shows them at various conventions.”
The very thought of Shego – world-renowned and feared super-villain – travelling around with a troupe of die-hard Star Trek fanatics completely shattered Kim’s intense focus. She caught a sharp, plasma-filled punch in the ribs even as she doubled over laughing, the images dancing through her head proving to be just too ridiculous to handle. In fact, the image was so funny that Kim barely felt when one of her ribs cracked under her rival’s hand, or the searing heat that washed across her entire left side, leaving an ugly trail of red and yellow burns in its wake. Still caught up in an uncontrollable fit of laughter, Kim wasn’t even aware of her heavily burned ankle giving way under her weight, and she fell to the grass of Shego’s front lawn.
Shego’s attack stopped instantly when she saw Kim on the ground – severely injured but giggling like an idiot. “Oh, come on,” she groused, glaring down at the incapacitated redhead. “It’s not that funny.” She nudged the redhead with one foot. “Come on, Kim – let’s get you to some water.”
The fact that she had just been burned quite severely finally penetrated the haze of mirth that surrounded Kim and she let out a sudden whimper, growing quiet as she tried to fight back the pain her laughter had so easily covered. “Yeah,” she muttered, moving to push herself to her feet. As soon as she put any weight on her foot, however, Kim felt a familiar searing pain lance through her ankle and she collapsed, catching herself on her injured wrist and toppling over even further, landing sprawled on the grass. “Huh,” she grunted simply. “I guess you win this round.”
Shego raised one eyebrow questioningly. “Okay,” she replied, “now let’s get you patched up.” She motioned towards the house in front of which they’d been fighting only seconds earlier. “Come on – there’s a hose around the side of the house; do you need help getting to it?”
“No,” Kim found the courage to smile at her new partner’s shocked expression. “Check this out,” she grinned more widely and placed one hand flat on the grass beneath her. Within a handful of seconds, the hundreds of blades that surrounded her hand began to grow pale as Kim stole a miniscule portion of water out of the grass, filling her with enough of her personal healing liquid for her to be able to siphon off a bit to focus on healing her ankle. After a few moments, her ankle had recovered enough for her to stand on, as long as she took care to move slowly.
Shego watched Kim sway on her feet for a heartbeat before steadying herself. “Will you make it?”
The former heroine just nodded. “I’ll be fine; just lead me to the hose and I’ll finish up there.” She tried to smile reassuringly at the pale-skinned woman. “Trust me.”
Still worried, Shego slowly started to move towards the side of the house, motioning for Kim to follow. “It’s over this way” Shego fought the urge to lay a comforting hand on the redhead’s shoulder; it would have done more harm than good. Once again, she cursed her inability to reach out to anyone without hurting them. “Hey, call me ignorant, but if you can suck water out of the grass, why didn’t you just completely heal yourself from my lawn? You should know I don’t really care how nice my grass is.”
Kim laughed tensely at that. “Aw, Shego. You’d give up your lawn for me? That’s so sweet.” The reached the corner of the house and Kim’s heart leapt when she saw the aforementioned hose attached to the house only four metres away. But then Kim’s hopes fell sharply when she realized that the precious water source was still four metres away – so far to walk on an injured leg with pain clawing at her ribs. “No, I couldn’t completely heal from your lawn.” She shuffled forward, half leaning on the wall but still grimacing as her burned ankle complained at the little weight she was putting on it. Apparently, she hadn’t taken enough water from Shego’s grass to get her ankle completely functional again. “I’d have had to take your entire lawn as well as your neighbours’ grass. There’s not much water in grass, so it’s simpler to just take as much as I need so I can get to a bigger source.” She took another step, her ankle popping unnaturally but continuing to hold her weight. “See?” She grunted in agony but kept mobbing, hobbling another step toward the silent hose. “I didn’t even get enough water to heal my ankle.” Another step.
Shego frowned. “If you can’t use your ankle, then why are you walking on it?”
“Because I don’t have a choice,” the redhead snapped frustratedly. She went for angry, but her pain turned her expression into a gruesome I’m-gonna-be-sick mask. Then, after a moment, Kim turned to smile apologetically at her partner, sending a silent message that she in no way blamed Shego for any of this. “You’d need to run back inside for your other gloves, and the thought of rolling around your lawn sucking up grass-water doesn’t really appeal to me.” Her voice softened, “not to mention it would probably cause me more pain than I’m in right now.” She shuffled a few more steps, finally reaching the hose and its faucet. “Besides,” she turned a sly grin on Shego, “It’s nice to see how much you care.”
Shego was momentarily struck dumb by the look in the former teen heroine’s eyes. She saw the familiar respect swirling across the younger woman’s face as well as smell her unique excitement – still strong despite her injuries. There was something else too; something seemingly new to Shego that she only now realized had been there for a large part of their three-year war – invisible only because of her own blinding hatred.
Caring.
“You,” she finally found her voice, “are impossible.” Wow, Shego thought. Who knew looks could silence like that?
Kim giggled. “That’s me,” she bent down to spin open the hose’s spigot. “Impossible with a K.” She let herself slide down the wall to sit heavily on the dirt, raising the uncovered end of the garden hose in her good hand to douse the left side of her torso.
Shego snorted, but couldn’t tear her eyes away from Kim’s self-healing session. “Hey Kimmie,” she began casually. “It’s a shame you’re not wearing a white t-shirt or this would be a lot more fun.” She smirked confidently down at the injured girl.
Kim couldn’t help but laugh quietly at that, closing her eyes as an almost pleasant tingle replaced the pain in her side, telling her that it would all be just fine. “Keep dreaming, Shego,” she mumbled tiredly, the effort of dragging her broken body all the way to the hose finally hitting her. “You can blame yourself for this – it was you that said we weren’t ready for the next step in our relationship.” Kim started to redirect the hose to her mildly burned wrist, but a sudden pain in her side reminded her of her bruised or broken ribs. “Hmm…internal injury,” she mumbled to herself. “Have to take it orally.” She bent over to drink from the hose.
Shego raised an eyebrow at the redhead’s choice of words. Kim clearly didn’t realize she’d said that out loud and Shego repressed the urge to burst out laughing. Kim was right, though. They weren’t ready for the next step. Still, Shego was never one to back down from a good opening. “Hey there, Princess. Did you just say orally?”
Kim seemed to ignore Shego’s jab, but an amused smile was lighting her face as she pulled it away from the hose. “Stuff it, Shego.” She pointed the hose at her wrist and sighed as the pain was just swept away by the water that healed her in just a few moments. “Say, speaking of sweet –,” Kim changed the subject but halted mid-sentence, hesitating just long enough to give the older woman yet another perfect opening.
This time, Shego actually did burst out laughing. “Oh my God, Kim!” She giggled at Kim’s latest line of ill-chosen words. “Holy crap…you sure you aren’t ready for the next step? ‘Cuz you’re sure talking like you are.”
Kim’s sigh was one of frustration this time. “What – Shego! I’m trying to have a serious discussion.”
“What?” Shego spread her hands in the least convincing innocent look she’d ever used. “Inviting me to share the bed is serious.” She didn’t bother trying to hide her pleasure at seeing Kim squirm. You’re making this too easy, Kimmie.
“Shego,” Kim growled warningly, shifting the hose in her hand so it now poured water out onto her half-healed ankle. “What I meant to ask was – uh, you know.” She paused and then pointed back in the direction she’d limped from just a minute earlier. “Back there,” she stopped again, face reddening already. “What…um, what did I taste like?” Her face fell into her hands to hide her embarrassment.
Shego just stared open-mouthed at her now-healed sparring partner. Did you seriously just ask that? She felt a sudden swell in her respect for the former heroine. It took some major guts to say those words, Kim, especially when they could be taken in so many wonderful directions. I’m impressed. Deciding to let that one slide, Shego just leaned down and offered her forearm to the mortified woman. Seeing the movement, Kim looked up and turned grateful eyes on the villainess, silently thanking her for not turning her question into another innuendo. Seeing the proffered limb, the redhead grabbed on and allowed Shego to pull her up to her feet.
“Excitement,” the villainess began finally, making no comment when Kim’s hand remained wrapped around her arm just below her elbow. Shego looked at Kim seriously as she thought about the diverse bouquet of flavours that had assaulted her as she and Kim had duelled. “Among other things, but excitement first and foremost.” At Kim’s curious look, Shego kept going. “The best emotion I’ve ever tasted is excitement,” she said quietly. “It smells like lilies and dark chocolate – tastes like it too.”
Kim smiled gently. “Lilies, huh?” Shego nodded dumbly as she was again paralyzed under Kim’s compassionate gaze. “Well, lilies and chocolate sound nice.” The redhead stepped close and raised one hand to rub against the back of Shego’s neck, her fingers dipping just below the back collar of the villainess’ leather bodysuit. “But they’re not the sweetest tastes in the world.” Kim’s voice was bordering on a seductive purr as her hand rubbed a little harder on the older woman’s neck.
Shego was too distracted by Kim’s hand on her neck to see what the redhead was doing with her free hand – the one that had been holding onto her arm until a second ago. She didn’t mind though; she was feeling all sorts of sensations from just the small contact of the girl’s hand on her neck and from the vast collection of emotions that were flowing from Kim’s mind. Fear, nervousness, mischief, and…
Excitement.
God, I love you, Shego mentally chanted as Kim’s hand moved ever so slightly. “Not sweetest?” She could barely think clearly enough to string more than a few words together at once. “It is sweetest,” she breathed. “There’s more to sweet…than sugar.”
Somewhere far in the back of her mind, Shego just knew that Kim was up to something devious, but she couldn’t help the tiniest shiver of anticipation when she considered what it might be. Whatever it was the cute former cheerleader was scheming, Shego honestly thought it was worth it if Kim would just keep her hand on that spot of her neck, rubbing… “Lilies…chocolate,” she finally whispered out, “they have their own kind of sweetness.” Kim’s long, cool fingers remained on her neck, massaging…Just. Like. That…
“Okay,” Kim leaned even closer until her lips were just brushing against the slightly taller woman’s soft ear, her breath warm against the side of Shego’s face and hair. “But,” the hand on Shego’s neck dipped a little lower under the green-and-black bodysuit’s neckline. “Are they as sweet as revenge?”
In a move so abrupt Shego didn’t have any time to realize what was happening, Kim ‘s hand grabbed the back of her bodysuit’s collar and roughly shoved it away from Shego’s neck, opening a small gap straight down her back. Shego didn’t have any warning before Kim’s free hand shot down her into the small passageway, depositing something there; something cold…and wet.
As soon as it hit the bare skin of her back, Shego gasped in shock, instantly sober. What the Hell? She moved to shake the freezing mass out through the legs of her bodysuit, but then remembered a second later that it verged on skin-tight, meaning the ice had to melt a little before it could slide down her body and out of the suit to stop torturing her with it’s solid coldness.
Just as Shego’s gasp escaped her lips, Kim spun away, a triumphant smirk on her lips. “That,” she started, pointing with one hand at Shego while the other disappeared behind her back, a smooth, flirtatious, and triumphant smirk on her lips. “That was for leaving your head in the gutter when we both know you’re looking for more than sex out of this.”
Shego didn’t reply, and instead slammed one fist into the small of her back, crushing the thankfully fragile ball of ice so her body heat would melt it faster. She did her best to ignore the pain of the freezing mass of water resting against her spine. “I’m impressed, Princess.” Her voice showed exactly how much discomfort she was in, but she honestly couldn’t help the grin of enjoyment that spread across her face. You’re playing really dirty now, Kimmie. I love it.…
Cold temperatures were nothing new to Shego – heck, she’d swum in low single-digit temp water before, but it was far worse when it came as a surprise…like Kim’s parlour trick had. “I didn’t really think you could create water. I thought you’d told me everything.” She tried to fix a disapproving glare on her partner, but its effectiveness was greatly diminished by her thorough enjoyment of the events unfolding around her. Man, I really shouldhave hunted you down sooner. Oh, well – there’s time enough to make up for it, isn’t there?
Kim smiled sweetly, infuriating the villain even more. “Oh, you should know better than that, Shego.” She took a few steps away from the woman frozen in shock, awe, and cold. “Where’s the fun if the mystery’s gone?” She grinned more widely, eyes sparkling.
Shego stared, furious and awestruck at the same time. God, Kim, she thought. I don’t know whether to punch you or kiss you. Both sound pretty good right now.
Before Shego could decide what she would do, the frustratingly endearing redhead in front of her drew her hand out from behind her back, revealing a second snowball. As Shego realized what was about to happen, a strange predatory gleam entered Kim’s smile and she wound up. She launched the snowball straight at Shego’s chin, where it exploded in a shower of snow, spilling a large amount of the frozen water down the front of her bodysuit this time. Shego couldn’t hold back a loud, hissing gasp as the crushed ice slid down her body to rest around her belly button.
As if she couldn’t see Shego’s present discomfort, Kim dropped straight into a defensive stance. “Round two?” She smirked confidently. “Loser has to admit they lost,” she challenged.
Grinning despite the snow in her suit, Shego spread her arms, fingers curling into claws. I actually like this, she realized. I could have done without the snow down my suit, but it’s worth it to see that smile. Good Lord, I’ve finally gone soft. She looked at Kim’s smile again. Damn, it wasworth it.
Then, her thin black lips curling up into her own predatory smirk, Shego prepared herself for the plunge.
“You are so dead, Kim Possible.”
“Oh, I can’t believe you!”
Shego came storming into the kitchen through the back door, face contorted into a definite scowl. Her green-and-black bodysuit was drenched and her soaking hair was dripping all over the black-tiled floor. She glared back at the door as the self-proclaimed victor of round five danced into the house, her own clothes singed in a few places – and even almost completely burned through around her ribs. “Hey – I thought I was supposed to fight dirty.”
Shego swiped her almleti-leather gloves off the kitchen island where she’d dropped them and pulled off her pure-leather pair. After she was sure she’d switched the pairs successfully, she returned to glaring at the redhead. Gesturing at her very wet appearance, she built up to what promised to be a very nice screaming match. “Almost drowning me is so much lower than dirty.” She stalked forward, staring down at her rival angrily. Finally, after a few long and silent seconds, she leaned closer and spoke slowly. “If you expect me to admit I lost, you’ll be waiting a long time, Princess.” She reached up and held Kim’s chin with between her thumb and index finger. “As far as I’m concerned, we’re still tied even.”
Kim stared defiantly into Shego’s eyes without even trying to pull her chin away; she’d seen Shego switch her gloves. “It’s not my fault you can’t dodge a hose, Shego.” The tiniest hint of a smile made her lips curl up on one side. The look on your face when I hit you with that water was just perfect…priceless. I can’t waitto see how you pay me back for it…
Shego’s glare didn’t fade, but she stepped back a pace. “You didn’t have a hose, Possible.”
Kim shrugged, dismissing Shego’s concern in a way she knew would infuriate her further. “Whatever, Shego. I still say I won,” she reached out to grab Shego’s shoulders in both hands. “And as such,” she turned both of them around so the artificial redhead’s back was to the door. “I get first dibs on the shower.” With a sly, impish grin, Kim shoved her captive Shego back towards the still-open back door, turned, and bolted for the stairs.
Shego stood frozen for only a moment before giving chase, not bothering to waste her breath on threats that wouldn’t be feared.
The soaked and irritated villain charged up the stairs just in time to see Kim blow a kiss to her from outside the bathroom door and then dive into the only shower-equipped bathroom in Shego’s house, slamming the door shut behind her. Shego let loose a howl of fury that should have rattled the building’s very foundations, but the house steadfastly refused to acknowledge her frustration.
Leaning back against the bathroom door, Kim let out a quiet giggle. Oh, man – the look on her face when she saw me waiting for her…Pushing it out of her mind, the former hero moved to start on the shower she’d so rightfully earned, stripping out of her current attire and quickly inspecting each piece for whatever damage the plasma-emitting woman had caused; it was a regular exercise that Kim hadn’t done for four years, and it was kind of comforting. The shirt was a lost cause; burned in so many places a heavy wind would simply tear it from her body, and her boots were just a little more worn than before, sporting a very faint, distinctly feminine, hand-shaped indentation across the sole.
Before Kim could move to turn the water on, she heard Shego pound on the door once and then a plain white folder was slid under it. “Here, Kim.”
Kim made no move to pick the foreign object up, opting instead to go the route of questioning. “What is that?”
Shego didn’t sound very frustrated, so she must have already released her anger over losing the bathroom to her new “apprentice”. It didn’t make much sense to Kim because she’d glanced into the master bedroom’s bathroom and there was a bathtub large enough to hold six people, as well as a sliding door that led out onto a big deck with a relaxing-looking hot tub surrounded by high potted hedges. So why doesn’t she use that – it’s clearly better than this stupid shower… Kim pushed her curiosity away. Now was so not the best time.
“That’s the first job that we’re doing together.” Shego replied in a clear and commanding voice, which did nothing to spark Kim’s anger. It was just the way the green-skinned woman was when she asked someone to do something. “Read it carefully once you’re dry,” Shego paused and Kim felt a wave of confidence and mischievousness wash through her from Shego’s side of the door. “And then, come and find me.”
There was the thunder of footsteps rushing down the stairs and then the sound of the front door slamming closed.
Then silence.
Grinning, Kim ignored the folder, leaving it where it was, and just turned back to the shower. “So, it’s a game you want, is it?” She randomly turned one of the taps on to full and stepped under the pounding spray, not caring what temperature she was walking into. As long as it was mostly water, she could handle anything. “It’s a shame I won’t play by your rules,” she ran a hand through her long red hair.
Then, she laughed quietly to herself as she reached for the shampoo.
The first thing Kim noticed when Shego finally stalked into the master bedroom an hour later was that her teacher was a little…upset.
Furious was probably more accurate.
“Okay,” Shego slammed the bedroom door shut behind her and slinked towards the bed menacingly. “What the Hell is taking you so long?”
Kim glanced down pointedly at the papers spread out on the duvet beneath her. “You told me to read all this before coming after you.” She smiled innocently, knowing that Shego wouldn’t fall for her act.
Shego stared at the papers in front of Kim in disbelief. “There were three sheets in that folder Kim. Three. What – do you read, like, two words a minute?” She narrowed her eyes suddenly as she turned to study Kim herself with a piercing look. “How long have you been waiting for me?”
Kim grinned “I finished reading about forty minutes ago.” At Shego’s sceptical look, Kim shrugged casually. “What? I don’t take long showers because elementals don’t really get dirty,” she paused and a sly light shone in her eyes, “not unless they want to.”
Shego’s jaw dropped at the blatant innuendo. “Then,” she paused, unsure of just what was about to come out of her shocked mouth. “Why did you want the shower so bad?”
Kim giggled. “Just because I didn’t need a shower doesn’t mean I can’t challenge you for it. Besides,” the redhead fell back onto Shego’s soft bedcovers. “Hot showers were a guilty pleasure of mine, you know…before.” She waved a hand at her own body vaguely.
Shego nodded sympathetically, her expression softening a little. “And I used to like being alone before…” She held up her hands, which weren’t glowing because she was wearing her almleti-leather gloves. Her expression quickly grew troubled and sad as she unexpectedly lowered her guard and let her frustration and sorrow flow out of her.
All too aware of her partner’s sudden change of mood, Kim sat back up and scooted to one side, patting the space beside her invitingly. Once Shego had mutely taken that spot and was seated comfortably, Kim turned and took one of her gloved hands in both of her own bare ones. “Just because you can’t touch doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to get close to anyone.” Especially me, Kim added mentally. I don’t care if you can’t return my touch – I just want you…
Shego turned away quickly, pulling her hand out of Kim’s grip. “No, but if the green skin doesn’t turn them away, the perpetually gloved hands will.” She choked out a bitter laugh. “It’s even gotten to the point that the guys don’t even need to know I can’t touch them before they turn me down – same with the girls, come to think of it.” Shego turned back to stare at Kim, her expression one of amazement this time. Emotions flowed freely from the villainess’ mind – far too numerous and faint for the redheaded telepath to identify. “You’re the only one who hasn’t looked at me with disgust like I’m an escaped lab experiment.”
Kim turned herself even more on the bed so she was face-to-face with the woman. Damn Drakken, she thought. She doesn’t even know how beautiful she is. Kim let her own gaze wander around the paler woman’s face, bright green eyes travelling across smooth, flawless – and dare she say attractive – features. The only thing out of place was the light green skin pigment, but Kim had long since gotten over the weirdness of that one. But she can’t see it any more…He did this to her. If I ever see him again…Kim felt her hands tightening into fists at the turn of her thoughts, but suddenly realized that Shego had noticed her growing anger. Nuts, she cursed mentally. I forgot about that empathy thing of hers.
Unfortunately, Shego had no way of knowing that Kim’s sudden anger wasn’t meant for her, so the dangerous criminal was steeling herself for yet another rejection, this time from the one person she’d prayed wouldn’t turn her away. Shego started to get up, but Kim’s hand shot out and grabbed her by her own gloved one. Shego’s head whipped around, that old hatred rekindled and growing every instant, but the fire in her eyes evaporated as soon as she gazed upon the younger woman’s tender, compassionate expression.
“Not you, Shego.” Kim said into the long silence, referring to the anger that Shego had thought was aimed at her. “Him.” She knew that Shego didn’t want to hear his name – only humans and animals could have names. Heck, even plants could have names on occasion, but never the pond scum that was Dr Drakken. The walking blueberry was below every form of life that Kim could think of at the moment, and she was fairly certain he’d stay there, at least until NASA scientists managed to detect some kind of mutant, half-celled – if it was even possible – organism on a very distant planet.
Even then, it was very much a fair contest.
Kim reached out to hold onto Shego’s chin with two fingers, lifting it so she could see her partner’s face straight-on. “Is this what you hide behind your confident, snide, and wild mask?” Her voice was barely a whisper as she carefully approached the subject.
Shego wasn’t anywhere close to tears, but it was obvious that this was as close as the hardened criminal had been to breaking down for a long time. “Everyone else has left me,” she whispered softly, suddenly looking so fragile. “I got fed up with asking because they always say no, and then I found out the only man who stayed with me is the same fucking bastard who hurt me in the first place.” Her voice was laced with bitterness, sorrow, and only a hint of her trademark anger. It was a combination of emotions that Kim had never imagined she would ever see on the woman, and it scared her a little.
Forget that, she thought. This is terrifying. This can’t be my Shego – where is she?
“I deserve to feel too,” Shego glared down at her hands, covered in almleti and leather, “but the only time I can touch anyone is when I’m wearing these Goddamned gloves and I can’t feel shit through them.” Her voice rose to a hoarse hiss as she turned back to stare into Kim’s eyes, looking so lost. “Why did he have to do this to me?”
Without thinking, Kim lifted one of her partner’s hands and held the palm against her cheek. “Shego,” she said gently, drawing the woman out of her bitter rant. “I can’t say I know exactly what you’re going through inside every day, but I do understand a little. And I can’t make you any promises but this,” she gazed straight into Shego’s wide, damp eyes and took a breath to prepare herself. “I won’t leave you and I will do the best I can to make it so you’re happy like this, because I don’t know how to reverse what’s been done.” While keeping Shego’s gloved hand trapped against her cheek with one of her own, Kim slid her other down to her partner’s wrist, pushing back the sleeve of her bodysuit as far as she could. “But, until we know for sure if your hands can be returned to normal,” she gently caressed Shego’s now-bare wrist with one hand while nuzzling her cheek into the woman’s hand, ignoring the fact that her glowing green goddess couldn’t feel it through the thin plating in her gloves. “Until then,” she repeated gently, “can you be happy with what little I can give?”
Shego stared at Kim in amazement. Reaching up slowly – as if she feared Kim would break if she moved too fast –, she placed her free hand against Kim’s other cheek, cupping her face in both of her black-gloved hands. For many long moments, Shego simply stared into Kim’s eyes as if suddenly seeing her for the first time. Finally, a relieved smile came to Shego’s face and she nodded, edging even closer to the point of crying. “Yes.” She leaned forward and rested her forehead against Kim’s, gazing unblinkingly into her emerald eyes. “I can live with that,” she whispered, shuddering as she finally succumbed to the tears that had been threatening to burst forth ever since this odd heart-to-heart had begun. Closing her eyes, Shego stopped holding back and just sobbed her heart out, moving to rest her head against Kim’s shoulder as she released all the frustration and anger that a life of rejection and betrayal had bred within her.
Kim wrapped her arms around Shego and held her reassuringly as she waited for her sobs to die down. The moment eventually came, and the pitiful, heart-wrenching sounds from her partner began to quiet but the woman’s sorrow and general… moopyness kept rolling off the woman’s mind in waves.
Kim thought about how she could get Shego back to herself and felt inspiration grab hold of her.
As Shego began to pull away, her tears drying rapidly, Kim leaned forward and spoke softly to her unlikely friend. And potential lover? She wondered. “Go clean yourself up, Shego. We’ve got to talk about our first job.”
Shego let out an indignant snarl, her “moment” instantly shoved to one side. “I don’t need to be mothered, Kim.”
Kim stopped herself from smiling. That’s my Shego, she thought fondly. “Who’s mothering?” She forced an innocent look on to her face. “I just figured you didn’t want to leave any evidence that might tell people you’ve gone,” she paused momentarily and tapped her chin as if she was searching for a word…there it was –, “soft.”
Shego’s eyes narrowed and she threw herself away from Kim. “I have not gone soft!” She glared at Kim.
“Sure you haven’t,” Kim nodded as if she believed her, but she still wore a huge smile. “But you should wash your face anyway – someone might try to ruin your reputation.” The former heroine pointed at her own face, just below her eyes. “It looks like you’ve been crying.”
“I have not been crying!” Shego’s voice had risen to an all-out roar now and her hands had balled into fists.
Kim grinned and nodded approvingly. “Better.”
When Shego got back from washing her face, she stopped in the doorway separating her bedroom from her bathroom and just watched as her Kimmie lay casually on her stomach across her green-and-black covered bed, her jet-black pocket computer in hand and headphones jacked into a port at the bottom. She was probably studying up on another of the pocket-geek’s new toys. Kim was facing away from the door, so she hadn’t seen Shego just yet.
How strange this world is, Shego thought as she watched Kim’s legs bend at the knee, absently kicking gently at nothing, when the one person who understands me completely – who appreciates every facet of what makes me Shego and respects me for who I am – turns out to be the annoying young cheerleader who I’ve fought against for three of the most memorable years of my life…
It hadn’t escaped her notice what the younger woman had done just five minutes earlier. First, Kim had held Shego, gently – silently – reassuring her that everything would be all right, a task that very few people on the planet would risk the villainess’ wrath to undertake. But then, once the tears had passed, Kim had worked to pull the older woman back up to her feet. The redhead’s words and attitude had prodded at Shego’s pride by rubbing in the fact that Shego had broken down and cried. It was something the hardened criminal hadn’t done since she’d first lost the full use of her hands. Shego couldn’t ignore the fact that Kim had stopped pushing as soon as Shego had regained her – Shego-ness. Any other person would have either left Shego on the floor in her distress or kept pushing to try and kick the villainess back down.
But not Kim.
Shego felt a mild brush of guilt. How could I have ever thought that this girl was ever capable of destroying my life with a chemist’s nightmare? This little ex-cheerleader who went out of her way to pull me back up after I’d become a blubbering idiot? How could I have been so easily tricked?
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Shego.”
Shego snapped out of her thoughts and looked up to see that Kim had turned to face her, the PDA lying ignored in her hands, and she was just taking in the sight of Shego standing in the doorway, waiting for her to reply.
Shego walked over to the bed and stood over Kim’s prone form. “What have I told you about sniffing around in my head?”
Kim shrugged, “I didn’t read you,” she confessed, surprising Shego with the fact that she believed her little heroine was telling the truth. “I felt your shame, though.” She tilted her head to one side in that aggravatingly annoying way that pulled at Shego’s heart. “There aren’t many things you’d be as ashamed of as when you let an idiot like Drakken tripping you as easily as he did.”
Shego dropped down to lie beside Kim. “Way to cheer me up, Sunshine.” She directed a glare t Kim, but its power was diminished by another of the redhead’s innocent head-tilts.
Kim smiled disarmingly. “What I meant to say was that Drakken had a single moment of brilliance. When you woke up unable to use your hands the way you used to, it probably shocked you, right?”
Shego scoffed. “Yeah – doy.” Then, before Kim could go on, she held up a hand to stop her. “Look, I know what you’re going to say – and thanks –, but I’ve had four years to dwell on what happened. I wanted someone to blame and that blue-skinned snake gave me the perfect target.” Shego let out a self-deprecating laugh. “And then he played the perfect employer. He even let me beat the shit out of him when he managed to piss me off, which isn’t that hard to do for a guy like him.” She shuddered at some of the memories that floated up from the ghosts of her past. God, she wondered,will I ever forget the name of ‘Coco Moo’? “I guess he probably thought it’d be worse if I ever found out the truth, which – you know – he was right about.” She grinned once again at the memory of shredding the leather shell of her a-leather gloves on Drakken’s face – a major feat in itself considering the blue-boy’s face wasn’t particularly hard or sharp.
“Still,” Kim’s tone brightened, “that’s all in the past. And right now,” she wrapped an arm around Shego’s shoulders, “we have other things we need to talk about.” She reached out for the three sheets on the bed. “Like this job you’re proposing.” She paused to look at the photograph that dominated the top half of the first page. “I’ve heard of this thing, but it’s just some two thousand year old Roman armband, isn’t it?”
Shego smirked and took the paper from Kim, staring at the picture that she’d taken seven years ago, early on in her employment with Drakken. He’d wanted to know if a certain museum had anything cool in it – and by “cool” he meant, “potentially useful in a doomsday device”. He’d turned this artifact down, but Shego hadn’t told him everything about it.
Not that she knew all that much about it herself.
“A Roman legionnaire’s armband? Sure,” Shego nodded, a superior smirk on her face. “One that’s made from some kind of metal that wasn’t available anywhere on the planet then or now, and is covered in writing that can barely be translated by the best people.” She pushed the paper back into Kim’s hands. “Add to that the fact that it bears only a passing resemblance to any of the armbands at the time and it makes for a very interesting artifact.” Shego leaned back casually against the headboard of her bed. “I can hold it in my bare hands too,” she added as an afterthought.
Kim looked up from the photo. “I thought only that almleti stuff could block your plasma.”
“Well, apparently, there’s a second metal out there that can do the trick and this thing is the only known source of it.”
Kim put the papers back into the folder and then handed it to Shego. “Who wants it?”
“I do,” Shego replied
Kim looked surprised by that. “Oh,” she said simply. “Sorry, I just thought that–.”
Shego held up one hand, grinning. “Whoa-hoa-ho there – I understand, Kimmie. I am a mercenary after all, so it makes sense to think that I’m not in this for me, although…” she paused a moment to think, her grin shrinking only a little. “If I was doing this for someone else, they’d be paying me and I’d be in it for the money, so technically I’d be in it for me, but now we’re getting off-topic here.”
Kim’s eyes narrowed fractionally as a thought occurred to her. “Wait a second. If you’re so interested in this thing, why haven’t you stolen it already? It’s been on display for ten years in a rarely visited museum.” She smirked up at her jade-skinned partner, “easy pickings for a thief like you.”
Shego nodded slowly. “I’ve known where this thing is for a little under seven years now, but getting my revenge against you was always more important to me. Then, when I suddenly didn’t have a reason to hat you, figuring out the mess you’d shoved into my head became a priority until I finally decided to just wait until I’d convinced you to jump the fence to join me.”
“Didn’t take much convincing on your part,” Kim grinned. She looked… almost satisfied. “I still don’t see why you’d wait for me. I mean, this job is so easy it doesn’t really qualify as an evaluation of my abilities.”
Shego shifted uncomfortably on the bed, reluctant to admit this next part. “Well – that’s sort of why I wanted you there. Stealing the armband would be so easy, so unsatisfying – so boring – if I was alone.”
Kim nodded. “I see…” She looked away for a moment. “So,” she hesitated and Shego could smell the guilt rolling off her girl’s mind. Son of a…What’s she done now?
Shego steeled herself for the worst.
“So, uh…” Kim stopped yet again, and then pushed on. “What are the odds that Global Justice will pick up on the theft?”
Shego blinked, staring at the redhead in disbelief. Global Justice? She’s afraid of Global Justice? We could run circles around their best agents – fifty of their best agents. Wait – oh… Shego’s high spirits fell like a rock slide. So that’s why she was so eager to take me up on my offer. Her suspicions from earlier were confirmed. It had nothing to do with me.
Then, as if she had sensed Shego’s change in mood but not its cause, Kim’s nervous look abruptly transformed into a worried and compassionate frown. “What’s wrong?”
Looking at the younger woman, Shego deliberately made her tone hard and biting to try and cover her hurt and cracking pride. “Is that why you accepted my offer, Kim – so you could take a shot at bringing down the corrupted GJ?” She prepared herself for the inevitable affirmation of her fears – like a splash of paint thinner on the beautiful canvas of her dreams.
Kim leaned back beside Shego as she appeared to actually need to think about it, an observation that couldn’t be good as far as the older woman was concerned. Then, while still looking at Shego seriously, unflinchingly, Kim opened her mouth and spoke those dooming words:
“It was the first reason I had.” Shego could taste the guilt coming off the girl and she moved to get up and leave the room before the stale and bitter flavour gave her the urge to vomit.
How dare she? Shego felt the old hatred and rage returning in a hurry as she found something that Kim Possible actually had done to incur her wrath. She played me! She played on my feelings just so she could get help to play her hero game. She always has to play the hero, but did she really have to trick me like this?
Before Shego could get far, Kim’s hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder. Shego jerked away from the contact and came close to swinging around and decking the redhead in the face. She even briefly entertained the idea of throwing off her gloves and letting loose the full power of her curse on the girl, but she didn’t.
She couldn’t.
Turning slowly, Shego took a moment to stare at Kim, deeply hurt by the girl’s confession that she didn’t share her feelings – didn’t love her at all. No, Shego thought. As much as I want to hurt her for this, for playing me as badly as Drakken had, I can’t do it. I can’t take my pain out on her…I can’t hurt her because – God help me – I still love her.
“I love you Shego,” Kim murmured gently, ignoring Shego’s growing anger. “I do,” she continued, reaching out for Shego’s shoulder again. “But that wasn’t the reason I joined you.” Shego reluctantly let Kim pull her into a tight hug, but her fears and insecurities about the verity – the depth of their relationship were far from reassured. Then, she heard Kim’s voice in her ear, whispering just loudly enough that if there were anyone else in the room, only Shego would hear. This was for the villainess alone, their secret to keep:
“It’s the reason I’ll stay.”
And just like that, like a burning ember thrown into the ocean, Shego’s anger was gone. She could sense Kim’s sincerity, an all-too-welcome sweetness after the revolting, sour and bitter taste of her guilt. Shoulders sagging with relief, Shego wrapped her arms around the redhead and held her close, clinging desperately to the girl in her arms. She didn’t cry, thankfully, but she did feel ashamed of herself for being so insecure about this whole subject when Kim had always proven to be anything but unfaithful in matters of the heart. “Don’t,” she started in a quiet voice, pulling away from Kim. “Don’t leave me.” She gazed into Kim’s eyes pleadingly, inwardly cursing herself for her weakness – for needing this young woman in her life to feel whole.
“Never,” Kim declared, leaning forward to quickly press her lips to Shego’s before pulling back. It was a shorter kiss than either of them would have liked, but it was all Shego would have allowed from her young partner at this point; anymore and she was likely to burst into tears again. “Now,” Kim began, her eyes brightening a little as she dropped the subject, much to Shego’s relief. “How about answering my question?” Even the emotions flowing from Kim’s mind brightened considerably, giving Shego just the boost she needed to lighten up from her moment of doubt.
Shego reached up with one hand and brushed her fingers across her black-painted lips, a wry smile twisting them back into the familiar I’m-Shego-and-I-can-kick-ass arrogant smirk. “You really know how to spoil a mood, don’t you?”
When Kim just smiled softly in response, Shego relaxed. “Okay, fine.” She sat down beside her partner on the bed, shifting to lean back against the headboard and gesturing a little as she spoke, warming up to the topic of their first ever planned-joint mission as villains. “Your question…you know, I don’t think a theft like this will score very high on Global’s radar. That armband just isn’t a valuable artifact enough financially for them to consider investigating.” She paused and closed her eyes, an idea coming to her and twisting her lips even more. “Unless…”
Kim perked up, sitting straighter on the bed. “Yeah?” Her eyes were gleaming with her growing excitement.
“Cool it Princess,” Shego breathed, her eyelids fluttering as the delicious scent-flavour of her girl’s sweetest emotion filled the air. “I told you your excitement was distracting.”
“Oh – sorry,” the overenthusiastic ex-heroine closed her own eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. Good thing she’s a telepath, Shego thought as the excitement in the air diminished by several orders of magnitude. No other kind of person could have calmed down this quickly, if at all. Kim opened her eyes only a few seconds after taking control of her emotions. “Enough?” She did that adorable head-tilt again.
Shego’s smile was a rueful one. “Sadly, yes.” She groaned quietly and moved down the bed so she could stare up at the plain, pale green ceiling while lying on her back. “I could lie here all day and lose myself in that, but we’ve got other things we should be talking about.” She paused and let her eyes wander around the blank surface that filled her vision. “I was going to say that it might just be possible to force this theft into a high-priority standing with Global Justice.”
Kim nodded quickly, showing her understanding of what had been said, but apparently still clueless as to where Shego was going with this. “How so?”
“See,” the older villain turned her head so she could study her partner carefully. “Here’s how I see it: the armband is a one-of-a-kind artifact – no other similar specimens have ever been found, so stealing it might cause enough of an uproar in the archaeological community. That’s one point in our favour.”
Kim grinned, “I’m assuming there are more points you’re going to tell me about, Professor.”
Shego snorted. “You should be able to see them yourself by now, but whatever.” She took a second to collect her thoughts, and then dove back into it. “The owners of the museum are rather…obscenely rich, so Global Justice would just love to take a case from them, especially if they can ensure that those people will call them for any thefts that Pisces might commit in the distant future.” Shego paused in her monologue again and turned a devious smirk on the woman sharing her bed. “All GJ needs is the right thief, and they’ll be all over us as soon as they can get a team together.” Shego paused briefly before adding in a playful tone, “but don’t expect me to give up that armband; it’s something I’ve been wanting to get my hands on for a long time. I’d like to keep it for a while.”
Kim made no comment on Shego’s last words, and instead smiled knowingly, “and the right thief would be –?”
“Me!” Shego punched the redhead lightly on the shoulder, but she smiled all the same. “If I let myself get caught on camera at the museum, Global should probably get wind of it pretty fast, and they’ll send their top team after us – ‘cuz, you know, I’m still the most dangerous villain out here, four years’ absence or not.” She put on an air of superiority. “Global still considers me an extreme priority threat because I’m a die-hard freelancer and a raging unknown since they have no clue what I want from the world.”
Kim nodded again, “yeah – Wade told me about their low tolerance for independent people. He got roped into working for them.”
Shego smirked admiringly, “and yet he still managed to smuggle you a nice big goodie bag of upgrades. I gave him too little credit – maybe he is smart.”
“The smartest guy I know,” Kim replied firmly. She shifted her position on the bed to mirror Shego’s own pose; lying down face-up and staring at the ceiling together – like they were watching clouds pass by the roof of Shego’s house. “So, you want to break into a museum, get caught on tape, and then just sit there and wait for them to show up? Do you really think that they’ll fall for it?”
Shego grinned, “If they don’t, we’ll just have to go for something a little more high profile – like the Mona Lisa”
Kim laughed and closed her eyes as she considered her own idea. “Or we could try and make off with the torch off the Statue of Liberty.”
“Or her crown,” Shego countered. “You know what?” She raised herself up on her elbows and gazed down into Kim’s face, which was still twisted into the most adorable half-smile at the playful joking they were sharing. When Shego didn’t say any more, Kim’s eyes opened and she found herself staring straight up into her former nemesis’ forest-green eyes. Kim’s eyes were only a handful of shades lighter – close enough to almost be the same colour.
Moving cautiously, almost fearfully, Kim reached up and cupped Shego’s cheek with one hand, smiling fondly when the older woman leaned into her touch, relishing in the skin-on-skin contact that was comforting for both of them. “What is it?” Kim’s voice was a bare whisper.
Shego leaned a little closer, her voice dropping to a low murmur. “I think I could grow to like working with you.” She gazed into Kim’s eyes for a few long moments. “This is going to be fun.”
“More than fun,” Kim nodded slowly and then leaned up to just barely brush her lips against Shego’s. “Can I kiss you?” As she asked the question, Shego could see how nervous the redhead was.
Shego’s first impulse was to make some kind of joke at hero-girl’s expense, but seeing how uncomfortable Kim was, she decided it would only hurt the young woman and Shego realized she didn’t want to do that. So, her initial response of I don’t know, can you died on her lips, and she instead found herself closing the distance between them, molding her dark, dark lips with Kim’s in a soft, gentle kiss that did more to convey her newfound love than any words could. “You never need to ask,” the taller woman replied in an almost silent whisper when the pair finally parted.
Kim’s eyes had closed sometime during their kiss, but they now opened to allow the younger woman to study Shego’s face closely, their noses almost touching. “I know – it’s just that…” The girl turned away as she searched for the words she wanted to use. “This is all new to me. For once, I don’t know what I’m doing and it’s really scaring me.”
Shego nodded and pulled away just a little to give her young partner the space she needed to think. “Do you want to pull out before you get too deep?” She looked away, trying to hide how much she was hoping that Kim wouldn’t say yes.
There was that hand on her cheek again, turning her head and forcing her to gaze down into the face she’d been convinced to hate for three long years. “God no, Shego,” Kim breathed, “I don’t know what’ll come of this, but I’m not letting go of you.” She hesitated for a moment. “Just…promise me this isn’t a trick or another of Drakken’s stupid schemes.” She broke off, squeezing her eyes shut as the thought of how much that would hurt passed through the young woman’s head. After a moment, Shego caught a faint whiff of Kim’s determination as the girl raised her head to gaze into her eyes with a defiant fire that only just covered the vulnerability that the villainess was still able to taste. “Promise me that all you want is me.”
Shego at first felt a surge of anger that Kim would even think to suggest that she was still working with that sick blue freak. Then again, with the way our relationship had been for those three years, is it really a surprise that we’d both bring some emotional baggage to this new…relationship that we’re building? Forcing herself to calm down, Shego reconsidered Kim’s words. “I promise, Kim. I wouldn’t work with that bastard if he offered me the world, which of course, he’s not likely to ever be able to deliver anyway, but that’s beside the point.” The two women shared a quiet laugh at the absurd notion that Dr Drakken could ever manage to take control of the entire world when he couldn’t even seem to speak English properly, but then Shego forced that thought away and became serious again. “There’s nothing he could give me that could ever compare to what I’m holding in my arms right at this very moment.”
Shego knew she’d said the right thing because she could taste a sudden surge of happiness from her precious Kimmie. It was a soft and sweet scent-flavour that tasted kinda boring and stale coming from everyone else but was everything that Shego had ever dreamed of when it flowed from Kim’s heart and mind. It figured that Kim’s emotions – all of her emotions – would taste the best of everyone else on the planet.
Kim smiled and raised her head up to claim another kiss form Shego, murmuring an almost inaudible, “thank you” just before their lips met once more, leaving them both unable to speak for several minutes as they became singularly focused on this intimate contact between them, and the thoughts of what else they could do together now that the one’s hate and the other’s duty were both a thing of the past.
Finally, as Shego felt Kim’s hands slide around to rest on the back of her head, Shego had to force herself away from the irresistible girl, trying desperately to ignore the little cry of dismay when their lips parted all too soon as far as the girl was concerned. “As much as I would love to just lie here in bed with you, a question begs to be asked.”
Kim tilted her head to one side once again, smiling as if she didn’t know how cute she was when she did that. “Yeah?” Her eyes even sparkled a little.
Shego pushed herself away from the unreasonably beautiful girl and forced herself to not think about diving back into those lips for another of those kisses. “When do you want to go to the museum?”
The smile on Kim’s face shrank a little, but not enough to make Shego think she’d hurt her feelings by changing the subject. Glancing down at her watch, Kim closed her eyes briefly as she ran through a dozen thoughts and possibilities in a few moments. “Well, it’s about one noon now, so why don’t we head out for some lunch and we can pay the museum a visit before it closes.” She grinned suddenly, “is it only a coincidence that you picked the first mission to be right here in Montreal?”
Shego’s own expression dissolved into a confident smirk. “No, the coincidence is that you decided to move here. I told you – I’ve been watching this armband for years.” She grew serious, “but as good as lunch sounds, we haven’t had breakfast either, and there’s only one place I’m interested in going to that can serve it at this time.” She paused to think about it. “It’s a cool place; if we hurry and get out of here, we might make it there before they close up.”
Kim smiled knowingly. “Chez Cora’s?”
Shego’s answering grin was just as wide, her black lips curled up and her eyes narrowed in glee. “Chez Cora’s. So, ready to go?”
Kim’s smile turned devious as she still lay beneath Shego and a playful gleam entered her eyes. “Well,” she started, shifting a little on the bed. “I could use a bathroom break before we leave,” she paused for a moment and her smile exploded into a full grin of excitement, anticipation, and mischief. “On second thought…nope – I don’t need the toilet; let’s go.” She rolled out from under Shego, climbing to her feet.
For a second, Shego just stared at Kim in confusion, one eyebrow raised at the real redhead’s odd behaviour, until the full meaning of her partner’s words hit her, and a wide grin spread across her face as she caught onto Kim’s game. “Aw, Kimmie…that’s disgusting.”
Kim put on the least convincing innocent look that Shego had ever seen. “What? It’s just water.”
“It’s piss,” Shego shot back. “That’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever thought of.” She paused, shaking her head. “Whatever, let’s just go. I need the bathroom…and I can’t take care of it like you can, unless…” she stopped suddenly, smirking like she’d just had a great idea. “Hey Kim, come here for a sec.”
Kim’s face twisted into a grimace. “Gross,” she said, turning to walk out of the room. “Come on Shego; if we’re not ready to have Sex, we’re definitely not ready for…that.”
Shego’s grin only grew wider, her eyes gleaming with mischief. “Ah, but you’re not denying the possibility that we might someday be ready to try more…imaginative things.”
Kim stopped in the doorway and turned her head so Shego could see a mischievous grin that easily matched her own, if not surpassing it by several worlds. “It sounds like it might be…interesting.” She winked at Shego. “Besides, I’ll try anything once – at least.” She continued walking out the door.
Shego shook her head ruefully as she watched her lover leave the room, and then turned to grab her bag, which she’d left at the foot of her bed when they’d first arrived just a few hours earlier. I had to fall in love with the adventurous Possible, she mused thoughtfully, digging through the jet-black leather backpack. It looked like she had everything she’d need for the night’s outing, so she closed it up and slung it over her shoulder. God – I love this already…
“I heard that,” came Kim’s voice from the stairs as Shego entered the bathroom to do her thing. Since Pumpkin is too much of a prude to share her gift, Shego laughed to herself. “And I can’t get enough of this either.”
Shego rounded the corner a minute later and found herself staring down the stairs at Kim, who was leaning against the wall in a relaxed, bored, and unfairly attractive pose. “In that case,” Shego started down the stairs wearing a tiny smirk, “I won’t beat you to a pulp for raiding my mind…again.”
“I told you,” Kim shrugged and smiled carelessly. “I can’t help it sometimes.” She pushed herself away from the wall and turned away to start walking towards the front door, her excitement climbing a few notches more pronounced, making Shego stumble for a moment before she could adjust the mental block she was only now learning to put on her semi-vampiric ability. “And…you know,” Kim turned as she opened the door, her smile unchanged. “You couldn’t beat me on your best day.”
The excitement hanging in the air doubled in intensity, and Shego almost felt her mental barrier tremble from the onslaught of emotion. Holy, Shego strained to raise her defence higher. Kim packs a bit of a punch, and being this close to her for so long is going to be a bit of a strain, but worth it.
Shego tried to ignore the tremble that began between her legs at the few wisps of excitement that made it through her barrier. Oh…she’s definitely worth it.
Kim grinned. “Thanks,” and then turned away again. “C’mon, Shego – let’s get out of here. I’m starting to get hungry.”
Shego pulled her keys from her pocket and followed Kim out of the house, closing and locking the door without having to turn her eyes away from the sight of Kim staring longingly at the gleaming green bike that sat on the driveway.
“Here,” she called out, pulling another set of keys from her pocket and tossing them to her not-so-new partner.
Now that she thought about it, Shego realized they’d always been partners; they’d just been pushing each other away without knowing it – Shego because she’d been convinced to hate the heart-wrenchingly adorable girl for something she hadn’t done, and Kim because Shego had been on the other side of the law. Now that Shego had ditched her false hatred and Kim had found herself willingly stepping over the line for Shego, it was as if they had been destined to be together since the dawn of time, their relationship tempered by the pure passion they’d shared in their frequent fights.
Shego had discovered early on that she actually enjoyed battle the heroine, both with words and fists, and she’d tried to convince herself to hate the teen vigilante all the more because of it, convinced that Kim Possible had destroyed her life and was now just toying with her – making her enjoy their encounters in an attempt to save her own skin. Of course, her subconscious hadn’t fallen for her conscious reasoning, and had decided to follow the part of Shego’s heart that Shego had never really been in tune with since some time before the accident.
“What’s this?” Kim caught the keys in one hand without thinking, and with such a smooth motion that Shego couldn’t help the flutter that tugged at her heart. Even the simplest action turned into a display of such beauty when it came to the woman Shego couldn’t help but love with an ever-growing amount of her being. If this kept up, she would belong to Kim completely by day’s end – mind, body, and soul.
Not that Shego would allow herself to belong to anyone else.
Ever.
Shego smirked at the heroine’s puzzled expression. She doesn’t even realize how perfect she is… “You’re driving,” she said simply. At Kim’s continued bafflement, Shego sighed. “I saw the way you looked at my bike, and I distinctly remember telling you I can learn to share.” Then, a slightly unbelievable thought entered the villainess’ mind. “You’d better be able to drive that bike, Princess, ‘cuz those are your keys.”
Kim looked back down at the two keys in her hand, only this time it was with a gentle smile. Closing her hand into a protective fist around the treasure Shego had just given her, she looked up at her partner, her grin turning playful. “I can do anything,” she declared before adding sheepishly, “Even drive without the right license.”
Shego’s smirk didn’t fade. “I guess you can.” She turned away and pulled her helmet off the handlebar she’d hung it on. “But the first thing we’re going to do after we steal the armband is get you the complete set of driving licenses.” She ran one hand through her short cherry-red hair, “because Teri Nordham can’t afford to be caught breaking the law.”
Kim only grinned happily. “Spankin’!”
A/N: This is not so bad a cliff-hanger, I suppose
Oh, and don’t worry about any eventual kinkiness of Kim and Shego’s relationship. Um, if I mention anything it’ll only be for the purposes of each trying to outdo the other in their perpetual battle of wits (ie: all talk and no action.)
Next Chapter: Kim and Shego meet a mutual acquaintance at Chez Cora’s (love that restaurant), but who is it? You’ll just have to wait and see. I would enjoy educated guesses from all of you…
Please review. I enjoy many of your comments on how I’m portraying my two main/only characters. Some of them make me laugh.