Kim sat on top of a pole, a brief respite from her intense training. Shego had added another creative little exercise to her daily routine, while insisting she carry on with her trek up the mountain with either the weights or the buckets.
The new exercise consisted of an obstacle course made up of wooden poles, sunken into the marsh the xian he had frequented last time. It was a balancing exercise, where Shego had demonstrated the various poses Kim would be in on top of each pole. It helped with balance, Shego said. It was her lunchtime, and Kim munched on the sandwich that Shego had packed for her. A bunch of marshland birds (of the none mystical variety) watched her from the water below, hoping that she would drop her lunch. The first few times doing this exercise, Kim had fallen off. Not only did she gather a few good bruises, but the murky water clung to her in all its smelly glory. The lunch Kim had tucked in her tunic had been lost to the birds. The night of, she had sat at the edge of the baths, taking a pan and dousing herself with water, hoping to wash the stench off. Leeches had also found its way on her, and she shuddered, remembering how Shego had to help her get the leeches off, laughing at how Kim Possible was near mindless with fear. Kim remembered quite vividly the thick, squiggly creatures that had clamped resolutely on her skin. They were large, grotesque and gorged on her blood.
Ew.
Kim's thoughts drifted from that unpleasant memory to Shego. For some odd reason, she found that that was who she thought of the most. Of course, when she could, she thought about her family and friends, whether they were worried about her or not, how they were, if they were okay… but Shego was always there, laughing at her, instructing her, talking to her… she can't help but think of the enigma that she had fought for so long… and her mind wandered to that day she had found Shego, bloodied and feverish in bed.
Shego didn't limp anymore, the gashes on her legs weren't as deep as Kim had thought they were at first. All that was left of the wound were two long thin scars. Shego had grimaced when Kim asked how she gotten her wounds and made Kim swear not to tell anybody about her getting hurt, before she told her.
“The owner of this house, my shi fu,” Seeing the blank look on Kim's face, Shego translated. “My master. Wasn't happy with me.”
“Your master?” The revelation stunned Kim. The teenager was unravelling the bandages she had wound around Shego's injured leg, having taken it upon herself to wait on Shego. Kim had found out that though Shego was injured, it didn't mean a less demanding Shego. It just meant a less mobile Shego who complained about Kim's field dressings on her leg, her infrequent rounds up the mountain; anything Shego could complain about, she did.
‘Who do you think is cutting into my training time?!’ Kim would rage to herself. But the redhead was always aware, when she left to do her exercises, she would always be sent away with a packed lunch. And when she came back, there would be a meal ready for her.
“Yes. My shi fu.” Shego chuckled, but the sound was devoid of any humour. “You think I learned how to fight here by myself? Trained here by myself? Yes, I had someone with me.”
Who was this mystery person? Kim looked up at the sky. And why had they hurt Shego? What was Xaio Qing? The brunette was being as elusive as ever. Hanging there in the sky like a ghostly pearl, the moon was visible again, and it was almost the end of the month. Kim had stopped attempting to measure the days she was here, forgot which day of the week Shego had taken her. Now, she depended on the moon to mark her time, the exercises Shego gave her to give relevance to her days, and the teenage heroine was increasingly aware of the fact that Shego's companionship was something she sought after. The older woman's teasings, her sarcastic remarks and even her sharp rebukes were the highlight of Kim's day. Shego was deadly funny and her sharp intelligence whetted Kim's appetite for conversation. They still had their arguments, but Kim managed to keep them to a minimum, noting that certain topics made Shego more prickly than normal. Questions about her shi fu, for example. Questions about Fong, and questions in general that had nothing to do with her training or questions asked too often.
Kim felt an inkling of irritation wrap around her but quickly batted it away. Though Shego was at time irrational and angry for no reason at all, Kim found, to her surprise, that the woman was some times kind. Like when Shego had found out about Kim's studying. Not wanting Shego to find out, Kim had taken to secretly reading over the workbooks Fong had given her. Fong had been good enough to write down how each character in the book sounded in English. Pinyin, Fong had said. Kim studied diligently by candlelight every night after dinner, excusing herself early to do so. With no paper or pen, she wrote the characters down on the table, with a finger, over and over again. Words like me, they, she, he… sometimes, she was confused by the grammer, if she was getting it right. Or the feminine and masculine of a character. All those nights excusing herself early had, of course, aroused Shego's suspicion. One night, she burst into the room unannounced, and was treated to the sight of Kim's workbooks sprawled about in disarray as Kim froze in the middle of reciting a passage.
“Why didn't you tell me?” Shego was irritated. She had left, returning with sheafs of paper, a block of ink, and brushes. She had shown Kim how to use water to mix with the block of ink, shown her how to hold the brush, then given her the sheafs of paper to write on. Shego even sat with her sometimes, helping her write certain words, showing her the brushstrokes involved in a character, sounding out a word when Kim didn't get it right.
“I was surprised when I found you studying.” Shego admitted one day. “When you didn't pursue Chinese, I chalked it up to you being ignorant.”
“What?” Kim bristled.
Shego grinned. It always gave her a warm feeling inside when Kim responded so readily to her insults. “I thought you were being dumb. I mean, if I was going to spend three years somewhere, I would try to at least learn the language.”
That set off a new round of arguments, but now it was… comfortable. Like squabbling with a friend, even though their arguments sometimes spilled over to trading a few blows. Nothing serious, it just resulted in bruises for a sullen Kim.
Kim's thoughts were interrupted suddenly, when out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something hurtling towards her. Falling backwards quickly, she used her legs to wrap around the pole and stop her descent towards the muck below.
A glob of marsh ooze travelled through the area where she had been resting in before. Upside down, she glared at a smirking Shego, who was bending down to pick up more muck.
“That was good Kimmie.” Shego weighed the sloppy solid-liquid mess in her hands experimentally, then whipped it fast at Kim. Unable to avoid it if she was on the pole she was hanging from, she grabbed hold of a nearby pole, swung around it, ricocheted off a third pole to jump on a low-standing one. Lightning fast, Kim didn't rest on that pole long and flipped onto another one as another murky missile just barely missed her.
“That's nasty!” Kim shouted at Shego.
“Only if you get hit by it!” Shego retorted laughingly.
Both of them were having a lot of fun, even if they refused to admit it to themselves.
Shego was on edge, Kim could tell. The village, subtly decorated in red before, now looked like someone had up-ended a village-sized bucket of red paint on it. New faces were seen, as relatives from abroad came back to see the marriage. A villager Kim didn't recognize came to drive them just as the rising sun was lightening the sky to a hazy grey. Shego had fallen into a depressing silence the day before they had to head into the village. As soon as they arrived, Shego had escaped to her house and claimed that she wasn't feeling well. It was the last minute preparation period of the wedding, and everybody was running around frantically. Somehow, Kim had been hustled to the bride's house, where young women ran around the house, trying to get everything prepared for the groom's arrival. Kim was being forced into a red dress.
Apparently, from what Kim could gather, almost everybody in the house was on the bride's side, either a bridesmaid or family. Kim was helplessly swept away in the preparations, the happy faces and the machine-gun pace of conversation just confused her. Finally, she was pulled, pushed, and gently lead to a room that only had two people inside.
One was the bride, the other was a girl who was doing the bride's make-up.
“Ni jau ba. Wo yao jiang ta.” Fong's brusque order sent the make-up girl out of the room.
Now it was only the bride and Kim.
Decked out in a beautiful red dress, Kim's eyes swept over the beautiful and painstakingly stitched phoenix on Fong's bridal dress. Gold threads stood out in bright contrast to the cheery siken red backdrop of the dress, coupled with threads of other colours of the same brilliance. Despite the cheeriness of the dress, and the expert make-up job, it did nothing to brighten the look on Fong's face. She looked so emotionless, she might as well be a mannequin.
“Sorry to have you carted here without explanation,” Fong's smile was forced and pained. “But I couldn't come and get you myself and Cheung's busy getting ready also.”
Kim's automatic response was to try to reassure, to comfort. “Its alright.”
Fong regarded Kim with serious brown eyes. “How's Shego?”
“She's alright.” Kim lied.
The Chinese woman turned away from Kim to look at herself in the mirror. Hoarsely, she asked, “Really?”
“Michelle,” Kim cleared her throat. “What do you want me to say?”
Fong looked at Kim sadly. “You sound just like Shego when you say that. ‘What do you want me to say’…” Fong turned away to look at the mirror again. The make-up seemed garish, especially since Fong felt like it was more of a funeral than a wedding. Cheung was a good guy. If she loved anyone besides Shego, it would be him. It was hard. He was so patient with her, she felt so guilty when, in her heart, all she wanted was Shego to be the one coming to get her, the one to marry her. But not everybody could have what they wanted.
“Do you really want to go through with it?” Kim asked, hating herself for asking it. Cheung was in love with Fong. But if Fong was going to be miserable, why should she marry?
“I'm going through with this. I just wanted to know how Shego was.” Fong said lamely. She smiled a bit when she heard the excited shrieks outside her door, and faraway, the sound of music, of cymbals crashing together, horns squawking out a joyous tune and the heavy bass of a drum. “There's my groom. You should go outside and get your share of the door money.”
“Door money?”
Fong smiled, feeling a little less down. She had always liked weddings, and she tried to remind herself of how fun it was. This time, instead of being one of the bridesmaids, she would be the bride. It would be fun, regardless of her choice of mate. She was determined for it to be fun. She had prepared herself for the inevitable day she would be married. In this village, where her marriage meant the continuation of a generation, the continuation of the duty that each one was ascribed as soon as they were born; she adhered to it.
The procession was getting closer. Kim looked at Fong desperately. “Fong, why are you doing this? What do you want me to do? You obviously asked me to come here to do something for you. What do you want?”
Fong stared at Kim thoughtfully. What did she want? What was she doing…
Someone pushed the window open, drawing the women out of their thoughts. Astonished, they watched Shego climb in, almost casually.
“Were you…” Kim paused and took on a more accusing note. “Were you listening outside the window?!”
“Yes.” Shego's blunt reply shocked Kim and Fong into silence. Shego walked with determined steps to Fong, and knelt down in front of her. Rapidly, she spoke in Chinese to the dazed women. Fong's breath caught in her throat and she reached out to cup the side of Shego's face. In a move that spoke of so many moments of intimacy between them, Shego had placed a hand on top of Fong's and leaned into it affectionately. That was when Kim turned her head away. Their voices rose and fell, the clipped and musical syllables rolling off Fong's tongue, and the slower and softer tones of Shego's voice washed over Kim's ears. Finally, there was silence in the room. Outside the door, they could hear the shouts of the groomsmen begging the bridesmaids to let them in, and the taunting words of the bridesmaids.
“Go outside, have fun.” Shego ordered Kim. “Tell the bridesmaids ‘ah Fong shuo deng yi shou’.”
Kim didn't argue. Whatever was between the two women, it was between them. Kim left the room, casting a glance behind to see Shego gently accept the headdress Fong held out to her.
“Were you…” Kim paused and took on a more accusing note. “Were you listening outside the window?!”
“Yes.” Shego's blunt reply shocked Kim and Fong into silence. Shego walked with determined steps to Fong, and knelt down in front of her.
“Fong, what if I asked you to marry me?” Shego's spoke in Chinese, her expression serious.
Fong's breath caught in her throat and she reached out to cup the side of Shego's face. In a move that spoke of so many moments of intimacy between them, Shego had placed a hand on top of Fong's and leaned into it affectionately. Kim turned her head away from the scene.
Fong took a deep breath, and breathed out the reply she knew she had to say. “I wouldn't.”
Shego's eyes bore into hers. “And why not?”
“Because…” Fong's voice faltered and she looked desperately at Shego. Shego shook her head, eyes unblinking, watching for Fong's answer. Her breath ragged with emotions. Waiting for Fong. But the bride couldn't continue, and had stopped talking so the tears wouldn't come out.
“Because,” Shego continued for her. “Because you taught me the world is more than you and me. The world is more than me. Rather than making myself happy, I've chosen to make the collective happy. Rather than choosing the most selfish option, I've chosen a selfless option.”
Fong's eyes brightened and searched Shego's face. It screamed for her to trust her. But she spoke out her doubt. “When have you ever listened to me?”
“I've always listened.” the corners of Shego's eyes crinkled in amusement. “I just never did what you asked until now.”
Uncertainty warred traitorously with the absolute trust Fong had always put in Shego. The pale-skinned woman with the gleaming green eyes was giving Fong an explanation that lacked a lot of information, and asking Fong to accept it.
“Cheung needs a wife. Ting Ting needs a mother.”
“Do you need me?” Fong asked tremulously.
“I need you,” Shego took Fong's hand and held it in both of her own. “to let me go.”
The brown-eyed girl's voice was a whisper. “How could you ask me that?”
Shego and Fong locked eyes in a silent battle. But they both knew who would win even before they started. Triumphant, Shego called out to Kim.
“Go outside, Have fun.” Shego ordered Kim. “Tell the bridesmaids ‘ah Fong shuo deng yi shou’.”
Kim didn't argue. Whatever was between the two women, it was between them. Kim left the room, casting a glance behind to see Shego gently accept the headdress Fong held out to her.
“Help me put this on.” Fong's voice echoed hollowly in the room. Shego's hands trembled as she held the traditional headdress of the bride. Faltered for just one second.
Run away.
Run away with her…
Shego shook away the treacherous thoughts. Gently, she placed it on Fong's head, letting herself admire the pearls that decorated the headdress. The work it took to construct this heavy monstrosity that was going to sit on Fong's head. Shego held the beaded veil open, so she could behold that face she tendered so dearly. Fong reached up and held Shego's hands. Squeezed them once and pushed her away.
The veil fell into place.
The sound of celebration outside swelled around them.
Kim was caught up in the overall good-feeling of the wedding guests. Unlike weddings she's been to back home, these ones were loud and had more of a party atmosphere than a formal gathering. Of course, everyone was dressed to impress, but pranks were encouraged, jokes exchanged, the bride and groom were constantly being harassed by friends to play ‘games’. For example, one of the tamer games involved the groom being blindfolded and made to guess which hand belonged to his bride's as a line-up of guests tried to trick him. Another game which was slightly more risque was giving a raw egg to the bride and seeing if she could bring it up one side of the groom's trouser leg and down the other. One of Cheung's friends ran forward and tried to crush the egg when it was at the apex of Cheung's legs, which brought laughter from everyone when Cheung managed to sidestep his friend and trip him. Whenever there was a lull in the guests who were eating their fill, someone would start tapping on their bowl, or any kind of glass object nearby. This would get everybody else doing it until the courtyard was filled with a cacophony of sound that wouldn't still until the bride and groom kissed. The ground, which had been littered with red firecracker paper before, the firecracker paper now BLANKETTED the ground, creating a lush red carpet. Music was played through out the dinner, and when one musician became tired, a guest who knew how to play the instrument would take it up.
And of course, there was copious amounts of drinking.
‘Shego doesn't usually drink much.’ Someone passed Kim a note. She looked up, her eyes locking on Cheung, who looked at her pointedly, before raising a cup of beer to Shego's loud toast. She knew Fong's neat, tight script. The note's writing was wider, bigger. Must be Cheung's. It surprised Kim to find out that Shego didn't drink. For some reason, Kim always thought that Shego was a big drinker.
‘Could you please watch her?’ The note pleaded.
There was no holding Shego down. The woman kept on toasting the happy couple at every opportunity. Everyone else went along with it, some guessed at Shego's outrageously joyous mood, others just took it for what it was. Grandma Lo watched Shego's liquor intake a bit worriedly, and the rest of the elders exchanged glances but kept up the pretense. This was a happy event.
Fong, meanwhile, wouldn't look at Shego at all. She gave every guest grateful smiles, and thanked them for coming. When Shego made toasts, Fong would sip at her drink, but steadfastly refused to look at Shego. As the night spiralled to a close, Shego seemed desperate to drink as much as she possibly could.
‘Great, just great.’ Was Kim's thoughts, as she tried to discreetly steal away the drinks Shego had hoarded for herself, grateful that other people were helping her with that.
‘God, I hope she doesn't get alcohol poisoning!’ Kim cringed inwardly. But perhaps she was underestimating Shego's tolerance. When the bride and groom stood up to go to the groom's place, Shego glared at the couple, looking very sober. And as guests filed after the couple to continue torturing them with their ‘games'--that Kim gathered from the wicked grins on some of the wedding guests’ faces, would only grow more perverted in the bedroom--Shego slipped quietly away.
Kim didn't think, she followed Shego. Away from the brightly lit courtyard, she slowed so her eyes would adjust to the darkness, before going after the sound of Shego's footsteps. Turning a corner, a hand caught her, spun her around and an arm pinned her against the wall. Shego's eyes, reflecting the moonlight, seemed to glow. Kim was close enough to Shego to smell the alcohol that came off of the angry woman in waves.
“Kim.” Shego spat out the redhead's name, and let her go. She turned her back to the woman. “Why are you following me? Why aren't you celebrating with everyone else?”
“I was worried about you.”
“Worried?” Shego gave an ugly laugh. “Why? I got exactly what I wanted. I'm fucking so happy this is over.” Obviously, Kim could tell Shego was not. Especially not after how she had seen Shego look at Fong.
Shego was walking away, navigating the network of passageways brilliantly well for the amount of alcohol she had drunk. Kim wondered if she had imagine Shego's binge.
“I can take my alcohol just fine.” Shego said aloud, as if reading Kim's thoughts. “I have an incredibly high tolerance. Unfortunately, I'm just slightly buzzed right now.”
Shego's steps lead them to the public washrooms. Kim, having to go herself, went in too. Shego finished first, and waited for the teenager outside. A couple of Fong's bridesmaids were in the washroom too, powdering their noses and chattering among themselves.
“Where are you going?” asked Kim. Racuous laughter from somewhere far away made Shego scowl.
“I'm going to sleep. If you want to come with me, you can follow. If not, you can follow them,” Shego nodded her head in the direction of the bridesmaids who were giggling giddily as they left the washrooms and headed to Cheung's place. Shego started off back to her place, and Kim didn't hesitate to follow the older woman.
The house was empty and dark, but Shego flicked on a lightswitch. The single lightbulb in the ceiling blinked on.
“I'm going to sleep.” Shego announced, entered her room, and slammed the door. Kim stood in the common room, listening to Shego getting ready for bed, before heading to her own room. Making use of the pitcher of water, she brushed her teeth and used a washcloth with a little more of the water from the pitcher to wipe her neck and face. She slipped out of the dress she had been squeezed into, wondering who's it was and where her original clothes were, decided to look for the owner of the dress and her own clothes tomorrow. A set of light blue silk pj's had been placed on top of her pillow, and Kim stripped out of her clothes and into the nightclothes.
‘I could stay in my room.’ Kim looked at the wall seperating her from Shego, straining to hear any sound the woman might make while buttoning up the front of her blue pyjamas. She couldn't hear a sound, but she was sure Shego was still awake. She couldn't help the sympathy she felt for Shego, something Kim knew the other woman would probably hate her for.
‘Shego.’
Before Kim knew it, she was in front of Shego's room. Finding herself there, she couldn't stop herself from knocking briskly on the door and letting herself in. Shego had been sitting in the centre of her bed, legs drawn up to her chest. She had been resting her head on her knees when Kim entered, and now raised it to look at the redhead wearily. Kim closed the door behind her. Shego's eyes stayed on her as the teenage heroine got on the bed, and knelt beside and a little behind Shego.
Shego's expression remained stony, waiting for Kim to make a move. Having been taught the healing properties of a simple hug, Kim leaned forward and embraced her enemy. Shego immediately went rigid in Kim's arms, but the redhead refused to be discouraged, waiting as Shego unwillingly relaxed. Kim supported Shego when she leaned against the younger woman and let out a shuddering sigh. The redhead was situated in just the right place, if she leaned down slightly, to rest her chin on Shego's shoulder and press the side of her face at the spot just below Shego's ear. They stayed like this for a few moments before Shego turned her face, so her nose brushed against Kim's.
Anticipation welled up in Kim, as she responded to the silent question. Felt her stomach flutter at Shego's intense stare.
Shego nudged her with her head, made Kim bend her head back, bare her neck to the green-eyed woman.
Kim felt so far away when Shego's lips brushed against her neck. Rough and soft at the same time. Felt the wet sensation of a tongue tasting her neck, and shivered when she could feel the tiniest pressure of teeth nipping at the flesh of her neck, then letting go.
Kim felt so far away when Shego pushed her back, none too gently and straddled her with a feral growl, pinning her to the bed.
Kim Possible felt so far away, but when Shego's hungry and demanding lips burned her own with a kiss, she felt herself plunging back to earth. Responding to Shego by breaking free of that iron grip, encircling Shego's waist with her legs and mashing Shego's body against hers, hands cradling that pale face with those lips that coaxed noises from Kim that she had never heard herself make. Shego was a living fire that could burn her alive, and Kim could feel it; groaning into Shego's mouth, she could feel it. In the centre of her, the part that pressed so wantonly against the other woman longed to be devoured by the fire that raged uncontrollably beneath Shego's surface.
endnote: Do you like? :D Yeah, it could be hotter, but you know, ff.net has an M rating. I don't wanna get banned again. Not only do I suck writing training scenes, but also sex scenes. Getting chapters to you fast means that I forgo things like grammar and spelling and stuff. And some times, I leave my readers playing ‘spot the plot holes!’ bad bad bad. The wedding scene seems a bit rushed because it was. Chinese weddings are frickin’ crazy, so I'm not gonna spend forever writing about them.