This is another story written so I could avoid writing more to Olives & Emeralds. Also I got inspired by A Fine Frenzy's The Minnow & the Trout. It's a really good song. And I suppose it's good I wasn't inspired by Almost Lover. I do plan on using a bit of Near To You for Olives & Emeralds...
The Minnow & The Trout
Kim struggled against her bonds. She had only just managed to get her lipstick laser from where she had hidden it (her cuff this time). She had it on and was doing her best to try and slice through, but it wasn't working. She swore as it slipped from her fingers.
The small clatter it made rang loud in Kim's ears. She glanced up at the door way, wondering if anyone had heard. Seconds passed and no one came to check. She wondered- only briefly- where the henchmen had gone, but she didn't care.
Letting out a slow breath, she closed her eyes and tried to think. What gadget could get through laser proof cuffs? How had Drakken even made laser proof cuffs anyway?
"Trouble, Kimmie?" Kim's eyes shot open. They almost immediately met the emerald orbs of Shego who stood only a few feet away. "Yeah, I'm surprised about the shackles too. Drakken finally did something right!" She smirked, eyes drifting over Kim for a sparse second. Gloating. She was gloating.
Kim glared at her and it was obvious she was refusing to talk, at least at that moment. "Aw, Pumpkin! You're pouting. How cute." Shego leaned against the door frame. "You might have to have Nerdlinger make you something a little more powerful than a lipstick laser."
It suddenly occurred to Kim that Ron still hadn't showed up. It was taking longer than usual. Worry bubbled up in her as her eyes flickered past Shego and to the hallway behind her. She'd need to figure out how to get out alone, stop Drakken, and find Ron.
Sometimes, and only sometimes, she wished Ron was a little more competent.
"Shego," she spoke. One eyebrow raised in response. "Help me out." Her voice was steady—Steadier than she thought it would've been. "Let me go." Shego's smirk morphed into a scowl. "Just this once. Please."
A sneer accompanied Shego's reply. "And why should I?"
"We were the same."
A moment of confusion passed over her face only to rest in her eyes as she returned to her aggression. "The fuck do you mean?"
Kim sighed. "We have the same origin. We were normal girls who had something weird happen. For you, it was a lot worse and it drove you a lot farther. You were good first and you helped a lot of people. I just haven't reached the "gone bad" part. If I'm lucky, I won't but… I know we're different now, but we came from the same place."
"Don't fucking act like you know that," Shego spat. Her hands had lit, she realized. She let them stay that way. She pushed herself forward, anger at every inch.
Kim stared at her and spoke once more. "You were young, you were nervous, and you were scared of messing up. You had a new image to upkeep that you didn't want, but you did it anyway. You were terrified of injury from what you did, either of your family or you and you wanted nothing more than to be normal again." She took a deep breath. "I could change all the "you"s to "I" and it'd be just as true."
Shego's plasma flickered for a moment before sputtering out. Her expression was unreadable. She gulped and stepped a bit closer to Kim.
It was a desperate plea, in all honesty. Kim was like a minnow that had been cornered by a hungry trout who hovered before her in complete readiness to feed. The soft words were the minnow's plea for the trout to remember their distant shared ancestry, to allow the minnow to live because of their similarities, not to kill because of the differences.
Finally, Shego reached slowly over to the metal around Kim's wrists. It only took her a moment to free the redhead. "Just this once."
Their eyes only left each other's when Kim leaned forward to press a quick kiss to Shego's cheek before running out the door. Shego stared after her. A soft mumble left her mouth. "Cupcake…"
Kim was finally home after a long day at college. She had endured her tougher classes that day and wanted nothing more than to relax for the rest of the night. She tossed her backpack into the arm chair just inside the living room, kicked off her shoes and collapsed on the loveseat. Her head lolled back and she closed her eyes as her body went limp. She didn't have the energy to think.
It had to be ten minutes later when the doorbell rang, but it felt like ten seconds. Kim groaned out loud. She had no idea who it could be. Ron was at least an hour away at a culinary college while Monique was even farther away studying fashion. She pushed her self up. As she rolled her shoulders, she went for the door. "Coming!" she called.
She opened the door as she muffled a yawn. The yawn was cut in half by the shock of who was behind her door. "Shego?!"
Sure enough, Kim's old arch-nemesis was standing before her, surrounded by the gently falling snow. She wore no jacket, just a simple blouse and jeans, dark boots covering her feet. "Hey, Pumpkin," Shego greeted. She didn't smile. In fact, she had a very dismal look on her face.
"What's... Why are you here?" The question sounded rude and a bit harsh, she realized. "Not that I'm not happy to see you! It's just... none of us have seen you in so long..." Suddenly realizing how cold it was out, Kim stepped back and ushered Shego inside. "Come in and get warm," she murmured.
Shego was grateful for the invitation and entered the small abode. She could tell it was a one bedroom. One glance at the outside and a quick look around the inside was all Shego needed to determine this. The living room had a small love seat against one wall and an arm chair diagonal to it. They were pointed at what seemed to be a typically unused television set.
Shego sat on the loveseat and looked over at Kim. The redhead was quick to speak up. "Did you want a drink or anything?"
"Something warm would be nice. Tea or coffee..."
Kim gave her a small smile and nodded. "I have tea. I'll go make you some."
Shego murmured her thanks and, sure enough, had a steaming mug of tea in her hands only a few minutes later.
Kim moved her backpack from the chair before sitting so she could face Shego. "It's good to see you again," she admitted.
Mid sip, Shego froze. After a half hurried swallow, she spoke. "Funny, Kimmie. But I thought we used to be enemies."
"Used to. Not anymore." Kim's voice was soft and hid many of her thoughts by the sheer meekness of it. "That was at least two years ago."
A sigh. "Yeah... Used to..."
Kim gulped. "I was actually kinda disappointed when you disappeared. I was hoping we could be friends."
Shego gave Kim a curious look. "You hoped to be my friend?"
A small nod from Kim. "Yeah. We have a lot in common."
Shego couldn't help but chuckle. "I guess we do."
Kim gave Shego a curious look. "But I do have a question. After all this time, after leaving all of us behind, you've come back, but… Why to me? Like you said, we used to be enemies. I would think you wouldn't trust me."
"Let me ask you something, Cupcake. Did you trust me? In our last year or so of fighting. Did you trust me not to be too big of a dick, to not mess with your head, stuff like that?"
There was no hesitation in her answer. "Of course I did."
"Well, that trust was mutual. And I came to you for a reason."
Another curious look appeared on Kim's face. "What's that?"
"We were the same."
Shock settled in Kim's features. She could barely believe Shego remembered those words. And suddenly Shego was repeating what Kim had said nearly three years prior. Word for word, Shego murmured an echo of Kim's own plea with closed eyes and a pained look on her face. She opened her eyes. "I could change all the "you"s to "I" and it'd be just as true."
"Please," Shego murmured. "I need help, and I don't know who else to go to."
Kim set a hand on Shego's arm, only to be shocked with that too. "You're freezing!"
Shego sighed and shrugged. "It's another side effect to the issue I'm having." She held out her hand, palm up, and a light green glow emanated from it. "That's the most I can do anymore. I can't use my plasma. I was… hoping you could help."
It was a desperate plea. It was as though an eagle had fallen from the sky, suddenly afraid of heights. Now she could only beg the dove for help in learning to fly once more. It was odd, to say the least. But the eagle needed the dove to see how similar they were instead of different. She needed it, or she might never fly again.
"Of course I'll help you." Unlike Shego had years before, Kim had no hesitation. "I wouldn't leave you on your own with something like that."
Shego gulped. Slowly, Kim reached out and set her own hand on Shego's still outstretched one.
With no warning, Shego's plasma flared up around Kim's hand. It was much warmer, but not enough that it hurt Kim. The redhead's only response was a smile as Shego extinguished it. "See? I'm helping already."
Suddenly hopeful, Shego smiled back as she laced her fingers through Kim's.
Bonus information that I didn't include: Kim and Ron broke up a couple months after graduation. Kim came out to her friends shortly after. She was in the closet for a while before. Shego's inability to use her plasma is completely psychological; her sudden change in lifestyle caused it, sort of like Zuko in Avatar the Last Airbender. Shego slept cuddled up to Kim that night (she had to stay warm somehow!). And they do eventually end up in a relationship.