A red convertible with the black soft-top up was waiting for them at the curb, and Kim recognised the smell once she was inside. "New car?" she asked as her date got behind the wheel.
"Yep... bought and paid for, before you ask." Shego mirrored the tongue Kim stuck out at her before adding, "Next week it'll be her majesty's car, soon as she forks over a dollar."
"A dollar?"
"For tax purposes."
"...It's a bit red and sporty, don'tcha think?"
"Not for a hot MILF like her, no."
"Shego!"
The former villainess only laughed. "Mom I Have Fucked doesn't work so well as an acronym, cupcake. She needs a new car, and this one's a present to celebrate all the dirty things she did to her little bubblebutt last night. And I have every intention of replacing the new car smell before she takes possession, with your help, in the back seat, as often as possible."
The redhead couldn't keep the pout going, replaced as it was by an involuntary snort of amusement. "You're evil."
"Yeah, well, you knew that when you kissed me back." Shego put the car in gear and started off as they both recalled the new year kisses that changed everything. Thinking of firsts seemed appropriate, tonight.
"So when are you giving it to her?" Kim eventually asked.
"She's going to some brain-related thing next week. I'll surprise her with it when she gets back."
"Huh. She didn't mention anything about going away, last night or... this morning. Did she say what it was?"
"Just something she'd been invited to due to her area of expertise. Didn't exactly ask for details."
Kim was silent for a moment. "Maybe it's for the best," she eventually decided, "After last night. A little time apart to see how we feel about things."
The green girl glanced sideways at her. "You both seemed pretty damn enthusiastic at the time, Kimmie."
"Well yeah, tasting the forbidden fruit's always fun while you're doing it. But what about the consequences? What's gonna change? If we keep doing it, what else might we end up doing? And who with?"
Shego sniggered. "Is this a mommy issue, a daddy issue, or is it the concept of a full family orgy that freaks you out?"
"All of the above," the teenager grumbled, not exactly happy about how casually Shego was responding to her concerns; not that she'd share what mom had confided to her anytime soon. "What if this is, like, the start of a slippery slope into... I dunno..."
"Complete and utter sexual depravity?" Shego sighed. "Kim, if you don't like something, don't do it. If someone else doesn't like something, don't do it to 'em. If poppa Possible finds out his wife and daughter of fucking each other senseless on a regular basis, then you both gotta respect however he feels about it. If he wants you to stop, stop; if he doesn't, keep going; if he wants to watch or join in, that's up to all three of you. It really doesn't have to be more complicated than that."
"Then why does it seem like it should?"
"Ugh, I dunno, society? Upbringing? Education? Or maybe it's just experience. People do all kinds of wierd shit. Some of them ride that slippery slope of yours all the way down, but I don't see any of your family doing that." The green girl shrugged as she added, "But hey, if you're so worried, don't do it again."
"You wouldn't mind?"
"I wouldn't want you doing it just for my sake. But every time I kiss you, I'll know where your tongue's been. Ann's too. Doesn't matter if it never happens again, cupcake. It happened, it was hotter than hell, and I'll never forget it." Shego paused and frowned. "Oh, dammit..."
"What?"
"...But I did forget to check what movies were on before picking you up. Wanna drop by before dinner?"
The Middleton Mall movie theater was busy thanks to the human need for escapism from reality - especially in the wake of an alien invasion - and Shego's dress was a sidenote compared to the increase of both girls' celebrity status. Thankfully the movie schedule was also available in hard copy and they were able to retreat an appreciable distance from the crowd to see what was on and when.
"The 4:12 To Yomama is still playing..." Shego muttered, contemplating some old-fashioned Western violence.
Kim shook her head. "I've had enough of Abraham Bundle since the Fearless Ferret reboot. What about Pacts of the Far East? Vito Deathenson..."
"The face sweater he sported in Lord of the Bling ruined him forever. Banquet of Affection? I could put up with a romantic comedy with Martin Freedman's voice in it."
"Sure you're not just trying to avoid coming across as Miss Go?"
Despite the glare, Shego's tone was even. "My likes and dislikes didn't change, princess, just my reactions to them." The green girl's attention was split by the flash of a phone camera from across the way. "Maybe a movie isn't a good idea."
"It's never been much of a problem before," Kim argued. "You're just in the habit of trying to avoid this kind of attention."
"I had a bigger reputation when I was bad than I ever did as part of Team Go, and it was usually just your attention I was trying to avoid while I was on the job. Or Wade's I suppose... what?"
Kim's smile widened. "Nothing. Just getting used to using actual names instead of insults."
Shego rolled her eyes. "My point is, this is supposed to be a date, and with people watching all the time..."
"Shego, have you noticed I've got my arm around your waist and we've been pressing against each other this whole time?"
The former villainess glanced down in vague surprise. "Huh. Didn't really think about it. Gotta keep you from falling over, anyway."
The redhead bumped her hip against Shego's in retaliation for that comment. "I'm not gonna hide who I am. Or what we are."
"It's not really the world's business, though."
"Not all of it will be," Kim whispered in her date's ear, and waited a moment for the reference to hit her before using her free hand to pull her face down into a passionate kiss. Whistles, cheers, laughter and applause erupted from the crowd, nearly doubling in intensity when Shego's surprise wore off and she responded to Kim's efforts with equal fervour.
A trace of the green girl's customary smirk was back when they broke apart. Igniting her glow, she set the movie schedule alight before tossing it to the sidewalk. "Let's go eat," she said, picked Kim up and slung her over a shoulder like a sack of potatoes, carrying her off to the car despite the redhead alternating between laughing and complaining the whole way.
Dinner was in a small family-run Portuguese restaurant, and was more homey than any French restaurant Kim had been to. She was considering trying a bitoque - a grilled steak with a fried egg on top and homemade fries - when the man serving them recognised the pair and all but demanded to get them both the special. Fifteen minutes later, two plates of lamb cutlets and a bottle of red wine arrived at their table.
The teenager tried to turn down the wine, but the waiter waved off her objections, cheerfully suggesting that learning how to drink alcohol was better than banning it, and in this case the wine was a requirement for the meal. She soon understood when she took a sip after the first cutlet, as the wine complimented the meat perfectly. It launched a conversation into the difference between eating and eating well, something Kim had never really considered before. Shego was pleased to have brought Kim to her first experience of the latter, and the family patriarch that served them was both amused and happy to have helped.
By the time Shego was paying the bill, they were both on first name terms with most of the Portuguese family. The wine was on the house, because the house seemed to believe that no one could accuse Kim of drinking the wine if no one had bought it. The redhead was tipsy enough to accept this gracefully, though once the couple were outside, she did insist on taking a walk before getting back to the car. Kim was in a good enough mood to take Shego's natural attrition in stride until the eventual grumbled consent came about.
Eschewing the movie idea completely, they skipped straight to driving up the mountainside and parking in a nice spot to make out. As Shego intended, once the windows were too fogged up to enjoy the view, they switched to the back seat and fogged the windows up a good deal more. Then it was back home for more of the same until they fell asleep in each other's arms.
It seemed to be a perfectly ordinary date. It was what Kim had wanted, and it was what Shego had wanted to give her.
As they slept, the internet exploded with speculation on the apparent change in their relationship.
Wade ran through the footage every which way he could think of to ensure it was genuine, and decided he should wait until the morning before calling.
Kim woke to the sound of the kimmunicator's first ring, more reliably than with any alarm clock. The device proved to be on the floor by the bed; the teen hero stretched an arm down to hit the appropriate button. Wade was greeted by the sight of a bed-head redhead with a bare shoulder proving that she was at least topless.
The young genius gulped at the sight, then asked, "Too early?"
"It's fine, Wade. What's the sitch?"
"You and Shego. On the internet."
"Uh-huh."
Wade blinked, wondering if Kim was still half-asleep. "It's, uh... causing quite a stir. In some circles more than others. And the messages on your website..."
"Some good, some bad?"
"And some scary. Seriously, Kim, there have been some nasty threats."
Kim sighed, lying her cheek on the edge of the mattress. "Y'know, if it'd been Ron who came out of the closet, there wouldn't be such a fuss." Everyone, including Global Justice, had decided to keep Ron's mystical monkey power a secret, allowing the assumption that Kim and Drakken had been the deciding factors in defeating the Lorwardians. "I guess being world famous is finally taking its toll."
"Is that why you're living in Drakken's old lair, now?" Wade deduced.
"It's one reason. Shego offered."
"So, you two really are..." Wade watched the teen hero nod in the affirmative. "Even after the fight?"
"Yeah. There'd been something there for a coupla years," Kim wasn't about to lay out the whole truth to the young teen, "But the whole Little Diablo thing messed stuff up, and it took this last fight to really clear the air."
"What about Ron?"
"He knew before I did."
"...Oh. Is that why he left?"
"One reason, maybe. The Lorwardians are another. He's training. Getting in touch with his inner monkey."
"He'll be jumping at his own shadow for months," Wade said with a trace of a smile, but Kim was willing to give her former sidekick the benefit of the doubt.
"Weeks, maybe. After a few years having my back... I think he's only just starting to come into his own. Who knows, if the big green men ever come back, they'll be facing our own Great Blue."
"Where've I heard that before?"
"Shego said Warmonga first locked onto Drakken because of some Lorwardian prophecy about the Great Blue reaching out from beyond the stars to lead them in intergalactic conquest."
"Huh..."
The redhead scrutinized the thoughtful face on the screen for a moment. "What is it, Wade?"
"Nothing! it's just... well, it sounds like something Evil Ron would do. Especially if he gets a handle on his monkey power."
"But the attitudinator was destroyed!"
Wade shrugged. "People go bad all the time, Kim, without help from HenchCo products, tinkered with by electrical villians or not. Power corrupts, and Ron's already used his power to kill."
"To protect me. I'm sure his sensei will guide him down the right path."
"The sensei of a secret Japanese ninja school?" the young genius clarified. "Ninja are mercenaries, spies, saboteurs and assassins. The old pirates of the Pacific are depicted as antiheroes in current media, but there was nothing heroic about them! The ninja of Japan are no different."
Kim shook her head, frowning. "I never got a bad vibe from the sensei, Wade. He was way nicer than Monkey Fist. And the statue of the school's founder suggested he was a samurai."
"You didn't know Lord Monty Fiske's true intentions until you... uh, we confronted him..." Wade tried to glaze over that whole holographic impersonation thing, but Kim's smirk told him it hadn't been forgotten. "...But the samurai did follow a code of honour. I don't know why his followers would be ninja, though. Maybe something to do with monkey kung fu, but that's Chinese in origin..."
"The founder may have been Chinese. He was the original master of monkey kung fu."
"That doesn't make any sense..." the boy tapped furiously at a keyboard for a moment, starting a search before turning back to the camera. "Listen Kim, I'm gonna do some digging on this, but that wasn't why I called. I think you need to write a statement for the website. Then we'll see what happens."
"I was thinking about that. After last night, I may as well get it done sooner rather than later."
"And at some point, I want to scan you to make sure you haven't been chipped or something."
Kim giggled, sing-songed, "Later, Wade," and cut the connection before turning her attention to her girlfriend. Her official, real-as-normal-life girlfriend. It took a moment for that thought to process.
"Shego, you awake?"
A disgruntled exhalation was her only answer.
"Do you mind if I-"
"Just don't hit the self-destruct button, princess," the former villainess grumbled. "The only thing worse than an alarm you can't turn off is an alarm you can't ignore without risking life and limb."
Kim leaned over and planted a kiss on the green girl's cheek, earning her a slightly less grumpy grunt. Then the teenager got up, wrapped herself in Shego's robe and headed to the console in the main room, already mentally organizing what she intended to tell the world.