Chapter 22 – Night

There. It's done. I've finished writing my letter to Sensei. All I need now is to stick it to the tree outside. I'm about to get up from my desk when suddenly Rufus stirs. He opens his small eyes to look at me.

"Hey Little buddy. Good to see you again." He looks at me sideway, pondering. He can tell I've changed. I give a lopsided smirk to reassure him "It's ok Rufus. I'm still me. Care for some cheese?" This kind of proposal is all he needs to put aside all doubts.

"Hhhk! Cheese!" He jumps on my shoulder and with him I make my way downstairs. It's good to have Rufus back with me. I've missed him more than my arm or eye. He's still looking at me, though. Well we have been apart for a long time. "Hk. Ron? Okay?" He's still concerned. Although Betty explanation cleared some stuff I still need to tell some details.

"I owe you a lot of explanations, buddy. Let's talk as we eat, ok? Tonight I'll make some Nacho. Are you in?" he bobs his head. Good little Rufus. Can't refuse a nacho if his life depended on it. "Aaand I'd really like to know how was your stay at Tara s'. Did she treat you well?" He nods again but then he looks sad.

"Hk. Tara cried lots. Argued lots. Parents, Bonnie. No sleep. More tears." I can feel a knot forming in my throat. Damn. She shouldn't have suffered like that for me. I have to make up for it.

"I see. I'm sorry about that. You helped her out. Good job." He gives me a thumb up. In the meanwhile we reached the kitchen. Shego is here pouring some coffee for herself… and for me? That's unexpected.

"Stoppable… and the pink freakish rodent." Rufus lets out a low growl. Shego doesn't even acknowledge it. "Would you like some coffee?" I nod.

"Yeah thanks." I take the cup from her hands. I'd like to point out how considerate it is for her to actually do such a little gesture, but I'm afraid that it would close her into her shell even more. So I simply accept it and move on. I take a sip. "Hey, this is good, Shego. How did you do it?"

"I added a drop of chocolate into the mixture. An old trick coming from my mother. She used to…" Then she seems to remember something and she stops. Whatever it was it must be painful cause her former good mood turns dark all of a sudden. Note to self: never inquire her on her family. She shakes her head as if to get rid of that memory "Never mind. I'm glad you like it."

We both move to the couch were we continue drinking in a comfortable silence. Rufus on the other hand keeps looking at her with suspicion. It doesn't seem that he's going to get along with her anytime soon. Well, it can't be helped.

As soon as we have finished I take both cups to take them into the sink. It's in that moment that our hands brush together for a second. Nothing happens and she simply retreat her hand allowing me to take her cup away. I don't know what prompted me to look back while I was going into the kitchen but I did. Still seated on the couch Shego is looking at her hand like she expects to see a bruise of some kind. What is she thinking about? Whatever.

I go back to the living room. She's still there examining her hand.

"Shego?" She turns to look at me. "I'll be in the back garden for a minute. I'll be right back to make dinner."

"Oh. Ok. I'll be right here." She's strangely quiet. What's wrong with her? With a mental shrug I leave the house and step outside. The cool breeze fells really good on my skin.

Taking the kunai from my back pocket I stab the note on the tree. "Hk? What that?"

I turn to look at Rufus who's still sitting on my shoulder. "It's a note for Sensei. Yori told me that one of them will take it to him if I did this." I turn to look at the piece of paper again…. IT'S GONE! Only the Kunai is still where I left it. Holy shit! These guys are amazing! Uh. Well there is no use in standing here anymore. I pocket the kunai again and leave. That was fast.

"Back already?" Shego barely had time to get up from the couch.

"Yeah. Well then, shall we get something prepped?"

With the two of us together it take very little to have a decent meal ready. Rufus didn't help. His dislike for her seems to keep him from being cooperative. Despite this we work in a light and cheerful atmosphere. She is in an unusual good mood. I wonder why. I've never seen her like this. It's kind of creepy.

After making the Nacho I've promised Rufus we all sit to eat in a comfortable silence. I like this atmosphere.

"Thanks." I snap my head up to look at Shego. I'm not quite sure what she's thanking me for, but I feel like asking would be out of place. Also, since I'm pretty oblivious when it comes to women, the reason might be pretty obvious to everyone but me. So I simply accept her gratitude, for whatever it might be.

"You are welcome." We speak no more. Rufus is looking back and forth from Shego to me. Don't ask little fella. I don't have a clue. The rest of dinner is uneventful and I go back to my room with Rufus right after I finished with the dishes. I leave Shego in the living room to watch some TV. I have to call Kim and define our common line in front of the media. Tomorrow we are going back to school and I can just bet that the press will be right there. I don't know if they guessed that I will be there too, but since they didn't manage to talk to Kimberly for the whole month they will jump at the change of cornering her as soon as she steps outside of the school grounds. Better be ready.

I pick the phone and push the second quick dial button that I have set on Kim number. It takes just a couple of seconds for her to answer.

"Ron?"

"Hey Kim. How's it going? I'm not bothering you, am I?"

"Not at all. I've just finished dinner. How are you by the way? Is Shego giving you any trouble? If you want me to put her I her place you just have to say so." I laugh.

"Thanks Kim, but it's not needed. Everything quiet and Shego isn't bothering me at all. She tends to be a little hurtful with her words but that's just who she is."

"Yeah. She's evil to the bone. Watch out around her, ok?"

"Will do. Don't worry about it. Anyway I called you to discuss about our statements tomorrow."

Despite her unwillingness I manage to convince her to share the blame for what happened to our team. I know that she's feeling guilty about it, but I don't want to run from my responsibilities. I know that a part of the media will dig in our relationship trying to find some dirt on us. I'm not going to give them that kind of satisfaction. With the details ironed out we finish the conversation with a goodnight. Tomorrow is going to be another long day.

Since is still pretty early and I don't want to try the Art until I've heard a response from Sensei I opt for some chores. While I've managed to make some laundry there is still a lot to do. The following hours are spent loading and unloading the washing machine, cleaning rooms and changing sheets. By eleven the house looks like new.

I haven't seen Shego in a while. Is she still watching TV? Before going to check on her I drop Rufus in my room. My little friend fell asleep in my pocket. Placing him into is box I make sure that he finds a comfortable position. From there I make my way to the living room. Yep. She's still there, sleeping like a log in front of the TV. Her slender from is resting on the couch.

She's beautiful. Not simply hot. Beautiful. Long, dark hairs. Smooth skin. Thin black lips that I'd like to ravish. Something inside me is urging me to take advantage of her. Something else is pushing me to take care of her. Conflicting instincts. I don't wish to disturb her sleep and as cool as it might be I really can't carry her to bed with only one arm. For these reason the best I can do I putting a blanket on her. She shifts a little as I do so, trying to find a better position, her legs sliding against each other. Oh boy, how I'd like to run my hand all over them. She's right. I'm a pervert. That's required to be a male. I need to control this urge and therefore I leave her without another glance. I leave the TV on.

I return to my room turning off every light along the way. The house falls into a warm darkness. It's almost midnight and I'm in for another sleepless night. Tough luck.

Changing in my pajamas I spare another glance for the book resting on my desk. There is so much I need to learn. A thought for another time. I don't need to fill my mind just before sleeping. It definitely won't help me in my search for rest. I slip under the covers and turn off the last light. Let us try to find some rest in the embrace of the darkness. Goodnight. /'night./

Warmth. That's the general feeling. Where am I?

I try to look around but I don't have eyes.

I try to touch but I don't have hands.

I try to speak but I have no mouth.

There is someone with me.

It hurts. My arms. My eyes. They hurt. I don't have them but they hurt.

The pain is unbearable. No. Let me go. I don't want to suffer anymore. Who are you? Let me go. Let me go! Why are you touching me? Why are you hurting me? Let me go!

"Father…"

"AAAAAAH! GOD!" I bolt upright. My hand is gripping around the empty socket that used to host my right eye. My God, the pain. It takes a couple of moments to control my breathing. I'm a mess of sweat. God that hurt.

"Hk? Ron?" My scream woke up Rufus. It s a wonder why it didn't wake up the whole neighborhood.

"*ANF* I'm ok. Don't worry. *ANF* It was just a nightmare." My long time friend doesn't buy it. He knows me all too well. "Fine. It's just some pain. Don't sweat it. I'm doing it enough for the both of us." I get up from the bed. There is no way I'm going to get anymore sleep tonight. 3.00 AM. Wonderful. "get back to sleep, Rufus. I'm just going to the bathroom. No use in both of us losing our sleep. I mean it Rufus. It happened almost every night. Better get used to it."

"Hk. Sure?"

"Yeah. Just go back to sleep. Maybe I'll take some fresh air outside while I'm at it." He nods begrudgingly and goes back to sleep. I envy his ability to fall asleep on command. I wish I could do that.

Trying not to make any (further) noise I walk to the bathroom. I flip on the switch and look at myself in the mirror. Nice face. I look like I died. Oh wait I did. I remove the eyepatch before looking in the mirror again. What a sight. The scar is almost faded, but that empty space is not something you'd show around. Now I know how that guy in 'Fight Club' felt. No wonder he turned insane for the lack of sleep. Luckily I was crazy even before this shit happened. Right Tyler? /Yeah. We are such lucky ducks./

My pajama is all sticky. I need a shower. I strip and throw it into a corner. I'm about to remove my boxer when…

"Can't sleep?" I turn around to stare into her eyes. Not only I didn't lock the door. I left it wide open. I completely forgot about Marla err... Shego.

Oddly enough, with all the skin I have to cover, the empty orbit is the only place that my only hand wishes to hide. Somehow I'd feel more exposed if she saw it than 'Little Ronnie' down there.

"Ah. Uh. Yes. Uhmm. You too?" She smirks a little.

"Yeah. I always found difficult to sleep when someone is screaming like he's being skinned." I can't avoid the blush. Both for the fact that I woke her up and for the stupid question.

"Ah. Right. Didn't think about that. Sorry." She shakes her head.

"It's okay. I guess it can't be helped. Does it hurts? Sorry. Stupid question. Of course it does."

She steps forward. I'm too tired to question her until she grabs my hand and forcefully pull it away.

"No." I turn my head to hide it from her.

"Why are you hiding it?" I don't turn my face back to her while answering.

"Because… it's… I.. I don't know."

"Show me." Her voice is soft. Inviting. I never knew she could speak like this.

"No."

"You don't need to hide your scars. They are not proof of your weakness. They are medals for your strength." Somehow that's just what I needed to hear. I turn to look at her as she looks at me. We stare at each other for more than a few minutes.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I felt like it. Now, you were about to take a shower right?" I nod. "Go ahead. I'll bring you a change of clothes. I'll leave them just outside the door." I'd like to question her more about her behavior but that would be out of place. I close the door and get into the shower. The warm water on my skin is exactly what I needed to wash away the remnants of that nightmare. A few minutes later I step outside of the bathroom with a towel around my waist. As promised she left a change of clothes right there on the floor. I step back inside to dry myself ant to get dressed. Another ten minutes later I'm outside of the bathroom again. Where is Shego? I walk downstairs with only the sound of my bare feet accompanying me there. There she is, leaning against the counter with a cup of something that smells like chocolate for the both of us.

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah. For me?" I point at the cup. She nods. "Thanks." We sip the chocolate in silence. It takes a few minutes to finish the sweet, warm liquid.

"Do you think you can manage to sleep now?" If not for her tone I would believe that she's asking me not to wake her up again.

"… Yeah. Thanks. I needed that." She knows that I'm not talking about the chocolate. There is an impressive number of things you can tell without actually saying them. She leaves the kitchen to fetch the blanket I put over her before.

"No Ronald. Thank YOU." And without other words she climbs the stairs to the second floor and to her room. It takes me a whole minute to get the fact that she called my name for the first time ever.

I'm not exactly sure of what just happened between us. I think that I just saw a side of Shego she isn't too keen to show around. I'm not exactly sure of what prompted to show it to me, but I'm not going to look into it more than she allows me. Perhaps it's because I told her about 'The Jester'. Perhaps it was just a whim. Doesn't matter. I'm grateful for what she did. Since I've left the hospital everyone treated me like I'm made of crystal. She was the first to acknowledge my wounds with respect instead of pity. That means a lot.

I make my way back to my room. To go there I need to walk in front of her door. I stop right there. I'm tempted to push that door open. Did it ever happen to you the feeling that a seemingly unimportant choice could affect the outcome of your future? Because that's what I'm feeling right now, as I'm staring at the handle of her door. I know she didn't lock it. I just know it. She's testing me.

She TRUSTED me with something back there. Some kind of softness she usually keeps for herself. Right now, if I'd open this door, it would be like taking advantage of what she gave me. Nothing short of a rape. I'm not going to do it. I simply place my hand on the door and speak loud enough for her to hear.

"Thanks, Shego."

From there I simply walk back to my room and slip inside my bed. Rufus wakes up long enough to watch me getting back to sleep. Somehow I know that I won't wake up screaming again tonight.

Author Note:

Fine! Why don't you write yourself you damn chapter?

Honestly, things are getting out of hand. I'd like to take credit for the way this relationship is developing but I can't. This damn chapter basically wrote itself. Don't mistake me: I like it. I would have written it again otherwise. Ah well. Let us not look too much into it. I'm a genius like that. Let me know how you feel about it.

Coming next:

Interlude - Green – Night

(Yup, same as this chapter, guess why) before

Chapter 23 – Monday

Where the rest of the school comes into play. Be ready for Felix, Monique, Bonnie, Barkin, Josh and Brick to make their appearances (not necessarily in this order).

See ya!

PS: Oh, and if by any chance you have yet to see 'Fight Club' do me the favor to rent it and watch it. Three times at least.