Author's note:
Hey, everyone. I'm back and after only eleven days too (lol, what do I think this is, season one?). Anyway, I'm here all the same and have another chapter for you all to digest. Yep, at last we come to Kim and Shego's long-awaited next non-date :)
Thank you to everyone who has favourited this story thus far; it's just past the 100 mark! And thanks to everyone who has left me a review too.
At this point, I also need to say a special thank you to Celioxa, who helped my completely clueless brain figure out exactly what Kim and Shego are wearing in this chapter. For those of you who have visited her Instagram or Twitter pages since the last update and had a nosy around, you will have already seen the amazing drawings she has done of our lovely ladies in these particular outfits. However, for those of you that have not seen them, I'll provide the direct links below (just remove the apostrophes from around the word com.
Shego:
www . Instagram . 'com' /p/CJxITp6paz0/
www . twitter . 'com' /celioxa/status/1347366620000362499/photo/1
Kim:
www . Instagram . 'com' /p/CJOl8_rpPOW/
www . twitter . 'com' /celioxa/status/1342526948623474695/photo/1
Which brings us to the update. From the very start of season two, I've had this chapter in my head and it was titled Can we try it again; I even named it that in the closing authors' notes of my last two updates and made an allusion to it at the end of the last chapter. However, things occasionally change (such as a short Kim and Ann scene resulting in the longest chapter of the story thus far!) and so there has been a last-minute name change to, You can't always get what you want… This is the title and a lyric from a song by The Rolling Stones, which I now feel fits the events better than the previous title.
So, without any further delay, enjoy.
Chapter Twenty-three: You can't always get what you want
The day had been bright and warm, as opposed to yesterday's overcast drizzle and the sun was well on its way to the horizon, leaving behind a humid night air and clear sky. Kim Possible walked along the sidewalk with an air of trepidation about her, like she expected a villain to attack at any moment. This feeling was not unusual for her, at least not as far as anticipating a supervillain's sudden appearance went. After the events of her high school graduation, such attacks occurred somewhere in the world on a daily basis and whenever she went out, she always expected, no anticipated the beep from her Kimmunicator that would see her jet off into action once more. However, tonight was different and for two very important reasons, 1: for the second time that week, she'd taken the rare decision to leave her Kimmunicator at home and 2: her encounter with a supervillain was not so much inevitable as it was deliberate. Only this time, she had no intention of fighting them… ok, so that was only a half-truth. She loved to fight Shego and knew her rival reciprocated that feeling, hence she already half-expected the evening, should things go well, to end up in the Middleton High playing fields, where they would dance once more.
Memories of her last fight with Shego on her old school grounds filled Kim's head and she relaxed somewhat. There was a comforting security when it came to fighting Shego, or any other villain for that matter, in that she felt more in control of those deadly encounters than she did when encountering people in a social situation. Flashes of techniques being thrown back and forth between herself and her rival slowly began to calm her mind and she found her breathing start to regulate; having not even realised it had been slightly erratic. Before she knew it, she had reached the glass front door that sat beneath the loopy neon lettering that read: Spritzers.
Ok, Kim, you can do this, she breathed on reaching out a slightly shaky hand and gripping the long metal door handle, it's just drinks and a chat, her stomach rumbled; reminding her that she had not eaten since grabbing a snack during her hunt for the stolen vase in Lowerton, and food, definitely food. She opened the door and stepped inside, her eyes immediately scanning the room both for any sign of Shego and for any trouble that might be lurking; she found neither. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her phone and glanced at the time; 19:57, she was a few minutes early. Putting the device back, she headed through the light crowd of people towards the bar. Unwanted memories of how her last visit had ended filled her mind and she had to swat them away, I won't let things end that way this time. Even if she still doesn't want to be my friend, there is still the chance she might be willing to do this every once in a while. Her mind stopped in its tracks just as she reached the bar and she realised what she had just done. No, this is only drinks, a chat and some food. If I go into this looking for anything else, it's more likely to end in disaster.
Like before, Kim sat down on the black leather and chrome stool at the end of the bar and signalled the bartender. Now she just needed to wait for Shego to arrive.
##
The tires of the mad-science modified Honda Blackbird screeched as Shego threw it into a skid inside the parking lot; lining it up perfectly with the parking bay. While the bay that had become her somewhat usual spot had been taken by a red Toyota Yaris, she had easily found another. Guiding the blackbird forward, she cut the engine and kicked down the stand. Taking off her helmet, Shego gave her long raven hair a shake before stowing the green flame adorned headgear under the seat, which did not contain a hopping mad naked-mole-shark. By the time she had finished dressing and come back downstairs, Ru-Ru had cleaned the sofa to a satisfactory level, so she had left him watching the Underworld films; with some fresh snacks.
Shego's heels clicked on the asphalt as she walked away from the Blackbird. Given that she was meeting Kimmie, she'd made sure they were not too high for her to fight in. She smiled to herself at the thought of them returning to the Middleton High playing fields. Unless things end the way they did last time, there is a good chance we'll end up fighting tonight. If things go well, we end up back at the school field, if they go too far south, Spritzers gets trashed. Interestingly enough, it was that middle ground; where they just got pissed off enough at each other that one of them left that represented the worst-case scenario. If things were to end badly between them tonight, something she hoped to avoid, she'd rather it devolved into a proper fight. At least that way she'd get some measure of enjoyment and might even find Princess hunting her down, meaning she'd get to beat her up more than once.
Shego took a deep breath, no, not this time. While fighting her relentlessly might be fun for a while, I've already been down the road where she can't see anything but her anger for me and there's no guarantee that this time she wouldn't deliberately bring GJ down atop me and I am not going back to prison! She shook her head as she made her way down the sidewalk. Get a grip, Shego, you need to play this cool tonight and don't expect anything from her. All you're going to do is show her what is on offer and let her brain do the work while you have a few drinks and a chat with her. And while she will likely still be too scared to take the bait tonight, you will have planted the seed for the future. Her brain almost came to a crashing halt at that thought. She'd been so focused on getting tonight right, that she hadn't given any thought to the implication of her decision not to push for what she wanted. Fucking hell, if I'm serious about this, I'm signing myself up to continually socialise with Kim fucking Possible. How the hell did I get myself into this mess?
Shego froze with her hand outstretched; her fingers mere inches away from the metal handle of the glass door that led into Spritzers. Am I seriously about to do this? Spending one evening with her so I can help her out is one thing, but purposefully trying to get her to do it again, probably more than once, is an entirely different ball game. She's my rival; my nemesis for fuck sake, I shouldn't be doing this at all… through the glass, her eyes could see beyond the sparse crowd and found the hero's long flaming-red hair at the bar. Despite what she might try to tell herself, their relationship had long since transcended that of mere nemeses and become so much more complicated as a result. Like it or not, she could not deny that the two prior evenings she had spent in this bar with Kimmie had been the most fun she'd had outside of battling the hero in a long time. And that was before she even touched on the memories she had of the week they had spent as friends; when she had been Miss Go, or how she had felt when they had made-out inside the volcano lair.
This goes against virtually all the rules I set out for myself when I abandoned my old life and Shego became my sole persona. Her hand slowly began to move away from the handle; the small voice in the back of her head telling her that this was the right thing to do, that she should go home, forget about the past two months and allow her relationship with Kim to revert to its simple hero/villain dynamic. If I go home now, there is no chance of me getting hurt.
"But if you do that, you return to the same monotony that's been boring you for months now," she heard the voice of Miss Go say firmly, before the woman's tone changed to one of encouragement, "this is your chance to get out of the comfortable bear trap you put yourself into six years ago, take it."
Those few words of encouragement, which only a few weeks ago she would have fought against with everything she had, bolstered Shego's resolve and her hand gripped the metal handle and pulled the glass door open. And she was not sure if it were herself or the hero she was referring to when she had the thought, ready or not, here I come.
##
With a strawberry daiquiri sat in front of her, eight o'clock had come and gone. With each passing minute, Kim had slipped her hand into her pocket to check the time on her cell phone and slowly become more nervous and worried. To the point that she had gotten too hot and taken her shirt off and tied it around her waist. However, two minutes later, she'd become consciously aware that her bare shoulders were on display and hastily put the shirt back on.
What if she doesn't come? she had thought over and over inside her head, as she took small sips of her cocktail. Ironically, part of her mind liked that outcome. If Shego didn't turn up, then everything became a lot simpler. They would go back to their old hero/villain dynamic and that would be that. She'd feel hurt and probably as down about the whole thing as she had been when Miss Go had reverted to being Shego, but she'd get over it. However, the bulk of her mind desperately wanted, no needed her rival to show up. Like it or not, she still had a lot of questions that Shego hopefully had the answers to. Not to mention…
Kim swatted the thought away, drinks, a chat and some food, she reminded herself, that's it. She reached into her pocket to check the time again; 20:12. Shit… she's not coming… As the seconds ticked by, she began to feel increasingly hot again and so took a long drink of her cocktail, but it didn't help. So, the shirt came off again and she tied it around her waist once more, only she quickly started to feel self-conscious about it. Get a grip, Kim, it's only your shoulders… but what if it gives her the wrong impression. I should have just worn the baggy cargo pants and t-shirt…
At the entrance to the bar, Shego stepped across the threshold and immediately scanned the room. However, she needn't have bothered. She already knew the location of the most dangerous person in the place, apart from herself and was about to deliberately engage her. Casually, or as casually as she could manage, she sauntered through the thin crowd towards the bar. Even though there was light chatter coming from all directions, Shego could still make out the click of her heels on the floor, each one likened in her mind to a peal from the division bell, an indication that an important decision had to be made and she was making her choice.
This is what I want… isn't it? She immediately heard two voices inside her head; one saying yes, the other saying no. The latter sounded louder than she'd expected and conveyed within that singular word an urge for her to run. For her to turn around and leave before Kimmie even knew she was there and then to bury the memories of the past two months deep within the trash heap that consisted of everything prior to her villain days. Only the strength and conviction of the former kept her moving forward. Giving her the belief that she could do this, that the highs would be worth the risk of the lows, that she wanted to live, not simply exist. She drew up just behind the hero. As they say, bombs away.
"Hey, Kimmie, fancy seeing you here," Shego said, trying to inject a healthy dose of her normal sass into her tone but coming up short. A hollow laugh rang inside her head, damn, I'm genuinely nervous about doing this. Urgh, the last thing I need is for her to pick up on that.
The sound of her rival's voice from behind her made Kim jump and she automatically spun around on her stool to face her, part of her expecting an attack. However, the moment her eyes laid sight upon the green-skinned woman and her wide-open defence, the spark of adrenaline was quickly doused out by a torrent of nerves. "Hey," she replied, trying to sound calm, but hearing both the apprehension and relief in her own voice. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to show."
The second the hero's words reached her ears, Shego could tell the girl was nervous. She sounds as bad as I did. Heh, we're lucky none of the other supervillains are around, otherwise, we'd both lose our street cred. "It's called being fashionably late, Cupcake," she said, again aiming for full-on sass but missing the mark. Ok, I seriously need a strong drink, otherwise knowing my luck, she'll recover and put me on the back foot. "I thought you were well versed in that art these days, given how late you kept leaving it to show up and thwart Dr D," she added, trying to add a friendly dig to her comment, but quickly realising it sounded hammy. Jesus fucking Christ, Shego, get a grip of yourself.
While every one of her own nerves was on edge, Kim could still detect apprehension in her rival's voice. Holy crap, she sounds almost on edge as I am. What on earth has she got to be nervous about? "I'm a busy woman. Why would I possibly want to show up early to stop Drakken? To listen to him monologuing?" she said, returning the dig with one of her own. Making the joke helped to settle her slightly. Trading banter and petty insults while around Dr Drakken was safe territory for them. The only problem being that the mad-scientist was still safely locked away inside cellblock D, meaning they were without a chaperon.
Now that's a low blow, Princess. Unfortunately, no witty retort came to mind. Not caring if Kimmie considered her to have conceded the first point, she broke eye contact and turned to face the bar. "Yo, bartender," she said and as soon as she had the man's attention added, "get me an Aunt Roberta," quickly, before the man turned around, she added, "in fact, make that two."
On hearing her rival double her order, Kim said lightly, "I'm not going to dance with you unless you buy me a drink I actually like." Her own comment caused a memory of their first night in the bar and the 'Jesus Christ this thing's strong!' taste of the vodka martini to surface in her mind. The call back to that first social encounter added to the calming effect of her prior joke and she slowly felt herself begin to relax.
Shego turned to look at Kimmie as she replied, "don't worry, Princess, I'll spare the back of your throat Aunt Roberta's burn for now; these are both for me." Her eyes couldn't help but rove up and down the fiery-haired vixen. Even though the girl was still seated, she had a perfect view of her outfit. Short black boots with a similar-sized heel to her own encased Kimmie's feet and she didn't need to ask to know that it was in case they wound up fighting one another. Moving up her legs, the hero had gone for a pair of skinny black jeans with multiple rips across the knees and thighs, Around her waist, a red and navy checked flannel shirt was tied and while the knot covered some of it, Shego could still see Kimmie's naked midriff. A midriff left exposed by a long-sleeved black pullover, which also showed off the girl's shoulders and a slight bit of cleavage. The outfit had been finished with a plain black choker. Hmm, I don't recall the last time I saw you expose your midriff like that, Princess, not to mention the shoulders and light cleavage you've got on display. Did you wear that top just for me? She tried to push that thought out of her mind. I made it clear to her that this was drinks and a chat only… she chuckled internally, like what I'm wearing says that.
Kim watched as Shego's eyes looked her up and down, but the green-skinned woman's expression remained unreadable throughout. Crap, she's checking me out and I've no idea whether she likes what I'm wearing or not! The thought caught her off guard and she felt her cheeks begin to burn slightly. Dammit, Kim, focus. It doesn't matter what she thinks of you or what you're wearing, as this isn't a date. However, she struggled to shake that small part of her that wanted Shego to like her outfit. And soon she found her own eyes looking her rival up and down. Only there was not much to see. Aside from the short-healed black boots that stopped just above her knee, a thin short black coat, which came mid-way down the thighs, concealed the rest of the woman's outfit and Kim could not help but have the thought, is she wearing pants? A pair of gold teardrop earrings and matching necklace were the only other things she could see. "So, why do you need two drinks?" Kim eventually asked, ending the brief and slightly awkward silence that had hung between them.
"Because by the looks of that," Shego pointed to the cocktail glass, which contained the dregs of what she assumed had been a strawberry daiquiri, that sat in front of Kimmie, "I'm at least one behind already and as you pointed out the first time we were here, my tolerance for alcohol far exceeds yours." While both points were true, they would simply serve as a convenient excuse for her to drink the first of her cocktails quickly, so she could try and settle herself.
Kim's eyes followed Shego's gaze to her glass and only then did she realise that in her pent-up state, she'd virtually finished the drink while she'd been waiting on the woman to arrive. She was about to open her mouth to reply when they were interrupted by the bartender.
"Your drinks, Miss," the man behind the bar said and sat two glasses of dark amber liquid down in front of Shego.
"And another strawberry daiquiri for my," there was a brief moment of hesitation before Shego finished, "companion." She then quickly handed the money over to the man to prevent Kimmie from sneakily trying to pay for the drinks, like she had done on their first social encounter. While she waited for the man to mix her rivals cocktail, she took a long drink from her first Aunt Roberta and ignored the continual burn in the back of her throat. When eventually the man sat it down on the bar, she slid it over to Kimmie and gave her a wolfish smile. "There you are, Pumpkin, a drink you like, now you have to dance with me."
A grin formed on Kim's face, recalling she'd said something similar the first time they had drunk together and she did not hesitate to reach out a hand and pick up the glass. "Suites me fine, as it saves me having to buy you one."
The boldness of her rival's comment told Shego that her nerves had started to settle and that she needed to return fire quickly. Taking another long drink, she glanced around to make sure no one would overhear if she raised her voice ever so slightly and said, "so, how is my favourite newbie lesbian getting on?"
The woman's words hit Kim with a force akin to being punched in the gut by one of her green plasma wreathed fists and sounded as though they would have travelled to the four corners of the room with ease. Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened in horror as she stared dumbfounded at Shego. "W… w… why w…w… would y…y… you," she stammered. Oh, god, there is more than enough people here to recognise me and all it will take is one of them to talk to the press for a story about me being gay to hit the front of a tabloid by Monday at the latest. Her gaze began darting around to see the people who would undoubtedly be staring at her.
Shego would have been lying if she'd said she hadn't enjoyed the look of abject horror on the fiery-haired vixen's face at least slightly. However, she had a good reason for what she had just done. "Don't worry, Kimmie," she said in a reassuring tone and deliberately lowered voice, "I have no intention of outing you and if on nothing else, you can trust me on this." You might not believe me, Princess, but that's one thing I would never do.
Kim's heart rate and breathing slowly began to regulate as it dawned on her that not a single person had turned to look at her and the background chatter had remained as it was prior to Shego making her comment. She turned her olive-green gaze back onto the raven-haired woman. "Then why would you…" she began but was quickly cut off.
"Because it would have taken me about an hour plus a couple of drinks to find out what that one reaction just told me about where you are at," Shego answered.
Damn, you, Shego. What if someone had overheard? A sour expression formed on Kim's face, "you could have at least tried asking me normally."
"And you would have told me that you were fine, possibly even made out that you were doing great and were ready to start telling people," Shego said smoothly, and don't try to deny it.
Kim immediately tried to deny it. "Given I was the one who wanted to talk to you about it in the first place, if you had waited until we were seated and properly out of earshot of other people, I would have told you the truth," she said hotly, almost convincing herself.
Shego, however, was having none of it. "Yeah, right, Kimmie. You might have been the one who wanted to talk, but that doesn't change the fact that you're just as stubborn as I am and if it were roles reversed; with you asking me that question, I'd have tried to pretend that everything was great, as neither of us ever want to give ground to the other or admit we can't handle something by ourselves." She fixed her rival with a piercing stare that dared her to argue the point.
It burned Kim that Shego had been able to cut straight to the heart of the matter. Yet at the same time, that was also one of the reasons why she liked the woman; she understood her better than anyone else. However, that did not mean that she did not begrudge the woman the response, "fine, I might not have been entirely honest with you."
"Well, at least you're willing to admit it," Shego said with an air of amusement, before her tone turned serious. "However, if you want me to help you tonight, you'll need to zero your ego this one time. Otherwise, I might as well not bother."
Kim could see in her rival's eyes that she was serious and if she wanted the woman's help, this one time she would have to be completely open and honest. "You're right, Shego. I need your help on this, so if you need me to be honest with you, then I'll try my hardest." She let out a slightly forced laugh. "You might have to press me a couple of times, as you can't expect me to break a five-year habit in one night." Shit, is she going to construe that as me wanting to do this again?
Shego let out an evil laugh, "don't worry, Princess, I have ways of making you talk," and making your cheeks turn scarlet.
"Urgh, this isn't going to be the whole strap me to a table while an oversized death-ray laser zeroes in on my crotch again, is it?" Kim laughed. Did Drakken actually do that to me, or was that from one of Ron's stupid movies? She'd done so many missions over the years and been captured a fair number of times by the mad-scientist that she couldn't rightly remember all the overblown and ridiculously complicated ways he'd tried to kill her.
"Hey, I don't want to know what you and Dr D get up to when I'm not around," Shego replied in mock disgust, but a smile still formed on her lips regardless.
Kim grinned and before she could stop herself said, "why, jealous?" Amber warning lights started to flash inside her head to indicate the danger of a possible meltdown. Oh, shit! She's definitely going to take that as me flirting with her. This thought was quickly followed up by one of even greater concern. Oh shit! Did I just flirt with her? and she had a bad idea she knew the answer to that.
"Ha, me, jealous of Dr D, not a chance," Shego replied quickly, too caught up in the moment to properly think about the possible connotations of what her rival had just said. "Besides, we both know that blue is so not your colour. Green, on the other hand…" before she could stop herself, she flashed Kimmie a wink and the deliciousness of the hero's cheeks turning red was enough to suppress any thoughts of the order, 'what the hell are you doing?'
Cheeks now starting to burn once more, Kim's brain teetered on the brink of meltdown. Oh fuck, I think I did flirt with her and she definitely took it as that and now she's flirting back, at least I think she's flirting back, no, she is definitely flirting back, oh fuck she winked at me and… Oh God, now she's looking at me like she wants to devour me and I have no idea what to do or say, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap! Eventually, after a few seconds of simply staring at Shego's somewhat predatory expression, Kim did the only thing she could. Breaking eye contact, she picked up her strawberry daiquiri and virtually buried her face in it as she took a long slow drink to try and calm herself down enough to think straight. I need to get a grip and fast. I can't take back what I said… and I'm not sure I want to… shit, I am in way over my head here. She stopped drinking and took as deep a breath as she dared that would not be noticed by her rival. Ok, Kim, best thing to do is to concede the point and change the subject. Her brain was about to ask the question, 'to what', when her eyes, which were still focused on her cocktail, provided the answer. "So, should we get forfeit bottles?"
The sheer cuteness of Kimmie's embarrassment sparked a green fire inside Shego and she knew she would find the hero hard to resist. Damn, she is adorable and that was only after one comment and a wink. What on earth is she going to be like when I remove my coat? However, that begged the question, is Kimmie actually into me? I mean I think she was flirting with me, but I thought the same last time and look how badly that turned out… but this time she knows that she's gay. She shook her head internally, don't jump to conclusions, Shego, play this cool, remember. She allowed her rival the space to drink enough strawberry daiquiri to sink a ship and when she finally heard her response, it reminded her that they were here for a reason. "No forfeit bottles tonight, as we're not playing a game. If you don't want to answer a question, that's up to you, but the less you talk, the fewer answers you'll get, simple."
It came as somewhat of a relief to Kim, to know that Shego was taking this seriously. I don't think I could have coped if she'd invited me out here just so she could mock me for being a clueless noob of a lesbian. "Ok," she breathed, feeling a little of the tension that had ratcheted up inside her because of the possibly intentional flirting ebb. "Our usual spot is free," she indicated towards the booth in the far corner that they had used on their two previous visits; it would give them plenty of privacy, "why don't we go sit down and if your hungry, order some food." Please say your hungry, as I'm on edge enough as it is without adding the awkwardness that eating by myself will bring. To supplement her trouble, at the mention of food, her stomach chose that moment to grumble loudly.
"Ha, your stomach sounds like Ru-Ru when he's hungry and I refuse to give him a snack because I'm about to make dinner," Shego laughed. "However, I did say drinks, conversation and maybe some food, so dinner it is."
"Hey, my stomach does not sound like Ru-Ru!" Kim said indignantly, but couldn't stop herself from laughing when her stomach rumbled again. "Fine, so maybe it sounds a bit like that sneaky little sod, but only because I've only had time to grab a quick snack since breakfast; twelve hours ago."
"Then I guess we had better feed you, otherwise all I'm going to get from you is Rah-Rah-Rah." They both laughed and Shego drained the last of her first Aunt Roberta and picked up the second one. "Do you want to order another drink before we sit down?"
Kim glanced at her now somewhat empty second strawberry daiquiri, damn I drank that fast. However, even though she'd had nearly two full cocktails in half an hour, her body reported that she still felt surprisingly sober. I guess this is how mom must have felt the other night when she drank half a bottle of wine but said she still felt quite sober. "Sure," she replied and then in an effort to regain some measure of control over proceedings, added, "but I'm buying this time. What do you want?"
"Get me a Long Island iced tea," Shego said, purposely dropping down a few rungs on the list of most alcoholic cocktails. If I keep knocking back Aunt Roberta's I'll need to use my glow to sober myself up before we even start talking about lesbian stuff.
Kim signalled the barman and while she waited on him to finish serving another customer, asked, "so, how is Ru-Ru? Does he try to steal your toaster tarts too?"
Shego gave her rival a sideways look, "seriously, Kimmie, toaster tarts?"
"What?" Kim replied incredulously. "I'd just inadvertently sent you to jail and discovered that I'm…" she paused abruptly and found herself unable to say the words, 'I'm gay', so instead went with the ambiguous, "…you know. It was a lot to deal with and I wanted comfort food."
"So, while I was spooning cold porridge into my mouth like a zombie, you were scoffing toaster tarts. Nice to know what your priorities were," Shego said in mock offence, still counted herself fortunate that Kimmie had decided to bust her out of jail in the first place.
"You're lucky I got you out at all," Kim hissed, ensuring her voice was so low that her rival would only just hear her words. "However, I'd rather we didn't mention that escapade in public."
There was a slight edge to Kimmie's tone and Shego knew that it would be for the best if this was one thing she did not push the hero's buttons over. So, she quickly returned to the original question, "Ru-Ru knows better than to try and steal my breakfast. However, he came close to becoming a barbecued naked-mole-shark while I was getting ready to go out, as he stomped all over a pile of savoury snacks atop my sofa when the satellite signal cut out during World of Cheese."
Kim burst out laughing and did not need to ask, "seriously?" to picture Ru-Ru doing just that.
"You had him living with you for a week and a half, I'm sure he lost his temper at least once per day during that time," Shego said with a grin. "What did you do with him when he stole your toaster tarts?"
A wicked smile formed on Kim's face as she recalled what had happened that morning. "After I'd grabbed him and he'd bitten me to escape, I fetched my claw-grabber grapple and infrared sunglasses and went naked-mole-shark hunting. I eventually caught him hiding inside one of my kitchen pots and shot the back of it with the grapple. I then trapped him underneath it until he ran out of energy trying to beat his way out."
Shego laughed, "that sounds about right. I bet he caused you more trouble in that week and a half than Rufus intentionally did in all the time you were around him."
"Something like that." Kim had to break off the conversation when the bartender approached her. "Can I get two Long Island iced teas and some menus over at that booth in the corner when you get a sec," she indicated the empty booth she and Shego were about to take up residence in, "please and thank you." When the man nodded, she paid for the drinks and turned back to Shego, "shall we?"
"Lead on, Princess," the green-skinned woman replied and smiled internally. Let's see how you handle things when I take off my coat.
Glass in hand, Kim hopped down from her stool and led the way across the front of the bar and to the back of the room. Ok, apart from the fact we were both nervous at the start and that one minor slipup where I may or may not have accidentally flirted with her, everything seems to be going fine, great even. It's almost like everything that's happened in-between the last time we were here and now hasn't… only it has and I need to deal with the fact I now know I'm a lesbian and everything that involves, including how I might feel about... she forced her mind to bury that thought. I can't focus on that right now; I need to get some of my questions answered first. When she reached the booth, Kim picked a side and slid into it.
Shego deliberately allowed Kimmie to get several steps ahead of her before she started to follow her. Ok, Cupcake, let's see how much you blush this time. Slowly she sauntered after the girl, ensuring every aspect of her walk radiated sexuality. While the hero had her back to her at present, with any luck, the fiery-haired vixen would sit down and turn to look at her and see her approach before she stopped to take off her coat. She took a few more steps, meanwhile, Kimmie did as expected and sat down. Now be a good girl and turn around to look at me…
When Shego did not immediately slide in opposite her, Kim turned to locate her rival and caught sight of her slithering towards her like a green flame dancing in a light breeze. The green-skinned woman stopped and then casually bent over slightly to place her glass on the table; flashing her a wicked smile. Oh God, she's… the thought died in her mind and her eyes widened as the woman straightened, tossing her mane of raven hair and casually undid the knot in the black belt that held her coat closed. The two halves of the garment parted just enough for Kim to catch a glimpse of something dark green before Shego turned her back on her and slowly slipped it off to reveal the short-sleeved romper in full; casting the coat into the booth. However, if she had thought her eyes wide before, it was nothing compared to how they must have looked when the green-skinned woman turned back around to face her and she saw the outfit from the front. Stopping a bit before the midpoint of Shego's thighs, the dark green romper had a triangular cut-out below her breasts, which displayed some of her toned midriff. Ample cleavage could also be seen in the deep V-neck. The outfit was complemented by a dark brown cord belt, which had a gold ring and finishings and a thin woven cord bracelet on her left wrist. Holy… she's… words failed to materialise in Kim's mind that adequately described someone that looked more beautiful and divine than anything she'd seen in her life thus far.
Shego drank in the expression, which was a mix of astonishment and awe, that covered Kimmie's face. Looks like someone's just had their first seriously gay moment. Heh, either that or I just look that good. Allowing the flaming-haired vixen a few more seconds to stare wide-eyed at her, she finally sat down and said, "so, Kimmie…"
The words jolted Kim out of her transfixed state and reminded her far too much of the two occasions in the past where Shego had kissed her on the cheek. And like a patient that had just had their heart jump-started, she jerked back to life and her gaze shot up from where it had lingered and met with a pair of knowing emerald eyes and a mischievous grin.
"…are you going to deny that you were checking me out this time too?" Shego finished airily. Oh, go on, Kimmie, you do look ever so cute when you get embarrassed.
When her brain finally managed to process what her rival had just said, Kim's cheeks burned so brightly they could have been used to guide ships safely into port on the darkest of nights. "I…I…I w…w…wasn't…" she stammered but utterly failed to complete the sentence, in part because of how embarrassed she felt but also because she knew she had been trying to spout a complete and utter lie.
That's my girl, Shego thought and allowed herself a moment or two to enjoy the fruits of her labour before she finally said, "Kimmie, what did we say about you being open and honest with me tonight?"
Kim sucked in a few shallow breaths and her hand immediately shot out and grabbed the stem of her cocktail glass. Plucking it from the table surface, she quickly drained what remained of the contents. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, she looks amazing and what's worse is that I know she looks amazing and she knows I know. When she ended up drinking only air out of her glass, she took a deep breath and cursed herself for having not waited at the bar until the barman had made their Long Island iced teas. Dammit, I don't have a choice but to admit it. "Ok, I was checking you out," Kim finally stammered, feeling the furnaces behind her cheeks getting stoked further. "But can you blame me? You're the first woman I've seen dressed in something so… so…" it took her a moment before she was able to force herself to say, "so sexy, since I discovered that I liked girls."
"So, you think I look sexy, Princess," Shego replied, her grin widening, "good to know." Oh, Kimmie, I could toast marshmallows on your face, however, I bet they wouldn't taste half as delicious as you.
"I didn't… I mean that wasn't…" Kim stammered before throwing her head back against the soft leather of the booth, "argh!"
"Don't worry about it, Kimmie," Shego laughed lightly. "You're a baby gay, so you were bound to have a moment like this sooner or later," I just made sure it happened when you were with me. "I'm actually surprised you didn't take a peek at me when I undressed in your car the other night."
The sound of her rival making light of the situation caused Kim to refocus her gaze upon her and her heart felt like it might start to slow down. That was until the green-skinned woman caught her completely off guard with the comment regarding the drive back to Middleton from the penitentiary. While Shego clearly did not know that she had sneaked a glance at her while she had changed, given Kim's current state of disarray, simply mentioning the event was enough to jack up her embarrassment level to new heights. And as an image of Shego's naked breasts, with their large dark green nipples, formed in her mind, she could feel beads of sweat begin to form on her forehead and her eyes could no longer hold the woman's piercing emerald gaze and she immediately became flustered.
The shifty look in the fiery-haired vixen's olive-green eyes was enough to tell Shego immediately that she'd struck gold. "HA! You actually did, didn't you!" she exclaimed loudly and burst out laughing. Through tears of hilarity at the look of sheer mortification that formed on the hero's face, she managed to add, "Kim Possible, world saviour and peeping Tom!"
The sound of Shego's laughter at her humiliation finally caused Kim to snap. "I couldn't help it, ok! You literally took off all your clothes while I was still driving!"
"You could have averted your gaze or closed your eyes," Shego challenged, her tone still dripping with amusement. "Not only were we on a straight road, but you spent a lot that trip, prior to me falling asleep, looking at me while we spoke. So, I'm willing to bet that car of yours can drive itself."
Kim opened her mouth to argue but already knew that she had lost yet another point. "Ok, fine, so I got curious, big deal. You were the first naked woman I'd seen since discovering that I liked girls. Are you happy?"
Before she could stop herself and in what she later could only assume had been an attempt to make Kimmie feel even more uncomfortable, Shego flashed her rival a hungry look and replied, "I'll be happy when you let me level the score and look at your gorgeous naked body." The moment the words left her mouth they rang in her own ears and she clamped a metaphorical hand over her mouth.
Kim and Shego stared at one another and both had the exact same thought, oh shit!
Shego's mind immediately launched into 'beat herself up' mode. Why the fuck did I just say that? Urgh! Shego, you are such an idiot! Why do you always have to take things a step to far? You knocked it out the park with your outfit, elicited a whopper of a gay moment from her and because you can't keep your stupid mouth shut and play something cool, she's going to be like a rabbit staring at a wolf. URGH!
Oh, God! Shego wants to see me naked and it's not just to level the score. That almost predatory look in her eyes… she still wants to sleep with me. The last time they had been in Spritzers, it had only been after she had safely gotten home that it had properly sunk in that Shego had wanted to sleep with her. However, this time around, Kim knew exactly what her rival meant and the entire prospect of it, of sleeping with someone, with that someone being another woman and that woman being Shego, was too much for her to deal with and she needed to remove herself from the situation. "I need to use the restroom," she said quickly and without waiting for a response, rose from the table and hurried off.
And there she goes. She'll hide in there for a couple of minutes and then either come back with some phoney excuse as to why she has to leave or, more likely, simply sneak out. Shego grabbed her second Aunt Roberta from the table and practically poured the alcohol down her throat. Well done, Idiot.
##
Kim stood in the restroom, head hanging over the sink, knuckles white as she gripped the porcelain rim, heart in her mouth as her breaths came in ragged pants. Come on, Kim, you need to focus. You need to get your breathing under control… but Shego wants to sleep with me. Images of what occurred back in the volcano lair flashed through her mind and dug up the twin feelings of lust and desire she'd experienced in such vast quantities for the first time in her life. I would have slept with her right there and then if those generators hadn't of blown. That thought served only to kick her heart rate up and for her panted breaths to become even sharper. I would have slept with her and I don't have the first clue about how lesbians even have sex.
As the memories of her brief make-out session began to intensify, Kim did the only thing she could; turned on the tap, cupped her hands under it and splashed as much water as she could onto her warm face. The sudden chill from the water succeeded in pulling her firmly back to the here and now and she gasped loudly. Slowly she began to calm down and regain some semblance of control over herself. I can't change what happened in the volcano lair, not the fact that I made out with Shego nor the fact that those generators blew when they did and ruined the moment. Kim did not know which of those two events bothered her more; a testament to how torn she'd been over the issue ever since she'd started thinking about it and exactly why she'd tried to avoid doing so for so long. But what the hell am I supposed to do now? She was the one who said this was supposed to be drinks, conversation and food only, yet she goes and dresses in something so damn sexy and… she threw her head into her hands, URGH! Why did she have to complicate things?
Slowly Kim began to pace back and forth and quietly counted herself fortunate that none of the other patrons had walked in on her thus far. Right, she still wants to sleep with me, that much is clear. But I can't sleep with her… I've never slept with anyone before, not even Ron… but then again Ron's a boy and I'm a lesbian, so it makes perfect sense that I didn't sleep with him. But that doesn't mean it's ok for me to sleep with the first woman that wants to jump into bed with me. Not to mention that woman is Shego, which just makes the situation so much more complicated.
Glancing to her right, she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror; of her bare shoulders and midriff. Dammit, is this my fault? Did I dress too provocatively? Her mind quickly found itself back in her wardrobe. And I even contemplated wearing something with even more sex appeal. Urgh, I should have just come out in the baggy cargo pants and t-shirt… but then I would have looked like a complete and utter piece of garbage next to her… The image of Shego, dressed in her short green romper and boots floated lightly into her mind and she could not deny how sexy she thought her rival looked. Face facts, she looks absolutely gorgeous and maybe I thought about dressing to impress her too… she looked at herself again in the mirror, ok, so maybe I still did dress with the hope of catching her eye a little. But at the most my outfit says, "I might be open to kissing you… once," not, "let's sleep together." Argh, why did this have to become so complicated!
Kim threw her head into her hands and it took her several moments of internal cursing before she could try and rationalise things again. I'm not ready to sleep with anyone, especially not Shego, she thought firmly. Unfortunately, as concreate a decision as that was, it left her in exactly the same spot she'd been in the last time Shego and herself had spent the evening together in Spritzers. Her rival wanted to sleep with her, whereas she just wanted to be friends with the woman. Kim let out a deflated sigh, I know we agreed on drinks and conversation only, but I had thoughts about this possibly being a second opportunity for us to try and be friends, so maybe since she now knows that I am lesbian, Shego couldn't help but think this might have been another opportunity for us to sleep together. So, I have to go out there and be honest with her, as if this goes on any further, we're going to end up hating one another again and that's the worst possible outcome.
Mind made up; Kim wiped the remaining water droplets from her face before heading back out of the restroom. She had a bad feeling about what was about to transpire but knew she had to set the record straight.
##
It had been an uncomfortable few minutes, during which a waiter had arrived with their Long Island iced teas and some menus. And all Shego had done was internally beat herself up over having been so damn stupid. Why on earth did I make that fucking stupid comment about wanting to see her naked? How else was she going to take it? I might as well have slipped my romper down to my ankles to reveal a ten-inch strapon and told her to bend over. URGH! I am such a moron. In fact, that was Drakken level moronic!
Snatching her glass from the table, Shego took a long drink from her new cocktail. With the speed she'd drank the second Aunt Roberta, she had almost been surprised that her glow had not activated and burned off the alcohol, given how strong they were. However, it had transpired that the volume inside the glass had not been enough for her alien superpower to count it as a mass influx of a toxin.
The minutes continued to tick by, but with no sign of Kimmie emerging from the restroom. Prft, I'd be surprised if she even bothers to come out. There's a window in that bathroom that would make for an easy escape. In fact, by now, she's probably already a block or two away. At that thought, Shego tore her gaze away from the restroom door and stared at the empty booth opposite her; taking in the two Long Island iced teas. Might as well drink both of these myself and then head home, as I'm not sitting here to eat alone. Maybe I'll grab some take-out food on the way. Then I can sit on the sofa beside my naked-mole-shark and get drunk while he watches violent vampire films.
A shadow fell across the table and Shego turned her gaze to tell whoever had chosen to loiter beside her to fuck off, only for the words to die on her tongue. "Kimmie," she finally managed to say on taking in the slender build, flaming-red hair and bright olive-green eyes. However, this did not immediately give her cause to celebrate. Ok, so she didn't go out the restroom window, but I bet I'm about to get the phoney excuse instead.
When her gaze finally fell on Shego's face, Kim could see the surprise written on it. She didn't expect me to come back. Heh, I guess the window in the restroom would have been the obvious way for me to escape if I'd wanted to. Interestingly enough, it was only now that she thought about it, that she realised that it had never even crossed her mind. But then again, she was Kim Possible and the recent revelation about her sexuality aside, she didn't run from anything.
Kim carefully sat back down in the booth, not failing to notice that their drinks had arrived while she had been gone. She took a deep breath, ok, here we go again. "Shego, before this goes any further there's something I have to say."
From the tone of the hero's voice, Shego knew her rival was being serious, however, the content of her words, combined with the fact she'd sat back down, did not immediately say, 'I'm fucking off and here's a horseshit explanation as to why'. Still not trusting that her tongue wouldn't screw things up, she took a sip from her glass and allowed Kimmie to continue.
"I know that you want to sleep with me…" Kim said before taking an agonising pause. Part of her wished she did not have to say what came next, that if sleeping with Shego would be enough to gain the woman's friendship she might genuinely consider it, however, she knew she was just not ready for that sort of thing. "…but I can't have sex with you," she finally uttered in a deflated voice. "I just want to be your friend." In hindsight, she probably could have phrased the whole thing a lot better.
Whatever Shego had been expecting Kimmie to say, that had not been it. And her brain did not have time to properly process the hero's words before it latched onto that final part and fired back the same response, that for the longest time, she'd been so used to shooting at anyone who'd ever tried to befriend her, "I don't do friends."
Even though she had been prepared for it this time, the bite in Shego's tone still hurt and Kim lowered her gaze. "I know," she replied dejectedly. Even though she had not really expected a different result, she'd not anticipated the finality of the situation to hurt this much. While she'd had none of her questions answered, Kim now knew she could not do this. If her relationship with Shego would simply be that between hero and villain from this point on, then she could not put herself through an evening with the woman; knowing that was all that awaited her on the other side. Before her rival had the chance to reply, Kim got to her feet. "I'm sorry I wasted your time," she said and hastily stepped out of the booth and headed towards the exit.
##
Author's note:
Thank you to everyone for taking the time to read this story and for all the reviews, follows and favourites that you have all left for me, it has meant so much to me over the past ten months.
Warmest regards
K1G0
