Author's note:
Ok, so second chapter. This time, the title; I rise, looking through my morning eyes. Surprised, to find you by my side, is a lyric from the Pink Floyd song Stay... and you'll quickly see why I chose it. Enjoy
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Chapter twenty-six: I rise, looking through my morning eyes. Surprised, to find you by my side
The warm rays of the morning sun had started to creep over the top of the Middleton High School building when a low rumbling sound made its way across the playing fields. Obnoxious and downright disrespectful to an otherwise bright and peaceful Sunday morning, the din reached the ears of two individuals who lay sprawled out atop the grass, causing one of them to stir.
What the hell? Shego thought, through the pounding of a headache; the offending rumbling sound serving only to aggravate it. Opening her eyes a crack felt like she had just stared directly into the sun and so she promptly closed them again. Urgh, I haven't felt this hungover since I drank that bottle of tequila after that first night in Spritzers with Kimmie. And what the hell is that damn noise? Has Ru-Ru found something new and annoying to watch on TV? At the thought of home, she wracked her brain but could not recall how she had gotten there. However, it did not take her too long, given how she currently felt, to deduce that, unless I walked or took a cab, there is no way I could have gotten home without sobering up, which I clearly didn't do. Moving her left hand, she felt it brush through something that felt distinctly like grass, confirming the theory that she had not gone home. Which begs the question, where the hell am I… and what happened to Kimmie? It was on finally having that thought, that Shego became aware of the warm body pressed against her own and that her right arm was draped over.
Oh, holy shit! The thought was so loud that it almost escaped from the woman's green and black lips. Not even thinking about the aggravation to her headache, Shego's eyes snapped open to reveal a mane of flaming-red hair. Automatically, she snatched her right arm out of Kimmie's grasp and shifted her body back a few inches. Fuck, I spent the night cuddled into someone… I spent the night cuddled into Kimmie! And crashed out on the Middleton High playing fields no less! That latter part was of little consequence, for the location did not change what she had done. Immediately she felt the urge to scramble to her feet and bolt. She could ignite her glow on route to the Blackbird, head straight for home and forget the entire thing had happened. And seven weeks ago, she would have done just that.
On feeling the arm she had been snuggling suddenly withdrawn from her grasp, Kim let out a low moan, "no, that's my Pandaroo, you can't have it!"
Kimmie's words reached Shego's ears over the rumbling sound; which had grown steadily louder and combined with how downright cute the hero looked in her sleep, compelled her to stay. Reaching a hand back out, she shook the girl's shoulder and hissed, "Kimmie, wake up."
"Noooo," Kim moaned, "give Pandaroo back."
"Kimmie," Shego said, more forcefully this time and gave the girl's shoulder a firmer shove, "get your lazy ass up!"
The second shake of her shoulder served as enough of a shock that Kim's eyes opened and she immediately winced when they were flooded with sunlight, "argh!" Finding that her head too was throbbing, she promptly shut them again. After the sharp spike of pain ebbed, she managed to conjure up the thought, what the… where am I? And was that… she was stopped dead in her tracks by the sound of another voice she knew oh so well.
"Alright, what in the name of all that is sacred is going on here?" a man's voice boomed.
Her attention having been focused on Kimmie, Shego had failed to notice that the rumbling noise had stopped and that a broad figure, who now cast a looming shadow over them, had approached. Shit, who the fuck is that? It doesn't matter, we just need to pick ourselves up and leave. "We were just…" she began and then paused as she fumbled for something plausible.
The loud nature of the man's voice caused Kim to wince. However, while her rival struggled to come up with her explanation, she couldn't help herself and blurted out a question that she did not need answering, "Mr Barkin?" She then struggled to look at the man. "What are you doing here?"
"That's groundskeeper Barkin to you," the man replied. "Me and Stephanie over there," he pointed over his shoulder to a red ride-on lawnmower, "we mow these playing fields every Sunday morning during the…" he paused, as though his brain had only just realised something. "Wait a second… Possible!" Barkin then boomed in exactly the same manner as he had done when confronting Kim about her often 'unconventional' behaviour, during her time at Middleton High. "What are you doing lounging around on my playing field at eight am on a Sunday morning?"
"Would you believe we were sunbathing?" Kim cringed, saying the first thing that came to mind and sounding very much like she had done during her high school years when she had been caught in a compromising situation by the vice-principle.
Irritated that Kimmie had chosen to engage the man instead of attempt a quick getaway, not that they would have been capable of doing so, Shego chose to try and pick herself up with the intention of still trying to do just that. Her head swam when she moved and she staggered slightly as she straightened up.
"Well, the lack of suitable bathing attire and towels I could look past," Barkin droned, before leaning over slightly, hands on hips and fixing Kim with a penetrating stare, "however, I've got one question for you, Possible; where's your bottle of sunscreen?"
Given the singular detail Barkin had chosen to zero in on was the apparent lack of a bottle of sunscreen, Shego quickly replied, "my skin condition means that I don't burn in the sun, so I technically don't need any." Had she not been hungover, she might have elected not to draw attention to her green skin.
"That may well be the case, Ma'am," Barkin replied, his gaze still focused on Kim. "But Miss Possible here is a redhead and redheads are liable to burn to a crisp on a day like today without adequate sun protection. And if there is one thing I make sure my students learn before they leave Middleton High, it's proper sun protection."
"Then I'd best take her to go get some," Shego replied quickly and reached out a hand to help Kimmie up. "Come on, Kim, we'd better get you to a pharmacy right away."
Kim took the offered hand and allowed her rival to help her up onto her feet, albeit shakily; the motion also causing her stomach to unsettle. "Guess I should go and get that sunscreen. Thanks for the reminder, Mr Barkin." She moved to hastily escape with Shego, though in actuality it was more of a sluggish stagger, but felt a firm hand catch her on the shoulder.
"Not so fast, Possible. You still haven't told me what you're doing out on my playing field?" Groundskeeper Barkin demanded. When she turned to face him, the man then added with a sideways look, "those evil space aliens aren't back again, are they?"
"No, no Lorwardian's today," Kim replied, hoping that putting the man's mind at ease about a possible return of the aliens would allow her to evade the actual question.
Desperate to now get out of the blinding sun and away from its headache aggravating rays, Shego took one glance at her rival and said, "Kimmie, I think your skin's already starting to turn red, we need to…"
"Hold on just one minute," Barkin then boomed, cutting Shego off as his gaze once more fell upon her, "I recognise you."
It was only on hearing the man say it, that Kim gave any thought to the possibility that her old teacher might be able to recognise her rival. Oh shit!
"I doubt it," Shego replied quickly, "I'm from out of town."
"I'm not often mistaken about a face," Barkin said and gave the green-skinned woman a studious look as he scratched his chin. "Wait a second, I do know you…"
Kim quickly found her heart in her mouth. Oh no! I don't want to fight Mr Barkin, but I might not have a choice. Yet even if I do, that won't stop him going to the police about having seen Shego with me after we escape!
"…you're that supply teacher we had for a week two years ago; Miss Go…" Barkin continued.
Kim let out a low breath, holy crap, that was close. However, Barkin had just conjured in her mind a prime example in regards to what could potentially happen if she were seen with Shego by someone who knew her well.
"…Stole my heart and then broke it in the space of five days." Barkin then let out a sigh, "fun times."
"It just wasn't the right thing for me at the time, Steven," Shego then said quickly, recalling the man's preferred choice of forename and figuring this may be one of those rare situations where it would be easier for her to charm her way out of.
As she had hoped, Shego's words caused the vice-principles eyes to light up. "Do you mean to say we might be able to rekindle our old flame?" Barkin asked in his rarely used charming voice.
It took Shego great effort, in part owing to having a hangover but also due to how much she reviled doing so, to giggle and then say in Miss Go's chirpy voice, "oh you," her words accompanied with the obligatory ditsy flick of her hand. "Tell you what, if I decide to stay in Middleton, I'll give you a call and maybe you can take me rollerblading sometime. How does that sound?"
"I'd like that very much, Miss," Barkin replied.
Seeing that Shego seemed to have somehow gotten the situation under control, Kim elected to remain quiet and let her handle it. However, even though she knew the entire thing was a charade, she could not help but feel a tad jealous. Something for her to ponder once she got rid of her hangover, assuming she remembered.
"Great," Shego said, still using her Miss Go voice. "However, I do need to get Kimmie to the pharmacy for that sunscreen. I can't have my favourite student getting burnt because I brought her out here last night to stargaze and we fell asleep. That wouldn't be very responsible of me now, would it?"
"You like to stargaze?" Mr Barkin asked, now sounding lovestruck.
"Of course," Shego answered, "but we can talk all about that later. Right now, I've got to look after my student."
"Right you are, Miss," Barkin said before turning to Kim, "make sure you use factor-fifty on that pale skin of yours, Possible."
"I will do, Mr Barkin. Goodbye," Kim said.
"Bye, Steven," Shego added and quickly began leading Kim away.
"Goodbye to both of you," Mr Barkin said as they began to walk away. The man then called after them, "and always remember, Possible, sunburn fades, sun damage lasts."
It was only when they had safely navigated their way out of the playing fields and around the building to the sidewalk, that Kim and Shego's gazes met and they burst out laughing.
"I can't believe you managed to get us out of that," Kim exclaimed in amazement.
"What can I say, I'm a woman of many talents," Shego replied with a smirk, her voice once more restored to its normal sassy tone. "I don't really need to take you to get some sunscreen, do I, Princess?"
Kim laughed. "Nope. I got the best of my parent's genes. While I have mom's awesome hair colour, like dad, I don't burn too easily in the sun. Heh, I'm just Kimpossible."
Shego groaned on hearing the pun for the zillionth time and chose to quickly return to the original point of conversation. "Personally, I find it hilarious that Stevie-boy recognised me as a substitute teacher whom he knew for only one week, rather than the supervillainess who helps Dr Drakken try to take over the world, given this outfit is definitely not from Miss Go's wardrobe. I guess it goes to show that even people who have met me don't even recognise me for who I actually am."
"Mr Barkin might not have recognised you, but both my family," she paused on realising that the word friends did not quite apply to Ron, Monique and Wade anymore, however, used it anyway, "and friends definitely will. We need to be careful about where we go and who might see us when we're in Middleton."
"Afraid they might turn you into the cops?" Shego asked with a grin.
Kim thought for a moment, before replying, "I'm not sure what they might do, but I'd rather we didn't have to find out." She then chose to revisit the prior topic of conversation, as a thought came to her, "so, given that you're a lesbian, why on earth did you go on that date with Mr Barkin when you were Miss Go?"
Shego let out a second groan upon hearing the question and did not immediately reply. It still burns me; the fact I did that and even I don't know the exact reason why. She felt a flash of anger at herself over the event and it leaked into her reply, "I don't know."
"Seriously?" Kim pressed; unphased by the bite in Shego's tone and feeling there had to be some sort of explanation for why her rival had gone on that date with her former vice principal.
"Seriously," Shego confirmed, meeting Kimmie's gaze with a firm one of her own. "That damn attitudinator completely screwed with my head. It could have messed up my romantic, sexual and cocktail preferences for all I know. Hell, it even messed up my glow control a bit. Don't you remember that I accidentally incinerated that plate when trying to re-heat one of the Tweebs breakfasts? The only way I would have found out everything that it messed up would have been to have lived as Miss Go for longer. I just count myself fortunate that she was such a peppy prude."
"So, nothing happened between you and Steven then?" Kim asked with a slight grin, although she again felt that slight pang of jealousy.
"Don't even joke about that, Kimmie!" Shego replied hotly and then visibly shuddered. "I don't even want to think about that."
Kim silently agreed. The idea of Shego and Mr Barkin doing… well, anything, felt completely abhorrent. Hence, she decided to move swiftly on from the topic and to the matter at hand, "so what do we do now? I don't know about you, but I am hungover. My head hurts like hell and I feel a bit nauseous."
"It's not just you when it comes to the headache, Princess," Shego said, her rival's words reminding her of the dull throb in her own head. "However, I don't have nausea." She laughed lightly, "heh, guess my tolerance for alcohol is still much higher than yours." A smile then formed on her lips. "How about we grab some breakfast Mimosas?"
The thought of ingesting more alcohol caused Kim's stomach to churn and her face turned almost as green as her rival's. "Oh god, no," she blurted out; suppressing a wretch. She did not care that she'd conceded the point without any sort of a fight.
While she had been joking about them finding somewhere that would serve them Mimosas with breakfast, Kimmie did not need to know that and so she claimed the point. "Don't worry, Cupcake, we'll work on upping your tolerance." A wicked smirk then formed on her lips. "Maybe someday you'll be able to do the cocktail alphabet challenge with me."
"Cocktail alphabet challenge?" Kim asked, however, from the name, she already had a bad feeling about what it would entail and it served only to further unsettle her stomach.
"It's a challenge where we drink one cocktail for each letter of the alphabet," Shego said simply and then waited for what she knew would be an amusing response from her rival.
"A cocktail for each letter of the alphabet!" Kim cried incredulously; her mouth falling open.
"Yep. Personally, I'd start with something like the Aperol spritz; one of the weakest cocktails, and finish with the zombie; the strongest."
"Shego, that's twenty-six cocktails!" Kim almost yelled. "How on earth is anyone supposed to drink that many cocktails in one night?" Had she not been hungover, her brain would probably have figured out the solution.
"You don't drink them all in one night, Princess. That would be impossible for anyone," unless they happened to have some way of magically flushing the alcohol from their system, but who would possibly have that sort of power… oh wait, she laughed internally at her own joke. "No, you space them out over a few days, like over a long weekend in Vegas."
"Oh," Kim said, feeling slightly silly that she had not figured this out by herself. However, the green-skinned woman's suggestion of them doing an alphabet cocktail challenge had brought with it a potentially unintentional second one, which Kim did not fail to notice and she smiled. "If you're proposing an alphabet cocktail challenge, does that mean you're willing to spend a long weekend with me?" Am I even ready to spend that amount of time with her?
Aww, crap! Shego cursed internally. I didn't think about the implications of us doing that stupid challenge. "Let's get your tolerance for alcohol up a fair bit before we start thinking about doing something crazy like that," she replied in a very non-committal sort of way. There is no way I can spend the bulk of a long weekend with her… could I? She quickly swatted that doubt aside, no, no long weekends, that would be taking this whole frenemy thing way too far. Besides, she'd drive me nuts if I had to spend that amount of time with her in one go… wouldn't she?
Kim felt slightly relieved that Shego too expressed a level of apprehension about them spending that much time together. While she had lived with Miss Go for a week, Miss Go was not Shego. The green-skinned woman having made that abundantly clear last night and it had not taken long for Kim to shake any misconception she might have had on the issue. While I do want to be her friend, this is not a resumption of the friendship I had with Miss Go. That friendship died with the attitudinator; this is a brand-new relationship and for the bulk of it, we're still enemies. However, that doesn't automatically mean we can't hang out beyond a single evening. "So, what now?" Kim asked after a moment or two of silence; drawing attention to the fact that they were still stood outside Middleton High.
Shego automatically glanced around, unable to stop herself from plotting the route that would take her back to the Blackbird; back to the security of solitude that awaited her at home, not counting naked-mole-sharks. And absentmindedly she voiced the first part of that process, "I need to get rid of this hangover."
On hearing her rival's words, Kim was acutely reminded by a throb in her head and a slight churn of her stomach that they were in the same boat. "Since we both have hangovers we need to get rid of, wanna go get a hangover cure with me? It tastes revolting but will do the job."
Like when she had discovered herself lying next to Kimmie, Shego felt the urge to activate her glow in order to cure herself and then immediately bail. However, she tried to voice this in less of a 'hell no, I'm getting out of here' manner. "Sorry, Princess, but friendship time ran out last night."
While she might have been hungover, Kim's brain was still functioning enough for her to know that if her rival had been set on leaving, she would have been far more direct in stating so. Which meant she had room to 'negotiate'. "Last time I checked, Sunday still counted as the weekend and we agreed last night that after we 'clocked out' on a Friday night, we stopped being enemies until we 'clocked in' the following Monday," she challenged, deliberately avoiding using the word friend in any of its forms.
Shit, Shego cursed, she's right. And worse yet, I was the one who made that damn stipulation. Talk about being impaled upon my own sword. "Look, just because I said we could hang out at weekends, doesn't mean we're obligated to." I'm going home, I'm going home, I'm…
"Ture, but since we are hanging out, there's no reason for us to just stop." A bold smile formed on her lips, as Kim elected to use their favourite tactic when trying to shanghai one another into doing something. "Come to the mall with me," she said, her tone practically daring her rival to refuse. "I bet you can't stomach one of the smoothie bar owner's hangover cures without vomiting at least once." Not waiting for a reply and knowing full well that the green-skinned woman would be reeling, Kim turned on her heel and tried her best to stride off in the direction of the Middleton mall.
Oh, screw you, Princess, Shego cursed, outraged that Kimmie had chosen to turn the suggestion that they spend some more time together into a challenge. I'm not doing it; she can have the stupid point. I'm going…
Attempting to move with such confidence had been the final straw for Kim's stomach and no sooner had she taken a couple of steps, it churned violently. Overcome with nausea, she had just enough time to turn onto the grass before she fell to her knees and her stomach contents exploded out of her mouth.
Shego had just been about to turn and walk in the opposite direction when she caught sight of Kimmie falling to her knees. She did not need to hear the retching sound that followed to know that the hero was about to throw up. Aww, shit… heh, or should that be aww, vomit? She couldn't help but laugh to herself, more at her own joke than at her rival, as a thin smile formed on her lips again. Heh, should I do the douchey thing and just leave her? It was more than tempting. With Kimmie on her knees and spewing her guts up, she could easily slip away and be long gone by the time the girl managed to regain control of herself. That's what I would have done a few weeks ago… but I'm trying not to be that person.
On her knees and with a pool of her stomach contents in front of her, Kim was having to fight to breathe in between retches. Eventually, she managed to take a deep breath in through her nose, only the stench from the vomit simply caused her to hurl again. Coughing and spluttering, she knew she had to try and move away from the pile of puke, so she might get a breath of fresh air, but her shaking limbs were struggling just to keep her from collapsing. Then, like she was a ragdoll, she felt a pair of strong hands shift her off to one side.
"You ok, Kimmie?" Shego asked, after moving the hero away from her own vomit and helping her into a sitting position.
Kim, somewhat preoccupied with gulping down mouthfuls of fresh air, did not immediately answer. When she finally did, her voice held a shakiness associated with the feeling that each word she spoke could easily turn into another stream of vomit, "hangovers suck… I never knew they could be this bad."
Shego chuckled, "they can get a lot worse than this, Princess, trust me."
"Personal experience?" Kim asked.
"Something like that," Shego replied. While I have been in a far worse state than you are currently, I at least have the ability to get rid of it a lot quicker. She then looked down at the hero and said, "I think it's best if we get you home."
"Will you take me for a hangover cure smoothie instead?" Kim asked and gave her rival a meek smile, her expression containing a slight hint of her puppy-dog-pout.
If there had been any lingering doubt as to whether or not she planned to hang around, the sight of Kimmie looking so pathetically cute obliterated it. God, dammit, how am I supposed to say no to her when she looks that cute? "Alright, I'll take you for the stupid smoothie," she paused and looked pointedly at the fiery-haired vixen; as she extended a hand to help her to her feet, "but then you're going home."
Kim's eyes brightened at having managed to convince her rival to stick around, even though it had not happened in the manner that she had intended. "Only if you stay for breakfast," she said and took the offered hand.
"Don't push your luck," Shego replied testily. Pulling Kimmie to her feet, a thought then came to her. "However, I suppose we should probably talk about what happened last night at some point."
Kim swayed and it took her a few moments to find her balance. She then managed to process what Shego had just said. "What happened last night?" she asked, wracking her brain to recall something that they might need to talk about, but came up blank.
"Lot's of things," Shego said slyly. While her memory of the previous night was still somewhat foggy, she had a fair idea about what had happened after they had left Spritzers, however, what she chose to lead with was, "but first, what on earth is a Pandaroo?"
Kim stopped dead in her tracks and her cheeks started to glow red, however, it had nothing to do with sunburn. She could vaguely recall dreaming about being a child and someone trying to take Pandaroo away from her. "Shego, what did you hear me say?" she asked nervously. When no reply came, she staggered after the woman. "Shego!"
With a thin smile on her face, the villainess said nothing, simply continued to stroll down the sidewalk.
##
It had been mortifying. Not only had it transpired that Shego knew exactly what a Pandaroo was (she'd 'obtained' a real-life naked-mole-shark from the worlds craziest Cuddle Buddy collector after all), but she'd heard her say, "no, that's my Pandaroo, you can't have it!" in what, according to her rival, had been the cutest way imaginable. Not since that ski trip where her parents had chaperoned or when she had been hit by that truth ray, had Kim's cheeks burned so red with embarrassment. To make matters worse, Shego had proceeded to say, "aww, how cute, you're all embarrassed," using her Miss Go voice. If the first twelve hours were anything to go by, several of which she still could not recall, it seemed being frenemies with the green-skinned woman was going to be one hell of a challenge. Regardless, she'd been forced to concede the point and explain that she'd been dreaming about being a child and someone trying to take her favourite childhood toy from her. The conversation had ended there, owning to a return of the nausea on her part.
They'd eventually made it to the Middleton mall, where Kim had promptly needed to go to the bathroom to vomit again. It was then, after walking past Club Banana that, in hindsight, she realised that coming to the mall had been a stupid idea on her part. Aside from going to Bueno Nacho, where the probability of encountering Ron would have been in the region of seventy-five percent, walking directly past where Monique worked was the next most likely public place where they could be seen by one of her old friends. And of all of them, Mo now had the greatest reason to alert the police if she did happen to see them; pure spite. On tenterhooks, Kim had gone to the food court with Shego and bought two hangover cure smoothies; one taste of which had sent her scurrying back to the bathroom to vomit again. Returning a second time, she'd forced herself to drink the beverage and gladly acquiesced to Shego's 'suggestion' that she take her home.
One cab ride later and Kim found herself sitting at her kitchen table, a steaming mug of coffee in front of her and feeling somewhat less hungover after having consumed the smoothie; the nausea having almost fully ebbed. It had still been with slight trepidation that she'd invited Shego to come up to her apartment. After all, they had been hero and villain for five years and frenemies for little more than five waking hours. And she realised this new dimension to their relationship was going to take a little getting used to.
Shego too had felt a level of awkwardness upon going with Kimmie into her apartment and had, in fact, veiled her agreement under the guise of ensuring the hero got there safely and had something to eat. The timely rumbling of her stomach, which her rival had undoubtedly heard, then served as a perfect excuse for her to stay a little longer, given that she at least deserved some food for going to the trouble of taking the girl to get her hangover cure smoothie and then escorting her home. Thus, she had taken up residence in the kitchen and started making breakfast.
"Seriously, Princess, where the hell are all your fresh ingredients?" Shego asked, as her search of the hero's cupboards and fridge procured only half-a-dozen eggs, a packet of ham, some cheese and prepacked diced onion. That was not to say she'd found the kitchen empty. There had been several microwaveable dinners, tins of soup and baked beans, dried pasta with accompanying jars of sauce, plus plenty of cereals. Does she genuinely live off of just this stuff or has she not been shopping recently?
"I usually have fruit," Kim said helpfully, "but I've not been to the store this week." Urgh, she's going to judge me for my inability to cook, isn't she? And I'll bet it turns out she's a Michelin Star chef.
"Wait, seriously?" Shego asked, in amazement. "Aside from some fruit, you live off of these things?" she held up a microwavable dinner. No way does she survive on this crap, fruit and toaster tarts.
"I eat pasta too," Kim replied defensively, "lots of pasta. I need the carbs."
Heh, I ate lots of pasta too, back in my college days when that and instant noodles were the only things I could afford. However, she doesn't have that excuse. "Don't you ever cook anything from scratch that doesn't simply require you to pour some water over it and turn on the stove?"
"Umm…" Kim cringed. "I can make pancakes and scramble some eggs. They tasted fine when I made them for you earlier in the week… right?" Given the level of competition that existed between them, she could not help but think, shit, I thought they were alright. What if she tells me they were crap and then makes something amazing for breakfast? I can't compete with her in the kitchen!
Shego shook her head. "Yeah, they were fine, which is why I thought Ned had been exaggerating when I heard him talking about how bad you were as a Bueno Nacho employee. You seriously can't cook anything else from scratch other than pancakes, pasta and scrambled eggs?"
"Does salad count?" Kim said hopefully, desperate for any other sort of credit she could muster in the kitchen. "I can put together a few different types."
"No, it doesn't, as that simply requires tossing some stuff in a bowl," Shego replied and couldn't help but laugh. "Maybe when you're not so hungover, I'll teach you how to cook a couple of simple things."
"So, you'll be coming over again," Kim asked artfully, trying to capitalise on what may have been a slip of the tongue on her rival's part.
Shego shot Kimmie a grin as she cracked eggs into a bowl. "Well, unless you want to grope me again when we're out and about."
Kim almost choked on a mouthful of her coffee, "WHAT!"
Ha, she doesn't remember! "You heard me." Shego started to whisk the eggs. "You had a nice good feel of one of my girls when we were dancing last night."
Straining her mind to the point her head almost hurt, Kim could recall brief flashes of their ridiculous attempt to dance with one another in the Middleton High playing fields. Her cheeks turned redder than Mr Barkin's lawnmower, when one of her sending a palm-heal astray; catching the green-skinned woman on the breast, surfaced through the haze. Aww crap!
It was with great amusement that Shego grated the cheese and then chopped the ham. "So, which time did you just remember?"
"I did it twice!" Kim exclaimed, but could not recall a second incidence. Aww, double crap.
Shego laughed at the look of shock that had spread across Kimmie's face. Heh, priceless. "Relax, Princess, I'm just messing with you. You hit my left breast once because you were so wasted you couldn't throw a punch straight." She then smirked at the hero, "like you would say, no big."
Almost instantaneously, a sign of the growing and utterly weird sense of trust that now existed between them, Kim relaxed. Ok, in the grand scheme of things, I can live with that. I mean it's not like I purposefully started squeezing her breasts. "You were just as bad," she replied indignantly. "However, thanks for being understanding… I'd probably run a mile at the prospect of groping you when sober."
"Like I said last night, Kimmie, baby steps for a baby gay." Shego poured the egg mixture into a large frying pan. "It'll take time but we'll get you comfortable enough to play with my gals eventually."
Kim's cheeks started to burn again at that comment. The thought of touching another woman's breasts filled her with a confusing mix of apprehension, curiosity, excitement and dread. The fact that the boobs in question belonged to Shego and each of those feelings got ratcheted up ten-fold. At some point, I'm going to see her naked breasts full on and she'll let me, no expect me, to touch them… oh crap, oh crap, oh crap… Kim struggled to regulate her breathing and regain some measure of control over herself; fortunate that her rival's attention was currently too focused on making their breakfast. "Thanks…" Kim finally managed to get out, but paused, not quite sure how to phrase what she wanted to say. After a moment, she settled on, "thanks for being willing to be patient with me."
"Trust me, Kimmie, I've worked for Dr D for five years and haven't killed him yet. I've got the patience of a saint," Shego replied with a laugh and began adding the ham, onion and cheese to the pan.
"You might not have killed him, but you sure as hell get cranky," Kim chuckled and drank a mouthful of her coffee.
"Did you ever stop to think that was me controlling my temper?"
"Then I'd hate to see you lose it," Kim laughed, but immediately became aware of the burnt claw marks on her back. I did see her lose her temper and I suffered the consequences… however, she also suffered when I lost mine; the night of my junior prom. I guess the lesson is that we can both inflict serious damage to one another when we get angry. So, it'd be best if we don't piss one another off to that point.
Shego allowed the point to go unanswered, as one look at Kimmie's eyes told her they'd both just had the same thought; both of us can be exceptionally dangerous if we get angry, so let's not go there. "In all honesty, Drakken is a lot less annoying than my brothers."
"How much less annoying?"
"Four times less."
They both laughed at Shego's joke, after which Kim said, "we were both so bad last night it was downright embarrassing."
Shego laughed lightly, "I could have taken you down if I'd wanted to."
Kim burst out laughing, as a few fragments of memory from the previous night returned to her. "Take me down! You couldn't even hit me."
"That's total crap and you know it!" Shego fired back, folding the large omelette she had made in the process. "I hit you square in the temple with a knife-hand."
"You only managed to hit me because you literally lined up the shot and I stood still for you!"
"The only reason you stood still was because you were too slow to avoid my strike!"
While both women's voices still held that competitive edge and were heaped with sass, there existed a new element to their verbal sparring; a humour surrounding the subject, like they were sharing an in-joke.
Shego finished cooking the omelette, split it and plated it up. Carrying both plates over to the dining table, she set them down then took up a seat. "Here, you'll feel better once you eat this," she said and gave Kimmie a thin smile.
"Thanks," Kim replied. However, she could not help but have the brief thought, am I seriously about to eat something Shego's cooked for me? Given that all the ingredients had come from her own kitchen, she quickly batted it away. Besides, the food looked and smelled delicious. However, despite how hungry she felt, she knew that the delicate situation within her stomach meant that wolfing it down would result only in another trip to the bathroom to vomit. Picking up her cutlery and fully intending to take her time, she met her rival's gaze. "How come you seem to be to be handling your hangover better than I am?"
"I've got more experience," Shego replied, took a sip of her coffee and picked up her own fork and knife.
Kim frowned, "while we had the same number of drinks, your first two were way stronger than mine." It hurt her head slightly, but she cast her mind back to the mall. At the time, something had bugged her about the fact that when she had come back from the restroom the second time, the green-skinned woman had seemed to be in a much-improved state. Kim then gave Shego the most pointed stare she could muster. "You were pretty much fine after I threw up that second time and you didn't even drink your smoothie," she said, recalling the detail she had overlooked due to her condition at the time.
Heh, well, done, Kimmie, that's some decent observations, especially given the fact you're still hungover. Shego let out an elongated sigh. Well, I suppose she's going to find out sooner or later. "I cured my hangover my own way." She then held up her right hand and ignited her plasma.
The moment Kim saw the green flames surround her rival's hand she excitedly squealed, "you've got your glow back! When? How"?" There was a brief pause, but before the villainess could even answer, she added, "and how on earth does your glow sober you up?"
"Sorry, Princess, but even as my frenemy, you are not privy to that knowledge," Shego replied matter-of-factly. Like I'm going to tell anyone about how I accomplish that. "However, I'll tell you this. My glow gives me healing abilities; as well as immunities to most toxins. And it sees alcohol as a toxin, so if I've consumed enough of it and I activate my glow, it burns it out of my system. It will also activate itself if I consume too much too quickly. As for the hangover, it flushes my system of any lingering alcohol and cures the hangover symptoms." She elected to leave out the part that it caused her a moderate amount of pain to use her glow in that way and that she'd snuck into the handicapped toilet in order to do it without being disturbed.
"Damn, that is so cool," Kim replied. It was only after her brain had taken a few moments to digest the information she'd just been given, that she added, "I suppose it might be a little annoying if you were purposefully trying to get drunk quickly."
The memory of what had happened after their argument the second time they had met in Spritzers quickly filled her mind. You don't know the half of it, Princess. I had to suffer Miss Go bitching at me for an age that night while I tried to get drunk in a somewhat measured fashion. "Yeah, well, I tend to use my glow when I'm still drunk, so that I don't have to deal with hangovers, so it has its advantages too. Anyway, you'd better eat your breakfast before it gets cold."
Kim did as her rival suggested and cut off a small corner of her omelette. It tasted even better than it smelled and she could not quite believe that the ingredients to make it had come from her kitchen.
They ate relatively slowly and like the previous night, the silence did not feel too awkward, a sign that they were becoming accustomed to spending time in one another's company, without fighting. However, even though Shego tried her best to match Kimmie's cautious; vomit preventing pace, she still wound up finishing well before the hero. Picking up her mug of coffee, she studied the hero over the rim as she took a drink. Well, fourteen hours in and I haven't fucked it up yet. I'll just need to try and remember to think before I speak sometimes, as I'd rather avoid another instance of what happened last night when I lashed out at her. Heh, easier said than done. I might no longer be the shoot first ask questions never person from six years ago, but I still have a bad habit of letting my temper get the better of me… and I can't blame that solely on how irritating Drakken is, especially when he's still locked up in jail.
Kim ate the last few mouthfuls of her delicious omelette while contemplating the current state of affairs. Heh, this is the fifth day I've seen her this week. Bar the week she was Miss Go; I've not spent this much time with her in one week ever. Yet despite how much fun I had back then, it wasn't genuine… but this is and I'm not going to screw it up. I just have to remember to be patient with her. She's not used to having a friend, Kim laughed internally, or should that be frenemy? Regardless, she made that clear last night and so she might still have a tendency to lash out over certain things; especially her past. So, I'll need to make sure I don't react negatively, or we could easily end up fighting again.
Pushing her plate towards the centre of the table, Kim looked at Shego. "So," she began tentatively, "where do I go from here in terms of my sexuality?"
"That depends entirely on you, Princess," Shego replied, setting her empty coffee mug down on the glass surface, "and on how you feel. Remember, I'm working at your pace, not the other way around. Although I'm going to assume that sober Kimmie isn't ready for us to head to an LGBT club."
Kim tilted her head in a questioning sort of way, however, the memory from last night quickly came back to her and she started to laugh. "Heh, I was a little too eager to do that last night, wasn't I." She then thought about the actual question for a moment. "However, I think you're right; sober me isn't quite ready for that yet. Maybe once we've been out a bit more."
Studying Kimmie's face, Shego could see that while the hero seemed more comfortable when talking about the subject than she had last night, there still existed a hint of apprehension. She could also recall feeling the exact same way ten years ago and how long it had taken her to go into an LGBT bar, granted she had been alone. "Sure thing. Just let me know when you feel up to it." A grin then formed on her lips. "I'd also suggest that you at least go a little easier on the cocktails."
"Why?" Kim asked and immediately started wracking her brain for something else she had forgotten.
Shego laughed lightly, "don't you remember asking me if I'd kiss you on the lips?"
Hearing those words immediately triggered the elusive memory to play in Kim's mind and her cheeks slowly started to turn red. "You made that joke about kissing me on the cheek and so I turned my head to give you a target," she exclaimed, feeling somewhat embarrassed at her drunken antics.
"Yep, and I couldn't resist," Shego replied with a grin. "Granted, your cheeks are just so soft and ripe for kissing." It was only after she had spoken that she had the thought, shit, she might freak out over this, so she quickly added, "besides, it's not like I haven't done that before. In fact, it wasn't even the first time I'd done it that night."
Kim was quickly treated to the relevant memory and how warm and fuzzy she had felt upon feeling the green-skinned woman's lips plant the soft kiss on her cheek. Inside her mind, the warning siren began to sound but was quickly silenced by Shego's last words. Calm the fuck down, Kim. You already knew that she kissed you on the cheek once last night, not to mention that she's done it before. Hell, the two of you made-out in Drakken's volcano lair and the world didn't end. "I then asked you if you'd kiss me on the lips, didn't I?" she did not need to ask the question.
"Yeah," Shego confirmed. "Fortunately, I had the sense to tie it to our fight and then you made a wager out of it."
Heart beating slightly faster now, Kim could recall the rest of the conversation in Spritzers and how she'd tried to cheat her way to the kiss by turning the finishing of their drinks into a competition. She'd won and then Shego had found a way to cheat her out of her prize by giving her the shortest peck on the lips imaginable. She'd taken umbrage with her for that and so stipulated that the kiss for winning the fight had to be thirty seconds minimum; with tongue. "Did we…?" she asked tentatively, straining her mind to recall whether or not they had kissed after they'd danced.
Shego felt fortunate that she did not have to lie to Kimmie, as she suspected that if they had kissed, the hero would go into meltdown if she told her that had been the case. "No. We were both so drunk that neither of us had the capability to beat the other. We ended up wrestling on the ground until we both ran out of juice, then crashed out."
Kim felt a strange mix of relief and disappointment wash over her on hearing how their fight had finished. Would it have been so bad if I had kissed her? Part of her brain immediately screamed, "yes!" however, much to her surprise, it was met with an equally powerful, "no!" After a few moments, she concluded that, if we had kissed, I have this weird feeling that the worst thing about it would have been that I wouldn't be able to remember it.
As the silence between them dragged on, Shego quickly became concerned that despite the fact they had not kissed, the knowledge that she had put herself in that position in the first place, had caused Kimmie's mind to go into meltdown anyway. Fuck, I promised we'd take things at her pace and then allowed us to get drunk, whereby she's gone too far out of her comfort zone and I foolishly went along with it. "Are you ok, Kim?" Shego asked, her use of the hero's preferred forename a sign of her concern.
"Huh?" Kim said in confusion, her rival's words having drawn her out of her musings, though she had not heard what they were.
"I asked if you were ok," Shego repeated, then quickly added, "listen, I'm sorry if things got a bit out of hand last night and it pushed you too far out of your comfort zone."
Kim smiled at her rival. "Actually, I think I'm ok."
Shego looked at the hero somewhat sceptically. "Are you sure about that?"
"Yeah," Kim nodded. "We maybe got a little too drunk, but nothing happened. So, no big."
"If you're sure," Shego replied, still not sounding one-hundred-precent convinced. "Just remember, you need to keep being honest with me, otherwise I might inadvertently push you too far; too soon. And that's the last thing you want."
"I understand." Kim then bit her lip. "Can I ask a question?"
"Go ahead." Shego then grinned. "So long as it's not the one about where babies come from."
Kim laughed, "it's not the one about where babies come from, but it is technically related to that. How do lesbians have sex, given that there is no… you know?"
Shego burst out laughing. "It's called a penis, Kimmie. Just because you're a lesbian, doesn't mean you can't say that word. And you don't need a penis to have sex."
"Then how do you…? I mean, what goes…?" Kim paused as a thought occurred to her, "wait, now that I know I'm a lesbian, does that mean I'll remain a virgin for the rest of my life?"
Shego couldn't contain herself and her laughter evolved into hysterics, in part at how awkward Kimmie sounded when it came to the subject of sex, but also at her sheer naivety. Granted, it probably shouldn't have come as a surprise, given that…
"What!" Kim exclaimed indignantly. "It's not my fault I had Mr 'straight as an arrow' Barkin for sex-ed!"
"Ok, ok," Shego finally managed to say, forcing her laughter to subside, "first thing's first, we need to rid you of this draconian idea about virginity. Just because you never have some guy shove his penis inside your vagina, doesn't mean you remain a virgin for the rest of your life. As you rightly pointed out, two vanilla lesbians have no penis, but they can still have sex and if they do, they are no longer virgins."
"Ok…" Kim said slowly, her brain still trying to process this revelation, "…I guess that makes sense. So, what count's as losing your virginity then?"
"Personally, if you still want to get hung up on the idea, I consider performing any sexual act with someone as counting," Shego replied, now in full control of herself once more. "Although, you'll probably find a few different opinions on the subject if you look it up online. Some people will probably say it has to be oral or involve some sort of penetration. However, I feel you just end up splitting hairs if you try and do it that way, so it's best to keep it simple. If you play with someone's gentles, then that person is no longer a virgin."
"Oh," Kim said in a somewhat deflated manner. Her argument makes sense, but by that logic, I lost my virginity to Ron. Given her newly discovered sexual preferences and combined with the fact that her bedroom time with Ron had been so crappy, she couldn't help but feel cheated out of something that was supposed to be magical.
The look on Kimmie's face immediately told Shego that, while the hero had not had intercourse with the buffoon, she had done something of a sexual nature with him. Great, I've probably just made her feel rather shitty, nice going, Dumbass. Guess I'd best try to mitigate the damage. "You had some sort of sexual play with Ron, didn't you?" she asked, electing to seek confirmation first.
Kim lowered her head in dismay, "yeah. I never had intercourse with him, but he did rub me atop my panties a couple of times… it never felt very good."
"There's no shame in having done that, Kim," Shego said kindly. "Lots of gay people do a hell of a lot more than that before they figure out their sexuality. And as far as the draconian version of virginity goes, forget what films and TV try to tell you. For most woman, it's messy and uncomfortable; often painful. Rarely is it this special, magical experience or one that you enjoy. A lot of women just want to get it over with when they're in the process of doing it."
Thinking about this notion for a few moments made Kim feel a little better. I guess I've never thought about it that way. Heh, I knew that the first time you have intercourse can sometimes be a bit painful, but I never joined the dots and realised that might taint the experience and result in it not being this special, magical moment. However, the manner in which Shego had spoken raised a question, "are you talking from personal experience?"
"No," Shego replied quickly and with a degree of bite that she had not intended to use; Kimmie's question having called to mind the one instance she'd been with a boy and it had gone beyond kissing. "Sorry," she said quickly and in an attempt to make up for the harshness of her response, added, "I was already in my denial phase before I did anything more than French-kiss a boy and I only did something more than that once."
"What happened?" Kim asked, eager to hear more about her rival's past and hoping the woman would be willing to share.
It was by virtue of the connection they shared over the issue that Shego chose not to end the conversation there. "Like you, during my denial phase, I decided I needed to date another boy, in order to prove to myself that I was straight. So, I went out to some dive of a joint; where the bar staff didn't care if you were underage, had a couple of paint-stripper and coke's and hooked up with someone. Unfortunately, he turned out to be a real douchebag and when we went back to his place to make-out, he shoved his hands up my top and started grabbing at my breasts." She let out a hollow laugh, though there was no hint of amusement in it. "I suppose he got what he deserved when I activated my plasma, wrenched his hands off of me and threw him across the room. I probably burned his wrists quite badly, as I recall he was still screaming when I stormed out."
"Ouch," Kim winced, however, the hero part of her felt compelled to ask, "did you not think to try and help him?"
"No," Shego spat, "he'd just had his hands all over me without my consent and might have tried to do a lot more if I hadn't been able to stop him." She let out a slow breath to calm herself. "Besides, can you blame me, given what was going through my mind at the time? That asshole had just, unknowingly, thrown me from denial into anger."
Kim could relate all too well to how Shego must have felt that night, given how single-minded she had become in her own anger. "I guess not." She then decided to change the subject, suspecting her rival would not be up for sharing any more details about her past at that moment in time. "So, how do lesbians have sex?"
A grin spread across Shego's face. "Kimmie, that is one very deep rabbit hole that you are definitely not ready to venture down yet. However, to sate your curiosity a little, if we do things vanilla flavoured, we can do several different things with our hands and mouths; plus rub our vaginas together." She deliberately used the term we, to indicate that the two of them would, at some point in the future, be doing all of those things.
Kim couldn't help but blush a little, as her brain tried to imagine them rubbing their vagina's together, although it took her several attempts to figure out how they might accomplish that. Pushing the image out of her mind, she then asked, "what's non-vanilla flavoured?"
"Any flavour you like, Princess," Shego replied, still grinning. "There are a lot of toys out there that we can use and games we can play and those pools widen considerably if we decide to get kinky."
Aside from the single vibrator she owned and the few others she'd seen at the sex toy party held in Monique's college dorm, Kim had never seen any other sex toys and so couldn't begin to fathom what else might exist. Let alone what Shego meant by 'games' and 'kinky'. Thus, she decided that, to avoid another potential meltdown, to heed her rival's warning about this subject being a rabbit hole that she was not ready for. "I'll take your word for it."
Shego could not help but feel a touch disappointed that Kimmie had not probed further, as she suspected further discussion on the subject would have caused her pink cheeks to turn scarlet. Heh, there'll be plenty of time for that later I suppose. However, maybe it's time for me to fly. "Well, it's been fun, Princess, but I think it's time I went home."
Feeling somewhat dismayed to hear the green-skinned woman declare that she was going to leave, Kim was about to say, "ok," in a deflated way that would indicate she'd felt lucky to have gotten this much time out of her rival in the first place, however, she stopped herself. We're frenemies now and are going to be hanging out regularly, if I don't want her to go, I should be able to say so. "Why?" she asked, making it sound like a straightforward question, but with an undertone that challenged the woman to give her a damn good reason for leaving.
"Why indeed?" Shego heard the voice say inside her head and knew it had come from her devil's advocate. She also knew that trying to leave was her Shego persona trying to pull her back into the safety of her comfort zone. Unsure of what she should do, her mind searched for a good explanation as to why she needed to leave, eventually coming up with, "I've been out all night and Ru-Ru's all alone. I'll be lucky to get home and find he hasn't burnt it to the ground."
Of all the replies her rival could have given her, this one suited Kim perfectly. "Not likely," she replied with a sly grin, "he's surprisingly well house trained. I left him here when I went out on a mission two weeks ago and wound up not getting back for days. He can feed and look after himself without trashing the place."
"You left him on his own?" Shego asked in alarm. "That was both risky and irresponsible, Kimmie."
"I didn't plan on it," Kim replied defensively. "It was a simple cargo escort mission, but the damn thing got stollen, so I had to go get it back. I called him to make sure he could look after himself and he seemed fine with that." She neglected to mention that there had been a bit of a mess in the kitchen when she returned but reasoned that had been the result of leaving the naked-mole-shark alone for four days. One wouldn't be a problem, right? She then grinned at Shego, "how about I fetch us some pyjamas and we have a girl's day on the sofa? You can even go for a shower first, if you want."
Her best excuse to leave having been blown to bits, Shego found herself left with the choice of either accepting or making up something that Kimmie would know was bogus. A few weeks ago… hell, even earlier this week, I would have fobbed her off with the first thing I could think of and bailed… but now…? She did not know what to do. Eventually, after almost a full minute of silence, she said, "shouldn't you head to bed to get some rest and sleep off that hangover?"
"It might have been in the Middleton High playing fields, but I slept last night," Kim replied airily, effortlessly blowing a hole in her rival's next line of argument and feeling quietly confident that she would get her way. "Besides, my hangover's ebbed considerably thanks to the smoothie you took me to get," she paused briefly so that she could add insult to injury by emphasising, "and the breakfast you just made me."
Shego rolled her eyes in indignation. "Dammit, Kimmie, I'm not staying to have a girl's day on the sofa with you!" It's not happening! I'm trying not to be my old self, but this is taking it a step too far; too soon.
Though her rival's words had been quite cutting and definitive, Kim remained unphased and resolute in her desire to get her way and so she met Shego's piercing gaze with one of determination. "Why not?" she practically demanded. "You said we could hang out at the weekend and like I said earlier, Sunday is still the weekend."
"Because I've spent the past fourteen hours with you already!" Shego declared hotly.
"And come tomorrow morning you'll be jetting off on vacation for god knows how long, so it could be weeks before I see you again," Kim fired back. "So, I'm claiming today to make up for the time I'm going to lose. Stay for six hours and I'll count that as your time for next weekend, stay for twelve and you're covered for the weekend after too."
"What!" Shego exclaimed incredulously. "You want me to spend the next twelve hours with you! I've just been with you for the past fourteen. You're making this agreement sound like I'm back in prison!"
"Which is exactly where you would be if it hadn't been for me." Kim gave Shego a devilish look. "And Warden Possible can handle you far better than Captain Brooks can, even with your glow. So, you're going to spend a girl's day on the sofa with me and there'll be no arguments about it."
Shego quickly rose to her feet as she said, "well, I am arguing about it. There's only so much of you I can handle. Too much time around you in one go will drive me crazy!"
"So, you admit that you can't handle me," Kim replied; rising to her own feet and giving the green-skinned woman a wide grin. "That's a shame, cos I can handle you no problem. So, take your green butt over to my sofa…" she paused, moved her nose closer to her rival and sniffed, "…on second thought, take your green butt to my shower first; you stink."
That comment was the final straw for Shego and she lunged at her rival as she yelled, "says you, who was on her knees; vomiting in the middle of the street!"
Kim, who had sensed the tension mounting between them with every passing comment, was ready for her rival and so when Shego cannoned into her, she allowed herself to fall backwards and used the woman's own momentum against her to vortex throw her over her head.
Shego knew she should have seen this coming. Whether she had been momentarily blinded by infuriation or did not think Kimmie had been in any fit state to fight, she did not know. Regardless, she found herself sailing through the air for a few seconds before she crashed down atop the thick pile carpet. Fuck! She cursed, as the wind was knocked out of her.
Surprising herself with how quickly she was able to move, Kim rolled onto her front raised herself up off the floor just enough to give her some leverage and sprang forward towards the green-skinned woman. "Oh no, you don't," she declared on spying Shego trying to rise and promptly crashed down atop her.
Shego had only just managed to get onto her knees when she heard the sound of Kimmie's voice and no sooner had she turned her head in the hero's direction, she found herself once more flattened to the floor. "Dammit, Kimmie, get your butt off of me," she yelled, as she tried to throw the fiery-haired vixen off, but it was no good.
The second she landed atop her rival, Kim took full advantage of her position and the fact the villainess had not fully recovered from the initial vortex throw and seized her wrists. Shego struggled against her grip, but soon the hero had the villain pinned to her apartment floor. And unless the green-skinned woman decided to cheat; by activating her glow, they both knew the brief fight was over.
"So, care to rethink taking me up on that offer of a girl's day on the sofa?" Kim asked, a wide grin on her face.
"No chance!" Shego spat and futilely tried to thrash herself free, but succeeded only in making Kimmie tighten her grip on her wrists.
"Well, I can always activate the house security system and have it restrain you. Of course, I'd then have to forcibly put you in the shower, as you stink and then deposit you on my sofa in a pair of pink pyjamas and fluffy socks. I'm sure I've got a pair of bunny ones my mom gave me last Christmas."
Shego shuddered at the thought of being forcibly showered for the second time in as many weeks and then her cheeks burned green at the thought of Kimmie dressing her in pink pyjamas and fluffy bunny socks. "You wouldn't dare!" she said hotly.
"Wouldn't I?" Kim replied with a devilish smile. "You were right last night when you said I'd suck at being a villain. However, I can be evil in my own way and I bet putting fluffy bunny socks on you would rank fairly high on the list of 'evil' things I could do to you. So, what's it going to be; pyjamas and socks of your choosing, or pink ones and fluffy bunny socks?"
While Shego knew she could simply use her glow to force Kimmie into releasing her hands and then use the moment to throw the hero off of her, the respect she had for her rival stayed her hand. Princess beat me fair and square and unless she has her battle suit on, my glow gives me too much of an unfair advantage. She groaned internally when the thought of doing just that; the Shego thing, clashed with the decision to accept that Kimmie had beaten her and thus submit to the hero's request. Anda similar thought to the one from earlier that morning crept into her brain, I'm trying not to be my old self… "Fine, you win, Princess. Just get your stinky butt off of me."
The widest grin imaginable formed on Kim's face when she heard her rival's words of submission. Heh, Possible 1, Shego 0. And victory tasted that much sweeter when she factored in Shego's decision not to use her glow. For Kim knew that had she not in part wanted to spend more time with her, the green-skinned woman would have activated her plasma and fought with everything she had to escape. Releasing her rival's wrists, she got to her feet and then offered the woman her hand.
Shego took the offered hand and pulled herself to her feet. She then looked pointedly at Kimmie, as she said flatly, "come near me with those bunny socks or a chick-flick and I'll torch both."
Kim began to laugh. "So, is that a no to the sequel to The Notepad: The Post-it notes?"
"Definitely," Shego replied and then added, "and no Bricks of Fury: After the Bricks are Gone, either. I wasn't lying when I said I gave up on that franchise."
"I'll happily agree to that," Kim said with a laugh. "Come on, you can use the main bathroom to shower and I'll use the one in my bedroom."
Shego gave Kimmie a seductive smile and with a determination to claw back a point, said, "not showering with me, Princess?"
Kim blushed and hastily turned to head towards the hallway. "You know where the bathroom is. I'll fetch you some pyjamas and leave them outside."
"If you say so," Shego replied and motioned to follow Kimmie, unable to stop her eyes from roving over those long tresses of fiery-red hair and down to a pair of tight butt-cheeks.
With the promise of an entire day ahead of them, the hero and villain exited the main living area to head for their respective showers. They'd done a lot together in the past fourteen or so hours; made a lot of progress in their relationship. Now they were in a position to start reaping the rewards of that progress and it started right here with a girl's day on the sofa.
##
Author's note:
And that is a wrap for this special birthday update, folks.
Had I not been burnt out, I suspect I would have really enjoyed writing Kim and Shego in their drunken state, so I may just have to let them do it again so I can enjoy the writing process this time. However, I did make some mistakes when I wrote the first draft of this chapter and certain things happened that I felt was too much too soon, including Kim getting waaaay too touchy-feely with Shego's gals. Lol, maybe I'll post the original version at the end of the season, as a non-cannon version.
As for the b*****d, I still hate it, lol. However, it was good to see Mr Barkin back again and I loved Kim threatening to dress Shego in pink pyjamas and fluffy bunny socks. I also felt it was really important that I ended this chapter with the two of them still together, as we are not going to see what happens between them for the remainder of that day and from this point on in the story, they will finally start to interact off-screen. However, rest assured, we will find out any relevant details from such interactions and will not miss out on anything important, promise.
Moving forward and after my long unplanned absence, I'd love to give you all a firm timescale for when the next update will be here. However, given I have only been back in a saddle for one week, I do not want to commit to something I might not be able to stick to. Suffice it to say, it'll be ready when it's ready.
Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this special birthday update to And You And I. I honestly cannot believe that it has been a full year since I started writing it. I hope you all enjoyed it and I'll see you all for the next update.
Warmest regards
K1G0