[ALL OWNED BY DIZNEY] (except Mrs Fitzsimmons)
I ain't got the heart to lose another fight.
Shego was waiting.
It was a crisp fall morning, 'down in the woods' as they say in Middleton. She waited in a clearing carved out decades ago from the Colorado wilderness. Abandoned for years, the only thing remaining was a concrete slab. The mobile home that used to be there had been towed away years ago. Leaving just another abandoned vacation spot along an un-maintained gravel road.
Her employer had dropped her off about 20 minutes ago. She had wanted to get there first. She did. She did a few stretches. She looked for any hidden surprises. She found a bottle cap. She filed the claws on her gloves. She waited.
Bitch is not ten minutes early, Shego thought, which means she's late!
Chickening out? Never.
Something must have happened. The buffoon! He insisted on coming along and she had to ditch him!
After all this is over I'll, I'll...am I in the right place?
A concrete slab south of town. Even with gps coordinates, that's not much of a description. And 'the old Possible place' had meant nothing to her.
A high pitched whine broke the silence. Something in the sky, getting closer.. Shego could make out...a drone? No, too big. It's roughly humanoid. It must be her. Although she would have expected to see the wing/jetpack combo. This was, something else. Something vaguely familiar.
There were no wings. None were needed, the thrusters on the back were powerful enough to make an elephant fly, let alone one person. The engines shut off, and the flyer flipped from vertical to horizontal. The new arrival plummeted straight down, landing with a thud in a crouching, ready position.
The arrival was wearing some sort of practically skintight armor, powerful enough to let the wearer survive a 50 foot fall, and fly too. She rose and walked toward Shego. She, for the fit of the armor showed 'she' was clearly female even if the face was covered. And besides, Shego knew who it was.
"So, the Centurion Project. I hope you didn't lie to your parents and your best friend about where you were going today." No reply.
Starting at her feet, the Centurion armor shrank in on itself revealing the curves of a woman's body, until it was just a bracelet on her right wrist. A woman with red hair and green eyes, wearing an even more skintight white jumpsuit with blue AND red highlights (Suit 3.2).
"Aw, you wore it, just like old times." Still no reply.
Centurion project, damn super onesie, what else is she...Shego glanced downward. The redhead was NOT wearing red tennis shoes. Ok, so no super-speed. But what other gadgets did she bring? Damn Nerdlinger and all eggheads to perdition. Did Drakken ever make one thing I could use in a fight, NO.
The other woman tapped her left wrist and the suit opened down the middle, stepping out of it, the redhead stood, clad in very small shorts with a very tight sports bra. Shego gulped as the worlds sexiest MMA fighter turned and walked over to the concrete foundation.
The redhead folded the suit up into a neat square bundle. Taking off the bracelet on her right wrist, and facing away from Shego, she bent over, setting the suit down on the slab, with the bracelet on top.
She turned and walked back toward Shego, who had just managed to snap her mouth shut.
"You're late." Shego said, after swallowing her drool.
"Am I?" Kim Possible replied.
"You're never late!" Shego insisted. Kim sighed.
"There was a car broken down on Drag Strip Road." (which is what everyone in Middleton called old Hwy 119) "Mrs. Fitzsimmons' Jeffries tube had come loose. I was able to fix it. No big."
"Just can't help yourself can you?" Kim shrugged.
Shego frowned as she looked UP at the redhead.
The simple fact that Kim Possible was now taller than her, and had been for some time, bothered her so much more than she would EVER admit.
The addition of heels to her catsuit had temporarily restored her to her superior place. But not for long. After she hit 2 and ¾ inches, she gave up and went back to flats. Only strippers and hookers wear three inch heels.
"No suit?" Kim shook her head, no. "Anything to declare?"
"What you see is what you get." Kim made a quick turn. "Nothing up my sleeve." She pulled out an imaginary elastic cuff and let it snap back.
"I guess I can't use the old green glow then, eh Pumpkin?"
"Use it."
"What?"
"Use it."
Shego's mood darkened. No suit, no gadgets, no buffoon, not even the goddam rat!? She's mocking me.
"Fine." she growled thru her teeth. "This, is it."
"This is it."
"No excuses!"
"No excuses."
"No 'best out of 3'."
"Ditto." Kim replied with a brief smile.
Smiling her evilest smile in return, anticipating her final beatdown of the insufferable, infuriating, intoxicating hero, Shego finished with...
"Winner, take, ALL."
Kim simply nodded in reply, and said...
"By the way Shego, all our fights before this."
"Yeah, we have had a lot of fights, Princess."
"I was going easy on you."
28 seconds later...
Shego, was out.
Kim lowered herself the ground next to the unconscious woman. She pulled Shego, carefully, tenderly, into her lap. She brushed the black hair out of the slowly bruising face. Tears welled up in Kim's eyes.
After what seemed like forever, but was probably about three minutes, Shego's eyes blinked open. She tensed, but it took her a very small amount of time to realize where she was, what had happened, and whose arms she was in. She let her herself go slack and leaned back into Kim.
"Was I out?"
"Yeah."
"How long?"
"Long enough."
"That's it then?"
"That's it." Kim had a little catch in her voice.
Shego turned, with some difficulty, and looked up at Kim "Princess? Princess, you're crying."
"I know" Kim said, as the tears ran down her face, making their way to her lips. They tasted salty. They always did.
"Why are you crying?" Shego asked, not understanding. After all, she won.
"Cause I'm so happy. We're not going to fight anymore. I'm never going to hurt you, ever again. Never, ever, ever." Kim tightened her hug.
"Ow."
"Sorry, sorry!"
It hurt too much to keep her head twisted around to look at Kim, so Shego turned back to gaze at the concrete slab.
"I love you, Shego." she heard Kim say, "And I couldn't go on, WE couldn't go on like this. This was our last fight. It stops now." They were both silent for a while. Kim was sniffling a little. Maybe Shego was too, until she remembered, remembered something somebody just said.
"Hey, what were you saying..."
"Hmmm?"
"You were going EASY on me?!"
"Oh, you don't know what you heard. You've got a concussion, college girl." Kim said so sweetly, her cheek resting on Shego's head, enjoying the warmth on this crisp fall morning.
"Don't you 'college girl' me! I heard it just...OW! ow, ow, ow." Shego tried to twist around and confront the woman, but her body wasn't responding quite right.
"Careful."
"This was a set up! You, you tricked me! With a cheap shot!" Objection made.
"'No such thing as a cheap shot', 'No such thing as a fair fight', oh, and my favorite, 'No prize for 2nd place'." Kim said as if quoting lines from a favorite TV show. "Now, where did I hear that?" Objection overruled.
"Shut up."
Kim slowly rocked them back and forth.
"How long?" Shego finally asked.
"How long what?"
"Have you been, going...easy on me." Shego had to drag each word out of herself. Admitting it hurt worse than any beating ever did. Even this one.
"Since I fell in love with you." Kim answered, her voice indicating that was sooo obvi.
"When was that?"
"The first second I saw you." Kim gave the top of Shego's head a little kiss.
"Course, I didn't exactly know I was in love with you. I just knew you were the most wonderful person I'd ever seen. The most gorgeous, the coolest, the most clever,..."
"Keep talking."
"AND the meanest, the rudest and most infuriating jerk in the whole world! With a filthy mind and a bad attitude." she said with finality.
"Bite me." she did. "Ow! Watch the ear!"
Kim continued. "You were amazing. I'd never seen anyone like you. And with every one of Drakken's take-over-the-world plots that I stopped, I got more and more, obsessed with you. I even had your photo in my locker! I was crushin, major. I wished you would be like, my awesome big sister, or ferociously cool aunt, or the big kid in the neighborhood that everyone follows around."
"Hey, I'm ALL those things." Shego interjected.
"Not to ME you weren't. You were this obnoxious asshole that kept calling me names and hitting me! Making me miss school, or dinner, or dates, or sleep!" Shego had no reply. She had been, well, not so nice to the annoying brat that used to buzz around like a redheaded fly.
"But I'd still chase you, just to see you." Kim said quietly. "Just to hear you voice, even if was only calling me names. I'd even let myself get caught. Just to spend some time with you. Though it would only be until you put me in some lame death trap."
"Point of order, I was NOT in charge of the deathtraps." Shego said, finger raised.
"Funny thing about those." Kim said in a curious tone. "Even as the traps got more diabolical. The ropes and chains on me seemed to get looser." Shego was silent. "I asked Ron, he said his were getting tighter. What was that all about, anyway?" Shego grinned.
"Well, every time you got locked up, I was miserable, and I didn't know why. When I'd hear you broke out. I'd be on top of the world, and I still didn't know why. Why was I so happy? That horrible woman who kept smiling at me and calling me little nicknames AND who kept tying me down was on the loose again! What was the sitch? I didn't care when Frugal Lucre or Blue Drew got loose.
"Blue Drew, funny." Shego chuckled.
"What," Kim puzzled, then and now, "was so special about YOU?"
"Well, cupcake, if you must ask..."
Kim continued, ignoring Shego's interruption, as she was wont to do when she got on a roll. "I think my sexuality hadn't developed yet..."
"Well, you sure made up for it later."
"Quiet you." After another quick kiss on top of the head to silence her audience, "I started to realize I was in love-love with you after I met your brothers."
"Ugh." Shego did not like thinking about her brothers. And she really didn't like to remember that FIVE Shegos, with ALL the Team Go glows, STILL couldn't beat Kim Possible. Maybe she has been going easy on me.
"I mean, up to that point what did I really know about you? Just that you had the mouth of a sailor and ass that wouldn't quit."
"Did Hego give you the speech?"
"Speech?"
"'Fate struck hard!'" Shego monologued, raising her fist in Seated Hero Pose #4.
"Mm-hm, that's the one. After that, I knew that I must be in love with you." Kim hugged her a little closer and Shego felt all warm and fuzzy, for about a second.
"Why, cuz you felt Sorry for me?" Shego countered. "Listen, I don't need your pity!" Shego needed to take control of this conversation. It was being guided by someone who knew her a little too well.
"I feel sorry for a LOT of people. A lot of people that have it worse than you AND your brothers!" Deep down, Shego knew that was true. And maybe not so deep down she was even glad it happened. Thinking about it that way always made her uncomfortable. So Shego shut up, waiting for Kim to talk some more.
"This was different. This was the first time I really wished that something bad had happened to me, instead of someone else." Kim sniffed. "This was, new. I've always wanted to help, if I could. And I felt bad if I couldn't. I also knew, that if I couldn't, then there was no point feeling worse about it. But this time, that didn't matter. And I finally realized, it was because I was feeling it about you."
Shego wasn't feeling exactly warm and fuzzy again, but it didn't feel bad.
"Course, at the time, I didn't realize that this meant I was IN love with you. So it was just MORE confusing stuff about you and me, that I STILL didn't know what to do about." Kim finally stopped, and took a breath.
"So, I didn't do anything!"
Shego turned her head to look up. Kim looked down, smiling. Doy! She's so beautiful, Shego thought. Kim kissed her, on the forehead. the bruised forehead.
"Ouch."
"Sorry."
"And THEN, you got hit with the moodulator, and showed up as Miss Go."
"Wasn't that the Attitudinator?"
"Was it? Meh. Anyhoo, I got what I wanted. You were the cool big sister!" Kim said triumphantly.
"Not cool aunt?" Shego asked.
"You were cool everything." Another kiss. and a squeeze.
"Ow. again."
"Sorry. again." Kim kept squeezing for a bit, then loosened up as she kept talking.
"You were great. You were a fun teacher. You knew about fashion. You even wanted to hang out with me! We went shopping, went to the movies, went to get waxed..." After not speaking for a while. Kim said in the quiet voice. "It wasn't enough."
"It wasn't?" Out of nowhere, Shego was feeling very deja vu.
"Nope, not even close."
"I heard I was a little prissy."
"That part was ok."
"Huh?"
"But I wanted more. After you got zapped back, I realised Miss Go wasn't who I had been wanting. Not by a long shot. I didn't WANT just a cool best friend, or aunt, or even a damn dutch uncle. I wanted, no, I NEEDED someone to be more than just a friend. I needed someone...someone to take care of, not just 'hang out' with. Someone that needed me as much as I needed them."
"I needed you, not Miss Go, not some polite fake version of you. But the pushy, mouthy, bitchy, hardass that didn't put me on a pedestal, that didn't think I was little Miss Perfect, that never stopped pushing me. I needed YOU!"
"And I needed to take care of you. I needed to make sure you would always be safe. I needed you to know that you knew you were loved. And I needed you to love me." Kim squeezed Shego again, and it didn't hurt anymore. At least for a moment.
Take care of me. Shego stroked Kim's arm with her good hand. Take care? Shego's Pride, even tho on the ropes, was still three sizes bigger than normal. Who does she think...Nobody takes care of...Why I oughta...
"Hey, listen!" Shego said, in an all too familiar 'tone', "Nobody needs to protect ME, little missy!"
"YOU need protection about as much as a polar bear needs a suit, of, ARMOR." Kim punctuated 'suit of armor' by tapping Shego's head with her chin.
"The book was better." Shego grumbled, momentarily placated.
"I said 'take CARE' of you." Kim paused to gather her thoughts, for they were getting a little jumbled. It may not have sounded like it, but Kim was making a lot of this up as she went along.
She'd been thinking about some of it, well, a lot of it, for years. But she hadn't said much of it out loud, all at once, where anyone could hear her, until now. And certainly NOT where anyone could talk back. Some of it didn't sound the same as it did in her head. But all she could do now was keep going. Taking a deep breath, she did.
"I want to tell you to take an umbrella if it looks like rain. When I go to the store, I want to remember to pick up your favorite cereal, even if I don't like it. I want to find something to do if you're bored. I want to warm you up if you're cold."
"Oh, I can guess what you'll come up with for those last two."
"Two birds with one stone!" Kim giggled, rocking them gently, back and forth while continuing to explain. "I want you to meet my parents, again, my cousins, again, my Nana, again. And not during a brawl! I want to snuggle up and watch TV with you, and argue about why this show is sooooo bad! I want to cook for you..."
"Doy! That will finish me off. Oooooo-not so tight." Come on comet healing, hurry up.
"I want to love you. I want you to know that I do. I want everyone to know." Did Shego just sniffle? Nooo, not Shego!
"Protect you...HA! from what? Time traveling overlords? Alien invasions? A bunch of evil babies?"
"What was that last one again?" But Kim was on a roll.
"The only thing on this Earth that can hurt you, is ME!" Kim kissed the top of Shego's head, one last time. "And I'm never going to hurt you again."
They stayed like that for a while. Shego leaning back into Kim and Kim hugging her.
"And now," Kim released Shego from the hug, pushed her into an upright position and scooched back, out of reach. Shego slumped to the side without Kim holding her up. "Here's your last chance to beat the one and only, Kim Possible." She paused, and in a cold, even, flat voice said.
"Just say, no."
Say what? Beat the who now? Huh? The warm fuzzy feeling was fading. Shego's Fight/Flight was kicking in, and she could do neither!
"Say no, and you'll never see me again." Kim wrapped her arms around her knees tightening her body into a ball. Pulling in on herself, making herself as small as, well, possible.
"Go take over Greenland, or Iceland or, whatever. The whole world, if you want. And you can do it, cause I won't be there to stop you. It's not like anyone else can."
"Wait, what are you talking about? Princess?" Shego didn't understand. This wasn't right. Kim was scaring her.
"Cuz I just, just want you to be happy, and if," Tears were falling like marbles, snot was beginning to flow. Kim Possible was about to prove that she could have the hysterics.
"If, if you can't be h-h-h-happy with me, then I want you to be h-h-h-h-happy... '
"No! Kim, stop!" Shego pleaded, but Kim didn't hear.
"...w-w-w-w-w-withou-ou-ou-ou-oooouuuuuuuu- the word turned into a primal sob. Kim was spluttering, snuffling, crying, about to collapse.
Shego ignored her injuries, twisting her body around, crawling, dragging herself for what seemed like a million miles. Desperately trying to reach the woman that was the love of her life. Nothing mattered other than her Kimmie. Making her Princess happy. Loving her. That's all that mattered. She knew that now. She just had to get that through to her! Finally, she reached her, hugged her as tight as she possibly could.
"Yes, Yes!, YES! I do want you! I do love you! I can't be happy without you! Don't leave me, don't EVER leave me!" Shego cried to the world at the top of her voice. Stopping only when her throat began to choke up. She just hung on to her princess as tight as she could.
Both women were blinking tears, sniffing and snorking. Yes, even the great Shego was crying. They were two pitiful messes who's only hope was each other. Who finally, HAD each other.
Kim had stopped wailing when Shego grabbed her. Being held was calming her down. Slowly, she uncurled and returned the hug, gingerly putting her arms around Shego. Then Kim cleared her throat.
"We're not gonna fight anymore?" Kim asked in a still choked up voice.
"No!" Shego answered.
"You're gonna let me take care of you?"
"Yes!"
"You'll let me cook for you?"
"Uhhhhh." Kim punched her in the kidneys. But not very hard.
"Oh, ok you can cook for me." Shego said. "You won't get any worse, will you? Ow, stop that!"
Kim had one last question. "You're gonna love me?"
"Yes." They kissed. And it didn't hurt anymore.
"Spankin!" Kim exclaimed.
She mussed up Shego's hair and bounced to her feet. Actually bounced! Shego looked up at her. No tears, no redeye, no snot, and her hair was perfect.
She looks like a goddam shampoo ad. How does she do it?
Shego watched her go over to where her suit and bracelet were. She's skipping. Skipping! Fresh as a blasted daisy! Shego took stock of her own condition...she was more like a black eyed susan.
Experience told her the comet power would need at least a few days for the knee, which would have to be in a brace. Her arms were still not working well, one forearm might be broken, needed a splint. Nerve strikes, in both arms Princess? Seriously? Oooo, and don't forget the face. Damn, that smarts. I think she got the cheek AND the orbital bone.
She was taking it easy on me, wasn't she, Shego finally admitted to herself, although she never would admit it to anyone else. Hmmmm, 'After a brilliant career, I decided to settle down...' Yeah, that sounds good.
Shego smiled as Kim came back, now wearing the suit and the bracelet. Kim was still smiling. The plan had worked perfectly. One last fight, winner take all. And Shego was all hers. Now, and forever.
Shego held her hand up to Kim. "You're going to have to help me up. Someone here fights dirty."
"I learned from the best."
"Yeah, well. Someday you'll find out what I didn't teach you." Kim wasn't taking the hand. "Uh, little help?"
"Ah-ah-ah," Kim said. "now YOU'RE the Princess."
Shego's face fell. "Oh no. NO. I refuse. No, stop, no, don't do this, please not the..."
Shego was being carried, like a princess. One arm around Kim's neck, head resting on Kim's shoulder. A smile, not a smirk, on her face. She'd never felt so content, so peaceful, so safe, so loved, so, so...
"So, when are you gonna tell him?" Shego asked.
"Hmm?" Kim seemed not to have heard the question.
"I said, when are you going to tell," that tone was back, "the Doofus?" and Shego's smile, was gone.
"Ron?" Silence accompanied the next few steps. "What is there to tell?"
Kim kept walking. She gave the 'anything wrong Honey?' smile to the girl in her arms. I do not believe this, thought the non-smiling girl.
"Put me down." Shego's arms were now crossed.
"Shegoooooooo." Kim whined to the now former villain.
"Put, me, DOWN."
"Oh, come on. Mrs. Fitzsimmons is waiting for us." Kim indicated with a nod toward where she was walking.
I said, Put me DOWN!" Shego's voice was like ice. Kim did not stop, the crunch of the foilage was the only reply. "NOT ONE STEP FURTHER! I'm warning you Possible...Kim? KIMBERLY ANNE POSSIBLE!"
Kim stopped.
"How did you know my middle name?"
"It was on every bathroom wall at the Global Justice lockup, you two timing SLUT!"
Kim started off again.
Shego started to sputter. "I cannot believe...IF you think...There's no WAY...that you...that HE...that I...with you...you...you SERIOUSLY thought you could get AWAY WITH IT?!"
"Oh please, SO not the drama." she said in response to Shego's sputtering. "After all, I CAN do anything."
Kim blew a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. Why can't Shego just calm down? Kim wondered. There's a nice pallet of blankets, a knee brace and a flexible arm cast in the back of Mrs. Fitzsimmons' van. Then it's only 30 minutes to the hospital, which is all prepared for Shego's unique physiometry.
"Ah-ah-ah, you start wiggling and I might just drop you!" Kim said, trying to keep ahold of her prize.
"I'll drop you! You red headed WHORE! Jezebel! Put me DOOOOOOOOWWWWWNNNNNN!"
They say to this day, on lonely nights down to the old Possible place, you can hear a lone woman's voice, wailing to the Heavens.
Or is it Heaven?