"Trust in the Shego…"
Kim giggled.
"Listen well to the Shego…"
Kim clapped both hands over her mouth.
"Obey the Shego…cause if you don't…"
Kim yelped at a pinch on her butt, slapping it away and jumping to the ready, arms up.
"Good! Much quicker on the draw today, though your ass is still on the bony side."
"Shego!"
"Hell yeah! That's the Kim I know!"
Kim came in fast, and Shego pulled back to give herself room. Shego could see the spark in Kim's eyes once again, and she reveled in it, twisting, blocking, and striking. She was in heaven. That dance, that moment, when it was just the two of them, when nothing else in the world mattered.
"How does it feel, to be free? To do something, just for yourself? No damn wannabe supervillains, no time limits, just a day to ourselves, for our own sakes?"
Kim's face lit up and she pressed harder, nearly slipping through Shego's defenses. Shego saw that look, and mirrored it in her own eyes. They sparred for the better part of an hour before both separated, gasping for breath, watching each other, neither wanting to be the first off their feet. Shego laughed in utter joy between breaths and staggered out of the room, Kim close behind. They both collapsed onto the sofa, Shego handing a water bottle to Kim, and watching out of the corner of her eye as a few stray drops ran over her chin, down her neck, and onto the sweat-soaked suit she wore.
She looks much better in my clothes…although the crop-top does has its appeal…"Now…what have we learned?"
"Excuse me?"
Shego turned and dropped her head onto Kim's lap. Kim glared down at her, but did nothing.
"A growing hero needs her sleep, proper nutrition, and should know when to take some time off. Understand?"
Kim rolled her eyes.
"Yes, Shego."
"Cause otherwise, who knows? You'll become irritable, cranky, it's bad for your health…"
Shego sat up, and moved next to Kim, leaning against her. Kim blushed at the look she was getting as Shego leaned down.
"…Start sleeping with strange women…"
Kim tried to scramble away, but Shego jumped on top of her.
"Yeah, what's up with that? Last night…"
After simply jumping into bed while Kim was busy protesting the idea, Kim had reluctantly climbed into bed with Shego, staying as far away from her as possible. That ended the second Kim had fallen asleep, however, with no help from Shego. Kim had woken up to find her arms wrapped tight around the other girl, but had managed to extricate herself without waking Shego up, or so she thought.
"Maybe you thought I was your stuffed animal again, huh? Or maybe, you knew it was me, and you still wanted a cuddle."
Kim's eyes widened in shock and she threw Shego off, scrambling to put the sofa between them.
"I-I-I did NOT!"
"Don't you ever dream about me, Kimmie? Cause you should know I dre-"
Kim stared as Shego quickly clamped her mouth shut and turned away, heading for the kitchen. Her eyes followed the retreating form as Shego grabbed some food from the fridge and started cramming it into her mouth, without a single look in Kim's direction.
"You should take a shower before you head home."
Those were the last words Kim heard until after she had bathed, changed, and the two were well on their way back to Middleton.
"Shego?"
"…"
"I wanted to say…Thank you."
Shego turned away from the control panel to stare in open surprise at Kim.
"I mean…even though you are selfish, arrogant, self-absorbed…it helped, and it was even a little…fun. And…even if I still think you're a complete pain…maybe…"
"Maybe…you'd be willing to do some more…consulting work?"
"Yeah, maybe."
The two rode in awkward silence until Kim finally said goodbye and reached for the rope ladder as they hung over her backyard.
"Kim?"
"Yes?"
"You still got my e-mail address?"
"Yeah."
Shego glanced back to her and nodded once before turning back to the controls. Kim climbed out of the holographic disguise, dropping the last few feet to the ground and waving to Shego, staying to watch the copter fly off. When it was out of sight, she turned and headed back into her house.
"Hey Mom, hey Dad!"
"Kimmie-cub! I heard you got hurt?"
"Oh, it was nothing, really."
Kim gave both her parents a hug before dashing upstairs to her room.
"Dear…"
"Yes?"
"Is it my imagination…or did Kim seem…happier than normal?"
"Did she?"
Mrs. Possible stared at her husband before sipping her own coffee, her eyes following the route her daughter had just taken.
Kim stared in surprise at the piles of homework, notices, schedules and other things she couldn't put a name to that crammed her room.
How…She began to sort through the immense mess. Did I ever get myself into this position? Was Shego right? Was that all I needed…a vacation from all this? What did she say…just a day to ourselves, for our own sakes?
A beeping interrupted her thoughts. Pulling out her Kimmunicator, she saw Wade staring at her as if studying her.
"What's the…Wade? What, something on my face?"
Wade continued to stare at her through the screen before speaking.
"Kim…"
"Wade…"
"Would you open the scanner port please?"
"Umm…Alright…"
A green ray from the built-in scanning devices flashed around her, taking longer than normal.
"What is it?"
"Just making sure Shego didn't pull anything on you."
"I…don't think so, but you should scan anyways…I guess."
Kim waited as the scan finished, then watched Wade type something, frown, and start typing again.
"Looks like…she was telling the truth. I can't find any evidence of any drugs, chemicals, or anything of that sort."
"I…didn't think you would."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. Is that all?"
"Ahh…yeah, I guess."
"Alright, later Wade."
Kim pocketed the device and turned back to the piles. A part of her didn't want to do this, but a larger, more reasonable part, knew she had to. Rolling up her sleeves, Kim began to sort through the papers, what was important, and what she could do without. In the end, after a few dozen phone calls and two wastebaskets worth of papers, half the work she had piled on herself went out the window. Flopping onto the bed, Kim realized she didn't have anything to do. At least, she didn't have anything she had to do for someone else.
One week later…
"Morning, Kimmie."
"Morning, Mom."
Mrs. Dr. Possible stared at her daughter out of the corner of her eye. I was starting to get worried, but it looks like she's turned herself around…She continued to watch as her daughter happily ate breakfast, yelled at her brothers, and jumped out the door, looking quite healthy. I was wondering what made her neglect herself, but I guess she got over it…maybe one of her friends knows…I shouldn't pry…maybe I'll ask Kim later…
"So, feeling better?"
"What?"
Kim glanced over at Monique, who was leaning on the locker next to hers, grinning.
"I know a thing or two about makeup. Don't think I didn't notice when you started slapping a ton of it on to hide the rings under your eyes."
"Oh…I…yeah."
"You wanna talk about it?"
"I…"
"Hello, ladies!"
"Hey Ron."
"Ronald…"
"What?"
Monique glared and pointed a finger back the way he came. Ron looked over his shoulder and frowned.
"What am I supposed to be looking at?"
Monique slapped a hand against her forehead and leaned closer to Kim, whispering. After a moment, Kim nodded, and Monique turned and headed for class. Ron was still stretching, trying to look over the crowd.
"What?"
"So…"
"Umm…basically, I was burning out. I was doing everything I possibly could, because…well…I felt I had to."
Monique took a sip of her milkshake, nodding sagely.
"So you're back to normal?"
"Yeah! Turns out, all I needed was a little 'me time."
"Yeah, that's just the thing when life gets you down. So, what'd you do?"
"What'd I do what?"
"You know, what did you do, where did you go…who did you do it with…"
Kim's cheeks flushed, and Monique, sensing something juicy, leaned over the table.
"Oooo…c'mon…tell me."
"I…can't, really."
"C'mon, fess up! Anyone I know?"
"No!"
The speed of the answer surprised Monique, and she leaned back, studying the look that spread across Kim's face.
"So not Ron…"
"Monique, please. Just…I don't wanna talk about it."
"If it was a total mess, it wouldn't have cheered you up, right? So…it must have been very, very good."
"Monique! Please! I…just…argh."
Kim's head fell onto the tabletop, and Monique reached out to pat her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, if you wanna keep it private, that's cool."
"No, it's not cool. We…I…it was…great. But, that's the problem. I walked into it thinking it would be a nightmare, but now…"
"Wow. This is serious, huh?"
"No…Yes…I don't know. I…thought I knew her, and now…she shows me a side I didn't think existed, and know I don't know if it was some headgame or if…wait…I just said 'her' didn't I?"
"Uh huh…"
"Crap."
"So…you had a great time…with a girl."
"It wasn't like that. At least, I don't think it was…but the way she acted towards me…"
"The way…you think she…has a thing for you?"
"I…oh god…all this time…no way…she couldn't…she wouldn't."
"Why? Who is it? Girl's honor, Kim, just between us."
"…Shego."
"Shego? The green girl you're always fighting?"
"Shhhh!"
"Sorry. Wow. Makes sense."
"WHAT?"
"Come on! The fights, the pet names, the tight little midriff you like to show off…"
"So not helping. Shego is evil. She kidnapped me. And the 'vacation' wasn't exactly a walk in the park, and I have the bruises to prove it."
"You just said it was great."
"I…she told me the only reason she did it was because she had to be the one to beat me. She was only really doing for herself. She stole my clothes, kicked me around, slapped me when I wouldn't do what she said…"
"Wait a minute!"
"What?"
"She took your clothes?"
"Yeah! Waltzed in the room before I could dress, started leering at me…oh no."
"Mmmm…tough love."
"Monique!"
"Ahhhh…could the hero's true love redeem the villain?
"Mo-argh!"
Kim started banging her head on the tabletop, and Monique returned to her milkshake, grinning wickedly.