I don't own these characters.
Okay, this is tricky. The journal entry is in bold and italics while the notes are just in italics. I think this is only place I had to do this foolishness. I didn't mean to have both a journal entry and a letter in the same chapter.
21: Deep down
This is for my love.
-*-(Present)-*-
"Is that another journal?" Kim asked with some hope in her voice. A small book rested at the top of the box Shego just pried open. Kim clung to Shego's shoulders while Shego smiled a little.
The tiny tome looked very similar to the one that they had recently finished reading. It was leather bound with a thick black cover to protect the off-white pages within. It was the same size as the other journal, too. They might have hit the jackpot, they considered.
"Looks that way," Shego replied as she freed the book from its coffin. There were other things hidden away in the small container.
"What's this other stuff?" the slender redhead inquired while eyeing the things sharing a tomb with the book.
"Let's take a look," the older woman suggested.
Kim nodded and remained parked against Shego's back, which the older woman did not mind. Shego pulled out a few things that she would classify as "junk," but she figured it was sentimental junk, which made it worse in her opinion. Kim looked at the stuff that she tugged out, but did not tell her to halt as she cast them aside. The redhead gave the items a good look. There were many things that she recognized as keepsakes from a relationship, such as small stones, a few bits of jewelry, a couple of seashells and many other small bobbles that would probably be meaningless to anyone aside from the box owner. Shego came across a bundle of letters at the bottom.
"Um…" Shego was speechless, even though they did not have any proof yet that the letters were from her ancestor. She just assumed they were because that was the first thing that came to her mind. She could not believe that Sheshona might have actually written back.
"Oh! Open those!" Kim told the thief with way too much enthusiasm when she caught sight of the letters. She was seriously hyped because she also assumed those were letters from Sheshona. She thought about how soon they would know what happened to their ancestors and they would see that two people could find true love despite all of the things that they had gone through.
"All right. All right. We have got to switch you to decaf," Shego remarked with a bit of a laugh.
"But, I don't drink coffee," the petite hero pointed out.
"Well, you're going to have to start chewing sugar-free gum or something," the pale woman riposted.
Kim only smiled and Shego unwrapped the letters from a pink lace ribbon that kept them together. She noticed none of the letters were in envelopes, but they were folded with precision to make them a certain size, which was roughly the same size of an index card. She unfolded the first one.
"This is short," the hyper hero commented about the letter as soon as she saw what was on the page.
"It's probably her shopping list," the raven-haired sidekick joked.
"So cynical. Read it," Kim requested.
"And what's wrong with your eyes?" Shego inquired.
"Come on!" Kim whined while clutching Shego's shoulders. She was way too excited with the find and it was a little annoying.
"If I read it, you have to buy me dinner," the moss-hued villainess stated.
"But, I'm broke," the redheaded adventurer replied. She could not afford to buy herself dinner at the moment thanks to working on the house. She relied on Shego for that meal, not to mention a few that followed.
"Aren't you always? Why do I even hang out with you?" the pale woman sighed. She was a bit more amused than she sounded, but she did not want her companion to know that.
"Aw," Kim pouted.
"No, no, no. Put that thing away," Shego ordered, fearing it might turn into a "puppy dog pout."
Shego decided to just read the letter because it might calm Kim down somewhat and stop her from pouting. Shego would really like that. She was not sure why the kid was suddenly so bouncy, but she disliked it… somewhat. Okay, it was a little adorable, but it was also irksome, so they canceled each other out.
Shego cleared her throat before she began, "Our afternoon together was beautiful, much like you. I'm sorry we were disturbed before I could do what I know we both desired. I suppose we'll have plenty of time for that. I await our next meeting. Sheshona."
"Then they got back together!" Kim grinned. Score one for true love.
"No way," Shego said in disbelief. She would not give any points to love without some hard evidence and one four sentence note would not cut the mustard for her, even if all of the other letters in her hand were penned by the same person.
"I told you that they found true love. I win the bet," the redhead declared with a broad smile.
"We don't know that for sure," Shego argued.
"How much more proof do you need, oh-cynical one?" Kim inquired, craning an eyebrow.
"More than one note, I tell you that much."
"Well, open another one. Open all of them and let's read the journal, too, and you'll see," Kim suggested and bragged at the same time.
"You're getting way too hyped up there, Kimmie. You're already at an eleven. I need you at like a three," the older woman commented and she glanced behind her since Kim just bounced on her shoulder.
"Sorry," the college student apologized with a sheepish expression. She really had not realized how she behaved because she was too excited with everything. She hoped they found out everything that happened between their ancestors. The whole "weirdness" of it all had worn off with her and she just hoped the best for them.
"Now, what do you want to do first, look at the notes or the journal?" the elder female inquired.
"How many notes are there?"
"Dozens," Shego answered while flipping through all of the paper in her hands. Damn it, did they really need to write each other that much? Was having a verbal, out loud conversation too much to ask for back then or was it just them?
"Well, let's see what the notes are all about first," Kim replied. Shego nodded and unfolded the next note in the stack.
-8-8-8-8-
Will you always serve me tea and cake when I show up at your door? They do taste divine, but are nothing compared to you. You are the only thing on my mind, even if you're sitting right in front of me. You're so tempting and I enjoy giving into temptation. Yet, you hold me at bay because he might come in. I understand, but it's so unfair. I will have my tea and cake for now, but I will have my dearest doctor sometime soon too. I promise you that, my darling love. Sheshona.
-*-(1856)-*-
Sheshona lay in her bed, penning a note to her beloved. She stayed at some small boardinghouse that she never would have thought to check into before coming to Middleton. She was used to expensive surroundings or at least having several women at her beckon for whatever things that might come to mind. The room she had now was neither of those things. It filled the only priority she had while seeking a room and that was that it was close to her beloved. Simple as that.
The room was about the size of a closet in her opinion. It had a disagreeable odor to it that she forced herself to ignore. The other boarders were stupid, loud, and rude. She believed it was only a matter of time before she had to hurt one or more of them, especially if the guys wanted to keep trying to get into her room or get her to come into their rooms.
The woman that ran the place was cute, but off-limits now. She did not even think about the woman like she would have before. In the past, Sheshona would have been working her magic on the lovely blond woman the moment that she saw her, but now, the woman barely registered to her. She hardly saw women at all anymore. The world was now populated with people that she would not sleep with. There was only her beloved doctor to her now when it came to the female gender.
She always penned a short note to Kimberly in response to any letters that the physician wrote her or any time after they were together. It pleased her to see the smile that appeared on Kimberly's face when she handed the doctor a new note. It was like the doctor had just received diamonds. She always delivered the notes herself to see that expression, the delighted glimmer in her beloved's olive eyes just because she received something from Sheshona. She typically gave the redhead the short letters when they met up for afternoon tea and cake.
Sheshona spent Kimberly's free afternoons with the doctor whenever she had them. The redhead always seemed so happy when Sheshona showed up. She always grinned as wide as all of outside when Sheshona stepped into the house. The pale woman often wondered why that was, even though she thoroughly enjoyed being the person that made Kimberly so happy. Kimberly's expression always showed Sheshona that her darling doctor felt the same way about her.
"Oh, to be in love," Sheshona said sarcastically to the ceiling.
She did not have any problem with the feeling anymore, not after the hell she had gone through trying to get away from the feeling. It was just she could not have her beloved all to herself and that frustrated her somewhat. She wanted so much more than a couple of afternoons a week. She did not even really have the time to waste considering the fact that she knew her father could find her at any moment. There had to be someway for her to get more of Kimberly, if not all of Kimberly, at least for a day.
Kimberly would have liked to spend all of her time with Sheshona. Kimberly continued to shuffle things to make sure she had free afternoons, but it never seemed like enough time. Part of her actually thought things were better when Sheshona was her patient. Sure there were all kinds of ethical problems with Sheshona as her patient, but at least she got to see the raven-haired woman every day. It was tough to only see Sheshona when she had a spare afternoon and then to be teased with such fiery kisses and caresses from the emerald-eyed minx, but knowing they could not go any further because they did not have enough time to do anything.
It was more than physical intimacy with the time issue. Kimberly wished she could just lie in Sheshona's arms for the day, cuddle up with her, and just rest with her. She had never felt so safe and secure with a person, not even her husband, compared to what she felt when she was with Sheshona. Odd, she knew since Sheshona had hurt her so badly, but the efforts Sheshona went through now to correct it was more than enough to mend her. It made her feel so special and she just wanted to bask in that feeling while pressed against Sheshona.
In all of the years that Kimberly had been with her husband, she had never felt the urge to snuggle into him. She barely felt the urge to hug him, even when they were younger. She had always assumed she was not the affectionate type, that she just was not that type of woman.
All of Kimberly's life, she had been different from what she had been told a woman should be. She was not sure why that was and she tried not to contemplate it. People blamed her father, saying he never should have raised her on his own. People claimed he raised her like a boy, but to this day, she had no idea what that meant. Her father did not agree, always telling her how wonderful she was.
She had always tried to ignore she was different and act like everyone else. She was not too sure why she started doing it. It was not like her father pushed her to confirm. She thought perhaps it was because other children used to make fun of her for being different, so she tried not to be so different, but she was not too certain of that. She had never really concerned herself with them since she could not relate to them anyway. Maybe it was because older women used to look at her and assume she did not know how to act like a lady because she did not have a mother to show her how, but she was not sure of that either. It seemed like it happened so long ago.
It seemed simple enough, to pretend to be a normal woman, but she still had dreams and desires. She chased those with as much speed and energy as a bolt of lightning, encouraged by her father the whole way. Still, as she chased her dreams, she put on a mask to appear normal. She wanted to seem like an average woman for some reason. She had married her childhood friend because it seemed like the thing a normal woman would do. She had sworn that she loved him like a wife should love a husband, but Sheshona taught her differently.
She had never felt any of the things that she felt for Sheshona for her husband. She had never felt so strongly for anyone like she for Sheshona. She supposed no matter how hard she tried, she just could not be like everyone else. She and Sheshona were the perfect abnormal couple.
Yes, we are a couple, Kimberly thought whimsically. Her paperwork lay neglected at her desk like flat corpses, forgotten because of her daydreams. It was not the first time it happened and it more than likely would not be the last time. The paperwork could wait. It was better that she neglect that instead of her patients or other work.
Sheshona was always on her mind until she could see the raven-haired female next. She grew anxious when she did not see her dearest one for days on end. She was not sure if she completely liked being in love, being affected by someone so badly and not being in total control of herself, but she accepted it because she knew being away from Sheshona only meant terrible, horrible agony.
"So, this is love?" Kimberly mused with a smile on her face. She was definitely a girl in love.
She absently wondered if her husband felt for her what she felt for Sheshona. She doubted he did because if he did, he would act differently. Benjamin did not even really act like her friend anymore. He left her to her work most of the time and almost anything that he would have done with her in the past, he did with their son now. She supposed he respected her much like she respected him, which was why he left her to her work. She often left him to his work, too.
It was rather a good thing Benjamin often left her to her own devices now. If he always tried to do something with her, he would have long ago discovered her with Sheshona, especially with the way Sheshona behaved when they were alone. She did not mind the behavior and rarely protested anything Sheshona did, unless it seemed that she attempted something that would take more time than they had at their disposal. If things were left to Sheshona, they would have been caught a long time in a rather compromising position and she doubted they would have been able to lie their way out of it.
"She probably wouldn't even care," Kimberly murmured with a smile. Her heart thumped heavy as she recalled the last time they were together, talking and kissing as usual.
Kimberly could not wait for the next time she and Sheshona got together. Her free afternoons were too far in between, but when they finally arrived, she felt ecstatic. It was almost like she could walk on clouds. She made Sheshona's favorite cake and tea, even though she knew the food was not what her lover was interested in. It did not matter because she still liked having Sheshona's favorite things waiting for her. Sheshona actually appreciated the gesture and said so many times.
The doctor supposed some part of her should feel guilty for entertaining her paramour right in her home, sometimes with her husband in the house in his office and on a couple of occasions, right in front of the man. Benjamin had greeted Sheshona so many times as she came in and he was on his way out or the other way around. He smiled politely at her, not suspecting what went on when he disappeared.
But, she did not feel guilty about any of it, which Sheshona told her was good. Sheshona did not see why her lover should feel guilty. Sheshona liked to point out that she made Kimberly feel much better than her husband and she should just revel in that fact. Guilt was for idiots that did not know what they wanted in life in Sheshona's opinion.
Kimberly did not feel guilty, one because she loved Sheshona. She could not help that. But, mostly because she and Benjamin did not feel like they were a couple anymore. They never were a couple and there was nothing between them.
-8-8-8-8-
"Hey," Sheshona said as she entered Kimberly's home. She greeted the redhead with a lingering kiss on the lips almost in front of everyone that was on the street or happened to be looking in their direction. Of course, they would have to see from several yards away considering the size of the front yard.
"Sheshona," Kimberly scolded her overzealous beloved while pulling away.
"You worry too much, Duchess," Sheshona replied with a wicked smirk.
Kimberly had reason to worry; her neighbors were extremely nosy. A few people had already mistaken Sheshona for a slender, longhaired gentleman because of her clothing. Someone had even reported to her husband that she entertained a man when he was out. Thankfully, Benjamin already knew people mistook Sheshona for a man and he just laughed it off while explaining Kimberly had an eccentric female friend that dressed like a man for some reason. They had barely dodged a bullet on that one.
Some of the neighbors had not believed that Sheshona was a woman that was dressed as a man, but others confirmed it. The others confirmed it because sometimes Sheshona and Kimberly sat outside on the swing that was on the porch. Other times, they happened to be near the gates when Sheshona arrived or left the house. Getting a decent look at the raven-haired female and it was clear that she was indeed a woman.
"What's this?" Kimberly asked as she noticed Sheshona held a package tucked her arm while the other woman stepped further into the house.
"Oh, something for you," Sheshona answered.
"You bought me a gift?" Kimberly inquired with a smile. It was clear from her expression that she was flattered.
"Yes, and I want to watch you open it and I want to see you in it, too. Now, if not sooner," the pale woman practically cooed.
Kimberly made a confused face. It was a rare day indeed when she got such a large present from anyone. Actually, she had not received many gifts in her life and almost all of those were from her father. She wondered what her beloved had purchased for her. She hoped it was not something racy since the emerald-eyed woman talked of wanting to see her in it as soon as possible. She had no doubt Sheshona knew where to buy things that she never even imagined existed.
They stepped deeper into the house. They went to the parlor as usual and Sheshona handed over the long box in her hands. Kimberly carefully peeled away the blue paper that covered the box; yes, Sheshona had wrapped her gift. She then pulled the lid off of the container and revealed folded pink material. She lifted the cloth out of the box and saw that it was a silk pink mandarin style dress.
"Wow," Kimberly muttered and stroked the fine material with her thumb. "This is amazing."
"All right, go put it on," Sheshona commanded. She was anxious to see what her beloved looked like in silk. More to the point, she was anxious to find out what her lover felt like wearing silk.
"What?" the redhead asked as if she did not understand the order. She was caught off guard by it.
"I want to see you in it, so go put it on."
Regaining some composure, Kimberly smiled and nodded. She was eager to try on her beautiful present. She had actually never seen a dress like it, but she had seen things close to it. She put it on as quickly as possible and was surprised by the feel of the material. It was so light and comfortable. She rushed back to Sheshona to thank her for the clothing. She nearly tackled Sheshona with her embrace.
"Wait, wait, wait," Sheshona said as she put Kimberly an arms' length away from her.
"What?" Kimberly asked.
"I want to see you in it and that's hard to do with you pressed against me," Sheshona commented.
"You don't want me pressed against you?" Kimberly asked with pretend shock to tease her pale paramour. She teasingly rubbed up against her lover, causing the raven-haired woman to groan.
"After I see you in the dress," Sheshona replied while giving her redheaded lover a good look. It was perfect, so much better than the bulky, heavy dresses that women typically wore. She would have to buy a few more of those for her lover. "You are so exceptionally beautiful," she stated in low, almost reverent tone.
"You only say that because you bought the dress," Kimberly remarked with a smile and a light blush.
Sheshona laughed as her heart beat just a little faster. She pulled Kimberly back to her for a long, soft kiss. She gently probed Kimberly's body with her eager hands. Yes, that dress worked so much better than the other. She could feel more of Kimberly and Kimberly could appreciate the contact more. Perfect. One of Sheshona's hands made its way to Kimberly's rump and rested there, merrily kneading the fleshly area as if it was fresh dough. Kimberly moaned into Sheshona's mouth because of all of the attention. The redhead felt like her knees would give out if things continued on and then a knocked at the door interrupted them. They broke their kiss.
"He's home already?" Sheshona asked in disbelief. She referred to Kimberly's husband, who she always called "he." She never spoke his name, even if he stood right there. He never seemed to notice.
"He wouldn't knock," Kimberly pointed out.
The redhead went to answer the door. Sheshona went with her just in case; hey, something could happen at the front door. Kimberly opened the door and before her stood a man that seemed vaguely familiar to her. He was beyond familiar to Sheshona; he was her father. Oh, boy, Sheshona thought.
-*-(Present)-*-
"I told you, they found true love. Just concede the bet already," Kim said to Shego. She claimed victory because of all of the little love notes Sheshona wrote Kimberly. They were together and loved every minute of it. True love won as far as the hero was concerned.
"I will not," Shego declared. A few notes would not convince her that the past pair had found anything except for more insanity if the doctor bought whatever it was her ancestor peddled.
"Come on!" Kim groaned in an exhausted tone. What more did the thief need? Did she want the couple to come back from the dead and just smack her while yelling that they were in love? Knowing Shego, she would have some cynical argument for that, too.
"Give Sheshona some time and she'll screw up or she'll show her true colors," Shego stated.
"What kind of thing is that to say about the woman you're more than likely named after? You should have faith in her."
Shego scoffed. "Just because she has my name? Not freaking likely. I know how my family acts."
"So, what you're saying is that if someone was precious to you, even to call them all kinds of pet names, and you cared deeply for that person, you'd still purposely hurt that person in the end?" Kim inquired with a very serious look in her olive eyes.
Shego frowned; what the hell kind of question is that? Just what kind of situation was Kim trying to suggest? Did she have a specific person in mind? Should she be careful in the way she answered the hypothetical situation?
The fact that she even thought about how to answer the question told her that she cared enough about Kim to not want to upset her or change the redhead's opinion of her for the worse. Would she purposely hurt Kim? At the moment, she doubted it, unless they were physically fighting anyway. Maybe Sheshona was the same, she considered. The letters did not seem to be from a person willing to purposely hurt the woman she called her "Duchess," but Shego really did not want to concede the bet.
"Princess, what do you say we call it a draw," Shego suggested.
"A draw?" Kim echoed as if she had never heard of such a thing. Asking Kim to tie was like asking her to go to the end of the rainbow. She did not know how it worked and unless something good came of it, she really did not care how it worked.
"Yeah, a draw. I mean, we'll never be able to know if it was true love. But, they're together and that's good enough. So, I'll make dinner tonight, but when you get some money, you owe me a meal. Okay?"
Olive eyes narrowed. "Are you going to make breakfast, too?"
"We'll see about that. Let's get going, too. We'll take the book with us and read that tonight," Shego said and Kim nodded in agreement.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: what is Sheshona going to do with her father just showing up when everything seems right in her world? Kim and Shego share a bed… and something more.