Kim Possible basked in the mellow space between sleep and wakefulness. It was good to be back in her own bed, with the Pandaroo she hadn't been quite brave enough to take to college. She buried her face in his soft fur, breathing a sigh of contentment. He smells nice. Mom must have washed him before I came home. The old toy was just as warm and soft as she remembered. Perhaps more so.

"Oh Pandy." She murmured drowsily and clutched him tighter. "It's good to be home. I had the weirdest dream."

"Did it involve groping a certain plasma-wielding babe while she was trying to sleep?"

"Shego!" Kim's limbs spasmed in four different directions as she threw herself backwards out of the bed, landing with a solid thump on the floor.

"The one and only." The green woman rolled over to the edge of the bed and peered down at her. "That was a pretty loud landing, Princess. All that French food must have agreed with you."

"Shut up."

"Now don't get snitty with me. We're both fully clothed, like I promised. Besides, you're the one who glomped onto me about three o'clock this morning. And it's your fault we're sharing a bed in the first place."

Kim glowered. I've never wanted to kick her butt so bad.

It was especially annoying that everything the green woman said was true.

"What's this?" Kim had asked approximately thirty hours earlier, and half an ocean away, as she picked up the brown envelope Shego had thrown down on the living room coffee table.

"Your paperwork for the tournament. You have to fill it out before they'll let you on the island."

"This thing is held on an island? Is it going to have giant Buddha statues and bad guys with magic sunglasses?"

Shego looked at Kim like she had two heads.

"Was that supposed to make any sense?"

"Never mind." Kim tipped out the contents of the envelope. "Wow ... that's a lot of forms."

"They take security for the tournament very seriously. Never been a single breach in all the times its run. Also, the public liability premiums would be a nightmare without it."

"So you're sure this tournament is legit, then."

"As legit as a tournament to crown the world's best thief can be, yeah. Why?"

"Well, I just figured ... invite all the world's best thieves to one place. Catch 'em all at the same time. Seems like a great idea for the authorities to try."

Shego looked surprised, then impressed.

"I knew you'd make a good sidekick. That's thinking crooked, Kimmie."

The redhead scowled.

"New rule: don't compliment me."

"I think I can manage that." Shego smirked. "But you don't have to worry about being arrested –"

"I wasn't. I was planning to help the cops when they turned up."

"Damn. I might have to break that your rule after all. That's very nearly evil. Sorry Cupcake, but if you're planning to call the good guys down on this thing, you'll have your work cut out for you. The organizers have been dealing with crooks for thousands of years. They're used to people trying to betray them. Better to just help me win it. I want my name up there with the greats: Autolycus, Raffles, Ezekial Morrow –"

"I've never even heard of that last guy."

"That shows how good he was." Shego declared. "Anyway, get those forms filled out so we can get you registered as my sidekick." The green woman smiled smugly at the last word. Kim rolled her eyes.

"Fine, fine. Though I don't know why they couldn't put all this on computer."

"With hackers like Nerdlinger or those CHERUB brats around? Paper forms are much safer. Only a real thief can steal those."

"Whatever." Kim sighed, pulling the forms toward her. "I've got something for you, too." She gestured at a backpack she'd left on the couch.

Shego made a show of pretended embarrassment.

"A present? For me? And it's not even Christmas. What is it?"

"A spare set of my mission equipment. Rocket-skate boots, grapple gun, jetpack, laser lipstick –"

"Laser what?"

"Look, it's a copy of everything I take on missions, except for the clothes. I know you usually just rely on your powers, but I figure we'll need every edge we can find if this tournament is as big a deal as you say."

"Wow ... you really do want us to win this thing, don't you?"

"I don't believe in doing things by halves. Plus if we win, you have to go straight."

Shego smirked salaciously.

"You only mean 'straight' in terms of the law, right? Not anything else. Because I never agreed to that."

Kim sighed.

"Okay, what's with all the pretend lesbian stuff, today? I'm not fifteen any more. You're not going to embarrass me with lame stuff like this."

"What makes you think it's pretend?"

Kim opened her mouth to make a caustic reply, but something in Shego's expression stopped her. The tilt of the green woman's slightly curled lip was as snide as ever, but it seemed forced, like the question was more important than she wanted to let on. Is she really ... ?

"But all those buff guys you've had on your arm ..."

"Beards. Jeez, Princess. Didn't the time you tracked me down on that cruise give you a hint?"

Kim was confused.

"Should it?"

"Doy. It was an 'Olivia' cruise. Seems like you can take the girl out of Middleton, but not the Middleton out of the girl."

"... but ... what about when Drakken hugged you? You didn't seem to mind."

"Look, Dr D's okay. He's like a slightly less irritating brother to me. But just because his flower gets a little fresh when he's drunk doesn't mean I want to sleep with him."

"So ... you're gay?"

"As a character on The L Word."

"But you liked Mr Barkin ..."

"That wasn't me." Shego's tone turned icy. Kim blinked. Okay, that's a sore point. And a reminder: this is Shego, not Miss Go. I need to keep on my guard better than I have been doing.

"Uh ... so why are you telling me this now?"

"Because the organizers of this tournament are thorough, and they like to mess with the competitors to throw them off their games. They're going to know my sexual preferences, and they're probably going to try making them an issue between us. So this is a pre-emptive strike on my part, because I really need to know now if my being a lesbian will be an issue for you."

"It's no big." It is so the drama.

Shego didn't look wholly convinced, but eventually she shrugged.

"Look Pumpkin, I want to win this thing. We need to be on the same page to do that. You have my word – assuming you're willing to take it – that while I might tease you, I won't do anything more. I know you don't swing my way, and that you have a boyfriend -"

"Oh, I'm not seeing anyone."

"Huh?"

Kim waved it off.

"Four month old news. Short version: long distance relationships don't work. Long version: none of your business. Just like your sexuality is none of mine."

"So why do you care what I call ... Ron?"

"He's still my best friend, Shego."

"Oh. So not a nasty bust-up then?"

"Not your business, remember?"

"Right. Anyway: you don't play for my team, and even if you did, I'm not interested."

"Oh." Kim was relieved that the older woman wasn't crushing on her. That would have been awkweird. Still, it was a little insulting to be told she wasn't desirable.

"Nothing personal, Kitten." Shego seemed to read her thoughts. "You're cute and all, but just too clean-cut and wholesome for my tastes. So, are you okay with this?"

"About the gay thing? Totally." Kim white lied. Not totally, but I can deal with it. "About the four years of trying to plasma-fry my head? That's still an issue."

Shego managed a rather wan-sounding chuckle.

"Thanks. Now I'll make us some coffee while you fill in those forms, sidekick."

Kim fought the urge to give the green woman the finger, and set to work on the first form. Name. She briefly thought about putting a pseudonym, then remembered what Shego had said about the thoroughness of the tournament organizers. Besides, my face has been on TV a bunch of times. Someone at the tournament will recognize me, anyway. She resolutely wrote "Kim Possible" in the space. Date of Birth and other personal information followed, and then she reached the sixth field.

"Relationship to Contestant. Partner or Sidekick?" The redhead pursed her lips and scowled. Shego only ever mentioned being a 'sidekick'! But then, Shego wasn't the one filling in the form. Kim grinned and firmly circled the word "Partner".

"I thought it meant 'partner' in the sense of being equals in a team!" Kim fumed as she levered herself from the floor.

"Oh Pumpkin." Shego shook her head, her voice half-choked by suppressed laughter. "That's not how criminals work. There's always a hierarchy. 'Partner' means bed buddy."

"You're loving this, aren't you?" Kim accused.

Shego shrugged.

"Maybe a little. Look, I'd ask the organizers to swap us to a room with two beds, if I thought they'd actually do it, but I guarantee they're loving this even more than you think I am. And I did offer to sleep on the couch."

"Actually, you offered to let me sleep on the couch."

"Close enough." Shego gave a shameless smirk. Despite herself, Kim felt her mood lighten a little, which was worrying in its own right. It's too easy to forget she's a villain.

"You're evil, you know that?"

"Mmmm ... flattery will get you everywhere, Kimmie." Shego purred, then laughed when Kim flushed bright pink.

Author's Notes: I'm currently working on "Most Wanted", a KiGo fic where Shego is straight, or at least she starts that way, and have plans for other stories where she is gay (or bi) and into Kim, so I thought it might be interesting in this one to make her gay, but not interested in Kim ... at least initially. I'm sure she will come to her senses over time!

Off to work on the next chapter of "Most Wanted" now.