"Kim Possible speaking." The redhead snatched up the ringing phone in her room, clutching a towel around herself, hair still dripping from the shower.
"Good morning, Ms Possible. This is the front desk calling. There's a Ms Shirley here to see you."
Kim winced, shooting a rueful look at the clock beside her bed. She'd so giddy after her date with Shego, she hadn't been able to sleep, and now the late night was catching up with her.
"Thanks. Please let her know I'll be down in a few minutes."
"Will do, Ms Possible."
Kim hung up the phone and rapidly dragged a comb through her hair. She wrinkled her nose, wishing she hadn't given herself quite so many 'five more minutes' with the snooze button this morning. Well, it'll have to do. I don't want to keep her waiting.
The redhead pulled on her clothes as quickly as she could, dressing for warmth and comfort: cargo pants and boots, over thick woolen socks, then a thermal vest, t-shirt, flannel shirt, and ski jacket. She stuffed ear muffs and a woolen cap in her pocket.
"Nice outfit." Shego raised an eyebrow as the teen hero arrived in the hotel lobby. "Get a buzzcut and you'll be quite the little butch."
"I don't want to be cold." Kim complained mildly, though she did feel a little underdressed next to the older woman. Shego cut an elegant figure in black jeans and a crisply-pressed emerald green top. A stylist black jacket was folded over the armrest beside her. She looks amazing. "I thought you said we were going to be outside this morning?"
"We are." The green woman rose from the couch where she'd been waiting. "I have a change of clothes in the car. I didn't want to wander into your hotel looking like a bum." Dark lips curled in a wicked smile. "Though I see that's not something which worries you."
"Hush." Kim gave her best mock glare. "Or I'll follow you around all day begging for spare change." Internally, her heart did little flip-flops. She was worried about making me look bad!
"I'm tempted to call your bluff on that, Princess."
"I don't bluff." Kim watched the contemplative narrowing of the other woman's eyes with some disquiet. "Well, almost never. So ... what is this excursion you've been so secretive about?" Maybe a change of topic is a good idea.
"You'll see when we get there." Despite the hint of a pout on the redhead's face, the pale woman refused to give so much as a hint. "Don't worry. I promise it isn't illegal."
"I never thought it would be!" Kim protested. She glanced down, then peeked up at Shego through her fringe. "... I'm just not good with secrets. I wanna know what's going on."
"Huh." A small smile flickered around the pale woman's lips. "I bet you were one of those kids who always found their Christmas presents beforehand and never had any surprises on the actual day."
"And you weren't?" Challenge grew in the younger woman's olive green eyes.
Shego laughed. "My parents had to hide the presents at our relatives' houses."
"See? We're not completely different, after all." Kim gave a grin as they exited the hotel lobby, and looped her arm through Shego's.
"We're both impatient? It's not exactly a deep, philosophical connection, Princess." Despite her dismissive words, the green woman did not shy away from the redhead's touch.
"It's a start."
"Yeah, I guess it is."
"Wow." Kim stared up at the elegant building, with its towers and turrets. Draped in a layer of white snow, every window glowing with warm light, it was like something out of a fairy tale.
"It's called Chateau Frontenac." Shego explained as she emerged from the car. The green woman still wore her black jeans, but her elegant pumps were replaced by a pair of hiking boots, and her tailored jacket with a comfortable, over-sized woolen pullover. A flame-red ski jacket and an equally garish woolen beanie completed the ensemble.
"It's beautiful." The redhead breathed. Then her brow wrinkled very slightly. "It's a hotel, isn't it?" Her lips curled into a grin and she gave the taller woman a sly glance. "You know, it's only our second date, Shego. I'm not that kind of girl."
Shego shook her head with a chuckle.
"Sorry to disappoint you, Kimmie, but we're not going inside."
"We're not?" The redhead looked confused.
"Outdoor activity, remember?" Shego led the way to the left, following the wall of the hotel. "I just parked out front because the view's so good. What we're here for, is this." The former villainess gestured as the two women reached the rear of the building.
The icy toboggan slide curved past them, the summit towering nearly twenty-five stories above the base. Dark-clad figures struggled up the hill alongside the ramp, dragging their sleds behind them.
"Oh wow." Kim's eyes grew wide.
"You're using that word a lot today." Shego grinned, then let out a grunt of surprise as she found herself enthusiastically hugged by a gleeful redhead.
"This is going to be so cool!" Kim exclaimed, releasing the hug, but grabbing Shego's arm, instead. She watched as a sled whipped past them, the squeals of its riders echoing in its wake. "How fast can we go?"
"They say you can hit sixty miles an hour." The green woman grinned. Kimmie's really excited. "You know, Princess ... you've been in space, rocket-bladed up the sides of buildings, and jumped out of airplanes ... I was worried tobogganing would feel a bit tame."
"It's different." Kim waved away the comparison. "That was for missions. This is for fun."
The two women hired their sled, Shego paying their first ride fee, then began the slow tramp up to the summit of the ramp.
"This is one part of the process I could happily skip." Shego grumbled, prompting a laugh and a gentle nudge from Kim.
"Oh come on, doesn't all this work make the final reward all the sweeter?"
"No. It just makes me sweaty."
"Sounds like a win-win situation to me."
"Kimberley Anne Possible!" Shego pretended to be shocked, stifling a grin as the redhead flushed in embarrassment over her own comment. "You used to be such a nice girl."
"It's not my fault, your honor." Kim rallied, bumping Shego gently with her shoulder. "I fell in with a bad crowd."
The green woman's next quip died on her lips, and she merely grunted.
"Shego?" The redhead sensed the other woman's change in mood. "What's the matter?"
"It's good to know how you really feel about me." That's bullshit, and you know it.
"I was kidding, Shego."
"Perhaps you shouldn't be." The truth bubbled out of the green woman. "I've spent the last ten years breaking laws in a dozen different countries and helping a blue whack-job try to take over the world. And you, you're –"
"A compulsive over-achiever with a messiah complex?"
Shego blinked.
"Not exactly what I was going to say." The pale woman admitted.
"You can thank Dominique for that little observation." The redhead did not appear offended by the appraisal. "When I was freaking out about getting a seventeen in one of my classes."
"A seventeen?"
"It's like a B+."
"Huh." Shego pretended to think as they yanked the sled over a small rise in the path. "Dominique may have a point."
"So ..." The teen hero glanced at her companion out of the corner of her eyes. "We okay?"
"Yeah, we're okay."
"Cool. Say ... how about we make a deal?" Kim offered. "How about we agree that the past is the past and leave it there? You've been legally pardoned of all your crimes. If the courts won't hold them against you, I don't think either of us, should, either."
"You know ... other people won't be so forgiving."
"Other people aren't involved in this relationship. I'm definitely not that kind of girl." Kim's exaggerated look of outrage startled a burst of laughter from the older woman.
"Okay, okay." Shego managed to get herself under control and raised one hand in surrender, the other still gripping the reins of the sled. "So what are we forgiving about your past? Being an insufferable goody-goody with a stick up her butt?"
"Something like that." The redhead grinned, then stuck out her tongue. "Hate you!"
"Hate you too, Pumpkin." The green woman rolled her eyes, unable to suppress a grin of her own.
"So ..." Kim said with obviously assumed nonchalance, as they neared the top of the hill. "Now we've decided to focus only on the future ... what are your plans?"
"I don't really have any." The green woman shrugged. Catching a quizzical look on the redhead's face, she shrugged. "I'm serious, Kimmie. I bet you're the kind of woman who makes checklists of things she has to do. They're probably even color-coded."
"I don't color-code them." Kim's weak protest drew another chuckle from the former thief.
"Well, I don't make them. I wake up each day and make it up as I go along."
"I wasn't looking for an item by item list." The teen hero clarified, as they waited their turn at the top of the slide. "Just the major highlights ... you know, what you want out of life?"
"Hmm. Other than you in a French maid outfit?"
"Pervert." Kim smacked Shego lightly on the arm. "Okay, let's try being specific. How about: are you going to get a job?"
"Hell no."
"Okay." Kim laughed. "Well, are you planning to stay in Montreal?"
"Unless there's a reason to leave." Shego shrugged, then helped the younger woman to maneuver their sled into position at the top of the ramp. The green woman stared at the vehicle thoughtfully. "Do you want to get in first, or shall I?"
"I'll get in first." Kim volunteered. "It'll be easier for you to wrap your legs around me than the other way 'round."
"Probably." Shego gave the redhead a salacious look. "But it'd be fun to try both."
Kim gave a squeak of surprise, then clapped a hand over her mouth, turning bright red with embarrassment.
"Shego!" The teen hero hissed, smacking the laughing green woman on the arm for the second time in as many minutes.
"Kimmie!" The dark-haired thief gestured for her companion to step into the sled. Still red-faced, Kim complied, then gave a little gasp as Shego slid in behind her, wrapping her long arms and legs around the smaller woman. "Huh. Someone's heart is beating fast. You're not scared of a little toboggan ride, are you?"
"Shego?"
"Yes, Kimmie?"
"Hold on tight." The redhead bunched her arms, then thrusting forward with all her strength. The toboggan lurched, tipped over the crest of the hill, and began its precipitous descent down the slope, the green woman's yelp of surprise echoing behind it.
"Woo!" Kim exclaimed at the end of their sixth trip down the slide. "I think that was the fastest we've gone yet."
"It was fun." Shego agreed, as she extricated herself from the toboggan and stood. "So, tobogganing was a good call?"
To the green woman's surprise, the redhead's response came not verbally, but physically, as two warm arms wrapped around her middle and a cold cheek pressed against the back of her neck.
"It was a great choice." Kim's breath tickled the green woman's ear. "Thanks."
"Wow, Pumpkin." Shego turned in the other woman's embrace, leaning back a little so she could meet the shorter woman's eyes. "I gotta say, the PDA is welcome, if a little unexpected."
"Well, I got a little uptight earlier, and I thought I should make up for it." Kim glanced down, then back up again. "Though some to think of it, you were teasing me."
"If you can't stand the heat ..."
"Roll in the snow?"
"What?" Shego frowned in confusion, then yelped as her ankle was hooked from behind and yanked forward. She stumbled backward, off-balance in the snow, her arms pin-wheeling. For a second, she almost regained her footing ...
... and then Kim reached out and gently shoved her on the shoulder.
"Ack!" The green woman felt herself topple past the point of no return, the narrowed eyes catching the dancing laughter in Kim's face. Oh no, Princess. I'm not going down alone. Shego's flailing left hand caught onto the redhead's right arm, yanking the smaller woman off her feet as the former thief finally lost her battle with gravity.
"Oof!" The two women toppled into the snow, throwing up a flurry of white powder.
"I'm gonna get you for that, Princess!" Shego twisted her body, rolling on top of Kim and straddling the smaller woman.
"Wanna bet?" The redhead scooped up a handful of snow and hurled it into the green woman's face. As Shego sputtered and wiped her eyes, the teen hero bucked her hips, throwing the former thief into a nearby snowdrift. "Give up, Shego?" Kim asked, as she flipped to her feet.
"Not on your life, Princess!" With a throaty growl, the pale woman launched herself at the teen hero, the two of them tumbling into the snow once more, then rolling down the embankment beside the toboggan ramp, before crashing into the thick drift of snow at the bottom.
"Ha!" Kim crowed, kneeling with her calves over the green woman's thighs and her hands holding Shego's wrists flat against the icy ground. The two women's faces hung mere inches apart, both of them breathing heavily from the struggle. "Gotcha!"
"Wanna bet?" The pale woman lifted her head, pressing her own dark lips to the inviting pink ones above her. Instantly, she felt the redhead's grip on her wrists go loose. One move now and I'll have her! Mmmmm ... apple chapstick, this time. I'll flip her a little later. Ohhhh, where did Kimmie learn that? Maybe I'll give this another minute. Or ...
Someone cleared their throat meaningfully.
With what sounded suspiciously like a reluctant moan, Kim broke the kiss. The two women looked up to see a middle-aged, burly man, dressed in the hotel uniform. He gave them both a disapproving stare.
"Hi." Kim smiled weakly. "I guess this means our toboggan rides are over?"
"Oh! I want to see that!" Kim pointed.
Shego eyed the colorful movie poster with some misgiving.
"The Magicians of Caprona? It's PG-rated!"
"That's okay." The redhead gave a grin and bumped the green woman's hip with her own. "I'll just close my eyes in the scary parts."
A dark eyebrow arched. Kimmie's been in a playful mood ever since we left the toboggan slide. It's kinda cute. Not to be outdone, she gave the younger woman her best sultry look.
"Well, you know Pumpkin, if you get scared, you could always hold my hand."
A faint blush rose in Kim's cheeks, and the dancing green eyes lowered shyly, until the redhead was peeking up at Shego through her lashes.
"I'd like that." The teen hero admitted softly, her voice sounding husky and maybe just a little bit nervous. Shego paused, taken aback by the sudden hammering of her heart and the warm flush that ran through her whole body. Oh man, I gotta stop playing with fire.
"I'd like it too." The green woman surrendered, the words squeaking past her lips as the barest whisper.
Despite the softness of the words, Kim heard. The redhead gasped, her eyes widening, then tilted her head up, looking into the green woman's face. Trying not to let her fear show, Shego silently extended her hand. Tingles ran across her palm as warm fingers tentatively entwined with her own.
Heart hammering, the green woman headed for the ticket counter, already knowing it would be the best movie she'd ever seen.
"That was the best movie I've ever seen!" Kim enthused as they exited the theater, slipping her arm through Shego's.
"It was pretty good." The green woman acknowledged. I am not going to think about the way her breast is touching my arm. She adopted a mock scowl. "And don't think I missed the whole 'enemies falling in love' subplot, either, Princess. Real subtle."
"Oh, yeah. I guess there was one of those, wasn't there?" Kim gave a look of mock surprise. Then she grinned and bumped Shego's shoulder with her own. "But yeah, you can be my Rosa, any time."
"Hmmph. Why am I the girl?"
"Because the guy was a redhead." Kim used her free hand to point at her own crimson locks. "As you would say: 'Doy'."
"The girl was a blond! Do I look like a blond?" Shego gestured at herself. "With this complexion?"
"I guess not." Kim laughed, unhooking her arm from the older woman's and turning to face her. "Thanks for today. I had a great time."
"Me too." Shego admitted. She took a deep breath and let her hands slide down to rest on the shorter woman's hips. Time to admit that I want this to go on. "So ... it's New Year's Eve, tomorrow. Spend it with me?"
"I ..." Kim swallowed. The green woman's heart faltered. What? I thought ...
"Guess I read the signals wrong." Shego dropped her hands away from the shorter woman, fighting the hot prickling in her eyes. "Just do me a favor and give me 24 hours before you tell GJ where I am, okay?"
"What?" Kim blinked. "Oh, Shego, no ... you didn't read the signals wrong at all. It's just ... I have something I need to tell you first. A confession of sorts, I guess."
"A confession?" The green woman made no effort to hide her confusion.
"Yeah." Kim reached out and gripped the green woman's hands in her own, lightly stroking the back of Shego's fingers with her thumbs. "You remember back before the tournament, when you asked me if your being gay would be a problem, and I said it was 'no big'?" The redhead waited until she saw an answering nod. "Well, that was sort of a ... well, actually it was a drama, for me."
"You mean you lied." Shego's tone was flat.
"No. Well, not exactly." Kim shook her head. "The fact that you were gay really wasn't a big deal. But coming right after I'd had my crush on Dominique ... well, I was still confused about my own sexuality. Here I was, trying to work out who I was ... who I could love ... and suddenly I learned something totally unexpected about you. It freaked me out, a bit. That's why I was so reluctant to share the bed. I was never worried about you might do. I was worried about what it might make me feel."
"Why are you telling me this, Pumpkin?" Shego choked the words out, forced them past the aching knot in her chest.
Kim smiled; a brave, slightly tearful smile. The green woman felt the knot ease, just a little.
"I'm telling you, because I want you to know that I'm not afraid of who I am, now. That I'm not freaked out about you, or me, or us. That I want to be with you, and see where this goes. Not just tomorrow, but the days after that as well. I want you to understand, when I tell you 'yes', that I know what that means. That I don't make the choice lightly. That I choose you with open eyes, as well as open heart."
Perhaps Kim would have said more. Shego's lips didn't give her the opportunity.
Author's Note: Schmaltz alert! :-) Thus ends the penultimate chapter of 'Best Sidekick Possible'. Only one more to go. That one begins with Shego getting a nasty shock, and ends with her getting a good one. I figure that little hint ought to pique your curiosity!
The final chapter will be released before Xmas.