I don't own these characters. Okay, wait, I do own Trin, Shin, Tatsu, and Booker.
2: Vacation's Over
Seven small white boxes were sent off, carrying very special cargo. Six of them went to Middleton, not too far from each other. In fact, four of them went to the same address. The remaining one went to a college town that was a few hours away from Middleton. They would all be together again soon, though. Well, if everything went according to plan and there was no reason why things should not go according to plan. And then, there would be some fun for three specific villains.
-8-8-8-8-
"Mini-me, have you seen Shin?" Trin asked over the phone.
The blond was in her hotel suite with Tatsu. The suite was quite large. There was a bedroom with a single king-sized bed and a living room area. There was a terrace, which she and Tatsu had use of a couple of times, once rather late last night. Trin stood in the doorway between the bedroom and the den. She was mostly dressed as she usually was, semi-casual wear of pink and yellow.
The couple got ready to go out for the night with everyone else. Despite the fact that they all seemed to have such a hard time getting along, they had not gone off for moments alone or with their mates… except for Shin storming off on the beach earlier. They stayed together for the most part, doing all sorts of crazy activities together, all the while arguing over any and everything. It was only when they went back to the hotel did they go their separate ways and even their rooms were right next to each other.
"I haven't seen him yet. You think we should leave him?" Kim countered, lounging on the bed in her room.
Kim's room was right across the hall from her sister's. It was the same sort of suite Trin was located in. They had toyed with the idea of getting rooms next to each other, but Kim was certain Trin and Shego would use that as a chance to get on each other's nerves. She and Shego were getting ready for another night of partying, like the other couple. Shego was surprised the Possible sisters could keep up with her and Shin when it came to going out. After all, Kim was a goody-goody and Trin was simply boring.
"God, we do that and I won't hear the end of his whining. 'Oh, I was just coming.' 'Oh, how could you leave me? Boo-hoo.' 'Oh, you owe me blah-blah for a month because of the pain and suffering.' I'll have to kill him later on if we leave him," Trin remarked, rolling her eyes. Her bland tone nearly slipped as she imagined just how irksome her evil twin would behave if they left him behind.
Kim chuckled, knowing her sister rolled her eyes while speaking. "Fine, we'll wait. Shego's not ready anyway."
"Tell her to just put on her hooker boots and call it a day," the older Possible teased.
"Tell her to go to Hell with a gas can," Shego called from the bathroom. The thing about Kim taking calls on her Kimmunicator meant that eavesdropping was so easy, not that Shego wanted to hear that bitch's voice. It never failed to grate on her nerves.
"Only if I can be strapped to your back," Trin replied in a sing-song voice.
"I'm hanging up now," Kim warned her sister because she knew those two would just go back and forth for the whole night if she let them.
"I'll call you when Shin shows up," Trin said.
Kim nodded, muttered an agreement, and disconnected the call. She went to go get ready for a night of club-hopping. She honestly did not know how Shin and Shego did such a thing at least four nights out of the week in their regular lives. The noise and flashing lights and body heat all mixed together just weighed on her. There were better ways to spend time in Kim's opinion.
It was about to be Kim's third time going out with them on vacation and she could feel the effects of it. She was sure she was going to make it through the week since she refused to be the one who slowed everyone else down, but it was starting to get hard to stay up for their shenanigans. It was one thing when they were annoying each other, but outside, they annoyed almost everyone they came into contact with. So, in between the partying, Kim also had to play referee with them. It was like being the only adult with a bunch of kindergarteners, but genius, deadly kindergarteners who should know better and did not listen to her because she was the youngest.
"Princess, jump your ass into some party clothes before Shin shows and you're the one holding up the works," Shego called, still in the bathroom.
"Right, like I'm the one who ever holds us up," Kim remarked under her breath.
"Don't be a smart-ass or I'll pick out a dress for you and you'll hate it."
"I love that you think you can force me to do anything." Kim snickered, but she slid off the bed, trotted to the closet, and returned to hunting for an outfit. There were too many options. She brought too many clothes for this trip, but she was not alone in that. The only one who did not over-pack was Tatsu.
-8-8-8-8-
Trin stood in front of the bathroom mirror as she put on her last touches of makeup. She did not wear much, finding it did not flatter her forever pale skin. She smoothed out her pink lipstick when the faint smell of vanilla wafted through the air and strong arms were suddenly around her waist. Before she could address the limbs around her, soft lips lightly touched her neck and a familiar body pressed against her back. It took all of her willpower not to lean back and turn her head for kisses.
"Baby, you're going to mess up this whole hour's effort I just put forth," Trin pointed out, even though she was not making any moves to remove the arms.
"So?" Tatsu countered in a low tone, nuzzling Trin's neck. It was not like Trin dressed up for people to look at her, anyway. She was tempted to leave a mark on Trin's neck, let people know Trin was hers, but that was unnecessary.
Trin laughed, enjoying the tickle of Tatsu's breath on her skin. "Fine, but if you keep this up, you're going to make me want to stay in."
"That's just gonna make me stay right here," the mechanic commented with a devilish smile. Talk of staying in was just going to make her start petting and rubbing up against her beloved even more. She probably could talk Trin into falling into bed with her and she would not even feel bad about it. It was not like Trin enjoyed clubbing. There were too many people.
Trin smiled and turned around to face Tatsu. The pale woman could see the mischief in those tempting ice blue eyes. She could not fight off the call of those eyes, which Tatsu knew. The mechanic licked her bottom lip, which was only more tempting for her lover. Tatsu reached up and put a hand to Trin's cheek, showing the contrast between their flesh since Tatsu had tanned and Trin was as pale as ever.
The couple slowly leaned into each other, looking for a passionate kiss. Before their lips could touch, there was a loud knock at the door. Tatsu cursed under her breath, knowing that was Shin and he just ruined her shot at getting laid at that very moment. It was insane how annoying he could be without even meaning it.
"Don't worry, baby. There's always tonight when we come in," Trin said before giving Tatsu a light peck on the mouth. It was sweet, as always, and a promise.
"There could be now," Tatsu replied with a little pout.
"Later. We promised and you know he won't go away any time soon," Trin pointed out as there was more loud banging on the door.
The mechanic sighed, her shoulders dropped, and she released the blond. Trin went to answer the door and opened it. She was about to say something to Shin, yelling at him about his lateness, but she was quieted instantly. Shin stood there, but he was not alone.
"Hey, harpy. Yeah, so, Booker, this is my harpy, Trin," Shin introduced his evil twin to the young man with him.
Trin was in shock for a moment as she took in the young man with Shin. Shin had texted her some nonsense about bumping into a young man at the market and Trin could only guess this was him. Booker gave Trin a bashful smile while she gawked at him, unsure what to make of this whole scene.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Booker said in a polite tone with a cherubic smile. Those things only made her stare more.
"So cute…" Trin practically cooed in a low tone. Booker was utterly adorable! She doubted she had ever seen a guy look or sound so cute! She wanted to carry him in a purse she did not even own. She liked to think it had something to do with the fact that he was smaller than Shin was. Then there was the way his hair was cut and how he had bangs framing his face. And then his onyx eyes seemed to light up and they were just shy of being wide. She wanted to pet him. It was like someone turned a yorkie puppy into a person.
Shin laughed and held his head up high, like he was proud. "Isn't he just the cutest little thing?"
"Where the hell did you find this kid?" Trin asked once her brain started working properly again. She fought the desire to go wrap a bow on Booker and she half-expected for Shin to say Booker followed him home then ask if they could keep him.
"Bumped into him, quite literally. He's here all by his lonesome, so I figured he could hang out with us," Shin explained, throwing his arm around Booker's shoulders. He pulled the shorter male closer to his form. Booker did not seem to be opposed to the action.
"I don't have anything against that," Trin said while staring at Booker. "You can tell me if he kidnapped you, though."
Booker laughed, his whole face lighting up. "I promise you, I'm here voluntarily. He's kinda charming."
Trin could only stare. It was like he had some kind of magic power to keep her attention. How the hell could a boy be so cute? And why the hell would such an adorable boy want to hang out with crazy ass Shin? Why would he think Shin was charming?
"Oh, and FYI, he's not a kid. Just hit the legal drinking age according to his driver's license," Shin seemed to brag, smiling smugly while he was at it.
"Yeah, I'm happy for him and glad you checked for ID before picking a victim to corrupt," Trin said, finally gathering herself.
"To be fair, he wants to be corrupted," Shin replied.
Sighing, Trin shook her head. "Let's get Mini-me and her walking headache, so we can head out." She hoped she could pull her gaze away from Booker.
Trin managed to look away from the young man as she remembered Tatsu had stayed behind when she went to answer the door. She turned around and went deeper into the room to get her lover. She grabbed Tatsu by the hand and took her from the bedroom. They exited the suite, ready to go party.
Tatsu was dressed in plain cargo pants and a white button-up shirt that was left open to reveal a white tank-top underneath; those were her club clothes. Tatsu did not pay any mind to the extra person with Shin because she was too busy thinking about what was going to happen when she and Trin finally got back in. They then walked off across the hall and knocked for Kim and Shego. Shego answered the door.
"Hold on…" Shego trailed off as her eyes fell onto Booker. She looked as mesmerized as Trin did moments ago. It was like staring into the sun somehow. "What the hell is that?" she demanded to know, pointing at Booker as if he was some kind of unknown mutant. She pointed at him, just in case anyone missed him, like they did not know he was there.
"This cutie is a Booker," Shin introduced him, motioning to the young man he was practically draped on. "Booker, this feisty green babe is Shego. Don't piss her off as she is one half of a duo that will get us free drinks for the rest of the night."
"One half?" Booker echoed with his face scrunched up, which did nothing to stop him from being cute as a button.
Shego could not even say anything because she was stuck staring at him. He was like a precious, little puppy, she thought. Or maybe even like bunny. She just wanted to put him in her pocket.
"My harpy being the second half." Shin pointed at Trin. "Kim and Tatsu are too prudish to do it." He grinned, as if that would soften the blow.
Tatsu rolled her eyes, not bothering to look at the fellows, even if Shin was acting like his usual self. Kim came out before they could get into things. She noticed Booker immediately, her mouth falling open as she gawked. She was struck in the same trap as her sister and girlfriend. How the hell is this little guy so freaking adorable? Shego pulled her away before she got too drawn into the fact that Booker was about as cute as a chubby hamster. It was like he had some weirdo, hypno-effect on everyone.
"Where the hell did Shin find that kid?" Shego asked Trin, talking out the side of her mouth as a whisper as they started walking to leave the hotel.
"Earlier when he was throwing his tantrum, I'm guessing. He texted me something about a market and bumping into a guy," Trin answered with a slight shrug.
"How old is he? Twelve?" the green-skinned woman inquired as they reached the elevator, which came almost instantly.
"I've been told the reverse and I'm not going to get into. And you're the last person that should be remarking on ages about mates," the blond pointed out with an annoying half-smirk on her face.
"Hey, Kimmie is very mature for her age," Shego argued as she pulled Kim closer to her.
"Really? And here it is I just thought you were immature for your age," Trin remarked. The elevator doors opened and they continued on their stroll toward the hotel exits.
"You left her open for that one, jolly green giant," Shin chimed in with a laugh.
"Why don't you stay out of this, you little crybaby," Shego suggested, making a bit of a face at the half-Japanese male.
"I'm not a crybaby!" Shin protested as they hit the streets, which were flooded with people their age and all probably going to similar places as they were.
"So, when you ran off crying earlier, what was that?" Tatsu chimed in.
"Oh, come on! We've got the stereotypical quiet girl digging on me! Kimmie, you're not going to dig on me too, are you?" Shin inquired with an exaggerated pout in her direction. It was a bit of a feat since she was behind him.
"You need to watch where you're going," Kim pointed out.
Shin turned around just in time to miss walking in a bush. The ladies laughed and Booker joined in a bit. Even his laugh was cute! Shin sighed, but found he could not be too upset since Booker laughed with them. He hoped Booker fit in with the group because he had a great time with the little guy during the day. Booker helped him forget about his harpy and her stupid tattoo. And even now as it crossed his mind, he did not feel too huffy about it.
The crew found out that not only could Booker keep up with them, but he slowed Shin down a bit. They did not have to worry about the half-Japanese young man getting pass-out drunk, which was something they could never understand, but had to deal with it when he decided to drink everything. Trin thought it was a great change of pace while Shin did not even seem to notice. He just seemed happy to party with Booker. Maybe he finally stopped feeling like a fifth wheel, the ladies considered, even though Shin would vehemently insist he never felt like a fifth wheel since he swore he was impossible to embarrass and he never felt shame.
Instead of doing more drinking than necessary, Shin danced like the other couples. He laughed a lot more, in a weirdly wholesome manner. Booker had a good sense of humor without really telling jokes. His stories were good and he moved well on the dance floor. He liked moving with Shin and Shin liked the way Booker pressed into him.
At the end of the night, Shin tried to get Booker to come up to his room for a "nightcap." He found out Booker was not only a little cutie, but also rather modest. Booker agreed to hang out with the crew again, Shin especially, tomorrow, but he would not go to Shin's room with him. That was enough for the half-Japanese male and made him smile.
"I do plan on getting you in my room before the week is over, though," Shin remarked while walking Booker to his hotel, which was not too far from where Shin stayed.
"Good luck to you. My mom didn't raise me to kiss and tell on the first date, though," Booker replied with an adorable smile on his face. He pushed one of his bangs behind his ear. Shin could not help thinking how charming that was.
"Wow, I don't even get a kiss? That's harsh!" Shin laughed.
"Hey, you didn't even buy me anything to drink tonight. That was all thanks to Shego and Trin," Booker pointed out with a teasing sparkle in his eyes.
Shin chuckled more. "Okay, you've got me there. I did buy you ice cream earlier, though. That doesn't win me any points?"
"It got you tonight. Work on tomorrow and maybe we can talk."
Shin nodded, smiling up a storm. He was not sure he had ever felt this giddy with someone before. "Fine, fine, fine. I'll call you when we get up and start acting up and everything. I'll come by to get you, too."
Booker smiled a bit and nodded. "I look forward to it."
"Me, too." If Shin was anyone else, he would be teasing the hell out of him. Instead, he stood before Booker with a dopey grin on his face, just basking in the smaller man's presence.
Booker stepped closer, like he might give Shin the kiss he craved, but in the end, he caressed Shin bare forearm. It was still enough make Shin's heart flutter. The way Booker's eyes shone, he had to know the effect he had on Shin and Shin did not even care. Booker gave him another shy smile and then he went into his hotel room, sighing dreamily as the door closed. Shin left the area grinning like mad.
"Now, that is one cool dude," Shin muttered to himself.
As far as Shin was concerned, Booker was great. He managed to tame Trin and Shego. He got along with Kim. He had not offended Tatsu in any way. So, he was pretty much in there with Shin's friends. Plus, he was adorable and seemed to know how to have fun without going overboard. Shin could not wait to get to know him better and was sad he was only going to have a week to do it.
"I'm going to make the most of this week, though," Shin vowed.
-8-8-8-8-
The next day Booker went out to breakfast with the group. They went to a little café by the beach and chatted among themselves about various topics. Booker fit in with them in a normal setting like he did in a party setting. He did not freak out when they started going back and forth each other; he just laughed. He had intelligent conversation to offer up to all of them, seeming to know a little bit about each thing that interested them, not that their interests strayed way too far from each other.
Booker also did not seem too bothered by how physical Shin was. Shin kept throwing his arm around Booker for no reason at all and pulling Booker close to him. Shin did not even seem to notice what he was doing, too engaged in his usual madness or conversing with Booker. He liked having Booker close to him, though.
After breakfast, they all went to lounge on the beach. Trin was glad to not have to put up with Shin yelling when he saw her tattoo again. Tatsu was glad to not have to deal with such antics either. They all just relaxed in the sun.
"Now, this is a vacation," Shego commented, stretched out on her beach chair with Kim curled up next to her in the same chair.
"I agree," Kim replied with a small smile. It was nice to finally have some quiet with everyone being content and happy with life.
"We have got to find a way to bottle Booker and take him home if he can calm the loud one down," Trin remarked.
"Well, there's always kidnapping," Shego suggested with a small smirk. She was half-serious about that.
"Yeah, because all we need to spoil this trip is a federal warrant out on all of us," Kim quipped with a chuckle.
"Well, if we get caught, we blame it on blondie," the former thief said with a teasing smile, pointing at Trin with her thumb.
"Like hell I'd take the rap for your half-baked idea," Trin replied with a scoff.
"You two, let's just be thankful he's calm and let's enjoy the peace and quiet," Kim suggested.
Trin and Shego could not argue with that. They glanced over at Shin, who was on the far right of their line of chairs. He was talking with Booker and sure he was being loud and energetic about it, but it was not directed toward them, which was why they labeled him "calm." Booker seemed quite into the discussion too, but he was not as loud as Shin. Booker seemed to have a naturally low voice.
The rest of the week went in the same fashion. By the time they had to leave, it felt a bit odd that Booker would not be coming with them. They had gotten used to him being around them all day. Shin was pleased to find out that Booker did not live too far from them; too far being relative since he lived a couple of hours away. Still, they planned to keep in touch and see how things went from there.
"I never got him to my room and I don't even care," Shin sighed. He had a dopey smile on his face and the ladies decided to leave him be as they boarded their plane.
The crew flew into Middleton. They had left their cars parked at the Possible residence and had gotten rides to the airport. They were not having the same luck in being picked up from the airport. The Possibles and Shin's mother were nowhere to be found at the moment. They did not think anything of it considering their parents could have easily had emergencies to handle. They had no problem piling into a couple of cabs and getting driven to the Possible house. Money was an argument, as everyone wanted to pay for the ride, though.
"You can't just throw money at everything," Trin said to Shin as the cabs pulled off.
"I do it all the time," Shin replied with a grin.
"No, I think she means you literally can't throw money at everything. You threw money at the driver to win this ridiculous argument." Kim motioned to the departing cabs.
Shin scoffed. "You think he cares? He got a great tip out of it and how else am I supposed to be beat the damn harpy to the punch?"
"He's got you there," Shego said and Kim threw her hands up in surrender. They all turned to go inside.
They got into the house to see no one was home. It was a bit weird and the quiet was chilling, but they still did not think much of it. The twins should have been home, as it was the late afternoon, but they might have had an activity. The stillness felt beyond that, though.
Trin decided to drive Tatsu home while Kim went to go see if Ron was at his parents' house since he said he was coming home for the vacation. Shin ran down the street to go see if his mother was home.
"I hope you had fun, baby," Trin said to Tatsu as they pulled up to her home/garage.
"You know I did," Tatsu answered. Just being around Trin was enough for her to have fun, but throw the others into the mix and she felt like good-times were a guarantee… not that she would ever tell them that. Yes, they were often exhausting, but she accepted them for who they were, as they accepted her.
"If I'm still around, I'll call you later on," Trin promised.
"You'll call if you're around or not," Tatsu pointed out, not being domineering or anything. She was stating a fact.
Trin smiled a bit, eyes even lighting up just a little bit. "That's true. Hopefully, I'll still be around and we can go out, just the two of us."
Tatsu nodded, hoping that would be the case too. They exchanged a farewell kiss that lasted almost a minute and a half and was close to fogging up the car windows. They were reluctant to pull away from each other, but they had other things to do, like Tatsu had a week's worth of work to catch up on.
As the mechanic entered her dreary garage, she noticed a small package at her door. She picked it up and went inside. Once she was in the humid area, she looked down at the white box and saw it was from Trin. She thought that was weird. Why would Trin send her a package over a week where they were together the whole time? She was about to go ask about it, but as she exited the garage, she saw Trin already driving off.
"Ah, well," Tatsu muttered with a shrug. She went back inside and opened the package. She was surprised to see a plain, thin, half-an-inch wide wristband. She arched an eyebrow. "Why the hell would she send me one of these?"
Trin was not one to buy plain, boring gifts first of all. She also did not typically buy Tatsu accessories, knowing the mechanic did not like wearing anything extra. Tatsu was not sure what to make of the gift, but she slipped it on her wrist anyway. She figured she would talk to Trin about it later on. As soon as she put the thing on her wrist, she felt like it sent a shock through her. She winced and that was the last thing that she remembered.
-8-8-8-8-
Kim and Ron had a quick visit. He was packing up to head back to school. He had classes in the morning. Ron had picked up the pace in college, hating that his choices in schools were so limited. He barely made it into a four year school, but now, he was working his butt off to get a decent GPA and planning to transfer to a better school. He kept joking he was going to go to school with Kim, Trin, and Shin. Of course, he earned some good laughs from the latter two, especially Shin. Kim at least encouraged him, assuring him that he could do anything he put his mind to.
"Ron, you seen my parents or brothers since you been around?" Kim asked. She could not recall the last time no one was home at her house without letting her know before hand. Beyond that, it seemed to lack the usual Possible energy, like it had been empty for a while, enough to forget who lived there.
"I think I saw them a couple of days ago," Ron replied while throwing clothes into a duffle bag. To hell with folding them, apparently, which was so Ron that Kim did not even say anything about it.
"Yeah, that's about the last time I talked to them. Did they seem all right to you?" the redhead inquired.
Ron thought about for a moment. "Yeah, everything seemed fine. I think they said something about a little getaway."
Kim looked incredulous to that news. "Who? My parents?"
"Yeah."
"They didn't say anything to me," Kim mumbled more to herself than anyone else. That was more than odd. First off, it was weird for her parents to go away without her if they were going to take the twins with them. Second off, if they did go away without her, the tweebs would have let her know she got left behind as a way to tease her.
"Ah, they probably decided to take a quick romantic getaway," Shego commented from on Ron's couch. She had come along with Kim for lack of a better thing to do and to make sure that Stoppable did not make too much of a jackass out of himself, even though he was much better now that he was comfortable with Kim not only being a lesbian, but also with Shego.
"Ew," Kim muttered and shuddered at the thought of her parents on a "romantic getaway." Of course, she could not recall that ever happening before.
"Yeah, Kimmie, your parents probably still do it and everything," Shego teased.
"EW!" Kim covered her ears to not have to hear any more of that. Some things were just too disgusting to even consider that they might be true.
"You know, you're still evil," Ron said to Shego as if she was going to take it as an insult.
"It's the company I keep," the green-skinned woman remarked with a chuckle.
The couple left the house when Ron was ready to go. They parted ways and the couple went back to the Possible residency. It was there Kim filled Trin in on the fact that their parents had gone away.
"But, then, where are the tweebs?" Trin wondered aloud. It all seemed quite weird to her; Kim was with her on that. There was no way the tweebs went and did not tell either of their sisters.
Their parents would not go away without leaving the twins with someone responsible and able to handle their special brand of insanity. It probably was not a relative since all of those on their father's side were still quite upset with them over the "summer coming-out party," as they jokingly referred to their last summer in Montana. The only one speaking to them was Slim.
"Shin, is your mom babysitting the tweebs?" Kim asked.
"My mom isn't even home. The house doesn't look like the twin tornadoes were anywhere near it. I'm guessing she's out on a mission or something," Shin answered with a shrug.
"So, where the hell are our brothers?" Trin wondered in a worried voice. She rubbed her chin in thought.
"Let's start making some phone calls," Shin suggested.
The Possible sisters shrugged because it was a good idea as far as they were concerned. Communication devices of all types were pulled out. Thus began the search for the tweebs. They also hoped to find out more about the mysterious vacation their parents went on.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: the search for parents and siblings continue with Doctor Director getting into the act.