Boilerplate Disclaimer: The various characters from the Kim Possible series are all owned by Disney Corp. Any and all registered trade names property of their respective owners. Cheap shots at celebrities constitute fair usage.

But It Is Awkward When You Find a Heart That Does Not Know Its Mind

Kim kept her promise to herself to start training seriously once she got back to school. It felt good. She needed the exercise. She needed to win and feel in control. She would be ready to take on Shego the next time she saw her.

Kim was not ready to take on Shego the next time she saw her. About a month after her Spring Break Kim returned to her apartment from the gym, humming to herself and thinking about an assignment she needed to finish that night, and found a familiar green-and-black clad figure lounging in front of her apartment building.

"What are you doing here?"

"Duh, waiting for you."

"You know what I mean."

"I'm part of a surveillance team," Shego shrugged. "We're in the area and when I'm not on duty my time's my own."

"Can you tell me who you're watching, or is it one of those, 'if I tell you I have to kill you' assignments?"

"More of an 'I can't tell you, even if you try to seduce me' assignments. Why don't you test what a good little Global Justice agent I am. Go ahead, offer to get in bed with me."

"I is a college girl now, remember? I is not stupid."

"Oh, yeah. Can I take you out to dinner? Ready to spar?"

"I wish you'd called me earlier, I just got back from the gym. I really need to book tonight."

"Back from the gym? Getting back in shape, huh?"

"I wasn't out of shape. But working out feels good. How long will your assignment last?"

"Don't know. Could have what we need tomorrow. Might be a month."

Kim hesitated. "I really need to finish this paper."

"Hmm, I was about to ask you to blow it off, but you don't blow off papers. Have you eaten?"

"I was just going to have a bowl of cereal or something and get to work."

"Any idea how long you'll be writing?"

"An hour if everything goes well, no idea how long if the brain doesn't cooperate."

"How about we order a pizza and I watch TV on… You got a TV and couch?" Kim nodded. "Okay. If you finish at a decent hour we go out and do something."

Shego was stretched out on the couch, asleep, when Kim finished writing. The redhead put a blanket over her and went to bed. Kim slept late in the morning. When she woke up she found a cereal bowl in the sink and Shego was gone. "She could have left a phone number," Kim thought. "Or maybe she's not allowed to do that when she's doing surveillance."

Kim came straight back to her apartment after classes, and caught herself feeling disappointed to not see Shego waiting outside her building. She found a note taped to her apartment door, "I'm like a vampire. Once you ask me in I feel welcome anytime – so I broke in. Don't panic if I'm watching TV… Oh, if there's a necktie on the doorknob I'm bonking someone in your bedroom – go away for an hour or two and give me some privacy."

"Shego!" Kim thundered when she threw open the door. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Watching television… Didn't I say that in the note? And can you pipe down, this is a good movie."

"I mean, what are my neighbors going to think?"

"Besides thinking the volume control is broken on your mouth?"

"What'll they think if they saw this… Heck, what's the movie?"

Shego patted a spot beside her on the couch, "Sit down. African Queen. You see things you missed before when you watch for the second or third time."

At the end of the movie Shego turned to Kim, "What are you doing in this dinky off-campus apartment anyway? The dorms are closer to the library."

"Quieter here, no drunken parties at weird hours."

"I warned you. I also promised to watch your back if you decide to go to one."

"You also promised to take advantage of me after getting me drunk, if I remember correctly."

"The offer still stands."

Kim gave Shego a look of mock disgust. "What am I going to do with you?"

"You could take me out to eat… Or we could stay here and I'll eat you."

"I can't afford to take you out to eat. I'm a poor college student. I wasted all my money on Spring Break buying coffee for a sex fiend."

"I'm sure she appreciated it. If I take you out for a nice dinner at an expensive restaurant will you feel like you owe me sex?"

"No."

"Then can I take you somewhere cheap for dinner?"

"We've got a salad buffet… Keep it light and we'll head to the gym afterward. You can buy coffee and dessert after I beat you sparring."

"If loser is buying we may need to just let it be coffee. The poor college student can't afford cheesecake."

"Tonight I'm going to beat you."

"Tell you what, Princess," Shego offered as they waited in line at the coffee shop. "I'll pay for cheesecake if you let me crash on your couch again."

"Crash on my couch," Kim asked, the suspicion obvious in her voice, "that's all you're asking for?"

"Sure as hell not all I want, but I figure it's all I've got a shot at – so it's all I'm asking for."

"Doesn't Global Justice give you a place to stay or something?"

"We've got a nice hotel suite for the team, but I like being with you."

Kim smiled, "Sure. You can have the couch."

"With any luck I might see you naked in the shower."

"Changed my mind, I don't want you on my couch."

"Too late, Princess. You're one of the good guys. You never go back on your word and I already got the invite."

On the weekend Kim took Shego up to Boston for lunch with Monique and Bonnie at a Thai place near Harvard Square.

"Let me get this straight," Monique said, staring at the green woman. "You gave me heck for sharing a dorm room with Bonnie, and you're hanging around with the woman who used to beat you up all the time?"

"She didn't beat me up all the time," Kim protested.

"Sure I did," Shego countered.

"No you didn't!" Kim turned to Monique, "And I'm not sharing an apartment with her. She's just visiting. She's a Global Justice agent now and—"

"I told you people change," Bonnie reminded Kim.

"And could you keep the Global Justice agent down," Shego hissed. "That wasn't supposed to be said out loud."

"Sorry," Kim apologized. "I didn't know."

"My lips are sealed," Monique promised.

"And I wasn't even here and didn't have lunch with you," Bonnie assured them.

Monique laughed, "So where are you? Who are you with? And what's he doing with you?"

"Please, it's too early in the day for that. While you and Kim are having lunch here, just by yourselves, I'm studying for an exam."

"You could be in the sauna at a spa," Shego suggested. "I'm the woman sweating on the next bench while I'm waiting for a massage."

"Spa sounds better than library. I'm waiting for an avocado facial and astringent wrap," Bonnie purred.

"I introduce myself," Shego continued.

"I introduce myself, ask what you're there for."

"I put a hand on your thigh and say, 'You.'."

Bonnie's eyes opened wide in shock, "What?"

"I think she's hitting on you," Kim explained. "Better decide what you're doing fast or she'll run her hand up under that towel you're wearing."

"I'm holding onto my towel for dear life and running for the door," Bonnie announced. "I just remembered I have homework to finish at the library." She turned to Kim, "She's staying with you? For real?"

"She's been sleeping on my couch."

"I've offered to sleep in her bed, but she keeps turning me down."

"She's been offering to do other things in my bed that have nothing to do with sleep – and that's why she's on my couch."

"Either of you two want to take me for a test drive and tell Kim what she's missing?" Shego offered.

Monique just laughed, thinking it was all a joke. Bonnie suspected there were some real offers being made. The flirting with her had not been serious, or at least Bonnie hoped it was not serious, but Bonnie read Shego as seriously interested in Kim. Kim's emotions were harder to read, but she was much happier than the last time Bonnie had seen her, and Shego was with her. Bonnie wondered if the two facts were related or simply a coincidence.

"Hurry up, Princess," Shego called from the couch on Thursday night. "They saved the best 'til last on Bogie month, Casablanca."

"Keep your shirt on," Kim called. "And I mean that literally. I'm almost done with Econ. Then I'll put the popcorn in the microwave and be in."

Kim couldn't remember exactly how it happened, but they were stretched out together on the couch by the end of the movie, with Shego behind Kim. The green woman had an arm around Kim, keeping her from falling off the front of the couch. Shego nuzzled Kim's hair and the Global Justice agent whispered, 'you smell wonderful,' Kim smiled and snuggled back in her arms. The television stayed on but they ignored it as they lay there talking until they fell asleep.

Kim's fingers trembled nervously as she looked through the key blanks at the hardware store. She told herself she was just giving Shego a key to her place so the green woman would stop picking the lock. One of her neighbors might see Shego breaking in and call the police. The conscious part of Kim's brain assured her that Shego should not see anything in the gift of the key. The subconscious part of Kim's brain saw this as a cautious invitation to move the relationship up a notch. (The conscious part of Kim's brain refused to even consider the use of the word relationship.) Kim's id screamed that Shego owed her a make out session on the couch for the key, and Shego had damn well better recognize the fact when Kim handed it to her.

Shego wasn't at Kim's apartment. The redhead paced around the small apartment for half an hour waiting for her, and then the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Princess? Bad news… Bad news for me anyway. Global Justice calls it good news. I don't know what kind of news you're going to—"

"What are you talking about? Where are you?"

"Surveillance team got everything we needed. We're packing up our gear. Got to leave in a few minutes."

"You can't come by to tell me in person? Can you take a couple days of vacation? I was… Nevermind."

"Will Du's running the assignment. He'd chew my butt off for even talking to you now. I'm hiding in the bathroom 'cause he won't check in here. If I wanted vacation time I had to ask two weeks in advance – in triplicate."

"It was good seeing you."

"It was wonderful seeing you."

"Uh… I know you're not going to be in town, but… ah… If you're close or something you're… Hope I see you again."

"Count on it, Pumpkin. Got to go, Brad knocked on the door and says Will's looking for me."

Kim's conscious mind congratulated itself for keeping her from issuing an invitation that Shego would certainly have interpreted as promising more than Kim meant. Kim's subconscious mind had wanted to tell Shego she wouldn't need to sleep on the couch next time she was in town, and was thoroughly miffed with the conscious mind for not letting her issue the invitation. Kim's id demanded she drown her sorrows in a half gallon of Ben and Jerry's chocolate fudge chunk ice cream.

"I was not out of shape," Kim told herself as she paid for a pint of Ben and Jerry's.