Thank you all for your reviews. Sorry for taking so long; I had some troubles writing this chapter and I actually finished and then changed it more than once.
Here goes...
When I wake up next morning I'm all sore and pretty pissed off; I didn't get any sleep. I sit on my bed and it feels like I'm gonna pass out any second. I look around the compartment, my vision as if I'm under water. I rub my eyes and exhale; I need coffee. I get up and crack my back. Kim is not here, she must have gone for breakfast. She made her bed before leaving; I bet she even tucked her PJ's under the pillow. I smile as I remember the kiss and I can still feel it lingering on my cheek. I fix myself in the bathroom and head out to find some of that brown medicine I yearn for.
"Shego! Wait up!" Ah, here she comes. She looks happy and I wonder if it has something to do with me. She's flashing a seriously huge smile and its working wonders on my "pissed of" state of mind.
"Hey, I was just about to check on you and see if you'd like to have breakfast with me. My treat." She's awfully cheerful this morning.
"Awesome. Now move it princess. I need my coffee."
I lead the way and she follows.
Coffee feels great and I can feel my grumpiness slipping away. My neck is still in pain though and I know that cracking it constantly will have some long-term consequences.
"You're in a bad mood this morning." She's sipping her white coffee and looking at me.
"You noticed?" I fail to stop my sarcasm slipping out my mouth. "Sleeping on that bed is equal to getting beaten by a bat." I reach behind my neck and try to work my fingers on the tensed muscles there. I sigh and take another sip of my coffee.
"Do you still wanna go explore our next stop with me? I think we'll be stopping in approximately 2 hours."
Do I still want to go? No, not really but I did say I would. And maybe the fresh air will remove this fog from my brain.
"Yeah I'll go. But if it gets too cold I'm getting back on the train."
"Sure thing. I'll just make sure we keep on moving; that way we won't get cold." She exclaims happily and digs into her breakfast once again.
We reach Novosibirsk sometimes around one in the afternoon. I'd say it's around 10°C outside but nothing I can't bear. I step off the train and wrap my coat tight around me and fix my scarf. I look around the platform. I know for sure Kim got out of before me so she should be somewhere around here.
I hear my name being called and I turn around. She's waving and running my way.
"C'mon let's go." She grabs my hand and pulls me after her. Her hand is cold and I hold it tight. "We don't have much time so we have to hurry." I have no idea what's going on, but I notice she's dragging me towards a taxi.
"Wait, slow down. What's going on? Where are we going?"
"We're gonna go see the ZOO. It's one of the greatest in the world." She's too damn excited. She jumps in the cab and pulls me with her.
"Do we even have time for that? And how did you get a cab so fast?" I look at her suspiciously. I notice she's still holding my hand. I continue pretending I don't notice it.
"Well we won't get to see the entire ZOO of course. But that doesn't mean we can't at least see something." The taxi is already moving. "And you were taking your time getting ready to leave the train so I rushed off and got us a cab."
The sheer amount of optimism she radiates is amazing and I can't help but be taken in by it. I smile at her and the act itself makes me feel good. Approximately halfway into our ride she notices she's monopolizing my hand and pulls away abruptly pretending to be looking for something in her bag. She's embarrassed and doesn't look at me for the rest or the ride. When we get to our destination she literally launches herself out of the cab; she forgets to pay the ride. I sigh and give the man his money. She's waiting for me at the entrance with two tickets she bought while I wasn't paying attention. She latches herself onto my arm.
"C'mon c'mon lets go!" She starts pulling me after her.
"Wait! Did you decide what we're going to see?"
She stops and looks at me like she has no idea what I'm talking about.
"What do you mean?"
She has no idea what I'm talking about. I sigh and rub the bridge of my nose.
"We don't have time to go through the entire ZOO. We have to decide what we want to see." After all, it sounds like a logical suggestion. "Or were you planning on running through the entire ZOO?" She looks at me, eyes wide with surprise. Oh my... this girl. That was her plan after all. I try not to laugh.
"Look princess, we can't just run through the entire place and hope we'll get to see something." She really amuses me. I continue with a smile. "Let's get a leaflet and see where we should go. I suggest we go see the rare animals since it's not likely we'll come here again anytime soon."
She lowers her head and nods.
"C'mon, let's go."
And so we start our timed race through the ZOO only stopping to look at the rare and endangered species. It is a shame though; ZOO this big has over three hundred species and we only get to see some of them – while in a rush. Kimmie manages to snap some pics; I think I ended up in some of them also. When we stop to look at the polar bears Kimmie tries to sneak some of her sandwich to them but I catch her last moment. She will later claim they looked hungry when in fact all they did was lie down and yawn.
We make the white tigers our last stop. The animal truly is magnificent and I can understand why she glued herself to the fence. I stand next to her and we spend a few quiet moments watching the beasts. She looks as if she's a thousand miles away; I decide to break the silence.
"They are beautiful."
"Yeah. They are." She responds without looking up; her voice is quiet and distant. "It's not fair though."
"What isn't?"
"Such magnificent creatures being locked up like that." She sighs. "They don't belong here."
We continue to stand there in comfortable silence, watching the beasts yawning and every now and then lazily lifting their heads in our direction.
"Kimmie, it's time to go." I lean in closer to her and whisper in her hair slightly above her ear. We leave the ZOO and, to my relief, find a cab in a matter of seconds. The ride back to the station is uneventful except the part where we run to catch our train. We get on and only then I start feeling the exhaustion pressing down on me. The day was really great but the sleepless night is taking its toll. Kimmie asks me to join her for lunch but I excuse myself; I am seriously too tired to do anything but sleep. I drop all my stuff on the floor and kick my shoes in a corner. I get out of my clothes and crawl under the covers. I'm exhausted but somehow it's a positive thing. Spending the afternoon with Kimmie; I enjoyed myself much more than I thought I would.
I roll towards the wall and curl into a ball. I hate this bed, I really do. I close my eyes and try to focus on sleeping but it's not working. And random images of me falling into a bottomless pit are not helping. I turn on my back and open my eyes. I take in a deep breath and exhale. Well fuck it, I only want two hours of sleep, she probably won't mind. And technically, it's still my bed. I grab my covers and pillow and drop down on her bed. I decide against getting in, she might not like sharing her sheets. This feels so much better; I have no idea why I agreed to switching our beds in the first place. I finally relax and feel sleep clouding my mind. I burry my face into my pillow and pull the covers all the way up to my nose. I can smell her shower gel, its scent coming from the sheets bellow and it only pulls me further into my dreams.
I begin to stir; something is disturbing my sleep and I groan in frustration. I soon realise my right arm is dead. I hate when that happens. I try to move to my side but it's no use. I soon realise that my body is heavier than it should be and my legs seem to be stuck to something. I don't mind though, it's comfortable. The only part of my body I can move is my left arm but there seems to be a good reason not to. I move my hand over the soft surface and enjoy the feeling of heat radiating from underneath my palm. I smile as I hear quiet murmurs coming from my right shoulder. Wait, what? My eyes snap open. Hair! Red! Work brain, work! I look down. She's lying on me, her hair is in my face, her head is on my shoulder... no wonder my arm is dead... her hand is on my breast? It's a bit small... but gentle... What?! Our legs are a knot and I can't free myself... though they do fit together perfectly! And I'm holding, no, caressing her waist. Yeah... I like. No! Stop it! When did she...? How did this happen?
"Kim? Kimmie?" No reaction. "Kimmie wake up."
"Mmmmh... oft..."
"What?"
"Soft..." What the hell?
She moves; I freeze. She moves closer... How is that even possible? ...and her head is now under my chin. She moves her hand and is now holding onto my waist, and she's holding tight.
"Kimmie, what's going on? Why are you in my bed?" I'm freaking out a bit here.
"You took all the covers."
"Kimmie..."
"Sleep."
"Kim..."
"Sleeping."
I exhale; this is hopeless. For a second I consider just kicking her out. But then I'd have more shit to deal with. I slump back down on my pillow; my chin on top of her head. This is just insane. I stare at nothing in particular for a while. Screw it. I relax and close my eyes.I decide to sleep a bit more.
I've been lying and staring at the wall for a while now. I thought she'd be gone by the time I wake up but the two of us are still tangled together; and I think she didn't move an inch. Actually I'm positive she didn't move since she's still breathing down my throat. Our position feels quite comfortable and our bodies fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. Has it even been twenty-four hours since I met her? I think I should be a bit more disturbed by the whole situation.
I try to untangle myself so I can get up, but it's not working. It's like she's made of stone, I can't even move her arm.
"Kimmie, move, I'm getting up."
"..."
"Just let go of me so I can get up."
"No!"
"What?"
"I'un wanna." That's it! I free my leg and kick her off the bed. She falls down with a yelp and a thud as she lands.
"Shego, what the hell?"
"Seriously? What the hell? I wake up with you all over me, groping me... And me groping you, but let's ignore that for now...
"You were on my bed!"
"There's another bed right up there!"
"You know I can't sleep there! And besides, you took all the covers with you!"
"You could have woken me up!"
"I... I... Argh!" She picks up her clothes and storms out of the compartment, hitting the door behind her. I can see her through the matted glass, getting dressed in the middle of the hallway. And then she's gone.