+ Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Kim Possible characters. All belong to Disney. I make no profit from this, it is simply a product of pleasure. +
"I can't believe this." Kim said as she paced back and forth in her living room. All the blinds and curtains had been pulled shut to keep the neighbors from seeing a hip level black, green, and brown Pandaroo sitting on her couch.
"Really, Kimmie? Out of everything that we've both experienced over the years, you seriously can't believe this?" Shego said, motioning to herself while messily nibbling on a pack of crackers, claiming to not have eaten anything in the last two nights.
It had taken several nights for her to locate the red-head. Overall it wasn't that difficult, but rather irritating having to travel was in the darkness and bunking down beneath a random porch or bush. On the bright side, it wasn't a dumpster.
Shego had a point, Kim thought, as she took a seat on the love seat opposite. Olive green eyes took in the mismatched mammal across from her, a dark brown coffee table between them.
The once pale green woman explained the explosion in Drakken's lair, of how the blue man merely laughing at her instead of helping. She told Kim of how her anger had gotten to her, and she had taken care of his laughter pretty quick.
"So I knocked him out, and went looking for the only person that could help me, aside from D. ." She shuddered at the thought. "You will help me, won't you, Princess?" Shifting her emerald green eyes from the kangaroo hands that were now hers, she looked up into the red heads eyes.
Kim was taken back by that look. Remembering one of the last few times she had seen that same look. This particular memory had been when she was Miss Go, Shego's nicer self after being hit with an experimental ray and taking job at Middleton High for a short while, even dating Mr. Barken. That didn't end well once Shego turned back. At the time, Kim gagged over the sight of him flirting with her in the hallways; she wanted to grab him most days and throw him out the nearest window. Her arch rival was her friend, and she was immensely protective. Now, some of that protectiveness came back.
As if to add insult to injury, Shego let out a soft 'hmm?'. It had been disarming to see again, she thought, seeing those eyes unmoving against her own. It was only when Kim's moved down to the bandage along Shego's right bicep that she sighed. Guilt bubbled into her chest.
"Fine. You can stay here tonight, and we'll contact Wade in the morning. It's not like I have roommates, so make yourself at home."
Some two hours later, Kim was exiting the shower when she found Shego at the doorway. Earlier she had teased the other by calling her She-roo, which only concluded with Kim being chased by a discolored, cursing pandaroo. Thankfully, plasma was kept out of it, or else her house would have been filled with holes. Holding the towel to her chest, Kim's eyes widened as her cheeks grew crimson. "What? Why are you just standing there?"
Shego seemed to be blushing as her unfamiliar body shifted in place, eyes anywhere but on Kim. After several mumbles, Kim let out a loud 'OH!' and moved aside for her. Her apology was cut short when the embarrassed Shego slammed the door with her tail.
The heroine was grateful that when Shego reemerged, she was already dressed in pink pj pants with a matching long sleeve top.
"Why doesn't it surprise me that you're wearing cupcake pj's?" Shego said as she hopped into the bedroom, her eyes showing the grin her mouth could not muster properly. "And you know it's summer right?" she added, indicating the other's choice in long sleeves. Shego herself liked heat. Hell, she radiated it in winter, steam would rise off any exposed skin she couldn't cover up.
Kim only blushed and rubbed her left arm before moving to her closet. "I like being warm okay?" she muttered as she pulled a blanket and an extra pillow from the mess and gave the Pandaroo a look. "Now, let's get you set up down on the couch so you can go to sleep."
"But Kimmie, can't I stay up here? My arm hurts." Pouting, Shego played up the injury as best she could, but it didn't work. Kim shook her head anyway.
"We both know that if it hurts that much with you standing there, sleeping on the hard floor is not going to help it feel any better and I don't have an air mattress or anything for you to use. Maybe tomorrow night, if you're still here."
Shego grumped and hopped down the steps, Kim holding pillow and blanket as they went downstairs. Shego's large feet were clumsy and would have caused her to fall several times if she hadn't held onto the railing. Imagining she would have tripped over the blanket within a step, she was slightly grateful Kim took the initiative and brought the items down for her.
"There" the younger woman said as she placed a glass of water down on the coffee table "Try not to spill it. If not," she wiggled a towel and threw it down beside it with a slight smile, as if knowing the other was very likely to do such a thing. Bidding her goodnight, Kim hurried up the steps and let her door shut behind her with a very audible click.
"Alright blanket," the mismatched Pandaroo mumbled, "Let's see if you'll do what Miss Shego says."
Spreading a blanket with kangaroo claws was the very definition of a challenge. Twenty minutes. Twenty long and agitating minutes of cursing the item as well as threatening to build something to animate it, just to pluck each stitch in torture. Shego was about ready to tear the blanket to shreds for not staying where she needed it.
"Calm down, Shego" she growled to herself, letting out a slow breath shortly after to calm herself. Taking a glance towards the steps leading upstairs she mumbled, "Drakken said you had between five and seven days till you change back. Tomorrow will be night three." Exhaling, Shego wiggled around till she was comfortable and wasn't laying on her tail.
This was absolutely humiliating! She thought as she found herself unable to find herself tired enough to fall sleep. If this really had been her last hope, she'd probably have forced Kim to call Wade that very instant. Instead she had feigned exhaustion, and the hit from the car gave her a few nice bruises that had helped Kim melt easily.
It was hard to believe that it had been almost eight years since she first met the red head who, in an embarrassing turn of events for Shego, managed to knock the tall, pale green woman out with nothing more than a stink formula from a lip gloss container. The thought of the smell still made her cringe. Back then, she never saw the younger girl as a threat. She had Global Justice back up, a way anywhere around the world in an instant, a poindexter for high tech gadgets, and a buffoon for a sidekick. With all that backing the girl, Shego thought that the well-known Kim Possible wouldn't be any sort of a challenge. That it was the help that made her practically unbeatable. But she was wrong. It took a while, possibly a year or so, before she finally admitted to herself that Kim was amazing. Her ability to combine several martial art styles into one of her own, was something Shego could really appreciate. Kim was no master, but it was still impressive how young girl could retain and manipulate the styles to her needs.
Either way, Shego wasn't getting the Kimmunicator for a few nights, so she hunkered down and closed her eyes, hoping she could get some sleep.
A sudden, bright red light assaulted her closed eyes, and Shego grumped then raised an arm and placed it over her eyes before she turned over to get an earful from a certain red head.
"Did you get enough Wade?" Kim asked the device in her hand. It was the Kimmunicator that was made for her years ago to keep in touch with Wade, among other high tech abilities, and Shego's current target. Kim really didn't know the full effects of the Kimmunicator, but Wade did need to do monthly 'check ups'. Updates, installing new functions. You know. "The works." Currently, Kim was using it to do a bio-molecular scan of Shego's Pandaroo body.
"I think so. It will take me a little bit to get the full diagnosis. So just hang tight there, and I'll get back to you." The short techie said with a smile, knowing Kim was doing her good deeds again. He didn't have to warn her about Shego, but he didn't feel right not. His expression showed his worry, hoping that it got through. And of course, KP noticed. She only gave him a smile and told him that if anyone could change Shego back from a Pandaroo, it was Team Possible.
"Come on, Shego, wake up, it's already after ten." Shaking the other's shoulder carefully, not wanting to jar her injury. She only received a grump and a flick of an ear before Shego was sleeping again.
Kim shook her head with a sigh. "Fine, but you'll have to get your own breakfast" she said as she walked away, glancing over her shoulder to see an ear raise when she mentioned breakfast.
Success! Shego was now sitting at the table, chewing on some waffles some ten minutes later.
It was then that she realized she and Shego could hold a decent conversation even though it didn't contain much actual talking. Her term of 'decent' with Shego being plasma and yelling free. But despite the overall silence, Shego noted Kim's staring and remarked about how her food would get cold.
"Besides, Princess. Just because we're having a fight-free breakfast, doesn't mean we're friends all of a sudden." Her eyes twinkled in victory when Kim's cheeks grew pink and her posture straightened in defense. It was slightly irritating and unsettling how Shego could read her so well.
"I-I know that!"
"Uh-huh. Sure you do, Pumpkin. Were you wanting me to come over again after I'm changed? We could have a sleep over in matching cupcake pj's!" She knew her exterior wouldn't pull off what her voice did, which at the moment was a rough mix of sarcasm and teasing. Her laughter filled the room when Kim got up and stomped over to the sink to wash her dishes, snapping that Shego was lucky she didn't have proper hands or she'd be the one doing them. She'd rather not have broken plates thrown about her kitchen, or Shego's attempt to get anything difficult or crusted on off with plasma.
Still chuckling, Shego looked over at the red head whose back was to her. Kim had grown taller, she noted, and her hair was longer. Emerald eyes traced over her rival's figure and found herself admitting to admiring the younger girl's, no younger women's, body, and its ability to keep up with Shego during their battles. Their fights were, in a sense, something she always looked forward to. Keeping each on their toes. Kim was as unpredictable as she was and just as she managed to top Shego in many battles, Shego had plenty of wins herself. That was another reason why she was doing this. Kim would be a whole different shade of angry when she learned Shego took her Kimmunicator, and it would be one more victory tally for the plasma wielding villain.
Speaking of…. Shego turned her eyes down and saw the item nestled in the back of Kim's jeans, just waiting to be plucked from its snug prison. She kept staring until Kim turned around and gave her a wide eyed look.
"Were you just… Never mind. Why don't you help me with some chores around here. It's not like you can leave anyway."
Shego grumbled at her first chore, and Kim found herself laughing at the sight of a Panadroo vacuuming. Three times the tail tugged the plug from the wall, four times she knocked a foot against the hard plastic, and now she was tangled in it's cord. Frustrated and embarrassed, the Pandaroo was glowing in fury as she was assisted by Kim, after the red head stopped laughing and found herself feeling sorry for her.
"Alright, alright." She raised her hands when she was threatened with a plasma kangaroo fist. "We'll switch. You go sweep the kitchen, and I'll finish vacuuming."
Despite trying, Kim and Shego made more of a mess of things then really cleaning. Whether it was Shego's tail or clumsy feet, or Kim's laughing, there as a great deal of threats and chasing. She was utterly exhausted by the time Wade called, Shego managing to eat a small microwave pizza without making too big a mess of herself.
"What's up, Wade?" Kim asked as the screen flicked to life, showing Wade once more. The phrase she used back in high school had lost its cool factor once she hit college, so she rarely used it these days. That and it didn't fit right with her maturing figure.
"Hey, Kim. Got your results. Looks like Shego should be changing back without our help." He paused when he heard Shego voice a very loud "thank god!" "Her DNA is shifting back to normal as we speak. The explosion from the cloning machine rerouted its structure to mingle with that of the Cuddy Buddy ray that caused it. Should be completely gone within a few days. So maybe you should turn her over to G.J. I mean, she's helpless as a-" Shego cut the boy off by flaring up her fists, the green plasma flicking rapidly as if placed in front of a fan.
"Wanna try that again, Poindexter?"
Wade visibly gulped and gave a nervous chuckle as his hands rose in defense. "Point taken, point taken. So it's a no go on that. So what, you're just going to stay there? Shouldn't you go back to Dr. D?"
Shego knew they would ask her that. "Must I say this again? He did this to me. I'm -not- going back until I'm back to my sexy self, and-"
"Seduce him?" Kim chirped in, but yelping and ducking when 'She-roo' through a piece of pepperoni at her.
"No! Till I can scare him so bad he passes out." Shego ignored the girls pouts of 'I just cleaned that!'. As Kim moved from the table to get the piece off the floor with a paper towel, Shego heard Wade's voice once more through the Kimmunicator.
"By the way, Shego, what was Dr. Drakken doing with that ray, anyway?"
Shego, having just slid from the chair, stopped in mid motion, needing to wash her hands/claws of the cheese that got caught in her fur. Already having a response ready to the question, she gave an almost bored look towards the two sets of eyes staring at her, patiently waiting for the answer. Kim actually straightened up and looked at the hip level mammal expectantly.
"All I know is that Dr. D brought me upstairs to tell me his next move, he was already working on this ray thing as far as I know. Anyway, when he tried to grope the Nutcase, she shoved him and it triggered when he fell on it. Blasted that Bebe cloning machine he had." Her ears flattened a bit as she remember the pain of the transformation following the explosion. "What he was actually going to do with it?" She gave a slight shrug before hopping over to the sink, bouncing up onto the chair Kim put there for her earlier. "I should've just left like I was going to instead of actually doing what he said for once" she growled to herself, though Kim and Wade looked away and at each other before nodding. Wade's face disappeared, and Kim set the Kimmunicator aside.
"So you were going out before you were caught in the explosion?" she asked, standing behind the other, keeping down a giggle at the sight. Shego's fur was wet from water, but the cheese refused to budge. So the once pale green warrior was now down to nibbling the cheese out instead.
"Yes. Pft!" Spitting out a piece into the sink, brushing her tongue off before reaching for the bottle of liquid soap. "Actually, I was headed out to see if I could find you, Princess. I was bored, and itching for a fight."
Rolling her eyes, Kim opened her mouth to counter the remark when she realized that Shego's tone of voice wasn't teasing this time. It wasn't something she was used to, so her reply was a bit shaky and dull.
"You wouldn't even know where to look" she started, reaching up and running fingers through her hair in a nervous gesture.
"Oh, don't I? How did I find you yesterday then, hm? Trust me, Pumpkin" Shego said, shaking her paws off before jumping down and looking up into olive-green eyes "I always know where you are." There was teasing in that tone, Kim knew, and was taken back by the way the other tried to grin. "Damn it, I hate this." Gripping her medium sized muzzle with those wet claws. "I better change back soon or I'll be strangling a certain boss of mine. And this time, I'll keep shaking." Her long ears flattened in her irritation before mumbling something before adding rather loudly as she entered the living room. "Where's your tv remote? And I swear, if you make any jokes on watching animal shows, I'll make sure I sabotage every single appliance in this place."
A/N: Just to clarify to those who don't understand, Shego is not the exact plush of a Pandaroo. It's more like her genetic code was spliced with that of the structure of pandaroo. So as she's about hip level if not slightly shorter, she takes on a more realistic form of the Cuddle buddy instead of the plush. Trust me, I was going to make her into the plushie instead, but then I had a few saying that it would be challenged as to how she could walk and talk. Thank you, please R&R!
*PsychoRyko and Fauxzombie helped BETA this chapter for me.