Shego awoke to the smell of... Pancakes? She groaned as she rolled over to her side. She put out a hand and felt around the bed. Realising that Kim wasn't with her, she cracked open her eyes. The room was really bright thanks to the fact that Kim had drawn open the curtains and her bed was covered in white linen.
"Kim?" mumbled Shego as slowly got up.
"I'm in the bathroom, Shego," was the muffled response. Shego could hear the brushing of teeth and gargling of mouthwash before the redhead emerged from the bathroom.
"Sleep well?" asked Kim as she sat at the edge of the bed closest to Shego.
"Mmhmm" was Shego's response before she smothered Kim with kisses.
The redhead chuckled. "What was that for?"
Using a hand to try to untangle her hair, Shego simply commented, "It's nice to wake up and not be alone, that's all."
"Aww," said Kim as she gave Shego a kiss on the nose. "Then we should do this more often-"
"OY, LOVEBIRDS! STOP YOUR LOVEFEST AND GET UP! BREAKFAST'S READY!" shouted Hana from the kitchen.
Kim laughed at the surprised look on Shego's face. "She woke up early to make you her signature pancakes."
"That's nice of her... But, "lovefest", really?" chuckled Shego.
Kim smiled. "Go clean up and I'll let her know you'll be at the table in a few."
"Finally, were you guys gunning for a snogging marathon or something?" asked Hana as Shego entered the living room.
Shego gave Hana an amused look. "Yes, we were having such a workout that I didn't even hear you shout. Kim's that good."
Kim's reaction made both Hana and Shego burst out in laughter: she turned a very deep shade of red.
Kim sputtered, "She- Shego! We did nothing of the sort!" She gave Shego a 'I'll get you for that' look and turned to Hana. "Stop twisting things around!"
To which Hana simply responded, "What's life without a little fun and games?" The youngest winked at Shego, who then smirked.
"What'll you have, Shego? I've got regular pancakes and chocolate chip... Kim really should go grocery shopping... Most of the things in her pantry aren't edible..."
"Original, since Kim said they're your signature pancakes."
Hana gave Shego a heaping of pancakes and passed Kim a plate of both types. "Well, dig in!"
"This is really good," said Shego in between mouthfuls. "I really like the syrup."
"Homemade." Hana nodded as she ate. "Sooooo... Do both of you have work today?"
Kim shrugged. "I didn't have anything planned for today."
"I have to be at the office for a meeting with Betty and a new client, but Bonnie told me last night that I don't have to be at the paper today."
"Cool, so I guess we can all hang later? Not much has changed since six months ago, right?" asked Hana.
"I don't think so, but I think you should stop by the Space Centre to say hi to my dad," commented Kim. "And maybe the hospital too..."
"In that case, why don't I just stop by the house for dinner?"
"Ah, good point. I'll give them a call and see if they're free."
"Would you be coming, Shego?"
Shego looked like she swallowed a lemon or something sour. "Ah..."
"You don't have to if you don't want to," said Kim. She gave Shego an apologetic look (more to do with the fact that Hana was causing a bit of trouble with her arrival).
"I'll pass this time, mostly because it's a family thing... They haven't seen Hana for a few months, so I'm not sure whether I'd be able to contribute to any dinner conversations..."
"That's a load of bull. I'm sure we'd have some stuff to talk over-"
"Hana, don't force her into anything. You started this, if she doesn't want to go, she doesn't have to go," sighed Kim. "Why are you so difficult?"
"I like to stir up some controversy, Kim, you know that," winked Hana. "It's cool, Shego, Kim and I can have a jolly good time with the scary doctors."
Kim shook her head as Shego chuckled. Looking at the kitchen clock, Shego cleared her throat. "It's almost ten, I should head over to the office before Betty yells at me for being late." She turned to Kim. "I'll give you a call later?"
Kim nodded as Shego got up and collected her things from the bedroom. Hana took her cue and started cleaning up the dining table.
"See you, Hana. Don't cause too much trouble!" said Shego as she exited Kim's apartment, after giving her girlfriend a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I'll try not to!" shouted Hana.
When she was done cleaning the dishes, she found Kim sitting on the sofa. "What's up?"
Kim tossed Hana a pair of keys. "I know you're probably going to call up your Middleton friends, so here's the keys to get through the main lobby doors and into the suite."
"Gee, thanks, but you know I could always stay elsewhere-"
"Hana, no. I'd rather you stay here. I promised my parents to look after you whenever you're back in the city."
"Ok... Did you give Shego keys too?"
The question threw Kim off by a mile. "No... Not yet anyway."
"Seems like you like having her over... And probably vice versa."
"That'd be another big step," Kim stated matter-of-factly.
"Sleeping over on random nights isn't, moving in is a bigger step, Kim." Hana sat down on the couch next to her 'sister'. "Come on, what's stopping you from taking things to the next level?"
Kim shrugged. "I like how things are going right now. No sense in rushing through things."
"I get that, but hey, like I said before, what's life without some fun?"
"I wish I had your carefree attitude," Kim sighed.
"You know it's not entirely carefree..." Hana sighed. "You put up with my madness... But there's always a reason for one's madness, right? I miss them. A lot. I might not show it, but I do. Every day."
"I know." Kim put an around Hana. "I miss your brother's jokes and Rufus' attempts to pig out on nachos."
"I'm sorry if I was really rude to Shego. I just... Don't really want to lose anyone else. I don't want to lose the real you and have you so broken up again."
Kim smiled. Despite the age difference, Kim sometimes felt like the younger sibling. Hana knew all the ways of coddling the redhead, and Kim didn't mind the attention. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that females probably got along better when they had "issues" to talk about, and that Kim was much better at opening up to a female than a male friend. "Don't worry too much about me. If you did that all the time, you'd probably miss out on a lot of things in your own life, Hana."
"Basically, you just told me that you're a big girl who can handle it and I can go off and live my life?"
"Sort of. I'm fine, Hana, really. Shego's been good to me, and hopefully I to her."
"Ok." Hana gave Kim a hug. "Are you going to call your parents now?"
"Yeah, just give me a few minutes and I can probably catch dad in his office. Mom's probably got some surgeries to attend to... Maybe she'll do that weird thing and put us on speakerphone."
Will looked up from his desk as Shego entered the office. She looked a bit flustered. He glanced at the clock.
She was late for her meeting with Betty and their new client.
He shook his head. Her tardiness seemed to have worsened ever since she started that contract job at the Middleton Daily.
He rolled his eyes. It was probably that Kim Possible woman. He had seen the subtle looks of affection passed between the two women during the company meetings. Being one to be up-to-date with the city news, Will felt that no good would come from that Kim Possible woman. She appeared to have a karma that would sour relationships, so Will shook his head disapprovingly as he watched Shego slowly enter Betty's office.
But, who was he to judge? Shego came from a mess of her own (yes, even he knew). Betty had told him to not be such a jerk to Shego during her first week on the job, but who was he to take orders about how he should behave? At the very least, he was his critical self when the woman started drumming her fingers on the desk while working.
"Mss Godeuax, if you please, all this drumming won't help you with your job. It's affecting my performance. I cannot concentrate with this noise," Will had said.
Her response had startled him.
"Well, I could take these two fingers and shove it up your-"
"Shego." Betty had emerged from her office and was glaring at Will (the nerve, really, he had done nothing wrong!). "Behave. Will, your remarks are much appreciated. Shego won't do anything of the sort for the remainder of the day."
"Just today?" he had asked, only to receive a death glare from Betty's single eye.
"Will, come into my office," his boss had said. The pale woman known as Shego had stuck out her tongue at him in defiance as he got up from his desk.
The door closed and there he was, alone in this room with a woman several years his senior who looked like she adorned the battle scars of martyrs in the business world.
"There's a few things I want you to understand about Shego before you work with her," Betty had said. "You must, under no circumstances, ask her about her personal life-"
"I have no interest in that whatsoever, yours as well," he had calmly replied.
Betty smirked. This was what she liked about Will - he was straight to the point and couldn't tell the difference between sarcasm and seriousness if his life depended on it.
"Anyway, I'd like you to be less of a cynic towards her."
He stared at Betty.
"At least for these first two weeks. She's going through a rough patch."
"I see. And what if her rambunctious behaviour triggers a reaction that is not desired?"
"Speak in plain English, Will," Betty had waved her hand at him. "You might not face what she has in store for you then."
"I hardly think that such a carefree woman with an impressive portfolio can do me any harm," Will had deadpanned.
"You'll be in for quite a shock then," Betty had said.
'Shock' was an understatement when Will had accidentally wondered out loud to himself during his lunch break. "What kind of woman with such a portfolio want to do in such a dinky town?" he had said, and Shego had overheard.
The eruption of emotions ranging from anger, sadness, disgust, and then more anger were exhibited to this young man of twenty six - perhaps scarring him to no point of return. He had told his mother that he had "no interest in women whatsoever" whenever she called to check up on him - something that he continues to uphold to this day; whether or not it was a direct consequence of Shego's eruption, he honestly had no interest whatsoever in relationships. Shego's display of human emotions had demonstrated the fallacies of "relationships" - oh no, he much preferred the solitary atmosphere of dining alone, making time for his hobbies (building ships in bottles), and spending his free time unattached and uncommitted.
So, now, as he sat and pondered how a year had flown by, he came to the realisation that the banter between him and Shego encouraged constructive cooperation between them. The competitive atmosphere between the two allowed them to meet deadlines quickly, but not hinder quality (be it balancing books or coming up with designs), so he was grateful for Shego's involvement with the firm.
While he was not sure how Kim will fit into the future of GJ Designs, and whether her presence would offer any benefits, he was certain that Shego needed to concentrate with her job. And that is what he will tell her after this client meeting.
Author's Notes: Will is reflecting on Shego's first week... Hence the past tense. He's not exactly a robot... Maybe.
Chapter title is from "Robot Boy" by Linkin Park.