Chapter 26:

Possible Residence:

Shego woke up with the mother of all hangovers.

"Ugh, what happened last night?"

Shego groaned, feeling like she was about to be sick.

"You drank too much. Like you always do. Now, go back to sleep."

Ayumi mumbled. Shego looked at the young Japanese woman lying next to her, and was at a loss for words.

"Ay? How did you get into my bed?"

"I'm the one that drove you home, remember?"

"All I remember was drinking, yelling at you, and…"

"And what?"

"Kissing. I kissed you."

Shego said, almost not believing what she was saying.

"You sound surprised."

"I'm not. I mean I am, but I don't know."

Ayumi couldn't help but giggle at Shego's confusion.

"You're gonna give yourself a headache. Just go back to sleep, until your hangover passes."

Ayumi said, pulling Shego close and snuggling her. Shego however did not want to sleep. She had far too much on her mind.

"Ayumi?"

"Hmm?"

Ayumi asked, eyes closed as she was trying to go back to sleep.

"Can we...um, never mind."

Ayumi opened her eyes, and looked at Shego.

"What?"

"It's nothing. Just forget I said anything."

Ayumi could tell that Shego was nervous about something, and now she couldn't help but to give the pale skinned woman her full attention.

"You can tell me anything. You know that, don't you?"

"Yeah, it's just…"

"Just what? Ciel you have nothing to be nervous about. I mean jeez, I haven't seen you this nervous since the first time you asked if we cou-"

Suddenly it dawned on Ayumi what Shego wanted to ask, and a devilish grin appeared on her face.

"So that's what you want."

Ayumi said, playing with the hem of Shego's shirt. Shego just about stopped breathing, due to how nervous she was. It only seemed to get worse, as Ayumi slowly pulled her shirt up over her head. Tossing the garment aside, Ayumi then removed Shego's pants, and went to remove her panties, only to be stopped by her wrists being grabbed.

"It's okay, I'll do it."

Shego said, before Ayumi could ask what was wrong.

"How come you never let me take them off you?"

Ayumi asked, beginning to remove her own clothes.

"I dunno. I just prefer to do it myself I guess."

Shego said, removing her bra and dropping it onto the floor. Ayumi soon followed suit, and now both women were lying naked in bed together. Shego couldn't help but stare at the body of the woman next to her.

"Like what you see?"

Ayumi asked, causing Shego to turn a nice shade of red.

"N-No."

Shego said, trying to hide her ever growing blush.

"I wonder just how far down that blush goes."

Ayumi said, lifting the covers to get a look at Shego's body.

"Stop that!"

Shego yelled, quickly covering herself back up.

"If you don't want me to see you naked, then why did you ask if we could cuddle naked?"

"I never actually asked you if we could."

"True, but I know it's what you were going to ask. Besides, we've seen each other naked plenty of times. And yet, you still get nervous about it. Why is that?"

Shego didn't say a word, and instead turned away from Ayumi in an effort to hide the blush gracing her cheeks.

"You know you don't have to be nervous around me, right?"

Ayumi asked, placing her hand onto Shego's shoulder.

"I know, but…"

"But what? Ciel, I really wish you would just tell me what's going through your mind. You go to say something, then stop. Why can't you just say what you need to say?"

"Because I can't."

"Why can't you."

"I'm afraid."

Ayumi couldn't believe what she was hearing. In all the years she had known her, Shego had never admitted to being afraid.

"What are you afraid of?"

"You."

Ayumi wasn't sure what she expected Shego's answer to be, but it certainly wasn't that.

"You're afraid of me? What? Why?"

"Because in the past whenever I was open and honest with you, you would…"

Once again Shego ceased speaking, and Ayumi felt herself fight down her growing frustration.

"I would what?"

"You would hit me."

Shego said, choking back tears. Ayumi just stared at Shego, unsure of what to do or say. She knew herself and Shego had had problems with their relationship in the past, but she never realized how much it truly impacted her.

She soon felt her own heart aching, as she listened to the woman next to her begin to cry. She then turned Shego over so that she was facing her, and held her close. Shego was now crying into Ayumi's chest.

"Ciel, I'm so sorry for how I treated you in the past. I was drunk, and I didn't know what I was doing. That's no excuse though. I should've treated you better, and I should've been there for you when you needed me. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Ayumi said, feeling her own tears fall as she gently stroked Shego's hair and continued to hold her close. There was a time when Shego was her whole world, yet she allowed her issues with drinking to mess it all up for her. Now, here she was comforting Shego just like she used to. The moment was perfect, except for one thing.

"Ciel."

"Hmm?"

"Is my hitting you the reason why you won't give me another chance?"

"That, and no matter how many times I tried to tell you I wasn't ready for certain things, you would lash out at me rather than try to understand why I wasn't ready."

"I'm sorry, hon. I should've talked to you about why you weren't ready, instead of getting pissed at you. If you give me another chance, I will never ever hurt you like that again."

"Do you promise?"

Shego asked, looking up into Ayumi's eyes.

"I promise. And, I'm going to treat you the way you deserve to be treated. I love you, Ciel."

Ayumi said, capturing Shego's lips in a kiss. The kiss started out soft and slow, but soon grew fiercer as the passion grew stronger between them. Ayumi soon moved herself and Shego, so that she was lying on top of the pale skinned woman. Her hands then began to roam Shego's body. Shego began to release soft moans, as the heat between them began to build.

Meanwhile downstairs, Kim had just walked through the front door, having just returned from spending the day with Ron. The date had been great, and Kim was glad to spend some much needed time with her boyfriend. However, her mind had been somewhat on Shego during the date. She had gone through so much lately, and Kim often wondered if she was alright.

"I wonder if she's home."

Kim thought, making her way up the stairs. She then arrived at the door to the guest room. She was just about to knock on the door, when she heard a strange noise coming from the room.

"What the hell? What's going on in there?"

Kim wondered, continuing to listen. The strange noise soon grew louder, and Kim began to blush as she realized what it was.

She then ran away from the door, screaming internally as she tried to get the noise she had had the displeasure of hearing out of her head.

End of chapter 26: