Chapter Text
Shego opened the door gently, letting it click quietly closed behind her. She didn’t need to look at a clock to know the time. Well past three a.m., and her internal clock was so fucked up that it felt more like six. She took a quick shower, then pulled on some pajamas and walked back to the bedroom. Kim was already there, sitting back against some pillows with a book in her hands and her eyes closed. Shego tried to squash down all those sappy feelings, because sappy just wasn’t in her vocabulary. She gently took the book from Kim’s hands and lowered her into bed.
“Shego?” Kim asked sleepily. “You’re late.”
“You shouldn’t have waited up,” Shego said softly. “There was bad weather. I got delayed.”
“I missed you.”
Shego slipped into bed with Kim, and the younger woman immediately fitted her back against Shego’s front. Shego wrapped an arm around her waist. “I missed you too.” She ignored the voice in her head screaming ‘Soft’, and pressed a kiss to Kim’s shoulder.
“I was starting to worry you’d run off with Drakken.” Okay, maybe Shego needed to take back the whole ‘missing you’ thing.
“I’m going to put that down to sleep deprivation and not set your hair on fire.”
“Don’t burn the house down, babe.”
“You’re lucky you’re so damn cute.”
“Mmhm. Shut up and let me sleep.”
“You’re the one talking,” Shego reminded her, burying her face in the space between Kim’s neck and shoulder. She was just about ready to pass out too, especially with Kim in her arms like this. It had been at least five days since they’d been in bed together, and Shego just melted into the body pressed against her. If Kim gave some smart-ass answer, she didn’t hear it; she was out in seconds.
Shego was alone when she woke up. Well, mostly alone. There was a black cat curled up near her legs, but she was more interested in the woman who was supposed to be next to her. She would’ve loved a few more hours of sleep — she really needed it, after getting in so late — but she got out of bed anyway. Rufus jumped out after her, rubbing against her legs to slow her down. Shego smiled and scratched his head, and he purred and rubbed against her harder. Kim still couldn’t get over the fact that Shego was the favorite, especially since he was named after the buffoon’s pet.
Well, it had only been five years. Maybe Kim would adjust in another five. Or ten. Or never.
She wasn’t even at the door when she was hit with the smell of something burning. Oh, so Kimmie’s making breakfast again. Shego wondered if there was a way to put childproof locks on a stove, or how much she’d have to pay to make that happen.
She padded out to the kitchen silently. “You know, it works better on lower heat.” She reached past Kim to turn off the stove, then wrapped her arms around the younger woman’s waist, taking in the damage. The counters were covered in eggs and sugar and flour, those black marks had probably been pancakes at some point, and the whole house smelled like an exploded lair. Well, at least Kim hadn’t used her cast iron skillet this time. The younger woman was still waiting for Shego to forgive her for that one, but she’d told Kim not to hold her breath.
Kim turned to face her. “I tried that! But they weren’t cooking, so I turned the heat up, and then they burned.”
“Hey, at least nothing’s on fire this time.”
“Stop teasing me.”
“You make it too easy. And I’m not teasing, this is a big improvement.”
Kim rolled her eyes. “You have low standards.”
“Obviously. I married you.”
“Take that back.”
“Make me.”
Okay, maybe she was being a little unfair. Normally, that comment would’ve led to a fight, but Kim had been ordered to rest after hurting her knee. And no matter how many times she insisted she was fine, Shego refused to spar until the doctors at GJ cleared her. As much as she hated that place, she could admit that the doctors were top notch. So yeah, sparring was definitely off the table.
But instead of backing down, Kim’s eyes took on that familiar determined slant, and Shego had just enough time to think she might be in trouble. Then Kim’s hand came up behind her neck, and the younger woman pulled her down into a kiss, using the grip on her neck to keep her in place. Shego had been prepared for an easy victory, not this, and her mind went blank. She knew Kim had won; she couldn’t even fight back. Stupid pretty redheads, honestly.
“You were saying something about standards,” the younger woman prompted when she pulled away.
“Yeah,” Shego breathed. “Standards.”
“Just checking.” Kim looked way too smug, but Shego let her have the win. For now.
“How ‘bout we clean this up and go out for breakfast?” She glanced at the clock on the oven. “Brunch,” she corrected.
“The diner on Kettle Street? And you can tell me what happened with Drakken?”
“You know, if you think I’m gonna run off with someone, you can join me on my next job. I wouldn’t complain.” It was an empty threat and they both knew it; there wasn’t a chance in hell of Shego leaving, and especially not for Drakken. But they also knew that Kim was never joining her on a job.
The younger woman rolled her eyes. “You never give up.”
“You should know, Cupcake, I run a completely legitimate business.”
“Completely legitimate?”
Shego shrugged. “Close enough.” The year after Drakken’s retirement, with a lot of convincing from Kim, Shego had thrown together a business critiquing security systems. And if she occasionally ‘tested’ things she hadn’t been hired for — well, they always agreed to pay her in the end. Except for the paperwork, it was a pretty good gig. She kept all the perks of her old job — travelling, breaking and entering, getting a big fat paycheck at the end of the day — and she came home to Kim and Rufus some nights.
Twenty years ago, Shego would’ve scoffed at those new “perks.” She would’ve laughed at the thought of marriage, a house, and a pet that slept by her side. Who wanted to get trapped in all that anyway? It sure as hell wasn’t for her.
But Kim was just about the only person who understood, because the other woman didn’t want that type of life either. That had been the first big conversation in their relationship, and they’d been on the same page since day one — neither of them was going to settle down. They weren’t looking for the typical white-picket-fence, nine-to-five-job, falling-asleep-peacefully-every-night type of relationship.
Instead, they saw each other when they were in the same city, and they made it home often enough to keep Rufus fed and happy. Besides, the cat liked his alone time too. And every other Friday, Kim turned off her Kimmunicator, and Shego refused to take any jobs, and yeah, maybe it seemed a little strange to everyone else, but Shego honestly couldn’t remember a time when she’d been this happy.
“What are you thinking about?” Kim asked.
Shego shook her head. “Nothing, Princess.”
“So…brunch?”
She brushed her lips against Kim’s in a gentle kiss. “Sounds perfect.”
She leaned in to kiss Kim again, but Rufus wove between their legs, practically begging for attention. “Mrow?” Shego couldn’t resist scooping him up into her arms. Honestly, if she was going soft — which she absolutely was not — she was more than willing to put all the blame on him. Kim scratched his head, smiling.
“Such a cute kitty,” she cooed.
“You didn’t want a black cat,” Shego reminded her with a smirk. That had been the compromise — Shego had picked the color, and Kim had picked the name.
Kim rolled her eyes. “Put him down so we can clean. I’m hungry.”
Shego lowered him to the floor, but he immediately rubbed against her legs again. He was even cuter than Kim with her puppy dog eyes, and she bent down to scratch his side. Kim really couldn’t blame her for giving in when he looked at her like that.
“Shego—”
“I know, cleaning.” She looked down at Rufus. “Sorry sweetheart.” The cat gave her such a hurt look as she pulled away, and she almost caved again. God, she was a pathetic excuse for a villain. Former villain. Whatever. Not a useful train of thought, and not one she cared about all that much anyway.
She opened a window and took a few deep breaths of fresh air. She knew that when she turned around, the burnt pan would be waiting in the sink, and Kim would be wiping down the counters. In a few minutes, when Rufus begged for breakfast, Kim would feed him. At the diner, Kim would debate between an omelet and chocolate chip pancakes, but she’d end up with the pancakes.
Shego took one more breath of fresh air, then walked back to the sink. The burnt pan was already there, and Kim was cleaning the counter by the stove.
Not settling down, huh?