Chapter Six: Acceptance

Kim sighed as she walked away from Ron and Yori with her head down, lost in thought, unconsciously moving toward the oncoming GJ agents led by one emerald image of Aphrodite as her thoughts ran wild. What do I do? Kim thought as her legs moved on autopilot while her mind conjured countless death traps and scenarios where talking to Shego would be much easier than what Ron convinced her to do only moments ago. You can do this, Kim!

A representation of Kim's self-doubt spoke against her: Who could love a freak like you? It spoke venomously. How would your family react to the idea of you bringing home a woman to meet the folks? The Doubter laughed in her mind. Come on, Kimberly. It continued to taunt. Think. Dad will flip his lid and Mom will disown you. The Tweebs…well, this would give them ammo for decades!

Kim shook her head to get rid of the fearful thoughts. Kim's gaze fell on the green woman as she walked at the head of a squad of Global Justice agents.

Ann Possible's voice spoke softly in Kim's mind. Take a deep breath and take the plunge.

A small smile pulled at Kim's lips as a rather dishonorable thought ran through Kim's mind. Kim ran at Shego as the trace of a smile left Kim's face, replaced by a deep scowl. A few inches from Shego, Kim drew back with all the strength in her arm and decked Shego.

Blindsided, Shego was sent flying by the punch and with a terrible screech on impact, tore the reinforced steel wall behind them as if it were tissue paper. "Damn, Princess," The green goddess commented as she got back to her feet and took a fighting stance. "What happened to you? You don't punch that hard." Shego shook her head and glared at the redhead. "NO ONE punches like that except Hego!"

"Why do you think I adapted to his powers so easily, Shego?"

With that question, Kim launched into a flurry of attacks. Kim's heart pounded in excitement only Shego could bring to her as the two rivals danced their unique waltz of combat.

They danced like frenzied devils. Punches, kicks, and doges all given in a beautiful rhythm as the rivals fought. Kim's mouth went dry as the speed of Shego's attacks sped up with Kim picking up her speed to match.

Shego raised an eyebrow as she intercepted a kick and deflected it. "Why did you pick a fight this time, Kim?" There was honest curiosity in Shego's voice along with surprise as she spoke.

Kim sent another kick Shego's way only to have it deflected. The redhead sighed as she raised her arms to block and tried to knock Shego's feet out from under her. Shego saw the move coming and jumped out of the way. Then, Shego noticed an odd hesitancy becoming more prevalent in the fight as Kim continued to fight. Her heart's not in it like our usual duels; she's distracted.

Kim glared at Shego and tried to win the fight by outpacing the older woman. "Do you ever think of Yori and Ron?"

Shego effortlessly used the momentum in Kim's punch to throw her to the ground and responded, "She's done a lot of good for Stoppable." Shego's mouth went dry as her eyes followed Kim's top as it flew up and exposed the redhead's midriff while Kim righted herself with a backflip. "You have, too, Princess. What's your point?"

Kim continued to press her attack with punches at half strength which Shego only managed to defend due to her sharp reflexes.

"I mean as they are now…in a relationship?" Kim clarified as her punches increased in frequency slightly.

Shego noticed the almost imperceptible tell. Something about Ron and Yori tweaked the redhead. Come on, Kimmie. Shego thought as she dealt with the punches. Talk it out. Get to the core issue. "Yeah? You're not wanting him back. Are you?"

Kim picked Shego up with and her feet and threw the woman hard into a wall to the left of them. "No!" Kim quickly reeled in her anger after she stood and began approaching the fallen green woman. "What I mean is we work better as friends."

Shego groaned and stood. "Alright." Her hands ignited. "No more Miss Nice Shego!"

Kim smiled at the angry woman with her hands wreathed in green flame and laughed happily. "I wouldn't expect anything less from a hot woman like you!"

Shego raised an eyebrow at Kim's statement as the two began to play a bit of cat and mouse with Shego's flames. "You think I'm hot, Pumpkin?"

Kim gripped Shego's wrists twitch her emerald eyes locked on Shego's own. "Yes…no! I mean you're hot-headed, Shego!"

"That's not what I heard, Cupcake…"

Red-faced from an equal mix of rage and embarrassment, Kim tightened her grip on Shego's wrists, began to spin her, and let go. Shego went flying toward a wall but was able to stop her momentum and only bumped the wall slightly. "Why so angry, Kimmie?"

Kim's eyes almost glowed with anger as she glared at the woman. "WHY?!"

Shego rolled just before Kim's fist tore a hole in the steel wall where the onyx-haired woman's head had been milliseconds before. "Why what, Kim?" Shego asked as she noticed tears in Kim's eyes and framed the redhead's face in her hands gently. "What do you mean, 'Why?', Kim?" She repeated when Kim seemed too lost in her anger to respond the first time.

Kim's body trembled with emotion. "Why do you toy with me every time we fight? Why do I feel a need to be with you? Why do you call me those names? Are they pet names or insults? Why do I hold back while fighting you?" Then, the tears came. "WHY IS RON ALLOWED TO HAVE YORI WHILE I CAN'T HAVE MY OTHER HALF?!"

Both women froze at Kim's yell and looked at each other with with wide eyes. Neither really expected Kim's outburst. Kim looked at Shego. The young hero stood mortified and looked at Shego in fear as her face lost a considerable amount of color. Look away! Kim's mind screamed, but her body stood like a statue, either unwilling or unable to comply with the command of her brain.

"Kim…"

Kim heard Shego's voice, but in her frozen state, Kim could only blink in response to the green woman's unusually soft voice. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Kim found her voice. "I'm sorry, Shego." Kim whispered. "I wasn't thinking. I know you probably don't think of me the way I do you…" Kim's face fell considerably at the possibility of rejection. "I have to tell you anyway."

Shego stood unable to believe what she heard. After years of trying to beat the upstart in a fair fight, Shego realized she was falling for the stubborn redhead, but Kim, with her apparent relationship with Ron, wrote herself off in the green woman's mind as "straight". Now, to hear Kim confess in a round about way she wanted to be in a relationship with the green woman, Shego knew what she wanted to do but feared the idea of being too forward with her desires and scaring Kim off with her strong advances.

"Kim, what do you mean?"

"Shego, have you heard of the Yin and Yang?"

Shego nodded. "I learned about it while I was training with monks in China."

"The two sides are equal, opposite, and incomplete without each other." Kim said. Then, she blushed and looked down at her feet in embarrassment. "You are the Yin to my Yang."

Kim then reached and kissed Shego on the lips tentatively. As Kim pulled away slowly, she felt her heart shatter when Shego didn't receive and return her kiss. Then, as Kim looked down and took a step back in acceptance of Shego's decision, the dragon of a woman pushed Kim into her lips and kissed the redhead with all the years of pent up passion in her heart.

When Shego pulled away, Kim stared in disbelief for a moment. Then, the teen hero became aware of their audience of Global Justice agents. Kim stared at the group with fear in her eyes. Before the fear could overwhelm Kim, a warm hand gently gripped Kim's and gave hers a squeeze.

"Let's get out of here, Kim."

Kim didn't respond verbally and only looked at Shego in fear. Shego blinked in confusion; she had never seen Kim fearful of anything. Then, it hit Shego like a ton of bricks. Kim lived to please others, so social rejection would be worse for the redhead than dying slowly in a well-constructed villainous contraption.

"Shego, my parents and friends…" Kim whispered as they walked away from the group after the agents began to disperse at Shego's signal.

Shego smiled at Kim. "You are so much like me. It's a little unnerving."

Kim blinked at the woman's strange statement. Then, she nodded as she realized the truth in it. "I never really thought about it, but I can see it."

Shego sighed as her brief smile faded into a neutral expression. "The difference between us?" She said as she looked at Kim with a frown. "You work with friends who love you and support you." Shego's face became dejected. "I worked with a family of spotlight chasers who couldn't care less about me as a person. I was just a cog in their popularity machine."

"…and you hated it, so you struck out on your own and considered villainy just to spite Hego's arrogant and inflexible 'Code of Honor'. Then, Doctor Director offered you a job, and the rest is history."

Shego only nodded. "You have Ron for support, Kim." Shego said as she squeezed Kim's shoulder gently. "…and you have me." Shego whispered in Kim's ear with a husky tone that sent pleasant shivers down Kim's back.

The young teen hero giggled and swatted at her ear playfully. Then, she turned with a light glare on her face only to be met by Shego's warm and surprisingly gentle lips. The glare vanished as Kim allowed herself to enjoy the short kiss.

"Let's go tell my parents." Kim said with a more familiar sense of confidence to her words with an ever so slight hint of doubt still in her voice only Shego, Ron, or her mother could pick up on as she pulled away and looked at Shego with hope in her eyes.

While riding in Shego's car, Kim felt the last of her doubt fade and looked at the steady green hand that clasped her own for the entire ride home. You can do this, Kim.

"Anything's Possible for a Possible, Pumpkin."

Kim looked at Shego in surprise for a moment at hearing her utter the family motto that the green woman seemed to utterly despise. Kim raised an eyebrow and laughed. "Never thought you'd take up my family motto."

That's just the start of what I want to take that's yours. Shego thought with a very naughty smirk as the green woman pulled into the Possibles' driveway.

Kim got out of the car and felt her nerves skyrocket. It felt like her first mission all over again. The rush, the adrenaline, and the hint of fear all ran together in Kim's mind as she walked to the front door with purpose in her walk. Kim slowly opened the door and felt Shego grab her free hand and squeeze it in a show of support.

"Mom, Dad; I'm home." Kim's voice carried effortlessly through the house.

"Kimmie Cub," Mister Possible spoke with an edge in his voice that usually meant Kim was either in trouble or about to be. He walked up to her and shot Shego a glare. It wasn't just any glare. This one was the "You hurt my daughter, and I'll…" Look. In spite of her powers and enhanced strength, Shego felt a rock settle in her gut at the Look. "…go talk to your Mom." He gently pushed her towards the kitchen with equal parts gentleness and steel. "Shego and I need to talk."

Kim shook her head in stunned silence as she followed her Dad's instructions. "Mom, I'm confused. Why is Dad acting like Shego's a boy?"

Mrs. Possible turned from the counter to look at her daughter, the surgeon still dressed in hospital attire. "She is your girlfriend. Is she not?"

Kim looked at her mother in shocked disbelief. "How did you…? We just…"

"I am your mother, Kimberly Ann." She said with a soft laugh. "I've seen how you are around her."

"You're not upset?" Kim asked in confusion.

"If she makes you happy, she could be a Martian for all I care." Mrs. Possible's face turned serious. "The minute she hurts you, she's going to go in my OR for a lobotomy and will wake up with the mentality of a six year old."

Kim's eyes widened and she laughed nervously. "You're serious?"

Mrs. Possible shrugged, the frightening moment seemingly gone as the woman shrugged. "Maybe I am, maybe not. Hopefully, you'll never have to find out which."

"Thank you, Mom!" Kim couldn't help the tears of relief and the ecstatic smile on her face as Kim hugged her mother tight.

Ann laughed. "Just tell Shego I want grandkids one day."

Kim paled as she let go of Ann. "I… I will."

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Author's Note: I know! I left it a bit open, but this story wasn't about Ron or KiGo. It was about Ron and Kim accepting themselves as they are.