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They were laying on Shego’s couch, watching TV, when Kim saw the camera for the first time. It was hidden on the shelf under the coffee table — a perfect hiding spot, because Kim had barely even known there was a shelf down there.
She tried to pick it up, curious, but Shego’s arm tightened around her waist. It was a silent conversation, Kim reaching out and Shego pulling her away, like tug-of-war with her body. Kim managed to snag it at the last second, just before it was out of reach.
“Put that back,” Shego snapped.
“Nope.” Kim knew that Shego’s irritation was for show. Mostly. Probably. Maybe.
But if Shego really didn’t want Kim to have it, she was more than capable of taking it away. She seemed content to keep an arm around Kim’s waist, glaring at the back of her head, and Kim took that as silent permission. She smiled and held the camera out in front of them.
“No,” Shego said, more firmly this time, as Kim’s finger hovered over the shutter button.
“Just one picture.”
“I don’t take pictures.”
“Yeah, but this one’s with me.”
Shego sighed. “Fine,” she said through gritted teeth, like she was agreeing to literal torture. “One picture.”
Kim hesitated, then lowered the camera, giving Shego a chance to relax. If she only got one shot at this, she didn’t want a picture of Shego scowling.
“Where did you get this?” It was a Polaroid, but not like the cheap ones her friends had bought in college. It had a deeper lens and too many buttons, and it was too nice, really, for someone who hated photos as much as Shego.
“It was a gift.”
“You never used it?”
“Obviously not. If I want pictures, I can use my phone.”
“But you don’t want pictures?”
Shego snapped her fingers, loudly, right next to Kim’s ear. “Hey! What was that for?”
“Just making sure your ears still work.”
Kim rolled her eyes and looked back at the camera, wondering who had been stupid enough to pick this as a gift. “That person must have really hated you.”
“You have no idea, Cupcake.”
Kim didn’t push for a name, and didn’t ask why Shego had bothered keeping it. She just waited until Shego relaxed against her, until her arm felt loose around her waist. Shego’s breath was warm on the back of her neck.
Shego would kill Kim if she ever told anyone, but she the most cuddly person Kim had ever met. A fiery teddy bear, she’d called her once, after too many drinks, and Shego hadn’t touched her for ten days.
Then she’d come to Kim’s house, completely unannounced, and there had been some comment like I’ll show you fiery, followed by a night that Kim wished she remembered more of. But she did remember waking up the next morning with Shego’s face pressed against her shoulder and one leg thrown over both of hers, cradling her close.
Kim stayed still for almost fifteen minutes — not very long, but patience had never been her strong suit. Then she twisted around and pressed a kiss to Shego’s cheek, and in the same moment, she lifted the camera and snapped a picture. A little awkward with how large it was, but she made it work. Shego jerked away, but Kim had already heard the click of a successful photo.
“You little—”
“You said one picture!” she protested, shoving the camera under the table before Shego took it from her.
“Not like—” Shego’s breath hissed out through her teeth, scalding against Kim’s skin. “Just let me see it.”
Kim picked up the camera again, carefully taking the printed photo. And even before Shego spoke, Kim knew she would hate it. Their bodies were at an awkward angle, cutting diagonally across the picture, and Kim’s lips were pressed against her cheek, eyes closed, her whole body twisted around to reach Shego.
And Shego… She had one arm hooked around Kim’s waist, and she looked so soft. She was smiling as Kim kissed her.
Kim’s breath caught in her lungs. How often did Shego look at her like that?
“Give that to me,” Shego said, with something like real hostility in her voice. Maybe, if Kim listened closer, something that sounded a little bit like fear.
“Shego.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“Fucking impossible,” Shego muttered.
“Actually, it’s pronounced Kim Possible.”
Kim could feel Shego’s scowl without looking, and she kept her eyes fixed on the TV, still holding the picture between her fingers. They reached the end of the episode before Shego spoke again.
“The next time I see that, I will set it on fire.”
“I know,” Kim said happily, 100% sure that Shego meant it, and thrilled by her temporary victory.
The next day, she bought a small frame and put the picture on her nightstand. Three days later, she caught Shego standing in her bedroom, just staring. She paused by the door, curious about what she would do, not wanting to scare her off.
Shego picked up the frame and looked at it for a long time, tracing a finger over the glass.
After a lifetime of silence, she set it down again, and Kim waited another minute before walking in.
“Not setting it on fire?” she asked lightly.
“I guess it’s acceptable.” After a moment, Shego added, “For now,” like she’d remembered that she was supposed to be angry.
Kim didn’t tell her that she’d been watching; if Shego wanted to keep that moment to herself, Kim wouldn’t press. Instead, she wrapped her arms around her from behind, resting her cheek against the top of her spine. “You know, I love you.”
Shego laughed, and if it sounded like there were tears behind it, Kim didn’t call her on it. Shego covered one of Kim’s hands with her own. “I know, Kimmie.”
Another lifetime of silence, and then Shego spun around, so sudden that it caught Kim off guard, and kissed her.
And Kim knew that this was hard for Shego, that everyone who loved her had abandoned her eventually, that pictures were a reminder that she was alone, that the word love tasted like a weapon in her mouth. And she knew that, for now, this was the best that Shego could do.
For her, for now, this was enough.