Ron, having seen what an unleashed Shego could do to a Lorwardian, had never been more scared of her than he was at that moment. Along with the fear, though, was a tingle of excitement. She was powerful and dangerous, a fury of olde born again as a plasma-wielding, strong-willed mercenary. Just as quickly as she had burst with power, however, the plasma was extinguished and again before him stood a woman with more regret than he could have imagined, especially for her. And just as quickly, his fear and excitement fled, chased away by that singular, heartwrenching sob.

"I..." She started, misery suffusing her voice, "That's why I tagged along. I... I couldn't even handle being on the same planet as him. It… Hurts… Too much, knowing that I… And that he… Especially when he and Princess started to… You know... I mean, it was obvious that they... That she wouldn't be afraid to..." She let herself fall to the ground with a sigh, tears finally slipping free, the twin sparks of emotion trailing from her eyes. Looking out through the skylight, staring at the arm of the Milky Way, so much closer, covering so much more of the sky, than back home. After a long moment, she whispered, "I'm a coward."

Ron forced himself swallow the lump of fear in his throat, trying to force himself to relax and not be super-scared of the superpowered woman who just literally blew up. Thinking for a second, he said with a nervous chuckle, "I totally don't think you're a coward!"

Shego glared over at him. "Yes I am. What kind of lamewit runs off into space to get away from a guy that could easily be dodged by staying away from any place that sells chocolate milk?"

"I dunno?" Ron quipped, his grin growing wider when Shego's expression darkened slightly, "What kind of meshugganah runs off into the great unknown with his rat and a beautiful woman like yourself while leaving everything he knew behind, including his bon-diggity BFGF?" He paused and drew a finger to his chin, pursing his lips in thought, "Well, other than the crazy idea of keeping some big ol' muscly guys from wrecking his home?"

"Beautiful?" She blinked a couple of times, more caught off guard by that one word than anything else he'd said. Ron wanted to kick himself; while he had said she was hot before, 'cause she was. Hot, sexy, even pretty, but never beautiful. He was scared of how she'd react, because beautiful carried a whole different level of implications about how he felt for her. After all, he'd told her that he only called a woman beautiful if he had feelings for her. He'd known, when they first left Earth, that he could fall for her.

But, as they'd agreed the year before, their sexual relationship was more lovers of convenience as the only two humans on the ship. Even lately, despite the fact that they'd admitted being more friends with benefits than anything, she'd never given him a hint of deeper emotions nor had he given any to her. Yet now he'd admitted, not just to her, but to himself, that he might feel more than just physical attraction to her.

'Oh, man' he thought morosely, 'I hope I didn't just screw this all up...' He all but held his breath as Shego seemed to think on his words for a moment.

"Th-thanks..." She finally said, allowing a brief, fragile smile to cross her features before wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands. When she was done, she let a short, dry chuckle escape her throat. "You're a lot like Dr. D, you know that?" With a grunt that was somewhere between annoyance and resignation, she pulled her feet free from the rubble she'd created, walked over and plopped down next to Ron.

"Well, yeah, we're both goofy guys."

Shego snorted and looked at him with a tilted eyebrow. "Yeah, you guys are. You're both also good actors." Ron raised a finger in protest, one that he quickly dropped when she raised a responding finger covered in a sheen of plasma. She continued, pausing briefly here and there, "Do you really think that you can pull this off with me after having been so… Intimate… With someone so much like you? Or after being intimate with you like I have for that matter? You are clearly far deeper than you let on, oh-so-Great Blue. Otherwise... Otherwise you wouldn't have left your 'one twue wuv'," he thought the silly voice and air quotes was a mean even for Shego, but didn't interrupt, "to come out to space to try and calm down a bunch of hyperactive bash monsters." She gave him a serious look. "No one as shallow as you make yourself out to be would make that kind of sacrifice."

Finished, she raised her chin slightly as if daring him to say anything against it.

"Ohhhh, she go' you!" a squeak cried from across the room.

"Rufus…" Shego growled in warning. The little mole rat saluted her with a paw and went back to playing on the little gaming device he'd made during the journey.

Ron stood there for a few minutes, just watching Shego with a curious expression. She started to shift around, as if her skin started to feel itchy at the intense scrutiny. Before she could break eye contact, though, he broke it first; the strangely worn-out chuckle he let out was clearly not what she had been expecting. He was pretty sure she expected something like denial, not… That.

"Yeah, you're right. Kind of, anyway," he said slowly; admitting it was harder than he thought it would be. A hand impulsively reached for the back of his head before he caught himself and forced it to fall. His face, while still jovial, had a certain weight to it that hadn't been there before. Shego was looking at him, apparently trying to figure out what he was going to say. Ron himself didn't know what he was going to say, whether what he felt was on his sleeve or if he'd hidden it away, even from himself. After a moment, he shrugged and just let his mouth make words like he had to Kim in Bueno Nacho's headquarters, hoping he was doing the right thing. "I mean, I am still a goofy guy, just like Dra-ew is a goofy guy. But we're not all goof. Even if sometimes it might seem like it.

"And yeah, I do exaggerate my goof factor by a few, uh, multi-things. But sometimes," Ron sighed, running a hand over his tired looking face, "sometimes, it was all that kept Kim from losing touch with reality. She is the Kim Possible, the girl that could do anything!" He paused, then chuckled slightly, "And that includes forgetting that even if she can do anything... Well, she can't do everything. My goof adds... Added, I guess, a bit of the Ron factor to keep her head on straight, y'know?"

"Yeah, I noticed," the green woman deadpanned. "I think we probably could've beaten her if you and your rat were out of the picture, Mr. Distraction."

"Don't hate the player; hate the game!" Ron chirped, earning a firm slap to the back of his head.

"Never say that again," Shego warned him in an unwontedly serious fashion. "My first boyfriend said that to me when he broke up with me." She grimaced at the questioning eyes he favored her with, and added with a sigh, "Literally seconds after he popped my cherry."

"Oh, wow," he murmured, eyes widening. He had not expected such a personal admission from the snarky, closed off woman, "I'm so sorry someone treated you like that."

"Well, c'est la vie." Shego shrugged, as if it meant nothing to her. "I got used to it back then. Probably why I stuck with all the beach hotties when I got older." Ron reached out impulsively wrapping her in a gentle, loving hug. Shego stiffened slightly, then melted into the embrace, biting her lip nervously as a slightly, barely noticeable shiver ran through her body.

"It still sucks, Sheegs." he countered, but felt her stiffen as if she were about to protest. Shaking his head at nothing in particular, "As far as my being a goof, well... I kinda realized that we were both growing up. I can't keep goofing off forever. KP needs... Needed, I guess, to find her own little happy place and… And stop using me as a crutch."

"Oh what, so now you're letting Dr D be the crutch?" she said with a small, if half-hearted, growl.

"Not exactly?" Ron sighed. "You gotta remember about me and KP. We grew up together. I just… I can't make her not happy as much as I'd like, can't keep the whole Kimness thing under control." Shego looked up at him questioningly, drawing a grimace from him. "I can't, Shego. I tried, believe me! Kim is stubborn, and I just didn't feel right pushing when I really should. But the doc? He can be mean sometimes. He can tell her to slow down, while I..." Ron grumbled under his breath in frustration, "Basically, I'm hoping that he can give her the reality checks she needs - the ones I couldn't - while also wanting to be her SO. And I'm hoping that KP'll be level-headed enough to keep Doc on the straight and narrow, not to mention handle the badly-needed critiques when his mind starts going sideways." He managed a soft, oddly fond chuckle, "Besides, KP's always had a thing for older guys, and I'm almost a year younger than her, so..."

"So then… Her and Doc..." Shego blinked, then finished with a defeated sounding, "Huh." After that, it was obvious she was drawing a blank on what else they should talk about. A realization set in with Ron that, in the course of this one big, winding discussion, weights that she never noticed had fallen off. She wasn't as tense as she had been, her breathing felt as if it were coming easier. Her eyes were… Open. Free in a way he hadn't seen during the entire time he'd known her. "So, uh..."

"So, uh…" Ron parroted, clearly also having trouble finding a way to continue the conversation. An awkward lopsided grin took residence on his face as the wandering hand once again found its way behind his head. "I guess… Good talk?"

Her face burst into a genuine flirty smile before receding slightly, telling him that it was more spontaneous than she had wanted. "Yeah, good talk Ronnie." Shego moved to push herself up off of him, but his arm tightened slightly. She glanced over at him, only to see that his grin had lost the goof to it, and the expression on her face changed subtly. She swallowed, as if uncertain of what to do, when Ron slipped his legs out of the lotus position and levered them both up.

"Ready to go, Shego?" he asked, his grin widening slightly as she returned it, her eyes shining brighter than the stars visible through the skylight above them.

"Yeah." They began to head out of the room, before Shego stopped and grabbed Ron's shoulder. "Ronnie?"

He paused, his stance tensing as he prepared for one final throw from her. Ron had been expecting some kind of revenge for the slights during their bouts, and this was as good a time as any to get one good hit in. "Uh, yes?"

Apparently deciding to thwart his presumptions, Shego instead stepped over and gave him a large, for her, hug.

"I… When we're alone, could you… Call me Sheegs…?" Ron knew she'd hate how flustered she sounded, and while her face didn't show it, he could tell she was embarrassing herself. For him, no less!

"Sure thing, Sheegs." Ron chuckled, reaching out to caress her cheek gently. They'd been intimate physically for some time, and emotionally - in the way friends were - for just a short while less, but he'd never dared let on that more was possible, until she opened up to him. Now that she had, he felt that final, small shift inside of him, one last little barrier falling away, allowing his heart to open up completely. Oh, he'd known when they first started the journey to Lorwardia that he could fall for her, and had all but admitted he had when he called her beautiful. Now, with her own barriers dropping away, he fell that short, but seemingly infinite, last little distance.

He felt it in the light blush crawling across his cheeks, and saw it in the twinkle that was at once familiar and completely new in Shego's eyes. Before he realized what was happening, he was pinned to the floor, and the attack he'd half expected came, but not one of martial skill. Instead, her lips were attacking his in a frenzy, her tongue dueled his while her hands trailed up and down his body with an abandon he'd never experienced or expected from her.

Across the gym, Rufus paused his game and glanced up, neither of them really hearing the tiny, "Boo-yah!" from their little friend. The little rodent then realized that, indeed, they weren't stopping as they usually did. He ran for Ron's bag to fetch a much-needed item. He searched for only a few moments before he found it: his mole rat-sized headphones, this one being a gift from Wade the year before. Rufus dragged them over to the game and plugged them in, sighing in content when the noises his humans were making was drowned out by the fast, catchy music of his game pounding out of the speakers. With one last glance at his friends, he plopped them on his head and went back to his game, a self-satisfied, toothy grin on his face...

RSRSRSRS

It was the better part of an hour and a half later when the two of them walked, hand in hand, into the gymnasium's shower. While nothing compared to earlier when she'd admitted to herself, and him, how she felt about him, the fact that they were showering together was still a surprise. She almost never did that with a lover, and only if they'd done a good enough job that she wanted to reward them with an extended view of her body. This time, as with their sex... No, their lovemaking, was completely different. She wanted him to be there with her, to not only see her but let her see him and, more importantly to her, to be close to him.

She knew he worshiped her body, but, after today, she was ready to let him, and to worship his significantly changed body in return. Despite the times they'd been sexually intimate, she'd never really noticed how much he'd filled out. He would never be a bodybuilder, but that didn't matter. While she'd chased plenty of steroid - and the exceedingly rare naturally - pumped up muscleheads, she'd always preferred men that weren't quite that big. Ron, once pudgy and a bit slight, now had a firm, solid build, but retained the trim, lithe athletic form of a martial artist. He'd retained just enough bodyfat to soften the cut musculature and make cuddling against it comfortable.

The fact that she was willing to consider the sex they'd just had as lovemaking was another shock. Granted, since they'd shared that first, almost hateful sexual liaison during the trip to Lorwardia over two years ago, she'd been amazed at just how adaptable a lover the blond standing next to her was. She let go of his hand as they entered the shower, looking away from him and grimacing when she thought, once again, on how little she'd expected of him when the fight, flight or fornicate instincts had chosen the lattermost for expression. Hindsight let her know that she had experienced a good chunk of fight as well. She was thankful he was looking away to prepare the complicated shower, because she knew he'd ask her about her thoughts.

The grimace faded, though, when her memories again rehashed that first coupling. Then, as now, she'd been blown away at how, despite his at the time inexperienced fumbling, he'd at least had enthusiasm. Yes, his attempts to be sexy had been annoying at the time, and their first bout had barely been acceptable in her book, mostly because of that enthusiasm... But when she'd expressed annoyance at his antics, he'd stopped, then just... Nodded and asked what she wanted.

He'd listened to her, and his willingness after that to communicate, before, during and after sex had probably been the first thing he'd done to put her at ease. Just being Ron, of all things, had begun to chip away at the long standing walls she'd put up, and reinforced after breaking things off with Drew. She'd almost, almost broken it off with Ron too, but the relaxed vibe they had and knowledge that, despite his lack of skill he was trainable, had kept her on. 'Thank goodness I ignored that little voice saying to run back to Earth...'

The lovemaking they'd shared such a short time ago had been yet another shock to her system. Not only had it been incredible, it had been... Intimate. It had started slow and tender, which she normally hated but had found tolerable coming from Ron, and built up in intensity until it was fast and intense and delicious. And through it all, he'd given her those looks, asking without words if what he was doing was alright even though, for the most part, he knew just what to do with her and when. The raised, teasing eyebrow, the knowing, but still questioning smile... She bit her lip as, unbidden, the image of him kneeling between her legs and, slowly and appreciatively, looking up her torso and straight into her eyes stuck her. Oh, God, that was hot...

When they were eventually done and they'd laid there sharing in each other's presence, they hadn't cared one whit about anything else. There they were, naked in the middle of their gym with the windows open and the skylight's blinds parted wide and opened to allow air in, panting and positively glowing after the best sex they'd had to date. The best she'd had to date, with anyone. And she hadn't been the least bit embarrassed or self-conscious. Oh, granted, she'd done some kinky things in her life. Things she had yet-but now planned to do, regularly-with Ron. But having sex out where God and everybody had a chance to see them? No, nuh-uh, no sir, not Sarah Ó Seachnasaigh's little girl!

Making out a bit or touching in public? That was one thing. Sex? Something else entirely. In truth, the closest she'd ever come to something quite as blatant was having sex with a man in an enclosed balcony at a very, very upscale hotel in the French Riviera. It had been during the day, with the lights off inside. The balcony had been designed with one way, mirrored windows that had insured their privacy from prying eyes.

She didn't react to the water rushing from the dozens of shower nozzles artfully hidden within the wall, being far too deep in thought to do so. 'Why did it change?' she asked herself, 'Why now, of all times did it stop mattering where I did it? Was it that before, when it'd been just sex, it just wasn't worth it...? Could it be as simple as that?' She pondered the question, and concluded, with only a brief moment's thought, that it must be. That just one, subtle little change in how she considered sex with Ron had been the catalyst to actually enjoy the act, no matter what.

She jumped slightly when Ron rested a hand on her shoulder, drawing her to look into his eyes. Seeing the care he held for her in those eyes, she understood that, deep down, didn't care about the whats and the wherefores of it all. "Y'okay, Sheg-egs?" She bit her lip; she was scared to tell him in words, so she reached up and grasped his hand in both of her, bringing his hand to her lips and planting a soft, featherlight kiss to his palm.

She closed her eyes and nodded, then surprised them both by reaching out and wrapping her arms around him, drawing him in close to her. With his eyes hidden from her view, she felt the heaviness of her voice lift, and she managed to sound almost normal when she whispered, "I'm fine, Sport... Just thinking, is all."

"What about?" Ron asked, and she could feel the smile on his face, and shivered as his fingers traced the defined, yet feminine lines of muscle along her back.

"I've..." she paused long enough to hum in contentment as he began to knead gently up and down her lower back, relaxing more than she'd already been. Leaning against him, she shrugged and continued, "I've been a full-on wench to you the last few years, Ronnie."

"How so?" he prodded, pleasantly surprising her as she'd half expected him to protest that she hadn't.

Smiling into his neck, she chuckled softly, "I've been so worried that I'd fall into the same mental trap I did with Drew that I kept you at arm's length." He gave a soft chuckle as well, then shrugged as if it meant nothing. She wanted to protest his shrug but didn't, because, perhaps, he was right. They were starting out on a new path, and the past had led them here. In the end, it really didn't matter beyond bringing them together. "Then, today, I... I know it was kinda bad form to drop the L-bomb. I mean, when I did."

"I didn't mind! In fact, it was the bondigitiest thing I've heard you moan," Ron said, pulling his arms back and gently pushing her away, so he could look into her eyes. Her eyebrow raised slightly in warning at his suddenly goofy behavior. Catching the message, he continued, "Seriously, Sheegs... You all but said it before, with letting me use my favorite nickname for you. And, if you remember, I…" there went his arm again, exaggeratedly motioning at himself. She let it slide this time, as he was making a point, "I said it right back."

"Well," Shego blushed deeply, glancing away from him as she was again flooded with the relatively new emotions. She was loathe to admit it, but she was protesting to give him a way out. She didn't want to force him to say the words, especially as they'd both said it in the heat of the moment. The thought that, for the first time in a very, very long time, she was putting someone else's feelings first embarrassed her. Her skin took on the odd, orangish tinge of her blushing as she said, flustered, "Yeah, but most people think it's just bad to say it the heat of the moment for the first tim-"

"I love you, Shego," Ron declared bluntly. Her eyes snapped back to his, and she stared deeply into the hazel depths. He smirked and flippantly added, "Even when you do turn all orangey."

"I..." She swallowed against the lump that formed in her throat, not even caring that he was teasing her blush. As if afraid others would hear her, a fear that still gripped her even now, she whispered, "I love you, too, Ron." Her eyes stung slightly as she thought on their burgeoning relationship… And her own acceptance of it. An acceptance that, without the lovemaking to drive it on, she could still admit it.

And it didn't seem to matter to Ron. His smile widened, his eyes sparkling with unmasked delight. He leaned forward and planted a soft kiss to her lips, sliding his arms back around her and pulling back just enough to look at her. Cocking his head slightly, he asked, "There, was that too hard?"

"You have no idea how hard that was for me, Doofus!" Shego snarked with only a sheen of self-defensiveness, though the smile on her face took any sting out of her tone. She felt his arms tighten around her at the same instant her knees buckled and sagged into him. Despite her own efforts, the tears stinging her eyes began to fall, and she buried her face into the crook of his neck, "God... That was harder than… Than when I decided to leave Drew at the altar."

Ron blinked, twice, then, shaking his head in wonder, said, "I guess I should count my blessings, then?"

"You're damn right you should!" Shego snipped, reaching up to pinch his shoulder. He let out a loud yip. She began to laugh lightly, feeling a wash of... Something, flood through her, similarly to what had happened after their sparring session. This was different, though, less a purging of pent up emotional turmoil and more a relaxing sense of acceptance. With a smirk, she pulled back and leaned down slightly to plant a firm, possessive kiss on his lips. "And you'd better not forget it!"

"Nope!" Ron agreed, gulping in an exaggerated fashion. Shego's eyebrows drew together slightly and she pursed her lips, before slapping the back of his head lightly with her fingertips.

"And don't pull that terrified crap with me, Doofus," she warned him, her face taking on a smirk when he nodded. She poked his chest and he moved away a half-step. "If you do, you'll be back to 'the buffoon' so fast your head'll spin!"

"Okay, okay..." Ron held his hands placatingly, chuckling slightly, before sobering a bit, "Though, when you did the blowing a hole in the floor thing I was completely and utterly scared."

"Of me?" Shego demanded lightly.

"You, the situation, the floor almost giving way to magma..." Ron shrugged, his lips twisting in a half-smile, half-frown, "You were crying, Sheegs, and I... Well, I hate it when people I care about cry." He gave her a smirk of his own, reaching out to move a sodden lock of hair from her face. "And I guess it's about ten times worse when it's someone I've fallen in love with."

"Yeah, well," Shego scoffed, "don't get used to it. One breakdown a decade's fine for this girl! I'm not some simpering maiden in need of a white prince."

"I hope not, or else this goofy looking little Jewish boy from Middleton wouldn't have a chance!" Ron giggled a little at his self-depreciative joke, then reached out, gently placing his hands on her shoulders and raising an eye questioningly, "You're sure you're okay with that goofy looking little Jewish boy fro-..."

"You even have to ask, after today?" She interrupted with a slightly derisive snort. To take the sting out of the words, she shook her head and reached out again, pulling them close together and giving him another peck on the lips. She marveled at how, in the span of a few minutes, she'd held someone close of her own volition more than she had in over half a decade. Wrapping her arms fully around him and leaning her forehead against his, she asked something that had been tickling at the edge of her mind, "Anyway, Doofus, have you been holding back on me?"

"Wha'd'ya mean?" Ron asked in his normal, guileless fashion.

"What I mean, Ronnie," she reached down to give his rear a rough squeeze with both hands, "is the sex! You been holding out on me?"

"I could ask you the same question." Ron said innocently, though there was a devilish glint in his eyes that belied his guileless manner, "Today was amazing! For me, anyway. I mean, you and your, well, everything! It was incredible..."

"Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" Shego smirked, cocking her head to the side smirking as she squeezed his rear once more, but far more gently. "Are we good or what?"

"You are," Ron quipped, "I was just along for the ride."

"Uh, huh," Shego rolled her eyes. "And you've done that thing you did with your tongue how many times, exactly?"

"It's..." Ron flushed slightly and shrugged, "It's something I've always been able to do? But, well, I just recently read that it could be great for bedroom stuff. Just, I was kinda waitin' for the right moment to try it out, one where you wouldn't roast me for being all delicate and forward-y."

"What, you never did that with Princess?" Shego snipped in as teasing a manner as she could. She didn't want to make the boy descend into a maudlin spiral as he tended to do when she asked about his break-up with Kimmie, but she wanted to know.

"No!" To her surprise, Ron laughed and rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Shego, we never got past second base. It was strictly over-the-clothes stuff."

"Wait..." Shego flinched back slightly, narrowing her eyes at him, "Y'mean, the first time we did it, you..."

"Was a virgin?" Ron asked after a brief pause. Shego had to silence a snort at the incorrect grammar, but she managed to hold herself back. "Yeah..." When Shego continued to stare at him, his blush deepened and he shrugged helplessly, "It was... Well, it was like she was my sister, but grown up…? We messed around a bit, but it just didn't feel… Feel like we do, y'know?"

"Like your..." Shego balked, her face screwing up in distaste. "Ewww!" When the blond began to laugh, she swatted his left buttock with her palm, none-too-gently, "Never, ever say that again! It, it made me think of me and any of my brothers..."

"Uh, I might have to, Sheegs," Ron said sheepishly, reaching up behind him to scratch at the back of his head. When she just stared at him with a deadpan expression and began to tap a finger against his stinging buttock, he dropped his hand, saying hesitantly, "There's... There's kinda a thing that I still wanna do…?"

"Oh? Something besides me? How shocking!" she teased. He chuckled, but the weight of the task he had in mind marred the amusement. Sensing this, Shego's smirk lessened as she asked, "What in the world do you want to do?"

He swallowed before replying, "I, uh, wanna tell Kim and Drew about us..."

Shego's jaw dropped open slightly, surprise and tension competing for dominance on her face. A clatter sounded from somewhere in the gymnasium, obviously Rufus dropping his new toy in shock, his pretense falling at the realization of just what that would mean..

"Oh boy… Big mess!" Rufus summed up the general positive end-game for the plan nicely.

"Rufus!" Shego snapped, glancing at the open stall door, "I thought you had headphones on!"

"Sowee!" Rufus called out, and they could hear him snapping the headphones back on his head.

"Voyeristic li'l pai-ouch!" Shego's attention snapped back to Ron, or more specifically, the fingers twisting a very sensitive part of her anatomy. "Ronnie, if you don't stop that, our shower's gonna be a long one, and I'm not sure you're ready for another round…!"

"Well, it got your attention, didn't it?" Ron reposited smartly, then let go, his hand sliding back around her shoulder. Shego nodded, but her expression was rather droll as he continued. "Seriously, though, we should tell them. I mean... Kim is like a sister to me, and my best friend forever. And I'm sure you'd like to talk to Drew about... Things..."

"Yeah," Shego admitted, though grudgingly. She glanced away and frowned, "I... Y'know, Betts had a point when she sent us out here, Ron."

"Yeah," Ron nodded in agreement, "But you had one, too. I mean, we both saw what was happening between Drew and Kim before Betty did, and when we pointed it out, she agreed without even thinking about it." Ron let go of her, feeling the tension in her frame and knowing, after their time together, that she wouldn't want the contact at the moment. When she looked at him questioningly, he smiled softly, "Hey, we both know that now, or at least soon, is the best time. Things've calmed down between Kim and Drew-"

"I'd say heated up," Shego countered with a sarcastic roll of her eyes, "Did you see the way she was looking at him at the Nobel ceremony? I would almost think she was repressed or something with how intensely she was staring at his ass. And you can just bet I'm not the only one that saw her goose him when he was sitting down, too!"

"Er, yeah..." Ron gave her a stifling frown, remembering how Shego had crowed and actually cheered Drew on and catcalled the screen with some rather crude comments. She'd had to rewind the video, but when he finally noticed Kim's attentions, and Drew's deep violet flush, he'd agreed. When the former mad scientist had whispered something to the smugly smirking redhead, she'd blushed and it had been Drew's turn to be smug. He realized that his lover was still grinning like the Cheshire Cat and shook his head stiflingly, "Anyway, I want to clear the air, and was hoping you'd like to as well."

"Yeah," Shego agreed, scowling in distaste and glaring at the shower wall. "Drew's gonna flip, though. Especially when I tell him I was in love with him back then."

"Hey, Shego?" Ron's voice was uncertain, "Um... Why did you leave him standing at the alter? Besides the fear thing, I mean." When she raised a questioning eyebrow at him, he chuckled. "Like being scared would've been the only thing to stop you. You went into space after the doc, and I'm sure you were pretty scared then, too. I'm guessing it was somethin' more than fear that made you leave, right?"

"You're right, it wasn't just fear..." Shego said, drawing an uncertain nod from Ron. After a moment of silence, she shrugged, "Long story short? His mom wanted me to be just like my mom: barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen. And told me she..." Shego paused and pursed her lips, before continuing in a slightly guarded manner, "She had a way to make my life hell if I didn't. I'd have had to do some stuff that might've rescinded my pardon, and I didn't want to do that."

"What could she have had on you that would make you do something like that?" Ron's face showed his confusion plainly, making her roll her eyes in frustration.

"Compliance chips, access to hitmen, and witnesses that would put lie to anything I could say against her. Plus, the requirement of grandkids. Not a want for grandkids, but a requirement!" She was on a roll, and before Ron could say anything, she snapped, "For Christ's sake, my mom was gonna stop having kids after me. Dad... Well, he was a jerk, to say the least, and she was terrified of him. Drew's mom wanted me to be the same way. I mean, she told me she had assurances from Drew we'd have at least six kids! At least! She told me I'd better be ready to give her eight grandkids!" Shego's tone was dangerous, and she felt the urge to light up, "I'm not some goddamn baby factory! And if I had to deal with her, and her threats, if I didn't start pumping out babies right away? And for Dr D to, to promise something like that without talking to me?!""

"Not good," Ron agreed, his face screwing up in distaste, "I'll admit, the doc saying that stuff is a bit past center field; I didn't even think he liked kids, let alone wanted to have a bunch of 'em!" Ron shook his head and chuckled slightly, "I mean, I'd like to have a kid or two, someday, but that soon after marriage and that many...?" He shuddered, and to Shego's surprise, it was unfeigned.

"Same here," Shego nodded, then flushed as she realized what she'd just admitted to him. Something she'd never admitted to anyone, but... But, she realized, she didn't care. 'Someday, like Ronnie said...' she thought distractedly. And with that admission, and the smile on Ron's face, she realized that she could, and indeed should, talk to Drew. "You're right. We really should talk to them about us all, huh?" Shego held up a finger when Ron opened his mouth. "But not for a little while... I mean... We've admitted how we feel, but I do not want to confront Drew about this while we're still... Feeling this," she motioned between the two of them, "Us, out. 'Kay?"

"Yeah, you're right. Like I said earlier, soon, right?" Shego nodded, then Ron thought of something that made him wince, "But KP first. After she gets done being tweaked at me, she can soften him up, and hopefully he'll actually be an adult about things and not toss his vines around in a fit like when Dementor managed to get his druid torched by that vermillion dragon..."

"Sheyeah, right!" Shego snorted, drawing a laugh from Ron. Reaching for the body wash they both used and the loofah, she glanced down at him and raised an eyebrow, knowing there was a positively sinful gleam in her eyes. "Get my back?"

"Sure..." Ron agreed easily, the very same gleam beginning to shine in his eyes.

Author's Notes

Confused yet? Upcoming fics will fill in the blanks... Promise! Expect more in the same 'verse coming up soon. Hope you enjoyed this story!