Title: I'm Not Great with Goodbyes
Characters/Pairing: Drakken/Shego
Rating: PG
Summary: A while back I was kicking around an AU where Shego and her brothers were alien beings who were on the run from the space police. This would be the conclusion of that AU. Well, the unhappy ending version, anyway.
Art based in this AU, including the one that accompanies this story, can be found on my DA account.
"You're leaving," he said, and she decided anger or petulance would have been preferable to his soft, resigned tone. Her brothers threw her a questioning look. Such gestures were unnecessary now that they'd abandoned human form; linked as they were, they knew her intentions almost before she did. Still, she gave them a slight nod, and without further comment, telepathic or otherwise, her brothers launched towards the stars.
Shego watched the trio of red, purple, and blue lights shrink into the upper levels of the atmosphere. Then, she turned back to Earth— to Drakken— and floated down to the concrete. Her landing didn't even stir the debris littering the remains of the parking lot. She smiled faintly, remembering Drakken's long ago comment about her "sneakiness." No, Dr. D, I wasn't a ninja. I was something even better.
They stared at each other, she and her former boss. Well, technically current boss, but if Drakken took GJ's offer of employment— as she suspected he would, given the sweet perks they'd tacked on to it— she would have been out of a job even if she had been planning to show up for work on Monday morning.
Behind him, Kimmie, the sidekick, and the GJ agents had all stopped ogling the wreckage of the Protectorate ship to gawk at the pair of them instead. Shego was half-tempted to throw some plasma fire at them for old time's sake, but that weary, almost defeated look in Drakken's eyes demanded her full attention.
"I'm not great with goodbyes, Dr. D," she said.
"You don't have to go."
"You say that. Don't think those guys back there would agree with you." She tipped her chin towards the GJ agents. "There are a hundred guys like Kragnor in the Protectorate. And now that they've found us again, they're not going to stop coming until they recapture us. You think all of this was a mess? Wait until the Protectorate lands an armada on your doorstep. They'll turn this planet to smoke and stardust."
Drakken crossed his arms. "Not very protector-y, are they."
"Now you see why my brothers and I weren't too torn up about stealing from them."
My brothers. Another human concept she'd picked up during her time on Earth. She'd thought it and the idea of family in general strange when she'd first arrived here. Now, she'd been using the term so long that applying it to the crew felt right. Just as it felt right when she stepped forward, closing the distance between herself and Drakken, and solidified her form so that she could raise her hands and cup Drakken's cheeks.
"I can't stay, Dr. D. I'm sorry."
It was impressive that a heart could ache even when it no longer existed. Shego was glad she hadn't gone full human for this. She might have done something undignified, like crying.
"Perhaps…you need help?" he asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean— you and your brothers, you have to avoid these Protectorate fellows, yes? I could build you a radar to help you track them, or a device that masks your energy signal while you're traveling, or, or something…"
"You mean you want to go with us?"
He nodded. He even tried a puppy dog pout, which was one of the most alarming things Shego had ever seen. She almost told him so, but knew this was one circumstance where her jibes wouldn't be appreciated. Instead, she shook her head.
"The reason my brothers and I evaded the Protectorate for so long is that we can take off at a moment's notice. I spent the last week carting you around so you wouldn't get fried by drones, remember? Now imagine that happening in the vacuum of space. Too much can go wrong, Doc, and besides that there'd be no guarantee we could find you anything you needed to survive. Astronomers are right: there are millions of planets out there, and only the tiniest fraction of them can support the kind of life that's cropped up on Earth. You can't go with us. You'd die."
The fragile bloom of hope in his eyes withered. He stared down at the ground for a moment.
"I'll never see you again," he said. It wasn't a question.
She drew a breath. She could tell him that someday this would all be over, and on that day she'd return. But the words rang hollow, and if she couldn't even lie to herself she had no hope of doing so to Drakken. Judging by the look on his face, he wouldn't have believed her even if she'd tried.
"No," she said. "Probably not."
« Shego. »
Hego's— Alafan's— what would they call each other after this?— voice entered her mind as clearly as if he'd been standing next to her. She suppressed a frown as her attention shifted to the conversation in her head.
« We have to go, » he continued.
« I know, » she snapped. « But I'm kind of in the middle of something here. »
« So are we, » said Kliuth, formerly Mego. « A wormhole just opened. I think the reinforcements are here. Unless you really do want to spend the rest of your life— all ten minutes of it— with that guy, we need to leave and draw the Protectorate off. »
She closed her eyes. « Fine. Just…just give me a second. »
"Dr. D," she said, opening her eyes. That Drakken didn't seem phased or insulted by her distraction reminded her just how adaptable the man was. Maybe he really could survive if he went to space…
She squashed the thought at once. She wouldn't give herself false hope any more than she'd give it to Drakken. "I'm sorry, I—"
"I know," he said quietly. Then, he kissed her.
Her energy distorted in a mimicry of human lips but in this form she felt nothing and it was wrong, all wrong. But before she could reassemble her human form he stepped back and the moment was over. She touched her mouth, and again they stared at each other. The look they in those silent seconds shared spoke as much as any telepathy.
« Shego. » There was a note of alarm in Hego's voice. « We need to go NOW. »
She rose into the air, her eyes still locked with Drakken's. Though her brothers weren't using words, their urgency yanked her like a leash. Her lungs filled to speak the last words she'd ever say in a human tongue.
"We'll be all right," she said. "We'll be all right."
He didn't say anything. He did, however, give her a tiny nod. Shego kept ascending, finally breaking her gaze with him to look out over Earth's assembled heroes. She snapped off a lazy two-fingered salute to Kim, who started, then offered a tentative wave that progressed into a more vigorous one as Shego gained air. Kim even smiled, and by the way she was squinting her eyes Shego thought she might even be tearing up. That was another reason for Shego to go: if she'd stayed, Kim might have done something insufferably nice like trying to be her friend.
The group became smears on the canvas of the city surrounding them. Emergency sirens wailed from all directions, their associated vehicles all heading to the crash site. The crash had taken out a large chunk of the power grid, but in the distance the city still glowed. It was enormous. Garish. Beautiful. Words that described not just the city, but the world that had mystified and delighted her for almost two decades. She'd had a good run here. And while her regrets were many, the words she'd told Drakken rang true in her heart. We'll be all right. Not now, maybe. But someday.
She closed her eyes, trying to impress this last image of Earth on her mind. Then, she shot up into the night. She didn't look back.
