A/N:
I want to thank all my readers and followers. Especially those who I can't respond too because they are Guest reviews. I appreciate all your support and continued enjoyment of RTD. There is much to come and I hope you will all enjoy.
Again I would like to thank bcbdrums for all their editing help and please go check out their stories here on FFn.
Pest
Drakken flipped the channel idly. There was nothing really on, despite what the TV Guide had indicated. It was Sunday, which meant he had until tomorrow to come up with a new scheme or project. He flipped the channel again. He had nothing. He rubbed his face in frustration. Every time he'd gone in the lab, he'd just doodled nonsense. He'd even gone grocery shopping instead of asking one of the henchmen to go. He was drawing blanks. The idea of recycling old idea and updating them had crossed his mind.
In between those thoughts, he kept thinking about Shego and what she'd said. He'd told himself outright, he was going to take her answer at face value. It had still been a hard blow to take. It didn't come as a surprise if he was being honest. He turned off the television and stared at the cave walls of the lair as he cleared his head. He felt like he should feel more numb to it than he did. His chest tightened at the memory of her expression. He was glad the television had changed at the right time for him to get his facade together. He didn't know what his face might have actually indicated but she would have read him like a book. He glanced towards where she'd sat next to him on the couch and sighed.
Like you actually expected her to say, "Yeah I just wanted to kiss you." You're an idiot.
Why had he even asked? Hope? Hope that for a fleeting moment his mind hadn't been playing tricks on him. His mind fell back to her hand pulling the apron to her, her soft lips on his for that split second. It had been the only time there had been no reason to kiss him. Every other time they'd kissed had been for distractions, prank vengeance, or when she was under the influence of the Mood-U-Lator. He glared at the empty space and yanked the pillow under his head and looked at the blank screen.
He swallowed hard, biting back his emotions. He felt pathetic and stupid now. The image of the movie had made him blurt out that question, his childish hope wishing for her to say something different... Imagining how he'd planned to kiss her if she'd said anything that had indicated an opening. He shot up and rubbed his face.
No! Don't go there.
He needed to get back to work before Shego got back from wherever she'd gone this weekend with Junior. He needed to shove this aside, push it down where it belonged. He threw the blanket on the couch and got up. Shego would be back on Monday and he needed to focus. Not just on locking those emotions away for good, but he needed to come up with something before he lost her as his partner. He looked at the garbage and began gathering the empty soda cans and snack wrappers. He began rifling through the mental files of his discarded work as he did so.
The side door slammed open.
"Shego!?" he dropped his gatherings at her sudden arrival. "W-What are you doing here?"
"I live here," Shego indicated around her and then looked at him and the mess. "Movie binge?"
"Ohm... Well I... Yes," said Drakken as he picked up the garbage again. "I thought you were doing something with...someone this weekend."
"Junior's on a...'I need to find the one,' kick again," said Shego doing an impersonation of Junior's voice. "I'd rather be here."
"Really?" asked Drakken as he looked around at the silent and vacant lair. "Why?"
"Well I'm hoping for better conversation than, 'Shego let us dance and find beautiful people,' if that's possible," smirked Shego with yet another shot at Junior's voice.
"That voice is unsettling," responded Drakken.
She smirked and got uncomfortably close.
"Does it, Drakken? You want I to serenade you with my Pop song..." She kept the voice up and he took a step back with a look of horror he was sure. "All right, I'll stop."
"Thank you," sighed Drakken as he headed towards the nearest trash bin.
He was glad he'd gotten his emotions under control before Shego came trouncing through the door. He took a deep breath after he dropped the trash off. Now that Shego was back he had extra drive to come up with something...anything. He hadn't had a chance to get that in gear before she returned. He supposed getting dressed was a start. He spun around to head back to his room and yelled in shock. Shego had been right behind him.
"Shego!" he yelped as his hand clutched his chest. He took a calming breath. "D-Did you need something."
"I was just thinking," her eyes seemed heavier as she leaned towards him, her hand brushed his loose hair. "It's been a while since you've made something in the lab for yourself... Why don't we go over some of those brilliant old plans of yours?"
"You mean the ones that you said were stupid and vetoed?" asked Drakken. He raised a brow in confusion. He'd considered the same thing.
"Maybe I judged them too fast. How about I listen a little better this time," said Shego. Was she closer to him? Her eyes blinked faster than normal.
"...Is...is there something wrong with your eyes?" asked Drakken. They looked a little red. "You didn't try fake lashes and glue your lids shut...again. Did you?"
"...I did it one time!" she growled and turned on her heels. "I'm going to change. I'll meet you in the lab."
"That didn't answer the question... Shego? Shego? Do I need to get the distilled water jet again!?" he called after her.
She didn't turn around as she stomped off in her heels. It suddenly dawned on Drakken that she must have flown straight from the club. The sudden flash of her dancing...if that's what they called it nowadays...with beach gorillas, made his stomach sink. The image of soft black painted lips on his flashed in his head. He wondered if he should mess with her lipstick again. He slapped himself frantically in the forehead.
No! We are not going down that road again. I just told myself to get over this... Focus Drakken!
He swallowed hard and headed to his room. The sooner he got to work on something, the easier it would be to close that door. He'd done it before. He could do it again. He just needed to focus on world domination. That's what he'd done in the past. He smirked in confidence. Doing it a second time would be even easier.
Drakken looked at the blueprints he'd drafted up for an old plan for disrupting frequency waves. He'd been so proud of his doodles and plan as he'd originally ranted away about it. He'd only held it up to Shego for a second before she had barely glanced to veto it. Now, she seemed to have renewed faith in his plan. Drakken felt a wave of giddiness creep though him as he grinned at it. He looked at Shego to see her wide-eyed and unreadable face. His smile started to fall before she quickly grinned at him.
"So we're going with this one," she gestured to the piles of other papers and notes. "The sound amp thing?"
"The Sound Amplification Disruptor. SAD?" he said proudly.
"Yes... Sad... indeed," he heard her voice waver and she frowned.
"Why?" Was she going to veto it again?
"Nothing. Just making sure you want this one," her smile remained.
Her hands rested on his shoulders as she leaned closely to his face to look at the design. Drakken's giddiness faded rather quickly by the assault of her scent on his nostrils. His pulse quickened and he swallowed hard. His shoulders tensed and he did his best to get his thoughts focused on to task in front of him instead of her hands gripping his shoulders as her face finally pulled away. It was a short second of relief.
"I think it's genius," she whispered in his ear.
"Oh...ohm. Of course. It's my idea after all," he gave his best smirk. But he felt a wave of nerves hit him.
"That's why I like it."
She sat on the desk next to him, her leg practically resting against his arm as she leaned over his doodles. He remembered her once calling them childish, but she seemed very focused on them now. His eyes searched her posture and expression in confusion. He wanted to read much farther into her body language than he knew was factual. If she hadn't confirmed her disinterest a few days ago, he knew he would interpret her heavy eyes, coy expression, and physical touches very incorrectly.
If I didn't know better, I'd think she was flirting with me...
He knew what this really was... Having some time away had renewed her desire in world domination. This was interest at working in old plans in a new light. She was finally geared as an equal in their partnership and he wasn't going to let her...himself...them? Down... It pushed his thoughts back into focus as well. If both of them were hyper-focused on this plan, it would go off without a flaw.
It would be heaven.
I'm in hell.
He felt like he'd finally locked down his own emotions, but for some reason...he couldn't stop picking up on wrong signals. He should have been farther than this, but Shego was more distracting than ever—annoyingly so if he was being honest. As thrilled as he was that she was focused on the plan...it was doing nothing for the plan. It had seemed like he hadn't had a minute's peace...until now.
Drakken looked down at his very tiny wires and squinted through his magnification goggles. The wire moved and he felt hot breath in his ear. Apparently the moment was over. He froze and saw black hair slide into his peripheral view. Shego's chin rested on his shoulder and he put the device down and let out a deep sigh. This had been going on for three days straight now. He couldn't figure out what bothered him more—her closeness, or his own lack of mental strength at ignoring it. He glared.
"Do you mind?" he hissed.
"I'm just watching what you're doing. It's brilliant, Doc. How your genius mind works," her voice dropped to a whisper, "It's so se—"
"Whatever mocking you are about to do...can it wait until I align these very delicate wires?" he looked away from her hooded eyes and looked at the device.
She needs to get her eyes checked. You'd think she wore glasses by all the squinting she's been doing.
"Shego. Do you wear glasses?" asked Drakken suddenly. "Contacts?"
"No," she replied. Her frown lingered from him cutting her off in her previous statement.
"Hmm." He went back to work. "Can you hand me the yellow wire clamps?"
"Of course." Her voice sounded chipper as she handed him the clamps. "Anything else?"
"No," sighed Drakken as he put them down.
Well no glasses. Not color blind...
He could feel her breathing in his ear again.
"Want me to make lunch?" she asked casually.
"Shego."
"Yes?" was her response.
"Have you been eating mints?" asked Drakken as he turned to look at her smirking face.
"Yes, I have. You know...just in case—" there went her eyes again.
"Well do me a favor...and I'd prefer the second one. Either stop guzzling mints because it's making me a little nauseous or...and I'd like this...could you not hover over me so close?"
Shego's eyes narrowed and she looked a mixture of anger and frustration as she wordlessly headed towards the lab exit, presumably to go make lunch. Drakken let out a deep sigh as she vanished. He looked upwards and felt his stomach drop. Was she acting weird or was he just subconsciously still focusing on things he'd not noticed before? He looked towards the exit and tapped his tools.
She's acting odd...right? I'm not just...imagining things, am I?
He glared down at his work as he resumed his plans. He needed to focus on this. Not his one-time side-kick-turned-partner. Hopefully she'd stop hovering so much or he'd be able to ignore it better.
"So what will that do?" asked Shego as she sat on his work desk and looked at his blueprint.
"Create an audio disruption. Momentarily pausing all sound. It will be essential for getting the part I need to amplify my frequency magnification device," he grinned. "SAD is only a small part to my evil plan: the Frequency Amplification Redirecting Toner."
"'Fart'?" she raised a brow and smirked.
"...I will think of a better name..." he muttered and began tinkering with it. His brows furrowed.
"I can't wait to hear the new version," her saw her bite back a laugh.
"Yes...well...back to work." Drakken picked up his tools.
"And the pin wires were for what now?" asked Shego with a soft smile.
"...They...they help narrow the current," sighed Drakken, his agitation returning.
Shego had stopped breathing down his neck and for that he was truly thankful. Mostly because at one point he'd turned quickly and nearly smacked his face into hers. He was not about to get plasma blasted for accidentally kissing her... Which he would argue she would have been at fault for too... He internally re-routed his thoughts. Yes, that was all good...but now there was this new irritation.
"So a thicker wire would make it less focused?" she continued her inquiries.
"Yes...it...would be," said Drakken. She had spent this day asking him non-stop questions.
"Interesting," she leaned closer to him. He felt her hand begin messing with his ponytail.
"I...suppose." His fists gripped the tools in annoyance. "Shego?"
"Hmm?" she gave him a smile and leaned closer. "What is it?"
"You know the whole hovering conversation we had?" sighed Drakken as he narrowed his eyes at her arm.
"Yes," she hissed and her hand fell from his hair.
"This new Q&A thing...an hour ago was cute... Now..." he trailed off and looked at her.
"I was just showing an interest," her expression was unreadable before she threw her arms up and stalked over to her normal chair and flopped down.
"Thank you," Drakken sighed in relief.
"Yup," she responded and Drakken noted how aggressively she flipped the magazine page.
Drakken waited a few minutes before resuming his work on soldering the wires to the battery compartment. It was simple, but the wires were smaller than he normally would have used. He glanced at Shego. He was not asking her to go get different wires. She would begin to question him even more. Earlier her being inquisitive had actually made him smile and rant...and she hadn't even stopped him. She'd simply leaned in and listened. Asked more questions. Yes. He had really enjoyed that... Said enjoyment became irritating as she asked the most mundane questions...on repeat. He wondered if she had been gearing up for a snarky jab. He smiled.
Glad I nipped that in the bud then.
The hair thing was new. Though as he recalled the last time she'd done that, she had in fact been poking fun at him. So he wasn't far off-base that it was perhaps where she had been going. He went to touch his hair but he could feel Shego's eyes on him and chose to scratch his head quickly. He glanced. She was in fact...looking at him and not her magazine.
"What?" he meant to think it but it blurted out of his mouth.
"I was just seeing if you needed anything," she looked back at her magazine with narrowed eyes.
He chose to not mention the wires or she would come over and assess it... Ask more questions...
Send the wrong signals...
Her antics, while probably just a set up for some fun pokes later...was making him question his ability to ignore any misguided feelings he was having toward her. He was certain staying up into the late hours having a mental discussion with himself the night before had in fact ended it. Suddenly his musings were cut off as the scent of Shego's perfume...which he hadn't noticed until recently...became very close.
"It's getting late," her breath was in his ear as she tapped his shoulder.
"Good night," he sounded angry and cleared his throat. "I'm going to work some more but you should get some rest."
"You should take a break," her hands were on his shoulders now.
Her hands began to knead his shoulders and Drakken's muscles screamed with relief. His eyes shot open and he had a very real flashback to a few years prior to her flirty behavior and a purple fluffy coat. He jumped up and away from her quickly. She looked alarmed at his quick reaction. She held up her hands and took slow steps backwards and rolled her eyes.
"Geesh, way to freak out Dr. D," she snorted in annoyance. "Seriously. Take a break. On edge much."
"I...uh," he examined her as she turned to leave. Her arms crossed as she did so. "Maybe you're right."
"...Did you want to watch a movie?" she asked with a raised brow.
The image of their last movie night flew back into his head. He swallowed hard and knew that it would not help him clear his head at all. He looked at her confused expression and then at where he'd jumped. Perhaps she had just wanted to help him relax but his mind was running in a thousand different directions at once. Everything he'd been noticing about her actions had been as if she had the Mood-U-Lator attached to her again. But then...she seemed fine now. Annoyed by his lack of response he was sure, but otherwise...relatively normal.
"Not tonight," replied Drakken with a sharp nod.
"...Whatever," Shego snorted and rolled her eyes again as she exited.
Drakken sprinted into his room as he heard Shego's door open. He hit the lock button on his door as it closed and let out a deep relieving sigh. The past week since she'd started her inquisitive new nature had put him on high alert to wherever his partner in crime was. He had never noticed how overbearing and touchy she was... Or had started to be.
At first his unease and jumpy behavior had to do with dealing with his own feelings about her. Then he'd wondered if she'd somehow gotten a device messing with her emotions stuck to her again... Turned out, no. Also turned out...scanning her had not gone over well. The melted device was still stuck to the wall in his lab... But not before uploading the scan data to his computer and not finding anything. He'd let it go, but somehow that concern had now switched to complete and utter annoyance. Perhaps it had to do with their most recent caper to get the amplifier parts from a top secret lab.
It's not really that secret.
They had almost gotten caught because he had been so disturbed that Shego had kept grabbing his hand. She'd said it was because she didn't want him wandering off to look at other devices. As true as it was—he had thought about it—that act, the blowing and breathing in his ear, the hovering, the questioning, her new inclination to touching his shoulders... It had gone from worrying about reading too much into her actions to making him almost paranoid. His room was his only sanctuary from her new bothersome traits.
Shego was never this way before, was she...? I mean I miss things sometimes...but the hand-holding was definitely new.
He pondered if she'd come in contact with something whilst hanging out with Junior. That had been when everything had shifted. Perhaps not a device... Some sort of weird tonic, or serum...
Perhaps a head trauma... Who knows what those two do together.
He would need to recheck the scan... Perhaps get a blood sample if absolutely necessary. He was certain if he asked her, she would get agitated and take offense. He was fairly certain it wasn't him imagining things... But you never know.
No...something is off.
The most troubling was her insistence on going out to karaoke that night. That's when the concern had truly kicked in and he'd realized there was something amiss about his side-kick— partner. Shego never willingly went to karaoke and she sure had never suggested going. The sudden knock at his door startled him.
"Hey Drakken. Are we going to karaoke or what? If we want to get your name down before the tone-deaf losers we should leave now." He heard her hit the pin pad. "Is your door locked?"
"Ohm...uh...I'm changing," Drakken cringed at his own words. He didn't even want to go.
"...Oh," he heard her say softly, and then, "All right. I'm going to go change and I'll meet you at the hover car in twenty."
"Sounds good," blurted out Drakken. He slapped himself.
He glared at the reflection of himself in the mirror across his dimly-lit room. He could see the bitter look he was shooting himself and let out a dramatic sigh as he slid down against the door. He was never going to get anything built, made, or schemed at this rate. Not with Shego distracting and bothering him all week...and now forcing him out on the weekends. He looked around his room and threw his hands up in defeat. He should probably change since that's what he'd told her
Shego pulled her coat closer as she waited in the hover car. Her leg was bouncing with nerves. So far this whole flirting thing had been a bust and she was starting to wonder if maybe she wasn't as good at it as she thought she was... Or maybe Drakken had zero interest like he'd stated. She crossed her arms and looked towards the door waiting for Drakken to walk through. She'd tried sultry looks, sweet whispers, showing interest, gentle touches, being positive towards his stupid amplifier idea...
Now I remember why I vetoed that thing... It's just a loudspeaker for dogs.
She'd even—she swallowed hard at the idiocy of it—tried holding his hand on a theft mission. Not once, but four times. The third time he'd actually held her hand for the whole hallway. In her defense the fourth one was actually because he'd been looking at a laser device and seemed to be getting distracted. She wasn't doing anything dramatic or desperate. Was she? She looked down at her short skirt.
He was the one who said we we're changing!
She felt her own face go red in embarrassment. If he came out with a bow tie and his usual coat she wasn't sure if she was going to yell or plasma blast him. She shook those thoughts out of her head. She was just frustrated from forcing herself outside her comfort zone. She didn't do the touchy feely things, hold hands, give seductive looks, or praise him like this...ever. He must have realized that she was flirting by now. Any normal man would have.
But it's Drakken.
She tugged the black skirt down farther, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious about how this might come off if he had realized she'd been flirting. She back-pedaled in her thoughts. She'd worn this in front of him before...when they'd gone out to the 'lonely hearts' party at the Villain's Inn and when she'd Taser-kissed him... She smirked at the memory of his face and the sparkling color of light. Her smirk fell as suddenly as it came. She was going to mull over her thoughts and overly analyze them when another thought over took it.
"We never did make that lipstick for Possible," she said aloud.
"Yes I did, but it got destroyed like a dozen exploding lairs ago," came Drakken's voice as he hopped in the hover car and closed the dome above them.
"You should remake that. It would be even more fun since it would be taking out both the annoying teens," suggested Shego.
"Maybe for a rainy day," he shrugged.
"Oh... Don't want to ruin your son's date?" smirked Shego.
Drakken shot her a dark look but she saw a strange look of relief ghost over his eyes. She herself was relieved that he'd not worn a bow tie and his regular coat. He'd actually changed.
The club was packed for once and Shego was delighted by the fact that the odds had played in her favor. There was only a small table in the corner open. Drakken didn't seem to notice as his shoulder was nearly touching hers and she smiled as he leaned even closer to her to speak over the noise. She watched the delighted grin on his face as the music from the band faded away to get ready for karaoke. She both hated and enjoyed the flip in her stomach. Now that she realized what it was...it was less of a question to why his happy face made her feel this way. In retrospect his evil expression had the same effect as well. She would dwell on that in detail later.
"What are you singing?" asked Drakken, he moved his face away from hers as he turned and bumped her nose.
"Let me grab a few drinks before I commit to that choice," she shrugged. "But why don't you go get your serenade on."
"Hmm, I can't do any of the romantic ones... Last time, the waitress thought I was hitting on her," grimaced Drakken. Shego raised a brow.
"So when I'm not here you sing love songs to the staff?" She smirked at his agitation.
"No. I was just singing a song...with no one in mind...and apparently the waitress thought it was to her," he groaned. "She's here tonight."
"So is this the reason you've been home on Friday nights?" asked Shego, leaning on his shoulder and looking at the waitress. "Avoiding your girlfriend?"
"Nehn," he scrunched his face in disgust. "Don't even joke about that. Last thing I need is some crazy woman touching and flirting with me when I'm working on world domination."
"Y-yeah," Shego found herself sitting up a bit more away from him.
"All right. I'm going to go put in my song choices," said Drakken as he got up. "Can you—?"
"Shirley Temple?" asked Shego as she saw the waitress headed their way.
"Actually..." He seemed to look at her and his smiled wavered. "Yes. And an order of mozzarella sticks."
"You don't like the mozzarella sticks here. You like the Jalapeño poppers," Shego corrected.
"Is it... Well I guess they'll do," he said and sprinted off towards the DJ.
Shego slumped back in her chair as the waitress came to their little table. His words played in her head as she looked at the woman holding the tablet and staring off after Drakken. Shego's slight disheartening faded as she glared at the woman. Her hand ignited and her eyes narrowed.
"He's here with me." The woman looked at her and took a huge step back. "Got it?"
"I… I ohm… Can I—" The woman swallowed hard and dashed off towards the bar.
"She didn't even stay to take the order," scoffed Shego. "This is why I prefer the Villain's Inn wait staff... Bunch of flakes at these places."
"Shego... Did you just threaten that waitress?"
"Hmm?" Shego's eyes shot over to where Drakken stood with a raised brow at her. "Maybe."
"Well you could have at least let her take the order and do it when she brought the drinks to us," sighed Drakken as he sat down. "Or at least let me enjoy it."
"Next time," smiled Shego as she patted his hand.
Several songs, far too many jalapeño bites, and two drinks later, Shego had been laying her flirt on thicker than she thought she should. But it seemed to be working... He wasn't shying away from her touches, her whispers... They'd both been mocking others and having a good time. When they'd both glimpsed a breakup and made up a ridiculous scenario, it had made her laugh into his shoulder...and he hadn't even tensed up. Only laughed with her. She leaned on her hand and watched him sing a dramatic ballad with a heavy eye roll.
He is such a dork...
Shego sat up quickly as the song ended and Drakken made eye contact with her. Drakken came sprinting back to his seat at the applause and reclaimed his seat with a wide jovial grin. When he flopped into his chair it scooted closer to her, and he turned to talk to her as another singer started. She moved closer to hear him and took the opportunity to put her hand on his knee to listen. He seemed unfazed by this and she felt his hand on her shoulder. Her stomach was spiraling now and everything in his posture made it seem her flirting was working. His smile slid a little and he looked towards her lips. She felt her chest pound and she leaned a little closer so they were nearly nose to nose.
"Did you want me to—"
"Yes," Shego cut Drakken off before he could continue.
"Yes?" he looked shocked now and didn't pull away from her. "Really?"
Shego watched the grin spread wider across his face and his hand slid over hers. In one swift movement he'd removed her hand and stood up. He made his way over to the request booth in seconds. Shego was still frozen in place. Her hand fell to the seat to stop her from falling forward. The feeling she'd had of chest-pounding turned to ice and she quickly sat up, her chest hurting for another reason all together. He'd only been asking about singing a duet.
Shego turned on her sunlamp and flopped in her heat chair to relax. She tried to focus on the warmth titillating her pores and let it alleviate the tense muscles she'd gained in her week-long determination. She found herself falling into thinking about how idiotic it now seemed. Drakken clearly didn't view her as more than a partner and he was also the most oblivious man she knew when it came to reading a person. The warmth was doing little to make her feel better.
I should just give up... If it happens...it happens.
But knowing Drakken...it never would. She began to wonder if she should just outright tell him and discuss it... But the mere idea of letting herself be that vulnerable...even to someone as close to her as Drakken... Her chest tightened and her pulse quickened. She shook the idea from her head physically. The idea of embarrassment, rejection, and how things would shift honestly scared her.
You are a villainess. You don't put yourself in that position.
Her mental pep talk to move away from her current task and focus on more villain-based thoughts was suddenly interrupted by a knock at her door. She raised a brow knowing full well Drakken was on the other side. What very few henchmen had stuck around rarely stayed past two. She got up and walked towards the door trying to resolve her own thoughts as she did so and hit the button.
"What?" asked Shego as she leaned against the door frame.
"I was just..."
She watched Drakken's eyes flare wide and then scan her quickly before clearing his throat, choosing to focus on her door frame for a second before he glanced at her. She raised a brow at his antics. She doubted she would have even noticed his reaction if she wasn't subconsciously still trying to search his features for any sign of interest in her.
"I just came to tell you...that we will need more wires in the future... Those ones were too small," said Drakken. Something about his hesitation made her question his statement. "I didn't mean to interrupt your sunbathing."
"You came here to tell me that instead of bugging me in the morning or on Monday?" she rolled her eyes.
Why do I even bother?
"Well...yes," nodded Drakken. He looked shifty and didn't look at her as she crossed her arms.
She watched his eyes glance again but his expression was focused. She looked down wondering if she'd spilt something on herself before she realized she was only clad in a thin swim suit. She felt the devious smirk spread across her face at the same time she saw Drakken's eyes narrow. Clearly he could feel her comment before she said it.
"Why...Dr. D. Are you a little flustered by my attire?" asked Shego smugly.
"No," he said confidently, but she noticed the darkening on his face.
"Does... Does it make you uncomfortable?" asked Shego as she moved closer to him. She felt devious now.
"Hardly." She watched him take a half step back.
Suddenly Shego's mind was more focused on teasing Drakken than anything else. She took another large step towards him and out of her room. Drakken looked alarmed by her sudden movements and began making his way to his room in an attempt at a casual walk. Shego sprinted and cut off his attempt at exiting the situation.
"Shego I'm not in the mood for your antics. I've had enough of them since you got back from going out with Junior," he said with a sigh. Shego's brow shot up. "I don't know what's gotten into you."
"Excuse me?" her expression wavered. "What are you talking about?"
"Your little antics...with the questions and the hovering. It's making it hard to get things done in the lab. I didn't even want to go to karaoke tonight so I could focus but... Honestly we could have got the wires today but I didn't want to play another round of questions," he sighed.
"Is that why you came to my room...to be mad about going to karaoke? Which you looked pretty happy to be at, and to tell me to stop asking questions?" asked Shego. She felt agitated now. "Ever think I was taking an interest in your work?"
"You never did before," he huffed. He was looking at her with a raised brow of confusion.
Tell him...
"Well...we're partners now..." she scoffed instead. Anger won over.
"Yeah...well... That makes...sense." His features were unreadable as he opened his door. "Well good night then..."
Shego watched the door close and walked back to her room before letting out a frustrated groan. She closed the door and suddenly glared. She'd been so distracted by his rant and statement that she had completely forgotten her plan to harass him about her attire bothering him. She flopped back on the chair and began to rethink his words. She should feel irritated or annoyed... But instead...she felt amused.
So he is definitely taking notice...
However, she could have played that response coy or flirty... But she hadn't. She'd been so taken off guard she'd let a prime opportunity to push the envelope slip away. She couldn't decide what agitated her more. The fact her flirtations weren't going off as easy as she'd hoped or that she'd missed a prime mocking window. It was clear he'd come to talk about her asking questions versus the wires... Her mind shifted.
They needed different wires for the amplifier thing of his. She groaned at the scheme. She had in fact vetoed it because it was one of his top worst ideas. There were a few of them. She supposed it wasn't the worst of them... But it made no sense. An audio amplification device to mute sound waves and corrupt them. It just seemed like a momentary distraction device versus a proper world domination one. Though it was better than the hiatus he'd seemed to be on. Not that she'd been pressing matters.
All right. I need to get focused on villainy more...and be less...distracted.
She went to turn of the sun lamp and get into bed when a thought occurred to her. She looked at the lamp and smirked.
I can do both.
Drakken walked into the lab the next morning and froze. Shego was already there, at that very early hour. This didn't really faze him, nor did the different sized wires on his work station. No. Those were all unusual but explainable. What was unexplainable was the seat next to his work station. Shego's normal chair had been shoved to the other side of the room and she now relaxed in her tanning chair, which had its sunlamp hovering over it... Where Shego lay relaxing under it... Possibly asleep... Wearing a different swim suit than he'd seen her in the night before.
"Shego?" he exhaled in annoyance.
"Morning, Doc," she smirked and lowered her glasses. "I got the wire you needed."
"Yes. I see that..."
She was clearly looking to annoy him. That's what all this was. He knew it. He swallowed hard and smirked. He would not fall for it. Two could play at this game. He could think of it as a test of his own. He'd had a good self-talking-to the prior night and while it was a difficult pill to swallow, he needed to focus on his true purpose. World domination.
Let her push boundaries all she wanted. He walked past her and began rifling through the wires. She had gotten a variety of sizes and strength. He was certain he could find the right one in this mound. He hoped she hadn't spent much if anything on these. He only needed a few inches even if he did make a mistake or two. Nothing he couldn't have ripped off a junk part at a scrap yard.
God, I sound like Eddie.
"I didn't know which one you needed so I got a few different ones," he heard Shego casually say. "I figured you could use the rest for future schemes and projects."
He nodded to himself at her statement. He could always use wires and... He froze and then glared at her over his shoulder. She had said future schemes... Which meant she still didn't have faith in this plan. Yet she'd not vetoed it. She'd smiled, nodded, and encouraged. And in fact, she seemed different today... Well, normal.
What the heck had the last few days been?
Drakken looked away from her and at the wires. Perhaps he had in fact imagined her antics because of his own attempt at bottling his emotions and focusing on the task at hand. Yet, he wasn't noticing anything now. There was a strange settling in his stomach he hadn't expected—a relief. He looked at her and did his best to focus on her form as if it was a test to his own thoughts. She shifted her legs and leaned over to look at him. He quickly looked at the wires. Emotions may be locking down better than he'd thought...but he was still human after all.
"Hope you don't mind... My muscles have been tense lately and since I can't afford a trip to Midas...this is the next best thing." He heard her and nodded.
"It's fine. So long as we can still get work done...if it makes you less tense," said Drakken. He raised a brow. "Maybe I should try it sometime...if it works."
He sat down and began getting to work. He jumped as Shego sat on the desk next to him and held up the partially-constructed device. He looked over at the tanning bed where her normal uniform hung from a hook on the wall near her chair...yet here she sat. The device was placed back down and suddenly she was behind him. He felt less awkward without her sitting on his desk in swimwear.
"If you're feeling tense...perhaps I could help you out," her voice was soft as her hands slid over his shoulders.
"Ohm," he weighed the odds.
It's just a neck massage...and at least she'd be behind me...and not asking questions... But...it's Shego. This could be the final test about my feelings towards her.
"Earth to Drakken?" he realized he hadn't actually responded.
"Sure," he shrugged. "There's nothing wrong with a neck massage I'm sure. Maybe I'll be able to focus more."
"Yes. Get your thoughts focused," her voice was airy sounding.
Drakken tensed as she began kneading his shoulders but it melted away in seconds. At one point he actually felt a crack or a pop as she pushed along his spine and shoulder blades. His mind felt blank for all of half a minute before his thoughts began racing again. Was this weird? Was she planning something? Was this going to be a regular thing? Shouldn't he be thinking about his device? He never did get a blood sample... But...she wasn't asking questions, she wasn't being...annoying. Or weird. Okay, well he still wasn't sure if the massage was weird. Because if it was normal...should he return the favor? Also...was this tanning chair going to be a new permanent thing?
"How's that?" her voice pulled him from his thoughts.
"Hmm, much better," he sighed as her thumbs dug into a tense muscle. "I appreciate it."
"Can't be all tense before your plan help us take over the world," he smiled at her statement.
"I suppose not... I see why you get this done so often," he felt sleepy in his relaxation.
"I could do this more frequently if you want," her response made him tense.
"I don't know if that's...partner-appropriate... Is it?" asked Drakken. Perhaps it was.
"I'm just trying to be...attentive." Her hands moved along his shoulder blades to his shoulders again. "I can feel it's helping."
"I suppose. Are you planning on asking a million questions today?" he asked. Her hands stopped for a second but continued.
"Not at the moment," she sighed.
"And this... This is just a one-time thing," he gestured to his shoulder. "Because...as nice as this is. I've already been distracted all week and—"
"Was I...distracting you?" she sounded amused and he glared down at the table.
"Well...yes. You were being such a pest I barely got any work done—"
Drakken tensed as her felt fingers dig into his shoulders hard.
"Pest! I was being...a pest!?" He jumped up from his seat to see her hands aflame.
"Well yes... I mean I appreciate the interest in our plans...but all the hovering and questions were not helping," shrugged Drakken as he rubbed his now aching shoulder. He dodged a plasma blast. "Shego! What was that for?"
"This whole time... You just thought I was being...annoying." Her expression kept shifting and he couldn't place it.
"Well you kept hovering, and asking questions... Oh and the hot breath in my ear...do you know how distracting and moist that was? Listen we both want to take over the world...but I can't work like that," glared Drakken. "So...this wasn't some sort of snarky joke you were planning?"
"No!" she snapped before clenching her fists tighter. "You thought it was some sort of annoying joke?"
"Well it crossed my mind..." Drakken paused.
So this wasn't a joke... This was some sort of dynamic change?
"So is this because we're partners now then?" He ducked as a blast flew over him. He glared. "I was trying to ignore it, just so you are aware. Excuse me for trying to be mature and discuss it."
"Well you don't have to worry anymore," snapped Shego and she stormed off down the hall, whipping her pillow at him as she went.
Shego slammed her hand on her keypad to close the door behind her as she went into her room. She growled and blasted her small side table lamp in anger. The anger wasn't exactly at Drakken...mostly at herself. She'd wasted the last week or so flirting with Drakken...and for what? For him to find it unhelpful and irritating. He called her a pest. She had put aside her pride in an attempt to change his feelings towards her. Her anger suddenly shifted to embarrassment as she yanked on one of her spare uniforms and sat on her bed to put on her boots. She needed some air away from the lair and from Drakken.
I can't believe he just assumed I was being annoying because of...what? Not knowing if this was a partnership shift of some kind?
She hit the open button on the door pad and jumped back as Drakken's fist was raised in the door. Clearly he'd been about to knock. She glared at him. Here he was listing annoying changes in their dynamic that he'd misread...and he had gained a new habit of knocking on her door whenever for months. She crossed her arms and straightened her posture.
"I thought I was annoying you. What do you want?" she snapped.
"I said you were a pest actually..." He cringed as her hands flared.
"Won't happen again." She took a deep breath and shook her head. "Do you mind moving?"
"Are you leaving?" asked Drakken. His eyes shot open.
"Clearly. Apparently my presence isn't appreciated at the moment," she went to move but he blocked her.
"I didn't mean I didn't want you around. Just less...clingy," said Drakken. Shego's brow shot up. "Wrong word choice... See this is why I like contracts. There is a clear line to follow. I want you as a partner Shego. I just need to know what to expect and what not to."
Shego's emotions shifted again and she looked at his nervous expression. She tried to see it through his eyes, but she couldn't. Not only had he not noticed her obviously flirty behavior...he'd somehow begun to wonder if this was supposed to be normal partner behavior. He was rubbing his fingers and looked uncomfortable as he looked at her.
"You want to define boundaries?" Her own question made her stomach sink. "A contract?"
"I don't need a contract per se... But I don't want unclear things to distract from our plans of world conquest. You're upset and leaving because I expressed annoyance at your antics. In a contract we could have avoided this." He glared but it wasn't exactly aggressive. More annoyed.
"I'm not leaving. I'm going out to give you space," she sighed and he suddenly relaxed.
"So...we're still partners then." There was a small smile tugging at his lips.
She felt a wave of annoyance hit her now. It left quickly as his eyes searched hers. Clearly he was the least observant man on earth like she had assumed. He was so worried about losing her as a partner and a companion that he'd tried to ignore her antics. This also explained his little scanner thing. He was ruling out everything in hopes of not aggravating her in case she was being manipulated.
Well now I feel bad for breaking that thing...
She rubbed her face with one hand. He'd told her the questions and her hovering was annoying, trying to avoid this very conversation they were having...and she had just changed flirting tactics. His smile faltered and she tilted her head at him. All Drakken wanted was world domination. All he required and wanted was a partner in crime. She took a deep breath and ignored her tightened chest as she looked at him. She could do that. She rolled her eyes and smirked.
"I don't want a contract, but maybe we should talk about boundaries," she swallowed and put on a mocking tone, "if it makes you feel better."
"You're not mad?" he asked. His shoulders relaxed despite his question. "You know this is essential to focusing on our world domination plans, right? I mean as partner...half of the world is yours."
"Fair enough." She crossed her arms and leaned against the door. "All right. I will try not to distract you from future plans."
"...So all the questions?" asked Drakken. "I don't mind the interest, but some of them were really tedious."
"Some of those answers were tedious," she scoffed. "I will let you rant...but for the sake of my sanity. I will not pretend to care beyond the first time."
"Fair enough... But what if—"
"Once. I will only want to hear it once," she held up her finger in warning. "And if I'm there after we do something...no ranting it on repeat."
"Nehn," he looked annoyed but nodded. "The hovering?"
"Only when you're slacking," nodded Shego.
He shrugged. "That hand-holding thing—"
"Yeah, that was really weird. I'm going to agree to that," said Shego. Her face felt warm at the memory. "But if you wander off—"
"By all means...keep me focused." He tilted his head. "It wasn't the most annoying thing...just..."
"Weird," said Shego.
"Weird," agreed Drakken. "The walk down the hall was the weird part."
"Let's not relive that than," Shego stated. They both nodded in agreement.
"Oh, the tanning chair in the lab—"
"That's staying," Shego cut him off.
"I'm going to disagree," Drakken continued as she walked past him. "Shego. It's highly unprofessional for you to be lounging around in a swimsuit."
"I could wear a bikini," Shego saw him tense up and grinned. "I have this really cute—"
"You're not funny Shego. No bikini," his eyes narrowed as he walked with her.
"All right. I find going in the buff to be less professional...but I could give it a try—"
"Shego!" growled Drakken.
Shego listened to him whine and huff about her threat. She'd never wear a bikini or go nude around the lair...but the threat made her feel better. Besides, the sunbathing while Drakken worked was actually very relaxing and calming. Her stomach knotted and then settled as she let clarity try to push aside any residual disappointment in realizing Drakken was seemingly hopelessly oblivious. She shot him a devious grin.
Besides. There's no harm in keeping future options open... Right?
Onwards to more Villainy -