A/N: I MADE IT TO 150! Sorry its late!


Hot Tubs and Prison Tats


Drakken narrowed his eyes through his magnification goggles. They were not as clear as his normal pair, but he'd yet to replace them since they'd been broken. He grumbled as the last of his solder refused to adhere to whatever metal-based components the small ring used. He looked at his notes, having spent three days meticulously taking the ring apart and testing the glitches he'd considered... He could barely make out his own writing. He blinked before rolling his eyes at himself and pulling up his goggles.

He growled in frustration.

"That's not even the right area." He turned the small clamp the ring was held by. "That could have been woefully tedious to undo."

He moved his papers closer and reached in his drawer to grab more solder, his mind replaying the small defective actions the ring had seemed to have had the prior weekend. He was merely guessing that the device was at fault and it wasn't user error. The sensory buttons seemed to be poorly fused, and he was starting to think that all the money spent on the design of the device barely made it prototype quality.

He could see the potential use of an outer emotional manipulation device. It would make it much easier to control a room if everyone were forced onto the same page. Demanding control of a room of political leaders for control of their governments would be a cakewalk if they were all in one's favor by force. A mild suggestion would be but nothing in swaying them.

He closed the drawer and quickly grabbed his garbled notes.

"Make a safety timer," he muttered under his breath as he wrote it down.

The sudden sound of a timer going off caused him to knock the soldering gun onto the paper. He yelped as it began to burn, and he pulled the gun off the paper as a small flame appeared. Before he could react any further there was a tingle up his spine and a swift movement of pink flew in front of him, his glass of water now poured all over his notes, courtesy of a quick-reacting Flower. Drakken narrowed his eyes in frustration as Flower began shaking the water off the slightly smudged papers.

"See Shego, this is exactly what I meant with these alarms," he huffed. "They are—"

His words stopped as he spun around in his chair and gestured to the mess. There was no Shego sitting in her normal chair. The auto-lights in the back half of the lab had turned off leaving only his work area illuminated, which meant it had been hours since there was movement anywhere else but where he sat. He looked up at the flashing alarm and turned it off, his brow raising as he read the clock below it. It was only five in the evening on a Wednesday. He looked again... Thursday? He dismissed his loss of a day and scratched the back of his head, attempting to recall Shego saying anything to him since...he couldn't remember what part of the day he'd last spoken to her. A quick glance at his desk showed him half a sandwich that he vaguely remembered consuming part of.

"I ate half of that, right?" Drakken felt Flower shift over his shoulder and make a nodding movement. "I thought so... Did I make it?"

Another shaking movement from Flower earned a shrug from Drakken as the appendage vanished once again when he stood up. The cracking sound his body emitted and the stiffness in his legs made it very clear, he had been in that position for far longer than was warranted. He glanced at the clock on his desk and grumbled at the lack of progress he'd made, at least for him. He'd somehow lost a day and was certain it had something to do with Shego's new timer schedule that she had insisted on. One of which was apparently to remind him to sleep, which when ignored had been enforced by Shego turning off the elevator.

He smirked smugly as he walked up the stairs to the elevator platform. She'd been shocked and irritated to find him in the lab late that night after pretending to go to his room. Shego had apparently forgotten about the ladder drop to the lab. His smugness faded at the knowledge she now knew it existed.

Drakken rolled his eyes as he hit the button to go to the main floor. He was going to have to discuss whatever new thought process she was on, as the alarms and lab-banning were costing him precious work time. This would be discussed after grabbing a quick bite to eat, taking a short nap, and then locating her before returning to the lab to complete work. The tingle in his spine causing a small crack in his strained neck made his shoulders slump.

"Actually, taking a longer break might not be such a bad idea," he muttered. His brow knitted. "Nghn, I need to at least get that soldering done tonight—did I turn off the gun?"

Flower appeared and made a motion that seemed to indicate that Flower at least had.

"You know, as annoying as you are...it is nice to have confirming feedback," sighed Drakken as he stepped off the elevator. "Though, I wonder if there is a way to dual focus enough to actively control my subconscious and conscious at once so you can be more useful."

Drakken made a mental note to look into that. He had a vague memory of attempting such a feat in the past, but he couldn't be sure... He made a mental note to pick up log-keeping again, which after three or four lair destructions, had seemed like a tedious item to keep rewriting. Flower flew to the sink as Drakken opened the fridge, and before Drakken could look for any form of food a water glass had been shoved towards him.

"There isn't much in there, hmm." Drakken closed the door of the fridge as he took the glass. "Maybe that's where Shego went. Well, she could have said something instead of just letting me think she ditched work...early."

Drakken had turned to leave the kitchen when he looked out the large glass door to the deck. The hover car was still clearly parked showing Shego had not left the lair to get food or some form of supplies... And even more telling was the sight of Shego on the other side of the deck. He frowned at the realization she had in fact simply ditched the lab to relax elsewhere. The dark hair of the back of her head was all he could see as she lounged in the hot tub. He reached to slide open the door but froze as he looked at his water glass and the back towards the lab.

The memory of Shego's antics with their previous hot tub in the alpine mountain lair played in his head. Even when he had begrudgingly caved and joined her, he had kept his distance... And the time he'd awkwardly joined she and Dean after dismissing that thought followed. He shifted slightly in his stance, weighing choices. He had decided to take a break and a possible nap to relax, but the idea of relaxing in a hot tub was also very enticing. His mind mused on the options of possibly doing as he'd planned and convincing Shego to watch a movie later... Shego shifted in the water and pulled her hair away to one side and reached for a drink she'd clearly prepared for her leisure. Drakken's eyes lingered on her shoulder and along her neck as he drank his water.

"Looks like hot tub it is," Drakken said, clearing his throat.

He lingered in the doorway a beat more before realizing he should probably go change into proper hot tub clothing. He cursed at the spiral stairs as he tripped in his haste to do so.


Shego sighed as she drank her fruit-laden water, ignoring the fact the drink tasted vaguely more than just mildly warm lemon water. Her mind was elsewhere. More importantly, on the upcoming weekend upon which due to a series of calls and messages, she had begrudgingly agreed to join her villainess acquaintances in a day of depravity. She let out a deep exhale, attempting to figure out how to sway the plans into something more under her control.

As Shego leaned back towards the wall, her mind lost in thought, the feel of hands sliding over her shoulders startled her senses. Rationally, she knew that it could only be Drakken on the other side of the hands, knew that he was most likely attempting something that he deemed flirtatious—something Shego wouldn't mind one bit. Rationally, that all made sense. Unfortunately for both of them, Shego's instincts kicked in before that clearly dawned on her.

She grabbed the wrists behind her in swift reaction. The reality of her action only clicked as she yanked Drakken over her and had thrown him violently into the water. It was mid-scream of panic from Drakken before he actually hit the water that Shego felt a wave of regret and embarrassment shoot through her. She let go of his wrists and stared wide-eyed for a second as he sputtered at the surface before she moved to pull him up onto the laying platform of the hot tub that she'd been relaxing on.

His hand waved hers away as he coughed and glared.

Her concern faded quickly at this gesture and she crossed her arms and narrowed her own eyes.

"Serves you right for sneaking up on me," she halfheartedly scoffed.

"You do it to me often," he grumbled before raising a brow. "Wait? How did I sneak up on you?"

Shego hesitated in her response.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the lab?" She chose to fixate on the slowly changing colors of sky.

"Well someone annoying set alarms to distract me." Drakken let out an annoyed sigh. "I can see I interrupted something. Won't do that again."

Shego felt her shoulders slump as Drakken grumbled. She was going to let it go until he made a move to get out of the hot tub. It dawned on her that she'd missed the fact he'd changed into swim shorts and a shirt. He'd planned on joining her before she threw him in. She was going to weigh the odds of dropping her annoyance at being caught off guard against Drakken joining her when she realized there was nothing to weigh it with other than pride. Her hand grabbed his arm and she rolled her eyes and yanked him back down as she moved over, her grip probably a little tighter than warranted.

"Shocked you actually listened to the alarm." She watched his furrowed brow soften as he accepted this as a form of apology, she was sure. "I'd thought you'd go through and turn them all off when I wasn't there."

"Yes, well that is an idea instead of startling me into disasters," he muttered.

"Don't blame the alarms," she chuckled. She looked at his shifted gaze. "You didn't even know I wasn't in there did you?"

"Well, it was quieter than normal—hey!" Drakken chuckled as she shoved him.

"I literally told you when I brought you lunch I was leaving because there was nothing for me to do." She crossed her arms. "Should check your ears for flowers."

"So, hot tub was the alternative?" asked Drakken. Shego scowled at him. "I'm just asking."

"If you must know. I organized my closet, made several phone calls, organized a girls' night out...then made a summery drink, and then hot tub." She rolled her eyes.

"Very productive," said Drakken. "Girls' night? Anything fun."

Shego remembered what had been distracting her before Drakken interrupted. She shrugged and leaned back against the hot tub wall.

"...I haven't decided," she answered as she looked at her nails. "Maybe nails and drinks."

"I thought you said you organized it?"

"I haven't decided what we're doing, just that I am the one instigating, geesh." She grabbed her fruity water drink. "By the way we need to do a grocery run."

"I need to make those phone calls to get our old henchmen back," Drakken nodded to himself.

"I already did. Not till Monday." Shego looked at his wide eyes. "Well I knew you forgot and when I was sweeping yesterday—"

"Sweeping? You?" Drakken sputtered.

"Pfft, not personally. I got Peri to get the other plants to do it," Shego snorted. "We could use them as henchmen, but their answer is to just toss it into the water. It was just dirt, but still."

"You have a hench-flower?" asked Drakken. "I can't even get them to leave my window alone half the time. You have swayed them to do your bidding?" asked Drakken. "I'd be impressed if I wasn't so upset at the lack of respect— I made you!"

Drakken yelled over to where a majority of the flowers shifted around lazily. They slipped over the edge of the cliff and out of sight.

"That sounds like a you-issue then, not a them-issue," said Shego. "After all, they rely on your subconscious for demands. You must want air in the night or something and they are responding to you or Flower. They listen to me because again...you know I am right about everything."

"Doubtful," grumbled Drakken as he glared at where the flowers had been. "If it's subconscious-based it's more likely my subconscious is fixated on you a majority of the time over my own needs."

Shego felt a rush of heat across her face as Drakken continued to glare at the shrubbery up the cliff, Drakken obviously missing what he had said as being significant in any way. Shego felt the smile on her face as the heat finally settled. She knew she could tease him about it and they would fall into familiar comfortable banter, but she found the sentiment of him thinking about her often and admitting it in his own very Drakken way more enticing than getting a mock window.

"Ungrateful foliage," Drakken muttered as he turned from them to look at Shego. His brows un-furrowed. "What?"

"Nothing," Shego responded. "So, what made you actually join me in the hot tub?"

"You threw me in." Drakken gestured to his damp attire as he slicked back his drying hair. "Violently I may add."

"I meant in general. Clearly, you were joining me," Shego raised a brow.

"Attempting to relax," Drakken cleared his throat.

Shego felt her smile waver.

"Oh, and here I thought you just wanted to spend time with me, my mistake," scoffed Shego. She watched Drakken's eyes widen.

"I do!" he yelled. He made a few incoherent noises and movements before clearly choosing his words by his slow tone. "I'm not sure where lines are in this couple-y thing between us. I'm not used to it...yet... Nghn. You can stop me anytime."

Shego had leaned against the wall of the hot tub. She couldn't fight the small smirk on her lips as she watched Drakken talk in circles. She understood him clearly. Drakken had apparently had feelings for her longer than she had been aware of hers for him, which he'd spent years squashing so hard that she'd thought he'd seen her as not even remotely appealing. She was reminded of his comment on the roof when she'd caught him clearly looking at her sunbathing. He'd all but fallen down the stairs in his embarrassment at being caught and letting his words slip. She tilted her head and looked at him closer. When they were in certain settings he seemed to be calmer, like actual designated dates.

Oh... Is that why he wanted clarifications of actions— Throwing him in the water for touching my shoulders probably didn't help his issues.

Shego could have easily questioned his statement or even explained that his hesitation was more than a little annoying to her. That the moments he seemed to remember they were more than partners by simple associated events was more than welcome when not at an event. She was half tempted to mock him or chastise him for being so worried or meek over something as simple as showing interest or mild affection. But she could mentally see the hours of miscommunication to follow or something being said that would later be skewed, mostly because it was Drakken. She simply rolled her eyes and shifted her position to watch the slowly setting sun and lean back against him.

She gave him no warning verbal or otherwise as she used his chest and shoulder as a head rest and kicked her legs up on the curved surface of the hot tub bed she had been laying on prior to his arrival. She felt him stiffen for only a second before his shoulder relaxed behind her head. It was silent for a little under a minute as he remained unmoving.

"Shego?"

"Yes?" she sighed, waiting for some unneeded clarification to come.

"Isn't the hot tub supposed to be...more than lukewarm?" he inquired. Shego raised a brow before shifting away from him to reach the panel.

"Yeah, I turned it down so I could be in here longer, but it is starting to get barely warmer than the pool."

With a click of a few buttons the jets sprang to life on a low setting and the temperature was gradually increased. She could have set it higher, but the fact it would cause them to leave sooner than she would like now that she had a new backrest kept her from turning it up too far. She knew it would scarcely affect her, but she wasn't sure about Drakken. She shifted back to lean on him again and realized he had moved. She was about to glare at him for moving closer to the corner when she noticed he'd simply moved from where the jet was spewing warmer water to where the bed part was more curved to sit back. She moved to join him and hesitated.

"This isn't some passive aggressive gesture to get me to not lean on you, is it?" Shego waited.

"On the contrary. I was simply making myself more comfortable," he shrugged.

Shego didn't wait for him to continue as she resumed her former position. She kicked her legs up again, Drakken's one outstretched one next to hers. She smiled as Drakken's hand rested on her waist slightly while the other found its way up to casually grip the ledge. It took a second for her to realize he was being cautious of their placement, which ended quickly as Shego pulled both his hands around her waist so she could nestle back further. His arms tightened around her in response.

"I don't bite," she chuckled. There was a slight vibration on her cheek as he spoke.

"No, but you sting?" His tone was teasing, and she glanced up curiously.

"What am I, a bee?" she snorted. "This is much better... Pick up on these cues."

"Hmm," he grumbled. "I don't miss the cues, I just spent years avoiding them with a careful mask of cultivated professional and platonic overlay."

"Pfft, professional?" she scoffed.

Drakken rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Platonic," he grumbled against her neck. "Would help if you didn't react with violence when I do try to pick up on cues."

"I did it once," she shrugged against him. She thought for a moment. "What if I took the time to flirt?"

"...Given your flirting history, it most likely would not help at all," he muttered. Shego turned to look at him and his eyes shot open. "Eh, ohm...you know, the whole...Mood-U-Lator thing... That."

"Uhm hmm." She nestled back further against him. "Nice cover. How about this... Just...do it, and if I don't care for it—"

"You'll chuck me across a room." His tone was teasing but there was an air of caution.

"For the last time, you startled me— Will you drop it?" she reiterated.

"Like you did me?" She glared at the smirk on his face.

"Do you want an instant replay?" she said with narrowed eyes.

"Er, pasadena," he grimaced.

Shego snuggled back in her secure position as he fell silent. She felt the annoyance at his teasing fade as Drakken's grip around her tightened and she could continually enjoy the dimming orange of the sky over the ocean in front of their lair.


Drakken felt the calmness of his thoughts fade quicker than he'd wanted. He had been enjoying the momentary mental silence as he rested his chin on Shego's shoulder. His musings on her hands over his and the slightly rough fibers of her swimsuit faded back to the work in the lab, along with the chill on the fabric of his shoulders not helping his wavering focus.

The ring and its faulty wiring... How it seemed more a prototype than what he'd been told. He remembered the flickering glow of the ring before Shego had returned to where he and Shawna had been talking. He remembered Shego's words then on the dance floor.

"Shego, at the ball. You said that the Villain's Inn woman who was working with Botox and their brood...was there?" he asked casually.

He heard her give a deep sigh as he interrupted the peaceful atmosphere.

"Yeah," she spoke. "Trying to drug or possibly take out your little childhood crush."

"I never said I had a crush on Shawna, to be very clear." He glanced to look at her face. Her eyes were still closed as she leaned against him.

He saw the hint of a smirk tick at the corner of her lip.

"Is it because she wasn't blonde?"

Drakken's brow narrowed and he grumbled under his breath.

"You know what, never-mind," retorted Drakken.

"Okay, I'll stop... What is it?" Shego pulled away slightly to turn and look at him.

Drakken hesitantly let his hand move from her waist.

"What all exactly transpired that night?" he asked, choosing to lean his arm on the edge of the hot tub.

Shego's brows narrowed and he could see her discomfort.

"Awkward breakup, double-crossed, kidnapped, mindless puppet drones... What more do you need?" Her scoff wasn't nearly as strong as it normally would have been. "It was a really bad weekend for us both, remember. I mean, I still have questions about those gauntlets showing back up."

Drakken cringed.

"Well, to be fair. You never really asked, only berated their return," Drakken cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should talk about that weekend—"

"Or we could go back to enjoying our evening and find a new topic," suggested Shego.

Drakken was about to protest when she shoved him back in his corner and resumed her prior spot. Everything in his body wanted to relish in the way she was snuggled up against him and his hands returned to her waist. His mind chose instead to replay that series of events before Botox's return—to the museum and the concerning meteor particle he was sure there must be more of. Another thought occurred to him. Her brothers... Who he, despite having worked alongside not long before, he had not contacted in his haste. Then the memory of Mego's aggression in his lab with no one informing them of Dollmaker's return. He glanced at Shego, wondering how much she wasn't actually saying about those events.

He chose a different angle.

"Have you spoken to your brothers about your memories or about Dollamaker?" he asked casually. There was a stiffness in her shoulders at this. "Apart from continuing making Mego our on-call emergency doctor."

She groaned.

"Uhg, don't even joke about that. His bedside manners are as much an ego trip as his existence is," she said and shuddered. Her head flopped on his shoulder to look at him. "No, I have not. Why?"

"He seemed rather dramatic and annoyed neither you nor I had informed him of that night," Drakken said with a shrug. He shifted slightly under the water as best he could. "Seemed concerning."

"Yeah, well... He's nosy and— Will you just take the shirt off?" Shego pulled away from him.

"What?" he sputtered as his hands left her.

"You keep shifting and tugging at it. If it's annoying, just take it off." She tugged at the hem of his shirt as indication. "We're in the hot tub and it's just us."

Drakken sunk a little further in the water, the bubbles splashing his shoulders to cure the chill they'd had.

"Oh, hmm, no. I don't think I will." He sat back up having regained warmth. "How about we watch the sunset."

Shego looked at him with narrowed eyes that shifted to an eye-roll.

"Wow," she scoffed. "I think I can control myself, thanks."

Drakken made a quick gesture of dismissal.

"No, it's... I was just a little chilly. It's fine. Fixed," he hastened. His hand gestured to the sky. "Sunset?"

"You're just going to get cold again because of the wet fabric." Shego held out her hand. "Geesh... Here, I'll put it with the towel."

"Again. No... It's, ohm..." He felt nerves pass through him as he glanced down at the water and to his shirt. "I'm self-conscious...yes. That's why."

Shego looked shocked for a second before she rolled her eyes.

"Since when?" she scoffed. "I have seen you wear a cape and a very revealing dragon skin patterned underwear all day as casual clothes—"

"We agreed never to talk about that or Mr. Sit Down as long as one of us is alive!" Drakken shouted. His hand pulled at the fabric of his chest where it was clinging to him and showing a blue undertone. "Let's just...go back to what we were doing."

"Will you relax..." Shego trailed off and looked at his hand. Drakken froze. "Wait, are you avoiding me seeing your tattoos?"

"No." He knew he spoke too quickly by the devious look on Shego's face.

"Okay, well then, let me see them." Her smugness was palpable.

Drakken looked around and looked towards the steps of the hot tub. He moved towards them.

"I think we've spent enough time in the hot tub—"

Shego's hands gripped his arm tightly and forced him back into his prior sitting spot.

"Drakken," she said firmly, "come on, they can't be that bad."

"You've already seen two of the three," he countered. "This one can wait... And isn't there a time limit for a hot tub?"

"The temperature isn't hot enough and you need water anyway," said Shego. "I have not seen two tattoos. I've seen the 'Mom' one, which is barely a tattoo."

"I am not a potted plant Shego, I don't need to soak in water." Drakken rolled his eyes. "You saw my back."

"You don't have one on your back," Shego looked confused. "I've seen your back."

"There'd better be after three months of Pyro Pete working on it." Drakken narrowed his eyes at the memory, his back twinging from the pain. "It's a blue inked dragon... Blue pens were all he could get at the time because someone named Inking Bobby took all the others."

"Inking Bobby?" Shego questioned.

"It's a long story Shego, there was a fight between he and Page Master. The library was a mess," Drakken gestured dismissively.

"That's what happened to the prison library?" Shego snorted. "It looked like it was torched."

"That was Pyro Pete trying to stop the fight," Drakken sighed. He grinned as he found a perfect deflection. "Interesting story actually, why don't I—"

"Show me your tattoos," Shego cut in.

"I was going to tell you a story," Drakken tried to sway her back.

"You were trying to deflect the conversation." Shego was clearly not buying it. "Come on, let me see. I didn't see the back one. Granted your back was mostly discolored from bruises at the time..."

"Or, we could go have dinner—" Drakken hastened.

"Drakken. Here's a cue for you to follow... Your girlfriend wants to see your tattoos... You should show the girlfriend the tattoos."

Drakken shifted uncomfortably. He could argue his point or distract further but he knew Shego wouldn't drop it for long. The last thing he needed was for her to create a series of compromising situations in order to see the one he was avoiding her seeing. While it would be humorous to a point he was sure, attempting to counter and avoid her just for spite, he also knew it would not help any clarifications of what was allowed and not allowed in their current relationship status. His mind wandered in seconds to if agreeing could also get her to share what she was avoiding sharing...


Shego's patience was running out as Drakken stared at her while holding the edge of his shirt. She could see the outline of something and for the life of her could not imagine why he needed to hide a simple tattoo. She was about to dismiss it and actually get out of the hot tub when Drakken's expression finally shifted. He looked annoyed but his shoulders slumped in some sort of mild defeat.

"...Nghn, fine. I'll show you the back one," he grumbled.

"Your shirt is already going to be off, so just show me," she sighed. "You're making a bigger deal than it probably is."

"All right, but no laughing or mocking at the other one," he demanded.

The playful smirk on her face was an unwanted reply.

"I make no promises," she teased and then yanked at his sleeve. "Come on. Strip."

"All right, but I expect a trade for this," he grumbled.

Shego's smirk faltered at his words. His hand gestured to her before he turned in his seat. She felt her face go warm as she crossed her arms and uncrossed them.

"You... Oh...ohm...right." She internally cursed at her stammering.

Her hands twisted in her hair as she thought about it deeper. She wasn't exactly sure of her response to the idea. She knew she could simply tell him off and he would move on. It had already been stated earlier that he wasn't sure of what was allowed within their boundaries, so this was a simple dismissible request. She was so transfixed on her own potential choices that she completely missed Drakken taking off his shirt.

"Shego?" his voice cut into her thoughts. "Well? Happy?"

He wasn't looking at her from where he'd turned to face the corner, so his back was toward her. She was relieved he hadn't seen her blushing at her previous warring thoughts and quickly focused on the tattoo he said was there. It took her a second to center in on the tattoo as she found herself more interested in wanting to touch his bare broad shoulders. She crossed her arms and actually looked. Where she had once seen bruises and a large welt on his back which was now the cool blue color it should be, darker blue lines had scrawled an elaborate dragon design.

She blinked in shock as she moved closer. The scales and wings were more realistic than she assumed a prison tattoo would be. Truth be told, she'd never much noticed or cared about looking at all, so that was most likely a factor. The dragon was perched on a series of rocks and rubble with its wings open falling on Drakken's shoulder blades, its mouth turned upwards as if breathing fire which was now eclipsed. Shego's hand moved towards where the flames were faded by teal lines that were clearly visible veins from Flower. Directly above its open mouth was what looked like a greenish blue welt or cut.

"Flower." Shego fought a chuckle.

"Excuse me?" Drakken raised a brow and looked over his shoulder.

"Your dragon breathes flowers." She felt her shoulders shake as she fought laughter. "What are the odds."

"It does not...wait." Drakken narrowed his eyes as he looked away in thought. "Oh fantastic. Of course Flower would ruin it."

"No. It's really...impressive." She was fighting laughter as best she could. "I think it adds something to it. Intimidating dragon...breathing pretty pink Flower."

"Okay, well this has been lovely," grumbled Drakken as he reached for his shirt. Shego shoved his shoulder lightly.

"Oh relax, when it's not out it still looks like flames." She cleared the laughter from her throat.

She looked at the rocks that were slightly covered up by the hem of his shorts where she could see the top of letters or a design on one rock.

"What's on the rocks?" asked Shego. She jumped as Drakken turned slightly, blocking her view.

"Just some silly patterns," dismissed Drakken. "Now, how about dinner?"

Shego narrowed her eyes as he began unfolding his damp shirt.

"Ohm, excuse me, I still have yet to see one." She moved in the water to look. "Stop blocking it."

"Shego, it's late, the sun is setting... We have really been in here far too long," he continued, moving his arm to try to pull on his shirt and block his right side.

"Okay, now you're being dramatic," she glared, and darted in front of him in the small corner.

It was a big enough squeeze to fit and get in the way of the shirt being shoved on, though it was too narrow to actually see the tattoo. She went to push him away before he could protest so she could actually see it, when he moved closer. Her eyes shot open as his lips hit hers rather fiercely. She knew it was a distraction tactic, but it was one she was in favor of. She hummed in acceptance as she closed her eyes and slid her arms around his neck. There was a clear point in the amorousness of his kissing that he forgot he was doing this to distract her, which earned no complaint on her end.

What did was his shifting arms where he was attempting to slip both into the shirt for a clear break to put it on swiftly. She could feel the fabric against her chest and how his arms were restricted to rest on her waist. His grip loosened and she took this as a sign of him thinking of a proper break or window to make the move. She knew he would gleefully continue the moment after completing his plan, but Shego wasn't about to let that happen. Her hand slid to his right shoulder as the other slid past his collarbone to his chest to rest on the fabric. It was a clear window for him, and he took the bait.

As he went to pull away to yank his shirt on, Shego acted quicker. Her hand on the fabric of the shirt grabbed hold of it and twisted sharply. Her hand on his shoulder shoved him back with ease as he was already in motion to move away, with him giving a yelp of surprise as she used his own shirt as a makeshift quick tie on his hands preventing him from blocking her view of the tattoo.

"Ow! Shego!" he whined as she held his now bound hands to her side.

"Oh don't act like a baby, it doesn't hurt— Is that...oh my gosh...no." She felt the shake of laughter boiling through her before it burst out. "You have a Snowman Hank tattoo!"

Shego let go of her hold on his shirt and shoulder to cover her mouth as the laugh coming out of her was close to hysterics. There on Drakken's right upper chest was the clear tattoo, though the lines weren't too crisp, of Snowman Hank, his branched arms outstretched...holding what looked like little laser guns. Shego felt another wave of laughter roll through her at the realization. She tried to calm down and stop the list of mocking thoughts running through her brain. Instead, Drakken's narrowed eyed and annoyed expression only fueled it.

"What, writing 'Pew Pew' was too much?" She had fallen into a snicker. "How very...dangerous looking."

"Well, this has gone as well as I assumed," he grumbled and unknotted his shirt to put on. "Feel better now?"

"Surprised he doesn't have a whole scene," she teased. Drakken mocked her words under his breath as he shoved his shirt on.

"You know, I don't see you with any prison tats, Miss Judgmental," he glared.

Shego smirked.

"My body repels inks and dyes," she spoke smugly.

She watched Drakken's shocked and then confused face morph into annoyance once again.

"...Well that's awfully convenient for this topic," he grumbled.

"Right!" she chuckled. "Who knew?"

"Well, now that this evening has ended like I expected it to," he went to get out of the water, "I'll return to the lab—hey!"

Shego grabbed the shirt fabric again and twisted it to pull him back in the water.

"Not that I'm done mocking your ink...but I was enjoying your little distraction tactic." She slid her arms around his neck again. "Which for future reference, would enjoy when not being used to distract me."

"Well it wasn't all distraction... So how often is this shirt pulling going to happen?" he muttered. "This the new replacement for covering my mouth to cut me off?"

"Drakken," stated Shego.

"Yes?" he grumbled.

"Now would be the time to kiss me if you haven't guessed?" she sighed.

She was about the yell as he rolled his eyes, but his lips hit hers too quickly. She could feel the smug smirk on his lips but chose to ignore it. She had, after all, just gained fuel for mocking and teasing him for weeks if not longer. Though she'd probably get over it in a few days. Her fingers had just managed to lace their way into his ponytail when he pulled away from her. There was an expectant confident expression on his face that took her by surprise.

"All right, your turn." He moved away from her towards the corner again.

"My turn?" she raised a brow.

"I showed you my prison tats, remember," smirked Drakken. "I believe the saying is 'tit for tat.'"

"Oh." Shego felt a flush rush through her entire body at his words. "I... I guess that's fair. A little brazen, aren't we?"

"You essentially restrained me with my own shirt to mock my tattoo, did you not?" Drakken raised a brow.

"Fine," she muttered.

She knew she could tell him off for suggesting it, but the deviousness inside her as well as the confident tone he'd used kept her from dismissing it as a possible action. She smirked as her fingers found the strap of her swimsuit but the expression fell as Drakken slid out of the hot tub with a stretch.

"So, meet you at the hover car in let's say...fifteen?" he said casually.

"The hover car?" Shego's hand fell away and she looked at him in confusion.

"I want to hear what distracted you so much that you got duped by someone named Devious Shark, remember? But over dinner." He began walking towards the patio door. "There's really nothing in the house, so it looks like we're going out."

Shego listened to Drakken trailing off as he headed inside, grabbing a towel on the way to go get changed no doubt. Shego sat in the hot tub for a few seconds as she looked at the strap of her swimsuit and then thought over Drakken's words. She glared and sunk into the water in agitation.

Sometimes she wondered if he worded things to mess with her intentionally or if they were just annoying coincidences.


Away WE GO!