All In A Night
Shego sighed as she swatted the flowers away from her window as she closed it. There was a slight chill in the summer air, and she knew she would regret it when she went back to her room in the morning. She was already regretting braiding her hair while it was still damp due to the chill, but she was in no mood to wait for it to dry. She'd barely stepped into the house when the exhaustion came spinning in, and the shower had only mildly helped. She was eagerly looking forward to just watching a mundane movie she would probably fall asleep three minutes into.
She yawned as she closed her bedroom door behind her, as if her body was confirming her idea of slipping off before the movie began. Yet she wasn't about to go back to her room to do so. She knocked on Drakken's door and there was no response. She entered after a few seconds.
"Probably making the popcorn," she muttered as she stepped inside.
The sound of the increased wind outside was even louder in Drakken's room and her brow knitted. There was no reason for the occasional shaking of a window. No storms were supposed to be headed their way. She shrugged it off and flopped on Drakken's bed and looked at it. She hadn't shared a bed with Drakken since the United Nations evening, and it hadn't dawned on her that he no longer had his large circular one. His current one was roughly the size of the one they'd shared in the horrible mustard colored room after they had gotten caught in the rainstorm so long ago.
Shego felt the smirk spread across her face before she even looked at the pillows. She began making a haphazard pillow wall down the center of the bed, making sure to move the blanket over them so it was more noticeable. She heard the door and tried to look casual rather than devious. She raised her brow as the door was closed until Drakken came into view on the other side of the bed, entering from the bathroom and humming cheerfully.
Her face felt warm as she realized he was just in a towel and she strongly debated saying anything as he went to his dresser and hadn't noticed her.
"Nice towel," she coughed.
"Gah! Shego!" screamed Drakken.
She hadn't known Drakken could run that fast. He was a blur of blue and white and then the door to the bathroom was closed. Shego burst into laughter at the reaction. His head peeked around the doorframe, the tint to his face and ears showing just how embarrassed he actually was despite his narrowed eyes and agitated expression.
"Shego," he stated firmly, clearly asking for an explanation.
Shego cleared her throat and smirked, leaning on the pillow wall.
"Geesh, Drakken. I thought your little statement was one of your notorious misspeaks," she teased. "Glad I built this pillow divide."
Shego watched Drakken's face contort through a series of reactions that made her smirk nearly falter to an actual smile. She watched his expression settle on annoyed.
"I thought you said twenty minutes," he scoffed.
"It's been forty-five," Shego mused. She watched his brow furrow.
"Why didn't you know?" He gave her a sideways look. It only furthered her amusement.
"And miss a possible show?" she gave him a devious smile. "Not a chance."
The annoyed expression fell away to something akin to shock and further embarrassment.
"Shego!" It was almost a whine.
"Relax, I thought you were downstairs." She rolled her eyes. "I didn't hear the shower with all the wind. You can come out, you know."
"Flower could—"
Shego cut him off as her amusement began to fade.
"If you're worried about my womanly lust," she scoffed, "I assure you...I am in complete control."
She crossed her arms and fell back onto her side of the bed. She was torn between anger at his childish antics and the very unwelcome feeling of rejection. She glanced at the pillow next to her as she heard his mouth open to continue the conversation.
"You'd better hurry up and get dressed before I decide to see which hand you use to try to catch a pillow being thrown at you," she stated calmly. She glanced at him.
Drakken raised a brow and looked at the pillow and then to where he tightly held his towel, his expression showing he had doubt in her words. Her hand shot to the pillow and he sprinted into the bathroom. She snorted and listened to the wind howling as she thought, wandering through the day, and despite the small hiccup in the night, she simply didn't want to just go to her room and go to sleep.
The bed shifted and she looked at Drakken. His brow raised as he looked at the pillow wall.
"Should I be offended or amused?" he asked.
"Depends. Are you done being dramatic?" She raised a brow. "And since when do you take a longer shower than me?"
"You took me by surprise," he said, his brow knitting. "And...I... I had to make sure all the chlorine was off...Flower and all."
She tilted her head as she looked at the tint to his face. She decided to let it go for the sake of simply getting to relax and put the very long a drama-filled day behind her. Instead, she took in Drakken's expression and posture. He looked as tired as she felt, and she knew he'd had a long day as well which she had plenty of questions about. However, the only one that came to mind was about the black pajamas he wore in lieu of his normal blue striped ones.
"New jammies?" She fixed the collar of the black silk and smirked at the familiar color contrast.
"The other ones are in the wash," he shrugged, his hand adjusting the pillow wall.
"I like them," she said and smiled. "They remind me of your one lab coat."
"My lab coat is blue." He raised his brow. "How chaotic was your day?"
"Disastrous," said Shego. "I mean your black lab coat. I liked it, the color suited you really well."
She watched Drakken's brow raise yet again, but the coy smirk spreading on his face made it clear he got her implications.
"Really?" he asked. She watched the smirk flicker as if he wasn't sure of his next words. "Perhaps I could be persuaded to wear it more often."
Shego felt the awkwardness from the moments prior fully dissipate. It was clear whatever surprise or shock her presence had given Drakken was now gone. His hand wrapped around hers where she'd begun pulling it away from his collar. She leaned closer towards him.
"Really?" she asked with slight amusement. "How would you be persuaded?"
"I'm rather fond of a certain green dress of yours," he mused. Shego felt the warmth in her cheeks but her expression became devious again.
"I expect that's about as safe as your lab coat?" She knew she was pushing a very fragile envelope.
He looked slightly perplexed.
"My lab coat is perfectly safe," he stated. "Your dress is not lab-safe however— What?"
Shego had snorted loudly and shoved him before flopping back against the bed.
"Nothing," she sighed and then looked around them. "So...what's going on with that popcorn?"
Drakken's confused expression turned into halfhearted annoyance before he got up.
"I'll be right back," he grumbled. "You pick out the movie."
"That was the plan either way," said Shego as she went to the movie collection. "Hurry back."
She watched Drakken grumble further as he walked out the door. Shego gave a slightly tired smile at this before diving to search through the many movies Drakken had.
Drakken jumped as the glass shook from the wind outside as he grabbed a pan for the popcorn. He let out a deep breath as he looked into the darkness. The small lights on the balcony patio showed the flowers had drifted off their edges to the ground to avoid the winds. He made a mental note to figure out a weather shelter for them to hide in in the future. He was certain some if not most had drifted up the cliff to the grassy covering above to weave through the trees. He scratched his head and wondered if there was already a feature on the lair for storms; it had clearly survived there for decades so he wasn't worried.
"I knew I should have read that book the realtor gave me," he muttered to himself as he went about making the popcorn.
Before he could reach to grab the kernels from the cabinet they were placed in his hand by Flower. He sighed and waved the foliage off only to be greeted by the sink being turned on. Drakken glared as the Flower ducked under the water and remained still. Drakken felt the dryness in his mouth, or finally registered it and sighed.
"I suppose swimming in it doesn't actually count," he muttered before grabbing a glass and putting the lid on the pan.
Drakken let his mind wander as he drank his water and waited for the oil to heat and to hear the sounds of popping. He replayed his day over in his mind, especially the last few moments at The Underground, debating on telling Shego of his adventure right away or in the morning. He'd already upset her once already that evening and she'd seemed to be back in a pleasant state... His eyes rolled at the pillow wall again before he snorted.
He'd taken notice of her more teasing and playful forms of mockery as of late, finding while it still irked him occasionally, it wasn't unwelcome. His eyes fell over the balcony in the direction of where the pool was closest... She'd not even been angry when he'd pulled her in with him; annoyed at most. Her suggestion about not being so worried about reading signals around her sprang to mind, then swarmed around that morning when Flower had carried out his thoughts with swift action.
Drakken smirked as he let those thoughts take over, only to be quickly interrupted by a sudden popping sound and the flickering of the lights as the wind slammed against the lair. He grumbled to himself as he grabbed a bowl, his thoughts now disrupted. Images returned of the more chaotic parts of his day at full speed, somehow getting stuck between the horrors of The Underground and the multi-headed centipede and dachshund hybrid at DNAmy's.
"Dachipede," he mused with himself before shuddering.
His unease persisted as he poured the popcorn into the bowl and only faded when he heard Shego walking down the stairs. He waited to hear her inquire what was taking him so long so he could smugly indicate she'd wasted her time since he had just finished. Instead, her head rested on his shoulder as she leaned against him, making it impossible to deliver the dramatics he'd planned to her question.
"Why were you taking so long? I already watched the previews." She popped a few kernels in her mouth. "Did you just make popcorn?"
Drakken rolled his eyes as she moved to open the fridge.
"Did you want something else?" asked Drakken. "Because you didn't say anything but popcorn."
"It, again, was a draining day... Do we have any more strawberries...or chicken?" asked Shego. Drakken raised a brow.
"I believe it was recently discussed... We don't have anything in the house...save for what we bought after dinner the other night," Drakken replied. "I have a list for Davis first thing on Monday."
"Not helpful now," grumbled Shego as she closed the fridge. "We'll need more popcorn."
"There may be chips in the pantry." Drakken grabbed a bigger bowl and added more oil to the pan.
"We have a pantry?" asked Shego. Her eyes narrowed. "We have lived here for months...and you are now informing me we have a pantry. Where?"
Drakken turned the heat back on and walked to the cabinet in the far corner and pulled a handle, opening a door. He wordlessly walked back to the pan and placed the lid on. His smug expression only deepened when an oven mitt smacked him in the shoulder as he heard Shego grumble and dig in the pantry.
"Any other hidden features I didn't know about?" snapped Shego. "Hey. My bagels. I thought you ate them."
Drakken thought about the hidden stairwell.
"No," said Drakken. He chose to change the subject as Shego closed the hidden pantry. "So, you said the spa wasn't relaxing?"
He looked to see Shego's eyes flutter as she seemed to be fighting off a headache or the memory itself.
"If you count almost being crushed by a boulder relaxing, then it was mind melting," she scoffed and sat on the counter. She put on a mock cheerful tone. "Add the glowing cliff turning people into stoned marble...then most distressing day ever!"
Drakken spun around to look at her with wide eyes.
"Excuse me?" he sputtered. She hummed and pulled up her leg to where he could see a rope-like bruise on it. "What's that?"
"The mud bath was in cahoots with the cliff," she smirked. "Trust me, that was only the start of my day. Side note. Junior's girlfriend is kinda growing on me... Though yanking me out of the mud by my hair was a little uncalled for. But in short. I need a new favorite spa. Really unfortunate too because they had the best location."
"Cursed cliffside is tantalizing reality," Drakken rolled his eyes. Shego snickered. "Marbled stone?"
"Yeah, don't know what that's about. There was like a mini-quake and then people were turned from marble to humans." She looked suspicious. "Though now I'm realizing that the first quake a few hours prior was probably them being turned into marble. Sucks to be them."
"Interesting," Drakken trailed off.
He remembered the marbling of Duff's hand before Ed had turned off the bracelet and then the lack of effect it had on Fist.
"That reminds me of a situation I ran into with Killigan and Eddie today," Drakken began, but his thought was stopped by Shego.
"You were with them today?" She raised a brow and grinned. "Did you happen to swing by Amy's?"
Drakken shuddered at the memory.
"And. Almost died at the hands of her hell-hound creation and Killigan's dismantling of her shrine?" Drakken stated. "Yes."
There was further amusement on Shego's face.
"Duff took the Monkey Fist statue?" she asked.
"While Eddie distracted," added Drakken. "That's where I last saw Monkey Fist after I ditched him, Killigan, and Eddie at Eddie's lair... They got out, I took off."
"Well this explains why Amy asked about Duff and Motor Ed being friends. Didn't think you were the connection." Shego held out the larger bowl as Drakken pulled the popcorn off the burner. "So what spurred the spontaneous quest to raid Amy's?"
"A series of annoying events brought on by boredom and bad choices in company," Drakken said and gave a forced grin. Shego nodded as if in agreement. "And the discovery of one of Cleopatra's cursed bracelets when Killigan and I went to un-tomb Eddie."
Shego snickered.
"Hope he learned not to touch her hair straightener again—wait." Her light expression soured. "You were playing with cursed items? Are you kidding me, we just talked—!"
Drakken nearly dropped the pan as he placed it on the counter in his panic at her angry rant.
"I didn't touch anything!" said Drakken. He held up his hands in defense. "I had no intentions of even entering the room they were in. The jackals chased us in there."
"Drakken." Her eyes were still narrowed but her speech had stopped.
"Hey!" He narrowed his own eyes to mirror her. "You swam in some sort of paranormal mud bath...willingly."
He watched her lips purse before she sighed and slid off the counter.
"Okay. Fine. I'll drop it." Her tone indicated it was simply dropped for the moment.
"Thank you." Drakken chose not to push it. "So what happened after, since that was just the start?"
"Adrena got poisoned at our lunch-dinner thing," said Shego. Drakken resumed his popcorn seasoning with a raised brow. "Seems Hench is using Sweets's chaotic creations without her knowledge for profit. Back at testing products on the unaware again."
Drakken felt a swarm of unease at the mention of any of Carmella's confections.
"Again?" he asked.
"They did the same thing at a convention I was at." Shego became fixated on her nails at this statement.
"Without me?" Drakken scoffed.
"At the time you were flirting with their creator and concocting the Li'l Diablo disaster. Without me," she said casually. Drakken felt his stomach swirl at the mention of that particular time.
"So...Adrena?" he asked.
Shego smirked.
"She's fine. Turns out the counter-agent thing is in sprinkler systems," Shego said dismissively. "So then after we took Junior's jet to Spain where Senior called in a doctor—"
Drakken cut her off this time.
"You went to Spain and left the hover car?" His stomach twisted further. "The hover car with the secondary tracker—"
His mind flashed to Dollmaker in Go City again.
"Cursed room of items?" Shego argued.
Drakken wanted to continue his own rant but chose instead to let it go like Shego had...for now.
"So how was the flight?" he asked as casually as he could muster.
"Pfft, the only good thing was when you called me," Shego said and trailed off, her hand playing with the bottom of her braid. "Senior flew me back... Spa's all weird still... So what about your day?"
Drakken hesitated to respond at her hasty end to her day. He began explaining his day in a similar manner, only stopping to inform her of the pits Ed had put up and his fall into one...which Shego had snickered at. They were halfway up the stairs when he explained having to climb up a rope that Ed had found and his concern about the things being toted around by Killigan on their flight for Monkey Fist, skating over the horrors of DNAmy's house as well and only bringing up minor details.
"There is a wall of Cuddle Buddies in cubes?" asked Shego as she paused on the stairs. "Tsk, why am I not surprised by that or the shrine to Fist."
"They were back-lit even," Drakken nodded. "Though the idea of an unsuspecting home over a lair is interesting."
Shego gestured around them.
"What do you think this is?" asked Shego. "This is the most unsuspecting looking lair we've ever had."
"Yes, but it's still clearly a lair," said Drakken gesturing towards the windows. "It's just a thought for the future. We'd just have to make sure the ground was able to be dug deep enough or had a hefty-sized basement. One where company could drop by and be none the wiser."
"Who's dropping by who doesn't know we have a lair?" snorted Shego as she resumed her walking.
"Well if we wanted to entertain..." Drakken trailed off as he thought about his words.
"Are we planning a dinner party?" Shego laughed. "Are we going to get a picket fence and a dog too?"
Drakken felt his jaw stiffen at the images in his head. He shook them from his mind and cleared his throat.
"It was simply a thought," he smiled. "We grabbed a bite to eat...had a small mishap...and—"
"Go City?" Shego interrupted his plans to dismiss the subject as they reached the upper hallway. "I found that interesting to know about."
"We stopped for some food." Drakken walked past her towards the room.
"That's it?" She stopped him by cutting him off. Her expression was interrogating to say the least.
Drakken muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Shego seemed less amused now.
"And...Eddie and Killigan wanted to go to The Underground," he huffed.
Her eyes shot open, and if Shego could look paler than her complexion he hadn't known so till that moment.
"You went where?" Her voice was almost a whisper.
"I really didn't want to and trust me I am filled with regrets," he sputtered. He physically squirmed as the event came back.
"They should really change 'Regrets' to the name." She looked uneasy. "That's it?"
Drakken could have simply said yes and moved on with the conversation. But then his plans of telling her in the morning would cause an argument about him putting it off. He groaned and shook his head.
"No... Ohm while we were there," he took a deep breath, "I saw someone—"
"The Go-Go hookers?" Shego looked mostly bored at her statement.
"No...yes... Why would you— I was trying to get those images out of my head." Drakken shook his head. "Oh, doodles it's back!"
"Calm down. If that wasn't the problem, what was?" Shego stopped his head from shaking with her hands on his cheeks.
Drakken bit his lip and forced the images of the people in various greens and blacks from his mind. He felt his shoulders slump.
"Ngn," he whined. "I... I saw Dollmaker."
Shego's hands tightened on his face but her expression was unreadable.
"You saw what... In the open... In Go City," she began to sputter. "Clearly recognizable in The Underground?"
Her hands pulled from his face and Drakken looked to see she'd dropped the chips on the ground to stop his shaking. He watched her fingers again twisting in her hair as she began looking around them, as if the very person was hiding in the shadows. Drakken felt a mixture of regret at telling her and boiling anger at how the mere name had affected her. The reality she wasn't evading her emotions in front of him for once was a new feeling all together, trying to shove the other two feelings aside.
"He saw you?" Her worried eyes locked with his.
"Well yes...but I couldn't help it." Drakken didn't know why she was worried about that specifically, but he felt he needed to reply. "Flower reacted before I could..."
Drakken trailed off and Shego's brows knitted.
"Before you could what?" she asked.
Drakken remembered the chair being thrown and the rage he was still feeling. He had not been in a clear state in that moment in The Underground...and perhaps Flower's reaction was a simple summary. Images of the lair of Botox and Dollmaker where they'd held Shego...mixing with his guilt at how he still felt he had been the reason she'd gotten duped to begin with, mingled into one rage-filled emotion he'd felt seeing Dollmaker there.
"Get to him myself," Drakken finished.
Shego stopped fidgeting with her hair and seemed to search his features before her eyes half heartedly narrowed.
"I don't need you inciting vengeance on my behalf," she sighed. "If Dollmaker evaded Global Justice...then so did Botox."
Drakken put the bowl down on the hallway table between their two rooms. He thought back to Botox's drive to get samples of Shego's or her brother's blood. Dollmaker in Go City meant Botox might be as well... Where her brothers were.
"Your brothers know Botox is after a blood sample, correct?" asked Drakken.
"Yes, and I'll shoot them a message tomorrow," she said, shaking her head, "but it's not them I'm worried about."
Drakken suddenly felt he understood why she'd looked around. Shego being worried for her safety was something he wasn't familiar with. He placed his hands on her arms and focused his voice to sound firm and controlled instead of the internal anger and disturbance he was truly feeling.
"Shego. We have the best security in the world. We have violent sentient plants as guards." Drakken watched her expression fall to unreadable as she slowly shook her head at him. "If you are worried about Botox or Dollmaker coming after you—"
His expression of reassurance was cut off as Shego moved swiftly, her hands having pulled his face to hers. Drakken was caught between annoyance at being cut off when he was trying to be reassuring, confusion at the expression she'd had, and a swirl of delight as he kissed her back.
It only lasted a few seconds and Drakken expected to continue the conversation, but Shego had already grabbed the chips and turned toward his room.
"We're gonna fall asleep before the movie even starts. It's getting late." Shego had already turned into the doorway before Drakken could register her movements.
He picked up the bowl, and the slight smile that had been forming on his face at the kiss faltered. He wanted to claim the kiss was one of gratefulness for him trying to ease her fears... But there had been something in her expression that seemed off. Drakken scrunched up his face and was tempted to shove the thoughts aside, choosing to take it as him thinking far too much about nothing.
It's too late to be thinking this deeply.
He shook it off and headed into the room to finally watch a movie and end the very long day.
Shego felt like she was on autopilot as she put the chips on one of the end tables and slid into the bed, her mind swirling with the newly gained information. She almost wanted to give a snarky comment about Drakken assuming it was herself she was concerned for. While she could live her whole life never seeing Dollmaker, Botox, or even Devious Shark again...she knew for the most part she could handle herself. Her concern fell to Drakken. Who had been seen in the Underground...with Ed as well.
She didn't know how much Botox may have transfixed on Drakken since the way they'd looked at him in Tibet...but there was unease spinning through her. While Drakken had no interest in his family history at all, nor the benefits it would have brought in villainy, the activity apparently picking up in Go City raised a lot of concern. Especially if Dollmaker felt secure enough to simply traipse around in public.
What if Botox realizes who Drakken or even Motor Ed are?
"You're hogging my half of the pillow wall," came Drakken's voice.
Shego shook her head and looked at him and then to the wall. She pushed her concerned thoughts aside and fell into the current moment. She smirked slightly and shoved the wall closer to Drakken.
"Hey!" he yelled and shifted further off the bed. "Fine. Keep your side of the bed."
He shoved his pillow in her face and clearly hit play for the movie. Shego snorted and pulled the pillow away from her face and chucked it back at him. She heard him yelp, but she'd grabbed the popcorn bowl and pulled herself up to focus on the movie and keep her prior thoughts at bay. The movie wasn't doing a very good job of that and she needed something else to distract her. She saw Drakken's hand drift over the edge of the popcorn bowl before she moved it further away from his grasp. She heard him making smacking noise in annoyance before he moved closer.
"You can't have both the chips and the popcorn," he grumbled as she blocked his move to reach behind her for the chips.
He wouldn't have made it either way, but she leaned back to pin his arm between her back and the pillows against the headboard. He glared up at her and snickered before she noticed the teal-ish green woven over his shoulder. She yanked the popcorn bowl as Flower attempted to sneak in and steal it. Shego's hand darted and grabbed Flower and she used her foot to hold down the vine. She rolled her eyes and looked at Drakken's pouting face.
"Shego," he huffed.
"Fine." She let Flower go who vanished out of sight. She remained pinning Drakken's hand as she ate more popcorn. "I figured an action movie was too much for the night."
"Shego."
"I debated on a science fiction film, but really not in the mood," she continued, her smirk growing.
"Shego, come on now."
"Comedy seemed like a safe bet, but this one is more on the softer side." She felt him tug against her hold and her smile spread as she placed the popcorn nearer to him.
"Thank you— Shego," he sighed. There was a pause. "Don't make me move you."
Shego wanted to mock his threats or even move, but instead she raised a brow at him curiously.
"I'd like to see you—"
She was cut off by the fabric of a pillow smacking her in the face.
She was torn between amusement, shock, and a reaction of violence as he managed to wheedle his arm away at her surprise. She glared at him as he grabbed for the chips again, a smug grin on his face as he took the bag. Shego smacked him with the same pillow, which resulted in a yelp and a shove. She swung again, which threw the chips off his side of the bed. She waited for a whine but instead was met with another pillow.
Somewhere between sitting in popcorn, a lamp falling over, and a few well-placed hits later...she had managed to disarm Drakken, and instead of grabbing one of the five pillows around them including the one by his knee and the popcorn, he attempted to retrieve the one she had acquired. She snickered as she tried to shove him away from hovering above her to reach for it.
"I'm glad you're amused," he said, attempting to sound annoyed. But his wide eyes and grin betrayed him.
She held the pillow farther away from him, and her smile faltered at the realization of their position. It was a mirror of what had transpired in Drakken's childhood bedroom the prior Thanksgiving, only a few days after she had admitted her feelings for him to herself. She wondered if he was aware of it or not, but his expression remained the jovial almost childish delight as he finally grasped the pillow. She smirked up at him with an eye-roll following. She could see the smugness transition over his features as he readied to gloat.
It didn't come.
Whatever expression she seemed to be giving him had made his face sober up. Her nails dug into his shoulder and pulled him closer to her. She half expected him to pull away like he had done the year before, but he moved faster than she could process it. His lips found hers, and she heard the pillow thump somewhere to the ground as she wrapped her arms around him. Just like that morning, she was curious to where the situation could possibly go, but the sleepiness was kicking in as the adrenaline slowly faded from the pillow fight. Her hand reached for a pillow blindly and in a swift movement as he pulled away from her, she delivered a final playful blow.
"Hey!" he sputtered as she shoved him back into his original spot. "There are chips everywhere."
Shego yawned as he shoved the chips onto the ground. Before he could continue his vocalizing of the mess they had caused, she turned to watch the forgotten movie and rested her head on his shoulder. The sound of chips hitting the ground finally faded and she was just halfheartedly focusing back on the movie when he finally spoke.
"You do realize this is in direct violation of your remaining pillow wall." She could hear the teasing which she rewarded by shoving the remaining pillow in his face. "How nice."
"I could have whomped you with it." She looked up at him but made no effort to remove her head from his shoulder.
"This is very true," he sighed, and looked her over. "You're still trapping my arm."
"I'm sorry, what did you need it for?" she asked. His answer was to wrap it around her. "That's what I thought."
Shego focused back on the movie and tried her best to ignore the howl of the wind outside and the still swiveling dim light of the overturned lamp on Drakken's nightstand. She found her eyes growing heavier and the faint sounds of the television were drowned out by the breathing and rhythmic beating of Drakken's heart. She wanted to let blissful sleep take hold and put away the day in doing so, but her mind was clouded with anything but calm.
The shrill sounds of the lair's alarm interrupted both of their much-needed sleep. Drakken shot up in alertness, only to be shoved back by Shego. The lights had gone out and the only light was from the glow of her right hand, her left restraining Drakken as she scanned the room. The generator kicked in as Drakken finally managed to remove her hand from him so he could sit up. He reached for the remote that lay somewhere on the end of the bed as Shego finished her surveillance.
"Shego, it's probably the wind." He did his best to sound reassuring as he clicked on the security feed.
"If the wind is setting off our alarm systems, we may have some issues," she scoffed, but her stance relaxed slightly. "Didn't we have a book on the system and weather conditions?"
"It's somewhere in the lab," grumbled Drakken.
Internally grumbling about the fact he'd been thinking about that and neglected it earlier, he watched as the movie vanished from the television screen and the security system appeared, showing the map of the lair. The thermal imaging showed the heat of the generator, and them. Shego yanked the remote away from Drakken and changed the video to where the security had been triggered near the water basin below the lab. No heat signatures registered.
"See, the wind and tide must have knocked a hatch loose," sighed Drakken. He grabbed the remote back and began hitting buttons. "Why won't it go off?"
"Doy. We have to go close the hatch," Shego sighed and headed towards the door. "You can grab the manual while we're down there."
Drakken glared at the screen before tossing the remote and begrudgingly following.
"You'll also have to show me your little secret passage unless you feel like testing the elevator without knowing how to override it," Shego's voice echoed down the hall as he closed the door behind him.
Drakken wasn't sure what annoyed him most—the fact his comfort had been disrupted, the fact he would have to remember where he'd placed the manual, or the fact his secret staircase would no longer be a secret. The howling of the wind made his eyes narrow as he followed after Shego.
Cursed storm!
Drakken rifled through the drawers filled with papers and designs. The sound of the hatch below slamming shut signified he was nearly out of time before Shego would make a snarky comment about his losing the manual. This began a thought process over the series of choices she may use and possible comebacks he could use. Even pre-planned, his comebacks were not as quick-witted as he would like. This was probably attributed to both not having a good argument for not reading the manual to begin with, and the realization that there should be a better organizing system for his drawers...which he had planned, but somehow had let it seemingly dwindle.
That doesn't make any sense, I had Shego—
"Shego!" he yelled.
Her reply came from right behind him.
"I'm right here," she scoffed. Drakken yelped and smacked his head on an open filing cabinet above him. "How's that search going?"
"It would be better if someone had followed my instructions on the filing system," he said and glared. "Half of these were out of order."
He gestured to the pile of papers he had stacked around him. He watched Shego's brow rise as she glanced at them with a vague recollection on her face. He crossed his arms and sat back on his knees.
"Well?" he asked, awaiting an explanation.
"What order did you want them in again?" she asked, her voice still unreadable. "Alphabetical, chronological, by design, square footage, or material?"
"Well, it doesn't matter now. Does it?" he grumbled.
Shego grabbed something from the first filing cabinet and opened it up. Drakken narrowed his eyes in confusion.
"If someone would have listened to me," she said casually, "someone would have known I followed his stupid little filing system and wrote up a guide to it."
Drakken's face fell as his eyes went wide, trying to scan his memory for the particular conversation that fact might have been ignored in. He had a vague recollection of working on something not long after the lab had been set up... Shego's voice was a hazy memory amid filing cabinets being opened and closed. He cleared his throat and gave a sheepish grin.
"Ah, my mistake... I simply forgot where that was," he hastened and reached for it.
She was glaring through the booklet and then at him.
"I am the only one to log anything in these?" she growled. "Did you seriously have me spend two weeks on this just to disregard it entirely?"
Drakken looked at the mess he'd made and then to Shego's balled fists and glare.
"Which...I will remedy in the morning," he spoke calmly. "It's late and we should find the manual, don't you think?"
Shego let out a deep sigh before flipping through the guide. He let out a small, relieved sigh to himself.
"Oh, this isn't over. I'm just too tired right now, but know...this argument is returning in the morning," she stated as she aggressively flipped through pages. "What did you just pull out?"
"Ohm," Drakken looked. "My design for the ATR."
"The what?" asked Shego.
"The Atmospheric Turbine Restoration," Drakken said proudly. His face fell. "I should work on this."
"You need to work on finding your way through the mess you made," scoffed Shego. She looked at the file next to her and opened it. "Found it."
"You did?" Drakken grinned as he jumped up, smacking his head again, "Ow!"
He went to grab it, but she simply turned and hit him with her hair and began walking towards the stairs. Drakken grumbled under his breath and tossed the files haphazardly back in the drawer and closed it before following. His eyes darted to the hatch opening where mud and water swirled about. There wasn't a threat of spreading since it was now closed and secured, but he was even more eager for Monday to come and the henchmen to return. He hadn't planned on working in the lab till then anyway, but this wasn't exactly the ambiance he had wanted to show off with.
"Shego?" he asked as she continued up the stairs. He waited. "You can't be that mad."
"Oh, but I am," she said calmly as she opened the hidden door to the very thin spiral staircase that went alongside the elevator. "I was already annoyed by this information being withheld...but I'm practically flourishing with resentment at the filing."
"Ngn... I will fix it," he whined. "Shego? Shego. Where are we going?"
"Parking garage," was all she said as she walked up the staircase.
Drakken glared as she ignored him. He looked upwards at the small area surrounding them with its small stepping platforms to the floors above. He knew it would probably further annoy Shego, but her mood was already agitating him. He smirked as Flower moved upwards to the floor platform of the parking garage and smugly looked at Shego as he pulled himself up past her.
"Hey!" she jumped slightly. "What are you doing?"
"Taking the express," he said confidently as he stood on the platform above her.
"Is that what you do in here...goof off with Flower?" asked Shego. "We have a training gym you know."
"I do... Not that either of us go there," shrugged Drakken. "But this is more fun."
Shego rolled her eyes as he leaned against the doorframe waiting for her.
"Did you want a lift—"
"No," cut in Shego as she finished moving up the stairs. "I choose not to rely on powers when I can walk."
"I saw you heat up food once instead of using the microwave three feet away because you didn't want to get up," stated Drakken as she walked past him.
"Oh sure. That he notices, but not the very detailed book I made for him. For his stupid system," she snapped as she hit the lights.
"Generator only has emergency lights for this floor," said Drakken. Shego tossed the manual at him. "So why are we in here?"
"The weather system activation is in here," replied Shego as she lit her hand. "Probably on one of the side panels. Look for something with what looks like a storm cloud on it."
Drakken gestured around him in the dim light as Shego's glow faded. He rolled his eyes and grumbled as he began to squint along the walls for panels. There were several, including a breaker system, but he could barely see them let alone any symbol. He was halfway through a muttering of what he was going to say to Shego about ditching him in the dim lighting, none of which he would actually end up saying and get her more angry...when he saw something glowing. At first he thought it was Shego, but he could see her across the room through the various hover-vehicles lingering around he'd yet to fix. His eyes came across the one he'd used that day. A faint green glow seemed to be fading in and out from it.
"I don't have anything that glows," he said as he walked towards it.
He looked on the floor of the hover car to where something under the seat was in fact glowing green. His fingers nearly touched whatever it was when he was yanked back by his shirt hem.
"What are you doing?" came Shego's voice.
"Excuse you," glared Drakken as he swatted her hand away. "Something in the hover car is glowing and I wanted to know what— Oh."
Drakken's hand shot away from the seat and he stood back.
"Oh, what?" asked Shego. Her brow furrowed at him.
"I think one of Duff's stolen items must have fallen from his bag," explained Drakken. "Can you see it?"
He ignored Shego's glare, but she illuminated her hand and leaned over the side.
"It's a bracelet—"
"That's a relief," Drakken breathed. "That thing has an off switch. You can grab it."
Shego looked up at him.
"You want me to touch the cursed object now?" She rolled her eyes and opened the glove box. "Where are my gloves? There's only a rag in here."
"Haven't gotten around to moving those things around yet," Drakken stated as Shego grabbed an oil-stained rag. "I don't think it's unsafe—"
"Something from Cleopatra's hoard safe...really? You want to gamble with that suddenly?" asked Shego.
Drakken moved out of her way and remained silent as she retrieved it. He nearly slipped on something on the ground and looked around them. He could see shimmering like water, but the dim light above showed what looked like brown patches of mud. He looked at his other slipper which was mud-free and then tried to look at Shego's.
"Shego, did you wipe your feet after fiddling around with the hatch?" asked Drakken. "You're leaving a trail of mud."
"I didn't even get near that mud." She raised a brow at him. "You were the one traipsing around the lab while I took care of the situation."
"Well, there's mud everywhere..." Drakken trailed off as he looked at the faint glow of the bracelet. Shego was squinting at it. "What?"
"The carving looks a lot like what I saw at the spa..." Shego muttered. "How many times did you play with this today?"
"I played with it zero times. But it was messed with twice that I witnessed," shrugged Drakken.
Shego seemed overly fascinated by the bracelet, and Drakken rested his hand on the hover car and felt dampness. He took a step back and saw the side of the hover car had streaks of the damp mud along it. He leaned back over the side and reached in to feel that mud was dripped around it. He felt a wave of confusion as he tried to figure out how on earth it had gotten in the vehicle from at most their feet. There was something unsettling coming over him. He hadn't remembered the glowing before. He glanced to see Shego's eyes darting around them as if she was looking for something, but his focus fell back on the mud.
He saw Shego turn slightly, but what pulled his focus was the sound of her giving an audible gasp.
"Drakken," she said sharply, "we have company."
Drakken spun around in confusion, nearly slipping on the mud again as he did so. Drakken wasn't exactly sure what he was seeing at first. A large looming figure stood a few feet away from them. It looked to be made of mud and clay, with serpent-like tendrils along what Drakken assumed was its head. Green light pulsated like a heartbeat from its eyes and from what looked like a strange symbol along its chest. All of this was a blur as he was yanked away from where he stood by Shego.
"What is that?" hissed Shego as it lunged into the hover car where they had stood. "What did you do?"
"What did I do?" snapped Drakken. "Hey! I was around a bracelet... You played with mud today."
Drakken watched as the thing looked around and then to them. Its head tilted towards Shego, who still held the now glowing rag-covered bracelet in her hand. Shego seemed to have gathered the same conclusion Drakken was still putting together.
"It came here for this thing?" Shego groaned.
"So our days were connected in their failures?" asked Drakken.
"At least Mr. Mudface over there and your gaudy jewelry." Mud flew at them. "Whoa! Someone's got an attitude."
"There's something familiar about it," said Drakken calmly. He was shoved aside as mud flew at them again. "I don't think we should give it the— Oh that's helpful."
Shego had fired a blast back at it. Instead of doing any damage the green glowing grew brighter and Drakken swore the thing got bigger. The mud was thrown again, and this time where it hit hardened into a form of marble chunks. Drakken's thoughts at not giving it the bracelet continued and he grabbed it swiftly from Shego as he yelled and dove out of the way as more mud flew. Shego shot another blast.
This time it was clear that it did in fact grow.
"Stop blasting it!" yelled Drakken as one of the hover scooters was thrown, shattering into stone.
"I don't see you doing anything!" snapped Shego. "I think we know what opened that hatch. Give it the bracelet and maybe it will go."
"Or it will get bigger, who knows... If it's from those mud bits, who's to say it won't just turn us to marble with it," countered Drakken. They both dove as more mud flew and shattered behind them. "You're the one who insulted it."
Shego growled in frustration and Drakken focused on the mud creature. The symbol didn't match the image on the bracelet, but it looked like some text or marking. He squinted, but the glow of it and the dim light obscured it too much. Another scooter flew towards them and this time Flower smacked it out of the way then quickly retreated and shook violently. A few petals fell off and into marble pieces. Drakken felt a slightly dizzy feeling pass over him before Flower vanished out of sight completely.
"It wants the bracelet, right," said Shego, oblivious to the moment as she fired a blast at the exit door. "Then let's lead it out of here and give it the thing. Who cares what it does when it's not our problem."
"And if it comes back?" hissed Drakken as he was yanked into the hover car. Mud flew over his head and turned one of their spare hover cars to stone. "I suppose it's worth the risk."
"Glad you agree," Shego rolled her eyes and grabbed the bracelet. "Hey Mud Boy...come and get it."
"Shego, don't antagonize the monster— Gah!" Drakken yelled as Shego gunned it out the broken exit. "A little warning would you!"
"The warning was me throwing you in here," snapped Shego. "Think it will follow?"
Drakken looked as thick mud moved along the grass below them at a concerning speed.
"I'd say yes," he said and grimaced.
"What is that thing?" Shego asked and glared.
Drakken looked at the ground and then thought about the symbols.
"Closest I could think of is a golem." Drakken scratched his head. "Not my window of expertise but I did look into making one in the past with all my assistant issues... Especially after the robot and the eye incident."
"What's a Goallic?" Shego raised a brow.
"Golem. Shego. In mythology it's a creature made of mud and clay and brought to life by essentially alchemy or magic to do as its ordered by its creator...or so it's said... Though there are many stories of golems just doing as they please," said Drakken casually. "They're not of Greek mythology so the spa wouldn't make sense...and they're supposed to be solid."
"So what, the bracelet from across the ocean brought it to life?" Shego rolled her eyes at him. "That's insane."
"So are aliens and pirate ghost possessions...and super-powers from a comet," Drakken said calmly as he looked at Shego. "Are we going to start nitpicking logic now, because I feel we're batting zero."
"Uhg," Shego groaned. Drakken tried to think of alternatives to what was following beneath them, and then Shego continued. "The mud is imported from Prague if that's helpful."
Drakken opened his mouth.
"It's close to Austria," sighed Shego.
Drakken tried to recall what knowledge he had retained when he'd once read about the things, but he couldn't place that as a location of something near the legends. He watched it slither faster as they picked up speed over the edges of the cliffs.
"But they're supposed to be solid...I think...and what brought it to being? The bracelet doesn't make sense... Something would have to..." Drakken trailed off and looked at Shego and then down below. "Shego, did you shoot the mud or cliff at the spa?"
Shego raised a brow at him, and he saw her unease before she glared ahead.
"I'm taking that as a yes," muttered Drakken. Shego glared at him. "I am trying to problem solve!"
"You're trying to shove blame onto me," she snapped.
Drakken hadn't considered that until she mentioned it, but he nodded to himself. It would make it a lot easier to shift blame onto Shego, but her narrowed eyes made him push that thought away. There were more pressing matters, like the creature following them at alarming speeds.
"If it is a clay monster thing...how do we...get rid of it?" asked Shego.
"No idea," shrugged Drakken. Shego blinked at him. "I got bored with the idea and didn't finish reading about it... I didn't even think it was a real thing and the ingredients were just a migraine."
"What if we take it back to the spa?" suggested Shego. "Toss that thing in the pit and book it?"
"How far is the spa?" asked Drakken, as Shego turned sharply and flew across the land versus the cliff's edges. "I'm not sure about this."
"Not far if we go straight... Like fifteen or twenty tops," said Shego. "Unless you've got a better idea there, genius."
Drakken glared and then looked around them.
"It's really that close? Why did you leave so early?" asked Drakken.
"I don't typically fly straight... I like watching the beach for a little while," shrugged Shego. Drakken raised a brow and looked behind them.
"Like, at people?" he asked. A sudden discomfort swept through him at the idea of Shego ogling beach gorillas as a means of relaxation. "Oh. I see."
Shego looked at him and then back ahead and then back at him before rolling her eyes.
"The water you dingus," she scoffed. "I like watching the water."
"Oh!" Drakken smiled. "Good to know."
Drakken looked over the edge at the mud creature. It seemed to be getting larger and more solid as they moved closer to their destination. He wasn't sure they had the right idea, but it would have to do.
The sound of the wind was deafening as they reached the spa. The sudden reality hit Shego that when they had left the lair there had been no wind at all till now. She knew there was probably a connection, but she was too tired and on edge to dwell on it.
"Hey, the wind's back," said Drakken as they moved inland. "Wonder if that has anything to do with this?"
Shego took a deep breath knowing full well Drakken would dwell on it and not focus on the plan—which in reality, was more blind hope then a plan. She was okay with ditching the thing at the spa and hauling it out of there for someone else to deal with. She didn't like the guarantee that it wouldn't come busting into their lair later, but it was something.
They landed the hover car and sprinted, Shego in the lead as she knew where they were going. The sound of the creature following sounded like sludge stuck in a pipe, but she didn't look as she ran up the pathway of the empty spa.
She nearly screamed as the flowers all sprung away from them to clear the path they were running, and by the sound of breaking and rustling, were slowing down the creature behind them.
"Well one mystery solved," snickered Shego as rocks and brush continued to be pulled away from them. "Your flowers sure are invasive."
"Well it was the point of their design," stated Drakken behind her. "Why didn't you tell me they were here too?"
"They're not exactly active without you—" She remembered the brushing of her leg before she'd returned back that evening. "—I think."
"The ones at Killigan's are— Oh this is nice," said Drakken as they made it through the archways to the mud bath area. "Very convenient our giant muddy friend broke the doors down for us."
"Convenient. Sure. That's what that thing is," Shego said, shaking her head.
She looked around. There was a faint multi-colored glow coming from the now empty mud baths. The light reminded her, and she looked upward on the carved cliff and searched for where the face of light had appeared that day, but there was nothing lit. Drakken had moved towards the pit and paused.
"Shego, what is this?" he asked.
She glanced towards the light. Broken earth had left cracks in the soil around and between the pits, most likely from the shifting caused by the bracelet earlier. There were clear or white crystal forms inside them, some giving off faint lights, but none more than what she had witnessed earlier. The uncomfortable feeling came pushing back on Shego, but something else didn't sit right. The luminosity of them seemed off for a simple gemstone and the glowing didn't help. The time for processing this ended as the shaking stomps of their big problem finally made it through the flower vines attacking it.
It looked more solid and less sludgy.
"Yes. Now that's what I imagined a golem to look like," smiled Drakken. "So what's your plan then...just...toss it and hope for the best?"
"Hey! I didn't hear you coming up with anything?" Shego snapped.
"I wasn't patronizing. I was asking, since it's blocking our exit," Drakken hastily replied.
Shego looked around them and then at the pillars and canopies. An idea struck her. Whether it would work or not she had no idea, but it was a good way to clear the exit at least if the mud wasn't from there and the bracelet was just an accidental assist. She moved back away from the pits.
"Hey ugly." She snatched the bracelet from Drakken. "Want the pretty?"
"Shego, we just talked about antagonizing it," whined Drakken. "What are you doing?"
"Winging it." She shoved him aside. "Turn the head to turn it on."
"I think so—what are you doing?" Drakken looked panicked but Shego had to focus.
Mud flew at her and she leapt over the pits to get to the path she needed. Drakken had moved out of the way without further instruction, falling into the old routine of letting her handle it. She smirked at this, glad he wasn't keen on playing hero and getting in her way. She watched as mud flung and the bushes near one of the pathways became solid stone. She cringed as another dollop barely missed her. The golem moved over the pits like it was nothing. Shego concentrated her glow and fired, risking it getting bigger if it meant it would lose its footing. More mud flew and it in fact increased in size, the bracelet nearly falling out of the rag it was in. She glanced at Drakken.
"Drakken. Catch!" she yelled and threw the bracelet.
He caught it and nearly dropped it, but it was secure. The golem turned towards where Drakken stood now near the exit. When it turned towards him she hit it again, causing the size-increasing behemoth to slip into the pit.
"Turn it on now!" yelled Shego.
Drakken seemed to understand with no real thought as she saw him fiddle with the bracelet. The ground shook, making it hard for the golem to climb out, which was what Shego wanted. She watched the green glow from the cliff shift in front of her to form that of the same Gorgon-like depiction on the bracelet. She felt something touch her foot.
"Shego! Move!" yelled Drakken, and her fascination with the cliff fell away at his voice.
She wasn't sure what she was seeing in the emptied pits. They were scaled, talon-like appendages, groping through the pit, the culprit of the bruise still on her ankle no longer hidden by mud. She watched as the golem struggled even more to move as she dodged the tendrils. The rocks began to fall, and the green light began to glow brighter. Shego moved quickly and closer to the struggling golem. If what Junior and Bonnie had accounted earlier was true, she needed that green light to follow her or at least hit the target.
"Drakken, move," she ordered as she moved closer and closer to the golem, the lights growing brighter, searching for life no doubt.
"Shego, what are you doing?" hissed Drakken. There was a pause. "Shego...the rag's turning to stone."
Shego's eyes shot open as she saw Drakken hold it farther away from him. Her mistake in doing this resulted in one of the tendrils wrapping around the golem to latch onto her leg again. She readied a blast when she saw the green light from the cliff headed her way. It had found its source of life. She dove as best she could before firing the intended blast of her own for whatever the scaled thing was to release her. The golem's frame illuminated with the green and its brown clay turned white as another glow from the cliff began...and stopped as quickly as it started. The tendril vanished and she let out a sigh of relief.
"Nice timing," smirked Shego as she stood up. "I think it worked."
Shego turned around to see Drakken no longer standing where she'd seen him. The stone rag sat on the ground with the bracelet no longer glowing atop it. Her eyes darted around to look where he had gone. She felt a surge of panic as she wondered if she'd missed something with the green light in her hasty plan. It felt like her throat was closing up as she spun wildly to look around her.
"Drakken!" she yelled.
"Shego, I'm right here," was his startling response that came from next to the golem. "Fascinating! Nice plan— Ow!"
She removed her hand from where she'd slapped his arm before grabbing his wrist.
"Don't just not respond when I'm talking to you," she growled as she pulled him with her and grabbed the bracelet. "Come on, let's get out of here."
"Aren't you curious about what all this was?" asked Drakken as he gestured up towards the cliff. "That looked like a Gorgon...and those scaled—"
She cut him off.
"No I'm not," she stated. "I am curious about if I will be able to get any sleep at all tonight and how to get this thing back where it belongs."
"Technically it's almost morning, so if you meant sleep today..." Drakken trailed off as she stopped to glare at him. "I see... Well it's less than a forty-five minute flight to drop that bracelet off. I could do that in the morning."
"Oh no. It's getting done tonight," said Shego. Drakken opened his mouth. "Today."
"If you're mad because I touched it, you threw it at me," he declared.
Shego rolled her eyes as they made it back to the hover car, her misplaced anger from her momentary panic starting to fade as they climbed in. She crossed her arms after shoving the bracelet in the glovebox and glared at Drakken. His brow was furrowed in clear annoyance at completely misunderstanding her own annoyance. As they began to lift off, she watched the remainder of Drakken's flowers return to their spots along the spa borders and sighed. She heard Drakken grumbling about her being moody and how she'd thrown the bracelet at him among a series of nonsense words. She rolled her eyes again and unfolded her arms to grab his hand. His grumbling stopped and she smirked at the confusion across his face, but he squeezed her hand back as they headed towards Egypt.
Drakken could not remember a time he had done so much flying in one day. He saw the sun rising as they landed on the patio rather than bothering to park the hover car, exhaustion finally returning as what little sleep they'd had had only given him minor energy. Shego had hopped out before he could put the vehicle in park, and he had already made the choice to collapse on the couch before walking into the living area of the lair. Shego had clearly decided the same as she'd flopped across it. He flopped in the armchair and debated on continuing upstairs or risking his back and remaining there.
"What are you doing?" came the tired voice of Shego.
"Debating if this is more comfortable than a bed filled with chips and popcorn," he said through a yawn.
"What? Is the couch not an option?" Shego yawned in reply. "Stop that. You had me yawning all over Cairo."
"We didn't even go over Cairo," said Drakken. He watched Shego make a vague gesture.
"There was sand...there was a pyramid...death pit... Whatever," she grumbled. "I hate those jackals."
"I warned you," muttered Drakken as he stood up and looked at the couch.
"Why was she in a pit again?" asked Shego, looking at him. "Why are you standing there?"
Drakken shrugged and wondered how she expected him to lay down on the suggested couch when she made no effort to move. He sat down near her feet which earned him an eye-roll.
"Why can't you just..." she trailed off with a loud sigh. "Will you just lay down, you dork?"
Drakken felt like snapping that he didn't know what she wanted him to do with her vague suggestion, but he stopped himself and instead shoved her over.
"Fine," was his only response.
He was about to cross his arms when hers snuck around him and she made the choice to use him as a makeshift pillow. It took far longer for Drakken to realize that this had been her suggestion all along than he thought it should have. The small amount of annoyance he'd felt vanished as he settled more into a comfortable lying position and moved his arms around her. He shifted a few times until they were both on their sides and she found her head nestled under his chin. He was beginning to drift off when she spoke.
"You know what would make this better?" Her voice was a tired muffle, but he could hear the amusement in it.
"What?" he asked without opening his eyes.
"If I could see Hank." She tugged at his collar.
Drakken sighed though he was amused at her antics.
"See, this is why we need a pillow wall— Ow! Don't pinch me."
"You know you can sleep with your shirt off."
"I'm putting the pillows back up— Ow."
"Dork."
It was the only response she gave before Drakken drifted off to sleep, both completely unaware that the sound of one of Shego's alarms would shortly pull them from their comfortable sleep.
Let's Get Back to Normal, Shall We?