Late Night Callings

The door closed with a heavy thud followed by the click of the lock. Drakken let out a deep sigh from finally escaping to his room and away from the now energized conference. He rolled his eyes as he tossed off his lab coat and flopped on his bed to let out the remaining groan of exhaustion. A part of him had assumed most of the scientists that had been under control would have left the conference and felt traumatized and violated... which had not been the case. Not only was the armor the talk of the whole place now, but some had found the event exciting. One women had even declared:

"It's about time this thing gets back some energy!"

This concerned Drakken, but not enough to have not indulged in praise and boasting. It had only started to weight on Drakken when the questions became repetitive and started cutting into his speech, which was now he and James' getting a feature on Thursday and most of today's now canceled activities... stock piled onto Wednesday.

After the fifth inquiry about its color and himself... Drakken had planned an escape. Only executed because more scientists who had flown in for tomorrow's speeches had arrived and it was enough of a window to slip away. Luckily that had arrived a day early due to an oncoming storm.

Very lucky considering if they'd been there a few hours earlier.

He felt drained and overstimulated from all the chatter and different faces that had been around him. At some point he'd even started to wonder if this had all been a show, that they were waiting for him to slip and say the wrong thing. He glared as he sat up and scratched his head. While he'd dismissed it, his paranoia that things were still going to well, was eating at him.

I have to co-present with Possible... and the conference was under mind control... maybe it will balance?

The thought was some relief and he looked around his quite empty room for his eyes to fall on his phone. Still laying on the small table where he'd left it. He got up to grab it, wondering if Shego was still off gallivanting with the other's as a sudden excitement boiled through him that he could rave about hose his armor was successful in actual practice.

His brow rose as he saw he had no less then ten missed calls from Shego scattered over the last two hours. As well as several alarms that had gone to silent without him answering. He checked that her location was still at the resort she'd stated she was staying at before returning the call.

Shego messaged her calf where a small rash had been left, the pain had nearly gone. Only lingering tightness remained which due to the storm Junior had booked them all at the spa for tomorrow. She was grateful to know that any remaining tense would be erased come morning, but her eyes narrowed in annoyance as she looked at her phone. Drakken hadn't returned any call or responded to any of her copious alarms and it was moving from the calm she'd had the first five calls and going back to anger by the minute. She grabbed the phone and took a deep breath, trying to keep an even tone. Before she could hit the call button the phone rang and her eyes narrowed further as she hit the answer.

"Shego! It seems I missed a few calls. You would not believe-"

She cut him off.

"I got stung by a jellyfish," she stated flatly.

"the day..." he trailed off and silence was all that hung on the line.

She listened carefully to Drakken's end. She could hear shaky breaths that made her brow raise.

"Y-you did?" his voice shook as he whispered, "Really?"

"Yes."

She heard him take a shaking inhale of breath and for a moment wondered if it was out of fear until she the deep sniff through his nose.

"Are you laughing?" she snapped.

"N-No," his voice shook back. She waited a few more seconds, "I'm not trying too."

"Oh, you find it funny-"

"Protonia put the entire conference under mind control," he hurriedly cut her off.

Shego opened her mouth to respond, but her words fell silent. Her curiosity and wanting justification for ignoring her calling winning out over her agitation.

"Fine, but we're circling back to the jellyfish," she stated firmly.

"I would expect nothing less," said Drakken.

Drakken listened to Shego describe the dark lab she'd visited on an island in deep thought. It was unsettling from her description but he'd be lying if he wasn't curious in paying it a visit... if not for some sort of mutant monster living there of coarse. He knew Shego was only telling what she knew he'd find interesting and keep him focused before she brought up the jellyfish again, but he mentally tried to picture what she had described if only to decide if this was some sort of villainous fail or not.

"So was it a bunker or a lair?" asked Drakken.

"We never went passed the lab, but I'm leaning more towards a bunker. It didn't read villain motif, more conspiracy theory feeder," was Shego response, "Whatever is living down there isn't friendly."

"But if it was the same thing that chased and sabotaged your boat... then there's another entrance point- it sounds rather calculated."

As Drakken said it he felt a wave of discomfort filter through him.

"Your certain it didn't follow you all back?" inquired Drakken.

He looked out the rain covered window mentally debating the time duration it would take him to travel to Croatia in a possibly dangerous storm.

Of coarse I wouldn't take the windshield attachment.

"Pfft, I blasted that thing and Adrena shot it... if whatever it was didn't croak, its back licking its wounds on the island no doubt," sighed Shego, "You know what did cause problems when we got back?"

Drakken cringed and looked around frantically at the clock.

"Gah! Shego I have to get some sleep-"

"Oh no you don't," Shego snapped, "We are in the same time zone, you have plenty of time, nice try."

"My day was exhausting-"

"Yes, I'm sure it was... but I'm not dropping you willing a jellyfish to sting me," Shego made an annoyed tsk noise, "Technically you're at fault for the jellyfish."

Drakken sputtered and glared at the phone.

"I am not!" he began to argue, "I may have suggested it, but I didn't create some sort of jellyfish controlling amp to make it sting you."

"The fact you know it would require an amp right off the bat makes me more than slightly suspicious," Shego muttered.

"I didn't make an amp!" yelled Drakken, "I simply am a victim of ironic dialogue... brought on by your un-amusing teasing."

"Not a word," whispered Shego and Drakken thought over his sentence while she continued, "I thought..."

Her words ended before she let out a frustrated sigh.

"Fine... I'll let the jellyfish go," he heard her mutter.

Drakken smirked.

"No you wont," he said firmly.

"...for tonight I will," he fought a snort of laughter at her response.

"May I remind you, I get the joys of presenting with James Possible," Drakken growled and rolled his eyes.

"Drakken?" he couldn't place her tone. The continuation of her words took longer than normal, "About what was said this morning..."

Drakken waited for the rest of the sentence and double checked the call hadn't ended.

"... did you change your speech again?" her tone has shifted to a scoff that felt out of place.

Drakken rolled his eyes.

"No I did not... again," said Drakken. He looked outside again before, "Does your weather look as bad as mine?"

He heard her move and then sigh.

"Can you still see anything? I can barely see the lights on the deck outside," stated Shego.

"I'm assuming the same," said Drakken.

He thought about the hovercar again but shoved the thought aside. Shego hadn't exactly seemed concerned nor had she invited him in any way to come to where she was.

"Ohm," he listened to Shego's voice drop and raised a brow, "Clearly with the storm going on no ones traveling... everyone already there?"

"I believe so... save for those coming Wednesday," Drakken glared at the clock, mentally deciding to take a shower in the morning as he finished kicking off his boots.

"Right. Speaking of Wednesday-" he cut her off accidentally.

"Yeah that's just ridiculous. Instead of doubling up tomorrow, there doing with Wednesday... for people to acclimate from any trauma," Drakken snorted, "Trauma. Where? I have never seen a more unaffected group of people. I've seen more dramatics and reactions at a breakfast buffet when they run out of sausage for five seconds."

"That's because you are dramatic," said Shego sharply.

"I was talking about you Shego... My reaction was at the lack of waffle toppings... you set fire to the eggs," Drakken countered.

"They were cold... and no one ever brought that sausage," Drakken chuckled at her the annoyance in her voice at the memory.

"Well we got kicked out before they could," he reminded her.

He heard her sigh.

"So you're busy on Wednesday," he heard shuffling of fabric as she clearly crawled into bed, "No down time at all?"

"Not really... well there is a few hours," Drakken tried to remember when they were, "I have a speech from eight to ten and then another from noon to two... then there's the demonstration at three... then I have some time to relax. But I have to be up on Thursday by four..."

He trailed off by the lack of interruptions as he remembered DNAmy telling him about Junior's big party.

Does she want me to come?

"Were you asking for any particular reason?" asked Drakken hopefully.

"Just curious," said Shego, "Deciding how many alarms I need to set."

The rest of the conversation was brief as he himself also got ready for bed, making sure to set the alarm for much earlier then needed. It was sometime after hanging up with Shego that Drakken lay in bed looking up at the ceiling where the tiny security light outside of his window showed a faint hint of rain across the window on his ceiling. He went over his speech but mostly focused on how he and James would be able to function on presenting. Logically he knew they should go over it or at least have discussed it, but he wasn't keen on spending excess time around the man.

As he pinpointed key notes and timing that would work with showing how the armor worked in contrast, his mind shifted to his conversation with Shego. Her inquiry about Wednesday seemed like she had been fishing for something... an invitation window he hoped. If he called and asked her would he be putting his foot in his mouth and assuming her motives. Drakken glared at a specific trailing drop's shadow on his ceiling.

She didn't invite me.

He briefly considered she was on the fence about him being around her friends. Apart from very brief parties he'd never really said much to the people she was with. A thought flew through his head of how embarrassed she might be if he did show up without an invite. He shook it from his head and turned on his side to get sleep. This only lasted another few breaths before he replayed Shego's tone change at her question about his changing his speech. He knew that had not been the question about this mornings conversation, but he began rambling through which part she'd actually intended on inquiring about.

The only indication he could narrowed down was when she'd decided to drop the jellyfish argument she'd been gearing towards... and about him not finding her teasing amusing. The sound of her voice in that unreadable whispered tone came back to mind.

"Who said I was dressed this entire time."

He felt the heat rise in his face and the teasing about what he was wearing seemed less straight forward. He chewed on his lip trying to figure out if she had been teasing him in her normal Shego taunting way of if he'd missed something in his haste to dismiss it. He knew he had some small deciphering issues in what he'd become accustom to over the years versus the transition he knew they were both still making in their current dynamic.

If she wasn't teasing to be mean-

"Oh..."

He felt his stomach swirl and his body tense at the idea he'd missed a very vital indication of a boundary step. He found his hand reaching for his phone before he stopped himself and bit his hand in frustrated thought. His mind spinning with what he would even say or ask. He let out a deep sigh as he concluded he would worry about this when she called him tomorrow afternoon.

What if my reaction-

He shook his head and focused on clearing his thoughts for sleep.

It did not come as an easy task.

Shego stretched her legs in the warm steamy water as she relaxed. She'd already reached the point prior what with the messages, the facials, and the calming rainy day, but the bath was the final step she'd needed. The smell of mint and lavender swirled around her and she almost didn't want to move when she'd heard her phone go off near her. She idly reached for it without opening her eyes.

"Hello?" she asked, hoping it was who she thought it was.

"How was your spa day?" was Drakken's reply.

"Delightful," she smiled contently, "Conference?"

"Possible crashed into the crowd," snickered Drakken. Shego's smile widened

"Someone flip a switch or was it just a lucky moment?" asked Shego. Drakken's low laugh made Shego sit up a little more.

Maybe a little too relaxed.

"I accidentally miss-instructed which button to push," sighed Drakken, "Clearly his cocky behavior muddled my speech is all."

"Mmhmm, I'm so sure," Shego moved the water with her hand, "Looks like we both made use of a rainy day."

"It's still early, no dinner plans with your friends?" asked Drakken."

"Nope. Just some room service and a nice relaxing bath," sighed Shego, pulling her hand from the water to listen to it drip.

"Room service is my plan as well," he fell silent, "A bath you say?"

"Mmhmm," she hummed, "Nice, calming, soothing, and steamy."

Drakken remained silent on the other end as she let out a content sigh. Her eyes shot open as she suddenly realized she was unintentionally heading into crossing that boundary she had the previous day.

"I ohm," Drakken sputtered, "So how's your leg?"

Shego felt relieved he hadn't read into her words.

"Still a little soar but it was only," she smirked, "Mild."

"Yes, that's good," he trailed off as if distracted, "So... what kind of bath?"

Shego's shoulder's slumped and she rolled her eyes.

"Lavender and mint," she stirred the subject again, "Anyone besides Possible get on your nerves?"

"Considering half the people here we've stolen from... surprisingly none seemed hostile- Oh well Bortel seemed a little sour-faced... unblamingly so," he cleared his throat, "H-How long are you going to be in the bath-"

"I'll call you back," said Shego before ending the call, "He is so unbelievably dramatic sometimes."

Shego was more than a little annoyed to end her relaxing bath, and had half a mind to just call him back later instead. Despite this thought she's drained the tub and put on a robe before calling him back. She flopped on the bed and sighed as his voice came on the line.

"You hung up on me," it was a whine.

"Clearly me relaxing in a tub was bothering you," she rolled her eyes, "So happy now. I put on a robe and am no where near the bathroom."

"I didn't say it bothered me," he sputtered, "I was inquiring on your leisure activity."

Shego raised a brow before continuing to talk.

"Yeah, well, now my leisure activity is lounging and about to listen to you tell me any drama or judging," said Shego.

"Hmm, well apparently lab coats are required here or something... it's a science convention... no need to wear one to inform other," Drakken responded. Shego smirked.

"Aren't you wearing a lab coat?" she teased.

"Nghn... well at the moment I am in my pajamas, but yes I was," Drakken's voice shifted slightly in tone, "So, this robe your wearing?"

"It's a little scratchy for an upscale resort," Shego picked at the fabric, "The thing doesn't even tie right... Not impressed."

"How does it tie?" asked Drakken.

"Well normally you can tie it on the side, but thing has them attached so you have to tie it through a loop... to be blunt about it. I wouldn't be able to do much movement with this thing and trust it," she smirked. It fell away as she bit her lips in fear she'd said something off-putting, "Ohm... so this person at the spa today..."

She trailed off trying to come up with a convincing lie... she'd purposely avoided being around anyone today.

"Surprised the robe isn't better quality... is it over-sized?" Drakken hummed.

Shego shrugged and looked at it wondering why Drakken was inquiring so much about it.

"Not really, kind of small actually... if you want me to steal you one, I'm pretty sure you have better quality than this," snorted Shego, "Even my cheaper robe is better than this."

"So its... ohm," she heard him clear his throat, "Snug?"

"I guess... maybe its why the tie is looped," Shego shrugged. She was about to ask about the conference when he continued.

"What color is the robe?" his tone was slow and thoughtful.

She felt slightly confused at why he was putting thought into a question about a robe. She knew they had plenty of other topics to discuss or chat about. The idea he was unable to find one other than her robe was odd.

"It's white," she stated, "Generic boring robe."

"I don't think it sound's boring," his tone made her curious, "After-all... you're in it."

Shego sat up in bed and felt her cheeks grow hot. Her jaw opened and closed as she processed what exactly she thought was happening. Her mind racing in different directions all at once, something she wasn't overly familiar with... but Drakken had a habit of causing from time to time. Case in point. This. She swallowed hard and calmed herself down, assuming it was all an innocent mistake.

"It's ohm... one of those shorter ones, too." she tested the waters.

"Really?" he was speaking slowly, as if unsure he was able to touch this topic, "And that's all you're wearing?"

Any fear that the other day she'd crossed a line fell away, and she knew there was no teasing in his voice. Her mind raced back and forth wanting to pull away from the seriousness with a joke or remark. Several witty quarks about asking if he was attempting to engage in some sort of seduction and poke fun at it, was mentally slapped away. She bit her lips worried that despite her choice to not say something snarky, it would come out.

"I wouldn't really consider it being worn," she spoke slowly, watching her words, "More just draped."

She felt the nerves fall away as the back and forth continued well into obscene hours. She wasn't sure about Drakken, but she knew her dreams that followed were both restless and content all at once.

And that's what we call... Growth.