14. Silent
December, 2005
It was pitch black as they stood outside watching the snow fall, the flakes only illuminated a few feet in front of them by the amber glow from the open doorway. It was also impossibly silent, except for the single soft crunch of the dry snow as Shego took a step nearer to his side.
Drakken should have been freezing. But the heat of his desperate love burned so strong within him it was warming him from head to toe. Then, it was a jolt like a flame—and he wasn't sure he hadn't been burned—when he felt Shego's fingertips against his own, her hand hesitantly coming to rest in his.
Her hand was warm, and he felt what had been a nervous flutter of his heart turn into an aching thud in his chest. He took a slow breath of the dry, icy air in hopes of stopping the tears that were threatening to bring heat to his eyes. But it was difficult to maintain control as he felt her hand holding his more securely. And then—another pair of muted crunching sounds below as she turned to face him.
Drakken could barely see her silhouette in the dark, snowflakes standing out like stars where they peppered her raven hair. He couldn't see her eyes, but knew she was watching his face.
He was trying to think of an excuse to go back inside before his emotions completely ran away with him. It was too cold... That would be a perfect excuse. But before he could gather the courage to break the silence and accept another defeat in this battle—eminently more difficult than trying to take over the world—Shego found her courage first.
His soft cry of surprise and desperate relief when her lips touched his was the only sound across the frozen landscape. For a moment he was sure he was in a dream, as Shego reciprocating his feelings couldn't possibly be reality. But as her soft lips moved against his he was rapidly lost in the heat between them, and his heart began to feel the first hints of relief.
A few more shuffled steps through the snow and he had her backed into the stone wall, his fingers digging into the flesh of her waist with need and hers raking across his scalp, shoulders, and lower. When her fingers found their way to slip beneath his shirt and run up his back he mirrored the action, except his fingers were moving up under the front of her shirt. And all the while she kissed him with a greater desire that caused his heart to burn.
Drakken's eyes shot open into a familiar darkness. His anxious heartbeat was the only sound in his silent bedroom as the powerful feelings from the dream had eclipsed his need for sleep. A stirring of inappropriate emotions tugged at his mind and demanded he slip back into the intoxicating fantasy, but the pull of reality was stronger.
He shouldn't, couldn't indulge in such thoughts. Shego would never love him. And wanting her only hurt him more.
He repeated it over and over again in his mind, drilling the cold truth home in an effort to destroy his feelings. And in the protection of the dark, he finally let the hot tears slip from his eyes as he silently cried.