A/N: Most of this prompt is also a credit to split-n-splice's genius.

19. Lights

January 1, 2006

He shouldn't have thought about it. He had jinxed it, or willed it, just by worrying it was a possibility. But as he sat on a train wearing old faded blue jeans, a t-shirt, and a sport coat from a past generation, it was all he could think about.

Kim Possible had in fact come to the lair, suspecting something more was up. She had left it in ruins, having blown it up as she did all of his lairs, leaving he and Shego and the henchmen to flee for their lives. But even as he did that, all he could think of was that his plan was ruined. Everything he had been planning all month, even putting off its execution to perfect it... It was all over now.

Shego had tried to encourage him. She was seated next to him on the train, attired similarly in jeans and a suede coat. Their current clothes had been stashed in the hover-car for emergencies, but the henchmen hadn't been so lucky. She glanced back over her shoulder to where the entire cadre sat on the train with them, their uniforms scorched and torn from the explosion. When the train stopped, they would try to get them some actual clothes; it was freezing on the way to the time-share lair that time of year, and they were obviously miserable.

She glanced up at Drakken's face and found him frowning, clearly deep in thought as he watched the lights passing by rapidly outside the window. She knew he was brooding over the ruin of his plan, but how deep and dark his thoughts would go, there was no telling.

It had been a great plan. And it had been so close to execution, that the defeat was especially frustrating. She expected they would just try again at another lair, but the way Drakken was looking right then she wasn't sure. She found herself wanting to cheer him, and the thought surprised her. She also realized in that moment she had been staring at him for far too long, but...he hadn't noticed.

His head drooped as he suddenly began to doze off, and then he startled awake. The dark expression didn't leave his face, but he did shift over and lean his head against the window glass in apparent readiness to sleep, but still he stared out at the lights rushing past.

He was wearing glasses, as his contact lenses had dried up and hurt his eyes, he'd explained, after too many days without being able to change them as they'd all fled to evade capture. The act of leaning his face on the window had knocked the glasses slightly askew, but he either didn't notice or didn't care. Shego felt a corner of her mouth twitch upward despite how forlorn he looked, amused at how dorky he seemed in that moment. He appeared a strange version of himself in the old worn-out clothes—like an old, tired professor perhaps, who was trying to recapture or cling to his youth with the rebel hairstyle, but not really fooling anyone.

Shego's smirk faded. He didn't look his usual vibrant self. He looked defeated as he let his eyes close, but the tension in his face showed he was clearly still awake and mulling over the failure. She thought again about trying to encourage him, but knew there was nothing she could say to truly help in the situation. It wasn't often that his spark went out, but when it did it was good and snuffed. She would just have to wait until he came out of the brooding, depressive state on his own.

She realized she was still staring at him. Lights were reflecting off the lenses of his glasses, and she glanced out the window into the dark as the electric blaze of city life appeared to zip by for the train's rapid movement. Usually at this point, she would feel unsettled for the direction her thoughts were going. But she felt a strange calm as she looked at the golden glow that turned into a blur outside the window, and then back to Drakken's tired, tormented expression.

He was the light of her life.

She moved nearer to him, though not close enough to cuddle. She could hear his voice in her head tallying already, 'blame two on booze, two on...what?' But her intent in that moment was something far bolder, and she shut out any thoughts that might argue before she lost her nerve.

She set a hand on his shoulder, which caused the corner of his mouth to twitch. He was still awake. She took a deep breath and leaned upward, and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. Despite the tingling of nerves that raced over her skin, something felt so right about the gesture, even as he spun to look at her so fast that she had to almost fall back to avoid being smacked in the face.

He was staring at her in disbelief, too many thoughts racing across his eyes for her to choose one to respond to. She could have chosen something safe like teasing him, or bemoaning their defeat, or even forcing an escalation of what she'd initiated without letting him express anything at all. But she did none of that, and simply waited.

Finally, after what seemed an interminable amount of time, he released the breath he'd been holding.

"Shego..."

She straightened from where she'd leaned away, and he mirrored the gesture. His glasses had fallen off, but he still stared at her wide-eyed, their faces mere inches apart.

"I think..." she began slowly, "you had the right idea. Get some sleep... And when we get to the new lair in a few days, we can start over."

She knew he'd heard her, but he was still staring into her eyes past her words and searching for the very thing she was still trying to understand herself. He lifted a hand toward her face, but then hesitated.

A scoff caught both of their attention, and they looked back behind their seat to see every last one of the henchmen crowding in the aisle to ogle and watch the scene unfold.

"Oh, just kiss!" one of them said, and hums of agreement and annoyance followed from the rest of the unruly lot.

They looked back at each other, and Shego couldn't help but smirk for the ridiculousness of the situation. Drakken licked his lips nervously, his hand still hovering in the space between them. He was looking at her in awe, his eyes questioning if what she knew now he was hoping for too was actually possible. Her smirk grew into an unbridled smile of joy as she watched understanding, relief, and happiness overtake his visage.

When his fingers slid under her jaw it was like electricity that she wanted to feel forever. And then finally, resolutely, their lips met in a gentle, longing kiss.