A/N: This story started out with no plan at all. I just decided...I wanted to write prompts. Both to force myself to write again and to prove to myself that I still could. It feels a bit like a swansong at the moment, as so many things in my life have changed recently. But I'm sure once things fall back into place I'll be happily writing Drakgo (and my other fandoms some of y'all watch me for) again.
So I wrote the first prompt, and then as some of you may remember, I wanted to enter this into a contest which meant...it needed to be one continuing story rather than have the freedom of randomness as I'd intended. That increased the challenge of this tale immensely, and there were days that I had absolutely no inspiration whatsoever and felt it would never be finished. So the fact that I did finish it makes the story mean even more to me.
Acknowledgement again to downwithwritersblock on Tumblr, from whence the prompts came. They have wonderful lists every month, go check them out if you want some ideas for yourself!
A very special thanks goes to split-n-splice without whom this story couldn't have happened. Every time I was stuck, I just tossed a prompt at her and she'd come up with two or three lines of utter brilliance that frankly were mini-fics in and of themselves, which she allowed me to then flesh out into chapters. Many more of these chapters than are noted exist solely due to her inspiration. Go read her stunning fics after you finish this. Thank you, my friend!
And thanks to everyone who has read this story! I would love to hear any thoughts anyone has in a comment or review. And so without further preamble, please enjoy the epilogue to Drakgo in December!...
31. Rewind
December, 2007
"Nyegh! Puddles!" Drakken complained, lunging for the small poodle as it raced away with a roll of ribbons in its mouth. The dog had been dyed a respectable lavender this time when Drakken's mother sent it over for a visit that could be mistaken for gray if one wasn't looking closely enough.
The dog bounded up to the sofa, wagging its tail, but Shego reached down and plucked the roll of ribbon away from the unsuspecting pooch and tossed it back to Drakken. The dog was unperturbed and launched itself into the bag of tissue paper, throwing the colorful pieces everywhere.
Drakken scowled and Shego merely laughed.
"Don't know why you keep agreeing to let your mother send him over when things like this happen every time," she said as she went back to her own task of expertly curling ribbons as Drakken passed her newly wrapped and tagged packages.
One of their favorite television shows was playing quietly as background noise, the soft voice of the artist onscreen as he painted 'happy trees' enhancing the peace of the atmosphere as they prepped for the upcoming holiday. Shego finished the current package and reached for the glass of amber liquid in Drakken's left hand as he set another gift down on the sofa with his right.
"Ah-ah," he scolded lightly, "none for you."
Shego rolled her eyes and set to working on the ribbons on the next package, letting the voice on the television distract from the constant rummaging of the dog in things it shouldn't get into. But when she finished with the next round of ribbon-curling and had stuck on the bow, she suddenly realized...Drakken wasn't in the room anymore.
She looked around and was about to call for him when he suddenly appeared in the doorway. Commodore Puddles raced to greet him, almost causing him to stumble as he ran under his feet, but Drakken made it to the sofa without incident. It was an exchange of knowing smiles as Drakken handed her the cup of steaming hot cocoa with the candy cane stuck in the whipped cream at the top, and Shego curled into the corner of the couch to watch Drakken as she sipped the drink. But no sooner had he gotten seated on the floor to wrap another gift than the phone rang.
Shego glanced at the caller ID and then gave Drakken a look that was a mixture between a smirk and a grimace.
"Mother?" he asked without needing to, and then he groaned slightly before plastering on a fake smile and stumbling upright to the phone. "H-Hello...? Why Mother, it's so lovely to hear your voice!"
Shego sipped from her cocoa again as she smirked at Drakken's predicament, knowing he'd probably be on the phone a good long while. He leaned against the arm of the sofa and idly played with the gift she'd given him the week before Christmas, per his family tradition. This year it was an ironic snow-globe that had an actual globe inside. It was a little fancier than most snow-globes, with fluffy clouds that circled the Earth in addition to the fake snowflakes that fell. She thought it was very fitting, considering their plan for world domination that finally, after over a year of rebuilding, they would soon enact.
"Yes...yes we are spending more time indoors, due to the weather... Mother!" Drakken exclaimed suddenly, almost dropping the snow-globe. His brow furrowed and he glanced nervously at Shego before turning away and lowering his voice. "N-No! The cold weather hasn't done anything to affect my... Mother, how could you ask— Mother, stop!"
Shego snorted and nearly got hot cocoa up her nose, discerning the conversation. Mama Lipsky had been hinting about wanting grandchildren since long before she and Drakken had been married, and even a few times before they were a couple. She did not envy Drakken that phone conversation, and if he dared try to put her on she would claim that Puddles needed to go out.
She set her hot cocoa down and picked up one of the photo albums from the end table next to the snow-globe. She glanced over to the Christmas tree where the framed photos Drakken had given her now hung as ornaments: the shared smile at the evil family picnic, their first kiss on the train, and the moment when Drakken popped the question a year after. A montage of moments from the latter event completed the first album.
They had a second album now, with a year's worth of happiness in its pages, but that wasn't the one she had picked up. It was a new one—their gift that year to Drakken's mother—with safe photos that had no evil or villainous implications whatsoever so that she could still share in their lives without risk to them, as well as keep up the tradition from Drakken's childhood that had come to mean so much to all of them.
Shego flipped through the pages idly until she reached the first blank one. She glanced at Drakken, who was still flustered as he dealt with his mother's prying questions, and she grinned as she got an idea that would both end the endless hints and make Mama Lipsky far more intrusive into their lives at the same time...which they wouldn't be able to stop, regardless.
"Yes, yes, we'll see you in a few days. Goodbye, Mother!" Drakken said, the forced smile falling off his face and being replaced with too many worry lines as he hung up the phone. He fumbled over the wooden surface of the end table for where he'd set his drink and in the next moment had knocked it back, the frown on his face deepening.
Shego snickered as she leaned across the sofa and pulled a photo from atop a small stack on the other end table. Commodore Puddles was pawing at Drakken's feet, preventing him for the moment from returning to his task.
"Did I hear that right?" Shego said, smirking. "She actually asked you about—"
"I...don't want to relive it," Drakken said, interrupting with a weary sigh and slumping onto the sofa next to Shego. He played with the snow-globe for a moment before glancing over at her. "But...how should we tell her?"
Shego grinned and beckoned him nearer, and Drakken's brow rose before his face broke into a smile as he saw what she was doing.
"Oh...that's perfect," he agreed softly, scooting nearer and giving her a squeeze before reaching over to help her. And together they slipped the sonogram picture into the photo album.
A/N: And thus ends Drakgo in December! To see Drakken and Shego finally enact the big plan referred to in several chapters, see the fanfic: Finally, Fair Weather.
Thank you again for reading!