A/N: Just a little post-Grad something. Takes place post-Lorwardian defeat but pre-UN ceremony. Thanks as always to split-n-splice for keeping me motivated to write.


Eye of the Storm

It was hot. And humid.

That was the excuse Shego was giving herself for her mind's inability to quiet, but she knew the real reason was was far, far deeper than that.

She twisted in her uncomfortable joke of a beach chair yet again, her bare thighs sticking to the plastic as she shifted to try to get as much air flow over her skin as possible. She'd stripped to nothing but a green cotton tank top and short, black gym shorts hours ago, but it was doing very little to keep her cool in the heat of the Tahitian night.

The soft hum of the only working fan in the tropical tree-house lair sounded from Drakken's bedroom, both a reassurance and a torment as the real reason for her inability to sleep crept back to the fore of her thoughts.

Was he safe? Was he...alive?

What if the aliens had done something to him while he was on that ship that ended up killing him later?

Shego rose with an annoyed groan, the skin on the back of her thighs stinging as it peeled away from the cheap plastic of the chair. She was exhausted beyond description. She needed to sleep. But she knew she wouldn't be able to if she couldn't be certain of Drakken's well-being.

She was startled and then immediately relieved when upon hurrying through the open door to his room, a familiar silhouette bolted upright atop the water bed. Her heart pounded as she paused and looked at the dark mop of mussed hair framing what was no doubt a panicked expression that she couldn't see clearly in the starlight. He too was dressed for the heat, having elected to sleep in a white tank top and some dark-colored boxer shorts.

"It's just me," she said with a slight whine before he could fumble for a laser pistol.

"Shego? What are you doing in here?"

Her heart was still pounding as she realized suddenly that she had no excuse. She was afraid for his safety? 'Body-guard' may have been in her job description, but after so many years he wouldn't buy it.

"You have the only fan. So shove over," she said, her heartbeat quickening as she crossed the room, the dry cool of the hardwood a relief on her bare feet.

"What? Shego!"

She sat on the waterbed unceremoniously, grateful he'd at least tossed a sheet down upon it to avoid a similar sticky plastic situation like she'd had in her beach chair. She noted the second sheet and thin blanket that had been kicked away at the foot of the rosewood four-poster bed before snatching away one of his pillows, flipping her hair back so her neck could breathe, and then flopping down next to him.

He sat next to her in silence as she stared at the fan spinning on the ceiling above, the light fixture at its center adorned in carvings of pineapples. She smirked at the memory of when they had designed the lair, recalling the argument over the decor. Drakken had been frightened by the carvings of spiders and other terrors that would have made the tiny hideaway appear more evil, so he had purchased more traditional and homey adornments, much to her amusement. Weeks of mocking had followed until he had agreed to compromise on the 'haunted' signs this time, she finally persuading him to go with a more appropriate theme. Warnings of cruel mermaids, pirates, and deathly poisons this time would hopefully deter any passersby. However they both knew it wouldn't keep away a certain teen menace.

Nor aliens, apparently.

Shego turned her head to look up at Drakken's consternated expression.

"You weren't asleep either, so just lie down and make the best of it. We need to get through this night."

It was more than she'd meant to say, and her brow furrowed in annoyance at her own admission. Nevertheless, her words had done the trick, and the anxiety-riddled mad scientist finally reclined on his remaining pillow, the waterbed shifting under his weight. She released a breath she'd not realized she'd been holding and fixed her gaze on the fan again.

The heavy, greasy meal after the quick fast food stop during their return flight, coupled with pure exhaustion from several days awake still weren't enough to stay the adrenaline in either of them, the ordeal had been that intense. Questions burned in Shego's mind that she wasn't sure were appropriate to ask. The last time Drakken had unknowingly gotten on a ship with aliens, he'd not wanted to talk about it. But that was different. This time, those green War-whatever aliens had captured him for revenge.

She went back and forth with herself over whether or not she should ask, wondering if the answers would finally let her sleep, or only intensify the unspoken fear that plagued her.

What if they came back?

"They were going to kill us."

Drakken's voice caused Shego to startle again, and she turned her head to watch his profile as his gaze remained fixed on the fan.

"What...?" she breathed.

"Me and Possible. They were going to kill us for...trophies, after they took over Earth. They wanted to...stuff us and mount us, like animals."

After a moment, Shego swallowed and found her throat had gone dry. Her heart-rate accelerating was her second hint that the answers, so far at least, probably wouldn't be calming her. Though she tried to blame the sudden increase in sweat over her skin on the humidity.

After a silence, she realized Drakken wasn't going to offer anything more. She took a breath.

"Let's hope...they don't send anyone else to take back all those robots, since Stoppable killed those two."

"Nghn... Surprised he had it in him," Drakken replied.

"I'm not," Shego said, recalling the times the teen boy had been turned evil.

For a few minutes, the hum of the fan and the rippling of the waterbed were the only sounds. Faint starlight shining in the windows cast the room in a dim, blue light that helped bring an air of familiarity to the situation. They were back in the lair. They'd need to move again after things calmed down, and then soon it would be back to evil as usual. No more aliens. Nothing more threatening than a couple of meddling teens.

"Shego?"

She turned her head when she felt him shift, and their eyes met across the small gap between them atop the bed.

"Why did you come after me?"

That was the last question she had expected him to ask, and was equally stunned to find she had no real answer, her mind having gone blank.

"Uhh...why wouldn't I?" she finally managed. Her bare toes gripped the bed sheet nervously as she stared back into his searching expression, other memories suddenly returning unbidden. The way he'd reached out for her on the alien ship and then pulled back. The way she'd reached a little bit further...

"Because you leave when things get dicey or...or irritating."

"Psht, no I don't."

Drakken nodded. "Yes, you do. You bail out of crashing hover-cars, you left when we were trying to take over Smarty Mart... You even stole our escape helicopter on the train a few months ago. And you only take me with you if it's convenient."

Shego looked away, unused to such direct scrutiny. Especially from Drakken. The moment he'd turned away from her on the ship continued to assault her memories.

"Would you rather I hadn't? Can't just be grateful, sheesh," was her response as she stared up at the blurred movement of the fan blades.

Drakken didn't respond, to her relief, and she tried to banish the images in her mind and the unwanted feelings they were stirring. Especially since they seemed to be providing the answer to his question.

"Thank you, Shego."

A lump formed in her throat. The words were almost sad, though she could hear they were genuine. When she considered how afraid she had been... Not just of what the aliens might do as a whole, but the deep fear that had driven her to conquer another and go to space to rescue him... The fear of losing him... Was it really so much to give him something in return?

She rolled to her side and met his eager, searching gaze. She also noted the apprehension there and mentally kicked herself. She'd been hoping he'd open up and say something about what had happened to him for her own peace of mind. It was only fair to give him some peace in return.

When she didn't speak immediately, Drakken rolled to face her and leaned up on his elbow. She matched the posture but found it difficult on the waterbed and finally just sat up. He mirrored her again, and she noted how his eyes began to appear guarded when she failed to speak. She took a deep breath.

"Drakken. I..."

He sat up straighter, the eager look still in his eyes even as worry crept in. She impulsively reached forward and gripped his arm just above his elbow. He looked down at her hand and then up to her face, fear starting to override the other emotions in his features.

Shego looked down and sighed. She swallowed and then gathered all her courage as she met his gaze again.

"I couldn't let... I won't let anything happen to you."

She felt the veracity of the promise in her voice, and Drakken must have known it too for the way his face cleared, something akin to awe entering his eyes.

They regarded each other for another moment, Shego's heart pounding as the desire to express something else hit her. She was grateful that Drakken moved at the same time she did, his arms encircling her and pressing her hair into the sticky skin of her shoulders as he hugged her tightly. She was returning the gesture with one arm, her other hand maintaining a firm grip above his elbow.

"Thank you," he said just above a whisper, and she heard the telltale shake in his voice as he tensed in her embrace.

Any other words she wanted to say wouldn't come as her throat tightened, and she simply held him until the racing of her heart began to calm. The sound of the humming fan returned to her ears as the breeze it generated blew Drakken's loosened hair against her cheek. She heard him sniffle once, and she let herself relax for just another moment into the weight of the touch she hadn't realized she'd needed so badly.

It was with reluctance that she began to pull away, and Drakken matched her movements immediately. But she could tell both by his slowness and by the hint of moisture in eyes when she saw them again, that he'd needed the hug as much as she did.

Her hand remained on his arm as they slowly lie back down facing one another, the waterbed rippling beneath with the motion. The heat seemed both more and less in that moment—more from the prolonged contact with another warm body, and less for the breeze from the fan. The small movement of the air also helped to stay the welling of tears in her eyes as she noticed the redness in Drakken's.

"Shego, I—"

"It's okay, Dr. D. Just...let's get some sleep."

When she sank into the waterbed again, she felt relief for the first time since their return, realizing that the choice to sleep in the beach chair had been less about laziness in unpacking her bedding, and more about remaining on guard in case any other threat should befall...him.

He offered her a brief, shy smile before settling into his side of the mattress and closing his eyes. Her fingers remained in a vice-like grip below his bicep, and she wondered which of them she was trying to reassure more with the touch.

A chill suddenly raced across the bare skin of her shoulders, traveling down until it reached her toes. She curled up slightly and focused again on the sound of the fan, and the sounds of water beneath her as the slightest movement caused the mattress to ripple. She closed her eyes and was astonished at how quickly the sounds began to carry her into sleep.

The horrifying images that had been her waking nightmares—giant green aliens, the vacuum of space, and imagined deaths for the man whose arm she held—suddenly faded away. Even the torture of the humidity seemed less.

She clung to the last threads of consciousness as she felt the sudden, welcome warmth of fingers coming to rest atop hers. The soft sound of Drakken's relaxed sigh joined the hum of the fan, and then finally, Shego sank into blessed oblivion.