Un-Thankful Part 2
Shego hadn't been able to sleep at all, and in an attempt at calming her thoughts was looking at the pillowcase pattern of rocket ships and stars. It fit the theme of the room and she would have made a really good crack about it if she'd known. However by the time she'd noticed the night prior she had other thoughts on her mind.
He told me the nightgown was nice…
She glared at her pillow before sitting up and tossing it aside. She wasn't mad at the pillow, she was mad at herself—also Drakken, but mostly herself. She'd set herself up for what had happened last night. She'd ignored all the red flags that she was going too far, pushing the boundaries far too hard and too fast. She should have dropped it. Should have let the pillow go and rolled her eyes, made a snarky comeback...anything.
He had been laughing.
She shook her head to try to regain her thoughts again. She'd spent all night remembering how horrified he'd looked when he'd leapt off the bed as if she'd plasma blasted him. She closed her eyes and rubbed her face in frustration. He'd apologized and ignored her—ignored her pitiful question. She didn't blame him honestly. She'd already taken what he probably thought was something childish and bothersome and made him uncomfortable.
"Why didn't you kiss me?" I can't believe I said that... What was I thinking?
She looked at the light creeping through the curtains and fought the urge to check to see if he was awake yet. She looked down at herself and shook her head. She knew exactly what she was thinking. She'd been pushing buttons since they had made their agreement to be partners. It was her way of testing the waters without actually committing to anything. She still wasn't exactly sure what she was aiming for...until last night shifted from just annoying him.
She could have easily packed proper pajamas even if he had wanted to stage a scene. When he'd made it clear he wasn't planning on sharing a bed with her she could have dropped it and used it to bug him later. She could have given him back his pillow instead of tempting another boundary. She could have avoided the swirl of emotions she was trying to suppress right now.
He'd said her nightgown was nice. But thinking about it...his face might have been horrified because it was HER wearing it. When he'd fallen on her, she thought he might have been afraid she might yell at him. But his expression looked more disturbed when she'd tried to pull him into a kiss—because it was HER trying to kiss him. She swallowed hard and bit back her anguished feelings and anger.
How many signals can he possibly give me?
She needed a game plan for when he woke up. It was unlike him to sleep too long and she was certain that he was probably up and not moving or was about to. She could sit here for hours over-analyzing things and pulling at her own emotions till she turned it to a ball of rage wrongly directed. She wasn't going to do that. Not here. Not now.
Drakken had never noticed the carpet had both green and blue threads in it as he meticulously pulled them out. He wasn't sure if he'd slept at all or just held his eyes closed until he couldn't anymore. He'd spent the last hour listening to hear if Shego had gotten up yet or not. Trying to figure out what to say or do... Apologize again? He wished he'd stopped panicking long enough to hear what she'd been saying or even what he'd been muttering to himself. He pulled a loose thread he'd missed in his attempt to focus, the latter made more difficult with no access to something to tinker with... Well, not without waking Shego.
"How long have you been up?"
Drakken sat bolt-upright only to smack his head into Shego's. Apparently she'd been leaning over him... Most likely plotting his death at the moment. If she hadn't been, she looked like would now. Her eyes were narrowed as she clutched her head and the green glow in her hands seemed ready to strike. Drakken struggled upright in an attempt to get out of the way of the potential blast, but the sleeping bag he was still stuck inside caused the result to be a fall face-forward.
"Ow," muttered Drakken as his already throbbing head met another hard surface. There was a snort before he heard Shego burst into laughter. "It's not funny, Shego."
"Oh, yeah it is," she let out an amused sigh as she got off the bed while Drakken attempted to get out of the now twisted sleeping bag. "Need a hand?"
"No—yes," said Drakken. This was not the morning he had been picturing. He heard clapping.
"Good job, Doc. Only you could aspire to such great excellence." He looked at the smirk she gave and glared.
"Shego," he whined, both out of frustration and embarrassment.
"Oh relax," scoffed Shego as she walked over to him and yanked the bag's zipper down.
"Was that so-" Drakken trailed off remembering Shego's earlier anger, "Shego?"
"Hmm?" asked Shego as she tossed her overnight bag over her shoulder and headed towards the door.
"About last night..."
"You mean your little panic attack over ruining your virginal bedroom reputation?" Shego's expression was unreadable. She shrugged. "I'm over it."
"Shego—"
"Seriously, Drakken," her expression became forced. "Last night never happened."
"Fair enough," Drakken nodded.
She opened the door and headed to the bathroom to get changed out of her sleepwear. Drakken should have been less unsettled by her statement. If Shego was moving past it, so should he. His eyes narrowed; something about her statement didn't make sense. She acted like she'd been tempting him and he'd called it off.
He shook his head and groaned. Shego was just being Shego and getting one last dig at his youth and his bedroom. He grabbed his own bag and started to get dressed. He was going to do as Shego suggested and put the embarrassment of last night behind them.
She was still wearing that nightgown…
Drakken glared at himself in the mirror and shook his head. He may need something to distract him a little longer to get his head back into focus. Clearly pulling threads out of the carpet and two hits to the head hadn't done it. He put his pajama top in his bag and grabbed his shirt just as Shego came dashing back into the room and slammed the door.
"Shego? What's going on... Why are you still in that?" said Drakken, looking away from her and at his shirt.
"Motor Ed..." she panted and glared gesturing to herself, "was in the bathroom... I can't un-see...what I saw."
"Oh dear god," Drakken looked at her with wide eyes.
He could have cringed with her, made her feel at ease at whatever sight had clearly made her uncomfortable. Instead he remembered the sleeping bag and nodded.
"That can't be as bad as him seeing you in that," smirked Drakken. Shego's disgusted face turned to horror as she looked at herself. "Awkward."
"Oh no...no-no-no," she jumped as a knock came at the door.
"Hey, anyone home in there?" it was Ed's voice.
"Drakken," hissed Shego as she slid into the closet next to the bedroom door.
"Well now's the time for that scene you kept mentioning— Ow!" Drakken's laugh turned into a slight glare as a shoe hit him.
The closet door shut with a hard thud as Drakken rubbed his shoulder and opened the bedroom door.
"Yes, Eddie?" asked Drakken. "Can I help you at this ridiculous hour?"
"Seriously, Aunt Estelle told me to see if you two were awake yet," Ed leaned a little to look inside. Drakken closed the door a little more.
"Looking for something?" Drakken narrowed his eyes; he didn't like the idea of Ed trying to see Shego in her night clothes again.
"Seriously Cuz, I've seen all I need," Ed snorted and shook his head. "Seriously, Green in that and you're in a sleeping bag? Man, how are we related, seriously?"
"Thank you for your commentary. Tell my mother we'll be down in a few minutes," Drakken closed the door harshly and heard Ed mutter as he walked off.
"Shego, you can come out of the closet now, he's gone," sighed Drakken, he waited and pulled on the door. "Shego—"
"Hey!" yelled Shego as she yanked the door shut before he could open it. "I'm getting dressed in here, Doc. Why don't you take the opportunity to do the same."
"Good idea," said Drakken, his face felt warm as he jumped back from the door.
"'Morning my Drewbie. 'Morning Shego," said Estelle cheerfully as she brought a glass of something to Nana, who had reclaimed her spot in front of the television.
"Morning—" Drakken began.
"Your cousin says you slept on the floor," Nana interrupted, shaking her head. "My family line dies with you."
"...What a nice start to the morning," grumbled Drakken as he headed to the kitchen.
"Mother, my Drew is a gentleman," snapped Estelle as Shego followed Drakken.
"Yes, and how's that doing for our family lineage?" grumbled Nana. Shego cringed.
"Something tells me as much as your mom pesters you, it's tenfold with Nana," smirked Shego as Drakken handed her a turkey shaped coffee cup. She stared at it. "…Why?"
"I'm not picking a fight about being festive," retorted Drakken as he took up his own. Shego saw him hide a grin and rolled her eyes.
"Dork," she whispered under her breath as she grabbed the coffee pot from him.
"Wonder where Eddie... 'Morning Aunt Michelle," said Drakken. Shego looked up to where she stood with the turkey.
"Eddie is currently showing his date where to park her bike." Aunt Michelle's expression was a forced smile.
"What?" asked Shego. She and Drakken looked at each other in confusion. "No Cleo— Chloe this year?"
"Unless she's taken up biking," muttered Drakken. He looked disturbed. "Could you imagine all that gold...?"
"No. No Chloe. Personally she seemed a bit...well, flaky," said Michelle. "This one seems more grounded."
"Oh god, what poor soul has he damned this time," smirked Shego at Drakken. He snorted but stopped as he looked back over at his Aunt.
"Is there something funny about my Eddie having an actual date to a family event...instead of his side-kick?" retorted Michelle as she aggressively sliced bread.
"Partner," said Drakken casually as he sipped his coffee.
"Partner?" asked Michelle with a raised brow.
Shego felt a swell of smugness come over her but it was knocked aside as the back door opened next to her. If this morning hadn't been awkward enough with Ed seeing her in that nightgown—she mentally tried to erase that horror, but it wasn't going to happen that soon—the woman who came in behind him made it all the more questionable and uncomfortable.
"Misty?" asked Shego. The blonde ducked around Ed and smiled.
"Hey, Shego, long time no see." Her grin faded as she seemed to remember the last time they had seen each other. "Oh..."
"We know her," said Drakken, a look of confusion on her face. "How do we know her?"
"Vegas," said Shego, fighting the urge to shoot the other woman with a plasma blast. "It's been a while... We must catch up."
"I feel like something has happened since Vegas," Ed muttered and looked at Drakken for confirmation.
"Miss Trusting!" Drakken snapped his fingers and grinned. "Now I remember... You have more clothes on than the last time."
"This is going to be a great dinner," said a dark-haired girl with a smirk from the doorway. Lydia, if Shego remembered.
As she glanced behind the girl, Shego saw that the guests had started to arrive. She glanced back at Drakken who seemed to have realized he made his last statement out loud. His face looked at little darker and he gave an apologetic look to Ed, whom seemed un-phased. As did Michelle, Shego noted. Drakken looked at the girl, his cousin on his mother's side if she remembered correctly.
"Ohm, Lily—" he began.
"Lydia," she sighed. "It's cool, we only met last year. My step-mom took three to remember... We lived in the same house."
"That's...concerning," said Drakken. "What you heard..."
"Strippers, Vegas, some sort of vendetta... It happens to us all," she walked out with a cup of coffee.
"She's like what...thirteen?" asked Ed with an eye-roll. "How would she know..."
"Clearly you've never been a thirteen year-old girl," said Misty glancing at Shego, who nodded.
"There are some pictures in the family album that might suggest different," smirked Drakken at Ed.
Ed's eyes narrowed. "Seriously, you wanna play that game Cuz? Seriously? One word and Aunt Estelle will bring out—" Ed was cut off.
"All right, truce," said Drakken quickly, his eyes wide. He swallowed hard.
"What sort of pictures?" asked Shego with a devious smirk at Drakken. He glared.
"I said truce," he muttered darkly.
"Cuz, I didn't agree to it. Come on Green, let's go ask Aunt Estelle for the albums," smirked Ed, glancing around. "It will give us a time to...catch up, seriously."
"Shego, that's quite enough," growled Drakken as Shego grinned smugly and held up the photo album, "Dear god, why does my Mother have so many."
"Well you're her little Drewbie," mocked Shego as she pinched Drakken's cheek. He swatted her hand away. "Relax Doc, it's not like I'm going to parade these around at villain parties... Well, maybe this one."
"Put that back," said Ed with wide eyes from where he sat on a box with his beer. "I'm in that one."
"That's why I need it," said Shego with an expressionless face as she held it up. "The world needs to know that Dr. Drakken and Motor Ed went as an angel and a princess for Halloween."
"We were little kids and our moms dressed us," snapped Ed, trying to swipe it from her. Shego was faster.
"You looked like teenagers," said Misty as she put her empty bottle in the trash bag. "Why are we in the attic?"
"Our family doesn't know we're villains," said Drakken quietly. He looked down the stairs, "I dunno about the younger ones."
"Seriously?" said Misty with a raised brow, she looked at Shego. "Are we okay...or should I run away in terror."
"The fact that after you ditched me and Pandora...who I ditched… Only for Cleopatra to then frame you with that painting and claim she was the owner... We can call it even," said Shego as she shoved Ed into a pile of boxes and put the photo down the front of her dress.
"Technically it was the blonde she was working with...but I will take it," said Misty. "Oh, and to be clear—I'm not here with Eddie."
"Why would you...tell them that," said Ed with wide eyes. "The deal was I fix your ride, you pretend to be my ride or die."
"Hey, I don't care if your family thinks that. But there are very few people I can get work from in the villain world. I am not tainting what little contacts I have with them thinking I have set loyalties," retorted Misty. She smirked at Shego. "Reputation's important around here, right Shego?"
"Ohm..." Shego felt a twist in her gut at the memory of her own advice to Misty. "That's debatable—"
"What are you four doing up here?" came Estelle's voice from the stairs.
"Bonding—"
"Decorations—"
Shego and Misty looked at Ed and Drakken before sharing a look. It was apparent to at least Shego, the attic had been a childhood hideout for the two from their mothers. Shego snorted; the idea of the two of them sneaking around and doing all the teen stuff she'd watched others do, all in the confines of a musty attic, was both amusing and disheartening. She looked at the photo album and felt a weird wave of emotions at seeing them. She knew she'd had things like this before the comet... She just didn't remember.
"Shego," her thoughts were interrupted by Estelle, "would you like to help me make the muffins while the boys help with Micheal?"
"Who's Michael?" asked Misty as Drakken and Ed groaned.
"Oh... You're in for a treat," smirked Shego. She looked at Estelle, "Didn't we make them yesterday?"
"Lydia brought her friend Betty... And the twins are here," Estelle's smile faded. "Their taxidermy is getting out of hand."
"Is Denise here?" asked Ed. Estelle nodded. "Can we eat in the attic?"
"No," said Estelle as she vanished.
"Damn it," muttered both Drakken and Ed as they walked down the stairs.
"Denise is?" asked Misty, and Shego shrugged.
"I thought she was from Michelle's—Ed's mom's—side of the family... But I'm just guessing," said Shego as they walked down the stairs.
"So, Stephan and Stephanie are twins... They are from Ed's mom's family. They are the children of her brother Stew... They like taxidermy and wear—" Misty sat on the staircase next to Shego, watching the group.
"Inappropriate animal parts as fashion...yes," said Shego as she drank whatever punch Nana had made. It was very strong.
"The little goth is Lydia who always brings her friend... She's from Drakken's mom's side?" asked Misty as Shego swallowed.
"That's what I thought, but I heard before I got kicked out of the kitchen that she's actually somehow related to the Lipsky family. That's all I got," said Shego. She nodded towards the older woman wobbling by with a walker. "That's Michelle's mother. She...apparently by the fact Nana tried to knock her over...does NOT get along with Estelle's mother. I don't know about all the others... And then...there's Micheal."
"Just to be clear, everyone IS aware Michael is a dead taxidermy pig, right?" asked Misty with a grimace.
"I don't know, honestly," said Shego. She patted Misty's shoulder. The drinks were getting to her. "So nice to have someone to share this with. Cleopatra and I weren't on good terms last year."
"And now?" asked Misty, with a raised brow.
"Eh, there aren't enough tolerable villains to keep a grudge for too long," said Shego. She thought back to the retreat. "Besides, keep your enemies closer than friends right? I've been wondering who ratted the retreat out to Taxley and their hench-monsters."
"Excuse me?" Misty choked on her drink. "Taxley? Wait, you've seen him...them…since the painting incident?"
"Motor-mouth Ed didn't tell you?" asked Shego. "They crashed a retreat we were at... Everyone thinks it was a Global Justice raid... Okay, I've had too many. I'm talking way too liberally."
"I don't even know what this is," choked Misty as she put her barely-touched glass down.
"I'll take that. I'm going to see if I can sneak into the kitchen and rescue Drakken," sighed Shego as she took the glass.
"Good luck. Try not to have a rogue knife fly at you this time," said Misty as she seemed to look for Ed.
Shego slowed her pace as she glanced through the doorway. She could see Drakken, arms crossed, and glaring at a large mixture of something she couldn't make out. He looked disturbed and completely alone. Shego slowly slid into the room and put the glasses in the sink silently. Drakken raised a brow and she nodded to the knives on the counter.
"She and my mother are getting something from the shed out back... Or rather using it as a ploy to argue," shrugged Drakken. "Apparently I am supposed to finish cooking...this."
"What is...this… Ew, what is that?" asked Shego as she looked at what was in front of Drakken.
"Left over gizzards and liver bits," said Drakken dryly, "There was more than enough for the stuffing."
"Excuse me?" Shego took a step back. "What are they for?"
"Apparently Stephan and Stephanie brought too many this year...so we're cooking them up... How? I don't know. Why? No clue," stated Drakken. He looked around. "Why did I get drafted into this?"
"Proximity. The fact you kept hanging out in here before I got banned. I don't know, perhaps the way you critiqued me like you knew what you were doing?" asked Shego as she sat on the counter.
It was next to the sink which gave enough distance that if his aunt came in she could make it out without the island obscuring her route. It was also enough space between she and Drakken that if he chose to continue working on his island laid mess, she wouldn't have to witness it.
"I was trying to help," glared Drakken. He raised a brow at her. "Wanna take over?"
"Pass," said Shego. She raised a brow. "You have flour on your face."
"My aunt's rogue cookie-toss. It's powdered sugar," said Drakken trying to wipe it off with his shoulder, his hands still gloved and covered in other remnants from his baking activities.
"Not even close," Shego sighed and grabbed a rag from the back of the sin and jumped down off the counter, "You're actually making it worse."
Shego ran the rag under the faucet and snorted as she looked at Drakken. What had once been some powdered sugar on his cheek was now a smudge of white and parts of bread crumbs from whatever project he had been working on prior. She rolled her eyes as she wiped his face off. He pouted at not being able to get it on his own.
"I could have got it if you'd handed me the rag," he whined.
"Sure, and knowing you, you'd get crap on the rag and then get that on your face." Shego tossed the rag in the sink over his shoulder. "There, all clean... Try not to get livers on your face next."
"Thanks," said Drakken. Shego brushed the crumbs off his shoulder. "Shego?"
"Hmm?" asked Shego, looking at him.
She suddenly realized she was now in between the small space between him and the island. While the crumbs had momentarily distracted her from how close she still stood to him, she became suddenly aware. She moved back quickly, but something sharp in her side startled her into a stumbling jump forward, her foot slipped on something wet on the floor. She looked at her dress and back over her shoulder.
The knife for the gizzards was facing outward. It hadn't done any damage other than making her jump. She was about to yell at Drakken for leaving a knife turned out on a counter when she realized she'd literally jumped into a more awkward stance then what she'd been trying to get out of. She had stumbled right into Drakken and was leaning against him, her hands on his chest. His arms were around her, but his dirty cooking gloves hovered away from her dress.
A flash of the night before went through her mind as she looked at the similar situation they were in now—his terrified look, how close she was to his face, and suddenly how physically close they were to one another. He'd hovered over her the night before when he'd fallen trying to avoid her playful attack. Now however, she was completely leaning on him, and he had no place to move stuck against the corner of the counter. His expression changed and he narrowed his brow as if he wasn't sure how to react anymore.
Just do it... Worst thing he does is—
Shego swallowed hard and leaned forward. His expression didn't change to horror as she got closer. She went with it. Whatever was in that punch wasn't helping her come up with a logical excuse for this nor the presence of mind to take a step back. She didn't know why things seemed to be moving so slow. Something in the back of her mind urged her to hurry before something or someone broke the moment. Her hand pulled at the apron he wore.
He took a deep breath through his nostrils as her lips hit his. There wasn't any time to fully register she had just kissed Drakken in his mother's kitchen, his family out in the living room, nor any ramifications that might come afterwards because as soon as their lips met…a loud noise erupted from the backyard that shook the house. Her eyes shot wide open and she was instantly snapped out of whatever had just occurred.
"What was that?" asked Drakken as he let go of her.
"A really awkward mistake involving your Nana's punch." Shego pulled a face and nearly backed into the knife again.
Her heart was pounding and she needed to back-pedal as fast as she could.
"That noise—" Drakken's expression changed from panicked to unreadable. "Oh, ohm... I see."
"Wait...yes, the noise," said Shego. She took a breath to continue in even more back-pedaling, but Motor Ed came sliding into the kitchen.
"Seriously, looks like Red's crashing another dinner," said Ed with wide eyes. "This time I may be partially to blame, seriously."
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