They slept till lunch. Slept in one bed the same way they slept the night before. Drakken wanted to sleep on the couch, but Shego insisted on it 'since they were adults, they could behave like ones'. Whatever that supposed to mean. It could've been awkward, but it wasn't. At least for Drakken. Since obtaining Drakkenia he had to drastically change his sleeping habits – he had to remain on his stomach throughout the night without turning at all, thus it was impossible for him to near Shego in any way. She also remained only on her side of the bed.
He woke up before Shego so not to inconvenience her with seeing her morning face and bed head, although he considered her beautiful in any state or at any time. He wanted her to be comfortable while they were sharing quarters. Even if she seemed to be quite comfortable with going around half-dressed during their stays at various lairs.
So once again Drakken managed to wake up before Shego at the day of the gala. He had a shower and ordered lunch since they slept through breakfast and probably official lunch. He was unpacking his tux when Shego woke up and glaciered towards the showers.
"I want to apologize for losing my temper yesterday, Shego," Drakken said, catching her at the door. "And for treating you like a tool. You are already doing so much for me here and… You do not deserve it."
"You did not look that stressed while you were putting together that generator with Possible and his brats. You've buried the hatchet?"
"I suppose so… Although he didn't exactly apologize for making me a laughingstock in the past. He seems more accepting of me, I suppose. I don't know, I am bad with people. Maybe you should ask him."
"He better be, you have blackmail material to destroy his sons."
"You know, Shego, that I will never ruin the future of young scientists like mine was."
"Yeah, you are one big softy." With that declaration Shego disappeared in the shower. Strangely, it did not sound insulting. Did she approve of his actions? Why was Shego so confusing?
There was a knock at the door and Drakken was happy to finally eat, but he was not happy to see Chen and Ramesh behind the waiter. Drakken gestured for the waiter to roll the table in and had no choice but to invite his former classmates too.
"I ordered only for two, so I am sorry I cannot accommodate you."
"Eeeh, we understand. Sorry to barge in like this. James told us why neither of you could be present at the excursion on the campus."
"So the building is still standing? Powered up properly?" Drakken asked in a dismissive tone, buttering his toast. He didn't deny that he enjoyed watching his uninvited guests squirm.
"Yeah. They've been fundraising like crazy to renew the infrastructure. The auction today is also to benefit it."
"What are you getting at, Chen?"
"You didn't submit anything, Drew."
Be cool, be cool, be cool… Don't take that as an insult to your professionalism. "No, I sent a 100K check. That is considerably more effective. Or are you disappointed that you will not see me humiliated yet again when nobody bids on my invention?" Yeah, that was smooth, really smooth.
"Of course not, Drew! You… saved the world… We were just really intrigued with what you will present… Those vines..."
"Those vines do not exist anymore. All my current inventions and research are proprietary and those of the past are more or less doom's day devices. Nobody will want those."
"You have completely automated production lines and you have nothing to show for it?!" Enter Shego stage left. At least she was decent and not in her bathrobe or something similar.
"Yes, Shego, I have nothing portable or impressive enough to put onto that auction. It must be sellable. There is no point otherwise."
"The hover car. Put that up."
"And how are we going to get home, Shego?!"
"By plane like everybody else. You were planning to make a new one anyway. Now you will be properly motivated. What do you think, gentlemen? Will the hover car, the only one in existence, fetch a substantial price? It is for charity after all."
Drakken watched as Chen and Ramesh nodded excitingly as if they could ever afford to buy the unique vehicle. Shego manipulated them as a true artist that she was. Drakken could bet that everybody will know about the new auction item within an hour.
"What is your real agenda, Shego?" Drakken asked when they were finally left alone to their lunch.
"Let's face it, that hover car is an old piece of junk. But a piece of junk that is patented in your name. You can always make us a new and better one, but they cannot mass-produce any hover car without paying you a cut. On the other hand, the aim of coming to this reunion was to prove what a brilliant scientist you are, so why in the Hell you didn't actually invent anything to dazzle them out of their minds?! And why haven't I heard about said auction?!" The china clinked and the glasses almost fell over with Shego's fists hitting the table.
"I had no time, okay? Between the tests, reports, harvesting and maintenance of Drakkenia-" and Shego's time, but he was not going to mention that, "- I couldn't just invent anything on the fly."
"You made an MRI machine overnight!"
"Not alone. And seriously, three months is not the period one can make something beyond untested prototype stage. And this auction requires something fully functional, tested and what passed safety regulations."
"Or are you just searching for excuses, because you didn't want to… how did you put it, be humiliated when no one wants to buy your invention?"
"I have valid reasons for concern, don't I? They could boycott me again just out of spite. Can you imagine the pain of standing in the hall, among them, and they are just ignoring us? As if we are non-existent, as if I did nothing worthy of their attention."
"D, you need to get out of this low self-esteem hole, okay? You saw how your buddies reacted to you giving up the hover car. They specifically checked out what you were donating, they asked you about your work yesterday at dinner."
"It wasn't only those three, Shego, the whole department… laughed at me. They are all here and nobody even nodded in greeting."
"Are you crying?"
He was. Just a bit. Mother always said he was too emotional for his own good. Shego says it too. Not that it ever helped him to be less of a wuss. "I am sorry. I…"
"Stop apologizing. You will always be you."
"You say like it is a good thing."
"Why shouldn't it be?... Okay, we have three hours till the auction and to make you into… not a nerd in a lab coat."
Shego accepted him the way he was? Now that was something new… but not unwelcome. She had been less snarky too as of late, but it could be only because of their plan to be a pretend couple. Will she return to her former antics when they return? Drakken was sure it would hurt much more than the ostracization of his peers.
…
Drakken had to admit to Shego's mastery – his hair was looking pretty good. She gelled his Mohawk to the side somehow making the hair wavy. After she finished his hair, Shego more or less tossed him out of the bedroom so she could prepare for the evening. And while she was glamouring herself, Drakken dialed with the arrangements for the hover car to be auctioned. It was hard to part with the old girl, but Shego was right, they needed a new one. With a roof for a change. They didn't need a getaway vehicle anymore, but surely they could make a romantic getaway- What in the world was he thinking?! But why did she say 'us'? Was it just a slip of the tongue? Or?
Whatever it was, they needed to get through the evening first. Thankfully, his former pals were not particularly nosy about the details of their relationship. Although, Drakken did not consider the waste of time hours he and Shego spent on creating their narrative – three years of life they did not live. Sometimes they went into too much detail, but it was a fantasy they both seemed to enjoy envisioning. It was yet another mystery about Shego. Why did she insist on making up their story to such an extent? Did she want to rewrite the years they spent together? Of course, their failures were a burden for her too, so the narrative about their fake relationship was an outlet for her to bring positivity to their disastrous life? Who really knows at this point?
"I am almost ready, do you need help with your tie?" came from the bedroom.
Drakken glanced at the clock on the table – an hour and forty minutes. Impressive time for a woman, preparing for a black-tie event. "Yes, Shego, help will be very welcome, since it has been years-" Whatever was the next word Drakken was planning to utter, it dissolved into nothingness upon his eyes falling onto the woman who entered the suite's living room where he was dressing. At some very basic level he still understood that the woman was Shego, but he could not process anything else. The dress was black which was not much of a surprise, but the décolleté neckline and the slits up to her knees… that were not needed at all to walk in the wide enough skirt… and God those heels… Shego has never worn heels since she couldn't fight in them, and the world was deprived from a lot without having Shego wearing heels of any kind. With the shiny and wavy hair Shego was sensual elegance personified.
And Drakken just stood there unable to put even two words together. Say something, you idiot! Anything! "You will be the most gorgeous woman out there."
"Well, it certainly adds bonus points to your ego."
Did he say something wrong again? Why didn't she take his compliment as it was? It couldn't be that she was uncomfortable in an evening gown, right? She wore dresses before… Or was she as nervous as he was? Why?
"Let's deal with your tie-"
"Wait! I have something for you, Shego."
"For me?" Why was she so surprised?
Drakken picked up a middle-sized black box that he previously hid in his tux bag for it to be a surprise. Although now he was afraid it will be unwelcome. "You must've already chosen your accessories, but I just want to give you these." He opened the box to reveal a pendant, earrings and a bracelet, all with jade stones of various coloring.
"Those are not a set," was Shego's only reaction.
"No, there are not. Those are supposed to be anniversary gifts. The pendant for the first year, earrings for the second, and the bracelet for the third – you see triangle elements here?"
"You do know, that nothing of this is real, right?"
"Oh, I am very much aware, Shego dear. If you don't want-"
"I'll wear these. Help me with the pendant."
They stepped towards a large mirror for Shego to put the earrings on. She moved her locks to the side for Drakken to close the pendant's clasp, which he did, but… he couldn't help himself not to brush his fingers across the span of her pale shoulder. When he was very young and full of romantic fantasies, Drew Lipsky emersed himself into the poetry of the Romantics. They likened the skin of the women to rose petals and silk, and Drew dreamed of one day experiencing those fantasies in real life. Was Shego's skin as smooth as silk? Probably… But it still was uniquely Shego with the green lint only she possessed.
"I always wondered… When you fight Kim Possible… Do you fight her or your younger self when you were on top of the world, when you were free of the pressure of the adult life, when you were unhurt by the choices you made? Are you perhaps jealous of her youth and balanced lifestyle that could have been yours?" Drakken didn't know what prompted him to ask that question right at that moment. Must've been the intimacy of being allowed to stand so close to Shego with her boxed between him and the mirror in state of certain vulnerability.
He was half-expecting to be blasted towards the opposite wall for overstepping, but only a long silence was the response to his indelicate question.
And then: "Had they switched your brain up there?" She didn't push him away, but she didn't turn towards him either. "It is like you are another person! Where does this drive come from? You've tested the wheat how many times? Over 500 at least, and you are still at it! You'd've tossed the whole idea out of the window much sooner, like you usually do, but you are still at it with no plans of stopping."
"For your information, at least half of my inventions take a lot of time to be tested, as any other products, you just don't see that process. And as far as my brain is concerned, it is still mine, people just change. Have you? Who are you fighting, Shego?" Drakken asked again, turning her around by the shoulders. Theoretically, Shego had nowhere to escape be she an ordinary woman, but she was a superhuman, so all bets were off.
"Why do you care?" she spat, but her hands remained unignited.
"Because I care about you and because you clearly miss her. I found the photo you almost burned. You know why I was so angry at Possible and Co? Yes, they insulted my robots, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. They were my friends and they betrayed me, they blew the whole incident out of proportion and abandoned me, that was what hurt the most. I doubt that we will ever fully reconcile, but nothing will happen if we don't try."
"And you want me to do what? Call Kimmie and ask if she wants to have a spa day with me?!"
"Do you want to?"
"What are you getting at, D?"
"Because I know how frustrated you are at the lab with more or less nothing to do and no one to talk to. At least, Possible is a familiar face."
Now Shego pushed away from him and busied herself with putting on the bracelet. At least, she was still accepting his gifts. "The aliens must've switched your brain and you don't know it, because the whole idea is crazy."
"Which one, Shego?"
"I don't want to talk about it right now! And why in the world jade? Didn't have money for emeralds?"
And here she was again – undermining his every move just because. She had no qualms accepting the jewelry just minutes before. "I consider emeralds too flashy for the occasion, not to mention… emeralds are bought for a wife."
"Says who?!"
"Me. Although, something is missing in your almost perfect outfit."
"And what could it possibly be?! As if you understand anything in such matters."
Drakken didn't, but despite Shego's expert green eye makeup there was just too much black about her. It needed a tiny splash of color. Fortunately, his tie was not yet fastened so Drakkenia had no problem with relinquishing several blossoms, a couple of which went into the tux's buttonhole and the rest managed to intertwine above Shego's right ear. Blue and green – just like them.
"And what about people killing for the samples?"
"They are looking for vines… And I doubt, you allow anyone to get as close to you as to touch your hair."
"Whatever. Come here, so I can finally fix that tie of yours or we are going to be late."
The topic was closed for the day. Or most probably forever. Still Drakken didn't regret raising it. Now knowing some of Shego's past, he couldn't help but feel responsible for Shego's happiness. If there was no chance of them actually being happy together, he could at least push her in the direction that will absolve her of self-loathing. Like she was doing with him. In her lippy indirect way.
….
The gala was well underway when they reached the ballroom. Drakken felt quite smug about being right for once, since everybody they passed stared at Shego. He also noticed how Chen's and Ramesh's jaws hit the floor, when they took their seats a couple of tables over from them. The gala itself was more or less the repetition of the previous day – everybody stared and whispered about them, but nobody engaged in conversation. It is as if nobody knew how to treat them, which was understandable. It was also funny, how everybody now knew who they were, which was Drakken's primary objective at some point.
They survived dinner without creating a scene, even if Drakken felt Shego was unusually distant since during the reunion she tended to be the girlfriend who at times was too affectionate. They shared the table with two older couples – former professors at M.I.S.T., so she must've decided to tone it down a bit. Surprisingly, their dinner companions were amicable interlocutors, who disregarded their obvious unique appearance and who determined them being a couple right from the start. Weird that.
The dinner was followed by mingling and dancing. Drakken was not sure that Shego would participate, since they did not spend enough time for her to master the basics, but was pleasantly surprised when she insisted on joining the other couples on the dance floor. He did not object since it allowed him to hold Shego in his arms and lead. They were nearing the edge of the floor, when Shego suddenly kissed him midturn.
"What was that for?" Drakken asked, out of breath, holding Shego up in a tight embrace for her not to fall from dizziness. "You know what it does to you. I should walk you upstairs."
"Photographer. …And no, I just need some air."
They left the dance floor for the terrace and when Shego's head was clear enough she went to the restroom to refresh her makeup or whatever women do there. Drakken returned to the ballroom where he was accosted by a young man.
"Doctor Drakken! I have been wanting to talk to you!" A shocking statement indeed. "My name is Adrian Spencer and I am-"
Drakken tuned out whatever the man said next. There were close to two hundred people at the reunion, surely there were more than one Adrian among them, but somehow Drakken was sure that the man in front of him was indeed that Adrian. Drakken was sure of that since the man in front of him looked the right age and because he was handsome enough to be Shego's type. There was a certain sliminess to him, however, the one of a perfect salesman, who doesn't care about the product but about his commission from selling it.
"Excuse me, can you repeat that?"
"I have a radio show and I always wanted to invite you to speak on air. Nobody heard what actually happened on that spaceship. You completely disappeared after the award ceremony. People are anxious to know! It is not every day that aliens kidnap people from Earth."
"Depends, who you ask, Mister Spencer. To some, it's a common occurrence."
"Well, yes… But none of them can actually give a comprehensive account. Not to mention, you saved the world afterwards! Your story must be heard!"
Drakken accessed the man in front of him once again. A year, even two ago, he would've jumped at the chance of such cheap publicity, but now he knew better. Also, he was biased to hate his guts. The same as Shego did, if she wanted her ex to feel the pain her nails were inflicting by holding onto Drakken's arm.
"You do know, Mister Spencer, that I was not alone up there. There was at least three more people with me. Have you already approached them with your proposal?"
"Well… they were impossible to get a hold of."
That slime ball… He approached Drakken, because he was a villain, he was exotic… And that meant high ratings. "Well, one of them, Mister Spencer, was my partner, who has joined us two minutes ago and whom you have yet to acknowledge," Drakken reproached, slowly steaming himself. He didn't know what exactly Adrian's deal was, but he didn't want any of it.
"I am so sorry, I was just overwhelmed by finally meeting you, Doctor Drakken. I am glad to meet you- Sandra?!"
Drakken was not a good reader of people, but even he saw the instant crack of Adrian's salesman's persona. His megawatt smile instantly dropped to turn into a snarl that he didn't even bother to hide.
"What are you doing here, Sandra?"
"What do you mean? If you did proper research on Drakken for your radio show – since when are you into that, by the way? Aren't you a clinical psychiatrist? – you must know, we are together. Or you thought there is another being with green plasma blasts in existence?"
Either he didn't do proper research or was too stupid to connect the dots, but Adrian clearly was confused about his ex being with an ex-villain. But he surely must've known what happened to his girlfriend after she left him. Or was he truly that naïve?
"I am doing whatever I can, since you destroyed my carrier after the stunt you pulled with the thefts! I can still report you, you know!"
"You can't, I've received full amnesty for my past crimes." That was a stretch, since they were pardoned which could be negated if they break the law again, but Adrian didn't need to know that.
"Let's talk somewhere private, Sandra."
"You can say whatever you want in front of my boyfriend." Drakken felt all warm inside whenever he called Shego his girlfriend, but he couldn't fathom that the reverse situation could be possible and it almost made him faint from overwhelming happiness.
"You are dating him?!"
"Only seconds ago you were singing Drakken praises and now you are insulting him? Make up your mind, Adrian, or are you still the hypocrite that you were after graduating college? Shouldn't you grow up after all these years?"
"You calling me a hypocrite, Sandra?! You had a damn personality change! Although, I should've seen it sooner, there was always something wrong with you."
"Now listen here-" Drakken began, feeling like he was spat in the face, even if Shego was the one being degraded. His not so cool tirade was stopped by a firm grasp on his forearm.
"I became what you wanted, encouraged me to become. Someone who doesn't hide her powers which I relinquished to be with you, by the way, since I thought, you were worth it. You weren't, if you still don't get it. You also don't get what a life of a superhero is like. It is not red carpets and cutting ribbons or rubbing elbows with the political or whatever elite. It is blood and gore, calls for help 24/7 without any renumeration, no money at all. No insurance or medical treatments. Just demand to save everybody because you can. Which you can't do actually, no matter how many of you are out there. So yeah, I chose to become a villain since they have money and can pick their working hours. And I was good at it, wasn't I, D?"
"Of course, Shego dear, the best."
"So yeah, Adrian, I don't care if you blame me for 'destruction of your career'. You didn't have a proper one in the first place. I don't care about you, period. So yeah, we are declining your offer to appear on your radio show if that was not clear. Let's dance, D."
"Don't hold back, just ask," Shego said when they made a couple of turns around the dance floor.
"You are surprisingly calm about the altercation. I was sure at least one blast will fly somewhere."
"That's not what I am talking about. I am waiting for your comment about what I saw in a worm like Adrian. Yes, there is a pretty face, but there is no substance at all! Was I that stupid?"
"You were young…"
"That's not an excuse, D. The funniest thing, we would've broken up eventually anyway. Maybe as fast as in six months. The whole thing started to degrade way before that trip to his parents."
"Why?"
"He was getting bored of me."
Drakken couldn't see it, but he was sure that his unibrow disappeared into his styled hair. How could it be possible? Bored of Shego? Although, she was Sandra at the time, so she could've been more… compliant? "So you mean like-"
"Yes, I suspected he was cheating on me."
"This is absurd!" To even look at another woman why being with someone as beautifully ideal as Shego? Adrian should have his eyesight checked. Or other body parts.
"Why? Man do tend to stray."
"Just because."
"Still consider me a treasure, D?"
He let himself say too much that morning. Hopefully, Shego didn't take it seriously, even if she still remembered. "The auction will start soon, we better take our places."
The auction was conducted in another hall with high tables equipped with devices for electronic bidding. Since all items with generally high-tech inventions, a lot of space was left for the demonstrations during which the alumni were supposed to truly shine.
"If each and every one will talk for an hour about his precious toy, we won't get out of here till dawn," Shego complained, taking advantage of complimentary champagne.
"You saw the list? Do you want anything?"
"I saw that minimal starting bid is 50K. Since when can you just throw around 100K checks and want to spend even more? Is this because of my comment about emeralds?"
"I told you that some money started coming in… And there are some inventions that could be useful for our current research-"
"And you want to flaunt the fact that you can just write a check with six zeros without looking at your balance?"
Drakken's face split into an evil smirk that he had rather often during his villainous days when he emulated the mad scientist. "So do you want anything?"
"If you want that much to splurge money on me, at least buy me something I actually like."
"And what is that, Shego dear?"
"Being smooth with finding out what I want for my birthday, D?"
"You have to wait and see, Shego."
The auction indeed proceeded very slowly. Drakken bid on three items but didn't buy them, he wanted to know if someone wanted to outbid him on principle, which did happen. So what if he hackled some of the prices on purpose, it was all for charity after all. Still, his fear about nobody bidding on his hover car persisted. What somewhat alleviated those fears was the fact that Shego was the one to make the presentation as the primary pilot.
When the time finally came, she looked phenomenal up there. It was difficult to determine if people were bidding for the hover car or to watch her just a bit longer. She managed to turn the description of a vehicle into an erotic show without stepping over any lines of decency.
"Common, man, tell me your secret," came a hushed plea from behind.
Drakken turned around to discover Chen, whose eyes, as everybody else's, were glued to Shego, describing the technology behind the thrusters. "What secret?"
"How are you keeping that babe interested. Is it some bed trick?"
Drakken wished. Still, he couldn't tell Chen that his inferiority complex was the key to keeping Shego by his side. "Shego does whatever she wants to do, I cannot explain or control her actions."
"So you can break up?" The hope on Chen's face was laughable.
"You can't handle her, Chen. And before you say anything – nobody can."
The hover car was sold for 1200000 USD with starting bid of 100000.