A/N: The long-awaited 'dog fic' I've been teasing on Tumblr... Thanks to the people who weighed in there with their opinions about the dog's name. You will see, your ideas were well-taken! And thank you to Gothicthundra for letting me use the name 'Estelle' from her fic for Drakken's mother, and for her bits of advice and inspiration throughout the writing process. You're more help than you realize, m'dear!
Warnings: Story is rated "M" Mature for sexual scenes and offensive language. The NSFW parts vary in nature and maturity level. They are NOT graphic, but you don't need your imagination. The bad language is sparse and is used for comedic effect, but that doesn't change that it's very offensive and may be bothersome or shocking for you to read. You have been warned.
The title of this fic is taken directly from one of my favorite childhood stories by a wonderful author and inspiration, the late James Herriot.
This is the longest single fic I have ever written to date. I was aching for some domestic Drakgo, and as it often goes in fandom, I decided to take matters into my own hands. So now, I present to you... Drakken and Shego's first Christmas together as a couple. Let the chaos begin...
There's Christmas—and Christmas
by bcbdrums
December 3
The sounds of footsteps and other movements caused Shego to wake, and she stretched the length of her body as she slowly rolled over toward the sound. She shielded her eyes against the light as she sleepily smiled toward where Drakken was searching for something in the closet.
When he turned around he was frowning and looking around the room for something. Seeing she was awake he paused and smiled.
"You fell asleep," he said with a tiny smirk.
She pushed herself up to her elbow, but it didn't mask the exhausted look on her face. "This thing is tough," she responded, looking at the laptop sitting next to her on the bed and still running. "And I had a long night."
"It will be worth it. With the ZPM in our hands, we'll be ruling the world overnight."
"If I survive trying to steal it," she said, closing the laptop and pushing it away. She lay back against the pillow again and stretched her arms toward him, wiggling her fingers.
His smile was wicked as he sat on the bed, and as soon as he was close enough she pulled him down over her, her fingers digging into his back.
"You'll do more than survive. You'll get out without them even knowing you were there."
"Puh-lease! Did you even look at their security? I think half the government's defense budget went into that system. How'd you get the plans anyway?" she asked, tugging on his waist to pull him further in.
"From another very interested party with means. Whom we will double cross, of course."
Shego pulled him down into a kiss. His fingers threaded through her hair at the sides of her face and pressed into her scalp as his lips caressed hers. Her heart aflutter, she hummed happily and pulled him tightly against her.
"This is the best thing we've ever done," she said with a smile when he pulled away and propped himself up above her on his elbows.
"It will be, when we win."
"No," she said, fumbling with the buttons of his coat, "I meant us."
He looked genuinely surprised, but she only smiled at him as she sleepily tried to tug his coat off of his shoulders. The task was made impossible by his belt, and she gave up after only a few moments.
"Well?" she yawned, letting her hands fall back against the pillows.
She saw his answer of a smile before he kissed her neck just below her ear, his fingers kneading at her waist. Her arms went around him again and pulled him down.
"You're right," he said, his voice muffled by the kiss.
She smirked. "I'm always right."
She wrapped her arms tightly around him to prevent his escape and kissed him until they were both breathless. She put both hands on his chest and pushed him away, crawling out from under him until they were both sitting up on their knees and facing each other.
She smirked mischievously and un-clipped his belt, and then continued her work on his coat.
"Finally," she said, pushing the heavy garment off of his shoulders and tugging the sleeves down his arms. "You could help, you know."
She realized suddenly that he hadn't been helping or even saying anything. She looked up to find his expression happy but nervous.
"What? You getting shy all of a sudden?"
"Shego...did you really mean that?"
"Huh?" she asked.
He gestured between them. "That...'we'...are the best thing we've ever done?"
She set her forearms on his shoulders and leaned forward until her forehead touched his. "Mmhm," she said with a smirk.
He slowly pulled her arms away. "I'm being serious."
Her smirk vanished as she saw the hard look in his eyes. "Y-...yes, Dr. D. I meant it."
He dropped his gaze and began rummaging through his coat pockets.
"But I'll still figure out how to steal that ZPM thing for you, even though it'll probably kill me. I know how much taking over the world means to you—"
She stopped short as he looked up at her, a small, black ring box in his outstretched hands.
"I...I can't take over the world," he said, shaking his head. He opened the ring box. "Because...you're my world. And no one could ever conquer you. All I can do is...what anyone would do, when they've found the one who completes them. And ask."
Her mouth was hanging open. She stared at the small, jeweled ring and then slowly brought her gaze up to his nervous face.
"I'm...your world?"
She saw him swallow, and then nod firmly. He was holding his breath. Her heart pounded in her chest.
"Then ask."
December 12
Shego wrung out her hair from the shower again as she put on her most comfortable pajamas. She stepped tiredly into her slippers and left her bedroom, heading for the kitchen.
Coffee. Lots, and lots of coffee.
And then she would curl up in front of the fireplace in Drakken's office...
She grinned as she remembered his bluster when she'd first pointed out to him that a fireplace in the Caribbean was ridiculous. He'd argued of course that a super-villain needed ominous reflections from a fireplace in their lair. She had laughed and started making fun of the shapes the light and shadows made on his dorky face.
Mornings like this, when she needed to relax, were the only legitimate use for that fireplace.
"Shego?" Drakken said, following her from somewhere into the kitchen.
"'Morning, Doc," she said as she started the coffee maker.
She looked up at him to see him fidgeting nervously and clearly wanting to say something, but not. She tucked her wet hair behind her ear.
"Cat got your tongue?"
He took a breath. "Where...where have you been?"
She turned her back to him and got her mug out of the cupboard. "Vacation."
"You...you went on vacation?"
His voice was weak, squeaking out just above a whisper. She put on a mildly irritated face before glancing back at him.
"Uh, yeah. Vacation. It's that thing I do when I need a break."
He still looked desperately worried. She couldn't blame him at all this time, now that they were engaged. But she wasn't about to give him a hint of where she'd really spent the last four days.
"Oh..."
She looked back at the coffee maker and willed it to percolate faster. He looked so pathetic.
"Did I...did I do something...to upset you?" he asked.
She grit her teeth. She had hoped to avoid this conversation. She wasn't good at spinning big, complicated lies.
Thankfully she didn't have to, as the intruder alarm suddenly went off.
Coffee and fears forgotten, they both ran for the lab computer and the security camera feed. A quick glance showed a uniformed postal worker standing outside their balcony door, a large package at his feet.
"How do they always get up there?" Drakken mused.
"Come on, let's go take a look," Shego said, already heading out the door.
They crossed back through the living area and to the back door where deliveries were often made. Shego stood back while Drakken opened the door.
"Hello?"
The burly man who looked more suited to henchman-work than postal-work looked down at his clipboard.
"I have a delivery for Drew Lipsky."
Shego leaned over Drakken's shoulder with a chuckle. "Well, we know who it's from."
They both looked down at the large box, which had a pattern of small circular holes in the top.
"What would my mother be sending me...?" he puzzled, staring at the box.
"There's a letter too, sir," the postman said, holding it out for him to take. "Sign here."
As Drakken did so, the box began barking. Both villains' eyes widened and they turned to look at each other, Drakken with a cry of glee and Shego with a scowl.
"Shego!" he gasped happily.
"Ohhh no. No way. No how. Not happening. Not again... No!"
December 19
The warmth from the fireplace was just dying down to a perfect temperature on the unusually chilly night in the lair. Sitting across Drakken's lap in the easy chair, Shego was leaned back and tugging on his arm to pull him close to her. But he was leaning to the side over the end table and staring into his cocoa mug.
"It's just not the same."
She inhaled sharply through her nose and let the breath out slowly through her lips. "I'll go shopping soon, okay?"
"It's not Christmas without marshmallows."
She leaned against the arm rest and set her forehead on her palm.
"We've got a few days... Look, you said I had to watch this movie before your mother gets here next week."
He sipped the cocoa with a forlorn sigh and then set it down.
"Finally!" Shego said, leaning back and tucking her legs up as he set his arm around her. "So what's so important about this?"
"Mother insists that we watch it every year. If she finds out you've never seen it..."
"Is it really sappy?" Shego asked as she arranged the blanket over their laps just to her liking.
"A bit. It's one of those ones with a moral." He pushed the record button on the VCR remote and then set it down, leaning back to stare up at the small TV on the bookshelf in his office.
"Yuck," she said, though the declaration was halfhearted as she finally, contentedly snuggled into his side.
"Um...you know, with commercials it's going to be more than three hours," he warned, glancing down at her worriedly.
She tucked her hair behind her ear and placed a soft kiss on his jaw. "That's all right. I can think of plenty of things for us to do if I get bored."
His shy blush delighted her, and she snaked her arms around his middle and leaned into him with a hum of happiness.