A/N: Anonymous Tumblr Prompt: 'A gentle "I love you" whispered after a soft kiss, followed immediately by a stronger kiss.' Thanks to GothicThundra for kick-starting my creativity with the setting and a few other fluffy ideas! This might be the last flash-fic for awhile, I struggled with this. The well is running dry...

Before the fic though, I feel compelled to address something. And please read this... You need to review the fics you read.

How would you feel...if you worked SO hard on something, put hours and hours of time and energy (because yes, that's what it takes—especially for the people who write multi-chapter epics) and truly, your heart and soul into something...and no one says a word?

Fanfiction doesn't make money for the author. Fanfiction is a passion project! It means something to us, deeply.

We want the reviews. We want the anonymous one-word reviews that just say "nice." We want the long detailed analyses of character motivations. We want the constructive criticism! If I could have phrased something better, or if I made a typo...I want to know about it!

Also...most fanfiction writers aspire to be professional writers someday. Of the several people I have specifically asked this question of, only one of them has said no, it's just a hobby. This is their passion! It's their soul! I know of three individuals who have in fact already removed some of their fics from the web because they are getting them published! I know three different individuals who have shared some of their original writings with me!

If you've read this far, thank you. If you've been skipping this, I will now get your attention because THIS IS IMPORTANT. Your silence hurts. Deeply. Please leave a review? Especially for the multi-chap writers. They deserve it SO much more than a flash-fic hobbyist like me.

Now on with the passion project...

Brighter Than the Moon

Shego frowned as she walked with her hands on her hips, putting distance between she and Drakken. It wasn't that he had insisted on their going on an outdoor date, at night... It wasn't even that he had insisted it be a picnic in a rural place he had 'spotted' that he liked.

It was that it was so humid!

The charcoal purple linen tank-dress she wore helped slightly, even though the garment was fitted at the waist. She wondered how Drakken was surviving the heat in his dark charcoal pants and electric blue button-up shirt even with his sleeves rolled up, and if he would later regret the outing.

They had parked the hover-car and he was carrying the large picnic basket under one arm and their blanket under the other. She glanced at him and saw sweat already forming on his brow and on his neck. The sun had dipped below the horizon during their flight and the light was presently an odd mixture of the remnants of the sun and the growing light of the harvest moon that was already high in the sky.

Shego dropped back a step as she reached behind her head and pulled her high ponytail a bit tighter, eyeing Drakken's hair as she did so.

"Are we there yet?" she asked.

Drakken's brow furrowed lightly.

"No... There's a really beautiful spot up ahead, Shego."

She was tempted to roll her eyes, but since he wouldn't see it she didn't see the point.

"Stop for a second," she said. He glanced back at her as she approached him. "Hold still."

She pulled the small blue elastic out of his hair and re-did his ponytail for him much higher. It looked...ridiculous. But it would keep him cooler.

She stepped to his side again and he blinked as he analyzed her action. "Eh heh...thanks," he said shyly.

She smirked lightly in response, and they continued walking.

"...So why the long hair anyway?" she asked after a moment.

She'd always wondered. The whole...'getting to know each other' thing was suddenly awkward, now that they were going on dates instead of just sniping at each other in any of their various lairs. All the things she had bugged him about without a thought before suddenly seemed odd to say.

"Just...never cut it, after I dropped out of college," he muttered, walking ahead again.

Shego watched as he switched the basket and blanket awkwardly between his arms, pausing to wipe his brow with the back of his wrist. She considered offering to help...but then she'd get more sweaty. She stretched her arms over her head instead, avoiding touching her hair.

"Would you?" she asked.

"What?" He paused and glanced back.

"Cut your hair?" she asked.

His brow furrowed. "I'm not sure."

Shego caught up to him and they continued walking up the hill. She felt the most annoying fluttering in her chest as she debated on whether or not to voice her next thought. She rearranged some words and the fluttering feeling diminished.

"I think it would look good," she said, keeping her voice as even as possible.

"Hn?" he asked, turning his distracted gaze toward her.

"Your hair. If you cut it, I think it would look good," she said with a shrug.

Drakken blushed faintly and looked forward again.

Shego sighed silently. It had been almost four months since the Lorwardian invasion, and just over two since they had started officially dating. It had been a bizarre but understandable beginning, as before all they seemed able to do was yell at one another. And then finally Drakken had been the brave one, to admit that he desperately wanted to try 'going good' to just to see what it felt like. He could always return to villainy if he didn't like it, but...he couldn't bring himself to try being 'good' without her. And then with much embarrassed grumbling and very little eye-contact, he'd confessed to having greater feelings for her than just those of a boss.

Shego hadn't laughed or mocked him, which surprised her. Instead she'd found herself at a loss for words. And each time she thought of something dark to say that would destroy him emotionally, she found something holding her back. He'd taken her silence as hope and had shakily asked her on a date. She'd been shocked to hear herself saying yes. And now he was a researcher for the US military, and she was...still there. Living with him in one of their mainland lairs and...just existing.

There was still a lot to work out. But at present she was trying to figure out why on earth she kept saying 'yes' to his date requests. Some dates had been nice. Others had been laughably cheesy and hadn't gone well at all. And yet...she still kept saying yes. And kept living with him and doing nothing, while he built a career.

Drakken had apparently reached his desired picnic spot as he set the blanket and basket down and then leaned over with a huff. Shego stood next to him and looked at the ridiculous high ponytail she'd done for him. As soon as the air cooled down and the humidity abated, she was putting his hair back to rights.

Drakken straightened and cautiously put a hand on the small of her back, guiding her to turn around.

"Shego, look!"

She turned and her brow rose. He had indeed chosen a prime spot. In the distance, the last of the sunlight was clinging to the peaks of towering red sandstone buttes. City lights blanketed the flatland between the buttes and the place Drakken had found. And wildflowers of varying colors peppered the side of the lush, green hill they had climbed. The particular spot Drakken had selected was beneath the shade of a massive oak, and she was already feeling cooler from the few moments they had stood there.

"Isn't the view nice?" he asked.

"Yeah..." She had to admit, it was.

Drakken spread the picnic blanket and Shego sat down, turning her legs out to the side in an attempt at comfort in the humidity. Drakken joined her a moment later, sitting cross-legged as he happily spread out the meal from the picnic basket.

There was some sort of slaw with broccoli and cranberries, lobster rolls, fruit salad, two thermoses of iced tea, and for dessert a strawberry cheesecake. He finished setting up for the meal with a small vase of pink hydrangeas placed between them.

"Looks good, Doc," she said as he began making her a plate.

"Thank you," he said with another slight blush.

Shego realized looking at the hand-packed food that he must have made everything himself. How long had that taken, she wondered? Because it was Friday and he had worked a full day at...wherever exactly it was he worked.

After he passed her the plate and was loading up his own, she thought again about how different conversation was now. Before, she wouldn't have even considered whether or not it was important to have something to say. But now it was expected.

"How was work?" she asked, the question feeling odd. Her brow furrowed.

Drakken smirked and looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I'm not supposed to say."

Shego's brow rose and she met his smirk as she took a bite of the slaw. It was delicious.

"I built a laser that can travel over three hundred kilometers with no loss of energy," he blurted out.

Shego's smirk grew. "What are they gonna use that for?"

Drakken grinned as he chewed on his own bite of slaw. He shook his head as he swallowed it down.

"I'm not supposed to say."

Shego shifted and continued eating, giving him a devious look.

"Just communications," Drakken finally said. "But I did...suggest some more aggressive options, during my presentation."

Shego dropped her gaze as she continued the meal. He may be on the side of good to all watching eyes, but inside she knew he still had evil leanings. And he enjoyed sharing that with her.

She considered that the evening might be a good time to talk more about plans for the long-term... Because the position he'd put her in couldn't possibly be more awkward. She was his live-in...what exactly? Who did nothing each day but work-out, read, watch the news, and wait for him to come home. It was uncomfortably domestic.

And the question she had yet to voice that she knew he hadn't even considered was...if he decided he did like 'good' and wanted to stick to it permanently, then what would become of her? She had been surprised to discover she cared about him. But switching sides for him... And especially doing nothing with her life, wasn't what she was after. He needed to be aware that if he kept including her in his plans...then he actually needed to include her as more than the person he talked to over breakfast and dinner and then bid a good-night to each day.

But such serious talk was antithetical to her personality. It could wait... She hoped.

"I also refined the targeting lasers for the army's tanks."

Shego grinned.

The meal continued for about half an hour with Drakken rambling about all of the work he'd been doing, which was no different from any other night. But it was easier to listen to that than to talk about the future, and she had to admit...the setting he'd chosen for their date was very romantic. The full moon was so bright that it was casting shadows over the landscape and created an other-worldly atmosphere. They didn't need any additional light to see their plates. And the food was absolutely delicious.

"Did you make all of this?" she interrupted as she used a fork to stab a grape from the fruit salad.

"Oh..." He seemed caught off-guard by the non-sequitur. "Yes."

"When?" she asked.

"After work today."

Shego was not a good cook. But she looked at the remnants of the meal they had eaten and considered how long it must have taken to prepare the perfectly succulent lobster, the well-balanced slaw with its dressing...

"Even the cheesecake?"

Drakken nodded. "Yes. Are you...ready for dessert?" he asked.

She nodded her assent, and he served her a piece.

He hadn't put any strawberries in the fruit salad, and she realized it was probably so the cheesecake was all the more special. How did he even know strawberries were her favorite? She was sure she'd never told him. She took a bite.

"This is incredible!" she said.

Drakken blushed again—a reaction that was becoming more and more common with him, she noticed. He leaned down on his side as he continued eating his meal—he'd not yet finished for talking so much—as she slowly enjoyed the cheesecake. She shifted to move her legs around to her other side to give them a chance to breathe in the humidity, which was thankfully dropping.

"You must have worked really hard on all this..." Shego said, thinking again about his fourteen-hour work day prior to preparing their picnic.

Drakken blushed again and continued eating. A few minutes of silence passed, and Shego's mind kept returning to one subject. Despite her desire to put the future out of her mind, she found it impossible and was suddenly speaking about it.

"Do you like being good?" she blurted out.

Drakken started and looked thoughtful. He opened his mouth to answer, and then paused. His brow furrowed in a way that she found adorable—'Adorable?'—and he shoved the last bite of his lobster roll in his mouth, looking frustrated. After swallowing he took a long drink from his thermos of tea.

He lay down on his back and looked up at the clouds in the twilight sky. "I don't know..."

Shego poked at her cheesecake. "You seem happy... When you talk about your job every day."

Drakken shifted back to his side and pulled at his hair in annoyance. Shego reached over and pulled his high ponytail out. He took the elastic from her and fixed it back to normal himself.

"I do like the job..."

Shego took a drink and then moved her plate aside. She suddenly wasn't hungry anymore. She lay down on her back and listened to the sounds of the night. Distant sounds of traffic and chirruping tree frogs made up the majority of the chorus. But there was also water somewhere that she could hear.

"That cloud looks like a turtle," Drakken said, pointing.

Shego followed his gaze and found the indicated cloud. He was right.

"How was your day today?" Drakken asked, turning to look at her.

Shego felt her chest tighten. He never asked... He only ever talked about himself. Her day had been like every other. Eating. Napping. Working out. Reading and finding no enjoyment. A purposeless existence. And one that she was rapidly realizing she couldn't live anymore. That's why she was suddenly so concerned with the future.

Because she hoped that her future included Drakken, perhaps as much as he hoped his included her.

"That one looks like a donkey and a pig on a date," Shego said, pointing to a larger cloud.

"That was...very specific," Drakken commented.

"Well, look at it."

She watched as he narrowed his eyes as he gazed skyward, and then he yawned.

Shego chuckled. "Am I boring you, Doc?"

He turned toward her in a panic. "No! No, I—"

Shego reached out and touched his shoulder. "I'm just teasing. I know you're tired."

Drakken's whole frame relaxed. "...Oh..." he sighed in relief and lay on his back again.

They talked of nothing but clouds for several minutes, and gradually fell silent. Fireflies performed their silent, mysterious dance around them and faint stars began peeking through the bright moonlit sky above them. Shego found it to be unusually pleasant, just to be there with him. But of course, her mind wouldn't let her enjoy it. She wondered again about the future—a thought which was beginning to become a torture, and decided to ask him again. But when she rolled on her side to face him...his eyes were closed.

She blinked in surprise...and then realized it made perfect sense. He had been awake since around four that morning, had worked a fourteen hour day, cooked all evening, and now it was after eight o'clock.

She sat up and quietly cleared away the remnants of their picnic on the blanket between them, smelling the hydrangeas before moving them aside as well. She moved closer to him and studied his sleeping face. He looked calm...but his brow was lightly furrowed—a near-constant state of being, for him. The dark circles under his eyes seemed darker in the evening sky, not at all helped by his blue skin. But, somehow...the electric blue shirt he wore made his skin look healthier, with almost a glow to it. The moonlight aided the effect, and for a moment he didn't look like Drakken the tired nerdy scientist, but just...very handsome.

Shego moved nearer and lay on her side leaning slightly over him, debating on whether or not she should touch him. When he'd touched the small of her back earlier without asking, it had been very bold of him. That was one thing at least, about their dating... He was much better at respecting boundaries.

The decision was taken out of her hands as Drakken's eyes suddenly opened, seemingly startled by nothing. He blinked frantically for a moment before focusing on her face.

"Did I fall asleep?" he asked worriedly.

She nodded and grinned.

"I'm so sorry!" he said, his face twisting into a grimace.

"I don't mind," she said softly.

He suddenly seemed to become aware of how close she was to him, with the hair of her ponytail falling over his shoulder as she leaned over him. His anxiety faded as he looked up at her in a mixture of awe and nerves. And she didn't blame him, because she hadn't given him many indications one way or another if she enjoyed their dates.

It wasn't much different than being back at any of their lairs. They had the same conversations with occasional odd deviations, such as cloud formations. It was just the setting and their clothes that changed.

But she wanted to send him a clear message then and there. She leaned down and pressed a light, lingering kiss against his lips. It wasn't their first kiss, or their second... But it was the first that seemed to be without obligation motivating it. Not a good-night kiss after a date, or a kiss for the gluttonous reporters. This one was just theirs.

When she pulled away, Drakken was blushing and had a bit of a silly look on his face. He hummed delightfully almost to himself, and she reached up and pinched his cheek.

"Ow! Hey!"

"You just gonna dwell on that one, or really kiss me and make some new memories?"

Drakken looked elated. He set his hands on her waist and pulled her gently nearer. She set her forearms on his chest and settled her weight over him as she kissed him again, and this time he responded in kind. She felt a familiar fluttering in her chest, and that in combination with his touch took her breath away. When she pulled away to breathe, she was surprised to feel his hands pushing her away slightly.

"Would you like to go for a walk?"

There was a smile, and an eager hope in his eyes that compelled her.

"All right," she answered.

She moved away, and he rolled to his front and got up on his knees. He took another drink from his thermos and then rose to his feet, offering her his hand. She took it.

They started down the opposite side of the hill. The greenish-yellow flash of fireflies covered the field, occasionally brightening some of the color of the wildflowers but mostly giving the night a very surreal effect. Shego was so used to spending her life either hiding indoors or on the move, that she never stopped to actually look at the world.

As they descended the hill the sound of water grew closer, and Shego saw a small brook flowing through the trees. She wondered if Drakken had a destination in mind or if they were just walking. She had actually...been excited about the idea of kissing him more. Maybe she could incorporate that into their walk.

She definitely liked the feel of his hand gently holding hers.

"Where are we going?" she finally asked when they neared the bottom of the hill.

"Nowhere, really..." he said nervously. Why was he nervous, she wondered?

She held his hand a little tighter. The air around them had become cool and pleasant, and the other-worldly glow of the moon and fireflies was quickly making her forget everything except being with him. She looked up at him and noticed again how the moonlight and his bright shirt made his skin seem to glow. He was smiling softly and appeared thoughtful.

"Drakken..."

She stopped and set her hands on his shoulders. He smiled a bit nervously, but he set his hands on her waist. She leaned up on her toes to kiss him gently.

'Who am I kidding...'

"Mm, Shego?" Drakken asked after slowly pulling away.

"Yes?" she smiled up at him.

He took a step back and brought his hands together to fidget. He suddenly looked very anxious.

"Are you...having a good time?"

She smiled broadly. "Yes." It was true. And she hoped her smile encouraged him. She was rather hoping he would make a bolder move...or else she might have to.

"I..." Drakken glanced away and took another slight step back. Shego followed his gaze to the small brook, which wasn't so distant anymore. There were even more fireflies over the water. She looked back at Drakken. "I know it...hasn't been long."

Drakken got down on one knee.

'Oh no.'

He started to reach into his pocket.

"But I...think it's been long enough."

'Please no.'

He produced a small, black ring box from his pocket and started to hold it up.

"Shego, I—"

"No, no stop!" she said frantically, waving her hands and backing away.

Drakken's face fell. She felt her chest clench in pain at the hurt in his eyes. But she couldn't let him do that.

"Get up!" she demanded, hoping the tremor in her voice wasn't audible.

He got up, fidgeting with the box in his hands, his eyes desperate and innocent.

She turned on her heel and walked away, back in the direction they'd come. Her heart was pounding in panic and she didn't have any words for what he'd just done. So she walked away.

The fireflies had lost their mystique and suddenly seemed chaotic, their flashing like little tiny attacks on her mind and emotions as she hurried back toward their picnic site.

The chaos within her intensified as she thought of what had been about to happen. He was without a doubt about to present her with a ring and offer her forever. But what was forever? If it was just the life she was presently living, then...it wouldn't make her happy. And she couldn't break his heart by accepting the proposal and knowing she would only get more miserable as the days went by.

She heard him jogging behind her to catch up.

"Shego? I...uhm..."

She turned on her heel, the glare in her eyes halting his approach.

"How could you even dare...? I don't believe you, Drakken."

He looked so apologetic and scared, but everything that had been bothering her about their relationship was threatening to burst forth. She hoped she could hold it back. She wanted to let it out.

"I...I'm sorry, I... It's just...I know we've only been dating a short time, but we've been together for so long..."

"Yeah, and you know what? We were better before we were dating."

He recoiled. She'd hurt him. She felt a pang in her chest, and tried to explain.

"At least then we were...doing something together. We had common goals, we came up with ideas together, we worked well together and made each other better... What are we doing now?"

Her anger started to calm at the confused and devastated look in his eyes. She truly didn't want to hurt him. She'd been going along with his new experimental life, after all.

Drakken bit his lip and swallowed slowly before speaking. "I thought... But you agreed to...to stay with me, while I tried—"

"I didn't expect my life to be...sitting in the lair doing absolutely nothing while you go to your nine-to-five. Don't you realize I have done nothing since we moved and you took that job? I can't spend my life playing house, Drakken."

Shego was glad that for once in his life, he seemed to be listening and not immediately making the situation all about him. Yet another sign that he took them seriously, and that maybe...what he'd been about to offer her wasn't just a whim. But she couldn't just be his trophy wife.

"Are you saying...you want to go back to being evil?" he asked slowly.

Shego turned her face down and lightly rubbed her forehead. How could she know?

"I haven't even done anything while you've been trying out good, so I don't know. I have to do something, and I..." she shook her head, "I can't do what you do. I can't be...someone's employee."

He took in her words and then she could see his mind racing behind his eyes for a solution. But...she didn't know if one could be found. After the life she'd lived, first as a hero with Team Go since childhood, and then as a villain for much of adulthood... She didn't think she could settle for anything less than...

...Ruling the world. She sighed.

Drakken didn't seem able to find an answer either, and after a long minute where the only sounds were the chorus of frogs, he sighed too. He looked up at her.

"If I do...want to keep being good..." he began carefully, "will you still stay with me?"

She felt another pang in her chest. She could see in his eyes. Good was what he wanted. He liked his new life. She pursed her lips and considered for a moment, but then slowly shook her head.

"I have to do something. I need..." she took a deep breath, clenching her fists and raising them, igniting them for just a moment before releasing her breath in a sigh. "More."

She saw a sadness flit through Drakken's eyes, but it was gone in an instant. He cleared his throat.

"So if we go back to being evil...you'll stay with me?" he asked, nodding through the last words.

The clenching in Shego's chest grew stronger. She grit her teeth and turned to walk away again. In her distraction she'd passed the path that would return her to their picnic site and was closer to the brook now, and the hill next to her had grown too steep to ascend. Why did he have to be so...so...sacrificial? Why would he...

She stopped and turned to face him again, slightly startled by how closely he was following.

"Why would you give up what makes you happy for me?"

He swallowed anxiously, his eyes cautious and yet pleading. "Because I...because..."

Shego saw that he still held the ring box, clenched tightly in one of his hands.

"It won't mean anything if you're not with me."

His tone was a hair stronger than pathetic, and she wanted to scoff at him. But she couldn't for his sincerity.

She turned away again, but this time only stared out over the landscape, her eyes not focusing on any one thing. Why did he have to be all about her? He usually made things all about him! Which would be so much easier to deal with. Because if he said it was about his new job, then she could find it within her to walk away and break his heart. But when he was willing to leave the new life he'd found, for her...

She let out something between a grunt and a sigh as she rubbed her forehead again. The conversation was giving her a headache. She realized suddenly that it was both of them that were the problem. She turned around again.

"We have to stop this."

He blinked rapidly. "What?"

"You have to...stop making this all about me, and I have to stop making it all about you. We need to...have a serious discussion about what we really want. Or we're never going to get anywhere."

Drakken bit the inside of his cheek. He very clearly had a response, but he was holding it back.

"Then...what do you want?" he asked slowly.

Shego took a deep breath as her eyes narrowed and her jaw set.

"Power. What do you want?"

Drakken pursed his lips. He glanced to the side and took a step as if to start pacing, but then he looked back at her. The war on his face over behaving like a mature adult versus the emotional outburst she knew he wanted to make would have been comical in another situation. But as it was, she looked at him seriously and waited.

The battle was brief and the real him won, and he threw his hands out to the sides as the explosion came.

"You! I just want you. I don't care what else I do as long as you're with me!"

Shego felt the fluttering in her chest again. But she also felt the headache.

"Doc, life doesn't work like that. There has to be something else—"

"Whatever you want, Shego. If you want to take over the world then...that's what we'll do. If you want me to use my new position to infiltrate the highest levels of world governments and build a network to slowly topple them from within and rule the world that way, we can. If you—"

"Whoa, hold on. It sounds like you've thought about this."

Drakken glanced away nervously and shrugged. "Maybe."

Shego couldn't help the smirk that came to her face. But she confronted him again. "It can't be all about me. It has to be about you, too."

Drakken shifted and took a stronger stance in front of her. "I told you what I want."

His eyes were so dark blue they were almost black as he stared at her. The fluttering in her chest increased. Why was that happening to her? That shouldn't be happening to her.

His nervousness had dropped away and his gaze was so intense he almost looked angry, but she knew he wasn't. It was just a laser focus that he only applied when he was dead-set on something and nothing could shake him. She'd seen it a few times before, either on schemes that were near to succeeding or on others where he was so desperate not to lose that he seemed willing to give it all.

"Shego, I...we...we can figure the rest out. But what I want is— ...What I need is you." He went down on his knee again and held up the ring box.

"No!"

"Will you marry me?"

The opened box revealed a diamond solitaire set in a gold band. The moonshine caused the gem to almost glow in the same ethereal way that he was.

Shego's heart pounded as she looked between the ring and his intense gaze. And she knew...he meant every word he'd said. But what if in the end, it didn't make him happy?

"I want you to be happy, Drakken," she said, surprised at how weak her voice sounded.

"Then...marry me."

The feelings swirling in her head and chest were making her lightheaded. She didn't know how much longer she could take them. She fished for an excuse.

"We haven't even said 'I love you' yet."

Drakken closed the ring box and stood up. He fiercely grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him. She let her forearms rest on his chest as her fingers weakly gripped the front of his shirt. She was actually grateful for the support, as she didn't know how much longer she could keep her feet under the dizzying emotions and his intense gaze.

"I love you," he said.

The swirling and spinning in her chest were out of control. Her mouth moved to try to form a response, but she couldn't. She finally tilted her chin up and placed her lips softly against his. The rush that was washing coherent thought from her mind calmed ever-so slightly and when they slowly parted she knew.

She moved one arm up around his neck and rested her hand on the back of his head.

"I love you," she said. It was true... It was true.

She leaned forward to kiss him again, but he took her by surprise as his lips crashed against hers with passion. The kiss was like fire, their lips like tongues of flame as they danced wildly over the other's, seeking to consume. Just as Shego felt her trembling legs wouldn't hold her, she hopped up and wrapped her legs around Drakken's waist and held on with the last of her strength. He was surprised for a moment and stumbled, but soon found a sturdy stance as his hands gripped beneath her thighs to support her, never breaking the kiss.

A sudden luminescent flash of green right in front of their eyes startled them out of their passion, and Shego had the briefest moment to register 'firefly' as Drakken stumbled back and tripped, falling into the thankfully steeply inclined hill. The impact was unpleasant, but it had been a short fall, and he'd only held tighter to her as he went down. He blinked in distraction and irritation, but Shego's grin brought him back to the present as she shifted and adjusted her body comfortably atop his, resting her bare knees in the cool grass on either side of his legs.

Drakken blushed deeply at the intimacy and cleared his throat. Shego plucked a wildflower from near his head and playfully touched the petals to his lips. His fingers pressed into her back and slowly dragged upward. The intense swirling in Shego's chest returned, and she tossed the flower aside. She leaned down and kissed him soundly. His fingers pressed deeply into the flesh of her back as he returned the sensuous touch, and she moaned desirously into his mouth.

The pressure of his grip decreased and he slowly pulled away. She smiled down at him, and he returned her warm gaze. But the hint of fear in his eyes told her it was just a little too much too soon. And judging by the dizziness she still felt, it was probably too much for her too.

"I want to hear more about this idea to infiltrate world governments from within," she said with a smirk.

Drakken shook his head. "Not yet."

Shego was about to frown, but his hand left her back and she felt him shift slightly to the side. A moment later, the ring box was suddenly right in front of her face, the diamond ring shining within.

"Marry me."

The swirling feelings began to calm. Shego's face sobered as she stared at the ring. To actually commit to forever was very different from just...going on as they always had.

Drakken's face began to fall. In a panic, Shego leaned forward and kissed him. She couldn't bear the idea of his unhappiness...

And then the realization came, like the soft flash of a firefly. Wasn't what he was doing, exactly what she had been doing? He was willing to give up everything he wanted just for her, and...she had already done so. She'd lived with him for over two months now just...supporting him in whatever he wanted, doing nothing for herself. And as much as she dwelt on the seemingly pointless existence she'd been living...she was still happy. It was a joy every time he returned home, with a smile just for her.

It was love. And he was right. They could figure the rest out. The only thing she was really missing...was what he was offering.

She slowly lifted her lips from his to find him watching her in hope and confusion. She smiled and shifted to pick the ring up out of the box.

"Yes," she said, her smile growing. "Yes, Drakken. Yes."

His smile was brighter than the moon. He took the ring and slipped it on her finger. She leaned down and kissed him again, softly, and he hummed in delight. When it ended she shifted and lay her head down on his chest and under his chin, cuddling as close as she could.

'This is everything I want...'

She felt his fingers in her hair, and a thought suddenly occurred to her. She shifted up to look at him again.

"Drakken? Would you cut your hair?" she asked, hoping it didn't sound too blunt.

But his smile remained bright, and his eyes filled with a wonder and joy. Suddenly she was blushing. He continued softly stroking her hair.

"Anything for you," he said.