A/N: Tumblr prompt fill, from an Anonymous requester. The prompt: "Lazy morning kisses before they've even opened their eyes, still mumbling half-coherently, not wanting to wake up." I had several ideas for this actually, but they all felt too easy. I tried for something a little more challenging. Hope you enjoy it, Anon!
There was a cool breeze blowing, and it was a moonless night. But the lights from the deck illuminated the beach for several yards, so Drakken stood about five feet off of the wooden boardwalk into the sand. He was still wearing his swim trunks but had put on a jacket to protect against the chill of the night air.
There wasn't much of the dark ocean to see that night, but still he gazed out over the waters thoughtfully. For once in his life...he didn't have something to think about. Or rather, while he did...there was nothing he could do about the situation. So he recognized there was no point in thinking about it. Not to mention... It scared him.
Behind him the windows of the large beach house were open, so he heard when the shower turned off, indicating Shego had finished. They had had a remarkably fun and relaxing first day at their new residence spent exploring as much of their small island as they could. Shego had even convinced him to try wake-boarding, which he decided after trying he'd rather watch her do than do again himself.
The day had been a nice change from their recent endeavors, but exhausting. And now that it was coming to a close he felt his mind wandering back to the problem that had brought them to the beach house in the first place—or rather, the safe house. Because that's what it was.
"Drakken."
He turned around and saw Shego approaching wearing a blue button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up and the hem hitting at the middle of her thighs. The fabric was almost transparent, not helped by the touch of her damp hair, and he could see she'd donned her undergarments as well.
"Mm?"
"You probably shouldn't be out here," she said. There was concern and demand in her voice, but her face and eyes were smiling.
He smiled back. "What are you going to do about it?"
She stepped into the sand beyond the boardwalk, the particles sticking to her damp feet, and walked until she was right in front of him.
"What do you think I should do about it?" she asked with a smirk.
Drakken pretended to look thoughtful. "Should I be punished?"
Shego made an equal show of deep thought. "Hmmm...yes. You sleep on the couch tonight," she said, turning and walking back to the house.
"What...? But... Shego!" Drakken pleaded.
She glanced back and smirked playfully as she ascended the patio steps.
"Get up here and change my mind," she teased.
Drakken's grin became fierce and he broke into a run. She squealed in delight and attempted escape, but he caught her around the waist and tackled her down onto the soft cushions of the double-chaise lounge.
He had her pinned with his weight and with his hands on her elbows as they lay askew on the large, flat surface. They exchanged a playful, happy look for a moment before she smirked again.
"I don't see you convincing me."
Drakken kissed her lips softly, and then immediately switched his attentions to her neck.
"Mmm!" she hummed in delight and bit her lower lip, her back arching and pressing her body up into his.
He pushed her damp hair aside and continued kissing up behind her ear, then over her ear, and onto her forehead.
"Mmmm..." she hummed, sighing this time as her arms went around him and lazily fell down his back, her fingers just barely clinging to his jacket to keep her arms from falling.
Drakken slowly kissed all across her forehead, then down to the tip of her nose. He placed longer kisses on each cheek in turn, and then nuzzled his lips against hers. She met him with passion, her tongue pressing at the center of his lips until he relented and allowed the sensuous touch.
Her arms found their strength as she gripped his back tightly, and her slim body writhed beneath his. Drakken wondered what had gotten her so frisky as he kissed her passionately, shifting to be fully over her as her legs wrapped around his.
She broke the kiss suddenly with a gasp and a sigh, and then looked adoringly into his eyes. "Let's go inside."
Drakken began to shift, and then paused with an amused smirk.
"Were you just...trying to get me back in where it's safe?"
Shego's brow rose as her expression suddenly became serious. "Are you complaining?"
Drakken's face fell ever-so slightly. "I just...well, I think..."
Shego stopped his words by trapping his lower lip between hers, and then kissing his cheek.
"Let's go inside," she said with a mischievous smile.
Drakken took a slow breath and his good humor returned. "The bed does look really comfy."
Shego smirked. "Only one way to find out."
Gray light was the first sensation Drakken became aware of. And then the odd mixture of heaviness and lightness of the plush white comforter of the queen-sized bed in the beach house. He was aware of his head on the pillow, and of feeling perhaps just slightly too warm. But he was too exhausted to do anything about it.
The activity of the day before, plus the stress of their new situation were the cause of his weary state, he knew. Those, and the veritable marathon Shego had put him through after they had agreed to test out the bed had taken the last of his energy. Though he and Shego had been a couple for more than half a year and he was comfortable with their relationship, he still frequently found himself awed by her passion and desire...for him, of all people.
He let the gray light fade as he drifted back into the memories of the day and night before. Lunch on the patio... Laughter as they teased each other about the different foods they refused to eat... Shego laughing as he fell off the wake-board time and again, while she looked like a professional athlete each time it was her turn. Holding hands as the sun went down and they walked their island's perimeter beach... And then the night.
What a night.
Drakken hadn't realized it was possible to make love for so many hours. But Shego obviously had knowledge he didn't, and she'd made it last. In the warm lamp light of the nearly all-white room he felt as if they'd been transported to another world, and for those hours he forgot that anything existed beyond those walls and the woman he loved.
In his half-awake state he recalled every kiss, every touch... The look of love and elation in her eyes through it all... The chilling reality that had sent them to the island suddenly seemed very far away. He had never been happier than he'd been in the past twenty-four hours. And making it extra special was the awareness that Shego was very deliberately trying to make him happy.
His thoughts tried to drift to the reason for their isolation, and he forced himself to focus on the present. The softness of the bed, the warmth and pure comfort he felt...
He realized suddenly that Shego wasn't in his arms. He opened his eyes to tiny slits in the gray pre-dawn light and saw her calm, sleeping face about a foot away in the large bed. She had the sheets and comforter pulled up to her chin just as he did, and she looked as peaceful and happy as he felt.
He shifted on the bed to close the distance between them and set his arm around her waist. After their marathon of love-making the night before he had tiredly donned his pajama pants and she had playfully stolen the shirt. He felt the familiar fabric at her waist for a moment before he relaxed and let himself drift back into sleep.
The new day and its realities could wait.
He must have only been asleep for minutes before he woke again to the gray light, but this time it was to Shego's arm around him and her fingers slowly moving through his hair. When he peered at her her eyes were closed, but something about his posture must have signaled his wakefulness because she opened her eyes ever-so-slightly to look at him.
"Mmm..." Her hum was so soft he might not have heard it but for her placing her lips un-moving against his.
He smiled tiredly in pleasure and lightly pressed back against the sweetness of her kiss. She hummed again and returned the gesture, this time parting her lips ever-so slightly to try to capture one of his.
She closed her eyes again and he followed suit, slipping his arm further around her and burying his hand in her hair. He put all of his limited focus into gently capturing her lips between his and slowly pulling away. She responded with an equally slow but lazy open-mouthed kiss, her tongue tracing against the small parting of his lips before she pulled away.
"Mmmh..." she murmured ever-so softly, "Dr. D..."
He responded with a kiss in kind, their tongues meeting briefly in a soft caress, before he shifted his body closer to rest his forehead against hers. His attention had been effectively refocused, but he had no desire to wake up. The peace of the moment was too great to break, and he concentrated on the the coolness of her forehead, the softness of her hair, and the feel of her breaths as her stomach pressed against his in rhythm.
He sleepily kissed her again but missed his target, only touching the corner of her mouth. She slid her lips over to meet his and after the soft pressing, she captured his lower lip again and nibbled it lightly. He blindly allowed it, too happy to wonder at any of her actions anymore.
She shifted closer to press her body tightly into his, wrapping one leg around him as she kissed him more softly and then hummed in contentment. He mirrored the touch and let his lips linger against hers for several seconds before sighing softly through his nose and letting his head sink into the pillow again.
Moments passed. He was very nearly asleep again, so much so that he almost didn't notice when her lips rested on his and pressed with a feather-light touch.
"Mmm... Your lips are warm..." she murmured, her words almost slurring together.
He didn't want to wake up. He wanted to stay in the perfect moment forever. But a familiar thought reached him that he had never voiced, and it was the type of thought to keep a person up at night. He pulled back enough that she blinked and peered at him through bleary eyes.
"Why me...Shego?" he breathed. "You could have had anyone."
She looked almost sad for a moment as her fingers ran through his hair.
"There isn't anyone else I wanted," she answered. And she ended the conversation by snuggling back against him and kissing him soundly.
He gasped in surprise at the sudden, powerful kiss, but he returned it. Gradually the intensity faded back to the half-awake calm they had rested in before. She rested her face against his as her lips softly kissed his cheek, and then his lips.
"Don't ever talk like that again, Drew Lipsky," she said softly against his lips.
Drakken's heart soared. He held her close and let his lips speak for him, tired though he was.
As the minutes passed he felt himself drifting back to sleep, despite the brightening of the room beyond his closed eyes. He knew the sun was coming up. But he was ready again to forget everything else in the world except the woman he loved sleeping in his arms.
Until...
'Beep beep beep beep.'
A quiet, distant beeping sound reached his ear. It was so quiet he was surprised he'd heard it at all. He listened again for a long moment, thinking perhaps he'd imagined it. But then he heard it again. And again.
His eyes flew open. Shego's already were, and met his.
"Sheg—"
She moved faster than he could speak, rolling out of the bed and slipping her underwear on and then shoving her feet into her tennis shoes. Drakken sat up and looked around in fear as Shego buttoned the pajama shirt to a decent level.
"What if it's—"
She silenced him with an upheld hand, her eyes cold and alert as she listened.
The fierce anger and determination in her eyes that should have made him feel safe only made him more fearful, and he sat up and hugged his knees to his chest, looking around their haven nervously.
The quiet beeping sounded again. Shego's eyes narrowed. A moment...and it came again.
Drakken shifted, but Shego's hand halted him with a gesture for the second time. She gave him a look that could freeze the hearts of even the most hardened criminals. He knew that his task was to be as still and invisible as possible.
Shego stepped soundlessly to the door and vanished.
Drakken didn't even dare move his head to look around. He listened for Shego's step anywhere in the house, but she was a master of stealth. Which was good for him, because if their safe house had been compromised then whoever might be invading would never know she was coming.
The first attempt on his life had been nerve-racking to say the least—an exploding taxi-cab, that he hadn't been sitting in by mere chance as he had paused to give Shego a goodbye kiss before he left for his lecture. Of course after that incident, she had set herself to attending all of the remaining lectures on his tour.
Nearly being run over twice in the next week had caused him to watch his back every time he crossed a street. But potential death-by-car doesn't induce the same level of fear as almost being shot. It changes one's entire way of viewing the world, he realized several days afterwards. The bullet passed so close to his face that he could hear it and feel the heat and the air displacement. He later learned from forensics it was the type of bullet that explodes once entering its target, and would have completely obliterated his skull...
Needless to say, he had become afraid to leave the lair. And afraid to stay inside, since it wasn't exactly a secret where he lived after he had saved the world from an alien invasion. And after a week of him jumping at his own shadow, it had been Shego who contacted Global Justice. As they were Drakken's sponsors for his lecture tour, it hadn't taken any convincing for them to send the couple away to a private island where they could disappear until whoever was after Drakken was found and captured.
Drakken realized suddenly that the beeping had stopped. He listened intently.
A minute passed. And then he thought he heard the faintest shift of fabric. A moment later he identified the sound as someone sitting on a plush chair. He slipped as slowly and silently as possible out of the bed and tiptoed to the open doorway, peering out.
Across the hall and through another door, he could just make out Shego sitting on the living room sofa. Her elbows were on her knees as she leaned forward with her head in her hands, a look of distress marring her features.
Drakken's brow furrowed. He knew they were safe, or else he'd have heard a commotion. So why...?
Shego rubbed her eyes with one heel of her hands and looked up, blinking several times.
Drakken bit his lip and turned to tiptoe back to the bed as understanding dawned. Shego was as terrified as he was. But she wasn't letting it show. In fact, she had been uncharacteristically cheerful since a few days before their departure from the lair.
Their first day at the beach house, like a dream vacation, and their night of passion... Drakken realized it was all for his benefit, to help him forget the threat on his life.
She was so strong.
He had resumed his position sitting on the bed by the time Shego re-entered the room. She tossed a small battery once in her hand before setting it atop the vanity and then stepping back to the bed with her brow twisted in annoyance.
"What was it?" Drakken asked.
"Carbon monoxide detector. Low battery. I changed it," she said, as she sat down and pushed her shoes off.
Drakken bit his lip and pressed forward with the difficult subject. "This would...probably be over faster if you helped with the investigation."
Shego turned to him with a sharp gaze. "It's a terrorist organization. They probably have operatives in every country. For once, this is actually a job better suited to Global Justice." She turned to crawl on her knees and toward him over the bed. "And you'll be safer with me."
Drakken nodded at her conversation-ending tone, his brow furrowing.
Shego's hand applying slight pressure under his jaw caused him to look up. She was smirking at him and her eyes were adoring.
"I believe you were kissing me?" she said.
He stared into her eyes. And deep beneath the happiness she projected he could see the calculation, the concern, and the determination. While he realized now that part of her motivation was to keep him calm and distracted, he also knew her desire was true, or she wouldn't be doing it.
She was still Shego.
He opened his arms to her and she nestled into his embrace. He kissed her once, but then pulled away to hug her tightly.
"I love you so much..." he breathed into her hair as he rested his chin on her shoulder.
He felt her tense ever-so slightly, but he ignored it as he gently rocked her. The words weren't something they said often, showing their affection more through actions. But nothing felt more right in that moment. After all...her very presence on the island, her promise of protection, and her ardent attempts to make him forget the reason for their isolation were her own declaration of love. And what did he have to give back to her?
After a minute he felt the slight tension leave her and she pulled back to look at him, her hands moving up to gently hold the sides of his face.
As he looked into her eyes the pretense was gone, and he could see her worry more clearly. But the love was stronger as she stared at him.
"I love you too," she said.
He smiled gently and set his forehead against hers.
"I...believe you were kissing me?" he said softly.
She smiled broadly as she brought her lips to meet his. She hummed in pleasure as he returned the kiss, and he pulled her down to snuggle back into the bed. And for that moment, the only world that existed was the one with her smiling in happiness as they melted into each other's embrace.