A/N: Flash fic because I CAN! Literally zero editing.
Yet another post-Graduation 'how they got together' gratuitous Drakgo, with very mild mature content per usual from me.
Inspired by the song "Because the Night" by 10,000 Maniacs.
Shego couldn't sleep.
After tossing and turning for hours, turning the air conditioner on and off, trying with varying amounts of blankets...she finally gave up.
She opened her eyes and stared at the slightly-lit ceiling of the hotel suite. Slightly lit because, her room had a balcony and the curtains were slightly parted.
She threw back the plush comforter and swung her legs over the side of the high bed, sliding down until her bare toes hit the carpeted floor. Even the carpet was fancy.
She crossed the room to the balcony doors and opened them, gazing out over the busy-ness of the city that was still awake past 3:00 AM. It was like her mind, unable or refusing to stop for all that needed doing.
Except that Shego didn't know what needed doing. All she knew was, everything had changed. But it shouldn't have.
They should have been able to just go home. If a lair could be called home. They never called it that. Or rather, Drakken didn't. He was always maintaining the persona. 'Back to the lair, Shego,' he would say after a successful break-in or even a retreat from Kim Possible.
And therein was another change. Kim Possible. Their arch-nemesis, because all villains had one and she was the thorn in their side. Except she had fought alongside them, and for them. True, it was only coincidence. The aliens had happened to kidnap both Kim and Drakken, and they all escaped together and sort of stuck together out of necessity. Who wouldn't stick with someone who could fight during an alien invasion?
But Kim Possible wasn't supposed to be their advocate. And it was the teen cheerleader's fault that they were at a hotel in New York City, and why they had spent the day listening to speeches, Drakken even making one—stumbling though it was—and then attending press conferences, eating at a fancy dinner, shaking hands, and smiling...
It was too much 'nice' for any person, let alone the green-skinned villainess. And as soon as it had ended, she had abandoned Drakken to whatever end and vanished into her bedroom in the complimentary penthouse suite. But for all the hours she had attempted sleep, all she was left with was heavy eyelids and an even more tormented heart.
She wasn't a hero. She didn't want to be a hero. The mere suggestion made her skin crawl.
And yet there had been Kim, telling the world on global television that saving the world wouldn't have been possible without Dr. Drakken and Shego. And now the world was treating her differently.
It wasn't that she couldn't change it. She wouldn't even need to do anything. She had built enough of a worldwide reputation that merely the suggestion of her remaining evil would convince everyone. And then to commit a crime on top of it would end all of the nonsense about heroics.
On that thought, it should have been easy to sleep. But there was one thing stopping her from her obvious course, plaguing her every moment.
Drakken.
He was thrilled. The praise, the questions, the attention... He wasn't practiced at being a celebrity by any means, but he was finally getting everything he had ever wanted. Because Shego knew, it wasn't about taking over the world really. It was about validation. Recognition. Just simple and pure acknowledgment of his genius. And now finally in the most unlikely of ways, he had it.
And again, it was Kim Possible who was to thank.
Shego grimaced. Along with her plan of just announcing her evil intent would also be the simple ignoring of the teen. Or fighting her, which would make even more of a statement. But again she had a problem.
Kim had said something on the alien ship that had been like sharp cords, wrapping her up and binding her tight from head to toe, immovable in any direction. The teen had implied that she, Shego, feared villainess, had feelings for her boss.
And it was true.
It was the reason she couldn't just leave. It was the reason she was in agony over the potential future of heroism that Drakken had apparently openly embraced, if that day was any indication. She didn't want to be a hero...but she didn't want to leave him. And it would be a selfishness that fought against her heart to insist he remain a villain with her.
Kim had been right, much to Shego's annoyance. She didn't know when her feelings had changed to something deeper than evil partner and reluctant friend, but...they had. And now that softness was ruining everything.
With a groan, Shego left the balcony and headed for the bedroom door. The fancy foods had upset her stomach and she recalled seeing some antacids in the massive gift basket they had found when they first entered the suite.
When Shego stepped into the main room the first thing she noticed was...his light was on. Under the crack of the door, she could see the amber glow that said he was awake too. And a moment later, the shadow of footfalls as he obviously paced back and forth through the room.
She turned on the light of the kitchenette and then looked for the antacids. They were easy to find, and after getting some water and swallowing one down she glanced back to Drakken's bedroom door.
The light had gone out.
Shego's lips suddenly felt very dry, and she poured another glass of water. She drank it slowly and stared at her boss's door, wondering what had been keeping him awake.
Probably...just adrenaline from everything that had happened, she reasoned. He had been abducted by aliens and then honored as the savior of the world all in less than forty-eight hours. Not to mention being turned into a plant-human hybrid by his own ill-conceived invention.
Or not so ill-conceived, since it had helped save the world.
Shego set the empty glass on the counter and approached his door, her heart suddenly beating hard. She stopped outside and tried to calm her heavy breathing. And then inexplicably, she found her hand reaching up to her collar and unfastening the top two buttons of her pajama shirt.
She raised a fist to knock on his door...and then instead slowly turned the handle.
"Dr. D.?" she whispered as she pulled the door open.
"Shego?" he heard his alarmed but also whispered response, and watched him sit up in the bed quickly. She could imagine the anxious look on his face, hidden by the dark as his curtains were fully closed. Only the tiniest sliver of light entered the room beneath them, and it was enough for her to pad over to his bedside.
"What's wrong?" Drakken said, his face turning toward her.
Standing at his bedside, Shego suddenly didn't know what she was doing in there. No specific thought had brought her. She just felt...compelled. But the invisible cords that bound her heart and soul seemed to loosen ever-so-slightly in his presence.
"I saw your light on," she finally said.
"Oh, yes. I couldn't sleep."
Shego sat down on the edge of the bed and faced him, though all she could see was his faint silhouette. Drakken cleared his throat in that uncomfortable way she knew.
"I take it...you couldn't either?"
Shego shook her head, and then remembered he couldn't see.
"No."
Silence. Drakken shifted uneasily.
"It was a...long day," he said.
"Long couple of days, especially for you," she said quietly. She took a breath. "How's that plant doing?"
Drakken reached up behind his neck. "It's asleep, apparently. At least someone can sleep..." he muttered.
"Why couldn't you sleep?" Shego asked.
Drakken shifted again. "Ah... Lots to think about."
Shego scooted a little further onto the edge of the bed and leaned on her hand.
"Like what?"
Drakken's chin dropped in the dark, and she couldn't see any of his features anymore. Several moments of silence followed, but Shego wasn't about to move. She needed the cords entrapping her to either be cut off, or to tighten and kill her entirely. She couldn't go on feeling half-choked.
"They called me a hero."
"Probably heard that word over a hundred times today, between the ceremony and the press conference and the banquet. They were really laying it on thick."
Drakken's chin rose, and Shego desperately wished she could see his face.
"They weren't paying much attention to you."
Shego was taken aback for a moment before recognizing what he was doing.
"That's because this isn't about me. It's about you."
Drakken shifted back slightly and away from her. She recognized a tense intake of his breath.
"What are you doing here, anyway?" he asked. If a question could be defensive, his was.
Shego felt her heart, which had calmed some, begin to race again.
"I saw your light on," she said evenly.
"Since when do you come into my room for pillow talk?"
Shego's jaw worked silently in the darkness as she tried to think of a response. She had a thought...an irrational, absurd thought, of something she could do rather than talk...
She pushed it away.
"Hey, don't get on my case for trying to be nice," she snapped back at him. "You were almost killed by aliens. Sheesh."
She watched the silhouette of Drakken's frame slowly relax in the dark.
"Oh..."
Shego's heart was still racing. The irrational thought she'd had—that she'd also had in the kitchenette, but refused to give presence to—was still pressing at her. But it wasn't realistic... She needed to think of something else to say.
Drakken beat her to it.
"That...actually, um. Thank you for...coming after me."
Shego's head snapped up as her heart continued to race.
"The world may not know what you really did, but... I'm not as dense as I seem. I know you didn't have to come after me. So, um. Yes. Thank you, Shego."
The invisible cords around Shego loosened ever so slightly. Her heart beat harder. Her lips parted...but as a lump of fear rose in her throat, the cords tightened again.
"Gotta have you around to sign my next paycheck," she said.
Drakken's frame slumped slightly in the dark. "Mmh. Yes."
She was choking. The cords were choking her. She had to break free, and she thought she knew how, but...she didn't know if there would be a worse fate waiting for her once she did.
"Shego?"
She realized she could hear her breaths, quick and heavy in the otherwise silent room. And she couldn't stand it anymore.
In one quick move she had launched across the distance and had Drakken's face held in her hands as her lips kissed his, slowly and deeply.
"Mmhf! Shego!" Drakken cried in muffled shocked alarm as he tried to pull free, his hands grabbing her wrists. But she only moved her hands behind his head, her fingers sliding into his hair as she pulled his face closer to hers and continued kissing him.
He pulled at her forearms. And then when she crawled closer to straddle his legs over the blankets he pushed at her shoulders. But still she kissed him, the invisible cords that bound her loosening just enough to let her pursue her desperate course as she hoped against all she knew that he might possibly reciprocate her feelings.
And then...finally...the pressure of his hands ceased to be against her as his fingers gripped her shoulders. She pulled back with a gasp and set her forehead against his in the dark as she tried to catch her breath.
"Shego... What are you doing?" Drakken's voice was breathless, impatient, and confused.
"Isn't it obvious?" she breathed, pulling his hair free from its ponytail and then running her fingers up across his scalp.
"But why?"
She could hear the accusation in his voice, and it made her mad. She kissed him hard, her thighs tightening on his hips over the blankets as she pushed him back until he was leaning on his elbows and his head nearly bumped the headboard. He pulled his face sideways and away from her kiss.
"Come on, Dr. D..." she breathed again, annoyed by the near-pleading tone of her voice.
"It is not obvious!" he said, and she knew his face was turned into a frustrated scowl.
Shego's hands left his hair to rest on his chest, the fingers of one hand running up and down his collar.
"I...I want you," she said factually, wondering if he could see her face if that would convince him. But she also didn't want him to see how pathetic she must look, begging a man obviously not interested into being with her.
"This isn't you," Drakken said a moment later, shifting and trying to get out from under her. "You...you...someone's done something to you, or...or something."
Shego allowed herself to be pushed off of his lap, where she landed on her side on the center of the bed. She leaned up on her arm as she peered at his dark silhouette. She hesitated... But there was no turning back at that point.
"Don't you want me?"
The silence that followed gave her hope. And after a few moments she lit up one of her hands in the dark and held it between them, the flickering green light revealing the frustration and confusion in his face. She had no idea what she must look like. Only that she was determined, and there were very few things that would convince her to leave his bed that night.
"What kind of question is that?" Drakken asked with a sudden scowl.
"A legitimate one," Shego retorted.
"You're...you're making fun of me," Drakken said, crossing his arms across his chest.
Shego shifted to sit upright. "No...no I'm not."
Her free hand rose and undid another button of her shirt. Drakken's brow shot up and a second later his hand was on hers, halting her actions.
"Shego! What...what's going on?" His voice now held an audible tremor. And seeing the fear and confusion on his face finally caused hers to fall. The invisible cords tightened.
"I want you..." she said quietly.
"Why all of a sudden? Because I'm a hero?" he came back quickly in accusation.
Her eyes narrowed, but the sadness remained.
"Because I...can't go on without you. I just...want it to last."
Drakken's frustration faded as the confusion rose, and the fear remained. He shook his head. "Shego, you're not making sense."
Her gaze darkened as it snapped up to him.
"Then tell me you don't want me! If you don't, then just say it!"
Drakken's lips parted...and nothing came out.
Shego let her glow go out and with a growl she pounced on him again. This time he didn't fight her, but he didn't respond either. He simply accepted the fierce kiss she gave him and leaned back to his elbows again. And frustrated by his lack of response, Shego brought her hands over his chest in the dark until she found the buttons of his pajama shirt and began undoing them.
Drakken broke out of the kiss. "This...isn't right. Something's wrong. What's wrong?"
She growled in frustration, her nails briefly digging into his flesh. "Why won't you just take me?" Her voice came out shrill, and it sounded pathetic to her ears, having spent years hardening herself against feelings.
"You can't... Shego, you have to acknowledge that something isn't right!"
"Why? What's not right?" she fairly shouted.
"You. And me, like this. This isn't right."
"Why couldn't it be right?" she asked angrily, lifting one of her hands and lighting the room in a green glow again.
"Because you're not really interested in me. And I won't take advantage of you," he came back immediately, his face surprisingly calm and resolute.
Shego sank back, still straddling his lap from her second attack.
"I... Wait. But do you want me?"
Drakken took in a breath as his jaw opened, his eyes flashing in a brief reveal of panic. And then, "No," he said firmly.
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
"You are. You're curious at least."
Drakken bit his lip.
"How can I convince you I want you?" Shego asked, crossing her arms.
Drakken's jaw worked for a moment before he shook his head.
"You can't."
Shego bit down on a growl and threw her head back instead. "Fine then. Hypothetically. If a world existed where I...was interested in you, what would prove it to you?"
Drakken glowered at her. She glowered back.
"Nghh." Drakken turned away with a frown. "You would...tell me how brilliant I am," he grumbled. "And...handsome. And how my genius will lead me to ruling the world someday."
Shego blinked in surprise. "You still want to?"
"What?" Drakken turned toward her.
"Rule the world?"
Drakken's brow furrowed as his expression darkened. "I..."
Shego took a breath. "...Don't know what you want?"
He looked at her wonderingly, and she ran the fingers of her non-glowing hand back through her hair before she scooted forward again. His eyes grew panicked at her closeness and the intimate posture, and then she leaned in close to his face and brought her hand near so that he could clearly see her.
"Drakken," she began. Her heart was racing. "I think you're brilliant. And handsome. And you could rule the world in a heartbeat with that genius of yours, if you'd just take my advice sometimes when you get stuck on something stupid."
Drakken's expression cleared and gave way to awe.
"Shego...?"
"Now would you please kiss me, you dork?"
He blinked and looked apprehensive. She rolled her eyes and leaned down to place her lips against his, less violently this time. And after a long moment...he responded. Slowly, and uncertainly, but growing in confidence.
Shego's extinguished hands found his hair again, and after running her fingers through it several times she scraped her nails slowly and gently down his scalp and along his neck into his collar. She could feel the place where the mutant vine would emerge, and she gently rubbed her fingers over the spot before bringing her hands around to rest under his jaw.
His hands finally remembered how to move and set upon her shoulders, doing nothing else as his lips tentatively moved against hers, the gentle press and pull of flesh as slow and sensual as Shego had ever experienced. After several seconds she slid her hands down to his chest and began working on his buttons again.
His breath caught, and his lips left hers briefly, their noses touching as she hurriedly continued her task.
"Why...?"
"How many times do I have to tell you I want you," she answered through the darkness. His buttons undone, she tried pulling his shirt off. But he was leaning on his elbows and blocking the garment's removal.
"But...why me? Why now? Why... Are you sure?"
"So sure," she said as her lips dove straight for his chest. She traced patterns in the dark with the soft press of her lips on his skin. His chest rose and fell heavily with his quick breaths as she boldly moved lower to kiss his soft stomach, all the way down to his navel, and then up again to his neck.
The only sound besides the occasional smack of her lips on his skin were his quick breaths, and annoyed, Shego finally sat up.
"But on the other hand, if I'm literally going to have to do everything then maybe this was a bad idea."
She heard Drakken's nervous gulp, but then she was startled as his hands were suddenly on her waist. They started to slide up her sides, but she grabbed them and stopped them. She pushed them back down to the top of her hips, and then pulled the fabric of her shirt away so his hands touched her bare flesh.
"Okay. Go."
Drakken didn't move. She knew he was holding his breath. And then finally, slowly his hands slid up her sides. Her breath caught at the surprisingly smooth touch, although perhaps not-so-surprising considering he always wore gloves. His hands arrived at the edge of her bra and stopped.
"...Take it off," she told him.
"What?" he gasped so quietly she barely heard.
"Ugh," she said, and quickly unbuttoned her shirt. She heard Drakken gasp again when she tossed the garment away, and then she found one of his hands and moved it to her back and over the clasp of her bra. She left his hand there and set both of hers atop her thighs. His other hand was still frozen on her side.
She needed him to do it. It had to be his choice, and not hers, or the cords that were strangling her would never relent.
She lifted a hand and ignited it between them, revealing his uncertain and worried face. He looked up into her eyes questioningly, seeming again to ask why.
"Take me," she told him.
His breath caught...he swallowed nervously... And then his face cleared, the anxiety replaced by calm. He slid his fingers beneath the clasp of her bra and pulled it free.
Her glow dying, she fell against his chest and kissed him passionately. He responded in kind, but what soothed the racing of her heart was the way he hurriedly pulled at the straps of her bra to fully free her from the garment.
Morning came too soon, as the alarm that had been set went off. They both rose groggily, Drakken slapping the machine with a groan and then rubbing his hand over his face. Shego wanted to keep her eyes closed, but curiosity got the better of her and she stared through the tired, narrowed slits of her eyes at his face.
He turned back from the alarm and blinked tiredly at her, seeming to be unready to formulate thought. But she forced the issue, curling her naked body against his and laying one of her legs over his. He blinked rapidly again as he came to a greater awareness, his gaze finally settling on hers.
She stared at him in question, and she knew in hope as well. It was one thing to act on passions in the dark. It was another thing entirely to face reality in the light of day.
His gaze was equally uncertain if not a bit fearful. She set her hand on his bicep and gripped it gently as she continued staring. His gaze darted away as his expression grew troubled.
Shego took a deep breath. "We... You have that breakfast at eight," she said quietly.
Drakken's face became thoughtful and slowly, to her surprise, turned to annoyance.
"I'd rather go back home."
"...To the lair?"
"Of course the lair. Where else?"
Shego took a slow breath as she gently rubbed his bicep.
"Me too," she said.
Drakken's eyes found hers again. She saw in them the question remained, but the doubt from the night had gone. Now it was only the question that she herself had wondered, that had kept her from sleeping and had forced her hand.
"And we can...get back to taking over the world," she said in one breath.
Drakken's face slowly formed a grin.
"And you'll show them what you can really do."
Drakken's grin turned wicked. "We will."
The invisible cords that had been strangling Shego vanished in an instant. A weight lifted off of her and she sighed in relief. She rolled away from him to lay on her back, the sensation was so great, and she felt she needed space to let the weight fully leave her.
"Shego?" Drakken asked, shifting toward her with a look of concern.
She smirked at him. "Take me."
He grinned.