It had only been a few weeks since she had moved into the lair, and life had seemingly gotten better. Not only had she been getting much more sleep, but she also found herself enjoying the lair life. Drakken was hardly ever in the living space as he spent a lot of time in the lab, so she had plenty of privacy, but she also didn't have to be alone if she didn't want to be. If she felt like it, she could go down to the lab and start working with the Dr or joining him in the rare times he let himself relax and watch TV, and having that freedom to do either or felt incredibly satisfying. Drakken also had the henchmen clean, so she never had to wash the dishes or scrub the toilet. They even cleaned Drakken's room once a week! (Seeing that for the first time shocked her so bad she had to threaten the henchmen to not go anywhere near her bedroom or her laundry).
Nevertheless, she was happy. Oddly, she felt happier than she had in a long time. She hadn't had a true home since leaving her brothers, and knowing that Drakken both wanted and needed her here filled a void she didn't know she had.
"Shego, I need you to put on your sexist dress." Drakken's demand snapped her out of her happy thoughts.
On impulse, her hands ignited. "Excuse me?"
He recognized her anger and chuckled at her misjudgment. He put his hands up in surrender and shook his head. "Nothing like that! I just need information, and your, uh, advances, would help us get it."
The fire in her palms disappeared as she quickly understood that he wasn't asking what she originally thought he was asking. However, she was still annoyed at the suggestion and crossed her arms. "What are you talking about, Drakken?"
He walked toward her and put his arm around her, and the register in his voice raised, letting her know that he was about to tell a story. She rolled her eyes, but she didn't immediately shove him away. "Imagine, Shego, a younger Dr. Drakken, building the greatest invention of all time. Only to have his friends laugh at him!"
She snorted. "Yeah, you getting laughed at makes total sense."
"Argggg Shego!" He removed his arm from around her shoulder and stomped his foot. "I will have my revenge!"
Shego ran her hands through her hair in an attempt to fix what Drakken's arm messed up. "I thought we were in the business of world domination, Dr. D."
"I can do more than one thing, Shego!"
She sighed. "And what does your revenge have to do with me flirting with some low life?"
His arm found his way back around her shoulders, but she oddly didn't mind. He was safe, she decided. "You see, Shego, out of this group of people, only one of them remains unmarried. I need you to get information about the other two, so I have all my ducks in a row before attacking!"
She shoved him away at that. "Aren't you a genius? Can you not look them up?"
Drakken rubbed the hip that Shego had shoved. "Yes, and I have gathered up as much intel as I can from the internet. I want more. I want details about their lives, and when the time is right, I will attack them with the very invention that they made fun of!" He paused for a minute before saying the line she had expected him to say. "Plus, uh you know, the revenge will be all the more sweet when John Ramesh finds himself falling for you, just for you to reveal that you've been working for me!"
She smacked him. Hard. Before he could speak, green plasma lit in her hands and she blasted him with it, causing him to fly across the room. His body hit the wall before falling to the ground. "So you want to use me like some object?" She walked slowly toward him, her hands still on fire.
"No, no, no, Shego. I just-" He attempted to stand up, but she blasted him again.
She knelt down to his level, so their eyes could meet. She grabbed his chin and held it lightly with her fingers. "I'm taking a much needed vacation. When I get back, there better be no more mention of me making a move on someone just so you can have revenge. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
He nodded slowly, causing her to drop his chin. She grinned at him but said nothing else as she stormed off, leaving Drakken on the floor.
….
Shego glanced around the lair, unable to take her eyes away from the robot limbs scattered everywhere. She had only been gone a week, and not only had Drakken slumped in his chair in defeat, but he quite literally had their place trashed. "Dr. Drakken? Uh, what happened?"
He turned his lab chair around to face her. "Oh, look who now decided to show up! Your help this past week would have been tremendous, but no. Instead, you left all because I made one stupid suggestion."
"You're right." She paused when his face lit up. "Your suggestion was stupid."
"Arg! Shego, you are impossible! If you wanted to end your contract early, you could have just said so."
She let his words sink in. She sat in the chair across from him, and took a deep breath in and let it out slowly before speaking her next sentence, which she still wasn't sure if she would regret or not. "About that, Dr. Drakken. I was wondering, if you, ummm…" She couldn't bring herself to say the words, but that look of utter disappointment in his eyes gave her the desire to keep going, if only to get rid of that look and replace it with his normal, annoying grin. "I'd be open to renewing the contract… you know, for long-term this time. You know, if you still want to."
His mouth fell open. "You still have a month of the old one," he whispered, shocked at the words she had spoken.
"I know. I just. I uh-" She hugged herself, trying to make sense of her own vulnerability. "I really don't mind working here. I just-" she paused and gave herself a minute to let herself breathe. This was so stupid. He wasn't going to allow her back after she just up and left like that.
"Oh, Shego!" He ran up to her and hugged her, squeezing her tight, and making her insides turn with uneasiness. He let go of her quickly, but she still felt the absence of his body heat. "I'll write up a new contract tomorrow."
"Really? Just like that?" She met his eyes, and while she knew hers were unsure, his were full of delight.
He shrugged in an attempt to play off his excitement. "You do a good job. Most of the time."
She snorted, thankful that the conversation had turned back to their everyday banter and teasing. "What is all this crap anyway?" She gestured back at the robot limbs on the floor.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and his voice became increasingly high pitched. "Well Shego. Let me tell you a story of a young college student, his useless friends, and an invention he liked to call Bebe."
She smacked her hand against her forehead and rolled her eyes at him, but she grinned slightly. This, she thought. This banter and teasing, this dorkiness, she wouldn't trade for anything.