A/N: I just really want to say thank you again to bcbdrums for editing!

Traditions

Shego's neck was killing her as she pushed herself up from the damp ground. She knew she should have put this off and just worried about it later. She could hear the sirens booming and the sound of electricity in the air. She sprung forward as a blast disturbed the earth where she was lying. She tucked the energy-particle— whatever it was called, tighter under her arm, the sound of thunder throwing off her ability to hear the electric sound again.

She was starting to see why Drakken had never asked her to get these things for him and had gone on simply stealing items for world domination.

He just has to come up with ideas of his own that require impossibly attainable things—

Her sarcastic thoughts were interrupted as another blast nearly hit her foot and the mud beneath her gave way. It all happened quickly; the crack of lightning, the mudslide, the hurtling into the concrete onto her arm. Suddenly her shoulder didn't hurt nearly as much as her arm. She hissed in pain but pushed herself up and forward.

She wasn't sure how many more things she dodged or how she even made it to the one-person underwater pod—a grateful borrow from the Seniors—and finally took a breath. She was soaking wet, muddy, and could feel the sharp throbbing pains up to her elbow. She placed the small, fragile item in the limited space in the pod on the side of her seat and leaned back.

She snorted slightly as she looked at it.

All this for a small device that she didn't even know worked or not. She doubted Protonia...or whatever the mad woman called herself, would have attacked her if it wasn't working.

Or she could just not like being double-crossed?

No one did, so it had to have some value. Shego stared at it and sighed.

"For all this trouble I'm going through...Drakken's little idea better be worth it," mumbled Shego.

She set the coordinates to take her back to the lair. She let her eyes fall shut with a mind to get some rest; there was no way she was making it back before sunrise.

Drakken hummed to the music blasting through the lair in good spirits. Tomorrow was Christmas. Which meant New Years was coming. Which meant...back to villainy. Drakken gave an evil chuckle as he whisked the eggs. He didn't particularly have a new idea yet, but he was certain one would come.

"I just have a week to get through and the ideas will flow," grinned Drakken.

He added the whipped eggs to his flour. His grin faded as he looked around the kitchen where trays of cooling cookies already lay.

"What am I doing?" gestured Drakken. He'd only meant to bake one batch and then make breakfast.

Drakken's thoughts were interrupted as he heard the security alarm go off. He hesitated and mentally thought back to any reason Kim Possible would be there. He was about to yell for Shego when he heard said woman cursing as a door slammed and the alarm stopped. Drakken put down his mixing bowl and looked down the hallway as he saw the figure of Shego dart down the opposite hall. He walked back to the kitchen in confusion until it dawned on him that Shego had clearly just gotten home to have set off the alarm.

Drakken frowned and then shook his head.

It's no concern of yours— Wait...why did she run?

Drakken's hand grabbed his bowl again before putting it back down. He walked towards the door and then back to his bowl. He took a deep breath and decided to focus on his baking and keep any inquiries to himself. He aggressively beat the eggs into the flour and glared before realizing he was making more of a mess than cookie dough. He heard footsteps on the ground near him.

"Fun night out?" asked Drakken casually.

"I wouldn't say that," he heard her hiss.

Drakken raised a brow and looked over his shoulder at her. Suddenly the mess he had made and the cookies seemed to vanish from his mind. Shego looked like she'd tried to change out of her normal attire but had stopped halfway. Her hair was pulled back but damp and dirty, her top replaced by an oversized shirt but he still wore her boots and pants. There was a nasty bruise on her face and she was holding her left elbow where he could see a massive bruise forming and some dried blood.

"What happened?" asked Drakken as he tentatively moved closer to her.

"It's nothing really, but could you take a look at my arm...you know...for general reassurance?" smiled Shego nervously.

"Nothing? Shego it looks like you got into a fight...a serious fight," said Drakken. His mind was racing with every possible horrible scenario as he looked at her arm.

"I wouldn't say it was serious," said Shego. "More like hassle and inconvenience."

Drakken followed the bruise down to her wrist which seemed slightly tinted. He felt a wave of anger at her not telling him what exactly had happened...and a tense fear in his stomach as to why she wasn't.

"What exactly happened? Whoever or whatever did this to you—" She cut him off.

"Relax," she sighed. "I took a tiny mission and it didn't go well...for them."

Drakken looked up at her and focused on the red vessels in her bruised eye.

"I was a little south of Mexico, a rainstorm threw off my plan," cringed Shego as Drakken felt her elbow. "Pretty sure she had a weather machine because that was a lot of rain for December."

Drakken cleared his throat.

"So.. missions?" asked Drakken. He watched her expression. Shego sighed.

"Fine, I've taken a few. No big deal," Shego rolled her eyes. "I just needed to keep my skills fresh and– Ow!"

"Sorry," sputtered Drakken as he dropped her arm. "I think you might have fractured your ulna."

"My ulna?" asked Shego with a raised brow.

"Funny bone," smirked Drakken. Shego did not return the smirk.

"Uh huh," Shego rolled her eyes. "So how long does that take to heal?"

"A week, give or take how bad. There's not a whole lot to be done other than keeping it stable... I could get the old X-ray machine in storage—" She cut him off.

"If it takes a week or so normally I'll just wing—" she began.

Drakken snorted.

"...Wing it," she glared. "We're not doing anything for a week at least so I'll just take it easy. No need to get the questionable radioactive machine out of storage. I have enough problems with that."

There was a long pause as they stood in the middle of the kitchen. Shego scoffed and turned.

"What?" asked Drakken. He narrowed his eyes. "I offered to X-ray it... Do you want me to wrap it?"

"That would be nice," hissed Shego.

Drakken glared now. Shego's mannerisms were as if he'd been the one to send her on the mission that got her injured. He assumed she had been stiffed, or something had gone wrong and she was misplacing her anger. She was also in pain he was sure. He didn't know what she expected from him...not that he wasn't already wondering where in Mexico he should be firing a well-placed missile.

"If you give me the coordinates I can set a missile for New Years," said Drakken confidently.

Shego's brows narrowed as her fixation on the cookies...faded. Her eyes darted towards him and he saw the small twitch of her lip before she rolled her eyes and sighed. It was clear that the statement had focused her anger elsewhere rather than on him...at least for now.

"I'll think about it," she shrugged. There was a cringe ghosting across her face. "If I'm not going to do more damage I'm going to try and wash some mud off—"

"I'll have the wrap ready when you're done," sighed Drakken.

"Thanks Dr. D.," responded Shego as she walked out the doorway.

Drakken waited for a few seconds before turning off the oven and heading to his lab to get some of the medical supplies they kept in there, mentally planning on at least readying the dusty missile launcher and X-ray in storage...just in case Shego changed her mind.

Shego nudged the heavy box with her foot as she slid it next to the tree. She'd ended up wrapping the parts in two boxes. She looked at the horrible wrapped smaller one and then to her arm in a sling. She should have just used her other arm instead of babying it like Drakken insisted she do. She'd already slept on it by accident before he'd had a chance to wrap it. She'd been far more tired than she thought after she'd gotten out of the shower. She'd sat on her bed and then she'd woken up a few hours later to Drakken knocking at the door.

She heard Drakken come back into the living room mumbling.

"Are you done mocking me?" asked Drakken as he held a tray.

"Who doesn't know how to braid hair?" Shego rolled her eyes and indicated to her lopsided braid.

"When do you think I have ever braided someone's hair?" Drakken rolled his eyes, "I brought you food before you get into an even fouler mood."

Shego smirked.

"When my arm's better do you want me to show you?" asked Shego. Drakken threw his hands up dramatically.

"Why would I... What possible use... There is no reason...no need...that I, Dr. Drakken would ever..." Drakken rubbed a hand over his face and sighed in defeat. "Sure, fine, whatever."

Shego sat on the couch and smiled down at the large cut-up sandwich, soup, and cookies. There were chocolate snowflake cookies with haphazard white icing. Shego raised a brow at them; it was clear they were the practice ones. She ate one first and suddenly recalled all the cookies Drakken had in their kitchen.

"Why are there so many cookies?" asked Shego as she munched on hers. Drakken flopped next to her and sighed.

"I blame the side-kick," muttered Drakken. Shego fell back against the couch and looked at him.

"Elaborate," inquired Shego.

"Well, apparently he promised Nana I would come visit her for Christmas...and after several minutes of arguing with Nana...I am bringing cookies for her and her friends. I only intended to make a few... Clearly it got out of hand."

"Aw, look at you being the sweet grandson bringing cookies to a bunch of elderly old ladies," said Shego. She smirked. "Are you going to try and seduce a wealthy one for money? I mean I was joking but I will support— Hey!"

Drakken grabbed her cookies off her tray.

"I don't think you deserve these," said Drakken. He bit into one which Shego snatched back.

"Hey, these wonky-ass cookies are mine," snarked Shego. "Fine, it was only a suggestion. When are you going?"

"Tonight," frowned Drakken. "Not how I wanted to spend my Christmas Eve."

"Alone with your Nana and her friends...yeah good luck," cringed Shego.

"I'm not going alone," muttered Drakken as he glanced at her.

Shego stared at him as if he was insane. She looked at her wrapped arm and mentally took in her appearance. Her hair was a mess, excluding the braid... Since she'd fallen asleep on it still damp it would take an hour alone to simply tame it let alone style it. She also remembered she had a hefty bruise on her eye. She rolled her eyes.

"What time do we need to be there?" sighed Shego.

She saw Drakken's eyes shoot wide and a sudden look of unease come across his face. She watched as he picked nervously at his gloves for a second before focusing on his face again. His cheeks looked darker and it suddenly dawned on her why he was acting like this. She looked hard at the cookie and felt the increasingly familiar twist in her gut. She swallowed hard and forced a slight smile on her lips as she looked at him.

"Taking Carmella to meet Nana, are we?" asked Shego. Her throat felt tight. "Bit soon don't you think?"

"Well she and I were together a few months in the past and maybe Nana will drop the dramatics next holiday..." Drakken gave a nervous laugh. "That way I don't have to impose on you."

Shego felt her whole body tense at his statement. He was, in a way, uninviting her to his family holidays. She couldn't quite place her feelings on that other than being overwhelmed by something. He was looking at her and she swallowed hard. She broadened her slightly wavering smile as she felt her eyes feel suddenly warm. She let out a forced laugh and wiped her face.

"W-what a relief that would be," she forced her laugh further. "I could actually go on vacation again."

"...I suppose you could," replied Drakken. He looked uneasy and a little relieved as he stood up. "Well I need to finish boxing the cookies before I leave."

Shego watched him walk out the doorway in seemingly good spirits. She felt her smile melt away as she looked back at her food. She found herself less hungry and more inclined to resume her interrupted nap. She pushed back any emotion that was desperately trying to break her feeble attempt at composure and headed off back to the other part of the lair.

Drakken walked into the lair and dropped the mostly empty boxes in the doorway, attempting to balance the wrapped packages in his other arm. He'd decided to stop and grab the mail on the way back from visiting his Nana, which had resulted in getting a series of packages for himself and Shego. He grumbled to himself at why he hadn't left the empty cookie boxes in the hover car and got them later. He tripped over a box and barely managed to catch the ones he was dropping. He heard something crack in one of the boxes as one fell to the floor. He took a deep breath and stared at it. That had been a perfect metaphor for his evening.

He used his shoulder to hit the keypad and watched the door proceed to open and close back and forth. He paused for only a moment before he grumbled and yelled.

"Shego! A little help here!"

He waited but heard nothing but silence. He huffed to himself and made his way into the lair and towards the living room area, gently using his foot to move the one box across the floor. His mind was racing with the evening's horrible turn, the hover car's malfunction... He took a deep breath at the memory of the eject button launching Carmella out of the hover car. He was lucky they hadn't been airborne and she'd only fallen into some shrubs.

He was mulling over this as he crossed the threshold into the living room area. It was dark and he nearly dropped another box as he turned on the lights. He took a deep breath of relief at seeing the tree as he made his way near it. He stopped and looked at the boxes under it already. He hadn't seen those the night before—two large boxes and a few small ones were tucked behind it. He'd seen the small ones but the other two were new.

One was haphazardly wrapped and Drakken raised a brow. Clearly Shego had done that one that morning. He smiled softly at this and his annoyance at her not coming to help him at the door seemed to dull. He nudged the one with his foot as far as he could under the tree before depositing the others. He examined the tree and smiled as he turned on the lights. The twinkling of the green and blue made him feel calm as he turned to head back to close the still-open entrance door.

He froze as he looked at the tray still on the small coffee table. Shego's food sat cold and untouched save for her half eaten cookie. He scratched his head in confusion, knowing she should have been hungry. He grabbed the tray and took it back to the kitchen. He wondered if the pain killers she'd taken had made her nauseous.

"She still needs to eat," muttered Drakken.

Shego woke with a start as knocking came at her door. She went to move the sleep-loosened hair out of her face to see it was six in the evening. She'd slept the entire day away. Her arm twinged in pain as she went to push herself up, forgetting her injury. She glared as she stumbled out of bed and headed to the door, the sharp pain in her elbow and cramp in her stomach making her irritation increase. She hit the panel button and the door opened revealing Drakken.

"What?" asked Shego dryly.

Drakken took a step back and raised his brow.

"I got back—" She cut him off.

"Did you want fanfare for that?" asked Shego. She went to cross her arms but stopped herself.

"All right, I came here to ask if you wanted dinner," grumbled Drakken. "It's clear now that this isn't a question to be asked. I'm not bringing it to you this time, Shego."

He mumbled under his breath as he stalked off. Shego watched him turn the corner and glare back towards her. The twisting pain in her stomach brought the realization that her elbow's pain wasn't the main reason for her bad mood. She hadn't eaten since the night before and she had exerted a lot of energy getting that gift for Drakken. She looked at her bed. It was also probably why she had slept all day and still felt tired.

She sighed and headed down the hallway towards where she could smell the aroma of dinner coming from, her hunger increasing as she regretted not forcing herself to eat the sandwich and soup Drakken had given her earlier. She rounded the corner to see a very small Christmas dinner set up at the small kitchen table and a box of leftover cookies in the center. Drakken looked to be in a foul mood himself, which was most likely nothing to do with her attitude.

"How's Nana?" asked Shego. She saw his brows knit as he stabbed at his plate. "That good, eh?"

"It did not go well," said Drakken. He stabbed again.

Shego took a bite of food and waited. Then she rolled her eyes.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" she asked. Drakken looked at his plate and slowed his stabbing. "Hello? Anyone home in there?"

"It was a disaster. First off, the wires came loose in the hover car and the eject and start button crossed... So Carmella being thrown into a bush was the start... Don't you laugh at that," said Drakken quickly.

Shego didn't listen to his demand. She'd nearly choked on her drink before bursting into a deep laugh. She couldn't fake concern at this, nor even tone it down. The image of Dr. Sweets flying through the air and into bushes while Drakken cringed in the hover car had suddenly cured her of any heavy mood she'd had. Drakken's irritated expression made her take a few breaths to stop her laughing. She wiped the tears in her eyes and sniffed.

"Is she okay?" asked Shego, attempting to stop the smile on her face.

"She was fine," said Drakken sternly. "Thank you for your fake concern."

There was a moment of silence that let Shego finally calm down.

"I mean...she's so small... She probably got a lot of air," Shego shook as she laughed.

"I'll wait," said Drakken. Shego managed to regain her composure and resume eating. "So we got there to see Nana who had a few friends over. I introduced them to Carmella."

Drakken stared at his milk and took a deep breath. Shego raised a brow and waited.

"Somehow...some way...for about an hour... Nana assumed that Carmella was actually the side-kick's horrible and neglectful mother...because of her hair— Can you stop laughing so I can finish?"

"I'll try," whispered Shego as she covered her mouth.

Drakken continued his story of how Nana had for an hour argued against his claims that Carmella was not, in-fact, Stoppable's mother, which had then turned into a very awkward question-and-answer for yet another hour after that so he could prove the point. It had finally come to a head when Nana's friends had got involved in the conversation. Somehow, Shego had become the topic of conversation. As it turned out, Nana had spun her own tale to tell her friends after Thanksgiving.

"So, now Nana is angry at me," sighed Drakken. "I blame the side-kick you know. Because he was feeding further into her lies. He did not have to agree with her that you and I were...a thing or something."

Drakken fidgeted uncomfortably and Shego fixated on her drink for a beat.

"So let me get this straight... Nana told her friends about Stoppable...then decided to elaborate on the story by claiming...I...was your fiancée." Shego cleared her throat and smirked. "Shame I didn't go with then. I mean, you have given me two engagement rings now."

Drakken's furrowed brow of agitation shifted. He appeared to be thinking about her statement before she saw the flicker of a smirk as he fought a clear laugh. Shego thought about the two rings inside her lock-box at the villains' so-called bank—one worth a hefty price stolen from some wealthy woman from the ball where her Obsidian necklace was also stolen...and the small knock-off emerald one that had once been intended for Carmella. Shego shouldn't have felt as smug as she was suddenly feeling.

"Yes, well," Drakken rolled his eyes. "Despite the argument I think most of them think Carmella is still the side-kick's mother and I will not be visiting Nana ever again."

"Can I?" smirked Shego. Drakken glared and replied in a whining tone.

"No...you cannot," scoffed Drakken. "Let's not further complicate an already insane notion."

"He says as I again...remind him I do have two rings," smirked Shego. She thought for a moment. "Lives in the same residence, has credit cards, books all appointments, does the grocery shopping—"

"This is exactly why you can't visit Nana," Drakken rolled his eyes. "It would only increase the depravity of the idea of something going on between us...and—"

"Relax, I'm not visiting your Nana," scoffed Shego. She felt a wave of anxiety flood her at the idea of him continuing his rant. "Pft, it's not like I want to spend time with any of your family or something."

Shego got up and tossed her plate in the sink before heading out of the kitchen. She stopped at the door and forced a yawn.

"I'm calling it for the night," she waved over her shoulder.

"You slept..." She heard him trail off. "Goodnight, Shego."

A short while later Drakken found himself unable to sleep... It was nothing new. Just without something to work on, without any idea at all, he was bored. This only caused him to internally ramble about ideas that had resulted in copious amounts of failures...which just made him irritable and depressed. Thus, mind numbing shows on Villa-TV had been his remedy to his problem. He flipped the channel again and sighed. He couldn't find anything to watch, he'd already let the popcorn get stale, done the dishes, turned off all the lights in the lair, and re-fluffed the Christmas tree—the only lights besides the television left on. He leaned against the arm of the couch and looked at the tree.

He watched as the inner lights twinkled and swirled the blue and greens, making the metallic ornaments look like they were moving. He looked at the tree top and stared at the peppermint stripped star, its blue stripes matching the lights. His eyes trailed back to the television before shooting back to the tree. He looked closer at the topper. It was wrapped and had a shine to it, but that wasn't what caught his attention. He remembered there hadn't been one on it at the Christmas tree displays. He looked at the wrapping and snorted.

"Of course she would get an actual candy star," sighed Drakken.

He had a flashback of his teenage cousin trying to climb the tree for a fake one when Aunt Michelle had banned sweets in their home. He smirked and remembered Shego having swiped a photo of the incident. He found himself recalling her staring at picture albums for nearly the entire two hours they'd hid in the attic avoiding family with Ed and Misty.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps and the couch cushion shifting. He looked over to see Shego curling up on the couch with a cup of what he assumed was tea. She grabbed the remote and clicked the channel a few times before tossing the remote on the coffee table. Drakken waited for her to say something but she just snuggled into her corner of the couch. Her hair looked the same and she looked wide awake. Clearly, she'd not gone to sleep at all.

"When did you get the star?" asked Drakken as he pointed at the tree.

Shego sipped her tea.

"Same day I got the tree, geesh aren't you observant," snorted Shego. She paused and then let out a small chuckle.

"What?" asked Drakken.

"Nothing," she shook her head and looked at the television.

Drakken looked at the tree and Shego and then thought about her earlier outburst before he'd gone out with Carmella, and then her hasty departure from the dinner table. He stared at the star for a long time and bit his lip in thought of how to word his next statement as to not seem like he was accusing Shego of something. He sat up and cleared his throat.

"I've been thinking about what happened today," stated Drakken. Shego looked at him. "I think it best that, if I am forced to attend more gatherings with my family...you need to be there."

There was a pause and then a scoff and sigh from Shego.

"So much for my vacation plans," she muttered and leaned against the arm rest.

Her lack of argument confirmed Drakken's internal musings. She had been irritated about being excluded. He felt a small smile tug on his lips.

That's because she gets more fuel to harass you with.

Drakken's smile faded and he nodded to himself. He felt the couch shift again and his blanket moving. Drakken looked to see Shego shoving her feet underneath. She was covering her mouth and fixating on the television.

"Why didn't you bring your own blanket?" grumbled Drakken as her feet slid further under. "Uhg, they're like ice!"

"Thus the need for the blanket," said Shego. She abandoned being sneaky and yanked the blanket over her feet.

It went silent as Drakken watched the television. It was on some sort of 'Christmas caper' special; essentially a poor excuse of a Grinch rip-off movie. He knew in this one the Grinch-like character would prevail... It was Villa-TV after all. Drakken let out a deep sigh and contemplated forcing himself into going to bed. He felt Shego's feet rub against his again and he glared.

"Really?" asked Drakken.

"It's not my fault we live in a cave lair," she muttered. He mumbled under his breath. "What was that?"

"Might as well try and get to sleep," sighed Drakken. "There's nothing good on anymore. Even Snow-Man Hank isn't on television. That was the one holiday tradition I actually enjoyed—"

"Uhg, this again," sighed Shego as she got up. "It's so freaking juvenile... I heard it all last Christmas when we got back from tormenting my brothers... Snow-Man Hank this...Snow-Man Hank that."

Drakken glared.

"Excuse me for having a fond childhood memory," scoffed Drakken as he stood up to leave. "I was simply— Ow!"

A small box hit him in the head. Shego's eyes shot open as he glared at her.

"Oh, I," Shego's eyes darted and she cleared her throat and rolled her eyes. "Learn to catch... Open it."

"You chucked it at me," snapped Drakken as he aggressively opened the box. "You didn't even tell me you were throwing it."

Shego rolled her eyes and flopped back on the couch. Drakken saw her pull the blanket over her lap. He was about to snap that it was his blanket but he'd finally opened the box. He stared at it for a second and wondered if it was some sort of joke. Inside was a copy of the Snow-Man Hank special. He was silent and glanced over at Shego with a questioning look. He'd looked online for this and had found nothing. He looked at Shego who was looking disgusted having bitten into the stale cold popcorn.

"You...you found this?" asked Drakken. He held up the movie.

"Clearly," Shego rolled her eyes. "So now you can watch your stupid movie for toddlers."

Drakken grinned at it and felt a wave of warmth and giddy energy come over him as he sprinted to the television.

"What? Now? I meant tomorrow," said Shego. Drakken pressed play. "Uhg."

"Shego, you're going to love it I swear," Drakken flopped next to her. "Snow-Man Hank is amazing!

"I regret this already," muttered Shego as she fell back into the couch. "Are you going to sing?"

"Without a doubt," grinned Drakken.

"Joy," groaned Shego. Drakken smirked as she didn't make an effort to leave.

Shego watched as Snow-Man Hank helped children save Christmas singing some happy friendship song, with Drakken singing along happily next to her. She wasn't hating the movie... It was just...different. She couldn't recall ever watching things like this, or if she ever had. There wasn't even a foggy memory. She looked at Drakken again. He was swaying happily back and forth with the excitement usually reserved for karaoke night.

The screen paused as the song ended. Shego looked at Drakken whose face was right next to hers, grinning broadly.

"So, what do you think so far?" he asked.

"Ohm, it's...different," Shego shrugged. "It's not something I'd normally watch—"

"Well obviously Shego, it's not like I watch it every day," Drakken rolled his eyes. "I meant compared to what you watched when you were a child... I mean you didn't watch Snow-Man Hank, clearly... Was it Rudolph? He was overplayed in my opinion."

"Ohm," Shego rubbed her arm and swallowed, "I... It's too early to say yet."

"Fair enough, it is just getting to the best part," smiled Drakken as he pressed play.

Shego pulled the blanket closer and watched the screen. She smiled as the children began to sing and make toys to help save Christmas, Snow-Man Hank encouraging kindness. It was cheesy and campy, but innocent—typical children's film, encouraging hope and goodness. She had to stop herself from snorting at this, especially as she watched Drakken's facial expressions. The fact that the man in question regularly tried to take over the world and yet he enjoyed a movie about world peace and harmony...was both comical and strange.

She tried to imagine a young Drakken sitting in front of an old television snuggled up in his pajamas, holding his cocoa and his teddy bear, all for the sheer innocent happiness of Snow-Man Hank. She didn't need her degree to realize why it brought him such enjoyment. It was a typical form of nostalgia, when the world was still a hopeful place. She could remember feeling that way once, but she didn't know why or when. Foggy memories of playing in a tree house... A fishing trip with the blurred faces of her parents.

She nestled further back into the couch and watched the film. She wasn't going to lie to herself... She'd spent the first twenty minutes wondering if she'd watched it before, trying to find something familiar. She even tried to imagine a young version of herself and Hego watching it...cookies and milk in hand...footie pajamas, even... Just enjoying something pure and innocent.

As she forced that image she was instead greeted with the Christmas memory of the villain Mr. LiteBrite. She smiled to herself at the thought. While they had many dangerous and hostile villains, and even some comical ones like Aviarius, The Gardener, and some other weird ones...Mr. LiteBrite could barely be considered a villain, as they'd only met him once. She snorted out loud as she thought about it.

She tried to focus back on the film but she soon found it finishing. She felt a little bad she hadn't been focusing much on the movie and her internal turmoil had made her miss the main part of the ending. She felt Drakken turn and she glanced at him.

"Well?" asked Drakken. Shego shrugged. "That's it? You didn't like it.. how can you not like Snow-Man Hank? What's better in your opinion then?"

He crossed his arms and stared her down. Shego rolled her eyes at his antics.

"It was good, okay," said Shego.

"You don't have to pander to me, Shego," grumbled Drakken. He shrugged. "It's my tradition after all... Why you don't like Snow-Man Hank—"

"I said it was good... I'm sorry I'm not over the moon about some silly tradition of yours," glared Shego.

"Well fine, tell me something you watched growing up... What's one of your traditions if mine's so silly?" retorted Drakken.

Shego looked at his expectant face and tried to come up with some sort of response that didn't involve crime fighting and lunatics. She ran through every cliché Christmas movie tradition and tried to find one that fit. It was a weird checklist in her head that was taking far too long. She saw Drakken's brow raise and she felt a slight panic starting.

Just say something—anything.

"We-We didn't watch movies. Instead there were Christmas stories while we would each open one gift on Christmas Eve," shrugged Shego. It could be true...

"Oh!" Drakken looked at the tree. "We could do that."

"We don't have to—" Shego was cut off.

"Nonsense...you already gave me one," he waved his hand dismissively and got up. "We can count Snow-Man Hank as the story."

Shego watched Drakken look at the television and then the movie case for a second before grabbing a small box. She wanted to tell him it was no big deal, as she was making it up anyway, but she felt a little excited looking at the shimmery paper the box was wrapped in. Though the expression on his face made her suddenly regret her fake tradition claim.

"I hope you like it." Drakken handed her the package.

Shego rolled her eyes at his statement. It was easy to open the box and had she known that she might have peaked earlier. Judging by the weight and size of the box it was probably some form of jewelry. Simple. Easy. She wondered if it was the matching knock-off necklace to the engagement ring Carmella had never received. Her comments were geared up as she moved the tissue paper away.

She paused. It was a simple silver bracelet, thin and seemingly hand-made by the small imperfections in the metal. She picked it up and looked at it. She inhaled as she looked at the small center where a petal was frozen in resin, nearly all pale green, nearly white, but a sliver of the tip of the petal had a faint blue to it.

Drakken sighed and spoke.

"I know you like hydrangeas...and I was getting you one but apparently plants and I aren't exactly compatible... So I made that—"

"You made this?" asked Shego. She stared at it in shock.

"Well I didn't know if you had holiday traditions or anything," Drakken sounded agitated. "Normally you're on vacation... Or you come to one of my family things, then go on vacation...and I wasn't sure what to get you for Christmas. Normally I rely on things I know you like...but the only things you've been circling in magazines are ads."

There was bitterness to his voice and Shego raised a brow.

"Would you relax. I like it," glared Shego. "You didn't even let me respond... Geesh."

"Oh," Drakken gave a light chuckle. "It's just yours was... Well good, glad you like it."

Shego slid the bracelet on and looked at it as Drakken seemed to preoccupy himself with cleaning up. She glanced at him and tried to figure out why he'd been so worried about if she'd like it or not. She glanced at the Snow-Man Hank movie again as Drakken picked up the case. She had gotten it for him because she knew how much he wanted it. It was clear how much it meant to him... So much, that he thought the bracelet he had made himself wasn't nearly as good. Shego could have argued this but she felt uneasy about doing so. She looked at the television again and sighed.

"Can we watch it again?" asked Shego. Drakken looked at her in confusion. "I ohm...don't recall how Snow-Man Hank managed to get the children to the uhg...north pole?"

"Shego... They were... How did you..." Drakken sighed and put it back in. "Honestly Shego... You can't analyze it like that."

Shego nuzzled back under the blanket and into the couch as Drakken sat next to her. She supposed giving his favorite childhood movie another watch...wouldn't be the worst thing. She glanced at him again. The grin was back on his face as it started. She rolled her eyes and smirked as Drakken tugged half the blanket over him. She heard him start humming the music and sighed.

This better be worth watching twice.