A/N: As always thank you for all the love and support.

ALSO...

Hey Zack... funny you should mention that... sooner than you think!

Thanks to my wonderful friend bcbdrums for editing! Check out their great work!

AND the movies mentioned in this chapter are

Earth Girls Are Easy

Back to the Future

Enjoy!

Memories and Movies

Shego might have laughed at the scene she had returned to in the lab, Drakken sprawled on the ground with the mask finally off and glaring in her general direction. She didn't really get a chance as she quickly realized he had found himself another problem. She'd been ready to mock him just as he tried to sit up and could not. So instead of helping rebuild a laser or poking fun at him as usual, she found herself helping him back to his room across the lair.

"Ow! Shego my arm—" Drakken whined.

"You know the whining is not helping with me carrying you," hissed Shego.

"I told you not to carry me... So since you decided to do so...at least do it right," pouted Drakken.

Shego in fact, was carrying Drakken down the hall. While she lifted heavier items nearly every day, the whining, shifting, and arguing had her wishing she'd just left him or dragged him. It took every bit of her self-control not to just drop him on the floor. As she reached his door she sighed in relief.

"You know, we should have just took my chair... It rolls you know," chimed in Drakken. Shego let him go. "Eee! Why would you do that?!"

Drakken hadn't fallen but she could see him squint in pain at the motion. Shego felt slightly guilty as she put her arm around his waist as he hit the door panel. She helped him inside his room and over the small bridge on the moat that was rarely used. Usually it was a small leap as the bridge was partially broken from the many lair explosions and rebuilds. Shego saw a chunk fall off as they cleared it. His arm snapped away from her shoulder at lightning speed and he stumbled slightly to his bed.

"Thank you Shego, I can take it from here," he groaned slightly as he moved using his bed as support.

"I think you need to see a doctor," said Shego calmly. Drakken scowled. "You've never had back problems before... What if you seriously injured something?"

"Nonsense. I just need to not strain it and let it heal," he responded. "I just hate that it's further setting-back my plans."

Shego waited for him to blame her for shutting his mask and causing him to fall, but it never came. She watched his movements closely. They were twitchy and strained. It was clear the act of just taking off his heavy lab coat was a task in itself. Shego moved to help him with it and he took a step away from her. He nearly lost his footing and fell back into the moat with his quick motion, but she grabbed his shoulder.

"I am fine... You don't need to help me," he grumbled. She watched him struggle for a few more seconds before he sighed and hung his head. "Shego."

She smirked as she helped with his coat.

"That's what I thought," she muttered.

He'd forgone his normal under shirt and had instead worn a simple tank top. In the actual light, the bruises looked even deeper than before. She knew they weren't and some even looked to be turning a green color, so they were healing. She debated actually digging out his X-ray machine in the storage room, though she told herself how absurd that was as she hung up his coat near his dresser. She turned back around to see Drakken had simply flopped onto his bed near its edge rather than the center she'd seen him favor. He lay on his stomach and had made no effort to take off his boots. His breathing was shallow and reflected the pain he was clearly in. If she didn't know any better, she'd think he was in more pain than the other day.

"Drakken?" asked Shego as she hopped back onto the platform. "I really think you need to go—"

"I'm not going, Shego," came his muffled reply as he pulled his pillow closer. "I've had greater injuries in the past. I will be fine, thank you for your concern."

Shego rolled her eyes and restrained herself from clapping her hand on his back just to prove a point... Instead she yanked off his boots. She heard him mumble something into his pillow. She took it as an appreciative muffle but she couldn't be sure. The first boot was easy but the second one ended up falling from her grasp into the moat with a small splash. Shego watched it sink in the glowing water below and bit her lip as she looked back at Drakken. He had turned his head to look at her.

"Was that my boot?" he sighed. Shego nodded. "That's nice."

His head flopped back into his pillow and Shego shook her head in shock at him not whining. It only further confirmed the discomfort he was in. She debated on leaving and letting him rest but her mind fell back to the dismantled laser in the lab, the room built down in the lower levels of the lair for her... She looked at her hands and could feel the ghost of a tingle sweep her body and the images of the museum, and then her new regained memories. She looked at the boot in the water and it did nothing to stop her mind from wandering.

Drakken's muffled voice cut through her thoughts.

"Shego are you still here?"

Shego shook her head and looked at him, his head still in his pillow.

"Yeah," sighed Shego. "I'm leaving, don't freak out."

"No," he said quickly and shifted slightly, "I mean... Could...could I ask a favor?"

Shego smirked. "Well I did just carry you—"

"Yes, and you also tossed my boot in the moat," grumbled Drakken. He sighed. "Never-mind."

Shego rolled her eyes and swatted his leg.

"What?" she sighed. Drakken looked at her nervously and she raised a brow.

"Can you... That stuff you used...ohm?" he indicated to his back over his shoulder.

"Do you want me to get the pain cream again?" asked Shego. "Are you going to freak out again?"

"No," he sighed into his pillow. Shego smirked and headed out of the room.

Drakken buried his face in his pillow as he heard the door open and close. His back felt like it was in a vice. The throbbing was so potent that he couldn't even focus on anything but the pain. While he didn't want to be dragged off to the Villains Inn to see some odd ball renting an office space...he was not fully ruling out the idea. But he wasn't about to ask Shego to use her pain cream every day. He already felt uncomfortable at having asked her to do it now.

He hesitantly got up and cautiously made his way to the restroom and grabbed his night clothes. It was very clear he wasn't going anywhere the rest of the evening, no matter how good Shego's lotion worked. It felt like it took an eternity to use the restroom and change, each step shooting fire up and down his back. He wondered what nerves he'd hit when he'd fallen off the chair. He glared as he made his way back to his bed. He should have really yelled at Shego for slamming his helmet shut to begin with, but that thought vanished as he lay back on his bed.

He wasn't sure how long he stared into the pillow under his head and mentally mapped out where the pain came from. All he knew was Shego seemed to be taking forever. He looked at his phone but didn't want to move for it.

Did she say she was coming back?

He didn't think she had. His mind finally started focusing on other things beside the pain. His unfinished laser, his dismantled lab, the fact he could smell popcorn. His thoughts stopped and he looked up as popcorn was in fact a little ways off. He felt the bed shift as pillows hit his headboard. Shego was back? He hadn't heard the door. Did she change into pajamas? He had a series of questions but said nothing as Shego slid near him.

"All right, so here's the deal. There is no hover car at the moment... Which means you are very lucky because I would drag you to the Villain's Inn kicking and screaming and you know this," said Shego. Drakken nodded. "And since you never invite me to movie night anymore—"

"It was one time," he sighed. "And you went out... Is this argument seriously coming back?"

"It never left... I just dropped it for a short time... Then went into a coma. So now it's back. You owe me a movie night," smirked Shego. "So we're having movie night."

Drakken wanted to shrug but didn't. Then he looked at her. In her pajamas. Popcorn. Snacks. His eyes shot open as he glanced all the pillows.

"In here?" he asked quickly. He felt his heart pound. "I don't think—"

"Zip it," she stated. "I'm not dragging you down flights of stairs when it's much simpler to stay right here."

Drakken couldn't fault the logic but he felt his stomach knot. Had he known this was turning into a sleepover of sorts he wouldn't have asked about the lotion. He was about to vocalize this when he felt the cool feeling on his back. It was as if his own body told him to be silent. The relief was almost instant as Shego's fingers found his shoulder blades. His back still throbbed and screamed, but less so. The relief was enough that his mind went back to thinking about his laser, the parts needed for repairs...and just how comfy his pillow was.

"So, what exactly did my idiot brother toss you into?" asked Shego. He twinged as her fingers touched a painful part. "He seemed unusually fond of you by the time he left... And since then he's avoiding my calls."

"The drawer thing at the museum... To be clear he actually hit me with a chair," muttered Drakken. "It was lucky actually."

"Lucky?" scoffed Shego. "What, that you didn't get impaled, or that your spine didn't snap?"

"That's how I found the comet piece. It had rolled under the shelves. I wouldn't have seen the glowing..." Drakken trailed off in thought. "It must have been reacting to his powers being present... Did you say he was fond of me?"

"It took me three hours to get them to leave and a phone call from the Wegos," grumbled Shego. "All while you were in here... Most of it was Hego talking about how for a villain he thinks you're a good guy."

Drakken glared and nearly sat up, but Shego's hands shoved him back into the mattress.

"A good guy?" hissed Drakken. "And here I thought we had reached an understanding... Instead, he insults me behind my back."

"Yeah, you'd think he'd done enough to your back," snickered Shego. Drakken rolled his eyes.

"A good guy," Drakken muttered under his breath. "I should have shot him with that laser."

"When given the chance...always shoot my brothers with a laser. Don't second guess the action," sighed Shego. "How's your back feeling?"

Drakken stopped his internal grumblings and let his mind focus on his back again. There was still a dull pain, but nothing close to what it had been. He began to sit up to answer only to have her face appear suddenly close to his in his movement. He yelped and was glad he hadn't moved far enough to jump and fall off the bed. He didn't have to ask what she was doing because he knew very well she was attempting to see the tattoo he'd denied her the other day. He yanked his pillow and glared at her.

"Do you mind!" he snapped. Shego flopped next to him and glared back.

"Oh come on, let me see. You're being ridiculous... Is it the one with my name?" her devious grin did nothing to shake his glare.

"There is not one with your name," he grumbled and sat up. He still held the pillow as he grabbed his nightshirt.

"That's not what Lucre said," hummed Shego. Drakken stared at her smug face as she continued to lay and watch him as she then whispered. "I will see them."

"No you won't," he whispered. He tossed the pillow at her as he pulled his shirt on.

"Hey! I just strained my hands out of the kindness of my heart," she stated dramatically. Drakken snorted. "You can show me a tattoo."

"This wasn't a trade-off and besides... You already declared you're invading my personal space to force me into watching movies with you," he scoffed.

Drakken waited for a snarky reply as he finished his buttons but it didn't come. He turned around and half expected a pillow to hit him but it didn't. Shego had moved back to the other side of the bed and her face was unreadable. She seemed suddenly lost in thought... He felt slightly unsettled by her expression. He wasn't sure how to read it, but he felt agitation and annoyance swim around him as he grumbled and turned around. She had to be brooding or plotting something, and in lieu of being tossed into the moat where his boot lay he sighed.

"Fine," he grumbled. "I'll show you—"

"I'm over it," she said suddenly. She grabbed his remote.

"What?" asked Drakken. He saw the slight narrowing of her brows. "Oh no! I know that look... You say you're over it...but then you're not. I don't want to go to the lab and find my tools on top of the giant computer again... Do you know how hard it is to get a ladder over there?"

"Pfft, like I want to haul them all the way to the lab just to do that," snorted Shego. He saw her smirk begin to form. "Easier would be to just...push them out the back door—"

"Shego!" he attempted to yell, but it came out more of a whine. "Don't."

"All right, I won't," she sighed, but the smirk stayed. "But I changed my mind."

Drakken was about to nod but felt the 'but' coming and pursed his lips and asked cautiously.

"To..." he began. Shego plopped her feet on his lap.

"Massage for massage," she smirked and wiggled her toes.

"...First you make me paint your toenails...now this," he sighed. "I really think you need more female friends to do this sort of thing with."

"Mmm, no thanks," shrugged Shego. She wiggled her toes again. "Any day, Doc."

Drakken rolled his eyes and began massaging her feet.

"What else is happening at this impromptu sleepover? Are we going to try Stiff as a Board Light as A Feather next?"

Shego looked at him in deep confusion.

"What is that?" she asked. Drakken shrugged.

"I'm pretty sure it's a game played at sleepovers," said Drakken. Drakken thought about it and then suddenly remembered. "You said you got some memories back."

He looked at Shego who was fiddling with the remote. She continued to click it as if she hadn't heard him.

"How do you get your TV to drop down," grumbled Shego as she clicked the button frantically.

"The purple button," responded Drakken. "Shego..."

She clicked the button and his television dropped down, but she continued to ignore his question. He furrowed his brow but didn't press it.

"What are we watching?" he sighed.

Shego leaned back against the pillow mound she'd made against Drakken's headboard. She was starting to wonder why so many pillows existed in the lair in general. She glanced over at Drakken who seemed to have finally stopped shifting and moving the pillows. She knew she could have helped him, but from his earlier statement, she doubted he'd be okay with it.

'...You're invading my personal space to force me into watching movies with you.'

The simple irritated response had made her feel more unwelcome than the prior day. She knew Drakken like his space, so it wasn't exactly shocking he'd wanted to be left alone. She rolled her eyes in thought. He had spent a few days with her brothers after all.

Still...

She chose to focus on the movie they had been watching, but she really wasn't interested in it. Instead her mind fell back to her newly gained memories. The woman's...her mother's face as they had watched some movie she'd clearly wanted to see or liked. A movie she couldn't remember the first thing about. She let out a deep sigh as she continued to try to push the memories from her mind.

The volume of the movie went down.

"What?" asked Drakken in mid-crunch of the popcorn she'd made.

"I just sighed," shrugged Shego. Drakken narrowed his eyes. "Oh, that gets your attention. Meanwhile I can be right next to you in the lab yelling and suddenly you're deaf."

Drakken shrugged and began turning up the volume again. Shego waited and then sighed again, this time out of mild amusement as Drakken glared at her. She fought a snort at the expression before actually talking.

"Ever heard of Earth Babes Are Simple?" asked Shego. Drakken's eyes lit up. "I take that as a yes."

"Uh, yes, actually," he grinned and moved some pillows aside.

He opened up what Shego now knew was a hidden door on the curved headboard. She raised a brow as she saw three shelves of what looked like movies. Shego looked to her right where she saw the movie and music players. It really hadn't dawned on her to ask if he had physical movies. In a split second a case was held to her of the movie she had requested. Shego raised a brow at it. It depicted a spaceship, two people, and the generic aged planet logo made it clear it was some sort of science fiction film.

"That one?" he asked. She saw the grin on his face. "I thought you didn't like, as you call them, dorky movies."

"I think it's this one," muttered Shego. She ignored his last part as she willed her mind to remember it. "I think I liked it... I know I liked it... Or I wanted to watch it with my mom. She seemed annoyed by the fact I did and said I was too young to watch it."

"Was that one of the memories?" asked Drakken. Shego nodded. "Do you want to watch it?"

"Well I seemed like I really wanted to, so I might as well," shrugged Shego. She paused. "How dorky is this thing?"

"It's a sci-fi, action, romantic, musical, comedy," smirked Drakken. Shego's heart sank. "The epitome of what you would consider...lame."

Shego glared at him, mostly because he looked rather smug she'd asked about it.

"Maybe it's the wrong—"

Drakken cut her off.

"Oh, it's the right one... Put it in." He let out a content sigh and looked at the television.

Shego suddenly was regretting putting the movie in. Drakken's continued smug look didn't fade as the movie started. She could feel the agitation at her younger-self growing. She tried to imagine what sort of combination all those genres made when she heard the dated music begin to play in an upbeat tune. She felt Drakken nudge her and she glared.

"I take back my annoyance from earlier," smirked Drakken. "I am so glad you wanted to have movie night."

Shego rolled her eyes as a musical number started and a series of perky valley girl stereotypes began to sing and dance.

"Why did I want to watch this?" scoffed Shego. "Are we watching a makeover?"

"It's funny and clever and...yes it's a makeover," Drakken continued to smirk. Shego weighed the pros and cons of shoving him into the moat.

Drakken watched the movie play out, mentally gaining fuel to bother Shego with in the future. She'd given up her eye-rolls and dramatic gestures. He looked at her and fought his returning smirk. She'd been staring transfixed at the screen and munching away at popcorn since the second song. He grimaced. Something about maliciously destroying a person's house and items who wronged you...had really appealed to Shego. He would agree, but she'd taken far too much delight in it.

"I can't believe she wants to go out dancing...her friend is harboring three aliens," scoffed Shego.

"Well, they don't look like it anymore," shrugged Drakken. Shego flopped back against the pillows.

"I'm with Valarie, they should be figuring out how to hide them...or get back to hating Ted ," grumbled Shego as she stared at the television returning "Are they going to have a dance off...is that happening?"

"Maybe," shrugged Drakken. "Yes."

"Uhg, fine," muttered Shego. Drakken saw the faint hint of a smile on Shego's face as the music started.

Drakken gazed off as the music played and the movie continued. His mind wandered to his torn-apart laser again; the poor excuse for technology in the film was making him think about his own work.

Since he had to rebuild it, he wondered if there was a way to make it easier. As this occurred his mind fell back to the reconfigured device Shego had stolen for him...and the realization...he still had no power source for it. He mused in using the comet pieces and seeing if they could work... He glanced at Shego.

Too hazardous...even for me.

He pushed out his thoughts and reminded himself they were watching a movie and that he should be paying attention for key moments to pester Shego about later. He watched the shifting of the scenes as a fight broke out with a sub-character...and then he suddenly remembered what was about to happen with the main characters. He swallowed hard and had a vague recollection of a prominent romantic scene involving a lot of colors and silhouettes that was not appropriate for them to watch in that setting with each other.

"Shego, can you go get us popcorn?" asked Drakken quickly.

"Hmm?" she raised a brow and looked at him and then the bowl returned "What? Why?"

"Ohm...or ohm...some snacks," he looked around hopefully.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Why are you so nervous?" asked Shego. Drakken didn't respond as he was too busy calculating the distance to jump over the moat next to him to quickly make popcorn himself.

"I'll go get the popcorn," he grabbed the half full bowl.

"We don't need..." she trailed off and smirked. "Is there a sex scene coming up?"

"I just think we need more popcorn," he stated firmly. "And drinks."

He saw a strange glint in her eye and felt even more uncomfortable than he had started to feel. He was only slightly relieved when she rolled her eyes and turned back to the television.

"You're so lame, Dr. D," she snorted. "We've watched movies with those before."

She paused and looked around them before her smirk turned devious.

"Is it because we're in your room...in your bed...just us?" Her expression made him lean away from her.

Her smug snicker made him glare. Suddenly the fear of how awkward it might be and his own self-preservation faded away into annoyance. She snatched the popcorn bowl and leaned back into the pillow wall behind him.

"You know what, fine. Just watch it," he snapped and munched a handful of popcorn.

Her snickering faded off and he felt her sit back into her pillow wall next to him. He became transfixed by the popcorn kernels as the scene began to play out. The artful scene with its colors and vibrancy made an eerie glow in the room but he began thinking about the laser again. Then he wondered about his controlled temperature room and wondered if there was a way to make a travel version for times they were in different environments.

He chanced a glance up to see the scene had shifted to the dream sequence and was past the mature scene he'd found awkward.

"Is he blue again or...oh it's a dream," he heard Shego mutter. He glanced at her. She still had that devious look in her eyes.

Drakken ignored her and felt the pillows shift next to him as he watched the television. He glared as he heard Shego's voice in his ear. He waited for the joke about his maturity or something equally as tedious and button-pushing. However his stomach knotted at what she said next and he felt his face grow warm.

"You know...in the fort that one night...who knows... That could have been us if you'd agreed to a make-out session," came Shego's voice. He could hear the amusement in it.

He knew she was baiting him and pushing his buttons like normal. If he did anything but push back she'd never let him live it down and somehow turn it into a mocking window.

Call her bluff.

"I never said no," he said as calmly and smugly as he could.

He took the silence as the one up he'd been hoping for and turned to look at her. He kept the smug look forced at her silence. It wavered as he'd underestimated just how close her head had been to his so she could whisper. Their noses nearly touched. She'd been looking at him with wide, shocked eyes at his response... Or they had shifted that way when he'd suddenly turned towards her. He could see the wavering of the smug smirk she'd had fade away as he stared into green. Drakken could feel the panic building at what this might have suddenly looked like. Calling her bluff as he'd tried to do could have easily crossed a line into pushing a boundary.

She didn't move away. Neither did he.

Drakken watched her eyes soften and the shocked look fade. He waited for a snide comment or a snort before she would turn away. It didn't come. He found himself overthinking more than usual. Everything about her expression and remaining closeness...almost seemed like an invitation... He felt his chest ache and then his stomach swirl.

An invite...or a challenge.

Drakken could feel her hand next to his, and was very aware of where they were... The images swirled in his head at lightning speed of every way this could play out. He found himself lean ever so slightly closer. She mirrored him and he could feel her breath on his face, the mutual scent of popcorn and sugar from the gummy bears she'd consumed swirled between them.

Just do it...what if it's not a game or a challenge... She brought it up.

An internal battle waged on about his simply imagining it...reasoning if it was anything, it was simply because of all that had transpired in the previous days—an act of pity for his friendship and kindness. That pulled his thoughts back together. He turned his head back to the television. While it had felt like minutes, even less had actually passed. Drakken swallowed down the twists and turns like he always did during the moments Shego pulled at that particular string in him. He forced a smirk.

"Guess we'll never know," he shrugged.

He heard Shego give out a quite snicker and then she moved quickly. She grabbed the bowl and looked at him with a smug look.

"Might as well go get that popcorn," she yawned and slid off the bed. "Pause the movie."

Drakken did so and waited until he heard the door slide open and then close before he let out a deep sigh of relief.

Shego wasn't sure why she had sprinted down the hall so quickly. She'd spilled what had been in the popcorn bowl in her haste—something she would later have to clean up as there were no henchmen to do so for her. She had only stopped running when she'd entered the kitchen doorway. She could feel her pulse vibrating in her throat as she leaned back against the wall. The image of how close they'd been, his words, her egging statement... She'd expected him to whine or get flustered and not respond. What was worse was for a split second she'd thought he was actually going to act on it.

That was why she'd run...

Because as she thought about it, her mind began to show flashes of what might have transpired had she just closed the gap between them when he'd moved closer instead of inching like he had. She felt her face run hot with embarrassment of it now. The image of kissing him only for him to react badly and tell her he had only been kidding... Suddenly the embarrassment of what might have happened fell to a dull ache in her chest.

She shook her head and grabbed a popcorn bag from the cabinet. She found herself in a thoughtless trance as she put the bag in the microwave and waited. It only lasted till the first pop and then she felt a wash of anger come over her... Not at Drakken...but at herself.

Can he make it any clearer... There is nothing there.

She growled in frustration at herself. She knew this, she'd told herself this. She'd even started to let the emotions go, and had found it easy to fall back into their routines of banter, pokes, and sarcasm. Then she'd ditched an evening out with an actual date...to rush back to a movie night he'd not once thought of waiting for her to begin. He'd acted distant and she'd thought it was because of New Year's... But now she wondered if he'd started to notice her behavior and was subtly making it clear. The microwave beeped and she shook her head.

Why are you doing this to yourself... You've always been fine... You never cared about stuff like this...

She glared as she berated herself and grabbed the bag. She knew how she felt about him, but she needed to not feel that... Or at least prevent it from blinding herself to obvious friendly gestures and seeing them as something more... To realize he was pushing buttons like she was... That's who they were. Maybe it had been the sight of the dismantled laser in his lab... The fact that he had torn apart something he clearly loved...for her. She never would have normally invaded his personal space for an impromptu movie night.

As she thought about that and walked back towards the room, she began focusing on how to not fixate on the moment that had passed before she left. This fell into the realization she was still invading his space, though he'd reluctantly caved and seemed content with it now... Images of her rearranged closet and her changed clothes on the table came back to her as she opened the door to Drakken's room. A sudden fear and anger swelled as she saw Drakken sitting on his bed and tossing the remote up and down.

"Mego went into my room," hissed Shego. "And rearranged my closet!"

Drakken dropped the remote on his face at the sudden noise.

"Ow...what?" asked Drakken. He looked confused. "Now?"

"No...before...when he grabbed my clothes," she growled as she stomped towards the bed. "I hadn't thought about it till now."

"Well actually, Hego got your clothes... Mego probably went for the hazmat suit," said Drakken, "and to snoop."

Shego's thoughts about anything other than this news vanished.

"Mego and Hego were in my room... You let them go in my room?" asked Shego. "I never let them in my room...which I can confirm now."

"I was kind of preoccupied," sighed Drakken. His eyes narrowed. "By the way...what's in your nightstand? Mego seemed really alarmed by it."

Shego felt like she was suddenly doused in ice water. Her mind fell to the unopened box that she'd yet to find a way to get vengeance against Junior because of... It made her very grateful Drakken had not gone into her room. She doubted he'd actually pry into her items without reason, but she had a sudden stroke of fear of, what if he had? She became aware Drakken was looking at her with a very concerned expression.

"We should...finish the movie," said Shego as she shoved the popcorn his way.

Drakken's eyes shifted in thought as he pressed play. Shego focused on the television until she heard Drakken take a sharp intake of breath. She looked at him to see a very disturbed look ghost across his face before he cleared his throat and clearly forced his attention on the movie.

"It's really none of my business." Drakken cleared his throat and grabbed more popcorn.

Shego wanted to correct whatever he was thinking but realized it was probably best to let him think whatever it was and avoid the topic. She let her focus fall back onto the movie and grasp at some form of nostalgia it was feeding. It was easy to let it distract her, Drakken seemingly letting it do the same for him. Because neither spoke as the movie neared its end.

She leaned her head in contentment as she let it fill in the rest of her memory of sitting on a couch in a small living room in a suburban home with her mother late at night. Along with that memory came visions of similar movies and a memory of enjoying the blasts and zipping sounds of old sci-fi films. She snorted under her breath. Her mind drifted from the movie as she found a memory of a hot pink board from a movie she couldn't place... A gift she had desperately wanted and gotten...pink and bright green.

"A hover board," she muttered.

"Hmm?" came Drakken's voice. "I already got you one."

"No I meant..." Shego trailed off as she suddenly became aware of how focused they had both been in the movie.

Her head was leaning on Drakken's shoulder and he seemed unaware that he was currently her pillow, despite her hair being on his face. Either he hadn't noticed or he didn't care. Most likely the first one as it was Drakken after all. Just like his moods, his focus was often skewed. She chose to not point this out or move. She just sighed and continued.

"I had a hot pink hoverboard... Something I wanted from a movie—"

Drakken cut her off.

"You had...a hoverboard from a movie?" he asked. She looked at him as his eyes grew wide.

"I mean...it was a toy and did nothing," sighed Shego. She nestled her head a little closer only for Drakken to move suddenly.

She practically fell on his lap as he moved back to the movie cabinet again, a pillow hitting her in his process. She growled slightly and was about to smack him with the pillow when a movie case was shoved in her face. If Drakken had looked delighted about watching the first movie...he looked slightly deranged as he held this one up to her. She raised a brow at the case.

"Return from the Past? Isn't this some 'time' movie..." She trailed off as she vaguely recalled the cover art. "I might have watched it."

"Shego, is this the board?" asked Drakken as he flipped the case over and pointed to a teenage boy on the very board she recalled. "Is it!?"

Shego pulled back from the case in alarm.

"Yes," she cringed. Drakken looked as if he had finally succeeded in his conquest for world domination.

"Shego! Do you know what this means," his grin was both alarming and intriguing.

"What?" asked Shego. She yelped as he pulled her close to him.

"Shego...this means," he practically whispered in her ear. Her face felt warm as his arm pulled her closer to his side, "you, Shego..."

"Yes?" she asked in barely a whisper.

"Were a..." there was a joyful note in his tone, "...dork!"

Shego's eyes shot open and she yanked out of his grasp.

"Excuse me?" scoffed Shego. Drakken was laughing in hysterics.

"You were a nerd," he laughed. "A lame, book reading, sci-fi loving...nerd. I mean, I was too— OW!"

Shego hit him with the pillow with all her might.

"I was not," she glared. "How dare you insinuate that I was like one of your dorky college friends. I watched a few movies and had a few pointless trinkets—"

"You owned a Marvin McSoar hoverboard, Shego," snorted Drakken. "That's on the same level of building model rockets in a basement and— Ow! Stop it, I'm injured remember."

Shego tossed the pillow back behind her and crossed her arms. She glared at the televisions as she felt Drakken make the pillows shift. His shaking from silent laughter brought her even closer to tossing him in the moat than he knew. Regardless of the conversation she'd had in the kitchen with herself and being his private room...she could drown him in there and no one would know.

"Do you want to watch it—"

"No," snapped Shego.

"It might be your favorite movie," he snickered. Shego practically snatched the case from him and tossed it across the room. "That was a tad bit dramatic."

"Keep it up and it's going up in flames," she responded.

Drakken's expression dropped and his face became unreadable as he reached for what Shego thought was the popcorn. There was a glint in his eyes as he suddenly held up another case similar to the last.

"I have more than one copy," he stated calmly. "I mean...it's not as hardcore as a hover board— Nope!"

Shego dove for it, but Drakken shoved it behind him as she pounced. She went to reach behind him but the sudden hiss of pain he gave made her retreat. As much as she wanted to grab the box and chuck it in agitation, coupled with the amusement she felt at the childish antics they were both starting...the image of the deep bruises on his back and the pain he'd been in and was still in...ended her desire to continue. She fell back against the pillows and scoffed.

Her eyes looked at his face to make sure he hadn't just been playing her again. But his furrowed brow didn't fade and he'd tossed the case between them. His eyes closed as he most likely attempted to focus on something other than pain. She leaned forward to touch his shoulder in concern and comfort, but instead her hand found the movie case. She said nothing but switched out the movie that had ended prior to their antics and put his in.

"Uhg, fine! If you're done being dramatic. I put the movie in." She crossed her arms.

She glanced at him to see the look of confusion cross his strained face. She looked away and pressed play before uncrossing her arms to grab the popcorn bowl. She watched as the intro began and felt Drakken shift slightly next to her but remain mostly lying down. The silence between them lasted all of a minute before Drakken spoke.

"Did you want more gummy bears?" were the barely audible words as she heard a wrapper. Shego looked at him suspiciously, but he still looked to be slightly in pain.

"Are you actually hurting or just hamming it up?" asked Shego. "Because my hands are sore and next time it's all the tattoos."

Drakken rolled his eyes and snorted.

"I'm perfectly fine, thank you," he sighed and then. "How long does it normally take back injuries to heal?"

"It varies," shrugged Shego. She smirked. "But given your advanced age—"

"I am forty one, Shego!" snapped Drakken. Shego laughed at his agitation. "You wait... In eight years I will be merciless on your fortieth. There will be balloons and I am inviting everyone we know...and telling everyone."

"You will not," scoffed Shego. "If you want to make it to fifty, you will keep that knowledge to yourself."

Drakken stared at her and smirked.

"I'll get the hover car to write it in the sky... Very large...with fireworks...global party and all," continued Drakken. "As I will have conquered the world by then...I'll declare it a global holiday...but only for that day."

Shego shoved a pillow over his face. It did very little to drown out the laughing. In fact he seemed to laugh even more. She found herself snorting laughter before yanking the pillow away and putting it back behind her head.

"There better be a giant statue-sized cake," she stated. Drakken snickered now.

"How about a giant statue in Greenland—"

"It's Iceland and New Zealand, don't even try." She held up a glowing hand towards him.

Drakken raised a brow and Shego looked at her hand before shaking it out. She stared at her hand for a second.

"Did you mean to do that?" asked Drakken after a moment.

Shego crossed her arms and sighed.

"Just watch the movie," was her only response as she glanced down at her hand.

They were silent for most of the movie, save for some parts Shego had actually remembered and enjoyed. She'd learned rather quickly not to state this because Drakken's joyful excitement only made it very clear...he was not letting it go. She spent a great deal of time wondering why she'd never watched these movies after the comet... But the reality was...Team Go never had a lot of time for movies save for the occasional late-night film that was normally an action movie or a horror movie she'd picked out to terrorize Mego. Somewhere between that thought and a mad scientist and teenage kid traveling though time...Shego had dozed off.

She only knew this because she groggily opened her eyes to a darkened room. The television had gone off and the only light and sound were from the green tinted moat around them. She didn't know how long she'd slept; only that she was still tired. What had woken her up was unclear at first until she felt her pillow slightly move and two arms pull her close to the pillow. It took her a split second to realize she wasn't lying on a pillow. Her head rested on Drakken's shoulder, the man fast asleep, probably before she had drifted off. She became aware of his chest moving under her arm as his snuggled her around her waist as if she was a pillow he was pulling closer.

Shego tensed only for a second before she returned the motion, pulling herself closer and nestling against him. She let her mind stay blank and accept the scene for a few minutes, listening to his breathing and feeling a foreign sense of peace and comfort wash over her. It was trying to lull her to sleep, but her mind wouldn't let her. The brief images of him looking away from her, of how he'd not wanted her to be in there to begin with... They outweighed the torn-apart laser and the laughter they'd shared. Instead, his voice echoed in her head from when she'd overheard him talking to Carmella at Motor Ed's Christmas party.

'There is nothing going on between Shego and I... Never has been...never will be.'

Shego slid out of his arms and forced herself to slip off the bed. She took a deep breath after she hopped across the moat. She wasn't sure when she'd forgotten or let irrational wants and needs outweigh the rational part of her mind. When she'd realized her feelings for Drakken weren't reciprocated...she'd told herself to let go... And she'd thought she had. She glanced back as she slid open the door.

He's my partner...my friend... My best friend. That's all.

She smiled and rolled her eyes before exiting the room.

That's more than most people have.

ONWARDS!