A/N: Sorry for the delay. I had a setback with a hand injury, BUT perhaps the length will make up for it.
Cabin Part 7
If her mood hadn't been sour before, it was as she stormed back into the now lightly snow-covered woods. Shego has assumed Drakken had been wordlessly near her as she'd ranted and gathered stick after stick, only to realize that he and the sled were nowhere in sight when she went to exit the tree line. There had been no replies to her yelling for him as she retraced her steps, which was getting harder as the snow blew through. The annoyed part of her wanted to just storm out of the trees and leave him to fend for himself as she warmed up inside. Unfortunately, the concerned part of her remembering how he'd reacted to the cold the other day... pushed her onward.
I'm going to kick his blue a-
Her eyes narrowed as she came to where he sat on a fallen tree, snow piling on him slightly as he stared at the sled by his feet.
"Are you kidding me?" snapped Shego. Drakken looked up at her and quickly stood, "Have you been sitting here the whole time? So you didn't hear a word I even said to you? And you haven't even gotten any firewood-"
Her annoyed rant was cut off as Drakken pulled her aggressively into a kiss. Typically she would welcome this forward movement, but at the moment her anger was winning over as she pulled away.
"If you think that is calming me down, you are very wrong," scoffed Shego as she crossed her arms and turned away from him, "Nice try at distraction, but you left me wondering and talking to myself in the woods... and wasted the sticks I found."
"I wasn't trying to distract you," he sputtered.
Shego raised a brow and looked over her shoulder at him. There was something in his voice that almost sounded pleading... which confused her. Her eyes darted over his frame, trying to see if he'd hurt himself or if the cold had sunk in. He didn't seem to be shivering despite the snow still resting on his shoulders, and she realized his arms were still reaching out towards her, and before she could decide to relax or not, she read his face.
He was... smiling at her.
"Shego, I was just- I was going over what you said," he hastened. He moved closer to her.
"Really? Because, it looks like you're grinning? You ditched me in the woods for thirty minutes," she scoffed.
"I was just processing- thirty minutes?" Drakken's grin faded and he looked at the fallen tree, "I was sitting here that long?"
Shego rolled her eyes.
"Yes," snapped Shego.
He gave a sheepish chuckle and cleared his throat.
"Well, I hadn't been aware I'd been sitting there that long," Drakken stated.
His expression relaxed and he let out a soft sigh. Shego found his expression off as he seemed to be looking at her, almost searching... something about his eyes darting over her made her cheeks grow warm. His broad grin was replaced by a soft smile as his hands grabbed for hers. Despite her annoyance, she let him pull her hands from their crossed position to hold them.
"Drakken, what..." she trailed off as he moved closer to her, the snow now layering on them both.
"Shego, what you said," he began, "I just wanted to tell you-"
Whatever Drakken had been about to say or was still saying was interrupted by the sound of a loud high pitched explosion shaking through the woods. Shego let out an agitated growl and went to turn and head back to the cabin, but Drakken's hands didn't release hers. She raised a brow at him, his face still fixated as he was clearly sorting words in the way his eyes moved. It was as if the sound hadn't even been registered.
"Did you not hear that?" asked Shego sharply.
"Whatever it is, they can sort it out themselves," Drakken said dismissively, "Shego, I just want to tell you-"
Another loud noise and the clear sound of a scream echoed through the woods. When Shego went to pull away this time, Drakken's hand's reluctantly let go of hers as they both headed towards the cabin.
What could possibly go wrong now?
It was with a heavy eye roll as Shego tossed a few logs into the fire. She looked over to where Ed lay on the couch, far more dramatically than need be given a sprained ankle and a few small cuts. Drakken snapped at him as he tried to wrap his ankle while Cleopatra nitpicked his wrapping. Apparently, Ed had neglected to relocate the gas from the outside generator up attempting to weld. It was lucky that there hadn't been more than enough to cause a minor firebomb. Enough to cause a tree to fall and Ed to trip and fall attempting to avoid the small fire and the tree. The scream had been from Cleopatra who had narrowly avoided the remaining part of the tree falling.
Shego had needed to finish gathering wood alone due to Drakken assisting in locating any first aid kit, reluctantly. Drakken's expression was a mirror of Shego's as he growled under his breath and ignored Cleopatra's nitpicking. The morning was easily being chalked up to another day of finding something to do while Drakken remained busy.
"If you have a problem with it, then you wrap!" snapped Drakken at Cleopatra.
"Ohm, hello?" she held up her wrapped wrist and fingers, "I think I've done enough today."
"Ow! Seriously Cuz, are you trying to break it!" whined Ed as Drakken grumbled and taped the wrap.
"Don't tempt me," glared Drakken as he stood up from the couch and looked towards Shego, "Do we still need to get more wood?"
"No, I got enough for two days at least," said Shego, "Done playing doctor?"
Drakken opened his mouth to answer when Ed interrupted.
"It came off," Ed declared. They both looked to him holding the wrap, "Seriously Cuz, didn't you secure it?"
Drakken snapped as his cousin.
"Why did you touch it!" he growled, "You don't even need it wrapped. It's a sprain."
"What if it's a fracture!" yelled Ed, "I mean seriously Cuz, there are only two doctors here and you aren't one of them."
Cleopatra looked up from where she'd sat in one of the chairs and looked at Drakken.
"You aren't a doctor?" she asked casually.
"I have a certificate!" snapped Drakken.
Cleopatra looked at Shego.
"It's a piece of paper from online where he says he took a course," sighed Shego.
Cleopatra looked at Drakken again.
"Can you really call yourself Dr. Drakken?" asked Cleopatra.
Ed shook his head and Drakken yanked the wrap tighter.
"Yeow!" bellowed Ed.
"Yes, I can," Drakken ignored Ed, "Dementor calls himself Professor doesn't he?"
"He was a Professor," said Cleopatra casually as she picked up one of Shego's discarded magazines, "I believe it was for a very prestigious university in Europe."
Shego watched Drakken roll his eyes and mutter something under his breath. The pouting he was clearly trying to fight made Shego more than a little amused and egg it on if only for any residual annoyance she still had from the woods.
"You know, I was thinking of updating my degree and getting my Ed.D," smirked Shego.
"You should!" encouraged Cleopatra.
Drakken's eyes shot open before glaring at her.
It aided in some slight continued teasing as Shego exited the living area to change out of her snow-dampened clothes and into something dry. The fire has assisted slightly, but a change would be a better option as she had no intentions of returning outside if she could help it. The room had picked up a chill at the now long-dead fire and she tossed a few of the small wood chunks she still held in the fireplace. Not bothering to use the igniting feature, she shot a small blast at the hearth. The green flames turned into their common orange color as she sat on the large chair in front of it to take off her socks. As she tossed aside her sweater leaving her still dry undershirt on, the door opened. Drakken entered the room swiftly, his eyes darting around before falling on her. That smile returned again as he found his way next to her.
"Finally finished tending to Motor Ed's barely there injury?" asked Shego as she stretched out and let any stiffness in her body thaw as the fire picked up, "I don't even think he sprained-"
Drakken's lips found hers as he leaned over her chair. Her words vanished into the muffled kiss just as he pulled away and crouched beside her chair.
"Not complaining, but I was waiting for you to retort about the doctor thing?" said Shego.
She watched his smile falter slightly.
"I was letting that go, but now that you bring it up," his brow furrowed, "We're you serious or just mocking me?"
"Mocking mostly, but there's a lot of downtime, not doing evil," she mused, messing his hair as she stood up with a stretch, "So, I'm assuming you have to go deal with the generator?"
She flicked a light on and off as if proving the fact there was no power in the room.
"It can wait," was Drakken's response and she looked over her shoulder to see him standing close to her, "I am more focused on responding to what you said earlier."
She sighed.
"I'm not mad anymore," said Shego, "Irritated, yes, but I'm over you ditching me... for now."
"Not that," he waved his hand in dismissal, "What you said about spending time-"
There was a knock at the door.
Shego rolled her eyes but went towards the door.
"Shego, ignore..." Drakken trailed off as she opened the door to see Cleopatra.
"Ed wanted me to retrieve Drakken so they can finish the generator," sighed Cleopatra.
Before Shego could respond, Drakken had already made his way to the door and closed it. Turning around she stared at him with amusement as he leaned over her with his hand firmly on the door.
"I will be there when I'm there," grumbled Drakken. He looked to Shego, "As I was saying."
Shego snorted at his antics, amused at the fact he'd clearly taken her complaint to heart.
"You know they're going to come back," said Shego as she leaned back against the door.
"This is more important," said Drakken, "What you said outside... When you said that it was a relief to hear you-"
A harder knock at the door followed by Ed's voice cut him off this time.
"Cuz, seriously. It's going to get colder and we're stuck here remember... also I seriously have an issue with you slamming a door-"
Shego rolled her eyes and pushed Drakken aside to open the door. Ed fell through the door as he'd clearly been leaning on it. Neither Drakken or Shego made an effort to try and catch him. Leaning back and crossing her arms with a heavy sigh, Shego looked up at Drakken.
"Just get it done," said Shego. She glared down at Ed, "You could have asked before barging in here."
"Seriously," glared Ed as he tried to get up, "A little help here."
"Oh alright," glared Drakken as Ed reached for him. Drakken stepped over him instead, "Cleopatra, Eddie seems to need assistance."
"Really?" glared Ed.
Ed looked up at Shego as if expecting her to assist him, instead, she navigated around him and headed toward the bathroom. She couldn't help but snicker as she grabbed some dry clothes and closed the bathroom door behind her. Utilizing her powers to give her some light she looked through the bathroom to grab an old candle so she could have some light to change in. Which was blown out after she finished and left the room.
She froze as Cleopatra leaned against the doorframe leading into the hall reading a magazine.
"Yes?" asked Shego with narrowed eyes.
Cleopatra let out a clearly bored sigh.
"I've run out of things to occupy my time and to avoid any drama... do you want to decide whose stealing what out of the storage room?" asked Cleopatra, tossing the magazine on top of the nearby dresser, "I can only look pretty and stare out a window for so long."
"I imagine it's only a few seconds really?" asked Shego. Cleopatra rolled her eyes, "Are you suggesting we just pile a bunch of candles in a windowless room filled with boxes?"
Cleopatra took a step out of the doorway and shoved the door to the storage open where light filtered out.
"Out of the whole cabin, this one room has an emergency light," said Cleopatra, "I find it weird, but at least there is something to do."
Shego considered declining if only to annoy the other women that she still felt slightly leery of given the prior evening. Unfortunately, she too had run out of things to occupy her time other than watching Drakken and Ed tinkering with the generator... which involved going outside in the cold again. Without actually replying, Shego shrugged and pushed passed Cleopatra to enter the room before her.
The light wasn't the best, but it gave off enough to see half the room for them to continue sorting and organizing the room. Internally, she could hear Drakken's whine about her going through anything without him, but given the time lost to the generator... moving the room along was more a selfish move rather than helpful. The less that needed to be done, the more time she could actually get some promised alone time.
The chill in the air as the snow flurried to the ground around them were causing his fingers to go numb. Of all the times to not pack his typical leather gloves, he'd chosen this weekend. He'd had to ditch his winter gloves in order to be able to maneuver around the small parts that needed replacing from the mild fire that had scorched and melted internally. It wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, but it was tedious and more work than it had originally been planned. That alone was an irritant, but Ed commenting behind him from a chair wasn't helping matters.
"You're going to strip the bearings-" Ed began.
"I am not!" snapped Drakken for what felt like the twelfth time, "Just mind your own business and put together that panel."
"Seriously Drew, you're twisting it too hard," huffed Ed, "If it fights, it ain't right."
Drakken stopped turning the bolt, mainly because he was losing feeling in his fingers.
"Do you want to finish this?" he hissed under his breath.
"I can't stand that long," said Ed, seemingly returning to his panel, "If you would just listen-"
"If someone hadn't set it on fire!" snapped Drakken, "It would be done!"
Ed glared at him as Drakken turned to look at his cousin.
"For real? If someone had done proper maintenance before using it, seriously, we wouldn't have to do this at all!" Ed snapped back.
Drakken let out a frustrated growl as he couldn't find words to counter as he began working again.
"I get the frustration, Cuz," scoffed Ed, "You seriously think I want to be out here dinking around with this thing? There is a fireplace that is bed adjacent with a seriously smoking babe in it that I would much rather be in."
"Okay," scoffed Drakken. There was silence before he felt something hit him in the head, "Ow!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" glared Ed. Drakken raised a brow at him, "Are you seriously insulting my woman?"
"What? No," glared Drakken, "I was mocking your statement... because despite what you just claimed... You have encroached upon Shego and I more than it seems you've spent time with your so-called 'babe' and the fireplace."
"Pfft, finally using the dictionary with those big words their cuz," scoffed Ed, "Seriously, no one is encroaching on you guys."
Drakken shot him a dark look and gestured to the cabin to indicate earlier.
Ed looked thoughtful for a moment and grumbled under his breath as he tinkered with the panel.
"You knew we had to get this done," was the response.
Drakken let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed his hands together as he took a small break.
"You want my gloves?" asked Ed as he removed his winter glove to show his leather ones.
Drakken glared for a second before sighing in defeat.
"Yes," said Drakken. Ed yanked them off and handed them to him.
"They might be too big for you, though," Ed smirked.
Drakken's eyes narrowed and at the tingle of his spine, a vine darted out to tip over Ed's chair and then retreat.
"Seriously!" yelled Ed.
Drakken smirked and ignored his cousin as he went back to working... until a snowball hit him in the back of the head and Ed gained his attention once again.
It wasn't clear what they were hoping to accomplish as they emptied boxes, other than making a bigger mess around them. Glancing at where Cleopatra was sorting items into more specific piles, she was certain there was at least some method to the madness. Opening up another blank box, Shego pulled out an old hat box, and unlike the other three Cleopatra was sorting wires out of... there was an actual hat. A rounded hat in a dark blue that held a large intricate bow on the side with yellow flowers and lace on it. It was clearly old, but in wonderful shape after being stored for so long.
"Oh, that's beautiful!" stated Cleopatra, and in seconds she stood next to her, "Not really my style, but a lovely pillbox hat it is."
Shego rolled her eyes as Cleopatra looked at the hat and began pulling out more hatboxes.
"Looks like there's a collection here," smirked Shego as she picked out a very large one, "Multiple?"
"There was a time where hats were a typical accessory," said Cleopatra as she pulled the lid off the large box, "They were a sign of status and used for events- Like a Derby!"
Shego raised a brow as Cleopatra excitedly pulled out a large brimmed hat that looked slightly askew. It looked to be an ornate dark purple or blue with a silver design embroidered on it. A large array of dark roses woven with lace and ribbon rested on its center.
"That is ridiculous," scoffed Shego.
"You mean expensive," corrected Cleopatra as she placed it on her head, "How does it look?"
"Over-sized and surprisingly... not as bad as it should look," said Shego as she looked at the pattern.
The silver wove around the hat and as she tilted her head she realized it was an ornate swirl of serpents woven to look like flowers. Shego grabbed the hat off Cleopatra's head and put it back in the box.
"Hey!" snapped Cleopatra, "I was going to go admire that in a mirror."
"Where are we stacking the hats?" asked Shego, ignoring her.
Cleopatra huffed but looked around the room.
"This is mostly random items... is there room in the wardrobe in your room?" asked Cleopatra, "We could use that for clothing and things like that."
Shego looked towards her room and shrugged.
"I don't know what's in there," said Shego truthfully, "If this room is any indication... it might already be full."
"You haven't even looked?" asked Cleopatra. She let out a sound of shock, "I thought you might be hiding books and junk in there for Drakken."
"No, those are under the bed," shrugged Shego, "Didn't have a dresser to hide them in."
Cleopatra looked at her.
"I will get whatever you stolen back... back," stated Cleopatra.
Shego snorted as they headed to her and Drakken's room.
"Good luck," stated Shego, "We can swipe them back and forth this whole trip, but eventually I will get them all."
"We'll see about that," mused Cleopatra as they stood in front of the wardrobe.
Shego pulled on the handles and found them unsurprisingly locked. She looked at the lock and was ready to use her powers for entry when she remembered the spike pit at the front door. Drakken's words at most of the house being fixed from that and the fact this may have remained locked for years... she took a step back. Crossing her arms, Shego began to second guess riffling through things, let alone possibly breaking into a possibly trap-riddled wardrobe. Cleopatra moved forward and Shego grabbed her arm to keep her from getting closer.
"Might be trapped," stated Shego, "Who knows what else apart from the pit there still might be."
"I was simply checking to see if there was a key on top... pit?" Cleopatra raised a brow in confusion.
"There's a drop pit by the doors," shrugged Shego.
Looking towards the top of the wardrobe Shego remembered the other two keys Drakken had found beside the storage door key. Her eyes darted to the side table that she knew he'd tossed them in and let out a sigh. It was easy to assume now that Cleopatra had voiced it, one had to be for the wardrobe. It was one thing to dig around in the boxes to sort out harmless trinkets.
You're just putting things in there...
It was barely an excuse, but it was enough to weigh on the side of curiosity and she went to open the side table and pulled out the keys.
"You mean they've been there and you didn't even look?" asked Cleopatra, "You have far more self-control than I have."
"And better taste," added Shego with a catty smirk.
Cleopatra scoffed but said nothing as Shego opened the wardrobe. Shego didn't have a clear image of what she'd expected, but it was underwhelming to say the least. Nothing tried to attack them and the wardrobe was mainly empty save for a few sealed clothing bags and a large box nestled into a few pairs of shoes. The soft sigh coming from the women next to her seemed to confirm a shared feeling towards the contents of the wardrobe.
"Looks like there's plenty of room in here," said Shego, "We can put any of the clothing and odd items in here."
"I was expecting something astonishing in here based on the hats," said Cleopatra as she unzipped one of the clothing bags, "It's a half-decent men's suite in this one."
Shego looked at the dark gray fabric that showed an almost tweed look to it. Crouching down, Shego was about to place the shoes inside the large box or at least move them over when Cleopatra let out a loud excited gasp as she unzipped a few more of the bags.
"This is more like it," hummed Cleopatra approvingly as she pulled out what looked like a silken-looking fur coat, "Imagine how much something like this costs?"
"I'd say the lives of a few mink that wouldn't share your excitement," snorted Shego as she watched Cleopatra put on the coat, "The dust-mites are probably hungry, good idea to feed them."
"Oh, relax, it was perfectly kept," said Cleopatra as she moved toward the mirror in the corner to look at the coat.
Rolling her eyes, Shego opened the box to see old-looking books and more family albums. The box itself was too heavy to pull out at the odd angle it was in which the back shelf half over it. She was just starting to pull things out when she felt something on her head. Jumping back she swatted at her hair and saw white lace fly across her face.
"Don't ruin it!" snapped Cleopatra and with that Shego felt the item leave her head, "You are really wound tight, aren't you?"
Shego was about to snap at Cleopatra until her eyes fell to the item she was holding. It was the top piece of what she was certain was a much longer veil of a wedding dress. The guess was mainly due to the fact she could see more of the same sheer laced fabric hanging from the garment bag Cleopatra had opened.
"Honestly, it's just a part of the veil, I didn't even put the headpiece on you," sighed Cleopatra as she placed it back in the bag next to where she'd re-hung the coat.
"I thought a rodent or something fell on me," snapped Shego, "And stop playing with things."
Shego swore she saw Cleopatra mouth her words in mockery, but the sound of the bag zipping back up let Shego relax as she resumed pulling out photo albums and books.
"You know, it's very hypocritical that you are irritated about me looking at these, but you have hoarded every album we came across," said Cleopatra. Shego looked up to see she had migrated to where Shego had placed all of them in the far corner, "Maybe I want to look at them."
"Go ahead," scoffed Shego.
There was a tingle through her of annoyance as she glanced at the women flipping through one of them. Her eyes lingered on the ones she'd pulled out of the box and she carefully shoved them under the bed with her foot as she pulled out more items from the box. Internally chastising herself for what was becoming her own hoarding on this trip, she made a clear decision that none of the albums would be leaving the room.
"I find so many albums fascinating," Cleopatra continued talking to her, "My family didn't do them. I think I have a handful of pictures of me as a child."
"I can relate," Shego gave a mock sympathetic look which Cleopatra gave a curious smile too, "Unfortunately mine were destroyed in a comet explosion that leveled a city block."
Cleopatra's curious smile fell to a look of shock and then an eye-roll.
"I wasn't attempting to make this a competition," sneered Cleopatra as she closed the album she had been looking at.
"Yes, because if it was, I would win," smirked Shego, "Maybe you were a gangling awkward kid and your family didn't want you to remember it."
She waited for a response of annoyance from Cleopatra, but when she looked over her shoulder at her, there was a thoughtful expression on her face.
"That's a far better consideration than the truth," hummed Cleopatra, "Something to think about- how much is in that box?"
Looking at the large pile Shego had formed of books and random purses, Shego shrugged and tested the box weight. With a relieved sigh, Shego yanked the box out finally, only having to bend it slightly to wedge it fully free. One loud thud and a swirl of dust later, the box hit the ground, freeing up the space for the hat boxes.
"I was starting to think it was endless," said Shego as she waved the dust away from her face.
"There's still things in here," said Cleopatra as she nudged a flap open, "Oh, presents."
"What?" asked Shego. She leaned over the box and pushed aside a few more bags to where the corner of what was clearly items wrapped in old Christmas paper, "So there is."
There was a pause of silence as a few things were shifted around and they unearthed several small packages and two larger ones. Shego exchanged a look with Cleopatra as she held up those with clear labels.
"Well it is winter... and I'm sure they've been waiting to be opened for years," suggested Cleopatra, "So do we go tell them or..."
"And distract them from fixing the heat and power with possible memory lane chatter and arguments?" scoffed Shego. Cleopatra nodded.
"It can wait a few more hours," she nodded and took the box from Shego, "Looks like there's room for all the hatboxes."
Shego stood up as Cleopatra began to head towards the door. Taking two steps she doubled back to glance under the bed where she had stashed various trinkets Drakken had wanted and glared. There were two books and an album missing. It would be easy to demand them back or threaten the other women, but it would be much easier to wait and steal them back.
Not to mention, take a few more of the ones she's hidden away.
It hadn't been the best choice to engage in a rage-inspired snowball fight, but Drakken felt smug about having been the victor. Even if it was only because Ed had gotten tangled in his chair and he may have cheated with a little help from Flower. That was the only regret, the icy feeling returning to his spine as he'd already been cold. Despite the setback and Ed's whining about his foot, they had repaired the generator for the most part. The heat may still have a few issues, but as darkness began to create a deeper temperature drop along with the snow. It would have to do for now.
Letting out a relieved sigh, Drakken reached for the door handle and heard a scoff at the bottom of the stairs.
"I assume that sound was an indication to help you?" asked Drakken as he looked down at his cousin.
"Clearly," was the reply.
Drakken thought for a moment and then opened the door and entered the house.
"Are you serious, right now?" was Ed's angry reply.
Drakken grumbled and doubled back to assist his cousin hopping up the steps, reluctantly.
"You are milking this far too much," grumbled Drakken as they made their way onto the porch.
"You don't know my pain," snapped Ed as he hopped into the cabin ahead of Drakken, "Seriously, it feels like- what happened to the cabin?"
Drakken raised a brow and walked behind Ed and took in what had changed since they'd gone outside. He hadn't noticed when he'd first opened the door, but it was clearly different. There were a series of decorative things that had found their way out of somewhere, and curtains now hung on a few of the windows that had previously been void of covers. The more noticeable change was that the small table and chairs from the kitchen had made its way into a nook outside the kitchen that held a Christmas table cloth.
"Seriously, Cuz, how long we're we outside?" asked Ed in a slight whisper.
"I didn't think this long," said Drakken. He scratched his head as they entered the house and he closed the door behind them.
"Do you smell food?" asked Ed as he leaned against the wall to remove his layers.
Drakken sniffed the air and nodded as he began removing his own layers in hopes of beating Ed to the fireplace. He was relieved when his cousin began struggling with removing one of his boots so he could sit closest to the flames and begin thawing his frozen fingers. In irritation, it was like previously, as if he couldn't feel the heat at all. The stiffness in his hands felt like a deep throbbing pain, and for a moment he wondered if he could ask Shego to do what she'd done earlier.
"Stop hogging the fire," said Ed as he sat close to him, "Did you see the Christmas tree?"
"There is only so much- what?" asked Drakken as he scanned the room, "Where?"
"It's that old ugly tabletop one," said Ed. He nodded to a corner Drakken couldn't see from where they sat, "I think the babes went crazy... I forgot to check Chloe's bag for any of her weird trinkets... We might need to seriously be concerned about some possession or something."
Drakken opened his mouth to disregard Ed's statement but closed it quickly.
That could be a real concern.
The sound of the kitchen door swinging open pulled their focus from where Shego came out with a bowl of something before she paused and looked at them.
"They finally came inside," she called to the kitchen.
Drakken gestured around the room and raised a brow at Shego.
"Don't look at me... I just moved the table and made sure no one would die from food poisoning," smirked Shego before letting out a large sigh, "We found old Christmas gifts and it inspired the nutcase Motor Ed's attached himself to."
"Chloe did this?" snorted Ed as he looked around, "Huh, here I thought her décor was limited to cursed novelties and sparkly things, seriously she's full of surprises."
Shego had moved closer towards them and Drakken almost whined when she pulled him from the fireplace. Until he felt the heat radiating onto his hand as he was pulled towards their room, the faint hint of green light could be seen in the brief darkness of the hall before entering their room where another fire illuminated its surroundings.
"Is it something with the mutation?" asked Shego as he found himself pulled to sit in the chair in front of the new fire.
"What?" asked Drakken. He looked at where her hands had grabbed both of his now, "Oh... Perhaps. Something to consider looking into when we get back to Greece."
Her brows furrowed as if egging him on to continue.
"I think I may have become cold sensitive... it's like ice water was poured through me," he grumbled, "Remind me to keep a pair of my own gloves in the hover-car glove compartment from now on."
"Why isn't there already," scolded Shego, "If you would have used that genius brain of yours... one would think you would have put more layers on since earlier."
Drakken grumbled under his breath as he tried to figure out a retort. His attempt faded as her hands moved towards his back again. The frosty feeling began to tingle at the intense warmth that defrosted the numbness that had started to ache. He chose to continue talking otherwise he would drift off to sleep at the feeling.
"What did you find?" asked Drakken. His eyes closed in contentment.
"Box of old Christmas gifts, specifically for you and Motor Ed," responded Shego.
Drakken opened one eye in confusion.
"Wait, we're you going through boxes?" Drakken asked. He watched Shego's nose scrunch and her eyes didn't look at his.
"Just some... we found those when we were putting hat boxes in the wardrobe cabinet," she muttered.
"How did you get in there?" asked Drakken as he looked past Shego to the wardrobe, "Did you blast it?"
"No, one of the keys opened it," sighed Shego. Drakken noticed her expression shift like she was waiting for an argument.
He knew she was expecting him to be mad about riffling through things without him. Thinking about it, he waited for the annoyance to come, but it didn't. Drakken wasn't upset Shego had chosen to go through boxes of his family, but he was about Cleopatra doing so. Especially since the prior night's conversation he and Shego had before the generator blew.
"I can't believe you let Cleopatra help you," stated Drakken. He watched Shego's brows furrow as she looked at him, "But at least you were there to keep an eye on her."
"She did swipe a few photo albums I have to get back," said Shego after a moment, "I'll have to wait a day before doing so."
"Eh, there just photo albums. She'll mostly find embarrassing images of Eddie and myself- Shego I need those back," Drakken cringed. Shego snorted in laughter, "Give her all the Eddie ones, but I don't want those images finding their way in the villain circle."
"If Dementor gets a hold of them... might make it to a convention," snickered Shego.
Drakken felt his stomach sink and he spun around to look at her.
"Shego, that's not funny," he heard the fear in his own voice.
Something about that and his expression caused Shego to let out a laugh before leaning over him.
"You do realize that I have more embarrassing photos of you than she could possibly find into two albums," Shego hummed. Her expression was devious, "Your mother has been sending me photos and stories for years."
Drakken's eyes shot open.
"No, she hasn't," he practically begged.
Shego nodded slowly.
"Grr, darn it, Mother," Drakken hissed under his breath.
Shego's arms slipped over his shoulders as she leaned over the back of the chair to rest her head closer to his.
"I have seen the baby album," she whispered.
Drakken glared at her, but the amusement in her expression didn't fade. Instead, she pulled back and gave him a kiss on his cheek before standing up. He felt his face grow warm at the simple gesture, more than if she had simply kissed him like normal. Seemingly unphased by his blush or not noticing in the firelight, Shego stretched before heading towards the door.
"Alright, we should get out there before Cleopatra deviates from what I told her to do in the kitchen... I don't know how bad someone can mess up a roast... but I don't want to find out," said Shego.
Drakken stared at her a moment and the remainder of her words this morning came flying back to him.
'the man I love...'
"Shego," he said quickly as he stood up.
He paused at the sudden looseness in his body from the heat-type message she'd given.
"Hmm?" hummed Shego as she leaned back as she'd half walked out of the room, "Still stiff?"
"Ohm... no," Drakken waved it off and move closer to her, "I wanted to talk about this morning."
She rolled her eyes but her smile still remained.
"Let's talk about it later," she continued out of the room, "I'm starving."
"But, Shego..." Drakken sighed as she vanished down the hall, "Grr."
Drakken's growl turned into an annoyed sigh as he followed where Shego had gone.
With another bite of lumpy mashed potatoes, Drakken glanced at Shego. She was shooting Cleopatra a scathing look which it appeared Cleopatra was avoiding. He imaged that it may have something to do with the quality of said potatoes as Shego gave them a look of disgust. Drakken might have been inclined to ask about it if his mind wasn't focused on what had eluded him since the morning. Taking the many interruptions to share his own feelings, he was taking it as a sign that it needed to be better planned.
Maybe I should just say it...
Drakken looked at where Ed was lumping a heap of meat on his plate and talking about an upgrade idea he had for his 'tricked out ride getting seriously rad.' Lingering to Cleopatra who was either honestly listening to this or feining interests very well in his cousin's hobbies. Shego seemed to have lost interest in glaring at Cleopatra and seemed to be looking at him in confusion.
Was she talking to me?
Her eyes narrowed and she rolled her eyes before stabbing her roast.
She was.
"What was that?" asked Drakken quickly.
He watched her give a slightly annoyed inhale.
"Nevermind, go back to whatever LaLa land you were in," stated Shego.
Drakken frowned.
"No, what was it?" he asked again. Drakken looked towards Ed and Cleopatra who seemed to not be paying attention.
Drakken looked at the food and then back to where Shego was aggressively chewing her food.
"The roast is great," he hastened. Shego raised a brow and then rolled her eyes.
"I asked, why do you think only you two had Christmas gifts?" asked Shego. Drakken looked away in thought.
He hadn't really put thought into the gifts Shego had mentioned finding. Locating the ornamental trees in the corner where two large boxes and a few small things lay, he tried to assess them. Drakken wasn't sure how old the boxes might have been from this distance, but it could have simply been hidden away before his grandmother's passing.
A foot nudged his leg hard under the table and he turned back to look at an annoyed Shego.
"I was thinking," Drakken defended himself, "Might have just been gifts she'd put aside before her passing."
"Just for you two?" asked Shego.
"Oh heck yeah," Ed added in smugly, "She was always spoiling us with things. Seriously, I think the woman spent most of her waking moments trying to remember things she needed to give us."
Drakken nodded in confirmation. Then couldn't help the smugness racing through him as he locked eyes with Ed.
"She especially favored me," he added. Ed glared.
"She did not," scoffed Ed, "If anything you probably got on her nerves since you didn't seriously leave the women alone."
Drakken was about to give a snide retort, or at least he was hoping it was when Shego interrupted them.
"Can we make it through one meal without an argument breaking out?" sighed Shego.
There was a small silence at the table.
"Seriously Drew, do you know how lame you sound," Ed finally spoke.
"Why'd I even try," muttered Shego under her breath,
Drakken scoffed at Ed.
"Lame?" asked Drakken, "You were always jealous that I was the favorite grandson-"
"I think you should open your gifts!" interjected Cleopatra.
"I actually agree," Shego said loudly.
"Shego, we are in the middle of-" Drakken was cut off.
"Giving me a migraine... I know," Shego gave a forced smile, "Let's assume the argument ended with both of you pouting and something getting broken."
Cleopatra quickly knocked over the bowl of potatoes with a crash.
"What was that?" snapped Shego, "I said pretend!"
Cleopatra shrugged.
"I was adding a flair or improve," she argued,
"What would make you think I wanted anyone to add improve?" asked Shego.
"Now look who's arguing," Ed muttered to Drakken. He nodded.
"How the tables have turned," Drakken added.
He regretted his statement by the glaring daggers it received from Shego.
"You know this dinner was delicious," said Drakken swiftly.
He looked at Ed for support, but he looked amused by the fight. Drakken kicked him under the table.
"Hey! Seriously what..." he trailed off and sighed, "Yeah, nice work babes... the potatoes were a little weird."
The statement brought a smirk to Shego's face. Unknowingly, Ed had finished the argument between Cleopatra and Shego. Ed was oblivious to the daggers being glared at him by Cleopatra, at least at the moment.
He is not going to have a pleasant evening.
It was much later and after begrudgingly doing dishes, Drakken made his way to his and Shego's room. He'd had more than enough of Ed pointing out how they had both had the same gifts. Simple socks, a new wallet, and what was presumed to be the same book. Ed had opened his first to reveal a book on engineering and robotics that was the same size and shape of the package Drakken had yet to open. It had made dishes worse but his cousin resumed the argument about their grandmother having favorites.
I was still the favorite.
He stated confidently, though he knew it shouldn't matter... but it did.
Before he could fall into an internal argument with himself, he entered his room and closed the door behind him. A brief moment of calm ran through him at the picturesque sight. The end table lights were on and the fire was a welcoming warmth to walk into. About the flop on the bed and wallow, the door opened behind him again and smacked him hard.
"Ow! Shego!" yelled Drakken as he spun around clutching his head.
He saw a look of concern ghost her face before she scoffed.
"Why are you standing behind the door," she countered and closed the door again.
"I wasn't- nighn, nevermind," he grumbled and walked away rubbing his head.
"Kinda seemed like you were since you got hit," said Shego as she held up his unwrapped gift, "You forgot this on the coffee table."
"Eh," shrugged Drakken, "It's just a book similar to the ones were taking home."
Shego looked at him as she walked over to the fire.
"Your just pouty because it might be the same one Motor Ed got," sighed Shego, "Otherwise you'd be fawning over it and rambling away about some significance to it for hours."
Drakken rolled his eyes and moved passed Shego to crouch down and stoke the fire as a distraction.
"Are you seriously going to be in this mood all night," Shego's sigh was softer this time.
"I'm not in a mood," he lied as he sat on the ground and tried to enjoy the toasty feeling.
"Yes you are," he heard her grumble.
There was a moment of silence and he wondered if Shego was going to argue about it or if he could let his overthinking argument take over. Neither happened as Shego crouched behind him and the heavy rectangle package was placed in front of him. He waited for the badgering but instead, he felt her arms wrap around his shoulder's and her voice found his ear.
"I'm sure you were the favorite," she hummed, "Just open the gift and I can put it with the others... look."
She held up the package. Her voice became musical as she waved it in front of his face.
"It's even wrapped in Snow Man Hank," sand Shego.
Drakken yanked it from her hands and gave her a halfhearted glare. Her cocky expression remained as her chin rested on his shoulder as he looked at it. He hadn't looked at it much since Ed had torn his open, but the wrapping did lift his mood. His cousin's wrapping had been generic, as had the other two gifts, but this one was wrapped with more care. At least, he told himself that to make his personal point of favor. The tag on the gift was elegantly written with his name, and when he moved the bow he realized why. His grandmother, in her feeble attempts at any writing, was illegible... unlike this. When he looked at who it was from, it wasn't just his grandmother but also Emily.
Drakken raised a brow at this, Ed's had been only from their grandmother, even if the elegant writing had been Emily's titling.
"Well look at that," smugly stated Shego, "Already one up from Motor Ed."
He knew she was trying to appease him, but her tone betrayed her want to tease him. He opened the wrapping paper with mild excitement, despite knowing what to expect. Except... as the paper fell away, it wasn't the Engineering book at all and it took him a moment to process what he was looking at. It was a thick dark leather book and as Drakken shoved the green and red wrapping paper aside, he flipped it over to look at the front.
The processing in his head seemed to stop as he looked at what he was holding. A shiver of excitement rushed through him as he read the elegantly embossed title on the cover, 'The Tales of Dr. Drakken.' He saw a note inside the cover, but his hands moved faster than his eyes as he took in what he had. His earlier concerns about being favored over his cousin in any way flew from his mind as he looked at a gift made specifically for him. Tales that filled his childhood were no longer words his grandmother would sometimes struggle to stitch together, but now were dictated just for him. More than that, there were sketches and illustrations that seemed to have come right out of his childish mind and onto paper.
He was slightly startled as Shego's voice pulled him back to reality.
"So, these are the stories your stolen your alias from there... Drew," it was a soft laugh she gave, her arms wrapping around him tighter.
He knew she was attempting to be playful, but he was too transfixed by the gift in his hands. All he wanted to do was read and relive these tales and...
"Shego?" he asked as he turned to look at her, "Do you... want to hear a story?"
Shego looked at him for a second before she let out a slight sigh, but her smile was a pleasant one.
"Yes," she answered, "But."
Shego's arm slid around him and he knew she was given her token smug smirk without even looking.
"Who was right," she said confidently.
"Hmm," hummed Drakken as he flipped another page of the book.
"I'm waiting," said Shego.
He had a half thought to egg on her need for attention, but he let the thought fade as he let out a sigh.
"You were right," he confessed.
Her lips found his cheek again and his hand slid over hers in response as she pulled away.
"I'm rarely wrong, but I like the validation," she teased.
He rolled his eyes and was about to get back to the book when he felt Shego standing up.
"I'm going to get ready for bed," said Shego, "And apparently a story."
"Two?" asked Drakken.
"Two," responded Shego as she headed to the bathroom.
Drakken's eyes darted back to the book as he closed it. His hands traced the thick leather and binding with an exciting short chuckle. His eyes darted to the closed bathroom door and then to the bed, wanting nothing more than to crawl under the covers and dive into the pages. He reluctantly put the book down and headed to get ready for bed in the communal bathroom rather than wait until Shego was done.
Perhaps, I can even convince her for more than two stories!
Tossing her hairbrush back on the counter, Shego stifled a yawn as she pulled open the bathroom door. She'd been half attempted to take a quick shower, but her hair would take far too long to dry and she eager herself to hear one of these inspirational stories Drakken wanted to share. She'd watched his mood shift from being upset and attempting to hide his disappointment at the previous gifts because of Ed... to his eyes vibrating with excitement often reserved for schemes or inventions.
Something tells me he's not going to settle with two stories tonight.
This was practically confirmed as she walked from the bathroom and into the bedroom. Drakken was already nestled in his side of the bed. The only light came from the smaller fire and the lamp on his side of the bed as well. Looking him over, he'd already changed into his pajamas and rearranged the pillows to create a sort of nest-like area for the two of them, and the childish excitement was clear across his face. His eyes were darting over the page of the book he was on and she couldn't help bet let out a slight snort of amusement as she climbed into bed.
"Didn't want to wait for me?" she asked as she slid under the covers.
"I was just choosing the best ones," he cleared his throat and then moved slightly for her to settle next to him.
Shego rested her head on his shoulder so she could look at the images of the book.
"Alright, wow me Doc... let's hear these stories," she smirked.
"Which one do you want to hear first?" asked Drakken, "Foolish Brothers, The Littlest Gorgon, Christmas in the Tunnels?"
"Reader's choice," said Shego, shifting slightly closer to get even more comfortable, "We both know you're going to read more than two."
"The Littlest Gorgon is my favorite, but I do like Foolish Brothers," Drakken said thoughtfully.
"I can relate to the title," Shego encouraged.
Drakken took a deep and exciting breath as he began to read.
"Dr. Drakken had met many foolish people in their life. From near and far as they traveled through the streets of the city... none though were as foolish as the ones that had altered Dr. Drakken's path in life..." Drakken read calmly.
Despite the genuine interest in hearing the stories, Shego felt her eyes getting heavy as Drakken spoke. The sound of his voice slowly became a faint rumble as sleep began to take over. She had never envisioned something as mundane as Drakken reading aloud as being something she would start to find a comfort. Yet, as she snuggled closer to him and his arm draped over her shoulder as he continued his story, she felt a soft wave of peace fall over her just as slumber won over.
AND Cabin Adventures Continue!