Home, Hurt, and Hostile Plants
The cool breeze blowing over the waves below the lair ruffled the papers that sat on the patio table. Shego slammed her hand over the top of them before the file could slip away with the wind. She placed her coffee cup on top of it and flipped another page in book. As a second wind came through, she slammed the book shut and let out a frustrated groan, she pushed herself away from the table and began putting all the papers together. If the picking up of the morning wind wasn't enough to push her inside, the clouds and smell of oncoming rain was the final blow. She had been reading and re-reading the files and book for the last three days non-stop. She slammed the patio door closed behind her as she slipped into the dining area and let the papers fall onto its table. Unlike them, her coffee cup fell with a moist thud onto the ground, but didn't shatter. The withdrawing of the plants that had partially taken root near the doorways the reason for the lack of shattering. Shego watched at the plants began to play with the coffee cup, leaving a trail of coffee droplets everywhere.
"Could you not make a mess," scoffed Shego as she snatched the cup from the vines.
There was a bristle through the plants and some chose to duck back outside as she headed towards the kitchen. She noted the several empty water jugs that occupied the counter near the sink indicating Drakken had surfaced from his lab within the last hour she had been on the patio. Her eyes narrowed as she put the cup in the sink and she began refilling one of the jugs. While she was glad he was hydrating after her lecture the day prior, she was annoyed he hadn't even come out to the patio to see her.
They had been back from the cabin for over a week and somewhere between the flirtatious fun they had been having and the late nights pouring over the papers... something had shifted. He'd rarely left the lab and had almost been ignoring her. The shift had confused her and after prodding him more than a few times with no resolve, it now infuriated her. To top off her irritation, her heat lamp had quit on her and the weather had been rainy and cool due to the winter season in Greece... it had not helped her mood and her poring over the book and files had become her only interest. It was not longer about the list of lairs that might be a place to avoid Botox and company, or trying to figure out the families behind the Company names... it was to solve Drakken's mood change. She knew it had nothing to do with the mood ring project he'd all but put aside until the other day... there had to be something that had triggered it while reading when she hadn't been next to him.
Before she could turn off the water she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and she ignited her hand and glared over her shoulder at the approaching plants. They darted away from her and out of sight as she turned off the water. The plants had been nothing but obnoxious the last few days. Darting through windows, under doors, and while she hadn't seen much of Drakken held up in his lab, they seemed the follow her everywhere. As much as she had become accustom to the plants and fond of them at times... she would have much rather woken up next to Drakken this morning, not the vines that had decided to keep warm in the blankets of the bed.
"There is water outside... and hot boxes," said Shego as she saw the plants around the corner, "Get out of the house!"
She opened up the fridge and shoved the water jugs back into the empty space and took a moment to glance over the lack of food. Letting it fall closed and then opening up the freezer, she tried to remember the last time they'd gone shopping for food. The henchmen had brought food the last few days so she hadn't noticed it... well... brought... been ordered to bring food... she shrugged and let the freezer close. It would be good excuse as any to get Drakken out of the lab and perhaps find out why he had become so... well... Drakken level focused for no reason.
Deadline my-
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the alarm blaring.
"Now what," sighed Shego as she headed towards the lab.
Drakken wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but a hole in the wall was not it. If the debris falling
over the large monitor while the fragments of the ring bounced around his workspace were irritating... the blaring alarms that refused to shut off was not helping. He slammed his fist on the button a few more times to no avail and growled just before he felt the coil up his spine as Flower joined him.
"Flower, do take care of that cursed alarm!" Drakken snapped, but before Flower could ascend to the ceiling, the blaring stopped.
"You do realize the alarm switch is over here, right?" came Shego's voice from near the stairwell.
He looked at the button he'd been hitting.
"Well what is that one for?" he whined, his eyes narrowing at the large red circle.
"I think that's for the missile launch," Shego sounded amused, "Good thing its empty."
Drakken heard yells and splashing outside the large hole and grimaced.
"No technically... I let the henchmen turn it into a gym while I figure out a new purpose," Drakken leaned out the hole as he watched a few of them swim towards the shore line.
"Pfft," scoffed Shego as she leaned over his shoulder, "They could pick up the equipment on their way out."
"If they don't, I will send the flowers later," stated Drakken as he stepped around Shego and dusted off the intercom switch on his desk, "Hector get a crew to the lab at once."
He exhaled a deep sigh as he rubbed his temples, debating on where he was going to work in the meantime. His thoughts were cut short as she felt Shego's hands slide over his shoulders as she leaned against him.
"Pretty sure this calls for a break" she hummed, "A few hours even."
Drakken wanted to lean into the hands that were gently digging into his labcoat as the fragmented ring caught his eye. A break sounded more than welcome, but before relief to could fully flood his mind... a wave of anger pushed to the surface. His hands slid over Shego and in one spin he'd turned around to face her and pushed her hands gently to her sides. Not bothering to make eye contact he stepped away and towards the debris.
"I have to at least get some headway on this, it's been sitting for months," he countered, "I had no less than five emails about it when we got back and frankly I don't want to see anymore."
"What are they going to do... fire you?" he heard her snort, "Last time I checked you didn't answer to anyone besides the voices in your head."
Drakken rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath before snapping back.
"Yes, well, the voices have spoken and I have work to do," he grabbed a handful of his tools and brushed off some debris, "I have to work on reconstructing a poorly constructed ring by using an idiots designs, so if you don't mind..."
He gestured towards the door as he took a seat and began digging for various parts. He had a majority of the rings parts but his magnifying goggles were no where in sight. Yanking open a few drawers he found an outdated clamp and magnification set and settled on using this in the mean time. The sound of footsteps and wheels coming off the elevator signified the cleaning crew's arrival and he glanced up towards them only to see Shego. Her brows furrowed and lips pinched as tight at her arms were crossed and she burrowed her eyes into his.
"Yes?" he asked sharper then he intended.
Her expression wavered for a second before she let out an agitated growl under her breath and turned towards the door.
"Whatever," was all he could make out in the muffled words as she walked through the henchmen who gave her a wide birth in her exit.
As soon as the elevator doors closed behind her, her let out a strained sigh and focused back on the items in front of him. Only to see the henchmen stood far too close to his desk without seeming to clean.
"Hey Boss, is everything... okay?" asked Lucius.
The urge to yell at the henchmen for not minding their business was swallowed as he thought carefully. If he simply snapped at them or said nothing... it would mean insufferable chatter among them and the very uncomfortable amount of henchmen filing in and out of his lab just too "see for themselves" and he was not in the mood to continuously snap at the interruptions.
"I have a lot of work to do... and clearly... no... it's not going well now is it?" he said with a vague gesture around him.
This seemed to be an accepted answer among the crew in front of him as they gave a few murmurs and nods before getting to work cleaning up the mess. He took a small inhale of breath through his nostrils and let it seep out before starting to put the pieces of the small object back together. The sounds of the henchmen chattering and cleaning becoming a faded white-noise as he did so, swirling with listing all the parts he needed to recover, where his goggles might be, if he still had another jug of water down here, was Shego still riffling through files upstairs, Shego's expression before she'd left the lab... Shego.
The tiny screw bounced through the rubble as he tried to wedge it back into the stripped shaft. He let the tools fall from his hand before shoving away from his desk and deciding to take that break after all. He walked over the rubble and made his way up the stairs and to the elevator. His hand pressed the ascending arrow as he focused his eyes on the floor.
You shouldn't have snapped at her.
He rolled his eyes.
Your anger isn't at her...
But it was... misplaced as it was... he was angry... frustrated... hurt. He closed his eyes and let his mind fall back to three days prior... trying to pull the good spirits he'd once felt. Remembering the image of them curled up in bed together, his head lazily resting in the nook of her shoulder as they snickered at names and lair locations. Amused at the antics of a past that had only lived on his childhood stories and urban legends of Go City. It had been lighthearted dotted with seriousness as they had made notes and remarks about the Taxley family. Drakken had only been interested in the facts of places or avoid... or rather places to mark if he ever got around to ordering the missiles in his shopping cart.
It was... nice.
It was normal. The way the two had always been, berating others in mockery... planning violent attacks and schemes... all in a new far more comforting position. Then with the turn or a page in the late pages of a journal, the notes of a file, and the ghost of Shego's voice after Tibet... it had all changed. He had not been surprised to read about the betrayal of his grandmother to a Taxley who she thought of as a friend... now questioned her naivety at still trusting the Taxley who'd made a tonic to cure her- Blueness-... as a simple accident of side effects... the dwindling of her mind and dexterity in her journals writings showing such... no that blow had been already known... thought it had felt like poison in his veins as he'd read it with the knowledge of the truth... but it was the other pieces that made things click.
Shego had once again voiced a few murmurs of Tibet and the Taxley's... her words this time stayed. Mentally his musings at going over a long lost history had paused. As Shego had drifted off to slumber he had begun counting all the times she had mentioned Tibet... his grandmother... his family. Easily disposable at first at the topic of the papers... but it was the realization that somewhere in her gentle pushes... there was an ulterior motive.
Unable to sleep, he had drifted down to the lab... where for the past days he had remained, only napping at his desk and avoiding Shego. His mind for the first two days had been a mess, wondering what the motive was. Plagued by the thought that it was a selfish gain of some kind, it had been a dark place for those days... for thinking it... for assuming it... after all they'd been through and grown into... it had set him back years in his mind... but somewhere between several constant refilled jugs of water and snacks he knew Shego had tried to talk to him over... he'd realized that wasn't the reason.
He'd been so relieved at the notion she wanted to talk more in depth about things he'd avoided... even for her own musings had made him race out of the lab... where he'd watched her pouring over the books and notes on the patio this morning... but he'd recoiled back the the lab. Once again agitated... angry that she'd been able to push him so slowly and so easily to a history he'd spent over thirty years avoiding and distancing himself away from... and now was just piled on a table outside, no longer locked away in closets and not to be seen or spoken of.
You were curious too...
But if he continued turning those pages, let Shego keep nudging him... there were things he didn't want to know... to confirm.
Just tell her.
Drakken knew that if he spoke to her or tried to bring it up there would be no rational words to use. Even if he could find the words, he wouldn't know what he was conveying because he couldn't pin his own feelings down in his head. It was easier to let it fall to a sense of betrayal and anger then to reason. He couldn't just keep avoiding her and not talking to her was killing him... but he needed to get his mind straight before the wrong words were said and the foundation that her wanted to last forever would crack. So until then... All plans of his proposal, all plans everything he wanted to do, were on hold because at any given point he knew whatever emotions he was trying to distract himself from would break he didn't want them to be at her.
"Just zip it!" he snapped at himself as the thoughts swirled again.
"Excuse me?"
Drakken looked up at the open elevator doors to see Shego with her arms crossed in front of him. He looked at the buttons and realized he'd been so lost in his thoughts he'd missed the floor he'd intended to get off on. A cruise in the hovercar had been his goal, but he'd continued up to the main level where it was now clear Shego had been talking to him.
"Er, I wasn't talking to you," he hastened.
Shego looked around them and scoffed.
"Pfft, what else is new," she glared, "What is going on with you?"
"I... I have a lot going on," he waved her off and slid passed her, "Too many deadlines- ideas- yatta-yatta."
"Yatta-yatta?" she questioned, and he could sense her following him, "Since when don't you want to ramble about them at me? I'm missing the white-noise of your nonsense."
She misses my rambling?
He wanted to tease her or be insulted by her calling it 'nonsense' but as he was about to turn around. He caught the pile of files on the dining room table out of the corner of his eye and was reminded why he was avoiding her.
"I just need some sleep," he lied. Though as he said it, the wave of exhaustion began to seep in.
Shego's hand slid over his shoulder before he could choose to move towards the stairwell from where he'd frozen in the hall.
"I could use a nap," he could hear the smirk in her voice.
"Then you should take one," he replied as he moved towards the stairs, "Night, Shego."
He didn't sense her following him up the stairs... it did not make him feel any relief.
Sleep had come quicker than Drakken wanted to admit. He hadn't even taken his boots off and several hours later he'd awoken to realize he smelt horrid and night had fallen. By the time he'd showered, argued with Flower, and tossed his attire in a much needed to be closed hamper... Drakken had finally made his way to the kitchen somewhere around three in the morning for a very later dinner or a very early breakfast.
"Someone went shopping," Drakken muttered under his breath as he looked in the fully stocked fridge.
Flower darted over his shoulder to 'look' inside at his words. Drakken rolled his eyes as Flower grabbed a jug of water and he grabbed some lunch meat and closed the appliance to make a much desired sandwich. Accompanied by a jar of pickles that Flower had retrieved a few seconds later as Drakken looked for bread.
"Thank you Flower," hummed Drakken as an opened jar fell in front of him, "I'd rather go for something a bit more hardy, but this will have to do for now."
Flower froze from where it had pulled out a pot. Drakken's subconscious clearly sending messages for something better than the sandwich he was about to eat. Drakken shook his head and the appendage tossed the pot carelessly to the ground. The loud sound started Drakken who glared at Flower who hastily put the pot back where it had originated from. He muttered under his breath as he bit into his food while Flower handed him a cup filled with water.
"You need to work on your stealth," scoffed Drakken as the appendage vanished behind his shoulder. He felt a swat at the back of his head, "Watch it! You are always one pruning sheers away from permanently zipping it."
Its response was to make a fluttering motion as if mocking him before recoiling back down his spine.
"Lippy little flower," Drakken grumbled as he drank his water.
In the darkened silence, Drakken looked around him. Wondering when Shego had gone to get groceries or if she'd had one of the henchmen do it... then to the state of his lair if the henchmen had been distracted by groceries. He felt slightly bitter at the thought Shego might have gone without him... despite their disagreements on produce, it was an enjoyable past time the two had developed over the years.
I doubt she'd wanted to you with.
A nod to himself and a grumble under his breath about avoiding Shego, finished up his simple dinner. Just as he was about to wash out his cup, he glanced down the hall at the dining room. The dark silhouettes of paper stacks caught his eye. He placed his cup down and moved towards the piles of papers. An urge to throw them all out made his spine quiver again, but instead he found himself gathering the mess of files and journals.
Perhaps if he could read through them alone... perhaps he could get over his emotional turmoil state he'd been in before he caused more reprehensible damage.
It had been a good theory, but Drakken was finding it less... good... as he read on. He sat in his bed with a mess of papers around him, looking as if he'd ransacked rather then read anything. Making sure to take time to read the notes that Shego had added on brightly colored post-its about locations that no longer existed on certain ones. He was more than a little bitter she'd felt the need to add it to his file... a reminder of his past failings and lair loss was not something wanted at the wee hours of the morning. Though adding them to his grandmother's journals had proved helpful as she'd corresponded them with other events in the Company book and to various members of the Company itself.
He snickered at her note on the journal entry directly prior to the 'lab incident'. "Taxley's= Trashley's." It was something slightly lighthearted, but he could fell the malice and detest in the way she'd scribbled it. The journal entry was short and filled with excitement about her "friend" Taxley helping her on a "cure." Before it turned to ideas and ramblings of inventions she was eager to work on and Company events to come. The giddiness of a hopeful twenty-something brilliant women unaware of the consequence was almost heartbreaking
She'd traded it all to look 'normal' without knowing. A regret she'd repeated over and over till the journals ends. The elegant writing becoming sparse... the words not making sense... the rambling of a mad women... a wasted genius who'd trusted to wrong person. Drakken had been told of a lab accident, but one read of the journal and knowing what he knew of the Taxley family now... it had been no accident. He vaguely wondered why she'd never told anyone about the so called cure. From what he'd read about his grandfather, Andrew... he'd had dealt with it immediately... which was why she probably never told him.
The journal had been littered with talks of Andrew, the Company leader, her closest ally. He knew She'd spoken of him in life, but he couldn't remember much other than she'd always smiled when talking about him. From the notes and journal entries... he'd gone from being a voice of reason and the middle child of seven to sadly being the only one left of his siblings by the time the journals ended. Drakken wondered if there was missing journals for a brief hour as there were long dates with nothing, but she might not have written all the time.
Looking at a black and white image of his grandmother in her youth standing with a few people, one his grandfather, he looked back through the pages to read her as she once had been. His uncle and others had always told him she'd been a brilliant scientist, but it had always been dismissive or as a joke... he'd never doubted it... but as he followed her journey it was like an ache to see her recounts of the company, her ideas, the brilliance or her words on paper. He'd seen her attempt to write here and there in his youth, but none of it ever made sense... it was strange how the images and ideas she painted felt like... well home. Even in her confused years that he had known her, she'd inspired he and Eddie to love the sciences... to aspire... and he knew that once his mind was a scattered emotional mess at dealing with facing The Company... she would inspire him even more after all these years.
He thought of the manuals and even inventions noted in her pages... they were outdated... which meant he could improve upon them greatly. Drakken glanced at the files and wondered about his grandfathers... Laying the journal down on the bed, he turned to the files. No longer organized, though in truth Emily had not done the best job organizing them anyway. The annoyance at his relative pushed aside at how she'd spied on him for years without knowing... or the vague notes that were in his file. Another push to his mood this evening... but that's not where his hand went this time... it was to the very file... the very person he'd avoided knowing about the Company for.
His father.
Flipping open the dated folder he looked at the image of a man that he'd only seen in photographs. His father. He flipped through the single page in confusion. There was nothing in the folder really... no lairs... no connections... just an image and notes scattered about from Emily. It was... disappointing. Drakken let the folder fall in front of him and narrowed his eyes. All the other files were thick and heavy... notes even of people that he knew Emily had never known had more detail then his father. A man she'd at least known for eight years...
He didn't know what he'd been expecting but this wasn't it. He'd only known drunken stories about him from his uncle... a few anecdotes from his mother who painted the man only as her beloved husband... his grandmothers sometimes scattered recollection of him... he'd wanted... more. More then being only referenced as work driven and cold from his uncle, more than being painted on a pedestal by his mother, and more than a vague fleeting memory of his grandmother. At least something of a man who took over an organization while still a teenager and built it to what had been noted as its strongest in other references. Something to grasp at why...
Why?
That was it... that was why he'd been avoiding this... pushed it away rather then been curious about for the past... well his whole life. Because he wanted answers to questions he'd wanted to ask as a child and been ignored... he hadn't wanted to know tales of rules or romance or possible memories of the man... he'd wanted to know why it had been almost taboo to talk about him... why his leadership had been enough to push a person to end the company for good.
When did Botox decide to...
His thought stopped as he realized his thoughts... let himself connect them to Shego's side glances... the references to Tibet... when she'd asked about having something to tell him back then but he'd declined any Company knowledge.
Her ulterior motive.
Drakken had known somewhere along the way, but he'd never accepted that Taxley was responsible for the end of the Company... the end of his father... and he didn't have to even ask Shego to know the truth. The journals spoke volumes of the Taxley's character... the rest was simply piecing what knowledge he had gathered along the way.
There's the why...
Or... as much as he would ever get in that regards. He felt his emotions swirling as he let his conclusion set in... it blinded him in anger and swirled a grief he was confused to feel. So much so, he didn't even notice the activity in the vines and flowers outside his room and windows.
Sleep eluded Shego as she let out an annoyed groan and stared into the darkness of her room. She'd tried for hours and had even debated on going to the kitchen to raid the now stocked fridge. After two times of opening her door she'd chosen instead to go to Drakken's room... which had been vacant. Two steps down the stairs about to go to the lab, had ended up with her back in room snapping at herself. He'd made it very clear he wanted space... for whatever moronic reason he was clinging too. It took all her willpower not to just go blast a few things in the lair to get him to yell at her. She'd rather an argument take place then the avoidance.
"What is his damage," she let out a soft sigh into the night.
If she had known that a few days in after returning from the cabin would turn into over a week of agitation... she would have eaten the concerning cans in the tiny cabin pantry. At least there she didn't feel... lonely, angry, rejected? She couldn't choose the word, but it felt like she'd been flying on air... and now the hoverboard had clunked out and she couldn't find the fuel cap. It wasn't just the emotional confusion she was having... it was physical... which irked her more than the rest. Even without their cabin adventure, she'd grown accustomed to stealing Drakken's covers and being able to tease and annoy him with the end result being his arms around her regardless.
She glared at the darkness as she could almost feel his arms around her.
Pathetic-
She jumped as the feeling of limbs began to snake themselves over her. Her hand fumbled for the lamp as she hastened out of bed.
"What!" snapped Shego as she flipped on the lights.
She'd expected, well hoped, to snap at Drakken, purposefully irritating her like he had been doing, but that was not the case. The flowers wove around her bed and over her blankets, tightening around the surface and the headboard. She shoved herself out of bed as the vines that had been 'kicking' her feet, slid over the final edge of the bed. She crossed her arms and glared as the window was impacted with vines still spilling in.
"Get out!" she snapped.
The vines, unlike normal, did not retreat.
"I said, Out!" she let her hands flare as she indicated tot the window.
The vines moved faster and darted towards her. In shock she tossed a blast at them and dodged as the normally protective flowers began to attack her. They moved with such speed and mass she didn't even have time to come up with a defensive plan. As the lamp was engulfed and cracked in the weight of the vines grip, Shego chose the easiest option rather then dodging the suddenly hostile plants. Jumping over a thick vine soaring past her and into the wall, she darted out her bedroom door and slammed it. The sound of a loud thump against it made her yell before sprinting to the other door. Pounding hurriedly after trying the doorknob.
"Drakken!" yelled Shego as she pounded on his door, again.
The flowers had not followed her outside her room, but she could hear the creaking of her furniture in the distance. Something was differently wrong and from the plants reaction... it was her. There was a swell of nausea at that thought... at the rage the plants emulated... the very plants she spent hours talking too and thought wrapped around her finger... whether subconsciously connected of acting of their own free will... she didn't know.
"Drakken!" Her mind was spinning from the past week, the avoidance... the flowers assault.
I don't understand...
"What?" Drakken snapped harshly as his door was yanked open.
His tone would have normally made her angry, but with the plants wild antics, the avoidance, and the adrenaline running through her... her voice chose not to convey what she felt was warranted.
"I don't understand..." the words were a whisper.
"What?" Drakken's expression softened to his own confusion, "Shego, what is it?"
"You!" she snapped, "What is your issue with me?"
The tone of anger was there but it wasn't strong as through her hands up around her.
"Shego..."
"Whatever mood-swing or mental idiocy your suddenly on... I've had enough!" she didn't like the crack in her voice so she narrowed her eyes.
Drakken's hands were up in defense as her hands had subconsciously ignited.
"Shego..." he tried again.
She was about to roll her eyes as he made a few steps towards her with his hands making a 'calming' gesture at her. While the hands hadn't been intentional, his antics and softened tone as he did so made it seem like he was trying not to spook a wild animal instead of her. There was a brief moment of wondering what he would do if she blasted the wall behind him, which was interrupted as the vines finally broke through her door. Her energy focused on them as she tossed a green glow before the plants could get any further.
"What is happening?" asked Drakken as the plants snaked down the hall.
"What's happening is clearly some sort of... communication breakdown because of you... again!" spat Shego as she shot another blast, "I'd rather you use words to attack me then your freaky friends!"
As she was about to fire up another blast, the plants froze in place. As if they were looking around and suddenly figured out where they were. They swiftly retreated, nearly cracking the door-frame in their hurry to exit the hallway. Shego let her hands fall slightly but kept up a defensive just in case. She glanced at Drakken and then back to the door frame. Drakken hadn't said anything yet, and she had to stop herself from sprinting away. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt that familiar urge to leave... a familiarity that had been dancing in her mind all week but the flowers were an added push.
I'm not running.
"Well?" she huffed as she finally crossed her arms, "Care to explain what you think I've done?"
"It's not you," Drakken's voice was a mixture of wine and exasperation as he looked at her.
"It sure feels like it," she snapped, but her voice betrayed her as there was no bite in her words. "This is the third time you've made eye contact with me in over a week. Your plants are attacking me... you don't even want me around."
There's that run feeling again.
The last one had hurt as it left her lips... to hear it.
"It's not you," he sounded annoyed. She took a step towards him and gestured wildly to the now vine free doorway.
"Are you sure about that?" she yelled, "Because-"
"It's not," he cut in as he stepped closer to her, "I mean... it was, but it wasn't... and I... It's me, not you."
Shego narrowed her eyes as she felt a boil of rage in her stomach. Her expression must have made his words click because he looked panicked and waved his arms wildly as if to pull back the words to his mouth. His hands found her shoulders as he stepped to remainder of the distance between them.
"That is not how I wanted it to sound... I mean its true... but- No... that's not what I mean." He let out a frustrated growl before pressing his lips against hers.
"Excuse me?" snapped Shego as she pulled away from his kiss, "We we're talking!"
"Yes... but... I do better with action," he gave a sheepish expression. Shego held her stare, "I am... not breaking up with you."
Shego rolled her eyes and shoved him gently away.
"Doy," she snorted, "I'd hope you'd know better than that... at least be in hiding and on a different continent with an untraceable phone."
He looked slightly insulted.
"Are you insinuating that I could not break up with you? Because I can," she raised her brow, "Which I am not."
"For your safety, I don't recommend it," stated Shego. She crossed her arms again, "Care to explain?"
"Not really... I was hoping to revisit the kiss and brush this off till later," muttered Drakken. Shego tilted her head, "Maybe later?"
"Talk." Shego said firmly.
"Erm," Drakken looked towards his room.
"Really?" scoffed Shego.
"I am not trying to seduce you," he said quickly.
"Oh," She hummed as she walked passed him and into his room "Well that, I do recommend."
"I would like to revisit that after we talk," said Drakken.
Shego glanced over her shoulder at him as he closed the door. As tempting as it was, it was clear by the pile of files at the foot of his bed... there was going to be far more talking then seducing.
Shego's arms were crossed as she watched the shifting colors in the sky as morning edged its way over the horizon. The vines shifted like stringy shadows over the banisters. Her eyes narrowed at them, as she made a mental note to give them the cold shoulder... or a few 'pruning' shots after this evenings antics. She had accepted Drakken's explanation of avoidance, probably quicker than normal... because he had been right. Getting him to discuss and learn about the Company had been pushed with ulterior motives behind it. Though, she was not about to admit it out-loud... just like Drakken wasn't saying certain things out-loud.
"You knew it was Botox that ended the Company," said Drakken. She looked at him sitting next to her, his eyes fixed on a specific folder.
He didn't want to say anything about his father. Which she expected and understood.
"There were more than a few things I couldn't bring up about the Tibet incident that wouldn't bring it up," sighed Shego, "Which I respectfully kept to myself because you didn't want to know."
"Such a martyr," he snickered and shot her an eye roll.
It was an attempt at shifting the topic. She could do that for now, especially as he leaned against her. His brows narrowed at the pile of folders and she saw him slowly pushing them off the bed with this foot.
"Are you okay?" she asked with hesitation.
"I'm fine," nodded Drakken as the files slipped off.
A vine smashed the patio chair over the balcony which gained bother their attention. Shego raised a brow at him.
"I will work on it," Drakken cleared his throat.
"You better or I will be taking a more hostile and heated interest in gardening," she nudged him with her elbow before leaning on his shoulder, "How about next time you decide to target me for misplaced emotions... you... I don't know... Tell me. I'd much rather listen to you whine or yell then be treated like I have the plague."
"I didn't want to say something wrong," his voice was soft as he stared at his twiddling thumbs.
"And yet your plants attacked me and you did say many wrong things," replied Shego, "I think you might have done better just opening that big mouth of yours to start."
"I think we need to concede that our communication skills aren't always the best," Drakken grumbled.
"I've been doing a great job," stated Shego.
She smirked as Drakken rolled his eyes.
"Oh to be perfect," he said in sarcasm, "We should all aspire."
Her hand pulled the top of his nightshirt into a fist full of fabric as she pulled him closer to her. His brow raised at her action but he looked amused.
"It's good to have goals," she hummed, "But, I think you said something about doing better with action?" she hummed.
She watched his eyes scan through hers as a lazy smirk spread across his lips before they found hers as he closed the gap between them.
Okay... now lets get down to romance and idiocy... I mean the norm.