IV. Purrfection

It was in the cool, Saturday morning that Shego awoke to one of Drakken's signature cackles. Though it had awakened her, it had not startled her. Nor did it Jade, even less so, in fact. Jade was still fast asleep, snoring in a ball of fur, like a living pillow pet, in a fancy velvet bed next to the wall right beside Shego. This cackle was followed by some hushed conversations with his henchmen. She was immediately on edge, concerned firstly for her privacy. They were very close by, and this wing of the lair was only for her and various hobby and storage rooms. These were mostly empty, because she preferred to be alone and not to be bothered by his antics whilst she lived there.

This lair was one of the largest lairs he had had, and the hundreds of thousands of dollars in sponsorships and grants he had garnered from his biological innovations and research had gone almost entirely into vain purchases. He no longer rented. He no longer leased. He mortgaged. This was a big step up for them.

Them?

She heard another laugh, but this time it was not a cackle. It was a hearty laugh, a real one, which had faded into a higher pitch, and it came back every now and then with chuckles. She realized that whatever he was doing may not be malicious and might just be him doing something else entirely. She felt warmth from this laugh. It was familiar to her, and comfortable to her. She was used to it. For a moment, she almost forgot how annoying and self-absorbed he often was, and instead she began to focus on how fun he was to be around. There truly was never a dull moment. She did not want to stay in this feeling of simple happiness and snuffed it out by getting up in a huff. She put on this front constantly, and today would not be an exception.

Her pajamas included a long, old No Doubt shirt and black basketball shorts. It had been quite the week. She could not find her slides and left them behind, as she needed to take action quickly before something happened without her knowledge. Jade followed her as best she could out the door.

"Drakken, it's 8 o'clock in the morning, on a damn Saturday! I'm trying to sleep! It's the one day I'm not working!" she complained. His grin fell, and he expressed a sort of stoic disappointment. "You have no idea what I have going on here, do you? I could have sworn I had told you at some point…"

"No, I don't. And no, you didn't."

His wide grin returned to his face, and he clasped his hands and rubbed them together mischievously. He made a playful stance and gestured with his fingers toward a seemingly empty hallway. At least, it was, that is. His smile was truly something else, devious, or otherwise…

"Well, now is as good a time as ever," he clapped his hands and shooed away his men. He did a little dramatic flourish, and Shego smirked at this, walking in front of him. The hallway was a darker, narrower hallway than the others, and the closer space had caused several awkward "scooting bys" among the henchmen that had been working with him. She felt strangely close to him, the proximity had caused that strange feeling to return. She brushed closely to his shoulder and took the time to catch a glance of the near silhouetted sight of him in profile. She could smell him, the scent of machinery and a hint of subtle cologne, something she had grown familiar with. That was him. In contrast to his dark appearance, it was clear that there was within a part of him that was fun and even sweet, and at times, whimsical. He was drastically overcompensating for this facet of himself, and Shego was one of the few people that knew this about him. This felt like some sort of honor he had given her, his playful smile itself a little gift.

He could not contain his excitement, and she could tell that he was incredibly proud of what he had done. It felt almost childish, but not necessarily off-putting, it was actually endearing. He was already quite animated but when he was excited about something like this, he was almost unable to keep still. She followed him, somewhat entertaining his act.

He suddenly rushed ahead and then jumped in front of her. "Can you close your eyes for a little bit?", he asked gleefully. Shego frowned at him. He shrugged and begged, "Just do it. Come on." She, annoyed, closed her eyes and folded her arms. He then bounded further in front of her as she did so. She continued to walk forward as her eyes remained shut. "Okay turn…" Drakken guided, pushing her shoulders to turn a little bit. A light began to shine through her eyelids.

"Alright! You can open your eyes now! Ha ha haaa!", he cheered. The sight that greeted her brought a genuine smile to her face. Shego gasped.

There was Drakken, posing dramatically with his arms outstretched with excitement and pride, behind him a true marvel. The room, once empty with only a few boxes and old machine parts in the corner, was made colourful in shades of teal and periwinkle. Plush carpet and wood and metal fixtures and shelves dotted the walls. They were elegantly formed with precision and craftmanship she knew he was proud of. Along the floors were extra-large cat toys, robotic mice, and mechanical cat dazzlers. The whole room was alight with electric creations, all manufactured and designed by him. There were lounging areas for Jade, a couch for Shego, a little fountain for Jade to drink and eat by. On the ceiling there was projected skies of blue and white. Glowing stars stood by on the walls and ceilings, to emit calming light at night. The most incredible feature, however, was a large virtual window with a wide sill below it, creating a faux sun-dappled area for Jade to bask in and to watch. It had fake birds chirping outside, colourful butterflies with a meadow and beautiful sky. How he did this was a mystery to her, and it seemed there were indeed some things he was greatly skilled in.

"Ah! Look at this." Drakken smiled widely and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a metal gadget with small buttons on it, topped with a crystal. He pressed a button with a sort of mischievous expression on his face and began waving it, a little bright green spot coming from it moving around on the floor. Jade emerged from behind Shego, and her husky little self darted clumsily toward the laser, pouncing this way and that. Drakken seemed calmer as he played with Jade. Jade quickly became tired, unfortunately, and rested in a fluffy cat cozy. Drakken slowly turned to Shego, who was still marveling at the wonderful things in the room.

"Do you like what I made for Jade?", he asked. His expression was so lighthearted, so jovial, as he hoped she would like his gift to her. His hands were clasped together.

"Jade sure loves it. Aw… Dr. D, you're so sweet for doing this."

"Sure! Sure. I'd like to think I'm quite good with, you know- technology stuff, and, though I hate to admit it, more wholesome ventures fascinate me from time to time. Ooh! Take this, I thought it would be fun." He handed her the laser toy. His gloved hand briefly touched her hand in the exchange. Shego smiled, touched by his gesture.

"Thanks, Drakken. This is really something special. I appreciate it."

They shared a smile and a warm look, and there, in that whimsical and wonderful room, happened a truly special moment in time. Their odd, almost-friendship had seemed to have grown into that of a genuine, close friendship…

Shego turned to play with Jade and sat down on the couch. Drakken interrupted the peace by saying, "Wellll! I'd better get back to reprograming some of the generator grids… I hope Jade likes all this." He turned around quickly to leave, not wanting to linger for fear of the happy, but tense energy returning. She was sure to thwart it, however. Shego decided to play a very, very risky move with him, but desired to take an opportunity to spend time with him… as a friend, of course…

"Hey! Drakken, uh, would you like to come with me to this underground show at that club I go to tonight? It's gonna be a lot of fun I think."

He felt his stomach drop, did she want him to spend time with him? And she was asking him? He didn't know what to say, but he had to get out of this. Rejecting this was something he felt he had to do. He felt he might regret this. Though Drakken really wanted to go, yet another part of him debated whether he would really enjoy such a live show anyway. His confused and anxious expression revealed to her his inner turmoil. Shego tilted her head and waited for his answer, which took a while.

An idea popped into his mind.

"Oh! Uh, I'm not feeling so well, eh-heh, Shego. Thank you for inviting me, um, but I had better rest, and all that." He coughed hoarsely but was sure to be more subtle.

"I go to your karaoke nights all the time, Drakken. Come on, you'll have fun. I'll get you a drink, that's the least I can do!", she argued, smirking.

"No, no, no, you don't have to do anything for me in return! Think of this as a thank you for all you've done for me this year." He put his hands on his hips. "I've been quite under the weather… my! I should probably go and… take it easy."

Shego came up to him and nudged him. "Fine, fine. Rest up then Dr. D. I guess we can always go out some other time." She sat back down and began petting Jade, briefly looking up at him as he turned to leave.

"Yeah."

He left the room, striding down the dark hallway, wondering how much longer she would even be in his life. Was he making a mistake? He didn't know how to feel.

…

Shego began to get ready for her night out, finding the perfect form-fitting leather skirt adorned with buckles and zippers, a bustier with spikes, plenty of black and silver. She then put on her favorite high-heeled boots. The final detail was a green leather jacket, glittering with silver accents of rivets, spikes, buckles, and zippers. She finished her makeup, reapplying her signature black lipstick. She pulled out her mascara wand, her jewelry and clothing jingling with each stroke of her hand. Jade meowed from atop Shego's bed.

"Aw, baby girl, I'll will be right back," Shego cooed. Jade meowed again, crying out for attention. She sat up from her vanity and reached over to pet Jade. Jade began to purr, and something strange happened just then. Her eyes glowed in the dim light, to Shego's astonishment. "Wow, you are a glowly kitty. You are just full of surprises, huh, baby?" Shego strode back to her vanity and started putting mascara on her other eye.

''SHEGO!", Drakken shouted from the intercom.

Mascara was all over her nose. She flung it down, slammed her intercom button and picked up a wipe. "What the hell?! You ruined my makeup."

"Makeup is trivial to a much greater issue! Shego! Kim is back from… college!" he growled.

She rolled her eyes and touched up her concealer. "Drakken, why do you care, we have been all clear in the public light for a long time. What do you want me to do about that, anyway? Whatever."

There was a pause.

Drakken made sure she heard him cough. "Ahem- yes. I hate to say it, but you've got a point. Have fun at that show, Shego."

"G'bye."

Shego shook her head, grabbed her designer purse, and gave one last look in the mirror, adjusting her hair. She made a pose and left the room.

A/N

Hey y'all, sorry for the delay on this one. I have a busy life but am determined to share my fanfiction with the world! I have written other parts of this story, but need to write the full linear story, of course, for it to make sense. This is a slow burn sort of fic, I will be honest, but I think that it works for these characters. The upcoming parts will not disappoint my fellow Drakgo fans. ;) I hope Jade is a good addition and not too annoying or anything like that. I love chonky kitties. Let me know what you think. I also love writing details and dialogue, its one of my favorite things about Love is in the Lair. Shego and Drakken are just the best!