Music

Drakken drove the hover car in deep silence. This was not supposed to be how the day ended, and honestly, he felt like he had embarrassed himself in front of Shego. They'd only been working together for three weeks now, and their first big plan had been foiled by a teenage cheerleader and her bumbling sidekick, who apparently couldn't even remember the name 'Dr. Drakken.' He glared at that even harder. How hard was it to remember that? He knew their names: Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable. Well, two could play at the game, Stoppable...

His thoughts fell flat as Shego shifted awkwardly in the seat to his left. Maybe putting the steering column in the middle wasn't the best idea, but it was the only way they could keep the craft balanced.

"So, that didn't go as planned," said Drakken. Shego's eyes flared and she nodded as she looked over the edge. "How's your eye?"

"I'm fine," said Shego as her hand reached for her eye.

"You..." Drakken was cut off.

"You don't have to fill this awkward silence with chatter," said Shego. Drakken nodded.

He drove on. It was probably one of the most awkward drives of his life. He wanted to get to know her a bit better considering they resided in the same lair; her apartment was on the other end of the living quarters, but they would be working together for six months. Six awkward months. They were strangers, and she seemed hell-bent on keeping it that way. At least the distance between him and his past assistants had been from his end. More often than not, they shared far too much about their lives with him. So much so, he'd banned them from the lab. Something was unsettling about living with a stranger, working with a stranger... He was starting to see why she only did one-month contracts. She seemed to not like company at all.

"Mind if I turn on some music?" asked Drakken. He was being courteous. She shrugged.

"Knock yourself out," said Shego through a grumble.

"Thank you," he said and turned on the radio.

Shego idly watched the landscape as Drakken bumbled with the radio. What had she been thinking... A six-month contract? Really? Just because he didn't come off as a creep... She glanced at him and shrugged.

At least he wasn't a creep.

Too many villains had turned out to be just that: over-egotistical, dramatic, creeps. She could live with egos, with drama, with whiny demands, and with full-blown temper tantrums...but she couldn't deal with creeps. It was hard enough being in a male-dominated field. Your boss making sexual advances and suggestions was not something she could tolerate. She kept her distance for that reason. No ties, no connections. Job done. Gone. She heard music and sighed. At least the radio was working. She found her foot tapping to the beat; she knew this song. She was almost going to hum along, but instead, she heard the music go up a bit more, and then the person next to her began singing.

"It's my life. And it's now or never..." Drakken sang along as if he'd forgotten she was even there. Normal, really.

She looked at her blue boss next to her, singing without a care in the world to Bon Jovi. She was waiting for him to remember she was there, so she turned. He glanced at her in mid-verse. Her raised brow did nothing to discourage him. In fact, he shrugged and nodded to her still-moving foot, as if indicating that she should join in. Shego shook her head and looked back over the edge. He sang on, and she just stayed silent. The next song came and she thought he'd stop, but he sang on... Her brow shot up. Was he rapping? She spun in her seat and just stared at him.

"We ain't nothing but mammals, well some of us are cannibals…" he sang.

"Are you seriously singing Slim Shady?" asked Shego as Drakken continued the verse.

"It's not singing Shego, it's poetry to a beat and tempo," he said before continuing on. "Will Smith don't gotta cuss in his raps to sell records..."

"This is happening," said Shego. She heard herself snort, and didn't miss the smug grin on Drakken's face. The signal changed.

"Oh," said Drakken and he fiddled with the buttons. A different song started. "Well, this will work... "This is the story of a girl. Who cried a river and drowned the whole world…"

"You know, you're actually pretty good," said Shego. Drakken shrugged and kept singing. He nodded towards her tapping foot again.

"Your clothes never wear as well the next day. And your hair never falls in quite the same way…" he sang confidently. Shego listened a little bit more and found herself muttering.

"This is the story of a girl…" Shego sang quietly.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" asked Drakken. Shego glared at him but he sang louder.

"Who cried a river and drowned the whole world," said Shego loudly, "And while she looks so sad in photographs. I absolutely love her, where she smiles."

Twenty minutes later and Shego could barely keep it together as Drakken finished singing a Backstreet Boys song with as much dedication as a band member. She'd been on board for half the song, but her fighting laughter had gotten in the way of continuing to sing along with the radio. At one point two songs had blended and in a moment of weakness she sang the other song, and he matched tempo. She was actually a little let down as they pulled into the underground of the lair.

"You know Shego, you should consider going to a Friday night karaoke with me," said Drakken. "It's a blast, and there's always free appetizers."

"Karaoke," said Shego. She looked at the grinning man next to her and scoffed. "That's where you go? You go to karaoke."

"Ohm, when I get around to it," said Drakken. She saw his smile fade quickly and he frowned. "Not every Friday or something."

"I'm not the karaoke type," said Shego with a shrug.

"Nonsense, Shego. Everyone can karaoke. Some shouldn't...but they do. Karaoke on Friday is not a competition," said Drakken with a smirk. As the moment drew on, his grin broadened. "But I would win if it was."

"Someone's a little conceited," said Shego with a smirk. She shrugged. "Maybe."

"Free appetizer, entertainment, half-off drinks," said Drakken. She shrugged again. "You're a decent singer so..."

"Decent?" asked Shego with wide eyes. "I think I'm better than decent."

"I mean, you're better than most there," said Drakken. She saw him smirk as they headed inside. "But not me."

"Did you just throw shade?" asked Shego as Drakken casually walked into the lair. He turned around and shrugged.

"Slim shade..." He walked out of view.

"Oh my..." Shego scoffed and smirked. "Okay, I see how it's going to be."

Onwards -