Dumpling

"Is it sad that I'm kind of getting used to this stuff?" asked Shego casually.

She ate the last eggroll if one could call it that as she and Drakken sat in his office.

"I told you to grab something on the way back from getting the neuro-compliance chip from Bortel's lab," said Drakken as he ate his noodles. "Since given the array of choices you chose not to...this is it."

"Yeah, about that whole swiping thing... Did you just decide to give up on making your own stuff?" asked Shego with an eye-roll.

"Mind control devices aren't easy," said Drakken. "And if you were under a mind control chip, wouldn't you want it to be a top-notch one versus something that hasn't been tested yet?"

"First. This hasn't been tested yet," replied Shego, nodding her head over to the box in the corner. "Second. That's what henchmen are for."

"Interesting," said Drakken as he slowly ate his noodles in contemplation. "That would be technically in their job description, correct?"

"Obviously. I mean, you're working for an Evil Mad Scientist, what do you expect?" shrugged Shego. She made a move for the dumplings.

"So... Hey, those are mine. If you wanted dumplings, you should have got your own," snapped Drakken. He snatched the box as Shego glared at him.

"Come on, I would have had to wait another fifteen minutes for more," complained Shego. She clicked her chopsticks at him. "Gimme."

"No," said Drakken. Her hands glowed. "I will not be intimidated by your threats... Hey!"

His chopstick burst into green flame.

"There's like, twelve. You can spare six," said Shego. "I gave you the last egg roll, didn't I?"

"No, you didn't. You ate mine," said Drakken. She clicked her chopsticks again and he sighed. "Fine... Here you go...Dumpling."

"Why...thank you. You made the right choice," smirked Shego, taking a few from the box. Her expression changed to confusion. "Did you just call me...'dumpling'?"

"Did I?" asked Drakken with a shrug as he went to finish eating his noodles with his fingers.

"I'll let it slide," replied Shego holding up her dumplings. "But if you start calling me Honey or Sweetheart...I'll blast you to the nearest jail cell and save Kimmy some time."

"Hmm...what about Babe?" he asked for the sheer purpose of annoying her. She put down her dumplings and glared. "I'm joking, I would never."

"That's what I thought," stated Shego. She finished her dumplings and looked at the box in the corner. "So after we make sure this thing works...we start finding a way to duplicate it and then boom, instant obedience?"

"That's the plan," said Drakken. He looked at the box and stopped chewing. "Ethically, should you tell the henchman before you test it on them?"

"I don't think it matters," yawned Shego as she stood up. "After running around for your little whims...I'm beat. Besides, I have to get up early to make sure you don't get sidetracked in finding out how to test it."

"I do not need a babysitter," glared Drakken.

"Don't you?" asked Shego. He rolled his eyes. "I'm sure Kimmy will be busting in here any day now since we got that device. Did you make sure the cameras are all on this time?"

"Yes, I made sure...will you stop nagging me?" barked Drakken. Shego stood and sighed. Drakken scowled. "I'll double-check them."

"I mean, don't I do enough around here?" asked Shego. Drakken smirked. "What?"

"You know if we had just cloned..." Shego glared and Drakken laughed. "Only joking, I know. No cloning. Not like it worked out anyway."

"'Night Dr. D," said Shego with an eye-roll. She patted his shoulder and walked out of the room.

"'Night...Dumpling." He smirked as he saw her freeze. She did nothing and continued walking with a slight backhanded wave.

Drakken watched as Shego vanished in the dark and sighed. Despite all her sass and sarcasm, he was glad she was back. Even though cloning Shego would in fact make their lives much easier, the system was too flawed and it was the main part of the contract she was avid about. He pondered if a former boss of hers had tried it once before.

Still, she'd acted as if he'd asked her to clean the lair and cook or something. He'd only asked her to do what an assistant or henchman would do... He sighed and leaned back in his chair. His mind began racing as usual, and he smirked. He'd gotten away with calling her dumpling with no problem. Perhaps there was something there after all? He shook his head. This little crush of his was getting in the way and making him more susceptible to her snarky comments.

If he could get rid of those feelings, her comments wouldn't distract him so much. The alternative was...she could be a little nicer... Maybe a bit more encouraging... Helpful, even. His eyes shot to the box, and he grinned. It was easier to change someone else than yourself, wasn't it?

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