Message Received
"We're what?" asked Shego as she looked over the edge of the hover car, her arms crossed and still wearing her bowling attire.
"Going to karaoke," grinned Drakken. Shego stared at him.
"Are you serious?" asked Shego. A wash of relief came over her but with great annoyance following. "Why didn't you just say that?"
"Because if I had asked you to sing karaoke with me, you would have bailed," said Drakken. He was right. Shego shrugged and then her eyes flared.
"I am not singing," said Shego.
"Yes you are," said Drakken with a smirk. "I won."
"We tied, remember," said Shego, pointing at him. "I changed my mind. I'm not going."
"We're already here," said Drakken as he pulled the hover car to a familiar island.
"If I had known this, I would have bailed," said Shego. She looked around.
"Don't try to run away. I'll do whatever your little thing was," said Drakken. He rolled his eyes, and she weighed the odds.
"Why me?" asked Shego. Drakken looked uncomfortable for a moment.
"Why not?" he shrugged.
"Uhg, fine, how many songs?" asked Shego, her arms still crossed as she got out of the hover car.
"Three?" he asked. She said nothing but walked into the karaoke bar.
Shego sat at a small table near the front of the bar. It was packed in there. She hadn't expected so many people to be into karaoke, but there they were, all different types of people. Most surprising was the warm greeting Drakken had gotten. A few, 'Long time no, see!' and some, 'How's villain work?' Apparently he had been a commodity at island karaoke. She sighed but was taken aback as a large drink was placed in front of her.
"On the house," smiled the waitress as Drakken sat down and she placed another drink down. "Your usual?"
"Thank you, Stacey," said Drakken. He looked giddy as he looked at Shego. "We're going on after Sven...so it's going to be a while."
"We? What are we singing?" asked Shego. She felt uneasy, nervous...
"If you want, I can go first," said Drakken. "Shego you have nothing to worry about, trust me... Wait until Sven. Have you honestly never done karaoke? School recital? Or were you too busy stealing lunch money?"
"I had a sheltered youth," she said with a glare, but sighed. "Fine...one song though."
"We'll see," said Drakken as Sven went on. "Should have brought my ear plugs."
"Why... Oh no," said Shego as 'Total Eclipse' began to play, "Isn't this normally a duet?"
"It will be... it will be," said Drakken, taking a large gulp of his drink.
"Every now and then I get a little bit lonely, and you never come around," sang a horribly off-pitch man, and then his voice changed. "Turn around!"
"What is happening?" asked Shego, not looking away from the scene.
"Sven's happening," said Drakken with a sigh. He slid over a sheet of paper. "It's going to be a long night. Choose your poison."
"Shot through the heart and you're to blame. You give love a bad name," sang Shego. A few drinks and two songs later, her one song statement was gone.
"A bad name," sang Drakken, the grin on his face never leaving.
"I play my part and you play your game. You give love a bad name," sang Shego. Confidence wasn't even the word anymore.
"Bad name," sang Drakken, joining her, "You give love a bad name."
"Paint your smile on your lips," sang Drakken. The two danced in circles on the stage. Shego's smirk was like electricity. "Blood red nails on your fingertips. A schoolboy's dream, you act so shy. Your very first kiss was your first kiss goodbye."
"Any more drinks?" asked the waitress, Stacey, as Drakken sat at the table while Shego sang a dramatic rendition of 'A Whole New World' with Sven.
"I think we're good," said Drakken as Shego let Sven spin her.
"Okay, now which one?" said Shego as she flopped in her chair and looked at her empty drink. "Stacey, can I get..."
"Are you hungry?" asked Drakken. "Because I think you should eat something."
"Hey, you wanted me to have a good time, so I am," said Shego. She took his drink instead. "Which one do you want to sing next? How about 'Ain't No Mountain'?"
"You still want to sing?" asked Drakken. He looked at his watch. "Or we could go get crappy Chinese."
"Chinese?" asked Shego. She smirked. "Only if you share your dumplings."
"You could get your own," said Drakken. She nodded.
"Hmm, if I must. Let's go Dr. D.," said Shego. As they got up, she gave a thumbs-up to Sven as he sang 'Sweet Dreams' very badly. "Sing it Sven!"
"Yeah, we can't come back here," said Drakken as Sven dramatically dropped to the ground in his final song.
A short while later the two sat on the beach eating Chinese food and talking about their latest fails at world take-over. Shego's buzz had worn off somewhere between what was supposed to be spicy lo mein and Drakken's eggroll that she jacked. She rolled her eyes at the scene as the waves crashed against the rocks. It was late, and the moon was really the only light they had as they ate. Here she sat on the beach with Drakken, wearing bowling clothes, eating questionable Chinese food, and feeling they needed a wine float to complete the evening. It was a flashback, save for the attire and not sitting on a wonky balcony.
"So there's this very rare serum that I think... Shego?" asked Drakken, as she'd been staring at him. "Are you okay?"
"Hmm?" she smirked. "I'm fine, just thinking about the fact... I'm pretty sure I would have actually won had I rolled the ball."
"Really? Maybe we should re-match, oh wait...there's no more lanes," said Drakken. Shego snorted. He looked at his watch. "We should probably get back to the lair."
"Okay," said Shego. They began walking back to the hover car with the remains of their food. Shego suddenly reached over and grabbed his container of dumplings and sprinted up the hill.
"Very cute, Shego," said Drakken with an eye-roll, but she saw the flicker of a smile as he shook his head and hopped in the car.
"So, did you have a good time?" asked Drakken as he parked the hover car, Shego yawning as he did so. She shrugged. "Really?"
"Yeah, okay. Karaoke isn't that lame... Side note, I'm not going again," said Shego. Drakken rolled his eyes.
"Sven will be so disappointed," said Drakken, and he smirked. "So if I asked you to go singing with me again, you'd say no. Odd, since you sang more than I did tonight."
"We'll see," said Shego. She rolled her eyes at herself. "You know when you made all those comments, I thought you were planning on taking me on a date, not karaoke bonding."
"Oh?" asked Drakken. Shego walked beside him down the hall. "Really?"
"Well, yeah. It freaked me out. It was so cryptic; I had all these thoughts racing in my head even on the drive. Like, it would be horrific," said Shego with a shrug.
"Hmm, interesting," Drakken responded. "Horrific?"
"Well, yeah. I mean one, it would mess with our dynamic. Two, you're my boss. Three, it would just be..." Shego searched for the words.
"Reason enough to blow up a bowling alley to avoid?" She rolled her eyes at his statement.
"Well, yeah. Besides, could you imagine if you and I dated? My reputation would be destroyed. Last thing I want is to be labeled as a villain hopper," said Shego. She looked at Drakken for the first time in her rant, she couldn't read his expression.
"It would have been horrible, especially if you'd had a good time," said Drakken with a nod.
"Yeah, it would have been..." said Shego. She didn't like not reading his expression. Finally he gave a lazy smirk.
"No worries Shego. I mean honestly, you're right. It would mess with our dynamic. Besides, the destroyed alley speaks for itself. Message received if I ever feel inclined to ask you on a date." He patted her shoulder. "'Night Shego."
"'Night Dr. D..." said Shego. She stopped at her door as she watched him walk off towards the lab instead of his own room.
Shego leaned against the doorway in thought. She was sure she could see him talking to himself under his breath... Pretty normal actually. Something about his demeanor during their night and the jokes from earlier didn't set right with her, but she didn't know why. She sighed and rolled her eyes—a habit that was becoming an hourly activity working there—but this time the gesture was directed at herself. It was silly to even think Drakken had intended a date with her... It was Drakken. It was never that clear-cut with him. Of course he just wanted someone to go with to karaoke.
How Sad... Anyway →