Here
“ ‘Shego?’ Drakken’s voice quietly called from the entryway to their entertainment room. Or rather his entertainment room, she reminded herself. She may have been living with the guy for coming on two years now but she didn’t need to think of herself as being part of an ‘us’. Not with him, at least.”
His body couldn’t decide if it was hot or cold, so sweat dripped down his forehead even as he shivered. The scratch in his throat had gone from a dull itch to a fiery burning, and his chest ached with every cough. There was some sort of combination of drool and snot on his face. Rubbing at it with his sleeve did nothing more than make his skin feel sore.
Sniffling, he tossed and turned under the thick layers of blankets, grumbling to himself about the fact that supervillains weren’t meant to get sick. A clanging sound coming from outside his bedroom made him shoot up, which in turn made him cough and slump back into the pillows. And that was precisely why villains shouldn’t get sick! How was he meant to defend himself if he couldn’t even sit up?
Of course, it hardly helped that he’d sent Shego - his new sidekick of sorts - away at the first sign of an oncoming cold that morning. He didn’t need his bodyguard getting sick, nor did he need her seeing him in such a pathetic state. Already in the few months that she’d worked for him she’d taken to mocking him as if he didn’t hold the future of her villainous career in his hands. He’d threatened to fire her twice, but she didn’t seem to care. It was like she knew he couldn’t actually fire her. So few individuals with her credentials were willing to stoop to sidekick, and he didn’t want to lose her.
He croaked out some words that may have been a warning or may have been him begging the entity moving around his lair not to hurt him. He wasn’t entirely sure. The fact that his voice broke and faded to nothingness every time he tried to speak above a whisper actually served him well, just then. At least his potential attacker hadn’t heard him if he’d said something pathetic.
Before he could work himself up into a truly frenzied panic, the door swung open. Trying to blink away his blurry vision he only barely remembered that he’d taken out his contacts and pawed at his nightstand for his glasses. A familiar green and black outfit came into focus and it took his muddled mind a moment to realize Shego was standing by the door. His bedroom door.
He uttered something that only sounded like, “Wha’re ya do…?” even to his own ears. Shego rolled her beautiful… um… she rolled her eyes at him and walked into his room, gracefully leaping over the moat he’d dug into his floor during a particularly bad bout of insomnia.
“Where did you even pick up a cold?” she asked with a teasing tone that made him want to curl in on himself. “You never leave this place.”
The only thing stopping him from blurting out that he went to karaoke every Friday thank you very much, was another coughing fit. Cringing, she stepped away from him, and he felt even worse seeing the look of disgust on her face. Great. He’d always wanted a sidekick that hated him.
As the fit subsided and he could pull in a breath again he forced himself to make eye contact, even as he pulled the blankets up to his chin.
“Why are you still here?” he choked out. Mocking him was one thing! But this was a direct disobey...ment of his commands! He’d told her to go home.
Shego rolled her eyes again, though this time he swore her cheeks were turning a darker green than usual. If it weren’t for the bowl of soup she placed on his nightstand he would have yelled at her to quit rolling her eyes at him… At least, as soon as he felt better.
“I’m not gonna let the guy who signs my paychecks croak, alright?” she said, but her flippancy did little to cover up the fact that… she stayed to take care of him. He couldn’t help but smile as he accepted the soup, which earned him a glare. “Just… shut up,” she dismissed. And then she turned on her heel and stalked back out of his room. But he already knew she would come back when he needed her. He was sure of it.
*****
“Shego?” Drakken’s voice quietly called from the entryway to their entertainment room. Or rather his entertainment room, she reminded herself. She may have been living with the guy for coming on two years now but she didn’t need to think of herself as being part of an ‘us’. Not with him, at least.
“What do you want?” she demanded, turning her back on him before he could see the tears streaming down her cheeks.
“I– I just wanted to see if… To make sure… Um… Are you alright, Shego?” he stammered, and she heard him shuffle a little further into the room.
“Just go away.”
For a long moment, he didn’t say anything, and she refused to speak lest he actually noticed how thick her voice sounded with the threat of sobs. She considered throwing some plasma his way, to get through to him that she wanted to be alone, but right before the flames could reach her palms she heard him finally start to walk away.
And for whatever reason, that’s what made the sob finally break loose from her chest. Burying her head in her palms she let herself cry for the first time in years. It was so stupid to be this upset over some lame guy - especially when she’d known all along she was just using him. It was even more stupid that she wished Drakken hadn’t left her after all.
She… she had been using him, right? Of course, right! She’d gotten money from him - not that he knew that yet. And, not that she would ever confess it to anyone, she’d finally gotten her first kiss out of him. Still, there was no reason to cry over some guy who dumped her just cause she wasn’t gonna fuck him after their second date. So why couldn’t she stop?
“He’s an idiot, you know.”
Shego let out a rare startled gasp, and was immediately furious with herself for crying like a baby to the point she didn’t hear clumsy, galumphing Drakken sneaking back into the room.
“I thought I told you to get lost,” she grumbled, shoving him back with a palm to his chest. He winced as if she’d actually hurt him, and the stupid surprised look on his face made her nearly feel bad for lashing out at him.
Rubbing his chest he muttered. “Well, I just… I thought. He’s an idiot, Shego,” he repeated.
She glared at him, although it was sort of nice to hear him say that. “Yeah, so what?”
“So… nothing. I only meant… If he’s stupid enough to not be patient then he doesn’t deserve you.”
“Were you eavesdropping?” she asked, her voice shriller than expected. Before he could respond she pushed him back again, then told herself that she definitely did not at all feel bad when he fell to the floor.
He scrambled back to his feet before he managed an answer through his stammering. “No,” he vehemently denied. “It just– I only… Sound travels through the lair, Shego! I didn’t mean to listen.”
“Uh-huh, sure,” she sarcastically agreed. “Go away.” When he only bit his lip, not budging from where he stood, she crossed her arms and demanded, “Why are you still here?”
“I thought maybe…” His voice trailed off and with a timid smile and shrug he held a carton of strawberry ice cream out to her. “I was going to watch a movie. I thought maybe you might want to join me?”
Despite herself, Shego couldn’t resist the small smile that formed on her face. “Fine, but you have to make popcorn too. And I’m picking the movie.”
His timid smile became his trademark idiotic grin, and he turned to make his way to the kitchen, calling over his shoulder, “Afterward we can fly over to his house and see how well the disintegration ray actually works.”
She rolled her eyes as she sat down on the couch, waiting for him to come back. He always did. She was sure he always would.
*****
Things had been tense between them ever since Drakken had won his award for saving the world. There was so much to discuss, that neither of them was willing to bring up. Talking about whether they wanted to stay villains or let the perks of heroism take them in was shockingly among the easier subjects to discuss.
His vines had wrapped around her during the ceremony, crushing them into an awkward hug - a picture of which ended up on the front page of nearly every newspaper and magazine around the world by the next morning. Stories claiming the duo were in a relationship were even more abundant than real reports of the events of the invasion.
They had agreed that it was nothing more than embarrassing and laughed about all the ways they would destroy the news companies if they ever decided to go back to villainy. Both deliberately ignored the twinge of pain at the denial of anything more between them.
Drakken’s flowers had rapidly taken over the lair in the month that had passed, not that he or Shego minded. Vines climbed up the walls, and they had to walk over the petals lining the floor like a bride walking down the aisle. The sweet smell of roses overpowered the smell of the dinner he cooked to share with her, celebrating one month from the day they didn’t die.
It wasn’t until dessert was served that mindless chatter bloomed into something more significant. The question that was asked wasn’t malicious. It was a mere curiosity, finally bringing the most difficult subject to light. The answer surprised them both with its simplicity.
“Why are you still here?”
“Because I love you.”