#duff killigan

==

When Drakken returned up to the cliff top that Ed was working on his repairs, Ed was no longer alone. Drakken paused as Adrena leaned against the truck that Ed was tinkering under.

"So then, he has the nerve to tell me to get back to headquarters since I decided to go on an adventure," scoffed Adrena, "I mean, for real? I wasn't exactly at the spa- okay well I was, but then clearly that was derailed."

"See, seriously, this is why I work for no one," snorted Ed from under the truck, "I mean, seriously, punching the time clock, getting bossed around, nah that life wasn't for me."

"I mean, its a good gig and it lets me flex my flare for fun and drama, but hello... It's called freelance for a reason," continued Adrena. She turned her heard towards Drakken and her attention shifted, "Oh, hey Drakken... can I ask your opinion?"

Drakken narrowed his eyes.

"I think I've answered enough of your questions," stated Shego as he walked passed her, "Eddie, how much longer do you think 'tricking your ride' will take?"

"Eh, a few hours maybe," said Ed as he slid out from under the truck, "Depends if I can make the parts work."

"If?" asked Drakken, "Aren't you a mechanical genius?"

Ed looked smug for a second and grinned.

"Obviously, cuz. I can make anything work, but seriously you cant rush perfection," stated Ed.

Drakken crossed his arms.

"Well, can perfection be segwayed to decent by morning?" asked Drakken, "If not, I can offer you a ride."

Ed's grin faltered and he raised a brow at Drakken before his look became devious.

"I see, we're infringing on you two tail time, seriously Cuz just tell us to scram," snorted Ed, "Yeah I can make it decent by morning."

"Tail time?" asked Adrena.

"Seriously babe?" asked Ed, "They want to, in your term, 'get freaky,' and we're holding them back."

Drakken felt his face grow hot and before he could say anything, Flower was already dangling Ed by his feet.

"Drew! Seriously, this is only proving my point," yelled Ed and Flower dropped him, "Seriously, calm down. I think we all appreciate the self control you two have had since we've been here. I was worried there would be a repeat of acoustics like the cabin."

"Eddie," glared Drakken, but he felt like he wanted to crawl under a rock as Adrena grinned and thrived on the content.

"Cabin? Acoustics," Adrena was all ears.

"Yeah, seriously-" Ed began but Drakken cut him off.

"If the next acoustics talked about have nothing to do with your air guitar, I will give Adrena every childhood photo that shines you in the worst light for a full VillaTV feature... and you know, I know where they are," Drakken stated firmly.

The smug grin vanished from Ed's face and his eyes squinted as if trying to call his bluff.

"No," Ed gave him a side eyes, "You wouldn't... seriously, you're in half."

Drakken stayed firm but he felt a spike of unease at the thought.

"Are you willing to risk it," said Drakken.

They held each other's gaze for long enough that Adrena looked unsure which interested her more.

"I'll take either," she whispered into the stare off, "Ed glared and Drakken smirked.

"Pfft, fine," grumbled Ed, "I'll drop the cabin topic."

"Good," Drakken smirked but it faltered at Ed's devious look.

"Plenty of other seriously more interesting fact to share," said Ed. He looked at Adrena, "Yeah, I can give you a ride into the city for pickup tomorrow."

Drakken had missed something... something he now felt very crucial.

Adrena clapped her hands together as if ending a discussion that was in her favor.

"Great! I'll call my boss and tell him I can catch a ride in Athens," said Adrena. She looked at Drakken's confused face, "Now I don't have to bug either of you or Shego, this works out perfect."

Adrena made her way back towards the entrance that took her back down to the lab and Drakken glared at Ed.

"What was that agreement?" he asked hastily.

"Apparently she needs a ride back to Athens for a network flight," smirked Ed, "I told her I wasn't sure I would be able too because of my ride, so she was going to ask you or Green for a lift... but I'm feeling seasonally generous and inspired."

"Eddie."

"Seriously, who knows what topics we can cover to kill time," Ed slid back under the truck, "So many stories to tell."

"If you even-"

"Don't worry, I wont say anything about the cabin," Ed continued.

Drakken thought about another threat but he'd already pushed those buttons.

The cabin.

"There's a secret lair in the cabin," Drakken blurted out.

"There's childhood and-" Ed slid out from under the truck, "What?"

Drakken knew he was about to regret the very select information he was about the share with his cousin... but he begrudgingly began an abridged narration of what had transpired after Ed and Cleopatra had left the cabin.

==

Shego looked at the Christmas tree in their living room as she heard dishes being washed and muffled conversation from their kitchen. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve and their lair was scarcely decorated as the henchmen had only began to do so before they left and she frowned at the blue and green ornaments... this had not been what she'd had in mind for their holiday. She'd accepted that they may stay home for the holidays and Drakken would work on some projects... but there would have been private down time. While everyone was leaving in the morning... there was the displaced manor situation, the lab rearrangement, and the overall mood of what had transpired all before they'd allowed their guests to stay that would have to actually be discussed and not just paraphrased. Shego was also aware that Drakken had put off projects for a few days, and now Ed had brought him new toys to tinker with... and while she'd tried to move that along... she doubted it shifting back to an intimate holiday would occur.

Might as well have just gone on a solo vacation.

"Shego," came Drakken's voice from down the hall, "Can I borrow you for a moment?"

Shego glanced down the hallway where Drakken was gesturing to the elevator. She sighed and headed towards him, glancing into the kitchen where a mess and while there was clear attempts by Duff to wrangle the mess after dinner... which had been very good... but she knew the kitchen would still be a disaster regardless.

Really need to talk about having Hector on call.

Shego heard a dish break and growled under her breath.

Or no guests... ever.

"Shego," Drakken waved more frantically as he dipped into the elevator.

"Yeah yeah," Shego sighed and followed him into the elevator, "What's the rush-"

Shego was cut off as Drakken's lips covered hers. While surprised by the sudden kiss, she quickly returned with the same eagerness as her back was pressed against the wall of the elevator. She heard Drakken hit the elevator's close-door button. A small chuckle came from her lips and into the kiss before he pulled away.

"What was that?" she felt her face flush by the grin on his face and he glanced upwards.

She followed his gaze to where Flower held up a sprig of fake mistletoe and she let the laugh fully leave her as she smiled up at it.

"You know, you don't need mistletoe to kiss me," she waved Flower away and the sprig fell in her hand.

"I know that," hummed Drakken, "But it is the holiday and I dug around in some of the decoration boxes we've yet to put out."

"Well, if that's the case... how about we start hanging these all over the place," smirked Shego. Drakken gave a thoughtful look before he looked disgusted.

"I'd rather not encourage anything among our current guests," said Drakken.

Shego gave a nod of agreement before pulling Drakken back into a kiss as the elevator came to a stop at the lab, where there would be no interruptions.

Or at least they thought.

"The machine's going off."

Shego and Drakken yanked apart as they followed the voice to where Gil stood in front of the elevator doors. Gil looked annoyed as he gestured down the metal steps to the lab where soft beeping could be heard. Shego restrained herself from filing a plasma blast at him, knowing full well it would do little than annoy him. However, Flower seemed to react to Drakken's annoyance and in a second, Gil vanished over the side of the railing and Flower returned shortly after.

"Hey!" came an aggravated yell from below.

"Smooth move," sighed Shego as she finished pulling herself away from Drakken, "Toss the deranged mutant teenager over a railing and into your lab when his toxic goo is ready."

Drakken's annoyed expression melted into one of concern as he looked towards the railing.

"Uhg," groaned Drakken, and Shego patted his shoulder before shoving him from the elevator, "Shego..."

"Stop whining and go deal with swamp boy," said Shego as she hit the elevator button, "I'm going to make sure our living space stays in one piece."

She gave Drakken a slight wave as the doors closed and then let out a frustrated huff as she looked down at the mistletoe laying on the ground. She picked it up and looked at it before shoving it into her pocket and readied herself to deal with their house guests.

This holiday is nothing like I wanted.

==

Drakken watched the metal doors close before turning to look over the railing to where Gil had been tossed. In a split second, Gil appeared back on the banister before him and Drakken let out a startled scream at the sudden reappearance. Gil's face was twisted in annoyance but he seemed suddenly smug at the scream and leapt off the railing to stand in front of him. Attempting to give a looming presence, but Flower reappeared and Gil snorted.

"You're mutation is so lame," scoffed Gil before heading down the stairs, "I feel bad for you, it's not even scary or intimidating."

Drakken glanced at Flower who'd turned in his direction and Drakken turned to glare at Gil.

"I'll have you know, Flower is intimidating and extremely dangerous," stated Drakken as he nearly slipped on a puddle on the metal stair from Gil, "And at least it doesn't leave a trail when it leaves. You're like a snail."

"I am not!" snapped Gil as he turned back to look at Drakken. He looked every bit a child about to throw a tantrum, "Snails are parasitic carriers and carry disease... your Flower is more akin to a snail then me... and I don't leave a mucus trail... that's water and sludge residue."

There was a strong need to argue back with Gil, but in truth his knowledge of snails was not extensive and by the fury in the teens red eyes... there may be a personal history he did not want to get into. Drakken chose to not engage and simply move towards the device where a black looking tonic was now visible in the tray. It had completed the formula reading and now a duplicate lay in wait, the smell as he opened it proved two things. His machine worked... and he should have put on a mask. There were several small bottles full and Drakken took one of them out and placed a stopper on it before turning to see Gil was right behind him.

Maybe the smell is him..

"Gah!" Drakken stepped back from him, "Do you get a rise out of terrorizing people."

Gil raised a brow and gestured to himself.

"Yeah, obviously," snorted Gil as he held out his hand.

"Didn't you make more?" asked Gil as he looked at the single bottle in annoyance and then to behind Drakken.

"I did," stated Drakken. Gil raised a brow, "And for now you only need one. If you need more, then its here... and frankly I don't trust you not to try and mutate us all so I will be locking them away."

He watched Gil's annoyed and confused expression melt into a devious smirk.

"I am really curious what you'd all change into," he agreed and then shrugged, "So, fair."

"So I can assume, you, like the others, will be departing in the morning... or sooner," suggested Drakken.

Gil was staring at the sloshing liquid in fascination before looking at Drakken with a smirk.

"Yeah, don't worry, I wont stick around much longer," snickered Gil, "Besides, it's getting way too chummy around here. I tried the whole 'friends' and 'group activities' during my 'normal' acclimation, it's not for me."

"Yes, well," Drakken shrugged, "Some people thrive in social situations, other's drown. Normal? That is a ambiguous term and strictly based on social settings... I would think most of the last few days would not be considered normal."

Drakken made his way to his lab table in hopes of getting a some wiring done.

"Pfft, you're telling me," scoffed Gil as he moved to sit in Drakken's chair, "I mean, blue isn't normal... is that like part of the flower mutation thing."

"No, that's a whole other story..." Drakken trailed off as he pulled up Shego's normal seat to sit in, "Well I'm going to get some wiring done."

It was silent for a moment and Drakken watched as Gil spun in his chair while looking at the liquid again. Drakken chose to ignore this and work on his wiring in silence...

Except the silence didn't last.

"So, why are you blue?" asked Gil. Drakken looked at him, "Is it like... toxic chemicals... because relatable."

"I mean... there were chemicals involved but it's a lot more complicated than that," sighed Drakken, "It's a whole genetic trait and... it's a very long story."

Gil nodded and Drakken grabbed his wires.

The silence ended two minutes later when Drakken was about to concentrate on placement before grabbing his goggles.

"I think you'd be blue sea slug," stated Gil. Drakken glared.

"Excuse me!" snapped Drakken, "A sea slug."

Gil shrugged.

"There called Blue Dragon's you know... like you're name... also venomous," said Gil.

Drakken hummed in thought.

"They also store dangerous parasites in them to use on others," Gil looked behind Drakken to an invisible Flower.

Drakken rolled his eyes and chose to ignore him.

There was silence again.

"What about Shego?" asked Drakken as Gil spun in the chair.

"Jellyfish," said Gil mid-spin.

Drakken smirked.

==

Shego flopped in bed and tossed the pile of magazine printouts on the side-table to look over later. She'd managed to get them from Camille and a few more that apparently the former heiress had also printed out some more detailed documents off Adrena's account, which she'd managed to acquire as well. She eyes the clock on the side-table and gave a relieved sigh that in a few short hours their guests would be gone and they'd be able to reclaim their holiday.

Shego thought for a moment.

Who am I kidding.

She knew that given all that had transpired, the fact Drakken now had the schematics for the mood ring, plus the wiring of his little mini ozone devices to work on, and mixed with the stimulation of so many people having been around... he would hyper-fixate the rest of the holiday even if he actively tried not too... her eyes looked at the clock again.

Wonder which he's working on now-

Drakken hastily darted through the door and locked it behind him. Shego sat up slightly and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. His devious grin flickered to a casual smile as he moved to sit on the chair in the corner to take off his boots.

"What's with that face?" asked Shego. Her own mirroring his out of curiosity.

"This has always been my face, Shego," his slight mischief laden smile remained as he began pulling off his gloves and then paused to look at her, "Are those my pajamas?"

Shego sat all the way up and gestured to the wall behind them.

"If I go in there to get mine, I won't return," said Shego. Drakken narrowed his eyes, "Fine, sleep alone."

Shego slid off the bed and moved towards the door. She was thwarted by Flower blocking the door and Shego smirked at Drakken before flopping back on the bed.

"Thought so," she hummed in confidence, "Okay, but what is with that face you had?"

"If you must know, I successfully unloaded Gil on Duff," stated Drakken, "For someone who claims to not be social, he sure can talk about fish... or er... sea creature mutations... also why I locked the door... in case his curiosity on how we would all mutate reaches a testing level."

"You gave him all the serum?" Shego's eyes shot open, "Are you insane?"

"I mean... yeah," smirked Drakken. Shego rolled her eyes, "I only gave him one and locked the others away... but let's not test his self restraint."

"So you've been talking about mutations the last few hours?" asked Shego. Drakken nodded as he tossed his labcoat over the chair and began riffling through his drawers for pajamas, "No work done?"

"Nope," said Drakken. He thought for a moment, "I got the wires ready and then Gil broke my chair and I took that as a sign to pawn him off on someone."

"Gil broke your chair?" Shego raised a brow, "No we're blaming fish boy for your misuse of your chair?"

Drakken face became flustered.

"I did not misuse my chair, I sat in yours," he grumbled.

"Oh, so my chair is the next to break," Shego teased. Drakken rolled his eyes as he headed to the bathroom.

Shego mused as she heard Drakken turning the water on to brush his teeth and she looked at the magazines.

"I commandeered the gossip magazine print outs," she stated, "So we can finally see what's all this gossip about weddings, interviews, and the paparazzi we invited to stay here."

"Print outs?" asked Drakken as he walked in the doorway brushing his teeth.

"Apparently the printer was in the cabinet under the over-sized monitor in the lab," stated Shego. She raised a brow at him as he paused brushing and then swiftly vanished back into the bathroom, "I haven't read anything yet other then a few headlines like... Did you hear anything about DNAmy breaking into a genetics lab? I thought her lab was already state of the art... and she typically buys stuff."

"Maybe she was hoping to stay under the radar," said Drakken as he left the bathroom now wearing his pajamas, "Though I can't say I know or want to know what she has going on in her head."

"I did see something about the Villain's Inn Mutant Halloween as a very large cover topic," continued Shego as Drakken got into bed next to her.

"Theory," sighed Drakken as she fluffed his pillow, "Pretty sure the lack of mutational varieties was specifically because of the expired foods and treats from Sweet's failed concoctions. As he poured into more than just the punch."

"He what?" asked Shego. She felt ill at the thought of consuming any of that toxic garbage.

"I didn't get many details before he went on a tangent about Eddie potentially being a Walrus... and honestly I didn't want to circle back," shrugged Drakken.

"Hmm," Shego still felt gross but the image of Ed as a walrus would have also swayed further questions, "So that's what you talked about instead of working."

"Hatred of snails, his travels, mutating people and mind control... which... I may have given him ideas," Drakken paused and looked at the door, "We should move the chair in front of the door."

"Okay, going forward... let's not give any ideas to any other villains," snorted Shego as she got out of bed and slid the chair over, "Or invite them over... ever again."

"I can agree on that," smirked Drakken as Shego slid back into bed, "But I did unload a few things on Duff and Gil so a heads up on that."

Shego froze and narrowed her eyes.

"What did you unload on them?" asked Shego.

"Some broken unfinished scraps and devices in trade for Duff to hear Gil's rants on bullfrogs," said Drakken. There was a glint in his eyes, "And to tolerate

"What am I in this list of mutants?" asked Shego as Drakken snuggled up to her, "Since you're a sea slug?"

"Jellyfish," she heard Drakken snicker and in one swift movement, she'd rolled him off the bed, "Hey! I didn't suggest it."

"I bet," snorted Shego, "Well Drew the Sea Slug doesn't need to cuddle the jellyfish."

"Fun fact I learned about the Blue Dragon Sea Slug," he chimed as he slid back into bed, "They do in fact enjoy the company of jellyfish. They even thrive and depend on it."

Shego looked over her shoulder at him and smirked as he learned closer to her.

"They eat them don't they?" she asked casually. Drakken's playful smirk wavered and looked sheepish.

"They do favor... eating them... either way they tend to be together... so I think Drakkenthe Sea Slug would rather enjoy cuddling with Shego the jellyfish," his expression was still sheepish but trying to be charming.

Shego noted that change in the name, but shook what Ed had said earlier from her thoughts before she could dwell on it. Drakken's smile finally fell into full charming as he snuggled closer to her.

"You're lucky that for a sea slug, you're cute," snorted Shego as his arms slid around her and pulled her closer.

She waited for a pun or joke given the way his face contorted in though but it didn't come as he pulled her closer and simply snuggled into her hair. They both knew they could continue the banter for hours, but it was clear Drakken had chosen cuddles and sleep over chatter.

That's a first...

"No more jokes or bantering puns?" Shego chuckled into his chest.

"I could make a really good one, but it's heavily inappropriate and there are too many people near by to fully enjoy the reaction it would get," it was a low rumble towards her ear.

Shego wondered for a moment before feeling her face flush at what it could have been given what the Dragon Sea Slug was known for accompanying jellyfish for. The temptation to hear Drakken say it wavered as she thought of the guests just beyond their wall.

I can't wait for them to get out of here.

==

The peaceful sleep Drakken was having was interrupted by the alarm system going off and the crawl up his spine as Flower clearly sensed the other plants outside. Drakken hastily and angrily slid out of bed and at a glance towards Shego's side, he saw she was no where to be seen. As the alarm shut off, he had an inkling of where she might be. He grabbed his coat and boots as he began moving outside. He managed to get his coat on quickly over his pajamas and moved out the door to see what had set off the flowers and the alarms. In annoyance, a red and black helicopter had landed far too close to the hover craft and in the midst of the flowers moving about, red blasts fired in their direction. Before Flower could react, Drakken saw the source and groaned.

"What are you doing here?" growled Drakken, glaring down at where Dementor shot at a moving plant again, "And stop shooting my plants!"

"Ahk, it does nothing," said Dementor in annoyance, "But you better figure something by spring as your invasive weeds have edged to my lair."

Drakken growled and finished shoving his boot on as he headed down to the balcony below.

"If that is what you've invaded my home to complain about-" Drakken was cut off as Camille's excited shriek came from Shego's window.

"You're early," she called out, "I thought you'd be here around nine."

"I finished my errand early, kindchen," stated Dementor as Drakken reached a few feet in front of him, "Camille sent me an email from your account. At first it was rather jarring before she explained it was her."

"She used my email..." Drakken glared, "I'm sure she has her own."

"Ah yes, as I am sure the impostor she states that is playing her... also uses," stated Dementor, Apparently you all have had quite the adventure considering you and Shego are... retired?"

"Neutral," stated Drakken. He held his annoyance, "You could have called ahead."

Dementor shrugged and held up his gun.

"I was not worried about your security, Drakken," smirked Dementor, "I doubted its advancement considering Possible and the boyfriend never struggled in the past. The flowers are not much of an improvement."

Drakken wanted to sick his flowers on him, but he fought the itch in his spine.

He's here to get someone out of my home.

"Well, I'm certain Camille is eager to leave, I wont keep you," stated Drakken as he looked towards where he could see others through the kitchen door, "Speaking of which, excuse me while I get rid of- check everyone elses departing time."

"House guests overstay their welcome," smirked Dementor.

Drakken grumbled under his breath as he pushed open his sliding doors to where Shego, Gil, and Duff were gathered. Shego was already dressed and looked perfectly calm, clearly the reason she'd already been gone from the room was because for once she'd woken up before him. It also appeared, by the snacking Duff and Gil were doing, he had been the last one in the whole lair to wake up.

"Good, you're awake," smirked Shego, "Duff was just talking about hoping to head out soon so he can meet buyers."

"Obviously awake- did you know Dementor was dropping in?" asked Drakken.

"Camille told me this morning, but I forgot to disable the alarm," shrugged Shego. She looked Drakken up and done, "You're starting the day like that?"

"There was an alarm- Ngn! No," huffed Drakken as he glared at the other two.

"Someone's not a morning person," muttered Gil as he ate leftover tuna. Duff nodded as he drank his coffee.

"I would say Drakken, I am eager to get going once you're... shoes are on the correct feet," stated Duff as he looked at Drakken's feet.

Drakken glared and became suddenly aware of the tightness of his boots.

"I was in a hurry," stated Drakken as he turned to head back upstairs and get dressed.

A short while later and Drakken returned downstairs to see that Dementor had already departed with Camille and Duff was already waiting in the hovercraft. Before Drakken could make his way back to the sliding door, Ed had appeared in front of him from the opposite hallway.

"Alright cuz, gonna head out soon," said Ed, slapping his shoulder, "I would say thanks for the hospitality, but you and Green are terrible hosts. Seriously."

Drakken glared.

"Well then I suppose this will be the last holiday drop in," said Drakken.

"We'll see... I'll call you about the cabin venture later," said Ed as he removed his hand. His brows furrowed, "We can go over family things in more detail then."

"Looking froward to it," Drakken rolled his eyes and gave Ed a stern look, "Remember the deal."

"No sharing seriously personal things with the wannabe villain Lois Lane," nodded Ed. He looked at Drakken, "And?"

"I will make copies of things I acquired from the cabin that might interest you," grumbled Drakken as he opened the sliding door and out to where all the others had gathered on the patio.

Duff gave him a confused expression as he climbed into the hovercraft.

"What?" asked Drakken.

"Takes you an awful long time to look the same as you did when ye were in a hurry," Duff gestured to his attire.

"Do you want to swim back to your island?" asked Drakken. Duff rolled his eyes.

Drakken shook his head and looked to where Shego was dealing with Adrena and then to where Ed still lingered in the doorway. He knew Camille had already gone with Dementor but he didn't see where their final guest was until Duff piped up.

"Alright, lad, you coming with?" called Duff to behind where they were parked.

Drakken raised a brow as his eyes fell to Gil who looked as if he was planning on just swimming by how he had the jar tied around his waste and was perched on the edge of the balcony. It made sense that it was his choice of travel but Drakken was taken aback by the invite Duff was giving.

What did those two talk about after I left...

"Thought you wanted to meet Buttercup," called Duff as Gil had turned to look at them.

Drakken saw Gil's confused expression light up and he suddenly didn't look as menacing as he painted himself to be. He didn't hesitate to scramble into the hovercraft, clearly excited to meet the sea creature that lived on Duff's island. He gave a nod to Shego before taking off towards the Scotland region, in hopes to be back before the late afternoon.

==

Shego sighed as she looked towards the departing hovercraft and then turned around to see Adrena with a pleading look on her face. Shego rolled her eyes and fought the headache she was getting.

"Come on, please?" asked Adrena, as she held out her phone, "I understand no VillaTV interview but just...one of the picture I took."

Shego glared, still mad about Adrena's new paparazzi phase she hadn't been cued in on until the flowers had busted her. While Duff had used a camera that was now destroyed, Adrena had taken a few candids on her phone when they'd not been paying attention.

"Okay, you know what. Fine. I will choose one of the pictures and then I'm deleting the rest... but you are sending me all these copies of whatever Villain Weekly and Villaness has been spewing about Drakken and I, understood." Stated Shego, "Not just the ones we have. All."

"Not a problem!" Adrena grinned, "I will even get you a free subscription to VillaTV weekly! Oh this is great!"

"Uhg," Shego grimaced and looked towards Ed, who walked out of the patio door, "Is it running?"

"Of coarse," smirked Ed, "Didn't take long, seriously would have taken less time if your guard flowers didn't keep taking my stuff. Pfft, I had to use that silly flower bridge to retrieve my parts from your walking house on stilts."

"You could have said something sooner," stated Shego. Annoyed that Ed had traipsed through the mansion even more, "You better not have messed around in the house. We've already got repairs to add to it."

"I didn't touch anything," Ed gave a slight mocking tone as if he'd expected to be lectured, "Geesh, you two seriously have control issues. I did like the gorgon babe on the wall though, very Art Deco of you two."

"Appreciate your decorative view," said Shego as she looked down at the phone and took the least annoying photo to not delete, "Here Adrena. Safe travels you two."

"This is great, Shego," smirked Adrena, "I mean I would have loved an interview-"

"I think you questioned Drakken enough," Shego narrowed her eyes and Adrena gave a sheepish chuckle at being called out.

"Ah yeah... okay, happy holidays and thank for the stay," Adrena hastened towards the door.

"Yeah, sure," Shego looked at Ed, "Hope to not see you around anytime soon."

Unfortunately the statement forced Shego to spend at least twenty more minutes listening to prattling from Ed and Adrena before she finally managed to get them out of the lair and far from the lair... which had been hastened by the flowers threatening on her behalf. Afterwards she'd managed to kill some time skimming through the print out magazines and completing the last wiring in Drakken's devices... what more was needed, she wasn't about to even attempt his crazy coded notes. Finally, Shego collapsed onto the couch and for the first time in days... she was alone. Letting herself lay there with only the sound of the ocean outside and breeze blowing through the door. The quite would have been welcoming if it wasn't for the first time, she let herself process the previous weekend. The many labs, the robot merged guards... so many questions weaving together. Not factoring in her precious manor project literally in the water...

I could go figure that typewriter out.

Shego thought about it and then snorted to herself.

That's a later problem.

She wondered if later was going to be sooner than planned, while she'd gotten ahead of Drakken's wiring, she was certain he'd be up late in the lab tonight now that people weren't around distracting him. Closing her eyes, she imagined a nice tropical vacation on a beach where there wasn't a lab in sight and no distracting projects and no guests or drama.

You live on a secluded ocean front lair.

She let out a sigh of annoyance at her reasoning. She felt restless from all the activity as of late. Ignoring logic, she went back to imagining warm sun and tropical drinks. At some point her daydream became more focused and she was somewhere between sleep and awake. Picturing she and Drakken cuddled up on a beach hammock. Her musings were ended by a voice above the couch pulling her back to reality.

"Shego-"

She yelled at the sudden voice above her and shot a blast in its direction. The sound of Drakken yelling as he dodged out of the way and the sound of a vase breaking from the table behind the couch being knocked over, pulled her from her shock. She shot up and looked over the back of the couch to see Drakken against the wall and holding the other vase.

"I wasn't expecting to be shot at simply waking you up," said Drakken as he put the vase down, "Did something put you on edge."

Shego rolled her eyes as the image of the beach vanished.

"When did you get back," she chose to change the topic.

"About ten minutes ago," grumbled Drakken as he stepped over the broken vase to walk around the couch so he could sit next to her, "What have you been up too?"

"Not much, finished wiring your fun little projects," smirked Shego, "I wasn't about to decipher your notes, so you'll have to finish the rest."

Drakken gave her a shocked look.

"What?" asked Shego, "It's not exactly hard. I assumed you'd be pulling an all-nighter, might as well give you a hand... because I have no interest in lingering in the lab. Did you not want my help?"

"Oh, no... I just assumed that was on hold," stated Drakken. He looked thoughtful for a second, "I thought the plan was to lose the company so we could spend the rest of the holiday together."

Shego looked at him for a second and felt her face grow warm.

"So you're not planning on ditching me for gadgets and gizmos?" she leaned against his shoulder.

"It wasn't the plan," said Drakken as he pulled her closer to him, his arms wrapping around her waist, "But since you started it already-"

Shego covered his mouth.

"Nope. You already said it, no going back," she smirked, "The lair is empty, tomorrow is already Christmas Eve... I don't want to see the lab till after New Years."

Drakken head leaned on her shoulder and she could see a slight pout from her peripheral vision.

"I do have to go turn off lights-"

"They're on timers," she reminded him.

"Ah yes... So, now that we finally have alone time," whispered Drakken in her ear, "Shall we start enjoying our Christmas festivities."

Shego felt her face grow warm at the vibrations of his voice and leaned into him.

"Oh, absolutely," she hummed and turned towards him.

Before her lips could find his, the energy shifted.

"Fantastic! You put on Snowman Hank and I'll grab the cookies and cocoa moo," Drakken lept up and sprinted towards the kitchen, yelling towards her as he did, "Or do you want eggnog- I'll grab both."

Shego had lost her balance and fallen into the couch. She glared in Drakken's direction before letting a sigh escape her lips that became a slight chuckle.

At least it's finally just us.

==