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bcbdrums · 4 years ago

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Five Kisses Under the Mistletoe

This fic is exactly as the title says. Please enjoy this glimpse at five Christmases shared by Drakken and Shego, from the first year they worked together to their first Christmas post-canon. This fanfic contains MAJOR SPOILERS for my long fic, There’s Christmas—and Christmas. If you've not read that fic, I highly recommend doing so first, because literally everything from that fic is spoiled in this one.

Recall from canon that Drakken pretends to be a radio psychiatrist to hide his villainy from his mother. This fic also answers @drakgoprompts prompt for mistletoe. Enjoy!

FFn AO3

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Five Kisses Under the Mistletoe

Christmas, 2003 — The Caribbean Lair

Drakken stood up and wiped his hands on his jeans with a satisfied grin, stepping back to view the newly trimmed tree from every angle. The fresh scent of the Douglas fir permeated his being, and he sighed happily as he nodded at what was looking to be a perfect Christmas tree. He stepped back to the pile of boughs he had made and began to assess where to place them to further decorate the den for the coming holiday festivities.

He was startled suddenly at the sound of footfalls that were finally becoming familiar, and he turned just as his new side-kick walked through the door. She halted with wide eyes and took in the changes to the den as he grinned with nervous excitement and approached her. After scrutinizing the decor her eyes finally fell to him, starting at his black boots and traveling up the casual jeans and shirt-sleeves he had donned as he had declared the holidays would be a break from villainy.

He slowed his approach as something in her eyes made him suddenly nervous. Her face had colored slightly and she looked....put off, somehow. He opened his mouth to wish her a Merry Christmas, but as he drew breath she cut him off.

"Dr. Drakken...what's all this?" she asked with an air of disdain.

"I..." He was further confused by her growing unease and he cleared his throat and blinked several times to refocus. "I'm decorating for Christmas."

Shego stared at him, her expression having gone blank. "You mean you're...staying here for Christmas? All alone?"

Drakken suddenly realized...he had assumed Shego would be staying too. He opened his mouth again, but she continued.

"Or are the henchmen staying for some kind of...evil get together, like that picnic you attempted?"

Drakken frowned lightly. The picnic had been fine...until Williams had thrown up on Brooks.

"No," he said with a slight pout, "they've all gone home to their families. But—"

"Wait... Did you...did you think I was staying here for Christmas?" Shego asked.

Drakken bit his lip and physically took a step back at her affront. He didn't think it was so horrible a thought, and he had assumed that she, like himself, would not have any family to go home to, villains that they were. She may only be a side-kick, but her impressive resume suggested she was in a similar situation to his own.

"Well..."

Anything he might have said next was interrupted by Shego's laughter. Drakken looked down at his boots and began twiddling his thumbs, his side-kick beginning what was becoming familiar mocking in between her roars of laughter.

"What, you thought we would...sit around the fire, and...drink hot chocolate and exchange gifts, and... Wait, is that mistletoe?"

She had turned her gaze upward to where the green sprig with white berries hung above the doorway that the pair now stood on either side of. Her face flushed again, and anger entered her eyes.

"So the henchmen are all gone, and you thought what exactly?" she asked, leveling her fiery green gaze at him.

Drakken took another step back and waved his hands in innocence. "I didn't— I wasn't— It's only because—"

"What, so does working for you have additional expectations that weren't in the contract or something?"

"No! I—"

"Ugh, I cannot believe you! It's not just that you think I don't have something better to do than spend Christmas with my boss, but the fact that you actually hung mistletoe!? What, did you think somehow someone like me would actually—"

Drakken cut her off quickly by closing the distance between them in two large steps and grabbing her shoulders. Her words ended in a choked gasp, and her face flushed again as she stared up at his frustrated visage. He felt a sudden rush of panic as he realized what he'd done, but his impulsive act had effectively limited his choices to more severe mocking, probable pain, and the potential loss of his side-kick...or...

Drakken brought his lips down to Shego's and kissed her powerfully, his heart racing. And then, for a moment...bliss. Her lips were like heaven against his, until suddenly they were left cold and his chest felt like he'd just been hit by a truck. Of course, it was the green blast Shego had hit him with, knocking him back against a chair where he crumpled to the floor.

He didn't get to see her face as she retreated, she'd spun around so fast. But as he lay on the floor in shock and listened to her departing steps until they went silent, he couldn't help the feeling of warmth that flooded his chest.

Things might not have gone as he'd planned...but he decided, as long as Shego didn't quit...it was a good Christmas after all.

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Christmas, 2004 — The North Pole

Shego sat staring down at the remains of a very watery, formerly hot chocolate while seated inside what she had learned was the garbage container (impact-resistant, of course) from the failed Drak-Force One. That explained the smell... Having learned this fact after what had passed for 'Christmas dinner,' she had decided it was best not to ask where the food and drinks had come from.

She had foregone most of the singing, which the Possibles happily joined in on as Stoppable was co-leading the festivities with Drakken. But the twin boys had lost interest fairly quickly and were watching highlight reels of that extreme snow sports event on Possible's little hand-held device. Shego wondered idly if the two gave Possible as much trouble as her own twin brothers had growing up.

Drakken and Stoppable were still arm in arm as they sang, Possible seeming content to sing with them, while her parents were half-participating and half-seeming to be attempting to find a way out of the situation. Shego could think of a number of ways to end the extremely awkward truce that had been struck, but the first several on the list began with violence... She felt strangely obligated to keep the peace for Drakken's sake, all of the day's events considered. He had paid for her vacation after all...

As she was contemplating the few options she could think of that lacked violence, she noticed Possible suddenly narrow her eyes in mischief and begin staring at Stoppable. Shego looked between the pair and tried to figure out their silent communication. What on Earth could the teenaged thorn in her side be thinking? Surely she wasn't planning some trick to escape the awkward festivities...

Suddenly Stoppable's singing ceased, and Shego caught sight of his wily grin just before he elbowed Drakken a few times to get his attention and then pushed him in her direction.

"Oh, look who's under the mistletoe now!" the blond boy sang out giddily.

Shego's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she looked up at the piece of parsley that she was inexplicably seated directly beneath. She stood up in alarm, but then she caught sight of Drakken's horrified face and something in her relaxed. He wasn't going to do it...

The memory of the prior year's unexpected kiss had rushed back to her, but with the fear of a repeat having faded at his terror-stricken expression she recalled...just how good a kisser her boss actually was. She bit the inside of her cheek as part of her mind told her that a mutual innocent and totally platonic kiss wouldn't be such a horrible thing after all. She took a breath and was about to voice the thought, when...

"Go on Drew," the voice of James Possible sounded, and Shego turned back to where Drakken's old schoolmate stood next to his wife, his arm around her waist and a devilish look on his face. "Let's see you kiss a girl under the mistletoe."

Shego's brow furrowed slightly. She didn't really know the history between the two former friends, but she did know it wasn't a good one. She set her jaw and turned with resolve, but she had barely made eye contact with Drakken before he was all but sprinting through the exit hatch.

"Well this has been lovely, we must do it again sometime!" he called without even a backwards glance. And with that, he was gone.

Shego blinked as she realized all eyes in the dimly-lit container had turned to her. She scowled and tossed her drink on the fire as she stalked out after Drakken. Knowing him, he would get lost in the snow and run into that polar bear... And she had parked her hover-car a fair ways away.

"Shego, what—"

Shego cut Possible off with a cold glance over her shoulder.

"Merry Christmas," she bit out more harshly than was probably warranted. "Truce ends tomorrow, unless you want it to end now."

She lit up her hands in warning, but didn't wait to see the teen's reaction as she left the compartment and began following her boss's footprints through the snow. As the wind whipped against her face the spell of the evening was broken, and her thoughts drifted back to the beach and all the things she would do the next day when she got back after depositing Drakken at the lair. And yet, creeping through her thoughts was the memory of Drakken's frightened reaction when she had turned intending to kiss him. And disturbingly, her own reaction of disappointment.

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Christmas, 2005 — The Spider Lair (Steal Wheels; Rappin' Drakken)

"But Drewbie, I don't understand why you aren't decorating this year."

Shego eyed her blue-skinned boss as he skulked around the lab equipment, trying to evade his mother who had showed up unexpectedly—again—and was following her son around with numerous questions about his lack of holiday decor. As it was still a week until Christmas, Shego didn't see the big deal. Unless of course, Drakken came from the type of family that treated the entire month like one long holiday... She herself had never had such an experience.

"I'm going to be working through Christmas this year, Mother. That's all," Drakken explained, continuing to try to avoid the woman.

"Oh but surely you can do a few things to make it more festive around here. There's more than enough room for a tree, a nice wreath on the door..."

Shego watched the changing expressions on Drakken's face that indicated both his internal struggle and his frustration with his mother's presence. For her part, the green-skinned villainess was enjoying the display. It had been some time since Drakken's mother had showed up, and the only chaos she had brought with her this time seemed to be her very loud opinions about how her son spent the season.

"Nyeghn... Mother, how about I just hang a wreath on the door? And, look, lights!" he said, pushing a button on one of the lab control consoles. Various red, green, and white lights began flashing in sequence. Shego pursed her lips and nodded approvingly at the coincidence.

"Oh, but dear..."

Shego watched as the woman turned away from her son for a moment, to his relief—his entire being seemed to decompress—and stepped over to the large carpet bag she had brought in the way of luggage.

"You really should have a tree, and some mistletoe..."

Shego blanched and she swallowed nervously, not daring to glance at Drakken. She wondered what on Earth the odds were as the older woman began producing holiday decor from her bag. Words were exchanged between Drakken and his mother, but Shego didn't hear them as she watched a wreath, a box of glass icicles, a mass of candy canes with a large spool of ribbon, and indeed...mistletoe...being laid out across Drakken's work-bench.

She turned and left the great room of the lab, crossing her arms as she walked down the curved hallway of the lair toward her bedroom. It crossed her mind that it was probably time to move lairs, since Drakken's mother had visited that one twice now in less than six months. But more central to her thoughts was wondering whether or not she would return later to find the lab decorated as she had the first year she had worked for Drakken.

In all likelihood it would be even more festive, given the way he had decorated the garbage container at the North Pole the prior year. And considering the importance his mother seemed to put on appearance...Shego wasn't sure she wanted to return to the lab later at all.

After reaching her room, she changed into a bathing suit and flopped onto her tanning bed. She put her sunglasses on and flipped the switch to turn on her heat lamp. It was only December eighteenth... She realized that decorations aside, the higher priority was going to be making sure Drakken's mother didn't decide to make herself at home in the lair. Or else, she would be starting her beach vacation early that year.

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When Shego decided to brave the lab hours later there was ample evidence of the two Lipskys' presence, though they weren't there at the moment. A modest tree took up one bare corner, decorated with red glass baubles, candy canes tied with red ribbon, glass icicles, and what appeared to be glittery plastic snowflakes. An actual string of Christmas lights was now wrapped around a fake garland and hung up around the focusing laser. Shego shook her head, not even bothering to take in the rest of the decor that had somehow appeared.

She was turning to go back to her room to pack, when the front door of the lair slid open.

"...Yes Mother, it's all very festive now. So...w-when does your flight leave?"

"Why Drew, it sounds like you want me to go away, Son!"

"N-No, o-...of course not Mother! But I still have a lot of work to do and as I said...I'll be very busy this holiday season."

Shego smirked as she watched the pair descend the stairs, Drakken's arms laden with brown shopping bags and his mother holding only one small plastic one.

"Oh but Drew, you have to take time off! It's not healthy."

Shego shifted her weight to the side and recrossed her arms as she watched Drakken's discomfort. She did feel for him, but there was just too much opportunity for entertainment in the present circumstance.

"Yeah Dr. D. Some time off might do something about that bulging vein in your forehead. Get out of the...office, and take a vacation."

Both Lipskys stared at her, Drakken's face morphing from confusion into a scowl while his mother's bloomed into an excited grin. Her bag was dropped on the work-bench as her hands balled into excited fists beneath her chin.

"Oh Drewbie, you could come home for the holidays!"

"N-N-Now, Mother..."

"Oh, it will be just like old times!"

"No I, I'm afraid it's impossible!" Drakken insisted probably too harshly. His mother's face fell, and he adopted an obviously fake but gentle smile. "I have too many patients in...very critical condition who cannot be left alone for that length of time."

Mrs. Lipsky's brows knitted as she considered. "Since you treat them over the phone, couldn't you work from home?"

"No, Mother! I...I need everything I have here at the office, and I need Shego's assistance," he said, moving to stand slightly behind Shego as soon as his bags had been deposited on the floor.

Shego glanced back at him with a smirk, and his eyes darkened briefly in annoyance before he was nodding at his mother with greater assurance now. Shego's grin broadened.

"But Dr. D., I'm going to the Bahamas for the holidays, remember?" she reminded him.

Drakken visibly startled and looked at her with such a rapid flurry of emotions that she couldn't keep up with them. Her smirk grew, and she was about to encourage the trip to his mother's when the woman spoke up.

"Oh! Look who's under the mistletoe!"

It was Shego's turn to startle as she peered upward and saw that in fact, the mistletoe had been hung and she and Drakken were directly beneath it. Her eyes narrowed and Drakken recoiled a step, but at his reaction she forced away her scowl and smirked at him in challenge. If anything was to get his mother out of the lair, and probably earn her an earlier start to her tropical vacation, it was this very threat. She raised her brow in anticipation and stared directly at Drakken.

For his part, his face had fallen to total confusion and he seemed to want to speak for the way his lips trembled but was unable to find the words.

"Drewbie!" Mama Lipsky's loud whisper called across the short distance toward her son. "What are you waiting for?"

Drakken looked anxiously between his mother and and Shego, his uncertainty growing.

"I... But..."

"You told me she was single. Now's your chance!"

Shego wanted to question the conversation that had clearly been had about her while the small family was out shopping, but she was more interested in seeing whether or not Drakken would run like the last time, or simply make an excuse. Her smirk broadened as she watched him begin to sweat and his brow begin to darken.

"M-Mother..."

"Be a man and make a move!" his mother said in her loud whisper.

Shego closed her eyes as she struggled to suppress her laughter. She could see the golden sands of the resort already as she listened to Drakken's frustrated growl. And then...

The softest of pecks caused her eyes to shoot open just as Drakken's lips left her cheek. She vaguely took in his mother's delighted expression, but her face was flushing too quickly. She couldn't help but glance at Drakken and saw he was equally flustered, his eyes deep pools of worry. Unable to blink away her own unease, she turned and strode rapidly out of the lab, needing an escape.

"See, Drewbie? She likes you!"

"N-No, Mother..." Drakken's voice was weary and disturbed.

"Didn't you see the way she blushed?"

"I'm lucky she didn't blast me."

"Blast you? What do you mean?"

Their voices faded as Shego quickened her pace, the flush on her face having become a warmth spreading to every nerve ending. Why hadn't she blasted him?

The sunny beaches suddenly didn't appeal to her, and she in fact wished for a colder climate and the stereotypical 'white Christmas' to cool the fire that was swirling disturbingly within her. Lacking that, she decided a cool shower would have to do.

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Christmas 2006 — The Caribbean

Drakken hung back slightly as he nervously surveyed the scene in the private living area he and Shego shared in the lair. It was far from private that evening with nearly every henchman he employed being in attendance at the Christmas party before departing to spend the holidays with their families. Considering how many months of that year had been lost, spent between jail, rebuilding his favored lair, recovering his health, and finding a new relational balance with his side-kick—something he would forever be a bit concerned about—it had in fact been a decent year. Nearly all of his former henchmen had returned to work for him, and while evil had been slow, profits had still been high. He wondered how many of the men had chosen to attend the party due to the Christmas bonuses he had paid them all at the beginning of that week.

"Hey Dr. D., why don't we have a piano in here?" Shego called drunkenly across the room.

Drakken grimaced. Shego was far from the only person inebriated, but he didn't like seeing her that way. Especially considering that it was less than half a year ago that she hadn't wanted anything to do with him. She was still a wild card in his mind, and the thought made his chest ache as there was no one he had trusted more in the past. And no one he wanted to trust more, now...

About five of the henchmen had begun a rousing rendition of 'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,' leaving Drakken wondering how many of his employees might be religious and also just how much eggnog and other spirits they had consumed to be swaying near the Christmas tree, arms wrapped around one another, and veritably pouring emotion from their souls.

'We. She said we...' Drakken mused to himself, replaying Shego's question to him in his mind. Was it a slip of the tongue? Or was she really through being angry with him over the events of the first half of the year? Did she really view them as a 'we' again, pursuing evil together... He hadn't even realized at what point he had begun to think of them that way, but it was abundantly clear that he had... And something deep inside of him desperately wanted to again.

Lacking a piano, one of the henchmen had taken matters into his own hands and grabbed the small radio Drakken kept near the TV. The staticky sounds were turned up loud, and for several seconds, strains of 'Let It Snow' from the FM conflicted with the traditional hymn the henchmen were still crooning together out of tune. Before long most of the crowd had switched over to sing along with the accompanied song, while three still clung to one another and belted out the majestic proclamation next to the tree.

Shego's cackle suddenly arrested Drakken's attention, and he watched uneasily as she downed another glass of eggnog and then perched up atop the old TV that was playing some black-and-white special. She had a good voice, he noted, as she sang along loudly... But Drakken couldn't really listen as he cast his eyes over the rest of the room to where the majority of the men, not intoxicated in the slightest, were watching her with a mixture of amusement and intrigue.

He grimaced. He knew none of them would dare act upon any secret thought in the moment... If they did they'd be blasted by Shego faster than he could terminate their contracts. But he was more concerned about the gossip that would come after the night's festivities. He took a small sip from his own brandy-laced eggnog and began mentally calculating how much he could afford to pay each of them in yet another bonus just to buy their silence over the evening.

His concentration was broken as Henchman Welch, a man who didn't drink, sidled up to him then, his eyes locked on the green-skinned woman.

"Now, Dr. Drakken..." The man's voice was sly, and Drakken frowned. "I have my limits on evil, as most of us do. But my missus always wants to know about all the goings-on here at work... And she's got a lot of friends in influential places..."

"Two-hundred," Drakken said, cutting the man off. He forced himself to breathe evenly as he stared the man down.

Welch smirked. "And can I spread that around to the rest of the boys?"

Drakken sighed internally as he nodded. "You can also tell them that the trans-dimensional vortex inducer is the alternative, if anyone thinks about asking for more."

The cold gaze he leveled at the man seemed to do the trick as Welch visibly recoiled. The henchman nodded in understanding before walking away to speak to another man leaning against the back of the sofa.

Drakken's eyes drifted back to Shego and widened suddenly as he realized she was approaching him. Henchmen parted the way for her as she moved with purpose, stepping over the coffee table only to bump into the sofa. She caught herself with her hands on its back and then beckoned him forward with one finger, a mischievous grin on her face. He felt a nervous twist in his gut as he pushed off the wall and started slowly toward her.

"Sing with me, Dr. D.!" she said merrily, reaching a hand out toward him, fingers grasping repeatedly at the air. He anxiously took in her blood-shot eyes beneath drooping eyelids, and the sway of her frame as she attempted to stand up straight. As he reached the back of the sofa he reached a hand out tentatively in response, but she ignored it as she lunged forward and took his eggnog from his other hand.

He only managed a mild sputter of protest as she downed the beverage in two quick gulps and spun around to set the empty glass on the coffee table. The henchman sitting on the sofa had backed into one corner and was smirking up devilishly at Drakken. He grimaced and wondered how quickly the word would spread of the extra incentive to keep quiet about the night...or else.

"'Should auld acquaintance be forgot~'" Shego was singing along with the radio, facing him and reaching forward with both hands this time. Drakken kept his stubbornly at his sides, but cleared his throat and sang along, to her apparent delight as she leaned across the sofa again to smile into his face as the song continued. Around them, most of the henchmen were singing too. Drakken hoped the drunken caroling would be the end limit on how far the party had escalated past the White Elephant gifts and cookies he had baked.

As the song ended Shego flopped down on the couch with an uncharacteristic giggle, her head dropping to the back of the sofa as she continued to look up at Drakken. Suddenly her eyes widened, and Drakken felt another swirl of unease as she rolled over in a very feline way that reminded him of incidents precipitated by a certain moodulator more than a year prior. Her expression was devious as she rose up to her knees on the sofa, running her fingers back through her hair to push it out of her face.

"Guess who's under the mistletoe," she said in a low voice that absolutely terrified him. Drakken barely had the chance to glance up to see the truth of it before her hands were digging into his shoulders. He gasped, and then her lips were on his in a way he had only ever felt in his wildest dreams. He stumbled and caught himself on the back of the sofa, staring without focus at her closed eyes as her arms wrapped around his neck, effectively trapping him in the surprise embrace.

The cheers and jeers of the henchmen kept him grounded to reality, and he could just see some of their faces beyond Shego's volume of hair. He rolled his eyes and felt an internal twist as he realized his bank account was about to get significantly smaller.

Shego's tongue seeking purchase between his lips suddenly set off every remaining alarm in his head, and with a great effort he pried her arms from around him and was able to push her off. He held her arms for fear of another attack as she smirked at him seductively, and for a moment he stared in stupefaction at the unexpected turn of events. Did Shego...did Shego...actually want him?

He wasn't able to go any further with that line of thought as the continued catcalls and lewd remarks from the henchmen surrounding them reminded him of the necessity to focus. He thought quickly, and as Shego began to lunge forward for another kiss, he dodged and leaned close to her ear, bringing his voice down to a whisper.

"Wait for me in my bedroom," he said.

He felt Shego tense within his grip, and then relax. He didn't dare look at her face as she slowly leaned out of his grasp, and he released her as she began walking around the sofa, stumbling slightly as she turned back toward him. Drakken stiffened as she leaned up against his side, keeping his gaze forward on the television as her gloved hand slid up the front of his lab coat.

"Don't be long," she said in a low voice. Every nerve in his body reacted in a mixture of heat and cold terror, and then she giggled again as she tripped lightly on her walk away, seemingly oblivious to the crowd around them. He glanced after her to make sure she was gone, and then looking back he jumped at the sight of too many eyes staring at him.

"F-Five hundred dollars for each of you to forget this entire night ever happened," he declared loudly, hoping his voice sounded stronger than it felt.

"Do we still get the other extra two hundred?" Welch called out.

"Yes," Drakken said with a scowl in the man's direction. "So an additional seven-hundred dollar bonus to what I already gave you, if you forget everything that occurred this evening."

A loud hum of agreement rose from the henchmen, but casting his eyes around he could see that many of the men were considering possible alternatives. He frowned.

"And if anyone gets any ideas...remember I can show Shego the security tape," he said, pointing to the camera up in the corner. The murmurs around him quieted. "She'll have very different ideas about how to ensure your silence."

The hush that fell over the room told Drakken that the threat had convinced them.

"When do we get the cash?" a man asked.

"Nnghn...I'll transfer it to each of your accounts tonight. G-Go on now, party's over!" Drakken declared.

The henchmen began filing out of the room, muttering various comments and questions amongst themselves as they went. As they left Drakken could see just how much physical damage they had done in the lair, with the amount plastic cups and empty bottles strewn about the room. Some of the decor had been disrupted as well, and he crossed the room with the intent to fix a fallen garland.

"Hey, Boss?"

Drakken glanced back to see Henchman Garth lingering in the doorway, the rest of the men having exited.

"Yes?" he ground out.

"Merry Christmas."

"...Merry Christmas."

When the man had vanished, Drakken looked back at the garland. He sighed as a great weariness suddenly hit him, and he snatched up the radio and turned it off in a hurry, slamming the device down too hard and then pressing the power button the TV with equally undue force.

He stalked back to the sofa, kicking a liquor bottle and some tinsel as he went, and after picking up one of the decorative pillows from the floor he fluffed it ineffectively and lay down. He didn't know how long it would take for the alcohol to knock Shego out, but he had no intention of being anywhere near her again until she was sober.

After a few minutes of discomfort and wondering how long he could rest before taking care of the henchmen's bribe, he rolled onto his back and opened his eyes which he realized he'd been holding tightly shut. It proved to be a mistake as he found himself staring up at the mistletoe, and the memory of Shego's passionate kiss flooded back to him in a rush.

Suddenly, he was assaulted with panic as all of his mistakes in that moment became eminently clear. Why hadn't he tried to push her away immediately? Why had he told her to go to his room? If he'd said hers, he could be sleeping comfortably in his own bed that night.

As his eyes lingered on the mistletoe, his thoughts fell to the kiss again, and he replayed the events a second time. He grimaced as he thought of the words he'd used to get her out of the situation, but then...his tired and slightly-tipsy mind leapt ahead to the state she might be in, waiting for him in his bed with the thoughts he had deliberately planted.

He rolled over again, pinching his eyes tightly shut as nausea swept through him. Every year, somehow, his attempt to celebrate Christmas ended in disaster.

'Never again,' he silently vowed as he forced away all thoughts of the soft, heavenly touch of green lips.

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Christmas 2007 — The Caribbean

Shego sat at the kitchen table, leaned back in her chair and watching Drakken's furrowed brow as he finished packing away the few pieces of Christmas decor that had survived the fire. His dog, Admiral Cuddles, was happily wagging its tail while standing at Drakken's ankles, having moved on from the disaster Shego had escalated for no reason other than her own enjoyment. And given the stress of the days that had followed the fire, she felt entirely justified in the impulsive act.

Drakken sighed as he began wrapping tape around the cardboard box of knick-knacks, his brow still furrowed as it had been for the entire two weeks it had taken to get his mother to accept his chosen lifestyle and finally depart. Shego wondered at the logic in keeping any of the decorations at all, considering most of them had been bought for farce to convince Mama Lipsky during her visit that Drakken had embraced the hero persona that the media had saddled him with after the Lorwardian incident.

As Drakken finished taping the box, Shego's own brow furrowed as she realized something.

"Drakken..."

He looked up at her and his expression cleared slightly.

"You didn't hang any mistletoe this year," she stated, a hint of question in her tone.

Drakken's brow furrowed further. "It's always been a problem..." he muttered. "Although I...don't know how it could have made things any worse this year."

Shego smirked even as her brow twisted in concern. It had been a near-solid month of chaos and crisis, the joys countered with a new disaster at nearly every turn.

Admiral Cuddles, unable to get his master's attention, turned his focus to Shego. He jumped up on her legs where they were crossed, and she glanced at the dog thoughtfully. A small push with her foot got him down, but he remained at her side with a curious expression, tail wagging expectantly.

Her eyes lingered on the dog as she considered Drakken's words. In a flash, understanding came, and her expression fell to sympathy for a moment before she peered at Drakken again.

Shego pushed herself to her feet, the nausea that had been mild that morning suddenly sweeping over her along with a wash of dizziness. She leaned against the table, and Drakken, noticing her plight, abandoned his efforts to tape the box and hurried to her side. One of his hands held her elbow for support as his other found her hip. Shego grimaced against the waves of queasiness and tried to smile as she leaned gratefully into his touch, slight though it was. She held his arm tightly with one hand while her other moved to cover her abdomen in what was starting to become a habit.

"I wanted you to kiss me," she said plainly, her gaze resting unfocused on his chest.

"What?"

"Under the mistletoe... Every Christmas. I wanted you to kiss me," she admitted, looking up at him.

Drakken's brow furrowed ever-further. "You blasted me when I kissed you that first time."

Shego shifted her weight and her smile faded slightly. "You deserved it. As my boss...you had no business kissing me like that, mistletoe or not."

Drakken looked confused. "But then...the next two years..."

"You ran away when we were at the North Pole," she accused. "And then we had to fly all night in the snow to get back here. You should have just sucked it up and kissed me. I still don't get why you didn't."

Drakken's face morphed to anger and he snarled. "Because James Possible was just out to mock me! He wanted me to try to steal a kiss and then get blasted, just like what happened back in college when...when I got punched for trying it."

Shego's brow rose, and her expression became thoughtful.

"So...the next year when your mother was at the lair, and you kissed my cheek..."

"I just wanted to appease her, I— Wait... You...wanted me to kiss you?"

His eyes had grown wide with incredulity. Shego shrugged.

"Yeah. After seeing what a good kisser you were that first time... If I was ready for it, it could have been fun. But when your mother showed up uninvited...I was kind of just trying to make you uncomfortable."

Drakken frowned. "Why?"

Shego glanced away. "Little bit of revenge for running away the year before... And also for not kissing me back when Bortel's device was affecting me."

Drakken gawped at her. "That— You... But that would have been unethical!"

"Says the man who just spent two weeks convincing his mother why he's going to keep on being a villain," she said with a smirk.

Drakken growled slightly and looked away, his fingers pressing into her hip.

Shego took a step, guiding him to lean back against the kitchen counter where she leaned into him. Her arms rested around his neck as his settled around her waist, and she relished in the familiar feel of his fingers pressing gently into her flesh.

"I know you hung mistletoe last year but... I guess me getting drunk ruined that," she said, her face falling slightly. "I'd been thinking about a kiss ever since you decorated that week."

Drakken glanced away nervously. "Actually, ah..."

Shego raised a curious brow.

"We did kiss last year."

"We did...?" Shego asked. "But you said...I just passed out," she recalled, her brow furrowing even as her cheeks colored at the memory. Despite the very rational explanation he'd given her at the time, she would never forget how disturbing it had been to wake up naked and alone in her boss's bed with a hangover.

"B-Before that..." Drakken admitted. "You kissed me...in front of all the henchmen. I...sent you to my room to get you out of there, and then paid them for their silence."

Shego tried to remember, but her memories of that Christmas aside from waking up consisted only of a lot of alcohol and bad singing.

"The whole thing...kind of put me off of mistletoe," Drakken concluded, his voice having tensed as he clearly recalled events from the past Christmas differently than she did.

Shego leaned into Drakken more heavily as another wave of nausea hit her. His face fell to worry as he held her closer, but she looked up at him with a soft smile.

"Wish you'd hung it again this year..." she said thoughtfully. "We could have redeemed the past four years."

Drakken's brow furrowed in regret, but then he suddenly gasped and jumped slightly, forcing Shego to step out of his embrace. She understood soon enough as she saw the typically-suppressed vine mutation slither out from behind his neck. At their feet, Admiral Cuddles barked threateningly at the invader whilst backing away under the table in confusion.

"We haven't been doing your injections," Shego stated the obvious, one hand still on her abdomen as she braced herself against the table with the other.

"What's the point..." Drakken said with a heavy sigh. "It's never going to go away. It's too strong."

The discussion was halted before it could begin as they both stared in curiosity at the vine. The pink flower that guided it had pulled open the door of the refrigerator and was presently snaking inside.

"What, now it needs food too instead of just water and sunlight?" Shego quipped, though her brow had begun to twist in worry.

They were both left astonished when the pink flower emerged, a piece of parsley wrapped between a small coil of the vine, and then it moved to hover and dangle the parsley a couple of feet above Drakken's head. Shego looked between the plant and her husband-to-be's face as he peered up at the herb. His expression was unreadable. Shego pushed off the table and approached him again.

"So...you say this thing operates off of what your subconscious wants?" she asked with a smirk.

Drakken's only response was to roll his eyes and grumble, but his hands moved around her waist again as she snuggled against his chest. She struggled to withhold a hiss as greater nausea struck her, and Drakken held her tighter as his brow furrowed briefly in worry. But he shifted and she leaned away slightly to let one of his hands cover her abdomen. His expression had fallen into a soft smile, his eyes brimming with joy. Despite herself, she still blushed as she set one of her hands over his. She wondered when the awe over their baby growing inside her would fade, or if it ever would.

She smiled up at him and then glanced higher to where the vine was holding the parsley a bit lower. She smirked even as the flush in her cheeks intensified.

"Merry Christmas, Drakken," she whispered.

He brought his forehead down to rest lightly on hers, and the happiness in his eyes caused her entire being to flood with warmth.

"Merry Christmas, Shego," he answered softly. And they moved slowly in unison until finally their lips met in a long-awaited, loving, and picture-perfect kiss.

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