“Um, hi! Is uh, Shego here?”

Drakken grimaced. “No.”

Her face fell. “Oh, well… that sucks. I was hoping I could catch her.” She turned to rummage in the leg pocket of a distinctly familiar pair of beige cargos. “I’ve got this-”

“-WHAT are you doing here?” he interrupted, his jaw clenched and the grip on his coffee mug stiffening as he fought the urge to lob it and its scalding contents at her stupid head. “How’d you even find this place?” He ground out, “I don’t recall ever forwarding the address…” A tickle down the length of his spine warned him to calm down lest he be forced to contend with his ‘issue’.

“I have a message for her from her older brother Hego. He asked me to deliver it to her personally.”

Drakken arched his brow, his anger dissipating. “Hego?” Jesus Christ, he hadn’t heard from that Clark Kent wannabe in quite a while, not since Shego beat the living snot out of- He shook his head, realizing his mind had begun to wander.

“Yeah, he figured I was the only one who’d be able to find you guys since he’d sort of lost track after the invasion.”

“And he was right,” Drakken replied matter-of-factly. “Anyway, since she isn’t here, you can give me the message and I’ll relay it to her. What does HE want?”

“He was pretty adamant that she gets the message first.”

Drakken scowled.

“No offence, but he assumed you wouldn’t be willing to participate.”

“Fine.” He moved to close the door, preferring ‘slam’ it in her face but her sudden question froze him in his tracks.

"So, how've you been?"

"Staying out of trouble if that's what you're getting at."

Kim Possible crossed her arms looking somewhat uneasy. "It's just that you sort of fell off the face of the Earth there after the whole Warlordian attack..."

Drakken gave a derisive snort. "Mind you, I had a reason to 'fall off the face of the earth' as you put it. I was avoiding the paparazzi...among...” he hesitated, “...other things....." At that statement, he seemed to deflate. "I had important things to work out," he finished quietly.

“Oh...”

Drakken lowered his gaze to stare at his feet and then hers. "Is there a reason you haven't left yet?" He snapped. "...Because if you insist on loitering at my doorstep you can at least come in and shut the door. Air conditioning isn't cheap and contrary to popular belief, I'm not made of money."

"Oh, right. Um.”

Drakken stepped aside to let her pass before closing the door behind her.

Kim padded quietly through the foyer, her footsteps loud against the hard wood floor as she swept the expansive living room with an appraising eye. "Nice place," she whispered.

Drakken made a low sound in his throat to reclaim her attention then gestured to her with his coffee mug, "Since you intend to stay a while, would you care for some coffee?"

"Sure." She managed, half hugging herself as she continued to scan the interior of the house, "I'd love that."

"Hmph." He sauntered to the adjoining kitchen, his ex arch-foe not far behind him as he extricated a mug from the cupboard. "I hope you like your coffee strong because that's all Shego and I ever drink."


"Strong's good." She took the cup he'd poured her, admiring the deliciously full-bodied aroma that had a distinctly rich earthy tone with a hint of spice. “MMmm.” She visibly relaxed, “Smells great.” She meant it.

He smiled despite himself, “Humor me, but how in the world DID you find me?”

“Oh,” She waved her hand dismissively, “You know, the usual.”

“I imagine you have several aces up your sleeve,” He said tersely. “Was it that wade boy or did you manage to finagle it out of Global Justice? They've been keeping an eye on us, much to mine and Shego’s collective chagrin. ....Can't seem to escape them no matter where we go. BUT... when you spend half your life trying to conquer the world, people tend to be wary, not that I blame them...” He turned toward the refrigerator and called over his shoulder, “Sugar? Cream?”

"Both please…"

Drakken retrieved said items and offered them quietly, taking note of her unease.

“I should at least be hospitable - OH for god's sake, don’t just stand there like a mannequin!”

Her eyes widened, resembling a deer caught in headlights.

“You're making ME nervous just having you stand there gawking at me like I've grown a second head!” He jabbed a finger at a row of bar stools on the opposite side of the kitchen counter. “SIT.” He practically threw a spoon at her, skittering half way over the countertop before she caught it.

Kim did as she was told and sat at the end of the counter, then proceeded to add the cream and sugar to her coffee, stirring thoughtfully. "It's just that I'm not used to us being so civil with one another. I’m not sure how to act."

He shot her with an amused sneer. "You half expect me to rip out a plasma gun and use you for target practice?"

She nodded once, paranoia getting the best of her as she scanned the room with an air of caution before quickly returning her gaze to his and recognizing the mischievous twinkle in his eyes. ‘You’d better not be getting any ideas. I can still kick your ass, plant powers or not.’

“Right,” she said quickly.

He leaned back against the counter, chuckling, "Well rest assured that though I am still "inventing" such devices, their uses are merely recreational... I’m a changed man, Kim Possible.”

“I always knew you had the makings of a good person. You didn’t have to save the world, you know, but you did and that’s the point that matters. You made the choice to go through with it.”

“Yeah, well…” He trailed off, staring into space, unsure of how to continue. After a minute he seemed to snap out of it and blushed when he realized she was still staring at him. “Why do you keep staring at me like that? Do I have something on my face?”

“No.” Her lips quirked, “It’s just that… You really have changed. I can feel it.”

His eyes narrowed, brow drawn into a deep frown, “Hey now, don’t you get philosophical on me, young lady. Just because I’m not evil doesn’t mean I’m all about the ‘make love not war’ spiel…”

“You seem happy. I sense it all around me.”

His face grew sour as though he’d bitten into a lemon, “You women and your FEELINGS – BAH!”

She giggled, making his face flare an even deeper shade of purple and just as he opened his mouth to throw an insult, the worst thing happened.  

*BLOOP!*

It took Kim a second to register what had just occurred then, much to Drakken’s horror, the woman began to laugh. “Still having flower problems are we?”

“GOD DAMMIT!” he swore and slammed his mug down hard enough that it shattered, sloshing coffee every which way.  He glared at the mess he’d made, the blue of his face bright against the even brighter crown of yellow petals. “NOW LOOK AT WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!”

“I’m sorry!” She covered her mouth to stifle a fit of giggles, “I’m SO Sorry! It’s just-” She chortled, “It’s just that-” she apologized again, fanning herself to cool the burning of her face, still sputtering to control herself.

“Yes yes, get your laughs," he snarled. “It’s all about the shits and giggles when I have absolutely NO control over this. It’s an involuntary emotional response!” His arms flailed and he snatched a hand towel from a drawer. “It occurs at random!”

“I-I know!” She gasped, finally gaining her breathe. “I know-gnk-heee,” she said slowly. “I wasn’t laughing at you, I s-swear. It was just SO unexpected a-and then…heh HA! your face… God..Tch-HEEE the look on your FACE!”

Drakken simply stood there, obviously NOT amused. He knew full well now that it did little good in throwing a huge hissy tantrum much like a petulant two year old (as he probably would’ve done in the past). There was no use in hiding nor was there any reason to tear off the offending petals. It’d cause more pain than it was worth. He simply had to wait for them to wilt and fall off on their own volition. ‘Great. Just. GREAT. I look like a blue skinned overgrown daisy.’

Kim continued to giggle, though with less wild abandon until at last she regained her composure.

Drakken threw the towel down to sop up his spill before retrieving yet another mug then filled it and resumed drinking without so much as another smart remark. He instead, resorted to fuming and muttering obscenities under his breathe. ‘It’s not like she’s never seen me do it before,’ he rationalized. ‘It could’ve been worse. There always a worst case scenario.’ He struck his left knuckles against the wooden countertop, ‘knock on wood.’

After an insufferably long moment of silence (save for the sound of kim’s snickering) he replied, “If you are QUITE finished…You can cease with the laughing at my expense and resume our conversation.” He huffed. “Just TRY and pretend the petals aren’t there.”

She bit her lip, eyes glassy with mirth. “’Kay.” Fat chance.