"Boundaries"

PLOT SUMMARY: Megamind was withholding things from Roxanne. She was trying to be patient. But if they were to share a life together, he was going to have to open up to her, so they could confront the problem together. Rated M for adult themes, and disturbing material not appropriate for minors.

DISCLAIMER: DreamWorks owns Megamind; I'm just warping it all out of recognition for my own twisted purposes.

Author Note: The genesis of this story was a scene cut from "Redemption" to keep its T rating, coupled with my attempt to answer the question of why Megamind would resist having sex with Roxanne (as he does in "Redemption"). I originally had a different explanation for the latter, before I came up with the one written here. I chose not to include this series of events in "Redemption" because I thought it was too dark, and at times too explicit, for the tone of that story. I tried to write "Boundaries" in such a way that people would not have to read the three stories from my "Redemption" alternate universe/ alternate reality in order to follow the plot of this one. But if you read this and think Megamind and Roxanne are not acting like the characters from the movie, it's because they aren't. They are the characters altered by the events of the "Redemption" universe.

To the small group of people who expressed an interest in more stories by me because they liked the ones I had written previously: Compared to my other stories, this is closest in tone to "Revenge," but darker, with almost no humor, and more explicit sexual content, especially in the 2nd chapter. This might not be what you're looking for.

Chapter 1. Sleeping

Roxanne was watching Megamind sleep. The first time he had spent the night in her apartment, it had not been planned, not been a decision he'd made. He had fallen asleep on her couch while they had watched a movie. He had been obsessing about one of his new projects (like usual), and hadn't slept much in three days. But he refused to cancel their date.

So when he dozed midway through the movie, she hadn't minded. In fact, she was glad. She never understood why he always left at the end of the evening, or, truth be told, early in the morning. When she tried to suggest that it would be best to stay, because he was clearly tired, or had had too much to drink (never really true, he was always very moderate in consuming alcohol), he invariably made an excuse. Even when she suggested he could use her couch, rather than share her bed, he never stayed.

That first time, she had considered awakening him and trying to get him to move to her bed. But assuming he would just leave, she let him continue sleeping on the couch, draping a light blanket over him. She wondered if he would be there in the morning when she got up. He was, still sleeping. She was almost done preparing breakfast for both of them when he awoke. She caught him trying to slip away. She could tell he was embarrassed. But she pretended to be insulted, suggesting he was trying to avoid her cooking, and got him to remain until she left for work.

She liked watching him sleep, especially when he was in her bed. He was unguarded then, and it showed how much he trusted her. It was hard for him to trust anyone; understandable, given his childhood, given most of his life experiences. It gave her a sense of ownership of him, that he was hers.

But not completely; there were still some things he withheld from her. Some secrets, and some parts of himself. She was trying to be patient. She had been patient for a long time, longer than most women would be. Her girlfriends would be shocked- over a year of dating, and still no sex. He would never explain why he wouldn't have sex with her. When she tried to raise the issue, get him to talk about it, he would shut down completely. If she pressed him, he would leave.

Oh, they had a physical relationship. There was a lot of affectionate touching. In the beginning, he had initiated the kissing, the hugs, and the caresses as much as she. He had such a hunger for physical affection, which made sense, given his life of emotional deprivation. But there seemed to be boundaries that were difficult for him to cross.

Removing clothing: now that had taken a lot of effort on her part. She basically had to trick him. There was no way she could easily get him out of his typical spandex and leather. She gave him a present of "normal" clothing, and convinced him to try it on for her. She didn't attempt anything for hours during their "date" in her appointment. But later, when cuddled on her couch, she had begun to toy with the buttons on the shirt as they kissed. At first he didn't seem to realize what she was doing. But once it penetrated his consciousness, he became nervous, and tried to stop her hands. She had to use all her temptress ways, caressing him in the usual places that she knew aroused him, and seducing him with words: reassuring him that she wouldn't press him far, that she just wanted a little more intimacy, a little more proof of his love, that she had human needs that she wanted only him to fill.

She smiled remembering that evening. Yes, a very successful effort. She had worn that sexy little number she bought with just this purpose in mind, and he clearly appreciated how it complemented her body. On the couch, he had finally allowed her to unbutton the shirt completely. She had caressed and kissed this novel part of him, a part she had never viewed. He was so slender, thinner than an average, "normal" man, but muscular. She expressed her appreciation for this part of his body, and he seemed surprised, but shyly pleased.

It took additional effort to coax him into her bedroom, more reassurance that she wasn't going to press for "that." She just wanted to show him how the bed was more comfortable for certain types of touching. And, yes, she had tried to get him a little drunk earlier in the evening, introducing him to a different type of alcoholic drink, the sugary and fruity wine coolers. He had such a sweet tooth, and he did drink more than usual.

So it hadn't been too hard to get him to lie on his back on her bed, to accept her straddling his hips. She leaned forward, kissed him fiercely, caressing his head and ears the way she knew he liked. She felt a sense of triumph when his hands slid up her thighs, under her skirt. Yes, now he was initiating something new for him.

And then the mood had been broken when Metro Man showed up on her balcony, wanting to talk to her. She could have killed him. Even after he was finally gone, she couldn't get Megamind quite back to the same spot. But still, they had made progress that evening.

It was months more before he agreed to spend the night in her bed. It required a lot of reassurance that she only wanted his comforting presence beside her; that it was so pleasant to see him in the morning and have breakfast together before she went off to work.

But, of course, this also gave her more opportunities to push his boundaries. She noticed he was much more open to touching her, than letting her touch him. Did he need to be in control? It didn't matter; she didn't care, as long as they made progress. So she showed him what she wanted, directed him, and made requests. He was so eager to please her, as long as she didn't stray too far past the firm barriers he had erected.

When Megamind had asked her to marry him, she had been surprised, but thrilled. Surely he knew what marriage meant, what that implied. Thinking she could address the sex issue obliquely, Roxanne had tried a few times to initiate conversations about children: She mentioned that she wanted to be a mother someday, and asked if he would like to be a daddy to something other than a horde of Brainbots. Megamind gave ... confusing responses: one time he admitted he would like to be a father; once he said he would need to investigate whether genetic engineering would be required for them to have a child together. But whether he said something or nothing, he always changed the subject quickly.

He had to know that marriage meant sex. Would he insist on waiting until their wedding night? She could cope with that if she had to. But if this was the case, the date, which was yet to be set, was going to be sooner rather than later. And she didn't think he would just magically get over ….whatever the problem was just because they had a wedding ceremony. She must convince him to talk about it.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

He was looking for something, but he couldn't remember what. The place was familiar, but he didn't recognize it. He was feeling nervous, but he didn't know why. He heard a sound, and whirled around.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

He was in motion before his eyes were open, sitting up in bed and scrambling to get away from…what?

"What's wrong?" Roxanne asked softly.

Oh, that's right, that's where he was: Roxanne's apartment, Roxanne's bedroom …Roxanne's bed. He had conflicting emotions about being in this location: mostly good ones now, but still some … discomfort. He tried not to show it. He didn't want to hurt her feelings; for her to think it had anything to do with her. No, it had nothing to do with her. She was... amazing, wonderful, beautiful. She loved him, something he never ceased to marvel over. The problem was all inside him. He didn't want her to know. He didn't want to know. He tried to forget it. For long stretches, he managed to forget, to push it out of his consciousness, to pretend it wasn't an issue, that it had no effect on him.

His heart was starting to slow down. He blinked back the tears beginning to prick at the corners of his eyes. He covered his face so she wouldn't see. He rubbed his eyes surreptitiously, removing any traces.

He hadn't answered her. She put a hand on his shoulder, trying to be comforting, saying again softly, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he insisted, turning away from her.

Should she press him? Roxanne considered, and decided to take the risk. "Look, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But please don't lie to me." She knew she was pushing a very big button. He had promised her long ago that he wouldn't lie to her anymore. He had a lot of guilt about past lies.

She could see it in the tension in his shoulders, in the fear in his eyes when he turned back to her. Yes, arrow straight to the heart. She felt a little guilty now herself about manipulating him, but only a little.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry-" he began.

"Shhh," she interrupted him. "I just hate to see you so upset. Please let me help you feel better." Not waiting for permission, she put her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Eventually, she felt his muscles loosen and felt him relax against her… into her.

Why do I resist this? he thought. Roxanne did help soothe him. He craved this comforting touch. It made him feel warm, loved, safe. It was something he hadn't had since he was a young. When he had been an infant- and a very small child- his 'uncles' had held him, given him hugs. He did have those memories. But that was so long ago. Once he moved out of toddlerhood the men had been very careful, not wanting the Warden to mistake their interest in the child as something inappropriate. As he got older, his 'uncles' mostly lost interest in him, or were released. Even the remaining ones, while continuing to care for his welfare, had so little to give him. They could praise the creativity of his projects, but they didn't understand them, didn't really understand him. And the caring, comforting touches had stopped.

Minion cared for him as a child, but he couldn't hug him, or embrace him. Only when Roxanne and he began to date did the adult Megamind begin to get the touch he had yearned for.

He let Roxanne comfort him, but he wasn't ready to open up, not totally. Still, he felt guilty for lying, for withholding, when she only wanted to help him. He owed her something. He tentatively offered, "It was just a bad dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

No, he thought. But she wants to hear about it. The sharing helps her feel closer to him; she had explained this numerous times before. What was he willing to say? He took a deep breath, and tried to remain- or at least appear- calm. "I was somewhere familiar, but I wasn't sure where. I was looking for something, but I can't remember what. And something startled me and I woke up. That's it."

Roxanne had a feeling there was more, but made a tactical retreat, deciding they had accomplished enough for tonight. She just snuggled up against him, her arms around him."Well, let's just try to get back to sleep, and hopefully any more dreams will be good ones."

Megamind was glad she had let it drop, and agreed with her suggestion. Eventually, they both drifted off to sleep. But before she did so, Roxanne made the commitment to herself that she would get him to return to this topic. He had started awake from nightmares numerous times before. Well, she assumed it was nightmares awakening him. His behavior upon awakening suggested nightmares, or maybe night terrors. She usually pretended to remain asleep once it became clear he never wanted to talk about it. This was the first time he had shared anything when she asked him, and he had just admitted to a "bad dream." She wondered, were the nightmares the reason he had avoided spending the night in her apartment for so long? Was he embarrassed about them? And the nightmares, or at least the startled awakenings, seemed to be happening more often. There was more to this, she just knew it. Hmmm. The sex and the nightmares: two things he avoided discussing. Was there a connection, or just a pattern of avoiding the discussion of difficult things? The nosy reporter was going to investigate. She would have to tread carefully, but she wouldn't give up.

AUTHOR NOTE: Thanks to my beta reader, nineteennintytwo, for advice and suggestions.