Title : Teddy (do I make the lamest titles or what?)
Rating: PG
Summary : Megamind reveals that he has never had a teddy bear. Roxanne thinks that sucks and files that information away for later.
Author's Notes : This is entirely inspired by the scene in moxyg's "Silly Plotless Fluff" where evil (and drunk) Megamind snuggles Roxanne's Tigger plushie. Something about him and stuffed animals just makes me awww and I couldn't let the image go. So here. Sweet enough to put y'all into sugar shock, don'tchaknow.
"You never had a teddy bear? Wait, what about other stuffed animals?" she had asked, sounding legitimately surprised. She propped herself up on her side and stared at her blue boyfriend, laying on his back on the picnic blanket. It was the same blanket she had once shared with him as 'Bernard' and today they were back for their fourth date. Well, their fourth date with him wearing his own face.
"Umm, I had Minion. He's an animal," Megamind said honestly and with a shrug.
"No teddy bear? You're so snuggly, I just assumed you had lots of cuddly stuffed animals..." she trailed off.
"Well despite growing up in a prison I actually wasn't deprived of toys," he rushed to say, sounding just a little defensive. "The warden gave me lots of neat science stuff - chemistry sets and physics books and the erectors sets. When I was 11 he got me an old Commodore 64 and I over clocked the hell out of it until the motherboard actually started on fire about six months later." He gave a little smile at what were clearly fond memories.
She chuckled at the idea of her former-supervillian boyfriend as an adorably naughty little kid.
"Oh and I had plastic dinosaurs. They were cool," he added with an excited smile.
"Dinosaurs are cool," she replied, with her own smile that turned into a giggle that turned into a belly laugh.
"Am I missing something funny?" he asked.
"No, sorry, I was just thinking about the Terror Teddy."
He winced. "Yeah. Umm. Not exactly my most fearsome evil plot?"
"No. The Destructosaurus was much much better," she teased lightly.
"Oh come on, the Terror Teddies had spikes. Spikes make everything cooler," he responded back in a silly mocking tone. They laid side by side, their faces looking at each other, their noses almost touching. She smiled at him and he smiled bashfully back at her.
"I just always imagined you as a little boy clutching a blue teddy bear," she said, unable to shake the mental image.
"Nope. I remember wanting one though. But I think they were too much of a security concern for the warden. You know, other prisoners could hide things in them," he waved his hand. "We were minimum security but those guys were smart, so I never got one."
"That's kinda sad. You having nothing to cuddle."
"Well I used to sleep with Minion curled up in my arms," he said, the tips of his ears turning slightly pink.
"How did that work anyway? Did you take him out of his bowl or something? Did he have a bowl?" Roxanne inquired as she leaned on her arm.
"When we came to this planet he was in a little semi-porous crystalline sphere. It was able to filter out most impurities in the water by diffusing them into the air and it grew as he did. So I would fall asleep every night with my arms around his ball," he explained.
"I bet you were an adorable kid," she gushed.
He blushed. It still made him feel bashful whenever she gave him a compliment like that. Roxanne thought he was cute.
"So I guess you didn't need a security blanket at night, you had him," she continued with a grin.
"I had a binkie too," he confessed sheepishly, running his hand over the back of his neck. Part of him simply could not believe she had gotten him to talk to her like this. He was telling her the kinds of things he never told anyone, things which would have torched his supervillian reputation beyond all repair. Megamind hoped that was ok, and that she wasn't going to think he was a weakling or a weirdo.
"My parents sent with me. It was blue and it glowed and I couldn't sleep without it."
She actually squealed in response. "Awwww. Really?"
"Yeah. Once, when I was three, I took it outside in the yard with me in the afternoon and left it there by accident. That night the warden had to send half the guards on duty outside with flashlights to find it because I was so upset I refused to sleep." He gave her a shy nervous smile and she took his hand in hers.
"I need to bug the warden for embarrassingly cute pictures," she teased. "Of you and your binkie and your minion."
"I was a devilishly cute baby," he said, his confident smile returning.
"The mental picture is too cute for words."
He shrugged a little. "So I never really needed a teddy bear. Though it would have been neat to have blue one. I guess its the kind of a normal thing that most kids have? But I was never a normal kid," he gave a forced laugh and entirely missed the mischievousness that briefly flickered in her eyes.
Then he turned the subject back on her. "Did you have any favorite toys as a child?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~M~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few months later Megamind found himself sitting around the Formerly-Evil Lair - bored and sleepy and missing Roxanne more than usual.
She was going to be gone for 8 days. Eight whole days. Something about some business with television executives in New York. Her days were full of meetings and every evening was booked with dinners and drinks. Networking, she had called it. She was texting him right now when she could sneak a moment, but there was no time for late night phone calls full of yearning.
And he missed her. A lot. He couldn't deny that the thought of firing up one of his good old robotic suits and plucking her out of their grasp had occurred to him. More than once.
This was the longest they would go without seeing each other since... well since before Metro Man day. Even as 'Bernard' he had seen her several times a week. And since Titan he saw her most nights after work and they had taken to spending more nights than not curled up asleep together in one or the other's bed.
In fact, she had spent the night last night and he had taken her to the airport in the invisible car at 9am. Where he had gotten embarrassingly needy and held her for a long moment, frowning and not letting go. She had let him linger, then kissed his cheek and reassured him that she would miss him so before he finally let her go.
He sighed. Even Minion wasn't around, having powered down and gone to sleep hours ago. Normally if he were up this late he would be drawing up blueprints or doing some experiment or another. But nothing really piqued his interest as much as moping on the sofa and missing her. So he was doing that.
"if your tired you should go to bed sweetie" she had texted him when he had complained of being bored and unfocused without her there.
"Can't sleep. I miss you too much :-(" he texted back. He was waiting aimlessly for her to respond when his phone made the telltale little noise.
"you should go into your room bc I left you a surprise :*" she texted back.
A surprise? From Roxanne? In his room? He sprang off the couch and sprinted through the holographic wall that separated the work area from his living quarters. He flung open the door to his bedroom, excited to see what on earth it could be.
Sitting on her side oft he bed was a little dark blue teddy bear, wearing a black t-shirt. And next to the toy there was a little white card.
"I bought you a surprise in case you missed having me in bed with you. I didn't have time give him spikes but I hope you like him. Squeeze the left hand. All my love, RR."
He stared at the thing for a moment, and then sat on the bed quietly. No one had ever bought him a present like this, for no reason. No one gave supervillians random little gifts. And especially not random little gifts that fulfilled childhood dreams briefly mentioned months ago.
He reached out and touched the bear. It was so soft! He pulled his hand back instinctively, as though the toy might hurt him before he realized how silly that was and picked it up. It was fluffy and blue and just the right size for hugging.
He curiously squeezed it's little hand and was surprised to hear Roxanne's voice come out.
"I love you so much Megamind," she said.
That was her teasing tone, when she sounded like she was being silly, but she really meant every word behind the smiles. He felt happy for the first time all evening. He pressed it again and the toy repeated the phrase.
He couldn't keep a wide and enthusiastic grin from spreading across his face. He loved this woman so much. He flipped open his phone and sent her a quick text.
"I love my surprise and I love you. Good night Miss Ritchie :D"
Well since he was here, he might as well get ready for bed and try to sleep.
He gave a happy sigh as he looked around the room while he put on his pajamas. He still couldn't believe it. It was a soft fluffy surprise present from his girlfriend who loved him. From Roxanne. Who loved him. Whose nightgown was hanging off the doorknob and whose forgotten earrings dotted his dresser and whose extra cell phone charger was plugged into his wall. Sometimes, even six months after Titan's defeat, he was struck by these tiny things and he was shocked at how much his world had changed. Now he could add the teddy bear in his arms to that list of things. He set it gently onto her pillow.
Then he laid down in bed and tried to get comfy in the middle. But it was strange without her and he couldn't even look forward to seeing her tomorrow or the next day or the next. He gave an exasperated sigh and shifted positions. Nope, still not quite right.
Then he looked over at his present, still sitting there as though it was waiting, on the other side of the bed.
He reached out for the bear and then felt childish. He was a full-grown adult and a superhero for crying out loud. But his fingertips touched the fluffy blue ear and he pulled it over. He sat it on his chest and studied it.
He had no idea where she had found a blue teddy bear. He squeezed the hand again, longing to hear her voice and bursting into a silly grin as soon as he did. He found himself stoking the soft little toy on its head.
He needed to stop being silly and just go to sleep. He set the bear next to him and tried again to get comfortable.
He didn't know why her absence was bothering him so much tonight. He used to sleep alone all the time. He spent years as a supervillian alone, rarely letting himself even fantasize about having someone to snuggle him because it made being alone all the more painful.
In fact, he still slept alone a few times a week. He missed her but not like this. He didn't know why he was so anxious tonight, why he missed her arms around him so much it hurt. That was annoying. He was antsy and rolled over yet again.
Now the bear was looking at him and that was when he noticed the creature's bright green eyes. She had found him a little blue teddy bear with green eyes. Just like him. He brought the bear to his shoulder and leaned his cheek against its softness, almost as nice as Roxanne's skin.
He gave an exasperated sigh. This was silly. He needed to stop being such a baby.
But it would be so nice to have something to curl up to. He bit his bottom lip.
What would Roxanne say if she saw him cuddling this little bear like a child? Would she think it was weird or would it be allowed because she was the one who gave it to him? What was the protocol for this kind of thing? He sighed. Yet another situation where he had no idea what was alright to do in this relationship and she wasn't even here to ask.
He stared at the toy for a long moment. He missed her so much and he squeezed the hand again. As soon as he heard her voice he had his answer.
He gave in, tentatively wrapping his arms around the little stuffed bear. The soft fur on its head rested against his chin and he curled his body alongside it. This was nice. Relaxing. He never had a teddy bear before and it was nice. He closed his eyes and held the bear tight, it's small ear brushing against his nose. And he squeezed its hand.
"I love you so much Megamind."
It wasn't Roxanne, but it was nice to have something to hold. And so he finally nodded off that way, cuddled up to his teddy.