Megamind was over the moon when Roxanne asked him if he would like to go bike riding with her in Metro City Park. It was pretty this time of year, and the fact that they would be having a picnic afterward underneath the trees made it all so very romantic. Roxanne was bringing the drinks, and Megamind couldn't help but think about how they might be opening up their first bottle of champagne together. They would be alone, with no one to bother them, since people rarely left their homes since he took control of the city. Maybe a leaf would fall out of the sky and find its way into her hair so he would have to take it out for her, and they'd laugh.
The thing was, Megamind did not know how to ride a bike. He built a tricycle out of various scraps he collected when he was a child living in the Metro City Prison for the Criminally Gifted, raising havoc by shooting lasers at the walls from his very own gun he constructed. The prisoners cheered him on and the prison guards scrambled to catch him without turning into a smoldering pile of ash. Once, when nobody was looking, he tried to ride one of his schoolmate's bicycles that they took to school. Megamind got on and it tipped over the moment he lifted his feet off the ground. He tried several times with no success and went back home that day taking scrapes on his hands and knees and some disappointment with him too. He didn't try again after that. It probably wasn't as exciting as the other children said it was anyway.
He looked at his watch and the hands indicated that it was almost noon, the time he agreed to meet Roxanne at the park. He adjusted the settings on the disguise watch, and with a flash of light Megamind was gone and Bernard was in his place. He looked in the mirror, making sure his hair wasn't messy and checked for stains on his clothes. He was beginning to like seeing himself as Bernard, a regular man with hair and glasses and a job and most importantly a normal sized head. As Bernard he didn't have to suffer the scowls he received from parents shielding their children from him. He didn't have to be evil or conniving or clever because people expected him to be. As Bernard, for once in his life, he blended in.
Megamind took one last look of Bernard's reflection in the mirror before he left the lair and grabbed the lunch he'd made for the two of them the night before. He walked to the park entrance where he saw Roxanne waiting for him. She caught sight of him and beamed, waving at him excitedly. Next to her were two bicycles propped up by their stands and in her right hand was a paper bag with the drinks and a picnic blanket.
"Hey! I'm glad to see you," Roxanne said with a smile that made Megamind feel weak. She set down the bag onto the grass next to her. Megamind did the same, putting his things next to hers.
"I'm glad to see you too," he replied, smiling back.
"Here's your bike," Roxanne patted the red one. "The black one is mine."
"Oh. Um, we're riding the bikes first?" Megamind's eyes shifted back and forth between the bikes and Roxanne.
"Yeah. Is that okay with you?"
Megamind put on a fake smile to reassure her. "Oh, yeah! Let's do this." He settled his hands on the bike handles when Roxanne stopped him before he could get on.
"Wait, I left the training wheels on. I was going to take them off before I got here, but I didn't have time." She reached into the bottom of the paper bag and pulled out a wrench. "It'll take just a second."
Megamind put his hand up. "Oh, you don't have to go through that trouble, Roxanne." He looked down at the training wheels, silently thanking them for existing. He looked back at her. "I actually like it better with the training wheels on."
Roxanne looked at him with an expression of disbelief. "You do?"
"Yes, it's much better this way." Megamind stiffened. He could see she knew something was up.
Roxanne tilted her head. "Um, Bernard." Megamind could hear something that was almost pity in her tone. "Have you… ever ridden… a bike before?"
There was a hesitation before Megamind responded. "No. I haven't."
Roxanne laughed so suddenly that it came out as a little snort. That definitely caught him off guard. In all the years he knew Roxanne he had never heard her snort. It was adorable and he wondered if he could make her do it again.
"Why didn't you tell me? I'd love to teach you."
His eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Yeah!" Roxanne slid over and was now standing beside him. "Lift your leg over and sit on the seat." When he did so, she continued. "Put your hands on the handles. And these are the brakes right here." Megamind squeezed the brakes.
"Yep, that's it," she nodded. "And since you have training wheels you don't have to worry about falling over, so just put your feet on the pedals. Start out slowly, though."
Megamind did as she said and the bike moved forward a few inches. He looked at Roxanne with a huge grin, his eyes full of childlike innocence. "I'm doing it!"
"Yes, you're doing it!" Roxanne bounced up and down. "Keep going."
Roxanne walked beside Megamind as he rode slowly around the park. When he felt quite confident that he really wasn't going to fall, he sped up, and now Roxanne was jogging to keep up with him. They made a lap and came back to the spot where they left the other bike and their picnic stuff.
"I think you're ready to try without the training wheels now." Roxanne was huffing from the run.
"Do you think so?" he asked.
"I do," Roxanne said. Megamind stepped away from the bike and Roxanne grabbed the wrench out of the bag again. She unscrewed the attachments and placed the wrench and training wheels back in the bag. "Alright, get on."
Just like he did before, Megamind swung his leg over the side of the bike and sat on it. If he didn't have both touching the ground it would begin to sway under him, and he was reminded of that day all those years ago as a child; where he fell and fell and fell and none of the outcomes resulted in success.
Roxanne's talking took him out of his little daydream. "So this time when you start pedaling you can't stop, otherwise you'll fall over. Whenever you want to stop moving just slow down, take one of your feet off the pedal and plant it on the ground."
Megamind felt butterflies flutter in his stomach and he began to wish he had the training wheels back. Roxanne could sense his anxiety. He was silent and he had become tense.
"I'll hold onto the back of your seat, so if you lose balance you won't fall over. Okay?" She gave him a reassuring smile and Megamind wasn't so nervous anymore.
"Okay." Slowly, he lifted his feet to the pedals and began cycling. His movements were wobbly, but Roxanne made sure she was holding on so he wouldn't fall over. Several times he had to stop and readjust because he would start veering into the grass or a tree or a bench. It took him a while, but he started to get the hang of it. The bike was less shaky and he picked up the pace. Again, Roxanne was jogging to keep up and keep her hand on his seat.
They made another lap around the park but Megamind kept going. Roxanne was starting to feel tired and she was barely keeping her hand on the seat any longer. She decided that he was doing very well, so she let go and let him do it all on his own. He was almost flawless. There was hardly any wobbling or shaking or almost knocking into trees.
Then he looked back.
Megamind's eyes widened behind Bernard's glasses when he saw that Roxanne was no longer holding onto the bike. She gave him the thumbs up and smiled proudly at him. Then, almost instantly, he was wobbling again. Megamind could feel he was losing control and shouted just before he and the bike crashed onto the grass without an ounce of grace. Roxanne's smile faltered.
"Bernard!" Roxanne shouted. She ran after him.
Megamind pushed the bicycle off of him and dusted some dirt that got onto his pants. He searched himself to see if there were any scrapes or bruises.
Roxanne caught up to him and knelt down beside him. "Bernard, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that. Are you hurt?"
"It's okay, Roxanne. I'm fine." Megamind stood up and adjusted his shirt, then offered his hand to Roxanne. She took it and he pulled her up.
"I think we should just eat lunch now," Roxanne said, looking at him guiltily. She dusted some dirt off of the back of his sweater.
"What? But you didn't even get to ride."
"You still want to?" she asked, surprised.
"Yes! We were going to ride today, so I want to ride a bike with you." He said, looking into her eyes. Roxanne smiled and he smiled back. Both of their faces began to glow pink.
"Only this time, I'd like to have the training wheels back on. I don't think I'm ready yet for the full experience."
"That can be arranged," Roxanne said, slipping her hand into his. Megamind froze and he looked down at their hands, touching for the first time. His brain had to take a minute to process. Roxanne Ritchi was holding his hand. Roxanne Ritchi was holding his hand!
"Is something wrong?" she asked when he didn't move or speak. Apparently she been tugging him forward so she could get her things.
"No," he said, intertwining his fingers with hers. "Not at all."
A/N: Part of the reason I wrote this is because, if you look at closely at the bike scene in the movie, you can see that Megamind is riding with training wheels on. So of course there has to be a cute story behind that.