Merry Christmas everyone! Or Happy Holidays! Whatever!
Please Bare with me on this one.
Christmas, as Megamind understood it, was an exhausting affair. There was shopping, sight seeing, caroling, decorating, snowball fights and sleighing, more shopping, cooking, gift giving, charitable donations, busy streets and lights, and many other holiday traditions. Roxanne, once finding out that Megamind had never actually celebrated the season, was determined to see to it that he experienced everything Christmas had to offer.
As luck would have it, temperatures dropped the night before, and by morning the city was covered in a fresh layer of white powder as far as the eye could see. Roxanne was ecstatic- it would be a white Christmas, she announced, and the perfect way to start off the season together by playing in the snow. It seemed like an odd, and somewhat childish idea Megamind thought- not that he had ever played in the snow before, even as a child- but Roxanne's enthusiasm was infectious, and he willingly accompanied her to the park, with Minion close by.
His fishy companion had presented him with a snow hat that very morning, one he had sewn himself, and one big enough to fit over the top of his head to keep him warm; a magnificent gift he'd announced as he put it on, arms spread wide as he turned toward Roxanne and Minion and asked how he looked. 'Fantastic as always sir!' Minion had announced, and Roxanne had planted a light kiss on his lips that was all the answer he needed.
The hat was blue, a darker shade than his own skin, and it went nicely with his blue scarf and jacket, and his black gloves and boots; vilian or not, he'd always liked those colors. Roxanne looked especially lovely he thought, wrapped warmly in her white snow coat, the red of her turtleneck showing underneath, a red and white hat fitted around her head and matching gloves.
The sun remained stubbornly hidden behind clouds, Snow crunched beneath his boots, and every breath he exhaled was visible due to the cold. At any other time he would have complained, there was a significant difference between the cool darkness of his lair and the bitter cold of the outside world and he had never cared for it. Yet somehow, with Roxanne by his side- holding on to his arm with both of her own, her head resting lightly on his shoulder at they walked- he didn't seem to mind so much. Roxanne pointed at the landscape, bringing his attention to the icicles that hung from roof tops, and the snow that covered the trees and hills- things he had never bothered to notice before, and probably wouldn't have been able to appreciate without Roxanne's insight. Minion seemed to enjoy the scenery quite a bit himself, content to be following along side them as he snapped pictures for a scrapbook he claimed he would make.
As they arrived at the park, Roxanne pulled away from him suddenly and declared a snowball fight; a game involving projectiles made from compacted snow that were used to engage in playful battle. At first Megamind had been annoyed at his inability to make a perfectly round ball from the snow, seeing as his hands had created much more impressive and highly technical things over the years, but he quickly forgot about the matter when a snowball hit him quite solidly on his shoulder. He had looked up to find Roxanne smirking, another snowball already in hand as she told him to 'quit fussing, and start fighting'. Roxanne was impressively good at the game, he discovered, landing many hits despite how well Megamind had gotten over the years at dodging attacks. She was also quick, and her coat allowed her to blend in with the snow around them- an unfair advantage he'd claimed at first, but laughed when Roxanne stuck out her tongue. It was thrilling really, and more pleasing than any real battle he'd had with Metroman in the past.
When another snowball hit him from behind, with much less force, and in the complete opposite direction that Roxanne was currently in, he froze. For a moment he thought that Minion had finally stopped declaring himself as a neutral third party and had, to his slight indignation, chosen to take Roxanne's side. With snowball in hand he turned dramatically, the word 'traitor' on the tip of his lips but a smile remaining at the pure excitement he still felt. He froze though when he turned to discover not Minion, but...children? The snowball he'd been poised to strike simply fell from his hand, he blinked and took a step back, the smile slipping from his face to be replaced with a look of wary confusion.
"I got you!" one of the children exclaimed, a boy no older than six if he had to guess.
The child laughed, a few other kids giggled as well. For one moment he'd suddenly found himself in another time and place; his back against the wall, the cruel laughter of the other kids as they pelted him with dodge balls, unrelenting in their jeering and obviously dislike of him. Then just as suddenly as the memory had surfaced he was back, and the laughter he was hearing now was not cruel but...happy. The faces before him weren't mean, or jeering, but smiling and...friendly? Another Kid spoke up, this one a bit older than the rest, but her smile just as hopeful.
"Can we play with you?"
Play? With him?
He was sure he'd been staring, trying to come to terms with what he'd been ask, and finding no proper response except to look helplessly baffled. Roxanne's hand on his shoulder was startling, but not unwelcome as she came up behind him- her eyes meeting his with that gentle understanding look of hers, and her smile oh so sweet.
"How about it?" she asked. "The more the merrier."
It still took him a moment to find his voice.
"Um, yes...yes, of course." he turned back to face his audience, the hopeful young faces before him, and the smile he managed felt stiff with nervousness. Villains he could handle, but children?
"The more the merrier." he parroted.
The children cheered, and a few even called back to more kids who had been standing further away, too shy to approach. Shy, he realized, and not afraid- no they weren't afraid of him in the slightest. Several kids were already asking to be on 'his side', and through his confusion and surprise he floundered for a response.
"My side? um, yes that would be...yes." he nodded, stealing glances at Roxanne and Minion for some kind of guidance.
Roxanne just continued to smile at him encouragingly and Minion just shrugged, looking pleasantly confused as kids gathered around to meet him, all talking excitedly- saying how they thought Minion's robotic suit was cool, asking him if he could shoot lasers from it, asking if he really was a fish and how he could talk, and an older kid inquiring as to why the water in his dome didn't freeze in the cold.
Megamind himself would have gotten technical with his answers, he probably would have started speaking about the suits designs, about the disastrous ramifications of built-in lasers, about how Minion was an intellectually advanced being from his home planet-not a normal fish- and his brain functioned on the same level as any human. Minion, however, smiled as he answered in simple terms and cheerful politeness 'I'm glad you like my suit. Boss made it for me.' 'I'm not a normal fish, I'm from space' 'the suit keeps my water from getting too cold.' and then, 'What's all of your names?'. Megamind supposed he shouldn't be surprised that his fishy companion was so good with kids, Minion had many talents after all, but he also felt momentarily jealous by the display of social skills that he obviously lacked.
He hadn't even noticed a crowd gathering, but as he looked around now he saw several couples, parents, watching the kids- they smiled and waved in a friendly casual way. They weren't the slightest bit disapproving, or worried- Megamind wondered how an entire city could be so..so forgiving of his past actions. Than again, most of these adults had probably witnessed him running around the park like an over excited child himself. He grimaced, partially embarrassed at the blows his reputation might be taking.
"Mister Megamind?"
His attention shifted again, down to the little boy-whom he remembered had thrown the snowball at him before. Did he just call him Mister? Seriously?
"Um, yes?"
"You ready?"
"Yeah! Lets play!" A little girl shouted.
"Boys Vs. Girls!" yet another declared.
There was a flurry of activity as kids parted, boys to one side and girls to the other. He felt a slight note of panic as he realized that Roxanne was being separated from him, but allowed a few children to tug him in the opposite direction. The idea was interesting enough he had to admit- the separation based on gender to assert some kind of superiority or dominance over the other. He felt a surge of relief as he noticed Minion being pulled along to their side as well.
One of the children looked quizzically up at the robotic suit and at Minion himself.
"You are a boy, right?" he asked, with such genuine uncertainty that Megamind was unable to stop the laugh that escaped him, especially at Minions expression and his cry of 'Of course I am!'
The boy just shrugged, and Minion turned to Megamind with a dismayed expression.
"You can tell, right Sir?" He asked, concerned. "I mean, it must be obvious, right?"
"Oh, yes. Of course Minion," he was unable to stop the smile that come to his face, "Your manly essence is nearly over powering, my fishy friend."
Minion looked at him as if trying to discern how honest a statement that was, but just nodded a bit to himself, mumbling things like 'certainly not a girly suit' and, 'didn't even wear the appron' and most amusing, 'maybe I should think about adding a beard'.
Megamind shook his head and began preparing for the battle ahead.
Abrupt, I know. I haven't actually finished the story yet, but Christmas is upon us and I'm feeling rushed so I'm posting what I got. When the rest is done, I'll add another chapter. Forgive me! I can't write under the pressure of deadlines! Ah!
Anyway...be kind.
Tis the season, right?