Disclaimer: Megamind and Roxanne are (c) DreamWorks Animation Studios. (Any OCs you notice from here on out are mine, though.) ;)
The first thing Roxanne heard when she sat down on the bench was the loud revving of a motorcycle engine. Her next thought was that it couldn't be Megamind because she had seen his hover-bike thing crash into a building in that last battle with Hal. (She still refused to think of Hal by his adopted moniker; he wasn't "super" anything.) She twiddled her thumbs as she waited, a cool breeze ruffling her hair.
After a moment, Roxanne glanced up and saw a cloud of smoke moving toward her at an alarming speed. Sunlight glinted off goggles and a big blue helmet strapped to a bigger blue head. Ah—Megamind had a backup motorcycle. He probably had backups of all of his inventions in case of catastrophic failure…logical, since that used to happen more often than not, she thought wryly.
She watched the hovercycle pull a U-turn and stop in a zone clearly marked "No Parking." Roxanne rolled her eyes at this. Some villainous habits evidently took longer to break than others. She'd always wondered how he'd managed to get into her apartment to kidnap her without anyone noticing the huge, evil-looking black car parked outside—well, now she knew.
Megamind hopped off of the bike, flicking a switch as he did so, and the hovercycle and accessories disappeared under an invisibility shield. He had a mysterious bundle tucked under one arm as he marched across the street to her apartment building. Roxanne noticed with a start that he was wearing a dark dress shirt and khakis instead of the leathers that she was so used to. Megamind looked surprisingly…un-supervillain-ish. Even with his blue skin and big head.
He was smiling a little, like a kid on Christmas Day. He must not have noticed me yet, she thought with amusement, or he probably would be trying a little harder to hide his glee. "Hey," she called to him as he was about to pass her by.
Megamind skidded to a stop, his smile vanishing. "Oh! Uh, hi," he stammered. "I thought you'd be, uh..." He gestured vaguely upward at the building.
Roxanne raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think Carlos would take kindly to being dehydrated again," she explained. She stood and walked over to him. "So, you still want to get coffee?"
"Of course!" he replied quickly, affronted. He abruptly grabbed the lumpy bundle he'd been carrying and thrust it at her. "This…is for you," he said. He studied the sidewalk.
Surprised, Roxanne took the package. The plastic crinkled as she unwrapped it. A dozen roses lay in a florist's bag, eleven yellow and one red. The heads were a little crushed from the rough treatment they'd received, but Roxanne was touched by the gesture. "Thanks," she said, smiling and cradling the flowers. "What do the colors mean?"
His eyes lit up as he launched into what Roxanne privately thought of as his "Wikipedia" mode. "Well, yellow is traditionally thought of as signifying friendship and respect, but it can also mean new beginnings," Megamind said. "Red is, uh, also friendship." Smooth, he thought, irritated at himself. He should have just stuck to yellow.
"Ah," Roxanne replied, lips curving into a little smile. Unexpectedly, she felt her cheeks grow warm. She knew what he'd left out: red was for love. But for once she didn't point out his mistake. "Well, the coffee shop's around the corner," she said with her customary briskness. "You hungry?"
"Yes! Starving!" Megamind replied eagerly, obviously grateful for the change in topic. Roxanne started walking. Megamind fell in beside her. "I gave Minion the day off," he continued, keeping an arm's length between himself and Roxanne, "and he said the kitchen was off-limits until he gets back." In reality, he'd been too nervous to eat despite Minion's insistence that he at least eat a croissant or something.
A bell chimed as the pair entered the coffee shop. The barista, a young woman with a ponytail, smiled at Roxanne and waved in greeting. "Hey, Roxie! What can I getcha? The usual?" she asked.
Roxanne had long ago given up correcting others' use of her name. It was pretty pointless, and by now everyone had heard Metro Man calling her "Roxie" instead of the infinitely more preferable "Roxanne." Oh well. She returned the girl's friendly smile. "Yeah, that would be great. Could you make it a double?"
The barista nodded, grabbing a cup. "Sure! And what would your friend—oh!" she yelped, finally noticing who exactly had accompanied Roxanne. "Um, would Mr. Megamind like anything?"
Roxanne glanced over at him. He was taking apart one of the thermoses on the window display and poking at the built-in stirrer curiously. She cleared her throat to get his attention.
Guilty green eyes met hers. Megamind carefully set the thermos down as if afraid he'd break it. "Me?" he squeaked, then cleared his throat. "I'll, uh, have whatever she's having," he said to the girl behind the counter. "And a croysent." The barista grabbed another cup and scribbled on the side, not making eye contact. Roxanne sighed and took the croissant and coffees from the girl.
When it was obvious that Megamind had no intention of stepping away from the array of coffee mugs, she walked over and hooked an arm through his, leading him to a little table outside. His arm tensed at her touch, but she pretended not to notice. She set the flowers on the table next to their cups.
They sipped at their drinks for a few moments. An awkward silence fell.
"So, how are you—"
"How have you—" They spoke simultaneously.
"You first," Roxanne said, chuckling at the unexpected absurdity of the situation. They'd never had a problem talking to each other before. Of course, it had usually consisted of bantering while she was tied to a chair and Megamind was detailing his latest evil plan. But still.
A relieved grin spread across Megamind's face. He relaxed, Roxanne's laughter easing a knot of tension in his chest that he hadn't noticed before. "Things have been hectic around the lair," he admitted. "Or so Minion tells me."
Roxanne narrowed her eyes, picking up on the information he'd left out. "And where were you?"
Megamind grimaced, both at the memory and at Roxanne's unerring accuracy. "The hospital. The doctors weren't sure how my 'alien' physiology worked, but I'm the only hero they've got, so they wanted to make sure I wasn't going to die on them." He gestured airily to his large blue head. "I assured them that I'm more resilient than humans, and heal much more quickly, but they wouldn't listen. I was already planning to have Minion break me out."
"And?" she prompted.
Megamind answered with an innocent shrug. "I found a lab coat just lying around, so I put it on and they just let me go."
"Just lying around, huh?" Roxanne's knowing little smirk made Megamind squirm inwardly. Darn those nosy reporter skills.
"Alright, fine, I borrowed it from an orderly," he muttered reluctantly. "Happy now?"
She couldn't hold back a giggle. "I knew it!" Roxanne's amusement was contagious, and Megamind felt a little flutter in his chest as he watched her. His lips twitched despite his attempt at a pout. She had the prettiest blue eyes.
Roxanne's smile faded as a thought occurred to her. "Wait, you said you left early…does that mean you aren't completely recovered?" An unexpected twinge of worry accompanied the thought. Was that a bruise under his left eye, or just a shadow? And since when had she noticed such things?
"No, no, I'm fine," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "Just petchy."
"Peachy," she corrected automatically. She took a sip of her coffee and glanced at him over the rim of her cup. "And just for the record, I don't believe you," she added teasingly.
Megamind stiffened in his seat and frowned deeply. "I'm not lying!" he insisted, stung. His insides knotted with an odd sort of fear. Would he ever be able to convince Roxanne that he could be trusted? He had lied to her for quite a long time. Maybe he didn't deserve her trust.
"Wait!" Roxanne interjected, seeing the hurt in his eyes. She hadn't realized Megamind was so sensitive. Or maybe she'd just gotten better at reading him lately. "That's not what I meant. I was teasing." At his disbelieving look, she decided to change tactics. "Oh, I was wondering, were you nervous about seeing me today?" she asked casually.
He was taken aback by the seemingly random question, but recovered quickly. "Of course not," he lied.
"Uh-huh," she said, not believing him for a second. "And that's why you decided to dress up. In a new shirt, no less." Roxanne reached over the table and slipped a finger under his collar, gently tugging on a store tag that he'd forgotten to remove. Her hand brushed the curve of his neck. His skin was warm and soft against Roxanne's fingertips, and for some reason this disturbed her. She quickly withdrew her hand and sat back in her chair.
Megamind gulped, a little zing of electricity shooting down his spine and setting his heart to racing. The tingling sensation drifted lower when he noticed how low-cut Roxanne's shirt was. When he realized the direction his thoughts were going, he snapped his gaze back up to her face. "So, how did you figure me out?" he asked, voice cracking a little.
"The same way I can tell you're not as invincible as you say you are," Roxanne replied. She didn't notice the slightly glazed look in Megamind's eyes. "I could see the outline of the tag through your shirt. Right above those suspicious creases." She looked at his ribs significantly.
Megamind's eyes widened in surprise. Healways had underestimated Roxanne's powers of observation. "You noticed the bandages too, huh?" he asked sheepishly.
She smirked. "Well, I thought I saw something, but wasn't positive until just now. Thanks for verifying that."
Megamind grinned in spite of himself. "Gah, once again I'm outwitted by Roxanne Ritchi, investigative journalist!" He shook his head in mock sorrow. "At this rate I'm going to have to drop the 'brilliant' from my title."
The mischievous look he gave her made Roxanne's heart skip a beat. She needed to stop drinking so much espresso. In any case, she thought, she was going to have to seriously re-evaluate this relationship. She hadn't expected to feel for Megamind what she'd felt for "Bernard," not after the betrayal she'd felt at his deception. But her uncertainty had been gnawing at her for the past few weeks, and she still wasn't sure how she felt about the situation.
That unresolved feeling was only one reason she'd asked Megamind out, though. The other reason, if she was completely honest with herself, was that she'd simply wanted to see him. Now thatwas a thought. Roxanne wondered how Megamind would react if she let thatlittle tidbit slip. Luckily, her experience in front of the camera ensured that none of her chaotic emotions showed. She took a drink from her coffee and collected herself. "If that's the case," she said calmly, "what is your new name going to be?"
"What do you mean?" he asked around a mouthful of pastry. Crumbs flecked his lips and goatee.
"Well, you can't very well go around calling yourself 'master of all evil' anymore." Although her tone was confident, Roxanne was secretly a little nervous about what his response would be. Did he still want to be a hero? And...where did she fit in even if he did? "So what do you think you'll do?"
Megamind's brow furrowed thoughtfully. "Truthfully, I haven't given it much thought. I'll get back to you on that." Minion would probably have some opinions about the subject; he made a mental note to ask the fish about it. They could use The Google.
Roxanne nodded and opened her mouth to ask another question, but he interrupted her by raising an index finger and waggling it at her. "Ah ah ah, Ms. Ritchi," he said slyly. "You've had your interview. Now it's my turn."
He had a point. A corner of her mouth kicked up. "Alright, shoot." When his eyes lit up with excitement, she amended, "But I reserve the right to say 'no comment.'"
"Deal," he said, leaning forward and lacing his fingers together. He rested his chin on them. "Now, how have you been up to?" he asked with a boyishly expectant smile.
Roxanne was struck by the familiarity of the expression. She'd only ever seen that look on Bernard's face. It was kind of…strange…seeing it on Megamind's. She swallowed. "Not much other than working and doctors' visits," she said honestly. "But then, I've always been kind of a workaholic."
"I know," Megamind murmured in what he hoped was a sympathetic tone. Roxanne glared at him. Evidently his sympathetic voice needed work, he thought ruefully. He'd have to practice with Minion later. "Sorry. Go on."
She sighed. "I know you know. That's because you and Minion were basically my entire social life for the past few years."
"Seriously?" he asked, dark eyebrows arching in surprise. Although he'd never seen Roxanne going out with friends, he'd always assumed that she was out and about on the nights he hadn't kidnapped—err, seen her.
She gave him an incredulous look. "You mean you didn't know? What about all those Friday night kidnappings?" These had usually occurred at work or at her home. Neither of which constituted an active social life, she thought wryly.
He blinked. "Well, I- I mean, I sort of guessed, but…"
Roxanne sat back in her chair, dumbfounded. "You had no idea," she stated flatly, shaking her head. "When did you think I was finding the time to go out with friends? Between working five days a week and being super-bait on my days off, I barely had enough time to sleep, let alone go bar-hopping. Not that I wanted to," she added with a touch of amusement. "But the sleep would've been nice."
"Bar-hopping?" Megamind focused on the unfamiliar phrase, turning it around on his tongue. How did that work? Did people actually leap from the roof of one building to the next? What was the purpose? Why hadn't he noticed this before?
"It's a figure of speech," Roxanne explained quickly, seeing Megamind's eyes grow distant and guessing (correctly) that he was making some kind of crazy probability calculations. "It just means going out to bars. Drinking, dancing, that sort of thing."
"Oh," Megamind said, deflated. The reality was much less interesting than what he was picturing. "And that's…amusing?"
"It's supposed to be fun, yeah," Roxanne replied curiously. Megamind really hadn't gotten out much, had he? She'd always imagined him hanging out with his prison friends or something in-between his "evil" plots. "Hanging out with friends and such."
"Ah," Megamind replied, not meeting her eyes. "Of course. Friends." His tone was suspiciously casual.
A hundred little puzzle pieces suddenly clicked into place in Roxanne's mind: the constant kidnappings, the midnight visits, the flirting. No wonder he'd always seemed so ridiculously eager to see her; she'd been his only human interaction outside of law enforcement! Well, Metro Man sort of counted, Roxanne allowed, but he wasn't really human. And he was technically allied with the police. Roxanne could talk with her friends at work or call her family any time she wanted. Megamind, on the other hand…well, she actually had no idea whether he had family, or whether there were others like him.
The quiet moment gave Roxanne a chance to covertly study Megamind across the table. Over the past five years, she had been interacting with the blue alien on such a regular basis that his appearance no longer seemed unusual to her. Initially she'd been curious about his origins, but after having her questions deflected a few times, she'd eventually stopped asking. After a while, Megamind had become just another guy in her life, albeit one who happened to be a supervillain. Who regularly held her hostage. Even the knock-out gas and the lair didn't add up to the awfulness of some of the dates she'd been on.
Now, though, her reporter's instincts were aroused. Maybe her interest was due to the fact that Megamind's job title had so drastically changed, but if she were completely honest with herself, it was that she was seriously considering dating him. This thought should have disturbed her, but it didn't.
The subject of Roxanne's interest slurped down the last of his coffee and made a face at the taste of the gritty chocolate at the bottom of the cup. Pretending to study the passing cars, Megamind watched Roxanne out of the corner of one eye. "So," he began tentatively, "what do you—err, would you do if you had more free time?"
Roxanne was pleased that he wanted to know more about her, too. "Well, for one, I like to go to the library occasionally, and ride my bike," she replied, ticking items off on her fingers. "And I like taking walks in the park. Sometimes I even pack a lunch." A small smile crossed her lips.
At this last remark, Megamind's eyes widened. "Oh," he said, studying Roxanne's face for any trace of sarcasm. She'd fooled him with that deceptively innocent look before. Despite this fact, his hopes rose. "You mean all the things you did with…?"
"Bernard, yes," Roxanne said, nodding.
Megamind's heart plummeted back down to his stomach. "Right. Bernard," he mumbled, mentally smacking himself for thinking she'd actually meant him.
Seeing his shoulders slump, Roxanne realized that he'd taken her statement the wrong way. "Or rather, you," she continued. Predictably, Megamind brightened. Something in his green eyes made her blurt out, "It was you, wasn't it? The whole time?" The question suddenly seemed important.
"Oh, I assure you, Miss Ritchi, it was most certainly me," Megamind replied earnestly. A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. Perhaps Roxanne didn't hate him after all! He couldn't resist continuing. "Who else is so brilliantly entertaining and dashingly witty?"
And who else has such a huge ego? Roxanne thought, relaxing. She held in the thought, though, since it amused her to watch him preen. "Honestly, Megamind, I can't say I've ever met someone with your unique combination of…attributes," she said.
He chose to take that as a compliment. "Of course you haven't," Megamind said proudly. "It's not every day you see a brain the size of this one."
"Correction: it's not every day I see a head the size of that one," Roxanne retorted. "Who can say for sure whether there's a larger-than-average brain inside?"
"What?" Megamind said, playing along. "You doubt my mental prowess?" He pronounced the word "pro-ess."
"I'd think someone with a brain the size of yours would be able to figure that one out," Roxanne teased.
"Ah-hah! So you admit it!" A triumphant grin lit Megamind's face at the word "brain." He resisted the urge to do a fist pump.
"Admit what?" Roxanne asked innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Megamind shook his head, still grinning. "Oh, no, you don't, Miss Ritchi," he said. "You of all people should know this by now. Those tricks"—he stood, grabbing his cup to take it to the trash can—"won't work"—he bent over to Roxanne's ear—"on me."
His warm breath whispered across Roxanne's cheek, making her shiver. Later, she would refuse to explain why she did what she did next, but at that moment, all she could think of was how much she wanted to wipe the self-satisfied smirk off of Megamind's face. Impulsively, she leaned up out of her chair and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
Megamind jerked back, shocked, a violet blush spreading across his face and down his slender neck. Although her heart was racing, Roxanne couldn't help but smile a touch evilly at the awkward way he marched over to the trashcan, barely managing to avoid tripping over his own feet.
Wobbling back to the table, Megamind's brain was spinning. Why had she done that? Was she still just teasing? What did it mean? Why were relationships so complicated? His train of thought derailed abruptly when he noticed her smug little smirk and suddenly remembered how soft her lips were. "Uh, I finished my coffee," he managed, standing by his abandoned seat.
"Oh, are you ready to go?" Roxanne wondered at the little swell of disappointment she felt. After all, she had acted hastily. It wasn't as if she'd meant to kiss Megamind, so she certainly didn't care if he stuck around afterward. What was she, fifteen?
Megamind was stunned for the second time in less than five minutes. The girl of his dreams really thought he wanted to leave in the middle of their date? And he'd thought she could read him so well. "Only if you are," Megamind said with a sweet half-smile. Roxanne shook her head, but before she could say anything, he continued, "Oh, good. I was wondering if you'd like to…"—he thought back to her list of preferred activities—"take a walk in the park?" He stepped to her side and held out a gallant arm.
Roxanne answered Megamind's smile with one of her own. She scooped up the bundle of roses and tucked her other hand into the crook of his elbow, trying not to bump his injured ribs. His skin was warm through the fabric of his shirt. "I'd like that," she replied.
To be continued...! The date isn't over just yet.
Do let me know if you have any feedback; I won't bite, I promise. :D