"You were fantastic."
Roxanne, who has finally—mostly—stopped laughing at the memory of Metro Man's face when she announced that the gravity beam dial had been a placebo, laughs again—less in mirth than in something between embarrassment and discomfort.
Megamind, still on the floor, smiles widely up at her.
She wishes he wouldn't, wishes he would stand up; something about the way he's—
(on his knees gazing up at her with shining eyes)
—the way he's looking at her, something about it is making her feel—making her feel—
He stands up, a fluid, graceful movement, and Roxanne swallows hard.
"Really," he says, "fantastic."
"Oh," Roxanne says, rather more weakly than she intended.
Megamind's smile—changes, sliding from a bright grin of joy to something more akin to a smirk. He leans back against the console and folds his arms, then looks her up and down—slowly, audaciously, before meeting her eyes again. Roxanne feels her face flush, sees Megamind seeing it, reads it in the way his eyes flash and go half-lidded, the way he catches his lower lip in his teeth before smiling at her again, slow and sharp.
"What?" she says, voice too loud, and crosses her own arms over her chest.
"Oh," he says, uncrossing his arms and sauntering towards her, still smiling that infuriating, nerve-wracking smile. "I was just thinking how impressive you're going to look in your Evil Queen cape."
Roxanne takes a quick breath, almost a gasp, lips parting in an instinctive impulse to protest. Megamind arches an eyebrow at her, though, and all of her arguments flee her mind. She feels herself flush even more deeply.
And Megamind—Megamind just continues to walk slowly towards her, smirking at her, watching her blush, and when Roxanne glares at him, he laughs, soft and wicked, not looking away from her.
"Oh, Miss Ritchi," he says, "didn't I tell you that you'd enjoy yourself?"
He reaches at her, but he doesn't stop; instead he continues, moving around her, circling her. Roxanne turns, following the movement, keeping him in sight and he smiles wider at her, predatory and pleased and—
"Whether I—enjoyed myself or not is—entirely beside the point—" Roxanne says.
Megamind raises his eyebrows at her.
"You enjoying yourself was the entire point," he says, voice rich with amusement. "Don't you remember, Miss Ritchi?" He continues to circle her, moving closer. "I told you right up front what my intentions were. You have only yourself to blame for—giving into temptation. I told you a taste would never be enough."
He has his lower lip caught between his teeth again, and Roxanne takes a step back from him. His smile widens, darkens and Roxanne takes another step back.
"And why—why would I need to keep going now?" she says, trying for a tone of confident disdain. She stumbles back against the console and catches herself. "I already won, remember?" she says, "I only needed to try once to defeat Metro Man."
She's hoping the implied critique of his own career in villainy will distract him, make him step back or argue with her, anything to make him stop smiling like that, looking at her like that, being so—so—
Megamind laughs.
"Yes," he says, "you were vicious; it was glorious. I am so pleased we have that on tape because I am going to treasure that memory forever."
He smiles at her like she didn't just try to insult him, and saunters over to her as if she didn't just basically flee from him and this is entirely unfair and—
"But," he says, "you and I know perfectly well that dealing with Metro Man was only a tiny portion of what I do in this city as Overlord."
Roxanne's lips part, but—but she can't think of anything to say.
"I never did get to show you those books, did I?" he murmurs.
Roxanne barely stops herself from gulping.
(this, she can do this; remember how it was in the kitchen, Roxanne, remember—)
She uncrosses her arms, puts her hands on her hips instead, shifts her weight deliberately, leaning into one hip. Megamind's eyes flick down when she does, following the movement—not a deliberate once-over this time, a quick, involuntary glance, and when his eyes meet hers again, she's ready for him.
"Which books?" she asks, voice sweet and arch. "The ledgers? Or the ones in your bedroom?"
His eyes widen just slightly, a touch of pink appearing at the tips of his ears, along the lines of his cheekbones.
(ha, gotcha)
Roxanne licks her lips and his eyes follow that movement as well, and when she sees him swallow visibly, she feels like she can breathe for the first time since Minion and Metro Man and the brainbots left the two of them alone in this room together and—
Megamind meets her eyes and—
—and blinks.
And then he tips his head, a slight frown appearing between his eyebrows, his eyes on her face, watching her, watching her expression and—
(oh.)
(oh no.)
Roxanne sees, actually sees the moment that Megamind realizes what she's doing, reads it in the sudden gleeful flash of his eyes, lips curving upwards slightly as he takes a breath which is almost a laugh.
He licks his own lips and Roxanne—
(damn it damn it damn it)
—Roxanne's brain isn't quite swift enough to stop her eyes from dropping to his mouth, and when she looks up into his eyes again she can tell by his expression that he absolutely noticed, and she can't decide if it's her knees or her heart that want to give out and—
"Both."
"I—wh—what?" Roxanne stammers.
"Both," Megamind says, his gaze holding hers. "Both sets of books. If you want."
There is a pause, an indrawn breath kind of a pause, except that Roxanne isn't really breathing right now. Megamind watches her face, holding very still for several long moments, and then, slowly, deliberately, he steps forward, still looking into her eyes, giving her more than enough time to move away again.
She doesn't.
The hem of his cape sways as he stops just in front of her, silky fabric brushing against the tips of her shoes. He doesn't touch her, but he does lean forward, placing the fingertips of one hand down on the console next to hers.
(Roxanne has forgotten what they were talking about, has forgotten how to breathe, how to look away from him.)
"You," he says, voice low, eyes on hers, "are going to be magnificent as my Evil Queen."
"—who—who says I'm going to be your—your Evil Queen?" Roxanne manages to say, breathless, still unable to look away from him.
He smiles at her.
"You did."
Roxanne's fingers tighten on the edge of the console—balance, grounding, reality, the ability to hold herself upright—
"This—this was always going to be a—a one-time thing, Megamind. I'm—"
"Metrocity is ours."
Roxanne stops midsentence.
"That's what you said, Miss Ritchi," Megamind says, looking into her eyes, hand still on the console next to hers. "Metrocity is ours."
Roxanne's lips part; she tries to speak and finds she cannot. Megamind smiles at her again, reaches up with his other hand as if to stroke her hair or cup her cheek, bends his head forward as if—as if—as if he's going to kiss her and—
He doesn't, though; he doesn't kiss her, doesn't touch her, stops with his fingertips just shy of her skin and his lips just shy of hers, so close she can feel it, the ghost of a touch.
"You're not going to make me rule our city by myself now, are you?" he murmurs, his lips so close to hers that the words brush against them like a phantom kiss, and Roxanne takes a sharp breath, head tilting without conscious thought, as if to catch the shadow of the kiss he hasn't given her.
"—oh—" she gasps, reaching out and to grab at his cape, fingers twisting in cool silk, and Megamind makes a sound low in his throat, an inhuman kind of growl.
"Tell me," he commands, voice rough, "tell me I was right, Roxanne."
"—yes," she says, "yes, yes; god; you were right, Megamind, please—"
His lips capture hers, stealing the rest of her plea.
MESSAGE
BRAINBOT 001 to DESIGNATION : MEGAMIND [ STATUS : DADDY ]
_/upgrade : gravity beam
A_upgrade to brainbot swarm
/complete
B_upgrade to MINION SUITS [ ALL ]
/complete
MESSAGE
BRAINBOT 001 to DESIGNATION : ROXANNE RITCHI [ STATUS : MOMMY ]
_/surveillance report : metro man
A_invisibility upgrade to brainbot swarm
/complete
B_surveillance
/ongoing
C_routine : regular dose of gravity beam
/ongoing
report: successful
[ designation : metro man continues to be under impression that effects of
gravity are lasting ]
[ designation: metro man displays no sign of intending to resume hero
activities ]
[ designation : metro man currently preoccupied with learning guitar ]
{ audio file attached } [ listen to at own risk ]
ENCRYPTED MESSAGE
BRAINBOT 001 to DESIGNATION : MINION [ STATUS : UNCLE ]
_operation : angler fish
/complete
/success
the end.
notes: This is the last of my birthday celebration fic updates! (I hope you all enjoyed the celebration this year, illness and delays and all)
And I very much hope that you all enjoyed the end of the story!
Thank you again to displacerghost, for the beginning of this fic, for betaing it…and for being mine 3