Ok... new writing resolution. I will not attempt to provide story length approximations on my next endeavor. Because I keep unintentionally lying, and making you think it's going to be the end when it really isn't. The climax of this story has truly turned out to be a labor of love, because after I had already started writing it, I changed my mind about part of it. Has that ever happened to any of you? I'm sure it has... annoying, isn't it? Well, that being said, I have to thank Lasersandspikes, Sharelle, and Megan Martian, who have all helped me work out details of this part of the story in the last while. Also a huge thanks to Hunger4Righteousness, because it was a few lines of her dialogue that started the chain of events in my brain to formulate the following events. So, dear readers... the story will end when the muse is ready, and that's all I have to say about it :-)
Shout-outs to chapter 8 reviewers: (I don't think I PM'd anyone, sadly. Crazy going back to school crap is monopolizing WAY too much of my time right now. Well, that and a toddler who seems determined to take up permanent residence in time-out.)
LTA, Pannanarae, Talani, Ducklin', and Sally (Also, IAmCommonSense and Define Me who just reviewed chapter 1!)
And I keep forgetting this... I own absolutely NOTHING. Not "Megamind"... or anything else that I happen to mention that doesn't belong to me. And there will be lots... but I don't want to give them away ahead of time :-)
"Put those on and meet me in the War Room in ten minutes. No sooner!" Megamind instructed as he jumped back up and nearly skipped out of the door to his room.
"But…"
"No buts, my nosy reporter," he added, poking his head back into the room and wagging a thin, blue finger at her just to reinforce his remark. "Trust me!" she heard him yell as he ran down the hall, followed by the inevitable call of "Brainbots!" when she could tell he had reached the edge of the living quarters of the Lair.
"Huh," Roxanne murmured, almost too confused to be angry as she examined the clothing that her boyfriend had hurled at her. "Well, little one, you might as well get used to excitement now," she directed at the growing bump in her belly, giving it a few gentle pats. "Because you will learn very quickly that there is no such thing as a dull moment with your father around." The reporter sighed tiredly and stood up to put on the outfit that Megamind had chosen for her. While it was hard to imagine how this day could possibly get more exciting, Roxanne had a feeling that it was about to do just that.
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It took Roxanne approximately sixty seconds to get dressed in the scant, matching pieces of blue lingerie and silky cream-colored robe that her boyfriend had chucked in her general direction only a few minutes before. According to the digital clock that sat on the nightstand on her side of the bed, the reporter noticed that it had only been about two minutes since Megamind had scurried out of the room. Flopping back down on the bed, she decided to turn on the TV for a couple of minutes to kill some time while she was waiting, hoping that it would distract her enough to keep from checking the clock every couple of seconds. Roxanne laid down sideways facing the impressive set and began to half-heartedly flip through the several channels that were transmitted by Megamind's personal satellite.
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While Roxanne was attempting to busy herself with channel surfing, Megamind was industriously scrambling to prepare the execution of his most important plan since the one that had initiated Titan's defeat. In too many ways to count, though, his marriage proposal to Roxanne held far more significance. When he had designed his proposal concept all those months before, however, the hero had counted on having much more time at his disposal when it came to actually preparing the very specific chain of events that would have to flow together seamlessly in order for him to give Roxanne the most breathtaking experience possible.
He stood by with a watchful intensity as half a dozen brain bots carefully hovered about a foot off the ground to carry a simple wood-frame double bed from one of the many storage annexes off-shooting the War Room to its center. Occasionally, he would also call out directions to some more reliable creations of science to which he had assigned the task of arranging and manning the three spotlights that he had placed up in the rafters to assist in setting the proper mood to achieve absolute perfection in his detailed visualization. And tried Megamind had, for the last six months, to provide his beloved with as many perfect moments as he could squeeze into all of their days and nights together. Megamind knew that on some level, he always felt as if he was indebted to Roxanne; that he had five years of kidnapping her and constantly turning her life upside down for which to atone. He knew full well that she did not share this view, and it had been a painstaking process for the first-time boyfriend to accept that reality.
In their time together, however, the alien had learned that expressing his devotion through an overabundance of material gifts did not sit well with his girlfriend at all. That particular point had caused one or two spectacular rows not so very long into their relationship, and at first, Megamind had thought the reporter to be brash and ungrateful because of her reaction to his showering gifts upon her. Nevertheless, when the dust had settled and the two were once again able to engage in civil conversation, Roxanne had guardedly explained that she had often been plied with presents by her mother to make up for her latest drug binge or for disappearing and leaving her and her younger brother alone for days at a time when her father was away on active duty during Desert Storm. To her, the act itself was cheap and superficial. In the long run, though, the argument had brought the couple closer together. Megamind learned that simple, but heartfelt gestures of thoughtfulness and affection like rubbing Roxanne's shoulders after a long day or bringing her breakfast in bed went incredibly far with her, and Roxanne had slowly and carefully learned to trust that her boyfriend's gifts were given out of the joy he took in seeing her happy.
Megamind guessed that his current scheme probably lay somewhere between those two; it involved a gift, but nearly the entire concept focused upon the sentiment of the occasion. As he jumped on his black and blue hover board to do one complete fly-around the perimeter of the War Room to check the readiness of the brain bots that would be involved, as well as formerly Eeevil Boom-Box, which was currently hoisted atop three of said brain bots, the hero could only hope that his proposal would come off as heartfelt, and not corny. But since music had done more than anything else to bond himself and Roxanne together in the early days of their relationship, Megamind felt it only fitting that it should be the first step to bonding them in matrimony.
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Roxanne was thankful to find that a "Friends" marathon was playing on TBS. Since it was one of her favorite shows, she had seen most of the episodes more times than she could count, making it just the mindless distraction that she so desperately needed. She laughed out loud as soon as she realized just which episode it was; Chandler had asked Phoebe to accompany him to the jewelry store in order to help him pick out an engagement ring for Monica. Upon seeing a ring in which he was truly interested, Chandler asked the gentleman employee to remove it from the case so that he could get a better look. Still being unsure after viewing the flawless diamond that was sitting elegantly between two blue sapphires, Chandler asked the man to propose to him. Nearly crying after receiving the awkward gesture, he decided that it was indeed the ring for his girlfriend. And of course, the ever well-meaning Phoebe then proceeded to haggle with the snooty salesman over Chandler's selection for a laughingly low price.
At this juncture in her life, Roxanne was nearly rolling on the bed in tears from her laughter, because she realized that the two characters could all too easily be interchanged with a certain blue alien and his robot-bodied fishy companion. As to who would be who, Roxanne wasn't entirely sure; she could see Megamind asking a store employee to do something as preposterous as propose to him, but she could also see him haggling over the price of something just for the fun of it. Minion, of course, would be there to back up his boss in anything he wanted to do.
Suddenly, Roxanne sat bolt upright on the bed. What am I doing, sitting here thinking about Megamind looking at rings? She thought to herself, suddenly feeling very silly. They hadn't been together that long, but at the same time, she was now carrying his child. Could that be why he's acting so mysteriously all of sudden? "But that's impossible," she said aloud to herself this time, trying to dismiss the thought. "We only found out this morning. But then again, he's been suspecting it for a while… hmm." Roxanne suddenly remembered the time directive that her boyfriend had given her and looked over at the clock again. It had actually been nearly fifteen minutes since Megamind had left her. Knowing her lover as well as she did, though, Roxanne was well aware that it was much better for her to be a few minutes late to one of his elaborate surprises than to arrive too early and spoil all of his plans.
During what she jokingly referred to as "The Kidnapping Years," the reporter had often foiled the blue alien's most elaborate schemes almost effortlessly. So when their relationship had finally progressed to the next level, Roxanne had really tried her best to let Megamind have his fun surprising her. She had quickly learned that both her boyfriend's spontaneity and intricate preparation abilities often worked in her favor. The thought made her smile, and with that Roxanne got up, walked out of the bedroom door, and found her way down the hall in the living quarters that lead to the entrance of the War Room.
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As Megamind laid in wait for his hopefully soon-to-be fiancé, hidden from view behind the vintage wooden headboard of the bed that looked somewhat incongruous sitting in the middle of the War Room, he worked diligently to keep his nerves at bay. Have I gone about this the right way? He couldn't help but ask himself that question as his eyebrows knit together in contemplative consternation. The whole idea of proposing to his Roxanne had hit him as an epiphanous lightning bolt, as bright and electric as the one gracing the front of his spandex suit.
Although some would certainly find it odd that the former Eeevil Overlord had a strong appreciation for musicals, he and Roxanne had unexpectedly found it to be among their strongest common interests when Megamind found an enticingly risqué photo in the apartment of the voluptuous reporter playing none other than murderous vixen Velma Kelly in a production of "Chicago" when she was in college. It had been a welcome discovery in the very early days of their budding relationship, and a brilliant light-hearted distraction that was miles away from the still-raw emotions stemming from both the battle with Titan and Megamind's charade as Bernard.
This episode had sparked a discussion that had continued at different points throughout the next several days. As it turned out, Megamind's tastes were for the more well-established classics and lavish movie musicals of MGM's heyday, like "The Music Man" and "The Bandwagon," as well as any show that could remotely be considered as Eeevil, of course; Roxanne, conversely, favored adaptations of the more modern variety, like "Cabaret" and "Rent." So, over the next several weeks, Megamind had introduced Roxanne to some of the lesser-known gems such as "Summer Stock" and "Top Hat," while she had delighted in scandalizing him slightly with the likes of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." Predictably, they both harbored a long time love of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."
Not wanting to neglect some of the newer shows that had yet to be made into films, Roxanne also introduced the alien to some of the more recent hits. After all, as Megamind had observed wryly, "Villains seldom have the opportunity to attend the theater." He had listened in wonder to the cast recording of "Wicked" and looked through the pictures in Roxanne's playbill from the show, hardly able to hide his fascination with the green witch Elphaba's story and how, in some ways, it eerily mirrored his own misunderstood existence.
Not willing to let her almost-boyfriend wallow in his existential musings for too long, however, Roxanne was quick to bust out her "Avenue Q" album to lighten the mood. Before long, both of them were all but rolling on the floor of her apartment, shaking with laughter at the show's crude, but undeniably hilarious lyrics that did nothing to help the pair's shared affliction of several cracked and bruised ribs. Leading to many enjoyable movie-watching sessions, and eventually several unbelievably passionate make-out sessions, as well, this mutually enjoyed pastime had been just the impetus needed to start breaking down the many walls that both parties had built up between themselves during their five-year standoff as captor and captive. And before long, the lines of those roles began to blur until it was impossible to tell exactly who had imprisoned whom.
It was during just such a movie-watching session a few days after the couple had returned from their getaway to the Bahamas that Megamind came to fully realize that he wanted Roxanne with him for the rest of their lives. They were snuggled together on the plush black leather couch in the den of the Lair watching "Sweeney Todd," which had long been a favorite of Megamind's for its decidedly Eeevil plot and characters, and Roxanne's romantic side appreciated the lush Sondheim score. As the title character, the murderously-minded Johnny Depp was giving what he intended to be the shave to end all shaves to Alan Rickman's Judge Turpin as the two spun the haunting duet of "Pretty Women." Megamind's light baritone did the ballad justice on his own, however, as his attention and that of his lover were focused entirely on each other and the music, the movie itself having fallen completely off of their radar.
Megamind sat in the middle of the couch with Roxanne casually sprawled across his lap, so that her head was just slightly above his as he gingerly held her face in his hand, stroking the softness of her cheek with his thumb as he looked deeply into her eyes and quietly, but intently serenaded her. They had sat similarly singing to one another a few dozen times by this point, but as the hero watched his lady love return his expression of absolute reverence and longing and felt her heavenly arms encircle his shoulders, the knowledge that even a small chance existed for her to be carrying his child and that she shared his desire for them to have a baby together at some point in the future melted away the last dangling piece of the icy lock that Megamind had kept around his heart for so very long.
"Proof of heaven, as you're living," he nearly whispered, hardly an inch from Roxanne's inviting lips, before he teased them into a languidly tantalizing kiss. It was at that point that the Tony-award winning musical faded completely into the background, as the tender sounds of slow love-making soon echoed among the beamed ceiling of the den.
Coming back to reality on the cold floor of the War Room, Megamind knew all too well that a ridiculous smile was plastered all over his face as he relived the memory of that night. All he could hope for now was to give his precious Roxanne a night that would be at least as perfect as that night had been, and if he was lucky, even more memorable.
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A/N: I know I don't do these much after my chapters, but if you would like to have a listen to "Pretty Women" to set the mood, I would recommend the movie version sung by Johnny Depp and Alan Rickman. Put the title in on YouTube with their names, and an audio of it should pop up. I normally listen to the 2005 revival cast recording of "Sweeney Todd" myself, but since they were watching the movie, I got myself that version of it. I ended up really enjoying the movie version of the recording more than I expected to. I mean, I love Johnny and Alan to death, but their singing doesn't quite have the polished quality of the Broadway performers. I've come to realize, though, that it really does work for the way they do the scene, and their voices play well off of each other. Also an interesting tidbit for you fellow musical theater enthusiasts, the "pit" of the 2005 revival of "Todd," should you choose to listen to any of that, as well, is composed of only the stage actors, who each play an instrument during the course of the show. It gives the score a very minimalistic feel, but it works. I do love a good full Sondheim score, though, which I think is why I ended up really falling in love with the movie version, as well. I believe the violinist in me missed the strings :-P
I understand if not everyone loves how I'm setting this up... I know there are mixed feelings on using songs in fics. And sorry for my very long rambling about "Sweeney Todd"... but hey, you're reading a story by a music teacher. You had to figure this was inevitable in some way, shape, or form :-P Either way, review, review, review! You know how I simply adore it :-D
