a/n: Hey everyone. I am sooo sorry it took so long for me to post this chapter. I tried to post it last night, but the site would not let me upload it! And then it was really hard to write this for some reason, but I hope the writer's block doesn't last. Reviews help, I must say. Anyway, this chapter has more fluff because there has to be more fluff! Then reality starts to slap us around a bit. Sorry!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Megamind other than my DVD, my soundtrack and my obsession! Nods to Dreamworks for this excellent addition to my collection.

Summary: Pre-movie AU. Something goes horribly wrong with one of Megamind's battle suits and he and Roxanne wind up stranded in the middle of a desert with nothing but each other to aid in their survival. Will they make it?

Stranded

Chapter Twenty-five: Impressed

As he parked the hoverbike next to the invisible car, which was not invisible at present, she hugged him from behind and said, "I'd love it if you took me for a ride on this thing sometime; just for a ride, not to go anywhere."

"We could do that later if you want." He slid off the bike and helped her off and right into his arms, exactly as planned. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders. He grinned at her and she smiled back before giving him a light kiss on the lips.

"Sounds like a date," she said happily as he held her. She thought about how much she loved him, and he thought about how much he loved her and they both were so lost in their mutual affection that the world could have exploded around them and neither of them would have noticed. As it was, neither of them noticed when they started kissing each other, or could say who started it, but they didn't care since they were too lost in each other to bother thinking of those things.

Minion had approached when he heard the bike's engine, but had stopped when he saw his friend and Miss Ritchi engaged in each other, turning discreetly away until they inevitably moved apart. It took several minutes before he realized he needed to distract them from each other or he would never gain their attention. He picked up a wrench, waving it around to attract a pack of Brainbots, and then tossed it in the direction of the wall behind the pair. It clanged loudly and the cyborgs chased after it, disrupting the bubble they seemed to be in. Megamind and Roxanne both jumped apart from each other.

Minion approached cautiously and said, "Sir, Miss Ritchi, I'd been wondering if I was going to see you today." Roxanne had her hand resting on her chest and was breathing slowly in an attempt to calm the rapid beating of her heart, which had already been beating pretty quickly before she'd been startled.

Megamind, on the other hand, didn't miss a beat. "Ah, Minion! You fantastic fish, I need some answers! I think you're just the fish to give them to me!"

"Uh ok, Sir. I'll do my best. But, let's talk in the kitchen. I can make lunch for everyone and Miss Ritchi will be more comfortable with a place to sit, I am sure."

"As long as there are no ropes," she teased the two of them. It occurred to her that she had never been inside this place when she wasn't tied up and blindfolded by that awful smelling bag. "And, especially no stinky bag." Megamind looked a little ashamed before he covered it with his arrogant smirk, gleeful delight in his eyes.

"Well, if you want to spoil all the fun, Miss Ritchi, then we'll just have to take you home!" He'd always loved to banter with her, and being in the familiar setting as they were, he fell back into the old patterns easily. She was so engaging.

"Is that a threat or a promise, mister supervillain?"

"It makes no difference, of course." He took her wrists in his hands and restrained them with his hands, like manacles, winking at her. "Follow me, Miss Ritchi." She grinned and let herself be dragged along like a good helpless captive. He was so silly.

"What dastardly plan could you possibly have in store for me in your kitchen, Megamind?"

"Ah, ah, ah, Miss Ritchi! All in its proper time." He seemed to forget about their little game, enchanted as he was with her being in his home willingly, giving her somewhat of a tour. He led her forward past a long red curtain that was pulled closed, "My drafting room," and then a smaller blue curtain that was pulled closed in a wide circle, "My bedroom, such as it is." And then they came to a door. He was tempted to cover her eyes and do a reveal like on T.V., but that would be just ludicrous since it was his home. Instead, Minion pushed the door open and walked through, striding over to the hook where his pink "Kiss the Cook" apron hung. He put the apron on and immediately began busying himself preparing to make lunch. Megamind looked back at her briefly before he stepped through the door, pulling her along behind him through the threshold, and then he let her hands go.

Having sensed his growing excitement at her seeing this, she had no idea what to expect but when she stepped through the door and looked around the room, it was in awe of the unexpected beauty in such a cold metal place. He grimaced at that thought and promised their bedroom would be warm for her and he was seriously considering building an apartment around the existing kitchen. He so wanted to make a welcoming home for her.

The floor was the first thing she noticed, a deep chestnut colored, "Bamboo floor," stretched in front of her throughout the room, as he'd explained. The cabinets and the large floating island, "Refurbished vintage cabinetry" sitting atop the floor were all painted a stark white. The contrast with the dark floor was beautiful. The cabinets and island were all topped with a sandy colored, "Cultured marble countertop," that matched the lightest tones in the wood. Delicate wrought-iron handles decorated the front of each cabinet and drawer. She didn't see any large appliances aside from the stove, which was flat against the counter and white to match the cabinets. She supposed the appliances were hidden with matching cabinetry, which was confirmed when Minion pulled open what looked like a tall wide cabinet and it was the refrigerator. "The appliances and fixtures are all new." After that, he just let her look and didn't say anything.

She admired the detail work around the upper matching cabinets, crown molding making a seamless fit with the ceiling, which was painted white so it was easy to ignore the fact that it was lower than normal. The majority of the lighting was recessed so it didn't take up valuable headspace. The island had a small sink in addition to several drawers and cabinets for more storage. A beautiful lighted glass sphere hung directly over the faucet on the sink to provide extra lighting. The mottled caramel colored pattern mimicked the veining of the marble counters. Brushed silver faucets were all that graced the counters, both in the island and by the larger sink situated in the set of cabinets against the wall. A similar light was hung over the other sink between the upper cabinets.

The sections of cabinets were end-capped by a set of posts with ornate tooling, making each length of cabinetry look like an individual piece of furniture. Even the unfortunate but necessary pillar in the middle of the room was decorated so it was unobtrusive, seeming to be merely the end of the island and perhaps a conduit for the electrical lines to the outlets set in the raised wall which created a breakfast bar area. There were two bamboo stools with wicker seats, entirely painted white, pushed underneath the overhang of the bar. On the other side of the bar and far enough away to be considered a different area, there was a moderate sized table with four chairs around it that looked like shorter versions of the barstools. A larger and more ornately beautiful light fixture in the same mottled glass hung lower and dead center over the table, which itself was gorgeous. The legs were made to match the posts on the cabinets in the kitchen and painted white and the tabletop was a color of wood that very closely matched the color of the countertops. The whole effect gave the appearance of a large, old country kitchen, updated but not in such a way as to destroy the historical beauty. "This is so gorgeous."

"Thank you." Then he gestured toward the fish that was busily setting up the supplies to make sandwiches on the other side of the island. "Minion designed it. I helped him construct and install everything, but the design, colors and everything else about the room was all his idea and his choice. He was going to be the one using it mostly, so there was no reason for me to make him suffer my unfortunate affinity for minimalism." If a fish could blush, he would have, furiously. "I mean, it's not that I don't like all this, but I don't need it, so why bother with it, you know? Minion said the aesthetics of the kitchen and quality of the appliances improves the taste of the food, so he got whatever he wanted in here." Megamind led Roxanne to the table and pulled out a chair for her again, sliding it underneath her as she sat down. He sat down at the head of the table.

"So will Minion also design this bedroom and bathroom you're building for us?" Roxanne smiled at Megamind and then looked at Minion. Minion had finished making the two cold cut trio sandwiches, and stood there with two plates in his hand, his mouth agape.

"Sir?"

He'd grinned back at her and then looked to his confused friend as well, "Roxanne is going to move in here; I just need to build a proper bedroom for her first. It wouldn't do to have her sleeping on my old couch." She thought about wanting to try just that. He thought that she might just get her wish. He looked at his friend and saw there was confusion still prevalent on his face. "It just makes sense with the nightmares. Neither of us wants to experience that again. You know I have had nightmares for most of my life, and I can't put her through that every night. Short of alternating sleeping times, I don't see any other way of getting any sleep ever again if we aren't together. And, Roxanne, you are going to design the bedroom and bathroom, remember?" She grinned at him.

The fish placed the plates in front of each of them and stood by the bar. His suit was too heavy to sit in the delicate chairs they had in the room. "Wait. What do you mean, sir?"

"Roxanne and I seem to be linked telepathically. We shared that nightmare I had, too, when we were miles apart. Did you know that was possible for me?"

"Well, Sir. I don't know much about it, but I do remember that the bond between mates for your kind was unbreakable. There was never any secrecy or lies because of the closeness of the paired couples. The bond is solidified the first time a couple uh," if it was possible for a fish to blush he would have, "the first time they, um, mate, Sir." Roxanne and Megamind shared a significant look which confirmed Minion's suspicions that the two had taken that step in their relationship already.

"How do you know that Minion?" Roxanne asked in amazement. She was instantly enamored with the idea of never having secrets and lies be a problem for them, as they had been in so many of her previous relationships, romantic or not. Another reason to love him. They just kept piling up. He smiled warmly at Roxanne, reacting to her thoughts.

"I was five years old when the two of us were shot into space, so I had a fair amount of exposure to the culture and people of my planet. My father was Sir's father's minion and when they decided to send Sir off world to save his life, they sent me with him to look after him." The fish looked back to his life-long charge, "As far as the mutual dream goes, I am sure you both were thinking about each other when you fell asleep, so subconsciously, you were seeking each other out and through the link, managed to find what you were looking for despite the fact that it wasn't at its strongest yet. The fledgling bond was probably helped on by the strength and intensity of your feelings for each other." Roxanne thought that the fish was incredibly perceptive. Megamind agreed wholeheartedly. Their assessment of him was confirmed when, after a moment of silence he added, "If I interpret both of your behavior correctly, then the bond should be solid. If that is the case, distance won't matter at all now, so your plan seems to be the wisest one for the two of you to have any quality of life."

"You always know just what to say, old friend," Megamind said and placed a hand on the ape-suit's fur-covered shoulder.

"Distance won't matter?" Roxanne asked quizzically after listening and processing Minion's answers, one of the last things he'd said sticking out the most.

"No, you two are fully bonded with each other so you will always feel something of Sir no matter how far away you are from him. You may not be able to read each other's thoughts, as I suspect you are doing now, but you will at least feel his emotional state. And he, yours."

"Wow," she said, much to Minion's surprise. "We'll have to find out what the range of hearing thoughts is. Not that I want to go away, but I am curious."

"That's my girl," he smirked, "always asking questions and looking for answers." She felt her heart skip a beat when he'd said she was his girl. She could not recall him having verbally claimed her as his girl or even his girlfriend before now, although both were true. "My Roxanne," he said in response to her thoughts.

"My Naren," she replied.

They exchanged warm smiles and then returned to eating their food. Once they were done, the remainder of the afternoon was spent at the drafting table, designing the two new rooms. The rooms were going to be large and open, as Megamind preferred, and Roxanne insisted on having part of the bedroom partitioned off to be a large walk-in closet. Megamind agreed to the large closet, but not to the loss of space in the bedroom and added an additional small room to the plans, just for the closet. The furniture and other things would be picked out later.

The bathroom, she asked for a large shower and a large tub, thinking about the earlier fun she'd had in her small shower with her boyfriend. He'd immediately agreed on both requests. He amended them only to specify a whirlpool corner tub. The shower, he suggested they add additional shower heads to due to the size, and other undisclosed reasons only Roxanne heard. She grinned and nodded. Minion suggested white travertine tiles for the floor as they were durable and beautiful. He also came up with a pretty glass mosaic design for the shower walls. Roxanne had no idea how they could possibly have all that done in a few days as Megamind seemed to think. "With the help of the Brainbots, it will be ready in no time, believe me."

"Oh, I do," she said.

He noticed the clock on the wall and realized that it was nearly the time he wanted to take her out on the bike. Sunset in the air was always a beautiful thing to watch. She grinned at the thought as it passed through his mind. "I'm ready whenever you are, Naren."

"Sir?"

"Roxanne and I are going on a date!" Megamind said excitedly.

"Oh, well you two have fun!" the fish

He took her good hand in his gently and gave it a squeeze before he turned to walk back toward the workshop where the hoverbike was parked. She followed closely behind him, eager for the thrill of riding that bike again. He'd changed clothes at some point during their planning of the room and was wearing dark blue jeans and a black tee-shirt with his usual boots; she thought he looked incredibly sexy.

He mounted the bike and then pressed the button on the remote to the garage door. He kick started the engine and she got on behind him, then he pushed off the ground to hover slightly. Her arms snaked around his waist and she hugged herself close to him. He flew them out the door and made sure to close it behind him so no intruders would get inside.

Moments after the garage door had closed, Minion noticed the blinking light on the control board of the news monitoring network and rushed over to the station and pressed the lit button to pull up the website that had triggered the flag.

"KIDNAPPED? Ace reporter Roxanne Ritchi spotted leaving her apartment with none other than the city's resident Supervillain, Megamind. She did not appear to have been coerced, but she could have been under some kind of mind control. Miss Ritchi had been missing since Monday according to Police. Her whereabouts were entirely unknown until Metro Man reported to Police on Friday night that the reporter had been spotted in her apartment. Has the hero's girl betrayed him for his nemesis? Just where has Miss Ritchi been for the last week?" There was also a color picture of Miss Ritchi with her arms wrapped around Sir as she held on to him while he drove the air bike. The periodical was a tabloid website, but that didn't mean it wasn't read, and as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Three more teaser stories popped up shortly after the first, all remarkably similar.

Minion sat in watching in horror for twenty minutes as article after article, videos, pictures and more, reading the decidedly negative direction the comments to the various news articles were taking. He was in utter disbelief. How could a so-called enlightened people be so close-minded about something that was as beautiful as the budding love between his friend and Miss Ritchi. One particular item caught his attention and he read it carefully before deciding to print it out for her to read. It seemed that her former employer had made a statement about her so-called public display. The tone and demeanor of both the articles and their responses gave him much uneasiness. He reluctantly decided to contact his friend, if only to warn him to stay out of the public eye, and said, "Sir," into his communicator.

Unfortunately, he heard his own voice coming from the matching watch that was lying on the drafting table. That was not good. Out of communication and potentially facing hoards of hostile people depending on where they went, he still hoped they would not run into any trouble on their date. He had not been told what the activity would consist of but he hoped they would remain safe and unharmed by the now upset citizens of the city. Minion had never understood why most humans seemed to want the skinny alien to suffer. He, personally, was so happy when he realized that his friend was not alone in his feelings toward Miss Ritchi and that he had actually found true love. He just hoped there would not be any irreparable damage caused by the ignorant angry people, because he knew from experience that you should never underestimate the power of stupid people in large crowds.