1.24.12.
Pt2
"I think I can get the rest from here, Ms. Ritchi, why don't you go ahead and relax," Minion told her with his usual grin, slipping the tray of dishes that she'd taken from the table out of her hands.
Roxanne smiled back, tousling the fur on his shoulder. He was always so sweet, "Thanks, Minion." she said, glancing around the living room, noticing the quietness. Where was Megamind?
When her blue hero was in a room he was pretty much impossible to miss, and when he was absent even for a few minutes she had come to realize just how much emptier a room could feel without him.
Roxanne had thought that he seemed a little off all evening, distracted by thoughts he actually wasn't sharing.
Megamind had been his usual, active self, but she'd noticed a time or few during the movie that his expression was different, like he was actually trying to hold something inside. She hadn't asked about it, hoping he would come around and talk to her, but he didn't.
Minion was busying himself at the sink to wash the dishes now, long rubber gloves covering his metal hands. He was humming a tune, something by AC/DC no doubt, and was unaware of his boss' disappearance.
Deciding not to bother him, she stepped away to take a quick look down the dark hallway before moving towards the half open door to the balcony, and that's where she found him.
Pausing in the doorway Roxanne studied him, instantly knowing now that something was wrong.
Megamind stood with his back to her in the furthest corner away, leaning against the wall with his arms on top of it. Though she couldn't see his face, she could tell he wasn't looking at the glowing expanse of the city, but instead up at the clear night sky, filled with it's glittering stars.
Roxanne thought he was saying something when she came out. It sounded like "so much", but it was too quiet for her to really hear. She wondered what to do for a moment since he didn't seem to realize she was there, but then her worries were founded when she heard the sound of him sniffling.
Stepping forward slowly, Roxanne announced her presence with a soft voice, "Megamind?"
"Roxanne!" Instantly Megamind snapped upright, his hands going to his face in what she knew by experience was the gesture of wiping away tears.
"Di-did you need my help inside?" He asked hurriedly, trying to clear his throat at the same time so she might not hear the huskiness in it, his hands falling to his sides as if unsure of what to do with them.
Roxanne came up beside him. He tried not to look at her at first, which she knew was hard enough for him to do, but she could still see the expression on his face, the dampness on his cheeks.
"Are you okay?" She asked softly, though the real answer was obvious.
"Huh? Oh, yes, of course. I was just," he hesitated a little, his green eyes searching the city lights, "Out here enjoying the view." He finished with a wave at the scenery and a smile that didn't stay long when he saw that she wasn't buying it.
"Megamind, what's wrong?" Roxanne pressed gently, resting her hand on his arm and moving a little closer, "You can tell me anything, you know that right?"
Dropping his hand onto the concrete wall, he surrendered with a sigh, and with it his whole body sagged again under the weight of his thoughts. Roxanne waited as he glanced up at the sky.
"I just…miss home sometimes." He told her in a whisper, looking back at her before his eyes fell to the ground at his feet, "I don't mean for it to get to me so."
Roxanne frowned, and squeezed his arm a little to tell him it was alright. Finally, she asked carefully, "Is that what you were dreaming about last night?"
He nodded, and her hand moved over to rub his back, "Do you want to tell me about it?"
Sighing again, Megamind looked back up at the stars.
"Well, it wasn't much," he started, his eyes brightening slightly at the memories and a little cheer coming back to his voice, "But, I remember laughing with mom as she tickled me. And playing that game with dad, you know the one where he's here then gone?"
"Peek-a-boo," she offered with a smile, still rubbing his back, "That sounds like a good dream."
"Yeah…" was his sinking reply, eyes dropping back to the ground.
It occurred to Roxanne that she'd never heard Megamind's true story before, in all the years she'd known him. There was always rumors and sci-fi induced tales, but nothing official.
How had he gotten here, where he had come from, his parents… What he spoke of sounded like very early memories. Baby memories, even.
"How old were you when you left home?" she asked him, wrapping her arms around his waist. It wasn't the reporter or crazy fan that asked. It was the lover side of her that really cared and did want to know him and everything about him.
He must have understood that, her gesture. Finally, his hands seemed to know what to do, and he wrapped an arm around her waist in return, his other hand holding onto the arm that had just wrapped around his belly.
"I was eight days old when they sent me away," he began slowly, his tone dropping again and eyes finding their way back to some unseen place in the stars, "My planet was being destroyed by a black hole. I can still hear the sirens and the screaming sometimes…" he hesitated, and she could see him reliving it in his eyes.
"Mom gave me Minion to take care of me, and dad gave me my binky. They were waving as I flew away. I remember seeing my planet get sucked into the dark."
His voice trailed off, and she could tell he was overcome by the memory, more hesitant as he finished, "I think I can still feel them sometimes, like they're out there somewhere, just waiting for me to find them."
Roxanne felt her heart breaking for him. She'd never seen such pain on his face before, or anyone else's in her entire life for that matter. The only thing that came close was that night she dumped him in the rain, not so long ago, but even that still wasn't like this.
She couldn't even imagine living with this kind of pain, to have no family, no people of his own, to be the very last of something.
Lesser people would probably let such things weigh them down, darken their spirits. Megamind was quite the contrary; he always shone with such a brilliance that the sun paled in comparison, at least in her eyes.
His spirit was something to be admired, even if a person didn't know him like she did.
Trying to swallow through her own emotions, her voice was as tender and genuine as it could be when she told him, "If they are, I'm sure they're as truly proud of you as I am. Not just because you saved the city, but because you're you, you are the best person you can be. I don't think any parent could ask for a greater gift."
Megamind turned to her, and she could see that sweet puppy-dog expression come into his eyes that always made her heart melt, "You really mean that?"
Roxanne smiled, that special, warm smile she reserved only for him. She shifted around to be in front of him, reaching up to rest her palm against his cheek. She was looking right into his eyes, so he would know it was true when she responded softly, "I really do."
She saw more tears spring to his eyes, and his own warm smile spread across his face. The two moved in at the same time to envelope one another, arms holding tight, their chests pressed together and breathing as one, fitting perfectly. They always fit so perfectly together, and that was one of the things Roxanne loved the most.
They just held on for awhile, using one another as anchors to this world while they shared something unspoken in another. By the time Minion came looking for them, their skin was cold from the night air and Roxanne was starting to shiver, despite his having tried to keep her warm with his cape.
Minion gave them a brief lecture about catching a cold, but it was all taken in good humor. He didn't seem the wiser about what had been going on, or at least he didn't ask as he shuffled them inside to get warm.
Finally finishing with the cleaning, Minion sat down on his claimed corner of the couch to power down. Roxanne, suddenly turning to smile in a very sly, sexy little way at her boyfriend, took Megamind's hands in her own and tugged him towards the bathroom.
Megamind answered her smile with a fiendish one of his own and followed eagerly, scooping her up just when they reached the hallway entrance.
Her hands were already searching for the zipper at his back, and he leaned in to nibble playfully at her collar bone.
There was certainly more than one way to warm up in the shower.