Chapter Text
Roxanne hated this time of year.
There wasn’t any one reason that made her hate it, but rather a laundry list of bad things that had happened on New Years in her past. Even thinking the name of the holiday left a bad taste in her mouth. The only tradition she practiced anymore was one of her own; wine, a shitty romance film, and hours of alone time.
When Megamind, nearly a decade ago now, had entered her life, she had been looking forward to something new and exciting during the winter months. She had expected him at the time to steal her away from whatever boring Christmas party she was at, as he had a habit of doing on every other holiday. But no such thing happened. He hadn’t planned anything for New Years either, which later she had learned was because he didn’t like winter, though to this day she had no idea why not.
It’s not like she would ask him, though. She of all people understood that winter could be an unpleasant reminder of painful memories. That spark in his eyes, present all other times, seemed to dim from the first snowfall in December to sometime in February, like someone had doused the flaming passion he harbored for life in freezing water.
Needless to say, she didn’t expect him to show up to her house to “kidnap” her, if one could even really call it that. She was taking up a majority of the couch while she lounged and drank cheap wine from one of her prettier glasses. She hadn’t bothered taking her makeup off after work, so the rim had smudges of a soft nude lipstick on it. It didn’t matter. At some point she had decided to change into something more comfortable, that being a pair of old gray leggings, a baggy sweatshirt with a worn logo, and fuzzy, mismatched socks.
Though the day had undeniably become more and more terrible as time went on, this part of it was okay. She was getting a little tipsy, and although she was being bombarded with memories that she would much rather forget, the movie was just getting to the beginning of a sex scene; it was the whole reason she chose this film. Her curtains were drawn against the low, cheerful hum of the city below, allowing her to wallow comfortably in her sadness.
A knock at her balcony door made her jolt into a sitting position; if her wine glass hadn’t been almost empty, she would have spilled it all over the couch and herself. There was only one person it could possibly be, but she didn’t understand why. It was his least favorite holiday, in his least favorite season, and it was pouring rain outside.
It then occurred to her that the person at her door was standing out in said rain, likely without an umbrella.
Roxanne set down her glass and rushed to the door, pushing aside the curtains that covered it to unlock it. What would her mother have said, knowing she would willingly let a supervillain into her home? Something like, “how could you be so stupid, Roxanne?” or “don’t you know what things a man like that would do to a girl like you?” or something even worse.
Roxanne pushed the thought of it away. Thinking about her mother would do nothing but make her angry, and she didn’t want to deal with that
Yes, it was definitely Megamind. He was wearing black, as usual, but there were no blue accents on the fabric, and his cape was black silk with no spikes on the shoulders. It looked like something a supervillain would wear to a funeral. She pulled the door open and offered him her best smile, but it was forced.
He could have slipped past her into the apartment, but he did not.
“Good afternoon, Miss Ritchi.” The tone of his voice was courteous, but flat, and his face reflected that mood. “I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”
In the background, Roxanne could hear moaning from her TV, as the movie blared. Of all the times Megamind could have shown up, it had to be now.
“You’re not,” she said, aware that her face was probably red. But as she turned away to find the remote, she could have sworn there was a glimmer of humor in Megamind’s eyes. That was good, at least. Seeing him so serious made her nervous.
She paused the movie, and while she was at her coffee table, refilled her glass. It made her uneasy, the way his eyes followed her movement.
“So,” Roxanne started, taking a sip. “What brings you here on such a crappy day?”
“Well,” he said, “I was going to kidnap you for the evening, but...” his gaze fluttered over the scene before him. “It seems that you’re busy, so I understand if you’d rather stay here.”
Roxanne was, to say the very least, unnerved by Megamind’s calm demeanor. He had knocked, not broken in, and he was asking her if she’d like to be kidnapped or not. It wasn’t the way things usually went, so different from the usual excitement and cheer that Roxanne’s mind was reeling from the whiplash.
“I’m not busy,” she said quietly, fiddling with her glass. “Is it going to be fun?” Megamind let out a breathy laugh, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“No,” he said, “not really.”
He stood there for a moment awkwardly, the rain gathering in droplets along his shoulders, and only then did Roxanne realize that he was waiting to be invited into her home.
“Come in,” Roxanne said, her face hot. “Please. It’s pouring out there. You must be cold.” It was clear to her that Megamind could do with a little bit of kindness, and it became even more apparent when his gaze softened, cheeks turning a subtle shade of lavender as he stepped inside. He pulled his cape in before closing her door, causing a sheet of water to cascade off of it, and all over Roxanne’s hardwood floors.
“I-I’m sorry!” Megamind looked around for something to mop up the water with, but there was nothing. Roxanne rushed to get some towels from her bathroom, and hurried back to Megamind, handing him one to dry himself off with before crouching and drying the floor as best she could.
“I’m so sorry,” Megamind said again, blushing furiously. “I should go, please excuse me-“
Before she even knew what she was doing, Roxanne grabbed Megamind’s wrist and held him from walking away. He refused to look back at her, the towel she had handed him slipping from his fingers.
“Hey,” she said, “it’s okay. It’s just a little water.”
When he didn’t respond, she tugged on his arm, coaxing him away from the door and seating him on the couch. Still his gaze refused to meet her own, instead focused somewhere on her coffee table. She took a seat next to him.
“So... what did you have planned for today?”
Megamind glanced at her through his eyelashes, seeming to scan her face before responding. Roxanne didn’t know what he was looking for.
“It... well, it’s nothing much. It relies entirely on the weather. It won’t work if there are too many clouds, or if it starts to snow or rain, which-“ he made a face as he looked out the window at the sheets of water cascading from the sky. “I guess I won’t be using it after all.”
“What is it?”
“A secret.”
Megamind almost smiled when she pouted at him playfully. As much as she questioned his life choices, he was still her friend. Seeing him unhappy made Roxanne want nothing more than to help.
“If I go with you, will you show me? I want to see this contraption of yours.” Megamind actually smiled, then. Not a fake smirk or condescending evil laugh. A real, genuine smile that pulled at his lips and made the corners of his eyes crinkle up. It made Roxanne’s chest feel warm.
“Well, I can certainly explain in theory how it works. Isn’t a big part of our act when I show off the evil plan to you?”
“Yes, but I can never see particularly well from where I sit. Maybe you can show me up close sometime.”
Megamind stared at her for a moment.
“You would actually want to see?” He seemed like he couldn’t believe the thought of it, which was sort of funny to Roxanne. Ever since she’d met him, she had found his ability to create fascinating.
“Absolutely.”
He hunched in on himself a bit at that, but he was beaming. Roxanne had known for a long time that Megamind was more sensitive to the opinions of others than he let on. It made her wonder, after seeing how pleased he was to have someone interested in what he did, how hard he actually took criticism. All she knew was that he could use a little bit of praise once in a while.
“I’ll go with you,” she said, smiling at him. “Give me just a minute to change, alright?”
“Yes, of course.”
But just as she was about to walk up the stairs to her bedroom, she heard a small voice from the living room.
“Miss Ritchi?”
“Yeah?”
“Perhaps we could-“ Megamind cut himself off, thinking for a moment before continuing. “After all, it’s a holiday. Maybe instead of my original plan, I could just- show you. What I’ve built, that is. We could go to the lair and I could- I could show you around? It wouldn’t have to be publicized or anything if you- didn’t want it to be.”
She didn’t need to be able to see his face to know that he was nervous. This was the first time he had ever made a request to spend time with her in a casual setting. As weird as it sounded, all their interactions for nine years had been at least partially work-related. And, sure, it was probably a bad idea to willingly go to the home of the city’s most well-known villain, regardless of how gentle he actually was, but Roxanne found herself eager at the thought of spending time with Megamind.
“That sounds really nice, Megamind. I’ll be ready to go in a couple minutes.”
She chose her favorite cashmere sweater. It was baggy, and soft, and a beautiful shade of sapphire blue. It paired well with her nice black leggings, which had actual pockets, and her winter boots. She nearly changed into a dress instead, but scolded herself for it. It was only Megamind. He wouldn’t judge.
Although she hadn’t intended on putting on more makeup, a glance in the mirror revealed the heavy circles under her eyes. It only took a few seconds to cover that up, and to comb out her hair.
There. She was human, at least.
Megamind turned to look at her when he heard her walking down the stairs, and to say he blushed was a bit of an understatement. His gaze seemed to hesitate near her shoulders; her sweater had a wide neck, revealing a good amount of skin, and her bra straps as well. Roxanne knew from the way he dressed that he was a modest person, had known for a long time, so she wasn’t too surprised when his entire face went purple, and his gaze fell to the coffee table. With all those spikes and high collars and full leather suits, Roxanne had never seen much more than his face and, on one occasion, his hands.
But he had seen her dressed like this before, so it made her curious as to what made this time different.
“Ah- Miss Ritchi, you look-“ he glanced up at her face, licking his lips so quickly that she almost didn’t catch it. “You look beautiful.”
She felt her heart stutter in her chest. The way he was gazing at her through his lashes was both very unlike him and sort of cute. But that vulnerable expression didn’t last. He cleared his throat, and stood, expression shifting to something more closed off.
“We’d better get going,” he said, straightening his collar. “It looks like the rain has calmed down for now. Maybe we can make it to the lair without getting drenched.”
“Want a drink before we go?” Roxanne walked over to the table and filled her glass.
“I’m the one driving.”
“Your point?” He hesitated for a moment, but when she offered him the glass, he took it.
“Thank you,” He said, taking a sip. Roxanne favored drinking straight from the bottle, which was probably not her brightest idea, but Megamind watched her with fascination.
She set the wine bottle back on the table, breathing heavily as she grabbed a jacket.
“Alright, I’m ready,” she said, placing a hand on her hip. Megamind grinned, and drained his glass before turning to walk towards the balcony door. Roxanne followed, tugging on her jacket. Even though the rain had stopped, it was still freezing outside, the whole city cast in a dreary light.
Megamind pulled what looked like a set of keys from his pocket and pressed a button on the little remote attached to it. The hoverbike materialized in front of them, and Roxanne couldn’t hide her amazement.
“You made the hoverbike invisible too?” She asked, turning her attention to Megamind.
“Yes, although it isn’t really a practical feature to use while on the bike. I’m still trying to figure out a way to make the rider appear invisible as well.” He paused for a moment, tapping his chin with a finger. “Well, I have to find a way that don’t lead to electrocution, anyways.”
Roxanne laughed. He said things like that so casually, as though getting electrocuted was just another day for him. And maybe that wasn’t funny when she really thought about it, but the way he was gazing at her, leaning against the railing in a relaxed posture, made her certain that he didn’t mind.
The rain had all but stopped, but the air was so cold that Roxanne could see her breath, and the dark, agitated clouds were a sure sign that more rain was fast approaching. Megamind’s features were contrasted by the cold light, creating harsh shadows under his cheekbones. His eyes looked so sad. Roxanne would have given anything to know what made someone like Megamind look that sad.
“Well, then,” he said, glancing up at the angry storm brewing above them. “We really should get going.”
He closed the short gap between him and his bike, swinging a leg over it and starting the engine in one fluid motion, as though he’d done it a million times before. Now, Roxanne wasn’t afraid of heights. She lived near the top of her apartment building, and loved to fly in planes and helicopters. But she was a little hesitant to get on a flying motorcycle when the sky looked so menacing. If there was anything that could make New Years worse, being struck by lightning would be pretty high on that list.
But then Megamind looked at her, and the fear was gone. There was some acceptance in his expression, as though he had already feared she might change her mind, but more than that, he looked disappointed. He really did seem to want to spend time with her. Before she could process what she was doing, she was climbing onto the hoverbike behind him, suddenly very grateful she wasn’t wearing a dress.
She wrapped her arms tight around his waist and closed her eyes, the warmth of him something she had never felt before. It was the kind of thing she could get used to. The smell of his cologne, to her surprise, was comforting.
She shooed those thoughts away; it was already a bad idea to be friends with him. He was a villain, after all. He was mischievous, and determined, and-
And maybe he was sweet to her. Maybe he was sweet and funny, and maybe she really did enjoy talking to him. Maybe she loved how his mind worked, and had never once been able to find someone else who was that interesting to talk to. But none of that mattered. The only thing the two of them could ever be was friends, and Roxanne had known that for a long time. The villain doesn’t fall in love with the damsel.
And even all of their flirting, all of their banter- it was all a game, meant to aggravate Wayne and make the whole thing more entertaining. It was all for the sake of their game, in the end. And any moments of genuine vulnerability she shared with him were purely platonic. God knew he didn’t have a lot of friends, and he was desperate for the softer kinds of interaction she could offer. She knew that, she did. She knew, and yet-
“Are you ready?” Megamind asked, looking back at her. His ears and nose were flushed from the cold, but he didn’t seem bothered by it. The skin on his lips was chapped, and she found herself staring for a moment, before forcing her gaze up to his. He looked-
No. She couldn’t allow herself to believe he might feel that way. Something like that could never happen, and even if it did- which it wouldn’t- it could never work.
She held his waist a little tighter.
“Yeah,” she said. “I’m ready.”
A strong expression flashed across his face that Roxanne didn’t have time to process, before settling into something neutral.
“Alright, then. Hold on tight.”
With that, they took off towards the lair, and the lights of her apartment building disappeared in the haze behind them.