Ok once again I apologise for the lack of updates. Work gets in the way of writing doesn't it? I know I need to just hurry up and get to the wedding. I promise it's coming!

Chapter 9

Megamind stopped by the market on the way home, having decided how he wanted to spend his last night as a bachelor earlier on in the day. He struggled to open the front door and made his way to the kitchen with arms full of bags, dumped them on the kitchen counter, and made his way to the lounge where his friends and family had congregated.

Friends and family. Who would have thought?

Roxanne cuddled Rei in one arm while Shiyounin filled her in on the joys of parenthood. Minion was reminiscing about old times with Wayne while Barbie listened from across the room with a smile. iBot was playing music quietly in the corner with Bitey peacefully sitting and chiming in the occasional 'boww'. Megamind noticed her new spray job and sighed. Now all the bots would want one.

"What's going on here?" he asked.

"Pre-party drinks before we hit the town my man. Shiyounin's got it all worked out for us. Starting at Kelly's Irish Pub, moving onto that bar we were kicked out of last year, then the strip cl…uh, theatre, then there's a club where the owner owes me a few favours. It's going to be fantastic!" Wayne was beaming.

"I still don't see what was wrong with the party I planned." Minion grumbled. Shiyounin looked mournfully at him. "Everyone loves Jaws."

"I'll go if you want stay home." Said Shiyounin. Minion glared at her.

"Not a chance. You're on babysitting duty!"

Perfect, Megamind thought.

"Actually…I don't feel like going out tonight." He said.

"What?" Shiyounin exclaimed.

"I'm warning you Megamind…" Wayne said with a threatening growl and a red glow in his eyes. Megamind waved his hands at them.

"I don't feel like going out. That doesn't mean you can't. I'll stay home and watch the kids. You all go."

"Are you sure sir?" Minion asked at the same time Shiyounin said "Okay!" and downed the champagne she'd been nursing. Minion looked at his partner. "Who are you?" The shy little coi he'd gotten to know in Japan was long gone. She leaned in close.

{{You'll find out later tonight}} she murmured. Minion blushed and Megamind squeezed his eyes shut. Too much information! Too much information!

"Agreed. To the car!" Wayne announced. Two robot fish and the huge bearded man exited the room.

"You make sure you park it somewhere safe at the first bar!" Megamind shouted as they left. He did not need their entire bridal party wrapping the invisible car around a telegraph pole the night before their wedding. Roxanne sat on the sofa watching him. What is he up to? She wondered. Megamind looked to Barbie who hadn't moved.

"Go on Miss Perkiss, you too." He said.

"That's okay I think I'll just go home." She mumbled, not meeting his eyes. Roxanne chuckled to herself. Megamind hatched an evil plot.

"You really should go with them. Two fish and an alien on a night out alone, who knows what could happen?"

"Alien?" she repeated.

"Of course. He came from the planet basically next door to mine. Maybe you could help him out? Let the girls see past the potential tentacles or retractable organs?" he suggested. Roxanne was staring at him like he'd gone mad. Barbie, however, was looking far more enthusiastic. An alien! A single, lonely and attractive alien with a potential Disneyland of possibilities in his pants. All of her nerd fantasies were coming true.

"Hey wait up guys!" she called and followed them out. Megamind glanced at Roxanne.

"I hacked her computer. It was work-related." He answered her unspoken questions.

"Of course. That explains everything." She said dryly. Minion Junior walked past them, stumbled, and fell on his robotic rear end. Suddenly the room was filled with an ear-splitting squeal.

"Holy sh-, uh, what's that noise?" Megamind flinched and held his hands over his ears. Roxanne ran over and picked Minion Junior's sphere up out of his suit and cradled him in her arms. The noise continued.

"Minion installed a super-sonic amplifier in the light fitting so I'd be able to hear when they cried since I offered to babysit this morning." Roxanne explained. No wonder she was looking a bit frazzled. The noise was joined by a second even higher-pitched whine from Rei who was now sitting neglected on the couch. Roxanne passed Junior in his heavy suit to Megamind and picked up Rei. "So why didn't you go out?" she shouted over the noise.

"I wanted to stay home and cook you dinner." He said, starting to regret his decision.

"What?" Roxanne shouted over Rei's screams. She rocked the fish gently but the screaming kept going.

"I'm making you dinner!" Megmaind shouted.

"Huh? Hang on a sec. Rei needs a water change." She said. Megamind spied a floatie in her sphere and glanced down. Junior had one too. Great.

Megamind set to work making dinner with the kids in bouncy seats watching Piranha giggling their little fishy heads off, and Roxanne passed out on the couch. Surely it couldn't be that hard…

An hour later, a few minor burns and a few stressful minutes fanning the smoke detector with a dishcloth praying to the Cooking Gods that it wouldn't go off later, Megamind put the sleeping kids inside their sleepover tank. He made sure the water temperature was set right and turned off the light.

"Goodnight, screaming fish children." He whispered. Junior smiled sleepily and shut his eyes.

"Sir." Rei announced. Megamind smiled. Did she just…nawww. He glanced speculatively at the napping Roxanne with her flat stomach and hips with so much potential. One day…one day...

Then again the peace and quiet was quite nice now. He brought the plates out of the kitchen and set them on the coffee table.

"Roxanne? Wake up." He shook her awake. Her eyes snapped open and she automatically put her hand up to her mouth to wipe up the little trail of drool that had formed there. Megamind pretended not to notice. As he always did. "Dinner."

"Dinner?" she looked at the coffee table and her mouth fell open. "Megamind? You did this?"

"I am a genius." He said, pouring a rather large glass of white wine for both of them. He passed her a plate with a few pieces of garlic bread on it.

"That's not on my diet." She said, dismayed. Megamind glared at her.

"You're eating. You are not going to lose or gain any weight before tomorrow. The diet is over." The smell wafting from the plates broke her will power.

"Okay okay." She bit into it hungrily and picked up the bowl of pasta. Carbs! Oh how I've missed you! She wolfed down a forkful.

"This is fantastic Megamind!" she said around a mouthful of creamy pasta, bacon and mushrooms. He grinned. The hard work had been worth it.

"I figured with Minion's hands full and us getting married one of us should learn to cook." He said.

"I can –" she stopped at the look he was giving her. "Okay I can't. To your newfound cooking abilities!" she raised her glass.

To locating your lost curves, Megamind thought and clinked his glass against hers.

Roxanne stepped into the kitchen and instantly regretted her offer to wash up. The kitchen was stacked bench top to ceiling with pans, spoons and leftover ingredients. She looked around the kitchen, dismayed, until she spied Bitey powered down in the corner. She tapped its pink dome. It bowwed and blinked its red eye, taking in the mess. It went to hover away.

"Come on, help me out please?" Roxanne begged. It shook its head. "Come on. For Mommy?" It shook its head again. "I'll take you and get your arms chrome-plated." Roxanne tempted the brainbot. Bitey tilted its head to the side, considering.

"Boww." It said and started scraping the plates. Roxanne smiled. There were some advantages to being engaged to a super villain who specialises in robotics. Feeling happy and completely full for the first time in a couple of months Roxanne stood watching her husband-to-be from the entrance to the lounge with a smile on her face. He was muttering as he typed something into his keypad.

"If this fish doesn't stop drunk-texting me I'm going to drain the pond."

"Shiyounin?" Roxanne guessed.

"No. Minion. I think I liked him better before he met her, she's a bad influence on him." Roxanne smiled and sank down into his lap straddling his legs. She kissed him slowly and gently at first before parting her lips and drawing him in deep. His hands wandered up her back and pressed her close to his body and she smiled into his lips. She broke away and stroked his head gently.

"So…bed?" she invited with a smile. He smiled ruefully and held her waist.

"Um…actually I'm going to sleep in the workshop tonight." He said. Roxanne blinked.

"What? What's wrong? Is it the garlic?" she held her hand over her mouth, mortified. He'd never, ever turned her down before. He laughed and kissed her again.

"Not at all. I just…want to save myself for tomorrow night is all."

"Ohhh." Roxanne said. He was sweet. She was disappointed (being in the mood for action tonight) but she backed off. "Well I'm going to hit the sack early, I'm getting up at six tomorrow ." Megamind blinked.

"The wedding isn't until four."

"The girls and I are heading to the spa to start beauty treatments."

"Of course you are." He said simply. He'd stopped asking questions about the wedding. The answers usually just produced more questions (like what the hell does a fish in a robotic suit get done at a day spa? A salt and seaweed scrub?)

Roxanne settled into the cool bed with her arm resting on the spot where Megamind was missing from. It didn't feel right, just as it hadn't felt right after they had fought a few nights before.

Megamind watched her walk upstairs and sighed. One night. One night of self-imposed isolation before a lifetime spent with the love of his life. He took himself off to his workshop vowing that this would be the last time he ever slept there.