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louthegreatfurrry · 5 years

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A Bond for Life

@justafictionalthing merry christmas you funky little monsterfucker

Megamind sits by seventeen TV-screens and nibbles at his thumb. His own face is displayed on every single screen, all dolled up and leather-clad. The stamp of the largest news channel is spinning in every bottom-right corner.

It’s time to do something drastic; it’s time to start his career.

There’s only one single person who could’ve stopped him –

but she’s long gone. A shadow of his very earliest years. She probably doesn’t even remember him; his presence in her life had been brief and fleeting, after all.

He spins on his chair, turning to face the idea cloud forming behind him. The memories are pushed away for now. They always are.

***

And curled up on a couch on the other side of the city is Cat, clutching a blanket as she stares at her TV, cheeks flushed and with the stars in her eyes.

It all began when they were both very young. They weren’t more than five or so – they went to the same school, a ‘top tier’ bullshit thing that Cat was a part of simply because it was the one closest to her house.

It was where she met Megamind for the first time. Of course, he wasn’t Megamind then – he was Cirrus, a shy, energic and curious young boy.

She arrived after him and was met with a warzone, divided into a group and a lone sad boy. And she was five, but she wasn’t stupid, and she saw the way the other kids looked at him.

During the very first lunch she had there she sat down at the almost empty table in the back. “Hi!” she said, beaming at him as well as she could. “I’m Cat!” She thrust out her hand like she’d seen the adults do, hoping – almost expecting – him to take it.

He stared at her in obvious surprise, eyes wide and eyebrows raised. A few moments passed, and then the fish he had in a small glass ball nudged into his elbow. The boy started, then smiled down at the fish, before looking back up at Cat. “I’m Cirrus,” he said, reaching over to clumsily shake her hand.

It was the beginning of something great.

“Wh – oh, yes, of course,” Cat says, her eyes on the screen. She’s not one hundred percent sure what Jamie’s saying, but it’s probably got something or other to do with work. It always is; they consume work the way Cat consumes coffee.

“Cat!” Jamie snaps, stepping in between Cat and the big TV screen. “Are you even listening?”

“I – yeah!” Cat says, focusing on her acquaintance. “Yeah.”

Jamie raises an eyebrow, then turns around to look at the screens. “Ah,” they say, sounding absolutely exasperated. “Him again?”

“What do you mean, again?” Cat asks. She hasn’t talked about him – has barely even looked at anything that reminds her of him – in the presence of others.

They shake their head, then turn around to give Cat a raised eyebrow. “You really haven’t seen it? He’s been on the news ever since Wednesday.”

– oh. Well, she’d certainly noticed. There hadn’t been a lot of other things to see, to be honest. He had been on every single news station twenty-four seven, after all.

She’s – well, she’s missed him. When he shows up on the news out of nowhere she’s bound to be excited.

Gods, it’s been years. Decades! And he’s been on her mind far too often for her to be comfortable with. Now, to be fair, it’s not easy to forget a blue alien man – but still.

Deus. He’s a blue alien man and she managed to lose him.

She sighs. At least she knows he’s still alive, after all these years.

…and good looking. Incredibly good looking. Doesn’t help that she has a thing for bad guy.

“ – lo? Cat? Hello?”

Cat starts, focusing back on the papers Jamie’s handing her. “Ah, yes, of course,” she says, grabbing the papers hurriedly. “Signatures, right?”

Jamie stares. “That’s. A newspaper.”

Cat looks at the paper she’s holding.

It’s most definitely a newspaper.

And Cirrus’ face is plastered all over the front page. She gasps in delight. “Is he in here, too?” She flips it open excitedly, scanning the contents. There’s no new information on him – she’s seen enough news reports to know all the media knows. Of course, she knows more than that. His favorite color, food, subject –

his name.

“Megamind,” she mutters, trailing the pad of her index finger down the letters on the front page. “What happened to you?”

***

They sat on the swings, Cat and him. It was a cold autumn day, the leaves on the scattered trees just turning fierce orange and dull brown.

“Autumn is so pretty,” Cat said, kicking her legs back and forth. She was wearing a thick jacket and a scarf and an intrigued expression, eyes glistening.

“Oh?” Cirrus said, looking down at his own blue hands, clasped in his lap as he sat perfectly still on the swings. There was orange against blue, blue against orange, and only a thin layer of cotton between him and the freezing cold. “How come?” Personally, he wasn’t a big fan of autumn. The cold was creeping in, meaning that winter – and with it, all the horrors it resembled – was getting closer.

“The colors,” Cat said easily. She kicked her feet again, slowly swinging back and forth. There was a smile on her face, gentle and content and sure in itself. “It’s fire, don’t you see? And the nights are getting longer – I can see the stars again!”

Cirrus smiled. He had to admit that she was right. “The stars, hm?” he asked. “Do you like them?”

“I love them,” was her simple reply. And, he supposed, if she did then she did. “You’re smart,” she said, turning to him with that same content smile from before, “can’t you build a rocket ship to travel out there?”

He didn’t say that he’d been there already. “Well,” he said, slowly starting to kick his feet, too. “Rocket ships are… complicated. I’ve looked at it, but…”

(there are no one left for me to go to)

He swallowed. “It’s hard to do right now. Maybe when I’m older and can find parts easier.”

Cat nodded wistfully, humming in gentle acceptance. Then she gasped, straightening up in her swing and turning the solemn look into a bright beam. “Take me with you!” she said eagerly. “When you build a ship – please?”

Cirrus blinked. “You want to?”

“Of course,” Cat nodded fiercely. “You’re my best friend.”

He hesitated, then smiled. “Thanks,” he offered. “You… uh, you’re my best friend, too.”

Cat beamed at him. “Here,” she said, unwrapping her scarf from her neck. “It’s cold and I don’t need it.”

“I – thank you,” Cirrus said, taking the scarf carefully. It was warm against his fingers, and he hurried to put it on before that warmth would fade from it.

Fifteen minutes later, when the bus that took him back to the prison arrived, he still wore the scarf.

The plan was to return it the next day.

What on Earth is he supposed to do with that wire? Where does it even come from, why is it just – hanging there –

“Sir?”

Megamind starts, slamming his head into the robot arm he’s working on.

“Sir, I found – sir? Are you okay?”

Groaning, Megamind slowly pulls himself back up at his feet. “Oh, just dandy,” he mutters, rubbing his head. “What did you find?”

Silently Minion holds up his hand, displaying a far too familiar scarf.

And Megamind’s heart almost stops beating. “Oh!” he says, bolting over to take it from his hands, “we still have this – old thing, haha, I better, uh, get rid of it – ”

Minion raises an eyebrow. “Is that a good idea, sir?”

Megamind stops, the scarf protectively held against his chest. “I – well, don’t you think it is?”

A shrug. “It’s… just a scarf, sir. But if you want me to get rid of it…” he says, reaching after the scarf.

“No!” Megamind exclaims, backing away from him. He clears his throat. “Ahem, no, no, it’s, uh… that’d be. Wasteful.”

Another shrug, this one accompanied by a small smile. “Sure thing, sir.” A pause. “What are you building?”

“Wonderful question, Minion, thank you for asking,” he exclaims, grateful for the change of subject. “This, ” – he gestures towards the half-done robot arm – “is my newest and greatest invention! A robot big enough to crush Metroman beneath its sole!” He gestures wildly as he speaks, a wide grin on his face.

Minion looks decidedly unimpressed. “Remind me again, sir, why you’re doing this.”

Megamind lets his arm drop to his sides and walks over, patting Minion’s arm as he circles him. “We have been working for this for years, Minion!” he whispers eagerly, coming full circle to grab his chestplate. “This is what we’ve dedicated our lives to! And we’re finally here!”

“Yes, sir,” Minion says, slowly, uncertainty blooming behind his words, “but… why do you want to do this?”

He hesitates, gaze flickering unwillingly to the scarf clutched in his hand. “Uh…”

Minion inhales sharply and takes a step back, leaving Megamind with his hands hovering awkwardly in the air between them. “It’s a call for attention!” Minion exclaims, pointing an accusing finger towards him. Megamind winces, bringing his hands to his chest. “You just want to – ”

“Stop,” Megamind says. It’s meant as a command – as something sharp and pointed, something to puncture him and push him away. Instead it comes out half-choked, quiet and desperate, voice trembling. “Minion – stop.”

He knows what he wants, and he knows it all too well.

Not a day has passed where he hasn’t thought of her. Not a single day.

When the people who show you affection can be counted on one hand, you tend to keep them close to heart.

***

Cat sat, her hand on Minion’s orb in a quiet but familiar show of affection. Her eyes were glued to Cirrus, standing in front of the blackboard and scribbling hurriedly with a piece of chalk. He’d asked the teacher a question and she’d thought he was making up a complicated question to mock her – so she’d asked an even more complicated question in turn, and he’d risen to the challenge without a sliver of hesitation.

His handwriting had turned shaky half-way through the math calculation as he got more excited and wrote quicker, but now he finished with a flourish, drawing two lines beneath the answer. He spun to the class, clasping his hands behind his back with a wide beam. “Three hundred and four point zero zero sixty-seven,” he said with the absolute utter confidence of a genius.

Cat, vibrating with excitement, burst into wild applause. Cirrus’ eyes snapped to her, warm gratitude and affection in his gaze, along with tensed surprise.

The rest of the class, confused and uncertain, clapped slowly. Moved by Cat, probably, but it was applause, nonetheless.

Later, in the break, Cat gave him a hug. “You’re smart,” she said, “it’s cool.” She didn’t have the proper words to express how impressed she was – even the teacher had been astonished! – so she only handed him Minion again, giving him a wide bright beam.

Cirrus smiled back at her, scratching the back of his neck. “Th – thanks,” he muttered. “You’re smart, as well.”

“Not as smart as you,” Cat said, but the beam didn’t fade from her face. “But thank you!”

Cat stands on her balcony, head tilted back to stare up at the stars. She’s cold, but only a little bit, and she needs this moment to think. To simply be, letting her thoughts and emotions swirl around as they wish.

Cirrus – Megamind, as he is now – has been on her mind for days. His eyes, his grin, the way he always tilted his head when she asked him a question he had to think about. She takes a deep breath and wraps her arms around her torso. The cold of autumn is creeping into her in a way it’s never done before, gnawing at her heart and her soul.

She’s always… missed him, to some degree. Missed the aspect of him (alien man! alien! from the stars!), missed his friendship, missed the way he defended her fiercely when the other children decided she was an acceptable target.

She’d always been sure that she’d never see him again, though. She’d thought – for weeks, months, years – that when she’d left him, she’d never get him back.

But now she’s been reminded – forcefully, suddenly, and with no warning whatsoever – that he exists. He’s still alive and kickin’, still a genius, incredibly attractive and also in the same city as her.

It kinda burst her bubble, to put it like that.

Slowly she lowers her head, thudding her forehead against the cold rails of her balcony. What is she going to do? She can’t just continue to live like this, knowing that he’s out there, and not do anything –

does he even remember her? She’s just a human, and they were so terribly young when they met –

of course she remembers him, he’s a fucking inferno for Deus’ sake, burning brighter than all the stars and their descendants combined –

she’s nothing in comparison.

She raises her head slightly, then thuds it down into the rails again with a groan. Why on Earth would he remember her?

Straightening up she takes a deep breath. It doesn’t matter. She remembers him, and she has to do something.

She has to know.

***

Cirrus leaned against the bars of his prison cell, Minion held on his lap. “She’s so kind,” he said, referring to Cat letting him borrow her crayons during recess, despite knowing that he would use them to take notes and not to draw.

Joe, the inmate across the hallway, hummed. “A good gal, huh?”

“Yes,” Cirrus agreed. “She’s a good friend. I’m glad we go to the same shool.”

Joe chuckled. “Yeah, kid,” he said, “you better thank your lucky stars. People like her ain’t common.”

He looked down at Minion – at his best friend and companion, at the one person who’d always been there for him – and shared a soft smile with him. “I know,” he said. So far there had only been two.

“Sir! You’re on the news!”

Megamind stands over by the window in his lair, hands clasped behind his back as he surveys the city. “I know!” he calls back. And oh, does he know. He’s read the articles. He’s seen the reports.

Evil, they say, bad guy, supervillain.

Unredeemable, they scream.

And it’s what he is, they’re right, but still it hurts, and it hurts somewhat terribly, heart bruised and bleeding, aching and cracked. Regret has been filling him for days. Yes, this is what he’s wanted to do his whole life –

but is it? Is it really what he wants?

His gaze roams from the city and over to the forest in the distance, on the other side of the lake. Fire is raging through the forest, painting the landscape a warm, faded orange. Autumn has long since began.

The scarf – her scarf – is in his hands, the cloth old and worn and still hers.

Maybe it is a call for attention. Maybe he just wants to see her again. Maybe he just wants to know she’s doing okay after she disappeared so abruptly. So what? What’s so wrong about that?

He presses his forehead against the glass pane, letting the cold from outside seep through it and into his head.

She doesn’t want anything to do with him now. Evil, bad, villain. Who would want anything to do with that?

…but is it really too late to turn back?

His grasp on the scarf tightens.

Only one way to find out.

***

“H – hey! Wait up!” Cat laughed, running after Cirrus at full speed. “Hello!” His snicker drifted back to her and she giggled, adrenaline-like excitement coursing through her. “C’mon, poor Minion can’t keep up!”

Dirty of her to use Minion against him, but this was never intended to be done fairly. Cirrus cast a glance over his shoulder to check; it was enough of a distraction for Minion (in his newly acquired and very fancy robot suit) to put on incredible speeds, bursting through the air to spring onto Cirrus’ back, laughing heartily while crying “Tag!” as loud as he possibly could.

Cirrus gasped. “Oh, you dirty tricksters!” he called, amusement in his voice as he came to a halting stop. “Fine, fine. I’ll wait for you.”

“You better,” Cat said, crossing her arms and sticking her tongue out at him. “What did you want to show me?”

He lit up, shining bright like the Milky Way. “My newest invention,” he breathed, breaking off from the path and into the undergrowth of the forest. “Come on!”

And Cat followed him, giggling, excited to see what his genius had come up with now.

She needs to get a date with someone important and she needs it now.

He’d said it on live TV – after turning up on a crime scene and fighting by the cops’ side it’d been announced, with nothing less than extreme and utter shock from the reporters, that he was resigning as a villain.

And now he’s taking up the role as Defender instead.

And he’ll be coming to the Gala with the Lord and Lady of Metro City.

And she’s not going to be there.

She looks through her closet five times before she settles on something that probably will attract a top-tier-of-stupidity man. She’ll be dumping him the moment she gets inside of the Gala, of course, but she needs to get in somehow.

She shakes her head and goes for the computer; time to google the most important men in the city, then.

But first – coffee. This is going to be a long night.

***

Autumn. A scarf in his hand, the cotton rough against his palm. Minion by his side, the glass cold against the back of his other hand.

She wasn’t there that day.

Or the next, or the next, or the one after that. Weeks passed by without a hint of her.

“Excuse me,” he asked the teacher, his heart sore and young and hurt, large enough to nearly choke him, “where’s Cat?”

And the teacher looked at him, ice and indifference in her eyes. “I don’t know,” she said, carelessly, her gaze sliding over him and unto the class. “She quit, I suppose.”

His fingers tightened around the scarf, teeth clenching, Minion worriedly twisting beside him. “Okay,” he said, a hissed lie forced out through splintered hope.

He never saw her again.

It’s the night of the blasted gala that Minion pestered him into going to, and he’s dressed up in the finest suit possible. It had taken him almost three hours to settle on a design he liked, and even longer to find one that Minion agreed was “okay, I guess”.

He can’t exactly say he’s been excited for this ‘party’. Three plus hours of standing in crowds and talking to stuck-up assholes? No thank you. The gala is, however, meant to celebrate his turn from evil, and so he kind of have to show up.

His cheeks are hurting with how much fake-smiling he’s been doing. This must be hell. He can’t recall a time he was more bored than now. What are they even talking about? The weather? Goodness, he needs to get away from here. But how? There’s no polite way to break off the conversation!

Desperate for some kind of distraction – something, anything – he glances around the room. Perhaps there’s some kind of… commotion, someone speaking too loudly… nothing? Not even a potted plant someone might accidentally stumble in?

Megamind freezes. There’d been a flash – brief, through the crowd, a searching gaze –

and it’s been years, but he has photographic memory and one doesn’t forget the lips that formed the first smile one ever saw that easily –

“Excuse me,” he mutters, flapping his hand vaguely dismissively towards the three stuck-up assholes he’d been roped into conversing with.

If she has any complaints, they’re drowned by the crowd. He disappears into it, pushing gently as he tries to make his way for the flash of familiar brown. “Sorry, sorry,” he mutters distantly, his ears starting to ring, “pardon me – ”

Why are there so many brown-haired women here tonight?

Maybe he was wrong – maybe it’s just wish-thinking –

but no! There it is again! He pushes onward, the crowd splits, he stumbles forward and taps her shoulder –

she turns around and isn’t Cat.

“Oh,” Megamind says, his voice far too close to shattering for his liking. The woman, whose eyes are crystal blue and so, so, wrong, tilts her head curiously. “I… sorry, I thought you were…”

“Cirrus!” a voice cries.

And Megamind’s heart grows wings. He spins on his heels, because only two people in the whole world knows about that, and he recognizes that voice –

a hauntingly familiar person is bolting towards him, tearing through darkness and shadows on her way, light bursting from behind her and she’s carried on wings of gold –

“Cat,” Megamind breathes, and he can’t believe it, he can’t believe it –

He takes two staggering steps in her direction and then she slams into him, arms wrapping around his torso and face burying in his shoulder, warm and real and there.

“You’re here,” she whispers, and the words are audible to him only because she’s so close. “You’re here, you’re really here, I found you – ” She pulls back suddenly, as though burned, and Megamind realizes too late that he should probably have hugged her back. Cat peers into his eyes, so terribly uncertain and so incredibly happy. “Do you remember me?”

It’s a question that trembles in the air between them.

“Rem – remember you?” Megamind stutters, hands fluttering by his side as he tries to remember what’s okay to do. Does he put them on her shoulders – does he cup her cheeks? Take her hands? “Come, come with me – ” He grabs her sleeve, uncertain about touching her skin without her permission, and tugs her towards the hallway he knows is deserted.

She follows easily – trustingly – and only makes a vague, curious noise when they disappear into the shadows. Well – dimly lit corridor is more accurate. They stand there for a brief second, just – staring. Megamind takes in her looks, makes sure to memorize them once again – the mark there on her face is new, he needs to remember that –

he gives in to the voice screeching inside him and lurches forward to hug her. Holding her lightly, light, afraid of shattering her or scaring her away –

but she flings her arms around his neck and holds on so tightly that it’s almost like she expects him to run.

“Remember you?” Megamind whispers, one of his hands curling around the loose strands of her hair. “Cat, there hasn’t been a day where I don’t think about you – ”

She breathes, shuddery, and Megamind’s heart beats in time with it. “Oh, thank Gods,” she whispers. “I’ve missed you – so much – ”

“What happened?” Megamind whispers. He wants to look at her, but he can’t let go, not now – “When you – you disappeared, I was so worried –”

Cat sighs a disgruntled sigh. “We had to run away,” she admits. “Dad angered someone without knowing it – we lived on edge for weeks before they came after us.” She pulls back slightly, glancing up at him with a soft smile. “We’re safe now, though. Here. In your city.”

He’s not sure how it happens, but suddenly they’re kissing, and things are happening too fast for him to keep track of –

They’ve been separated for so long, years and decades passed by where they’ve longed, missed, needed –

and it feels right. This; her; it’s like he’s been meant to be by her side.

And when he wakes up the next morning, in her bed, in her apartment, he knows that he’ll be there as long as she wants him.

Judging by the way she smirks at him from across her coffee cup, he deems that to be a long, long time.

#megamind #a bond for life #meg og mitt #my writing

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