Hey yall! Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad you liked the last one, even if it's not what yall expected. But now, I'm bringing you the chapter I promised - Lucy and Edith! This one was difficult to write, I'll be honest, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.
This is set four months into Gru and Lucy's relationship. I hope yall like it! Review, please!
"Edith!" Lucy's voice reverberated off the walls, echoing throughout the cavernous house and its winding hallways. "Edith, it's time for lunch!"
She turned a corner, traversing down yet another hall in search of the little girl. She had been to Gru's house enough times to know her way around pretty well, but she had to be careful – it could be fairly easy to lose oneself in the maze of doors, and not everything was exactly what it seemed. (She learned that the hard way during her first few times there, encountering trap doors, hidden stashes of weaponry, and the first time she saw the whole living room just seemingly disappear into the ceiling to make room for the underground lab's secret entrance.) The girls, on the other hand, knew every nook and cranny of the house. They would explore and play everywhere, which meant that when it was time to find them for a meal or bedtime it was like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack.
Currently, Lucy was occupied with finding Edith. She and Lucy were going to meet Gru, Margo and Agnes for lunch after school let out. Edith would normally be at school along with her sisters, were she not suspended for punching a kid in the stomach for stealing her lunch. The decision was hardly fair - both Lucy and Gru went down to the school to talk personally with the principal, Ms. Hadberry, but the short, stout woman wouldn't listen. Gru would've gone by himself, of course, but Lucy went for moral support. That, and she was so riled up at hearing what happened that Gru had to go just to stop her from jumping down Hadberry's throat.
"Edith, where are you?" the agent called again. After no response, she sighed and decided to try looking downstairs again. She'd already checked the girls' room, Gru's room, the library, the lab, and the kitchen – all to no avail. It was like Edith had disappeared. Part of her had begun to worry, but she tried to quell panicky feeling in her stomach. There was no place safer or more secure than Gru's house, she reasoned, and with the never-ending supply of minions at hand, virtually nothing bad could happen without someone knowing . . . Right?
She descended the staircase and trailed into the kitchen, absent-mindedly glancing out the large windows that looked out on the backyard. Suddenly, she saw a blur of black fly past, shortly accompanied by a loud crash.
"What the - ?" Equal parts curious and cautious, Lucy crept toward the door, settled firmly in a defensive stance. She emerged out on to the porch steps leading down to the backyard, surveying the expanse of dead grass and colorful plastic toys before her. If that was an intruder, she needed to handle it quickly, lest they get into the house, or worse, get to Edith. That would not be a good surprise for Gru to come home to – 'Welcome back! How was your day? Oh, by the way, someone broke into the house and now Edith is gone.' She shuddered at the thought, focusing instead on finding the source of the noise.
She rounded the corner of the house, from where she heard a slight rustling. In full attack mode, she prepared to face whatever awaited her. She leaped out, striking a fearsome pose and giving a battle cry. "HIIIYAH!"
But instead of an intruder, she found Edith, fully decked out in her gi and ninja mask, sprawled on her back across the grass. She'd obviously just taken a tumble, most likely while practicing her ninja skills, but she seemed relatively unharmed. The girl's bright blue eyes stared up at her, accusing and curious.
"Oh, Edith!" Lucy sagged in relief. "There you are. Where have you been, kiddo? It's time to go meet your dad and sisters for lunch."
Edith squirmed into a sitting position, adjusting her ever-present pink hat on her head. "You were totally just gonna ninja me, weren't you?" she asked.
"What? Pfff, no," Lucy chuckled nervously, waving a hand, "of course not. I was just looking for you is all. Now, come on, we'd better head out. We don't want to keep them waiting at the restaurant too long." She held out a hand for Edith to take, but she ignored it, scrambling to her feet by herself. She grabbed her nunchucks and samurai sword off the ground, tucking them away in her gi.
Lucy liked Edith – the girl had spunk, flair, determination, and a wicked attitude that gave Gru more trouble than he'd care to admit. For the four months she'd known her, Edith had been a pretty cool kid, if not a bit hard to read at times. She seemed to be almost emotionally distant, less so now from her father and sisters than from her. At times, the agent didn't know whether to think Edith liked her or hated her. That made it a little more difficult for Lucy to connect with her – definitely harder than it was with Agnes. The youngest child was pretty much an open book who had no problem giving her emotions freely.
Lucy mentally chastised herself. She knew she shouldn't be comparing the sisters in the first place. After all, they were all individuals. But, they were a very cohesive little family, and she figured it was an 'in for a penny, in for a pound' kind of deal – if one girl didn't like her, none of them would. Besides, this was extremely new territory for her. She'd never really been around kids a lot before, and none of the men she'd ever dated (as short-lived as those relationships were) had any kids either. So now, not only did Lucy get to test the waters in her still relatively new life with Gru, she had to figure out how best to be there for his daughters as well. Not that she minded, of course. She absolutely adored Gru and the girls to no end, and she would do anything to keep from messing this up.
"Yeah right, you so were!" Edith exclaimed, walking in step with Lucy across the yard. "You had the pose and everything!"
Lucy, drawn abruptly from her thoughts, glanced at Edith from her peripheral vision and smiled. "Well, if I was going to 'ninja' anybody, it would've been a bad guy, not you."
"I bet you get to beat up a whole bunch of guys when you go on top-secret missions with Dad," she enthused, punching at imaginary foes in front of her. "It must be sooo cool! I wish I could do that!"
Lucy hitched a shoulder. "I could teach you some moves, if you want," she offered happily. "The AVL teaches us a bunch of neat stuff, and I'm sure you'd have it down in no time."
"Really?" The girl seemed ready to explode with sheer excitement, but a second later she hesitated, the bright light in her eyes dimming. "Wait . . . I - I can't. People will get mad at me 'cause they think I'm gonna use it to beat kids up."
Lucy frowned, pausing in her trek across the yard and kneeling down to Edith's height. "What do you mean, sweetie?"
"Like that kid who stole my lunch," Edith fumed. "I tried to get it from him, but he kept shoving me and running away. I only punched him 'cause I wanted it back. I wasn't being trying to be mean, he was, but I'm the one who got in trouble!" She crossed her arms across her chest firmly. "It's not fair."
"No, it isn't," Lucy agreed. "But don't worry. You know your dad and I are on your side, right?" She reached out and touched Edith's shoulder softly but reassuringly. Edith peeked up at her from under the brim of her hat. "I mean, I'm not one for always using violence to solve things, but that little punk deserved some payback."
Edith still looked discouraged. "But the teachers didn't think so, and neither did Ms. Hadberry," she protested. "Her and my teachers are always getting me in trouble."
"Then your dad and I will just have to have another talk with them, won't we? Maybe I'll even let Gru bring his freeze ray." The redhead grinned mischievously, then leaned in and adopted a secretive air about her. "And besides," she whispered, "you want to know something?" Edith mimicked her, leaning in and nodding excitedly. "When I was your age, I used to get in trouble all the time," she said, "just like you."
"Nuh-uh," the girl replied incredulously, a smile hooking the corner of her mouth.
Lucy thought back to her childhood, to a younger, more rambunctious Lucy with pigtails, mud-caked overalls and cowboy boots. The memories of elementary school came flooding back, visions of playgrounds and classrooms, sounds of laughter and shouting, glimpses of little faces long since grown up. "Oh, yeah," she said. "The teachers were always on my case because I would get into fights with the other kids. I would get detention all the time."
"Why?"
"Same reason as you," she replied. "Some of the other kids picked on me, so I defended myself. After I showed those bullies who was boss, they stopped giving me a hard time. Made myself quite the reputation too."
Edith looked almost awestruck, the admiration in her eyes warming Lucy's heart. She saw so much of herself in Edith sometimes - the wild spirit, the adventuresome tendencies, the craving for excitement. In a way, they were very similar. Maybe it wouldn't be so difficult to connect with her after all. Edith, despite her rambunctiousness, was a good kid with a kind heart. Lucy was beginning to doubt that she had the capacity to hate anyone, herself included. Maybe she actually liked her after all, and just had her own odd way of showing it. And who knows, Lucy thought happily, if things with Gru kept going as well as they have been, maybe - just maybe - enough time would pass that Edith could look up to her as a role model, or - though Lucy dared not even think it - perhaps even as a mother.
The woman cuffed Edith's shoulder with a cheeky grin. "Don't worry about anyone else, kiddo. You're awesome the way you are. Just keep being yourself, and don't let anyone try to tell you otherwise." Edith nodded, resolute, a smile spread across her face. Confident that the crisis was averted, Lucy stood to continue across the yard. "So what do you say," she asked, "are you up for some lunch with the rest of the Gru family?"
Little fingers slipped into her hand unexpectedly, gripping firm and warm. Lucy looked down, shocked. The ninja girl simply walked forward, tugging Lucy along with her on their way to the house.
"You know what, Lucy?"
"What?"
"You're pretty awesome, too."
Okay, so there it is! Honestly, I'm still not entirely happy with this one. Edith was very hard to write for, and I'm not sure I captured her character very well. I tried though, and I hope it didn't throw yall off too much.
Anyway, I feel like Lucy's relationship with Edith is a simple one, kind of like Agnes', but not so emotionally driven or connected. Edith admires Lucy a lot for her awesome personality and the totally kick-butt stuff she does for the AVL, but she's not overly demonstrative of her feelings. Lucy doesn't have a problem with it either - she loves the kids for who they are - but it does make navigating the relationship a bit harder. Either way, Lucy knows the two can always bond over some martial arts, if nothing else.
I hope yall liked it! Review, please!
(By the way, I'm leaving for a week-long vacation in Colorado on Saturday, so it might take me a bit longer to write up a chapter than usual. Just a heads up!)
