The remnants of dish soap felt like acid on his fingertips. Even hours after getting the chore done, the torment of cleaning up the plates of his large family still lingered in his mind.
And this was only the beginning, Gru reminded himself, as he finally stepped out into the rooftop.
The distant sounds of cars, barks and human chatter was a relief from the usual disarray that went on in his house. Some days hiding in some dark corner wasn't enough to escape the chaos of his siblings' antics. The rooftop may not have the soothing darkness he had come to seek solace in, but with the sun setting in the horizon, he found it acceptable. A few hours earlier and the light of day may have been too much for him to withstand.
He had brought something with him. A red case, about the size of his own body. Keeping it out of sight from his family on his way up there had been no easy task, but right now he couldn't see himself finding peace - what little he could get from what was on his mind - in any other way.
Gru's paw hovered over the case's clasps, frozen as his mind dwelled upon into the events of earlier that afternoon.
"You're no longer a puppy, Gru." Delilah's earlier words still rang in his ears "So stop acting like one. Even Dawkins helps around the house now and then."
By then his protests had been silenced. Like most of his siblings, Gru knew better than to challenge his own mother. Only Margo would gather the courage to talk back at her now and then, but it was of little encouragement when even she had sided with mom in the argument.
"Being an older brother is not just privileges, Gru." She had continued, her voice growing calm. "It's a lot of responsibility as well. And I know you probably see nothing good about it, but I promise that, one day, you'll know it can be very rewarding." Gru didn't look her in the eye when he felt her paw on his shoulder, but a 'yes mom' seemed good enough to acknowledge her words.
She then had said something to his two older siblings, who had been standing at the door frame all that time, about keeping an eye on him while all three of them cleaned the messy kitchen. Edith would do the floor and table, Margo the shelves and counters and Gru, as he recalled with a shudder, the kibble-ridden plates of his entire family.
"Trust me, Gru." Edith had told him as the three started. "When it's your turn to do floor and table, you'll wish to do dishes every day."
"He's right." Margo agreed. "So cherish it while you can, little bro."
His older siblings could give some good words of comfort now and then, but definitely not that time. If anything, it only made them sink in deeper into the gravity of his situation.
Cleaning after his siblings, taking them for walks, playing with them, telling them bedtime stories, chasing them for bath time, keeping them safe...the list on his head went on, and on, and on. No more sitting in the soothing blanket of darkness, no more seeing visions of doomsday in his naptime dreams, no more screaming about imminent disaster. No more. The life he had grown used to was coming to its end, like a fickle candle snuffed by a gust of air.
All because he had to be an older brother.
Gru's mind forwarded back into the present moment. He became aware of himself, his current location, and the action he was in middle of before playing his flashback from hours earlier.
He took one quick look at the sky. No clouds today. No stars shining yet. No moon in sight. He desperately wanted to look for something, anything, that he could read as a sign of the endtimes. Something that would tell him the end of the world was about to arrive, preferably sometimes before dawn tomorrow, and save him from the dire future that awaited him.
But the sky gave him nothing to work with.
Gru lowered his gaze with a sigh. He gave up.
So if no meteorite, no nuclear war or biblical flood was coming to spare him from his misery, then he better make the most of what freedom he had now.
Both paws on the case that laid in front of him, he opened the clasps and carefully opened the lid.
"Looks like it's just you and me again."
His entire body stiffened at the sound of the trap door bursting open.
Acting out of instinct, he slammed the lid down and clasped the case shut once more, the same way he had brought it here, before kicking it aside, hopefully out of sight.
Only then did he feel confident in turning back and looking at this evening's intruder.
It took him a moment, but he quickly recognized him as Lucy, his younger brother - well one of his many. He would have distinguished him much quicker, however, had it not been for a particular detail: his headphones, the signature item he was seldom seen without, were not on their usual spot on his head.
Lucy sat at the edge of the rooftop and placed his headphones next to him. Well, discarded would be a more fitting word. For such a meaningful object to him, he would have expect him to treat them more carefully. And yet, he had dropped them with little concern for them. Just another of the many peculiar sights today.
The first theory that came to Gru's mind was that Lucy wanted privacy for one his jamming sessions - the kind he sought no audience for. He had those now and then. He saw no instrument with him so it had to be something vocal. Singing? Beatboxing? Whistling? He was used to hearing all kinds of interesting sounds come out of his little brother's snout.
The last thing he was expecting to hear from him, though, was sobbing.
By the looks of it, Gru hadn't been noticed at all. But for Gru, the sight of Lucy crying by himself was too rare of a thing to ignore.
Naturally, he felt curious as to what had led his younger brother into this state. Did he break his keyboard, perhaps? Or maybe he lost the harmonica he got for his birthday - the pricey one his parents made him promise to take good care of and never lose. He could think of many reasons, but he wasn't going to find out by just thinking about it.
But did he have to find out? Did he want to? Should he?
Gru looked around him. No one else in sight. And looking at his sulking little brother again, Lucy had yet to notice his presence.
This would be a perfect chance to make a retreat back into the house. He surely could find himself some dark place inside to have his peace. In one of the attic's boxes, he pondered or perhaps -shudder- under the sink. Whatever the case, he was not short on options.
All he had to do was grab his case and quietly make his way to the trap door. Being an expert at going unseen, his escape would surely face no complications.
That of course, would mean leaving Lucy all by himself.
The younger pup continued to snivel. Whatever happened really must have done a number on him, and showed no signs of stopping.
But what could Gru do about it?
Familial instinct made him hesitant to abandon Lucy to his sorrows, but he couldn't think on how staying would make things any better. The way he saw it, he was one of the worst possible siblings to try and help him out with his problems...ok, maybe he could think of others who would do worse than him, but still, he didn't consider himself up to the task of bringing comfort.
And, if he wanted to be terribly honest with himself, he really just wanted to go back into the house and be alone.
There was, of course, the possibility of guilt spoiling away his tranquility. The thoughts of his younger brother crying alone atop the house weren't going to leave him just by sneaking into the shadows of the household.
It was almost like his own conscience was urging him to just approach him and help his little brother out, or at least try to.
Oh, but what if Lucy wasn't want to talk to him? Gru thought. Yeah, that should keep his very own Jiminy Cricket in check. Lucy seemed like kind of boy who wouldn't want to be bothered if he wanted to be alone - Gru sure would feel that way. Talking to Lucy risked making things worse. If anything, he'd be doing him a favor by NOT saying anything. Yeah, how's that for a compelling argument in favor of his retreat?
The retreat that, no matter how much he insisted on carrying out, couldn't bring himself to do at all. Not while the younger pup remained on the rooftop sulking about his enigmatic botheration.
But wait. Why not let someone else take care of it? Yeah, that was it! He'd call Edith or Margo. Even Deepak sounded like a good idea. Or, hello, mom and dad. I mean, isn't that what they do best after all? Surely any one of them would be glad to come out and hear out Lucy with whatever had him worked up.
That sounded good, alright, but alas, it felt like not a single muscle in his body got the message. Either that, or they rejected it completely.
And so, he found himself stuck in his spot, sitting at the edge of the rooftop, a few feet next to a crying younger brother.
He really had no other way to navigate this, did he?
His confidence was feeble, but Gru had enough arguing for the day. After the discussion he had with his mother earlier, he was in no desire to put up with a verbal round against his own moral compass.
And so, with reluctance, and a hundred possible ways things could go terribly wrong in his head, Gru quietly approached his little brother.
Lucy's sobs had quieted down into sniffling by then and the rooftop, ambient noise aside, had grown a little more silent. And yet, not silent enough for Lucy to take notice of his older brother.
A blessing and a curse, he supposed.
Planting his rear on the concrete, Gru sit right next to him. And just as his mouth was about to open, he found himself at a lack of words to give him.
Drat. He should have rehearsed something in his head while he was still at a distance.
Go with your gut, he told himself. It's a terrible idea, and yet, the best one you have.
Taking a breath, Gru got ready to let out the first thing that came in mind.
"What do you want, Gru?"
Lucy's quivering, yet noticeably annoyed voice cut him off before he even said anything.
"Uh...you knew I was here?"
"Dude, I saw you sitting there all this time." Lucy rolled his eyes. "I'm not blind, you know."
The older Dalmatian felt really uncomfortable now. In part because he may have overestimated his innate stealth skills after all – though, admittedly, he was out of his element out here. But the principal matter here was that Lucy had been aware of his presence all along.
And somehow he just didn't care about it.
"Well, eh, it's just that you didn't say anything, so I thought, you know."
"What, don't tell me you were in middle of something?" Lucy asked flatly, sounding more miffed than concerned.
"Umm..." Gru rubbed the back of his neck. "...kind of?"
"Oh, so I'm bothering you. Got it." With eyes still watery, Lucy grabbed his headphones and turned himself around. "I'll just go elsewhere then."
"Hey, wait!"
Lucy grunted as he stopped in his tracks. "What?" He groaned without even looking back at Gru.
"Er..." Once again, the older brother was at a loss. But it was too late to get himself out of this now that he had stuck his nose into it. "Don't you want to tell me what's wrong?"
Lucy raised an eyebrow, finally glancing back at him.
"I mean, it's just I saw you crying and, well." Gru kept fumbling, drawing a very insecure grin as he followed his sentence. "...thought maybe you'd like to talk about it?"
Lucy groaned once again, clearly not fond of his brother's uneasiness. "Since when do you care?"
Ok, maybe he really should have gotten someone else to deal with this. Come to think of it, Margo might have been better suited to put up with Lucy's lack of compliance.
"Dude, I'm your brother." Gru he exclaimed, but not with a whole lot of confidence. But rather, as if he was simply quoting one of those sappy movies that aired in the afternoons. "I've always cared."
"Tsk, yeah right." An unconvinced Lucy retorted. "You're always crying over the end of the world." He claimed sardonically. "When you're not moping by yourself in some dark corner in the house. You don't care about anything else."
"Hey!" Gru felt the insult in that one. Since when was Lucy so rude? It's not that he was the epitome of politeness, but as far as he knew, his younger brother was one of the mildest mannered pups in the family.
Gru thought he was going to test his skills as a listener, but the only thing that seemed to be tested right now was his patience. And as it turned out, it was starting to wear thin right now.
"Look, I just wanna to help." He angrily asserted.
"No you don't." Lucy rebutted. "I can hear it in your voice, dude. Doesn't sound like you want to be of any help at all."
Gru couldn't argue with that statement. So rather than insisting any more, he let his brother dish out whatever else he had for him.
"So let's do each other a favor, Gru. You go back to whatever dumb thing you were doing and you just leave me alone." And once again, Lucy grabbed his headphones and walked off, in no better state than he was when he first came out. Only this time, less somber and more furious.
Things didn't turned out anything like Gru had hoped. But perhaps his mistake was having any hopes about them at all. And now he had just made things even worse.
But to be fair on himself, he started to think, how would he have known Lucy was going to get so snappy? The Lucy he knew was nothing like the one he was dealing with just now. Heck, he wouldn't be surprised if no one in the house knew this side of Lucy at all.
Just how much did anyone know about Lucy anyway?
As that thought ran across his mind, he began putting a few things together. Even with his brother's scorn fresh in his thoughts, he couldn't bring himself to just leave things unresolved.
Call it a hunch - like one of his many doomsday predictions. Only this time, he might just have an idea of what was going on...or maybe not. But it's not like things could get any worse if he spoke up, right?
There was definitely something different now, though. This time, Gru knew exactly the words he wanted to say.
"Lucy" The older Dalmatian called out with firmness, just as the younger one was about to climb down the trap door back into the house.
When the pup had stopped in his tracks, Gru knew he had his attention once more. Better not let it go to waste and say what he had to say.
"I'm really bad at this, so of course I'm gonna sound all insecure and like I don't want to." He admitted. "And yeah, part of me doesn't want to. But it's not because I'm indifferent. It's just...I've never done this before."
Lucy hadn't moved yet. It could be a sign that he was listening. Better continue while he could.
"And it didn't help that you got snappy with me, bro. I mean, I just wanted to help out! The stuff you said was pretty uncalled for. I really am more than just doomsday and sulkiness and-" Woah, backtrack. This is not helping. This is about him, remember? Not about you.
But it was too late to take it back so...perhaps he could make something good out of it?
He sighed, resetting his train of thought, and started over. "...but hey, how were you supposed to know, right? It's not like you ever see me do anything else." He apologized. "There's plenty you don't know about me, D.J, or anyone else in the family for that matter."
He couldn't see Lucy's face, but if he was still paying attention, he hoped he'd listen, of all things, what he was about to say.
"And I'm willing to bet, there's plenty about you that no one knows about, bro."
A few moments passed with no reaction from Lucy Until, at last, Gru saw him relax. A subtle change, but one he could very well, and one that gave him a boost in confidence.
"Like, I didn't know you could be so angry." Gru chuckled nervously. "You took me completely by surprise, you know."
As compelling as his words sounded in his head, Gru feared he might just be dragging on at this point. He should better get to the point before he loses Lucy again.
"Ok, look, what I'm trying to say, is." He declared. "I don't know what's bothering you, I just plain don't know a lot about you. But I do know how much it sucks when people who don't know about you think they do because they then assume things and it gets very annoying."
What was he doing? He shouldn't be rambling on like this. Get to the point, he repeated himself. Tell him where you are going with all this.
"But, Lucy, if you want me to know you better, well...the only way I'll be able to is if you share it out with me. And I, um, I'll just do my best to hear you out."
Somehow, that sounded a lot better in his head.
"man, I suck at this." He whispered to himself.
"You really do, Gru." He heard his brother reply.
Gru saw Lucy turn around and face him. Perhaps he should remember from now on not to whisper something near a man with such an acute sense of hearing.
"But, uh...you're trying. I guess"
Gru wasn't sure what to make of those words the way they came out so flatly. Could have been sarcasm for all he knew.
He felt even more confused when Lucy started walking back to Gru's direction.
Back to his previous spot, Lucy sat down next to his brother. "You really wanna know why I was crying?" The younger Dalmatian had his gaze fixed down on the street below, but his focus seemed to be there with Gru.
In his mind, the older Dalmatian felt a little victorious. In spite of his blunders, he actually managed to convince his brother to open up to him. But he shouldn't let this get over his head. He was doing a good job - maybe just decent - so far, so he should stay focused in what mattered: Lucy
Gru nodded. Lucy, acknowledging the response, took a deep breath and began. "So, here's the thing..."
Gru planted himself firmly on the concrete. It was listening time.
"I, uh..." The younger pup hesitated a brief moment. "I was trying to draw something earlier."
"Draw?" Gru tilted his head, surprised. "You were...drawing?"
"Yeahhh." Lucy groaned, irked by his brother's reaction. "Shocker, huh?"
"I, uh-" The older man was about to interrupt once more before he held himself back. Better let his brother speak out his mind and save his commentary later.
"After all, drawing and painting and all that is Da Vinci's thing, right? I'm just the one who's all about music and whatnot." Lucy continued, concentrated in his speech. "But I don't know. I just felt like I wanted to draw. Do something different, you know. Just out of nowhere."
Lucy paused for a moment, making Gru wonder if he was finished. Or perhaps his brother was expecting a comment at this point, at least to know that he had been listening.
"So, you're upset because you drew something?"
"Nooo." Lucy replied bluntly. "I wasn't done."
"Oh, sorry." The older brother cowered. "But, um, I'm listening."
Lucy took another deep breath before continuing. "So I was at the living room drawing, with a just a pencil and an eraser. And when I first started, I was so inspired, you know. Like when I compose music, only with an image instead of a melody."
Gru's curiosity was tempting him to ask just what his brother was drawing, but figured it was of no relevance. So he just nodded in acknowledgement again, allowing Lucy to continue.
"I was having a good time drawing. At first anyway." His toned soured up. "The more I was drawing I started to realize that, well...my drawing was terrible."
Gru leaned closer to Lucy, his attention at the double.
"Like, really really bad. So I tried to erase it in order to fix it." Lucy's voice transitioned from flat to lively, vividly reproducing the same emotions he had experienced earlier. "But after I did and started over, it still looked awful!" The pup narrated with hands raised up.
Gru nodded again, signaling Lucy to go on.
"So I erased it over and over, trying to fix the drawing, but it just looked worse and worse every time because the eraser was smudging all over the paper. And then out of nowhere, Da Vinci shows up!" The pup frowned as he recalled. "She looks at my drawing, even though I never said she could do it, and you know what she says?"
Obviously not, but Gru already had some ideas. Still, rather than assume or make guesses, he gave a simple response to let Lucy answer. "What did she say?"
"She says I should use some some of her drawing tools next time so I the drawing wouldn't get all smudgy." Something in Lucy seemed to snap. "So I tell her to get lost and just let me draw!"
Gru was surprised at the sudden rage in his brother's voice, but kept quiet and continue to listen.
"And of course, she says I'm being rude to her, but she was the one being rude to me! Telling me to use her stuff, like I couldn't draw anything good without them! So I tell her, again, to just go away! And then Edith steps in, Da Vinci tells her everything and now I have Edith talking down on me! Just cause I don't wanna draw the way Da Vinci tells me to!"
Something was off about Lucy's tale, but perhaps not on purpose. His siblings could be annoying, sure, but this just sounded outright mean. Ok, they could be mean at times - his older sister came to mind - but he had a hard time believing that Edith and Da Vinci, of all Dalmatians, could come down on him like that over a drawing.
"And before you know it, everyone else is there! Margo, Dawkins, Diesel, and they're all against me! Telling me to just not draw and play music if I'm gonna be angry about it! But why?!" As Lucy's eyes began to tear up again, Gru swore he saw his brother beginning to snarl. "What was so wrong about it?! Why can't I do something else for a change?!"
"Hey hey! Calm down a bit!" Gru intervened before Lucy could get any more volatile. "Take a deep breath, ok? Slow down."
Lucy did as asked and, promptly, his mood turned down a few notches. Still visibly irate, but no longer at the brink of a frenzy.
"I just..." Lucy shrunk in his distress. "I just wanted to do something different...what's so bad about it?"
"Lucy, bro, there is nothing bad about that."
"Then why was everyone being so harsh on me about it?" Lucy sniffled as a tear rolled down his cheek. "It's not fair..."
Having heard his tale, Gru could feel his brother's indignation. Had he been on his spot, man knows how we would have reacted. A spark of resent towards the rest of siblings, particularly Edith and Da Vinci, began to light up inside him.
But something about it felt very, very wrong. As if it was uncalled for. Were those two really capable of being so callous to their brother, over a drawing of all things? It didn't feel likely.
"Can I ask you something?" Gru inquired. To what Lucy simply nodded.
"When Da Vinci looked at your drawing...did she say it looked bad?"
Lucy seemed more than ready to answer, but paused to think for a moment. Ultimately, his response came off somewhat reluctant.
"...no."
Gru's intuition was correct. Which was good, because he had almost lost hope in it. He might just be able to continue trusting it after all.
"Did, uh, did she say anything about your drawing at all?"
"...no."
"So what did she say?"
"I told you." Lucy grunted, not comfortable with the interrogation. "He told me to use her drawing tools next time."
"Did she just tell you that, or-" Gru kept asking, no longer intimidated by Lucy's snappiness "did she offer them to you?"
Lucy's eyes popped upon, as if he himself had a sudden realization.
"Well, uh..."
"Well?"
"She..." Lucy cowered in shame. "She actually did ask if I wanted to try her tools to help me draw."
Aha, now they were getting to the bottom of things.
"Now that I think of it, Da Vinci did say something about the drawing. She said...'not bad'."
"Not bad, hm?"
Lucy nodded sheepishly.
"What about Edith? Did he say anything about the drawing?"
"No..." the pup admitted. "He just wanted me and Da Vinci to stop arguing, I think."
"And the others? Did any of them say anything bad about your drawing?"
"No, none of them did. I don't think they did." Guiltily, Lucy recounted the events differently. "I think they just wanted me to stop being so angry."
Lucy felt silent, recoiling in his embarrassment. "And, I guess I really was angry...I, I felt like I was being judged for doing something other than music."
"But you weren't."
Lucy shook his head. "I don't think so."
"Well, if it's ok for me to say, it, bro." Gru addressed with worry. "It sounds like the only one judging you was yourself."
"Yeah, I guess so..." The younger pup sighed in disgrace. "I was just so eager to attempt something new. But when I found out how terrible I was at it, well, I got really upset."
Lucy rested his head on his arms in self-defeat. "I really liked drawing, you know. I just wish I wasn't so terrible at it…"
Oh, if only he could tell Lucy how much he could relate to that this moment. But hey, he actually could. So why not go ahead and tell him?
In fact...
Gru recalled something. Something big and leathery. Something was holding not long ago, in fact.
At the corner of his eye, he spotted it. The case he had brought with him. He had nearly forgotten about it. He had kicked it further away than he recalled doing. How lucky of him that he didn't kick it off the roof by accident.
A smirk drew on Gru's face. How glad was he to have brought that thing with him after all.
"Hey, Lucy" His younger brother looked at him with curiosity. "Let me show you something."
Gru got on fours and went to retrieve the case sitting away from them. The younger Dalmatian raised an eyebrow as his older brother carried the mysterious object towards them.
"Only mom and dad know about this." Gru admitted as his paws hovered over the case.
As Gru was about to flips the clasps, he stopped and took a sincere look at his younger brother. "So, um... keep this a secret, ok? Just between you and I."
"Of course." Lucy answered without qualms. "I promise."
Pleased with that answer, Gru smiled.
The clasps of the case flipped open and, without further delay, the older Dalmatian raised the lid open, revealing the object stored within it.
"...wow." The younger pup exclaimed in utter awe.
From the case, Gru gently pulled out a bright red acoustic guitar. Simple and humble in design, yet there was something elegant about its simplicity. Gru rested the instrument on his bent hind legs to better show it to Lucy, who couldn't keep his eyes away from it.
"Is it yours?"
Gru nodded calmly.
"Well, dad's originally, but he doesn't play it anymore. So he said I could keep it."
Gru let Lucy marvel at the instrument for as long as he wanted, knowing he more than anyone else would show appreciation for it.
"Well?" The younger pup asked.
"Hm?"
"Aren't you gonna play it?"
The older man let out a chuckle.
"Dude, I suck at it."
"So what?"
"Trust me, you don't want to hear me play it."
"Please?"
Gru looked at Lucy in the eyes. Now, empty of all sadness and filled with wonder and eagerness.
"I, uh, I've never played it with anyone else listening." Gru admitted with some difficulty. But looking at the anticipation in his little brother, he couldn't bring himself to deny him what joy he could possibly give him now.
After all, isn't that what he had been trying to do all along?
He had come this far. Why stop? Might as well go all the way with it. For Lucy
"But uh...here goes."
Getting in position, Gru began to pluck on the strings and played a simple melody. A familiar one.
Lucy quietly watched his older brother get absorbed into the instrument as he, with some visible struggle and a few missed notes here and there, strummed a fragment of "Bells of Notre Dame", from the movie he and his family knew very well.
When he finished, Gru let out a deep breath, having a harder time playing that than he thought he would. "What do you think?"
Lucy, for the first time that evening, smiled. "Not bad."
Gru felt his ears perk up at hearing his brother's compliment. "You...think so?"
The younger pup nodded with assurance. "I really do."
The older Dalmatian felt glad for his black fur, as it'd otherwise might have let Lucy see the blush on his face.
"Well, yeah, I could tell you had problems. And, uh, you did forget to tune it up for starters." Lucy admitted with some hesitation. "But I can hear how much you enjoy doing it. I mean it."
"Yeah, I really do. Gives me a nice a break from all that doomsday shtick of mine, I guess." As he heard his brother further compliment him, Gru let the guitar rest inside the case once more. Closing the lid and shutting the clasps, it was back to how it was earlier. "A shame I'm mediocre at it, but eh, there's no helping it."
"There is." Lucy excitedly interjected. "I can teach you!"
Gru held up on the spot. "You want to teach me?"
"Yeah! Why not?" The younger pup insisted, his ears perked like he had never seen them. It was a complete turnaround from the Lucy he had found earlier, now joyful and energetic. "It'd be awesome! And hey, we could have our own jam sessions together! It'd be awesome to have someone else to play with."
He didn't know how to respond to that offer. It was very kind, no question about it, but for some reason Gru couldn't quite allow himself to take it. His brother Lucy was a fantastic musician - virtuous, even. Something about taking his mentorship, let alone being invited to play with him, didn't feel right. His brother was a musical prodigy and him, well...he was not.
But when he looked at Lucy once more, those skeptical thoughts seemed to vanish. It wasn't the music genius Lucy who was looking at him back, stare filled with yearning and wonder. No. It was someone else.
It was Lucy, his little brother, for whom moments ago he wanted nothing but happiness. To turn his frown upside down and see him smile once more.
What kind of big brother would he be if said no to that?
"Alright...but." Gru answered.
"But?" The younger pup inquired.
The older Dalmatian answered with a coy smile. "Only if you show me that drawing of yours from earlier."
He saw Lucy ponder upon it. But it didn't take long for him to let out a giggle and return a smile back to him. "Deal!"
And with that, the two brothers shook paws, sealing their agreement, out of which neither had any intentions to back away from.
Gru couldn't recall the last time he was genuinely looked forward to something...sure, expecting the apocalypse a hundred times came close, but for once he was eager for something he could see himself doing every day for as long as the sky decides not to fall on everyone.
"Hey, Gru?"
"Hm?"
"I'm sorry…" His younger brother apologized, turning somber yet again.
Oh, this wasn't good. Lucy was looking so much better already. "Why?"
"Because I judged you wrong." He confided to Gru. "All this time I thought you were just some gloomy worry wart." His mood sank even further, looking away from his older brother. "I never tried to know you better."
"Well, to be fair, you're not the only one who did that." Gru said after reflecting on Lucy's words, feeling his own shame sink in. "All this time I thought you were just a laid-back pup who didn't care about anything but music, you know."
"Oh, well…" Lucy rubbed his arm abashedly. "It's not like I ever do anything else. Not in front of others any way."
"Same here…" Gru admitted with dismay.
He guessed it was back to negative vibes all over again.
"So um. Thanks Gru."
The large man looked down at his little brother. "For what?"
Lucy smirked at him with newfound cheerfulness. "For showing me there's more to you and…for letting me show there's more to me."
Like a contagious disease, Lucy's positivism passed on to him, forcing his paw to draw out a smile of his own.
"Likewise, little bro." He echoed, placing a paw on his Lucy's shoulder. "Likewise"
Gru's body tensed as he felt his brother's arms wrap around him and his furry head nuzzle right beneath his.
"I take back what I said." Lucy expressed as he held Gru in a hug. "You're actually very good at this, you know."
Bonus points had been scored to Gru's confidence in the end. And the weirdest part was that, in retrospective, he was doing his worse when he thought hard about how to handle the situation with his little brother.
And the moments where he was at his most confident? Where he was hardly thinking about it at all. As if, strangely, he was a natural at it.
Who would have thought he would have learned to be good at helping out a little brother in the span of an evening. How long have they been talking anyway? 10 minutes? An hour? Could have he, Gru the alarmist, gloomy Dalmatian, turned himself around in such a short time span? It made no sense. Lots of things weren't making any sense to him at this moment.
But something was very clear at the very least. He was glad that he did what he did. Because ultimately it just worked out. His brother was happy. It was as simple as that. He needed comfort and Gru gave it to him. All was well. It couldn't be any simpler that.
Gru held Lucy in his arms and gave him a warm embrace in return.
"I'm glad to have you as my big brother." The little Dalmatian uttered.
Closing their eyes, the two took a moment to simply enjoy the, well, joy of the moment. There was just no other way to describe it. It was pure joy. No negative side thoughts of any sort. Just the joy of two brothers sharing a merry minute with one another.
It may not spare Gru from the chores, tasks and what other tough responsibilities that awaited him now. And if Margo and Edith were good examples of it, he knew a myriad of them were ready to rain upon him soon.
But at the end of the day, if moments like these were the trade-off of being a big brother, well, then he sure was glad to be a big brother.
Because it ultimately felt...well, very rewarding.
"Hold up, are you sure we shouldn't wait a little longer?" They heard a muffle voice come from the trap door to the rooftop.
"Edith, we've waited long enough already. I'm sure he's cooled off by now." Make that two voices.
"I don't know, Margo, he seemed really fired up. Maybe we should wait 'til tomorrow."
"No way, we gotta talk to him now. The sooner we sort things out with him the better."
Lucy and Gru broke off the hug as, promptly, their older siblings Margo and Edith frantically emerged.
And a third one following them, Da Vinci, with a nervous look in her eyes.
"Hey Lucy" The eldest brother and sister pleaded in unison. "We know you're probably still angry, but we were hoping we could talk things-"
"Oh, hey guys." Lucy calmly greeted them, casually picking up his headphones once more and returning them to their usual spot – rested on his head.
"Huh?" The two were thrown off, having expected a Lucy full of ire and bitterness, only to find, well, much better.
Lucy approached his other siblings, followed closely by Gru behind him. "So, um, listen, I'm sorry about what happened earlier." He bowed his head apologetically. "I was really mad at myself because of my drawing and I took it out on all of you. I shouldn't have done that..." He then looked past the elder two to look directly at the younger sister behind them. "Especially you, Da Vinci. You were just trying to help and I took it the wrong way."
Approaching his sister, he gave her a timid smile. "Do, you...think I could still borrow your tools next time?"
Pleasantly, Da Vinci appeared very receptive to his brother's apology, and immediately smiled back at him. "Lucy, you can borrow as many as you want."
Gru watched with content at the two siblings making amends. Edith and Margo, on the other paw, could just barely process what was happening.
"Oh, speaking of!" Lucy looked back at his elder brother for a moment. "Hey Gru, wanna come see the drawing?"
"Right behind you, bro!" He replied with cheer.
Full of eagerness once more, Lucy came down back into the house, followed by Da Vinci who was no doubt intrigued by joining his brother in his new artistic interest.
Carrying his case on his mouth, Gru himself was no less enthusiastic and couldn't wait to see what his younger brother had to show him.
"Uhh...what happened here?" Asked a completely perplexed Margo.
"Wuh?" Gru turned around to look at this equally dumbfounded siblings, putting down the case for a moment. "What do you mean?"
"Lucy! He was so upset earlier, but now he's fine!" Edith began to inquire desperately. "How did that happen?"
"Oh, that?" Gru was unmoved by his siblings agitation, responding with nonchalance. "We just talked things out. That's all."
"Talk things out?" The other two pondered together. "With Gru?!" Staring at each other, their faces were filled with dread. "IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD!"
"Pfft, no it's not."
The eldest siblings instantly turned their eyes to the trap door, from which Gru's face peeked out of. "Grow up, you two." He muttered before disappearing back into the house.
For a good minute or so, the only sounds that accompanied Margo and Edith's bewilderment were the distant sounds of the city, and occasional bark as well. By this hour of the evening, the World Wide Woof was busy with all sorts of gossip and announcements, but the two Dalmatian siblings were still too wrapped up in their own befuddlement to even notice the sun had disappeared from the sky now.
"...woah." Edith broke the silence. "Did you hear that, Margo?"
"Yeah..." His sister replied. "Sure did, Edith."
Breaking away from their semi-trance state, the two faced one another.
"Who would have thought?" Edith smiled with delight. "Our little brother Gru..."
"Heh, more like." Margo rejoiced along with him. "Their big brother Gru."