Date #81: Not a Double Date

Having been on eighty dates so far, Lucy and Gru had discovered a number of things that they enjoyed doing together. They were always up for simply talking, usually swapping stories about missions and heists and things. They also liked having small adventures such as trying new foods or breaking into museums at night—that had been Lucy's idea, by the way.

Tonight, however, was one of their favorite activities. They were going to the movies to see a new spy movie just to mock it horrendously. They'd been kicked out of the theatre twice now for disturbing the peace by laughing at inappropriate moments and throwing popcorn at the screen. They were hoping this movie was inaccurate enough so that they wouldn't feel bad making shadow puppets with the projector.

They were standing in line to buy tickets when Lucy saw something from the corner of her eye that made her just as much suspicious as she was surprised. Margo was there, and with a boy! When they'd left Gru's house, Margo had said she was going to a friend's to study for a test. This did not look like studying.

But Lucy knew how Gru got about Margo and dating, he'd made it very clear when he wanted that Antonio boy arrested. So she decided to steer Gru's attention elsewhere, standing next to him opposite Margo so that he would have no excuse to look behind him. Margo eventually went to into the bathroom and Lucy found this too big of an opportunity to pass up.

"I'll meet you in the theatre, Gru, I have to use the restroom."

He nodded and continued to stand in line as Lucy strode off. When she made it in, she pretended to be freshening up using one of the mirrors until Margo appeared.

"Lucy!" Margo nearly yelled, surprised beyond belief. "What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you the same thing." Lucy replied, sounding a bit more serious than she'd intended. "Look, I don't want to get you in trouble, the last thing I want is for Gru to find out you're with a boy and call off our date. Or yours for that matter. Are you dating?"

"It's our first date." Margo confessed. "You know I couldn't tell Gru."

"I know, but it's still lying to him."

"I know! And I feel bad about it, but I just couldn't find a way to tell him. I love it that he's worried about me, but not every boy is as lame as Antonio. Bradley's actually from my school, we're in the same study group for Geometry."

Lucy knelt down to be at Margo's height and spoke in a slightly quieter voice. "I'll cut you a deal. The next few times you do this, text me so that I know you're out and about. It's not safe to have no one know where you are. Be lucky that Gru hasn't put a tracking device on you, he's been talking about it."

"You'd really do that for me?" Margo asked.

"Only if you promise to tell Gru about it, but maybe you should wait a few weeks." Lucy confirmed.

"Thank you so much!" Margo said in utter appreciation, hugging Lucy, who gladly accepted the embrace.

…

Lucy made it to the theatre just in time for the first preview. Gru was the only person sitting in the very back row, so he was easy to find.

"What took you so long?" Gru asked. "I'm already half way through the Milk Duds."

"Give a girl a break, there was a line." Lucy said, lying terrifically. She reached over and grabbed the box of Milk Duds from his hand. "Have to save these for ammo. Popcorn won't make it to the screen all the way from here."

Gru snickered. "I like the way you think."

…

As predicted, they were kicked out. This time, they had made fun of the brief sex scene, throwing Milk Duds at the screen and yelling that it was an unrealistic situation. Now with Gru driving them home, they were still talking about it.

"Can you believe that? Getting it on after nearly dying on a mission?" Gru complained. "The only thing I want to do after near death is relax in the comfort of my home. Put my feet up, have some ice cream. Whatever."

"That's because you have three girls at home and a jelly company to attend to." Lucy retorted, although she fully agreed with him.

"Yeah, so?"

"Just think about it. That secret agent dude who I already forgot the name of was single, had no attachments, and went from hotel room to hotel room every day. He doesn't need to relax because he doesn't have any responsibilities other than spying." She paused for dramatic effect. "Not to mention he was like, twenty years younger than you."

Lucy snickered while Gru began to stammer, pulling up to the driveway.

"Well—I—He…" Gru had to think of a good come back. "Well, she was younger than you."

"You know how old I am?"

Before they could really get any further into their bickering, they had gotten out of his car and were approaching the house.

To Gru's surprise, Edith and Agnes were still up, playing video games with Stuart and Phil. They all turned their heads to see the two adults entering, the children—as well as the Minions—knowing exactly what he was about to say.

"Hey." Gru said in a warning, yet playful tone of voice. "It's past your bedtime, girls!"

Both girls got to their feet and ran up the stairs screaming as Gru chased them to their room. Lucy was about to follow when she noticed a light coming from the front window. She looked out to see a car pulling up to the curb and a figure getting out and walking towards the house. She knew it was Margo and opened the door for her.

"Hey Lucy." Margo said happily.

"So, how did it go?" Lucy asked, quiet enough that she was sure Gru couldn't hear them from upstairs.

"It was just great! We talked throughout the whole movie though, I'm not even sure I could tell you what it was about."

"Sounds like me and Gru, only we're a little louder." Lucy shrugged.

"Got kicked out again?" Margo asked, aware of their escapades, for the most part.

"Yep. Record time." Lucy said, fist pumping the air.

Margo raised her hand for a high five, which Lucy accepted gratefully. "Are the others asleep?"

"They're just getting to bed now, actually."

…

When all three girls were in bed, Lucy and Gru were talking in the living room, sitting side by side on the couch drinking hot chocolate.

"I have to ask you something." Lucy said. "I know how much you hate the thought of Margo dating, but what if she met a really nice boy at school? What if she wanted you to meet him?"

Gru didn't hesitate to answer; it's as if he'd rehearsed for this very question to come up, or worse, he'd actually planned for the situation. "I'd put him through a series of pointless and painful tests in the lab just to make him uncomfortable, then I'd keep him in a very small room for ten years, only feeding him rice and corn twice a day, then we'll see if he's still interested."

Lucy looked as if she was going to say something, but couldn't quite come up with the right words, so she took another sip of her drink.

"Gru," she began after a moment. "Margo's growing up, and not all boys are as bad as that evil mastermind who went and danced with a lot of girls."

"You're right." Gru admitted. He paused for a moment and looked into the distance, clutching his mug. "Most of them are worse."

"Really?" Lucy said, exasperated. She couldn't believe this.

"Ok, ok, I get your point." Gru amended quickly. "I just—" he sighed, looking as if it were difficult to put his feelings into words.

Lucy scooted over so that they were right next each other and placed a hand on his shoulder.

He turned to face her and took a deep breath. "I just got her. She's my little girl. She's not supposed to grow up and away from me."

"But she is." Lucy said, although she didn't want it to be true, it was. "That's' what kids do, they grow up. She's almost thirteen, at least you've still got a few years before college."

Gru groaned and had his head in his hands. His response was predictably muffled.

"Oh, was that the wrong thing to say?" Lucy asked, mostly to herself.

"And I have to deal with this three times?! I'm not sure I can handle it!" Gru said, sounding absolutely hopeless.

"You'll be fine!" Lucy reassured him, now reaching around and side hugging him. "You know why?"

He peeked out from his hands and looked at her. "Why?"

"Because you'll have me. I'm definitely not going anywhere." Lucy said as she leaned down as kissed his cheek.

The statement made his heart flutter. Knowing that she had such long term intentions gave him a bit of confidence. Maybe date #82 would be when he finally gave use to the ring he'd gotten weeks ago. Or Maybe date #83, or maybe #84...

Praise, flame or ignore the review box to your heart's content :)