"Three little kittens with milk all gone, rubbed their eyes and started to yawn."
The kittens were sleepy, but this time, Gru's girls were not. They listened intently to their dad, who'd started a tradition of reading Sleepy Kittens on Father's Day.
Gru dropped the book into his lap. "What? No yawns?"
"I'll yawn," Lucy volunteered, doing so and dragging it out purposefully.
Gru smiled. This was the first year his wife was there to join in on the tradition. She sat next to him with her pajamas on, resting her head on his shoulder.
"That was a good one," Gru observed.
"Well, the girls and I kinda got up at the crack of dawn."
"And you are pregnant." Gru grinned, still in slight disbelief that the phrase could apply to Lucy.
"And I'm pregnant."
"Well, I'm not tired at all," said Edith. "Today was way too exciting."
"That is why I am tired," laughed Gru. "All right. Let's finish the book. 'We can't sleep. We can't even try. Then their mother sang a lullaby. Goodnight kittens, close your eyes. Sleep in peace until you rise. Though while you sleep, we are apart…," Gru's voice trailed off as he heeded his daughters' little faces. "Your daddy loves you with all his heart."
Edith and Agnes exchanged smiles and then smiled up at Gru. Margo was happily surprised. It took her a moment, but she smiled back at her father too.
Gru got to his feet and kissed his daughters goodnight, while Lucy's eyes welled up for the millionth time that day at the scene. When he knelt next to Margo's bomb bed, Gru was taken aback to see tears sparkling in Margo's eyes, too.
"This baby is really lucky," said Margo. "It's going to get to love you from the start."
Gru smiled back as he pulled her in for a hug.
"Happy Father's Day."
"Thank you, Margo. I love you."
Lucy pulled back from her hug with Agnes to look her in the eyes. "You all know how much Gru and I love you, right?" She caught Margo and Edith's eyes, too. "A new baby will not change that."
"I know," said Agnes, nuzzling into Lucy. Margo and Edith nodded in her direction, their faces set in warm smiles.
The door creaked behind Lucy as she pulled it shut. She recalled the many times it almost gave her away as she checked on the girls late at night. "Gru, do you think that they'll be okay with all of this?"
Gru stared at the ground for a moment. "I think they will." He nodded to himself. "I mean, sure, there might be some challenges down the road, but they seem to be excited about the idea. I know I am." Gently he bent down, patted Lucy's stomach, and said, "Goodnight, little baby."
Lucy giggled quietly. She loved the way he touched her so gently, and how the words sounded coming from him. Leetle baby. It echoed in her mind and made her laugh many a time after that.
Gru kissed Lucy's head affectionately. "Goodnight, Lucy. You and the baby should go get some rest. I love you. Thank you for everything today."
Lucy's eyes smiled back at him. "I love you too…but aren't you coming to bed?"
Pausing momentarily, he shook his head. "I'll be in in a few minutes."
Lucy shrugged. "Well, okay. Don't stay up too late. The baby and I need your body heat," she laughed.
"Okay. I won't be long." Smiling, Gru made his way to the living room and plopped down on the couch. He'd had his fair share of processing at the mall, but he needed one more moment to try to wrap his mind around the concept of a little Gru.
Gru knew after the scenes that had played in his mind earlier that he was happy. But he'd never had much experience with babies. He was certain he'd never actually met a baby in his entire life. What if he couldn't handle a baby? What if something happened to his baby because of him? Gru's eyes widened. What if something happened to Lucy?
Gru rested his chin on his fist. Deciding not to consider these nauseating possibilities, he scrutinized his living room, trying to make the happy visions return. If he squinted a little, he could almost see Lucy sitting next to him, rocking a little bundle in her arms. The tiny baby feet toddling around.
Perhaps it wouldn't be so terrifying after all. After all, he knew one thing for certain.
His baby would grow up being as loved as it could be.
Even just thinking about it made the voices reappear in his brain. His mother's voice rang out loud and clear, making his head spin. You're ugly. You're not good enough. You will never make it to the moon. The living room blurred as Gru's eyes became damp. He was, decidedly, going to give his child what he'd given Margo, Edith, and Agnes. What his mother had never given him. Right then and there he promised his unborn baby his love.
Gru lowered his head and gingerly let the tears come.
The baby he already loved was closer than he thought. Lucy stood in the doorway, her hand resting on what would eventually become her baby bump. Watching her husband intoxicated her. Once a supervillain bent on destruction, now a dad vowing to love and protect his child.
Lucy walked over to Gru's weeping figure and touched him upon the shoulder gently. He patted the sofa, silently inviting her to join him. He pulled her in close, and she leaned into him and said nothing. He started massaging her back.
"Lucy, I meant to ask you a question."
Lucy didn't remove her head from Gru's shoulder, and she was breathing so softly that Gru could barely hear her. He was just beginning to wonder if she was asleep when she started to snake her arms around him.
"Lucy?"
Silence.
"Why didn't you just tell me in the first place?"
Lucy slowly detached her head from Gru's shoulder. Her eyes swelled, a fresh batch of tears streaking her face.
"Oh, Lucy…," Gru whispered in a hushed tone. His inquisitive expression melted into compassion.
She wiped away tears with the back of her hand, even though her face had crumpled again at the silky softness of Gru's voice. "I'm sorry. I promise I'm okay."
"You don't have to be." He brought her back to his shoulder. Wistfully Gru stared at the top of his wife's red-haired head. As Lucy choked out sobs, he whispered tenderly to her that everything was okay. Then it dawned on him.
He remembered seeing Lucy kneeling on the floor of Paradise Mall with a pasty white face, trembling as she looked down at him. Cracking jokes rapid fire, afraid to let his silence hang.
Ever so gently Gru placed his hands on Lucy's shoulders and pulled back so he could look her in the eyes. However, Lucy refused to meet his.
"You thought I was going to be upset."
A tear glided down Lucy's cheek as she nodded, staring down into her lap apprehensively. She sniffed as she replied, still studying her lap, "No, I mean, not really. But, yeah, I guess there was a little part of me that did."
Gru ran his hands up and down her arms. "Honey, I am happier than I've ever been. I would never be mad at you about this. We did this together." He recalled her words at the party earlier. "This baby won't ruin anything. Sure, it's not going to be cupcakes and rainbows all the time. But I think there will just be more love to go around."
When the tears finally came to an end, Lucy straightened up beside Gru, exposing her usual beautiful grin. Despite the traces of tears, her eyes shone and her face radiated love. Gru returned the grin happily.
"It's gonna be like a new mission," said Lucy. "And I think we got this, partner."
"Me too." Gru kissed her cheek. "How about you go back to bed? I'll be in in a few minutes. For real this time."
On his way down the hall, Gru stopped and peered in on his daughters. Edith, usually restless, was still. Agnes sucked her thumb, with Kyle and Lucky curled up by her feet. Margo was bundled up in the covers, her face mild. Each breathed so peacefully that a sense of peace washed over Gru. He quietly walked in, pulled Edith's covers up, patted Margo's head, and stroked Agnes' cheek.
He tiptoed into his room cautiously. Lucy was sound asleep, worn out from the long day. Gru walked over to her side of the bed slowly. He brushed a stray strand of red hair out of her face, feeling a surge of affection for the woman who was carrying his baby. Conscientiously Gru pulled the blankets over her. Pausing, he pulled them back down. He had forgotten a family member.
His eyes fell on the place where his baby would develop and grow for the next several months. Making sure that Lucy was really asleep, he kissed two of his fingers and then softly placed them on Lucy's midsection.
"Sweet dreams, my baby," he whispered. Carefully he tucked Lucy in again.
A few months later…
On their 321st date, Gru and Lucy sat at the counter of Bake My Day, legs swinging in anticipation.
"One, two, three!" Lucy counted.
At the same time, they bit into their cupcakes. Blue icing gushed out, ringing their mouths and staining their teeth.
Lucy looked up into her husband's eyes as he grinned goofily yet again, knowing full well he would have been just as happy with another little girl. His eyes were the same bright blue as the icing.
And right then and there, she knew she would give that baby boy his name, too.
And there you have it, folks. Thank you so much for reading! I had a blast revisiting and revising this little fluffy fic I wrote around nine years ago. This might be obvious, but I did write a brand new epilogue to coincide with DM4! I'm a little emotional thinking about Gru Jr. given how long fans like me have been exploring the idea of a Grucy baby 3. I grew up with the Despicable Me triology and care so much about these characters. Even though I always enjoy taking the Gru family in new directions myself, I'm excited to see what happens next in the canon in just a few short hours :)
~GrucyFanatic