Is It Crazy You Think I've Gone? Chapter 1

Is It Crazy You Think I've Gone?

Chapter 1: A Despicable Man

For Lucy Wilde, being with Gru was like… falling off of a rocket that was heading full speed at a volcano and slamming into in a frigid ocean that knocked all her senses from her.

Truly, it was exactly like that.

It was exciting and terrifying to be dating again, especially a man as brilliant and one-of-a-kind as the ex-villain. However, Gru was more than just some bad boy she was dating for a thrill. The way they spoke to each other so genuinely, the way they shared their love of espionage and adventure but from completely different perspectives… it was all so refreshing. She had found someone so different from herself that still seemed to understand her like no one else could.

It had thrown everything she had thought was possible out the window. And just like she had felt when she hit the water and finally managed resurfaced for air, she was stunned, amazed, and never happier to be alive.

"What are yoo thinkeeng about?" Gru asked her over coffee the morning of their second date. Lucy considered this their second date only because she thought the night where they tried to get the sedated blonde back to her place without garnering too much attention was their first. Maybe it was supposed to be Gru and what's-her-face's date, but she dared to imagine that the fun night that they spent together and the kiss on the cheek she gave Gru at the end of the night meant that she had stolen the date for herself.

Hmm, her first heist. Gru would be proud.

Lucy shook her head. "I was just thinking about what happened two days ago with the rocket… you might be an ex-villian, but you were my hero, Gru."

Lucy smiled over her coffee as she saw Gru's face break out into a rather prominent blush.

Gru straightened in his chair in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. "Yes… well…" He cleared his throat, and a teasing twinkle began to form in his eyes when the embarrassment began to fade. "I would rather yoo not be spreadeeng dat hero business around. I do have a reputation as a veellain… even eef eet is a former one.

"Yes, because being the sweetest father to three adorable daughters doesn't just blow that out of the water."

They grinned at each other. However, as none of them could think of something else to say, their date once again fell into an awkward silence. This is the first time they had been with each other since they realized how mutual the affection between them had been, and honestly, neither of them quite knew what to do.

Lucy turned her mind to Gru's children. A lot of people were put off by the idea of a potential romantic partner already having children, but all Lucy had to do was watch Gru's loving interactions with his children, and to her, it only made him more attractive.

Who knew a super villain could make such a wonderful father?

However, Lucy would have to be completely blind not to notice that the girls looked nothing like their father. They had two different eye colors between them and three different hair colors. Not only did they not resemble Gru at all, but they didn't even look like they were related to each other. Plus, Lucy couldn't help but wonder who their mother was, or what happened to her. Gru never mentioned previously having a wife, but she hadn't directly asked him about it either.

And another thing… she may not have known Gru very long or spent much time around his kids, but not once had she heard his daughters call him Dad. That made her pretty confident that Gru wasn't actually related to them, and her best guess was that Gru had married into the girls mother's family, and that something had happened to his wife leaving him to take care of the girls. However, she wouldn't know until she asked…

"Speaking of the girls…" Lucy began cautiously, "Is it okay if I ask… what happened to their mother?"

Gru blinked in surprise and gave Lucy the strangest of looks. "Dere mothers?" He paused. "I don't know what happened to dere families… dey don't speak of eet much."

Lucy's lips parted in confusion as she struggled to ask just one question at a time when multiple ones suddenly sprung to her head at once. "But how… wait, what?"

Gru took in her confused expression, and slowly his face took on a look of understanding. "Dee girls are adopted," he explained. "None of dem are actually related to each other… or to me."

Lucy's mouth made a small 'o'. That made more sense. She smiled at him. That had to be the sweetest thing she ever heard. A villain who had been lonely and wanted a family.

"When did you adopt the first one?" Lucy asked. She wanted to know as much about this adorably despicable family as she could… especially since she was planning on being around a lot more.

To her surprise, Gru grimaced and his features became stormy. "Dis ees not somet'ing I weesh to be discusseeng right away," he admitted softly, "but seence you asked… I adopted all of dem a little less den a year ago."

Lucy was stunned, but then the ridiculousness image of a bald, long-nosed (exceedingly hansom in her opinion) villain introducing three very different girls to his dark mansion won out, and she laughed. "What, did you wake up one day and suddenly decide you wanted kids?"

Her attempt to make light of the situation didn't work, and Gru's dark expression clung to his face.

There was something wrong here and she knew it.

"Gru?" Lucy asked worriedly.

"Lucy…" he began guiltily, as if he wasn't sure how to explain, or if he even wanted to at all. "You know I love dee gurls, right?"

Lucy's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "Well, yeah, duh, of course you do, anyone could see that. Where is this coming from?"

Gru griped his coffee mug tighter, and the female secret agent worried he might shatter the mug. Gru then let out a long sigh, and then put the coffee down. "Leet's just say I deedn't always," he admitted, and Lucy had never seen him look so ashamed.

"What do you-"

"Lucy, you can't forgeet I was a veellain at that time…" Gru was studying his mug carefully, and then suddenly he looked up at her, pleadingly. "I-I don't weesh to talk about eet anymore." He averted his gaze once again.

There was a moment of silence between them as Lucy considered his words, and then she surprised herself by suddenly asking: "is that because you don't think I will understand, or because you're afraid of what I'll think?"

His eyes snapped up at her with a look of surprise that was quickly overtaken by guilt. "Both," he admitted.

She sat back in her chair, and then smiled what she hoped was an encouraging grin. "Come on Gru, it's me!" she announced as positively as she could. "I like you, and I want to get to know you. I'm sure I can handle anything you have to throw at me, even if don't understand it at first. You don't have to be afraid of scaring me away."

Gru looked at her doubtfully.

"I mean, I was the only one in the whole organization that was willing to work with a villain! Well, ex-villain, but people were still scared of you."

Gru had to smile at this. "…But you weren't."

Lucy laughed. "No way. If anything, I was a huge fan of you! I mean, stealing the moon? That's brilliant! You're brilliant."

Gru blushed deeply. "T-thank you, Lucy. And I know you are right, a-and I weell tell you eventually… but not now, please? I-I joost got you back, I don't need you to hate me."

Lucy placed a hand on his. "Oh, Gru…" she breathed sympathetically. She wanted to push the issue, to make him understand that she liked him too much to ever hate him, but you couldn't force someone to feel comfortable. That had to come with time, and Lucy could wait.

"Alright, I'll drop it for now, but you have to answer me this one question I've been dying to ask you!"

Gru looked at her dubiously. "What's that?"

"Oh, wow, I'm going to finally know the answer! I'm so excited!" Lucy squealed to herself.

Gru rolled his eyes. "Lucy…"

"Oh, right! So my question is: why did you put the moon back? Why didn't you use it as leverage against the rest of the world? With the moon you were the most powerful man on the planet. I read the report and I know how the effects of the shrink ray wear off, but there should have been enough time for you to blackmail the world at the very least, and if you needed to you could have just used the shrink ray on it again. So why?"

To Lucy's utter surprise, Gru's face darkened once again. He was wearing the same expression he had on when she had pushed him about why he had adopted the girls.

"Dat was the plan," Gru informed her softly. "Dat was my dream… to one day steal the moon. But…"

"But?" Lucy prompted.

"Eet wasn't worth the cost."