A/N: Sorry for the delay! I wanted to at least get this short chapter out to you all without further delay, and there'll be more excitement coming up soon.

Chapter 8

"Oh, you've got to be pulling on my leg!"

Gru crossed his arms and sulked. He pulled up his sleeve to check his wristwatch – one hour until Agnes' performance. He had gotten off early from AVL duty because there were no new breaks on the case, and thought he'd grab something to eat and drink before heading to the concert hall. He looked up at the snaking line of patrons waiting to be served at his favorite coffeeshop.

"I just wanted a quick coffee and snack, and now look at zis mess!"

"Pumpkin spice lattes now available!" beamed the chalkboard sign on the sidewalk.

"One leaf falls, and everyone goes crazy for pumpkin spice…" Gru's finger itched as he unconsciously reached for his freeze ray.

"Gru! No freeze rays at the coffeeshop!" Lucy's voice barked. Gru yelped and dropped his freeze ray, cringing at the unexpected voice. Lucy had apparently coded a verbal warning into his freeze ray after one too many complaints about Gru's "cold" technique of jumping queues at shops.

Gru lowered his eyebrows, let out a long sigh, and joined the line. Forty-five minutes later, he burst in his front door, clutching his hard-earned cup of coffee and a paper bag with a warm, apple cinnamon muffin waiting inside.

"Okay, fifteen minutes to make it to the performance… Lucy has the girls… I just need to shower and get Jerry and Stuart. Piece of cake!"

Kyle's ears perked up at the word "cake". He scampered into the living room, and his jaw dropped open at the smell of the muffin.

"Kyle…No!"

Kyle drooled in anticipation and charged heedlessly. Gru squealed.

Bursting into his bedroom, Gru skidded on the smooth wood floor while trying to shake Kyle off his arm.

"Kyle, leave me alone! I have to go see Agnes! Ky- Kyle! That's my muffin!"

Rolling on his back, Gru pushed with both feet against a stubborn Kyle. Growling, the pet slowly loosened his grip.

"Kyle, if you let go, I'll give you… two treats when I get back, instead of one." Kyle's eyes opened slightly, and he looked as if he was considering the offer. Unhinging his jaw, Kyle dropped off Gru's arm and trotted off, seemingly satisfied with himself.

Gru breathed a sigh of relief and set the coffee cup and paper bag down on his dresser. He jumped in the shower, fiddling with the knobs.

"Agh! That's cold; too cold!"

"Waaahh! Hot; hot; hot!"

After five minutes of wrestling with drastic temperature changes, Gru climbed out. He pulled on black pants, a sleek black leather jacket, and twirled on his striped scarf with a flourish.

Pulling out his walkie-talkie, Gru said, "Jerry, Stuart; time to go see Agnes!" He grabbed his coffee and muffin, before hopping into the transporter down to his jet in his underground lair. Jerry and Stuart plopped into their seats, clicked their seatbelts simultaneously, and saluted. Gru briefly looked back at them before doing a double take.

Jerry was dressed in the white coat and overalls from Gru and Lucy's wedding, but had replaced the white hat with a sparkly silver hennin (a cone-shaped 'princess hat'). Stuart was rocking a pink tutu and carrying a heart-shaped sign with Agnes' name in pink sparkles.

"Waaaat?" the minions chorused.

Gru opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, and simply gave up. "Whatever you guys want. Let's go."

Gru reached for his muffin as he revved the engine. He fumbled around in the paper bag, before realizing there was a hole in the bottom when his hand went straight through.

The scream of "KYYYYYYYYYYLLLLLE!" blended with the throaty rumble of Gru's jet bouncing around the resonant lair as they took off.

~o~

"Dad! I didn't think you make it in time!" Edith waved Gru and the minions over.

"Shh… It's about to start!" Margo said. The lights dimmed and the curtain rose.

Agnes appeared on stage, smile as radiant as the sparkly princess dress she wore. Though Gru didn't think it possible, her smile grew even brighter when she spotted her family in the second row. Fueled by adrenaline and love, Agnes danced the fairy princess with grace and poise; regally addressing her kingdom and subjects, swooning before the fearsome dragon (of patchwork scale and cardboard claw), and cheering on the fearless knight.

Proud parents leapt to their feet as the show ended, and Gru and Lucy's voices rang loud and proud for their youngest. The minions and older two girls hooted and hollered as Agnes took her bows on stage.

"Agnes, that was amazing! I loved all your facial expressions on stage!"

"You were as graceful as a swan!"

"I thought the fight scene with the dragon was awesome!" They all turned to stare at Edith. She shrugged. "What? It was."

As Gru beamed and chatted with his family, his AVL badge, attached to the edge of his collar, began vibrating furiously. He looked down at it.

Red 1, it flashed.

Realization hit him and he slapped his earpiece in.

"Agent reporting."

"Excellent timing, Gru."

"What is it, Anna?"

"It's showtime. Montolivo's our guy."

Gru hesitated as he looked at his happy family. I'm doing this mission for them, he reminded himself. He met Lucy's gaze, and she nodded in understanding. He gave each of the girls a hug and a quick kiss on the forehead, and gave Lucy a peck on the lips, before dashing out the concert hall.

Agnes waved goodbye, curious and a little disappointed Gru had to leave so quickly for work. "Be safe, Daddy…"