At first it looked like the only means the group had of getting back from the now surfaced submarine was a provided rowboat. This impression lasted until the Simsa Major lifted its head out of the ocean, casually eating the rowboat in the process. Tempest couldn't help but chuckle at Lucy's reaction to that, and all the alarms it set off that a 'villainous superweapon mecha' got that close to an AVL mobile base without being detected. It seemed the stealth systems were working well. "Are you really surprised to learn bears can swim?" Gru joked playfully to Lucy as they boarded.
Once they were underway, however, Gru rounded on the Minions. "When were you planning on telling me this magical robotic superweapon was amphibious?" he demanded angrily.
"Ano...prompo?" Stuart offered awkwardly, making Tempest giggle.
To Tempest's surprise, Gru calmed down rather rapidly after that as the Simsa calmly swam through the ocean, making rather excellent time without disturbing the ocean flow all that much, in blatant violation of hydrophysics. Her surprise turned to amusement, however, when she saw he was turning an AVL business card over and over in his hand, with an additional number written on it in pen. This made the trip back quiet and relaxing.
Tempest smiled softly as she saw Gru carrying an unconscious Agnes into the bedroom, quickly sending the girls to bed. To her surprise, however, Edith spoke up. "So when are you going on your date?"
"Date?" Gru asked a bit defensively. "What are you talking about?"
"Miss Jillian said she was arranging a date for you," Edith explained eagerly.
Tempest snorted in amusement. It seemed she wasn't the only one who wanted to see Father find someone, even if she was being the most practical and proactive about it. Besides-
"Yeah, well, she is a nutjob and I'm not going to touch any of the girls she sets me up with with a ten foot pole," Gru stated in a relaxed tone. "For some reason, she seems to think I need to 'settle', and what's the point in that? I'm amazing, aren't I?"
"You're sure something, alright," Margo observed playfully.
"And you can tell Miss Jillian to cut out the attempts," Tempest spoke up calmly, "since Gru's already found a nice girl, once he gets around to asking her out."
"What?" Agnes demanded, shooting awake.
"Really?" Edith asked eagerly.
"When did this happen?" Margo pressed urgently.
"This morning," Tempest explained. "It's why Gru was gone all day."
"Ooh!" the three girls exclaimed excitedly.
"Details!" Margo pressed urgently.
"Now I don't think-" Gru began.
"You realize if you don't tell us, we'll just badger it out of Tempest since she seems to know it all already, right?" Edith pointed out wickedly.
Gru sighed softly. "Alright, alright..." He sat down to look at the girls. "She's really nice, quite pretty, and rather good with weaponized gadgets...as I discovered when she tasered and kidnapped me as an attempt at recruiting me for her secret shadowy quasi-government super cop organization."
The girls stared at him for a time in stunned amazement, before Margo slumped back. "You really can't do anything the normal way, can you?"
"Where's the fun in normal?" Gru countered playfully.
"How'd getting knocked out and kidnapped lead into maybe asking her on a date?" Edith questioned curiously.
"Because she's a fan of his time as a villain and has good taste in music," Tempest explained readily. "Also, she didn't flinch when I threatened her with the Simsa Major, or get offended when I asked if she was single and how she was with kids. She also seemed to like the idea of being a contestant on 'Most Eligible Bachelor' if Gru was the star."
"She's got spunk," Edith praised with a grin.
"Awww!" Agnes cooed as she pictured the show thus described.
"...yeah, she'll fit right in," Margo allowed somewhat ruefully.
"Well, I'm glad I have your approval," Gru responded playfully. "But for now...get to bed!" He pointed firmly into the missile pod beds as he said the last, sending the girls scurrying and giggling into bed. He then kissed each of them goodnight before heading out the door.
Tempest calmly slipped after him. After all, she'd slept on the way back in the Simsa, so she wasn't that tired. However, despite her intentions, she wasn't able to tail him the entire night, as he took the elevator down to the lab below. Still, the Minions would inform her of anything important that happened. Instead, she went looking for a snack.
Tempest was munching happily away at some cookies in a high cabinet of the kitchen when she heard the elevator return. She thought about peeking out, but she could tell from the sound of Gru's footsteps that he was feeling down. Confused, she sent an inquiry to the Overthought.
Nefario has accepted employment elsewhere, where he can be evil instead of making jams and jellies that taste bad.
Tempest blinked her eyes, trying to process that. She didn't want to fall back into her adult mindset and deal by thinking 'everyone abandons me eventually', but-
Gru asked him about you, and you'd miss 'Uncle Nefy'. Nefario said that even if he's working elsewhere, we're all still family.
Fizzie relaxed with a warm smile as she heard that. She hadn't wanted that pain. Hearing Gru pick up the phone, Tempest focused her attention. Her hearing was good enough she could hear both sides of the conversation.
"Hey Lucy!" Gru said as the other end picked up.
"Oh, Gru!" Lucy responded enthusiastically. "I wasn't expecting you to call so soon. You seemed pretty adamant about not working for the AVL."
"Oh, I still am," Gru answered easily. "I don't want to be some super spy, not really. But...I do need an outlet to sell my jams and jellies now that we've got some flavors that work well and are nutritious, and I hear tell you have a store at the mall just waiting for me."
"Well, I don't know how I'd float that past my superiors," Lucy allowed nervously. "Though it does sound nice."
"Well, if you're there helping me sell, then you've got me there pointing out who in the mall is villainous as 'idle gossip' while we chat, get to know each other...and you can meet the girls." Gru chuckled softly. "They seem eager to meet you, and...I would like to get to know you better. Er...that's not too forward, is it?"
"Oh no, not at all!" Lucy hastened to assure him. "It actually sounds wonderful. I just don't know how I'd get Mr. Ramsbottom to sign off on using so much agency resources for the benefit of someone not associated with the agency. You will be making a profit selling your jams and jellies, after all."
"Well, you could always play it off as a modern take on the classic silk-sheet recruitment," Gru suggested playfully.
"Wait, you don't mean-"
"Oh, no!" Gru spoke up hastily. "I don't mean to imply-I mean, I wouldn't say no, but I'm not asking, I mean-" He slapped himself in the face to get his words in order as he organized his thoughts.
"Oh, I see what you're saying!" Lucy spoke up quickly. "As a mature single father, your interests in women are less about 'having fun' and more about emotional bonds and family stability, so a 'silk-sheet' recruitment for you involves less seduction and more romance. Less 007 and more Kunoichi."
"Yes, exactly, that's what I meant!" Gru managed to gasp out, plainly relieved.
"Well...I could probably get Mr. Ramsbottom to sign off on that...if I could manage to keep a straight face when I said it."
"That's what memos are for," Gru allowed easily.
"True," Lucy allowed. "So...I guess I'll be seeing you in a few days, then. For a...work date?"
"Yes, that sounds...about right," Gru allowed, his voice suddenly becoming nervous. "I'll...see you then."
"Yeah, see you then."
As the phone clicked and Gru hung up, he slumped back into his chair. "Good lord, what have I gotten myself into?"
Tempest covered her mouth with her forehooves to stifle her giggles. This was going to be fun. She didn't even think it significant that the Overthought informed her that Dr. Nefario had absconded with one of the Minions. He probably just needed an assistant at his new job since he was so old, and he was family after all.