how long can we keep this up, up, up?

Summary: Goldie and Scrooge follow a lead to a new adventure in Australia.

Word count: 3448

Warnings: None

1926; Alice Springs, Australia

He had his own plane.

Goldie shouldn’t have been surprised by that. It was the fastest way to get around the world, after all. And because of all the urgent technological advances during the war (the war that she and Scrooge had completely missed, thanks to being frozen), planes were safer and faster than ever. So yes. She shouldn’t have been surprised at all.

It was still an odd experience. Goldie had been on a plane plenty of times since opening her hotel in Portugal, but she still wasn’t used to it. She spent sixty years on the ground and in the water, the sky was a whole new thing.

Her anxiety about the long - long, long, loooong, long - trip didn’t stop her and Scrooge from having some fun up in the air. In fact, she felt like it eased her worries quite a bit.

Scrooge did that a lot. Mostly unintentionally. But a part of Goldie couldn’t stop thinking back to their first month together when he saved her life and held her in his arms and she felt so safe and warm with him...there was no feeling quite like it.

More than a day of flying went by quickly when they were spending it goofing off, talking about business, going over plans for this adventure and, of course, having a good time.

When they finally landed in Alice Springs, Goldie couldn’t wait to get off that plane and feel solid ground under her feet again. But she also knew they needed to hurry. The rich muckety muck they’d eavesdropped on in Florida was probably on the move to find that gold and they needed to get there first.

---

Scrooge knew that inviting Goldie on this adventure/gold hunt with him was a risk. He was all too familiar with Goldie O’Gilt, after all. She meant confusion and heartbreak and almost inevitable betrayal.

But she also meant fun. Not just the sex, but their chats and arguments and their shared history and a surprisingly amount of cuddling. It was the little things that made him want to keep spending time with her no matter how bad an idea it was.

So far their journey had gone without a hitch. But that wasn’t unusual for adventures with Goldie. Everything would seem fine and dandy until suddenly she’d take the gold and run.

Well not this time!

Scrooge was going to make sure she didn’t distract him and get away with the treasure. Especially with the amount of money he was spending on fuel and guides to make sure they got to their destination safely...the only thing worse than Goldie running off with the prize would be no prize at all. They were going off of flimsy details from a conversation overheard at a fancy party. Maybe he hadn’t thought this through as well as he should have.

Sitting in the back of a chauffeured car through the Australian desert, Scrooge glanced down at Goldie. She was leaning her weight against him and had her eyes closed. She didn’t seem to be sleeping, but she looked very serene.

He was frustrated as always by his feelings for her, but God if it didn't feel good to just spend time with someone he really...loved.

The ride was comfortable - only a few hours and they'd be dropped off just outside of Ayer's Rock. The driver agreed to wait in a nearby town for two days, and if they didn't return by then he could leave them behind.

Goldie objected to the deal; it was very similar to one she'd made in Alaska years earlier. But Scrooge was confident they'd be back well before then. He was Scrooge McDuck, after all. And it was just a big rock in the desert!

"Uluru is not just a big rock," their driver said with an offended frown. "It's sacred. It's been around since the beginning of time."

Goldie elbowed Scrooge in the chest as they exited the car. "Uluru is the native name for it?"

"Yes," the driver said quietly. "The proper name."

The two adventurers glanced at one another, then put on their backpacks and stretched. It was going to be a bit of a walk to get to the Rock, and then they’d spend hours and hours traveling around and on top of it trying to find the treasure.

Good thing they were both gold-obsessed, experienced adventurers or it’d probably be hard to find. Scrooge could smell gold from a mile away and Goldie could catch sight of the sparkle of gold without any light to speak of.

As they got closer to Ayer’s Rock, the evidence of other explorers was blatant. Scrooge and Goldie knew they had to move fast and make sure they got the gold before anyone else could.

---

“What exactly does vein of gold even mean?”

“It’s...well, I dinnae the science behind it, but it looks like melted gold dripped between other rocks.”

“Ahh, so it kind of looks like veins with all the little branches and whatnot. I get that.”

The two ducks spent several hours hiking up and around the site, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of gold. Though getting around the rock itself should’ve only taken four hours or so, they were going slow and steady to make sure they didn’t miss anything.

Goldie had suggested she look low while Scrooge looked high, but he rejected her suggestion with a less-than-subtle accusation that she’d keep information from him. As if she could really do that in a place like this. What was she supposed to do, say there was nothing there and then sneak back in the middle of the night to dig out her prize? It didn’t make any sense.

So instead, they zig-zagged all over the rock for hours on end.

During one of their later climbs down the side of the rock, Goldie’s head turned instinctively towards a gleam she’d seen out of the corner of her eyes. She’d recognize that gleam anywhere.

“Gold!”

Within a second, Goldie made her way to the shiny mineral, Scrooge following closely behind. They both squinted at the rock wall in front of them.

“Is this it?” Scrooge asked, unable to mask his disappointment. “The man in Florida said it was huge!”

“I haven’t seen anything else,” Goldie grumbled. She crossed her arms over her chest. “Maybe it goes in really deep?”

Scrooge scoffed and pulled a small pickaxe out of his bag. “Just means more work for us.”

---

The ducks spent two hours hacking away at the side of the rock, collecting little bits of gold in their shared bag. It wasn’t much - would cover the cost of their trip, for sure, but not much beyond that.

“This is what we get for followin’ such a shady lead,” Scrooge grumbled.

Goldie shrugged next to him. “Well there wasn’t nothing. If you weren’t so rich, you’d probably be excited by this much gold.”

Scrooge paused as he considered her words. She was right, just three decades ago this amount of gold would’ve made him jump for joy. And here he was complaining about it. Had he become spoiled in his wealth?

At the realization that she was the only one currently working, Goldie turned around to yell at her frozen partner. She was immediately distracted by a menacing shadow looming over the two of them. She eyed the shadow, following it all the way to a group of kangaroos headed towards them. Goldie tilted her head and watched the animals cautiously, realizing just in time that one of them was about to attack.

“Oh, shit - Scrooge!” Goldie shouted as she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the way.

The kangaroo’s feet smashed into the rock right where Scrooge’s head had been. The two of them stared at the spot with fear in their eyes.

“Curse me kilts!” Scrooge adjusted his hat and scooted back. “What’s with these kangaroos?!”

Goldie dragged Scrooge out of the way of another attack and scowled. “They must be protecting the gold!”

There were five kangaroos in total and both Scrooge and Goldie knew that if they stayed too long they’d get beaten to a pulp. Kangaroos were known to be aggressive under normal circumstances, but if they thought these ducks were trying to encroach on their territory...

Goldie and Scrooge ran along the edge of the rock as the kangaroos kept after them. They were outnumbered and outmatched and knew it was safest to get out of dodge. But the kangaroos were fast and although he and Goldie kept pulling and pushing each other out of the way of attacks, eventually one of them managed to hit Scrooge in the side and send him flying into Ayer’s Rock.

He heard Goldie screech before he passed out.

---

“C’mon, c’mon! Stupid sourdough...just stay still!”

Scrooge felt an aching pain in his side and in his head. His whole body was hurting, actually. But he could distinctly feel someone moving him and hear Goldie grumbling urgently nearby.

“If he needs medical attention this is probably just gonna make it worse. But what the hell can I do? I’m in the middle of nowhere talking to a fucking kangaroo!”

He scrunched his eyes, trying to understand the words she was saying. Medical attention? Kangaroo?

Oh, yes, that’s right.

“Goldie!” Scrooge shouted as he quickly jolted to attention. It brought a stabbing pain to his head, which he immediately cradled.

“Oh, Scrooge!” Goldie sounded shocked. “Perfect! Can you hang on to here?” she asked as she tugged his hands forward and wrapped his fingers around clumps of fur.

He squeezed. “What’s this…?”

“Our ticket out of here,” she said.

Scrooge’s vision became perfectly clear just in time to see Goldie hop on top of a surprisingly docile-looking kangaroo. That was odd. Scrooge looked down at what he was sitting on only to find...another kangaroo. “Wait, what?”

“C’mon, boys! The others will be coming after us soon!” Goldie shouted as she pointed in some direction away from the rock.

The kangaroos started to run and Scrooge squawked, wrapping his arms around his ride’s neck to make sure he didn’t fall off. “Wh-wait, Goldie! What about t-the gold?!”

She turned around and spotted the other kangaroos coming up behind them, but seemed confident enough in their lead that she gave Scrooge a bright, enchanting smile. “Got as much of it as possible into our bags, Scroogey! Don’t worry your pretty little head about it!”

Her words made Scrooge feel much better about the whole situation, though he had no idea what had happened. He loosened his grip on the kangaroo and grabbed it properly, whispering a little apology for squeezing so hard. He turned around to see if they were being followed and in the distance he could make out the rest of the kangaroos from earlier.

Scrooge wanted to ask Goldie more about what had happened, but when he turned to look at her, she was fixing her ponytail and at that very moment her hair was loose and flying behind her dramatically. The view was distracting and Scrooge felt himself leaning against the kangaroo. She looked so…

“...beautiful.”

Goldie raised an eyebrow at Scrooge. “What’d you say?”

Scrooge continued to stare for a moment until her voice registered and he sat up straight again. Had he said something out loud? Maybe he hit his head too hard. “Where exactly are we goin’?”

“Well...away from danger was my first priority,” Goldie answered with a shrug. She glanced behind them and smiled again. “I think we’re out of harm’s way. Let’s just try to find Jack so he can take us back to Alice Springs.”

---

After a few hours of wandering around on their kangaroos (Scrooge still didn’t understand how Goldie managed to corral them, and her only response when he asked was that he shouldn’t have passed out), the two ducks decided to give up before the sun went down completely. They probably weren’t terribly far from civilization, but they had no way to know for sure and they had enough supplies to keep themselves and their friendly kangaroos alive for another day.

They ate some food rations and chatted idly as the sun went down. Scrooge didn’t make a peep as he watched the kangaroos lay down to sleep and despite a bit of fear that they might be mad, he decided their bodies looked like comfortable pillows.

Goldie watched him as he gently laid his head down and they both stared at the kangaroo’s face to see if it would react. It looked at him for a moment and then closed its eyes.

Scrooge smirked, feeling very proud of himself.

“Looking comfy there, sourdough,” Goldie commented quietly.

He smiled at her and patted the spot next to him. “Are ye gonnae come find out?” he asked with unexpected confidence.

Goldie looked surprised for a moment before crawling over and laying her head next to his. They made eye contact and she felt her heart racing more than it should - this wasn’t an unusual position for them. Nothing about this was unusual. It’d just been such a long time that she’d almost forgotten what it felt like.

Scrooge wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

She let out an amused sigh and put her hands on his chest. “You’re in a good mood.”

“I suppose I am,” he responded quietly. “Probably from gettin’ smacked in the head.”

Goldie suddenly slid her hands up to his head and started poking and prodding. “I completely forgot to check if you were concussed after that hit. Does any of this hurt?”

“Not anymore than usual,” Scrooge mumbled.

“Of course you’d bounce back from that completely unbruised.”

“I am Scrooge McDuck,” he whispered, leaning his face closer to hers. “Nothin’ can take me down.”

She didn’t respond and just stared into his eyes, enjoying their last moments of daylight together. Goldie didn’t know what it was about this particular moment, but she felt herself drawn to him in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Nothing special happened. He didn’t say anything or do anything. He was just...Scrooge McDuck. And she’d missed him.

A moment later and they were kissing. Two sixty-year-olds sprawled out on the dirt making out under the gradually appearing stars...it wasn’t exactly the stuff of romance novels. But it felt right.

Both ducks wanted to take their usual route and go further, Scrooge turned on by her adventuring prowess and the fact that she’d saved his life, Goldie turned on by his gentle gaze and confident smirk, but their kangaroo company was keeping them abstinent for the time being.

They kissed for longer than necessary, neither really interested in sleeping just yet. They wanted to enjoy being in each other’s arms until sleep took over.

---

Goldie woke up in the middle of the night. Still in Scrooge’s arms.

Her face went red and hot and she looked away from his relaxed expression to berate herself. She’d been through this with him before. She’d gotten too far ahead of herself and expected way too much from him and then ended up disappointed and feeling like an idiot.

She would not let that happen again. Scrooge was a consistent man - Goldie had started to learn over the years how to predict his moods and his actions. If she stole the treasure and left in the middle of the night, he’d wake up and curse her name and get back to civilization using his ridiculously impressive skills, and then do nothing about it until the next time they met.

His interest in her was reliant on her presence. He didn’t think about her when she wasn’t around and she’d accepted that. It pissed her off to know she’d never get a personal invitation to his mansion or his family’s castle, but Goldie had decided she didn’t care.

If she wanted to go to his mansion, she would go. If she wanted to see his castle or meet his parents, she’d just do it. She didn’t need his permission.

Goldie sat up carefully, not wanting to wake Scrooge. He barely moved, only shivered slightly at the loss of her body heat.

In an annoying burst of affection, Goldie leaned down and placed a kiss on his cheek before she got up to grab her prize and go. She’d leave him with the kangaroo he was sleeping on, at least. He wouldn’t be able to say she was completely heartless.

She sighed as the sun started to come up and highlight the color in his cheeks. Goldie really, really wanted to just lay with him forever. But she couldn’t lead herself on like that. She knew better than to completely give her heart to Scrooge McDuck.

---

Scrooge was rudely awoken by his pillow deciding to get up and move, his head smacking into the hard ground underneath.

He sat up and rubbed the new sore spot on his forehead, then opened his eyes to look around. The sun was barely out. He squinted in the weak daylight to check whether their stuff was still nearby.

“Goldie, I think-” Scrooge started to say, but then he paused. He glanced at the spot next to him where Goldie was a few hours ago and then lifted his head to properly look all around.

No sign of Goldie anywhere.

He sighed and let himself drop back onto the ground, laying on his stomach. What else did he expect? She saved his life and then they kissed and cuddled and he felt like he could marry her, so obviously the next thing she would do is leave. That was just how Goldie operated.

Scrooge turned his head to look at his bag of supplies. What was the chance there was any gold still in there? He knew he needed to hurry up and check so he could decide whether or not to chase after Goldie, but he also knew she was long gone.

He opened up his bag and saw his supplies intact and the tiniest scattering of gold chunks at the bottom. "Backstabbed. Again. Of course," Scrooge grumbled out loud, causing the kangaroo to stare at him.

As Scrooge stood up to start preparing for his solo journey back to Alice Springs, he let out a deep, contemplative sigh. He didn't feel heartbroken over Goldie's betrayal this time. He considered it an inevitability, and despite losing most of the treasure to her sticky fingers, Scrooge felt okay. He fell in love with her knowing full well this was how she treated him. Maybe they'd never get married, but that didn't mean they wouldn't continue to spend time together for years to come.

He knew he'd see her again. Wherever there was gold to find, there would be Goldie.

---

After a few hours, Goldie had made her way back to Alice Springs and let her kangaroo loose, waving goodbye as it hopped in a new direction to start a new life. She sighed and looked around, deciding the easiest way back to North America would be sneaking onto a military plane.

She'd done it before and she was happy to do it again. Though she was struggling to ignore the hollow feeling in her chest when she thought about Scrooge. He would be fine, she was confident of that, but she still felt a little bad. She didn't want to. She needed to do something to keep herself from staying too close to him. She had messy, complicated feelings, but so long as she could convince herself that those feelings weren't love, then she'd be fine. She didn't want to be in love with Scrooge McDuck. And just having fun with him every once in a while was fine with her. Thirty years of being rivals-with-benefits and somehow it still hadn't lost its charm.

The plane she'd made her way onto was apparently headed to an island called Hawaii. Goldie had never been.

She was tucked away in the luggage hold, comfortable enough to make do for several hours. But she couldn't stop staring at her hands. She felt old. Uncomfortably old. Maybe Hawaii had a fountain of youth or something 'cause she felt like she needed to take another sip. But not because of Scrooge. Simply because she wanted to live for a very, very long time.

She still had so much to do and so many places to go. The world was changing rapidly and she wouldn't let Scrooge be the only person to watch it all happen.

REAL HISTORY FACTS:
- Vancouver to Alice Springs would be 21 hours today, so...even more than that back then.
- Uluru is sacred to the native people from that area. It was renamed Ayers Rock by colonizers, named after Sir Henry Ayers, the then-Chief Secretary of South Australia.

DUCK FRANCHISE REFERENCES:
- From the DT17 book Solving Mysteries and Rewriting History: "Putting on Airs at Ayers Rock: We got word there was a vein of gold deep in the landmark protected by killer kangaroos. When they had us cornered, she figured out a way to saddle them and leap us to safety."