you can have my heart, any place, any time
Summary: Goldie and Scrooge talk. They just talk.
Word count: 1910
Warnings: None
1974; Duckburg & Dawson
“Blackjack Saloon and Hotel, this is Silvia speaking.”
“I need to speak to Goldie! Right away!”
“Um…Miss O’Gilt isn’t available right now, can I take a message?”
“Not avail-?! Where is she?”
“She specifically requested I not share her location with random people on the phone, so…I’m not telling you that.”
“Argh! Can ye tell her Scrooge needs to talk to her?!”
“Oh! Scrooge, like…Scrooge McDuck?”
“Obviously.”
“Wow, okay, well. Alright, just hold for a minute.”
“Just hurry!”
“...”
“Not available, my ass.”
“...”
“Curse me kilts, I’m tired.”
“...”
“She’d better not blow me off-”
“Scrooge?”
“Goldie!”
“I hear you urgently need to speak to me, so…speak.”
“...well, I suppose it wasnae that urgent, I just…”
“Of course.”
“I wanted to make sure ye were alright, is all.”
“...is there some reason why I shouldn’t be alright?”
“I, uh…I wasnae sure. I had a run-in with Magica De Spell, ye remember her?”
“The witch, yes.”
“She…pretended to be you. Tried to kill me. Same as usual.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I just thought she might’ve…I dinnae know! Hurt ye before turnin’ into ye! I just wanted to make sure.”
“...I appreciate your concern, sourdough, but I haven’t seen her around.”
“Ah. Well. Good, then.”
“You’re cute when you’re worried about me.”
“Hmph! I, uh…hmm. How…how are ye?”
“I’m fine. Working. Shouldn’t you be working?”
“I’m in my office, but I…needed to talk to ye. Couldnae wait.”
“...”
“...”
“...I’m going to hang up and call you back in a few minutes, alright? Is your office number the same as always?”
“...aye.”
“Don’t go anywhere.”
---
Goldie took the elevator up to her room, barely acknowledging her girl at the front desk before leaving. She was a bit embarrassed by Scrooge’s worry - not that she cared what her employees thought, since they all knew about Scrooge to a certain extent. But she preferred they thought of her and Scrooge’s relationship as some weird, complicated sex thing…not, like, an actual relationship. That could get messy.
She walked into her room and grabbed the phone by her bed, sat down and started dialing Scrooge’s work number. It was convenient to have these kinds of things memorized. It only rang once.
“Goldie?”
“Wow. And what if I wasn’t Goldie? Now you’d have to explain who that is to your business manager.”
“Ye know I’m my own business manager!”
“Yes, yes, of course you are.”
“So…you, uh, wanted to talk some more?”
“You seemed so adamant on talking to me, I thought we could chat for a bit. When’s the last time we just talked without other things going on?”
“I cannae remember. A long time, I’d say. But that’s not my fault!”
“No? How’s that?”
“You’re the one who’s always leavin’ suddenly! I’d be happy if ye stayed around a bit longer!”
“...”
“...”
“You’re not usually this upfront about your feelings, Scroogey. Did De Spell really get to you?”
“Bah. She may’ve hit me with a truth spell in an attempt to humiliate me.”
“Ahhh. And it hasn’t worn off yet?”
“Almost! But dinnae ye try to take advantage, ye devil! I’ll just hang up!”
“Hmhmm, fine. You’re no fun.”
“What could ye even ask that hasnae been said, anyway? You already know I love ye.”
“...”
“...”
“...that’s true, I do know that.”
“And I know you love me, even if ye dinnae show it.”
“...Scrooge-”
“I dinnae want an apology, Goldie. I’ve known ye long enough to know what you’re about.”
“Well I definitely wasn’t going to apologize. But I was going to ask if you’d rather talk later, when you’re not still so…truthful.”
“...no. I dinnae want to wait.”
“...truthful Scrooge is very charming, you know.”
“Not clingy?”
“Maybe a bit. I don’t hate it.”
“I probably hate it more than you do.”
“Ha, ha! Yeah, probably.”
“...when’re ye comin’ to visit again?”
“Hmmm…not sure. I don’t usually plan these things too far in advance.”
“What if I said I had a treasure hunt in mind that ye’d probably be interested in?”
“More tempting. What is it?”
“The Florentine Diamond.”
“....................is that so?”
“I’ve heard rumors that it’s still in Switzerland and I know the right people to ask, so we could-”
“I’m gonna stop you right there, Scrooge. You’re not going to find it.”
“Huh? Why’s that?”
“It…was already stolen. And smuggled. And recut.”
“...”
“...”
“...by you?”
“Yep.”
“When was this?!”
“Mmm…maybe around 1920? A long time ago.”
“And ye never told me?”
“I never told anyone! Some treasure hunts aren’t safe to brag about. Figured I might get my hands cut off for that one.”
“...you’re probably right.”
“Any other plans?”
“There’s…the lost Imperial Fabergé Eggs. Or did ye steal those, too?”
“.................well-”
“Ye cannae be serious!”
“Alright, alright! I only have one of them.”
“Goldie!”
“It was kind of a pointless theft, since I can’t really sell it or display it.”
“Then where do ye keep it?”
“...”
“...Goldie?”
“You might get mad.”
“................why?”
“Let’s just say…it’s closer to you than it is to me.”
“Wait, what?”
“Mhmm.”
“Where is it?!”
“Ahh, lighten up! It’s in your Other Bin! The IRS will never look there.”
“Wh-?! Since when do ye know about-?! Argh!”
“C’mon, Scroogey, you didn’t expect to have a giant secret bin filled with magical nonsense without me finding out, did you?”
“...I dinnae know what I was thinkin’.”
“Finding the other eggs could be fun, though.”
“No, no. Not if ye already have one.”
“Fine.”
“How about…Dove Schultz’s secret treasure?”
“The mobster?”
“Doesnae sound like you’ve found this one already!”
“No, not at all. Where is it?”
“Somewhere in New Stork, I believe. I dinnae have all this on-hand, but I know I have a map or some clues around somewhere.”
“That sounds like fun, sourdough. It’s been a while since I’ve been back to New Stork. I’d love to walk around the city again.”
“The treasure’s not in the city, Goldie.”
“Doesn’t mean we can’t spend a night out.”
“...”
“What? You’ll take me to dig in the dirt but you won’t take me to a Broadway show?”
“...well, uh-”
“Seems like you only want to see me when I’m sweaty and on my knees.”
“Rrk-! Goldie!”
“Ha, ha, ha. Dirty old man.”
“I’m not-! It’s not-! I could…we could…it’s…New Stork is an expensive city!”
“Of course. I wouldn’t want to bankrupt you.”
“Sarcasm suits ye well, dear.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
“...so what else is going on with you, Scroogey? Anything new?”
“Um…new? Hmm…”
“I’m sure there’s something going on with that big family of yours.”
“Oh, well - Hortense and Quackmore decided they want to have kids!”
“Really? After all this time? How old are they?”
“They’ve been living at Dismal Downs, so they’re pretty young still.”
“Ah. Well good for them. And what about Matilda?”
“I dinnae think she has an interest in children.”
“That’s not too surprising.”
“Well, I- oh, give me a second.”
“Alright.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...Scrooge?”
“...”
“...”
“Goldie, I didnae realize how long we’ve been on the phone. I have to get back to work.”
“Right. It is the middle of a Tuesday, after all.”
“But this has been, um. Well. It’s been nice talkin’ to ye.”
“Maybe we could do it again sometime.”
“...maybe we could. Talk to ye soon.”
“Bye.”
---
Goldie heard the click of Scrooge hanging up and stared at the phone still in her hand. She glanced over at the clock on her bedside table and was surprised to see they’d been on the phone for over an hour. They always said time flies when you’re having fun. And she was having fun. Just chatting about life and treasure and each other.
They’d never done that before. Not over the phone. She liked it.
Maybe she’d try it more often. Give him a call, chat for a little while. Not too often. Once every few months…it’d be nice to let him know she’s alive.
Her phone started beeping at her so she finally hung it up and sat up on the edge of her bed. She wasn’t sure if Scrooge was serious about them treasure hunting together - their little adventure on Oak Island was the last time they’d tried it and it was a messy hunt with barely any reward. Plus he was under a truth spell, so he might just take back everything he said the next time they spoke.
(If he was serious, she’d say yes, though, of course. Why wouldn’t she? Treasure hunting with Scrooge was always fun, even when it wasn’t.)
The truth spell was interesting. She’d never been under one herself, but she’d heard about it. It was one of those types of magic that every military wanted to get their hands on, but no witch was desperate enough for money to give them the information. Yet. Sounded scary. As someone who lied often, Goldie struggled with the idea of blurting out a million truths without being able to stop herself. Not only could it get her into real trouble, but…
…well, there were things Scrooge didn’t know that she didn’t want to tell him. It wasn’t like she thought he’d react badly or cruelly, she just wanted some things to be private. Though he might also have some tactless responses, knowing him.
She sighed and laid down on the bed again, staring up at the ceiling. She should probably be getting back to work, too. But now all she wanted to do was spend time with Scrooge.
---
Scrooge hung up the phone feeling good. Unexpectedly good. Really good.
Lately, he didn’t feel that way after talking to Goldie. But…she was receptive, communicative, interested…for the first time since the 50’s, it felt like she genuinely wanted to spend time with him. For the last fourteen years, it seemed like all she ever wanted was his help or to bother him or to have sex with him. Or all three.
He sighed, signing more papers that were dropped on his desk a few minutes earlier. He got off the phone with Goldie to focus, but he still couldn’t stop thinking about her. She managed to be such a significant distraction without even trying.
He was embarrassed at himself for talking about his feelings for her again. She was never one to say she loved him back, so he didn’t want to say it anymore. Level the playing field. But he gets a tiny bit of truth spell on his brain and suddenly he can’t help himself? It was ridiculous. She knew how he felt, he didn’t need to keep reminding her like some kind of sap.
Still, though…it was a nice phone call. Civil. Fun. Scrooge wondered if he should try calling her again in a week or two - maybe even make phone calls with Goldie a regular thing. It would certainly be something that would make their relationship feel a little more normal.
He glared at the phone and thought for a second about the cost of long-distance calling so often - but he owned the phone company and did international calling for work all the time. What was the harm?
With only a moment of hesitation, Scrooge opened up his calendar and wrote “call GG” on his schedule for April 23rd, two weeks away. This could be a nice new step for them. Maybe they could really, finally get to work on their relationship. Make improvements, talk to each other more, get more involved in each other’s lives.
Maybe even get married again someday. But for real this time.
…maybe.
REAL HISTORY FACTS:
- The Florentine Diamond was really stolen around 1918 and then rumored to have been recut and sold not long after
- If you're unfamiliar with Fabergé eggs, just know they're super old and fancy and worth millions of dollars each. Six of them are known to be missing currently.
- Dove Schultz = Dutch Schultz, New York mobster from the 1930's that supposedly hid a $50 million treasure before he died.
DUCK FRANCHISE REFERENCES:
- 'Silvia' is a reference to Silvia Ziche, an artist for the Italian duck comics
- Hortense and Quackmore's late-in-life efforts to have kids is a reference to my own headcanon which I outlined in a post here:
https://lettheladylead.tumblr.com/post/670193251222962177/so-you-dont-think-that-the-reason-donald-and