i can't stand the sound of another heartbeat in the room

Summary: Goldie meets Donald and Della Duck.

Word count: 5694

Warnings: None

1995; Duckburg -> Egypt

At eleven years old, Donald Duck thought he knew everything about his uncle.

So far he and his sister had spent two full summers staying in the old (very very very old) man’s lavish mansion, going on crazy adventures and finding treasure and fighting bad guys and definitely having a unique summer vacation compared to his friends at school.

Over those summers (and the occasional winter break…and spring break…and occasional weekend), Donald and Della had grown more and more curious about their uncle. Their mom had told them the basic necessary information - he’s her older brother, he’s the richest duck in the world, he founded and owns the city of Duckburg - but not much more than that. So whenever he went to work and left them alone, they’d dig around his files and his photo albums and his whatever-they-could-find to learn more about him.

In July of 1993, they found his autobiography. It was long and boring, and they skipped most of it because they didn’t really care about anything that happened a million years ago. Uncle Scrooge didn’t seem bothered that they’d read it, he just said he hoped it would inspire them to greatness of their own. Donald did not feel inspired. He just felt bad for his uncle - the man didn’t write about any relationships outside of business or family. How sad was that?

In August of 1994, they found a bunch of women’s clothes in one of his dresser drawers. Naturally they wanted to ask him about it, but Duckworth told them to leave it alone. Fine. There were probably a lot of explanations for that and Donald thought some of them would make Uncle Scrooge seem a little cooler. But he’d just have to let it go.

That was, of course, until March of 1995. Donald and Della finally learned that their uncle did have at least one relationship outside of family and work. They also learned, presumably, the source of the women’s clothing. Though that was super gross to think about.

That was the day they met Glittering Goldie O’Gilt, Uncle’s Scrooge’s rival and…ex-girlfriend?

—

Goldie never had an opportunity to confront Scrooge about his little book. She’d thought about it for days and days after binge reading it, let her anger and confusion stew and fester, but then…nothing. The next time she ran into him after that day was more than two months later, and he surprised her with a nice dinner at home.

She never figured out what the occasion was, but it was nice and romantic and she didn’t feel like being mad at him anymore.

And after that, things were…normal. Well, normal for them.

Every once in a while they’d talk on the phone, occasionally they’d go on an adventure together or she’d crash some event he was at to get on his nerves. It was fun, actually. There were some rough situations, but for the most part it was really good.

Then, suddenly, around 1993, Scrooge stopped answering the phone. He stopped acknowledging her threats. He stopped going to business events that were easy for her to crash. He just stopped.

And it was frustrating. Goldie didn’t think he’d found someone new - he wasn’t with any new women in paparazzi photos - but she also didn’t think his company was doing something so crazy that he needed to be busy 24/7. She’d thought they were in a good place for a little while there, so she was left wondering what happened. Did she do something wrong? She always did things wrong. That shouldn’t have been news to him.

But they’d had several-years-long breaks before, so Goldie decided to give him a bit of time. She had things to keep her busy, too. Like…more treasure hunting. And traveling. So much traveling. She still visited her many Blackjacks, even if she wasn’t in charge of them anymore. And they’d just opened up a new one! In Reykjavik, Iceland. She wasn’t involved in that decision so Goldie was curious to see how it would play out.

1995 was different, though. She didn’t really have anywhere to be or any people to talk to and she missed him and he still hadn’t reached out to her at all. Not even for her birthday. And he definitely knew her birthday after her little tantrum back in ‘68, so he had no excuse! So a week after her birthday, Goldie finally decided she was heading to Duckburg again. She wanted to see him and nothing was going to get in the way of that.

—

She reached Scrooge’s bedroom window with the same ease as always. He had his anti-magic traps set up for De Spell, but nothing that Goldie couldn’t slip around. Using one of her grappling hooks to climb up the side of his mansion came so easily to her it was like breathing, and with a quick flick of the window latch - Goldie was inside.

Of course, Scrooge was not. Well, what did she expect at three in the afternoon on a Wednesday? Scrooge was probably at work. But she could say hi to Duckworth and play around in the Other Bin until he came home.

She thought about going to visit him at work, but he’d be home soon enough. She could take her time and get comfortable.

Goldie exited the bedroom quietly and took two steps into the hallway when she heard something strange and unfamiliar.

“COME ON, DUMBELLA! GIVE IT BACK!”

She blinked twice and walked to the railing so she could look down at the first floor of the house. She was greeted with the sight of two young ducklings running around - first a girl, holding a guitar above her head, and then a boy, chasing her angrily.

What the hell?

One thing she never expected to find in Scrooge’s home was…children. Were they his? Was that why he’d disappeared for the past few years?

(She stared at them while they ran around and realized she didn’t know anything about duckling ages. They didn’t look two. Maybe ten?)

If they were ten, then they probably weren’t his. Or, well, maybe he didn’t know about them until recently. With all his dating around, he could’ve gotten some young thing pregnant and not known about it until she finally came to collect some checks.

And then he…adopted them? Let them into his home? None of that sounded right. Why would she assume these kids were Scrooge’s? Just because they looked a bit like him?

They certainly didn’t look like Bentina. Wasn’t she a bit old to be a mother, anyway?

Goldie wasn’t sure what to think. Her thoughts were reeling. She was being absolutely ridiculous. She didn’t have any idea how to react to the rugrats.

“Hello, Miss O’Gilt.”

She turned her head towards the familiar voice and frowned at the expression on Duckworth’s face. How long had he been watching her? He could probably sense her confusion about the kids and she’d bet good money that he wouldn’t tell her a goddamn thing.

“Duckworth.”

“Would you like me to let Mr. McDuck know you’re here?”

Goldie glared at him, feeling a bit judged. “Isn’t he at work?”

“Not today. The children are on Spring Break, so he wanted to be home to spend time with them,” he said casually as he walked away.

She knew he’d said that just to get under her skin. Goldie knew so much about Scrooge that not knowing something, especially something so significant, bothered her a lot. And Duckworth absolutely knew that about her and he probably thought it was hilarious. He was probably whatever-the-butler-version-of-laughing-is all the way down the stairs.

Goldie eventually started to follow him and ended up at the top of the main stairs in Scrooge’s foyer. She looked down at the first floor and watched two pairs of eyes turn to look right back at her.

“Who’re you?!”

“Did Uncle Scrooge hire a nanny?!”

She sighed and settled into a deep-set frown. Children.

“No, Dumbella, she’s probably some kind of cursed villain!”

“You don’t know that! What if she’s a villainous curse?!”

“I am neither of those things,” Goldie said finally, though she was struggling to understand what the young boy was saying. Still, her response worked surprisingly well as she watched the two kids go quiet and stare at her suspiciously.

The kids looked at each other for a moment, nodded, then looked back up at her. The little girl was the one who decided to speak next. “So then…who are you and how’d you get in the house?”

Goldie opened her mouth to speak when she was interrupted.

“Goldie O’Gilt!”

The three of them turned their heads to look at Scrooge who’d just walked in through the doorway to the living room. He was glaring up at her, though there was a fondness in his expression that only Goldie could understand.

“Hey there, Scroogey.”

“Scroogey?”

Duckworth stood behind Scrooge for a few moments, then turned around and went back to work. He usually seemed entertained by their chaotic little relationship, but Goldie supposed he couldn’t stick around for every fight.

“Duckworth said I had a visitor ‘n then I heard the kids yellin’ about villains...I almost thought Magica was back.”

Goldie took a few steps down the stairs. “Has she been visiting a lot lately?”

Scrooge rolled his eyes and leaned on his cane. “Even once is a lot when it comes to her.”

The two kids looked frustrated as they watched the casual conversation, clearly hoping for more context instead of listening to idle chatter.

Goldie finished coming down the stairs and got closer to Scrooge, putting one hand on her hip. “So what’s with the rugrats, sourdough?” she asked, the tiniest bit of jealous anger in her voice. She hoped he didn’t notice.

He glanced down at the two of them and then back up at Goldie. “This is Donald and Della,” he said, walking behind them for emphasis. “My kids.”

Unable to stop herself, Goldie frowned deeply and couldn’t contain her expression of anger and confusion and embarrassment. That was, until Donald and Della looked up at Scrooge and responded to him with a combination of laughter and disgusted sounds.

“You’re not our dad!” Della said, nudging her elbow into Scrooge’s side.

“Yeah! Our dad’s in Jamaica!” Donald agreed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Don’t be weird, Uncle Scrooge!”

Uncle.

Goldie slowly closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to fight the urge to punch Scrooge in the face. He absolutely knew she was jealous and wanted to see how she’d react to that sort of news and she played right into his hands like some kind of sucker. He was the one who was supposed to play into her hands! She needed to start conning people again or she’d completely lose her touch.

“You’re hilarious,” she said pointedly.

Scrooge chuckled and patted both of the kid’s heads. “They’re Hortense’s twins. I told ye about her tryin’ to get pregnant, right?”

“Hmmm…” Goldie tried to think back to the last time they talked about either of his sisters. “...maybe? Good for her, I guess.”

As the billionaire was about to respond again, Della suddenly climbed up on his back and picked up his top hat, placing her head on top of Scrooge’s and the hat on top of her head. “OKAY BUT LIKE WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU HERE?”

Scrooge reached up and grabbed Della, placing her back down on the floor. “This is my…um, this is Goldie.”

Goldie raised a curious eyebrow at his little slip-up. What exactly was he thinking of saying just then?

“Yeah you said that already. But who is Goldie?” Della asked impatiently.

“You’ve never mentioned me?” Goldie asked faux-sadly (though she was a little sad about it, if she was being honest).

He side-eyed her and glanced down at the kids. “Goldie is…an old friend.”

“Old ‘cause her hair is gray or old like you’ve known her forever?”

“C’mon, Della, obviously it’s both!”

Goldie had to stop her eyes from rolling into the back of her head. This was exactly the commentary she expected when she decided to let her hair go gray. Well, she preferred to think of it as silver. But most people saw them as the same.

Scrooge looked up at her and smiled that stupid handsome smile that made her want to kiss him. “Ye look nice in silver, dear.”

Donald and Della looked at each other suddenly, realizing something simultaneously.

“Wait a sec…oh, no!”

“I think she’s Uncle Scrooge’s…”

“...girlfriend!” they shouted together.

Scrooge turned positively red and put an agitated hand to his temple as the two kids started gagging and rolling around saying things about ‘gross old people romance’ and whatnot. He sighed deeply and Goldie watched knowingly as his temper flared. Oh, those kids were about to have a bad time.

“DUCKWORTH!”

The butler appeared next to Goldie in an instant and she was embarrassed that he managed to startle her.

“Yes, Mr. McDuck?”

“Take them to their room,” he said grumpily, ignoring their apologies as Duckworth dragged them upstairs.

Goldie simply watched, not really sure how to react to everything. She was a bit agitated. Not just because the kids called her old and gross, but…seeing Scrooge with kids was weird for her. For a lot of reasons. Even though they weren’t his kids, they were still spending time with him. He had apparently taken off work to hang out with them? What was up with that?

“They’re so much like Hortense.”

She shrugged. “So, what, you’re babysitting?”

“Ah, well…” Scrooge awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “At first Hortense just dropped them off here once in a while. Then it turned into every other weekend. And now…they stay here over school breaks.”

Goldie stared at him. “That’s…a lot.”

“Aye.”

“And you’re enjoying it?”

“Ye know, Goldie,” Scrooge said dreamily, looking up the stairs. “Even though they’re a handful and often a nuisance, they’re also…they make me feel young again. I never expected myself to enjoy spendin’ time with bairns, but here I am.”

She crossed her arms loosely - it looked more like she was hugging herself than being stern. Goldie was surprised. And annoyed. She didn’t want to talk about kids, especially not with Scrooge. It was a weird sore subject for her and he didn’t know and he wouldn’t get it. “So I wanted to ask if you know about Antony and Cleobatra.”

“Oh.” Scrooge turned to her, realizing the conversation about children was over. He didn’t mind - he was pretty sure that Goldie didn’t like kids since she never showed any interest in them. “I have.”

“I thought we could go look for their tomb,” she said casually, picking at some fibers on her shirt. “But I guess you can’t, since you’ve got kids now.”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t be daft, O’Gilt! Duckworth can watch the two of ‘em while you and I hunt down the Lost Tomb of Cleobatra!”

Goldie smiled at him, excited and trying not to be too obvious about it. “Sounds perfect.”

—

“Do you know Goldie?” Della asked Duckworth, wiggling around. “Is she our aunt?!”

Duckworth huffed - making a noise that some people might’ve even called a laugh. “Not quite.”

“So you do know her, then,” Donald pointed out. “Why’s she here? What’s she like?”

The butler placed the two kids on the floor and glanced back down the hallway, listening to see if Scrooge and Goldie were still downstairs. After confirming, he leaned over towards the kids. “Miss O’Gilt and your uncle have been seeing each other for a long, long time. Longer than I’ve been alive.”

“Wait, what?” Donald said.

Della stuck out her tongue. “So then…they’re, like, married, right?”

Duckworth didn’t want to get into the gritty details, so he shrugged. “She’s not your aunt. Their relationship is…complicated. Mr. McDuck doesn’t like to talk about it so much.”

“That’s dumb. If they’ve been dating forever, then they’re gonna get married eventually!” Della said, jumping onto her bed. “We should get to know our future aunt!”

Donald leaned against his bed, crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t he want to talk about her? She’s…pretty, I guess. For an old lady, anyway.”

“As I said before, it’s complicated.” Duckworth stepped outside and grabbed their doorknob. “I’m sure you’ll learn more when you’re older, but for now…stay in your room.” He shut the door behind him and left.

The twins looked at each other knowingly.

“There must be something weird about her.”

“Maybe she’s an alien in disguise!” Donald said.

“Or a succubus!”

“What’s a succubus?”

“Some kind of soul-sucking demon lady. There was one on last week’s episode of Darkwing Duck!”

“That show’s so dumb.”

“You’re dumb!”

“No, you!”

They glared at each other for a minute before their anger fizzled and transformed into more confusion.

“Uncle Scrooge definitely knows about whatever’s wrong with her, so she’s probably not a soul-sucking demon.”

“I guess. Maybe she’s like…a vampire, but retired?”

“A retired vampire? Where would she get her blood?”

Della gasped. “What if Uncle Scrooge provides her with blood bags from the hospital!?”

“I don’t know…I can imagine him selling them to her, but giving them away?”

“But he’s in love with her or whatever, so that’s probably messing with his head!”

Donald thought about that for a few seconds, rubbing the bottom of his beak in thought. “You make a good point.”

“I know!”

“I think we both know what we have to do to figure this out,” Donald said, walking towards the door.

Della followed him, fists clenched in front of her and feeling pumped and excited. “We’re totally following them, right?”

“We have to!”

“YES!” Della let out a quiet whoop as Donald opened the door and they listened carefully to find out where the old couple was going next.

—

“So what made you want to go after the tomb? Just lookin’ for a reason to ride in my new plane?” Scrooge asked, sitting comfortably in the back. It was large and impressive and his current pilot was a careful, straight-forward man who had decades of piloting experience and served in the United States Air Force during World War II. A little part of him wanted Goldie to be impressed and comforted by all of that.

Goldie rolled her eyes. “I came across a map during a little excavation and realized it had to do with Cleobatra,” she answered. “And I thought you might be able to help me out.”

Scrooge watched as she scooted closer to him on the bench, his fingers twitching. He wanted to put his arm around her. “I suppose you werenae wrong.”

“I rarely am,” she said with a smirk, leaning closer to his face. “It’s been a while since we spent any time together, you know.”

“I know,” he said quietly, leaning towards her to match. “I’ve been…busy.”

“Mhmm,” Goldie hummed, allowing the tip of her beak to brush against his. “Too busy to reach out?”

Scrooge lifted up a hand and placed it against her cheek. “You didnae reach out, either,” he whispered.

Their conversation ended abruptly with their beaks smushing together in an extended, passionate kiss. Scrooge kept his hands on her face, while one of Goldie’s hands found itself resting on his thigh. Two years wasn’t such a long time, but it felt like forever.

They continued to make out for a bit, but when Goldie adjusted her position to straddle Scrooge’s lap, they were interrupted by a loud screech.

Scrooge stood up suddenly and knocked Goldie onto the floor, barely registering the loud THUD! of her ass smacking into the metal. The both of them were too distracted by the source of the screech to pay much attention.

Della and Donald were staring at them - their heads poking out of a box that they’d clearly been hiding in. And the two of them looked absolutely horrified and disgusted by what they’d just witnessed. In fact, Scrooge had never seen a more scandalized expression on a duckling’s face in his entire life.

“Oh, my God, were you two gonna…like…have…?!”

“Ew, but you’re so old!”

“That’s so gross!”

“And why would you do it on a plane?! What is wrong with you?!”

Scrooge, face red and hands shaking the slightest bit, glared at the kids angrily. “What’re you two doin’ here?” He glanced down and caught Goldie’s expression - she was very, very unhappy - but decided to focus on the rapscallions that snuck onto his plane (not for the first time, and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last).

“We just wanted to join in on the adventure…but not if it’s gonna be all gross like that!”

Donald was making gagging noises behind his sister while she spoke.

Scrooge didn’t find them very funny. “Argh, ye wee numpties! I didnae bring your passports!”

“We brought them.”

He blinked, not expecting that. “Oh. Um…well, I didnae bring enough supplies!”

Donald pulled two backpacks out from the box. “We brought our own.”

The trillionaire grimaced, trying to figure out his next excuse. “Well, I-...I didnae-”

“Scrooge,” Goldie interrupted, having finally picked herself up off the floor. “Just get over it. They’re here, we’re already halfway to Egypt. No point in turning around.”

“Oh yeah, I like her! She’s smart!” Della shouted.

Scrooge rolled his eyes. “They’re good on adventures, I swear, but I…I did miss spendin’ time with ye one-on-one,” he said quietly.

“It’s fine.” Goldie shrugged, having accepted defeat. “So we hunt for treasure without having sex. Not like we’ve never done that before.”

“Do we really need to be hearing this conversation?”

“I’m gonna tell mom you’re trying to traumatize us!”

Scrooge waved a dismissive hand at the twins. “We could leave them on the plane, if ye’d like.”

“Oh, please, sourdough.” Goldie motioned towards the kids with one hand. “They’ll just follow us recklessly and end up in serious trouble, then we’ll have to save them and we’ll never get our hands on the treasure. Easier to just bring them with so we know where they are.”

“That’s…sensible,” Scrooge said with genuine shock in his voice. “I’m just surprised you’re willin’ to spend so much time with…children.”

Della and Donald ran over to the adults and leaned against Goldie on either side of her legs. “She’s got the right idea, Uncle Scrooge!”

Goldie frowned and stared down at the little matted feathers on either side of her. “Don’t make it weird, Scrooge. It’s not like I haven’t spent time with children before.”

Scrooge didn’t respond to that, instead he watched as Donald and Della turned around and started to ask Goldie questions about herself and her life and where she came from. Goldie deflected their questions with nonsense, but Scrooge couldn’t stop the warmth spread throughout his chest at the sight of Goldie chatting casually with his family.

Seeing her with kids - kids of McDuck blood? It made his heart race. He’d wanted that so many times before. Though she obviously had no interest in bairns of her own…he could still fantasize if he wanted to.

—

Goldie was annoyed. Of course she was annoyed! She’d wanted to spend time with Scrooge and not think about kids or see him with kids or be bothered by kids or be called old and ugly and gross by kids. Her anger was perfectly reasonable.

But for whatever reason, she felt bad about being mad. She felt like she shouldn’t be mad, because Scrooge was spending time with his family and what did that have to do with her? She didn’t have any right to tell him he couldn’t. But she didn’t want to hang out with his family more than she already had. His sisters were one thing, they got along just fine in the few times they’d interacted. His sisters were old enough to understand that Goldie wasn’t marrying him or sticking around or anything like that and she didn’t have to explain herself to them.

Kids, however? Kids didn’t understand those kinds of things. Nor should they. But Goldie didn’t want to have to sit them down and explain that she liked their uncle very much but didn’t feel comfortable completely letting down her guard with him and so she always kept him at an emotional arms’ length. They’d probably respond with stupid shit like “but don’t you love each other?” or “why can’t you just talk about your feelings?”

So, yeah. She wasn’t all that surprised when the twins popped up out of nowhere on the plane, ready to get in the way and probably make this adventure ten times longer than it would’ve been otherwise. They had McDuck blood running through their veins, obviously they’d have big personalities and love to be involved in everything.

She decided to be nice to them. Well. Some version of nice. Well…alright, she wouldn’t be mean to them. Hopefully they wouldn’t get attached to her nor hate her. Ideally, they’d see her as a completely neutral entity that appeared every once in a while to annoy their uncle. Then there wouldn’t be any drama when she inevitably left them behind and took the treasure with her.

She could feel Scrooge’s eyes on her as she talked to his niece and nephew, and Goldie wanted to smack him. He was definitely enjoying her awkward misery. He probably thought it was hilarious to watch her embarrass herself in front of children.

“So…your uncle says you two have experience with this sort of thing?” Goldie asked suddenly, interrupting Della’s question about something to do with Ireland.

“Oh, yeah!” the young girl said excitedly. “I landed a plane when I was ten!”

“What.”

“And I’m a great lookout,” Donald said proudly. “I prefer music to adventuring, but…sometimes it can be fun. I like figuring out the puzzles!”

“...right.” Goldie looked up at Scrooge, who gave her a guilty smile. “I’m sure you all make a great little team.”

–-

Goldie did her best to avoid alone time with either of the twins while they traveled through Ibexandria. The girl was so talkative and the boy kept trying to grab onto her whenever he saw a scary bug. It was…obnoxious.

Scrooge didn’t seem to care. Or maybe he was just so used to their antics that he didn’t notice. Goldie was surprised by how comfortable he seemed around them. Scrooge around kids. She’d never thought it possible that he’d willingly spend time with them and even relish the opportunity. He seemed…softer.

Was that going to be a problem for them? She didn’t want it to be.

But it certainly made her feel out of place.

The Scrooge who she fell for (and who fell for her) was rough and hard-hearted and dangerous. And those traits would always be a part of him, deep down - far enough that his public image made him seem friendly, but close enough that she could bring it out of him when she pushed the right buttons.

It was harder to push those buttons with children around. She wasn’t interested in traumatizing anyone for life. But what would that mean for her and Scrooge?

Goldie watched uncomfortably as the twins danced around and pointed out every item on the street that they wanted to own, making Scrooge laugh. He was laughing at the idea of buying them unnecessary trinkets.

He was changing, thanks to his family. And she didn’t know if she could keep up.

–-

“So are you and Uncle Scrooge gonna get married?” Donald asked, rubbing the bruise on his arm.

Goldie sighed and continued to move rocks around, trying to get them back to where Scrooge and Della were. This kid was very difficult to understand. She wondered if his parents thought about getting him a speech therapist. “No.”

Donald watched her work, deciding if he should try to help. But his arm got hurt when the rocks fell, so she couldn’t be mad if he sat this one out. “Why not?”

“Because we just aren’t.” Goldie supposed this could’ve happened even if the kids weren’t there. She kind of wanted to blame them for the cave-in, though. With all their loud talking.

(She and Scrooge never talked loudly or yelled enough to cause a cave-in. Noooo. Of course not. Never.)

“Don’t you like him?”

Goldie paused for a brief moment in her work - caught off guard by the simplicity of the kid’s question. Did she like Scrooge? She loved him. She liked certain things he did and said. She liked being with him. But sometimes she hated him and sometimes she hated everything he did and said. So did that all culminate into liking him?

“It’s complicated.”

Donald groaned and tried to sit down on a rock, only to screech when he realized the rock was sharper than it looked. He rubbed his butt and frowned. “Why do adults always say that?”

She was finally getting somewhere with the rock-moving, thanks to what sounded like Scrooge and his niece moving rocks on the other side. Of course, Scrooge got the helpful one. “Adults just like to be annoying.”

“You can say that again.”

—

“I think this is getting to be too much for ten-year-olds,” Goldie said cautiously. “Maybe we should have them stand guard.”

“How exactly is that safer?” Scrooge said with a twist of his hand. “They’re just bairns!”

“We’re eleven, actually!” Della shouted from across the room.

Goldie ignored her and motioned to the path in front of her, which was filled with obvious booby traps and at least one pit of spikes. “How is that not safer? And it’d be safer for us to not have to watch out for them!”

Scrooge scoffed. “We dinnae have to watch them, they’re very capable!”

“You’re kidding. You can’t put kids in danger like this, it’s irresponsible!”

Goldie watched the switch flick - Scrooge’s temperament changed and she realized immediately that she’d hit a nerve.

“What would you know, O’Gilt?!” Scrooge said suddenly, poking a finger into her chest. “You arenae a part of this family! Ye cannae just appear out of nowhere and tell me how to take care of my own kin!”

She whapped his hand away from her and scowled. “Don’t talk to me like that again.”

“Bah!” He rolled his eyes and turned away. “Donald, Della? C’mon! We’re almost to the treasure!”

The twins cheered, clearly having not paid attention to the uncomfortable conversation their uncle just had. Della charged forward, ready to throw herself headfirst into danger, but Donald stayed back a bit and walked next to Goldie.

She was glaring at the back of Scrooge’s head, and Donald glanced up at her shyly. He could feel a lot of tension in the air. He started to get the feeling that this adventure wasn’t going to end the way they all wanted it to.

—

“Goldie!” Scrooge screamed out, hurt and anger and frustration etched all over his face. “Where did she-?!”

“I think she’s gone, Uncle Scrooge,” Della said curiously, looking all around them. “And…so’s the treasure.”

Scrooge sighed deeply, closed his eyes, and moved to the side of the plane so he could sit down on the bench. He didn’t want to have to explain any of what happened to the kids, especially not when it made him sound like such a sucker.

Della watched her uncle and turned to lock eyes with Donald, who’d just stepped up next to her. “I don’t get it,” she said quietly. “She just left with the treasure?”

Donald stared at Scrooge, tilting his head to the side curiously. “Yeah. I guess.”

“So then…she’s a villain! Isn’t she?”

“But she’s still Uncle Scrooge’s girlfriend, right?”

Della shook her head in confusion. “I don’t get it! Is this what Duckworth meant when he said it’s complicated?!” Her whispering got a little loud and she shrunk down when Donald lifted a finger to his beak and shushed her. “I guess we’re not getting a new aunt.”

“Maybe it’s like…” Donald closed his eyes and tried to remember a name. “In Darkwing Duck! He’s dating that witch lady. She’s not evil, right? Just misunderstood.”

“I don’t think Goldie’s like Morgana, Donnie,” Della corrected. “Goldie’s playing with Uncle Scrooge’s heart! It’s mean!”

“I…I don’t know about that.” Donald stuck his hands into his jacket pockets. “Maybe she just didn’t like us.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“I don’t know, Dumbella! I’m just thinking out loud, okay?!”

“Alright, alright, sure!” Della shrugged. “I’m just saying…Uncle Scrooge looks totally depressed. So Goldie’s a bad guy. That’s how it goes.”

Donald shook his head. “It’s not like I think she’s a good guy, I just…some people are in the middle, y’know?”

“I guess.”

“We should try to find out more about her when we get home.”

“Ooh, yes!” Della squeezed her hands tight in excitement. “Maybe in some old photo albums or something!”

“If they’ve been dating for like three hundred years, there’s gotta be something.”

They laughed together, not paying attention to their uncle to see if he was listening in. Della suddenly stopped laughing after a second, and then held up a finger to make Donald listen to her.

“What?”

“I thought you said you didn’t like Darkwing Duck!”

“Wh-! Well, I…I don’t! It’s dumb!”

“But you remembered Morgana? She’s barely in any episodes!”

“I just thought she was cool! Shut up!”

“Hahahaaa, you’re so in denial!”

Della started chasing Donald around, talking about Darkwing Duck and the different villains from the show. Scrooge, meanwhile, wasn’t paying any attention to them. Instead, he was staring out one of the plane windows and feeling sorry for himself. Being humiliated and heartbroken by Goldie was such a normal, regular occurrence…but happening in front of his family made the sting hurt worse than usual.

He wanted her to be a part of his family, but more than that…he wanted her to want to be a part of his family. But he knew that was asking too much. She was always going to be Goldie O’Gilt, after all.

REAL HISTORY FACTS:
- The Lost Tomb of Antony and Cleopatra is in Alexandria, Egypt. We think. I mean, it's lost, so...
- It's 1995 which means I have been born in the duck universe now. Lil baby Carro. This is a real history fact obviously what are you talking about

DUCK FRANCHISE REFERENCES:
- Hortense and Quackmore find themselves going on vacations a lot because they're very angry people who get easily stressed out. So they leave Donald and Della with Scrooge. This is my justification to them being alive but Donald and Della have personalized rooms in Scrooge's house lol