i saw something i never seen in you

Summary: Goldie sees an opportunity to go on another adventure with Scrooge.

Word count: 5618

Warnings: None

2017; Dawson & Duckburg & White Agony Plains

Fourteen years.

It’d been fourteen years since Goldie O’Gilt and Scrooge McDuck last saw each other.

She missed him dearly, but she was happy to be focusing on other things. The Dawson Blackjack was as dead as ever and Dickie was fully grown and living her young adult college life, so Goldie had thrown herself back into thievery and adventuring more than ever before.

After Duckworth’s death and her youth somewhat revitalized, Goldie felt a wave of energy she hadn’t felt in a long time. She wanted to run around and travel and steal and go places she’d never been before. In all her years, she’d still never been to Tokyolk or to Hong Kong or to Duckar or to Nicosia. There were still millions of places she could explore and she’d get to see new things every day.

So that’s exactly what she did. She traveled and adventured and stole and was having a great time, despite being all by herself. She learned more languages and studied more traditions. She read a lot of books - a lot, a lot - and sent critiques and corrections to the publishing companies when she saw historical inaccuracies. Anonymously, of course, so they probably wouldn’t fix it. But it was fun to be right.

Fourteen years was a long time, though, to be all alone. An occasional visit with Dickie wasn’t exactly holding up against the months and months of solitude.

It wasn’t like Goldie was unused to being alone. Even when she and Scrooge were at the best point of their relationship, they’d still spend months apart. But this was more. It was stronger.

And worst of all, she was starting to get…bored.

Bored with adventuring alone. Bored with treasure hunting alone. Bored with traveling alone.

Goldie knew exactly what she wanted. But it’d been so long since they last spent time together, she wasn’t even sure how to reconnect. She couldn’t just show up at his door, especially not since Donald and his kids came back into his life. She saw them plastered on the news every other week thanks to all their family adventuring and world-saving.

It made her a bit jealous, if she was being honest with herself. Once again, Scrooge found himself with a bunch of cute kids in his life, and once again he was thriving because of it. Not just emotionally, but financially - McDuck Enterprises stocks kept going up every time he was announced as having saved the world. At least she was making good money because of it.

So as much as Goldie wanted to see Scrooge again, she was struggling to come up with a way to do it. It had to be natural, something treasure-related. Something where he’d assume she had a big scheme up her sleeve (which she would), but they’d still smile and flirt all night until the inevitable end.

It was very, very early in the morning on July 21st when the opportunity she was looking for came knocking at her door. Quite literally.

“What is it?” Goldie called out to whoever was bothering her. She’d just returned from an adventure on the other side of the world and was hoping to relax!

“U-um…Miss O’Gilt? I thought you’d want to know that, um…” The boy stumbled over his words. “Some rich guy has been digging up near White Agony Creek all month.”

Goldie quickly stood up and marched over to her door, throwing it open. “Some rich guy? Is it Scrooge McDuck?”

“N-no, ma’am. Something, um…something beginning with a G? I didn’t catch the name.”

She glared down at the young man and pouted. Not Scrooge. But why the hell would someone be ripping up the place where she and Scrooge made their starts? Whoever G was probably had something to do with Scrooge, whether her employee realized it or not. “I’ll go check it out.”

He nodded nervously and gave an awkward wave. “Good luck?”

“Thanks for the tip, kid,” Goldie said quietly as she walked right past him.

—

Though the information she was given wasn’t wrong, it wasn’t one hundred percent correct, either. The rich guy wasn’t digging up White Agony Creek, he was digging up White Agony Plains. Not where she and Scrooge made their starts, but where they’d wasted years of their lives trapped together.

It wasn’t exactly a fun place to revisit. But she needed to know what was going on.

“Hey!” Goldie called out to the first guy in uniform she saw. “What’s going on here?”

The man jogged over to her. “Mr. Glomgold purchased the land here last month, ma’am! We’re here for the oil.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and hoped they weren’t fracking. They probably were, though. She couldn’t do anything about it but it was annoying to know. “Glomgold…that name sounds familiar.”

“Um…he’s the second richest duck in the world?”

Goldie snapped her fingers. “That’s right! So where is he? I wanna know why he’s actually here.” She knew anyone digging up this area was after the Golden Lagoon, whether they shared that information with their employees or not.

The man looked confused and glanced around to his fellow workers for help. They all just ignored him or shrugged, so he frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh…Mr. Glomgold should be just over there in that trailer.” He pointed not too far away.

Goldie nodded and gave the man a small wave, walking off without so much of a thanks. She was pretty sure Glomgold was the nuisance that started stalking Scrooge back in the 80s, though she couldn’t remember for sure. If so, she could easily use him to find her way back into Scrooge’s orbit.

She was at the trailer in just a few minutes and gently knocked on the door. Unsure of what to expect, she wanted to make a good first impression.

“What do you want now?!” an odd, vaguely-Scottish-sounding accent shouted.

Goldie took a step back as he burst the door open with a crazed glare on his face. He looked at her, then looked around, then looked back at her with a confused expression. “Who are you?!”

She held back the urge to roll her eyes. “Goldie O’Gilt. I own the Blackjack Hotel over in Dawson.”

He rolled his eyes. “So what? If ye have a noise complaint, bring it up to someone who cares!”

Goldie crossed her arms over her chest again. This man was exceptionally unpleasant. She had a feeling he was exactly the person she was looking for. “I’m here to see Mr. Glomgold. I’ll go ahead and assume that’s you.”

“And? What of it?”

“Why are you digging here?” she asked quickly, pointing a finger into his chest. “If you’re after the Golden Lagoon, this isn’t the way to find it!”

He smacked her hand away from him. “Golden what?! No! We’re here for oil and dinosaurs, obviously!”

“...dinosaurs?”

Glomgold reached back into the trailer and pulled out what seemed to be a giant bone. Goldie felt an inkling of familiarity, followed by a shiver down her spine. Why was she scared all of a sudden?

“This is from the dinosaur I discovered! Right here in ol’ Scroogey’s favorite place!” he said with a loud laugh. “He’ll be seething with jealousy when he learns what I found!”

“Scroogey’s favorite…” Goldie knew that wasn’t a dinosaur bone, she’d almost guarantee it was the mammoth from so many years ago. Good to know it was finally dead, she supposed. “You’re just here to piss off Scrooge?”

Glomgold tossed the bone back into his trailer, causing a loud crash. He hopped onto the ground and held out his arms, emphasizing the large space his crew was occupying. “I’m not just here to piss him off! I’m here to show the world how much better I am than he is! He spent years here diggin’ for gold, and couldn’t even find the dinosaur bones hidin’ underneath!”

Goldie blinked slowly. Yeah, this guy was an idiot. That made her job easier, she supposed. “Well…dinosaur bones, huh? Scroogey and I spent a lot of time here together during the Gold Rush and you’re right - he had no idea.”

It was in that moment that Glomgold looked at her with the familiar and completely unwelcome leer that she was used to from men his age. (Well, men of any age when she was having a good day.) He eyed her up and down and looked up at her with wide, curious eyes. “You and Scrooge McDuck…spent a lot of time together?”

“Uh-huh…” Goldie didn’t look at him as she spoke. He was dumb, but probably able to put these two very simple puzzle pieces together.

Glomgold’s eyes lit up in excitement. “Are you Scrooge’s…girlfriend?!”

“Um…” That wasn’t exactly the right word. “...I guess you could call me his ex?”

“EX-GIRLFRIEND?!” he shouted, jumping into the air. He did a little spin and kicked his ankles together before getting down on one knee and grabbing one of Goldie’s hands.

Her eye twitched in annoyance, but she didn’t pull her hand away just yet.

“Whatever-your-name-is…my name is Flintheart Glomgold! The greatest rival of Scrooge McDuck and the best, most Scottish duck in the entire world!” He smiled at her in a way that he probably thought was charming. “I’m hostin’ a gala tonight to celebrate findin’ my first dinosaur…would you like to come along as my date?”

Goldie slowly removed her hand from his. His team must’ve been working overtime to get this ready and shipped in just a few hours. “In Duckburg?”

He jumped up again. “Yes! Exactly! And Scrooge will be there, seething with rage and jealousy!”

Though she really doubted that, Goldie couldn’t deny that an opportunity to dress up and surprise Scrooge would be a lot of fun. “Alright. But I’m not going as your date.”

Glomgold laughed - his laugh sounded evil, almost like he was intentionally trying to sound evil. “He’ll be so jealous he won’t be able to stand it! He won’t - wait.”

Goldie raised an eyebrow curiously. “What?”

“What did you say about a Golden Lagoon?”

—

The Golden Lagoon of White Agony Plains: 0:00 - 5:42

—

She was already having a better time than she’d had in ages.

Dancing around with Scrooge in front of everyone made her feel young again. It was like screaming at the world that Scrooge was her’s - whether that was really true or not, who could say? But she sure felt like it was.

The button she’d pushed turned off all the lights at the gala - but more importantly, it activated an artifact she’d obtained on an adventure on Tiran Island. The Eye of Aurora allowed her to quickly travel through space, but only within a few miles. It was perfect for transporting herself and the mammoth skull to the front steps of McDuck Manor.

And from there, of course, she just had to sneak inside - hopefully avoiding Twenty-Two, who Goldie was sure still had it out for her - and find Scrooge’s half of the map.

(She had a distinct feeling that she wouldn’t find it before he returned, but what was the harm in trying?)

She made her way inside the manor quietly, perking up at every little sound. Someone was watching TV in the living room, and someone else was in the kitchen. Probably Twenty-Two - since she was the housekeeper now for whatever reason - so Goldie would stay away from there.

Curiously, she stuck her head into the living room to see who was there. Not surprisingly, there was Donald on the couch…asleep. It wasn’t even 8 o’clock and he was out like a light.

She shrugged and went back to what she was doing and rushed up the stairs to Scrooge’s bedroom. There was a good chance he kept the map in his Goldie Drawer, but he could’ve kept it anywhere else, too. Hopefully it wasn’t down in the Other Bin or over in the Money Bin gathering dust. She didn’t have time to check everywhere.

(She definitely didn’t intend for Scrooge to catch up to her and they travel together, no, that’d be crazy! Why would she do that?)

The familiar drawer filled with her clothes and items related to their history used to make her stop and blush, but she was so used to it now. Sure, it was nice to know that Scrooge hadn’t gotten rid of her stuff in the time since her last visit, but he never got rid of anything.

“Do you hear something?”

Goldie’s eyes widened and she whipped her head around as the sound of footsteps coming towards Scrooge’s bedroom got louder. She didn’t recognize the tiny, high-pitched voice, but she had a feeling it was Della’s daughter that she first saw so many years ago.

“Wait right here, Webbigail. I’ll go check.”

Ah, that was distinctly Twenty-Two’s voice. Goldie started climbing on top of the wardrobe, knowing she would need the advantage of a surprise attack. She had rope with her, so if she played her cards right she could have Bentina wrapped up and tossed in the chifforobe before she even knew what was going on.

“Aw, but Granny!”

Though Goldie was trying to focus on the inevitable fight at hand, that gave her pause. Granny? Did Beakley and this kid have a relationship like her’s and Dickie’s? Or…was Beakley the kid’s grandmother?

If that was true, then…she wasn’t Della’s daughter.

Goldie pouted and tried to think. Maybe Della really did go missing while pregnant. Or maybe she never had the kid at all. She knew her curiosity would get the better of her and she’d definitely have to figure all this out at some point or another, since she apparently had it so wrong. Goldie didn’t like being wrong about things, especially not things related to Scrooge.

(Absentmindedly, she realized the kid could be Della’s, but they lied and told her that Beakley was her grandmother instead. But that sounded way too convoluted and confusing. And why bother? She’d learn about Della eventually.)

Goldie had to focus back on the real world as Scrooge’s bedroom door finally opened and Beakley’s tiny little foot stepped inside. She only had one chance to get this and she couldn’t screw it up or she’d have a huge mess to deal with.

She had to take her down as quickly as possible.

So she did.

In one fell swoop, Goldie silently lunged at Twenty-Two’s back - grabbing her arms and tying them tightly together as she spun the woman to distract her. Then, in those same few seconds, she flung Beakley into the nearby open wardrobe, cringing as she smacked into the wood.

Goldie closed the door before Twenty-Two could say a single word, though the housekeeper certainly knew what had happened. She could hear some muffled yells from inside and frowned as the pitter-patter of even tinier footsteps started towards her.

“WHERE’S MY GRANNY?!”

Goldie almost fell to the ground, instead she dodged and spun around - surprised to see a little girl flipping into a fighting stance after almost kicking her in the face. She knew Beakley would raise a tough kid, but she couldn’t have been older than ten. How did she expect to take down the Goldie O’Gilt?

“She’s right over here,” Goldie said quickly, pointing at the chifforobe. “Tied up and unharmed.”

The little girl gasped. “Let her go, you villain!” she shouted as she flung herself at the intruder once again.

On reflex, Goldie reached out and grabbed her legs. The girl grumbled and punched and wriggled around in her attempts to take out the older woman. But Goldie didn’t want to fight a child. She’d steal from a child, sure, but fight one? That’d be weird.

While the kid grumbled and kicked and tried to free herself, Goldie quickly tied her up using some more of the rope in her bottomless bag and tossed her in the wardrobe with her grandmother.

“Webbigail!”

Goldie plopped the kid down and didn’t even acknowledge Beakley. “Sorry, kid. I don’t have time for you right now.”

The little girl stared up at her with big, sad eyes that Goldie was sure would be very effective if she was literally any other person, and then she shut the door. She didn’t plan on dealing with either of them, but they forced her hand. She knew Beakley would always hate her guts, but hopefully the kid wouldn’t be too bothered by the situation.

Living with Scrooge and going on his little adventures with him, she was probably used to it.

With the two of them taken care of and no chance of Donald trying anything, Goldie went back to hunting through Scrooge’s things.

—

The Golden Lagoon of White Agony Plains: 5:43 - 8:15

—

Goldie went downstairs while Scrooge and the boys freed her captives - obviously Beakley wouldn’t want to see her again anytime soon. She waltzed over to the living room and saw Donald was awake this time, though he didn’t look very focused on what he was watching.

“Hey there, Donnie.”

Donald’s head turned towards her and he blinked slowly. “Hi Aunt Goldie.” He turned back to the television.

Goldie frowned and stared at him. Was he still asleep? “You’re not surprised to see me?”

He shrugged. “You always come back eventually.”

She didn’t love the way he said that, but…well, he wasn’t wrong. She did always come back eventually. She couldn’t say that would be the case forever, but sometimes it felt like it. It’d been over one hundred and twenty years since her relationship with Scrooge started. It’d be a shame to give up on it after this long.

Rather than continue their awkward reunion, Goldie left the manor. Scrooge had said to meet him by his garage where his current pilot would be getting the plane ready. She wondered what his new pilot was like, considering how decorated the last one was.

As she walked towards the plane, she saw a pair of legs and a flat ass sticking out of one of the plane windows, wiggling around. He stopped moving for a second, then suddenly the legs went inside the plane with the rest of him, and then his head popped out.

He was a good-looking guy, but…young. Definitely not a veteran pilot.

“Oh, hey Mrs. McDee!”

Goldie blinked slowly at him as he waved at her. What the hell did he just call her?

“Mr. McDee told me you wanna head up to Canada tonight!”

She didn’t respond, standing there in the grass with her golden gown pouring over her feet.

The pilot didn’t seem bothered by her lack of response. “Just come on in whenever you’re ready to go!”

She looked around - though it was pretty dark outside, Goldie could see that Scrooge was on his way over, changed into more appropriate clothes. He didn’t have any for her, though. Rude. She kind of wanted to ask him why the hell his pilot called her Mrs. McDuck, but on the other hand…he didn’t seem like the kind of person who asked a lot of questions. He might’ve just assumed because of, well…a lot of reasons.

Scrooge looked very stern and serious as he stepped next to her. “O’Gilt.”

“You get Bentina and her kid untied?” Goldie said with a smirk. “I’m sure I bruised her ego more than her face.”

“Webby’s her granddaughter,” Scrooge corrected. “And yes, they’re fine. Beakley’s goin’ to give me hell when I get back from this, though.”

So she wasn’t Della’s daughter after all. Goldie felt some heat rush to her face, embarrassed at having been so wrong. But her assumptions weren’t baseless! She just didn’t know the truth because she’d never bothered to ask. It was unfortunate how things tended to go that way for her. “Just tell her I kidnapped you.”

Scrooge laughed and put a hand at the small of Goldie’s back, guiding her towards the plane. “I shouldnae bother. She knows I’d follow ye anywhere.”

Goldie hummed softly at his comment, not sure how to take it. Was that really true? She hadn’t always gotten that impression from him. 

Sometimes she did. Just not always.

—

They’d been in the air for only twenty minutes or so when Goldie said, “Your pilot called me Mrs. McDuck.”

Scrooge blushed and laughed. “Yes, well…Launchpad doesnae pay attention to details.”

“...is that a good trait for a pilot?”

The trillionaire shook his head. “Dinnae worry, Goldie. He’s been my pilot for a while now and he’s perfectly capable.” Scrooge stood up to grab a nearby blanket and held it up in front of her. “This might be our only time to catch some sleep tonight.”

She smiled softly and patted the spot next to her. “Let’s cuddle up, sourdough.”

Scrooge blushed the slightest bit and took his seat, wrapping the warm blanket around the two of them. Goldie moved around so her legs were across his lap and her head was against his shoulder. They were certainly two snug peas-in-a-pod.

The memories of their dance from earlier fluttered through their minds as they held each other once again.

“Hmmm…hey, Scrooge,” Goldie mumbled.

“Yes?”

“Wanna have some fun before we fall asleep?”

He started to sweat, the redness on his cheeks even more evident than before. “Um…” Scrooge cleared his throat. “It’s…ah, it’s been a very long time for me.”

Goldie moved around, straddling his lap and laying her hands on his shoulders. “Me, too. But I’m sure it’ll be like riding a bicycle.”

Scrooge laid his hands on her hips, desperately hoping the blanket would stay on top of them.

The Golden Lagoon of White Agony Plains: 8:16 - 19:25

—

God, was she glad she’d gotten so good at holding her breath.

Over the decades of adventuring, Goldie had found herself trapped in underwater dimensions or civilizations at least half a dozen times. She’d started training herself to hold her breath for as long as possible - her record prior to this little setback with Glomgold was 2 minutes and 16 seconds. Thanks to the pumping adrenaline of fear and necessity, her new record was 3 minutes and 8 seconds.

She counted every second because she knew she’d need all of it. 

As she swam through the boiling golden lagoon, she thought about how careless Scrooge had been. Though she’d underestimated how dangerous and bloodthirsty Glomgold was, Scrooge knew the man well. But he was so easily distracted and taken down and Goldie had to save his life twice in the span of ten minutes. She’d always known him to be cautious! Instead, he was acting like a rookie.

He could’ve died.

She was lucky she didn’t die, considering what just happened.

Goldie pulled herself out of the lagoon far enough away that the boys couldn’t hear her coughing and sputtering for fresh air. She looked back at the fallen bridge to see that Glomgold had somehow made his way across and knocked Scrooge out while he was distracted…yet again.

She frowned and realized she was going to have to save his life one more time that day.

Goldie was still catching her breath as she watched Glomgold drag Scrooge’s body across the rocks, no doubt scratching up his face and getting his feathers all clumped and matted. She watched and waited, curious what the disturbingly evil man planned on doing with the gold.

He returned a few minutes later with a giant tube and she tried to figure out the best thing for her to do next. She wanted him to think she was still dead, of course. So there needed to be some evidence.

As Glomgold started sucking all of the liquid gold out, Goldie thought of a risky, but kind of fun idea. She waited for the liquid to be almost gone from the side of the lagoon she was on, then held the Eye of Demogorgon tight, took a deep breath, and jumped back into the gold.

She posed herself as if she’d just fallen in, looking scared and desperate - exactly how she’d felt in those first moments. She would’ve pushed Scrooge out of the way whether she had the Eye or not, but she couldn’t stop the fear that coursed through her veins as she fell from the bridge to the liquid below. It wasn’t a fun feeling.

Goldie waited for the gold around her to be sucked away - all that was left was herself and the golden shell that’d formed around her. It was hardening fast, so she kicked out the bottom and scooted out of her own cast before Glomgold could see her. She quickly pressed the bottom back against the rest of her little hollow statue and ran off. Once Glomgold spotted her golden corpse, he’d be sure she was dead and she could move on to the next step of her plan.

The most important part of that next step was finding her phone. It was a good thing her bag hadn’t fallen into the lagoon with her.

—

The Golden Lagoon of White Agony Plains: 19:26 - 21:13

—

Well - Scrooge wasn’t burnt to a crisp by boiling liquid gold and she was several millions of dollars worth of gold richer. All-in-all, Goldie considered it a good day.

Though as the boat puttered on, she finally had time to think about her and Scrooge’s conversation from within the cave. They didn’t usually talk like that. They both avoided those kinds of emotional talks - especially ones that involved the word love.

He was right to think that she loved gold more than she loved him. And she was right to think that he loved her because of those priorities. He’d always seemed to enjoy her company more when she was playing games and stealing and messing with him. So whether or not it was true didn’t matter. She gave him that impression because it was the impression she wanted him to have. It’d become obvious to her over the years that there was never any sort of domestic bliss in their future. They were incompatible in that way.

Still…it was so fun to be with him again. Just him - no kids. Though Glomgold really messed things up, it felt like old times in a way that it hadn’t in a long time. She’d missed him so much and the last two days had been so fun and Goldie was sure she wanted to see him again. Maybe not soon, but…hmmm.

She thought about a treasure she’d given up searching for down in Yucatán. Maybe Scrooge would want to join her for that.

He never responded to her phone calls or letters from the last decade, so…maybe she’d try something new. Make sure he got the message this time.

—

Hours later, Goldie found herself back in Duckburg. She’d never traveled back and forth so many times in one weekend, but at least she had an excuse. Dickie was going to Duckburg University, so she could stop by and surprise the kid with some free food. Teenagers never said no to free food.

She snuck back into Scrooge’s bedroom in the way that was oh-so-familiar to her. The room had been cleaned up since her whirlwind of a visit earlier, which was nice. Looked like Beakley was pretty good at her job.

Goldie heard a conversation coming from downstairs and quietly peeked her head out the door so she could hear.

“He’s still not back!” said one of the identical boys.

“You’re such a worrier. He’s fine. What could be so dangerous about a date?”

“I dunno, but he could at least call us. Uncle Donald, what do you think?”

Goldie closed the door and pouted. Uncle Donald. So the girl wasn’t Della’s…the boys were Della’s! That really answered all of her questions that she could’ve just asked about.

Confident that the family wouldn’t notice her or come upstairs to check, she quietly closed the door and looked around.

His room seemed bigger now than it did before.

She spied his top hat laying on top of his usual red robe, folded at the end of his bed. Goldie grabbed the hat and sat on a nearby chair, staring at it.

It smelled like him.

She sighed softly and rubbed her thumb along the brim. This hat seemed old. It reminded her of the first time she saw him in a top hat, over a hundred years ago. Did he remember that she went breathless the first moment she saw him all dressed up? Did he remember that she said it was a good look for him? Maybe all he remembered was her joke about his bald spot. She could still remember it like it was yesterday.

Goldie pulled a little present out of her pocket and quickly stuffed it into his hat. He loved keeping important things in there, after all. Hopefully he’d notice and call her before she forgot all about it.

He probably wasn’t back to Duckburg yet - she could only assume that Glomgold had taken his phone and wallet before tying him up. The guy was clearly a sadist and a lot more dangerous than she’d anticipated. Though still an idiot, Goldie would not underestimate him again. If she saw him around Scrooge or his family, she’d do her best to get rid of him.

With that in mind, Goldie stood up and plopped the hat down where she’d been sitting. She took another deep breath and shooed away the distant thought that told her to stay and wait for him - and went back out the window.

—

Scrooge was very, very tired.

He’d been annoyed. Then happy. Then annoyed again, then happy again…then frustrated and angry and sad and heartbroken. And then annoyed. And then happy again!

His brain was on overdrive and he was still feeling an adrenaline high from everything that’d happened in the last two days.

One particularly good thing about Goldie showing up and saving him by stealing all of Glomgold’s stolen gold was that Glomgold immediately started chasing after her. This gave Scrooge plenty of time to cut himself free and get away before his idiotic rival decided to come back and find another way to finish him off.

Then of course, of course, he was stuck in Dawson without his wallet or his phone or his family. He’d foolishly told Launchpad to go back to Duckburg after dropping him and Goldie off, leaving him with no ride. No nothing.

He’d have to hike back to Dawson City and figure something out from there.

The hike back wasn’t as long as it used to be, but his bones were tired and sore and he just wanted to go back to sleep! He didn’t do anything to deserve the ridiculous weekend he was having. Why the hell would Goldie team up with Glomgold? Was she daft? Or was she just so desperate to get under his skin that she’d use whatever tools were at her disposal?

Thank whatever-was-out-there that she hadn’t ever teamed up with Magica.

Dawson was quiet and empty, but Scrooge made his way to the familiar location of the Blackjack Hotel, happily knowing there’d be a phone he could use. He could order himself a plane ticket over the phone, and once he was back in Duckburg, everyone would recognize his face and he’d be fine to get home from there. Launchpad had worked all through the night, so he’d just get a taxi from the airport and let the man sleep.

(Scrooge owned the airline and he owned all the taxi companies in Duckburg, so he wouldn’t have to pay a cent.)

He walked into the Blackjack and held up a hand in greeting. “Got a phone?”

The employee behind the desk looked bored, but then quickly raised her eyebrows in surprise. She glanced down at something, then back up at Scrooge, then back and forth two more times. “Um…y-yeah! We’ve, uh…yeah!” She picked up the landline and put it on the counter.

Scrooge decided he was too tired to care about her reaction. She was probably shocked to see the Scrooge McDuck, richest duck in the world, waltzing into her workplace so casually. “Can ye help me order a ticket to Duckburg?”

“Calisota?”

“That’s the one.”

“Um…yeah, sure,” she said quietly, reaching for her computer mouse. “It’ll be easier online than over the phone, though.”

“However it gets done.”

He stood there for a minute, watching her work, and wondered if all strangers who walked into Goldie’s hotel were treated so nicely. That didn’t seem like the kind of attitude he would’ve expected her to instill in her employees. “Do ye get a lot of people comin’ in with airfare needs?”

The girl glanced up at him, typing away very quickly. “Not at all.”

“Well, thanks for the help, then.”

“No problem,” she said quietly. “Miss O’Gilt would kill me if I didn’t.”

Scrooge’s eyes widened at that statement - his heart started to beat faster and he couldn’t fight the smile that came across his beak. Goldie told her employees about him, hm? And told them to help him out if he ever showed up? That was…both unexpected and expected. He knew he was important to her - the thing she loved second or third most, he had to assume. But it was strange to know that she talked about him with other people the same way he talked about her.

He held back a laugh, not wanting to confuse the check-in girl. Goldie may have broken his heart a million times, but at that moment…he certainly felt loved.

—

The Golden Lagoon of White Agony Plains: 21:14 - 22:02

REAL HISTORY FACTS:
- Why would Glomgold being digging up in Canada? Oil, of course! Also: fracking is bad.
- The Eye of Aurora is from Jackie Chan Adventures. Tiran Island is an island near Egypt that's also near some resort with the word Aurora in it's name lol

DUCK FRANCHISE REFERENCES:
- We've reached the show's timeline! This takes place during the episode "The Golden Lagoon of White Agony Plains!" Timestamps are based on the copy of the ep on Disney+.
- Okay okay. You might be thinking "wow Dawson to Duckburg in one day, that's a really quick turnaround" and you're right. But Goldie says in the ep that she and Glomgold met the day of his gala and I really wanted them to meet in White Agony so this is just how it's gonna be lol Obviously Glomgold's flashback in the episode wasn't accurate so I'm just ignoring that. It's like 6 am when they meet so that's plenty of time it's fine it's fine they have very fast planes, it's fine.
- I really tried to make some sense of Goldie's golden corpse that Glomgold had at the end of the episode. She had to arrange that 'cause otherwise it couldn't exist lolol
- Now Goldie knows which kids belong to who! Good for Goldie.