falling's always been my downfall

Scrooge had offered to help her walk back to the cabin, but Goldie immediately brushed him off. How could she let him touch her and help her after...that?!

Never in her life had she been rejected by a man. She rejected men! Not the other way around! That was how it worked! And here he was, this...this annoying, cute, sexy, terrible, awful sourdough, with her in his arms and willing to do whatever he wanted, and he just...pushed her away?!

She was frustrated and angry and god she was in so much pain and she didn’t have a mirror so there was no way for her to see how much damage Scrooge had done to her hair, but who was she to complain when at least she was alive?

Killing her would've probably been bad for business, but Soapy would just tell everyone that Scrooge did it and that he’d killed Scrooge to avenge her. Then he’d be a hero and everyone would give him even more money and power.

Goldie sighed and wrapped her arms around her stomach as she continued to walk. Scrooge had stayed behind for a few moments for reasons unknown to her - maybe he was grabbing his knife or just didn’t want to deal with the awkwardness of being too close. It wasn’t far to get back to the cabin, but she was going particularly slow and after catching up, Scrooge walked slowly to match her. It’d be nice if it weren’t so annoying.

Scrooge was having difficulty breathing and kept wanting to look at Goldie, but chose to keep his eyeline forward instead. He was feeling a disturbing combination of emotions that he didn’t entirely know what to do with.

First of all...Goldie was pretty clearly not working with Soapy Slick. At least not anymore. That was very confusing to him, and Scrooge wanted to be happy about it, but he didn’t really know what it meant for them.

Second of all...he’d saved Goldie’s life and injured Soapy in a way the man wouldn’t forget anytime soon. Scrooge couldn’t deny he felt very heroic at that moment. The thrill of saving someone’s life was certainly intense.

And third of all...Goldie had tried to, um...well...she’d tried to kiss him. He knew that. Sure, he’d never been kissed before, but Scrooge still knew what was happening in the moment. He just didn’t really understand...why.

Was she trying to trick him? Manipulate him? Or...simply thank him? Did she think he wanted her to kiss him? He wasn’t sure if he did or not. He didn’t not want to kiss her, but he just… still didn’t trust her. Everything that happened between them didn’t change the fact that she’d stolen from him a month ago and that he’d caught her with his nugget just last week. She may not have been working with Soapy, but she was still out to get his gold. She was still just like every other thief.

Though he was starting to feel less confident about that every minute.

As they reached the front door of the cabin, having not spoken for the entire walk, Scrooge held out a hand to help her up the front step.

Goldie glared at his hand and felt an unstoppable surge of anger. She slapped it away and walked past him. “I don’t need your help!” she growled out as she walked towards the bedroom.

Scrooge huffed and glared at her, closing the door. He didn’t understand her attitude and it was pissing him off all over again. He placed the lockbox down on the counter and opened his mouth to speak, but then she cut him off by slamming the bedroom door closed. Scrooge cupped his hands around his beak and yelled out, “You’re welcome for savin’ your life!”

“Oh thanks!” Goldie yelled back, sarcastic. “I’m so glad I was between you and your stupid box!”

He looked down at the box and then up towards the bedroom door again. Yes, of course he was concerned about his gold and deed, but...she couldn’t possibly think he would’ve left her to Soapy if not for the presence of the lockbox. Scrooge wasn’t the nicest guy, but he’d saved her life plenty of times in the past month. Just because he was caught off guard by her attempt to kiss him didn’t mean he didn’t...care.

Scrooge took a deep breath, sucking in all his pride, and walked over to the bedroom door. He lifted his hand up to knock when it opened up again to reveal Goldie - with a pack full of her stuff slung over her shoulder.

He stared at her, frozen in place. “...what’s-”

“I’m leaving, obviously!” Goldie yelled, shoving him out of her way. She couldn’t stand to make eye contact with him after what had happened and now that she knew the path was walkable, it was time for her to leave. Leave and forget this whole month ever happened.

She glared at the floor as she walked towards the exit, cursing Scrooge in her head the whole time. She was happy he’d saved her, really really happy, but her heart was hurting for reasons she really didn’t want to think about and she needed to get away from him. Without so much as a goodbye, Goldie walked out the door and didn’t turn back as it shut behind her.

Scrooge stared at the door, feeling like he’d just been hit with a whirlwind. First she wants to kiss him and then she doesn’t even say goodbye? She just...left!

He glared at the door and kicked the wall in front of him in a burst of anger, hurting his foot and falling down on his ass. He sighed and laid down on the floor. So she’d left. So what? That was exactly what he’d wanted from the beginning, so he should let her leave and never think about her again and be done with it all.

After twelve minutes of laying there, Scrooge thought about how he certainly hadn’t killed Soapy and the man was still out there somewhere and considering the way he’d beaten on Goldie before...he would probably kill her if he ran into her again.

Scrooge stared up at the ceiling for another moment before deciding to go after her. He glanced at the lockbox and shook his head, opting to grab another knife before heading out the door.

He wasn’t surprised to immediately see Soapy again - just a few yards away from the back of his cabin - but he was extremely distressed at seeing Goldie hung over Soapy’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes. And thanks to Scrooge, Soapy had a knife in his hand. And he was holding it threateningly against Goldie’s back.

His bloody hand had been wrapped up with some torn fabric from his jacket, Scrooge noticed. And Soapy looked very, very unhappy.

“Hand over the box, McDuck, or she’s dead,” Soapy said with a scowl. He held up the knife and pressed it harder against her back. “And don’t think I’m playing with you.”

Scrooge took a few deep breaths, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to get to her before Soapy could hurt her again. His parents would be so disappointed in him for allowing a woman under his watch to get so badly injured over and over again.

“...alright,” Scrooge said with his hands raised in surrender. “I’ll go get the box. Just dinnae do anythin’ you’ll regret.”

Soapy smirked and rolled his eyes. “I won’t be regrettin’ anything here, sourdough! Just go get your gold and I’ll let you have your whore back. Everyone wins.”

Scrooge felt a twitch of anger at the way Soapy talked about Goldie, but backed up and rushed into the cabin to grab the box.

Soapy adjusted Goldie on his shoulder as he waited for Scrooge to come back, agitated at how difficult this robbery was turning out to be. He hadn’t even bothered bringing backup since he’d been sure it would be an easy grab ‘n go, but McDuck had to make things difficult. And whatever the hell was going on with O’Gilt...he had plans for her when they got back to Dawson. She would not get away with challenging him.

With heavy footsteps, Scrooge walked back out of the cabin and roughly dropped the lockbox on the ground in front of Soapy. He backed away and looked over at Goldie, hoping beyond hope that she wasn’t hurt too badly.

Soapy put the knife into his pocket as he bent down to pick up the box. As soon as he let his guard down, Scrooge saw Goldie’s hand moving.

She quickly reached under her shirt - exposing quite a bit of her feathers, Scrooge noticed with a blush - and pulled out a small gun. She pressed it against Soapy’s shoulder and fired without a second of hesitation.

Soapy screamed out in pain and fell back - the lockbox still in hand, but Goldie was free. She fell to the ground and landed flat on her face.

She groaned as Scrooge rushed over and took her hand, pulling her up and tugging her away from Soapy. As much as he wanted to stop and ask where the hell did she get a gun and had she had that with her the entire time? - he wanted to hurry and put as much distance between them as possible before that pig recovered even slightly from the gunshot.

Goldie looked back at Soapy and the box for a moment, but the pain in her stomach and her sides and her head was making it much harder to multitask. She squeezed Scrooge’s hand and just tried to keep up with him.

They were getting close to the water when they heard Soapy’s angry shout from over the hill. “I didn’t come out here to kill anybody, but you’re not makin’ this easy on yourselves!”

Scrooge squeezed her hand back when they saw the creek up ahead.

“He’s gonna come after us, Scrooge,” Goldie wheezed, still holding her gun in her free hand. “Where are we supposed to go from here?”

“We’ll just run along the creek,” he said confidently, pointing the way they’d run. “Don’t worry, I willnae let him hurt you again!”

Goldie’s heart felt full as she watched him speak, but when his words caught up to her she pulled her hand out of his grasp. “I think since I’m the one with the gun, I should be saying that to you.”

Scrooge rolled his eyes. “You might have a gun, but I’m Scrooge McDuck!” He grabbed her hand again and they continued to move, hoping that Soapy hadn’t had enough time to catch up.

Their running was slower - Goldie knew she was the one slowing them down, but she couldn’t will her body to go any faster despite the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Scrooge was tempted to lift her into his arms.

Before he could really consider it, however, the lockbox suddenly and violently hit Goldie in the head. Neither of them had seen it coming and Goldie went down, dropping Scrooge’s hand as she collapsed right next to the creek, one of her arms splayed out above her and the gun fallen out of her grasp.

“Goldie!" Scrooge shouted as he watched her fall. She was so close to the water that some of the longer strands of her hair were flowing into the creek. He watched helplessly as the lockbox fell onto a piece of ice and floated downstream, towards what he assumed would eventually become a waterfall.

He leaned down to make sure Goldie was alright. She was definitely knocked out for real this time, not playing possum like she’d done with Soapy before.

Speaking of...Scrooge turned around as he heard a noise. Anger starting surging through his head as Soapy Slick glared down at him from on top of the hill. He knew he should grab Goldie's gun, but a gun would never be as satisfying as feeling his fists beat on an evil man's wrinkly flesh.

The two men stared at each other for a moment before screaming and running - both of them raising their fists and knives and ready to take the other down.

As they fought, Goldie began to stir. She cradled her head where the box had made contact and squinted her eyes just open enough to witness a truly explosive fight. She’d seen men fistfight a thousand times before, but just at bars or in the street and over something little like cheating at cards or kissing someone’s girl. This time...it was definitely life or death.

And Scrooge was winning.

She felt herself losing consciousness again just as Scrooge stabbed his knife into Soapy’s gut. Good, they were probably safe now. Soapy was a big guy who could survive a lot of things, but a knife to the stomach seemed like it’d be hard to live through .

Satisfied, she let everything go black.

Not long after that, Goldie felt herself being gently cradled in someone’s arms. She felt very, very safe despite everything going on. His hand stroked the back of her hair as she passed out once again.

Scrooge stared down at her face, then glared at the creek where he could see Soapy Slick’s body drifting downstream. He knew Soapy was a cockroach of a man, but he hoped that maybe this would finally kill him.

---

Goldie’s eyes opened and she immediately realized she was in Scrooge’s arms on the floor of the cabin. She blinked repeatedly as his face slowly became more clear, and she’d later blame her pounding, splitting headache for her low mumble of, “...am I dreaming?”

Scrooge looked confused but flattered and reached out to touch her face - gently, of course, since she’d been hit so many times that day. He didn’t want to tell her about the dark bruise that was already forming on her cheek, so instead he gave her a small smile. “...no, I think you’re awake. How do you feel?”

Goldie closed her eyes again and leaned her face against his hand. It stung like hell, and as she tried to figure out why, everything from before she passed out came back to her. She sat upright and shoved Scrooge away from her. “Wha...wait, but...your nugget?! Your deed? What happened?!”

Scrooge sat back and let out a huffed laugh, not sure how to react otherwise. “I gave him the box, but my gold and deeds weren’t in it!”

She blinked at him, trying to process that. “Wh...so you...you risked my life on a bad trade?!”

He gave her the most agitatingly handsome smirk that Goldie had ever seen before swiping a hand through his hair and rolling his eyes. “I saved your life with a good swindle. I thought you’d appreciate that since swindlin’ is all you do!”

Goldie felt unnecessary anger bubbling in her lungs once again and she wanted to fight it, but she felt so shitty and in so much pain that...what was the point? He'd already rejected her. She stood up, shaking the slightest bit, and put her hands on her hips. “Is that really all you think I do?”

Scrooge stood up to match her and tilted his head in confusion. “Well...it’s the first thing you did to me.”

She inhaled and exhaled loudly before stepping forward and shoving him in the chest. “I get it, alright? I get it! You hate my guts and I’ll never change and you’ll never change so you’ll just keep bringing up the same thing over and over!”

There was an awkward silence between them as Goldie remembered her hair and she reached a hand back to feel how bad the damage was. She sighed again and her fingers twitched as she realized that her gun was gone, too. Her hair, her gun, and her pack full of clothes and other things were somewhere outside where Soapy had left it all.

“...I’ll just go,” she mumbled.

Scrooge reached out and grabbed her before she could take a single step. “Goldie, you’re hurt. Ye can’t go out there on your own.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said, refusing to make eye contact with him again. “Soapy looked pretty dead back there.”

“Even if he is...there’s plenty of other things that can hurt you.” Scrooge reached out with his free hand and grabbed her other hand. “Just stay here.”

Goldie stared at their entwined hands. “...a little head injury won’t stop me from getting back to my saloon. I want to go home.”

“I know, I know,” Scrooge said quietly. “But...it’s not a little injury.” He lifted one hand up and touched her cheek.

She hissed out at the contact and pulled away. “Alright, fine. I may be a little worse for wear, but who else is gonna share the happy news that Soapy’s dead?" Goldie was smiling a bit, obviously trying to lighten the mood of the room.

Scrooge shook his head and ignored her comment. “I’m just…” he said quietly as he slid his hand down her arm. “...you got hurt because of me. It’s not...I’m...”

Goldie could tell he was trying to apologize. But out of the many things he’d said and done to her that she wouldn’t have minded an apology for, Soapy attacking her wasn’t one of them. “That’s not…” she started, wanting to tell him it wasn’t true.

But the look in his eyes stopped her. She felt absolutely frozen. Completely captivated. He was looking at her like she was the only person in the entire world. And in that moment, she really wanted to be. She breathed in and out, trying to focus on the sensation of oxygen reaching her lungs, but her entire body was screaming out. She was feeling those stupid, annoying feelings again. For such a frustrating man! It wouldn’t do. It absolutely could not happen. She didn’t have the energy to humiliate herself further in front of him.

But then his hand, which had been dragging gently down her arm and sending shivers up her spine, reached her hand. And he allowed himself to hold on to her.

And Goldie took one last deep breath because she knew she couldn’t stop herself.

With her free hand, she reached up under his scarf to grab the collar of his shirt and roughly pulled him in to crash their beaks together. She couldn’t make herself care that he was going to push her away and call her a whore. She didn’t care! She wanted him. She wanted him so, so badly, and even if it was only for a moment, she was going to savor how he felt against her.

Only a few moments of fear passed before Scrooge let go of her hand and cupped her cheeks, holding her in place so he could kiss her back.

His reciprocation was so unexpected, Goldie opened her eyes in surprise. She brought her newly freed hand up to his collar, but they were so close together in that moment, there was no pulling him any closer. She moved her beak against his roughly, loving the embarrassed groan he let out as he followed suit. Goldie knew he was a virgin, but she hadn’t expect him to be so eager. She supposed they always were, but Scrooge was just...different.

She attempted to pull away for a moment so she could say something, but Scrooge immediately covered her beak with his again and Goldie couldn’t stop herself from moaning as his hands moved down her sides and tightly gripped her waist. Her mind was reeling from the sensations and she felt herself melting into him, barely paying attention as her back hit the wall and he started kissing her even harder.

Goldie threw her arms around his neck and pulled him as close to her as physically possible as they continued to make out like hormonal teenagers. As tempting as it was to drag him towards the bedroom, Goldie knew they weren’t going to make it there. This was happening, finally - finally - and it looked like it was happening on the kitchen floor.

---