vi ska aldrig mera prata

Summary: A few months later, Scrooge comes to talk to Goldie.

Word count: 2307

Warnings: None

January 1898; Dawson

Within a few weeks, the Blackjack Ballroom was back to its old self: the same old bustling crowds of townies and miners willing to part with their gold in exchange for a good time. The only big difference was the lack of Soapy Slick darkening her doors, which Goldie thought was the best possible improvement they could’ve had.

She was happy to be dancing again. Happy to sing and entertain, make and eat good food, and sleep in her nice, comfortable bed. Goldie loved her big bedroom - it was almost as big as Scrooge’s entire cabin. She never wanted to live in such a cramped space ever again.

Every other night someone would ask her where she’d been. The girls wanted to know what happened with Scrooge and the men around town would ask if she would move in with them for a month, too. She shrugged them off and told them that Scrooge McDuck was not a man to be trifled with and that she had nothing else to say.

Thinking about him too much left her angry or upset. Or both. Every night she went over their final moments together in her head, trying to figure out a way to go back and fix it all and make everything better. But it was pointless. She knew a major fuck up when she’d committed it. Scrooge hated her, he thought of her simply as a thief and a nuisance. Just because they’d had sex didn’t mean he was going to think better of her.

And neither would she. He was still cruel and hard-hearted and condescending and Goldie didn’t care how cute his face was or how nice his strong hands felt on her body...she didn’t want to waste anymore time on him.

That’s what she told herself. These thoughts would fly through her head every time he walked into town because every single time, one of the girls would announce it to her. And every single time, Goldie would pretend not to care as she moved over to her window so she could watch him walk to the general store or wherever he had to go.

He would always stop in front of her saloon and stare at the door for a few moments before continuing on his path and Goldie felt her heart racing every single time. If he’d just look up and realize that her bedroom was practically above the saloon doors, they’d make eye contact and she could smile at him and let him know she didn’t hate him and maybe he could even come in and say hello.

But it never happened. He just stared at the doors.

One particular time stood out to Goldie, because Scrooge looked beaten up and completely miserable as he walked past. He stared at her saloon for much longer than usual before throwing something small on the ground, completely shattering it.

A few minutes later there was a knock at her door. “Goldie!” Lulu shouted.

“What?”

“Did you see your Scotsman out there today?”

Goldie exhaled loudly, embarrassed that everyone seemed to know her business. “...I did. He looks upset.”

“Snake-Hips heard from one of the Carmack boys that he’s in town to get a new sled! Seems a little odd, don’t it?”

“...yeah, a bit,” Goldie mumbled, leaning her elbow against the windowsill. “I wonder what happened to his old one?”

---

It was an especially chilly evening in January when Scrooge finally stepped foot into the Blackjack Saloon again. He immediately noticed how many eyes had turned towards him - mostly women working there, but a few miners shot him a glare. He gulped nervously. He knew this was the best time to talk to Goldie, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready yet.

Lucky for both of them, Goldie was on stage at the time. Scrooge gently held his hat to his chest while he watched her perform. She looked every bit as beautiful as he remembered and he felt a surge of pain in his chest when he thought about what he’d come to say.

Goldie did a spin as her song ended and opened her eyes slowly to take in the crowd. She locked onto Scrooge’s face immediately, and didn’t take her eyes off him for a second as she moved onto her next song. Their eyes stayed on each other for the full three and a half minutes Goldie swayed across the stage. She wouldn’t let his presence throw her off her game - opting to give one of the best performances of her life instead.

Scrooge didn’t notice the difference, but his cheeks were tinged with pink the entire time.

As soon as her song was done, Goldie curtsied and allowed the crowd to applaud. Just for a few seconds, then she bolted off the stage and rushed towards Scrooge. Not that she was excited to see him, she just had a lot of work to do so the faster she got to him, the faster they could get this talk over with.

Assuming he wanted to talk. Maybe he just wanted to see her.

“Hey there, sourdough,” Goldie said flirtatiously. She leaned against the pillar next to her and gave Scrooge the most wolfish smile she could muster.

He blushed and gripped his scarf, glancing away from her for a moment before looking up again. “Goldie.”

“What brings you here?” she asked with a tilt of her head. “Came to catch a show? Maybe grab some food?”

“I, um…” Scrooge tried not to stumble over his words. “I came to talk to you, actually.”

Goldie’s eyes lit up in excitement. She was happy he was looking away so he didn’t notice. “Oh? What about?”

Scrooge glanced around them to see at least four women obviously listening in on their conversation. He blushed deeply as he realized that Goldie must’ve told them about him and what happened between them. He felt a brief bout of anger at the invasion of privacy, but took a deep breath and shook it off. He had come here with a purpose. “Can we go somewhere more private?”

Goldie dropped the flirty look from her face. “...of course,” she mumbled, reaching out and grabbing his hand.

He didn’t fight her as she tugged him towards the staircase and up to her room. Scrooge looked down over the railing to see even more eyes on them and felt his face heat up again. He knew what they were thinking. He didn’t want this to hurt Goldie’s reputation, but he just wanted to tell her something without all the dancers listening in.

She squeezed his hand a little too tight as they reached her bedroom and Goldie let him inside. Her heart was racing in excitement - he broke the silence! He wanted to see her again! She didn’t know what he wanted to talk about per se, but feeling optimistic, Goldie closed and (very subtly) locked the door. She turned around to find him looking at all the items on her vanity. He probably had no idea what he was looking at.

“So...what’s going on, Scrooge?”

He looked up at her, a bit surprised, and stared at Goldie’s face for a few moments before taking another deep breath. “I...I wanted to tell you that I’m leavin’.”

She didn’t react right away. The two of them stared at each other with only the sounds of the show and crowd downstairs filling the silence.

Goldie pushed a few strands of hair out of her face. “...for good?”

“Yes,” he blurted out. “I mean...I think so. My claim’s pretty much dried up, so...I’m headed to another town south o’ here.”

She loosely crossed her arms and stuck out her hip, trying not to seem excited or desperate...but she was hoping he’d ask her to come with him. Over the past few weeks, she’d spent an embarrassing amount of time wondering what it’d be like to be a permanent part of his life. He seemed to be setting up for the question and she knew what her answer would be. “Alright, well...why are you telling me?”

Scrooge looked up at her for a second and then dropped his eyes to the floor. He stretched out his scarf, feeling massively insecure. “I-I dinnae really know.”

Goldie’s eyes widened, then narrowed sharply.

“...we’ve been through a lot together and I just...it didn’t seem right to leave without tellin’ you.” Scrooge played with his hat while he spoke, then finally put it back on. “I didnae want you to think I’d died out there or anythin’ like that.”

Goldie felt a surge of indignation flow through her chest as her glare darkened. Scrooge looked so absolutely, genuinely sincere that it just made his words all the more infuriating. He didn’t get it. He didn’t get it at all. He stopped by after months of no contact, after one of the strangest and most emotional months of her life, and then he just...he just…

“That’s it?!” Goldie yelled, regretting her words the moment they left her mouth. But there was no unsaying them.

He looked surprised for a moment before glaring back. “What’s that s’pose to mean? If you’re expectin’ payment for November, you’ll be waitin’ a long time!”

Goldie felt like she’d been slapped; she desperately wanted to hit him. She curled her hands into fists and dug her fingers into her palms as she tried to calm down. “You’re such an ass, McDuck!”

“Me?!” Scrooge looked completely baffled. He pressed his palms against his chest. “I came here because I-I thought it was the right thing to do! And then you just-?!!” He swiped a hand in front of his face. “Forget this! This was a mistake!”

“You’re the mistake!” Goldie shouted, shoving him in the chest. “I can’t believe I-!” she started, cutting herself off with a disgusted groan.

Scrooge huffed in anger and walked towards the door, getting visibly angrier as he realized she’d locked it. He didn’t know why she’d done that, but he knew it made him more confused than ever. “I’m done, O’Gilt! I never wantae see your thievin’ face again!”

She glared at his back.

“I cannae believe how much time and energy I wasted comin’ back here!” Scrooge grumbled as he finally got the door open. “Sentimental nonsense…”

Goldie glared harder, shaking with anger and feeling completely unfulfilled. She knew she couldn’t let this be the end...but she didn’t know what to do. She took a deep breath and shouted, “You won’t get rid of me that easily!”

Scrooge didn’t even react as he continued down the stairs. Goldie huffed, pissed that he wouldn’t even turn around to give her one last look. Well, he’d have quite the surprise at his next little spot, when she showed up to grab the gold for herself!

Goldie went back into her room and started packing her things, not seeing the irony in repeating her actions from just a few months earlier.

Lulu poked her head into the room. “Um...Goldie?”

“What?!”

“...are you leavin’ again?”

Goldie shook her head. “Not for a month this time. I’ll just be gone for a week or two at the most.”

“You sure about that?” Snake-Hips’ voice joined in, sounding doubtful and a little anxious.

“I’m sure!” the blonde said with a huff as she started to strip.

Lulu and Snake-Hips locked eyes for a moment and then looked back at their boss. “Goldie...y’know how you always told us to never change our lives for a man unless he’s really really rich?”

“Uh-huh.”

“...and that if you ever started doin’ stuff like that, we should hit ya over th’ head?”

“What’s your point?”

The girls stood next to each other and blocked the door. Goldie raised an eyebrow at them as she buttoned up her shirt.

“He’s not worth it, Goldie!”

“He’s just another penniless guy! You can’t get this worked up over him!”

Goldie gave the girls a look of genuine confusion. “You think I’m leaving because of Scrooge?”

They looked at each other again. “Um...yes?”

She laughed for a moment and rolled her eyes. “You two have me all wrong! I’m not leaving for Scrooge McDuck! I’m leaving for gold!”

“Huh?” they responded simultaneously.

Goldie flipped her short hair haughtily and laughed again. “Scrooge stupidly told me he’s got a new claim in a new town! Which means there’s gold to be found that I can use to keep the Blackjack open for years to come!”

They didn’t respond this time, looking unconvinced.

Goldie ignored them and grabbed her backpack, now full of clothes and necessities. “Think about it, girls! If I dig up enough gold, I could buy another building! Really expand the business! Maybe I could even open up a hotel…”

Lulu and Snake-Hips turned to whisper while Goldie wasn’t paying attention to them.

“...I think she’s got herself convinced!”

“But what do we do about it?”

“What can we do about it?!”

“You can learn to whisper better!” Goldie said harshly as she pushed past the two of them. “Think what you want, but I’m gonna go get rich and thanks to me, you two will be set for life!”

“Goldie, we didn’t mean-”

She held up a hand to shut Lulu up. “Just take good care of this place while I’m gone. It better not look as bad as it did last time I came back from a trip.”

“...yes, ma’am.”

This time as Goldie made her way down the stairs and past all the miners and workers still going about their evenings, she didn’t look back. She didn’t take a single glance at the Blackjack Saloon as she picked out Scrooge’s footprints in the dirt.

She knew exactly where she was going.

DUCK FRANCHISE REFERENCES:
- The sled stuff is referenced later and in one of my other fics but it's a reference to "Last Sled to Dawson" which is an excellent comic and one of Don Rosa's firsts with Goldie
- "Payment" is a Barks/Rosa reference, where Scrooge tries to give Goldie money (for all the gold she dug) after their night of sex and it comes across as both condescending and probably made her feel like a prostitute. You get it