you couldn't name a place i wouldn't go with you

Summary: Goldie follows Scrooge to Canyon City.

Word count: 3806

Warnings: None

February 1898; Canyon City

Canyon City was small and dirty and practically empty. Goldie had a feeling that either Scrooge was here before everyone else or they’d all left and he was planning to dig up the gold they’d left behind.

That was fine. Either way there’d be gold for her, too.

She’d spent most of her journey trying to decide how to announce herself to him. She wanted to make sure she saw his face - saw the mixture of anger and confusion and hopefully at least a tiny bit of happiness - but also needed to sneak up on him so it was a nice surprise. One he’d certainly never forget.

He said he never wanted to see her again? Well, tough luck! Goldie was going to make sure he couldn’t get away from her. And once she was in front of him, she’d make sure his eyes stayed on her. She’d joked that there were always eyes on Glittering Goldie, but now that she was dressed in pants and her hair was pulled back into a short little ponytail, the men she’d passed were mostly ignoring her. Compared to Glittering Goldie, Goldie O’Gilt was invisible.

It took about a week of walking and sledding and hitchhiking to get there. Once she’d arrived, Goldie immediately set out to buy supplies for her stay. She already had a tent, canteen, and some food, but she needed her own pick-axe and a sluice box and maybe some dynamite if she was feeling up for it. There was one little shop in town that provided her with everything she needed. Then Goldie poked her head out the door only to see Scrooge’s little butt shimmying out of his tent to start the day.

Perfect timing.

Goldie had yet to decide on how she wanted to announce herself to Scrooge. She did know exactly the pose she was going to have and the energy she was going to put out to make sure he knew exactly what was happening. The words, however, were still up for debate.

He perked up the slightest bit, still facing his tent, as Goldie’s loud footsteps drew closer. It looked like he was about to turn around when she spoke up.

“Hey there, Scroogey.”

After a few seconds of confusion, Scrooge’s head whipped around and he stared incredulously at the sight before him. Goldie could see the range of emotions passing over his face - from continued confusion to fear to a twitch of joy to anger and then back to confusion - as he stood up and looked her over.

She swung the pick-axe down from her shoulder to lean on it and gave the man a smug smile. His reaction so far was absolutely priceless.

“G...Goldie?!” Scrooge finally shouted, barely able to get the words out. “B-but-?! How? Why? What?! When!?!?! Wait-...what?!”

Goldie tilted her head to the side and faux-pouted. “Should I answer that in order?” When his only response was to blink at her and stutter some more, she shrugged and stood up straight. “Walked, to find gold, yes it’s me, aaand...just now!”

Scrooge shook his head as she answered, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. “Are you...are you seriously here to steal my gold?! Again?!” He pointed an angry finger at her. “I staked a claim here weeks ago! And you’re just the same thief you’ve always been!”

Annoyed but not deterred, Goldie picked up her axe and pointed it at his chest. “You don’t have a claim on this entire town, sourdough! Don’t act like you’re the only gold digger in the world!”

He stuttered again, trying to find his words. “Y-you...you didnae really walk the whole way here from Dawson, did ye?” he asked suddenly, a little quieter than before. The attitude change certainly grabbed Goldie’s attention. “You’re a...a lady! You can’t be travellin’ long distances like that all by yourself!”

She rolled her eyes and stuck out her hip. “Oh? If you’re so worried about me, we could always share a tent while I’m here…”

Scrooge's face turned bright red and he scoffed, waving her off. Clearly he’d already moved past his concern for her wellbeing. “Get over yourself, O’Gilt! You shouldnae be out here botherin’ me! You should go back to your saloon where you cannae get hurt!”

Despite her efforts to stay cool and collected and sexy, Goldie felt his dismissals agitating her more than anticipated. Her eye twitched in annoyance. She’d wanted to stay and keep teasing him, but now proving herself seemed more important. “You can’t get rid of me just like that!” she said mockingly, getting right in his face. “I’m gonna dig up twice as much gold in this town as you!”

Scrooge rolled his eyes and shoved her away. “I didnae come down here to babysit an amatuer! Go home!” he shouted again, grabbing his own pick-axe and marching off to get back to work.

Goldie watched him walk away and clenched a fist in anger. Once again, she had the choice of letting him talk to her that way and moving on, or turning their little argument into a giant unnecessary fight where she could insult and hurt him right back.

The choice was fairly obvious.

---

She knew the best way to really get under his skin would be to dig as close as possible without technically being on his claim. Goldie spoke with the local sheriff to see exactly how much land Scrooge had gobbled up and set herself up right at the property line.

His face when she started digging was absolutely priceless. His face when he came back from the sheriff’s office having found that she’d used legal channels and he had no credible reason to force her to relocate was even better. Goldie smirked proudly as Scrooge grumbled all the way back into his little hole.

They spent a few days mining alongside each other with no more than an occasional taunt or mocking comment thrown one way or the other. Occasionally Goldie would take a break and just watch Scrooge work, and she noticed that on occasion, he paused to watch her as well.

She hated herself for it, but the sensation was invigorating. As much as he seemed to hate her, he also couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. Goldie was really enjoying it.

Scrooge, meanwhile, was having one of the most confusing weeks of his life. He didn’t understand what Goldie was doing in Canyon City. Obviously she’d followed him, he understood that, but he didn’t get...why. She said she came for gold. Was she copying him to steal the gold he was trying to get? Was that the plan?

...did that mean they were back to square one? Did their month together not...mean anything to her? Did their night together not mean anything to her?

He was frustrated and wired and threw all of that energy into searching for gold while occasionally glancing over at Goldie to see how she was doing. Despite all his conflicting feelings towards her, Scrooge was excited - she wasn’t just mining, but she was doing it well. After a month of working together, it seemed she’d really gotten the hang of it.

The way she did it, it was almost like...a dance. A bit mesmerizing, he had to admit. Though the thought brought a deep blush to his cheeks, he couldn’t look away.

Anytime Goldie found some gold - even the smallest, littlest nugget - she’d come over to brag and show it off. As annoying as that was, it was also super cute and oddly charming.

One day she came over with a surprisingly large chunk of gold, and Scrooge felt the urge to kiss her. He didn’t know what to do with that urge, but he knew he had to push it back down. She’d made it pretty clear that she wasn’t interested in having...that kind of relationship with him still. Again? Whatever their status was. He didn’t really understand it. If she wanted him to kiss her, she wouldn't be mocking him and insulting him and trying to steal from him, he was very sure of that.

“Scrooge!”

He blinked up at her, wiping some sweat off his brow. He would’ve thought after getting that gold she’d go right back to what she was doing, but for whatever reason she was still hanging out on his claim.

“...what do you want now?” he asked, trying not to sound too aggressive.

Goldie smirked and held the little chunk of gold between two of her fingers. “Come with me to the Red Onion.”

Scrooge’s eyes widened, then he glared. “I’m not wastin’ money at some restaurant.”

“C’mon, sourdough,” Goldie said, reaching a hand out towards him. “I’m buying.”

She had a distinct feeling that the promise of free food would get his attention, and she was absolutely right. Scrooge hesitantly stuck out a hand and took hers, letting her pull him into an upright position. “I’m not drinkin’ any coffee.”

Goldie responded with a laugh and tugged him towards the small restaurant on the other side of the little town. She was in a great mood after finding all that gold, she didn’t care how grumpy and suspicious he wanted to be.

---

As they sat across from each other, eating the nicest meal Scrooge had had in months, he was plagued with the urge to kiss her again. Scrooge really didn’t want to have this feeling creeping up on him again and again, especially when this dinner felt distinctly like a date. They were chatting about gold digging and the annoying town sheriff and the one other miner who had waltzed into town the day before. It felt so casual and normal and...he liked it.

Goldie was happily gulping down a glass of wine when Scrooge finally spoke up about what had been on his mind.

“...what are you really doin’ here, Goldie?”

She popped open one eye to stare at him and put down her glass. “Mining. Obviously. Did you forget about all the gold I’ve shoved in your face the last few days?”

“I know that, but…” He drummed his fingers against the top of their table. “You could’ve gone anywhere. You could’ve just gone back to my claim in White Agony. But instead you...followed me here.”

Goldie’s eyes were drawn to the wine swirling around in her glass. “I figured you would know all the best spots.”

Scrooge stared at her, wishing she would look him straight in the eyes so he could try to tell if she was lying. He had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to tell either way, but it’d at least give him a fighting chance. “...is that all?”

She looked up at him briefly, then glanced towards the bar. “Excuse me for a sec,” she mumbled as she stood up and walked away.

Scrooge watched her go curiously. She hadn’t answered his question.

Goldie walked up to the bartender and handed the man her payment - it wasn’t the gold she’d found earlier, that would be saved for a rainy day. She had plenty of savings for moments like these. He gave her a silent nod and she returned the favor before turning around and heading for the little table again.

She gulped down the rest of her wine and took a deep breath, grabbed Scrooge’s hand, and tugged him out of his chair. He didn’t object as she pulled him along - towards the door, out of the bar, headed towards their tents.

He attempted to let go of her hand when they reached her tent, but Goldie simply held on tighter. She pulled open one of the flaps and turned to look at him with a sultry gaze.

“Come on.”

Scrooge gulped loudly and squeezed her hand, letting his body move while his brain tried to catch up. This development was not making his week any less confusing, but...at least he wouldn’t have to push down that urge to kiss her anymore.

---

---

Twenty minutes later and Goldie was sweaty, naked, cold, and...mostly unsatisfied. Their first time together had been gentle and sweet, but this time Scrooge had seemed too flabbergasted to really focus on the task at hand.

She’d noticed him watching her finish herself off as he fell asleep again. Goldie wasn’t sure if he was trying to learn or understand or just...wanted to watch. It was so easy to get him off that she wasn’t sure if he knew that he was supposed to get her off, too. But at a certain point, it’d start to be her own fault. How was he supposed to know anything if she didn’t teach him?

He snored and rolled over, taking the blanket with him and making Goldie squeak at the sudden increased cold. She glared at the back of his head for a second, sighed to loosen up, then reached for her clothes. She didn’t feel tired at all.

Goldie got dressed and headed outside to continue mining in the dark. It wasn’t the safest way to work, but she had a lot of pent up energy that needed some kind of release. Not wanting to wake him up, she opted to dig over in Scrooge’s territory, and wondered if he would notice when he started to work in the morning.

She spent hours digging, much longer than she realized, going over what had happened in her head. Scrooge didn’t want her around. Scrooge liked free food more than he hated her. Scrooge wouldn’t make any moves on her, but he didn’t object to her making moves on him. There was clearly something there, but Goldie didn’t know how to define it. Was he just an odd duck who only liked her because he didn’t like her? Maybe being angry turned him on - he wouldn’t be the first. But she couldn’t really get a grasp on what his expectations were.

Maybe he didn’t have any expectations at all. Maybe he was fine with being annoyed and having sex. But his reactions this time around weren’t as passionate as before...the adrenaline rush from all the Soapy-related danger had definitely riled them up. This time they just insulted each other, went on a date, and had sex. It wasn’t the same.

Goldie glanced at the tent, still thinking about Scrooge and his face, when she was distracted by the realization that the sun was starting to come up. She couldn’t have possibly been working for six straight hours!

She let go of the axe and it suddenly hit her how much her arms were aching. Oh, God, she really did work for six hours straight. And she didn’t find a single bit of gold in that time. What a waste of energy.

Thinking about gold, Goldie hummed softly and thought about the difference between White Agony Creek and Canyon City. There was no big conflict, no danger...it was just them. Perhaps the problem was that she’d made it too easy. Neither of them really had to work for the sex, it just...happened.

He called her a thief when she first arrived in town. If that was the version of her that was on his mind, then that must've been the version of her that he wanted to see. The fantasy of catching and ravishing the thief - now that was something she could understand.

Goldie climbed up the ladder and rushed into Scrooge’s tent to go through one of his bags. She could steal some of his gold, wait for him to wake up and make sure he saw her take it, then rush off and let him chase her down!

She smiled to herself for her brilliant plan. Get some gold, get Scrooge fired up, and then get a permanent spot in the front of his mind. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

---

Scrooge’s first thought when he woke up was that he was colder than usual. He was cold and sweaty and his mouth tasted funny and-

Goldie.

He sat up suddenly, worried to find that he was alone in the tent. Where the hell did she go? As he shuffled around to grab his clothes, Scrooge remembered that he was in her tent and not his own, so where could she go other than…?

Scrooge quickly poked his head out of Goldie’s tent and looked towards his own. The sun was barely up, but he had no trouble making out the sight of blonde hair and a white tail sticking out of the flaps of his tent. He knew his bag full of gold was right there by the door and he was not happy.

“Goldie!”

She turned around, looking surprised for a brief moment before she smirked and held up a small bag that Scrooge just knew was filled with his hard-earned gold. Goldie shot him a wink and shoved the smaller bag into her backpack before running off towards the other side of town.

Scrooge, only half-dressed, rushed out of the tent to catch up with her - where the hell was she going without her tent, anyway? - but he tripped over his pants and fell flat on his face. He growled and screamed and smashed his fists against the ground. Based on the noise, he knew he’d woken up a few townsfolk with his anger, but he really couldn’t care less.

With his pants finally on, Scrooge rushed after Goldie, though he couldn’t see her in any direction. Wherever she’d gone...he lost her. And he lost his gold.

Scrooge took a deep breath in an attempt to soothe his anger. He slammed his fist into a barrel, completely smashing through the wood and sending splinters flying everywhere as clean water drained out. He was hyperventilating and didn’t know what else to do.

He’d been played like a sucker! Again. She followed him all the way to Canyon City to take his gold and she distracted him with her sexuality and he fell for it: hook, line, and sinker. He shoved his hands into his pockets and sulked all the way back to the tents. Goldie must’ve planned ahead and brought a second one. Or something. Maybe the tent was someone else’s stolen property.

Scrooge reached Goldie’s tent and glared at it for a moment before kicking over the main pole and stomping on the canopy over and over again. To his surprise, it relieved some of the tension in his shoulders.

Staring down at the cloth and sticks and blanket under his feet got Scrooge thinking about everything. If Goldie’s plan was just to seduce him, take his gold, and run...then why did she spend an entire week digging for herself? And why buy him dinner when she had to know she could drag him into her tent without a word and he’d (unfortunately, shamefully, embarrassingly) just follow her lead?

Looking over at his own tent he saw his bag was still open. Hesitantly, Scrooge walked over and glanced inside to find that most of his gold was still present. He fell back onto his butt and turned to stare at the place he’d last seen Goldie. His brain flooded with images of their night together and how confused but eager he’d been and how Goldie had seemed to enjoy herself until he was done, and then she did the same thing she’d done last time...by herself.

What if she stole his gold because he did something wrong...sexually? Scrooge’s face turned red at the thought. He had absolutely no way of knowing if that was the case, but he couldn’t think of any other reason to explain what just happened. It was always possible that Goldie’s actions weren’t explainable with logic or reason, but he felt like that wasn’t the case.

Taking a deep breath, Scrooge decided to go back to work and grabbed his pick-axe. There was very little chance of them crossing paths ever again, so he knew it was a waste of time to continue thinking about it. He walked over to his work area and immediately noticed that someone else had been working on his claim during the night. He growled and threw his pick-axe onto the ground.

“...damn it, Goldie!”

---

He didn’t follow.

He didn’t follow and she didn’t really feel any better. Goldie had managed to hitch a ride with a friendly wagon-driver to the nearest steamboat dock, and she couldn’t stop staring at the inside of the small bag in her hands.

Alright, she’d promised her dancers that she’d get gold and she got gold. Fantastic. When she returned to Dawson City, she could spruce up the Blackjack a bit and still have enough to set aside for a rainy day. But it didn’t change the fact that her chest felt hollow and cold. Scrooge wasn’t slow or quiet...Goldie had expected to see him on her trail right away - then he’d catch up, grab her, she’d faux-apologize and flirt and it would feel just like it did before!

But no. None of that had happened. She didn’t know what Scrooge was thinking, but he certainly wasn’t thinking about her.

She sighed deeply and looked out the side of the wagon. The sun was high in the sky and for no reason at all, Goldie felt like it was mocking her. Mocking her stupid choices and her stupid feelings and her stupid whatever-the-hell she’d just done!

Was it worse that she slept with him first and then stole from him? Maybe she needed to rile him up some other way. Take a more direct approach. Something that gave him more of a complete message on how she felt. Not that she felt anything in particular besides a bitter urge to prove him wrong.

“You alright back there, Miss?”

Goldie shot the man who was giving her a ride one of her award-winning smiles - happy to see a hint of pink on his cheeks. “All good here, just a little tired. Thank you again for your help!”

He tipped his hat and looked back at the path ahead while Goldie’s extremely fake smile disappeared completely. She was so, so mad at herself...maybe the girls were right. This might’ve had a bit more to do with Scrooge than she wanted to admit. But she didn’t have romantic feelings for him, she just...needed him to understand that she wasn’t what he thought she was. If he was going to shun her or reject her or dismiss her, then he could at least do it for the right reasons!

It was with that thought that Goldie shoved the small bag into her backpack again and decided not to take another look at it until she got back to her saloon. Scrooge didn’t deserve to take up any more of her thoughts.

REAL HISTORY FACTS:
- Canyon City is a real Klondike gold rush town! It wasn't as big as Dawson City, but it wasn't the smallest
- The Red Onion was a real restaurant in Canyon City! I couldn't find out much about it but I saw it in some old photographs
- Gold rush towns were all along the Yukon River, so boats were one of the most common ways people would travel from town to town. Though the initial group of miners all just walked which sounds like too much work. Oh fun fact: men called women weak and fragile because they were fainting a lot. Turns out they were fainting a lot because they were wearing corsets while hiking the same 20 miles through snow that their husbands were. Absolutely crazy what people will do for fashion