A missing ship was last seen off the coast of Madeira Island - and Scrooge McDuck intends to get to it first.
He hadn't been subtle about his bitterness - their last meeting had ended so poorly, so Goldie was prepared for him to yell at her and threaten her and whatnot. What she wasn't prepared for was silence and a cold shoulder.
They always bickered and fought and snarked at each other, but silence made her uncomfortable.
He was leaning against the bottom of the mast, looking away from her and staring out at the ocean beyond them. It hadn't been a long journey - the total trip was only going to take a little over a day's time. But she was hoping to chat and have fun on the long boat ride...not just sit and sulk.
Goldie double-checked that everything was in order before she tried scooting a bit closer to where he was. Scrooge turned away from her even further. She pouted and walked over - standing in front of his line of sight with her hands on her hips.
"Why did you agree to partner up again if you don't even want to be here?"
He didn't look up at her. "I saved a lot ay money by splittin' this boat wi' ye."
She crossed her arms and took a seat across from him. "We need to work together if we're going to get every last jewel."
"I don't actually need ye to get all th' treasure," he scoffed. "Yoo were just lucky we ran intae each other an' Ah was feelin' generous."
"Is that what happened?" She rolled her eyes and thought back to their meeting the day before.
Scrooge had only been off his plane for a few minutes before a familiar figure caught his eye.
"O'Gilt!" Scrooge yelled across the street.
She turned at the sound of her voice and - for only a brief moment - looked upset, before switching to her usual sly smirk and waved at him. "Hey Scroogey! Long time no see!"
He crossed his arms as she started to make her way over to him, smiling the whole time. "What are ye daein' in Casablanca, Goldie?"
"Well, obviously I came for the waters," she said with an unending smile.
"Wha-? For waters? We're in th' desert!" He frowned - already knowing the real reason she was there.
"Oh, is that so?" Goldie put a finger to her beak in faux-wonderment. "I guess I was misinformed."
"Cut to th' chase - ye heard about th' Madeira ship, didnae ye?" Scrooge asked with a pointed finger at her chest.
She smiled and shrugged. "It's possible! And so what if I did? You don't have any claim to it!"
He stayed silent for a moment while he glared at her, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "We might as well go together, 'en."
"Oh? Think I can't afford my own boat? It'd surprise you how cheap these Moroccan boats are to rent." She placed a hand on her hip.
"Donae misunderstand me, O'Gilt - Ah just know it'll be easier to keep an eye on ye this way."
Goldie laughed. "You know what? Let's do it, then."
"Yes, that's exactly what happened," Scrooge hissed and laid down. "Now leave me be. Ah want to get some shut-eye before we arrive."
"How can you sleep when there's treasure on the horizon?" Goldie poked him in the shoulder.
He rolled over and huffed.
Goldie clambered over him and straddled his legs. "This is no fun if you won't even talk to me!"
Scrooge looked up and frowned. "Ain it wasnae any fun when ye left me for dead in th' desert!"
"Aw, c'mon, I knew you'd be fine." She put a hand under his beak and leaned her face closer to his. "You could at least let me make it up to you, Scroogey-poo."
He tried to fight the blush that came over his cheeks, but Goldie's smirk let him know he'd done a poor job of it. "Donae call me that, you-..."
Scrooge cut himself off at the sudden realization that they were not as alone as he'd thought. Somehow in the span of time they'd been chatting, a gigantic pirate ship made it's way alongside them. He put a hand on Goldie's cheek and turned her head to see their company.
"Oh, shit."
"That's a bit of an understatement," Scrooge mumbled. "Do ye have anythin' on ye?"
"Nothing but supplies, Moneybags." She got off of him and brushed invisible dust off her clothes. "Should we try to charm them or just escape with our lives?"
"Ye really think ye can charm a bunch of pirates?" He got up and adjusted his hat.
"Venha a bordo ou seja destruído!"
Scrooge and Goldie stared up at the man who'd yelled down at them. Goldie cupped a hand over her mouth and leaned towards Scrooge to whisper. "I got the gist of that. We should probably do what they say."
"Since when dae ye speak Spanish?" Scrooge raised an eyebrow at her.
"Learned it about a decade ago. But that wasn't Spanish...I think it's Portuguese." She motioned up at the pirate, who threw a rope ladder over the side of their ship. "He said something about giving up or getting destroyed, so..."
"Bah! Aam Scrooge McDuck! Ah can take a bunch of Portuguese pirates!" He scowled.
Goldie grabbed the ladder and tied it to their little sailboat. "Just because they speak another language doesn't mean they don't understand you. Try not to get us killed, alright?"
She started to climb, and Scrooge grumbled as he followed after her. It didn't seem like the pirates recognized him as the self-made billionaire he was, so hopefully they could just give up their supplies and leave without a scratch.
As they made their way up top and each had a sword held to their necks, Scrooge made a mental note to start studying more languages. With all the world traveling he'd been doing the past few years, the few that he knew weren't going to cut it. And this particular case was extra frustrating since Goldie seemed to be able to talk with them just fine.
"Sure sounds like ye know Portuguese," he said angrily.
Goldie shushed him and went back to talking to the pirate captain - clearly shrugging and apologizing before continuing. Scrooge huffed again. This was stupid. He should just take them down and get back on his way. Goldie could stay with the pirates for all he cared!
There was a pause in conversation where the captain had a hand on his chin, then he motioned for his sword-handling companions to lower their weapons. At least whatever Goldie was doing, she was doing it right. When it came to her, Scrooge could never be certain.
"What's happenin', Goldie? Are we free tae go?"
She rubbed the back of her neck and spoke to the captain a bit more. He rolled his eyes are barked an order at his crew - then they all turned around - including the captain himself. Scrooge didn't think he could be more confused.
"Alright, O'Gilt - what did ye -"
He was cut off again, but this time by the pleasant feeling of her beak pressed against his. She grabbed at his shirt to pull him closer, but Scrooge only had a brief moment to kiss back before she let go.
"Sorry, Scroogey," she said as she left a small peck on his cheek.
"Wait...fer what?" He rubbed his cheek and tried not to notice all the pirates turning back around.
"For, uh..." Goldie turned towards the captain - who tossed a small bag at her. Scrooge recognized the sound of coins smacking against each other and glared.
He reached forward to grab her when a sword made its way in front of his neck again. "Goldie!"
She blew him another kiss and ran back to the ladder they climbed up to start with. "You'll be fine! They just want to ransom you, is all."
Scrooge's face turned red with anger and frustration as she leapt over the side of the ship. "O'Gilt ye devious little back-stabbing piece of-!"
As the pirates grabbed him and locked him in their brig - a calculated allowance on Scrooge's part, he'd let them take him somewhere closer to land before escaping - he had just a few things on his mind. One: he really should at least bring translation books if he's not going to learn an entire language. And two: he will never trust Glittering Goldie O'Gilt again.
And yes, weirdly enough, there was an English-speaking wannabe playwright in the town where Scrooge and Goldie met who watched them for a bit and then later wrote the play that inspired Casablanca. Definitely.