AN: Only just finished this in time for #Duckcousinsweekend2021 prompts that I saw. Tomorrow's one might not be finished in time, but only a little more to write before Sunday's is finished (fingers crossed). The cousins mentioned in all three of the stories are Della, Donald, Gladstone and Fethry, based on the Ducktales 2017 series. This is prompt 1: Road trip (I couldn't think of a better title so I'm using the prompt as the title). Enjoy.

Gladstone.

Gladstone Gander didn't often plan out his days, he usually allowed his luck to lead him wherever it wanted and he'd never been disappointed. Today he had a destination in mind, he was meeting his cousins for lunch and he was waiting for luck to provide some kind of transport.

Walking past a showroom, the manager stepped into his path and offered him the chance to win a campervan. Gladstone looked in the direction the manager was pointing. The campervan was green, his favourite colour, clearly it was a sign from the universe. One moment he was stepping into the showroom and the next he was stepping out with the keys. He didn't even have a licence, but the campervan came with a year's free insurance and he figured someone would come along to trade it in for something he could use to get to the diner.

A stranger came up to him as he stood outside the showroom, asking for a lift into town as his car had broken down and he was late for work. Gladstone smiled, explained the situation and agreed to let the stranger drive his new vehicle if they'd drop him off near the diner. By a stroke of good fortune, the stranger worked near the diner so Gladstone made it to the diner on time to meet his cousins.

Donald and Della were already waiting when he arrived. A waitress handed him a cheeseburger and fries as he passed, mistaking him for another customer, and he slid into a seat opposite Donald with a smile.

"Fethry late again?" Gladstone asked.

Della reached out to snag one of his chips, "yep."

Donald tried to catch the attention of the waitress, to remind her that he'd ordered his cheeseburger and fries twenty minutes ago.

"We got here early," Della explained, "Uncle Scrooge had to go to work and he said if we wanted a lift we had to leave when he did."

By the time Fethry arrived Gladstone had finished his lunch and the twins' order turned up. He took off his red cap and greeted them all cheerfully, before launching into an explanation of his delay. Last night he'd been watching a documentary about some amazing nature thing and then he'd spotted on his way over so he'd been distracted. Della smiled, she loved how enthusiastic her cousin was.

"That's nice," Donald told him, tucking into his burger.

As usual, Fethry didn't notice that Donald hadn't really been paying attention and he beamed with pleasure. Gladstone knew Fethry liked the twins more than him, his cousin wasn't very good with deceptions and he found it upsetting. Luck didn't make people like him, sure they'd pretend to in order to live off his temporary jumps to new wealth and riches but eventually they left. Family was the only permanent company, he'd found.

"So what's the big news?" Gladstone asked the twins.

The meeting had been their idea after all. Della nudged Donald, hinting with her eyes that it was time to put down the food and make conversation.

"I'm joining the navy," Donald told them, picking up a chip once his declaration was over.

"And I'm off to flight school," Della added.

"Wow, that's amazing," Fethry nudged Gladstone, "a sailor and a pilot in the family. You're so brave Donald, and you'll get to see the world. I thought you were already a pilot, Della?"

"Not officially, not if I want to fly something that Uncle Scrooge doesn't own," she admitted.

"How long will that take?"

"They say eighteen months, but I'm sure once they see how good I am it'll be much quicker."

"And you Donald?"

"There's training, then a couple of years in the role and if I like it maybe permanently. I leave next month."

"So soon?"

"I have to wait until my birthday to be eligible but I spoke to the recruitment officer and had a medical check up with a doctor so I'm good to go."

"Uncle Scrooge must be so proud of you!"

Della nodded, "I think so, he wants us to make our own way in the world and I want to keep flying so it was the logical choice. What about you two? What are your plans?"

"I don't need a plan," Gladstone reminded her, "my luck will see me through."

"I was going to go to college, I didn't get in but I applied for a job there. I figured I could drop in on any interesting lectures to learn whatever I want. Now I might see if I can join the navy too, then Donnie and I can sail the world together. Wouldn't that be great?"

Donald muttered something that no-one else could hear clearly enough to understand, but Della wanted to encourage Fethry because she knew how much he admired Donald.

"I'm sure the two of you would have lots of fun together, just don't give up on your own dreams," she advised him.

"Oh no, I won't. I'm sure there's lots of interesting things to learn in the navy, it'll be like being back in the Woodchucks, wearing a uniform and following the rules. I can't wait."

Gladstone rolled his eyes.

Fethry.

The green campervan had been sitting outside the mansion for over an hour. Luckily Scrooge McDuck was not at home to complain about it, he'd already said his goodbyes to Donald and Della and escaped before their cousins arrived. The teenagers had been planning a road trip for the past week, a last chance for the cousins to be together for a while. Fethry had been devastated when the navy had rejected him, and it had been his idea to use the campervan Gladstone won. Donald and Della liked the idea, all three of them had their driving licences so they could share the driving and Fethry had cheered up when Gladstone agreed to let them use his campervan.

Fethry had left Gladstone resting in the back of the campervan, reading a magazine when while he went into the mansion to help his other cousins with their packing. Della was still trying to work out how to fit several sharp weapons and an inflatable raft into a duffle bag and after an hour of trying to help her re-arrange them all he was getting close to giving up.

"Perhaps you should leave something behind?" he asked.

Della looked as though he'd asked her to cut off her arm, "we might need them to survive. The world is a dangerous place and we don't know what we'll be facing."

"Well from the route we planned, they'll be giant pancakes, a ball of wool a tall as a house and several stops for Donald to visit the graves of famous musicians."

"And if any of those musicians try to rise as zombies, I'll be ready!" Della waved a sword in the air.

Fethry backed out of the room, slowly, "okay, perhaps we should pack the raft separately."

"Great idea, I'll ask Duckworth for another suitcase. Would you mind that one down?" Della pointed to a small case near the door, "it's only got clothes in it. The bags with the snacks are by the front door."

"Sure Della, don't forget we planned to leave by noon to get on the road before the traffic starts."

"I'll be ready," Della waved him away, remembering that she'd need her sword-sharpening stone and trying to remember where she'd left it.

Fethry took the light suitcase downstairs, found the several carrier bags of food and drinks behind the front door and carried them out to the camper in just three trips. He returned to the mansion to check on Donald.

"Hey Donald," Fethry greeted his cousin, "need a hand with that?"

Donald was struggling to carry his suitcase down the stairs, but he declined Fethry's offer with a "no thanks."

As the suitcase hit the bottom step it burst open, showering the hallway with Donald's clothes. Fethry helped him gather them all back up and sat on the suitcase as Donald tried to close it again.

"If you want I could fold them according to the JWG guidelines," he offered. "It might make it easier to fit everything in."

"Nah, I'll get a rope and tie it around the suitcase to keep it closed. I need to practice my sailor knots for the navy anyway. Wait here," Donald ran back up the stairs to get his rope.

Fethry sighed and continued to sit on the suitcase.

When Donald returned he was carrying his guitar case and a length of frayed rope. Fethry helped him get it around the suitcase and advised Donald on the best way to tie the knot, but Donald got frustrated when it kept coming undone. In the end Fethry suggested that he tie the knot just this once so Donald could see how it was done. Donald gave in and let Fethry carry it out to the camper while he took the guitar.

Della was standing by the camper, hands on his hips, waiting for them, "what took you so long?"

"Della? I didn't see you come down the stairs," Fethry was confused.

"Bag was too heavy, I tossed it out the window and climbed down after it. Can't believe I won't be able to do that when I'm at flight school. Maybe they'll have some massive planes for us to practice escaping from."

Fethry placed Donald's suitcase in the camper and helped Della get her weapons inside, "please make sure you put them somewhere secure, I don't want to hit a pothole and loose a couple of feathers to a crossbow bolt."

"Don't worry about it," she reassured him, "we've got the Lucky Gander with us, this campervan will sail over the roads like we're flying."

"As long as the tyres stay on the road," he shivered at the memory of her on a country lane, trying to avoid a tiny rabbit and flipping the car 360 degrees into a farmers field.

She gave him a pat on the back, "it's an adventure Fethry, there are no guarantees."

Donald.

Donald sat up front while Fethry drove, more to have control of the radio than to talk to his cousin. He felt bad that Fethry hadn't gotten into the navy but also a little relieved, he was looking forward to having something that was just his. As much as he loved his family, he needed some time away from them to discover what he could do on his own and what he wanted for the future. In a way it was like how Uncle Scrooge had set out to make his fortune and he knew his uncle approved his choice.

The navy would give him the chance to save some money for college too, not that he knew what he wanted to study yet. He'd spent enough time in Scrooge's office to know he wasn't interested in business, and his parents wouldn't approve if he only studied music so he needed to find a second subject, but perhaps he'd figure something out in the navy.

"We should play some travelling games," Gladstone told them.

"What about I spy, or the licence plate game," Fethry piped up.

"We're not kids anymore," Gladstone scoffed at his suggestions, moving towards Donald. "I suggest Punch Buggy."

"Gladstone, you need to remain seated and to wear your seatbelt at all times," Fethry reminded him.

Gladstone was about to object, but Della caught his eye and he headed back to his seat. Donald turned the radio up.

The first week went by quickly and they covered so many miles that Della finally agreed to let Fethry choose a couple of stops along the way. They visited the strangest roadside attractions, some were things Donald barely believed existed until they saw them in person. Fethry had been excited over the Worlds Largest Snake Petting Zoo, which specialised in the widest variety of snakes. Donald had stayed in the car for that one, refusing to unlock the camper doors until Della and Fethry promised none of the venomous ones had escaped or were hiding in their pockets.

The Worlds Twistiest Slide had been fun, climbing to the top wasn't, but they'd all kept their photos and waited an hour before attempting to eat lunch afterwards. Della had gone down it three times. After that, Gladstone had begged them to stop at a 'World's Largest' food attraction and promptly won his food for free. Whenever they needed gas, they'd stop, Gladstone would wander out and find twenty dollars which was always enough to get them to the next gas station. If he found two twenty dollar bills they knew the next one would be far away and made sure their tank was full.

Donald sat in the back of the camper with Gladstone. They rotated seats so they could spend time with each other, and until it was his turn to drive Donald was stuck with his cousin. He was pretending to read a newspaper, when out of the blue Gladstone punched his shoulder.

"Punch buggy green," he announced cheerfully.

Donald lowered his paper and frowned at him, "that's not fair, I wasn't playing."

"Too bad, I got bored and you were ignoring me," Gladstone punched him again, "punch buggy red."

The newspaper crinkled up in Donald's tightening grip, "what's wrong with you?"

"Come on cuz, it's just a game."

Donald tossed the newspaper down and curled his hand into a fist, before looking out of the window, planning on teaching his cousin a lesson about punching stronger ducks. He couldn't believe his luck as he saw a blue car out of the corner of his eye which appeared to be the right shape. As soon as it was close enough that he could confirm it's model, he turned towards Gladstone.

"Punch buggy blue!" he yelled and pulled his arm back.

His fist did not connect with his cousins arm. Instead, as Gladstone had noticed his shoelace was untied, he had bent down to re-tie it and Donald's fist connected with the wall. Donald yelled out in pain as the impact was strong enough to dent the wall.

He didn't notice Della frantically searching for a place to pull off the road, his entire focus was on Gladstone who had calmly sat back up and looked at him in confusion.

"What's wrong?" Gladstone asked.

"You coward, you moved on purpose," Donald accused him, cradling his hand, "I was supposed to punch you."

"But I needed to tie my laces," Gladstone explained.

"You always do this, it's cheating and it's not fair!" Donald stood up and headed away from Gladstone.

"Are you okay back there?" Fethry called.

"No, Gladstone's stupid luck made me hit the wall."

The campervan came to a stop and Della turned on the hazard lights before heading back to her brother.

"Let me see your hand," she told him, motioning for Fethry to get the first aid box.

"We should have gone on one last adventure with Uncle Scrooge," Donald told her. "This road trip was a stupid idea."

Della shook her head, shushing him and gently checking Donald's hand. Nothing seemed to be broken, but there was a little blood and it would probably bruise. She saw Gladstone get out of the campervan and after putting the first aid kit down next to her, Fethry followed him. Della looked over at the wall he'd hit and back to her brother.

"How hard did Gladstone hit you and how hard were you trying to hit him back?" she asked.

"He hit me first! I was reading the newspaper, he started the game without telling me and he hit me twice."

"Is your arm as hurt as that wall?"

Donald looked away. He knew he had a problem with his temper. The last few years he'd thought he was getting it under control, but there was something about Gladstone that made everything around him go wrong.

"It's Gladstone's fault," he insisted.

Della released him, "you know Gladstone didn't ask to be lucky. He can't help that it stops him from getting hurt."

"Then he shouldn't hurt me first."

"He's just trying to have fun and he wants to be friends with you Donald."

"Is my hand going to be okay to drive?"

"Maybe tomorrow, we'll see how it is in the morning. It's been a long trip, why don't you take a break and lie down for a bit."

Della waited until Donald was lying down before heading outside to check on Gladstone.

Della

The two cousins were standing away from the campervan. Gladstone had his back to Fethry, who was doing his best to try and cheer Gladstone up. It wasn't working though, Fethry had digressed into explaining the behaviour of some kind of fish and Della walked quickly towards them.

"Fethry would you might checking on that wall? Donald hasn't broken any bones so I doubt there's any real damage but I'd rather find out now instead of the middle of the highway with nowhere to stop."

"Sure thing."

"Thanks."

Della waited until she was alone with Gladstone before moving into his line of sight.

"You can just leave me here, someone will come along and offer me a ride," Gladstone told her.

Della's heart went out to him then, he sounded so down. She knew Gladstone's life couldn't be as easy as it appeared on the surface. She'd noticed how even Uncle Scrooge with all his wealth had things which were out of his control that upset him.

"Why would we do that?" she asked gently.

"Donald hates me and you'll all have more fun without me around."

"Donald doesn't hate you."

Gladstone tilted his head and looked at her to indicate he didn't believe her.

"He may get jealous of your luck sometimes, but we're family. We love you."

"You and Fethry maybe, but not Donald."

"Yes Donald. Family is the most important thing to him, even more than his music."

"He never likes having me around."

"He's too busy worrying about everything. As kids he worried about me getting hurt on adventures and not being able to keep me safe, now he's worrying because we're splitting up and he won't be around to protect me. There are a million little things that could have set him off today, because it's been building up ever since he made the decision to join the navy."

"Then why is he going?"

"Because we're growing up, because it was going to happen eventually. That's why this trip is so important, it's our last chance to be together before everything changes. We both chose to spend this time with you and Fethry."

"You and Fethry have your Woodchuck memories, and I know he idolises Donald. I don't have any of that, just a few holidays here and there, nothing special."

"Are you forgetting all those times you got us out of trouble with your luck? Or how you'd treat us all to games at the arcade because you'd found some money. What about those sleepovers when we'd sneak into the Money Bin to swim and never got caught - thanks to your luck."

Gladstone smiled, "but that's it, don't you see? You only liked me for my luck."

Della punched his arm, feeling surprise when it connected, "don't be stupid."

"Ow," Gladstone rubbed his arm, "I don't think anyone's done that before."

"Then it's about time someone did," she told him. "Clearly your luck agrees with me. We'd have invited you to do all those things with us even if you weren't lucky, because it wasn't about not getting caught it was about doing those things together as a family."

"It was?"

Della raised her hand, "do I need to hit you again to prove it?"

"No, no," Gladstone raised his hands in surrender. "I believe you."

"Good," Della smiled at him. "Now, you're going to go back into that camper and make friends with Donald. You won't play any more games unless you both agree to play them. Perhaps instead you can do a puzzle, or something you work on together that doesn't involve competing."

"We can look over the maps for the next stop," Gladstone suggested.

"Perfect."

Della hugged him, "you're family. We love you. Don't forget it again."

"I won't," Gladstone promised, hugging her back.

Della lay on her towel, staring up at the sky. Soon she'd be back up there, racing between the clouds. Their trip was almost over, just two more days and they'd be back in Duckburg. This beach was the last real stop they'd make before racing to get home. As much as she hated fish, she loved the beach. She never swam in the sea, but she could lie on the sand or pebbles and relax to the sounds around her.

Today she could hear her family's laughter as they splashed around in the water. There was a large umbrella behind her to shade her from the sun and a cool box filled with snacks for their lunch. Everything was perfect.

She opened her eyes when the laughter stopped and saw Donald, Fethry and Gladstone heading up towards her. Pushing her sunglasses on top of her head, she sat up and tossed them a dry towel each.

"You should've come in the water," Fethry told her. "It was so much fun."

Donald laid his towel out next to his sister and sat down, "we didn't see any fish, so if you want to go for a swim you could."

"They're out there," Della replied with a shiver, "probably waiting for me to go near the water."

Gladstone smiled, "it's a good thing Donald's the one joining the navy."

"I think that's why Della likes flying so much, she puts even more space between her and the fish," Donald told him.

"What about flying fish?"

"Actually," Fethry interrupted before anyone else could, "fish can't fly, those labelled as flying fish are merely propelling themselves out of the water, leaping up to four foot on the air."

"Oh, so as long as Della keeps her planes over four foot from the water she'll be safe?" Gladstone asked.

None of them seemed to notice her discomfort as they began discussing where flying fish could be found and how long they could remain out of the water. Every time the word 'fish' was used, Della felt her stomach clench. She wanted to tell them to stop, but her brain was distracting her with images of non-existent fish with wings.

It felt like forever before Donald realised how their talk was affecting her, and he quickly got the others to stop by reminding them why they'd come out of the water in the first place - to eat lunch. Della didn't feel ready to eat, she needed a little time for her stomach to settle before she'd be able to face food. She lay back on her towel, listening as the other three squabbled over the snacks. There were only two more days to go. Two more days of fighting over the last cookies in the bag, two more days of arguing over the best roads to take.

They'd grown so much in the past few years. Fethry had always been loyal and clever, focusing on something which interested him and learning everything he could about the subject, but where he'd always looking for approval when he spoke, now he was becoming more confident. She was so proud of him. Once he found a job that made him happy he would do great things.

Donald still loved his music but he was looking to the future, trying to make his own way in the world and he seemed to be less angry. The navy might become a big part of his life, but if it didn't work out he was brave enough to move forward. Nothing could hold her brother back when he wanted to do something.

Gladstone was... well, Gladstone. On this trip she'd had a chance to get to know him a little better, the campervan and their day trips had given them more time to talk without the dangers of Uncle Scrooge's adventures looming in the background. He'd opened up to her more on this trip, revealing that he wasn't quite the happy-go-lucky goose he'd always seemed to be. She had realised for the first time how lonely he'd been over the years, and that his luck wasn't something to envy. He could still annoy Donald without trying and act superior when things were going his way, but she realised just how often he tried to share his fortune with his family too. Luck would probably be part of his future, but perhaps he'd find a way to make some new friends too.

"I'm going to miss you guys," Fethry said suddenly, as Donald tried grabbing the last can of his favourite flavour of pep.

Della opened her eyes, watching as Gladstone and Donald reacted to his words.

"We'll see each other again," Donald reassured him. "I won't be in the navy forever, and I'll get leave eventually."

"Yeah, but we'll be even more grown up," Fethry explained. "It won't be the same."

"Well that's why we're on this road trip," Gladstone reminded him, "to make more memories for the future. We've had fun on this trip that we couldn't have when we were kids..."

"Like driving where we wanted, when we wanted, because we're the grown ups now," Donald added.

"And once we've grown up a bit more we'll have a new kind of fun..."

"Because we'll have jobs, so we'll have money to spend on luxurious hotel suites..."

"And Della will have a pilot's licence so she can take us off to even more exotic locations."

"Like Ithaquack?" Fethry smiled, "I still haven't met your friends Storkules and Selene."

"No!" Donald shook his head, "it's too dangerous, their father is crazy."

Gladstone continued, "who knows, maybe in ten or twenty years we'll be sitting on this same beach watching all of our kids running around having fun."

"We'll always be cousins," Della told him, holding out a hand.

Donald placed his hand on top of Della's, Gladstone copied him and they waited for Fethry to join in. The red-hatted duck hesitated, but after looking at their smiling faces he placed his hand on top.

"Cousins," he agreed.

"Cousins," the four spoke the word together, before pulling their hands away.