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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

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Chapter 2 – A new element in the House (Donald)

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

Donald Duck had seen many things after having spent many years adventuring around the world and discovering many incredible things that were, by all definitions, unheard or never seen by people from the modern era. But the individual he just helped in his boat-home after finding him struggling to even stay knelt by the near pier? Never seen anyone like him. At first he confused him for a bipedal look, akin to Goofy, but much to his surprise, this wasn't the case. First, the nose didn't match, same for the ears. A quick general look confirmed he was at least close enough for him to consider a mammal.

A look through the things in his pouches confirmed a few things. He had a name to call this guy, John Bukharin, and much other personal info provided by his curious ID Card. While Donald Duck the simple angry guy never officially visited Italy in his entire life, Paperinik was familiar with the peculiar insignia of the Italian Republic after spending a few months being a superhero from time to time. It was odd to find someone with no passport and that kind of ID here in Duckburg but… maybe there was a logical explanation. Surely there was an explanation why this Bukharin, someone that resembled a dog but wasn't one, had ended up on this side of the world. Laying him in one of the emergency mattresses he spared for this kind of circumstances, Donald gave a proper look to try to find any wounds on him but… he didn't. It was clear that whatever brought him to that much stress wasn't physical but rather tied to the mind. And he knew better than to try to wake up someone that fainted like that. He was about to call the hospital and see if they could send an ambulance by the docks but before he could even move to get the phone, he froze as he heard familiar voices approaching the boat-home.

"Uncle Donald! School's over!"

A yelp, a sudden jump and… Donald struck his head onto the low lantern which he had forgotten about. Not a novelty – the fact he got hurt like this due to a sudden fright. Bad luck was still a factor, albeit one that kept him always on the edge and… angry. Well, most of the time 'angry', the rest either worried or scared of getting an even worse deal if he reacted wrongly. Removing his hat for a moment, he rubbed with his right hand the sore spot which was definitely going to become a bump in due time. His gaze aimed at the entrance, knowing full well what happened next and… they were already bolting inside the house.

Huey and Dewey were the ones that rushed in first, always a competition to get back home from school. Louie was always last, mostly because he was the kind of child that loved to 'enjoy the walk home from the worst place ever'. 'Kids will always despise school', Donald argued within his mind as his adult self seemed to almost forgot how much he hated it himself. Still, he went on to greet the triplets without skipping a beat from the usual.

"Welcome home."

The warm greeting gained their attention, with Huey smiling widely before bolting to get the first hug out of his uncle. Dewey didn't hesitate to jump at the opportunity too shortly after and Donald sighed in relief at the tight embrace before letting the two boys go.

"So, how was school?"

"You wouldn't believe it, Uncle Donald!" Dewey giddily started, jumping up and down in excitement. "Do you remember that trick I wanted to do with fireworks? The one you said was super-difficult and risky?"

Donald remembered, and he didn't like where this conversation was already going.

"Well, it worked perfectly!"

...Oh, thank Go-

"But it kind of broke a good part of the school's wall and I'm kind of suspended for a week-"

"We are suspended for a week," Huey huffed with an annoyed tone. "I was so close to getting that other prank going and now I have to wait for a week."

"You think of pranks? I was getting the coffee trick ready so I could get less homework for us all, but no- you two had to ruin it all."

Well, I guess I now have to expect a call from the principal. As it normally goes…

Despite the jabs shared by the siblings, none actually started a fight out of it. It wasn't the first time it happened, and, after a while, even they knew not to 'shake the boat too much'. Literally, and especially because of how fragile the thing was despite how it looked solid on the outside. Still, he had some scolding to do and… he was forgetting something. Something important and-

"Gasp! Uncle Donald, did you kidnap someone?" Huey exclaimed while aiming his finger at the individual he had placed on the emergency mattress.

Donald's mind rebooted at that sudden question, with his eyes widening as he snapped his attention back at the still unconscious guy.

"I-I did not kidnap him!"

"Well, he is unconscious, you're still holding his wallet and that doesn't paint a pretty alibi," Louie rebutted flatly, almost teasing him. Soon he tilted his head as he looked closer at the sleepy face of the unconscious man and… frowned. "I thought for a moment he was a dog."

"He isn't?" Dewey asked with a hint of interest, now approaching the stranger. Huey didn't hesitate to check too and soon the four were staring at the sleeping foreigner… silently. And creepily.

Donald pulled himself out of that moment first, managing to get the boys to stop staring as he explained the situation in its fullest. It wasn't easy with the kids jumping the gun with their questions every few seconds, but he managed to get the story out and they looked fascinated by the entire predicament.

"So this guy shouldn't be there to begin with? Like, he should be back home which is miles and miles away from Duckburg or something?" Huey asked, having yet to grasp how the man got there.

"I mean, this should be Italian, so yes, the guy shouldn't be there to begin with and… maybe he was kidnapped," Dewey confirmed while checking the stranger's ID. "Still, John Bukharin. That doesn't sound much Italian."

"Ah, who knows, maybe he got kidnapped or something. He doesn't have any dollars on himself, only Euros," Louie hummed as he tried to pull the banknotes out of the wallet Donald just handed him.

"Louie!" Three ducks exclaimed at once, stopping the duckling and getting him to shrug.

"Fine, I was just retrieving evidence. Nothing wrong in being a detective, right?"

Just as Louie finished saying that, Donald tensed up as he saw the foreigner move in his rest. 'John' shifted a bit, clearly stirring awake from his unplanned slumber and trying to grab a sense of self within that moment. Donald rushed away for a moment, going to the kitchen to retrieve a glass of water and walked back to the room where he had left the man. The triplets were staring at the scene, silently glancing at their uncle as he slowly passed the water at the strained man.

"Here."

The stranger tensed up suddenly, his eyes opening as he gazed straight at Donald and… remained quiet for a few seconds. There was a storm of multiple emotions within his gaze but, then he reached up and took the glass to himself, close, and then started to drink some while adjusting himself on the mattress. Soon, John was done with the entire glass and… he sighed.

"Thank you. I mean it."

"It's alright and-"

"Are you a spy?" Dewey interjected with that loud question.

John frowned. "No…?"

"A ninja?" Huey pressed on with a giddy smile. "An Italian Ninja? That sounds so awesome."

"It does but… still no."

"Aw."

"So, how about you tell us what you are and how you got here in Duckburg?" Louie finally chimed in, deciding to throw his own cents in.

"I'm a human and… I don't know?"

There could have been many questions about that clear answer. What is a human? Did it have a specific diet? Allergies? Anything Donald should be aware about that wouldn't make a bad first impression?

"Oh really?"

"Yeah," The human replied with a frown.

"Really?"

"...Yeah?"

…

"Yep, he doesn't know."

Tension that Donald didn't know having up until that moment was let go at that silly escalation, but still, he decided to address the 'human' for good.

"Do you need anything else? Any medicines?"

"I'm- I think I'm fine," John replied tensely. "I'm just a bit shaken. From waking up underwater."

"And you don't… remember how you got there?"

"Yep."

...

"So you were kidnapped!" Dewey exclaimed in shock, rupturing through the quiet scene that had barely begun. "Does that mean that someone left you like that? To drown?"

John opened his mouth and… then closed it. "I guess? I'm not sure. Really, if I knew anything more, I would have said it."

He didn't seem to be lying at that moment, and Donald nodded. "I guess you're stuck here and… we can try to fix things up?"

For some reasons, John didn't look that convinced about it. "Maybe."

It didn't seem that energetic as a response but…

He is tired, that's all. Donald thought without giving it too much attention. Considering his circumstances, it didn't feel odd that he was still shaken and unable to coherently work his feelings out properly.

In the end, John was allowed to stay in the boat-house for the time being, in exchange for him working around and not being a sleaze at it. He agreed to the terms, promising to do the best he could and… he did. At first, Donald thought the man would have been a temporary guest but… as two weeks went on with John being around by the house and helping where possible, things seemed to change. Even economically as he also managed to get a small job as a mechanic to bolster the income of the household. It wasn't much but… it was definitely a sigh of relief compared to what was the last decade within that house. The triplets were slow to accept this new individual in their home, but they soon started to view John as a friendly face. Not much to be outright trusting but still more than enough to listen to him when they were doing one of their mischievous deeds and were caught by him. He played with them and planned some silly and harmless plans to redirect the kids' attention but…

Well, things changed as soon as Donald finally got hold of a new job interview and required a babysitter. John was nice and all, quite reliant too but… he wasn't really that effective in keeping the boys in check. He might appear as the voice of reason most of the time, but he was still the kind of guy that didn't put his foot down to discourage them and punish them. Donald recognized that it was tied to the fact he still considered himself a guest and thus he shouldn't be trying to emulate Donald's own duties while he was out for important reasons. To fix that, and since the children had already detoured their planned babysitter to an unknown location, he decided to call in a favor from someone in the family he hadn't talked much to for a while.

Hopefully Uncle Scrooge wasn't going to mind the kids and an 'alien' staying in his manor for a few hours…