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FICTION

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Chapter 16 – Only Child's Worry (Webby)

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

It was meant to be a simple day.

Sure, there was the whole 'The Day of the Only Child' that the triplets were going through which was definitely going to cause a couple of messes here and there, but Webby had soon started perceiving another problem. The reason behind the triplets suddenly pretending to be 'only children' was that they wanted to have their alone time without having their brothers around. In a sense, it was meant to give them some relief on their own.

And yet… that rekindled a small concern that had been present ever since she got really comfy with John. John was the closest thing she had to a dad and… yet Webby felt like she hogged much of his time with her quirkiness. It had been a passing thought at first since she hadn't seen any hints that he could be feeling too 'monopolized' by her when he was free from work.

But just like it had come out of the blue how the boys wanted that kind of loneliness from time to time, Webby could imagine that this other possibility could have gone under her radar. And that she was making a big deal of concern without even noticing. So… she felt all her plans to spend some time with the human come to an abrupt halt.

They would always do things together, like reading books or… playing board games; even sharing tales about the McDuck's family. Not all of those were correct as John always went with what he could remember rather than what he could bring up via instant sources, but a good part of those were incredibly impressive.

She knew that Scrooge was an adventurer, but to imagine that there was a larger line of adventurers that went far and wide to explore untouched parts of the world before him further expanded the admiration she felt towards the rich duck and his dynasty. So, the duckling felt unease at the development, for both cases, and yet she decided to just take it slow and study the whole matter the best way possible: procrastinating and reflecting on past situations.

So, it became fairly awkward when John, expecting to spend the usual free day with Webby as the triplets were busy with their antics and Scrooge was somewhat 'busy with something important that wasn't an adventure', found her lying on the big couch in the living room, her head softly resting on one of the armrests. Her input and involvement in greeting and talking was quite abysmal, most of her focus still aimed at the many questions on the topic riddling her of the serenity to spend the day as she had initially planned.

John noticed. Or so she thought as she was instantly provided with comfort in the form of some warm bed sheets and a pillow so she could 'rest' better. It was only the beginning, she would soon learn as the man calmly studied her procrastination and valued what to do about it. Webby wasn't sure what he would have done on the spot, but then, instead of just keeping quiet and letting her think, the human felt compelled to tackle the issue head on.

"Is everything alright, sweetie?"

The duckling tried to swerve the question with a mere 'I'm just tired', or anything along those lines. Sadly, due to how uneasy she currently felt, the response barely felt convincing, further expanding John's concerns and then intervention on the topic. He leaned closer, and she could barely look at him for a while before turning her gaze away.

The girl knew that was a false step and she would just spill the truth without much resilience and… John paused. For what felt like her 'defeat' as he looked ready to press her more on the subject, the human pulled away and just allowed her to enjoy some silence. Confusion swelled behind her chest at that, and many questions formed in front of this unexpected turn.

Did she do or show something that made him back down? Or perhaps it was her unusual behavior that drew such a response out of John. Her mind was now turning away from her early thought bubble, shifting right in what she felt was another oddity worthy of study. And the more she thought about it, the more Webby felt upset by her conclusions.

It was clear that, as someone that cared for her, he was unable to press more into it without risking hurting her in the process. Or, at least, what he perceived would end up hurting her. Since she was lying on the couch as if she was somewhat tired, maybe sick, or actually angry at something or someone, maybe he felt he was the subject of that kind of reaction and… that made him unable to push more into getting answers.

Should I ask him directly rather than focus so much into my thoughts?

Part of her was squeamish at that notion: what if he told her a lie instead of the truth? What if that actually worried her more or even gave her an answer she wouldn't like? There were many good reasons to keep quiet about it, but, at the same time, there were a lot more that pushed her to be honest about it. John was worried, and she was feeling more frustrated than usual. If Lena had been there, the two girls could have talked it out and prevented this awkward conversation but...

Maybe it's best to be honest about it.

"Dad?"

John blinked. "Hmm?"

"Can I ask you a question that… I want you to be really honest about it, even if it hurts, or is it too much for me to handle or-"

"What's wrong?"

She stopped mid sentence, her gaze moving low. "I… Am I taking too much time from you?"

"What do you mean?" The man asked, frowning at that question.

"Well, we spend a lot of time together and I think, you know… that you don't get much time on your own."

…

"Dear, I think that's quite sweet of you. But you don't take that much time out of me when I'm free," He reasoned, confusing Webby on the spot.

"I'm quite sure I do. I mean, we do many things together-"

"But then I tend to leave you with the boys as I handle other things, don't I?" John argued calmly, stopping the duckling in her tracks. "Sure, we tend to spend a lot of time together, but I can tell you that it's always the 'healthy' amount of time together."

"So… I worried for nothing?"

"Wait, you were worried about taking too much time from me, sweetie?"

Webby hid her face under her sheets. "K-Kind of."

John chuckled, suddenly pulling her close and wrapping her in the sheets before pulling the girl on his lap and giving her a tight hug. It felt so nice and comfy that she was unconsciously snuggling against his chest. It felt like she was little all over again, when her grandmother would carry her around like that and let her see the world from above. Those were nicer and simpler times, but those she experienced now were funnier and better than back then. She felt nostalgic, not regretful.

"Aw, that's so sweet of you. And caring. I believe that should be more than enough to brush away any concerns about it," The human added mirthfully as he stared down to her face. "You can be quirky when you want, but you are not excessive about it. It's alright to be afraid of making a bad impression, but that shouldn't become a problem to you until you know that you're doing too much. And, right now, you're doing just alright with that."

…

"R-Really?" She sniffled a little, the tears coming out not because of the sweetness of the scene, but because she felt like a moron for going through that kind of mental derailment for something that could have been solved like this, with a genuine talk. John held her super-tight for a while, and then asked her a simple question about the current situation.

"So, what got you to think you were spending too much time with me?"

And Webby spilled the whole truth without much hesitation, explaining what the boys were planning to do today, how it was working on Dewey since he had been the only one to keep in the manor for today, and how this unexpected event ended up leaving her in that bizarre dilemma that got her to behave like that.

She would soon learn that John was completely unaware of what was going on with the triplets and, with her volunteering to join him, decided to go and fish them out by the possible troubles they could be dealing with on their own. It was odd how John already knew things were going to be messy but… it was the boys.

Trouble just seemed to follow the McDuck family a lot as shown in recent times, either with Scrooge, Donald or the triplets themselves. And, as expected, the boys were all dealing with individual issues, with Dewey feeling the loneliness the most despite his best efforts to make this day become a thing, Huey being tricked by the Beagle Boys and Louie facing someone as devious as Doofus Drake. This last bit was the most difficult to face as Doofus proved to be incredibly childish and unwilling to let go of Louie, but they did it.

Things went really intense at a certain point, sure, but they managed to win through it all with minimal issues. It was a bizarre day through and through, and while they hadn't gone for the usual adventure, this sure felt like one with how many crazy things had happened to them. Webby sighed in relief as she basked in the zenith of their victory, with John having brought her and the boys to one of the nearest ice cream parlors near the manor and given them the chance to buy the treats they wanted.

While Huey and Dewey competed for the highest tower of ice cream they could get before being limited by John's current money and Louie decided to settle to try some coffee ice cream for the first time ever (a decision he would learn to hate with a passion from the way he reacted to it), Webby stuck with trying John's favorite flavor, which was Watermelon and… she liked the combo of sweetness of the 'pink part' and the delicious aftertaste of the chocolate bits. It was a nice sunny day, and she felt like this was a good way to spend some time off from adventure without being too bored about it.

And as the five enjoyed this little event, somewhere nearby someone was spying on them with some binoculars. The figure had a receiver nearby too.

"Sir, I have a target on sight. Once again spending time with the kids."

…

"Yes, I know, I shouldn't move now but… it's difficult to find a time where he is free and… oh."

…

"Oh, right- I kind of… yeah, I- I think that works too. So, I will strike when he is going to work. Got it. Will contact you soon, sir."

The figure kept on spying, knowing that the capture of the odd creature was soon to happen.

AN

A new 'threat' joins the roster, this one aiming for John from the looks of it. And it's going to be incredibly tough as an opponent!