Louyd will not be the center of the fic after this chapter, in fact, they won't really get brought up again until the epilogue, AKA Chapter 16. Maybe Boyd will be mentioned a little, who knows, but the idea is to go back to the non-romance stuff.

Louie's guts were twisted up like he'd eaten something bad as he picked at breakfast. He was the only one up of the "kids" because he was the only one who had to be up. He started his Wednesdays with breakfast and therapy. Today Uncle Donald was driving him, which meant it gave him the perfect opportunity to talk about whatever the hell had happened with Boyd yesterday before his brothers and sister teased him even more.

"Lou? You okay?"

"I need some advice," Louie said, not looking up from his oatmeal. Really, they'd been doomed from the start, Louie hated oatmeal.

"Alright, hit me."

"I need advice… About…" Louie cringed and his stomach did a flip. It was too embarrassing, he had to abandon this line of questioning before he threw up.

"Louie, take a deep breath, drink a bit of water. Whatever you want to ask me is going to be okay."

Feeling motivated by the water Louie let his sentence run together, "Ineedyoutogivemeadviceaboutaskingoutaboy."

Then he took another deep breath, feeling a little lighter.

Donald understood immediately. Having grown up with a speech impediment he had gotten really good at understanding what other people said no matter the circumstances.

"Of course, I can try to help with that. You're going to have to give me more details about this mystery boy, though."

"He's not a mystery, you know him," Louie said, now in a staring contest with his oatmeal.

"Okay, but I would still appreciate it if you could tell me his name."

"Don't laugh."

"I would never."

"Boyd Gearloose-Drake."

Uncle Donald didn't laugh.

"He seems like a really nice young man, Louie. I'm happy for you."

"Don't be happy for me yet, I don't even know how to ask him out, or if he'd be receptive to that... And I don't even know if I should right now. I'm working on myself, you know?"

"And I bet Boyd is working on himself, too. If you waited until you were perfect you'd be waiting forever. The joy of a healthy relationship is that you can find out who you were meant to be with the people you were meant to be with. That doesn't mean you have to rush into anything, but you shouldn't keep putting it off because you're chasing perfection."

"Thanks, Uncle Donald." Framing it like that lifted another weight of Louie's chest. He'd been spiraling all year because he thought people expected him to be better. But chasing unrealistic standards wasn't going to give him time to heal. And he needed to take all the time he could get.

Therapy passed by unremarkably and soon Louie was back with his brothers and sister. He was feeling good, feeling better, almost feeling bold.

"Hey, I talked to Uncle Donald about Boyd today."

"Did he give you advice on how to ask Boyd out?" Huey asked, visibly excited.

"No, I'm not ready to ask Boyd out just yet, I'll get that part of the advice when I need it. But he helped me feel more sure of myself. Maybe there's a future out there for me and Boyd after all. I guess we'll just have to see."

"Keep us updated," Webby said.

"I will."

"You should bring him to my play," Dewey suggested.

"I'll think about it. I appreciate that you guys care about me, but until I decide to make a move can you try to not make a big deal out of it? I want this week to just be about us, in the present, not some scary unknown future."

"Of course, Louie. We'll live in the moment," Huey said, adding, "You know, I got my "Live In The Moment" Badge ages ago."

"I think they gave that to you by mistake," Dewey teased.

"Oh shush," Huey laughed, and once again they were back to normal for just a little bit.

Word travels around the manor, though, and it was only a matter of time before everyone there knew that Louie had a crush on the cute android.

Scrooge and Beakley could mind their business, but Della very much could not.

"I knew it!" Della popped up while Louie was taking a moment by himself in the living room to write in the journal his therapist had recommended. Now he set the book aside and looked at his mom, the pieces not clicking together.

"What- oh, oh no. I don't- I'm not- It's not a big deal, mom."

"It is a big deal, Louie. You went to Donald for advice. I'm a bit of a romantic myself, you know."

"I know, mom, and if I need that kind of advice again I will hit you up."

"And you'll tell me what happens with you and Boyd?"

"Would that make you happy?"

"Yes. I want to know about my kids' lives! I don't like the idea of you keeping me out of the loop when important stuff happens."

Feeling a bit uncomfortable with all the attention, Louie suddenly had the brilliant idea to throw his brother under the bus.

"So I imagine Huey has told you all about his girlfriend?"

"His what?"

"You should definitely give him some advice," Louie said before ducking away and letting out a sigh of relief. Now he just had to avoid his mother and his oldest brother for a few hours until all of this romantic nonsense blew over.

He really did like Boyd and he was excited to see what the future held for them, but right now he had to focus on his recovery for a bit longer. Then he could give Boyd the attention and adoration he deserved.