Dewey fidgeted with his shirt and hair and then glanced at Huey, so confused as to why his older brother looked so calm when he felt like a wreck.
"Huey?" Dewey mumbled, looking a little pale, "Are you sure about this?"
"What? Yeah! Gosalyn is the greatest. They're so fun and cool and smart-" Huey stopped when he noticed that Dewey was staring at him.
"Anyway, my point is that they're great and you're great. Match made in heaven, right?"
"Sure."
"And it will be so much fun to have a double date with you guys! There's no one else to double date with since Webby and Lena are banned from most places."
"Louie and Shi-" Dewey started before Huey held up a hand.
"Louie and Shiloh make me uncomfortable."
"What're you talking about? They're just like you and Vi."
"No they're not," Huey said defensively.
"Uh, they pretty much are."
"Violet and I aren't touchy like that."
"Maybe not in public but you still kiss and stuff. Maybe that makes me uncomfortable."
"Never mind, this isn't about Louie or Shiloh or who's touchier, though let's go back to that because I don't want to make you uncomfortable. Let's just try to get you psyched up for this date. I think you and Gos could be good together."
"Do you really think that or do you just want to play matchmaker?"
Huey shrugged, "It's one date. And you'll Dew great."
Dewey let out a hollow laugh.
"I look okay?"
He wore a blue Hawaiian shirt with white flowers on it, with their mom's flight jacket over it.
"You look great, Dewey, just let me…" Huey reached up and fussed with Dewey's hair. Dewey would normally be annoyed by that but he was too nervous to be perturbed.
Della was downstairs waiting for them and squealed when she saw her boys all dressed up.
"Oh my gosh! Your first date! And you're wearing my jacket!" Della seemed over the moon, pardon the pun. She reached over and also fussed with Dewey's hair and he let out a little sigh.
"Mom, don't make such a big deal of it. It's just a date." Dewey was, for the first time ever, uncomfortable with the attention.
"Yeah, let the Romeo go, mom," Louie teased from the couch.
Della turned on him, "Don't think I'm going to forget about our deal just because I'm excited about Dewey's date."
Louie groaned, "It was a small dent, mom. The car barely needs repairs."
"Which means it won't take you that long to work off what you owe me, right, Llewellyn?"
"Right. Have fun, Romeo! If you need an emergency out I'll be here slaving away, just shoot me a text."
Huey looked exasperated, "Dewey's not going to do that. Gosalyn is awesome, he's not going to bail on them."
"Whatever you say, Puck."
Huey frowned at that, not sure what upset him more, the fact that Louie was comparing him to a mischievous matchmaker or the fact that Louie knew enough about Shakespeare to compare him to a mischievous matchmaker. Huey had thought Louie had fallen asleep in that class.
Dewey took a deep breath and then marched out the door, figuring he was as ready as he would ever be.
Huey chattered as he drove, talking about how they'd pick up their dates from Violet's house, where Gosalyn had spent the night, and then have the best evening together. Dewey fidgeted with his buttons and tried not to feel tired. He felt like he needed a shot of five-hour energy. Or several. How could you feel tired and jittery at the same time? What was wrong with him?
"I know Gosalyn is cool but I didn't know you and Violet were so close with them," Dewey said.
Huey shrugged, seeming a little red, "I just enjoy spending time with them. Vi does too."
"So you wanted to set them up with me?"
"I don't know why you find it so hard to believe that I want to set up my cool friend with my cool brother."
"If Louie was single would you be doing this with him?"
"Maybe? I don't know. Listen, Dewey, do you not want to do this?"
Dewey thought about Huey and Della's excitement that he was finally getting into the dating scene.
"No, I want to," he lied convincingly, not wanting to let his family down. Huey, Louie, and Webby seemed like such naturals when it came to dating. So there had to be something wrong with him if he didn't want this, the way everyone else wanted him to do this.
When Gosalyn and Violet got in the car, Dewey switched to the back with Gosalyn and Violet took the front seat. Gos tried to start a conversation with him, but he was still trying to calm his nerves, staring out the window. So Huey and Violet did most of the talking, and the couple in the backseat felt awkward and off.
At the restaurant, Huey kinda nudged Dewey.
"Doesn't Gosalyn look nice?"
Dewey turned and finally looked at them.
"Oh, yeah. You look really nice, Gosalyn. I um. I like your tie."
"Thank you," Gosalyn murmured, beginning to fidget with the aforementioned tie.
Huey smiled apologetically at Gosalyn, wanting to make up for his brother's nerves.
"Let's head inside, get this date properly started. I hear they have the best appetizers here. Does everyone like spinach dip? Or cheese curds?"
"Either is fine," Dewey muttered distractedly, standing next to Gosalyn now but still not looking at them. Huey was starting to get a little irritated at Dewey's rudeness. Gosalyn was a wonderful person and deserved at least a little bit of effort from Dewey. He gave Dewey a look, but Dewey didn't notice.
Violet started talking to Gosalyn, but Dewey remained silent, feeling like he was suffocating. He didn't know why, he liked Gosalyn. Normally they had a great time hanging out, talking, and joking. But normally it wasn't a date. And now that it was a date it felt like he couldn't breathe.
"Dewey, are you alright?" Gosalyn asked after the waiter had taken their orders.
"Hm?" His head snapped up and he looked at them, noticing then that Gosalyn looked concerned and that Huey was kind of glowering at him.
"You just seem really out of it. If you didn't want to do this, or if you want to reschedule, we can talk about it. No one is forcing you to do anything," Gosalyn said.
Dewey glanced again at Huey, who was close to snapping at him.
"I need to go freshen up," Dewey said weakly, and then fled the table.
"Is he okay?" Gosalyn asked, knowing the answer, their brow furrowing in concern.
Huey set his jaw, "I'll go check." Then he marched to the bathroom, prepared to tear Dewey a new one, and Violet slid into the booth next to Gosalyn to comfort them about the awkwardness of the date.
Dewey was panicking on the floor of a stall when Huey found him, and instantly Huey's demeanor changed.
"Dewey, oh my gods, are you okay?"
Dewey couldn't answer, focused on hugging himself and trying to catch his breath.
"I'm so sorry, Dewey, I should have seen that you were feeling bad about all of this. You didn't have to… I mean, no one was forcing you to go on this date."
Dewey laughed suddenly.
"Are you kidding me? You talked nonstop about how wonderful Gosalyn is, like you want to date them yourself, practically, and how great it is that I'm finally dating and- and it isn't me! Gosalyn is my friend! I don't have feelings for them and I don't want feelings for them!"
"Dewey, Dewey, it's okay. You don't have to want to date Gosalyn, and really, it's scary to date, I understand. It's okay if you're not ready yet."
"No, Huey! You don't understand. It's not that I'm ready, yet, it's that I'll never be ready. I don't know what's wrong with me but I don't have any interest in that kind of thing. I don't want to meet someone, I don't want to settle down, I don't want to date. It doesn't feel like me. Is that… Is that okay?"
"Of course it is," Huey said softly, feeling like shit for not seeing the signs sooner.
"Dewey, some people aren't interested in romantic or sexual relationships. Some people are aromantic and/or asexual. And that's perfectly okay. I just want you to know that. I want you to know that there's nothing wrong with you at all."
Dewey swiped at his eyes and smiled, "Thanks, Hue. You think Gosalyn will understand?"
"Yeah, they're cool."
"Yeah, they are. You like them."
"What?" Huey looked startled, "Dewey, I'm with Violet."
"And I think you like both of them equally," Dewey shrugged, "I just tell it how I see it."
"Whatever. Shut up. Let's get back out to them and explain things. Are you feeling better?"
"Much better." Dewey stood up, they both washed their hands, and then they headed out of the bathroom.
When they got back, Gosalyn and Violet were talking in low voices, laughing a bit at something they must have missed.
"Huey," Violet said, catching her boyfriend's attention, "something very interesting just happened."
"Yeah?" Huey asked, taking a seat next to Dewey and grabbing a cheese curd.
"A classmate came over while Gosalyn and I were talking, and asked if I was dating them, and Gosalyn, as a joke, said yes, and then they asked about you, to which I replied we were all dating and-"
Huey's cheeks reddened, "And so now we're all dating?"
"Well it was only a joke," Violet said, "But I think there's some merit to it, perhaps…"
Then she turned to Dewey, "Not to step on your toes, of course, Dewford."
"No, no, I'd be happier seeing you all date than to be expected to be someone… Romantic. I'm not really cut out for dating, it seems. Sorry, Gosalyn."
"It's okay, Dewey. I think we work better as friends." Now everyone was looking at Huey, and Huey was looking between Violet and Gosalyn.
"You really… You really want to? Like, all three of us, together?"
"Only if you wanted to, Huey," Violet said.
"I'm not trying to jeopardize anything you two have together," Gosalyn said, "I can take the hint when I'm not wanted."
"No-" Huey said quickly, "I mean, yes. I want to. I would like to. Tonight though," he glanced at his brother, "tonight we dine as friends."
"I'll drink to that," Gosalyn said, raising their glass of water with lemon.
"Thank you," Dewey said softly, before clinking glasses with his friends. Later he would have to explain everything to the rest of his family, but for now, he could relax, the weight of romance finally off his shoulders.
Shiloh is my Ducktales OC and the joke of the part where I mentioned her is that she and Louie are both gay and haven't realized it yet, so they're dating each other until they eventually come out of the closet to themselves.
I headcanon Dewey as aroace and Huey as polyamorous. Thought it would be fun to write a story where he started dating Gosalyn and Violet, though this isn't the only fic like this I'll write, probably.
If you want more aroace Dewey, I recommend checking out Seventh Wheel.