First Night
"What a day" didn't begin to describe the exhaustion Scrooge was feeling.
In the span of a weekend, he'd met his great-nephews, fought several ancient evils, found the jewel of Atlantis amid a flurry of perils, and one-upped Glomgold. His joints would definitely be feeling this one in the morning.
It felt good, though, especially considering his nephews were moving into the mansion now. He'd miss the type of energy their presence brought, and he was already anticipating future adventures with them all.
As the day wound down, they all sat around the dining room table, eagerly chatting about their adventure and planning out the logistics of living together. The lights were dimmed to a cozy setting, encouraging them all to go to bed but to take their time doing so. Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby would all be camping out in the living room that night, since the boys' room still needed to be set up. Donald would be staying in a guest room for "one night only," he insisted, just until Launchpad could transport his boat from the marina to Scrooge's pool.
As tired as they were, no one wanted the night to end.
"Movie nights! Oh, we should have movie nights!" Dewey suggested, sliding a bottle of juice between his palms on the table.
Huey scribbled down his suggestion in the notebook he had in front of him, while Louie added, "Definitely should combine that with pizza night!"
Scrooge smirked at how easily they were integrating their lives into their new surroundings. He bit his tongue to keep himself from adding game nights into the mix, opting instead to bite into the apple pie Mrs. Beakley had made. Even he knew that it was too soon to introduce them to that beast.
By the time Beakley returned to the dining room and announced that she had gathered enough blankets and pillows in the living room for the kids, Scrooge had finished his pie. She picked up his and the others' plates and disappeared into the kitchen.
As the boys and Webby made to leave the table, he stopped them. There was still one more order of business to attend to.
Standing up with a stretch and taking a few steps towards them, Scrooge gathered them into a circle with a hand around their backs, taking extra notice of the way their eyes sparkled with childlike curiosity. He'd been waiting all day for this moment, but now that it was here, he was glad there were no other adults in the room.
This weekend had been special, no doubt about it. He had his family back in his life, but just as important, they'd gone on their first adventure together. It was something that should've happened years ago, a fact that he knew would be haunting him for awhile, but nevertheless, the occasion needed to be marked.
"I've got something for the lot of you," Scrooge began, taking his hand from Webby's shoulder and reaching into his coat pocket. He pulled out four gold coins and held them in the middle of their huddle, giving them a slight shake to make them glint.
The children gaped in awe, with a sense of familiar excitement overtaking Dewey's features.
"These coins are from the treasure room of Atlantis. I managed to grab a handful of them on the way out after we got the real jewel, thanks to Dewey here," Scrooge continued, pausing only to ruffle Dewey's hair good-heartedly, who pushed him off with a laugh. "It was dangerous and took a lot of unexpected turns, but you all went above and beyond, and should be proud. I know I am."
Smiling, he plucked the coins from his palm and handed one to each duckling surrounding him.
"A first adventure is something to remember, to cherish," he ruminated. "It whets the appetite for more, gives you a taste of the thrill. No matter how many we go on, this one will always be special. And that's why I want you to have these, as a reminder of our first adventure together."
The kids marveled at the gold in their hands as Scrooge spoke, but when he finished, they collectively launched themselves at him in a group hug, which he heartily returned.
After saying good night, Scrooge ushered the kids out of the dining room and towards the living room so they could go to sleep. As he did so, he caught sight of Donald standing outside by the pool through the window, and remembered the rest of the gold weighing down his pocket.
He still had one more coin to dole out.
The low illumination of garden lights guided his footsteps to the pool, which itself lit up with an ethereal late-night glow. Crickets chirped lazily on the fringes of the courtyard, singing of summers past when his young niece and nephew would go for midnight swims and wake their uncle with their merrymaking, only for him to join them in the end. Afterwards, they would cuddle together at the edge of the pool, their feet dangling in the water, and stargaze while nature played its soundtrack.
The memory stirred a sense of nostalgia in Scrooge as he approached Donald, who now stood alone where they once laid together, his head tilted back towards the stars and the underside of his beak lit up by the pool lights.
"Hey, lad." The gentleness in Scrooge's voice surprised even himself as he joined his nephew. There was ten years of pent-up silence standing between them, something Donald was very clearly still aware of, given how he had yelled at him earlier about the Spear of Selene. But then again, he'd also been on board with the boys moving in afterwards, so that had to count for something. This could go either way.
"Hey," came his answer. Donald sounded more tired than anything, which was understandable, especially considering he'd been with Glomgold for most of the trip to Atlantis.
Scrooge winced at the thought. "I'm sorry my rivalry with Glomgold put you in harm's way. You, and the boys," he said awkwardly before he realized what he was doing.
Donald shrugged. "You got us out of it, didn't you?"
"Heh, I think we both know Dewey deserves the credit there. They all do, actually."
Donald hummed in agreement with the point, and then there was a beat. Their eyes watched the stars through a clear sky, but their hearts strayed to the empty spot on Scrooge's other side, knowing that its usual occupant was lost somewhere far above their heads, a cosmic angel. She would've been proud of this weekend.
"Ye raised them well."
Donald finally turned to Scrooge, stunned. "Huh?"
"The boys, ye raised them well."
Caught off-guard by the sudden compliment, Donald shied into a blush and could only stutter, "I- well- Th-thanks."
Scrooge left it at that, knowing that now wasn't the time nor place to continue that particular conversation, lest they descend into trading verbal punches of blame. It was too soon to risk that. Instead, he latched onto the quiet kindness that had settled between them and changed the subject. "I gave the kids a gold coin each from the treasure room, to mark their first adventure."
Unsure of what kind of response his uncle was looking for, Donald simply asked, "Oh yeah?"
Nodding, Scrooge reached into his pocket and pulled out another coin. "I know it wasn't your first adventure, but...here." He offered the coin to Donald, who took it with a hesitating hand before eyeing it suspiciously.
"What's the catch?" he wondered aloud.
Scrooge laughed and couldn't stop himself from jostling Donald into a one-armed hug against his side. "No catch," he explained. "Just something to remember their- our first adventure together with them."
Donald stiffened in surprise at Scrooge's touch, but gradually melted into the hug, letting his arm stay around his shoulder. He stared at the coin, trying to ignore the feeling in his gut that this was wrong, that Della should be getting this instead, not him. He wrapped his fingers around it and sucked in a breath, vowing that he was accepting it on her behalf. Glancing back up at Scrooge, he whispered, "Thanks, Uncle."
"Don't mention it, laddie."
Together, they looked back up at the sky, watching the twinkling stars for all of four seconds before Donald let out a yawn that he barely caught with the back of his fist to his beak.
Scrooge patted his shoulder with a slight chuckle. "Ye should get some sleep."
"No argument here," Donald agreed as his feet automatically turned towards the mansion. "Good night, Uncle Scrooge."
"Good night, my boy," he returned, watching Donald's figure disappear through the back door. He then turned back to the pool, catching the reflection of the rising half moon against the water before looking up at the satellite itself. The crickets were still chirping and for a moment, he felt the peace that only those lost summer nights could bring.
Sighing in satisfaction, Scrooge reached into his coat once again and let his fingers linger on the two remaining coins within. He took out the one he'd deemed for himself and flipped it in the air with a flourish. The memories of the adventure and the promise of more to come glinted along the gold's edge, causing him to smile.
This was one coin that wasn't going to the Money Bin.
Only one adventure in and Scrooge is ready to adopt and love them all, huh?
Anyway, this started out as just Scrooge giving the kids the gold coins, but then I wanted Donald to get a coin, too, so here we are.
Thanks for reading and for the love on the previous chapter!