Hi everyone! So I have recently started rewatching DuckTales and I absolutely loved the original! I've seen a lot of fan art for this ship and that's how this idea came to be. Now, to start off, I am considering this before the finale happened. I understand that with that ending they are family, but growing up on the original where that was not canon I feel in love with this ship. I did try and keep this one-shot to where you could read it either which way, if it comes off as a close sibling dynamic then cool, if it comes off with a more romantic tone, that is also fine. I honestly love it both ways. I loved the ending to the revised show, but I also still enjoy the ships that we held onto from the original. If this makes you uncomfortable then you don't have to read it, you are allowed your opinions just like I am allowed mine. Now, that that is out of the way. If you have decided to read this fic, I thank you and I hope you enjoy it! Please comment your thoughts, both on the fic and on which way you prefer these two. I am curious to see how others feel about the topic! :) I will say please don't show hate in the review section to anyone, people are allowed to view things how they see fit, you don't have to agree with it but you shouldn't be little their opinions just because they don't match your own. With all of that taken care of enjoy! Also cross posted on Archive of Our Own under the same name.
Louie sighs as he quietly climbs out of bed, pulling on a black t-shirt he grabs his signature green hoodie and pulls that on as well. Knowing very well how chilly the manor can get at night. Slipping out of the room without a sound, his brothers continue to sleep peacefully as he closes the door behind him. He begins walking aimlessly through the halls, the day's events replaying heavily on his mind. It had started off much like every other day, uncle Scrooge came into the living room once everyone was awake with a tale of their newest adventure. Dewey and Webby jumping up from the couch in excitement just like they always do, Huey exclaiming that he could get a new merit badge on their trip, and the three of them grabbing Louie who was lazing on the couch and dragging him with them. A completely normal day for the McDuck family and then it wasn't. Not five minutes into investigating the mysterious caves they had found they were separated, this also was not a surprise. It had happened more times then they could count. Dewey and Scrooge ended up together, Della, Donald, and Huey ended up together, and Webby and Louie ended up together. The place being rigged with traps was nothing new, but somehow the day turned into something complete different. Louie screws up his face, clenching his eyes closed as the memories flash through his mind. Him and Webby goofing off, him not paying attention to his surroundings and tripping a trap, Webby yelling a warning out to him, Her running toward him and pushing him out of the way, The way she screamed as her leg got caught in the trap, the sight of blood, the agonizing wait for the others to find them as he tried to stop the bleeding, the relief when the others finally found them, then the guilt that began to eat at him with the knowledge that she got hurt because of him.
If he had just been paying more attention, if he had seen the trap a minute before, Webby never would have had to push him out of the way and she never would have gotten hurt. Louie shakes his head roughly, pushing those thoughts deep into his mind. Walking a little faster, as though if he could just go fast enough he could outrun the memories. He pauses when he hears a soft muttering coming from one of the lounge rooms that they don't use often. It's on the far side of the house, an area that most of the family doesn't travel to very often. Walking closer to the doorway he pops his head in to see who else is up so late. His eyes widen when they land on Webby, Webby who is currently struggling to prop up her injured leg on some stack pillows from her spot on the floor by the fireplace.
"Webby!" She jumps at the call of her name, letting out a small yelp as she starts to fall sideways toward the floor. Her injured leg preventing her from catching her balance. Louie jumps forward to catch her before she can hit the floor and possibly injure herself even more. She lands against his chest with a soft 'humph' Louie lets out a sigh of relief as he helps her right herself, keeping his hand on her arm even after she is settled. After making sure she really was ok, he looks at her and raises an eyebrow.
"Webby, what are you doing in here? You're supposed to be sleeping in your room, you could have gotten hurt and none of us would have known until morning!" He exclaims, the worry he feels for her seeping into his tone. She looks away, a light flush coming to her cheeks. She mumbles something in response, Louie tilts his head at her and unimpressed look gracing his features.
"Webby, you know I can't understand you when you mumble like that. And before you even try it I'm not Dewey, you won't be able to distract me by mumbling to prevent me from getting an answer from you. I practically invented that move and don't think I haven't noticed you using it." She doesn't look at him, even going as far as to move her head to the side when he attempts to duck his head and make eye contact.
"I..I had a nightmare. I couldn't stay in my room afterwards, but I didn't want to wake anyone up; so, I came here. It's far enough away from where everyone sleeps that I wouldn't bother them." She speaks clearly this time, knowing that as lazy as Louie is, when he is serious about something he won't let up until he knows what he wants to know. Louie nods his head in understanding, as much fun and amazing going on adventures is, they can also be scary and sometimes they leave behind nightmares. He knows that at least for him and his brothers they've all had them, he mentally smacks himself for not even thinking that Webby probably did too. That thought is quickly followed by the question on if this is always where Webby goes after a nightmare. At least for him and his brothers they have each other if they wake up from nightmares, but Webby doesn't have that, she stays in a room by herself. And Louie knows that she wouldn't want to bother anyone else with her problems, she would just deal with them on her own. That thought makes him pause, looking at Webby now. Her face still turned away slightly, her eyes not meeting his, a small blush dusting over her cheeks. It dawns on Louie that Webby is embarrassed about her nightmares. Without thinking about it he reaches over and places his hand on top of hers.
"Webby, you know if you ever need us or you just don't want to stay in your room alone you can always come to mine and my brothers' room. We wouldn't mind, we all get nightmares sometimes too and we're always there for each other when we do. We can be there for you too." She looks up at him in surprise, the blush slowly leaving her cheeks as she stares at him. Looking down at his hand on top of hers, she turns her hand over and grasps his, giving him a small smile.
"You really wouldn't mind? I wouldn't be a bother to you? Or to Dewey and Huey?" Louie is quick to shake his head.
"None of us would be bothered and even if they were I would still welcome you in our room, not that they ever would have a problem, but still." A small blush comes to her cheeks at his words as she flashes him a shy smile, which he returns. His own tiny blush creeping up on his cheeks, looking around the room his eyes fall on her injured leg. Nudging her non-injured leg he asks.
"Now what I want to know, is how did you get all the way here? You can't walk on this leg without pulling your stitches and even hopping on your good leg could still pull them loose." She looks up at him with a sly smile coming to her face, causing his face to flush a little deeper at how cute she looks.
"I may have, sort of, kind of taken one of uncle Scrooge's spare canes and used that." Louie's mouth drops open at her admission in astonishment.
"You didn't!" With a slightly guilty expression she points to the other side of him, where indeed was one of Scrooge's spare canes. A snort escapes him as amusement fills him, turning his head to the side he tries to mask it with a cough. The smile that blooms on his face tells him that he's not fooling her. She opens her mouth to comment on it when a full-blown shiver rolls through her body, causing her to shake slightly. Louie moves the hand not holding hers to feel her arm and is shocked by how cold she it to the touch. While her hands are a little cool, they aren't cold enough for him to think she was cold. But given that she had started a fire it probably should have occurred to him that she was cold.
"Webby, you're freezing! Why aren't you wearing a jacket, or at least covered up with a blanket?" The blush that had started to recede flames across her feather as she shrugs her shoulders and looks away.
"I don't like having my arms pinned down by blankets and all of my jackets are up in the loft in my room where I couldn't reach them. I started the fire just before you got here, it'll heat up the room soon enough, I'll be fine until then." She tries to assure him, but another shiver racks through her body at that moment. She starts rubbing her hand, the one not still holding his, up and down her arm. Attempting to warm the feathers there up slightly. Louie looks at her in disbelief.
"No way! That will take too long, plus your body is already wearing itself out trying to repair itself. It doesn't need to fight to stay warm too!" Taking a moment to look around the room for anything that could help warm her up, he pauses when an idea hits him. He bites on his lower lip as he thinks, making up his mind he releases Webby's hand, ignoring her small whine at the loss of contact, and take his hoodie off. Webby's face flushes a deep red as she stares at him wide-eyed, rapidly waving her hands in front of her she stutters out in a squeak.
"Lou-Louie! Wh-what are you doing!?" Louie ignores her, busy focusing on pulling the sleeves that had been turned inside out back to the outside. Once the sleeves were righted, he bunches up the bottom opening of the hoodie and the top where the neck hole is, creating an opening to easily slip it on, before turning to Webby, who still wasn't looking at him, and tugging the hoodie over her head. She squeaks in surprise as the warm material slides over her head and covers her arms and chest. Louie grins at his work, nodding to himself.
"There, that'll warm you up faster!" He tells her with a grin, Webby opens her mouth to protest, but stops in her tracks when the warmth from his hoodie sinks in.
"Oooo, how are you so warm Louie! It's freezing in this house at night!" She exclaims as she pushes her arms through the sleeves, her cheeks are still flushed, but she is too warm and comfortable to let her embarrassment stop her from enjoying every minute of her newfound warmth. Louie sends her a smirk, a mischievous look coming to his features as he leans in toward her, so their faces are only a few inches apart.
"I told you Web's, sometimes I'm just too hot to handle." His words cause her blush to grow deeper as she groans at him. Pulling up her hands she places them on his chest and shoves him, this however causes a chain reaction. Because as soon as she shoves him, her body sways back, causing her to lose her own balance. She lands on her back, which is fine, would have been fine, except for the fact that her tumble causes her injured leg to slide off the stack of pillows it was resting on and to land on the floor with a soft 'thud'. Webby sucks in a harsh breath as a wave of pain washes over her, Louie gasps as he rushes to her side. Gently placing his hand on her injured leg he lightly runs his fingers over it, making sure everything is still secured, before he checks for any blood spots. When he was sure that the bandage is still tight and secure and that her tumble didn't cause any of the stitches to get pulled. He slowly wraps his hand around the back of her knee and the other one around her ankle, before gently moving her leg back to its resting place on the pillows. Once done, he scoots closer to Webby's head and peers down at her in concern. Panic grips his lungs when he sees the tears running down her cheeks, the salty water seeping into her feathers and disappearing.
"Do- do you want me to get Beakly, o-or uncle Scrooge?" She shakes her head slowly, taking a deep breath she wipes the tears away. She tries to give him a smile to show she's ok, but the pain is still etched on her face. Louie reaches out a hand to her but freezes just shy of touching her. Dropping his hand, he bows his head so his bangs cover his eyes, Webby looks at him in concern, reaching her hand out to him but stops when he starts to speak.
"I'm sorry Webby, I am so sorry." His words come out as barely a whisper, pain settled into his voice. Webby looks at him in complete confusion, not understanding why he was apologizing to her.
"Why are you sorry? It's my own fault for pushing you in the first place, beside while it hurt at first the pain is already going away." She smiles at him, this one not covered with pain unlike her earlier attempt. But Louie doesn't look up at her, he just continues to stare down at the floor. Frowning at his silence she reaches for him, gently laying her hand on his arm.
"Louie? What's wrong? It really wasn't your fault I fell Lou, I was the one messing around and besides the pain is almost completely gone now!" She tries to reassure him, but instead his frown deepens, he clenches his fists at his side.
"Not just for you falling Webby, for you getting hurt in the first place! If I had just payed attention instead of goofing around then you never would have had to push me out of the way and you never would have gotten hurt!" The more he speaks the more riled up he gets, the anger he is feeling at himself coming out through his words. It was his fault she got hurt, his fault that she was in pain now! She should be mad at him, not trying to make him feel better. She shouldn't even want to be around him! But it's like she doesn't even care, she's acting like everything is ok even though she got seriously hurt because he was too busy messing around to watch where he was going! So consumed in his own thoughts Louie doesn't notice the shock that comes to Webby's face at his words, or the anger that quickly replaces it. Nor does he hear the soft growl that leaves her lips. Grabbing the front of his shirt, she jerks him toward her, cutting off his thought process. She doesn't give him a moment to react before she grabs his face in her hands and forces him to look her in the eye. His own wide-eyes staring into her anger filled ones in surprise.
"Now, hold on just a minute! It was my decision to push you out of the way! No one forced me to make that decision, I made it on my own and any injury I got from that decision is my own fault. Two, even if you had been paying the best attention to our surroundings it wouldn't have mattered! It was a secret trap for heavens sake! It was literally made so that it couldn't be found and avoided. Three even if you had somehow realized that you had set of the trap it wouldn't have mattered, from where you were standing there is no way you would have been able to move in time before getting hit. I may have gotten hurt by pushing you, but if I hadn't and that trap got you it wouldn't have just been a busted leg Louie! That trap would have killed you, you would have died!" Her voice cracks at this point, some of the anger leaving her as she admits what had been weighing so heavily on her mind out loud. Louie stares at her in shock as her eyes fill with unshed tears, the anger that only a moment ago felt so consuming, leaving him in an instant as the full implication of the day dawns on him. He opened his mouth to say something, anything to show her he was ok, but Webby wasn't done.
"You could have died Louie! I-we could have lost you!" As tears start falling down her face for the second time tonight, Louie felt his own set of tears build up in his eyes as he realized how much he had scared her today. He had been so focused on the anger he felt at himself for letting her get hurt, that he hadn't even thought about what would have happened to him if she hadn't pushed him out of the way. He let his anger control him so much that he didn't even take into account Webby's feelings and what she had been through today. Without even thinking about it, he wraps one of his arms around the back of her shoulders and the other around her waist. Pulling her tightly against him as she cries, being careful not to hurt her leg, he buries his face in her hair.
"I'm sorry Web's, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you like that. I promise Webby you are not going to lose me; this family couldn't get rid of me if they tried. And I definitely would never leave you by choice, you're stuck with me for life Web's, there's no escaping that." He whispers to her fiercely, his voice soft. His words just make her clench the back of his t-shirt tighter, burying her head a little deeper into his chest, as her tears start to slow. A few tears slip out of his eyes too, running down his face until they drop down in her hair, but they don't release each other. They stay like that for a long time, even as the night gets later and their eyes start drooping, they still cling to one another. Looking around, Louie spots a lone pillow lying beside them, grabbing it he positions it under their heads before slowly lowering the two of the two lie on the carpeted floor. Webby doesn't waste any time before snuggling comfortably into his chest, her eyes falling shut as the day's toll finally hits her. It takes Louie a little longer before his eyes follow suit, taking his time to make sure she was comfortable and safe before allowing himself to slip into the land of dreams with her. As both of their bodies relax, their minds falling into peaceful sleeps, neither sees the soft smile that crawls to both of their faces.
~Break~
Dewey and Huey jerk awake as their bedroom door slams open, the doorknob hitting with a loud 'smack' as it comes in contact with the door stopper. Miss's Beakly rushes in, her hair coming out of her bun in some places, worry etched into her face.
"Children! Have any of you seen Webby? She wasn't in her room and she shouldn't be wandering around alone in her condition!" Her words snap both boys out of their sleepy haze, they both hop out of bed quickly.
"I haven't seen her since you took her to her room after getting her stitches. huey?" dewey looks to his brother in concern, hoping he had seen her recently. The both of them know very well how stubborn Webby is and how easy it would be for her to hurt herself in her current state. His brother shakes his head, a thoughtful look coming to his face. He opens his beak to say something, when something behind Dewey catches his eye.
"Wait a minute, where's Louie?" Both Beakly and Dewey turn to look at Louie's bed, where Louie should be. Panic begins to fill Dewey's face, Miss's Beakly tries to keep her face calm for the children but she also feels a great dread build up inside of her.
"Louie never gets up before noon on weekends, not unless one of us drags him out of bed and everyone in McDuck manor would hear him if we did that!" Dewey shouts, his worry kicking into overdrive at the thought that both his brother and best friend were missing, one of who was injured. Huey looks to Miss's Beakly with a frown.
"Miss's B, do you think something happened to Webby and Louie? No one could have taken them, right? I mean this is McDuck manor! It's nearly impossible to get inside here!" He asks, his voice cracking a little as his concern mounts. Miss Beakly goes to answer, with what she's not sure, when a 'thud' sounds behind them. They all spin around quickly, hoping that it's Webby and Louie. But their hopes fall when they spot Scrooge holding his cane, which he hit against the floor, with a heavy frown on his beak.
"What is with all the ruckus! Shouldn't you boys still be sleeping?" He grumbles, not happy with being disturbed at what is supposed to be his quite time. Miss Beakly frowns at him, her attempt to glare at him ruined by her worry.
"I woke them up. I can't find Webby; I was hoping she had come to the boys room but they don't know where she is either. Louie is also nowhere to be found." She explains, the irritation leaves his face instantly as he raises an eyebrow at her in surprise.
"Louie, awake at this hour? Not likely." Dewey steps forward, rubbing his hands together nervously.
"Do you think someone broke into the manor and took Louie and Webby uncle Scrooge?" Scrooges expression softens, patting Dewey softly on his head he reassures him.
"Don't you worry lad, nobody could have gotten into the manor without us knowing. Plus Duckworth would have told me if something was going on. The two of them probably just went off for a wonder through the house. Let's go wake Della and Donald, before grabbing Launchpad and we can all go looking for them. No need to panic just yet." The boys quickly nod their heads in agreement, the manor is huge. It is possible that Louie and Webby are just hanging out in an area they don't travel through often. After waking Della and Donald, and grabbing Launchpad, they explain the situation with the missing ducklings. Making a plan, they separate into groups and head out. Huey and Dewey were looking through some of the empty bedrooms a few halls down from their own when Heuy speaks up.
"Hey, Dewey?" Dewey doesn't look up from his spot of opening doors and peaking inside, simply gives him a 'hmm' to show he's listening.
"Do you remember when we first moved into the manor Webby telling us all the best spots in the house?" Dewey looks over at him raising an eyebrow as he gives him a nod.
"Didn't Webby say there was an extra lounge on the far end of the house that no one goes too? Do you think she could possibly be there?" Dewey's eyes light up at his brother's words. Rushing to him he grabs his shoulders and shakes them in his excitement.
"Huey, you are a genius! Let's go check right now!" Without waiting for a response Dewey takes off in a run, leaving Huey to quickly go after him. Dewey makes it to said room first, but upon opening the door and looking inside he freezes. Huey, who has not noticed his brother stopping, slams into his back nearly taking them both down. Heuy pulls back before either of them can fall, rubbing his now very sore nose he glares at Dewey.
"What the heck Dewey! Why did you suddenly hump!" Dewey covers his mouth with his hand, effectively cutting off anything else he was going to say. Huey glares at him, fully intending to bite him until Dewey shushes him and points into the room. Dewey whispers softly as he removes his hand from Huey's mouth.
"huey, look!" Heuy still glares at him as he peers around him to look inside the room, not understanding what could possibly be so interesting. His jaw however drops when he spots Louie and Webby curled up on the floor together. Webby's head is resting gently on Louie's chest, her injured leg propped up on some pillow. While Louie has his arms wrapped loosely around her waist, holding her firmly to him. His face is buried partly in her hair, peaceful expressions rest on both of their faces. That isn't what truly shocks Huey. They had been on enough adventures together with nowhere to sleep that they had all ended up using each other as pillows at one point or another. When Webby joined their tight-knit group, she was quickly pulled into joining their normal cuddle sessions, it was inevitable. What is truly shocking about the scene before them is that one, Louie isn't wearing his normal hoodie. Louie is always wearing his hoodie; they could be in hundred-degree weather and he would still wear it. The only exceptions are swimming and when they are forced to go to anything fancy. Two, is the fact that WEBBY is wearing said hoodie. Getting Louie to wear anything else is already like pulling teeth, getting him to let someone else wear it? That is like trying to get uncle Scrooge to not be cheap, it just wasn't going to happen. Except it somehow did happen, Heuy opens his mouth to speak with Dewey about his thoughts when multiple sets of footsteps sound behind them. Turning around they look down the hallway to see the others making their way toward them.
"Did you find them lads? You were running through the house like-!" Both Huey and Dewey shush him, peaking into the room to make sure the added voices didn't wake up Louie and Webby. When they are both sure the occupants of the room are not going to wake up they turn back toward the adults, Dewey gives them a wide grins as he speaks, making sure to keep his voice down.
"You guys will not believe what we just saw! Louie and Webby are completely cuddled up on the floor in there!" All the adults let out matching sighs of relief at the knowledge that the two previous missing ducklings had been found. Looking at Dewey though they all feel confusion bubbling up at his admission, uncle Scrooge is the one to comment on it.
"It's great that you lads found them, but what exactly is so special about them cuddling with one another? I've seen the four of you snuggle together while sleeping thousands of times." Huey jumps in too answer the confused adults.
"That's not what is so surprising!" Turning to his uncle Donald he continues. "Uncle Donald, Louie gave Webby his hoodie! Webby is wearing Louie's hoodie!" Uncle Donald's mouth drops open in shock at his nephews words. He knows very well how possive Louie is of his hoodie, ever since he found it when he was little he had been attached to it. He didn't let anyone else touch it, more or less wear it. Nudging his sister slightly to the side so he could peer into the room, his eyes widen comically at the sight he sees. Looking down at his two nephews, he shares in their shock and surprise.
"Well, I'll be." The other adults exchange looks before they too step forward to look into the room. Scrooge's face softens considerably when he spots the two young ducks curled up together without a care in the world. Della and Launchpad coo at the adorable sight, Della taking out her phone to snap some pictures, mumbling under her breath 'These will be great additions to the scrapbook. Miss Beakly smiles warmly at the two of them, the rest of the worry that was lining her face melting away at such a heartwarming sight. Glancing over Della's shoulder she points to a couple of pictures and mummers.
"Send those to me." By this point Donald was also taking pictures with his own phone. After getting plenty of pictures, he puts his phone away before gently pushing the boys away from the door. Scrooge follows his lead and urges the other adults away as well.
"Alright, alright. Now that we know the lad and lass are ok, it's time to leave them be. With all the excitement the two had yesterday they could use the extra sleep." Scrooge says before turning to Beakly." Beakly, will Webbigail's bandages be ok until after lunch?" Beakly thinks for a moment before nodding to him.
"Yes, they should be. I changed them yesterday and cleaned the wound before putting her to bed. It doesn't look like she pulled any stitches from where I can see; so, she should be ok until the afternoon." With confirmation that Webby's wound would be ok until later, Scrooge shoos them the rest of the way down the hall. Pausing for a moment to shut the door for the kids, giving them one last warm look, he clicks the door shut. Following after the others he mumbles to himself.
"I'll be Indeed."
~End~